62 



m)t Jarmcr's i^loi\tl)lT) llisttor. 



Another c.-iMse of the evil is, fiinuslniig l.oys 

 will, no suitable books and papers to lea.l. 



Another cause of the disposition in farmers 

 hoys to leave home, is the snrly, mon.se and 

 Ecoldii.i; habits in which many parents indulge 

 themselves. , , 



And still another is, the ron^h, nncoiith an.l 

 condorllessapi.ean.nre of many fanners houses 

 and oin-bmldm-s. The total absence ot a f.'ood 

 kil.-hen iraiden, Of frnil tnul flowers and yard., 

 and, in short, of every thin;; which renders home 

 desirable. It woidd seem from the location, and 

 the imconth and dilapidated appearance ot many 

 farmers' bnildin-s, that the Genins ot R.nn, and 

 of Disorder, and of Desolation, held there an nn- 

 divide<lswav. And who can wonder, that an 

 iiaelligent boy should wish to escape trom such 



" Bnranolher. and probably the most frnilfnl 

 cause of this evil, is, the opposition ol farmers to 

 all imprnvemenl in the management of then- 



farms. They must pass on, fro. onth to monlh, 



and l.-om year to yea.-, i.i the beate.. t.ack ot their 

 fall.e.-s; carefully' avoi.lin^' all departure from 

 that t.ack, and ridicnlin- every attempt to nitro- 

 duce a better system of husbandry. U.esan.e 

 piece of land whirl, was n.owed by the lather, 

 must be ...owed by the son. '1 he same field 

 m.isl be planted with corn, the same sowed w.th 

 we, the sa.ne ],nstured ; and the same swamp, 

 which was devoted to alde.-s and br.ers by the 

 fathei-, thon';h the best land on the farm, nn.st 

 continue to produce nolhiuf; but alde.s a..(l briers 

 under the management .d' the sou. And it, pei- 

 chnnce, the father, ih.-oui-h life, went to the end 

 of the lot most remote fiom the house to inr.. Ins 

 cows to paslui-e, the son must, by no n.na.is, n.ove 

 the bars nearer home, lest he should see... to be 

 wiser than his father. I once remonstrated v%'.l i 

 an a<.ed li.r.ne.-, auainst makiui: a large corn hill. 

 He .eplied, his corn would all fall down it he did 

 not male a lu.-ge hill. I told him mine stood u|i 

 well without any hill, and advised hm. to try two 

 rows through his field with no h.ll, and d those 

 rows we.-e not as good as the rest, his loss won U 

 he trifling ; and if butler, as I thought they would 

 be, he would save the labor of hill.ng m fntu.e. 

 ■ When, with an air of contempt, he lepl.ed, " jMy 

 father taught me to make a large hill, and 1 know 

 1 can't raise corn wilhont it, and 1 ilou't want to 

 try any experiments on the subject." Thus n.any 

 families are ready to silence every ai-gument for 

 impi-oven.ent, simply by " my father did not do 

 so" 



But this is not all. The son sees, that every 

 year, the weeds and bushes are midi'iig enc.-oach- 

 ments on the cleared land, the fences are decay- 

 ing, the walls are tumbling down, the cops are 

 diminishing, and the farm is annually deprecia- 

 tiiii( in value. No allemptsare made lo i.u-rease 

 the" manure heap, but on the contra.-y, weeds, 

 corn stalks, woolen rags, old shoes, and many 

 other arf.ides, which would make I'xcellent ma- 

 n.n-e, are carelidly collected and burned, or 

 tin-own into the street lo f.igliten the horses of 

 the passim; Iravcdler. 'I'he half starved cattle are 

 .sufTf-red lo nm about the highways i.i ihe VN'iute.-, 

 ami leave their sca.ily d.oppiiigs whe.-e no one 

 is benefitted by them ; and the boy, when ilriviug 

 them ho.ne, if he have; any pii.le, wishes lo have 

 it understood, that the calll<! belong to some 

 neighbor. Well may the son of such a farmer 

 think, if indeed he had ever been alloweil lo 

 think for himself, that should he sin vivo his fa- 

 ther, the fiir.ii and buildi.igs would come into his 

 hands in su.-h a slate of povc>rly and rniu, that 

 the fuherilanc-e woulil be an iucnmbraiice rather 

 than a beneht, and it is not siiai.ge that he should 

 betake himself even to ii pedlar's triuik, if he can 

 pel no better employment, rather than continue 

 on such a firm under such circumstances. 



Having pointed out the causes ol' the evil, the 

 ren.edies are plain and of easy applicaiion, 



Lft no flirn.er's wife think her children loo 

 good to labor; but on the contrary, let her strive 

 early to fix habiis ofiiidusiry. Li'levc.y moibci 

 teach her scnis, that while labor cm the faiin is 

 honorable, iilh-iiess, ignorance and vice^ alone 

 bring reproach. And whe.i this lesson is iIki- 

 roujlily imp.'cssed on the mind of her son. and 

 cori'esponding habits aic lin-med, that smi will he 

 likely to make;iii eflicicnl man and a useful cili- 

 zen,'wheiher he be tc.llowing a proli'ssion, or be 

 engaged in the uioie safi; anil more pleasant pnr- 

 Kiiit of agriculture. Unl when the mother, wilh- 



ont this lesson, and without these habits, under- 

 takes to make her son a gentleman, she is far 

 more likely lo iimke him a loafer. 



