204 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



bers of our brethren will continue lo labor under j can deny. For instance, the farmer'' s thrift de- 



and to eufter (rotn an infatuation «o deplorable, so 

 paralyzinnr, Gou only knows ; but eo long as tliey 

 do, a man might as well preach to eo many deaf 

 adders, with the expeclaiian tf doing them any 

 cood. They seem infinilely lo preler lounging 

 away their time at any place of public resort, 

 where such dronish idlers as themselves are mosi 

 apt to congrcgaie. There, perhaps, iheyinier- 

 change very profound condolences about "the 

 hard times," without ihe least apparent conscious- 

 ness of their own participaiioii iu creaiing them ; 

 or, should a tippling shop be at hand, iheir fiivor- 

 ile occupation generally is lo settle the affairs of 

 the nation therein, and ever and anon to wash 

 down their patrioiic efiusions with copious liba- 

 tions of whisky and brandy lo some poliiical idol. 

 In the mean while their farms are left in a great 

 measure to lake care of themselves, and lo regain 

 fprtiliiy, if that be possible, by almost tolal neglect. 

 Happy for our country, and most happy for suclj 

 persons themselves would it be, if by any means 

 they.could be cured of their sell-deslruclive habits, 

 end converted into industrious, frugal, persevering 

 farmers. The whole appearance of our own 

 Blate, as well as of many others, would soon be 

 changed by it ; we should cease to hear ol' any 

 farm being deserted from iis supposed incapacity 

 to support its owners ; and it would not be long 

 before our good old Virginia would begin to look 

 and to feel something like what she once was in 

 her most prosperous days. 



There is still another important change essen- 

 tial to our improvements in husbandry, which all 

 of our liirmers who have young sons are deeply 

 concerned in making. It is, to abandon the pre- 

 posterous practice of crowding nearly all of them 

 into the professions of law and physic, instead of 

 trying to make good farmers of them ; than which 

 there is no more honorable vocation, nor any one 

 that has so many considerations to recommend 

 it 10 our regard. Ask any man whom you please, 

 if he does not feel certain ihat we have an over- 

 Block both of doctors and lawyers, and he will 

 certainly answer yes. But still we are constantly 

 adding to the number, as if there was really no 

 other honest pursuit by which they could make 

 a living. In the whole compass of supposition, 

 there is (at least in my opinion) but one which 

 will reconcile this practice to common sense ; and 

 I hardly think we shall find any gentleman of 

 either profession willing to admit it to be true. It 

 is, that to mu'iiply lawyers and doctors is to in- 

 crease sickness, diseases, and liligalion. If add- 

 ing to the Ibrmer would diminish the number of 

 the latter, as it certainly would, provided the 

 doctors and lawyers were all masters of their 

 profession, and strictly honest as well as con- 

 scientious, then, assuredly, any addition lo the 

 number of either must unavoidably lessen the 

 total amount of income to be divided among 

 them all ; and consequently ought lo prevent any 

 considerate parent from devoting his son to the 

 study of either law or medicine, at least so long 

 as both professions continue to be so overstocked 

 as they are and have been for many years past. 



The following brief illustration of the difference 

 between the sources of income, upon which law- 

 yers, doctors and farmers necessarily depend, 

 must place this matter in a point of view, the 

 juBtnesB and truth of which no man in his senses 



pends upon ihe thrift and the health of all other 

 trades, proTessions, and callings, for all are hia 

 customers, inasmuch as he produces the necessa- 

 ries of life which all want, and must have, in pro- 

 portion to their appctiies and means of buying. 

 On ihe other hand, ihe laioyer''s thrift depends 

 upon the number of dispuies and quarrels in re- 

 gard to properly, of injuries to persons or charac- 

 ter, and of frauds and crimes which may be com- 

 mitted within the limits of his practice ; for, be it 

 remembered, that none of these things are neces- 

 sary incidenis to society, although of too frequent 

 occurrence. And the doctor^s thrift depends on 

 either the real or supposed unhealihiness of the 

 persons among whom he lives. If few or none 

 are litigious, few or none slanderous, few or 

 none perpetrators of fraud or crime, the lawyer 

 is in some danger of starving, instead of growing 

 rich; whilst the physician is in quite as bad a 

 predicament, should there be Htile or no sickness, 

 few or no diseases. True it is, and most lamen- 

 tably true, that such a condition of society cannot 

 reasonably be anticipated ; but we may confi- 

 dently cherish the hope of a nearer and nearer 

 approximation to it, if the great, the vital causes 

 of temperance and popular education continue to 

 advance, and to gladden the hearts of all true 

 lovers of their country, as we now have every 

 reason to believe they will. And so sure as they 

 do, just so sure will fewer instead of more doctors 

 and lawyers become necessary. But the well 

 being of every community will always require 

 some of each profession, and I am one of the last 

 men who would maintain a contrary opinion. I 

 have too great an esteem, too sincere a regard 

 for the worthy men of both classes, lo say any 

 thing in disparagement of either good doctors or 

 good lawyers, for I am happy to believe that 

 many of them are among my best friends. All 

 I wish is, lo remind my brothers farmers of the 

 old proverb, that we may have too much, even of 

 a good thing; and to beseech them to recollect, 

 that in our own profession there is still more am- 

 ple room lor more, many more recruits. 



In making this assertion, I am fully sustained 

 by the facts which our late census has disclosed 

 in regard to our own state. But at present, I 

 will refer only to those which more immediately 

 concern our own comparatively small county. 

 According to the authority which I have consult- 

 ed, Essex contains only 2S0 square miles, or 

 168,000 acres. By the last census, our whole 

 populaiion in this county amounts to no more 

 than 11,309 persons. Now supposing that three- 

 fourths ol I his number are engaged in agriculture, 

 and that only two-thirds ol them are capable of 

 labor, which seems lo me a fair estimate, as none 

 under ten and over seventy years of age ought 

 to be counted, we shall have no more than 20 

 and a small fraction, who can properly be called 

 agricullurisip, to every square mile, which is a 

 little over three to every hundred acres! This, 

 I think, am.ounts to a demonstration, that we 

 shall be in no danger whatever, lor many, many 

 years to come, of being overstocked with farmers 

 and cultivators of the soil. Nay more, it proves 

 most clearly, that if we consult the interest of 

 Virginia husbandry, and the great national inter- 

 ests partly dependent thereon, we shall use all 

 the fair means in our power, to induce our sons 



