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Fire-Side, Vol. 1 No. 2 (1820), by Various
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Title: The Rural Magazine, and Literary Evening Fire-Side, Vol. 1 No. 2 (1820)
Author: Various
Release Date: April 19, 2015 [EBook #48741]
Language: English
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* * * * *
THE RURAL MAGAZINE, AND LITERARY EVENING FIRE-SIDE.
[Illustration: "VENERATE THE PLOUGH."]
VOL. I. PHILADELPHIA, _Second Month_, 1820. _No. 2._
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
THE VILLAGE TEACHER.
I cannot exactly tell why it was, that I felt particularly
interested in the prospectus for the _Rural Magazine_; but I
instantly resolved to become a subscriber, and fell to ruminating
upon the benefits it might confer upon the country. Whether I
conceived at once the idea of writing these essays, and took to
myself a full share of its imagined usefulness and celebrity; or
whether my satisfaction arose from disinterested motives, I felt
a glow of kind feeling towards the editors, which expanded itself
upon all around me. I dismissed my little school at an earlier hour
than usual, and having simply reprimanded some idle culprits, to
whom I should otherwise have administered the _ferule_, I devoted
the remainder of the afternoon to writing a letter to a friend in
town; in which I concluded a declamation upon the worthlessness of
literary fame, by requesting him to place my name in the list of
subscribers and contributors.
Since then, the Magazine has frequently been the subject of my
reveries; for the design is exactly what I have long desired to see
attempted. Every man who has travelled half way up the hill of life,
and has gained its fortieth milestone, will have amassed stores of
thought and observation, which he is apt to think of inestimable
value:--at least I find it so with me. There are many topics on
which I differ from my friends, and in regard to which I am anxious
to develope my opinions. Some others to which I attach a greater
importance than is usually done; and many upon which my particular
station in life has thrown lights which may be new and interesting
to the public mind. For these reasons, I have long desired to extend
my voice and authority beyond the precincts of my little kingdom,
and to try the experiment of schooling the public in some of those
great truths, which are too little regarded or understood, and
bringing back its taste to the pure and simple enjoyments of rural
life. Whether I shall succeed in my attempt to gain the public ear,
will depend, perhaps, upon accident; for while the greatest merit
has often languished in obscurity, folly and incapacity have as
often caught the gale of popular favour. If I fail, I shall not
be without consolation; for the most unsuccessful author finds it
easier to censure the public for want of penetration, than himself
for want of talent. I trust that I shall have occasion for no such
reflections. It may be an author's vanity, and yet the voice of
praise can scarcely reach my secluded abode; but my fancy already
paints the bright eyes, and glowing cheeks that will hang over
these essays, and the sober approbation with which mature age will
perceive that they are devoted to the cause of truth and sound
morality. Neighbour Schemer is welcome to pass over my numbers in
search of the newest plans of farming, so long as he allows his
blooming Emily to pause over them; and what do I care though old
Lovegain pronounce them to be stupid stuff? I had rather possess the
approbation and esteem of his lovely Sophia, than half his acres!
It is a hopeless task, and may seem full of vanity, to enter the
lists where so many have been foiled, and where all the great prizes
have been born away by the master spirits of former times. But not
to mention that fame is no object of my pursuit; the lofty rewards
I speak of, were gained by the finest geniuses in our language, and
conferred by the approbation of the world. My humbler attempt is
to please villagers and farmers; and my ambition will be attained,
if they crown me with the fragrant and perishing wreath that shall
resemble their grateful though short-lived recollections.
Custom and authority have assigned to the essayist a peculiar
character. He is privileged at all places and in every family.
Childhood loves and fondles upon him; and age and fashion, the man
of pleasure and the man of business, alike consult and confide in
him: above all, he is the particular favourite of the ladies, and is
supposed to be knowing in all the labyrinths of the female heart,
and all the points of etiquette and gallantry. He has, therefore,
from time immemorial, been their faithful adviser, transmitted their
billetsdoux, and corrected their letters. He is a notable dreamer,
a great traveller, and a universal scholar: he generally passes for
a grey headed sage, and yet is a very Proteus in his appearance and
behaviour. The family is descended from Isaac Bickerstaff, esq.; a
venerable gentleman, who made a considerable figure, and acquired
much substance in queen Anne's time. Some of his descendants have
been solemn and pedantic, and others giddy and frolicksome; but
the features I have portrayed, run more or less through the whole
family. Its enemies say that it is no longer what it was; that it
has retained its homely peculiarities, without its originality
and freshness, its wit and gallantry of character. Gentle reader,
believe me, this is an unfounded calumny!
A branch of the family settled in this country about eighty years
since, and some of the American descendants have proved worthy of
the original stock. One of them, renouncing the social habits of
his kinsmen, went abroad among the fields and the solitudes of
Nature, and there poured forth his soul in strains, of which a poet
might have been emulous. It was he who first made the English Muses
familiar with the sublimity of our native forests. Another, whose
natural disposition was checked by the force of circumstances,
devoted himself to the education of a favourite niece and nephew;
and has given a signal example that an old bachelor is not always
a useless being. A third, more merry and more melancholy, more
sarcastic and more eccentric than all who went before him, divided
his time between laughing at the world, and wandering over the
scenes of his youthful and perished enjoyments. He still lives,
although in a foreign clime and under an assumed name, to enjoy the
love and admiration of his countrymen.
Reader, I have already told thee how humble are my own pretensions.
If I do not attract thy regard from my own merits, love me for the
sake of my family; and have a kind eye to my rude speech and rustic
manners, in the recollection of those from whom I boast to have
descended.
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
ON THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE.
----Trahit sua quemque voluptas.... Virgil.
It is a fact which can never be successfully controverted, that man,
in every stage of society, is addicted to pleasure; the uncultivated
savage, and the sage philosopher are equally devoted to the
attainment of felicity; are equally desirous to secure a perpetuity
of happiness. The benevolent Creator of the universe seems to have
endowed the human race with faculties peculiarly susceptible of
pleasurable sensations; accordingly it becomes the business of
every one, almost from his first entrance into life, to seek after
such pleasures as are peculiar to the bent of his disposition, and
to avoid every object or pursuit that has a tendency to pain or
disappointment. If, however, all pleasures were in their nature
innocent, and left behind no sting of remorse and anxiety, still man
would inevitably soon feel the approaches of languor, especially
whilst indulging in a round of mere sensual gratifications, and
would earnestly sigh for some more permanent species of felicity; a
felicity which might gently affect his mind, without overpowering
his faculties in such a degree as to produce subsequent pain. But
as the world is now constituted, it becomes the indispensable duty
of the moralist, not only to guard mankind against excess in their
pleasures, but also to warn them against such as are accompanied
with vice and criminality. He therefore is not the true friend of
mankind, who recommends to his fellow beings a continual abstinence
from every gratification, or who would lead them to expect pleasure
from sensual gratifications alone; but he who points out to their
notice, those delights which are most durable, and at the same time,
consistent with the strictest virtue.
It must, without hesitation, be allowed, that religion is the
source of the most exalted happiness that any human being can
enjoy. Religion alone inspires the soul with a perfect dependance
on the goodness and love of the DEITY, and diffuses over the
mind that calmness and serenity, which inevitably proceed from a
reception of his mercy and benevolence, ever manifested towards
all his creatures. All the pleasures of life are so many poisonous
ingredients in our cup, till religion purifies and destroys the
noxious qualities with which they are tainted. Let religion mingle
with our pleasures, and every thing of an evil tendency vanishes
before it. Religion furnishes genius with its noblest theme, and
it affords the fullest employment for all the energies of the
human intellect. But another species of pleasure, most grateful,
and ennobling to the human mind, arises from the exercise of the
understanding in literary pursuits, and in the study and admiration
of the various productions of human genius. A life thus devoted
will afford more real gratification to an uncorrupted mind, than
voluptuousness, with all her allurement, can offer, or than
intemperance, with her bacchanalian crew, has power to bestow. We
may indeed almost venture to assert, that if pure and rational
happiness is any where to be found, except in the temples of
religion, she resides in the studies of the learned, and sweetens
all their labours. The cultivation of a literary taste is the
source of rational and innocent entertainment; it is a powerful
preservative from vice, and contributes to exercise in the soul a
love of virtue. The pleasures of sense are all transitory in their
nature, and have a direct tendency to debase the mind; while on the
contrary, intellectual pursuits, delight us the more we are engaged
in them, and even when their novelty is worn off, they still retain
their charms. From the first period in which man is endowed with
the use of his reasoning faculties, there is a constant struggle
between the animal and intellectual powers. These endeavour to raise
man to a state of immortal felicity, those, to sink and degrade him
to a level with the brutes. Whatever pleasures, therefore, tend to
increase the predominance of reason over the sensual desires, are
favourable to the interests of virtue and religion. The pleasures
of literature are of this nature; they strengthen and invigorate
the faculties of the mind, and render it capable of manly exertion;
they inspire cheerfulness and serenity, and produce an exquisite
gratification to the mental powers; in short, they are as much
superior to any thing of a sensual nature, as the nature of the
human soul is superior to that of the body.
W. M.
Jan. 4th, 1820.
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
The following is a copy from the original of a letter written by
Dr. Franklin, and never before published. As the subject is one,
invested at the present moment, with considerable interest to the
people of this country, and coming from the pen of a celebrated man,
whose patriotism, it is believed, was never doubted, it may perhaps
be acceptable to your readers, and worthy of preservation in the
pages of the _Rural Magazine_. Whether the Doctor is right or wrong
in his theory, the public will determine.
I.
_"London, Feb. 20, 1768._
"DEAR FRIEND.--I wrote to you a few lines by Capt. Falconer, and
I sent you Dr. Watson's new piece, of experiments in inoculation,
which I hope will be agreeable to you.
"The Boston people pretending to interfere with the manufactures
of this country, make a great clamour here against America in
general. I have endeavoured, therefore, to palliate matters a
little in several public papers. It would, as you justly observe,
give less umbrage if we meddled only with such manufactures as
England does not attend to. That of linen might be carried on
more or less in every family, (perhaps it can only do in a family
way) and silk I think in most of the colonies. But there are many
manufactures that we cannot carry on to advantage, though we
were at entire liberty. And after all, this country is fond of
manufactures beyond their real value: _for the true source of riches
is husbandry_. Agriculture is truly _productive of new wealth_;
manufacturers only change forms; and whatever value they give to
the materials they work upon, they in the meantime consume an
equal value in provisions, &c.; so that riches are not _increased_
by manufacturing; the only advantage is, that provisions in the
shape of manufactures, are more easily carried for sale to foreign
markets, and where the provisions cannot be easily carried to
market, 'tis well so to transform them for our own use as well as
foreign sale. In families also, where the children and servants
of farmers have some spare time, 'tis well to employ it in making
something; and in spinning, or knitting, &c. to _gather up the
fragments_ of time, _that nothing be lost_; for these fragments
though small in themselves, amount to something great in the year,
and the family must eat whether they work or are idle. But this
nation seems to have increased the number of its manufactures beyond
reasonable bounds, (for there are bounds to every thing,) whereby
provisions are now risen to an exorbitant price by the demand for
supplying home mouths; so that there must be an importation from
foreign countries: but the expense of bringing provisions from
abroad to feed manufacturers here, will so enhance the price of the
manufactures, that they may be made cheaper where the provisions
grow, and the mouths will go to the meat.
"With many thanks for your good wishes, I am, dear friend,
affectionately yours,
B. FRANKLIN.
"DR. CADWALLADER EVANS."
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
THE DESULTORY REMARKER.--No. I.
At lucre or renown let others aim,
I only wish to please the gentle mind,
Whom Nature's charms inspire, and lore of humankind.
_Beattie._
Perhaps there is no nation existing, amongst whom there is so large
a proportion of readers, as may be found in the United States. The
freedom of our form of government, and its appropriate concomitant,
the freedom of the press, impart the requisite facilities for a wide
dissemination of knowledge, and furnish the motives and the means
for cultivating it with success. Of newspapers, we have, if not
a redundant, at least a copious supply. They are introduced into
almost every nook and by-place of our extensive territory; and no
individual who can read, need deny himself the gratification, of
poring over their pages, and learnedly descanting on their contents.
The moral influence of these popular vehicles of intelligence,
may therefore from these facts, be properly estimated, and the
importance of their being judiciously conducted, will at once be
acknowledged. It is not the ponderous volume, the learned and
elaborate dissertation, the abstruse researches of the ontologist,
that moulds the sentiments of the great mass of any people, and
implants in their bosoms the every-day principles of action; for
to these they are utter strangers, and the laborious student may
continue to monopolize them, without exciting in their minds the
slightest regret: that however, which is brief, and simple, and
practical, in other words, that which will be _generally read_,
cannot fail to produce a deep and lasting impression on the public
mind.
With these convictions on the subject, it is contemplated, as
leisure and inclination may suggest, to furnish a series of
occasional papers, under the title indicated above. The plan of
the writer, like those of his illustrious predecessors, is broad
and liberal; unencumbered by systematic restraint; he intends to
ramble over hill and dale, to seek for admission, not only at the
cottage, but also at the mansion of opulence; and no topic shall be
excluded calculated to promote general utility. To liberalise the
public sentiment, to enlighten the public mind, in fine, to _make
men better_, and by a necessary consequence, to promote public and
private happiness, shall be his cardinal and favourite object. Human
life and its incidents, men and things, literature and morals,
will all be kept in view; and facts and illustrations, which may
be subservient to his purpose, whether derived from observation or
reflection, from society or from books, will not be forgotten or
disregarded. Of the negative qualities of his proposed papers, he
can speak without reserve and with entire confidence; they shall
never offend the eye or ear of delicacy or of virtue. Immediate and
personal observation, is entitled to a decided preference where
it is possible to be consulted; but to him, the extent of whose
migrations have been merely "from the blue bed to the brown," this
is a resource which will often fail. Distant countries and former
periods of time will therefore be contemplated, to use a significant
phrase of Dryden, "through the spectacles of books." By thus
cultivating an acquaintance with the generations which are past,
and by thus holding converse with the mighty dead, we may augment
the power of useful information, fortify our good principles, and
become better qualified to perform the respective duties assigned
us in the world. Human nature continues to travel onward with her
venerable but untiring companion, Time, without the least change of
character. Every feature, which appertained to her, six thousand
years ago, will still be recognized by the discerning observer. It
is, therefore, extremely desirable, that experience should not be
lost upon us; but that her beacons should serve as a polar star, by
which to steer our course with safety, through the dangerous and
perplexing labyrinths of life.
