rUE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



129 



country, I matie (arming my only pursuit. In 

 tlie course of a few years, I cleared the wliole ol 

 my first purchase, and so enriched it as to nuike 

 ita cultivaiion profiiable. i then bought more 

 land ; and as more labor became necessary I 

 added ii also, but always m small quantiiies ai 

 any one time, making it my invaiiable rule to im- 

 prove as I proceeded. Thus I continued until, 

 belbre I was aware, 1 lell into the common error 

 ol' liirmers : I got too much land. A considerable 

 portion of my farm may now be (airly called a 

 garden spot. Just that much I consider profita- 

 ble, and just thai much I ought to own, and no 

 more. The rev-idue, which is too poor or loo wet 

 to bring a profitable crop, is a mere incumbrance 

 to my little estate, and 1 should be. better oti wiih- 

 out it. 



Having now detailed certain great evils which 

 I endeavored to avoid — all of which may be 

 summed up in one word — excess of capital — I will 

 now advert to certain other things which I thought 

 it of equal importance to practise. In this view 

 I would present, as claiming the very first rank, 

 what I would call a system o( judicious economy. 

 And here I wish it to be distinctly understood, 

 that by ih'is terra I do not mean a niggardly 

 spirit, nor a stinting in any form whatever. 1 

 mean that, whilst every body and every thing 

 has a sutTiciency, there be nothing wasted. This 

 system 1 have earnestly endeavored to establish 

 on my farm. In this, I have had to row againsi 

 wind and tide. There seems to be in the negro 

 an innate propensity to profusion; we see it dis- 

 played in his Ibod, in his clothes, and even in the 

 comforts which are exclusively his own, and in 

 all the departments which come under his direc- 

 tion. This propensity, I believe, can never be 

 effectually counteracted; but the injury resuliing 

 (i-oiii It may be in some measure obviated, by the 

 constant vigilance of the master. 



But the economy which is ordinarily most pro- 

 fitable on a farm, consists not in mere saving, but 

 in lopping off all useless expenditures. It is in 

 vain to save at one point, whilst a greater lois is 

 sustained at another. I have long been convinced 

 that it is only the speculator or gambler who can 

 make or lose a fortune at a dash. The farmer's 

 wealih never comes to him borne in on the torrent. 

 It is always walled on the small and gentle rill; and 

 he is the best manager who conducts a great 

 many of ihese little rills into one general reservoir. 

 The whole machine should therefore be so con- 

 structed, and kept in such order, that all the pans 

 may work together. Whilst indusiry is employed 

 in creating, economy should be equally busy in 

 taking care. In accordance with this, I make it 

 a rule in my little establishment to dispense with 

 every thing that does not in some way or other 

 contribute to our immediate comfort or profit. 

 Every servant and every horse has full employ- 

 ment. I keep no breeding woman nor brood mare. 

 If\ want a negro. I buy him already raised to my 

 hand, and if I want a horse or mule I buy him 

 also. Now I will readily admit that it will not do 

 (or every body to practise on this Shaker princi- 

 ple ; but in my peculiar situation, (of which more 

 hereafler,) I think it cheaper to buy than to raise. 

 At my house, therefore, there are no noisy groups 

 of mischievous young negroes to feed ; nor are 

 there any flocks of young horses to maintain. 



There is another propensity among our negroe&, i 

 Vol. X.— 17 



always annoying, and sometimes attended with 

 considerable loss to the master, and that is a dis- 

 position to pilfier. Perhaps there is no (iirmer, 

 especially among thoee living near our towns, but 

 is put to more or less inconvenience on this score. 

 In common with others, 1 have sufl'ered consider- 

 ably from it, particularly in the loss of my pigs 

 and shoals, it so happened, that if I took a spe- 

 cial (iincy lor any pig, some rofjue took an equal 

 fancy tor the same ; and, somehow or other, he 

 contrived to strengthen his fancy by "the nine 

 points of the law." His fancy thus became 

 stronger than mine, and I was obliged to yield. 

 This inconvenience I resolved to remedy, but the 

 dilTlculty was to set about it in the right way. 

 Alter much reflection, I became convinced that 

 my own negroes were the rogues, or that they 

 connived at it in others. The thing could not hap- 

 pen so olien without their knowledge or concur- 

 rence. Whether, therefore, principals or acces- 

 saries, my own negroes were guilty, and the re- 

 medy was directed to them. With a view to thia, 

 I resolved to take from them all apology for steal- 

 ing, as far as necessity was concerned. I regularly 

 gave to them an ample sufficiency of substantial 

 Ibod — bread without stint, and meat, besides fish, 

 to the amount of four pounds per week. And 

 here let me in lulge a passing remark, that of all 

 the hogs I have ever seen, none is to compare to 

 the Berkshire ; for besides a fine, round, juicy 

 ham for the master, it furnishes a large fat mid- 

 dling for the negro. And this is precisely the kind 

 of meat which is suited to him. But to return to 

 my expedient. My'negroes were also made com- 

 Ibrtrtble as to their clothing and lodging. In addi- 

 tion to these things, which 1 had reason to believe 

 they would regard as their rights, I resolved 

 to allow them other indulgences, which they 

 could but consider as privileges. Accordingly, 

 every one is allowed a small piece of good land, 

 which he cultivates as his own. The crop which. 

 grows here is the negro's crop, and I exercise no 

 control over it whatever. When the land is 

 broken up for my crop, the negro is allowed time 

 to break up his also ; and when my crop is planted 

 or cultivated, his is also ; and when mine la 

 gathered, he gathers his, and measures it in my 

 presence, and I commonly become the purchaser. 

 Some persons, I am aware, object to the patching 

 system, alleging that it furnishes facilities for 

 -stealing ; but managed as above, I cannot think 

 it fairly subject to that oljection. On the other 

 hand, good consequences, as I think, result from 

 it. It makes my negro satisfied, and it gives him 

 an interest in hishome which he cannot otherwise 

 have. 



But, besides his patch, I allow to each laboring 

 hand a barrel of corn, or its equivalent in money, 

 and the time of settlement is his great holiday, 

 Christmas: At this time, above all others, our 

 negroes are anxious to have some spending mo- 

 ney. Now, by means of thia boon, so highly 

 prized by them, I believe that i have succeeded 

 in keeping my negroes peifectly honest for the 

 last four or five years. The practical working of 

 the thing is in this way : if a depredation is com- 

 miited, no matter by whom, my negroes are re- 

 sponsible fiir it, and double its value is deducted 

 from the Christmas present ; or if a tool has been 

 lost, its value is deducted in the same manner. 

 Jf. however, the thief ie given up, and all have aa 



