VOf,. XI ». NO. 6. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



43 



From the Worcester iKgie. 



The followinn; coinniiinication is from a venera- 

 ble correspoiidt'iit, of anntlier State. His age and 

 experience entitle his words U> all that reverence 

 which belonjfs to the advice cominfj Ironi the lips 

 of a patriarch. The benevolent spirit they breathe 

 will secnre for his opinions the rei^aril which the 

 young should ^^ive to the wisdom of gray hairs. — 

 One who possesses the simplicity of life, purity of 

 views, and the wide and saafacious observation of 

 the old philosopher, had a rij;ht to put the name of 

 Franklin to his communication. 



TO THE YOUNG OF BOTH SEXES. 



It is of great importance that persons in early 

 life, should prepare themselves for the part they 

 are to act in society. 'I'here is a strong desire in 

 both se.\es to rise to respectability, and this is high- 

 ly commendable ; but many persons err in their at- 

 tempts to gain their object. 



A principal cause of the failure of young people 

 to reach the object of their desire is, the attempt to 

 get rich without labor. In this way they often aim 

 at an object without the means to accomplish it. 

 Thus, for many years past, young men have enter- 

 ed on business with borrowed capital, to an extent 

 never before known ; they have calculated upon 

 profits which were precarious ; they have neglect- 

 ed to calculate the chances of sudden declensions 

 in business; they have entered upon house-keep, 

 ing with e.iitravagant purchases of furniture; they 

 nave mostly failed, and reduced themselves and 

 families to poverty. The failures and the distress 

 which have occurred in this country within a few 

 years, exceed every thing probably that ever be- 

 fore liappenod. 



Young friends, loam wisdom. It is not the or- 

 der of Providence that mankind should have bless- 

 ing and prosperity without labor. It is best for 

 mankind that this should be the order of things ; 

 good moral habits are formed by industry ; sudden 

 acquisitions ot property tend to prevent the forma- 

 tion of such habits : they are often ruinous to mor- 

 als. Moderate acquisitions of property generate 

 good habits — tlie habits of prudence, of foresight, 

 and correct calculalions of what is practicable. 



The desire of reaching a respectable standing in 

 life has led many to renounce labor for books, with 

 the expectation tliat they can live by learning. But 

 the number of persons who can gain subsistence 

 by learning is comparatively small. The profes- 

 sions are full to overflowing ; unless that of the 

 gospel ministry may be excepted. By far the 

 greatest part of mankind are destined to labor, 

 without which society cannot be supported. 



In forming a plan of business for life, therefore, 

 the first requisite is to determine the course to be 

 pursued, the occupation which is to be followed, 

 and then to devote all possible attention to gain the 

 qualifications essential to success in that occupa- 

 tion. In this preliminary to success, persons very 

 often make groat mistakes. 



!f a young man is to be a fanner, he must begin 

 when a boy, and continue in that business. He 

 must gain knowledge by experience, and muscular 

 strength by labor. Books and learning will nev- 

 er make farmers. 



If a young man is to be a mechanic, he must be- 

 gin his art when young, and persevere in it, and be 

 thoroughly master of every part of his business. 

 Books and learning can not supply the want of la- 



bor and experience. Farmers and artisans can 

 not be made in the school house or college. Most 

 of the sliidios cultivated in our seminaries of learn- 

 ing, however useful to professional men, are not ap- 

 plicable at all to to the common occupations of life. 

 This the writer knows by e.xperience. 



It is with females as with malps: they desire to 

 live without labor ; and thousands of them fail of 

 obtaining a good setth-ment in life, by aiming at 

 what can not be obtained. Hence the high schools 

 often become nurseries of old maids. The daugh- 

 ters of wealthy men, who are sure of the means of 

 living without labor, and such as are fortunate 

 enough to marry men of affluence, may be justified 

 in devoting many years to languages and sciences 

 which they are never to use; but how small com- 

 paratively is this number. 



Most of the people of this country possess small 

 estates, which when divided will not support th'^ir 

 children. Hence it often happens that children 

 whom the father can support in a genteel style, 

 fail at his death of the means of subsistence. Hence 

 probably no country presents su many instances of 

 young persons of both sexes educated above their 

 condition, as the United i^tates. Many persons 

 and families, within the knowledge of the writer, 

 have been ruined or doomed to struggle with ad- 

 versity all their lives, from this mistake. They 

 begin wrong; they expect to be gentlemen and la- 

 dies, without the means of supporting themselves 

 in such style. 