There is no question, that the very essence of papers, which shall
successfully prefer claims to popular favour, or to practical
utility, _must be variety_. The strength of Johnson himself could
not shield his great moral work from the charge of unvaried and
monotonous solemnity. He inculcated the doctrine, and exemplified it
by his own writings, that even "uniformity of excellence" will at
length nauseate the palate, not merely of the fastidious reader, but
of him likewise whose only object is truth.
A prominent purpose will be attained, if the dominion of fashionable
folly shall be narrowed, and the attention of her votaries withdrawn
from the frivolous and giddy circles in which they revolve; and
steadfastly directed to the great interests of society, the cause of
sound morals and unsophisticated virtue. Is it not a fact calculated
to awaken the most profound regret, that many of our fellow
citizens, particularly in the wealthy metropolis of Pennsylvania,
who are invested with an elevated rank in life, and enjoy in
profusion its good things, appear to live only for themselves? Men
of this description, are really blanks in existence; and mistake
most egregiously, the great errand of life. They may appropriately
adopt the language of Pomfret:
Custom the world's great idol we adore;
And knowing this, we seek to know no more.
Now education more than truth prevails,
And naught is current but what custom seals.
Thus from the time we first began to know,
We live and learn, but not the wiser grow.
Although sometimes assuming the province of a censor, the _Desultory
Remarker_ will on all proper occasions, delight to unbend the stern
and rigid brow of reproof, to mingle in the circles of innocent
mirth and cheerfulness. He who increases the stock of "harmless
pleasure," makes the public his debtor; but in order to ascertain
that such is the character of pleasure, the requisite tests must be
faithfully and rigorously applied. Cheerfulness uniformly shuns all
intercourse with vice, but virtue is her favourite and appropriate
companion.
The innocent are gay--the lark is gay,
That dries his feathers, saturate with dew,
Beneath the rosy cloud, while yet the beams
Of day-spring overshoot his humble nest.
The _Desultory Remarker_ having thus in a spirit at once unreserved
and candid, introduced himself to the reader will for the present
respectfully take his leave; but with the hope of having other
opportunities of cultivating a further acquaintance.
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
_Letters of a Citizen to his Friends in the Country._
No. II.
My own observation, and the opinions of others, induce me to
believe, that generally speaking, less attention is given to
_education_ among the farmers of Pennsylvania than was the case
half a century ago. At any rate, the opportunity for instruction
within the last fifty years, has not kept pace with the increased
ability to furnish it.
Land has appreciated, and the productions of the soil have yielded
great profits to the husbandman; but the intellectual harvest has
been of little account. The habits and manners of each successive
generation, display the avidity with which foreign customs and
fashions are embraced by the yeomanry of the country, but these
_outside_ evidences of what is called _refinement_, have added
nothing to the stock of our mental resources, and greatness. My
purpose however, is to suggest plans of improvement, rather than
to find fault with existing errors, for I am convinced that if a
liberal and judicious system be adopted for enlarging the minds of
our youth, and storing them with sound principles, the follies,
(perhaps the vices,) which now so much engross their attention,
disfigure their character, and mar their usefulness, would be
ultimately corrected. Scholastic learning _alone_ will not, I am
fully satisfied, mend the heart, or sanctify the understanding; but
I am equally sure, that _ignorance as a quality_, never contributed
to render the mind over which it held a dark and dreary reign, in a
greater degree susceptible of those benign views, and exalted aims,
which give to the _accountable being_, a just conception of the
design of his Creator.
If my opinion be worth any thing, of which you must be the judges, I
would recommend the establishment of schools in every neighbourhood;
but upon a very different foundation from that which generally
obtains. Instead of an itinerant schoolmaster, who goes forth in the
latter part of autumn in search of subsistence through the winter
months, often without qualifications for the task he solicits, and
not unfrequently of equivocal moral reputation, select a teacher
estimable for his private virtues as a man, and respectable for
his literary and scientific acquirements; remunerate him with a
liberal salary; erect a suitable and comfortable building for the
accommodation of the school: supply it with maps, globes, &c., and
commence a library of useful books. Send your children regularly
to school throughout the year, and thus make their education as
much a business, and duty, as the cultivation of your farms. Short
of this, will not fulfil the obligations which every parent owes
to his offspring. We are social beings, and our prosperity and
happiness depend primarily upon ourselves, and secondarily upon
others; so that we are advancing our own interests and comforts,
when we promote that of those by whom we are surrounded. In every
neighbourhood in the country there are a few individuals whose
pecuniary means will not permit them to defray the expenses of
education, which the more wealthy can afford, and the condition
of the indigent has been seriously affected in this respect,
by the institution of _boarding schools_. To those seminaries,
the children of the affluent are sent; the common schools are
consequently neglected; the poor go uninstructed, and a wide, and
fatal distinction is thus created, among the inhabitants of the
same vicinage. Rather, fellow citizens, than perpetuate this sort
of classification in society, direct your attention to the formation
of good schools at home, to which every child may be admitted; where
all may partake of the same common benefits and blessings. You will
thus place all on a par in the advantages of instruction, create in
the minds of all, the same respect for those moral obligations which
hold the community together in the bond of safety and peace, and
confer upon your offspring the most solid security.
A youth, the son of one who is competent to defray the expense of
his education at a boarding school, or college, is sent from home
at the age of sixteen; is absent three or four years; has formed
new associations, and contracted new notions; he returns to his
birth-place; he has outgrown the recollections, and intimacies of
his childhood; he feels a sort of elevation above the children of
his neighbourhood, who have been groping in ignorance during his
absence; he stands aloof; jealousy takes hold on the minds of those
who observe this difference, and every evil passion begins its
operation; the consequences are as sad, as they are certain.
Contemplate the reverse of the picture. Behold the youth of
adjoining farms for several miles in circumference, collected
together in one school; pursuing the same studies; partaking of the
same general care, in a moral and religious point of view, which
every conscientious teacher will find it his pleasure to extend
toward his pupils; participating in the same innocent recreations;
growing up together with similar views of private duty, and public
obligation; witness such an instance as this, and you may be assured
that from hence will proceed much which will dignify and adorn the
locality, where it is found to exist.
As these reflections have occurred to me, I have taken the freedom
of presenting them to your consideration. I am influenced by no
other motive than that which would induce me to be the humblest
agent in promoting the true interests of our country, and enlarging,
if it were in my power, the circle of human happiness.
CIVIS.
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
HISTORY.
There is scarcely any thing which is more injurious to the
mind, or which will more effectually prevent the acquisition of
knowledge, than a habit of reading for amusement only.--For, it
will necessarily happen, that impressions, which have not been
strengthened by reflection, will be quickly obliterated; and we
cannot expect to derive permanent advantage from the mere pursuit of
temporary enjoyment.
To obviate the effects of a practice so pernicious, and to accustom
the mind to the investigation of causes, the study of history
is peculiarly adapted, for while it furnishes to the reflecting
mind, ample room for the exercise of its powers, it is in itself,
sufficiently attractive, to engage the attention of the most
careless reader, it is indeed delightful, to
--------------------------"Steal
From all we may be, or have been before;
to associate with men, upon whom a world has gazed with fear and
wonder, to mingle in the conflicts Of nations, and to dwell upon the
restlessness of ambition, the fearless perseverence of patriotism:
nor is it less instructive to mark the gradual unfoldings of
virtuous or vicious propensities, and to observe how frequently
the sacrifice of all the enjoyments of life to the attainment of
some favourite objects has been rewarded, with the hopeless gloom
attendant upon satiety. History may thus be said to convey to us the
experience of ages; and he must be an indifferent or a prejudiced
observer, who cannot find his own feelings portrayed in the motives
which it developes.
But, with whatever views we may have undertaken this important
study, we shall find it fruitless of permanent benefit, unless
we shall have been impressed with the conviction of the absolute
necessity of examining into the evidence of facts, and the
correctness of deductions. It is thus only that we can be preserved
from the danger of imbibing erroneous opinions on subjects affecting
the common prejudices of mankind, or the peculiar doctrines of our
authors. It is this assumption of popular sentiments which has
degraded the human character, and reduced the highest intellectual
powers to a dependence upon the lowest; and it is this reliance upon
the impartiality of the historian, which has lent its assistance
to the speculations of a false philosophy, in leading men into all
the wanderings of scepticism. Let the student of history who is in
pursuit of truth, endeavour to acquaint himself with the private
opinions of the author whom he has taken for his guide, and let
him beware, lest he admit any conclusion, however unimportant,
which may seem to be at variance with the dictates of reason
or of experience. Two important ends will thus be attained. By
establishing a connection between the events detailed in history,
and the reasonings founded upon them, they will be more likely to be
retained in the memory; and by convincing himself of the fallacies
in the arguments of its opponents, the reality of any truth will be
more deeply impressed upon the mind. He who is thus habituated to
scrutiny, will derive instruction from the errors of those with whom
he is conversant; and may be compared (to borrow from the beautiful
simile of bishop Horne,) to those who visit the country in spring,
for whom "the very hedges are in bloom, and every thorn produces a a
flower."
C.
ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
The following is an extract of a letter from the late President
Adams, to a friend of the editors. Any thing from the pen of this
eminent and venerable man will be read with interest, and ought to
be public property. The anecdote is characteristic, and the obvious
moral influence to be deduced from it, will strike the mind of every
attentive reader.
_Quincy, January_ 12th, 1820.
DEAR SIR.--I thank you for your New-Year's letter, &c. * * * * As
agriculture is the nursing mother of us all, it cannot be too
assiduously cultivated; nor is it likely to be too much honoured,
while mercantile profits are so much greater, and military glory is
esteemed the highest glory!
The "American"[1] is an able writer; but I wish he had avoided
so many appearances of endeavouring to justify, or at least to
apologize for slavery in general. His arguments _ad hominem_ from
the Bible, reminded me of an anecdote, which as I am an old man, and
as old age has a privilege to be talkative and narrative, I will
attempt to relate: In the winter of '76, Mr. Paine's Common Sense
and my Thoughts on Government, made their appearance in public, the
one not long after the other. Common Sense recommended the Thoughts
on Government; an organization in three distinct departments, as
independent of each other as human beings can be;--the legislature
to consist of three branches. Mr. Paine came flying to my apartment,
to reproach me for publishing a monarchico, aristicratico,
democratico system. He scolded violently, but I soothed him down by
laughing at him in my turn. Paine, said I, how could you be such an
abominable hypocrite, as to pretend to prove in your Common Sense
from the Old Testament, that monarchy was not lawful by the word of
GOD? This struck him dumb for a moment, but recovering himself, and
shrugging his shoulders, and laughing, said, with great contempt; "I
believe nothing of the Old Testament, nor the New neither;" and then
pausing, said, "I have had thoughts of publishing my opinions upon
religion, but upon the whole I have concluded to put _it_ off till
the latter part of my life." This plan he consistently pursued.
[1] The author of a long letter to the "Edinburgh Reviewers,"
published in the National Intelligencer.
I am not sorry his bones are gone to England, to moulder in the soil
where they grew; for I claim neither to myself or to my country, any
honour from having once supported them.
I am, Sir, your obliged friend, and humble servant,
JOHN ADAMS.
FAMILIAR LETTERS
_From an Englishman in this country to his Friend at home._
(Communicated for the Rural Magazine.)
No. II.
_Philada. Sept. 16, 1819._
My Dear G.
You know how very apt persons are to form an opinion of other
persons with whom accident or design makes them acquainted, either
on the _very_ wise principles of Lavater, or the _still wiser_
principles of Doctor--what's his name--(I wish I could forget as
easily the labour I lost in studying him)--who first conceived
craniology. You know also that I had every predisposition to
the study of both these abstruse sciences, and the consequent
deductions; so you will not be much surprised when I tell you that I
have employed the time that has elapsed since the date of my last,
in observing the physiognomy of Philadelphia. I did this, before
I trespassed on the good-will, the hospitality, or the politeness
of any of its citizens. You will observe I am perfectly distinct
in my classification, and I beg of you to remember this, when you
peruse any of my rambling epistles hereafter. My letters would, I
hope, have commanded the civil attention of any person to whom they
were addressed, independent of any particular kindness to which the
recommendation of our venerable Quaker friend D---- of London would
on the principle of reciprocity entitle me. But before I penetrated
like Asmodeus in "Le Diable Boiteaux," into the domestic circle,
the parlour, the halls, the tables, or the toilettes, or (shall I
say it) to the counter and the desk. I wished to see the roofs, at
least, if I could not see through them. So for the last week I have
been studying physiognomies. There can be no need of apology to you
my friend, who, (Heaven be praised) have never had occasion to leave
the precincts of your ancient patrimony for any thing but pleasure,
for dilating on a city that so far as it regards myself, has
hitherto been on a par with Herculaneum or Pompeia. Some manuscripts
and some printed accounts I _have_ seen, but like those saved from
the lava of Vesuvius, they were hardly worth unfolding. Indeed, I
always pitied poor Sir Humphrey for so incomprehensible a task. He
had better have staid at home, and made experiments in separating
the brick and mortar from the old ruins lord L---- boasts of having
been in his family, at the smallest calculation from William Rufus.
I do wonder what it could have been that the ancients took such care
of.
Well--I have _seen_ Philadelphia.--And if it were not for the dull
monotony of its right angles--the wide streets that throw such an
immense space between your lodgings and any desired object--the want
of all the cries I have been used to in all the popular cities I
have frequented, except, indeed, the solitary halloo of a _sweep_,
(and then only before one gets up in a morning) and the everlasting
_gong_ that wakes me from my sweetest slumber, and dreams of home,
with all its indefinable attractions, I would say that Philadelphia
was a very decent, orderly, well arranged, and handsome city. But
give me Hogarth's line of beauty; I hate your everlasting parallels
that run together to infinity, and never unite. By the way I am told
that I shall be amply gratified in this respect in New York and
Boston. There is only one street in this city, called Dock street,
that is entitled to any claim to my fancy; and that is too broad,
and nobody lives in it--all shops and warehouses.
