^\)t larmer'0 i Houtl)li) birittor. 



59 



Duties of Farinecs. 



Ainoiifr llie riiiiny ddlifs wiiicli devolve upon 

 riini]eis,di«re is none of liislier ini|H.rlun(e or 

 to vvlikli is iittiiched a sjivalei- sliuie of iei*|iontii- 

 hilily, than thai of artoidini; lo llie risini; jjeiie- 

 i-alion llie nicans of iMstiiulion, and tlie lacilities 

 Cor cnllivaiin^ tlic mind. It is in vuin we lalk ot' 

 in)|imving lite s( il^and elevatin;; tlie standard ol 

 B;rricnllnri' in tliis'conntry, uliih; the \ontli, llie 

 sons and dan<i;lilers of tininers, are denied the 

 liiivileues of education and moral (•nllMr<', uljicli 

 every sound and tliinkiufr mind « ill admit are 

 necessary to enalile lliem to pursuit llieir avoca- 

 tions Willi |>leas(ne and prolil, and to discliarfie 

 in a proper niaimer tlieij- duly in tlie various re- 

 lations ol' lite. 



Tlie sniijeot of eflucation in sdioo 

 importance to fin-iiiers, and may vvitli propriety 

 lie discussed ill an asricultmal journal : lull we 

 intend in lliis article only to point out some of 



Is of vast 



tlie errors anil omissions of duty witli vxlm'li 

 iiianv liirmers are cliaifiealile in tlie education 

 anil irainingfd' those «lio are soon lo enter upon 

 the stage of action, and lo whom the ajrricnltuial 

 interest must look for ils Irieiids and advocates. 

 Education does not consist solely in the Unowl- 

 eiliie gained at schools. The liislory of some of 

 our inost eminent men shows that individual 

 exertion, when aided and encouraged liy pa- 

 rental tidvice and .lid, may lie means of aci|iiiring 

 a degree of knowledge and of reaching u posi- 

 tion which the mere advantages of school could 

 never afiord. We here repeat, what we have 

 often in ertect said, that self-culture is more neg- 

 lected uiiKing fanners than any other class of 

 persons. Il is lime that there was a refiirm in 

 this respe<-I, and we are happy in hei. g ahle to 

 say that there is evidence of its commenceiiient, 

 in'tlie desire of agricultural reading, which per- 

 vades, to siMiie extent, the youth of this comitiy. 

 It is the <luiv of those having the care of yonlli, 

 so to eiicnu'rage Ihe first appearance of these 

 desires, as to form permanent haliits. and a dis- 

 position for investigation, which always leads to 

 vahial'le results. That liillier who, when his son 

 discovers evidences of a fondness for agricnl- 

 inral pnrsuils, and an inclination to store his 

 mind with that inlbrniation which may he de- 

 rived from llie experience and writings of others, 

 withholds the means of gralilying llie.se iiiclin.-i- 

 tioiis, phnes himself in an unenviahle position 

 and can lilanie no one liiit himself; if his sou 

 does uot pursue that course of conduct which he 

 could desire. The youthful mind is never iii.ic- 

 live, and if it is tliwarte<l from its laiidalile iii- 

 clinalion, will he very likely to engage in the 

 pursuit of ohjecls which it would he wiser lo 

 avoid. There is no snhjeci on whicli the mind 

 of young men can with more propriety he em- 

 ployed than in the improveinenl of agriculture, 

 ami we think the judgment of our readnrs will 

 coincide with ours, when we say that the surest 

 means of leading ihe mind to an investigation of 

 agricultural science, and the hest means of ac- 

 complishing ohjects or improvemeiils, is to place 

 hellire them piihlicatioiis wiiicli have lor llieir 

 aim the L'ood of agricultural iiiteieit. Olieii 

 have we lieard the hoy of twelve or fifteen years, 

 urge his liilher to siihscrihe llir an agriciillnral 

 paper, which could he had fiir fifty ceiils or a 

 dollar a year, promising to read il altentively, and 

 in some instances to work out ,'iiiii earn the suh- 

 scriptioii money, while the father would utterly 

 refuse lo allow' him the [irivilege of storing his 

 mind with information, which might be the means 

 of adding greatly to his nsefiilness, and preveiil 

 him from acquiring hahits of dissipation and 

 idleness. And why is this refused? Simply 

 because it will cost a few shillings a year, while 

 as many dollars would perhaps he lieely expend- 

 ed on (diiecls which can he of lu) possible ad- 

 vantage io Ihe yonthfiil mind. , There are hun- 

 dreds'' of such cases even in ihis enlightened 

 coniuiuiiitv, and we wish in a ri'spccifiil manner 

 lo call the attention of such iiidiviilnals to tli<^ 

 subject, and to show them the nature of the re- 

 sponsibility which lliey have thus volnnlaiily as- 

 sumed. If we wonlii elevate llie character of 

 the liirmer, we must enlist the fi'elings of the 

 youth, thus enabling them well to .act their part 

 in the iluties to vvhicli they will be called. Where 

 is the man who is williiigto stand in the way of 

 improvement, by keeping, as far as his iiitlnence 

 goes, the .sons and dangliler.5 of liirmers igno- 

 rant of the means of improvciiieiit whicli shall 



however, to .say that 

 fi'inales aiiiong llie 

 community, exert all 

 rural pmsnits, and 



be extended to them in their youth. Every op- 

 portiinily should he embraced to impress upon 

 y<iniig persons the advantages, as well us the re- 

 spectability, of agricnltural pnrsuils. 



