AN1> GARDENICR'S JOURiNAL. 



127. 



; cul, ore iinmcs which nre destined, with 

 L' lo any of their distinguiehrd contcnipo 

 ^.iL'ceesors, to oc-upy the highest nichca of 

 m the records of Amerienn Agrieulturo. 



Physii'iil U<Iiicntinii. 

 thou dtwglUers ? Hnrc a care of thtir hodij. 



EcCLKSIASTICl.S. 



nlinbitnnta ni'Hig the shore in the old liny 



are becoming Icsi robust nnd hnrdy than llicir 



were. The present generation hns le«si vigor 



nlth thnn the Inst possessed. The cnnses nre 



ss many — nnd not a few of ihcin arc hidden. 



h."isty »Tlancc at Eoei.'ty will disclose some de- 



s of the present gonerniion from the habits of 



It age, which obviously tend to debilitate. The 



!88 of our dwellings, rendered desirable by the 



ices of fuel, onuses us m breathe a less pure at- 



ire than pervaded the dwellings of the yeoman- 



le times when the chimney corner would hold 



icore of children; the extensive eubstituiinn of 



and ten for milk, bean porridge and the like, 



rought on a degree of feebleness; — the gritornl 



fine wheaten flour instead of the coarse ryo nnd 



of former days has over loaded nnd weakened the 



ve organs in many eases; — the fashion v.-hich 



es the thici: shoe and biot, nnd exposes the f >ot 



and we!, hns helped to bring on many nialn- 



-the abandonment of wrestling and other games 



ng great nuf'cular elVorts, (though perhaps the 



)nment is wmsc,) may be a cause of the increase 



l)leness. In short, less of hardship nnd more 



in modes of living, have e.xerted their enerva- 



ifluence upon our commnnity for the Inst quar- 



a century. And though we are still a vigor- 



nergetic and enterprising people; yet, as these 



teristics are becoming less prominent, it is pro- 



U9 to inquire into the causes and help to slay 



perotions; We feel the duty incumbent, be- 



wc think that the intellectual, moral nnd religi- 



aracter of individuals and nations, hns a close 



timate connection with the henlih and strength 



body. The public good, (not its prosperity in 



making merely) — the public good — in the 



it, broadest, deepest sense of the terms — isclose- 



rwoven with the general health and strength 



people. Therefore necessity is laid upon those 



/ould be faithful public teachers, to discounte- 



all customs which tend lo bring on general 



ness. 



commenced with a quotntien from a wise man 

 2n limes — *' Hast thou daughters? Have a care 

 r body;" and it was our purpose to say dis- 

 ', that the physical education of those who are 

 the mothers ol the ne.xt generation, is the first 

 •1 parents; yoe, we distinctly put this branch of 

 lion first; for while we would have habile of 

 md obedience early formed, we are persuaded 

 hese nnd other good habits are of much less 

 to the world whefi found in one of feeble con- 

 on, than when connected with a healthy frame, 

 as power to act out the promptings of the soul. 

 tjie child hardy; and to do this, the food must 

 iple, the clothing loose and comfortable, nndez- 

 3lo the weather in all ita states, must he ha- 

 The dirt, and w«t and cold into which the 

 will rush with delight. Ere all contributors to its 

 and energy of character. There is much nra- 

 nt prudence in keeping children within doors — 

 cruel kindness in keeping them from exposure 

 ch weakening poison in the Itealthful delicacies 

 bed for their feeble digestive organs. Let Uind- 

 your offspring be far-sighted. Let it remem- 

 at health is promoted by vigorous e.xercise and 

 Let it not forget that winter's snows and 

 ler's suns help to harden and strengthen the 

 ng body. 



the child from immoral habits and eier- 



ttle more restraint than is nccesanry for this, 



the foundation of firm benlth is apparently well 



There has been a tendency for a few years pnst 



cethe growth of the intellect in advance of phy- 



growth; but this is a contravention of the 



e of nature, and must in many instances bring 



death or debility. He who formed the myste- 



connection between the body and soul, has ob- 



ly designed thnt the growth of the former shall 



de that of the latter; and any course which sbnll 



nturely develope the mind and call it into high- 



'orouB e.xercise in early childhood, is necessarily 



ded with dnnsrer of destroying the body. 



we designed to speak particularly of the phy- 

 educntii>n of dnughtcrs. Let them be accustom 



send the girls to the milking stool and to tho lighter 

 work in the field. We arc not without n share of 

 the feeling on this subject which pervades this viein- 

 ily; and yet looking at the future nnd reasoning from 

 well known facts, the conclusion is irresislihlc thnt it 

 would be better — far holler — better for Ihcni and bet- 

 ter for tho ne.xl generation, that our dnughtcrs should 

 engage in the out-door Inlnrs which their grnndmo- 

 Ihers pciformt'd. Then n ficslior hlooni would sprcnd 

 over their cbe:ks, and nmrc honllhlul lilo»d would 

 flow in all their veins. They would discharge their 

 bonsohold duties with more despatch and less fiitigue. 

