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NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JANUARY 15, 1834. 



out the whole community. The publications 

 Which are from time to time made by these socie- 

 ties, and distributed among the members and 

 others, — as also the periodicals devoted to the im- 

 provement of agriculture which spring up, which 

 are brought into existence and supported by the 

 emulation, zeal and ardor for improvement, which 

 is raised and continued by the operations of these 

 societies, — diffuse information upon this important 

 subject extensively, and greatly promote the in- 

 terests of agriculture. Every new discovery, every 

 successful experiment, every useful hint or sug- 

 gestion from any quarter, every valuable essay 

 found in domestic or foreign journals are here col- 

 lected, and at stated periods laid before the farmer 

 for his guidance and instruction. The spirited 

 farmer, seeing the details of successful experi- 

 ments made by others is encouraged to make 

 experiments himself; and, when successful, or if 

 they afford useful information, these also are pub- 

 lished for the benefit of others. The nature and 

 tendency, therefore, of theso associations, if man- 

 aged as they ought to be, if carried on with judg- 

 ment and spirit, is to excite emulation in the mem- 

 bers and others, and to diffuse information upon 

 the subject over the whole community, and can- 

 not fail to have an extensively beneficial effect. 

 Such I believe to be their usual operation. 



I was also to show the utility of agricultural so- 

 cieties from the effects actually produced by them. 

 And, here, I can only direct your attention to the 

 various improvements in agriculture in this county, 

 which it seems to me are in a great measure, if 

 not entirely owing to the existence and efforts of 

 this society. I would inquire of the members of 

 this society, those of them who are practical agri- 

 culturists, whether they do not perceive its bene- 

 ficial effects upon their own farms, upon the farms 

 of their neighbors, and throughout the f:ounty gen- 

 erally, so far as their observation extends. Swamps 

 are drained, old worn out pastures ploughed up, 

 enriched by tillage a few years, and laid down 

 anew — bushes mowed in pastures — belts of useless 

 weeds and brush around tillage fields are less fre- 

 quent — more stone walls made — cobble stones re- 

 moved from tillage grounds — more pains taken to 

 cultivate the rich upland grasses, and substitute 

 them for the much less valuable water grasses ; 

 the quantity increased and quality improved of al- 

 most every article of tillage ; in some instances 

 new and useful products have been introduced ; 

 valuable fruit trees increased in number, and new 

 varieties introduced ; great improvement made in 

 farming tools ; the stock of the various animals 

 kept by the farmer unquestionably improved ; great 

 advantages gained by a judicious rotation of crops ; 

 manure, that great desideratum of agriculture in 

 cultivating our lands, where the original, vegetable, 

 virgin mould, has long since been exhausted, has 

 been increased in quantity and improved in qual- 

 ity ; and various modes of making compost ma- 

 nure have been adopted ; important improvements 

 made in dairying and the feeding and fattening of 

 cattle; farm houses and other buildings improved. 

 In short, it has essentially altered the appearance 

 of your firms, making them more beautiful to the 

 eye, more useful to the owners, increasing the 

 means of your subsistence ; and though last, not 

 least, it has diffused abroad a spirit of improve- 

 ment and ambition, a professional pride, if I may 

 be allowed to apply the expression to the employ- 

 ment of a farmer, which, affords a propitious au- 

 gury, and a sure pledge of still farther and great 



mprovements. — I will now notice a few consider- 

 ations which should operate as encouragements, 

 and subjects of congratulation to the New England 

 farmer. That sense of degradation, or disgrace, 

 which in most countries does now attach, and 

 which once did attach to a certain extent in this 

 country to the employment of the practical farmer, 

 to the man who with his own hands labors in the 

 cultivation of the soil, has, here, entirely passed 

 away. The employment has become what it al- 

 ways should have been, respectable. It stands 

 upon the same footing with every other occupation 

 or employment in our happy community. Why 

 should it not be so ? What man among us is bet- 

 ter entitled to the character of respectable than the 

 industrious, active, enterprising and intelligent yeo- 

 man? a man who owns the land on which he lives 

 in fee, to him and his heirs for ever, and is not obli- 

 ged to pay tribute for the use of it to any one in the 

 shape of rent, service, rent charge, rent rack, or 

 any other rent: -who can look around upon his 

 many acres, covered with the various and rich 

 products of agriculture, brought into existence bj 

 his own industry, and say, this belongs to me and 

 my children, and my children's children : and will 

 descend from generation to generation, with mj 

 name and blood. Another subject of congratula- 

 tion to the New England farmer is that he is no! 

 only iVee himself, hut his laborers and all those 

 about him, are free. I do not mean here to touch 

 the question of the lawfulness of slavery, the natu- 

 ral, moral or political right of one human being to 

 enslave another, a subject which in another portion 

 of the Union occasions considerable excitement; 

 and, even here, some few individuals manifest 

 what I cannot but consider an indiscreet zeal res- 

 pecting it. It seems to me that we are not author- 

 ized to touch the question of private property in 

 slaves. We have entered into the most solemn 

 compact, the Constitution of the United States, that 

 we will not interfere between the master and his 

 slave, or do any thing to impair his right of pro- 

 perty therein. But, surely, we may be permitted 

 to congratulate ourselves that we are free from 

 this great moral curse, for such it undoubtedly is 

 to any people, where it is allowed to prevail. 

