N'o. 8. 



A Letter from Peter Jones about Boys. 



253 



irjj 



Jhrislian country, who would do this, it proper 

 'Lire was taken to instruct, and enlighten him 

 111 this very interesting and important sub- 

 ject? No, not one. Therefore, let parents 

 ind teachers be alive to this subject, give the 

 rising generation suitable histruction, eu- 

 ligliten them, convince them of tiie wicked- 

 ness, the inhumanity, the impolicy of destroy- 

 'ng tlieir best friends, and the great mischief 

 a'ill soon be stayed, and the birds will once 

 nore sing in peace and safety. 



Rebecca. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 A lietter from Peter Joues aiiont Boys. 



Mr. Cabinet : — A. neiglibour farmer who 

 reads the Cabinet with a great deal of plea- 

 sure, and speaks higiily of its merits, hopes 

 your correspondents will continue to favour 

 the public with a continuation of their favours. 

 He says he is growing old and stiff, and is 

 not able practically to carry out the many 

 valuable suggestions contained in your month- 

 ly sheet. He has several boys, as he terms 

 them, though they are all grown to man's 

 estate ; yet he insists on calling them boys, 

 and he says, he is apprehensive they will con- 

 tinue to be boys all their days, yet^ he hopes 

 they will be benefited by your paper. The 

 fact is, Mr. Cabinet, these boys were not 

 reared right, although they are pretty steady, 

 moral young fellows, but they were permitted 

 when young to fall into desultory, idle habits, 

 working or letting it alone, as best suited 

 their inclinations; the consequence is that 

 having now become men in age and size, they 

 are boys still, and boys likely to be, unless your 

 Cabinet eloquence should arouse them out of 

 their present state of apathy. They know 

 well enough what is right, but they hate to 

 do it ; they will sometimes work pretty well 

 for a short time, and then relapse suddenly 

 into their old, idle, lazy habits, and let things 

 take care of themselves. Now this is what I 

 suppose, doctors call a constitutional or chronic 

 complaint that takes time to cure. These are 

 the sort of chaps that are constantly trying to 

 get something for nothing; to achieve great 

 ends with little means; or as a friend of mine 

 observed, to bore an auger hole with a gimb- 

 let; which you know is not an easy matter, 

 and requires a full grown man of very consi- 

 derable abilities to accomplish it, with any 

 kind of decency, so that it is hardly worth 

 while for a common lazy scrub of a fellow 

 to undertake so difficult an operation. Be- 

 sides there has so many embarked in this 

 mode of getting along through life of late, 

 that the competition is so great, as to produce 

 great discouragement in the operators of lat- 

 ter time. 



Agricultural produce has of late in conse- 

 quence of a concurrence of circumstances, \ 



united with too much legislation, and that 

 of a vicious quality; become much reduced m 

 price, so that it behoves tiirmers to look sliarp- 

 ly about them, and sec if they cannot make 

 some improvements in tlieir domestic arrange- 

 ments, that will counterpoise tlie low prTce 

 of the products of their firms. One of the 

 first movements in this reformation, perhaps, 

 ought to be that of more economy, particularly 

 in that valuable commodity called time, " for 

 time is money," as poor Kiclmrd said, about 

 one hundred years ago; it having stood the 

 test of a century and it is true still, showing 

 in a remarkable manner the truth of the say- 

 ing, that " truth is truth to the end of the 

 world." 



If people were taxed by the state to the 

 amount of but one-tenth part of tbe time that 

 is idled away or mis-spent, it would be deem- 

 ed such an act of tyranny and oppression, 

 that it would soon produce a revolution in 

 the commonwealth ; but voluntary taxes are 

 cheerfully paid, whilst those that are imposed 

 on us without our consent are grudgingly dis- 

 charged. 



Those who employ labourers to do work 

 which ought to be performed by their own 

 children, not only give away their money, 

 but are doing a permanent injury to their own 

 offspring; for every boy that is intended to 

 be educated for a farmer, should be put 

 through a regular course o? practical instruc- 

 tion in every branch of business belonging to 

 agricultural life adapted to his age and 

 strength. There should be no selection of 

 tit-bits for a favourite boy, if his best and per- 

 manent interests are truly regarded. There 

 should be no entrance through the cabin win- 

 dows, as sailors say ; if a boy is intended for 

 a seaman, a farmer, or for any other occupa- 

 tion, begin with him at the beginning, and 

 put him through every part of the process 

 thoroughly; if you spare, you spoil him. 

 Many fine children are ruined for life, by the 

 indulgence of foolish fathers or silly mothers, 

 in the endeavour to protect them from what 

 they consider the hardships incident to a life 

 of industry, and yet they are willing to ascribe 

 the result to any other cause than the true 

 one. 



Instruct a boy thoroughly and practically 

 in any useful branch of business, implant in 

 his mind a strong sense of religious obligation, 

 instil into him the indispensable importance 

 of industry and economy, and of the necessity 

 of preserving himself free from every moral 

 taint, and you may turn him out into the 

 world without a cent in his pocket or a second 

 shirt to his back, and he will succeed; he 

 will establish a character and a name for him- 

 self; he will become a man of business in the 

 true sense of the term ; he will raise to emi- 

 nence in his calling whatever it may be; 



