THE WISCONSIN FARMER.



  and so about five o'clock I shook hands wit
  my guides and made a rapid descent to C'han
  ouny, narrowly escaping an avalanche, the re
  port of whose thundering crash behind may b
  supposed to have quick4ned my steps yet more
    Somehow the strawberry girls, who are ac
 customed to refresh travelers on their way u]
 and down, had not anticipated my coming ant
 were not in their places, so that a bottle o
 wine and a little bread were not at all distaste
 ful when I reached the hotel. But my day'
 work was not yet done. Martigny, at whiel
 point I am to take the cars for the head of Lak4
 Geneva, was yet twenty-five miles further on
 the crest of the Alps was to be crossed befor4
 it. was reached, and the only train of to-mor.
 row leaves at mid-day. A few miles-probably
 six, which would take me to Argentieres-
 could yet he made ere the close of day: and
 so. after a reluctant adieu to Chaniouny. I
 started teo my ultra-Alpine destination via
 Tete Noire.                          %
   But fout miles had been made, however,
 when night found me on the side of a moun-
 tain, steep, and dark with cedar. pine and
 larch, and upon the brink of the Arve. whose
 foam- white waters dlashed with loud roar over
 a cataract far helow.  On the other- side the
 mountain was black with evergreens and per-
 pendicular for more than a thousand feet, thus
 deepening the grandeur of the scene and al-
 most compelling me to stop and medItate upon
 the almightiness of the God of' the mountains.
 Fatigue lent another inducement and I did
 pause for almost an hour, resting upon the gen-
 erous face of a great flat rock with the soft
 side of a boulder for my pillow, and gazing,
 possibly for the last time, upon the star-illum-
 ined face of Mt. Blanc.  At first, the soft.
 fleecy clouds, like etherial drapery, enveloped
 his shoulders only, his jeweled coronet of cen-
 turies unnumbered glittering as with the radi-
 ance of heaven.  But soon this drapery of
 cloud was drawn as a curtain before the face
 of his majesty and he graciously bade the
 world and me " Cood-Night."
 Another mile brought me to this humble
dwelling, where I find a cordial welcome from



h a hospitable Switzer, his wife and some fifteen
a children, plenty of good bread and milk and
  a clean, comfortable bed.  May Providence
e ever deal as kindly with you, my dear friends
  of the great FaRMER family, as He has this
- day dealt with me.
p           _         -
IMrs. Hoyt returned with us from Ohio in
f December. with health improved and still slow-
- ly gaining. In the next number she may be
  induced to make a report of herself forrthe

  year 1862.

           The Farmer for 1863.

    Shall it follow the Exaample of other Agri-
  cultural JournaIl ?-In what respect?  Not
i tn regard to its general conduct, of course.
  That is a matter in which it will follow the ex-
Iample of no other journal in the world. It has
tal individuality of its own : whether more or
less worthy than that of sonie other, it is not
our business to enquire. We prefer to have it
what it is, ot w  vwould make it something else.
   But there is one thing in which we have been
 half tempted to imitate many of our worthy
 cotemnporaries. We refer to an increase in the
 price of subscription  There is one strong
 argument in its favor  uce cannot aford topidh-
 lish at the prc.eant rat,. We have been so
 many years  working for nothing and boarding
 ourselves that we begin to wonder whether
 it is not our duty to change the progratmme a
 little. This on general principles. But there
 are new and special reasons why the question
 of price should come up at this time.
   1. The price of printing material is almost
 double what it has been for years past. That
 of paper is actually double; and the paper
 used in publishing a paper is by far the most
 important item.
   2. The price of labor has gone tip, also. and
 it costs more to get the work done than ever
 before.
 3. All the expenses of living, travel, &c.,
 have greatly increased.
 What then shall be done ? Six diverse ways
 lie before us :-to increase the price ; to dimin-
 ish the number of pages: to use a less expen-
 sive material; to double the circulation; to



40



=



F



-



D



i



-



Li1