and social habits. Their religious creed has a tremendous influence upon the social economy of the people-regulating not only their course of action, but also their mode of thinking. There is little actual difference between their religious creed and that of Protestants generally; but standing upon the broad platform that the greatest enemy of true religion is pride, and that, if not stoutly combated, it usurps the moral nature and sentiments of man, they wage a ceaseless war against this evil, and fortify themselves in every shape and form from its insidious approaches. Pride still is aiming at the blest abodes, Men would be angels, angels would be gods. Wm. Penn, in his work entitled "No cross, no crown," lays down the principles which he professed, and combats, in good plain English, the follies and wickedness of the church, all having their origin in pride. Splendid church edifices, fashionable dress, and ostentatious show, high living and voluptuous ease, the swell of music and the excitements of worldly amusement-all are denounced as nourishing a family of evils which finally overwhelm the true fountain of revealed knowledge. He is right, no doubt of it. Pride-pride lies at the bottom of nearly all our social evils, and it is sheer folly to deny or attempt to palliate it. Pride governs the church-ergo, the church is corrupted by it. The Quakers, therefore, opposing themselves to this monster, observe a simplicity in all their movements through life which requires the greatest self-denial. They are eternally at war with the flesh. Their houses, their churches-their dress, language, thought-all show the paramount object in view-simplicity. They do not care about churches it matters not where they worship. They address themselves to the inward spirit which God gave them—it is that which moves them the flesh-the body is the mere earthly tabernacle-the temporary dwelling-place of the immortal spirit. Thus quietly, and without the assistance of music or worldly machinery, they sit and worship; and no doubt it is the most rational and spiritual way. The following engraving illustrates the simple but substantial character of their meeting-houses. It represents one of their oldest places of worship near the Brandywine. The interior consists of plain wooden benches, with high backs, cleanly scoured, and destitute of paint. The benches, with a large ten-plate stove, comprise the entire furniture of the house! As we leave Chester County, and pass through the range of hills called the Mine Ridge, the great county of Lancaster, in all its glory, expands before the eye. An intelligent Englishman called this county the "garden of America," and a view of it from this position will fully justify the propriety of the compliment. It is, without doubt, the garden of this glorious Union, and there are few spots in this wide, wide world, which could present a nobler scene to the eye than is here afforded. The Mine Hill winds around the county from the Susquehanna in a north-east and south-west course, while the South Mountain, or Conewago hills, border it on the north-the district between presenting one broad basin of fertility, with numercus subordinate elevations, rolling out one after the other, with intervening valleys and streams. The broad fields, when laden with the ripening harvests, swell to and fro with the sweeping gales, like the dark-green waters of the ocean. Heavens! what a goodly prospect spreads around, Of hills, and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires, The whole broad seene gradually sinks into the dim, blue vapory outlines of the bold Kittatinny, which skirt alike the landscape and prices are usually realized. By this means an abundance of manure is secured to the farm, and a fair price for the grain consumed is realized. The farmers living near the city, and on the lines of railroad, turn their produce, for the most part, into the dairy, or dispose of their grain by the bushel. They also raise a larger proportionate amount of poultry, vegetables, and floral and horticultural products. These latter, however, do not receive the attention they deserve; and we think if some of our farms were exclusively devoted to the production and improvement of poultry, (a thing very much needed, and, at the same time, very easily effected,) in the same manner as the most of them now are devoted to the fattening of cattle, they would prove more profitable than under the usual monotonous routine of farming. The same may be said of vegetables, as well as of floral and horticultural plants generally. They are all too much neglected; and one reason is, probably, that the mass of the farmers are not competent to raise them in perfection, because they require more cultivated taste and scientific principles in their production than the ordinary grass and cereal crops. Farming is, in fact, throughout Pennsylvania, little less than systematic labor-well organized, it is true; but still only a monotonous routine of physical toil, too seldom relieved by mental exercise or enjoyment. This is unfortunate. It is the result of old established prejudices, deeply-rooted in our German population, who, resisting every modern innovation, hold fast to the time-honored principles, precepts and examples of their forefathers, and regard it as a moral and social duty to "follow in their footsteps." They, therefore, plough, plant, and reap, pretty much in the old way, without deviating to the right or left, but by industry, frugality, and close attention to their affairs, generally gather a competency, which is finally distributed amongst their children, who in turn travel over the same beaten track of agricultural life. The system of cropping varies in different districts; the following, which is given by Mr. Trego, is one of the most common in this section of the State: A field which has been in pasture is ploughed up for Indian corn late in the fall, or, more usually, early in the spring. The corn is planted in the beginning of May, and well dressed and tended through the early part of summer. The corn is planted in straight rows, about two feet or more apart, and is hoed or ploughed E twice, to keep down the weeds. Sometimes pumpkins are sown with the corn. About the last of October the corn ripens and is gathered, yielding from thirty to fifty bushels per acre, and on rich soils frequently more. About the first of the following April the same field is again ploughed, and sown with oats, which is harvested towards the end of July, producing from twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. The oats' stubble is then ploughed in, and the field, being well manured, is sown with wheat in the latter part of September. Rye is frequently sown instead of wheat, where the soil is light and thin, or where it is not manured; and many farmers sow both wheat and rye. In February or March, clover or other grass seeds are sown on the wheat and rye, which grow among the grain until harvest. The wheat and rye are generally fit to cut early in July, and commonly yield from twenty to thirty-five bushels per acre. The field is by that time covered with young clover, which is left until the following summer, when it is cut for hay in June, and a second crop is used for pasture or gathered for seed in September. The field may be remown the following year, or pastured until it comes again in course for Indian corn. Some farmers prefer sowing their wheat on a field freshly broken up from the grass sod; some omit the crop of oats between the corn, and the wheat or rye; others take off the Indian corn early, and sow wheat or rye immediately after it. The mere order of succession in the different crops is not very important, provided that the farmer is careful not to exhaust his land by too frequent repetitions, or by neglecting to plough, manure and dress his fields in the best manner. Besides the grains already mentioned, buckwheat, flax, barley, potatoes, turnips, beets, and many other articles are cultivated. Different modes of culture and tillage are practiced in different parts of the State, according as the variety of soil, climate, or situation renders it necessary or expedient. In the more elevated and colder districts, the cultivation of Indian corn is not very successful; but grass, oats, and potatoes thrive admirably. Scarcely a farm is to be found in any portion of the Atlantic Slope, without its apple orchard of choice and selected varieties. Pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and other fruits are abundant, and though many farmers are careful to obtain the finest kinds, yet there is scarcely sufficient attention bestowed in selecting and grafting fruit. The demand for good fruit, particularly apples, is annually increasing, and it will probably not be long before |