1855. 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARMER. 



289 



in October or November. If some of the plants 

 of this last gowing be taken up and laid in like 

 Broccoli, tiiey will be more secure in case of cold, 

 wet weather occurring at the end of the season. — 

 Gardejiers^ Chronicle. 



DUTIES OF THE FARMER TO HIS 

 FAMILY. 



Dr. J. Reynolds recently delivered a lecture 

 before the Concord Lyceum, upon the "Duties of 

 Farmers." We propose, with the Doctor's con- 

 sent, to present to our readers some extracts from 

 this lecture. Under the head of "Duties to his 

 Family," he remarks, 



"Order and neatness, are among the marks of 

 good farming. Where these are wanting in th'. 

 arrangements about the house and farm-build- ! 

 ings, they will be wanting on the farm. The far- 

 mer is bound to train up his family in good hab- 

 its, and habits of order, by which everything 

 shall be kept in its place, and everything d )ne in 

 its proper connection, and habits of neatness 

 which shall lead to the instant detection and re 

 moval of every nuisance, are among tlie good 

 habits in which children should be trained from 

 their infancy. The health, the comfort and the 

 respectability of his family demand this at his 

 hand. 



Among the provisions which the farmer should 

 make for his family, are all those arrangements 

 and utensils which are calculated to save time 

 and labor and strength. There is much hard 

 work to be done in the family of the farmer, and 

 on certain days, and at certain seasons, the fe- 

 males are tasked to the full extent of their 

 strength and powers of endurance. Now, I would 

 not recommend that you should get every new 

 pattern of cooking-stove, or washing machine, or 

 churn, that you may see advertised in the news- 

 papers. But I would have you keep those that 

 you have in good order, and in a condition al- 

 ways ready fur use. Have them in a convenient 

 place, and so arranged as to save steps and 

 strengtii as much as possible. 



Provide for the happiness of your family. Many 

 little attentions to their comfort, and ari'ange- 

 ments )jy which their labors may be facilitated, 

 contril)ute much to promote their happiness. 

 The mistress of the family has numy things in 

 the care of her children, and in the labors of the 

 family, to exhaust her strengtii, and to try her 

 feelings, and the good wife will not fail to appre- 

 ciate all the arrangements you may make for 

 her relief, and will amply repay you by her 

 cheerful smiles, and increased patience and sweet- 

 ness of temper. 



Never require the females of the family to do 

 those things which properly belong to the otiier 

 sex. They should not be required to split the 

 wood, or even to carry it into tlie house ; to 

 shovel the snow from the clothes-yard, or to 

 sweep the paths and alleys around the house, or 

 carry pails of food to tlic hogs, or dig the pota- 

 toes for dinner. Many a fiirmer's wife has been, 

 and now is subjected to drudgery of this sort. 

 But it is to be hoped that tlie days of sucli ser- 

 vice are nearly ended. All such laljurs should be 

 considered a part of the daily business of the 

 farm, and should bo attended to in their season. 



The man who loves his wife, and wishes to make 

 his home a happv one, will regard her feelings, 

 and never subject her to mortiiication or degrada- 

 tion. Nature has implanted in the heart of every 

 woman a desire to appear well in the eyes of 

 others ; this desire should never be contravened 

 unless it oversteps the bounds of propriety, but 

 should be indulged so far as your means will 

 justify. It is associated in her mind with the 

 feeling of self-i*espcct, which is one of the Ixst 

 safeguards of virtuous character. Never by un- 

 remitting toil, render that fair and blooming 

 countenance, and those delicate features coarse 

 and harsh, and cause that beautiful, active and 

 symmetrical form to become bowed and crippled 

 and distorted by incessant drudgery. Remember 

 that woman is not endowed by nature with the 

 same muscular strength and power of endurance, 

 that she has given to man. Iler strengtii consists 

 in her weakness, which appeals to you for sup- 

 port and pi-otection, and in her beauty and gen- 

 tleness, which appeal to your love and aifection. 

 And in all the arrangements of the household, 

 you should remember that the duties of woman 

 are not to be accomplished by muscular power 

 and brute force, but rather by skill, by tact, 

 by perseverance ; and in proportion to the ex- 

 tent of her labors and cares, should be the fa- 

 cilities and aids supplied to her. Thus will her 

 strength be spared, and her time saved for the cul- 

 tivation of her mind, for the instruction of her 

 children, and for the perfornMince of those gentle 

 charities, that so peculiarly adorn the female char- 

 acter. And how much more cheerful, aye, and 

 successful too, will be the labors of the field, when 

 the sweet and cheerful smile of the contented and 

 happy wife meets you at the threshold, and 

 sheds sunshine tlirough your dwellings. 



Another and most important duty which the 

 farmer owes to his fiimily, is to supply them with 

 the means of moral, intellectual and religious 

 culture. Let your children be trained from 

 their earliest infancy to be affectionate, kind, 

 obedient, truthful, industrious, and as fast as 

 their intellect is developed let it receive appro- 

 priate culture. Never grudge the cost of books, 

 periodicals or papers, or taxes for the institutions 

 of learning. Money paid for the instruction of 

 3'our children is the best investment you can 

 make for them, and remember that as the world 

 advances in knowledge, and the comforts and con- 

 veniences of life increase, the standard ol" edu- 

 cation must be elevated from generation to gener- 

 tion. It is not enough tiiat your cliildren are 

 instructed in those things that you learned in the 

 schools of your l)oyhood. They must be taught 

 those things that you now, in your manliood, feel 

 that you need to know. There has been as you 

 all know, a great revival of interest in the cause 

 of education, within a few years past. Catch this 

 spirit tiiat now pervades New Kiighind, and let it 

 enter into all the arrangements lor the education 

 of your children. But L must cut short my re- 

 marks upon this copious theme and will only add, 

 that you cannot aiford to dispense with the insti- 

 tutions of religion, for to these, wo in New Eng- 

 land, are greatly indebted for our worldly pros- 

 perity. Teach your children to reverence the sa- 

 cred word, to remember the Saljbatii day, and to 

 do to others, as they Avould thilt others should do 

 to them ; and never forget that in all these re- 



