:5J8 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 35, 184(1. 



of the (liiiiy. Poor pasluros, poor cows, jjoor cel- 

 lars, are the alledgod reasons for the difference in 

 results. These things nndoubtedly are often tlie 

 causes of failure to obtain butter in hir-ie f|uanti- 

 ties and of good quality. But may not the fault 

 soiiietimcs lie with the dairij woman y Is her busi- 

 ness so simple as to be always well understood? 

 '^'ou begin to suspect that I doubt whether some of 

 you have perfectly mastered the art of luitter ma- 

 king. It may be an ungallant doubt ; but listen 

 to the particulars of one case in point and tlien 

 judge whether 1 can help doubting. As stated to 

 me, the facts iire these. One of our firniers, the 

 summer before the last, employed successively and 

 for short terms each, three different dairy women. 

 Hero the cnws, the pasture, the collar, and all the 

 dairy apparatus were the same ; and how was the 

 result? One obtained seventeen pounds of but- 

 ter per week, the second twentythree, and the 

 third twentyseven. Such facts should induce 

 many of you to vary your processes and nnle re- 

 sults. 



Philanthropy, looking forward, sighs at the con- 

 sequences which must follow from changes that are 

 taking place in the eniploynients and habits of 

 your daughters. Circumstances beyond your con- 

 trol have thrown the healthful spintiipj; wheel and 

 loom upon the pile of rubbish in" the garret. 

 Housework and the dairy do not furnish sufficient 

 employment for all the females. Either mothers or 

 daughters must resort to something else by which 

 to contribute a share in the support of the family. 

 It is too commonly the case that the daughters re- 

 sort to some occupation that is not sufficiently 

 active and invigorating. The needle is taking the 

 bloom from many of tjieir cheeks and vigor from 

 their frames. The evil is augmented by that 

 mode of dress, (I ought to use a harsher term,) 

 which obstructs the natural and healthy develop- 

 ment of the lungs and chest ; also by imprudent 

 prudence in avoiding exposure to the weather j .Tud 

 a too effeminate reliance upon the hors^ fojf- ser- 

 vices which heaven intended should be rendered 

 by their own limbs! The lamentable consequences 

 will not be conlined to them ; children will inherit 

 the feebleness of their mothers, and a sickly race 

 will come after us. 



Useful as the needle is, and .1 i -utif'ul as are its 

 contributions to our show, I iip;n al tn the mothers, 

 to forbid its excessive, its conslant uic by the 

 daughters. I entreat them as they value the well 

 being of their children, to give >he daughters daily 

 and thorough training in the care and labor of the 

 dairy niul of all household affairs. It were well: — 

 well for them and for a future race, that they should 

 revive the acquaintance which their mothers and 

 grandmothers had with the milking-stool, the gar- 

 den, and to some extent the field; for then, bluum 

 would linger upon tlieir cheeks ; health would flow 

 in fuller tides through all their veins ; they would 

 acquire vigor of body and soundness of mind, that 

 will contribute to their usefulness and enjoyments 

 whon time shall bring them to the places which 

 you now hold — shall make them the wives of far- 

 mers and mothers of the rising generition. 



The command which Adam received, " to till 

 the ground," was merciful in its design, and has 

 ever been beneficenl in its operations upon man- 

 kind. The husbandman's labors give healthful ex- 

 ercise to the body ; and where he is attentive 

 to the beauties, changes, laws, and mysteriesl of 

 nature, his pursuit jnay fiunish most profitable 

 employment to the intellectual and moral powers. 



