concerns their daily comfort, and is to constitute the nursery
of those who succeed them, and on the influences which may, in a degree,
stamp their future character, we cannot forbear such suggestions,
connected with the family Home, as may induce them to cultivate all
those accessories around it, which may add to their pleasure and
contentment. We believe it was Keats, who said,

"A thing of Beauty is a joy for ever."

And the thought that such "beauty" has been of our own creation, or that
our own hands have assisted in its perpetuation, should certainly be a
deep "joy" of our life.

We have remarked, that the farm house is the chief nursery on which our
broad country must rely for that healthy infusion of stamina and spirit
into those men who, under our institutions, guide its destiny and direct
its councils. They, in the great majority of their numbers, are natives
of the retired homestead. It is, therefore, of high consequence, that
good taste, intelligence, and correct judgment, should enter into all
that surrounds the birth-place, and early scenes of those who are to be
the future actors in the prominent walks of life, either in public or
private capacity; and as the love of trees is one of the leading
elements of enjoyment amid the outward scenes of country-life, we
commend most heartily all who dwell in the pure air and bright sunshine
of the open land to their study and cultivation.

Every man who lives in the country, be he a practical farmer or not,
should _plant_ trees, more or less. The father of a family should plant,
for the benefit of his children, as well as for his own. The bachelor
and the childless man should plant, if for nothing more than to show
that he has left _some_ living thing to perpetuate his memory. Boys
should early be made planters. None but those who love trees, and plant
them, know the serene pleasure of watching their growth, and
anticipating their future beauty and grandeur; and no one can so
exquisitely enjoy their grateful shade, as he whose hand has planted and
cared for them. Planting, too, is a most agreeable pastime to a
reflecting mind. It may be ranked among the pleasures, instead of the
toils of life. We have always so found it. There is no pleasanter sight
of labor than to see a father, with his young lads about him, planting a
tree. It becomes a landmark of their industry and good taste; and no
thinking man passes a plantation of fine trees but inwardly blesses the