PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



FRUIT, FLOWERS MD FARMING. 



PRELIMINARY. 



We understand very well that every region must fashion 

 its system of agriculture upon the nature of its soil, its cli- 

 mate, etc. The principles of agriculture may be alike in 

 every zone, but the jt)roce«56s depend upon circumstances. 

 It would be folly for a new coimtry, without commerce, to 

 imitate au old country with an active commerce ; it would 

 be folly, where land is cheap, abundant, and naturally fer- 

 tile, to adopt the habits of those who are stinted in lands, 

 who have a redundant population, and who find a market 

 for even the weeds which are indigenous to the soil. The 

 husbandry of Holland iS suited to a wet soil, and of Eng- 

 land to a humid atmosphere and a very even annual tem- 

 perature. But our soil is subject to extreme wet in spring 

 and dryness in summer, to severe cold and intense heat. A 

 farm whose bottom-lands are reinvigorated by yearly inun- 

 dations, may thrive under an exacting husbandry that would 

 exhaust an upland farm in a few years. Modes of agricul- 

 ture must be suited to circumstances. Nevertheless, the 

 experiments and discoveries and practices of every land are 

 worth our careful attention. We do not import clothes — 



