THE GENESEE EARMEE. 



153 



THE LIFE OF A FAEMER-HEALTHFUL, PLEASANT, 

 PROFITABLE, AND HONORABLE. 



That the life of a farmer is healthful^ has fre- 

 quently been shown by tables of comparative long- 

 evity, and one of these for Massachusetts shows 

 that their lives exceed the general average by 

 twelve years, and go nearly nineteen years above 

 that of the common laborer, and eighteen above 

 tlie average at death of those engaged in mechani- 

 oal pursuits. There seems to exist a sanitive influ- 

 ence in the varied employments of the agriculturist 

 — in its fresh and suggestive surroundings. So the 

 young man to whom a long life seems desirable, 

 may choose the occupation of a farmer with the 

 greatest likelihood of seeing in their fullness the 

 allotted years of man. For whenever and where- 

 ever such statistics have been gathered, they bring 

 facts to confirm the healthfulness and longevity of 

 the tillers of the soU. 



That the life of a farmer is pleasant^ seems, at 

 least, the opinion of the great mass outside the 

 employment, if their professions are to be believed. 

 A city writer, speaking upon the subject, remarks: 

 " The man in active business m other departments, 

 pictures for himself in his retirement a rural home 

 — a little farm well tilled — and on that he hopes to 

 end his days. Ambitious m6n, who have drunk 

 deeply of fame, are at a stand when the tide of 

 their affairs are at a turn, whether to make new 

 and earnest efforts to struggle upward, or to buy a 

 farm and in the peaceful labors it requires, to enjoy 

 a trauquU close of life." Merchants, lawyers, and 

 physicians, we may add, when most rapidly accu- 

 mulating fortunes, often stop to consider whether 

 a competence and a snug farm are not more desir- 

 able than wealth, amid the turmoils and cares of the 

 city, and the vicisitudos of fortune to which its 

 dwellers are exposed. Rural life and employment 

 have the elements of the beautiful and the agree- 

 able, or they would not possess so many charms 

 to the occupant of all other departments of human 

 enterprize and industry. 



"Why then do so many young men, turning fi'om 

 agriculture as unworthy their attention, seek other 

 employments, or crowd the mercantile or profes- 

 sional ranks ? There may be various reasons for 

 tliis. Some may desire a more speedy return for 

 their labor, and think it found in daily or weekly 

 wages, not considering the uncertainty of constant 

 employment, or comparing their actual profits with 

 those of the working farmer. Others may be led 

 away by the attractive and fashionable appearance 

 of acquaintances who have found employment in 

 the city ; or by the hope of rivaling the one out of 

 twenty who succeeds in making a fortune as a mer- 

 chant, forgetting, meanwhile, the confinement and 

 drudgery of the everyday life of their gentlemanly 

 friend, and the nineteen failures which have taken 

 place while the latter has suddenly risen to wealth 

 and notoriety. A larger class are impressed with 

 the idea that in cities exist greater facilities for 

 finding a comfortable living without much active 

 labor ; and this thought has charms for the indo- 

 lent which they can not resist. How bitterly they 

 will be disappointed, miserable multitudes, who are 

 waiting with Mr. Mioawber for " something to turn 

 up," can sorrowfully relate. 



That the young man who has been liberally edu- 

 cated must study a profession — that in law, midi- 



cine, or theology, alone, can be found use for his 

 learning — is an idea too prevalent even now. It 

 will be a better day for all when it is discovered 

 that the highest honors of the college do not unfit 

 a man for the practical duties of agriculture — that 

 it is not burying ones knowledge to graduate from 

 the university to the farm. Some of our most suc- 

 cessful agriculturists have reached farming through 

 law, finance, politics, literature, or merchandize ; 

 going by way of the professions to their present 

 field of labor. When such men take the direct 

 route, as they are beginning to do, farming will 

 rank not only as healthful and pleasant, but as 

 profitable and honorable in the esteem of men. — 

 Increase in position will give increase in knowledge 

 and refinement, and make the life of a farmer 

 always and everywhere, what it should be — the 

 truest and manliest of all life on earth, j. n. b. 



TREATING TIMBER TO MAKE IT DURABLE. 



Editors Genesee Farmer : — WiU you please to 

 insert the foUowing in your valuable journal. There 

 are many who read it, that might test its efficiency 

 and be benefited thereby. D. — Gates. 



" I am not aware that the following is generally 

 known,'at all events it is not practiced in this locality. 

 In Germany it is known and practiced extensively. — 

 The matter is this: Hard wood, such as hickory, 

 beach, dogwood, &c., is impregnated with the liqxud 

 of stable manure, and afterwards submitted to the 

 influence of heat, and thoroughly dried, for the pur- 

 pose of imparting to it good perservative qualities and 

 rendering it tough and solid. 



" Wood intended for axe handles, mallet, &c., is 

 steeped in this liquid for several days, and afterwards 

 hung up over a fire and exposed to the influence of 

 heat arising therefrom ; two or three days are suffi- 

 cient to render it thoroughly dry. It is then said to 

 possess greater toughness and solidity than when sub- 

 jected to any other process. 



" The farmers of Germany use mallets made of hard 

 wood, which is prepared as above, for the ptirpose of 

 driving iron wedges to split their timber ; the wedges 

 are usually made with a head about two inehes or two 

 and a half, and the mallet sufiers no indentation from 

 percussion. 



" If the process imparts to the wood such qualities 

 spoken of, the knowledge of the fact may be interest- 

 ing and profitable. It is certainly a simple and con- 

 venient process, and some one may be disposed to 

 test it, and compare its effects'with those obtained 

 by other methods." — Indiana Farmer. 



< ■ 



Eeaping and Mowing Machines. — Appleton's 

 New American Cyclopcedia says : " The reaper and 

 mower have gained a firm footing, oven within the 

 last ten years ; for though the first reaping machine 

 known was used 1,800 years ago, * * itisbut 

 a few years since the economy and practicability of 

 using the machmes was fuUy estabhshed. The num- 

 ber of machmes made and sold in a single establish- 

 ment in Chicago, to supply the demand in the West- 

 ern States, alone exoeeded 4,000 in 1856, whUe in- 

 numerable other establishments exist in other parts 

 of the country, doing almost as large a business as 

 the one alluded to. Nearly 200 different patents 

 have been granted within the last eight years for 

 reapers and mowers, and at a ti-ial recently insti- 

 tuted and held at Syracuse, N. Y., nearly 100 differ- 

 ent patents were entered for competition." 



