THE CULTIVATOR. 
157 
alteratte rows. The rows of uncut potatoes produced 458 bushels ; 
the cut potatoes produced 336; making a difference of 123 bushels 
in favor of the uncut. He however used 22 bushels more of seed in 
planting the uncut potatoes.— -Kennebec Journal• 
Young Men’s Department. 
[From the farmers’ Register.] 
ON THE PLEASURES OF AGRICULTURE. 
Independent of the actual profits arising from agricultural pursuits 
there is something in the cultivation of the soil, eminently calculated 
to dispose the philosophic mind to serious and sublime contempla¬ 
tion. With your permission, Mr. Editor, as I have seen no commu¬ 
nication of this character in the Register, I shall endeavor to show 
wherein consist the real delights which the philosopher and man of 
science derive from agriculture. And I undertake this service the 
more willingly, from the fact that there are many young men, who, 
from the mere consideration of gain, can never be induced to lay 
aside their prejudices and become tillers of the soil, but who might 
be induced to make the experiment, and finally become good farm¬ 
ers, could the subject be presented to them under a pleasing aspect. 
To those speculative young men who desire amusement as well as 
profit in their avocations, the present and succeeding numbers I may 
find leisure to write upon this interesting subject, is respectfully de¬ 
dicated. 
Although the desire of gain is a principal and most necessary in¬ 
ducement to follow the plough, yet all must admit, that he who sees 
no other pleasure in agriculture than that which results from the 
anticipations of pecuniary profits arising therefrom, is, to say the 
least, a grovelling and penurious wretch. There is something really 
mean and sordid in overlooking all the beauties of the vernal spring, 
and the maturing loveliness of autumn, merely to contemplate the 
amount of dollars to be received in return for the daily toil and anxi¬ 
ous solicitude of the farmer. Such a disposition reminds one of the 
folly a man would evince, who should prefer a dark and loathsome 
cell to the cheerful beams of day, and the pleasing aspect of crea¬ 
tion. But to him who looks from nature up to nature’s God, and 
who can recognize the Diety in every expanding, opening flower, 
and purling rill, agriculture offers.charms, calculated to compose the 
mind, and dispose it to tranquillity and cheerfulness. To such a 
mind— 
“ —-Not a breeze 
Flies o’er the meadow; not a cloud imbibes 
The setting sun’s effulgence; not a strain 
From all the tenants ol the warbling shade 
Ascends, but whence his bosom can partake 
Fresh pleasure unimproved——.” 
Who can look upon a field of wheat, gradually rising in vernal love¬ 
liness to the delighted eyes of the contemplative beholder, and mark 
it in all its different stages, until the ripe grain crowns the hopes of 
the husbandman with a golden harvest of plenty; and then have the 
heart to distrust the protection of Providence, or doubt the existence 
of an All-wise Intelligence, pervading and governing all things; as¬ 
signing bounds to the elements, and transcribing the limits of na¬ 
ture 1 There is not a blade of grass or ear of corn, that does not 
afford matter of curious and endless speculation to the inquisitive 
and well cultivated mind. And although upon philosophical princi¬ 
ples only, no man can ever understand the process of nature, by 
which the earth in spring is clothed with verdure, and in the autumn 
filled with her bountiful productions, gradually maturing for the sus¬ 
tenance and pleasures of man; yet the heart by such inquiries, must 
be ultimately greatly benefitted. No man who sees, and contem- 
lates the design and wise contrivance of all the plants and vegeta- 
les, that clothe and adorn a well cultivated farm, and reflects upon 
the inexplicable nature of their existence, fructification, and preser¬ 
vation, under so many adverse circumstances, can have the heart to 
be a sceptic in regard to our holy religion—because many parts of 
it are surrounded with mystery. He finds that mystery is inscribed 
upon the face of all things, and what he cannot understand upon 
principles of reason, he learns to adore as the production of an in¬ 
finite and incomprehensible Being. The man of reflection sees much 
to admire in the great care which nature manifests for her produc¬ 
tions, even in the protection she affords to the grasses which cover 
our meadows and fields. For not only do they clothe and adorn the 
fields, but they afford sustenance for all animated existence. The 
leaves afford food for the cattle, the smaller seeds for birds, and the 
larger for man: for few readers need be informed that the plants 
producing our bread corn belong to this class. In those tribes more 
generally considered as grasses, I will mention the following as in¬ 
stances which appear to coinside with the intention of nature con¬ 
cerning them, viz; their extraordinary means and powers of preser¬ 
vation and increase, their hardiness, their almost unconquerable dis¬ 
position to spread, and their faculties of reviviscence, each of which 
qualities, considered in detail, would afford interesting matter for a 
separate communication. In this, therefore, I can only observe the 
following things in relation to their general properties. They thrive 
under a treatment by which other plants are eniirely destroyed. In 
proportion to the consumption of leaves is the increase of the roots. 
