§esigntb Iff imjjrffiie all Classts iidmsMi in Sail tfultm. 
AGRICULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, THE MOST USEFUL, AND THE MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN —WASHINGTON. 
ORANGE JUDD, A. M.» 
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 
II M. 
$1.00 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE. 
SINGLE NUMBERS lO CENTS. 
VOL. XVI.—No. 12] NEW-YORK, DECEMBER, 1857. [new series— No. isi. 
^Business Office at Wo. 1 89 Water-st. 
BPlTor Contents, Terms, &c. see page 299. 
CSPlVotes to Correspondents, page 295. 
EfFor Advertisements, sec page 300. 
.Please refer to the Publisher’s 
Notices on page 298. 
WORK EOR THE MONTH. 
“ Thus in some deep retirement would I pass 
The Winter glooms, with friends ofpliant soul 
Or blithe, or solemn, as the theme inspired ; 
With them would search, if Nature’s boundless frame 
Was called, late rising from the void of night, 
•Or sprung Eternal from the Eternal Mind 
Its life, its laws, its progress, and its end. 
“ Dead as December,” is a proverb of ru¬ 
ral life. The change is apparent every¬ 
where. The sun has retired far to the 
South, and even at mid-day sends down his 
beams aslant upon the earth. “ How short 
the days are,” is the frequent exclamation 
from the busy housewife, and the sentiment 
often echoed from her busy spouse. The 
weather is drear and gloomy, and the bright 
sunny days are few and far between. Out¬ 
door labors are uncomfortable, and the shel¬ 
ter of the barn or the fire-side is frequently 
sought. It is a time of endurance, and al¬ 
most the whole labor of the farmer is direct¬ 
ed to make his family and the animals de¬ 
pendant upon him comfortable. There is 
little to attract him to the field or forest but 
the stern necessities of the season. 
Yet, there can be little doubt that a much 
larger part of the Winter is redeemed for 
useful labor now than fifty years ago. Then, 
as the old people tell us, very little was ac¬ 
complished after the Winter had fairly set 
in. Nearly all the help upon the farm was 
dismissed in November, and the farmer did 
little else than take care of his cattle until 
the Spring opened. 
Now many of our farmers find it practica¬ 
ble to retain a large part of their Summer 
laborers, and to give them a chance to earn 
their bread in Winter. All good farmers 
now secure their wood, when the swamps 
are frozen and covered with snow. Places 
in the forest inaccessible at'fother seasons, 
are now visited, and the corded wood is 
hauled home upon the sled. Muck beds are 
so drained that they are accessible in Win¬ 
ter. It is practicable to throw out the muck 
in the coldest weather, and to sled it to the 
yards for mixing with manure, or to the 
fields, where it will be wanted in the Spring. 
It is found quite practicable, too, to ditch 
and drain at this season. Thick India-rub¬ 
ber boots make the feet proof against water, 
and a laborer can now be comfortable, even 
in freezing weather. Trenches are also dug 
and filled with cobbles as a foundation for 
stone fences. Manures in the yard are fork¬ 
ed over and mixed with muck. There are 
many more things to be done upon the farm 
now than formerly, and the farmer has a 
more buoyant heart to do it. 
The character of our climate, and of our 
population, we think, have undergone a 
change for the better. The cleaning up of 
our forests, and especially the drainage of 
swamps and low lands, have tended to 
soften the asperity of our Winters. The 
temperance reformation has had a happy in¬ 
fluence upon the morals of the people, and 
energies once wasted in the tap-room, are 
now spent in useful labor. The industry of 
the farmer meets with a better reward, and 
he is stimulated by the higher price offered 
for all his products to unwearied diligence 
in his calling. The standard of education 
is greatly improved among the people, and 
the farmers now upon the stage bring a 
much larger share of intelligence to their 
work than the generations that preceded 
them. Then, in the matter of special train¬ 
ing and education for their work, the farm¬ 
ers of to-day are in advance of those of fifty 
years ago. There has been a steady and 
healthful increase in our agricultural litera¬ 
ture for the last twenty years, and the State 
and County Societies, which now hold their 
Annua] Fairs, are the creations of the agri¬ 
cultural Press. These Fairs, when rightly- 
conducted, are one of the best means of edu¬ 
cation in the farmers’ art that we enjoy. We 
are approaching slowly, but surely, to a sys¬ 
tematic husbandry. Order will be introduced 
into all the departments of farming, and men 
will have accurate knowledge of the wants 
of every crop, and will not hesitate to spend 
the necessary money and labor to secure 
the best results. Some points are already 
settled, and many more are rapidly ap¬ 
proaching a solution. Our best informed 
farmers do not hybernate like many of the 
wild animals. They assume that man is the 
lord of Nature, and can so plan his business 
as to labor to advantage all through the year. 
Of course 
MENTAL CULTURE 
will have its place in his plans, and Winter 
is the best time to lay in stores of knowl¬ 
edge for future use. Few farmers find time 
in the Summer for that reading and reflec¬ 
tion which are essential to the best methods 
of husbandry. Not only does a man want 
to master the general principles of agricul¬ 
ture, and its kindred sciences, but he wish¬ 
es to apply these principles to his own 
homestead. There is probably a considera¬ 
ble variety of soil in the hundred or more 
acres he owns, and he wants time to 
mature plans for the economical improve¬ 
ment of the whole. Even after one has 
studied the subject of drainage, he cannot 
tell at a glance how much of his farm will 
pay for drainage. The swamps and swales, 
of course, most need this improvement. It 
will take time and study to tell how much 
further up the slopes and hill-sides he may 
extend his drains with profit. Some of his 
soils need lime probably, and it is a question 
where it can be best applied, and how large 
an investment he can afford to make in this 
article. 
With the markets he has to supply, some 
crops will pay a great deal better than oth¬ 
ers. In some localities he may devote his 
whole farm to one or two leading staples; 
in others, a varied system of cropping is the 
more profitable course. The questions that 
arise in the management of a farm are very 
numerous, and now is the time fora cultiva¬ 
tor to give his attention to them, and deter¬ 
mine upon the course that is best for him to 
pursue. The mind is cultivated and 
strengthened not only by reading, but by the 
discussion of these practical questions in 
husbandry. There is no mental growth 
without reflection. 
THE WINTER SCHOOL 
is, of course, the appropriate place for the 
children who are to be the next generation 
of farmers. Who does not remember with 
rapture his schoolboy days, his first intro¬ 
duction to that august personage, the teach¬ 
er^ and his early experiences under his rule 1 
“ What pleasing sights does yonder group create, 
Their childish sports, their contest and debate. 
Man loves to see, as ripened wisdom grows, 
Its Iruits enrich the soil from whence it rose, 
But who can view nor secret pleasure know 
Life yet in bud, and manhood on the blow ? 
’Tis then that man’s himself; no artful guise 
Spreads o’er its young desire its treacherous dyes. 
I tis the forming period of life with them, 
and very much of their future success will 
depend upon their advantages in the Winter 
school. In many parts of the country the 
sessions of the school are confined to this 
season. Farmers are often tempted to keep 
their larger boys at home, to assist in the 
procuring of fuel, or in the care of stock. 
For a little present gain, the future good of 
the lad is sacrificed. This course is un- 
woahy of any good father. The boys of 
the farm ought to have the full benefit of the 
district school, and extra advantages as thev 
