WB*&g£Z£~Z»m*'» ' 



Vol. XXIII, Second Series. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y., OCTOBER, 1862. 



No. 10. 



AGRICULTURE AND THE WAR. 



It is difficult at this time to write about any- 

 thing, or talk about anything, or think about 

 anything, but the War. 



What the effect of the war will be on the politi- 

 cal, social and moral well-being of the nation, is not 

 for us to discuss. Whether, as some think, and as 

 we sincerely hope, we shall emerge from the terri- 

 ble ordeal purged of political corruption and un- 

 scrupulous personal ambition, with brighter and 

 more steadfast patriotism and higher and more 

 unselfish aspirations; or whether, on the other 

 hand, as some fear, we shall be given over to the 

 fierce passions which a civil war is liable to engen- 

 der, and lose that reverence for religious truth and 

 that high christian morality which have hitherto 

 gone hand in hand with our rapid advancement in 

 the arts of civilization and material progress. Our 

 trust is in God — in the justice of our cause, and in 

 the intelligence of the people. Let us not forget 

 that our lives and our liberties are in His hands ; 

 let us reverence His word and keep His sabbaths ; 

 let us humble ourselves before Him and He shall 

 lift us up. " Happy is that nation which is in such 

 a care ; yea, happy is that nalion whose God is the 

 Lord." 



But while we may not discuss these subjects, it 

 is quite consistent with the scope of the Genesee 

 Farmer to inquire what will be the effect of the 

 war on the agriculture of the country ? 



That it will have a great effect of some kind 

 there can be no doubt. It is said that there were 

 farmers who lived in France all through the revo- 

 lution and the reign of terror, and never heard of 

 those bloody scenes. But it is not so with us. We 

 have be*en a peaceful nation. We kept no standing 

 army. Our people were engaged in developing the 

 resources of our great and fertile country. Armed 

 rebels fired on the Stars and Stripes floating over 

 Fort Sumter. Where is the army? We had 

 none — or next to none. But lo ! in every city, 



town and village men sprang to arms. From the 

 farm, from the workshop, from the crowded city 

 and from the quiet hamlet they come. Half a mil- 

 lion men leave the industrial pursuits — the source 

 of our wealth — to fight for the Constitution and the 

 enforcement of the laws. Still things go on in 

 their usual channel. It was feared that the land 

 would be left uncultivated and the crops un- 

 gathered. The London Mark Lane Express, of July 

 29, 1861, said, "such an abstraction of hands must 

 interfere with the process of husbandry, and pre- 

 vent the tillage in many instances altogether." But 

 such was not the case. A large breadth of land 

 had been sown in wheat and other grain, and we 

 have just harvested a crop fully up to the average. 

 So far as agriculture is concerned all is yet well. 



But now another six hundred thousand men have 

 left the pursuits of peace for the practice of war. 

 What will be the effect on the agriculture of the 

 country ? We have little data on which to base 

 our conclusions. No such armies have been seen 

 in modern times. The world stood aghast when 

 Napoleon took an army of half a million into Rus- 

 sia. But we have now double that number in the 

 field. To clothe and feed such an army, even with 

 the strictest economy, is an herculean task. But 

 Americans are seldom economical. And in the 

 present instance we have not time, even had we 

 the inclination, to practice economy in the army. 



The immense demand for supplies for the army 

 cannot fail to have an influence on the agriculture 

 of the country. It must create an increasing de- 

 mand for the products of the farm. Other things 

 being equal, therefore, the war has a tendency to 

 enhance prices. 



We are spending a million dollars a day, (we 

 have talked so much latterly of millions, that we 

 do not realize the amount.) Hitherto we have 

 borrowed the money from the Future and spent it in 

 the Present. The consequence is that money never 

 was so abundant as at the present time. The fol- 



