r-is 



F A R M E K S ' R E G I S T E R , 



[No. 12 



them." These, are the men who arc digiiifiod 

 with ihe nli^JnoIner ol" \.\\& productive cla^a — ru;her 

 drones Jruges co-isu-niere luiti. 



Far bf it h'oui me, to tlispurasje the ihrif'ry me- 

 chanic of uur oouniry, the meriiurion.s ariiiiciT of 

 U\<i own lormne; or, the humble liuiu* r, who with 

 his own labor, or ihe assi^Jiauce o. iiit; sons, culti- 

 vates hid 20 ur iOO acres of ground. Tiiese are, 

 in ihe main, valuable and worthy citizens. But 

 I rind iflijriune favors 'one oi tliis class, and by 

 dnit ol" labor and good management, lie acquires 

 an iiidependency, al'.hough enured to toil hnnselt! 

 lie soon becomes a slave-holder. On^ oi" the most 

 worthy and wealthy men oi" this couniry, JMr. 

 John kerlbot, commenced lile, as he told me him- 

 seli'j on a small rented I'arm, a iiiw miies iiom nie. 

 '•I began" said he -'with two hamls — here they 

 are," j^resenting those members c)rhis own. This 

 is a standing joke with our old friend, lie has now 

 acquired a fortune variously estimated from -9 100 

 to ig 120,000. But to the "point aimed at m this 

 example. He employs slave labrr, and carries 

 what may be pronounced a prejudice so far, thai 

 he declares he would drive ofi a white overseer 

 from his plantation. Ano'.her exanii'ie. JVlr. 

 Isaac Hollinsworth of this county, of the estima- 

 ble society of Friends, commeucc^d liiti a? a needy 

 stone-mason. He is now worth not less than 

 $100,000, accumulated by milling and {"arming. 

 He would scout the idea ol' depending en white 

 laborers on his estate. I/, therelot'e, we, of the 

 northern counties of the valley, into which there 

 is a constant influx of Pennsylvanians, native 

 Germans and irishmen, have ex|)erienced ihe evils 

 of white labor, a fortiori, our loivlaud brethren 

 could not tolerate them. 



There is to the common laborer in this country 

 every temptation to idleness, in lieu ol" encourage- 

 ment to industry, in subordinate employments. 

 How can it be expected that he will remain sta- 

 tionary with his employer at ?jl-0 or 5150 a year, 

 when lor twent}', he can buy an old horse and sec- 

 ond-hand cart, or steal them, and alier begging 

 his way to Illinois or Wisconsin, can siiaat on a 

 quarter section of land, and afier a little while, 

 with force of arms, assert a pre-emption right, 

 which some demagogue, anxious to obtain his 

 vote, will recommend shall be secured to him. 

 And Jherp, in a semi-barbarous stale, with rifle in 

 hand, he roams the wilderness in quest of game. 

 This life has more sweets for hun, Uvan hard delv- 

 ing on a farm, amidst a refined society. It needs 

 but little intercourse with our border people to be 

 convinced of the truth of the observation of some 

 philosopher, that there is in man, a much s'ronger 

 proclivity to eavage life, than lo ascend the hill 

 which conducts to refinement. Pacll is descensus 

 jiverni. If it were not iblly to wish for any 

 thing, the attainment of w'licli is physically im- 

 possible, we of the Atlantic states might desire a 

 natural boundary, three hundred miles west of the 

 Mississippi river more impregnable than the inter- 

 minable expanse of prairie, which the present Judge 

 Breckenridge supposes would limit the white man's 

 settlements. When in the course of time, the in- 

 termediate space shall have been filled, and so 

 soon as the conviction is forced on every mind, 

 .that Providence has been as beneficeut to Virginia 

 jOa to any part of his creation, then the refluent cur- 

 rent of general pros(>erity may flow upon our 

 desolate fields, and the labor of white men re- 

 Boyate their fertility. 



This migralnnj characier ol" our people, is a 

 deadly Ibe lo improved Uijriculiure ! A stationary 

 population like ihai of England, feels a deeper 

 iiilcrest in ihe improvemeni of their larms. The 

 laiher fixes his dumicil, plants his hedges, im- 

 proves his |;arks, ami ihrows around every object 

 the utmost beauiy of anificial s(;enery, ami natu- 

 ral improvement. He is tied U) the sp>ot. He re- 

 irards it as a home fur his sons, and children of 

 countless generations. By his descendants every 

 oltject is regarded with filial veneration. Dear 

 and early associations are connected with every 

 time-honored oak, and building, and field. They 

 find "tongues in trees, books in the running 

 brooks, sermons in stones, good in every thing." 

 These feelings, and sentiments operating from 

 fiirm to farm — extended lo every hamlei and vil- 

 lage — is one of the mainsprings of England's ag- 

 ricultural superiority. 



'inhere is here, the same principle of good and 

 evil which pervades the workl. Nay more, there 

 is not in Christendom, a more inlelliuent, enter- 

 prisifff, and liariiig peojile, than the inhabitants of 

 ihe United Slates. Their superior inieliigence 

 sfirings Iron) the unshackled liberty of ihe press — 

 the universal difi'usion of newspaper inlormation, 

 and their active commercial and I radiiiii: habits. 

 This weight will promote the cause of agricultu- 

 ral improvement; but their other qualities, specu- 

 laiing enterprise, and locomotive recklessness, 

 are unfriendly to a system of persevering and im- 

 proving tillage. It is obvious that no man will 

 lake the same care of his farm, when he thinks it 

 probable he may seek his lortune, or his children 

 inevitably will, in the broad expanse of the west. 



Whither do these speculations conduct us.? To 

 what practical issue, deduced from tlie subject? 

 To this, at least; we must be content with our 

 slave labor lor the present — siuiplily our farming 

 operations, to suit iheir inferior intellectual condi- 

 tion, and avoid that complicated and expensive 

 machinery of agriculture, which may be adapted 

 to the Slate of things abroad. This simplicity is 

 perlt'ctly consistent with a vigorous plan of im- 

 provement. So long as we have slaves among 

 us, observe towards them, an exact discipline, in 

 unison wiih a spirit of generous humanity. Their 

 condition and our own may be mucli meliorated 

 by assisting the colonization cause in the removal 

 of that incubus, the fi-ee colored population. Per- 

 haps in the course of a century, when every ave- 

 nue of speculation or adventure is filled, and a ne- 

 cessary division of labor is super-imluced — the 

 maxim of Adam Smith, may be verified, and 

 while labor be profitably employed. The same 

 necessity which now exists in Great Britain will 

 then stimulate faithful occupation here, and certi- 

 ficate of character invite employment. Until 

 then we must make the most of our situation. 

 We need not encourage idleness among our young 

 farmers, because we have negroes and overseers 

 to depend oti. Teach those who are designed for 

 this most useful and healthful profession, to labor 

 occasionally themselves. Make them acquainted 

 wiih the details. of agriculture. They will then 

 he better judges of the exact duty of each slave. 

 And he who, is not only a master of ageneral sys- 

 tem on an enlarged scale, but makes himself ac- 

 quainted with all minor points, down to the names 

 of every part of his ploughs, gearing, all his farm- 

 ing implements and other minutiae, operates to a 

 better advantage. 



