400 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JVXE 3, 1840. 



For the New England Farmer. | 



LETIER PROM WILLI \M FOSTER, Esq. 



Boslmi, 'Mlh May, 18-10. 

 Mr CoLMAN — I will add a tew words to the con- 

 cludincr part of rny letter of the 21st of February, 

 printed the 15th of April. The .subject under con- 

 sideration was the raising of forest trees. 



The reasons alledged by the experienced French 

 agricnllurisl whose practice was notii ed in my let- 

 ter, were — fir-t, the very natural one, of givingf the 

 same exposilii^n to the sun, in the new location, 

 which the tree had enjoyed in its native bed ; and 

 note.vposin;,' its most tender and snsceptible parts 

 to the cold blasts of the north. Next it may be 

 observed tht nature furnishes the stronrjost roots 

 on that side fioin whence the strongest winds come ; 

 and by reversing this order, weakness assumes the 

 place where strength is required. And although 

 nature is very fertile in her resources, in adapting; 

 herself to circumstances, both in the aniinal and the 

 vegetable kingdoms, still both these patients must 

 suffer more or less by the unskilful treatment of 

 the doctors, and the greater or less deviation from 

 her general laws. Aquatic plants commonly fail 

 when transplanted to dry places; and the plants of 

 hot climates will thrive in coldp.r ones only by a 

 gradual and slow education. The vine and the ol- 

 ive, since a period in the record of history, would 

 hardly grow in Italy; and now theVoiiner has pro- 

 gressed northward, half through Prance and Ger- 

 many ; and the latter is still making progress in 

 the same direction. The observations, above on 

 forest trees, will be admitted, probably, as equally 

 applicable to fruit trees. The transplanting of 

 forest trees, on a large scale, can hardly be expect- 

 ed in this country, nor is it necessary, where na- 

 ture has supplied us with such an abundance of 

 them, and which require but little care, but more 

 economy. 



Wherever an inroad is about to be made into a 

 wood lot, for the sake of the wood alone, and the 

 owner would be willing to have a new crop of 

 wood on thi! same land, I would advise — first, to 

 mark out the space to be cleared and surround it, 

 by felling trees on its borders, in 'he shape of a 

 fence; which, with a little hibor, m the winter, 

 when labor is cheap, would be sufficient to keep 

 out the cattle : then cut clean, or leave as many 

 small trees only as can escape the woorlftttl. This 

 patch will soon be covered with a thrilty growth ; 

 and all the more thrifty for the protection of the 

 neighboring forest. 1 think it advisable to keep 

 the north side of the wood-lot whole, or merely to 

 thin it, by taking away some of its largest trees; 

 and telling than northerly, so as to sp:trc the young- 

 er growth as much as possible from the fellinj;. 



The difference between the growth of the small 

 vegetation in places sheltered from the north winds, 

 and thatexposed to all winds, is so well understood 

 by the gardeners in the vicinity of JJoston, that they 

 build high and expensive fences Ui protect their 

 gardens. Now as Indian corn is sometimes cut 

 off by early frosts, would it not be well to try some 

 experiments, to ascertain the difference of time 

 necessary to mature this grain in sheltered and un- 

 sheltered places ; and at the same time to keep an 

 account of the relative yield. If such experiments 

 are made and published, all thi^ uttendinir circum- 

 stances should be related. 



Assoiling, clover and luzerne have, I presume, 

 been discussed in all our agricultural papers al- 

 ready. The mode of using this green food may re- 



quire too much labor for a country where labor is 

 so high as in America. liut it may be well to no- 

 tice some of its advantages, because there may be 

 persons with small farms and large families who 

 might find it for their interest to practice this cul- 

 ture. 



On the small farms in France, the practice is 

 very general ; and this is one of the means of ac- 

 counting for their large products. There, luzerne 

 and clover are cut daily, with the sickle, in quan- 

 tities nece-jsary for the daily consumption, and car- 

 ried to the barnyard on horses, jacks, or in liand- 

 carts ; and more often on the backs of the laborers. 

 The same beds may be cut several times, and thus 

 by a proper arrangement, a daily crop is secured. 

 A? the cattle destroy as much with their feet as 

 they eat, so much is saved by this mode of feeding, 

 and the quantity of manure is increased, while its 

 quality is improved. From the labor of bringing 

 this green fodder to the cattle we must deduct that 

 of drivinc the cattle to the fodder, as well as the 

 waste of trampling ; thus the apparent cost of tins 

 transportaliim is not the real one. Moreover, these 

 viscous, pulpy grasses keep the ground moist, and 

 draw much of their nourishment from the air and the 

 dews, and warmth also from the same source, in the 

 absence of the sun, as the thermometer would show 

 if applied - 



The choice of seed is attended to in our country 

 I find, particularly in the case of Indian corn. But 

 I do not know if it be so with small grain. I will 

 therefore mention the practice in Brittany, a prov- 

 ince of Prance, now called Pinisterre. 



