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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



abodes of the past generation, and the remarks to 

 which we have referred. Tide the "Old ]Manse," 

 where he gathered his "Mosses," and the house 

 whose portrait adorns the "Homes of American 

 Authors." 



But now let us look abroad over the face of the 

 world. The seeds that were buried in the "cold, 

 moist earth," in April, are springing up again, 

 the orchard is full of blossoms, and the rye, and 

 •wheat, and corn, are green in the distant fields. 

 As you look at them, you are reminded of that 

 verse in Corinthians : "And tliat icliicli ihousow- 

 est, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but 

 bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some 

 other grain: but Ood giveth it a body as it hath 

 pleased him." And perhaps you think of the 

 whole of that sublimest chapter, and your faith 

 in the resurrection is a great deal stronger than 

 it would have been if you had not come out to 

 look at the world in the light of this June day. 

 So earth may always speak to us of heaven, if 

 our mitids are attuned to hear her lessons. Yet 

 the same sweet air which brings to one the scent 

 of flowers and thoughts of Heaven, comes to 

 another through grated prison windows, or plays 

 about the gibbet where he is to die, bringing only 

 remorseful memories, and "a certain fearful look- 

 ing for of judgment." So the Avorld is what we 

 make it. 



Nor would we assert that there is not a little 

 of the old leaven in the emotions with which even 

 the best of us read the "book of nature." 



Young woman, can you conscientiously say that 

 your admiration of this pleasant day is all un- 

 mingled with admiration for your new muslin 

 gown, which now, thank fortune, you can wear 

 with low neck and short sleeves, without an ad- 

 monition from "Mamma ?" Young man, we will 

 not for a moment suppose that vanities like these 

 possess yoitr mind, but as you sail over the bo- 

 som of the great river, are your musings undis- 

 turbed by thoughts of fish-hooks and bait ? Or, 

 as you stroll through the woods in a meditative 

 mood, is there not a spirit Avithin which prompts 

 you to pick up a stone, and throw at that little 

 red squirrel that sits so prettily on the fence, with 

 its tail over its back ? But we will not be too 

 hard on you, for most likely you did not hit him, 

 and he twinkled into a hole in the wall, from 

 which he looks triumphantly out at you, with his 

 bright, round eyes. 



Brother Farmer, would you like to confess how 

 many "calculations" of profit have run through 

 the stream of your meditations, as you surveyed 

 the "marvellous handiwork" displayed in the 

 scene before you ? 



The charming Hans Andersen, (if you have 

 not his books, pray get them for your children,) 

 describes a scene of loveliness, and then he says : 



"There is the poetry of nature. Dost thou be- 

 lieve that this is felt by every one ? Listen to 

 what occurred there only last night. First of all, 

 two rich countrymen drove past. 'There are 

 some splendid trees there,' said one. 'There are 

 ten loads of fii-e-wood in each,'replied the other !" 



For the Aeic England Farmer. 

 WEATHER AND FARMDSTG IN KANSAS. 



"Pray God for rain," is the general cry. With 

 the exception of a slight shower a few nights ago, 

 we have had no rain since the 4th of February. 

 The ground is as dry as ashes and the farmers are 

 trying to grasp hands with patience while they 

 wait for rain to moisten the earth. Yet we wit- 

 ness great preparations for rain. The thunder 

 rolls threateningly ; lightning flashes alarmingly 

 and we draw closer within doors, and say, "Now 

 we shall have it," when, presto, change ! all the 

 symptoms of the wished-for rain disappear, and 

 the sunshine comes again. Verily, sunshine is a 

 good thing ; it lightens the heart and bathes the 

 earth with a beautiful glow, yet we need a storm, 

 now and then, to make us appreciate its kindly 

 smile the more. Some of the farmers have plant- 

 ed a few early potatoes, peas and other seeds that 

 will not injure by laying in the ground while 

 vegetation is so dormant. Many have delayed 

 their plowing, because they think it is useless, 

 and the ground gets so dry when turned to the 

 sunlight. 



And yet Nature is wearing a beautifid aspect. 

 Grass is getting quite high on the prairies and 

 teams are already starting across the plains for 

 the great El Dorado. In a few more days the 

 trees will be perfect in their rich livery of green, 

 Avhile the flowers, like a coat of many colors, are 

 adorning the kindly breast of mother Earth. 

 Dear mother Earth ! beneath her bosom is beat- 

 ing a pulse of more warmth and kindness than we 

 ever find in the hearts of men. And while I write, 

 a beautiful bird sits upon the fence near by, and 

 repeats, with a metallic sound, "I know it, I know 

 it." And a solitary whipporwill upon the old oak, 

 near the woods, sadly cries out, "Whip-poor- 

 wi-1-1," bringing out the "will" prolongingly. Ah, 

 but we have sucli beautiful birds in Kansas. No- 

 where else can there be such a multitudinous va- 

 riety. "Singing flowers," Beecher calls them, as 

 flowers are "silent birds." 



Sod corn. That is something of which the east- 

 ern farmers know but little, I believe. Of course, 

 every farmer knows that newly-plowed ground 

 never yields a great crop the first year. In Kan- 

 sas, where we have so much land to spare, the 

 sod is generally turned undef- during the summer, 

 and allowed to decay till the next spring, and 

 then when plowed over again, yields enormously. 

 If the farmer breaks his land in the spring and 

 v/ishes to render it useful the first year, he breaks 

 with an eighteen or twenty inch plow, and a man 

 follows after him with a basket of corn and drops 

 the kernels along the furrows ; then breaking the 

 next furrow the sod is turned over upon the corn, 

 and thus it is left to come up and grow as it 

 chooses through the summer, no attention being 

 given it. Another way to plant sod corn is to 

 go round the field with an axe, and, at certain dis- 