The more the cattle trample them under foot the thicker they grow. 
Many of the seemingly dry and dead leaves of grasses revive and 
renew their verdure in the spring. In lofty mountains, where the 
heat of summer is not sufficient to ripen seeds, we are told that the 
grasses are viviparous, and consequently able to propagate them¬ 
selves without seeds. It is also an observation frequently made, 
that herbiverous animals attach themselves principally to the leaves 
of grasses, and if left at liberty in the pasture to range and choose, 
will leave untouched the straws which support the seed. These 
general properties of vegetables, or properties common to large por¬ 
tions of that kingdom, are all that the extent of the present commu¬ 
nication will allow me to notice, as I am afraid of being deemed too 
prolix by that class of society for whose benefit I write. But 1 may 
here be permitted to ask, whence this admirable contrivance of na¬ 
ture, this adaptedness of the productions of the earth to the peculiar 
condition in which they are placed, and their perfect subserviency to 
the uses for which they seem to be designed ? Shall we inscribe it 
to the operations of nature herself? Or looking through nature, 
shall we desern an ever present wise Deity, though “ invisible or 
dimly seen in these his lower works,” yet superintending and gra¬ 
ciously directing all things for the comfort and convenience of his 
creatures ? 
In conclusion, I would only observe, that I have just entered the 
threshold of the ample subject before me. I hope, however, that I 
have said enough in this communication to impress this general truth, 
that in the cultivation of the soil, there are thousands of objects cal¬ 
culated to expand the mind, increase the understanding, soften the 
heart, destroy scepticism, and exalt our ideas concerning the Ruler 
of the Universe. In my next, should the subjects of the present 
communication come within the design of a journal exclusively agri¬ 
cultural, I will resume the subject more in detail. W. H. P. 
Gillespie's , Buckingham, Ocl. 14, 1834. 
MAXIMS. 
How can a mean man serve the state 1 When out of office, his 
sole object is to attain it; when he has attained it, his only anxiety 
is to keep it; and in this uprincipled dread of losing it he is ready 
to go all lengths.— Confucius. 
The generality of men expend the early part of their lives in con¬ 
tributing to render the latter part miserable.— La Bruyere. 
A rolling stone gathers no moss.— Latin. This may be applied 
metaphorically to many dissatisfied mortals, whose “ unstaid ten¬ 
dencies” will not permit them to remain long in any one place ; 
who waste their substance m their migrations, and whose circum¬ 
stances consequently never improve. 
The discovery of what is true, and the practice of that which is 
good, are the two most important objects of philosophy.— Voltaire. 
Money is a good servant, but a dangerous master..— Bonhouse. 
When we employ it to good purposes, money is a great blessing; 
but when we use it for wicked ends, or become so devoted to it as 
to endeavor to acquire it by dishonest means, it is then indeed a bad 
master. 
Advancement is to merit, what the ornament of dress is to hand¬ 
some persons.— French. 
Merit often proves an impediment to prosperity; the reason is, 
that it always has two bad effects, producing feelings of envy and 
fear.-—FV. Envy from those whom we excel, and fear from those 
whose pretensions we might set aside. 
The most delicate, the most sensible ot all pleasures, consists in 
promoting the pleasures of others.— La Bruyere. How happy would 
it be for the world, if all men were to make this sentiment the rule 
of their actions! 
