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THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



gral parts of any wise system of farm economy. 



If beauty in a country residence, in farm 

 buildings of whatever kind, or in tillage, were 

 incompatible with anything that is useful in 

 agriculture, or important in household affairs, 

 the fact would excuse the general neglect of 

 this principle in nature. But so far from be- 

 ing hostile to the creation of wealth, or to its 

 accumulation in the hands of owners of the 

 soil, Beauty is one of the most reliable eler 

 ments of money value in every species of pro- 

 perty. In proof of this, we cite the facts that 

 a beautiful horse often sells at from three to 

 five hundred dollars, where an ugly one of the 

 same weight and muscular power will bring 

 only a fifth of the sums named. A beautiful 

 plantation has equal advantages over one quite 

 destitute of pleasing and attractive features. — 

 As society advances, and the popular apprecia- 

 tion of lovely and captivating expressions be- 

 comes more acute and refined, it is obvious that 

 Beauty must appreciate in cash value. Indeed, 

 not one in a thousand knows how to turn to 

 the most profitable account the intrinsic power 

 and the solid merit of the Beautiful in agricul- 

 ture. It is not as many suppose, a mere ideal 

 matter, having no foundation in things sub- 

 stantial and enduring ; but it is a material part 

 of that perfect economy which owes its exis- 

 tence to the Supreme Architect of the universe. 

 Hence, as planters and husbandmen, it is a 

 part of our highest wisdom to cultivate that 

 faculty within us which happily discriminates 

 in the varied fruits of the earth, in its ever dif- 

 fering inherent fertility, and its wide range of 

 really valuable plants and animals. We should 

 study to multiply delightful objects and scenes 

 around our homes, and improve such as nature 

 has scattered with a Liberal hand over all our 

 acres, whether few or many. 



Let us consider what it is that renders land 

 beautiful for tillage. 



Consider the first and most obvious want of 

 all cultivated ground, and it will bo seen that 

 fruUfulness is the function most needed. It is, 

 however, no more necessary to successful agri- 

 culture, than expressive of natural beauty. A 

 rich soil clothes itself with noble forests, and 

 if these be removed, as on extensive prairies, 

 with the most luxuriant and nutritious grasses. 

 Fruitfulness of the earth being an essential el- 

 ement of rural beauty, to impair the fertility 

 of land is not merely to diminish its money 

 value for the growth of crops, but to transform 

 a landscape that once inspired universal hope, 

 confidence, pleasure and industry, into a bar- 

 ren waste, which, when fairly tilled, promises 

 little reward to honest toil, and actually yields 

 less than it promises. 



Under such circumstances, it is fortunate 

 that Science teaches as how we can best change 

 a sterile field, or an impoverished estate, into 

 one distinguished alike for its elegance and 

 productiveness. Science also tells us that it is 

 easier and better to preserve the natural re- 



sources of land than to restore them when re- 

 moved in crops, or washed away by many heavy 

 rains falling on shallow ploughed fields. To 

 avoid loss in this particular, it is important to 

 know the precise things in the soil that form 

 agricultural plants, and how these things are 

 both lessened and augmented in all farming 

 operations. W th this professional knowledge 

 the cultivator may profitably increase the beau- 

 ty and value of every rood of land on his plan- 

 tation. 



Having a critical knowledge of the constitu- 

 ents of soils and their products, how is one to 

 make a truly beautiful landed estate? 



This depends mainly on the circumstances 

 with which he is surrounded. He should ex- 

 amine these with the utmost care, with a view 

 to learn what is practicable, not in itself, but 

 to a man of his means, acquirements, family 

 ties and duties, and powers of execution. Farm 

 buildings and fences of some kinds are indis- 

 pensable : and in their construct on and ar- 

 rangement his taste and skill will inevitably be 

 revealed to his neighbors and the public. A 

 cultivated taste may be seen as well in the 

 erection of a log cottage as in that of the most 

 costly mansion. Nature displays the Beautiful 

 not only in the lowly and humble violet, but in 

 plants and animals too small to be seen by the 

 naked eye. Wisdom in the designer may be 

 shown as effectively in the arrangement and 

 structure of little things as in large ones. — 

 Dwelling-house architecture, whether in cities, 

 villages, or strictly country residences, is sus- 

 ceptible of great improvement, judging from 

 the habitations of the million. These rarely 

 possess either convenience or beauty, or any 

 other merit to recommend them. Even in 

 cheapness, they fail as much as in other re- 

 spe ts. The amount of money thrown away 

 by the rich, and those who would fain pass as 

 such, on expensive buildings, shows how little 

 our taste in such matters have been improved 

 over that of savages. Fortunes are often 

 squandered in a few years on misshapen pala- 

 ces and villas — poor imitations of European 

 aristocracy — in this country. Some less extra- 

 vagant in outlay are more outre in architectu- 

 ral folly, adding to the residence of a private 

 family by way of ornament, what would ap- 

 pear to be massive columns, but which are ge- 

 nerally made of wood, in the ridiculous ambi- 

 tion of appearing to live in something like a 

 Giecian temple. In costly public edifices, col- 

 umns are appropriate, to aid in supporting the 

 great weight of marbie, granite, or other struc- 

 ture ; but nothing is more like an eagle's fea- 

 ther stuck into the matted hair of a savage, 

 than the frail plank pillars or columns, painted 

 white, so ostentatiously stuck out in f. out or at 

 the sides of a dwelling-house. A worse taste 

 can hardly be imagined. Simplicity, neatness 

 and quietness ever indicate contentment, grati- 

 tude to God, and the promise of a long happy 

 life. Whereas, the straining for effect always 