The weather is remarkably fine,--every body complains of a want
of rain:--for my part I must confess I had enough at home; and if
I must find fault with the climate, it is too hot. Yet I do not
find the lassitude I expected, consequent on exercise in the open
air. Notwithstanding a mid-day sun, that in England we should
have thought intolerable, a young gentleman with whom I formed an
acquaintance at our excellent hotel, prevailed upon me to take
a promenade along the Philadelphia Bond street, which here is
denominated Chesnut street. We saw some mansions that would not have
disgraced one of our fashionable squares;--some ladies that would
have honoured the very first equipage that sports in Hyde Park. Only
a few could boast of our Saxon complexion; but their forms were cast
in a superior mould;--this I apprehend is aboriginal--and although
I cannot learn that any are willing to acknowledge their derivation
from the native Indians, several circumstances induce me to believe
there has been a greater mixture with the first occupants of this
vast continent than has been generally supposed. But more of this
hereafter--if in my contemplated visit next summer to the falls of
Niagara, I should meet with some of the _deer_ skinned heroes and
heroines of this western hemisphere. I have laid all those of the
sock and buskin on the shelf, and am enthusiast enough to expect
perfection among the savages of North America. Why should I not?
Through all the obloquy that has been thrown upon them by their
ruthless despoilers,
"More savage still than they,"
through all that inveteracy of feeling which those who injure
universally entertain--and "they who injure never pardon," you may
still find a confession, or rather an admission of their virtues
and their talents, of their magnanimity of character, and their
elevation of soul. Not merely that indifference to privation and
bodily suffering which we have been taught, was characteristic of
savage life, but in spite of the natural principle of retaliation
and revenge, (and I will maintain that it is a natural principle)
they have evinced that virtue which the Bible has never taught many
of us who have had access to it--_forgiveness of our enemies_.
Do not, however, think that I have lost myself in the interminable
forests which still remain to the original proprietors of this
continent--or that I have assumed the rifle and the moccasin. I
should even prefer taking up my residence in this place which you
know we have always considered one of the advanced posts in the
march of civilization. It is true I have not yet descended from the
roofs as aforesaid, to see what kind of an animal a Philadelphian
really is in his own family circle, and shall have to defer a
picture of this non-descript till opportunity of observation occurs.
I have as yet seen only the outside. I have seen the Pennsylvania
hospital externally; I have seen the figure of old William Penn
standing like a good old fashioned broad brimmed sentinel before
the door of the edifice, like all sentries exposed to the wind
and the weather, with his head as it were drooping over the fine
hot-house plants that surround him. But a bronze statue of the old
gentleman I must confess seemed rather _outre_, although he richly
deserved an equipment in that same costume from the perseverance
which history tells us he evinced in the strife with the bailiffs
that beset him in our old island. But let that pass; I would consent
to be surrounded by tipstaves all my life to leave such a character
as he did behind.--I have seen the Academy of Fine Arts, most
modestly retiring from public view, behind a range of buildings
that some of the cits have unconscionably erected on the front of
the street, thus clearly evincing their disposition, to use the
words of my Chesnut street friend, to throw the fine arts in the
_back ground_. By the way the good people here are said to be (by
the New Yorkers at least) most intolerably given to _punning_, and
I must admit that some of the gentlemen who attend our excellent
ordinary, have put off a few attempts at that vile species of wit,
of a most contemptible character. I should, however, be very sorry
to pass an opinion on the whole genus by the few specimens I have
seen. Philadelphia is really a very handsome city; yet to take a
panoramic view of it, _you_ would be exceedingly disappointed. There
are no steeples, or rather there is _one_, and that a very decent
one--the architecture of which is by no means contemptible; but then
there is _but one_ steeple in a city of upwards of fifteen thousand
houses, principally constructed of brick. If there were only a
standard or ensign appended to its spire, which is about 200 feet
from the ground, and that standard in proportion to its height, this
goodly town would look like one grand encampment. Few of the houses
exceed three stories, of about ten or twelve feet each. The city is
however, flanked by two shot towers, one in the southeast, the other
in the northwestern extremity; which afford some relief to the dead
uniformity in the general aspect of the town. How successful the
proprietors of these said towers may have been in the pursuit of
their vocation, I know not; but for ornament to this place, I would
not give one steeple, like that which is bottomed in the good old
diocesan episcopal church for a thousand of them.
You see I have obeyed the injunction laid on me at parting, to
express every thing as it presented itself to my observation, but in
nothing can you find more sincerity of feeling than when I assure
you neither time nor distance has diminished the warmth of affection
with which I continue to be your friend.
_Treatise on Agriculture._
SECT. II.
Of the actual state of Agriculture in Europe.
This is very different in different states, and even in different
parts of the same state; its greater or less degree of perfection,
depending on causes physical, or political, or both. Where a
state, or part of a state, from _soil_, _climate_, _manners_, or
_geographical position_, draws its principal subsistence from the
fishery or the chase, as in the more northern parts of Europe,
agriculture will not succeed; when a state is from any cause both
essentially maritime or manufacturing, as in England, or principally
manufacturing, as in Prussia; where public opinion has degraded
manual labour, as in Spain, Portugal, and the Papal territory; or
where laws villainize it, as in Russia, Prussia, Poland, Hungary,
&c. &c. it is in vain to expect pre-eminent agriculture.--These
principles will receive illustration as we go along.
1. In the Campania of Rome, where in the time of Pliny were counted
twenty-three cities, the traveller is now astonished and depressed
at the silence and desolation that surround him.--Even from Rome
to Trescati, (four leagues of road the most frequented) we find
only an arid plain, without trees, without meadows, natural or
artificial, and without villages, or other habitation of man!
Yet is this wretchedness not the fault of soil or climate, which
(with little alteration[2]) continue to be what they were in the
days of Augustus. "_Man is the only growth that dwindles here_,"
and to his deficient or ill directed industry, are owing all the
calamities of the scene.[3] Instead of the hardy and masculine
labours of the field; the successors of Cato and of Pliny employ
themselves in fabricating _sacred vases, hair powders and pomatums,
artificial pearls, fiddle strings, embroidered gloves, and religious
relics_! They are also great collectors of pictures, statues, and
medals--"dirty gods and coins," and find an ample reward in the
ignorance and credulity of those who buy them.
[2] The climate of Italy is now warmer than it was in the Augustan
age, which Buffon ascribes to the draining of great tracts of swampy
lands in Germany.
[3] "Un Romain meme le plus indigent rougiroit de cultiver la
terre." Bosc.
2. How different from this picture is that of _Tuscany_! where
the soil, though less fertile,[4] is covered with grains, with
vines, and with cattle; and where a surface of 1200 square
leagues, subsists a population of nine hundred and fifty thousand
inhabitants, of whom eighty thousand are agriculturists. It may
amuse, if it does not instruct, the reader, to offer a few details
of a husbandry, among the most distinguished of the present age. The
plough of the north of Europe, as of this country, has the powers of
a wedge, and acts perpendicularly; but that of Tuscany resembles a
shovel, is eight or nine inches long, and nearly as broad, and cuts
the earth horizontally. This instrument is particularly adapted to
the loose and friable texture of the soil. A second plough, of the
same shape, but of smaller size, follows that already described, and
with the aid of the hoe and the spade,[5] throws the earth, already
broken and pulverised, into four feet ridges, or beds, on which the
crop is sown. The furrows answer a threefold purpose; they drain the
beds of excessive moisture, ventilate the growing crops, and supply
paths for the weeders.
[4] "Two thirds of Tuscany consist of mountains." Vol. viii. p. 232.
_Geographic, Mathematique et Phisique_: See also Forsyth's remarks,
p. 80, where are detailed the principal causes of her prosperity.
"Leopold," says he, "in selling the crown lands, studiously _divided
large tracts_ of rich but neglected land, into _small properties_.
His favourite plan of encouraging agriculture consisted, not in
_boards_, _societies_, and _premiums_, but in giving _the labourer
a security and interest in the soil_--in multiplying small
freeholders--in extending the livelli, or life leases, &c. &c.
[5] It is among the most important covenants of a Tuscan lease, that
one third of the ground be annually worked with a spade.
The _rotation of crops_, employs two periods of different length;
the one of three, the other of five years. In the rotation of
_three_ years, the ground is sown five times, and in that of four
years, seven times, as follows.
First year, wheat, and after wheat lupins.
Second year wheat, and after wheat turnips.
Third year, Indian corn or millet.
First year, wheat, and after wheat beans.
Second year, wheat, and after wheat lupins.
Third year, wheat, and after wheat lupinella: (annual clover.)
Fourth year, Indian corn, or millet.
In the _Syanese Maremna_, where the lands want neither repose or
manure, the constant alternation is _hemp_ and _wheat_, and the
produce of the latter, often twenty-four bushels threshed, for one
sown.
It will be seen from this course of crops, that the principal
object of Tuscan agriculture, is wheat, of which they have two
species, the one bald, the other bearded; both larger than the
corresponding species in other countries of Europe; convertible
into excellent bread and pastes, and probably but varieties of that
_Sicilian family_, which Pliny describes, as yielding "_most flour_
and _least bran_, and _suffering no degradation from time_." It
is harvested about the middle of June and when the grain crop is
secured, the ploughing for the second, or forage crop, begins; which
besides lupins, lupinella, and beans, often consists of a mixture of
lupins, turnips, and flax. The lupins ripen first and are gathered
in autumn; the turnips are drawn in the winter and the flax in the
spring.
Besides the application of _ordinary manures_, the lupin is ploughed
down, _when in flower_; a practice that began with the Romans:
Columella says, "of all leguminous vegetables, the _lupin_ is
that which most merits attention, because it costs least, employs
least time and furnishes an _excellent manure_." The culture of
this vegetable is different, according to the purposes for which
it is raised; if for grain, the ground has two ploughings and
twenty-five pounds weight of seed to a square of a hundred toises:
if for manure, one ploughing is sufficient. Like our buckwheat,
its vegetation is quick and its growth rapid; whence the farther
advantage of suppressing, and even of destroying the weeds that
would have infested any other crop. In the neighbourhood of
Florence, they are in the practice of _burning the soil_; which they
do by digging holes, filling them with faggots and raising the earth
into mounds over them.--The faggots are then inflamed and burnt, and
with them the incumbent earth, which is afterwards scattered, so as
to give the whole field the same preparation.
3d. "The countries," says Arthur Young, "the most rich and
flourishing of Europe, in proportion to their extent, are probably
_Piedmont_ and the _Milanese_. We there meet all the signs of
prosperity--an active and well conditioned population, great
exportations, considerable interior consumption, superb roads, many
opulent towns, a ready and abundant circulation, the interest of
money low, the price of labour high; in one word, it is impossible
to cite a single fact that shews that Manchester, Birmingham, Rouen,
and Lyons, are in a condition equally prosperous, as the whole of
these Dutchies." Their population is stated at "1,114,000, and the
territory at little more than two millions of arpents, (acres.)
Wheat, rye, indian corn, flax and hemp, the vine and the olive,
the caper and the cotton tree, with all kinds of garden fruits and
vegetables, are cultivated here: the soil knows no repose, and much
of it yields annually and uniformly two crops of grain, or three
of grass."[6] These are the miracles of irrigation; not a drop of
water is lost. Besides the permanent supplies furnished from lakes,
ponds, rivers, creeks and springs, even the winter torrent and
summer shower, are every where intercepted by drains, and led to
reservoirs; whence they are distributed at will to the neighbouring
grounds.
[6] Geographic, Mathematique, &c. Article Italie.
In 1770, an agricultural school was established at Milan, consisting
of 220 boys, who were instructed in theoretical and practical
husbandry.--This institution has escaped the notice of travellers;
and we are unable to say whether it has or has not, fulfilled the
intentions of its projectors.
4. _Switzerland_ has about 1444 square leagues of surface, and
presents an assemblage of mountains, one rising above another, until
the summits are lost in masses of snow and ice, which never melt.
This short description sufficiently indicates the character of both
the soil and the climate; yet unpropitious as these are, we find
a population of 1242 inhabitants to each square league! "This is
perhaps the country of the world, which presents the most happy
effects of an industry always active and persevering. The traveller
who climbs her mountains, is struck with admiration when he beholds
vineyards and rich pastures in those places, which before appeared
naked and barren rocks. The traces of the plough are perceived on
the border of precipices, where the most savage animals do not pass
without danger; in one word the inhabitants appear to have conquered
all obstacles, whether arising from soil, position or climate and
to have drawn abundance from territory, condemned by nature to
perpetual sterility."[7]
[7] Idem. Article Helvetia.
5. The classical reader will remember, that _Spain_ was the garden
of the Hesperides of the Roman writers; by which was meant the
combinations of a fine climate, a rich soil and an active and
intelligent agriculture. To this state of things, even the empire of
the Goths was not fatal,[8] and that of the Moors rendered it still
more distinguished. In their hands, the plains of Valentia were
cultivated throughout, with the utmost care and skill; and where
their wheels, reservoirs, and drains of irrigation, yet remain, the
soil continues to yield the richest and most abundant products.
In Catalonia, Navarre, Galitia and the Austurias, many species of
the ancient agriculture are yet in vigour, because "the _leases
are long_, and the _landlord cannot capriciously violate them_."
The same causes are followed by the same effects, in the three
districts of Biscaya, Guiposcoa and Alava. "In running over these,
every thing one finds is animated by the presence of liberty and
industry; nothing can be more charming than the coasts, nothing more
attractive than the culture of the vallies. Throughout the thirty
leagues that separate Bedassod from Vittoria, every quarter of an
hour we discover some well built village, or comfortable cottage."[9]
[8] It appears from Varro _Dere rustica_ and the letters of
Cassiodorus, that the Goths introduced into Spain the subterranean
granaries, called _Siilos_, and the _art of irrigation_. The former
are now exclusively used in Tuscany, and Cato's precept, 'Prata
irrigua,' &c. shews whence their knowledge of the latter was derived.
[9] Burgoing's modern Spain, vol. i.