When v\e hear a young l,idy,aiid the daiigliler 

 of a rariner, say »ith an air of conlideiice that 

 she cares noihiiig li)r the interests of agriculture, 

 and that she feels far gre'iter inlerest in alleuding 

 balls, and dancing schools, than in reading publi- 

 cations devoted to the improvement of the busi- 

 ness in which her parents have obtained an 

 holiest living, anil perhaps amassed a fortune, we 

 generally conclude that althougli llie pareiiis may 

 know very well how to lake care of dollar.s and 

 cents, they must have neglected the education of 

 their children, and are accountable for a violation 

 of duty not only lo their family, but lo the circle 

 in which the children are to move. We have 

 hearil young ladies openly avow the above seiiti- 

 nieiils,"anil have fi; It pained on account of their 

 iirnorance, while they supposed ihemselves well 

 iiiforiiied and well "educated. We are happy, 

 a very great portion of the 

 agricultural portion of the 

 llieir influence in (iivor of 

 that much of the spirit ol 

 iiiiprovement which is now every where vyitness- 

 ed, as well as a great proporlion of the interest 

 which is manifested in agricultural exhibilinns, 

 iir.y be liiirly attributed to the inMneiice of fe- 

 iiiaies. Let "fathers and mothers discharge their 

 duty in a proper maimer, and educate their chil- 

 dren so as to encourage rather than repress a 

 fondness i<)r agricultural pursuits, and the lime 

 will soon come when agriculture, instead of be- 

 inir looked iifion with disdain, will engage the 

 attention of the young and hold a high place 

 aiiioin; the occupations of lili'. 



It is loo often the case in this country, thai 

 yoniig men instead <if relying on their own pow- 

 ers of mind lo investigate the difiiirent and va- 

 ried subjects connected with agricultural piir- 

 s'lits, rely solely on the knowledge which llieir 

 liitliers can impart, and never dream of turning 

 aside liom the track which others have pursued 

 befiire lliem. 



We recollect on one occasion meeting with a 

 fanner whom wi' invited lo subscribe to our 

 join iial. and inquiring the price and the ohjecls 

 of the paper, he inqiiii"d of his son, a young 

 man of perhaps sixteen or eighle^n years, if he 

 woiilil like to have an agricultural paper, lo 

 uhicli he replied that he wanted a paper that bad 

 funny stories in it. On onr remarking that a 

 knowledge of agriiuiltnral pursuits was of fiir 

 greater consequence to a young man than a pe- 

 rusal of" fiiniiy stories, he very promptly answer- 

 ed, "lean learn enough aiioiit fanning from 

 Dad." We liiar that ibis opinion is fiir too pre- 

 valent aiiKMig the sons of liirmers in this coun- 

 try, and that they rely more on Dad than on their 

 own exertions. We ask liirmers, and the friends 

 of agriculture, to think of these thiiiiis, and see 

 whether their duly iloes not require that they 

 place wilhiii the "reach of the yiaitli in their 

 charge, inliirmation which sli.ill enable them not 

 only to make a proper choice of business, hut 

 which will qiialily them Ibr the proper discharge 

 of the business of iheir choice. — Central A". 1. 

 Farmer. 



3,396,431; Ohio, l,i)li3,!157: Vermont, 1,3P3,420; 

 Virginia, l.'-'8(),73(i. In the products of the Or- 

 eliard, New Voik and Vernioni have nearly dou- 

 ble the aiiionnt of any other Slale — the liirmer 

 heiiii; lo the aiiKHint of ^l,/;!?,-!.")!) ; llie latter, 



Sl.iO'J,-:Jt?7. 



There; are many other items which we intend 

 lo give hereal'ler. The resources of the country 

 are abiinilaiit. If our citizens will only econo- 

 mize — purchase no more (iirelgn articles ilian 

 are absolutely necessary ffir their wants — the 

 time will soon arrive when the pressure which is 

 so heavily lell. will pass away. We must return 

 to a system of eoonomy in every department of 

 life. Frngality and industry are ahs<ilnlely ne- 

 cessary to the prosperity of this couniry. We 

 must learn lo live more within ourselves, if we 

 would he prepjired Ibr exigencies, such as we 

 now wilnes.s. — Central JVew York Farmer. 



A§ricuUuial Statistics. 



From .-ill examination ol the Marshal's returns 

 at the last United States Census, it appears that 

 the State of Ohio raised more Wheat than iuiy 

 other State in the LJiiioii— exceeding I'eiinsvlva- 

 liia by about 8,000,000 bushels; and Peiiiis\ Ivania 

 exceeds New York abonl •J,OCO,000 bushels; 

 Virginia about I,.'5()0,00(. less than New York. 

