538 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



The farmer, of all men, has the best opportuni- 

 ty to cultivate his taste. He may not, indeed, 

 have access to the studios of the painter and 

 sculptor, or the privilege of gazing upon the au- 

 gust creations — the breathing wonders of genius 

 on canvas or in marble ; but he has the privilege 

 of studying the forms fresh from the hand of a 

 Master infinitely greater than any that have 

 graced the earth, and whose inimitable and unap- 

 proachable productions meet him at every turn. 

 In comparison with these, what are the treasures 

 of the richest collections and galleries of art? 

 There may be no Apollos, no Psyches, no Venus- 

 es,no nude embodiments of ideal beauty and love- 

 liness, to excite unholy passions — no exaggerated 

 representations of heroism, to ai'ouse sympathies 

 which should never find place in the human 

 breast ; but he may gaze on forms and develop- 

 ments which have a refining and elevating influ- 

 ence upon liis mind and aflections, and from 

 which he may derive instruction that, if taken in 

 the proper spirit, cannot fail to make him both 



'a wiser and a bettennaUi' 



If he is a cultivated man, this is of infinitely 

 more importance than the mere mechanical drudg- 

 ery of the farm, the cultivation of acres, which, at 

 best, produce but a perishable product. The food 

 of the spirit — the material which is, "like the ban- 

 quetting of the gods," capable of sustaining a di- 

 Tine nature, has not simply an earthly origin ; it 

 assimilates to itself principles of a purer and di- 

 viner nature than can be developed by simple 

 processes of germination and physical accretion. 



How true it is, in the language of the poet, 

 that — 



"Lulled in the countless chambers of the brain, 

 Our thoughts are linked by many a hidden chain: 

 Awake but one, and lo ! what myriads rise ! 

 Each stamps its image as the other flies !" 



The works of nature, like the works of immor- 

 tal mind, are eminently suggestive. When we 

 strilgs the chain of harmony in one of its links, it 

 vibrates through its whole extent. Within the 

 narrow limits of a hand's breadth, there is accu- 

 mulated the material for a history which would 

 supply a study for life. 



"All over does this outer world 



An inner world unfold, 

 And we can hoar its voices ring. 



Over its pales of gold." 



SINGULAR FACTS IN HUMAN LIFE. 



The average length of human life is about 28 

 years. One-quarter die previous to the age of 7 ; 

 one-half before reaching 17. Only one of every 

 1000 persons reaches 1()() years. Only six of every 

 100 reaches the age of 65, and not more than one 

 in 500 lives to 80 years of age. Of the whole pop- 

 ulation on the globe, it is estimated that 90,000 

 die every day ; about 3,700 every hour, and GO 



every minute, or 1 every second. These losses 

 are more than counterbalanced by the number of 

 births. The married are longer lived than the sin- 

 gle. The average duration of Ufe in all civilized 

 countries is greater now than any anterior period. 

 Macaulay, the distinguished historian, states that 

 in the year 1685 — not an unhealthy year — the 

 deaths in England were as one to 20, but in 1850 

 one in 40. Dupui, a well-known French writer, 

 states that the average duration of life in France 

 from 1776 to 1843 increased 52 days annually. 

 The rate of mortality in 1781 was one in 29, but 

 in 1850 one in 40. The rich men live, on an aver- 

 age 42 years, but the poor only 30 years. — Free 

 Nation. 



ESQUIMAUX ARCHITECTUKB. 



As the days lengthen, the villages are emptied 

 of their inhabitants, who move seaward on the ice 

 to the seal-hunt. Then comes into use a marvel- 

 ous system of architecture, unknown among the 

 rest of the American nations. The fine, pure snow 

 has by that time acquired, under the action of 

 strong winds and hard frosts, suflScient coherence 

 to form an admirable light building material, with 

 which the Esquimaux master-mason erects most 

 comfortable dome-shaped houses. A circle is first 

 traced on the smooth surface of the snow, and the 

 slabs for raising the walls are cut from within, so 

 as to clear a space down to the ice, which is to 

 form the floor of the dwelling, and whose even- 

 ness was previously ascertained by probing. The 

 slabs requisite to complete the dome, after the in- 

 terior of the circle is exhausted, are cut from some 

 neighboring spot. Each slab is neatly fitted to its 

 place by running a flenching knife along the joint, 

 when it instantly freezes to the wall, the cold at- 

 mosphere forming a most excellent cement. Crev- 

 ices are plugged up, and seams accurately closed 

 by throwing a few shovelfids of loose snow over 

 the fabric. Two men generally work together iu 

 raising a house, and the one who is stationed 

 within, cuts a low door, and creeps out when his 

 task is over. 



The walls being only three or four inches thick, 

 are sufficiently translucent to admit a very agree- 

 able light, which serves for ordinary domestic pur- 

 poses ; but if more be required, a window is cut, 

 and the apertui'e fitted with a piece of transpar- 

 ent ice. The proper thickness of the walls is of 

 some importance. A few inches excludes the 

 wind, yet keeps down the temperature so as to 

 prevent dripping from the interior. The furniture 

 — such as seats, tables, and sleeping-places — is 

 also formed of snow ; and a covering of folded 

 reindeer skin or seal-skin renders them comforta- 

 ble to the inmates. By means of ante-chambers 

 and porches, in form of long, low galleries, with 

 their openings turned to leeward, warmth is in- 

 sui-ed in the interior ; and social intercourse is 

 promoted by building the houses contiguously, 

 and cutting doors of communication between 

 them, or by erecting covered passages. Store- 

 houses, kitchens, and other accessory buildings, 

 may be constructed in the same manner, and a de- 

 gree of convenience gained whicli would be at- 

 tempted in vain with a less plastic material. These 

 houses are durable ; the wind has little eff'ect on 

 them, and they resist the thaw till the sun acquires 

 very considerable power. — Sir John Bichanhon 