How different is the aspect of the other provinces! In these, not
more than two thirds of the earth are cultivated; and "it is not
uncommon to travel eight and ten leagues together, without finding
a trace of human industry. In the district of Badejoz alone, is a
desert of twenty-six leagues in length and twelve in breadth.[10]
Ten of the fourteen leagues that traverse the duchy of Medina
Sidonia, consist altogether of pasturage. There is no where a
vestige of man; not an orchard, not a garden, not a ditch, not a
cottage to be seen! The great proprietor appears to reign, like the
lion in the desert, repulsing by his roaring all who would approach
him. But, instead of human colonies, we encounter troops of horned
cattle and of _mares_, wandering, self directed, over plains, to
which the eye can discover no boundary or barrier, and which brings
to one's recollection the days when the beasts shared with man the
empire of the earth."[11]
[10] Borde's Hineraira de l'Espagne, vol. iv. p. 30.
[11] Burgoing. Spain has been long renowned for its horses. The
Romans, in settling their pedigree and illustrating their swiftness,
called them '_the children of the winds_.'
"Even when the plough is used, it is little more than a great knife
fastened to a stick, that just scratches the surface. The grain is
threshed by horses, or mules driven over it, of by means of a plank
studded with nails or flint stones and drawn across it. With even
this miserable culture, the land in Andalusia yields considerable
crops; yet are the inhabitants too lazy or too few to gather them
together. This is done by Galiegos, who are the labourers of Spain."
We need scarcely remark, that in a state of agriculture like this,
the peasantry cannot be either well fed or well clothed. "The
mountaineers live principally upon roasted acorns and goats' milk,
and those of the plain (from Barcelona to Malaga) on bread steeped
with oil, and occasionally seasoned with vinegar."[12]
[12] Swinburne's Travels, Vol. I. A Spanish peasant, who has earned
or begged enough for the wants of the day, will refuse to earn more,
even by running an errand. Striking as this fact is, it does not so
well illustrate Spanish indolence as the following anecdote from the
same pen. In the great sedition at Madrid, which ended in the defeat
of the king and the disgrace of his minister, (the Marquis des
Squillas) and in its most fervid moments, both parties retired about
dinner time to take their _nap_ or _meridiana_, after which they
returned to the combat with new vigour and enraged fury. If _habits_
can thus control the _passions_, to what important uses might not a
wise legislation turn them?
It is wide of our object to examine the causes of the degradation
of character, which marks the agriculture of Spain. Well informed
writers have ascribed it to the expulsion of the Moors and Jews,
to the weight of taxes and imposts, to the _mesta_ or common right
of pasturage, to the discovery of America and its consequences,
to the effect of climate and the ill judged charity of bishops
and convents, but principally to the great _manorial grants_ and
_unequal division_ of the soil, which followed the conquest. "We
often find six, eight, ten, and even fifteen leagues of extent
belonging to one master. The nobility and clergy possess nearly the
whole country. One third of Spain belongs to the families of Medina,
Celi, D'Alva, De l'Infatado, D'Aceda, and to the archbishops,
bishops and chapters of Toledo, Compostella, Valentia, Seville
and Murcia. A great proportion of these lands remain untilled and
untenanted, and those which are let in _Cortijo_ or farms are double
or treble the quantity that can be occupied in tillage."[13]
[13] Le Borde's Heneraire D'Espagne, Vol. 1.
6. The agriculture of _Portugal_, has been subjected to the same
evils as that of Spain, to which may be superadded, her connexion
with Great Britain; under whose policy she has become a raiser of
_fruit_ instead of _grain_.
7. _France_ is probably the country of Europe, which most unites
the great desiderata of an extended and profitable agriculture;
fertility of soil, mildness of climate, a dense population, an
enlightened government, and facility of exportation. Within her
ancient limits, she boasts of a surface of more than one hundred and
fifteen millions of arpents, and a population of twenty-two millions
of inhabitants. The following tables will shew, in a compressed
form, the nature of her soil, and the use to which it is put.[14]
[14] See Geographique, &c. Vol. VI. Art. _France_, p. 13, and
Young's tour through France.
GEOLOGICAL TABLE.
Arpents or Acres.
Alluvial and other rich soil, 26,159,340
Chalky do 13,268,911
Gravelly do 3,261,826
Stony do 18,128,660
Sandy do 7,553,956
Substratum of clay with a slight
covering of sand--called
_landes_, 21,879,120
Granitic and other mountains 25,261,946
AGRICULTURAL TABLES.
Arable land 63,600,000
Vineyards, 4,764,960
Woods, 15,931,850
Natural meadows, 5,464,800
Artificial meadows, 6,332,100
Lakes, marshes, wastes, 19,400,049
-----------
Total, 115,493,759
From the average of a number of statistical tables made by the Abbe
D'Expillyt and others, it appears that in 1777, the agriculture of
France was sufficient for the subsistence of its inhabitants, and
had a surplus to spare;[15] and though it be universally admitted
that her condition in this respect is not less prosperous _now_ than
it was _then_,[16] still it cannot be dissembled that her husbandry
has many defects.
[15] The products of agricultural labour, were, in these tables,
stated at 114,552,000 L. T. Those of manufacturing labour at
128,015,000.
[16] The effects of the revolution of 1789 on _agriculture_ are no
longer doubtful. The suppression of _tythes_--of the _exclusive
privilege_--of the _chase_--of every species of _corvee_ (labour
performed by tenants for landlords)--of _taxes_ or _rents_, and of
_rights_ of _commonage_--was among these effects; and if to these
we add the _division_ of the _great landed estates of the nobility
and clergy_, there can no longer be any scepticism on this point. No
truth is better established than the advantage of _small_ farms over
_great_, as far as the _public_ is concerned. The Roman latifundia
(military grants) destroyed Roman agriculture.
1. A supposed resemblance between the earth and animals, gave rise
to _fallows_; because men and horses required repose after _labour_,
it was supposed that after _cropping_, the earth also required it.
Faithful to this absurd analogy, the French landlord binds down his
tenent by lease, not to crop the soil more than _three_ years in
_four_, which in effect is to consign to barrenness or weeds, one
fourth of the whole arable land of France yearly!
2. There is not a sufficiently fixed, or steady proportion, between
_arable_ and _pasture_ land.--The production of grain is the great
object of culture--often with too little regard to the nature of the
soil, and generally without any to its improvement. "Where pasturage
is scanty, where natural meadows are bad, where artificial are rare,
and root husbandry little extended, cattle cannot be either numerous
or well conditioned; and as without these there can be no manure, so
without manure there can be no abundance."[17]
[17] Herbin's statistique Gen. de la France Vol. I. introduc.
3. The land is generally worked by _farmers, hired for that purpose,
or by renters on short leases_; which in neither case betters the
condition of the soil; the one having no interest in improvements,
and the other too small a one to justify any expense in making them.
4. A _good rotation system_, adapted to the soil and climate, is not
absolutely unknown, and may be found even in whole districts (as
in French Flanders) but much too rarely. We have seen _wheat_ and
_fallows_ alternately for years; and _wheat_, _rye_, _hemp_, and
_rye_, and many others equally ridiculous.
5. To the eye, more than one half of France is a common, without
fences of any kind, excepting garden or park walls. Can there be
order, economy and security, under such circumstances? Can the
_police_ and the _gens d'armes_ be sufficient substitutes?
[_Albany Argus._
(To be continued.)
_The Moral Plough Boy._
In that volume whose morality is as sound, as the religion, it
inculcates is celestial; and which is in fact an inexhaustible
source of human wisdom, as well as a pure and incorruptible fountain
of divine light; we are taught to "_despise not the day of small
things_."
How much better off than they are, would thousands of their
countrymen be at this moment, had this injunction never failed
of its proper effect upon their conduct! If they had constantly
cherished it in their recollection and carried it into practice in
their daily occupations. But to contemplate the past or the present
is needless, if it be not with a view to awaken the soul not only to
a proper train of reflection, but to a salutary system of practice
for the future.
If we had not "_despised the day of small things_," and sought
too eagerly after brilliant speculations and splendid fortunes,
thousands of us might now be blessed with ease and competence, and
still animated by a sober and useful spirit of industry, who are, on
the contrary, plunged into embarrasment, stripped of our property,
and paralyzed in our energies.
We began the world with fair prospects, and we thought, at the same
time with firm resolutions not to blast them by seeking too eagerly
after _fairer_ ones; but man is rarely contented with what is simply
good or bright; he must have something _better_ and _brighter_.
There is always some tree whose fruit is forbidden, or beyond his
reach, but of which he cannot rest easy till he has tasted. He
can never think of resting upon the clear declivity, whilst the
"cloud-capped" summit is above him, veiling something which he has
not seen, and which may be, as he is apt to imagine, a pleasing, a
valuable or a wonderful discovery.
Thus it is that we always reject the good within our grasp, in
the delusive hope of grasping something better beyond it; that we
lose sight of the content and happiness which are to-day within
our reach; and look to the morrow to bring forth that which will
satisfy our desires, and cause us to rejoice in our existence. But
the morrow comes, our anticipations are not realized, and we vainly
regret that we had not enjoyed the day before, as we might have
done, without trusting to a deceitful futurity.
We aim to inculcate moderation in the desire of wealth, or of
any other acquisition which is supposed to contribute to human
happiness, combined with a steady, industrious and persevering
attention to the means of obtaining what we desire. To this end, we
must not "_despise the day of small things_;" but must set out in
every undertaking with a determination to take advantage of the most
trivial, as well as the most important circumstance, calculated to
favour our designs. We must watch with the eyes of an _Argus_ for
Opportunity, never forgetting, that she is bald behind, and must
therefore be caught by the forelock, if caught at all. When once
she turns her back upon us, she is soon out of sight, and we vainly
attempt to overtake her. She mocks at our folly, and leaves us to
brood, in hopeless amazement, over our own blindness and imbecility.
But who are they that "_despise the day of small things_?" They
are too numerous for description in a brief essay; but we shall
point out a few, and leave the reader's imagination to enlarge the
catalogue.
The MECHANIC who puts off a small job, as unworthy of his attention,
because he happens to have a larger one on hand; without stopping
to reflect, that small streams are more numerous than large ones;
that the former continually supply the latter; and that by a steady
succession of small jobs, he may acquire a capital to execute large
ones upon his own account.
The MERCHANT who will sit behind his counter with a segar in his
mouth, and think it derogatory to his dignity to reply to a demand
for a shilling's worth of any thing. Such "_small things_" are too
insignificant for this man of smoke; and consequently when those who
call for them, and find themselves neglected, have occasion to make
a _large_ purchase, they go to him, who will not only lay down his
segar, but leave his dinner, if required to wait upon them in ever
so small a way.
The PHYSICIAN, who passes by the the poor man's door hardly stopping
to give a hasty prescription, although he never fails to loiter in
the sick rooms of the rich and the powerful, till his sycophancy
becomes as disgusting to the mind, as his medicine is nauseating to
the stomach of his patient.
The LAWYER who turns a deaf ear to an honest client with but _five_
dollars in his pocket; but is quick of hearing when accosted by a
party with a _fifty dollar bill_, and not over scrupulous either
about the justice of the cause.
The CLERGYMAN--and what shall we say of the Clergyman, who
"_despises the day of small things_;" who forsakes and forgets the
poor, but pious flock, which first cherished him, to gratify his
pride and ambition, and acquire those robes and riches which moths
may corrupt and thieves may steal; and who is so eager withal to
make converts, that he does not stop to be satisfied that conversion
is the offspring of conviction, forgetting how much joy there is in
Heaven over one sinner that truly repenteth; and that the hope of
the hypocrite shall perish for-ever!
The FARMER who clears more land than he can cultivate to advantage,
destroying the present and preventing the future growth of timber to
no purpose; who keeps his produce on hand, when he can get a good
and saving price, in hopes it may rise; who sells it at last for
less than he could have had at first; and who is not as grateful to
God for a scanty harvest, as he is for a plentiful one.
We might enlarge the catalogue of those, who, by "_despising the day
of small things_," never arrive at that of great ones; but we do
not wish to tire the reader with a tedious essay, when a light and
pleasant one is our aim.
There is, however, one precious delinquent, in whose soul we would
gladly awaken those moral energies which alone can save it from
eventual ruin; from the tortures of self condemnation, the contempt
of mankind, and the horrors of despair.
We mean the YOUNG STUDENT of GENIUS, who consumes the vigour of his
youth in the haunts of vice and infamy--who despises the minutia
of his profession, whatever it may be, and wantonly neglects his
daily studies for the _present_, in pursuit of pleasure, intending,
perhaps, to make great and rapid strides at a _future_ time--but
when that time arrives may find his former neglect and dissipation
have destroyed the energies of his mind, and left it like a sieve,
incapable of containing any thing but dregs! In this case the ruin
is indeed a melancholy one; for instead of being "led, through paths
of glory, to the grave," the stews and the state prison are too
often the pathways of such a youth to that closing scene; and his
_hic jacet_ may be found, if found at all, in the _Potter's field_,
that last receptacle of the dregs of humanity! Think of this, ye
giddy, ye thoughtless young men, who are squandering your precious
moments in idleness and vice, dishonouring yourselves, disgusting
your friends, disappointing the expectations of your country,
breaking the hearts of your fond parents, and bringing their "grey
hairs with sorrow to the grave!" How bitter will be your feelings,
when you are driven to reflect, as you finally must be, and perhaps
at the foot of the gallows, that by your folly and wickedness, you
have not only sealed your own ruin, but madly
"Steep'd a mother's couch in tears,
"And ting'd a father's glowing cheek with shame!"
Many of those giddy young men, to whom these remarks apply, may
perhaps sneer at the idea of being brought up at last, in their mad
career, by the arm of the public executioner. But let them turn, in
some hour of solitude, if such hours ever bless them with the sweets
of calm reflection, to the pages of the _Criminal Recorder_! They
will there find, that from GEORGE BARNWELL, down to JAMES HAMILTON,
those who have died upon the gallows have not always plunged at
once into the depths of depravity; but have gone on, step by step,
from slight deviations to serious ones, till they have lost all
sense of shame, and become rebels to God as well as man. In this
degraded state of their souls, they have not stopt at the brothel,
the cock-pit, or the gambling table; but urged by the demons of
hell, they have wantonly seized the dagger of assassination, and
bathed it in the blood of innocence! thus closing their criminal
career by a deed of desperation.
H. H. jr.
Mr. Nicholson's Prize Essay.
_On a Rotation of Crops, and the most profitable mode of
collecting, preserving, and applying Manures._
(Communicated to the Albany County Agricultural Society.)
