1867. 



NEW EJS'GLA^D i'AKMER. 



223 



But there is still another and very valuable 

 operation going on in the soil through the 

 agency of unfermented manure. As it heats, 

 it expands ; gases, rich in nutriment, fly off 

 from it in every direction. These permeate 

 the soil in all its minutest recesses, warming 

 and separating its particles, and filling them 

 with nutritious food, which the roots of plants 

 are incessantly in search of. And these roots 

 exercise a choice ! They will make a short 

 turn from a course which they had been pur- 

 suing to get at a spots enriched by decompos- 

 ing manures, and their warm and fertilizing 

 gases ! Wonderful instinct ! What else can 

 we call it ? 



Roots only take their food in a soluble form, 

 and if we apply manure in a green state to the 

 soil all the operations necessary to reduce 

 them to a soluble form take place beneath the 

 surface of the ground, and in the very home 

 of the roots themselves. These substances 

 that would become offensive if left upon the 

 surface, are soon converted into forms of beau- 

 ty and usefulness. 



In one of his lectures upon the chemistry of 

 agriculture. Sir Humphrey Davy says : "If the 

 pure dung of cattle is to be used as manure, 

 there seems to be no reason why it should be 

 made to ferment except in the soil ; or if suf- 

 fered to ferment, it should be only in a very 

 slight degree. The excess of fermentation 

 tends to the destruction and dissipation of the 

 most useful part of the manure." 



A distinguished farmer in England states 

 that he has entirely given up the system for- 

 merly adopted on his farm of applying fer- 

 mented dung ; and states that his crops have 

 been as good as they ever were, and that his 

 manure goes nearly twice as far ! 



We call attention to this matter now, as 

 the season is near when the preparation of 

 manure for spi-ing planting and sowing, will 

 be taken in hand. 



FAKMEKS' GABDENS—XyTo. II. 

 Location. 

 Every man should do his best to own a 

 home. The first money he can spare ought 

 to be invested in a dwelling, where his family 

 can live permanently. There is something 

 agreeable to our better nature in having a 

 home that we call our own. It is a form of 

 property that is more than property. The 



associations that spring up around it, as the 

 birth-place of children, tend to improve the 

 moral sensibilities. Our happiness of to-day 

 is increased by a view of the ])lace where Ave 

 were happy yesterday. The scenes and cir- 

 cumstances by which we are surrounded have 

 much to do, not only with our character, but 

 with our happiness. 



On this account, we should do all in our 

 power to make our homes attractive. It costs 

 little to surround our dwellings with these 

 simple beauties which delight the eye far 

 more than expensive objects. 



Perhaps there are few things that mark the 

 progress of civilization and the arts more 

 than correct taste in architecture and garden- 

 ing. So long as men are indifferent to the 

 appearance of the house they live in, and the 

 grounds that surround it, they will rarely ex- 

 hibit a true taste in anything else. 



We are happy in the belief that our farmers 

 are gradually improving in this respect. As 

 intelligence and wealth increase, so do refine- 

 ment and good taste. In a ramble which we 

 recently took in the western part of Massachu- 

 setts, we found much to strengthen this belief, 

 — houses of a better class, well finished and 

 painted, — belter fences, smooth and velvety 

 lawns instead of door yards filled with rubbish, 

 — shade trees around the houses and along 

 the highways, and a piece of land set apart for 

 garden purposes, into which a few hardy 

 shrubs are introduced,, with small fruits, as- 

 paragus, and other esculents, and a variety of 

 apples coming into use from July to July. 

 The garden on the farm is one of the happy 

 changes that has taken place, and was obser- 

 vable all along the route. 



The cheerful influences of better buildings 

 and productive gardens have developed a taste 

 for the cultivation of flowers, 



"Whose voiceless lips are living preachers, 

 Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book." 



The garden should conform in its style and 

 character to those of the homestead and its 

 surroundings. It should be in the immediate 

 vicinity of the house, so that it may be readily 

 accessible and under the constant supervision 

 of the household — and if a portion of it is de- 

 voted to the culture of flowers, it should be so 

 located that the passing neighbor and stranger 

 may enjoy its beauty and fragrance, if possible. 



A good garden needs a variety of soil, and 