Let parents labor to give all their children a 

 .'onil edu.ation. Let the absurd notion, that a 

 farmer needs no education, be banished tro.n ev- 

 ery dwelling. The.-e is no pursuit, whe.-e intel- 

 IJ.Jence. a. id a well c.illivated and a well disci- 

 phned mind is more necessary, than in the piopcr 

 management of Ihe farm. Let the mmd be en- 

 iai-^ed by a kuowlediie of history, political econ- 

 om^v, anil es|.ecially the sciences connected will, 

 a.'i-'icnllnre. Lei ti.e young far.ner enrich his 

 .uind by gene.al reading. Let bun tl.oro.ighly 

 u.idersland oiir political instiluliona ; and he will 

 be able to judge of bis political rights and duties, 

 without the aid of some demagogue, who had 

 rather devote his time to watching over the pub- 

 lic inteiesls, than lo the pm-suit of honest indus- 

 try. 1.1 short, let ihe farmer be able to reason, 

 to examine, and to judge lor hi.iiself, and he will 

 soon take Ihe elevated rank in society lo which 

 his calling entitles him, and lie will no longer have 

 the opporiuniiy of complaini.ig that professional 

 men have too much influence. This will have a 

 great tendency to attach farmers' sons to their 

 homes and to their liirms. 



Let eve.-y fi.rmer provide his sons with n smalf 

 but well selected Uli.-arv, and popular newspapers, 

 — relioious, moral, political, miscellaneous, and 

 especiidy ngricnhmal. In a house whe.-e the.-e 

 are no proper books and papers for hoys to read, 

 there is no suitable eu.ployme.it for the evening. 

 Ho...eis dull andtlreson.e. 'I'he boys imist re- 

 sort fbr ai.iu.se. .je.it to the grog shop or the bar 

 room; and if a habit of ii.len.perance be not 

 formeil, a love of excitement is acip.ired, ihe at- 

 lachmeiit to ho.ne is weake.ied and the boy is 

 prepared lo break away from the paternal dwell- 

 in" the first opporl.n.ity that oflTtrs. But when 

 proper books a..d papc.s a.-e f..ruished, and boys 

 are early tamiht, that when the labors ot the day 

 are ended, ihey are lo spend iheir evenings in 

 i.nproviuii their minds: right habits will be form- 

 ed ; and ihe acquisition of useful knowledge will 

 become as pleasant as it is profitable. Let every 

 pu-eiit, while he governs his family with fir.i.ness 

 and decision, carefully avoid all seoldi.ig and 

 .noi-oseness. Let the ki.idness, the tenderness, 

 of the father be seen in all his re|)roofs and in 

 all his punishments, when reproof and piuiish- 

 ment are found necessary : and never let the un- 

 ki.idness of the father p.-ompt the wish in the 

 so.., to leave his father's dwelling. 



Let every father endeavor by every means ... 

 his power," to improve the appearance ami the 

 comfbi-t of his dwelling. This, 1 consider the 

 solemn duly of every father. The character 

 and the success of his posterity lor genera- 

 tions may he decided by it. This may be ihongbt 

 by so.ne an extravagant, or at least, a visonary 

 remark. But 1 believe, that on examination, it 

 will be approved by reason and sober common 

 sense. A boy dishea.tened, discoui aged and 

 driven from home, by the comforllessness ot the 

 fiimily residence, and becoming a wa.ide.-cr, with- 

 out the restraints of a father's aiithi.rny, and the 

 watchful guidu.ice of a .nntliei's love, w.ll he lar 

 more likely lo become vicious a. id humoral, than 

 if he had remained under the kindly a. id health- 

 ful influences of home. A. id beconiini? thus 

 vicious and i.miioral, if he have a fau.ily, his vices 

 a..d im.noralilies will in .'dl probability be 

 imitaied by his children. Every farmer has 

 .lol the means of owning a laigeand well finish- 

 ed l.ynse ; but every farmer maj, at a trifling ex- 

 pense, do much to improve ihe ajipeaiance and 

 comfort of his dwelling. He may have a good 

 kitchen garden so liM.ced as to prevent ihc iiilrii- 

 sion of cattle. He may at a su.all expense, and 

 indeed wiihout a.iv expe.ise, except a little ol his 

 own lime and labor, have a leu fruit liees and 

 g.-ape vines, and thus save his eliililr.'ii f.o.n ihe 

 .uonlticaii.m of begging, or the guilt of stealing, 

 IVom his nei'ilibois. Ho may shelter his house 



f.-om Ihe scorching heat of sui er, by slnule 



trees. He may allot a small i alch of gionnd to 

 his children tor Ihe ciillivatiou of flowers. And 

 he can mend his wi.idous in a more econo.mcal, 

 as well as more pleasant uianner, than will, old 

 coats and lials. He can also have a s..bsia.itial 

 yard, in w l.icli to confine his ou u cattle, and pre- 

 Vent their running about the slreeis, to his own 

 loss, and to the vexation of his neighbors. 