[CONTINUED.]
In the spring of the third year, we propose to sow the ground with
barley, after two or three ploughings--seed, two and a half bushels
to the acre. At the same time also, give the ground at least 12
pounds of red clover seed to the acre, which may be carefully mixed
with the barley, and sown together. Harrow the ground before sowing,
and harrow in the seed, after it has been prepared in the manner
before directed; then, if the farmer is in possession of the roller,
let this be passed over the ground, particularly if it be somewhat
dry; for, in such case, barley, being covered with a husk, requires
a close envelopement with earth, in order that the progress of its
germination be not either partially or wholly retarded. Next spring
give the ground a top dressing of gypsum, of from one to two bushels
to the acre, as circumstances may seem to require.--Two clover
crops are to be expected this season. The next, either one or two
may be taken, according to the climate, but usually one only in
more northerly regions; and in this case let the second growth be
laid prostrate, by the roller passing over it in the same direction
in which the plough is to follow, in order that the growth may be
carefully turned under, which will form an excellent lay for winter
wheat, or for rye, if the climate is not adapted to the growth of
the former crop. In suitable climates, wheat will succeed on a good
clover lay even on light sandy lands. It is believed, however,
that the species of wheat which is considerably cultivated in
Pennsylvania, called spelt, (_triticum spelta_) may be successfully
cultivated in any part of the northern states where wheat of the
common sorts do not flourish.--When the sward has thus been turned
under, let the surface be levelled by running the harrow lightly
over it, in the same direction in which the plough runs, and then
cover the seed with the harrow, run in a similar direction. Let the
seed wheat be prepared in the manner before described, and let it
be free from any mixture of rye, or the seeds of cockle, or other
weeds. Next spring give the ground another top dressing of gypsum,
in order that a growth of white clover may rise after harvest, as
this will afford considerable fall feed, and a fresh sward to be
turned under in the latter part of the fall, the effect of which
will be explained when speaking of manures, &c.
Thus our rotation requires six seasons for its completion, and
is composed of six or more different and successive crops. In
exhibiting our plan, we intend it merely as an outline of what
we deem at least one of the best and most profitable systems
of culture that can be pursued in good arable lands, where all
obstructions to the most complete culture have been removed.--Other
courses may probably be devised which may be as good, but we feel
confident there can be none better. We consider this rotation
as comprehending a sufficient variety of crops for every purpose
of affording the land rest by changes; and although a course of
rotation might be made to include a greater variety of crops,
still the profits of them in the aggregate, would probably be less
than in the plan we propose. We insist much on the culture of root
crops for the greatest possible profits. In some instances the
growths of roots and vines we propose, as well as of the grain
crops, might be substituted for others, and sometimes, for the sake
of further variety of growths, particularly of roots, it might
be advisable; all this must, however, depend on the soil, and on
other circumstances. If the soil be rich and deep, perhaps the
mangel wurzel, should have a preference to the common turnip, and
the pumpkin, in the first years crop, and perhaps in such soil the
cabbage culture should sometimes come in for a share.
We should hardly advise that crops of carrots or of parsnips should
ever enter the list of a general rotation of crops, as they require
peculiar soils, and uncommon preparation. They are very valuable
crops for particular purposes, but their uses for feeding and
fatting cattle seem to be in a great measure superseded by the less
expensive culture of the crops before-mentioned. There are, however
some mellow fertile soils, of sandy texture, where these roots,
particularly carrots, may be cultivated with great advantage. A very
serious objection to the culture of parsnips is, that in the soils
most suitable for them they extend so deeply that their extraction
from the earth is a matter of no small difficulty.
In recommending the alternate culture of the pumpkin with the corn
crop, we have been influenced by two considerations; firstly, from
an account we have lately seen of a trial made of the culture of
the large sort of pumpkin by itself, in which at the rate of 25
tons to the acre were raised; and, secondly we are of opinion that
in cultivating the crop in the way we propose, nearly as great a
product may be obtained as if the ground were planted entirely
with this crop.--Growing in drills by itself it will not impede
the growth of the corn, nor do we conceive that this crop will be
injured by the extension of the pumpkin vines over the ground;
whereas if the two crops were planted together in the same hills, or
drills, as is commonly practised, the growth of the one must, in a
great measure, serve to rob the other of its due share of nutriment.
The large sort of pumpkin, to which we have reference, has been
raised of the weight of upwards of 150 pounds, but it is probably
less nutritious, because less sweet, than pumpkins of the common
sorts. Another large sort, which we have seen exhibited in this
county, of more than four feet in length, is probably entitled to a
preference for culture, as it appears to be as sweet as pumpkins of
the smaller kinds.
In selecting seed for the pumpkin crop, take such plants as bear the
greatest weight of pumpkins, and from the largest of these let the
seed be preserved.
We have next to speak of the rotations proper for clayey lands,
or those which have more or less alumin in their composition.
Lands of this description are various, as well in regard to their
natural fertility, as to their being more or less inclined to
a superabundance of moisture. Some are naturally too wet for
cultivating even grain crops with success, and should therefore
be kept for mowing and grazing lands. Some again may be merely
too wet for crops of winter grain, and in such case spring crops
should be substituted, while at the same time the lands should be
more applied to the business of the dairy, and of the grazier. In
the mean time, let the possessor of lands which are naturally
too wet, proceed to laying at least a part of them dry, by hollow
drains; and then by making his barn dung principally into heaps
of compost, in which lime and sand shall be considerably used as
additional ingredients, and applying such compost manure to the
drilled crops before-mentioned, and in the manner before directed,
he will find no difficulty whatever in pursuing the course of crops
we have recommended, nor of raising them of luxuriant growth. Where
clayey lands are naturally dry enough for winter crops, we advise
to a similar course of crops, with the manure prepared and used in
a similar manner. In all stiff soils, however, an important point
in husbandry, is to keep the ground, while under a course of crops,
in a mellow crumbly state; and for this purpose nothing is more
conducive than frequent deep ploughings, and raising the ground into
high narrow ridges, as well to lie in that state during winter, as
for the culture of all the drilled crops in particular. The ridges
are to be formed by four gathering furrows, and in cleaving the
ridges down new ones are formed with the middle or highest part
of each where the last furrows were of the former ridges. When,
therefore, the manure is to be used for the drilled crop, it is to
be laid in the furrows, between the ridges, and then covered over
with two gathering furrows run on each side, and thus the beds or
ridges for the crop prepared.
If, however, it should still be found that some clays, even with
this management for the purpose of ameliorating them, should still
be found unsuitable for Indian corn, and for the turnip and ruta
baga crops, we can only advise that, for the former, the Windsor
bean, and for the two latter the mangle wurzel and the cabbage crop,
be made substitutes. The Windsor bean is considerably cultivated
in the clay lands of Great Britain; and Mr. Deane, in his Farmer's
Dictionary, says its growth on such lands in this country is
luxuriant. Perhaps in place of this species of the bean, another,
which is cultivated in the southern states, and is there called the
cow pea, should be prefered.
It should be further observed, that gypsum, when applied as a top
dressing to clay lands, particularly those which are too wet,
has but very little effect; but when they are laid dry by hollow
drains, and thrown into ridges as before-mentioned, the effect of
this manure upon them is nearly the same as in other dry arable
lands.--And as we conceive it essentially necessary that all clay
lands which are to be cultivated for spring crops, as well as all
other soils which are naturally too wet, should lie in ridges during
the winter, we advise that, at the beginning of the rotation we have
mentioned, such lands have a second ploughing in the fall, for the
purpose of being laid in such ridges. When thus laid they are easily
reduced to a mellow state in the spring; but if this be neglected,
they will usually be found, more or less, in hard baked clods, a
state very unfit for good cultivation.
In Great Britain it is found essentially requisite that clay lands
should be effectually summer fallowed as often as every sixth year;
as well for the purpose of extirpating growths of weeds, as for
mellowing the soil, and rendering it more lively. A fallowing there
is performed by many repeated ploughings and harrowings during the
summer. But it should be remembered that the climate of that country
is very different from this. Their wheat harvest is in autumn, their
summers being wet and cool. Here we have time after the harvest is
over to cleanse and enliven the soil by repeated ploughings and
harrowings.
On hard gravelly lands, which are unfit for any crops of roots,
except perhaps potatoes, no very extensive rotation can be had
to advantage without plentiful manuring. Gypsum has a powerful
effect on such lands, and with the aid of this manure alone even
the poorest of gravels may be made to yield good crops of buckwheat
and of red clover; and on a lay of this latter crop turned under,
a tolerable good crop of rye may be had. St. Foin, and some other
tap rooted grasses, flourish in such soils better than might be
expected. Gravelly lands require very deep and frequent ploughings,
in order to make them sufficiently retentive of moisture. They are
usually much assisted by compost manures where clay, mud, upland
marl, &c. form a considerable share of the ingredients. But as there
are different degrees of fertility in gravelly lands, according
to the nature of the gravel, and its greater or less predominance
in the soil, we can lay down no definite course of crops that in
all cases would be found most advisable. Say, however, that with
effectual deep ploughings, and plenty of suitable manure for the
drills, the first crop shall be Indian corn, intermixed with the
potato and the pumpkin growths, as before-mentioned; next spring,
oats, or barley, if the ground will answer for this crop. As soon
as this crop comes off, turn the stubble under, and harrow in
buckwheat for a green dressing, in the manner mentioned in treating
of manures, and on this growth, turned under, sow rye, if the ground
is too gravelly for wheat. Sow the clover seed the next spring, in
the quantity before-mentioned, and then harrow the ground, which
will serve the purpose of covering the seed, and also of assisting
the growth of the crop of wheat, or rye, as the case may be. The
advantage derived from harrowing these crops in the spring has been
well ascertained by experiment. After the second year's growth of
clover has been fed or mowed off, turn over the ground in the fall
to commence the rotation anew.
When we speak of gravelly lands, we do not mean to include those
which are, properly speaking gravelly loams; for soils of this
description are generally well fitted for the rotation first
mentioned. By gravelly lands we mean those where gravel is mostly
predominant, as we call those lands sandy where silex forms the
greatest proportion of the soil, and of these something is now to be
said.
As a specimen of what may be called light sandy lands we will refer
to much of those lying between Albany and Schenectady. These, like
the gravelly lands just mentioned, are not, in their natural state,
calculated for the production of many different crops in perfection,
nor indeed for any without manure. With the aid of gypsum alone,
however, good crops of peas, and of buckwheat, may be had on most
of these lands, tolerable of red clover, and on the lay of clover
turned under, middling crops of rye may be had. Probably, with this
manure, valuable crops of pumpkins might be raised on them. Lands
of this description have, however, very essential properties, which
gravelly lands do not possess; they are much easier cultivated than
the harder soils, and, in proportion to their natural fertility,
no lands are better adapted for root crops of almost every sort,
or for the grasses whose roots extend deep into the earth, among
which are clover of different kinds, St. Foin, Lucerne, &c.--Such
lands are least adapted for crops of wheat and Indian corn; but when
sufficiently manured with clay, or upland marle, which is better,
they will yield tolerable crops of the latter, and also of the
former, when raised on a lay of red clover.
Where little else than the contents of the barn yard and gypsum
can be had for manuring sandy lands of the above description,
the common turnip and ruta baga culture would not, perhaps, be
advisable, but the rotation should be something like the following:
First year, potatoes and pumpkins in alternate drills, manured and
treated as before described; second, peas, soaked in the solution
before-mentioned, and rolled in gypsum before sowing, with a top
dressing of that manure; third, buckwheat, treated in the same
manner, and clover seed sown with the crop; third and fourth,
clover, with a top dressing of gypsum each spring; fifth, rye, on
the clover turned under, as before described, which completes the
course.
But where upland marle, or even clay, can be had, for the purpose
of forming compost manures with the barn dung and the addition of
some lime, as is described under manures, &c. we should advise to
the rotation first described, or something similar, in which the
root crops should form a prominent part; and in such case, let
the manure be plentifully applied to the drilled crops. At first,
perhaps, some of the crops would not be so abundant; but under this
management the soil would be constantly improving, and of course the
crops increasing. At first, perhaps, rye should be substituted for
the wheat crop, but each addition to the soil of the caluminous and
calcarious matter, of which the compost is principally composed,
would render the land better adapted for grain crops of every
description.
It is a matter of the first importance to the cultivator to possess
an adequate knowledge of the different substances which may be used
with advantage for fertilizing his land, of the different soils to
which such substances are best adapted, of the proper quantities
to be used, and of the most advantageous time and manner of their
application. There is but little even of the richest earths that
will not become exhausted with constant cropping without manure; and
soils are seldom so sterile, but that with a proper application of
suitable manures to them, they may be made the residence of plenty.
Manures are of different kinds: of animal, of vegetable, of fossil,
and of mixed; of each of which notice will be taken in their order.
The flesh of animals is an excellent manure for all soils, and
is used to a considerable extent on the sea coast, where fish
are caught in plenty. It is believed that flesh is used to most
advantage in composts, and the same may be observed with more
certainty in regard to the use of the blood. The shavings of the
horney substances of animals, have very desirable effects as a
manure, in dry soil, by enduing such with a greater power to retain
moisture: and the same may also be observed of the hair and wool.
The bones, when calcined, are also valuable, as they are principally
phosphate of lime. The miasma, produced by the putrefaction of
the flesh and blood of animals, is also food for plants, or at
least its presence assists their growth. The urine is a fertilizer
principally by reason of the salt it contains, and probably also by
its producing miasma.
When animals die, it is usual to let them lie above ground, to the
annoyance of the public; but, if covered with earth, this together
with the flesh, &c. of the animal, would be converted into good
manure.
