BRAINS VERSUS MUSCLE. 49 



That I should neglect so good an opportunity is a matter 

 which I have never been fully able to account for. But the 

 receipt of six hundred dollars all at one time for what grew 

 on a third of an acre most paralyzed my energies, and made 

 my senses reel ; and then my neighbors, who took a lively 

 interest in my affairs about this time, decided that six hun; 

 dred dollars was about as much money as was safe for a man 

 to have at one time. 



Since my new departure, my farming has been pleasant, 

 and somewhat remunerative ; and the substitution of brain- 

 work for what is called bone-labor has been attended with 

 very satisfactory results. I raise strawberries, currants, 

 grapes, and asparagus, and rely chiefly on these crops for my 

 income. During the last year they amounted to. a trifle 

 over twenty-seven hundred dollars, netting perhaps seven- 

 teen hundred dollars. 



The above is stated, not as any thing to boast of, or as 

 being very remarkable ; but I respectfully submit that it is 

 an improvement on the old style of farming. 



I usually cut about twenty-five tons of hay, and frequently 

 raise corn, rye, and potatoes as a means of preparing the 

 land for what I regard as a more profitable crop. 



My experience has taught me, that although weeds can be 

 raised easier, and will stand more neglect, than any other 

 crop, they are the most unprofitable crop that a farmer 

 can grow, whether separately, or in connection with other 

 crops. Cleanliness is a virtue which ranks next to the high- 

 est in the code of morals, and clean culture is its exact coun- 

 terpart in the cultivation of the soil. Weeds are the little 

 vices which beset plant-life, and check its growth, and ob- 

 struct the development of the seed, the fruit, and the flower. 

 I know that it is said that a weed is simply a plant in the 

 wrong place. That may or may not be something in its 

 favor. I am not a convert to the doctrine recently ad- 

 vanced, — that a few weeds may be suffered to grow, as they 

 return to the soil nearly all they take from it. Weeds 

 should be exterminated : they should be destroyed, not only 

 from policy, but from principle. 



How to accomplish this in the most thorough and economi- 

 cal manner, I think I have learned from many years' experi- 

 ence. Any manure suspected of containing weed-seed should 



