iO'-. XVH lVi» 86. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL, 



205 



izy habit of drinking and smoking, that has been 

 le ruin of him ever since. I would'nt give an old 

 ishi'ined swing tail clock, to have my son go to 

 ollege where he coiild'nt work enough to arn his 

 iwn living and lam how to work it right tu. 



It aitilly frightens me, when J think how the 

 md is worked and skinned, till they take the giz- 

 Td out on't, when it might be growing better every 

 ay. Thousands of acres every year are turned 

 Qto barrens, while an everlasting stream of our 

 oiks are streaking it off '-to the new country," 

 ^hero about half on 'em after wading about among 

 he tadpoles, to catch cat fish enough to live on a 

 ear or two, actilly shake themselves to death with 

 hat iM-urlasting cuss of all new countrys, the fever 

 ind 'gur. It's a melancholy fact, 'Squire, tho' our 

 jicople don't seem to be sensible of it, and you nor 

 I may not live to see it, but if this awful robbin' 

 if pf sierity goes on for another hundred years, as 

 t has for the last, among the farmers, we'll be a 

 lation of paupers. Talk about the legislature do- 

 ng something, I'll tell you what I'd have them do. 

 'aint a great parcel of guide boards, and, nail 'em 

 ip liver every legislature, church, and school-house 

 loor in America, with these words on 'em in great 

 alters, "Thk best lanb in America, bt con- 



ITANT CROPPING, WITHOUl' MANURK, WILL RDN 



lUT." And I'd havj 'em, also, piovide means to 

 arn every child how to read it, cause it's no use to 

 ry to Urn the old ones — they're tu sot in their 

 vays. They are on the constant stretch with the 

 and they have, and all the time trying to git more, 

 vithout improving any on't. Yes, yes, yes, too much 

 and is the ruin of us all. 



Althouffh you will find a thousand more good 

 hings among the writings of "The Clockmaker," 

 : hope you will not look for a litend copy of the 

 brea-oing. And if ever this meets the eye cf the 

 vriter of the '• Saying and doings of Samuel Slick," 

 ; beg him to excuse nie forthj liberty I have taken 

 (TJth'his own language. I remain your agricultu- 

 •al friend. SOLON ROBINSON. 



Lake C. H. la. Oct. \% 1838. 



SELF iilDUCATION. 



The subjoined account of a most extraordinary 

 and successful instance of self-education under 

 great difficulties deserves to be inserted in every 

 paper in the country. It shows what may be ac- 

 complished by industry and perseverance united 

 with a strong determination and a passionate at- 

 tachment to a good object. The learned Gilford, 

 one of tlie best classical scholars in I']ngland, was 

 an apprentice to the shoemaker's trade; and in his 

 passionate study of mathematics shut himself up 

 in hours stolen from sleep, in a garret, and worked 

 out his problems with an awl on some of the waste 

 leather of the shop. We design to revert to this 

 subject again, but have at present only time for the 

 annexed letter. 



" It is a great mistake to suppose that it is neces- 

 sary to be a professional man in order to have leis- 

 ure to indulge a taste for reading. Far otherwise. 

 I believe the mechanic, engineer, the husbandman, 

 the trader, have quite as much leisure as the ave- 

 rage of men in the learned profession. I know 

 some men busily engaged in the different callings 

 of active life, whose minds are well stored with 

 various useful knowledge acquired from books. 

 There would be more such men, if education in 

 , our common schools were, as it well might be, of 

 a higher order ; and if Common School Libraries, 



.. ell furnished, were introduced into every district, 

 as I trust in due time they will be. It is surprising, 

 sir, how much may be efiected, even under the 

 most unfavorable circumstances, for the improve- 

 ment of the mind, by a person resolutely bent on 

 acquisition of knowledge. A letter has lately been 

 put into my hands, bearing date the 0th of Septem- 

 ber, so interesting in itself, and so strongly illustra- 

 tive of this point, that I .will read a portion 

 of it ; though it was written, I am sure, without 

 the least view to publicity : 



' I ani the youngest (says the writer) of many 

 brethren, and my parents were poor. My means of 

 education were limited to the advantages of a dis- 

 trict scliool, and those again were circumscribed 

 by my father's death, which deprived me at the age 

 of fifteen of these scanty opportunities which I 

 had previously enjoyed. A few months after his 

 decease, I apprenticed myself to a blacksmith in 

 my native village. Thither I carried an indomita- 

 ble taste for reading, which I liad previously ac- 

 quired through the medium of the society library 

 — all the historical works in which I had at that 

 time perused. At the expiration of a little more 

 than half my apprenticeship, I suddenly conceived 

 the idea of studying Latin. Through the assis- 

 tance of an elder brother, who had himself obtained 

 acohegiate education by his own-exertions, I com- 

 plet'--d my Virgil during the evenings of one winter. 