Of vegetable substances, it may be generally observed, that almost
every sort of vegetable, not of woody texture, buried in the soil
while green, is more or less efficacious as a manure; and that many
sorts of these, when turned under where they grew, and while in a
green state, will add much more fertility to the soil than their
growth extracted from it; but that the same growth, when suffered
to ripen on the ground, and then turned under, after the exhaustion
of its juices, will not generally repay the soil the nutriment it
extracted from it while growing. It would seem that the ripening
of plants is the principal cause of the exhaustion of soils, and,
for this reason, green dressings, that is, ploughing of green crops
under, has been found advantageous in enriching lands. Where green
dressings are resorted to, as a manure, such growth should be
selected for the purpose as are cheap in the article of seed, and at
the same time quick and bulky in their growths. Buckwheat has been
much used for the purpose, though perhaps some other plants should
be preferred. The growth should be turned under when in blossom;
and, in order that this be done effectually, it should be laid
prostrate, by running the roller over it, in the same direction in
which the plough is to follow; after which, the ground should not be
stirred again till this manure has sufficiently rotted. Generally,
we think it would be most advisable to sow on the lay or furrow, by
which the green crop is turned under.
There may be some instances where manuring with green dressings may
be advisable, particularly where it can be done without preventing
the growth of any intervening crop: Where this is not practicable,
we should hardly advise to this method of manuring, unless in
cases where other manures were not to be obtained. One case we
will however mention, where a green dressing might be given to
advantage. Suppose, for instance, a crop of rye, oats, or barley,
harvested, and the ground cleared of the crop by the 20th of July;
in that case, let the stubble be immediately turned under, and the
ground harrowed in with buckwheat; by the 20th of September this
growth would be fit to be turned under, when a crop of wheat might
be sown on the lay. It should be understood, that rye is one of the
best crops to precede a crop of wheat, or to follow it. In the same
manner, therefore, the crop for a green dressing may be raised in
the wheat stubble turned under, and the green crop turned under for
a crop of rye.
But the contents of the barn-yard, and the excrements of cattle, are
the principal sources of manure of the vegetable kind; and of these
it is necessary to treat particularly, as well of the qualities of
the different sorts, as of their most advantageous applications to
soils. The sorts of dung or excrement to be noticed, are those of
horses, neat cattle, sheep, and swine. The dung of swine is most
valuable, where properly applied; that of sheep is the next; that of
cows ranges in the third degree, and that of horses in the fourth.
The dung of the latter, if suffered to lie in a heap till it becomes
thoroughly heated, assumes a white, or mouldy colour, and is then
of but little value. It is of a warm nature, and is best adapted
for being well buried in moist or clayey soils; cow dung on the
contrary, is most suitable for dry soils; sheep dung answers best
on the soils for which that of horses is best suited, but is very
valuable for almost any soil. Hog dung should only be applied to dry
arable lands, and is most powerful in those of a sandy or gravelly
nature. Dung, of all sorts, loses much of its valuable qualities by
exposure to frequent rains, particularly when lying at but little
depth over a considerable surface. Its good qualities are best
preserved by lying in large heaps, and if under cover so much the
better. The stercorary is the most effectual method for preserving
barn dung, and it is believed that every farmer will find his money
well expended in the erection of this receptacle for the contents
of that part of his barn-yard, which is not used in the spring.
The stercorary may serve for a sheep fold during winter, and will
thus answer a two fold purpose. It may be, for instance, 40 feet
in length, 16 in breadth, and of suitable height. The floor is to
be made of a layer of clay, with the surface smoothly paved with
small stones, and highest in the middle, so that the juices of the
dung may run off to the sides, where a gutter receives this liquid,
and carried it into a reservoir, sunk at one end, into which a pump
is to be fixed to raise the liquid and throw it back over the heap.
The floor, gutter, and reservoir, are on a plan similar to those
of a cider press. The liquid that runs from the heap is the most
valuable part, and should never be lost: this plan is therefore
calculated to preserve it; and, for the purpose of absorbing the
whole of it, any dry vegetable matter, or rich earth, may be laid
over the heap, and this liquid thrown on that, which will serve to
convert the whole into good manure. The juices and the soluble and
gaseous parts of the excrements of cattle, together with the stale,
are what principally affords nutriment for growing plants; and every
means by which these can be saved, by their being absorbed in other
substances, of rich earthy or vegetable matter, would seem to be
well worthy of attention. We will next designate what is usually
considered the methods most proper for the application of dung.
Where lands are in grasses of the fibrous rooted kinds, it is the
generally received opinion of the best cultivators, that barn dung,
as well as every other kind, should be applied as a top dressing,
that is, by spreading it on the surface; but that for tap rooted
grasses, or those whose roots extend deeply, as well as for all
grain and root crops, this manure should be buried in the soil, at
such depths as are best suited to the nature of the roots of the
plants to be cultivated. The operation of barn dung, and of all
vegetable and animal substances used in manure, seems to be this:
If laid at a certain depth beneath the surface of the soil, in the
progress of their decomposition their soluble parts pass into the
form of gas, or vapour, and of course rise to the surface, and in
their ascent are more or less absorbed by the roots of the plants;
on the contrary, if these manures be laid on the surface, these
soluble parts, in the progress of decomposition, never become
aeriform, but are washed downwards, in their liquid state, where
they are in like manner absorbed by the roots of the plants. This
is probably as correct an explanation as can be given of the effect
of these manures. It is well known, that ground long used as a
graveyard, becomes very fertile, notwithstanding the substances
which are the cause of such fertility, are laid at a very great
depth.
It has been held by some English writers that barn dung should
be well rotted previous to its application as a manure, but this
opinion is rejected by Sir Humphrey Davy, one of the most scientific
agriculturists of Great Britain, and also by Arthur Young, Esq. Mr.
Davy contends that this manure may in most instances be as well
applied fresh as in any other way, by its being laid at a proper
depth beneath the surface, and that in scarcely any instance it
is advisable that it should undergo more than the first stage of
decomposition before it is used. When well rotted it is, however,
more efficacious for a single crop, but its use is of much shorter
duration. It seems, also, to be generally agreed that using this
manure for drill crops, burying it at a good depth, and raising the
plants over the dung thus buried, is the best possible way in which
it can be used. We lately saw an account published of upwards of
100 bushels of Indian corn to the acre being raised by this mode of
culture. The success of Mr. Cobbett, and others, in raising great
crops of ruta baga by this method of using this manure, seems to
demonstrate its utility, if evidence was wanting further than what
appears in English publications on the subject.
The plan that we would therefore recommend, is, to apply the fresh
barn dung to all drill crops which are to be put in the ground in
the spring, and for these we refer to what has been said under
rotation of crops. The shortest dung should be used for these
purposes, except for potatoes, and it should, as far as practicable,
be applied to the soils best adapted for each kind of dung, as has
before been mentioned. The longer or more strawey parts of the dung
we should advise to be laid in the stercorary, if this building has
been provided, or else somewhere under cover; or if no cover can
be afforded, let it be thrown into a heap about 3 or 4 feet high;
and wherever it be laid let it be stirred up from the bottom in the
course of about five or six weeks after it has thus been heaped or
otherwise stored away, after which it will soon be found well fitted
for being used for the crop of ruta baga. It is also advisable to
cover the heap with a layer of good earth, which will serve to
absorb and retain much of the steam or gaseous matter that rises
from the heap, and when saturated with this, and mixed with the mass
of dung, will be found a valuable addition.
(To be continued.)
FROM THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
_On the Grape Vine, with its wines, brandies, and dried fruits._
No. 1.
No principle of action in the business and industry of the United
States has been so beneficial to them as the adoption of _new
objects of culture_ by the planters and farmers, whose old objects
of culture were likely to become redundant, and to fall in price.
_Cotton_ and _sugar_ are well known and important examples. There
are good grounds for estimating our whole cotton of our best year,
(Sept. 1817, to Sept. 1818,) at forty-two millions of dollars,
according to the price on the wharves of our sea-ports for that
which was exported to foreign countries, and the price at our
factories, stores, and dwellings, of that which was manufactured at
home. It is now manifest that the East Indian and South American
cotton greatly injure our markets; and as this arises from growing,
permanent, and substantial causes, there is reason to expect the
continuance of the injury to us from the foreign rival cotton
cultivation. A brief and plain view of the history and prospect
of cotton, will be found in the Philadelphia edition (A.D. 1818)
of _Rees' English Cyclopædia_, by Murray, Bradford & Co. under
the article or head of the "_United States_." The facts there
stated, with many known subsequent circumstances, will give rise
to serious reflections, in the minds of the landholder and the
statesman, upon the subject of the protection of the productions
of our own soil. The industry of the landed men of the United
States is manifestly and unalterably much greater than any, and
than all, the other branches of our domestic or national industry.
The mercantile and manufacturing branches result almost entirely
from the landed industry. While, therefore, the legislative and
executive governments raise revenues of 27½ to 60 per cent. on a
great quantity of foreign cotton cloths from India and Europe, and
a greater revenue from the foreign manufactures of tobacco, and a
still greater revenue from the foreign manufactures of grain, of
fruit, and of the cane, to the great fundamental and convenient
support of American manufactures, and while they are free to go
further, if they find it right, in the joint encouragement of our
agricultural and manufacturing industry it will be found beneficial
to the landed interest to inquire into other means of promoting
the prosperity of the _Colossus of our country_--the agricultural
industry.
There can be no doubt that, between the sites of the vineyards
of the Lower Schuylkill, Southwark, of Pennsylvania, Butler, of
Pennsylvania, Glasgow, of Kentucky, New Vevay, of Indiana, and
Harmony, of the same state, on the north, and the coasts of the Gulf
of Mexico, on the south, the United States possess the climates
and soils of "_the vine-covered hills and gay regions of France_."
The sweet orange grows, in safety, in groves and gardens, in the
vicinity of New Orleans, at a greater distance from the sea than
any place of equally safe growth, in Provence or Languedoc, of
France. As our country shall be cleared and drained, our climate
will be still less severe in the states on the Mexican gulf. In the
north, our climates of New Vevay and Harmony, in Indiana, Glasgow,
in Kentucky, 37° to 38° 30' N. which are the present northern
extremes of successful experiments in the vine cultivation, are as
favourable and mild as the climates of Champagne, Tokay, Lorraine,
Burgundy, and Hockheim, which are fine northern regions of the
vine in France and Germany. Between our New Vevay, in Indiana, and
the Gulf of Mexico, the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi,
Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, and large
parts of Virginia and Kentucky, must give us _all the vine climates
of France_, _Germany_, _Switzerland_, and _Upper Italy_. This vine
district of the United States is much larger than all those vine
countries of France, Germany, Switzerland, and Upper Italy. The
crop of wine and brandy in the vine country of France alone--though
our vine country is more than twice the size--has been estimated
at 100 millions of dollars. Let us then consider the propriety
of a diligent inquiry into the cultivation of the vine, and the
preparation of wines, brandies, dried fruits, and cremor tartar, in
the United States, in order to maintain the prosperity of the landed
interest by the variety and prices of our crops.
The present duties on foreign distilled and fermented spirits and
liquors, (brandy, gin, rum, arack, wines, beer, ale, and porter,)
and on dried fruits, though laid for revenue, afford a great and
sure encouragement to the establishment and the manufacture of
the grape. The demand will increase with our population, and the
facility and certainty of the culture and crop will grow with the
clearing and draining of our country. Ridges, hills, mountains,
rocky lands, any steep ground, gravelly, stony, sandy, and other
inferior lands, (if only dry,) will yield profit in large crops
or in fine qualities of wine, or both. Fresh and dried grapes are
both favourable to health and frugality. Ripe grapes have been
administered to whole regiments of troops in France, who have been
ravaged by fluxes and dysentaries.[18] The quantity of wine computed
to be produced in France, is ten millions of casks, of nearly 63
gallons each, on two millions of arpents (not 2,000,000 acres) of
land, often not fit for wheat, rice, or tobacco, valued very low,
on a medium at fifty francs the cask or French hogsheads. This is
three times the value of the cotton crop of the U. States, on a
medium value, produced in 1818 or in 1819, and demands our early and
serious attention, particularly from the Gulf of Mexico to the end
of the 39th degree, when the country in that degree shall be cleared
and drained in its wet or marshy parts.
[18] See Doctor Tissot's advice to the people of Lusanne.
It has been already observed, that ridges and hills are the most
suitable shape or form of country for vineyards. The most proper
exposure is from south-east to south. It is believed that all
southern exposures will do. The propagation may be by seeds, or by
cuttings, or by bending and covering a part of an old vine so as to
make it grow out in another place at a proper distance. The plough
is of much use in the cultivation, so that care must be taken to
plant the vines at such distances as to facilitate the use of the
plough and the harrow. The best grapes which can be obtained should
be used, in order to put the culture forward. These may be foreign
or American, native or imported. A harsh grape to the taste may
produce a better wine than was expected, and more and better brandy.
The finest grapes of Europe and the African isles are supposed to be
native wildings improved by culture and selection. The region of the
plum and peach appears to include the region of the vine. Although
the south is the proper sphere of the grape, its cultivation there
will leave the bread grains, tobacco, hemp, the grasses and cattle,
to the more exclusive and profitable culture of the states north
of the proper region of fine and abundant crops of wine. We pay
annually to foreign nations a sum of money for wines, spirits,
and materials to make spirits, and for fresh and dried grapes, as
great as our whole specie medium. So important is this subject, in
various points of view, to all the states, that it is respectfully
recommended to the superintendants of all our public, agricultural,
and philosophical libraries, to procure all the treatises on the
culture of vines and making of grapes which are to be found in the
languages of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Great Britain.
The experiments made at Harmony in Pennsylvania, at Vevay, on the
Ohio, and Harmony, on the Ouabache, both in Indiana, merit the
utmost attention of the United States. It appears that in the
present uncleared and uncultivated state of the country, Harmony,
on the Ohio, in Penn. was probably too far north for making wine,
though not for fruit. That Vevay and Harmony, in Indiana, are more
suitable climes for the wines, will appear from the following
letter from a respectable gentleman at Vevay to a very respectable
friend of his, lately on a visit to Philadelphia. It is dated the
28th of August, 1819. The intelligent and experienced writer from
Vevay, thus expresses himself: He "thinks the whole of Alabama
doubtless better adapted to the culture of vines than the more
northern country of the United States;[19] because the only two
species of grapes that succeed in the United States are of the late
sort, _having not time at Vevay, (Ind.) to ripen_. The Alabama
season, being longer, will give more time, especially the Madeira
grape, which gives the best wine of the two, where it can ripen and
yields most. But it will not do at all at Vevay; and does better
at Glasgow,[20] Ky. The various gardeners at Kentucky can furnish
some. Vine dressers would go to new vineyards from Vevay. They have
had 500 gallons of wine per acre at Vevay; more often 150; and 260
is a good crop. The Madeira grape would give more than the Cape of
Good Hope grape, _where it would prosper_, but must have time to
ripen, to be good. Of the labour, much may be done by women. They
do about half. The men trim, make layers to fill vacancies, plough,
harrow, hoe, and carry the grapes, and make the wine. None of those
works are heavy. But trimming requires attention and discernment,
for the vine-dresser must look two years before him, when he cuts
each scion; women never do it, though light work. He has seen many
women do it as well as any man. A little work in vineyards is to
be done by night with lamps. When the grapes have got their size,
the crickets, (not of the house or field) eat, in the night, the
bark of the stem of the bunches, and ring or girdle them so that
they die. They injure the bunches rapidly. They must be watched
and searched for with lamps, by night, and destroyed. He says the
native vines will not do to graft good kinds of grapes on: he has
tried it often, without success. Grape vines grafted on the same
kinds do well, yet they are a different tree, being _dioic_, while
the vineferous kinds are _hermaphrodites_. I have found the same
wild vines in Switzerland, and the kind called sour grapes makes
pretty good wines; but are a smaller bearer than the grape vines.
