276 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 9, 1836. 



AlV ADDRESS 



To the Essex Agricultural Society, at Danvers^ 

 September ZO, 1835, at their Annual Cattle Shotv. 

 By Daniel P. Kung. (Publislifd by order of 

 the Society.) 



(Continueil from page 2J9.) 

 Tliesrreat object of the farmer is to obtain the 

 most vahmble products, with tlie least possible 

 labor, and at the same tiiTie to l<eep his iarm in a 

 state of progressive irii['.rovernent ; by this method 

 large crops have been obtained with a small ex- 

 pense of labor and manure — but some of little 

 faith may object that it is the result of a single 

 tvK[)erimont, that there may Jiave been something 

 peculiar in the soil or the seasons, that with others 

 it would have been a complete faiiure, and that 

 - most likely the land soon became exhausted. — 

 But Mr Phinney has practised and continues to 

 practise the same kind of husbandry with the same 

 su(;cess and increasing confidence. '! he fiehl on 

 which he made the experiment which he has so 

 clearly and satisfactorily detailerl, has remained 

 in grass till the present season, and has continued 

 to yield two tons of good hay to the acre, without 

 any top dressing. Other farmers have followed 

 the same method on a great diversity of soils, and 

 although a plain field and a loamy soil may be best 

 adapted to the purpose, there are none except 

 very wet or very rough and rocky grounds whicl 

 cannot be greatly improved by it. There is no- 

 thing unreasonable or unphilosophical in this 

 method, and success would seem to follow it as 

 naturally as effect follows cause. I know that 

 there are many farmers who believe that the good 

 old way is the best way, but let tlje most incredu- 

 lous of these visit the farm of Mr Phinney, which 

 but fifteen years ago produced but nine tons of 

 bay, and which now produces seventy ; let him 

 go into those well mellowed fields, and see the 

 ■corn waving in its beauty and ripening into a 

 gold(^n harvest, yielding nearly one hundred 

 bushels to the acre, and potatoes in equal abun- 

 dance ; let him witness all the improvements of 

 that well managed and thoroughly cultivated farm, 

 (which in natural advantages, perhaps, does net 

 exceed his own,) and that scejjtical farmer, who 

 went out hesitating and unbelieving, will come 

 home with a settled conviction that Mr Phinney 

 is a fanner of great skill and enterprise, enlight- 

 ened by a sound judgment: he will cheerfully 

 admit- that his method of cultivation is a great 

 improvement, and he will ajiply it to his own 

 farm as far as his circumstau"es will allow. 1 

 should not have dwelt so long on this subject, if, 

 from my own observation ana' the experience of 

 others, I had not been fully j^atiafied tpat'the adop- 

 tion of a similar method of jiusbandr^ v\'ouhl be 

 beneficial to our own fields. Let the Cvrmers of 

 Essex try the experiment i the exp.ttlso will be 

 but trifling ; the advantages may be great ; and if, 

 by chance, they sliould fail of success, they will 

 have the satisfaction of having at least aitonptf.d 

 »n improvement. 



