AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



PUELISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Aohioultdral Wabehoose.) 



>i..xxii.:i 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 95, 1843. 



two. ir. 



— ■■' 



N. E. FARMER, 



For the N. E. Karmer. 



ITTLE SHOWS— INCREASED INTEREST 



IN— INFLUENCE OF, &,c. 

 Mr Breck — In reading the accounts of llie va- 

 us Cnttle Shows and Agricultural Fiiirs which 

 ve taken place this fall in our section of country, 

 e cannot but be gratified at the increased inte- 

 st which seems to have been manife.sted in them, 

 nerally, by the farming community — indicating, 

 ly we not believe, an increased ambition to e.rcel 

 good husbandry. 



These animal Shows, with the premiums offered 



the Societies under whose auspices they are 



Id, must bo r»5"i riled as among the most pfSoient 



nans of promoting agricultural improvement ; and 



such, it is pleasing to see a more active and 



neral interest in them exhibited by our farmers. 



augurs well fur the cause of improved husband- 



, and is an encouragement for our agricultural 



cieties to persevere in the good work to which 



ey are devoted. 



No one effect of these annual Shows, perhaps, 

 of more beneficial tendency, than the influence 

 ey e.\ert on the younf; — to whom we must look 

 r whatever of great improvement (in its general 

 laracler.) our agriculture is to undergo in time to 

 ime. Of more aspiring ambition, with minds less 

 arped by prejudice, and more susceptible of con- 

 ction than the old, the young agriculturists see 

 id hear much at these Shows that they will retain, 

 id which will, most probably, influence their ae- 

 ons when they shall become men and managers 

 r farms. No farmer should keep his sons from 

 tending these Shows, if they can conveniently be 

 resent. 



" ({ui lion profir.il, deficit" — (" He who does not 

 Ivance, goes back") — is a Latin proverb of more 

 uth than falsity — especially with reference to any 

 :t or science in which there is a perceptible pro- 

 fess — and such is certainly true of American 

 Tticulture. In this, little less than in other mat- 

 irs, the spirit of the age is, >^ go ahead." The 

 imily of Stand- stills, with us, are well nigh "run 

 aV Though I am not so sanguine in regard to 

 nprovements in agriculture here, as to expect the 

 ;ry speedy arr'wa] of the time which Lord Kames 

 lought might come, when "a farmer shall be able 

 ) carry in his pocket sufficient manure Jor an acre," 

 et I do think sober reason justifies the prediction 

 lat the day is not very far distant, when 80 and 

 00 bushels of corn per acre shall bo as common 

 ields ai 'M and 10 bushels now are, — and this 

 •ill be effected, not by any old processes certainly, 

 ut by a wide departure from them, aided by luud- 

 rn discoveries. 



I said above, that the family of Slandslills had, 

 ■ith us in Yankee land, well nigh " run out." It 

 J to be regretted, however, that the larger portion 

 f their kith and kin who remain, are to bo found 

 mong our farmers. Their predilection and reve- 

 ence for old customs is proverbial. This pcculi- 

 irity, (if it may be so termed,) is not so much to be 



reproached as a Jatdt as it is to be deplored as a 

 misfortune — since it has its origin in no unworthy 

 motive, and operates to the detriment of its posses- 

 sor, who, most likely, can plead this in e.vcuse of it 

 — that he has it by inheritance. 



It is this prejuilice in favor of whatever is old 

 merely because it is old, and distrust of whatever is 

 new merely because it is new, that has heretofore 

 been, and is now, I conceive, the most formidable 

 obstacle in the way of improvement in our agricul- 

 ture. Since the establishment and wide circula- 

 tion of agricultural journals, and the multiplication 

 of agricultural societies, this predilection for anti- 

 quated usages and aversion for innovation, has 

 been perceptibly weakened in its hold, and it will 

 be a fortunate day for American agriculture that 

 shall witness its extirpation from among our yeo- 

 manry. 