They are in Morerod's vineyard, at Glasgow, Kentucky. The Spanish
grapes of Mexico and South America should be tried. They have
been long cultivated. He is raising grape vines from the seed, to
obtain flavour and quantity of wine. _The vine is of long life_,
but it is ten or fifteen years before it bears _fully_ from the
_seed_. Variety, however, is an object. Vines planted by cuttings,
which have taken root freely in the first year, bear fruit in
three years: in five they are in full force. He has considered and
inspected the vineyards of Europe, and the cultivation by the plough
and otherwise. It is to be studied to _save labour_ and make the
_greatest crops_. If the _fendant vert_ will grow as well here as in
Switzerland, 800 gallons per acre might be made. They cultivate by
the plough in Languedoc, about Montpelier and Lunel. We make wine
here to be like Madeira, and sell it at 37½ cents per quart,
and $1 25 per gallon; but cannot make enough to send abroad, or
to keep for ripening. Morerod made a cask of 800 gallons, full of
wine, of last vintage, to be kept eighteen months or two years. He
has seen wine (made of grapes like Vevay) at Glasgow, (in Barren
county, Kentucky,) better than Vevay wine. The grapes were gathered
a fortnight before the Vevay grapes. It is probable that wine of the
banks of Tennessee will make 1-4 brandy; if of Cape of Good Hope
grapes, common proof; Vevay yielded 1-5th; the best cider 1-10th;
so do the best Burgundy wine, and that of the border of the lake of
Geneva, in good years. The strongest of all the wines that I know
of, is that of the south of France and Spain, which yields 1-3d
brandy. The peculiar mode of vine cultivation at Vevay, Indiana, is
worthy of attention, being a combination of various European modes,
and American improvements adapted to the country. Some young men,
bred at Vevay, would be useful in other places. Mr. D. thinks the
blacks may be taught to cultivate vines." So runs and concludes the
letter from the judicious writer, at Vevay of the United States,
settled by persons from the original Vevay of Switzerland. It is
very instructive and would seem to prove, as so much of our country
continues in the wood and forest state, and with many undrained
swamps, making a humid atmosphere, and a moist soil. Vevay, in 38°
30', is not yet perfectly so favourable, as the vicinity of Glasgow,
in Kentucky, where a dry, hard soil, occasions the grape to be
freer from injury by moisture of the earth, and of the air. Glasgow
is about one degree and one half more southern than Vevay. These
indications are distinct, nice, clear, and strong in regard to the
vine climate of our country, at present and in prospect.
[19] Vevay, on the Ohio, is in 38° 30' N.
[20] Glasgow is in 37°.
In the hilly Spanish colonial country of North America, about the
29th degree of north latitude, south of the Rio bravo del Norte,
there is authentic evidence, in a report to the government, that
the vine grows well, though its culture was forbidden by the crown,
produces good crops of fine wine, and supplies the province and
its neighbours. That country being as far south as any part of the
Floridas, it is ascertained that, where this country has become, or
shall be made dry enough and cleared, the vine region runs to the
southern limits of the United States, even if we should maintain
our right to Louisiana _in extenso_, in consequence of the apparent
frustration of our offer _to limit ourselves by the Sabine_.
The most distinguished wine of Spain is the true and best _Xeres_,
or Sherry of the district around the city of _Xeres_ de la Frontera,
in Andalusia. The vineyards of that district are, in situations
corresponding in temperature with the most extreme southern parts of
East Florida and Louisiana. It is interesting to our inquiry, that
all the Portuguese European wines are produced in situations north
of Xeres, such as those called by us the Lisbon, the Careavella,
the red and the white Port, or Oporto. It is observable, also, that
the Malaga, or sweet and dry mountain wines of Spain, long highly
esteemed by medical men, those of Alicante and Catalonia, which
three kinds we principally import, and all the Spanish brandies
we consume, come from districts as far north as that of Xeres.
The wines of Castile, and other interior districts of Spain which
are consumed at home, and are not exported, are from places also
north of Xeres. We can have no reason to doubt, then, that, as our
country now is, and shall in future be cleared and drained, and if
ridges, hills, and mountain sides, with south exposures, shall be
carefully selected, the most southern of our states, territories,
and districts, will be as suitable for the vine, its wines, and
dried fruits, as the most proper and fruitful parts of the peninsula
of Spain and Portugal. The works of travellers, agriculturists,
and men of distinction in the arts and sciences, upon the subject
of the vine, and wines, and dried grapes of Spain and Portugal,
are therefore strongly recommended, by our best interests, to the
attention of our citizens, especially concerning the vineyards of
_Xeres_, St. Lucar, Malaga, and Oporto. The Portuguese send to us no
brandy; the Spaniards a little of that spirit which is not estimated
as good. It seems, from the excellence of the French _Cognac_
brandy, the best, and the farthest north of any denomination of
brandy which we know, that the extreme south is not the most
favourable for the delicacy, though it is for the quantity of that
spirit. The _Cette_ brandy of France is not liked here, but it has
been said that much Armagnac brandy is used in Paris. The celebrated
French chemist[21] of the grape and of distilled and fermented wine
spirits, was a native of Montpelier, and took very great pains to
improve the vine, and all its liquors, in that southern region.
_A Friend to the National Industry._
PHILADELPHIA, NOV. 1, 1819.
[21] _Chaptal_, whose writings on the subject should be in every
planter's hands, and in every agricultural and public library. The
title of Mr. Chaptal's work is "A Theoretical and Practical Treatise
on the culture of the Vine, with the art of preparing wine, brandy,
&c. By Chaptal, Parmentier, and Dasseux. 2 vols. octavo, Paris, A.
D. 1801." In French, Chaptal, P. and D. sur la culture de la Vigne,
&c. Paris, 1801, 2 tom. oct.
_A Wild Goose Chase._
At the early dawn of Thanksgiving day, Mr. Eliphalet Thayer, of
Dorcester, (Massachusetts,) took his gun and went to Neponset river
for the purpose of getting a shot at gulls. He saw seven wild
geese in the river, at which he fired, and hit the gander so as to
break his wing. The other geese immediately flew; but the call of
the gander brought them down again, so that he had the chance of
firing again, and killed the old goose, and one of the young; the
four others rose, but the wounded gander by his calls served as
a decoy, and they again alighted by him. The third shot crippled
another.--Mr. T. then took a boat, and from it killed two as they
rose to fly; and soon after shot the seventh. He returned home to
his breakfast, about nine o'clock, bringing his seven geese, which
weighed about eight pounds each, and produced him above 3 _lbs._ of
feather.
[_Salem Gazette._
_Imports of Wool into England._
WOOL.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE QUANTITY OF WOOL, (SHEEP'S) IMPORTED INTO GREAT BRITAIN,
IN TEN YEARS; DISTINGUISHING EACH YEAR, AND THE COUNTRIES FROM WHENCE
IMPORTED.--_From an English Paper._
Countries from whence
imported. 1802. 1803. 1804. 1805. 1806.
------------------------------------------------------
lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs.
Denmark & Norway -- 105,956 212,086 445,125 61,783
Heligoland -- -- -- -- --
Russia -- -- -- -- 7,567
Sweden -- -- -- -- --
Poland and Prussia 228 3,532 7,925 25,189 30,767
Germany 426,091 238,256 21,628 36,787 683,988
Holland 195,843 155,270 63,019 30,244 1,127
Flanders and France 201,195 54,714 -- -- --
Portugal & Madeira 495,213 230,430 161,204 200,366 239,945
Spain and Canaries 5,646,522 4,355,254 6,990,194 6,858,738 5,444,165
Gibraltar and Malta 25,000 107,876 159,176 41,395 28,216
Italy and Levant 86,258 437,856 206,426 35,173 8,679
Ireland, Guernsey 80,754 117,225 242,113 484,929 576,914
and Jersey
Asia -- -- -- -- 245
Africa 453,953 163,746 3,360 -- --
America, North 40,216 26,073 4,939 5,304 1,636
America, South -- 20,012 86,898 21,649 20,493
Prize 105,839 4,568 48,175 361,499 168,468
------------------------------------------------------
Total 7,749,112 6,020,775 8,157,213 8,546,378 7,333,996
Countries from whence
imported. 1807. 1808. 1809. 1810. 1811.
------------------------------------------------------
lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs.
Denmark & Norway 481,696 11,253 35,523 363,671 12,081
Heligoland -- 58,814 246,441 67,311 112
Russia 5,211 168 896 32,149 --
Sweden -- -- 8,633 15,424 504
Poland and Prussia -- -- 76,528 123,057 --
Germany 192,010 7,549 367,372 711,524 30,165
Holland 34,536 -- 237,052 2,873 --
Flanders and France 61,633 -- -- -- --
Portugal & Madeira 289,067 30,619 969,033 3,018,961 1,790,286
Spain and Canaries 10,291,316 1,961,750 4,283,674 5,952,407 2,581,262
Gibraltar and Malta 14,349 78,130 297,445 889,098 210,236
Italy and Levant 6,992 -- 10,244 21,554 780
Ireland, Guernsey 299,809 75,409 93,341 63,494 10,353
and Jersey
Asia 3,222 -- -- 868 --
Africa 6,298 10,717 3,320 29,717 11,791
America, North 406 14,196 -- 4,111 20,192
America, South 61,176 67,193 213,812 116,178 69,323
Prize 25,205 37,927 3,619 23,837 2,551
------------------------------------------------------
Total 11,768,926 2,353,725 6,845,933 10,936,224 4,739,972
MISCELLANY.
The President of the United States transmitted a message to Congress
on the 20th of last month, relating to the acts prohibiting the
slave trade, in which he stated that a public vessel was to be sent
to Africa, with two public agents, tools and implements necessary to
form a settlement, and thereby give relief and support to the people
of colour who may be captured on board of slave ships and returned
thither.
* * * * *
In Denmark much confusion is stated to prevail, on account of the
Jews, particularly at Copenhagen. The king had interfered in their
behalf, but neither the people nor the army appeared to pay much
respect to him in this matter. A vessel, laden with 500 Jews, flying
from persecution in Germany, had arrived at Copenhagen, but were not
permitted to land.
* * * * *
It appears by a census lately taken, that the population of the
city of New York is 119,657. When the census was taken by order
of Rep. Vandam, then president of the province in the year 1731,
the population was 8622. The increase in ninety years is nearly
twelve-fold.
* * * * *
Died suddenly on the 29th ult. at Salem, (Mass.) the Rev. W.
Bentley, D. D. in the 61st year of his age, minister at the east
meeting house, and the character to whom the public were indebted,
during a great many years, for the unparalleled summaries and
notices of events, with historical and critical notes, which so
distinguished the _Salem_, or as it is now denominated, the _Essex
Register_. He was universally respected as a pious and good man.
* * * * *
Great exertions are making, says H. Niles, in his Register, to
introduce the practice of manufacturing sugar and molasses from
grain, into the western country; and from the representations made,
we apprehend that it must be very beneficial in all parts of our
country, distant from a market. It is said, that one bushel of good
wheat, rye, or corn, will yield from 3½ or 4 gallons of molasses,
or about 15 pounds of sugar. The discovery has been patented to
James Wiseheart.
* * * * *
The venerable William Ellery, one of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence, is now living at Newport, (R.I.) in the 93d year of
his age.
* * * * *
Walsh's "Appeal from the judgments of Great Britain," which appeared
in this country about the end of September, was republished in
London from the American copy, as early as the 23d of November. The
price of the English copy is 18 shillings sterling.
* * * * *
News has been received from Great Britain to the 3d of January. The
country continued in a very disturbed state. Parliament was opened
on the 23d of November. The Regent recommended such strong measures
as to manifest how the matter is viewed by government. His speech
was echoed from both houses by great majorities.
* * * * *
The confidential servants of the crown have proposed several
bills to parliament, and which were under debate; they are to
the following effect. 1st. A stamp duty upon all publications,
except religious tracts, and such works consisting of fewer than a
stated number of sheets. 2d. Persons convicted a second time of a
political libel are subjected to a long imprisonment, banishment,
or transportation, at the discretion of the court. 3d. All printers
and publishers of works comprehended in the first law, are required
to enter into securities with two sureties to be answerable for
penalties. 4th. Public meetings not convened by regular constituted
authorities are prohibited; it is also proposed to make it unlawful
for any person to attend a public meeting out of his own parish, or
township. 5th. Magistrates, on information or even on suspicion, are
empowered to enter any man's house, in search of arms, and to seize
them if found, giving the persons suffering such visits, a right of
appeal to the quarter sessions.
* * * * *
Generally the accounts from England prove that the country does
not yet experience the blessings of repose, nor are there any
indications that it speedily will. On the one hand the reformers
appear to be uniting and preparing themselves; and on the other, the
government is adopting stronger measures to quell and disperse them.
* * * * *
The reformers have agreed to abstain from all intoxicating liquors,
tobacco, and such other exciseable articles as can conveniently be
dispensed with, and they strenuously adhere to the principle. This
has already had a very severe effect upon the revenue.
* * * * *
Many parts of Ireland appear to be equally unsettled and distressed.
The county of Roscommon, in particular, has been declared by
proclamation, in a state of disturbance.
