258 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



IiETTEE. FROM THE PABM, 



Concord, July 9, 1863. 



Gentlemen : — At last we have had a copious 

 rain, which is still falling. It commenced some 

 time last night, and must have continued to fall 

 steadilj- for several hours by the appearances this 

 morning. It has come none too soon. The grass 

 has greatly felt the need of it, as whole clover 

 fields present a mass of parched stems and dried 

 blossoms. Grain has "headed out" prematurely, 

 and will be lighter for the want of rain. Fields 

 that were mowed, turned "brown and sere," and 

 in some places the stubble has been killed. The 

 Indian oorn has not been much affected, nor the 

 potatoes. 



What a change has been wrought in the course 

 of a few hours ! The clouds spread themselves 

 over us, like a curtain, and dropt their cool and 

 refreshing moisture upon the famishing plants and 

 dusty and thirsty earth, so that all things present 

 a new aspect this morning. 



"Matchless painter ! — leaf and flower 

 All their faded hues reviving. 

 How the garden drinks the shower, 

 Life and loveliness deriving ; 

 Grove and glade 

 All in sprightly pearls arrayed." 



iiow wonderful are the operations of the laws 

 of the Great and Incomprehensible Being who 

 presides over them all! How full of wisdom, 

 benevolence and love ! When shall we learn to 

 contemplate them more earnestly, and repose in 

 them, with an unshaken and lively faith ! If loe 

 U'ill, we can reach that confident serenity of mind 

 which imll not doubt, though the earth be parched 

 with burning heat, or swept by the tornado's re- 

 sistless course. Let us, brother farmers, aim at 

 this standard, and strive manfully to i-each it. The 

 drought has its work to accomplish, as well as the 

 other agencies in nature, — and thus all work to- 

 gether for our good. 



"gtill the Lord doth all things well, 

 When His clouds with blessings swell, 

 And they break a brimming shell 



On the air ; 

 There the shower hath its charms 

 Sweet and welcome to the farms, 

 As they listen to its voice, 



And rejoice ! 



In company with one of your correspondents. 

 Dr. Joseph Reynolds, of this town, — a gentle- 

 man whose fondness for rural affairs has led him 

 to many personal experiences on the farm, and to 

 observe and write a good deal upon agricultural 

 matters, — I had the pleasure, a few days since, of 

 visiting the farm of Joseph A. IIakwood, Esq., 

 of Littleton, Mass. The day was hot and dusty, 

 so that, upon arriving, the open doors and cool 

 and extensive driveway through the barn, invited 

 us at once to enter. Here we found chairs, upon 

 which we rested and found enjoyment more grate- 



ful than could have been conferred by any refine- 

 ment of the parlor. But these were the enjoy- 

 ments of a summer day, and not those of the sweet 

 retirement of a winter night, with friends and 

 books and shelter from the wind or storm. 



The barn is a new one, 100 feet long by 40 feet 

 wide, boarded, clapboarded, and well finished in 

 every respect. A cellar under the whole, has a 

 substantial wall on tliree sides, laid in mortar, 

 pointed, and the floor timbers supported by stone 

 posts. The leanto is over the back side of the 

 cellar, and the posts supporting the floor upon 

 which the cattle stand, rest one end upon one of 

 the longitudinal beams under the driveway, and 

 the other end upon the cellar wall. This arrange- 

 ment secures the proper slope of the leanto floor. 

 The horse stalls and grain and harness rooms are 

 in the end of the barn nearest the house, so that, 

 excepting the leanto, all the rest of the spacious 

 barn is devoted to the storing of hay and grain. 

 I have rarely seen a barn so judiciously arranged. 

 There were one or two other buildings for shelter- 

 ing fodder or stock, so that the first question which 

 arose to my mind was, "What system does Mr. 

 Harwood pursue to secure crops to fill this 



space ! 



In the course of the afternoon's conver- 



sation I was enlightened on this point. 



The farm consists of 215 acres. The land is 

 broken into knolls and some pretty sharp gravel- 

 ly hills, at whose base lie somewhat '-extensive 

 runs," or, more properly meadows. When he 

 took the farm, some dozen years since, it had nev- 

 er received careful and sytematic cultivation. 

 Stunted pines, ferns and huckleberry bushes 

 crowned the gravelly knolls, while black alders, 

 pipes and skunk cabbage, were each struggling for 

 the mastery in the Ioav grounds. 



Now let us see what a steady application of 

 sMll, and moderate means, will accomplish. On 

 one of these once forbidding knolls, I found a 

 field of herds grass and clover extending a third 

 of a mile in length, and upon the same field 600 

 peach trees ; the ground Avas ploughed sufficiently 

 wide to receive three rows of potatoes, which were 

 kept clean from grass and weeds. The trees had 

 been set only two or three years, had taken good 

 hold of the soil and were in a thrifty condition. 

 Some, that I measured, had grown a little more 

 than two feet this season. I understood Mr. Har- 

 wood to say that if he could get even one good 

 crop from these trees, they would make a profita- 

 ble return. 



On another gravelly knoll, and in plain sight 

 of the house, was a fine orchard about ten or 

 twelve years old, the seed for which Mr. 11. plant- 

 ed. He raised the trees, and under his personal 

 labor and care, presents an orchard which will not 

 only be a matter of profit, but which is a credit 

 to himself and his town. A narrow and beautiful 