 Their spirits, graduated by their health, would dif 

 ("use moic life into the family circle — nnd the mind, 

 sympathizing with the body, would he clearer in its 

 perceptions, more prompt in its decisions, more efTi- 

 cient in all its operations. 



Ijooking forward to the future, we see not how it 

 is pos.^iblo tor any other thnn a feeble race to be pro- 

 duced from tho pale faced girls, of compressed forms, 

 thnt nre growing up in both city and country. The 

 subject isone of dnlicncy, but it is so closely conncct- 

 tcd with humnn welfare, that some obvious Irulho 

 connected with it should not be suppressed. We say 

 thnt the snmc Inws by which, in brutes, the on'spring 

 partake of the characteristics of the parents, operate in 

 the human species; nnd no female can expect to be 

 the mother of a healthy family of children, who has 

 not a firm robust constitution. The weaknesses pro 

 duced by stimulanta, by unwholesome food, innctivi- 

 ly, impure air, light lacing, thin shoes, or a\oidance 

 of vigorous exercise, will be transmitted to their 

 children. The sine of the parents are visited upon 

 the children for gcnernlions. These truths tench n 

 lesson that shonld he heeded. Could the young of 

 either se.x, but be made acquainted with the facts 

 which we hnve witnessed, they woul.-i learn ihnt the 

 marriage relation often — very often results in a fiimilv 

 of (eenle and inefiicicnt children, and this too in con- 

 •equcnce ol such weakness in the parents that should 

 have deterred them froxi entering into the married 

 Btntc. For wo hold it to be wrong for ,iny intelligent 

 being to be voluntnrily instrumental in bringing oth- 

 ers into existence, when tlie probability is strong that 

 the children will inherit such vvcnknesses as wi 1 ren- 

 der thorn unhappy or burdensome to society. 



This subject of physical education is more closjly 

 connected with human welfare than almost ntiy other 

 that can be agitnted. We have not discussed it; but 

 the hints here given may cause some of our readers to 

 make it a matter of serious and us-ful reflection. 

 Should we but fijcl it a duty to disclose all our con- 

 victions relative lo this subject; and could our advice 

 he taken, many of the young of each sex would go 

 down to their graves unweddod nod childless, and this 

 loo, not oftner from any faults of their own, than from 

 the faults of parcnu and of fashion, which have ren- 

 dered them prematurely feeble. — iV. E. Furtner. 



The Working-.lfan's I)n'e!Iiaig. 



" Wbea we mean to tmilti, 

 We first survey the pli.1, then ilraw llie model ; 

 A nil wlicn we ace the tigure of the house, 

 Then must we vote tile cost of tlic erection " 



Kinff Henry IF, part 9. 



There is such a satisfaction in having a house of 

 one'a ov.'n, that most Americans begin to think of 

 building B8 soon as they arc rich enough, [t is pro- 

 verbial that this becomes a mania, even in the coun- 

 try, with men of wealth. In quantity, therefoie, wc 

 have no lack; the defects nre in the quality of our ar- 

 chitecture. For want of observing the plain dictate 

 of reason contained in my motto, many great houses 

 are fmished lees splendidly than they were begun. As 

 I seldom take a walk without seeing the dwelling of 

 some mechanic going forward, 1 am anxious to make 

 n few suggestions on this point. 



A good site is almost every thing: in such a land as 

 ours, few are compelled to build in bad situations. Yet 

 half the houses we see in the country are disadvanta- 

 geously placed. How little advantage is taken of na- 

 tive gloves ! I have in my eye a very costly edifice, 

 just near enough to a beautiful copse to tempt the be- 

 lief that the proprietor wished to avoid its shades, 

 while he is making a strenuous effoH lo bring forward 

 some starveling trees in n miseinbie clay before his 

 door! The general detign is next in importance: 

 this is what strikes the distant beholder. The eye is 

 shocked when, in a clever building, the door has three 

 windows on one side and five on tho other. The pro- 

 lions of length and height, the pitch of roof, the 



number, and size, and arrangement of lights, are all 

 regular and vigorous exercise, and that too in .matters which demand careful study, in order to pro- 

 'pen air, It is becoming almoet barbonons to do^e a gnodelTect; but in most eases tliey nre left to 



chance or whim, ayminetry is as cheap as dispropor- 

 tion, nnd rich men should not mouojiolizc all mntnesa 

 aiul taeie. A good plan gives beauty lo the jilaincsl 

 materials, while no expense can render a false propor- 

 tion ilrf;nnt. A well. designed cottage; of the hum- 

 blest dimensions and simplest fabric, fills the eye, nnd 

 gives repose to tho mind. But finery cnnnot hide bnd 

 taste; it often betrays it. Wc may hero npply Crabhe'a 

 couplet — 



" Faults Hint In ibisly pictures rest unknown, 

 Arc ill ail Instnnttlirough the v.inilsh shown." 

