34 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



and everything that touches the labor of the 

 farmer, either in his flocks or fields. How impor- 

 tant, then, that a portion of his time should be 

 devoted to an investigation of these things, which 

 are so intimately connected with his labors, and 

 80 vitally affect his interests. 



And what else would be so pleasing for the 

 present, as such a study. What amusements of 

 a physical nature would give so much calm en- 

 joyment, so much that will feed the mind in the 

 future, so much that will be profitable to the far- 

 mer in his business, and qualify him to take an 

 active part in the public affairs of life, as well as 

 in his more personal employments ? The indi- 

 vidual who is best informed in the common things 

 of life, who is able to give a reason for what the 

 world is perpetually doing and seeing, is infinitely 

 more useful than he who is learned only on one 

 or two abstruse subjects. Such persons, also, 

 are more agreeable and attractive in conversation, 

 and gain hearers and converts where the other 

 entirely fails. 



The farmer, of all men, should be a constant 

 student of natural philosophy. He should learn 

 the "why and the wherefore" of the thousand 

 things which are continually rising around him, 

 and especially with regard to the wonders of the 

 animal and vegetable kingdoms. Such study will 

 increase the compass of his mind, greatly aid his 

 conversational powers, and qualify him for such a 

 teacher as every farmer should be in the midst of 

 his family. His children will catch the tone of 

 his mind, and thus unconsciously be led into habits 

 of thought and investigation for themselves, which 

 is the high road to usefulues_s and distinction. 



Such a farmer will neither forget nor neglect the 

 duties of the present month. He will see that 

 his children avail themselves of the advantages of 

 the common or high school, of the lecture-room, 

 of opportunities for associating with those of their 

 own age, and with those of mature years, in the 

 agreeable and instructive gatherings so common 

 in New England society. 



He will also see that the animals which are de- 

 pendent upon his care shall have that systematic 

 attention which their dependent condition de- 

 mands ; that all winter work, whether of the for- 

 est or field, of house or barn, at market or at 

 home, is promptly and judiciously performed ; that 

 everything shall be done to make the work of the 

 women light ; that dry wood and soft water are 

 abundant and convenient, and that the "men 

 folks" shall always give a "helping hand" in the 

 house when it is called for. Under such circum- 

 stances, the wife will be healthy and cheerful, and 

 the one to whom all eyes of the household will 

 constantly be turned. Hers will be the most lov- 

 ing and responsible position of life, the stay and 



charm of the family circle. The daughters will 

 be gentle, graceful, affectionate and intelligent, 

 and the sons dutiful, manly and patriotic. No 

 one has better opportunity to rear such plants Ifh 

 these, than the farmer. May the month of Feb- 

 ruary be one of great progress with him and his, 

 in all that elevates and ennobles our nature. 



SEEDING LAND TO GRASS. 



In two former articles we have spoken of the 

 importance of this subject, and considered some 

 of the leading points bearing upon it. We close 

 now with brief reference to two or three addition- 

 al points, hoping that others will express their 

 views upon it through their columns. 



We suppose action never ceases in the soil any 

 more than in living plants. That by the dews, rains, 

 and even atmospheric contact with a piece of sur- 

 face, soil is acted upon by the ammonia and other 

 agencies which they contain, and that this activi- 

 ty is altogether greater where the sun's rays have 

 their full force upon it. A writer, in the Rural 

 Register, (Baltimore) says that the rapid exhaus- 

 tion of our very best soil is not due so much to 

 constant cropping as to the hoed crops. One of 

 the primary reasons why these crops have proved 

 so deleterious to the soil, is the fact that the system 

 of cultivation required to bring them to perfection, 

 keeps the intervals between the growing plants ut- 

 terly bare during the hottest part of the year. The 

 action of the sun upon these exposed surfaces, to- 

 gether with the constant stirring of the soil for 

 the purpose of keeping it loose and light and fri- 

 able, whilst it promotes the solubility of the plant 

 food, yet at the same time exposes the organic 

 and inorganic substances which constitute in their 

 several proportions the elements of fertility to 

 great loss, both by evaporation and washing rains. 

 A simple exposure of bare soil to the action of 

 the sun and rain in summer time, kept constantly 

 plowed, without any crop whatever being grown 

 upon it, if not suffered to grow up in weeds, will 

 gradually cause it to lapse from a state of fertility 

 into one of comparative barrenness. It will lose 

 year after year, by evaporation and by leaching 

 rains, the greater portion of its plant-food, its vege- 

 table and mineral wealth. 



The observing farmer cannot fail to see this, 

 and from it he may draw the following conclu- 

 sions, for it is susceptible of no other : 



First. That the exposure of the soil to the sun, 

 heat and rain of our semi-tropical summers rapid- 

 ly exhausts its fertilizing elements. 



Second. The covering or shading of the soil 

 preserves those elements, and induces the putre- 

 factive process in the surface of the earth itself, 

 in some degree. 



Third. That green crops, such as clover, should 

 take the place of hoed crops more frequently in 