Agricultural Societies and Fairs are doing much 

 to effect this desideratum, — the agricultural jour- 

 nals, more, — and as the most efficient agents in 

 this good work, all these should receive the coun- 

 tenance, encouragement and liberal support of all 

 who appreciate the importance of the consumma- 

 tion desired, and who possess a portion of that no- 

 ble philanthropic spirit, which, in the beautiful lan- 

 guage of Mr Webster, " teaches every man that 

 he has an interest in every other man." And in 

 this work of benevolence, let us, first of all, en- 

 courage the press — the agricultural press. What 

 human agent so potent as this in disseminating the 

 light of truth and dispelling the darkness of error I 

 Its influence can hardly be over-estimated — and its 

 beneficial effects must he commensurate with the 

 encouragement it receives. A more general and 

 liberal patronage of the press by our agricultural 

 societies, is much to be desired, and no measure 

 would be productive of more good in promoting the 

 worthy objects of their establishment. The dis- 

 tribiting in premiums of volumes of such papers as 

 the " New England Farmer" and Albany "Culti- 

 vator," exclusively devoted to the farming interest, 

 is one of the best dispositions which such societies 

 can make of their funds. I think I have seen it 

 stated in your paper, Mr Editor, that the spirited 

 Agricultural Society of Rhode Island, subscribe, 

 annually, for upwards of one hundred volumes of 

 the Fanner, for the purpose of distribution as pre- 

 miums. Tlie Plymouth Co. Society, in our own 

 State, also adopt the same commendable course — 

 and other Societies among us would do well to im- 

 itate their judicious and praise-worthy example. 



There is another way in which the press may 

 be encouraged beside the pecuniary support of 

 associations : 1 mean by individuals — practical far- 

 mers, particularly — communicaliiig through it the 

 results !■>{' their experience for the benefit of others, 

 and thus increasing its usefulness. He who, for 

 the sake of being us exclusive possessor, hoards 

 knowledge that might be of service to others, is 

 the most despicable of all misers ; and he who is 

 deterred from disseminating it by a reluctance to 

 have his name in print, or from a distrust of his 

 ability to couch his ideas in sufficiently good lan- 

 guage, (quite common excuses,) can hardly be jus- 



tified for his neglect on these pleas — for the first 

 objection he can easily obviate himself by with- 

 holding his name, (which, however, is not to be re- 

 commended) — and of the other, in respect to one's 

 style of writing, I may safely venture to say, tliat 

 if he will only write so that he can understand 

 himself, others, most likely, will have no trouble in 

 understanding him — and to make himself under- 

 stood, is all that he need aim at. At any rate, the 

 editor would see that the types did his pen no dis- 

 credit. 



In this connexion, (and to conclude my rambling 

 remarks,) let me urge you, respected reader, if you 

 have gained any new knowledge, either from expe- 

 riment or observation, in the culture of your farm 

 during the past season, or in any other season, or 

 have been more than usually successful with any 

 of your crops, — let me urge yoii to send an account 

 of the same, as I have this, (which, to use a rustic 

 technicality, is rather " small potatoes,") tor publi- 

 cation in the good old "New England Farmer," 

 and seek your reward in the satisfaction which 

 comes of having done a good deed, with the wor- 

 thy intention of bancfilting others. 



HOWARD. 



Farmers' Boys There is a wholesome change 



going on in public sentiment, which promises to 

 do much for the improvement of the country, and 

 the condition of the people— we mean the change 

 which is taking place among the young in relation 

 to the great work of tilling the soil. A few years 

 ago, and the young men in the country let't their 

 fathers' farms as soon as they could get away from 

 them, and the fathers themselves not unfrequently 

 encouraged them in it. A hard hand and a sun- 

 burnt face were deemed poor recommendations in 

 life, and more ^^ genteel" modes of getting a living 

 were sought by the young. But they are beginning 

 to look at the matter in a different light. The dull 

 times through which we have passed lately, have 

 opened their eyes to the fact, that after all, there is 

 nothing like a farmer to stand through all times, 

 and they are quite content to stay at home. The 

 result will be that our farms will be better culti- 

 vated, and produce more — that large farms which 

 are now not half cultivated, will be divided and 

 well husbanded — and that we shall hove a large 

 and virtuous population scattered all over our fer- 

 tile hills. — Al'ashua Telegraph. 



More Apple Blossoms. — Had Parson Miller pre- 

 dicted that 1843 would be the year of strange 

 things, instead of " the end of aW things," he might 

 have been set down as a true prophet ; but he is 

 now assuredly most likely to prove a ''false proph- 

 et." Among the many strange things of 1843, wo 

 may mention that Mr A. R. Snow, of Roxbury, has 

 a Roxbury Russet tree, richly laden with full sized 

 apples, which is also nearly as well covered with 

 blossoms as it was last spring. — Bost. Trans. 



The first woollen factory erected in the United 

 States, was at Hartford, in 1790. 



