DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND 11 o x^U\Ui.xE>u Ai^ro AimD ov^i-mN; CrJs. 



VOL. XV. 



BOSTON, APRIL, 18G3. 



NO. 4. 



NOUBSE, EATOX & TOLMAN, Troprietoes. 

 Office. .. .102 Washington Street. 



SIMON BROWX, Editor. 



SUGGESTED BY THE RETURN OF APRIL. 

 "Then at this welcome season, friends, 



Let's welcome thus each other, 

 Each kind to each, shake hands with each, 



Each be to each a brother." 



N the return of 

 sprinrj there is 

 something re- 

 vivifying to all 

 hearts. We are 

 awakened by 

 neM' inspirations. 

 The snows are 

 gone. South 

 winds come 

 kindly from dis- 

 tant regions, 

 sweep off the su- 

 perabundant 

 moisture, warm- 

 ing the soil and 

 bringing a new 

 resurrection of 

 vegetable life. 

 The meaning of the word A'pril is, to open, or put 

 foHli, — and nothing in the whole circle of the 

 monilis more manifestly sets forth the wisdom of 

 God than the new life which everywhere springs 

 into existence around us. "The vital spark re- 

 kindles in dormant existences ; and all things 

 live, and move, and have their being." The 

 earth puts on her livery to await the call of her 

 lord ; the air breathes gently on his cheek, and 

 conducts to his ear the warblings of the birds and 

 the odors of new-born herbs and flowers ; the 

 water teems with life ; man liimself feels the re- 

 vivifying influence ; and his 



"Spirit holds communion sweet 



With the brighter spirits of the sky." 



The return of April is suggestive of many du- 

 ties and of many beautiful tilings. Perhaps the 

 leading thoughts with many are, in relation to the 

 garden and the transplanting of shrubs and trees. 



While writing, we Sad before us a letter from Mr. 

 Oliver P. Mead, of Middlebury, Vt., so full of 

 just and beautiful thoughts, and so well calculat- 

 ed to arouse new efi'ort to beautify and bless the 

 land, that we drop our pen and yield the space to 

 him. He is full of enthusiasm, and our heart 

 beats responsive to every thought he utters. "I 

 am a great lover of the beautiful in nature," he 

 says. "The foliage of luxuriant trees, with their 

 endless intermixture of colors, gracefulness and 

 beauty, and the bursting into blossom of a thou- 

 sand flowers, difl'using their sweet perfumes over 

 hill and dale, are sights which I delight to behold. 



"What looks more beautiful around a farmer's 

 home, than a group of ornamental trees ? There 

 is music in the murmur of the leaves ; and how 

 inviting their cool shade on a summer's day! 

 How delightful ! How attractive ! I admire the 

 wisdom of that man who seeks to make his home 

 attractive, by the cultivation of trees, fruits and 

 flowers. His children will rise up and call him 

 blessed, and his memory will flourish when he 

 sleeps in dust. What looks moi'e desolate than 

 a farmer's home without a tree or a shi-ub around 

 it ? exposed in summer to the burning sun, and 

 in winter to the drifting snows ! 



"Trees are a substantial comfort, and ought to 

 be cultivated by every farmer. How pleasing to 

 the eye is the home richly embellished with trees 

 and flowers ! The great Creator, with infinite 

 wisdom and skill, formed the trees with grace and 

 grandeur, and the beautiful flowers of every hue, 

 and the towering mountains to beautify and adorn 

 the earth ! What a desolation would this world 

 present to our view, were it all a far-extended 

 plain, without a tree or a flower ! But it is not 

 so ; it is clothed with beauty, far surpassing the 

 poet's imagination. 



"The most simple cottage, richly adorned with 



ornamental trees and flower beds, is far more 



j agreeable to the eye than the costly mansion, 



! without the beauty imparted by the green foliage 



