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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



A FARMER'S LIFE AND DUTIES. 



On the recent presentation of the Testimonial to ^^^. 

 John Clarke at Long Sutton, that gentleman gave the 

 following sketch of his career. 



The outlines of a life like mine cannot he very 

 interesting, or possess any remarkable features worth 

 your notice ; for I was born where I now live : " I 

 till the land my forefathers tilled." Still it may not 

 be inappropriate to this occasion, and may tend to en- 

 courage some of my young friends present to prosecute 

 a course of industrious usefulness — I say, to encourage 

 my young friends ; for bear in mind, we do not all pofl- : 

 sess the same natural powers, either mentally or physi- ' 

 cally ; we can, however, by industry and care improve; 

 both ; we can strengthen our minds by reading and 

 study and mental cfFort, just as we can add vigour and 

 hardihood to our bodies by athletic exercise and manual 

 labour. Now, I verily believe that few young men 

 have commenced their career under more disadvantageous 1 

 circumstances than myself, as respects mental acquire- 

 ments and effort. I frankly and freely tell you it was iu this 

 way I became impressed with the foolish idea that my | 

 family was well to do ; if not rich I should do very well iu 

 the world, and therefore might enjoy myself. A more 

 fatal idea to prevent mental effort could not take pos- 

 session of the mind ; consequently field sports, cricket, 

 and the like, had full j)redominance ; and so I went on 

 from year to year. I, however, attended to farm duties 

 daily, and for twelve years worked hard on my father's 

 farms and our own, as a constant ploughman ; and for 

 twelve harvests I stacked a large proportion of the 

 corn, and in the various labours of the farm took my 

 part ; this I don't at all regret. I never heard a man 

 complain that he worked too hard, or attended too much 

 to his business in his young days ; recollect that, in the 

 main, nothing but persevering industry can achieve suc- 

 cess; superior talent is of great value, but careful per- 

 severing plodding industry will beat the finest talents 

 in most cases. Well, young, inexperienced, and self- 

 sufficient as I was, I recollect at the age of seventeen or 

 eighteen I came to this resolution (for I felt it was in- 

 cumbent upon me to adopt and persevere in some defi- 

 nite course) — /, e. That I would endeavour 1st to make 

 myself a good member of society, 2ndly a good 

 parishioner, and 3rdly a good and useful man of busi- 

 ness. There cannot he a doubt that resolutions of 

 this sort made in youth, and conscientiously acted 

 upon, would be of vast benefit to the community. We 

 have all our several duties to fulfil, bfith in public 

 and private. The world, and particularly that minute 

 portion of it with which we are immediately connected, 

 should be the better for our living in it ; otherwise 

 we nearly live in vain, or live wholly for ourselves. 

 Well, to become a good member of society (a vast 

 deal is i.icluded in being a good member of society), I 

 set about making myself useful ; I became a teacher in 

 our church Sunday-school, and was superintendent of 



another for many years. I took great interest in music, 

 and in promoting good congregational singing. I 

 managed a large Friendly Society (this I have done for 

 upwards of forty years). As lime rolled on, 1 became 

 greatly interested in other matters. The days of plough- 

 ing matches and prize stacks were scarcely known : the 

 only way we had of encouraging either the one and the 

 other was by frequent inspections ; and though some 

 evil arose from these inspections, it served to 

 promote tlie very object I aad some of my young friends had 

 iu view. The evd wa3 thia : It was the iuvariable custom for 

 the ploiighmeu aroniid liOng Sutton to do their best on the 

 Saturday to leave their primcst work, so that pasaers-by ou 

 the Suiidiiy mi^ht view it. This soon led to a good deal of 

 Sabballi-hreaiiit)<:; ; and groups of young meu might be seen 

 every Sunday taking their stroll rouud the district or through 

 the marshes to see the straight furrows or the beat stacks ; and 

 I regret to say, fiui-^hing their walk at " The Wash ;" and 

 more particularly ou tidal Sundays, when many disgraceful 

 scenea were enacted. Long Siittou Fair was at this time 

 merely a servauta' holiday ; and it was uo uncoramou thing 

 for young men of more strength than wit to try their prowess 

 iu boxing, and many auch matches came off in my early days ; 

 80 many that it became a matter of serious thought as to, 

 what shoidd be done to put an end to this disgraceful course ; 

 for it was notorious that if a young man was known to be a 

 fighter, he had to defend himself from more than one chal- 

 lenger at these meetings ; indeed, the teat of championship 

 seemed to be put off to this very meeting, and I recollect, as 

 a ploughboy, hearing of the arrangements got np for the 

 strife. Well, tbinga could uot go ou so. A meeting was got 

 up at Sutton, called a drawing-match — that is, the ploughman 

 who could draw the straightest furrow or make the best ridge 

 received a copper teakettle, or some equally homely but useful 

 prize. I thought this far better than boxing-matches and the 

 like; aad at once did my best to encourage it, in which I was 

 aided by several friendc. This was our first effort in plough- 

 ing matches. We kept it up for some years with very good 

 elTect. It drew off from Sutton many refractory spirits; the 

 zeat for drinking and boxing was allayed ; and as the parties 

 were thus divided, the worst features of Ijong Sutton Fair 

 subsided. It is now a quiet, orderly meeting— in fact, a pat- 

 tern of a convivial, pleasant assemblage of servants for mutual 

 recognition and congratulation— a meeting of a very useful 

 kind, as serving to keep up great nationality of character and 

 feeling — a holiday which no oue grudges, but that all desire 

 consistently, in reaion and iu moderation, to enjoy. The 

 Loug Sutton Market waa soon after this time established, 

 and the fair assumed a higher character. A better order of 

 things prevailed ; a decided elevation in the character of our 

 population was to be noticed, owing, I believe, to the many 

 public meetings held — sii'^h as bible, missionary, tract meet- 

 ings, and otiicra, aided by extended and eflicient religious 

 teaching in the pulpit and Sunday-schools. Gentlemen, it 

 was by giving my heat aid in all these movemcuta that I en- 

 deavoured to become a good member of society. 



15ut I resolved to fit myself for becoming a good parishioner 

 — that is, I resolved to see wherein I could be useful to my 

 parish, either to aid as I best cotdd iu the management of 