* * * * *
The king of France, in his speech to the Chambers, represents that
country as in the most auspicious and flourishing condition.
* * * * *
The king of Spain, on the occasion of his marriage, has granted
an amnesty to prisoners and subjects in rebellion, with some few
exceptions.
* * * * *
Germany, in general, seems still unsettled, and great anxiety
apparently prevails. There is much dread of secret societies, and
many reports of bands of robbers.
* * * * *
Standt, the murderer of the celebrated _Kotzebue_, is stated to have
recovered from his wounds which he inflicted on himself, and is soon
to be brought to trial.
* * * * *
The plague had ceased at Algiers, but still continued to rage at
Tunis, where it is said to have carried off 60,000 persons.
* * * * *
Of the number of manuscripts found in the ruins of Herculaneum,
and which have been there enclosed for 1696 years, 88 have been
unrolled, and are now legible. The unrolling is effected by means of
an expensive chemical operation.
* * * * *
The whole district and territory of Kutch, a country situated on the
N. W. of Bombay, and including several towns and villages have been
destroyed by an earthquake, together with 2000 inhabitants.
* * * * *
A man at Montreal has been fined for cruelly beating his dog.--A
person in the state of New York has been fined $30, for maliciously
and vexatiously hindering with his wagon, other persons in a
carriage from passing him on the highway, by turning his horses so
as to impede them.
* * * * *
A fire broke out in Savannah on the night of the 10th ult. which
has reduced to ashes the greater and much the most valuable part
of that city. Scarcely a fire-proof building is left. The town
presents a most wretched picture: 400 houses are said to be entirely
consumed. Not a hardware, saddler, or apothecary's shop, or scarcely
a dry-good store to be seen. The loss is estimated at from 3 to
5,000,000 of dollars.
* * * * *
_Jewish Emigrants._
Among the memorials presented to the legislature of the state of
New York, is one from Mordecai M. Noah, of the city of N. York,
setting forth that he "is desirous of purchasing that tract of land
belonging to the state, known by the name of Grand Island, situated
in the Niagara river, between lake Erie and lake Ontario, and
bounded by the possessions of Great Britain in Upper Canada."
The object of the memorialist in this purchase, is to build a town
or city, to be inhabited "by a community of Jewish emigrants." Grand
Island is stated to contain 20,000 acres of land, being about six
miles in length, and two in width.
* * * * *
A pamphlet has been published in Europe, recommending the Jews
to form a colony in the United States. The Upper Mississippi and
Missouri is recommended for its soil, situation, and climate, as the
most suitable place for purchase and settlement.
* * * * *
A national vaccine institution is about forming at Washington,
with the view of affording greater facility and certainty in the
distribution of vaccine matter.
* * * * *
On the 20th December last, Robert De Bow, of Allentown, (N. J.)
killed a hog 23 months old, which, when dressed, weighed 700 pounds.
* * * * *
_Boston, Jan. 13._
The great ox, fattened by Mr. Luke Fiske of Waltham, which gained
the first premium at Brighton, has been slaughtered, and the beef
exhibited for sale in State street. The weight of the parts is as
follows:
Fore quarter, _lbs._ 482
do. 477
Hind quarter, 407
do. 407
Hide, 159
Tallow, 305
----
Total, 2237
* * * * *
In Spain some experiments have lately been made for the purpose
of testing the efficacy of inoculating for the plague. The trials
were made on some deserters, 14 in number. The virus was taken from
plague sores of the most malignant cast. The patients had olive oil
administered internally and externally. Soon after the inoculation,
the patients experienced some slight attacks, and little sores broke
out on them; but in a few days they were all restored to health.
These experiments are calculated to induce a belief that inoculation
for the plague may prove as beneficial as it has for the small pox.
* * * * *
The mechanics of Ontario county, (N. Y.) have prepared a memorial
to the legislature, which they expect will be supported in other
counties, praying that the legislature may pass a law to prevent the
sales of mechanical tools and implements by execution or in distress
for rent.
* * * * *
From England many are emigrating to the Cape of Good Hope: 1,500
families sailed for that country in November last. Upwards of 12,000
emigrants arrived at Quebec, from Great Britain, during the last
season.
* * * * *
Mr. W. Parker, and about 400 others, left England in November last,
to establish a colony in Africa, between Cape Town and Algoa bay.
* * * * *
A cast iron pillar, about 48 feet high, is about to be erected in
the centre of the town of Sheffield, England, at the top of which,
a large ball, lighted with gas is to be placed, for the purpose of
lighting the whole town, and its environs.
* * * * *
Twenty-five miles up the Severn, England, a whale, 60 feet in
length, and 10 in breadth, was lately stranded. The visit of his
whaleship proved highly welcome, and considerable confusion and
contention ensued among the neighbouring people who should have the
largest part of him.
* * * * *
A London paper of November 7, says, that a new palace is to be
begun for the Prince Regent in the spring, on the same spot where
Buckingham house now stands. It is to be a superb palace of three
fronts, to overlook all Pimlico; and the _moderate_ sum of _seven
millions_ is the estimate of its cost! But, as the Prince Regent is
reluctant to apply to parliament, the ground of St. James' palace,
the King's Mews, and Warwick house are to be sold, and then but
700,000_l._ will be wanting to complete the new structure. The duke
of York is to have Carleton house for a _valuable_ consideration.
The triumphal arch is to be the grand entrance to London from the
new palace.
* * * * *
Wm. Ogden Niles of Baltimore, has issued proposals for publishing
a weekly paper, to be entitled, "The Domestic Economist," to be
devoted exclusively to manufacturing industry and political economy,
with statistical facts and remarks. Price $3 per annum.
* * * * *
_Wolf Bounty._
The Comptroller of the State of New York, has communicated to the
legislature a detailed statement of the monies paid out of the state
treasury, to the several counties, during the last five years, as
bounties for the destruction of wolves.
The following exhibits the amount paid to each county.
_Dolls._
Allegany, 5527
Albany, 40
Broome, 1760
Chautauque, 1762
Chenango, 440
Cayuga, 600
Clinton, 280
Cortland, 77
Delaware, 1490
Essex, 577
Franklin, 2445
Greene, 520
Genesee, 1937
Herkimer, 260
Jefferson, 2177
Lewis, 1250
Madison, 162
Montgomery, 160
Niagara, 1475
Otsego, 143
Oswego, 1180
Orange, 200
Ontario, 1450
Oneida, 1320
Onondaga, 480
St. Lawrence, 3190
Saratoga, 165
Schenectady, 22
Steuben, 3520
Seneca, 67
Schoharie, 120
Sullivan, 970
Tioga, 1487
Tompkins, 20
Ulster, 380
Warren, 435
Washington, 20
------
Total, D. 38,259
* * * * *
The earl of Dalhousie is appointed governor of the Canadas. Sir P.
Maitland administers the government till spring.
* * * * *
_Boerhaave in his old age._
All peculiarities in the lives of great men are interesting, and
much more so when they relate to their latter years. The name of
Boerhaave is regarded as the most illustrious in the annals of
modern medicine. After having courageously withstood the evils of
poverty in his youth, his talents and reputation enabled him, it
is said, to realize a property of two millions of florins, which
he left to an only daughter. Let us see whether his wealth had not
changed his occupations and taste.
In a letter, written in his 67th year, to his old pupil Bassand,
then appointed Physician to the Emperor of Germany, he speaks thus
of himself:
"My health is very good--I sleep at my country house, and return to
town at five in the morning; I am engaged till six in the evening
in visiting the sick. I know something of chemistry--I amuse myself
with reading--I revere, I love, I adore God alone. On my return
to the country, I visit my plants--and gratefully acknowledge and
admire the liberal presents of my friend Bassend. My garden appears
proud of the variety and vigour of its trees. I waste my life in
contemplating my plants, and grow old with the desire of possessing
new ones--Pleasing delusion! who will give me the large-leaved
linden tree of Bohemia, and that of Silicia, more extraordinary,
with _folio cucullato_. Thus riches serve only to increase the
thirst for wealth, and the covetous man abuses the liberality of his
benefactor. Pardon the dotage of an old friend, who wishes to plant
trees, the beauty and shade of which can charm only his nephews.
Thus my years glide on without any chagrin, but that of your
absence."
How much is there in these few lines! what activity, what zeal for
suffering humanity, what piety; what innocence and vivacity in his
taste, at an age when they are nearly extinct in most men.
[_Literary Panorama._
* * * * *
_Mummies._
Under the mountains adjoining Kiow, on the frontiers of Russia and
in the deserts of Podolia, are several catacombs or subterranean
vaults, which the ancients used for burying places, and where a
great number of human bodies are still preserved entire, though
interred many ages since, having been better embalmed, and become
neither so hard nor so black as the Egyptian mummies. Among them are
two princes in the habits they used to wear. It is thought that this
preserving quality is owing to the nature of the soil, which is dry
and sandy.
[_London Paper._
* * * * *
A correspondent, who observed some time since a publication
relative to the extraction of oil from pumpkin seeds, has recently,
from curiosity, made an experiment of the same on a very limited
scale. He assures us, the extract obtained, is of equal flavour
and sweetness with the best of olive oil. Our correspondent is of
opinion, that the publication alluded to above, originated with
the "Harmony Society," in the state of Pennsylvania; and if so, is
desirous of knowing the best method in practice for extracting the
oil from the seed.
[_Bost. Pat._
* * * * *
There are few sentiments stronger, or more natural to the human
heart, than that of indignation at oppression. So predominant is
it, that it is to be found, not with the good and virtuous only,
but even amongst the most unprincipled and vicious. If there is any
thing that addresses itself to all that is generous in the heart, it
is this sentiment. What is more, it is the solemn duty of every man,
to set his face against injustice.
* * * * *
_New Invention._
We understand a patent has lately been taken out, by a gentleman
from Massachusetts, for an invention which seems to promise
extensive, advantage to navigation, if once fairly brought into
operation. It consists, principally, in a new method for _sub-marine
ploughing_, to any necessary depth, by the power of a steam boat.
When the matter is effectually loosened up and pulverized, it cannot
reasonably be doubted but the rapidity of ebb-tides, united with the
natural current of the rivers, will soon carry it off, and keep the
channel open. The inventor is now in this city, giving a perspicuous
view of his plan, which appears uncommonly simple and practicable.
The advantages of being able to plough open channels through the
shoals which so frequently form in many of our immense rivers,
would, alone, be an object of very great advantage to our southern
and western states; but, when we consider the invention as extending
to opening channels for large ships to enter the harbours and rivers
throughout our whole sea-board, the advantages presented to view are
incalculable.
[_Nat. Int._
* * * * *
The Agricultural Society of Fredericksburg, in Virginia, have drawn
up and transmitted a remonstrance to Congress, against the attempts
making by our Domestic manufacturers, and their friends, to increase
the duties upon foreign goods, wares and merchandise.
* * * * *
In the short space of two years and five months, _One hundred and
twenty miles_ of Artificial Navigation, on two great canals through
the interior of the State of New York have been completed, by which
the physical practicability of uniting the Atlantic Ocean, with the
great western lakes, is rendered no longer doubtful!
* * * * *
_Straw Bonnets._
It is estimated that the value of straw bonnets manufactured in
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, exceeds 300,000 dollars
in the 1817, and great improvements have latterly been made,--which,
together with the discovery of a vegetable by which the best quality
of Leghorn bonnets are successfully imitated, is likely to render
our fair country-women independent of foreign supplies in this
respect, and at the same time furnish a delicate employment to many
others of their own sex. There are few things that more properly
demand the attention of congress than this manufacture, so far as
its amount goes. As, _gentleman_, certainly they will encourage the
ladies in their industrious habits.
* * * * *
_Phenomena._
_Boston (Mass.) Jan. 5th._
Saturday about noon two very brilliant PARHELIA, (or Mock Suns[22])
and beautiful CORONA, attracted the attention of numerous
spectators. Mock Suns were equidistant from the Sun (by conjecture
about 20° East and West of it) with _comas_, or tails, extending
in opposite directions from the luminary five or six times their
diameter, which appeared to the eye a little less than the apparent
diameter of the Sun. The Corona was estimated to be about 30° to the
northward of the Sun, and nearly in our zenith, and exhibited all
the bright colours of the rainbow, the inside next the Sun being
red. The colour of the Parhelia was orange colour of white flame.
The Corona formed an are of about a quarter of a circle; and between
it and the Sun was a segment less brilliant and defined.
[22] Sailors, we believe, call them _dog suns_.
The atmosphere was unusually clear, and the space between the
Mock Suns, and the real Sun, was a perfect blue expanse, without
the least appearance of the vapour and spicula which must have
occasioned the phenomena. We noticed them nearly an hour, when they
gradually disappeared, leaving a cloudless sky. The phenomena was
observed at Salem.
* * * * *
_A curiosity._--It is stated in an English paper of Nov. 12th, that
Mr. Creswick, of New Street, Birmingham, has a singular article of
cutlery in his possession, viz: a knife which contains 400 _blades_,
and which, before it was put together, consisted of 5000 _parts_.
* * * * *
_Public libraries of Germany._
The royal library of Munich contains a collection of 400,000
volumes. That of Gottingen, which is one of the most celebrated in
Germany, contains 280,000 volumes, 110,000 academic dissertations,
and 5000 manuscripts; the Dresden library contains 250,000 printed
books, 100,000 dissertations, and 4000 manuscripts. The library of
Wolfenbuttel is particularly celebrated for its valuable collection
of ancient works; it contains 190,000 printed volumes, 10,000
dissertations, and 4000 manuscripts. Among the 182,000 volumes which
compose the library of Stutgard, there are 12,000 different editions
of the Bible. There are seven public libraries in Berlin; the two
principal ones are the royal library and the library of the academy;
the former contains 160,000 volumes, and the latter 30,000. It may
be calculated that the total number of books contained in the public
libraries of the German States, amount to upwards of 4,000,000,
besides the various memoirs, pamphlets, periodical publications,
dissertations, and manuscripts.
[_English Paper._
PHILADELPHIA,
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY
RICHARDS & CALEB JOHNSON,
_No. 31, Market Street_,
At $3.00 per annum.
GRIGGS & DICKINSON--_Printers, Whitehall_.
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Evening Fire-Side, Vol. 1 No. 2 (1820), by Various
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