Litchfield enquirer., 1859-06-23
MIR. BEECHER OUT. OF DOORS.
 llY REV. T. L. CUTLER.

My masters study is out of doors, sir, was the reply of Wordsworth's servant-maid to the visitor who inquired for the great DO cts sanctum. It was a happy reply. But g small part of Wordsworth's art, or inspiration either, could be gathered within four walls He was the bard of nature. His lines are re dolent of daisies and heather-blossoms his verses are musical with mountain airs and wa terfalls. Happy is the man who can find his study out of doors
 We have long thought that MT. Beecher owed vast share of his extraordinary power, both of pen, pulpit and platform, to his mi, mute familiarity with external nature. Now, we are not going to indte any new criticisms upon the Plymouth pastor, who is decidedly the most be-written, be-praised, and be-spat, tered character of our day. We said our briei say in regard to him when we once paid him our respects for having figured at Puritan wine-feast at the Astor House.
 But to return to Mir. Beecher and his abun- dant floral and agricultural illustrations.
 But one day he happened to mention to us that he had been a1 agricultural ed'tor, as well as a diligent digger in his own garden, when he lived in Indiana ! For years and years he had studied subsoil ploughing and tile-draining and written practical paragraphs on Hovey's seedlings and honeysuckles, on cabbages and curculios. This had been at once an amusement and an education for the pulpit-an agricultural training for western farmers, and an asthetical training for hisiown spiritual husbandry. And now friend has sent us a new book fresh from the press, enti- tied, Plain and Pleasant Talk about Fruits, Flowers and Farming" by Henry Ward Beecher-the said, book being reprint of all the witty authors editorials in the aforesaid Indiana newspaper Of the scientific value of the book we are not competent to speak !; we cannot say whether his directions are ortho- dox for keeping.insects off from celery plants, OF for keeping "the smaller pigs from being overIaid and smothered" in the pen by the senior swine. * F
 We are not going to recommend that all our clerical brethren should take to agricultu- ral editing for we fear that the farming iu- terests would suffer more than the pulpit would be improved. But we do insist, that for personal health every minister should live more out of doors, and for the rich illustra- tions which he might gather, he should study horticulture and agriculture thoroughly. Did not our blessed Lord found many of his dis courses on texts cued from the field, the gar den and the vineyard :? This recalls the first discourse we ever heard from MT. Beecher, some dozen years ago. He had just come East from his gardenngs and prairie-preach- ings in Indiana. He was rough and ready in diction, and looked like a farmer fresh from the plough. It was week-night lecture which he gave us from the words "groao im grace" It was Biblical, spiritual, experiment tal horticultural, and beautiful. He introdu- ced his herbarium-he took us into his gar den, he taught us all about vegetable and ffo- ral growths and thence about heart-grow tn in godliness. He told us why Christians became stunted-w hy they wilted in graces-why the rcotless ones withered away. His illustrations were exquisite, and beyond the reach of any but practical student of nature.