 After some time devoted to Cicero, and a few other 

 Latin authors, I commenced the Greek ; at this 

 time it was necessary that I should devote every 

 hour of daylight, and a part of the evening, to do 

 the duties of my apprenticeship. Still I carried 

 my Greek grammar in my hat, often found a mo- 

 ment, when I was heating some large iron, when I 

 could place my book open before me against the 

 chimney of my forge, and go through with tupto, 

 tuptds, tiiptei, and, unperceived by my fellow ap- 

 prentices, and to my confusion of face, with the 

 detrimental effect to the charge in my fire. At 

 evenino- I sat down unassisted, to the Iliad of Ho- 

 mer, tw°enty books of which measured my progress 

 in that language during the evenings of another 

 winter. I next turned to the modern languages, 

 and was much gratified to learn that my knowledge 

 of Latin furnished me with a key to the literature 

 of most of the languages of Europe. This cir- 

 cumstance gave a new impulse to the desire of 

 acquainting myself with the philosophy, derivation, 

 and afSnity of the different European tongues. I 

 could not be reconciled to limit myself in these 

 investigations to a few hours after the arduous labors 

 of the day. I therefore laid down my hammer and 

 went to New Haven, where I recited to native 

 teachers in French, Spanish, German and Italian. 

 I returned at the expiration of two years to the 

 foro-e, bringing with me such books in those lan- 

 guages as I co°uld procure. When I had read these 

 books through, I commenced the Hebrew, wi'.h an 

 awakened desire of exayaining another field ; and 

 by assiduous application, I was enabled in a few 

 weeks to read this language with such facility that 

 I allotted it to myself as a task to read two cnap- 

 ters in the Hebrew Bible before breakfast each 

 mornino- ; this and an hour at noon being all the 

 time thlt I could devote to myself during the day. 

 After becoming somewhat familiar with this lan- 

 gua-re, I looked around me for the means of initia- 

 tino-" mvself into the fields of oriental literature, 

 and to my deep regret and concern I found my pro- 

 gress in this direction hedged in by the want of 

 requisire books. I began immediately 1o devise 



means of ob^-iating this obstacle ; and after many 

 plans, I concluded to seek a place as a sailor on 

 board some ship bound to Europe, thinking in this 

 way to have opportunities of collecting at different 

 ports such works in tlie modern and oriental lan- 

 guages as I found necessary for this object. I left 

 the forge at my native place to carry this plan into 

 execution. 



I travelled on foot to Boston, a distance of more 

 than a hundred miles, to find some vessel bound to 

 Europe. In thi.5 I was disappointed, and while re- 

 volving in my mind what steps ne,<it to take, I acci- 

 dentally heard of the American Antiquarian Society 

 in Worcester. I immediately bent my steps to- 

 wards this place. I visited the hall of the Amer- 

 ican Antiquarian Society, and found there, to my 

 infinite gratification, such a collection of ancient, 

 modern and orientan languages, as I never before 

 conceived to be collected in one place ; and, sir, 

 you may imagine with what sentiments of gratitude 

 I was afl^ected, when upon evincing a desire to ex- 

 amine some of these rich and rare works, I was 

 kindly invited to unlimited participation in all the 

 benefits of this noble institution. Availing myself 

 of the kindness of the directors, I spent three hours 

 daily at the hall, which, with an hour at noon and 

 about three in the evening, make up the portion of 

 the day which I appropriate to my studies, the rest 

 being occupied in arduous manual labor. Through 

 the facilities afforded by this institution, I have 

 added so much to my previous acquaintance wilh 

 the ancient, modern, and oriential languages, as to 

 be able to read upwards of fifty of them with 

 more or less facility." 



I trust, Mr President, I shall be pardoned by the 

 ingenious author of this letter, and the gentleman 

 to whom it is addressed, (W. Lincoln, Esq. of Wor- 

 cester,) for the liberty which I have taken, unex- 

 pected I am sure by both of them, in thus making 

 it public-.. It discloses a resolute purpose of im- 

 provement under obsticles and difficulties of no 

 ordinary kind, which e.xcites my admiration, I may 

 say my veneration. It is enough to make one who 

 has had good opportunities for education, hang his 

 head in shame." 



JVtivton, Dec. -28th, 1838. 



To THE EdTTOR of THE N. E. FARMER, 



Sir I have read wilh much pleasure the ad- 

 dress of Mr Henry Stevens, delivered at the Cattle 

 Fair in Vermont. It contains a good share of 

 sound sense. It ought to bo read by every man, 

 woman and child in the U. S. A. It convinces me 

 that it is full lime for the people in America to be 

 a little more patriotic by wearing American manu- 

 factured articles. Let us at once form societies in 

 every town for the purpose of pledging each and 

 all to appear on the 4th of July next in garments 

 of American manufactures. Let the ladies in New 

 England set the example, and I will be bound that 

 the^gcnt.emen will soon follow and join the same 

 society. And on that .day let the tables be spread 

 in every town with domestic fruit and wine. Then 

 may it be truly said that we can live independent 

 from all nations. 



Encourage One Another. 



CoR-J Crop.— John Plaisted of Gardiner, Me. 

 raised last summer, upon an acre and a quarter of 

 ground, one hundred and sixty bushels of corn in 

 the eai"— equivalent to eighty bushels of shelled 

 corn. So says the Maine Fnrmer. 



