340 Comparative advantages of Farming. — Variation of crops. Vol. VIL 



dividuals. But the farmer possesses many 

 advantages which these persons are apt to 

 underrate. And first, his moral honesty is 

 not so hardly tried, as it would be in many 

 other kinds of business; and consequently, 

 "defalcation" is not often charged upon him. 

 Again, he has no knowledge of that compe- 

 tition which exists between those of other 

 trades and professions ; so that when he re- 

 tires from his labour, he is free from those 

 inward ranklings, which often harrow up the 

 minds of persons engaged in trade. Nor is 

 he in that danger of losing his property by 

 casualties — fire, the winds and waves, and 

 the depredations of dishonest men : and as 

 he raises those articles upon his farm that 

 are most necessary for his comfort, and 

 which have always been considered cash 

 articles in the market, he is not so liable to 

 be put to his wits' end to procure money to 

 purchase the necessaries of life. It has 

 been objected, that farming is a laborious 

 and dirty employment; but is there not hard 

 and dirty work in the shop of the black- 

 smith"! and do not the carpenter and mason 

 encounter both, in the repairs of old build- 

 ings, &c.? and are the grocer, the ware- 

 houseman, the harness-maker, and the shoe- 

 maker exempt? Another objection is, it is 

 a slow way to get money; true, there are 

 shorter ways to make money, but it very 

 often happens that those who accumulate 

 property the quickest, cannot produce such 

 a title to their wealth as will procure satis- 

 faction and a quiet conscience. Multitudes, 

 deluded by the deceptive allurements of 

 trade, have entered into ruinous speculations, 

 to the destruction of their own pro-poets and 

 the peace and happiness of their families; 

 stamping lasting blight upon their charac- 

 ters and future welfare, and all to gratify 

 an insatiable appetite to make money quick- 

 ly; overlooking the fact, that generally, the 

 fortunes that have been made the most sud- 

 denly, are the most suddenly dissipated, and 

 that those who enjoy the privilege of making 

 money fast, have often to pay dearly for it, 

 both in their persons and characters, and are 

 made to exclaim, "all is not gold that glit- 

 ters." Few know or consider, the personal 

 assiduity, the economy, the self-denial and 

 perseverance which are necessary to insure 

 success in trade: there is no occupation ex- 

 empt from its peculiar evils and trials — the 

 physician, the lawyer and the clergyman, 

 have their full share, of which the tanner is 

 little aware; and if he could comprehend 

 nil the difficulties and unpleasant occnr- 

 rences, which exam these are continually 

 liable to encounter, he would rejoice at his 

 tot, rather than envy that of others; and 

 bless his " lines that have fallen to him in 



such pleasant places," and be grateful for 

 his " goodly heritage." S. Brown. 



Wilmington, Mass. 



Variation of Crops. 



It is a remark of practical men, that the 

 land is fresh to such a crop, not having 

 grown the same species for some vears be- 

 fore; thus accounting for its flourishing ap- 

 pearance. To the question, what takes 

 place in the soil during the growth of any 

 particular vegetable? the reply is, that a 

 fermentation, with the extraction of certain 

 proportions of the materials of a decompo- 

 sable nature contained within the soil, is 

 effected during the process of vegetation, 

 and in a manner peculiar to the species 

 grown. Then, if the same grain or vegeta- 

 ble be sown the following vear, the same 

 precise fermentation and proportions must 

 necessarily take place, and be required for 

 the unfolding and perfecting of the same 

 plant, and of course, so continue to be the 

 case for any number of years afterwards. 

 And what then must be the tendency of 

 such a practice? why a rapid approximation 

 to poverty and barrenness. In this view we 

 are supported, most completely, by facts; 

 for we see, in the space of a tew years, that 

 the land wliich is continued to be sown with 

 the same species of grain, will produce next 

 to nothing, save the weeds, which are indi- 

 genous to the soil and circumstances; and 

 if manure be added under the idea of im- 

 proving the grain, the weeds will still be 

 the chief gainers, and flourish with propor- 

 tioned vigor, and only choking the grain the 

 sooner. It is true, that certain soils will 

 bear a repetition of one kind of crop longer 

 than others, according to their constitution; 

 but in general, two good crops of the same 

 species in succession, are rarely obtained 

 from the same land ; but let the land be 

 cropped by a different species every year, 

 for a few years together, and the fermenta- 

 tion with the extracted proportions, will 

 then be varied according to the degrees of 

 difference and peculiarities of the descrip- 

 tion sown ; and these degrees of difference 

 are denoted by the peculiar marks of vigor 

 of the growing plants. By adopting this 

 practice, instead of growing one productive 

 crop only, a succession of two, three, four, 

 or even more, may be obtained, to complete 

 a series proportionate to the judiciousness of 

 the selected variety and the soil; after which, 

 the recurrence of the succession may take 

 place with profit, and by proper cultivation 

 conjoined with manuring, be continued for- 

 ever, with the land improving. The advan- 

 tages gained by the introduction of a va- 



