NEW EWGLiAWU FARMER. 



PUHI.ISHKD BY CliO. C. BARRETT, NO. o^, NORTH MARK ET STREET, (at the Agriculturai. \Varehouse.)-T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. xm. 



BOSTON, WEBNKSDAY KVENING, JULY 23, 183^. 



NO. 2, 



SCJIMKR. 



" Kind Naiure wakes bcrgeuinl power. 

 Suckles each herb, and spreads out every flower." 



This is tlie soiisoii which the luverof nature con- 

 templates with plt-asin^' reflections and anticipu- 

 •tions thronjrhont the year. Wlien is the aij- so Cull 

 of halm ? when is tlie hreeze so tiill of health ? 

 when does the sun shine so cheeringly and iinop- 

 (iressively as now ? when is the ground so heami- 

 fully, so softly carpeted ? — and the trees hiinif with 

 such frajjrant drapery as now ? The woods are 

 full of melody. The azure sky seems hy the sun- 

 bearus hrushed of every lui.sty cloud, that airy spir- 

 its may more ciearly view the beauty of the great 

 Creator's works ; and man see mirrored in the no- 

 ble arch, the grandeur of the footstool of his God. 



Rise with the sun, and go forth and conteujplate 

 the beauties of nature. Those who perniit him to 

 make two or three hours of his circuit before they 

 greet liini, must not be siu'prised if he has not a 

 Bijiiling sunshine for them through the day. 



THE WEATHER. 



The following article is from the pen of the 

 celebrated Dr. Adam Clarke. It is not unworthy 

 of attention : 



From my earliest childhood I was bred up on a 

 little farm, which I was taught to care for and cul- 

 tivate ever since I was al)le to spring a rattle, use 

 the whip, manage the sickle, or handle the spade; 

 and as I found that much of our success depend- 

 ed on a proper knowledge and management of the 

 weather, I was led to study it ever since I wan \ 

 eight years of age. I believe meteorology is a 

 natural science, and one of the first that is studied , 

 and that every child in the country niakes, un- 

 taught, some progress in it; at least so it was with 

 me. I had actually learned, by silent observation, 

 to form good conjectures concerning the coming 

 weather, and, on this head, to teach wisdom among 

 those who were perfect, especially among such as 

 had not been obliged, like me, to watch earnestly, 

 that what was so necessary to the family support 

 should not be spoiled by the weather befiu'e it was 

 housed. — Jlany a time, even in tender youth, have 

 I watched the heavens with anxiety, examined the 

 different appearances of the moniiug and evening 

 sun, the phases of the moon, the scintillation of 

 the stars, the course and color of the clouds, the 

 fliglit of the crow and the swallow, the gandjols of 

 the colt, the fluttering of the ducks, and the loud 

 screams of the seamew — not forgetting the hue 

 and croaking of the frog. From the little knowl- 

 edge I had derived from close observation, I often 

 ventured to direct our agricultural operations in 

 reference to the coming days, and was seldom 

 nineh mistaken in my reckoning. 



About twenty years ago, a Table, purporting to 

 be the work o/' the late Dr. Herschel, was various- 

 ly published, professing to form prognostics of the 

 weather, hy the times of change, fidl and quarters 

 of the moon. I liave carefidly consulted this table 

 for several years, and was amazed at its general 

 accuracy ; — for though long, as you have seen, en- 

 gaged in the study of the weather, I never thought 

 that any rules could be devised liable to so few 

 exceptions. I have made a little alteration in the 

 Arri»ngetaents, ilLgstrateil it with further pljiserva- 



tions, and have sent it that you may insert it, as it 

 has hitherto been confined generally to a few al- 

 manacs. 



A TABLE 

 For ForetclUntr the If'talher through all the Luna- 

 tions of eack Year for ei'cr. 

 This table ami the accompanying remarks are 

 the residt of many years actual observation ; the 

 whole being constructed on a i\\ie consideration of 

 the attraction of the sun and moon, in their sever- 

 al positions respecting the earth, and will, by sim- 

 ple inspection, show the observer what kimi of 

 weather will most probably follow the entrance of 

 the moon into any of its quarters, and that so near 

 the truth as to he seldom or never found to fail. 