 Men wlio como euddenly to wealth are greatly in dan- 

 ger of falling into this trap. The showy in nichitcc- 

 ture is usually coupled with the vulgnr; just ns in 

 dress the finest are not the truly well-bred. Pope has 

 satirized this abuse of ornament: 



"Load some vain church with old llirntrlc ttntcj 



Turn arcs of triumph to a garclcn gate ; 



Reserve your ornanicnta, and liang tlieni all 



On some patch'd dog-hole eked Willi ends of wnU 



" Then clap four slices of pilaster on't, 

 Thnt laced with lilta of rustic nialies :i front. 

 Shall call the winds through lonij arcades lo roar, 

 Proud to catch cold at a Venetian door." 

 Some of our builders, I hope, will read these es- 

 says: iheir influence is of great moment. If well in- 

 structed, they will tell such as apply to them, thnt the 

 word Architecture la not confined to the ninsf-y piles of 

 public cdiliccfl, but that the very same principles which 

 draught ihc Birmingham Town Hall, or the Made- 

 laine, can descend to plan the cottnge or the rustic 

 bridge. These principles ought to he studied, not on- 

 ly in ourcoll^^, but our lyccums, and other institu- 

 tions for the instruction of our working-men. Books 

 of architectural plane should be compile d and sbstrnct- 

 ed from the more costly European publicnlions. 1 am 

 sure anyone who is familiar with the Tuilnr's Maga- 

 line, will grant thnt there is no insupertble obstacle 

 in the way of a builder's periodical. And not nrchi- 

 tects alone, but all planners nnd proprietors should fn- 

 miliarize their cyo to the conleniploiion of good models. 

 The day it is to be hoped will come, when even the 

 day laborer will not think it necessary to be elovcnly 

 because he is poor, nnd when the most incessant 

 drudges shall begin to see that there are some good 

 things besides coin and bank-notes. The practical 

 man whose views nre enlarged, will not fnil Ki see that 

 lileasuresof imaginaiion and taste have also their price. 

 Decoration naturally comes after use; we build our 

 houses before we decorate them. But in the advance- 

 ment of feociety, there is a singe at which men always 

 set a value upon ornnincnt; and though these circum- 

 ftanccs may breed luxury, Ihcy have fruits which aro 

 desirable, such as iiicren.''ed contentment, plncid joy, 

 refined taste, cheerful reflection, and the love of home. 

 Along the bank of a half-finished canal I saw, the 

 other day, as;^tllement, which, at a furlong's distance, 

 showed the oricin of its tennnta. Extemporaneous 

 huts, bnrrel chimneys, floors without boards, windows 

 without glnes, and a dunghill nl the entrance; these 

 flffiJrdtd the symptoms of a hovel. Here was no deco- 

 ration, and I argue concerning this settlement, that' 

 there nre no intellectual pleasures, no taste, no gende- 

 ness, no fireside happine^. 



Let me change the scene. I knew a family of Eng- 

 lish people, no richer than those juet noticed, who lived 

 in a dwelling no larger than one of these — but how 

 diffurcnt 1 I sec it yet in memory, its whitened pa- 

 lings and beaten walk to the door, its tight sides and 

 close roof, nnd especially its edge of summer flowers 

 around a plot of the clt-3nest grnss, nnd its roses cud 

 idbine creeping over every window. They were 

 poor, but they were tidy. More thnn this; they were 

 fond of natural beauty, and fond of home, and there- 

 fore always aiming to mnke home lovely. 



Every reader has many times seen the same thing, 

 and some have already learned the connect-on between 

 simple decoration and domestic viitue and peace. — 

 Why does an English cottnge strike an American 

 with surprise ? Why does he look, as at a strange 

 thing, upon the French peasantry Inking their eve- 

 ning repast beneath their trees and vines ? Because 

 we Americnns arc so peculiarly practical, and so pos- 

 sessed of the demon of trade, that nothing is valuable 

 which cannot be sold. Value is becoming equivalent 

 to vendibility. Valuable means saleable: worth means 

 money. If a flower, or a hedge-row, or a cascade, or 

 a bust, or a prospect, add lo ihe price under the hnm- 

 mcr, these things are valuable, and are strnightway in- 

 serted in the liihogrnphic view of the auctioneer. They 

 are useful. Usefulness is thnt qnnliiy of things where 

 by they bring money. — Working-Man, 



