42 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
trees froiii the “ collar” to the htiglit of 3 or 4 inches 
above the surface of the ground, or pour boiling water 
around them as heretofore directed. Work around all your 
fruit trees, stirring the ground well as far as the branches 
extend, and applying a good top-dressing of manure. — 
Cover the surface with leaves, pine straw, or loose man- 
ure, to the depth of 4 or 5 inches, so that the roots may 
be protected. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Plant, at once, all Bulbs, such as Hyacinths, Tulips, ■ 
Crown Imperials, Dahlias, &c., &c. Sow tender AAmuds 
in hot beds, and prick out into open ground as soon as 
all danger of frost is over. Dress and inmbardcrs ; plant 
edgings of Box; spread gravel on garden walks, and roll 
the surface firinly ; plant ornamental Hedges or screens 
oi Arbor Yitec, Y/ild Olive, Holly, Privet, &c. Prune 
Hoses and other ornamental shrubs. Set out rooted plants, 
and cuttings of the Rose, Cape Jessamine; and* other flow- 
ering plants. Stake all newly planted and plant shrubs. 
Clear up all weeds and foul trash, and prepare your flow- j 
ers to “see company-.” Prepare ground for laiens, by j 
plowing very deep, (subsoiling 18 inches,) manure highly j 
and sow a liberal allowance of mixed seed, such as Ken- j 
lucky Blue Grass, White Clover, Herds Grass, Texas | 
Musquit, Italian Ray, &c., &c. When sown, roll smooth- 
ly with a heavy cast iron or stone roller, and keep off all j 
fowls, pigs, cattle, &c. j 
Transplant Evergreens, such as the Wild Olive, Cedar, ! 
Magnolia, &c , by digging a deep trench around them, (if j 
large trees,) and lifting a large ball of earth with the roots. ! 
Prepare a wide and deep hole to receive them — cut off 
smoothly with a sharp knife, all broken or bruised roots; 
use an abundance of water ; fill in with fine, rich soil, 
pressed firmly around the roots with the foot; leave a 
shallow basin or cavity around the trunk to hold water 
hereafter, and finish by staking securely and mulching 
with a thick layer or leaves or straw, over which sprinkle 
a few shovelsful or earth, to keep the wind from blowing 
it away. The very best time to transplant Evergreens is 
just as the young growth of these trees is shooting aut in 
idle spring. 
A LECTURE ON LABOR. 
EV DANtEL LEE, M.D., PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE IN THE 
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, JANUARY, 1857 . 
Gentlemen — I shall commence the present course of 
Lectures by attempting to explain the origin of productive 
industry, and the dignity of human labor, it being the 
most important element of Agriculture. s 
Some regard all labor as a “necessary evil;” others 
consider it as a punishment for the disobedience of our 
first parents. I have not been able to view the subject in 
either light, or shade. To my mind, nothing in nature is 
clearer than the fact, that our daily wants of hunger, of 
nakedness, of sleep, and of shelter from the extremes of 
heat and cold, are designed by Providence to make us pre- 
eminently working as well as thinking animals. Other 
animals both labor and think, but with greatly inferior re- 
sults. If we compare man, with his wonderful powers of 
speech, with the mute snake, we find the latter able to sub- 
sist comfortably a whole year on a single meal; and at 
the sa'ne time the i*eptile needs no clothing. In a year 
man requires over a thousand meals, and not a little arti- 
ficial covering by day and by night. The most careless 
observer cannot fail to notice the extreme weakness, the 
utter helplessness of a child during several years of its in- 
fancy, which are in no respect a matter of choice with 
either parent or offspring. For wise and beneficent pur- 
poses, the family tie has its strongest ligaments not in 
any conventional rule, but in the organization of man. To 
meet the most obvious and pressing wants of his children, 
and provide for his own, he is compelled to labor in some 
way by a natural law from whose penalty there is no es- 
cape when disobeyed. Savages and semi barbarians, 
when left to themselves, labor comparatively little; and 
as a consequence, they remain fronfage to age unimproved, 
and suffer all the privations and exterminating wars pe- 
culiar to man in his lowest estate. From this unhappy 
condition of physical suffering, of social, moral and intel- 
lectual degradation, there is no possible escape except by 
and through that muscular and mental labor which our 
Creator has made at once the most honorable, the most 
useful, and the most effective of all possible employments. 
To work with one’s hands or brain is no more a punish- 
ment than the inability of a child to walk and talk before 
it is six months old is a punishmeut. Providence imposes 
on all alike his own conditions of life ; and while He 
causes the proverbial industry of the ant and honey bee to 
contribute indefinitely to the happiness of these insects, He 
makes manual labor the mostprolific source of human en- 
joyment, Productive industry is not only a blessing to 
those who perform it, but the parent of ten thousand col- 
lateral blessings in the perfect economy of Infinite Wis- 
dom. Nor is there more than a shade difference between 
physical and intallectual effort ; both meet as equals in 
the nervous system ; and neither is capable of ruling 
the other tyranically without serious injury to the whole 
constitution of man. 
On no subject is there more erroneous talking and writ- 
ing than on that of the rights and duties of labor. Per- 
sons calling themselves philanthropists not only “rejudge 
the justice” of Heaven, but would fain re-create the uni- 
verse to give their fellows a happier existence than this 
world affords. Such philanthropy, however, rarely fails 
to injure the parties to whom its devotion is so vehement- 
ly paid. All zeal without knowledge is fraught with dan- 
ger and mischief. Seeing this, thoughtful students often 
and well enquire, “Why is it that man’s productive pow- 
ers, whether in agriculture, manufactures or other pursuits, 
develope themselves under such uniform features and 
characteristics % Why are all either free and independent 
laborers for themselves, or hired, or apprentices, or 
slaves!” 
These questions strike at the root of man’s industrial 
and social organization ; and their right solution deeply 
concerns the best interests of society in every country. 
Let us then be sure of our facts before we attempt to reasoa 
at all on this labor question : 
