492 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEB. 



Nov. 



For the New England Farmer. 



HUTS FOE "A FAEMER'S SOH" TO 

 CEACK 



Mr. Editor : — Stranjje as it may appear — and 

 "truth is stranger than fiction" — there are hun- 

 dreds that look with contempt upon the noble av- 

 ocation of farming, as well as upon farmers ; little 

 thinking, no doubt, that the vast numbers of a 



For m3'Self, sir, I am trying to be a farmer, and 

 feel proud of the name, and love my avocation, and 

 for the further encouragement of a "Farmer's 

 Son," 1 will give a synopsis of the trials to which I 

 have been heir. I am English by birth. At the 

 age of fifteen years, was brought to this country by 

 my father, accompanied by my mother, who was 

 then sick, (1836,) and has been ever since, and five 

 sisters. I could read quite well, and write a fair 



world's population are dependent upon the vigor- j^ and ; that was all the education I had. In less 

 ous exertions of the "sons of the soil tor all theLj^^^ ^^^ ^.^^^.^ ^^^. f^^her died, leaving the family 

 substantial of life. Should we not be proud m be-LntJrely destitute, after his sickness and death. I 

 ing one of those, without the exertions of whom L^^g .j^^^ ^^^ o^l g^n; six months, however, add- 

 the world, m its civilized state, could not exist a L(j another son to the family. 1 was the oldest 

 smgle month after the present supply should bek^j. ^^j^g j^^ ^^jg fj^j^^j.^ By my exertions, and the 



exhausted. „ . ^•o o ^ ^ I assistance of the few friends that we had made in 



Others look upon farming as a life of drudgery 



yielding no mental delights and intellectual privil- 

 eges, nor holding out inducements for its votaries 

 to strive for posts of honor and trust. Were it 

 otherwise, many would be glad to follow farming 

 through life's long journey ; among which, is one 



this strange country, I supported my mother and 

 the little one, by working out on a farm, and by 

 other work that would alford a pittance, until I was 

 nearly twenty-one years of age, when, by the assist- 

 ance of friends, I was enabled to go and learn the 

 shoemaker's trade, by which I supported my own 



"Farmer's Son," who made known his objections in f^jj^jj^,^ Meantime, I had attended a common 



your paper of August 0, and for his encouragement, 

 and others like him, to engage in the avocation of 

 their choice, with your permission, I would present 

 a few facts and suggestions. First, the chances of 

 success ivhen commencing without capital. Ac- 

 cording to my observation of facts, the proportion 

 of those who succeed, commencing with or without 

 capital, is very much in favor of the latter, as the 

 former are very apt to imagine that their patrimo- 

 ny is sufficient to warrant them in hiring their work 

 done, and they themselves live on the income, un- 

 til finally they find themselves involved in debts, so 

 deeply, that they sell out, and live and die, shift- 

 less, worthless creatures. Exceptions to this rule, 

 to be sure, are not hard to find. On the other 

 hand, as I sit at this moment, my eye rests en the 

 broad acres of six brothers, whose only patrimony 

 at 21 years af age, was a fair amount of clothes, for 

 those days, and a sickle each ; all of whom are 

 above board — save one, perhaps, who has been so 

 unfortunate as to be kept back by a great amount 

 of sickness — three of whom are money lenders, 

 aside from holding railroad stock, and I think but 

 one of the three over forty years of age, owning 

 from one extensive, or two farms each ; well 

 stocked with animals and implements. One of, 

 these now holds the important office of Selectman 

 of the town. 



Other young and middle aged farmers have been 

 sent as Representatives to our State Legislature. 

 Does the "Farmer's Son," wish other men of more 

 notorious fame, that are practical farmers ? Let 

 the names of Professor Mapes, Dr. Lee, of the 

 "Genesee Farmer," and others, answer his purpose. 

 It is a lamentable fact, that farmers generally, do 

 not read enough, nor are they stored with scholas' 

 tic lore ; were it otherwise, it would be better for 

 the country, for then, the farmer would have some 

 thing "worth living for," and as "knowledge is 

 power," it would afibrd and suggest facilities for ac- 

 quiring that which is worth working for, viz., wealth. 

 Inferring from what the "Farmer's Son" has writ- 

 ten, he has a liberal education ; let him be one to 

 enter the field as an educated farmer, and thus as- 

 sit to elevate the avocation to that dignity which it 

 ought to command, and thus force the world, from 

 peasant to king, to acknowledge that to be a fanner 

 is to be. a man, and not merely to be^a thing, a 

 kind ©f self-acting, rotary, motive machine 



school six months ; and since I was married, when 

 twenty-eight years of age, I went to an academy 

 five weeks ; being all tlie education I ever got in 

 that way. Working at my trade destroyed my 

 health, and at this time, a phrenologist came along, 

 and gave a course of lectures, which so engaged 

 my attention, that I determined to study and prac- 

 tice the same, and by dint of ])erseverancc, work- 

 ing days, and robbing myself of sleep, and study- 

 ing nights, in a year and a half I commenced the 

 profession publicly, with what success, the public 

 must judge. I was then $300 in debt, with noth- 

 ing to pay with ; however, I determined to pay, and 

 get me a farm. By January, 1852, I had paid my 

 debts, and had $48 left in money, one cow, and a 

 small library, worth, perhaps, $100. I purchased 

 my farm for $800, paying $40 down out of the 

 $48, promising the remainder of $100 in the 

 spring, and a yearly payment of $100 and interest, 

 till all should be paid. Thus far, I have succeeded 

 in payhig as fast as due, and supporting quite a 

 large family. I have a nice little stock, and have 

 made some improvements on my farm, and intend 

 to make more. I am thirty-five years age, and by 

 the time I am of the serious age of forty, I hope to 

 have a comfortable and happy home, free from the 

 liabiHty of sherifl''s hands. I have something 

 "worth living for," as I have increased my library 

 somewhat, and find time to read some seven papers 

 each week, besides some from books. Besides all 

 that, I expect to make, on my farm, from time to 

 time, comsiderable sums. Progress. 



Glover, Vt., Aug., 1856. 



USE OF CATS' WHISKIES. 



Every one has observed the whiskers of a cat ; 

 but few, perhaps, dream that they serve any valua- 

 ble end. The following passage will prove the 

 contrary : 



"Every one must have observed what are usual- 

 ly called the whiskers on a cat's upper lip. The 

 use of these in a state of nature is very important. 

 They are organs of touch. They are attached to a 

 bed of close glands under the skin, and each of 

 these long hairs is connected with the nerves of the 

 Up. The slight-est contact of these whiskers^ with 

 any surrounding object, is thus felt most distinctly 



