574 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



farmer and citizen if the love of God be not in 

 his heart. 



There is but one thing to mourn over and be 

 sad about in life, — and that is, the neglect of duty ! 

 All else is in the hands of Him who knows bet- 

 ter than ourselves what is best for us, and will or- 

 der ever'y thing for our good. Our prayer should 

 be, — 



'•What conscience dictates to be done, 



Or warns us not to do, 

 This, teach us more than Hell to shun, 



That, more than Heaven pursue." 



Our life, to be a happy one, must be made up 

 of sweet affections and noble, voluntary actions 

 and aims. We must not be content with leaving 

 the world no better than we found it, but beauti- 

 fy the earth with well-directed industry and skill, 

 and make it "as the garden of the Lord," better 

 because we have lived in it and wrought upon it. 

 And while we study to improve the soil, we must 

 strive to elevate the mind by our daily walk and 

 conversation ; impress it with hopeful and cheer- 

 ful thoughts, and direct it into itself to find there 

 "the kingdom of heaven." Our actions will be 

 the fruits of our life by which we shall be judged. 



"Action is life ! — 'tis the still water falleth ! 



Inaction ever despairolh — bcwaileth ! 



Keep the watch round, for (he dark rust assaileth. 

 Flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon ! 



Action is glory ! — the flying cloud lightens ! 



Only the waving wing changes and brightens ! 



Inaction only the dark future frightens ! 

 Play the sweet keys would'st thou keep them in tune." 



This, fellow-pilgrim, is our lay sermon for you 

 at the out-going of the year. We do not regret 

 its departure, because it has done all that it was 

 created to do. Let us do the same, and our de- 

 parture will be as consistent and peaceful as that 

 of the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and 

 Sixty. 



Fleshy BUT not Fat.— In speaking of a "fully 

 fatted animal" that was exhibited at the late State 

 fair of the Agricultural Society of Michigan, the 

 Farmer says : 



There is a very great difference between an an- 

 imal in full flesh and one perfectly fat, and yet 

 there are many persons who have handled cattle 

 all their lives, and who know so little about 

 stock that they are entirely ignorant as to what a 

 good, ripe, fat animal means, but are quite likely 

 to pronounce a well fleshed ox fat, when in reality 

 he has only rounded up his muscle preparatory to 

 laying on a good coating of fat. 



Sand for Horses' Beds.— Mr. Small, of Dun- 

 dalk, a veterinary surgeon of considerable expe- 

 rience, states that sand is not only an excellent 

 substitute for straw for horses' beds, but superior 

 to straw, as the sand does not heat, and saves 

 the hoofs of the horses. He states that sand is 

 exclusively used for horses' beds in his reposito- 

 ry. — Valley Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EGYPTIAN COBTsT. 



Mr. Editor : — Having seen Mr. Crandall's no- 

 tice in your valuable pa])cr, setting forth the won- 

 derful properties of the Egyptian corn, and being 

 anxious to test the value of every thing that 

 claims to tend to the advancement of agricultural 

 matters, 1 mailed to him one dollar, and in due 

 time received a small package containing 125 ker- 

 nels of the corn, with directions for planting, hoe- 

 ing, &c., all post-paid. On the 14th day of May 

 I planted 120 kernels, and in six or eight days 

 31 of these shot forth their puny stalks ; and on 

 the 1st day of July, the remaining five kernels 

 were planted, but only one of them came. The 32 

 stalks were watched and tended with the utmost 

 care, according to the directions, as near as pos- 

 sible ; and on the 28th of September, the corn 

 was harvested, though in a perfectly green state ; 

 the stalk planted in July havingjust "silked out." 

 Taking the best hill for a sample, there were six 

 stalks, all apparently from one kernel. On these 

 were fourteen ears, from two to five inches long, 

 that had corn on them, but not filled out over the 

 end, nor ripe. Besides these, there were fifteen 

 ears set and silked, but no corn. I am confident 

 the corn cannot be profitably raised in New Eng- 

 land, either for the corn or the fodder, for the 

 stalk is hard, wiry, and of a waddy texture, and 

 wholly unfit for anv kind of stock. 



Pomfret, Vt., Oct. 29. Samuel S. Doton. 



Remarks. — See article below. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EGYPTIAN" COElSr AGAIN. 



1 saw an advertisement in your paper last May, 

 recommending Egyptian corn, and sent one dol- 

 lar to Mr, Grand all for some of it. He sent me 

 128 kernels which I planted the ISth day of May 

 and about one-sixth of it came up. I got one cob 

 and a silk, and no corn. My other corn got 

 ripe. 1 once thought your paper came from the 

 house of prayer, but I am afraid it has turned in- 

 to a den of thieves. G. w. P. 



Tyson Furnace, Vt., 1860. 



Rejlvrks. — This will answer for the Egyptian 

 corn. The reports to us are all of the same char- 

 acter. It was "a sell," as the "boys" call it, and 

 no mistake. We do not intend to publish any 

 thing, even as an advertisement, that is not open, 

 fair and honorable — and there was no reason ap- 

 parent why we should distrust the fairness of Mr. 

 Crandall's advertisement. We shall be on our 

 guard in the future, and hope the reader will. He 

 must remember, however, that because we publish 

 an advertisement or a communication, we do not 

 endorse its sentiments. We sometimes publish 

 both that we have no faith in whatever. A news- 

 paper, under certain conditions, is a medium for 

 the public voice, and an editor does not always 

 feel bound to notice what he may consider erro- 

 neous, but leave it for the criticisms or commen- 

 dations of others. 



