NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



219 



limbs were loft on some wcU-fought field, can, by 

 the aid of seicuco. travel as quietly us if sitting at 

 his own firo-iide, from Albany to Buffalo during the 

 tinie the swiftest-f loted racer could gallop one fourth 

 of the distiineo. We may boast of " the speed of the 

 Arab steed," and we maj- admire the eagle in his 

 flight through the air ; but neither the race of the 

 one, nor the flight of the other, has so much poetic 

 inspiration in it as the locomotive that fleets faster 

 than the whirhvin I, or the steamship that marches 

 proudly against wind and wave over the stormy deep. 

 — Soieutijic American. 



-♦- 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A PERFECT 

 HOMEl 



That which combines the most facilities for enjoy- 

 ment, with more especial reference to family com- 

 forts. This is the sole end of having a dwelling, and 

 all we can rationally seek in one. How, then, can 

 this end be secured ? This inquiry we hope to 

 answer throughout the progress of the volume. 

 Meanwhile, let us consider a few of the grand prin- 

 ci])les which govern this matter. 



To encljse space is the first and main object in 

 building. This is done by ma:<iiig ivall-s ; and we 

 will call roof, ceiling, floors, doors, etc., walls. 



Strength and tightness are also required, the former 

 to resist blasts, and the latter to exclude rains and 

 colds. Light, ventilation, cleanliness, drj-ness, etc., 

 embrace other objects ; but of these as we proceed. 



Rjjnis, convenient, easy of access, etc., should also 

 be secured, and espejially such an arrangement of 

 them as shall faolitate " housework." Every house- 

 keeper knows that it requires twice the labor to do 

 a given amount of work in some houses that it does 

 in others. Now, to have the rooms and their 

 accompaniments so constructed as to have every 

 thing handy and convenient, — a place for every thing 

 ~ and every thing in its place, — is indeed a great de- 

 sideratum. IIow much frctfulncss and ill-temper 

 an unhandy house occasions. 



Warmth, easy, cheap, and complete, is also a great 

 desideratum, because so promotive of comfort. What 

 pleasure can be taken in a barn of a house, all open, 

 and the chilling winds perpetually pouring in through 

 a thousand crevices, so that you freeze one side while 

 you roast the other — everything frozen in winter, 

 or your sleeping-rooms small, low, close, and right 

 under a thin roof, so that you swelter the fore part 

 of an August night, and perhaps catch a death-cold 

 towards morning — and one or another of the family 

 sick most of the time, or else now and then falling 

 into permature graves r 



Chi;upness is another matter, to some, and espe- 

 cially to the poor, of gretit importance. Indeed, all 

 should inquire how they can build the best house 

 with the least means. Not that I would stint a house, 

 or saciitice utility on the altar of cheapness ; for, as 

 already stated, I believe in appropriating no incon- 

 siderable a portion of our earnings to improving 

 home ; but be the sum thus appropriated greater or 

 smaller, all should strive to make the most of it, that 

 is, to combine as many comforts for their money as jios- 

 sible. However rich a builder may be, he should waste 

 nothing, but, after disbursing every dollar wisely 

 and eeo'.iomi:ally, should give the balance to some 

 poor neighbor. Yet time and money are wisely 

 spent which add to the real solid pleasures of home 

 and family. All of us shamefully neglect this essen- 

 tial point. We carelessly tolerate evils and miseries 

 by the score, for days and years, which a few hours 

 01- dollars would remove. We fail to give our domi- 

 ciles their due proportion of our time and funds. 

 No matter what a house docs cost, so that it is good. 

 Better spend our funds for this than for thousands of 

 those thmgs ou which we now well nigh waste them. 



Let others spend their money for balls, foshions, etc., 

 but let me spend mine for a real family homestead ; 

 and then let me, year by year, spend no small part of 

 my income in adorning and improving it, till, in the 

 decline of life, I shall have a perfect home for my- 

 self and family, surrounded with eveiy comfort, my 

 land rich, my trees annually loaded with every 

 variety of the choicest fruits, and the M-hole sup])lied 

 with every thing that can conduce to beauty, utility, 

 and comfort. I>et every one procure as good a house 

 as he is able — even better than most think they 

 can aff"ord, though at the sacrifice of many other 

 things — but build as cheap as possible for the value. 

 Yet there are few things on which men can, and 

 do, literally squander money as foolishly as in build- 

 ing. To build without a plan, or with a crude one, 

 and then to alter this, and patch on that, is as wrong 



as it is imbecile. See how unwise C , of Boston, 



is, in so often altering and remodelling his house. 

 Get all ready before j'ou lay the first stone. Es- 

 pecially mature your plan. Know just what you 

 want, and how you want it, and then how to do it. 

 Leave less to the mechanic, for he may care less 

 about your house than your money, and knowingly 

 omit some good, or commit some error, just to get 

 pay for altering it, and then excuse it by alleging 

 that he knew nothing of how you wanted it done. 

 Or he may propose some costly addition, of little real 

 value, just to get a chance to put money in his 

 pockets. I boss my own buildings, and will show 

 you in this work how to boss yours. Besides, the 

 judgment of carpenters is sometimes inferior to that 

 of common-sense men, because the former are hide- 

 bound in the old way, while the views of the latter 

 are oftener allowed to act untrammelled. 



O. S. FOWLER. 



HORTICULTURE. 



Horticulture, said Mr. Speaker Winthrop, on a lato 

 occasion, in its most comprehensive sense, is emphati- 

 cally the fine art of common life. It is eminently a 

 republican fine art. It distributes its productions 

 with equal hand to the rich and poor. Its implements 

 may be wielded by every arm, and its results appre- 

 ciated by every eye. It decorates the dwelling of 

 the humblest laborer with undoubted originals by 

 the oldest masters, and places within his view fruit 

 such as Van Huysum never painted, and landscapes 

 such as Poussin could only copy. 



Farms in the neighborhood of Herrmann, Gascon- 

 ade county, in this State, have risen very much 

 lately, in consequeneo of the increased cultivation 

 of the vine. A Mr. Poeschel, possessor of a vine- 

 yard not quite an acre in extent, and planted with 

 the Catawba grape in the spring of 184o, made from 

 it this year one thousand gallons of wine. The 

 value of the whole produce was one thousand and 

 seven hundred dollars. — Miner s Prospect. 



PROTECT YOUR VINES. 



We are informed, by a gentleman of this town, 

 says the Lynn News, of an experiment made by him, 

 last year, upon his squash-vines, which proved suc- 

 cessful in clearing off the bugs. He strewed on the 

 vines the bran of pepper, which may be obtained at 

 any of the spice mills where pepper is ground. 

 Every one who has a garden will appreciate tho 

 value of a remedy so cheap and simple, and give it a 

 trial. We should like to have those who try the ex- 

 periment give us the result, if they find it succassfuL 



The finer the seed to be sown, the finer should tlie 

 soil be made which is to receive it. 



