256 



FARMERS* REGISTER 



[No. 4. 



Frederick, Va., July 23rd, 1835. 



Harvest is now over in this Valley pretty ge- 

 nerally, and the reports of the newspapers to the 

 contrary notwithstanding, I think the average 

 crop of the Valley will not exceed one-fourth. 



A CHAPTER ON DISCONTINUANCES OF SUB- 

 SCRIPTIONS. 



If the Farmers' Register could live upon praises, it 

 would be in a most thriving way — and there would be 

 little ground to entertain fears for its decline, and final 

 suppression, for want of a continued and sufficient 

 support. If we were so disposed, we could fill many 

 pages with unbought and unsought expressions of ap- 

 probation from various subscribers and correspondents, 

 and which however mistaken, or exaggerated, as tes- 

 timonies of the value of this journal, were given (it 

 may be presumed) as honestly as voluntarily, on the 

 part of the writers. Very many of our correspondents 

 know that passages of their communications of this 

 kind have been either omitted entirely, thereby incur- 

 ring some risk of offending our best friends, or the ex- 

 pressions of their favor and approbation have been 

 softened and moderated in the publication, when they 

 were so connected with the more important subject of 

 the communication, that such passages could not be 

 left out. This course has been taken, because such 

 expressions of approbation, if published as received, 

 would be considered more as evidences of editorial 

 vanity, than merit — and would be confounded with the 

 ordinary "puff's" which are so easy to procure, and the 

 fabrication of which now forms a regular Wt disgrace- 

 ful part of the trade of publication— and is a branch 

 of the trade which is the most profitable to the least 

 deserving. 



But it is remarkable, (and would be not a little 

 amusing to others less interested than ourselves — ) that 

 many of those who lavish praise on our work, at the 

 same time announce the discontinuance of their sup- 

 port. Now we are well aware that kind feelings may 

 often induce these disagreeable annunciations to be 

 accompanied and softened by expressions of approba- 

 tion — but we cannot therefore distrust the sincerity of 

 the opinions so expressed, and which are altogether 

 voluntary, and uncalled for. When any subscriber 

 chooses to withdraw his support from a work, after 

 having complied with all his obligation incurred on 

 that account, there is no need of reasons or excuses 

 being given for his discontinuance. Between him and 

 the publisher, the transaction is a mere matter of busi- 

 ness — an exchange of a certain amount of money, 

 paid by the one, for certain services to be rendered by 

 the other — and neither of the parties is under any ob- 

 ligation to the other, beyond the payment of the sum, 

 or the service; nor to continue the bargain longer than 

 it is desirable, or than a full equivalent is received for 

 what is paid. If we expected more than this, we 

 should be at least ashamed to acknowledge it. We 

 only ask those who wish to withdraw their support, to 

 do so in proper time. The whole year is open to them 

 for that purpose, and when payment is made, and a 

 discontinuance ordered for the end of the current vol- 



ume, it will be as readily and as certainly entered early, 

 as late. But many will subject the publisher to send- 

 ing out one and even two or more monthly numbers of 

 a new volume, before announcing an intention to stop 

 at the end of the previous one: and in many cases, he 

 is compelled to submit to this most unjustifiable im- 

 position. The course of subscribers in such cases, is 

 either civilly begging that a debt fairly incurred by 

 them shall be remitted gratuitously by the creditor — or 

 otherwise the debt is boldly denied, and the creditor 

 must submit to the spoliation, for want of means for 

 redress. 



So far the matter is considered as between individu- 

 als — and so far, the editor pretends to have no claims 

 on any subscriber's support — nor for any thing more 

 than a bare compliance with obligations actually in- 

 curred. But there is another and more important 

 point of view, to which attention is due. This applies 

 to the general interest of the agricultural community, 

 in the maintenance of the Farmers' Register, consider- 

 ed without regard to any particular or private interest, 

 either of publisher or subscribers. Whatever may be 

 the true degree of applause due to the operation of this 

 journal — whether it be fixed according to the partial 

 estimate of its warmest friends and zealous supporters, 

 or of those who have never aided its efforts — or at any 

 average degree between the opinions of friends and of 

 enemies — it will certainly appear, that thiough this 

 medium much service has been rendered to agricul- 

 tural improvement and agricultural interests, even 

 during its short course — and that such effects may be 

 necessarily expected to continue to increase, with the 

 age and increased influence of the work. If any per- 

 sons deem the Farmers' Register to be worthless — or 

 that its place would be better filled by any other agri- 

 cultural publication — they are right to withhold their 

 support. But among the great number who entertain 

 opinions altogether opposed to these — who indeed 

 would testify the most strongly in favor of its useful 

 effects — it is strange that there should be so large a 

 number who have never lent any support, or having 

 done so, have withdrawn it. If only a tythe of the 

 benefits anticipated from such a journal were to be 

 realized to the agricultural community — and even ad- 

 mitting that an individual should derive from it no 

 special and private benefit, but only his proportion of 

 the general benefits shared by all the agricultural com- 

 munity, it would be manifest that his subscription for 

 life, would be of very inconsiderable amount, com- 

 pared to his share of the general benefit to be thus 

 derived. 



QUERIES. 



Queries on the following subjects have been address- 

 ed to us. We owe an apology for the long delay of 

 the first, which was caused by unintentional over- 

 sight. 



1st. What is the prop?r mode of thatching houses 

 with straw? And would the practice be economical 

 in Lower Virginia? 



2nd. Whatls the best size, form, and model of fix- 

 ing a roller, to be used on level and light land, for the 

 purpose of giving the soil greater firmness by pressure.' 



