640 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



me to design the slightest imputation on the ac- 

 complished, the meritorious, but unloitunate mer- 

 chant, who, in these untoward times, has lost 

 his all. 



What were formerly called the learned and 

 liberal prolessions ingulf multitudes In prolouiid 

 oblivion, who, like the Ibregoingcldss, have vainly 

 imagined ihat a name or a license, coolened by 

 persons in authority, would make their loriunes. 

 These persons serve only to degrade their [>roles- 

 eions, and to destroy public conridence in the /ew 

 of their brethren who have the talent and learn- 

 ing to comprehend, and the conscientious iniegri- 

 ty honestly to discharge, the duties ol their calling. 

 Kven the sacred I'unciions ol the clerical office are 

 sometimes rudely seized by unhallowed hands, 

 which have proved recreani to the handles of the 

 plough, and irom no beiler motive, than iliai they 

 imagined ihe labors oi ihe pulpit to be less irk- 

 some. Far be it from me, again 1 say, to speak, 

 or even to think unkindly, ol ihe amiable, the mo- 

 dest, the excellent young men, who, from mis- 

 taking their calling, or, from some other unlore- 

 seen impediment, lail of success. My remarks 

 are designed lor those who have killed from 

 sheer haired ol' labor. 



Many oiher instances might be pointed out, 

 of persons who have avoided the pursuits ol 

 agriculture, from the vain hope of averting that 

 doom, which requires of man, that " in the 

 sweat of his face he should eat his bread." 

 These might be drawn, from high officers, who 

 gormandize on the stores of government, and the 

 whole tribe of vermin, who nibble in the public 

 crib, down to the miserable vagabond, who skulks 

 /rom house to housCj like a stray dog, sponging 

 daily subsistence Irom the reluctant charity of his 

 neighbors. 



But even the class devoted to agriculture is, by 

 no means, exempt Irom the lear of labor. The 

 truth ol this proposition is so manliest, that it is 

 somewhat difficult to decide, where we should be- 

 gin with its proof. Who has not heard many of 

 this class lamenting their lot, as hard, and wish- 

 ing it had been cast in some other occupation'? 

 Let us suppose a traveller passing among us, 

 whose design is honestly to learn ihe present 

 condition, and future prospects of our agriculture. 

 In the first place, perhaps he would be struck 

 with the perishable nature and imperlect structure 

 of our lences, and their unfitness, in many cases, 

 lor the protection of our crops. On inquiring lor 

 the reason of this, he might learn that there is 

 some excuse (or it in the tact that our law ren- 

 ders it necessary that every man should barricade 

 his crops against destruction from the cattle of 

 other people, instead of requiring the owners of 

 animals to prevent their trespassing on the crops 

 of neighbors. But still, he might wonder what 

 other reason, beside the trouble of it, could pre- 

 vent us Irom making this protection a better one. 

 And he would suspect there must be some hard 

 thoughts, if not hard words, among neighbors. 

 He would also find, in this neighborhood at least, 

 a great many gates, and the most of them in 

 such bad order, as to cost honest people much 

 trouble in shutting them. He would observe, 

 that the plan long since antiquated in England 

 and Scotland, of -in-JieW and out-field, is still gene- 

 rally kept up. The out-fields in which the growth 

 of corn and oats is attempted, not manured, not 



clovered, and almost as poor as the patches of 

 land and fields thrown altogether out of cultiva- 

 tion, which produce nothing but poverty-grass, 

 broom-siraw and young pines. The in-fields, or 

 tobacco lots, on which all, or nearly all the ma- 

 nure of ihe larm is applied, and which siill gene- 

 rally r» ceive not half enough, and which produce 

 tobacco, wheat, and generally, of late, clover, 

 serve to show what the land is capable of under 

 complete management. On learning the reason 

 lur this arrangement, he would find, that we deal 

 on credit — that the big bill of the merchant, or 

 part ot it, and many other bills have to be paid, 

 out ol the proceeds of the tobacco crop, and thai 

 were it not lor this sort ol compulsion, many mighi 

 not manure half as much land as they do. Well 

 might he conclude, that this sweating must be a 

 terrible operation, in this land ot .our's, and that 

 whatever our lormer talented representaiive* in 

 congress may have done, we are verj' lar Irom 

 havmg discovered the philosopher's stone, " pay 

 as you go." 



Lei our traveller now come about the home- 

 stead, and he will find the dweiling-house, good, 

 bad, or indilfereni, as the case may be. The 

 same may be said of the granary. The stable is 

 apt to be indifferent, in many instances very 

 bad — with a wet and filthy flour, and sometimes 

 with mire so deep, at the door, as to require some 

 hunger to induce a horse to encounter the en- 

 trance. Perchance, near the door, there may be 

 piles of manure, long rinsed by the rains, not ac- 

 tually put there to spoil, but thrown out to pre- 

 vent the horses Irom being half buried, on lying 

 down. This is admitied to be an extreme case, 

 but lor its slovenliness and cruelty deserves re- 

 buke. Imagine our traveller gazing at an ani- 

 mal which might have stood, in bold relietj 

 among Pharaoh's lean kine, begrimed with filth, 

 and covered with ice, its hollow eyes mournfully 

 turned towards the Ibdder-stack, with its hinder 

 legs almost crossed, to present the sharpest edge 

 possible to ihe wind, while its lore ones are 

 siretched, wiih almost dying energy, as props. 

 Were he from Yorkshire, England, or, our own 

 South Branch of Potomac, he might feel some 

 doubt about the species ot this poor beast ; he 

 would leel certain, however, li-om its horns, its 

 mournful lowing, and chewing its cud — if cud it 

 had to chew—that it belonged to the genus 

 " Bos." Such a picture as this, also, is very 

 rare, but, I think, I have seen something like it. 

 The owner of this animal means to improve his 

 stock when he gets ready. But what is that 

 our stranger is inspeciing so narrowly? Its lace 

 IS sharp, and it is sharp ail over. It looks as if it 

 had just passed through a rolling mill. He has 

 read of the opossu.m, and he would like to take a 

 look at iis pouch. It roots, however, most furious- 

 ly, and if it only had ears he would suspect it 

 must belong to the hog lamily. Perhaps the 

 owner of tliese animals sells corn. Some lew 

 instances of such misguided, left-handed econo- 

 my may be Icund in our country, and as no other 

 punishment can be inflicted on them except ridi- 

 cule, they should have enough of that. I am 

 happy, gentlemen, to feel assured, that such ex- 

 treme cases ol mismanagement are not to be 

 Ibund in our vicinity, or among our members, 



* John Randolph of Roanoke, 



