318 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



tured for the cloak was again disposed of in part 

 payment of the purchase of a horse for the old peo- 

 ple, in place of one that died. With such a wife a 

 man might well lake courage. I have often heard 

 him say that for three years they did not spend so 

 much as "a quarter" by way of pleasure or amuse- 

 ment. The first money he received from his farm 

 was by the sale of wool from the middle of the 

 fleece, at twenty-five cents a pound — the remnants 

 being kept at home to be worked up in his family. 

 The difficulty which the farmers of that day, and of 

 that section, experienced in obtaining money, will 

 hardly be appreciated by the young men of the 

 present time. Nor will they understand how a 

 man of Mr. Carlton's skill to plan, and of his en- 

 ergy and perseverance to execute, could have felt 

 the loss of fifteen dollars for four years. The sale 

 of a few lambs was then almost the only resource 

 for raising money with many farmers in Vermont. 

 They manufactured their own clothing, and, with 

 the aid of a blacksmith, pretty much all of their 

 own tools, and thus managed to get along with 

 very little ready cash ; consequently the reception 

 of a small sum was an event to be remembered, es- 

 pecially when as in this case, it came as the "first 

 fruits" of his labor. The produce and stock of his 

 farm, however, soon increased, so that he was able 

 to devote a small sum annually to the reduction of 

 his debts, after providing for the support of a large 

 family. I regret that I am not able to speak more 

 particularly of the improvements which he has ef- 

 fected upon the farm. But perhaps it is sufficient 

 to say that he added something to the "grand list" 

 of the town — something to the real wealth of the 

 country, by his well directed labors, based upon the 

 principle of cultivating thoroughly and manuring 

 highly all the land he plowed, and of keeping good 

 stock or none. 



Mr. Carlton was not a trading farmer. He nev- 

 er bought an animal or anything else, for the mere 

 purpose of traffic. This 1 am aware is not in ac- 

 cordance with the advice of some agricultural wri- 

 ters, who hold that skill in trading is as essential 

 to success in farming as in commerce. It was not 

 from the want of judgment, or knowledge of the 

 value of property, that he refrained from trading. 

 Few men knew better the worth of both real and 

 personal estate. The opinion of Mr. Carlton 

 as to the value of a farm or an animal was often 

 consulted by his relatives and neighbors, and they 

 considered themselves safe in acting upon it. Per- 

 haps the value of his example In this respect would 

 be better appreciated by trading farmers were they 

 to estimate fairly all the incidental expenses of 

 money, time, and distraction of mind which their 

 most lucky trades really cost. The only advice in 

 relation to business Mr. C. gave his son during his 

 last illness was — to work what he was able to on a 

 farm, trade no more than was necessary for his farm- 

 ing business, and to keep his name from other peo- 

 ple's paper. 



Mr. C. was a strong temperance man, even when 

 almost all farmers used ardent spirits, at least in 

 haying-time. I have heard him speak of his course 

 when he was a young man and worked with those 

 who drank their morning "bitters." "While they 

 were mixing their grog," he said, "I would take a 

 cup, go to the yard and drink as much milk as I 

 wanted fi-esh from the cow. I could then mow 

 with comfort till breakfast time, while others often 

 complained of faintness long before the horn 

 sounded." 



Mr. Carlton was contented with the business 

 of farming, and never seemed to envy the suc- 

 cess, either apparent or real, of other professions. 

 His was not a mind to be captivated by show or 

 tinsel. "Others may dress better, and appear in 

 finer style than farmers, but in the end," 1 have of- 

 ten heard him remark, "they may not find them- 

 selves so far ahe^d of us." 



It has been the purpose of this notice to allude 

 only to those incidents of his life and those traits 

 of his character which may aff"ord examples for the 

 imitation or for the encouragement of young far- 

 mers, and to avoid everything that is merely eulo- 

 gistic ; and, on this principle I cannot avoid a ref- 

 erence to his course in respect to pul)lic offices. He 

 held that those who accepted office ought to have 

 both time and money to spare. Although in later 

 life he represented his town in the State Legisla- 

 ture for two years, and held many other town of- 

 fices, he persisted in declining all that he thought 

 would interfere with his business, until he found 

 that his circumstances warranted him in accepting. 



It is not supposed that the foregoing does full 

 justice to the character of Mr. Carltcn. I have 

 neither the facts nor the ability to justify the at- 

 tempt. My simple effort has been to make the 

 best use in my power of some of the examjiles 

 which his life afforded of industry, perseverance and 

 well-doing. But even this fragmentary notice 

 would be too imperfect without allusion to his char- 

 acter and example as a neighbor. In trouble and 

 affliction his advice and assistance was frequently 

 sought. In sickness, death and funerals his ser- 

 vices were freely offered and gratefully accepted. — 

 And when, at last, the same sad offices were re- 

 quired for him, tne heartfelt respect and esteem 

 which was manifested by his neighbors and towns- 

 men, suggests to my mind the inquiry, whether in 

 our efforts to secure the respect oF the community 

 and to obtain an honorable standing in society, we 

 do not too often overlook those almost undefinable 

 little acts of kindness and friendUness which ever 

 mark the character of the good neighbor and the 

 good citizen. S. FLETCHER. 



Winchester, Mass., May, 1856. 



PLANTING CORN BY HORSE POWER. 



Some weeks since we gave an engraving of Bil- 

 lings^ Corn Planter, and spoke in general terms of 

 its construction, and its apparent ability to do the 

 work well and with rajndity. At that time we had 

 not used it in the field, and could judge of it only 

 by its appearance, and by the application to it of 

 certain principles of construction which are indis- 

 pensable in such a machine. 



On the thirtieth of May, ha\-ing a field of about 

 four acres in readiness for planting, we introduced 

 the Planter. The field was partially on a hill-side, 

 had both fast and loose stones, and plenty of witch 

 grass. Before taking it to the field we made a 

 thorough trial with it on a common road, where 

 there was not a suflUcient depth of loose earth to 

 cover up all the corn, and where we could plainly 

 see its operations. The trial here being satisfactory, 

 we took it to the field with confidence, mounted a 

 Boston boy on a good horse, and started off". After 



