448 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



$32,18, and we have the difference of $19,31 to 

 be added to his "gross expenses per acre," which 

 will make $57,85 instead of $38,54, as the cost 

 of bestowing the same labor here that Mr. Mechi 

 bestows there. 



Now, to show that it wont pay to spend $57,85 

 per acre even for such crops as Mr. Mechi pro- 

 duces, let us try the value in the New York mar- 

 ket of his best crops. Wheat, barley and oats 

 are the profitable standard crops that bring in 

 the money in England. They are called white 

 crops, and rarely are raised twice in succession 

 on the same field. A green crop of turnips, clo- 

 •ver, rye, grass or the like, usually follows a white 

 crop, so that when we estimate the value of the 

 wheat, barley and oat crop, we give far more than 

 the average value of all the crops. Taking Mr. 

 Mechi's crops as he gives them, and the prices 

 from the New York Tribune of August 14, 1858, 

 we have : 



40 bushels of wheat at $1,25 $50,00 



56 bushels of barley at 65 36,40 



88 bushels of oats at 50 44,00 



We have seen that if Mr. Mechi paid Ameri- 

 can prices for labor, each of these crops would 

 cost him $57,85, and if he sold them at Ameri- 

 can prices, he would soon be seen coming out of 

 the smallest end of the horn, instead of being 

 Lord Mayor of London, as we hope he may be 

 in due time. 



This is written, not to discourage good culti- 

 vation, but to show the folly of following Eng- 

 lish leaders in agriculture, blindfold. 



Mr. Mechi includes in his expenses, tithes, 

 church rates, rent of land, and the little items, 

 which we have nothing to do with. AV"e may 

 make less or more money than he, by investing 

 largely in improvements, but there is no parallel 

 between us. We pay the laborer his full share 

 of the profits, often more. In England, he gets 

 only enough to keep him from starving. Thefe 

 land and its products are dear, while here both 

 are comparatively cheap. 



Good farming, intelligent farming, in both 

 countries, will show a good balance sheet, but 

 Mr. Sheriff Mechi's accounts need some "varia- 

 tion for this latitude" and longitude. We may 

 do as well as he is doing, but not in the same 

 way. He does not state the price he pays for 

 labor, by the day or week, but he gives such 

 items as this, which shows how well the laborer 

 fares : — "Cutting drains in stiff, tile clays, 4 feet 

 deep, at per rod or pole, including placing the 

 pipes, 5id." About eleven cents per rod for cut- 

 ting a ditch 4 feet deep in stiff clay, and placing 

 the drain pipes ! If any laborer wants a job, at 

 double that price, I should like to have him call 

 on me, at the Pines. I believe draining will pay 



me at double such prices, but some of Mr. Me- 

 chi's improvements would soon ruin me. 



There is nothing in which American farmers, 

 especially in New England, err more than in with- 

 holding capital from their legitimate business. 

 Judicious improvements to make the crops large 

 and uniform, to put them beyond the common 

 risks of wet and dry seasons, will pay better than 

 banks and railroads. Thorough draining, deep 

 culture, and heavy manuring, with attention to 

 proper rotation of crops, will make farming prof- 

 itable, on almost any land, near good markets. 



Exeter, N. H., August 16, 1858. 



NECESSITr OF PURE AIR. 



Whatever makes the air impure makes the 

 blood impurer. It is the air we breathe which 

 purifies the blood. And as, if the water we use 

 to wash our clothing is dirty, it is impossible to 

 wash the clothing clean, so if the air we breathe 

 is impure, it is impossible for it to abstract the 

 impurities from the blood. What, then, are 

 some of the more prominent things which render 

 the air impure ? It is the nature of still air to 

 become impure. Running water purifies itself. 

 Air in motion, draughts of air, are self-purifiers. 

 Thus it is that the air of a close room becomes 

 impure. Thus it is that close rooms bring con- 

 sumption to countless thousands. Hence all 

 rooms should be so constructed as to have a con- 

 stant draught of air passing through them. A 

 man of ordinary size renders a hogshead of air 

 unfit for breathing, and consumes its blood-puri- 

 fying qualities, every hour. Hence sleeping in 

 close rooms, even though alone, or sitting for a 

 very short time in a crowded vehicle, or among 

 a large assembly, is perfectly corrupting to the 

 blood. Close bedrooms make the graves of mul- 

 titudes. — Hall's Book on Consumption, 



MEN AND BOYS. 



There is a real distinction between these two 

 classes of persons. They are not unlike simply 

 as to size and strength, but also as to higher 

 qualities. A true man is manly, a boy is natu- 

 rally boyish. "When I became a man," says Paul, 

 "I put away childish things." Some individuals, 

 however, in the shape of men, are as little given 

 to reflection — as indiscreet and simple, as if they 

 wore the shape of children. 



Boys are designed to be men, and men they 

 will become, if they are properly trained and ed- 

 ucated, and do themselves justice, but if not so 

 trained and educated, and are reckless, they will 

 only grow into large boys. 



It is in this case much as it is with tadpoles. 

 These are meant, naturalists tell us, to be frogs. 

 The Creator so intended them. But if shut up 

 and excluded from the light, they will never lose 

 their tails and become frogs, but remain mere 

 tadpoles. 



Thus many boys never become men. They 

 continue boys in intellect, judgment and deport- 

 ment — shrunk, dwarfish and paralyzed, — insep- 

 arably allied to "childish things." "Show thy- 

 self a MAN," by eschewing whatever is puerile 

 and belittling. — Religious Herald. 



