Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1854-04-21
Country Life.


and occupations the theme for their
sweetest measures and most noble
paragraphs. The subject is one, he
said, of unlimited range. To cover
the ground, or even to glance at the
heads of the entire subject, would
be beyond the scope of our short in
terview. Let us, therefore, leave
TO poetry the fanciful sketches of
country romance, and circumscribe
our journey to the realities of the
thing, for it is these that form the
foundation on which all pleasures
must be built.
Perhaps, he continued, it would
be well to examine our position and
see what we call "Country Life"
DO we mean the whirl Of gaiety
and fashion, the music and dancing,
the riding and bathing, of Nahant,
Newport, Saratoga, and Cape May Z
Most emphatically we do not. These
are very pleasant in their way, but
they have only the slightest tinge
Of country about them They are
The city thrust out of town for an
airing. The young horse of socie-
ty turned loose after long stabling,
and performing such impudent an
tics consequent on his delight that,
before real pleasure commences, he
finds himself worn out with over
exertion, and quietly returns to his
stall, thanking his stars that he is a
city bred animal and does not have
10 fatigue himself in the ridiculous
green fields to get his living.
Do we mean, he asked, by 'Coun-
try Life the summer journey a
mong the hills and vallles of New
England No. This. too, is but
a relief to the monotony of the city
it is country romance, not life.
We speak Of the country; not as
the retiring room of society, where
fading beauty can find a fresh tint
Tor her pallid cheek not as the lungs
OF a city, working off some of the
impurities of its system; nor as a
suburban accessory to the busy mo-
tropolis; but as place in which to
be born, to live, and to die-a place
dependent entirely on itself for its
existence and for its pleasures.
We speak of the country as a
home, agreeable in its Surroundings
---pure and elevating in its influen-
ccs. Nor is it alone the home for
retired wealth and servile labor. 1t
is as much so for those who walk
in the middle paths of life. 1t
knows no oppression for those who
rightly seek its favors, no famine for
its industrious children. 1t has a
smile for all our joys, and a gener-
Gus sympathy for our sorrows. 1t
is in fact the natural abiding place
of all men, and those who leave it
should be regarded as exceptions to
the rule of life.
He said he could imagine that
some of his hearers were asking
themselves how all of this is to be
carried on; what pleasure can the
dull country afford to refinement and
education Where shall the ambi-
ton Of youth find fitting object
for lis exertions ! What occupation
is to support the thousands who are
now dependent on social charity for
employment and assistance
The cultivation Of the soil may
satisfy all of these demands. To
prove that this is true that refine
ment, ambition, and want, are to
meet with their requirements in this
occupation we must form closer
acquaintance with the art and ex-
anime it as an intellectual subject.
Ii is true that under the system
now practiced by most farmers OF
this and other countries, agriculture
has no existence except to supply
the physical wants of the human
race. That it has, however, been
generally too little understood he
hoped to show in the course of his
remarks, and although he might on
ly examine a small portion of his
subject, he desired to SO draw the
attention of his hearers to its con-
sideration that their future reflection
might convince them that there may
be very great pleasures in country
life and occupations.
The great object Of cultivating
the soil is to produce plants, and of
course the economical and salisfac-
tory productions of these must ne
cessitate thorough understanding
of their natures and of the process
by which they are manufactured
At first sight this seems perhaps like
sacrilegious examination of the
hidden operations of Nature. Not
30. however. The simple science
of chemistry solves the mystery and
enables us to take plants apart las we
would WATCH and examine the
pieces Of which it is composed, and
the manner in which they are com
bined.
The lecturer remarked that the
FIRST step in analysis was to separate
the plant into two distinct classes of
matter by burning-the organic and
inorganic. The organic, carbon, OK
ygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, &c. The
Inorganic matter constituting ashes,
soda, silica, magnesia, &c. &c. A
full illustration and explanation of
these matters were given.
IN the growth Of the plant the or
gailic and inorganic are taken up in
n r 4 n