During the long winter evenings the farmers 

 spread on their tables some of the best and ripest 

 of their small grains ; and there they pick out the 

 best grains for seed. When I first saw this slow 

 work, I told my father-in-law that Yankees would 

 invent some mechanical process to do this work 

 quicker. But, said he, not so effectually, perhaps ; 

 for it requires some experience to know what are 

 the best seeds. In favor of the plan, generally, he 

 said, that a bad seed occupied as much ground and 

 cost as much preparatory labor as a good one. 



In my next I shall cfl'er a few hints on the treat- 

 ment of cider. 



Respectfully, your ob't serv't, 



WM. FOSTER. 



Tor the N. E. Farn 



POLITICS FOR FARMERS. 



I am aware, Mr Editor, that your paper, very 

 properly, eschews politics ; and although the head- 

 ing of this article would seem to promise nothing 

 else, I will assure you that pcditics, in the usual 

 sense of that word, are now the farthest from my 

 thoughts. Good farmeiR cannot belong to that in- 

 triguinsj, idle and mischievous race called [loliti- 

 cians : their farms, their barns, and their household 

 require all their attention, /v'.sence from these ru- 

 ral scenes and neglect of liie duties they imply, 

 v/ould soon malce them very fit subjects for politics 

 indeed ; for they would become embarrassed, and 

 the fit toids for every political intrigue. 



But farmers, whose whole time and talents, in 

 conjunction with the strictest economy, are neces- 

 sary for the advancement of their interest and the 

 maintenance ol their honorable station in society, 

 have a deep interest in good government ; for with- 

 out that, their time, their talents, and their strictest 

 economy would avail them nothing: their progress 

 would be downward, most certainly ; however slow 



and imperceptible that retrograde movement might 

 be. From independent owners of large farms, they 

 would become independent half-owners of mortgage 

 farms, paying taxes on land not their own. These 

 large farms would soon pass out of their hands, and 

 they would become teiianls-at-will of small patches 

 of land; and finally, as in the old world, merely 

 day -laborers, under hard masters, and great mo- 

 nopolizers of oH the land. 



Who then has a deeper interest in good govern- 

 ment than independent farmers ? They cannot, as 

 a body, take an active part in government, for their 

 scattered position, although they are numerous, 

 prevents their having the same weight in govern- 

 ment as some oiher classes which can more easily 

 combine : therefore, their only means of contribu- 

 ting towards good government is, in the choice of 

 its agents ; and this can be done only through their 

 representatives. In the choice of these represen- 

 tatives, there can be no doubt that they are guided 

 by wbatOTems to be their true interest; they gener- 

 ally choose the best men. 



Now I will conclude this short article by advis- 

 ing farmers, after having used all possible discre- 

 tion in the choice of their representatives, to be 

 still more particular in examining the conduct of 

 those representatives in the performance of their 

 legislative duties : this will be an infallible test of 

 the goodness of their choice, and will induce them 

 to re-elect the same men, or to replace them with 

 others who will avoid the errors for which they 

 should bo displaced; which errors should be made 

 as public as possible. 



The errors the most fatal to the farming interest 

 are — putting in office such men as would not ob- 

 tain the suffrage of a town meeting of a virtuous, 

 frugal, and sober community in the country; men 

 who have not been able to conduct successfully 

 their own private affairs; men who are suspected, 

 even, of dissipation and disorderly habits in all 

 their virions forms ; men who are known to grow 

 rich on small salaries, and living at the same time 

 better than others who have the same income ; in 

 fine, bad husbands, bad fathers, and bad neighbors; 

 men who are too prodigal of the public treasures ; 

 for they must be replenished directly or indirectly 

 by the farmer's labors. Farmers and mechanics 

 may rest assured that all the expenses of Stale, ne- 

 cessaiy or unnecessary, come from their labors ; and 

 the greater those expenses are, the greater the 

 drafts on their labor: the lighter those expenses 

 are, the better is the government ; and none but 

 the best and most virtuous men will ever succeed, 

 or even wish to establish and maintain such a gov- 

 ernment. 



Now, Mr Editor, I submit it to you to say wlieth- 

 er I have written one word which can be forced 

 into a construction of party politics. 



Honest Policy. 



Pay as you go. — To deal for ready money only, 

 in all the departments of domestic arrangement, is 

 the truest economy. Ready money will always 

 command the best and cheapest of every article of 

 consumption, if expended with judgment; and the 

 dealer who means to act fairly will always prefer it. 



-Trust not him who seems more anxious to give 

 credit than to receive cash. He hopes to secure 

 your custom by having a hold upon you in his 

 books; and will make up for the credit he gives 

 you, either by an extra price or an inferior article. 

 Such men depend on unfair dealing for their cus- 

 tom. — Farmers' Cabinet. 



