DKVOTllD TO AGKrCDTiTirHE, HOKTICULTTJKE, AND KTNDKKD ARTS. 



NEW SERIES. 



Boston, July, 1871. 



VOL. v.— NO. 7. 



n. p. EATON & CO., PunMSHERS, 

 Office, 34 Merchants' liovr. 



MONTHLY. 



SmOX BKOA\Tv 



S.FLETCHER, { ^D"ORS. 



JULY, 1871.. 



Harli ! where the pwecpire soyilic now rips along; 

 K.ich sturdy mower, emulous and. strorg, 

 ^Vho.■^^,■ \\ rithii'g form mcrkliiiu htat dehes, 

 Bc-.ids o'er his work and every sinew tries, 

 Prostrates the waving treasure at his 'eet, 

 But .-pa' eg the rising clover short and sweet. 

 Come, Health, come Jollity, light-footed, come! 

 Here hold jOur revels, and make this your home. 



Bloomjield'' s Farnurn Boy. 



ULY is tlie great 

 h ay-harvest 

 month ; and if 

 not the richest. 

 It is certainh' 

 one of the most 

 important of 

 ^?*~« 1/ our New Eng- 

 hmd harvests. 

 ^ In this month 

 the energies of 

 the farmer are 

 3,^ fully taxed. 

 ^'^^^^ Care mu,«t still 

 be extended to 

 tlie corn and 

 potato crops. 

 Weeds will as- 

 sume loo much 

 prominence if 

 the cultivator 

 and hoe are not frequently among them. The 

 field turnip, beet and mangel wurzel crops 

 will demand attention to thinning, weeding, 

 and re2:)eated stirring of the groitnd, in order 

 to secure a rapid and lusty growth. The gar- 

 den, also, which was prepared and planted 



with care, Avill claim daily attention if only a 

 brief hour is devoted to it. If drought pre- 

 vails, weeds are so much more hard}- than most 

 of our cultivated crops that they will flourish 

 and crowd out their more delicate neighbors. 

 If the season be a wet one, then weeds must 

 be displaced in order to let in sun and air to 

 the j)lants we are rearing. 



Some of the early grains Mill ripen, and 

 must receive their share of attention. 



All these varied cares will rest upon the far- 

 mer during this month, in addition to the great 

 leading interest, that of securing the ha}' crop 

 in perfect condition. 



The poetry which we have quoted at the 

 head of this article was written long before 

 machines for cutting grass by horse-power 

 were known. Then six or eight men were 

 required to cut as much grass in a day, as 

 may be done by a single man and a jiair of 

 horses now. Besides, in using tlie machine, 

 the grass woidd be spread, and thus save tliC 

 labor of one or two persons more. And yet, 

 here and there a man still clings to the old 

 hand scythe, 



"Bends o'er his work and every sinew tries." 



The average crop of hay in Xew England is 

 probably not more than one ton to the acre, 

 and the average amount of land gone over 

 by the hand scythe not more than one acre 

 per day, of ten hours. If, therefore, while 

 the farmer is going over his fields and cutting 

 and curing the scanty crop of much less than 



