THE FARMER'S MAGZINE. 



early days have been spent lazily ; and a generally 

 admitted difficulty in teaching such what a boy 

 would learn with ease. Richard Garrett appears to 

 have thoroughly appreciated such a wholesome fact. 

 Both as a boy and a young man, his greatest 

 delight consisted in strictly attending to whatever 

 he undertook — a disposition which has "grown with 

 his growth, and strengthened with his strength." 



The one great event of life which perhap.« has 

 more influence on character than many like to 

 acknowledge took place in 1828, when the subject 

 of this notice was united to the woman of 

 his choice. Domestic felicity was now associated 

 with increasing success in business ; and all went 

 on prosperously and happily, till his father relin- 

 quished business in the spring of 1836; his death 

 taking place the year following. The indefatigable 

 son now found himself, very suddenly and unex- 

 pectedly, with the whole weight of a large business 

 upon his own shoulders, and in circumstances 

 which would have been very embarrassing had he 

 not been held in the highest estimation by his 

 family. However, he was not the man to retreat 

 before difficulties. His relations and friends all 

 appeared to vie with each other in doing what they 

 could at this crisis to relieve uis anxieties and cares. 

 We may mention here, as one of those pleasing 

 events not of too common occurrence in families 

 where property is concerned, that on the settlement 

 of his father's affairs, all his family united to pre- 

 sent him with a silver service, not simply in token 

 of their affection as relatives, but also in admiration 

 of his conduct as an honourable man of business. 



Much of the worldly success that has attended 

 the career of Mr. Garrett may be attributed to his 

 zealous preservation of this character in all his 

 transactions, though, imdoubtedly, to conduct a 

 business like that in which he was embarked, re- 

 quired the addition of other qualities. These he 

 has ever exhibited in a cool mathematical calcu- 

 lation, and preparation of the powers required for 

 advancing on the road of improvement ; as well as 

 in a promptitude of application,and a most vigorous 

 energy in the execution of any design which he 

 deemed necessary to carry out. With such qualifi- 

 cations, no wonder that the comparatively small 

 business he inherited rapidly extended. At the 

 death of his father, his workmen did not number 

 more than sixty ; but such has been the effect of 

 his efforts, combined with the progress of mecha- 

 nical science as applied to husbandry, that up- 

 wards of five hundred men — together with manu- 

 facturing appliances requiring five steam-engines, 

 the whole occupying about seven acres of ground 

 — are now in consstant employment on the Leiston 

 Works. The chief implements manufactured at 

 these works are improved patent steam-engines. 



thrashing machines, corn and seed drilling and 

 manuring machines, horse-hoes, corn-winnowing, 

 hay-making, and chaff-cutting machines. 



The public recognition of Mr, Garrett's labours 

 include, amongst others, the following marks of 

 distinction : — One hundred and thirty-eight dis- 

 tinct money prizes ; twenty-seven gold and silver 

 medals ; in addition to the Great Council and gold 

 medals of honour awarded by the Council of the 

 Great Exhibition of all Nations, held in Hyde 

 Park, in l851; in Ireland the same, in 1853; in 

 Paris the same, in 1855 ; and in Vienna the same, 

 in 1857; with a great many honourable com- 

 mendations of the smaller description of imple- 

 ments manufactured at the Leiston Works, and ex- 

 hibited at various agricultural societies here and 

 abroad . 



Beyond the immediate calls of his own business, 

 Mr. Garrett has ever been ready to advance in a 

 national point of view that pursuit with which his 

 name is so closely identified. In the year 1837, in 

 conjunction with a few others, he assisted the late 

 Mr. Shaw ii: the formation of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society of England— an institution that has 

 proved so A^aluable a nursery for all improvements 

 connected with the farm. During the most pros- 

 perous years of its existence, Mr, Garrett was 

 several times elected and re-elected a member of its 

 Council, and during ten years never failed to devote 

 a portion of his time to its monthly meetings. He 

 was one of the exhibitors of agricultural machinery 

 at the first country meeting of the Societyat Oxford; 

 while he has attended similar exhibitions, and ob- 

 obtained prizes on every occasion, since that period. 

 Mr. Garrett was also one of the two implement 

 makers who exhibited the produce of their manu- 

 factories at the Smithfield Club Christmas Cattle 

 Show when it was first held in Baker-street — a 

 practice still continued by his firm. 



In 1855 Mr. Garrett, beginning to feel some of the 

 effects of his intense and long application to business, 

 resigned the more active duties of Leiston Works 

 to his two elder sons, Richard and John. Since 

 that period Mr. Garrett has resided principally in 

 London ; but though removed from the scene of 

 his former labours, he still assists his sons by his 

 counsel and experience. 



Upon recently attaining his fiftieth year, his 

 workmen, spontaneously presented him with a very 

 handsome testimonial in plate, with a suitable in- 

 scription. The pleasure he felt on so gratifying an 

 occasion was not acknowledged in the usual formal 

 way ; but an affectionate letter was sent to each of 

 the workmen, in token of his reciprocal attachment 

 and respect. Perhaps no master ever more deserved 

 this heartfelt and emphatically honest token of 

 regard from his workmen than did Richard Garrett. 



