1S37.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



727 



ter. I must therefore confine my remarks to those 

 other causes oi" our agricultural depression which 

 i have yet to notice. Amon<r them, the credit 

 system, since the general estahlishtnent of banks, 

 has operated most perniciously; although it has 

 been highly beneficial to a great majority of poor, 

 but enterprising, industrious, and prudent mer- 

 chants, mechanics, and other trades people. The 

 reason is, that the latter always borrow money to 

 increase their capital; whereas the former borrow 

 it, with very few exceptions, comparatively speak- 

 ing, to spend in costly shov/,extrav'agant living, 

 or gadding about the United Stales — they scarce- 

 ly know or can tell lor what. Hardly any of these 

 loans are negotiated either to improve or add more 

 land to their flirras ; and the dej)lorable conse- 

 quences are every where visible to any man who 

 will travel thirty or lorty miles through Virginia, 

 in any direction whatever. 



Another of these causes is one which is the 

 more mischievous, from the circumstance that its 

 eti'ects are indirect — not well understood — and 

 therefore but little, if at all noticed. It is the fail- 

 ure to keep accurate farming accounts. Indeed, 

 there are not more than half a dozen farmers and 

 planters in the whole circle of my acquaintance, 

 who keep any such accounts at all : yet there is 

 not, probably, one of them who would not ac- 

 knowledge, it" he would answer candidly, that the 

 .success of every trade, profession, and calling, in 

 the civilized world, depends, in a great measure, 

 may I not say, almost entirely, upon the con- 

 stancy and fidelity with which this practice is y)ur- 

 sued by all its members. It would then be strange 

 indeed, nay marvelous, if agriculturists could neg- 

 lect it totally, and yet could prosper. But they 

 are perfectly content, it seems, with their own 

 management of their estates, and deem it quite a 

 sufficient proof of their thriving condition, ifj after 

 pa\ing all expenses, they should find, at the end 

 of the year, that they have money left in their 

 pockets J although they are as ignorant as the la- 

 borers who made it lor them, vvhether this resi- 

 duum be only a quarter of one per cent, on their 

 capital, or the largest per centage which agricul- 

 tural pursuits, in our state, are capable of produ- 

 cing. Tlie consequences of tliis utter ignorance 

 as to the exact amount of profit, are perfectly plain 

 and intelligible. There is no inducement to vary 

 their crops, their culture, or any other part of their 

 management, because, lor the want of these accu- 

 rate farming accounts, it is- impossible to tell in 

 what respect a change, if any, could be made to 

 the greatest advantage ; and therefore nothing 

 called improvement will be attempted, lest their 

 "vessel," (to borrow a nautical expression,) 

 '•' should miss stays." I have a deep sympathy for 

 this portion of my brethren, for, to tell you the 

 truth, Mr. Editor, I have been as great a sufferer 

 from this cause, (the tiiilure to keep farming ac- 

 counts,) in propertion to the extent of my pro- 

 perty, as almost any other man that can be nam- 

 ed — a sufferer moreover, who cannot conscien- 

 tiously urge the usual plea, that he erred without 

 knowledge of his error ; but on that very account 

 the better qualified to warn the less experienced of 

 his fraternity against the evils which he lias 

 brought on himself. And here, by the way, per- 

 mit me to attempt the correction of a very false 

 and prevalent opmion, which is, that no man's ad- 

 vice is worth a rush who does not practice what 



he preaches. Now the notorious truth is, that 



wrong-doers, after they come to their senses, are 

 far better qualified to point out all the evils of such 

 conduct, than those who never did wrong in their 

 lives. Just as a traveller who is perfectly familiar 

 with 6«(Z ro(j(/s can guard others against all their 

 dangers, infinitely better than any person what- 

 ever, who never travelled any other than good 

 ones. This, Sir, is my case in reyard to most agri- 

 cultural matters, and therefore I claim to be heard 

 "as one having authority." The privileges of a 

 repentant oflijnder are certainly mine, whatever 

 they may be ; and although I may have urged 

 them too late for my own pardon, yet, if my con- 

 fession, or advice, can benefit a single individual, 

 among the thousands who have a deep interest in 

 it, 1 shall be perfectly satisfied. 



The last cause I shall mention of our agricul- 

 tural depression, is, the growing practice of con- 

 verting slaves into overseers of their fellow slaves. 

 Although it has not become so general as to have 

 attracted much attention, its ill consequences are 

 too plain not to be manifest, on the slightest consi- 

 deration, to all but those who suHer themselves to 

 be deceived by a few exceptions to the common 

 sense rule which forbids the practice. The objec- 

 tions are, that if not constantly under their mas- 

 ters eye, which cannot be, when fixed on distant 

 fiirms, they will either combine with their fellow 

 slaves to defraud him, or, should they attempt to 

 be faithful, will excite against themselves such 

 jealousy and hatred as efi'ectually to prevent their 

 exercising that kind and degree of authority which 

 every overseer must exercise to be really useful. 

 This is almost impossible; for, be it remembered, 

 that every overseer, in the absence of his employ- 

 er, should be, in fact, as well as in name, his de- 

 puty or representative, vested with equal power to 

 direct and command, and with equal power to en- 

 force his commands, as to all the operations of the 

 farm which he superintends. But this cannot be 

 unless the overseer is quite as free a man as the 

 employer himself. Nay, more — to be worth any 

 wages, only a Cew dollars more than the pay of a 

 day labourer — to be, in fact, at all fit for his olhce, 

 he should know, not only how to read, write, and 

 keep common accounts, but he should have consi- 

 derable experience in the practice, andsome know- 

 ledtje of the principles of agriculture, as well as 

 sobriety, industry, and honesty; qualities and ac- 

 quirements which, if any have found generally or 

 at all, in negro-overseers, I can only say, they 

 have been nmch more fortunate than myself. 



But I have a word or two to add against free, 

 white overseers, which I would not venture even 

 to whisper, were I in the slightest degree infected 

 with the widely-spread disease of popularity hunt- 

 ing. JNIany of this class I have highly respected 

 Ibr their good qualities, and some I have been for- 

 tunate enough to rank among my friends. Here, 

 however, my praise must stop, and I must enter 

 on the far less gratelul task of condemnation. 

 Among the multitudes who seek ^'overseering,^^ (as 

 'tis called,) the number is very large whose anti- 

 pathy to every thing like hard manual labor is 

 quite as great as that which cats are said to feel 

 against cold water. Hence, their eagerness to 

 procure such a refuge from what they so much 

 dread, will always be proportioned to the extent of 

 their fears, lest they should be compelled to en- 

 counter the object of their dread; and the paltry 