If the New Moon — the First Quarter — the 

 Full Moon — or the Last Quarter hiippens 



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Observations. 1. The nearer the time of the 

 Moon's Change, First Quarter, Fidl and Last Quar- 

 ter, are to midivighl, the fairer will the weather be 

 during the seven days following. 



2. The space for this calculation occupies from 

 ten at night till two np.\t morning. 



3. The nearer to j\Iid day or .Yoon, the phases 

 of the Moon happen, the more foul or wet weather 

 may be e.\pected during the next seven days. 



4. The space for this calculation occupies from 

 ten in the forenoon to two in the afternoon. These 

 observations refer principally to the Summer, 

 though they affect Spring and Autumn nearly in 

 the same ratio. 



5. The Moon'3 Change, — First Quarter.-^Full, 



— aitd Last Quarter, happening during six of the 

 afternoon hours, i. e. from four to ten, may be foU 

 lowed by fair weather ; but this is mostly depeiH 

 dent oni the wind, as is noted in the table. 



6. Though the weather, from a variety of irreg- 

 ular causes, is more uncertain in the latter part of 

 Autumn, the whole Winter, and the beginning of 

 Sifciiig; yet, in the main, the above observations 

 will apply to those periods also. 



7. To prognosticate correctly, especially in those 

 cases where the wind is concerned, the observer 

 shoidd be within sight of a good vane, where the 

 four cardinal points of the heavens are correctly 

 placed. ■ With this precaution he will scarcely evei' 

 be deceived in depending on the table, 



SOUNDS MADE BY INSECTS. 



No insects have the power of producing sound 

 by the mouth ; they do not breathe through the 

 month, and consequently have no power of pro- 

 ducing sounds by that organ. The sounds are 

 produced either by tlie quick vibration of the 

 wings, or by beating on their own bodies, or other 

 hard substances with their mandibles or feet. 

 The sound of the bee is produced by the vibration 

 of its wings in the air. The cricket when it is 

 disposed to bo merry, beats time with its inandiT 

 bles against its head- and horny sides in the same 

 manner as a human being when in good spirits 

 or idle, drums with his fingers oii the table, 

 There is a sound which has often struck terror 

 into the s^jIs of the su|)erstitious, and which is 

 frequemly heard behind the ceiling, called the 

 death watch. This has been ascertained to be 

 caused by a small species of wooil beetle, and most 

 probably in the same way as the cricket produces 

 its sound, by beating witli his feet on the wood, 



TILLIIVG ORCHARDS, 



There are advantages and disadvantages in til, 

 ling an orchard. In tilled ground trees are the 

 most vigorous ami thrifty ; and it seems to be in !J 

 measure necessary to plough a few years to give 

 the young trees a start. Yet even.at this period 

 great care is required not to cut the roots with the 

 plough. But when the trees have acquired si.x or- 

 eight years growth, and the roots become extendi 

 ed, still greater |)recaulio» is necessary, or the in; 

 jury becomes serious. If is not altogether the 

 large roots that are so liable to be cut, for these 

 are often below the plough, but the innumerable 

 fibres that spread in eveiy dij^^ction, which escape 

 the ploughman's notice, but'which are literally the 

 mouths that convey food to the plant. My prac^ 

 tice has been, when an orchard is to be ploughed, 

 to proceed first to dig the ground superficially with 

 the spade, about tlte tree, two or three feet in 

 breadth, and as many yards lengthwise of the fur» 

 rows, so that there shall be no balk, and to run 

 the plough shallow near the dug part : And where 

 the orchard is in grass, to dig circles round the 

 trees after harvest, both to facilitate growth, and 

 to prevent injury, in winter from moles. There 

 is no less caution necessary in using the spade than 

 the plough, to preserve the roots entire. It is «, 

 goo(| practice to cut the grass close with a Jioe, 

 and then to strew rotten chip dung, if mixeil >vit|j ' 

 11 little lime the better, about the tjep, 



