388 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



fore, does not fall so low as to cause the moisture 

 in the ah* to become condensed, and there is no 

 dew. The dew comes, too, when it is most need- 

 ed ; when the heat of the sun, unmitigated by any 

 cloudy screen, greatly increases the general evap- 

 oration. 



Then there are the subjects of Physiology, of 

 Heat, Electricity, Hail, Snow or Rain ; each of 

 wliich is governed by laws which the farmer should 

 understand, and a knowledge of which would 

 bring a contentment and delight to his mind, far 

 overbalancing any gratification to be realized in 

 the crowded marts of mercantile and commercial 

 life. 



You may study the principles of Irrigation, of | 

 Draining, Ploughing, Sub-soiling and Compost- 

 ing ; of the Grasses and Grains, of the cultm-e of ; 

 Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers. We have pur- 

 posely omitted them all, in order to take another i 

 view of the requirements of the farm. But they i 

 are all governed by immutable laws, controlled by 

 Infinite Wisdom for our good, and demand of us 

 such careful and earnest investigation as our sev- 

 eral circumstances will permit. 



Then there are the domestic animals which 

 serve us, and without which it would be impossi- 

 ble so to increase the products of the earth as to 

 meet the wants of the increasing population. A 

 partial knowledge of the principles of the growth 

 of each of these, of the elements of which they 

 are composed, and of their comparative value, 

 would 80 occupy the mind with the useful and 

 agreeable, as to leave little room for complaint or 

 discontent. 



Each and all of these have a daily and hourly 

 influence on your happiness and prosperity ; with- 

 out this knowledge in some degree, civilization 

 must decline, and man degenerate to barbarism. 

 Your beautiful cities, the pleasant homes of your 

 villages, and your fair fields, teeming with the 

 products of your industry and skill, would soon 

 sink to ruin and waste, and become the abode of 

 wild weeds and wilder beasts. 



The time is coming when the success/id farmer 

 will be the intdUgent farmer, as well as the suc- 

 cessful merchant he who understands the ])rinci- 

 ples of trade. 



When Lord Bacon said that "knowledge is pow- 

 er," he did not mean that it is power alone in the 

 law, in writing books, speculation, or surgery, but 

 that it is power over the earth to subdue it to our 

 will ; over the trees, and the grass of the fields, to 

 make them bring forth abundantly to satisfy our 

 wants and gratify our tastes ; power to introduce 

 new fruits and flowers ; power over the animal 

 kingdom, to improve the races for speed, for milk, 

 for draft, or the shambles ; and power over the 

 climate, even, so that tropical plants shall flourish 

 and ripen their fruits in these regions ! 



The possession of these powers will verify the 

 axiom of Lord Bacon. And while they cause 

 "the desert to blossom as the rose," they will ele- 

 vate your own characters, and bring that grateful 

 contentment and satisfaction with your occupa- 

 tion, to which it has been our object in these re- 

 marks to lead you ; a contentment and quiet cur- 

 rent of life, not often realized by professional men. 

 Then 



" ^Oiild you be strtmi ? Go fullow the plough ; 



Woul.l you be thoughtful ? Study fielcls and flowers ; 

 Would you be wise ? Take on yourself a vow 



To f,'o to school iu Nature's sunny bowers. 



"Fly from the city ; nothing there can charm — 



Seek wisdom, strength and virtue on a farm." 



Intelligent labor will gladden the heart of the 

 wife, strengthen that of the husband, and make 

 home attractive to the child ; will introduce ease 

 and refinement into domestic life, and through 

 these, lift the soul to Heaven to reap the reward 

 of faithful service while on earth, in new fields of 

 glory, where moth and rust will not corrupt. 



TRAINED OXEN". 



Because oxen, when compared with horses, are 

 slow of motion and patient of spirit, it is too often 

 assumed that they are dull and stupid, and no 

 Rarey has ever risen to eminence as a trainer of 

 oxen. Now and then, however, we see evidence 

 of careful training on the part of some appreciative 

 farmer, which we are always glad to notice, as we 

 believe that, in this fast age, the value and intel- 

 ligence of the ox is not fully appreciated. The 

 Journal of Agricidtiire thus alludes to a pair ex- 

 hibited at the late show at Milford, N. H., by 

 Samuel Hayden, of Hollis: 



They were well-matched, weighed some thirt}'- 

 two hundred, and were the best trained oxen we 

 e\cr saw. They were exhibited without a yoke, 

 and made to change places, change fronts, haw, 

 gte, forward and back, cross over, about face, run, 

 walk, and halt, by the motion of the whip or word 

 of mouth, with military ])recision. In fact, they 

 were managed quite as easily and handsomely as 

 Williams handles his horses. They are noble cat- 

 tle, and an honor to their owner. 



Kindness to Animals.— Gentleness, like char- 

 ity, is twice blessed — the effects of which on the 

 animals around the homestead are scarcely less 

 noticeable than iii)on the family of your house- 

 hold. No man can be truly kind to the latter 

 without letting his cattle feel the influence of his 

 spn-it. Soft, words and kind looks turn away 

 wrath among cattle as among mankind. Harsh- 

 ness has its curse in the hatred which the "brute 

 beasts" feel, tliough they cannot utter their scorn, 

 except in occasional kicks or bites, and by general 

 "ugliness," as it is called. An ear of corn, or a 

 little salt, or a lock of hay, or even a kind look 

 or gentle action, such as patting your horse, has 

 influence more or le.«s in making your appearance 

 always a source of pleasure to the animals around 

 you. It is a chea]) luxury, this rendering even the 

 brute beasts comfortable around your homestead. 



