324 



NEW ENGLAND FAEIiIER. 



July 



In January we are up toward Greenland — in 

 climate. 



A Hindoo lives on rice, juicy fruits and trop- 

 ic vegetables, cooling and opening to the sys- 

 tem. In July we move toward Hindostan, in 

 a heat almost tropical. Diet must change, too. 



Have apples, pears, cherries, &c., from the 

 orchard, every day, of early and late kinds. 

 Let there be plenty of good vegetables, rasp- 

 berries, strawberries, &c. It takes a little 

 time and trouble, but Ws tJie cheajjest way to 

 pan the doctor''s bills. And, bless your dear 

 souls, these things taste good ! 



You study what feed is good for pigs and 

 cattle. All right; but wife and children are 

 oi' higher conse(juence ; and it's a shame if, with 

 all our great gifts of intellect and intuition, we 

 do not obey the Divine Laws in our own phy- 

 sical being so well that the doctor shall visit the 

 house less than the horse-doctor goes to the 

 barn. Don't fail of vegetables, berries, and 

 fruits. Try it, and you'll say we haven't told 

 half the truth. — Rural New Yorker. 



Feed for Horses. — Barley for horses, I 

 think, is about the poorest feed that can be 

 given them. If they are doing nothing, they 

 will fat a little on it ; but it is not like that pro- 

 duced by corn. If they are put into work, it 

 will soon wear off. I have been working 

 horses and feeding them on barley, and 

 changed to feeding them on corn ; and after 

 the second feed of corn I could see a great 

 change in them. I could see that they felt 

 more like work ; they would straighten the 

 traces quicker when spoken to, and they would 

 hold out better through the day. For work- 

 ing horses, I should give corn ; and for horses 

 to di-ive on the road, I should give corn and 

 oats mixed together. If I had not the oats, I 

 should give the corn alone. For a working 

 horse, four quarts twice a day would not hurt 

 him ; and by all means I should have it wet. — 

 Maine Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 NATIVE TKEES AND SHRUBS 



TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THOSE LOST OR DESTROYED. 



We are looking for plants tp make up for 

 the loss, defacement and bare ugliness often 

 produced by the wanton or thoughtless destruc- 

 tion of the trees and shrubs which grow natu- 

 rally on sides of the country by-roads and lanes, 

 when left to themselves. To the eye of taste, 

 nothing is more beautiful than this luitural 

 border ; because nothing else so well protects 

 the road li-om wind, excessive sunshine and 

 dust, and gives the impression of the highest 

 intelligence in the laying out of these ways, 

 and a feeling of naturalness and retiredness to 

 a person who, lor pleasure or on business, has 

 occasion to pass along them. 



This process of destruction is still going on. 

 I have just been told that a long, winding, de- 

 lightful road in a distant part of Brookline, 



which was formerly most attractive from the 

 abundance of the beautiful, rare, native shrubs, 

 that lined it on both sides, has recently been 

 stripped of all its attractiveness by the wanton 

 destruction of the exquisite borders. And I 

 lately saw evidence, for a great distance along 

 a railway, that this barbarous defacement of 

 nature had been practiced, where it is difficult 

 to conceive of any reason for it. Young trees, 

 — bii'cbes, alders, oaks and pines, — and a great 

 variety of beautiful shrubbery, have been cut 

 down this last winter or spring, and the ground 

 where they grew has been burnt over. Who- 

 ever did it ought to have belonged to the 

 army of Attila the Hun. 



1 have spoken, very briefly, of some of the 

 trees most suitable lor the purpose of repair- 

 ing this waste. Many have been entirely 

 omitted ; as a description of all, — their nature, 

 economical uses, and the character of their 

 beauty, — would require a volume. There are 

 some, however, not yet mentioned, which must 

 not be omitted. Such are the birches. Four 

 distinct species of this handsome family belong 

 to our woods, and may be found growing along 

 the streams or in the forests of Middlesex ; all 

 of them of exceeding gracefialness and beauty : 

 the fragrant Black Birch, the Yellow Birch, 

 with its brilliant silvery bark, the Canoe Birch 

 or true White, and the Grey Birch or smaller 

 White. Another, the Red Birch, also a native 

 of the county, is less known and less beautiful. 

 All of these, though extremely delicate in ap- 

 pearance, are easily transplanted from the for- 

 est, are very hardy and rapid growers ; and 

 will flourish on the most sterile soils in the 

 most exposed situations. 



Of these, the common Grey Birch, or White, 

 is best known and least valued. Many people 

 despise it, merely because it is common. Yet 

 in everything but size, it is so much like the 

 common Birch of England and Scotland, that 

 none but a botanist can point out the difference. 

 Every where in Northern Europe that tree ia 

 celebrated lor its lightness and airiness, and it 

 is the special ornament and charm of Balmoral, 

 the British Queen's summer residence in Scot- 

 land. 



Our little Grey Birch, then, is very beauti- 

 ful. The three others are still more so. All 

 are remarkable for the rich colors of their 

 tassels in spring; for the shape and bril- 

 liancy of their leaves ; for the airy, delicate 

 elegance of their often pensile spray, and for 

 tlie graceful sweep and motions of the branches 

 and the whole tree when swayed by the wind. 



There are also several of the poplars and 

 some of the willows, whose claims to the char- 

 acter of beauty would be readily admitted if 

 they were European or Asiatic, and very difli- 

 cult of cultivation. 



I shall reconnncnd only one tree more. 

 This is the Wild Black Cherry Tree, which to 

 the excellent qualitii^s of each of the other 

 trees, adds two of its own. It often springs 

 up of itself, and grows everywhere readily 