 But above all, let our furmers abandon their prej- 



every ihingwhicli is ancient and venerable, only ^ 

 because it'is such— when our government, and our 

 institutions of learning are ruthlessly attacked, 

 anil not even the Church of Christ is ypared ; I _ 

 can almost pardon the tenacity with which some . 

 of our farmers cling to the system of farming 

 which was pursued by their fathers. But there 

 is error on both sirles." Nothing should be aban- 

 do.ied ine.ely because it is old ; nothing rejected 

 because it is new. It hecn.nes us in all our con- 

 cerns, to examine carefully the course of tho"; 

 who have gone before us, and follow ll.e.n wher.t. 

 they were right, a.id improve upon ll.eui where 

 we'caii. -A. id evei-y reflecting man must see, 

 that there is much room to improve on the agri- 

 culture of our fithers, as well as on our own 

 We shall do much better lo follow our fathers in 

 their industry and perseverence, their sobriety 

 and temperance, their integrily, nioraliiy and pat- 

 riotism, than in their method of farming. 



It is to me passing strange, that in a country; 

 and in an age, when every other class of me 

 are engaged in the march, or rather race, ar 

 of imp. oven. ents, so .na.iy li.rmers, disposed Xi 

 remain stationary. Professional men are anx 

 ions to get the newest book which treats o 

 their profession ; the mechanic seizes on every 

 labor-saving implement, and adopts the latesU 

 style of work ; the mannfactnrer pi-ocnres eve.-yj 

 iinpioved machi.ie; while the faruier is contenB 

 to use the coarse and hungling implements whicl^ 

 were used by his father; and cnliivaie the faille^ 

 crops, on Ihe same fields, and i.i the same maiiJ. 

 ner, that his fi.ther did before him. How woulil 

 the manufacturer succeed now, wiih the ma- 

 chinery in use only thirty years ago, w hen « i 

 price was paid for weaving a yard of cotton cloth 

 w Inch will now purcha.se a yard of cloth of tin 

 same quality ! All who are acquainted wilii niaii 

 ulacliuing,"know, that every manutiictory in th^ 

 country would he ruined at once, if the old ma'.. 

 chiue.-y were used. And how can the farine 

 succeed any heite'r, with the clumsy, ill-shape 

 i.iiple.nents of foru.er days? A. id lio.v, will 

 the ill digested system of farming adopted h 

 our ancestors ? •■ , i I 



The steamboats, canals and railroads ha>-M 



brought the farmers of the west in direct compe 



lition with the f irmers of New England ; am 



the latter can never carry on that competitioii 



with any hope of success, without a greatljj 



improved system of agiiciillnre. J 



If the tiu-u.er would keep his boys at home, hi 



must procure the best implements and adopt ih 



best and most improved mode of flirming. Aw 



thefir.st step should be the enlargement of lb 



mannre heap. This may be done by adding I 



it all the veuetables, and various other siibslanct 



which are oiiliuarily wasted.— Without atleinp' 



ill" to particularize, and much les.s, to go into 



Kciciilif^c discussion of the subject, 1 will sa 



that weeds, peat, svvam|i nnid, loam, l<-av 



IVmii ihi- woods, may 1»: profitably used for tl 



liurpose. . . 



Another important item is the reclaiming 

 swamps. A large quantity of swanq) land no 

 lies waste, whii-h might he made .some of tl 

 mo.st productive land in the State. Stoney lai 

 should he cleared of stones and enclosed wi 

 good siibslaniial walls ; worn out fields slio 

 he enriched and made productive; while th 

 barren hill tops should be rendered profitable, tl 

 ihi.y easily may be, by being covered with forc^ 



trees. . ,. . 



Let every farmer cointneiicea ,)ndicious court 

 of improveuieuts, according to his means. L 

 it be m.de.slood every Spring, that the qiiaiiti , 

 of maimi-o must be d"uubled; that some swamj 

 must be cleared and ditched ; some tract of rouirk 

 land m.isi be freed from stone, enclosed with 

 wall and made (it for cnltlvation; or that som< 

 worn out field must be enriched and lenderei 

 'Vnitful. Lei this coii.-se he pu. s.ied a tew years 

 and 1 think ihe llirmer will generally find litllN 

 dillic.ihy in keepi.ig his hoysat ho.ne, This wit 

 lin-nish'lhat excitement .so much loved by youth 

 'I'liis will alVoid innocent and rational graiihcj 

 lion! The boys ^^ ill feel a new ailacliment to til 

 fichis which ihey have assisted in beautifyinj 

 And they will soon .see by their increased crop* 

 and their unwonted pi-o»periiy, that when ilu 