 Without noticing the cruelties which are said to 

 be practised in the slave holding states ; and which, 

 probably, are greatly exaggerated ; the very posi- 

 tion of the master with respect to his slave is cal- 

 culated to impair his virtue, and bring out in bold 

 relief, all the evil propensities of his nature. Power 

 over the life or liberty of a human being is not 

 favorable to virtue. The distinction between the 

 laboring class, and other classes not only by their 

 being of a different color, but also in a degraded 

 condition, effectually precludes Wie superior class 

 from all labor; and necessarily prevents them to a 

 great extent from that activity both of body and 

 mind, so essential to a healthy condition of both. 

 The slave labors by compulsion. He has no in- 

 terest in the success or produce of his labor. Such 

 a subsistence as his master may think it his interest 

 to furnish him to keep him in a vigorous and health- 

 ful state, to enable him to perform the greatest 

 quantity of labor, is secure to him. This he will 

 receive whether he labors little or much. The 

 slave is interested, therefore, to do as little as pos- 

 sible ; ami generally nothing but the vigilant eye 

 of the overseer, and the occasional use of the whip, 

 will enable the master to procure from his slave 

 even a moderate quantity of labor. This, however, 

 is not the greatest evil of slavery. That slave la- 



bor is dearer than free labor, that it exposes the 

 master to many troubles and inconveniences, that 

 it creates a distinction between different classes of 

 human beings repugnant to the best feelings of the 

 human heart, that it exposes the owner at times to 

 serious alarm and apprehension, and disturbs the 

 peace and quiet of families — these are evils. But 

 the greatest evil of slavery is the moral effect upon 

 both classes,, the masters and the slaves. As I 

 have before said, power over the liberty and life of 

 a human being is not favorable to virtue. The 

 tendency is to nourish pride, cruelty, hardhearted- 

 ness, and to diminish and sink into the shade all 

 the mild, affectionate, and sympathetic feelings of 

 our nature. The very position of master and slave 

 creates a diversity of interest, and, to a certain ex- 

 tent, an hostility of feelings. Though there are 

 many commendable and honorable exceptions in 

 both classes, the necessary tendency of this unnatu- 

 ral state, and the actual < peration upon the greater 

 number of those who are exposecl to its influence 

 are such as I have stated. How different is your 

 situation ? Free yourselves, you have none but 

 freemen around you. Their labor is voluntary. 

 You have no right, nor is it necessary to resort to 

 any mode of coercion. They labor cheerfully. It 

 is their interest so to do. Their interest and yours 

 are identical. Well, then, may you congratulate 

 yourselves that you are free from this great evil — 

 this increasing, and it is too much to be feared 

 this irremediable evil of slavery. 



I have already hinted at the tenure by which you 

 hold your farms ; and this also should be encour- 

 agement and subject of congratulation. That tenure 

 is usually a fee simple, an absolute estate. You have 

 uncontrolled dominion over your lands while living, 

 and when they can no longer subserve to your ne- 

 cessities and comfort, you dispose of them as you 

 please. No rents, no tithes, no entailments. No 

 bum-bailiff, or any other bailiff' to seize your cattle 

 or valuable products to pay the last quarter's rent. 

 No clergyman to enter your fields, when your rich 

 products are ready to be gathered into your barns, to 

 require you to set out and deliver to him for his ex- 

 clusive use, one full tenth of those products. No 

 large tracts entailed upon particular families to de- 

 scend entire, undivided, from generation to genera- 

 tion, the course of which cannot be altered what- 

 ever may be the necessities of the community. With 

 j what pride, then, may you walk over your fields, 

 covered with the products of voluntary industry, 

 and reflect that you hold them discharged of those 

 onerous burthens, those numerous and vexatious 

 claims, those odious restrictions, which in other 

 countries reduce the cultivator of the soil to a mis- 

 erable peasant elevated in condition and character 

 but little above the slave. \To be continued. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the New England Fanner. 

 GROl'ND RICE. 



Mr. Fbs^endeh — Your having published, a 

 snort time since in the N. E. Farmer some receipts 

 for the using of ground Rice, a friend in the coun- 

 trv, who has long been known lor preparing like 

 dishes for her friends, has sent me some for both 

 whofe and ground Rice — and as the mill now es- 

 tablished at South Boston produces both these ar- 

 ticlesof very superior quality, and always to he 

 had Jresh cleaned and ground — it is remarked by 

 all our Cooks that this Rice is so very clean, as not 



