NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



Oct. 



variegated panorama or changing foliage, we 1 



begin to think that ten miles now are easier of 



accomplishment than one was under the old 



solar radiimce." 



The idea has been a very general one, that 



the autumn of the year is a sad season. It is 



expressed by old writers, and even the sound 



and placid mind of our Mr. Bryant, seems to 



have been tinged with it. Speaking of autumn 



in one of his most charming poems, he says, — 



"The melancholy daj's have come, the saddest of the 

 year." 



These feelings may be excited by the pro- 

 cesses of Nature. The ripening fruits ; the 

 withering and falling leaf ; the brown fields ; 

 the cessation of growth in vegetable matter, 

 and the general appearance of death and de- 

 cay in the plants which lately were so full of 

 life and vigor. These changes, however, are 

 more applicable to November than to the pres- 

 ent month. But upon a clear October day, 

 with its sky cloudless from the rise to the set of 

 sun, its invigorating temperature and its varie- 

 ty of color, the natural feeling is one of exul- 

 tation. 



In one of his works, ]\Ir. Emerson speaks 

 of a frame of mind when walking, in which he 

 was almost afraid to think how glad he was. 

 Just as we met him a few days since, in a 

 charming wood-path, his countenance beaming 

 with the joy he was "almost afraid to 

 think of." So it is that "the fine Octo- 

 ber day, with that brilliancy which under 

 a luLcher temperature might sink us into a 

 dreamy indolence, makes every sense so keen 

 that each moment has its new and separate 

 pleasure. The animal spirits rather rise than 

 sink ; the eye is clear to catch the magnificence 

 of the landscape and the glory of the sunset ; 

 the* ear grows sharper for rural sounds, as they 

 become fewer ; the fruitage is always a cheer- 

 inc lesson of the recuperative forces of Na- 

 ture ; and the few flowers which the early frost 

 has spared have a value which we did not ac- 

 cord to the gay and populous parterre." 



OcToiJER is usually a month to be trusted ; 

 the time, of all other seasons, for the farmer 

 to go forth with his family and team, to visit 

 relatives and friends, when — 



" T'pon the brown and far ofTliills 



Tlie hiize licfi soft and hhic, 

 ■\Vilil nuts are droppiiii; thick and fast • 



Where summer wild flowers grew. 



The woods like Pome grar>d temple stand 



Beneath tin- glowing skies, 

 While ilown tli(' long, dim aisles, the haze 



Like slumbering incense lies.'' 



FARM ■WORK FOR OCTOBER. 



No other month in the year affords such 

 excellent opportunity for making permanent 

 improvements upon the farm, as the month of 

 October. The pressure of the harvests is 

 mainly over. The weather is cool, and man 

 and beast can work with comfort. Rains are 

 not frequent, and the soil is usually in such a 

 condition of moisture as to render it pleasant 

 and easy to be handled. Now, then, is the 

 time to 



Remove Rocks from Grass Lands. 



The cheapest and best way to do this, is to 

 sink them where the lower earth will admit of 

 digging. First measure the diameter of the 

 rock and then throw out the earth to an ex- 

 tent a little larger than that diameter, block- 

 ing the rock with joist or pieces of timber, 

 against the bank to prevent its premature 

 fail. This is important, because, if the rock 

 is a large one, the operation is somewhat dan- 

 gerous. We have known death to ensue from 

 a neglect of this precaution. Block up so 

 thoroughly as to be able to dig somewhat un- 

 der the rock. The hole excavated should be 

 sufficiently deep to allow the rock to fall a 

 foot, at least, below the surface. When this 

 is accomplished, knock away the braces and 

 let the rock go down. 



With a heavy sledge and many blows, some 

 large rocks may be broken and handled more 

 easily than if whole. By digging about oth- 

 ers, the top may be broken off so as to leave 

 a foot of soil above the part left in the 

 ground. Stones weighing half a ton and 

 upwards, may be got out of the way much 

 cheaper by these processes, than by drilling 

 and blowing. 



There are some advantages in this. First, 

 the surface of .the land is not changed, as 

 nothing is taken away. Second, the cost of 

 drawing oil" the stone when thrown out, and 

 third, the cost of carting in materials to fill 

 up the holes. Then there is the gain of hav- 

 ing the field pretty thoroughly trenched, so 

 far as it was dug over in removing the rocks. 

 These spots will be found the most fertile 

 ones for ten years to come. There is, also, 

 another gain in this work. Half the cost of 

 doing it may be saved in the preservation of 

 ploughs, rakes, mowing machines, tedders and 

 cultivators, and perhaps, the life or limb of 

 a valuable horse, before ten years are half out. 



