NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



179 



REVOLVING HORSE HAY RAKE. 



This implement is among the most valuable for 

 saving labor ; and it not only saves labor, but it 

 saves property also. On smooth land, a man with a 

 horse will rake as much hay in an hour or two with 

 this rake as he could in a whole day with a common 

 hand rake ; and the great advantage is in his being 

 able to perform so much in the short space allowed 

 for this work. 



A few acres of hay may not be dry enough to 

 rake till afternoon, and in the course of a few hours 

 there may be rain, so that without this labor-saving 

 apparatus it would be impossible to gather the hay in 

 in the limited time, and a little neglect may cause 

 great loss, by a storm coming on the hay just as it is 

 well made, and continuing till it is nearly worthless. 



There is not only a great advantage in the use of 

 this rake, by saving hay from storms and showers, 

 but the farmer is enabled to do his haying in better 

 season, and save it from loss by standing too late. 

 On most forms, nearly all the grass needs cutting 

 about the same time, so it is necessary for the farmer 

 to cut a part too early, and let a part remain too late, 

 and frequently there is great loss in its standing too 

 late ; besides, the harvesting of grain, and other busi- 

 ness, may require attention. 



One farmer, who mowed twenty or thirty acres, 

 remarked, that ho would rather buy a horse rake 

 every yeai' than do Avithout it. 



RESPECTABILITY OF THE FARMER'S 

 PROFESSION. 



Agriculture is the principal source of the wealth 

 and happiness of nations. It is the basis of manu- 

 factures and commerce, and of every valuable 

 interest of civilized life. It is the most primitive 

 occupation of the human family, and should be one 

 of the most honorable among men. 



It is too true, however, my brother farmers, that 

 our occupation is looked upon by many as degrad- 

 ing in its character, and as one of the lowest in the 

 scale of human pursuits. Many suppose the farmer 

 to be a mere hcAver of wood and drawer of water for 

 the rest of society, possessed of little or no intellec- 

 tual cultivation or moral elevation of character. Too 

 many suppose that the professions are much more 



respectable in their charactei*, or that the wealthy 

 merchant belongs to a higher grade in the scale of 

 society. These ideas float in the brain of the farmer 

 himself at times, and account for the efforts he fre- 

 quently makes to free himself or his posterity from 

 the fancied odium of his calling, by placing his son 

 behind the counter, or educating him for some one of 

 the learned professions. 



But, my friends, Avhat is there in our occupation 

 that is degrading? Is it a menial service to raise 

 pork ? Then must it be so for the merchant to pack 

 it for market. Is it degrading to turn over the 

 fresh furrow by dawn or at midday, with a fine 

 team and a vigorous hand to guide them ? If so, 

 what must be the character of the lawyer, who, for 

 money, hires himself as the agent of the worst of 

 human passions ? Or what name shall we give to 

 the routine of the physician, who day and night 

 attends upon disease in its loathsome forms, or ham- 

 mers in a mortar the nauseous drugs of the materia 

 medica ? 



No, my friends. It is not the calling which 

 makes the man ; it is the man who gives character 

 to the calling ; and the reason why the professional 

 man stands higher in the social scale is, that by the 

 fortunate circumstances of his life, his opportunities 

 for knowledge have been greater, and his understand- 

 ing is more improved. It is an eternal and immu- 

 table law of our nature, that superiority should claim 

 our deference. Superior intelligence commands our 

 respect. The boj' pays homage to the man, the 

 ignorant to the educated, and the weak to the strong 

 minded. Knowledge always has boon, is now, and 

 always will be, power ; and the only way in which 

 we can place ourselves on an equality in the social 

 scale with the highest grades in society, is, by elevat- 

 ing, as a class, our intellectual and moral condition. 

 — Selected. 



THE POTATO. 



It is a fact perhaps not generally known to farmers, 

 that there are two parts in the potato, which if sep- 

 arated and planted at the same time, one will pro- 

 duce tubers fit for the table eight or ten days sooner 

 than the other. The small end of the potato, which 

 is generally full of eyes, is that part which produces 

 the earliest ; the middle or body of the potato pro- 

 duces late, and always larger ones. A farmer in the 

 Amherst Cabinet says he always pursues this plan 

 in order to obtain an early supply for the table, 

 which are usually fine and mealy. — Ciaremont 

 Eagle. 



