1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



187 



They'd stripe them off, and star them o'er, 



And curry them, no doubt, sir; 



So that "iheir anxious marms would guess 



Their children had been out," sir I 

 O, the Tanner, &c. 



A niche for good Saint Crispin's sons. 



Of quiet life and manner} 



The world were bootUss but for them— 



They second well the Tanner; 



Well are they styled -the gentle craft," 



O'er Beauty's foot they bow, sir; 

 And oft, I ween, they steal a kiss 



From Beauty's placid brow, sir ! 



O, Saint Crispin— the gentle sons of Crispin- 

 O, Saint Crispin— the gentle sons of Crispin ! 



But, should we name each working class 



In this our working song, sir, 



Perchance it never would be sung, 



For it would be too long, sir; 



Then here's to all who use the plane — 



The axe, the saw, the crow, sir — 



The soldering iron, the turning lathe. 



The shovel, spade, or hoe, sir. 



O, the masses— the independent masses — 

 O, the masses— the independent masses 1 



The days of monarchy are o'er — 



All men are monarchs now, sir; 



The people rule, and monarchs may 



Before their sovereigns bow, sir 1 



The jewelled crown, the purple robe, 



Man far away shall fling, sir; 



And sceptres shall be working-tools — 



The printing press the King, sir ! 



O, the people — the independent people — 

 O, the people— the independent peojile ! 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE FARMER WITH TWO IDEAS. 



BY A. G. COMINGS. 



There was a farmer I knew, and a merry man 

 was he, who had one idea at rising up, which 

 went with him all the day, and another at going 

 to-bed, which last was as old as its brother idea, 

 and these made the merry mood of the merry far- 

 mer I knew. 



The morning idea danced out with a jovial song 

 for A Present Profit to the worker who breaks the 

 turf and mellows the yielding soil; and the eve- 

 ning idea was as merry as merry could be, among 

 the growing trees, the stretching vines, the chil- 

 dren at school or play, and all the growing tribes 

 in house or barn, as the song of A Profit for years- 

 to-come was heard with inspiring glee. 



Year after year the merry man kept up his two 

 ideas, and they filled his barns, they filled his cel- 

 lar, they filled both garret and stall, and they 

 filled his purse so the strings would often break 

 and the bank would only take the burden of his 

 toils. And the merr}' Hirmer became a walking 

 wonder, and a thousand wondering people said 

 "Why is it?" 



Then they all began to talk about the farmer's 

 two ideas, and how they kept him in such a mer 

 ry mood. And they found that the morning idea 

 was not forgotten, nor allowed to trespass on the 

 eveninw idea. So the farmer never worked his 

 farmwithout feeding it, and he was careful to 

 give it food which would cause it to produce very 

 plentifully in immediate action, and yet remain 

 healtliy for tiiiie to come. It was established also 

 that the evening idea should not be left alone at 

 any time ; bnt, where much was hoped for in 



time to come, much must also be exacted in the 

 passing day. 



His fields produced plentifully, but every year 

 gave an increase of plentifuJness, compared with 

 the year before. lie procured the most active ma- 

 nures, and by these ^secured large and immediate 

 crops. Upon the same ground he put large supplies 

 of less active manure at the same time, and this 

 gave promise for the futui'c. One gave him "joy 

 in harvest," while the other gave him hope of "a 

 good time coming." 



His gardens flourished, his trees grew, the birds 

 sang by his door, his daughters were virtuous 

 and happy, his sons loved the open world for a 

 workshop, and his wife sat a queen in their own 

 quiet court ; and all this joy and gladness came 

 along in the very same path where the farmer's 

 two ideas led the way. 



Thus lived the merry man to a good old age, 

 and prospered in all his many years, singing along 

 the way of life about "A present profit," and "A 

 profit for years to come." 



A RKASOM FOR THIS AND THAT. 



To manage a farm for mere present profit, at a 

 sacrifice of its ability to produce in future, is like a 

 man's tearing down one side of his house for fire- 

 wood, in a winter day. He makes a gain by a 

 greater loss. Yet the practice of skinning and 

 robbing farms by reducing their ability to produce, 

 for a present scanty profit, is a w-'y that too many 

 follow. It is very seldom the case that a man 

 makes a profit by the cultivation of any piece of 

 ground which is not really made better for future 

 use at the same time. But it can be made poorer 

 either by cropping without manuring, or by crop- 

 ping while a scanty amount only of very active 

 manure is applied. 



To manage a farm only for future profit, while 

 the owner has no wealth beside, upon which to 

 rest, is like going to sea in a bark canoe with the 

 expectation of finding a good and richly laden 

 ship in some quarter of the ocean ; or like a pen- 

 niless man starting for California without provi- 

 sions. Every man who needs to increase his 

 wealth, by farming, must give attention to pre- 

 sent profit. 



Every farmer should study to know the way of 

 securing a present and also a continued profit, 

 with an increase. 



The idea of a present and a continued or future 

 profit in farming, is like the boatman's illustra- 

 tion of faith and works by the two oars of his 

 boat. If he pulled upon the one which lie called 

 faith, he made no headway, bat only whirled 

 round and round. If he pulled upon the other, 

 which he called works, he was whirled about in 

 the opposite direction. If he drew both at the 

 same time, his boat was hurried over the waters. 



Upon most farms there is necessity of cultivat- 

 ing a variety of grains and grasses, some of which 

 must be cultivated with care, attention and ma- 

 nuring every year, to secure a profit. It should 

 be equally the object of the common farmer to 

 manage his grain and grass fields, his orchards 

 and his garden grounds, so as to secure present 

 profit while he is preparing every department to 

 give a better profit in years to come. 



In the management of some fariuers a habit of 

 doing things "for the present" prevails over every 

 idea of doing substantially what is done. In this 

 way everything is daily found out of place or out 