The business of the farner requires his consta.nt 

 care and inspection ; he must not intrust it to an- 

 other ; if he exp-ects his -work to be well done, be 

 must do it himself, or at least see it done. How 

 many farmers have been mi;3led by the notion 

 that their respectability and consequence in society 

 is commensurate with the uuml'ier of their acrCs, 

 forgetting that it is the condition, and not the size 

 of their farnis, which gives the.m a character. — 

 This desire lo be considered the c(wi ler of it wide 



domain has been a fatal snare to many wlio might 

 have enjoyed their homestead in peace and plenty 

 — it has involved them in pecuniary embarrass- 

 ments, which liave driven them sorrowing from 

 the very fields, perhaps, which their ancestors 

 reclaimed from the wilderness, to seek for them- 

 selves and their little ones' a habitation amongst 

 strangers, or in some distant, solitary wild, where 

 the voice of a stranger would be welcomed as the 

 voice of a friend. When it is matter of choice, 

 the best sized farm is that which the owner has 

 skill, capital and energy to manage to the best 

 advantage. A mistake similar to this, and of the 

 same disastrous consequences, has led some far- 

 mers into extravagance in the size of their houses, 

 extravagance in fiu-nishing them, and extravagant e 

 in their style of livij(ig. How many kind hearted, 

 pains-taking, industrious farmers, 'forgetting that 

 ^' it is the eyes of others, and not our own, which 

 ruin us," have been lured by the false glitter to 

 rivet on the chains which have afterwards galled 

 them to the quick I No man, except a landlord, 

 wants a larger house than will accommodate his 

 family, and occasionally his friends. Let every 

 farmer, then, who is about to build, first sit down 

 and count the cost, then let him consider at how 

 much less expenset a house of moderate size is 

 furnished and kept in repair, and how much less 

 labor is required in sweeping and scouring, (it 

 will be prudent to make the calculation, although 

 it may not be prudent to intermeddle with the 

 operation ;) and then let him seriously reflect how 

 small a house will hold his tried, valued, and true 

 friends. A man of ample fortune will consult his 

 taste — he may think that a large mansion, costly 

 furniture, and a corresjionding style of magnifi- 

 cence, will increase his happiness — let him try 

 it, for bank bills are as worthless as the seared 

 and withered leaves that are put into circulation 

 by an autumn gale, and specie as valueless as the 

 pebbles washed by the waves of the sea, if they 

 do not contribute to the happiness of their pos- 

 sessor, or if they are not in his hands the means 

 of conferring happiness on others. But before 

 the man of wealth indulges in such profusion, if 

 he is a ]ihilanthropist, he will remember that his 

 example may be followed by those who cannot 

 so well bear the expense; if he is a father, he 

 will remendjer that his children will hardly be 

 content with any situation or manner of living 

 inferior to those to which they have been used 

 under the paternal roof. 



If 1 had not already trespassed too far on your 

 [latience, I would speak of the importance of do- 

 mestic manufactures, as affording the only ready 

 and constant market for the surplus productions 

 of your farms, and as indispensable to the real 

 independence of the country — I would say sonje- 

 thing of the cultivation of mulberry trees and the 

 rearing of silk-worms, as affording s profitable 

 and pleasant employment at home for those mem- 

 bers of your family whose health and whose vir- 

 tue might be too nmcli exposed abroad. There 

 arc many other toj)ics of domestic economy of 

 great interest, but most of them have been learn- 

 edly, or what is better, practically, treated by 

 g-entlemen who have addressed you on former 

 occasions. But there is one subject which is 

 becoraingso important, and the evils of which are 

 so general and serious, that you will be disposed 

 to allow it a moment's consideration. I mean the 

 difficulty of obtaining experienced, able and faith- 

 ful help. The complaint has been growing louder 



and more frequent, and a remedy is most desirable. 

 But a tew years since, for the reasonable compen- 

 sation and the kind treatment they always deserve, 

 we could easily find diligent and faithful young 

 men and young women who wei'e willing to afford 

 us their assistance — and a mutual benefit was 

 received and conferred, and readily acknowledged 

 — it was an exchange of good oflices ; while thej' 

 cheerfully gave us their assistance and attention 

 in the labors of the farm and of the house, they 

 were learning the principles of good husbandry 

 and good housewifery — they were preparing 

 themselves for that station in life to which every 

 young man and young woman should be looking 

 forward, to the relation of hnsbanils and wives, to 

 the situation of masters and mistresses of faijiilies 

 of their own. A well managed farm and a well 

 regulated househo d are almost the only schools 

 where this preparatory education can be acquired 

 by the young; they must learn to obey before 

 they can be fit to command ; they must learn the 

 lessons of good management before they can 

 practise them. And let them be assured that 

 there is notliing dishonorable or degrading in 

 attending this school, or in learning these lessons, 

 for there is no station or occupation which is not 

 reputable when honorably followed, and the}', and 

 they 011I3', are useful and worthy members of 

 society who are engaged in some useful employ- 

 ment. Captivating as the charms of beauty may 

 be, and fascinating as are some of the polite 

 accomplishments, let no young woman rely so 

 much on these means of obtaining admiration and 

 securing affection, .as on the ability to make her- 

 self useful ; for although a lover may be blind, a 

 husband has eyes — arthough music, and painting, 

 and dancing, and embroidery, may be very pleasant 

 amusements, and afford gratification for a leisure 

 hoiu", there are other hours besides those of dal- 

 liance and revelry, and other senses besides those 

 of seeiug and hearing — senses, too, which have 

 more im[ierious demands; and there is danger 

 that the wife or the mother who is not prepared 

 to answer these constant demands, beautiful and 

 elegantly accomplished though she may be, will 

 not long appear graceful or lovely in the eyes of 

 her husband. Some circumstances of fortune or 

 station, or delicacy of health, may make it unne- 

 cessary or improper that a woman should perform 

 active labor with her own hands, but there is no 

 rank or station in which a lady can be placed 

 where it is not desirable that she should know 

 how the affairs of her household ought to be man- 

 aged. I know that I give but cold and feeble 

 utterance to the feelings of this Society in bidding 

 a welcome, a cordial vifelcome, to that portion of 

 the fairer and gentler sex who have honored this 

 farmer's holiday with their presence. Without 

 their encouraging smiles and cheerful assistance, 

 even farming would he didl business. I cannot 

 offer for their consideration a better sentiment 

 than that contained in the words of a learned, ele- 

 gant, and distinguished foreign lady, who says, 

 " the only celebrity that can inftrease a woman's 

 happiness, is that which results from the esteem 

 excited by her domestic virtues" — and I will 

 add, there is no praise, no applause, no glory in 

 the wide world more worthy a woman's ambition 

 than the fame of a well regulated household. 



But pleasant, healthful and indispensable as the 



labors of the field and of the kitchen and the 



dairy may be, and excellent as is the course of 



discipline both for the body and the mind, there 



i 



