THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



313 



and it frequently sports with obstacles wbich appear insur- 

 mountable. 



What baa not been alleged against the mechanical spinning 

 of flax ! It appeared very absurd, at one period, to attempt, 

 by means of enormous expenses in buildings and machinery, 

 and in payment of large wages, to enter into competition 

 with women and children, so moderate in their requirements 

 that frequently there was no sensible difference between the 

 price of the thread and that of the flax which served to make 

 it. Notwithstanding this, hand-spinuing has fallen before 

 the industrial genius which directs those expensive manu- 

 factories; neither the moderation of its requirements, nor 

 popular clamour, nor Governmental measures, nor public 

 charity, nor the prejudices of consumers— nothing, in short, 

 has been able to save hand-spinning. 



Such, again, is the competition that railways have sustained 

 with carriage-drivers. The first expenses of railways are enor- 

 mous, and the salaries of those employed on them are large. 

 The coachman or waggoner, conducting his vehicle himself, 

 and economising the expense of assistauts of all kinds, thought 

 it absurd that the extravagance of railways could possibly 

 compete with him in conveyance. 



Whether these changes are a good or an evil, is not now the 

 question, for they are in operation ; and the fact alone con- 

 cerns us at the present moment. And what obstacle, we ash, 

 prevents a similar change from I eing effected in agriculture? 



It would be objected to us, that it is impossible that an 

 educated man should subject himself to all the sparings and 

 privations to which our cultivators submit. But why must 

 an intelligent large farmer lead the life of the small tenant 

 farmer? Our flax-spinners of the present day are not quite so 

 moderate in their family mode of living as the ancient hand- 

 spinners. 



When a farmer is compelled to live and supply all the wants 

 of a numerous family by means of a cultivation of ten hectares 

 (about 25 acres) held on lease, he must he parsimonious. But 

 if the farm is multiplied tenfold, it is probable that the profits 

 will be tenfold, and the expense of management might also be 

 tenfold without compromisiug the prosperity of his enterprise. 

 If, in the first instance, the cultivator is compelled to reduce 

 the expense of his establishment, and the consumption of pro- 

 visions calculated at the market price to an annual sum of 

 twelve hundred francs, he must subject himself to many priva- 

 tions, especially if he has children under age. Let us deduct 

 from this sum four hundred franca for the wages of the hus- 

 bandman, who is at once labourer and farming bailiff ; there 

 then remaius eight hundred francs a-year, for interest of capi- 

 tal employed in the farm, and as remuneration for his own 

 mental labour. If we, besides, reflect that his live cattle, fur- 

 niture, utensils, manure, &c., require a capital of many thou- 

 sand francs, and are subject to many casualties, we shall be 

 compelled to award but a very small remuneration to his intel- 

 lectual exertions. 



But by multiplying this ten times, the interest of the floating 

 capital and the remuneration of the masters will be represented 

 by eight thousand francs, whilst it will be necessary to leave 

 the manual labours of the small farmer to the workmen. 



It will be objected that large farms are not so well culti- 

 vated as small ones. This allegation might have been true at 

 one period ; to direct a great undertaking, it requires a degree 

 of intelligence and a capital which are not to be found amongst 

 agriculturists in every country. But we believe that in Eng- 

 land the intelligence and capital of the gentlemen-farmers 

 place them in a condition to cultivate better than the small 

 farmers; and it is well known that their produce per acre 

 is more considerable) 



Another objection is, that in order to conduct an operation 

 it is necessary to be acquainted with it in all its details ; and 

 never would a man of family or yentleman descend to fami- 

 liarize himself with the operations of farming, as do the small 

 farmers. This objection was made to a gentleman-farmer who 

 went to visit the manufactory of a skilful flax-spinner. At 

 that instant a thread was broken in one of the machines of a 

 complicated coustructiou, called continuous. The master was 

 requested to rejoin the broken thread himself; but he handled 

 it so awkwardly, took so loag a time, and succeeded so badly, 

 that the gentleman found there was no occasion, on the score 

 of delicacy, to refrain from retorting upon the flax-spinner an 

 argument, the falseness of which was evident. After five- 

 minutes' practice the gentleman-farmer had learned to hoe 

 better than the spinner how to fasten a broken thread. 



In undertaking a business it is essential for us to know well 

 the part we intend to practise ; and if we confine ourselves to 

 the intellectual part of the work, which is the most important, 

 we should well understand it. We then assume the position 

 belonging to a man of intelligence, leaving to the winders 

 the employment of winding, to the thrashers the thrashing, 

 unless we have advantageous means of superseding them. 



The old methods have become obsolete for the conveyance 

 of merchandise by sea and by land, for the extraction of coal 

 and metals, for the spinning of flax, wool, and cotton, &c., and 

 it is very possible that the same change will take place in the 

 manufacture of meat, butter, and other alimentary commodi- 

 ties. This has, in fact, been the case in some places in Eng- 

 and, Scotland, and Hanover, and hence has arisen the class of 

 gentlemen farmers. 



The gentleman farmer is to the small occupier what the 

 machine-maker is to the village blacksmith, or the privateer 

 to the trader, or the director of a line of railway to the wag- 

 goner, or the spinner of flax by machinery to the hand-spinner. 

 He takes his rank in society not by reason of the nature of his 

 profession, but of his personal advantages, his education, in- 

 formation, and pecuniary position. 



It is a strange thing that we repeat every day that agricul- 

 ture is the first of arts, and yet none have to struggle more 

 against contempt than the agriculturists. Has the old adage 

 become false, that " he whe produces the wool is as worthy as 

 he who spins it"? or that he who grows the wheat is as re- 

 spectable as he who lets out his ships or waggons to convey it 

 to market ? It appears more likely that modern society will 

 esteem or seek out men for what they are, and not for the pro- 

 fession they exercise. For a man to occupy a distinguished 

 rank in society it signifies little what is the profession he exer- 

 cises ; but it is essential that he exercises it in a distinguished 

 manner. It is said, " There is no foolish trade, but there 

 are many foolish tradesmen." It would be quite as just to say 

 " There are no distinguished professions, but there are many 

 distinguished professors." Let the agriculturist place himself 

 by his education, information, and talents on the level with 

 the manufacturer, and no one will dream of refusing him that 

 consideration to which his personal qualities give him a claim. 



This is the place to reply to a question — Admitting that 

 a man endowed with intelligence and talents addicts him- 

 self to agriculture, will he find that employment the means 

 of sustaining his personal qualities ? 



It must be acknowledged that in this respect the agri- 

 culturist labours under difficulties. These are inherent: 

 not in his occupation, but in the locality in which it must 

 be followed. If the agriculturist wished to seek the society 

 of cities, he would meet with a material hindrance, similar 

 to that of a metallurgic societj'. Besides, it is his own 

 fault, if, when he neglects the duties of his profession to 