Equally mistaken are many of the daughters of 

 poor families. Some of them enter manufactories, 

 where they get good wages, and dress in rich at- 

 tire ; neglecting to gain a thorough knowledge of 

 house-keeping, the very knowledge which they most 

 want to insure them a good settlement. Young 

 men of industry want wives tliat are good house- 

 keepers. They do not seek females for their dex- 

 terity in tending spools; but for those who are ac- 

 customed to all the work of a family and to an eco- 

 nomical use of money. Such wives are useful 

 auxiliaries in supporting a family ; whereas such 

 as are not accustomed to house work, often check 

 or prevent the prosperity of their husbands : some- 

 times they ruin them. 



Much less do men in the ordinary occupations of 

 life, seek for females who have studied geometry, 

 algebra, rhetoric, zoology and the higher mathe- 

 matics. Such sciences are of no use to thenr, in 

 discharging their duties as wives, mothers, or 

 house-keepers ; they are soon forgotten, and if not, 

 never used ; nor do they ever become subjects of 

 conversation. In the course of thirty years obser- 

 vation, the writer has never known a fe.iiale thus 

 educated to make the least use of such sciences; 

 not even in the families of the affluent. Books on 

 such subjects, read in after life, for the purpose of 

 gratifying curiosity or enlarging the knowledge of 

 the works of nature, may be useful for these pur- 

 poses among those who have leisure ; but not being 

 necessary to qualify females for their duties, should 

 not be a part of school education. 



In no particular, is the folly of females more re- 

 markable than in their estimate of labor. They 

 seem to think it disgracing to labor in the family 

 as domestics, when they will labor in manufacto- 

 ries without objection. They do not consider that 

 the proper sphere of females is in the family, and 

 that they cannot fill that sphere without serving an 

 apprenticeship, and they should no more disdain it 

 than young men should disdain to be apprentices 

 to mechanics. The young of both sexes must be 



subordinate to those who are older, for it is frotii 

 the experience and knowledge of older persons 

 that they are to qualify themselves to be respecta- 

 ble masters and mistresses themselves. Girls who 

 have Tio property should seek to be domestics for 

 two or three years, in respectable, well-ordered 

 families ; for it is in these they are to learn not 

 only to do all kinds of work, but to improve their 

 minds and their manners. It is the best, if not the 

 (Hily chance which many of them can have, thus to 

 improve, and become respectable mistresses of 

 families. 



All young persons should have a competent Eng- 

 lish education, and for this purpose tlioy should 

 have access not only to the bible, but to the best 

 writings of Watts, Addison, Cowpor, and Mrs 

 More. In wealthy and well conducted families 

 the poorest girls may have this advantage. By 

 avoiding domestic service, they deprive thi;mselves 

 of advantages which they can never have in any 

 other business. The pride of females often con- 

 demns them to poverty and to a single life. Many 

 and many a female fails to gain a comfortable set- 

 tlement in life, merely because she is too proud to 

 submit to the apprenticeship of learning the duties 

 of a house-keeper in the character of a hired do- 

 mestic. FRANKLIN. 



From the same. 



HONEY BEE.— WEEKS'S PATENT HIVE. 



Mr Editor — While on an excursion in Con- 

 necticut, I stopped a day or two with a friend who 

 was engaged in raising bees and obtaining honey 

 by means of Weeks's Patent Hives, which proves 

 io bo a very profitable business. These hives have 

 two stories, each containing 30 lbs. The .10 lbs. 

 in the lower story are first made, and whsn com- 

 pleted, which may be known by inspection, or by 

 weighing, the drawers are placed in the upper 

 apartment and nicely adjusted, so that the bees 

 can readily pass into them. When these are filled 

 they can be withdrawn, and others placed in their 

 stead — thus the bees can be preserved, and the 

 excess of honey secured, without the cruel and 

 wasteful process of destroying the bees, which was 

 formerly adopted to obtain the fruits of the labor of 

 these patterns of industry. 



I brought from my friend's bee-house, two draw- 

 ers of this most beautiful honey, made by a swarm 

 which had been in the hive but five weeks. These 

 drawers contained more than S-'-i pounds of honey : 

 add to this the 30 pounds already accumulated in 

 the lower chamber, and it will be seen that this 

 swarm of bees had, in a little more than five weeks, 

 made 53 pounds of honey, of excellent quality, 

 which in the market readily commands 25 cents a 

 pound. 



From this brief statement, the profits of bees 

 may easily be seen. The swarms sell readily at 

 five dollars when first hived. Thus, the product 

 ot the six hives will be in the autumn, 30 pounds 

 of honey for winter use, 30 pounds for market, and 

 five dollars for each swarm of bees. If the old 

 hives make as much honey as the swarms, to this 

 must be added 60 pounds made by each hive, half 

 of which is profit, to wit : 180 pounds. 



The profit of the six hives for one year (exclu- 

 sive of the provision for winter) will be $207 50 : a 

 sum well worth saving to a man who does not need 

 to devote one week's time to the business. 

 Yours, very truly, 



S. B. Woodward. 



