1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



JC7 



them living waiies. They seem to be content, work 

 faiihtully and till all their contracts ; he furnishes 

 them quaritrs on his place and has not i^llti..•recl 

 froiii di>honei)Ty ; liis water-melon patch was ex- 

 posed and acci s»il)le to all, l)ui; he gave his hands 

 what ill y needed for thtir own u^e, and he does 

 not know that any thing was stolen. Tiie greatei- por- 

 tion ot his larni he has put out on shares, furnishing 

 implcmciits, sto.k and leed for stock, and receives 

 two-iliirds ot' the ciops as his share, lie thinks 

 tliat lab r is cheaper now than it was during slav- 

 ery — tliat is, it co.^t more formerly to work alarm, 

 to support the negi'o and keep the sick and inetf'ec- 

 tive hands Uian it now does to hire the labor. He 

 has been troubled occasionally to procure female 

 servant-:, Oiviiig to their disposition to congri gate 

 in ihe ciiitS. In this, however, he has not txpcri- 

 encid th.' difli ulty that others complain of. Give 

 them enough to live on, and let thtm understand 

 that tliey must work as faithfully when by them- 

 selves as wliin the employer is present. Rethinks 

 tlrat they ) reler the farmer to give the farm his 

 persoiial supervision and to direct them himself. 



Mr. M. T. Sc'.'tc was equally as fortunate as Mr. 

 Thompson, and can get all the effectiie labor he 

 wants, pa\ irig hands §15 to !^'18 per minth, board- 

 ing them al;0, and when engaged by the day, 

 giving !^l to ;jpL2.5, ar.d also their dinner. Negroes 

 now-a-uays are more slippery than they once were, 

 and they are f^'t the nrost part too much inclined 

 to"pick up little things," — potatoes, coal, &c. They 

 do not regard this as stealing, when they take it to 

 eut or to use in thtir families. He has never had 

 a hand to violate his contract; they are n ade to 

 understand that their siiuation is contingent on 

 their good behavior. 



In such expressions, however, the Club is 

 by no means unanimous. Others represent 

 the colored freedmen as unreliable and thiev- 

 ish, and insist that the legislature of the State 

 should adopt some means to remedy the evils 

 of -which farmers complain. 



We will close this article with some most 

 encouraging and hopeful utterances of the edi- 

 tor of that excellent journal above-men- 

 tioned — the Farmers'' Home Journal — and in 

 doing so we take the liberty of printing them 

 as our own sentiments : — 



"Farming must be profitable in Kentucky 

 or the number anxious to engage in it would 

 be much smaller than it is, and our lands 

 would not command the high price they always 

 bring when they are offered. Farms sell for 

 from $60 to $125 per acre, but $75 would, 

 perhaps, be regarded as a fair average. Then 

 everything that is raised, whether it be graia, 

 live stock, or any other product, sells readily 

 and at remunerative prices. The lands yield 

 as largely as those in any other section, and 

 horses, cattle and other animals cannot be 

 more advantageously fed in any State. Home 

 markets are always open, and dealers here are 

 anxious to pay the highest rates, but if distant 

 markets are preferred they can be easily 

 reached. 



"Just now the disorganization of our labor 

 system renders farming more laborious and 

 hazardous than it has ever been before, but 

 even at this time it yields as fair a percentage 

 as many other occupations, and despite the 

 serious aggravating evils of which farmers 

 justly complain, some of them have stated pub- 

 licly that they arc doing as well as they did 

 when slavery existed. Energy, continued ap- 

 plication, industry and thrift will work out 

 profitable results now as well as they ever did. 



"The passions and prejudices born during 

 the fearful internecine struggle have been per- 

 mitted to estrange the people of a common 

 country too long. Let us strive to be forbear- 

 ing, considerate and generous, and thus, 

 while encouraging the nobler feelings of our 

 nature, let us, whenever opportunity oifers, 

 work together to repair the ravages of the 

 past. We are one people, and the prosperity 

 of Georgia will be felt by its quickening influ- 

 ence in Kentucky and New York. When 

 farmers, miners, manufacturers and machin- 

 ists develop the vast resources of the South, 

 its augmented wealth and power will benefit 

 every other section. For a long time now the 

 Southern people have been manfully strug- 

 gling against accumulating misfortunes that 

 would have utterly prostrated any other nation, 

 but patient, industrious and enterprising, they 

 have calmly waited their time, and now, soon 

 they trust, they will be gladdened by the 

 dawn of a more glorious prosperity than 

 that which went down before the tide of war. 



"The people of the South are now in a far 

 better condition than they have been at any 

 time since the commencement of the late dis- 

 astrous struggle. The gratifying evidences 

 of this improved condition will sooa be mani- 

 fest, in the quickening of business of all kinds, 

 the removal of the sai traces of war and 

 neglect, and the indications of enterprise and 

 activity everywhere. In New Orleans, it is 

 stated, that the people there confidently ex- 

 pect to do the largest business for niiny years. 

 Already buyers from the South and South- 

 west are in the New York market making lib- 

 tral purchases, to the extent of double the 

 amount of last year." 



—Fruit lands in the vicinity of St. Joseph and 

 Benton Harbor, Mich., are sold at from three to 

 five hundred dollars per acre, and some have been 

 held as high as $1000. 



