NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



79 



tence, than that of the Gods of the Epicureans — a 

 state of perfect repose and freedom from labor and 

 care. To them, Farming seems a very paltry busi- 

 ness, which is likely to give them no such position 

 above other men, as they seem to deserve, and 

 which affords very little prospect of the realization 

 of their idea of the true dignity of man. 



A man of this class is, as Mr. Weller senior said 

 his wife was — " too good a creeler for this place," 

 and the sooner he leaves, the better for those who 

 remain. 



Then we have the cheap order of men, who wor- 

 ship the same image, and just as devoutly, though 

 their forms of devotion slightly differ. A man of 

 this order can lay up money faster in some 

 other way than by agriculture. He buys, not live 

 stock, but stocks. He owns no land, because land 

 docs not pay two per cent, a month, in hard times. 

 He finds it cheaper not to marry, or if he has been 

 guilty of that youthful piece of extravagance, he 

 owns no house — it is cheaper to hire one. He has 

 the satisfaction of knowing just how much every- 

 thing costs, and constantly associates the idea of 

 the federal currency with breakfast, dinner and 

 supper. He keeps no horse — it is cheaper to walk 

 — no dog because dogs eat, and earn nothing, 

 and entertains no guests — it is so expensive. He 

 always complains that he is over-taxed, and abuses 

 the collector, and expresses great surprise at the 

 extravagance of the rising generation. Above 

 all, he wonders that any man should spend his 

 money in farming, or gardening — in planting trees 

 of which he may never live to eat the fruit, or shade 

 trees for the benefit of posterity, when posterity 

 has never done anything for him ! 



He feels, at heart, as if it were not exactly safe, 

 to put seed, that costs money, into the ground, and 

 trust to Providence so long for a return, when he 

 can make a sure thing of it, by loaning the cash on 

 a mortgage. He knows that Farming don't pay. 



But let us examine the question fairly, not with 

 any narrow, selfish view, but with due regard to 

 the general good. The true wealth of a State con- 

 sists in its means of providing its citizens with the 

 necessaries and comforts of life, and the best moral 

 and intellectual education, and hard as is our soil, 

 and severe as is our climate, no people lives, or has 

 ever lived, more highly blessed, in such riches, than 

 we of New England, who cultivate the earth. 



If it be decided that Farming is not profitable, 

 what is to be done'? Shall we desert New England, 

 leaving our land desolate and seek a more fruitful 

 region] This question is too absurd to need a re- 

 ply. Shall we engage in manufactures, and col- 

 lecting in large towns, like Manchester and Bir- 

 mingham in England, become the dependents of 

 party legislation, put our labor in equal competi- 

 tion with the pauper labor of Europe, rise and fall 

 with the Tariff, and starve when the wheel of the 

 Factory stops'? A manufacturing people was never, 

 in all history, a moral people, nor can it be long a free 

 people. The centralizing influence of capital is re- 

 pugnant to the true idea of Republicanism and 

 equality, and although the policy of New England 

 may be to encourage manufactures, to a certain 

 extent, let us pray that no interest become para- 

 mount to that of Agriculture, for when associated 

 capital pays for all the labor, then will money con 

 trol the votes of the laborers, and destroy the free- 

 dom of the people. 



No, the true, the only policy for New England 



is, to depend mainly on her soil. The new and 

 fruitful fields of the West, for a time, may en- 

 tice away our young men. The chances of trade 

 are tempting to many ; yet more than ninety of 

 every hundred* who engage in it, sooner or later, 

 arc bankrupt. The professions are crowded with 

 men, who lead an anxious and a useless life of dis- 

 appointment. The fatal confidence, which assures 

 a man that ho shall bo the last to fall in battle, 

 and the first to gain the prize in a lottery, urges 

 many to their graves, in search of gold. And thus 

 it will ever be, but the mass of our people will re- 

 main upon their native soil, and he is the true 

 philanthropist, w r ho, instead of sneering at the oc- 

 cupation of the Farmer as unprofitable, teaches 

 others to regard it with respect. 



The fact is, that in most parts of New England, 

 Farming, in one or other of its branches, is a good 

 business — a business which gives a sure support 

 to the man who is willing to five in habits of in- 

 dustry and economy, a business which places him 

 far above the masses of the people in any other 

 country, a position, which illustrates, as has no- 

 where else been done, the true dignity of labor. 

 If this occupation affords no prospect of wealth, it 

 gives assurance of a competency. If it hoards up 

 little gold and silver, it gives pleasant homes, and 

 pure hearts. If it gives no high posts of honor, 

 it creates no slaves. If it makes little money, it 

 makes abundance of those things for which others 

 gladly exchange money, and it gives, what money 

 cannot purchase, a life of health and peace. What 

 more than this can be expected of any gene- 

 ral occupation in life? In the nature of things, 

 all cannot be rich, for riches is a comparative term. 

 All cannot be distinguished, for distinction im- 

 plies inferiority somewhere. The conclusion must 

 be, that it is the mere restlessness of a selfish ambi- 

 tion, which nothing can satisfy, rather than the 

 cool judgment of a broad philanthropy, which ren- 

 ders so many dissatisfied with the employment, 

 which is the right arm of power in New England. 

 Upon the whole it is probably true, that the con- 

 dition of the farmer in New England is better now, 

 all things considered, than that of any other whole 

 class of our own citizens, and his prospects are 

 brightening every day. 



Advances in knowledge of the principles of agri- 

 culture, improvements in the modes of cultivation, 

 and in farming implements, in the breeds of stock, 

 in the varieties of fruits ; the effects of steam navi- 

 gation in bringing distant markets near — a thou- 

 sand circumstances are tending to encourage the 

 farmer, and elevate his position. But to maintain 

 this position, he must be awake and in earnest. 

 He must bring to his business the same energy, the 

 same industry, the same systematic efforts, which 

 are essential to success in other pursuits. He must 

 understand his business thoroughly, and by inter- 

 course with his fellow-men, and by reading the best 

 publications of the day, avail himself of every means 

 of improvement. 



Again, the Farmer needs yet to learn to appre- 

 ciate the advantages of his situation and to cherish 

 a proper spirit of thankfulness. He should learn 

 that money is not wealth. A quaint old .writer il- 

 lustrates this idea by telling of a man who labored 

 hard all the time for money, which he expended in 

 buying boots and shoes, which he carefully laid 

 away and kept, which rightly enough, he concludes, 