 New V'ork, however, exceeds Peniis}lvaiiia in 

 Rye, about 3,000,000 bushels— Indian forii, >,- 

 800 0(10 hiishcls— Oats more than 2,000,000 linsli- 

 t-U—IJiickwheal, 300,000 l-nsliels — Barley, -i.aOO,- 

 OOObiishels — Potatoes, 21,000,000 bushels— Wool, 

 1,000 000 Ib.s,— Hay, nearly 2.000,000 ions— Sii- 

 •'-.n- over 8,000,000 pouiid,s. and proilncts of the 

 dairy, upwards of 8,000,000 dollars. The State 

 of Tennessee rai.-ied 42,1100,000 bushels of Corn, 

 exceedinir tiny other Slate in the Union. North 

 CarolimC 34,500,000— Virginia, 34,000,000— Illi- 

 nois, 28.000,000- Michigan, 22,000,000— Alaba- 

 ma, 18,000,1 00. 



Of neat Cattle, New York possesses 2,fi42,4:3;3 ; 

 Peimsylvaiiia, 1,140,418: Ohio. 1,008,313. Of 

 Sheep", New York has .5,381,225; Peimsylvaiiia, 



Fai'iniiii; without Kiini. 



Whoever commeiiced the Temperance Re'br- 

 mtilion. was, in truth, ;i benefictor lo Ihe linmaii 

 race. From the highways and h\Ha\s, from the 

 borders of the abyss of degradation, if not from 

 the deplli of the abyss ilseli; thousands will rise 

 lip to call that iiijm blessed, w ho litis .saved them 

 liom iheiiiselves. Great as are the liilents of 

 O'Contiell, there is an nnpreiendiiii.' priest, who 

 is nt the present moment ihiing more lo elevate, 

 di.seutlirail, and regenerate Ireland, than fi thou- 

 sand O'Ci ells, without his tiid, could have 



done. Wherever Father .Mallhew goes, llie dis- 

 tilleries become useless, the pig gets iili extra 

 quantity of corn, the wife a new dre.ss, and the 

 l.iborer sheds bis rags Ibr a new coat, saved 

 fiom earnings lli.il fininerly went to brutalize 

 and iiiipoverisb himself and ftiniily. Scarcely 

 less striking has been the result of tibstainlng 

 fiom the common use of ardent spirits in the 

 United Stales, and in no deparlment of industry 

 has this influence been more lieneficitilly felt 

 than in that of agriculture. Of this no one 

 doubts, we believe, who has made the experi- 

 ment of farming ii'llhoiit rum, or in other words, 

 hanisheJ ardent spirits from his fanning opera- 

 tion.s. 



We are well aware that there were llionsands, 

 in fiict nearly every liiriiK r in the country, who 

 when the idea of farming without the use of ar- 

 dent spirits was first proposed, deemed it wild 

 and visionary, if not impossible. So iiitiiiiale 

 had the associations of work and rum beoeme 

 in the minds of most men, that to separ.-iie iliem 

 — lo undertake lo break in upon linig esl.iblished 

 ii<i„jrK — to i;el ill !i harvest, or erect ;i building, 

 without such drinks, retpiiied no little exercise 

 of reason and inilependence of feeling. Many 

 who were coiuinced the practice was ii.seless, 

 hesitated about abolishing it, lest the withlndd- 

 ing spirits should be cliar;;ed lo a penmions dis- 

 position. CVoitd sense, however, and a feeling of 

 right prevailicl; riini was banished from Ihe har- 

 vest field and the rai.-iii;;, in mimeroiis instances, 

 and it was liniiid that none of llie injurious ef- 

 lii^cts .intieipa'ed by many, billowed. There was 

 no want of laborers ; the coarse grains still coni- 

 iiitmded good prices; and finir or five distille- 

 ries in every town ceased to produce iiiid distrib- 

 ute misery and death. 



In those neighboi hoods, and on those fiirius 

 from which intoxicating drinks have been ban- 

 ished, those revolting scenes unfiirtnnately once 

 too conimon, are now no longer seen. We re- 

 member when il was Ihe ciisloiii lo find each la- 

 borer in llie hai vest field with bis pint of spirits 

 daily, that there was lieipieiilly niore,waste fi'oni 

 the effects of the drink than their l.ibor cost. We 

 have seen in the harvest field by Ihe midille of 

 the alieriiooii, the reaper so blue that he was iis 

 likidv lo cut his own lingers jis the grain, and 

 compelled to resort to acorner of the fi'iice and 

 a nap, to resKne a cap.-.city to woik. We have 

 seen half a dozen cradlers racing it through a 

 wheattield like madmen, .\ elpiiig andyc'lling like 

 savages, throwing the grain li(liiiid them without 

 care or llion^ht, and causing a wiiste greater than 

 as many swine would li;ive done, even if they had 

 been oitlie most .-ipproved alligator breed. We 

 have st^eii a dozen men reeling home from a rai- 

 sing' lo sleep Jiway the liquor thai had stolen a- 

 wav their reason, or, as was iimst likely, to abuse 

 their wives and children. Now, where temper- 

 ance principles prevail, such scenes are never 

 witnessed ; unci their iiidtieucu can be traced in 