Health finds as peaceful a home, and holds pos- 

 session as securely, amid the tranquil nerves and 

 the firm sinews that are covered by the farmer's 

 sunburned skin, as is furnished for her by the men 

 of any othi'r occupation whatsoever. No other 

 pursuit is attended by greater bodily comfort. But 

 young men and boys are prone to imagine that 

 some more cleanly and less active pursuit would 

 be more agreeable and less exhausting than the 

 cultivation of the soil. The browned face, the 

 hardened hands, the aching back, the stiffened 

 limbs, the muddied trowscrs, and dirtied shirt, are 

 unknown in the school i-ooui, at a merchant's coun- 

 ter and in the shops of many mechanics. Half the 

 world avoid the dirt and hard labor which the far- 

 mer nius; encounter. It is not surprising that the 

 young, observing this, should desire to quit the 

 farm. E.Kperience and observation have not yet 

 taught them that every pursuit brings aches and 

 various annoyances ; dt that dirt and hard work 

 are not among the fatal foes to enjoyment. Per- 

 haps a word from one who has experienced the 

 sensations of both the student and the farmer, may 

 not be worthless. The farmer's aches bring good 

 digestion and quiet sleep. The night will repair 

 the wastes of the day. But the excited nerves 

 and throbbing temples of the student bring dys- 

 pepsia and exhausting restlessness. Morning often 

 finds him languid ; unrefreshed by his umiuiet 

 sleep. My oft repeated experience proves that the 

 ordinary labors of the clergyman on the Sabbath 

 are felt more on the following day, than is a toler- 

 bly vigorous use of the scythe, the pitch-fork, and 

 the rake, for ten or twelve hours. Whenever 

 called upon to labor seven days in the week, I 

 have found myself least disposed to exertion on 

 Monday morning. My advice to the young would 

 be, never to quit the farm in hopes of finding an 

 employment nioro conducive to their physical com- 

 fort. 



Abundar.t fgod for the intellect mnd range for its 

 exertion may be found in the sphere in which the 

 farmer operates. Whether this pursuit has in ages 

 past given suflScient employment to the minds of 

 those who have tilled our soils, comes not within 

 the range of my inquiry. Our farmers have not 

 been the accurate and constant observers, the 

 faithful recorders and logical reasoners, which the 

 spirit of the present day is calling for. Hus- 

 bandry in this region has been pursued in a 

 less scientifia, and intelligent manner than it.s na- 

 ture and importance den. and. 'i Iris is begin- 

 ning to be known and felt ; many of our far- 

 mers are waking up to the business of improve- 

 ment, and give promise of favorable results. The 

 work, however, is merely commenced. Many of 

 the important principles of agriculture are yet but 

 partially known, if known at all, among us: very 

 imperfect, if any, records are here kept of the re- 

 sults of different processes, and of the cost and 

 worth of different crops. Vagueness and inaccu- 

 racy characterize too much of our knowledge of 

 our own pursuit. Could you, brother farmer, be 

 induced to undertake to make the annual address 

 before this Society, I fear that you would nut be 

 very certain about many matters '.vhich you now 

 consider jierfectly settled ; your supposed knowl- 

 edge, if not composed of more substantial stiilf 

 than mine, would mostly slip through the fingers, 

 as soon as you attempted to grasp it and write it 

 down. You might find that your observations have 

 been less minute and accurate than vou suppose ; 

 that your experiments have been conducted with 



less care than you imagine; and that you are 

 less well acquainted with your own business thar 

 you sijspect. Such a lesson docs no harm. I air 

 tempted to wish that you might all learn it. Yoi 

 would then be made to know that we have scarcely 

 commenced some of our appropriate studies — the 

 study of the nature and composition of the various 

 soils and various manures ; the study of the habits 

 and wantj of the various grains, grasses, and roots; 

 the study of the first principles of agricultural sci. 

 once, and of their application. Then you might 

 perceive that our pursuits can furnish daily and 

 abundant employment to every faculty of the mind, 

 as well as to every limb and muscle of the body. 



You might, if placed where 1 stand, suspcci that 

 one would find it serviceable to record whatever 

 new knowledge he acquired, to keep accurate and 

 full accounts of his expenditures, and liis income. 

 The difficulties which embarrass me at every step 

 »f progress in collecting matter for this address, 

 induce me to- advise every young farmer to keep a 

 journal ; to note down where and how he spends 

 each day, to record his observations upon different 

 modes of cultivation, the growth of crops, and ev- 

 erything connected with his pursuit. This journal 

 might be so kept that at the close of the year it 

 could be posted, and show the cost and value of 

 each crop, and each variety of animals upon the 

 farm. I know not in what other way one can learn 

 with accuracy the comparative profits of his crops 

 or stock. Such knowledge is surely desirable, and 

 Ciin be obtained. If procured in the way here re- 

 commended, the farmer's labors will become more 

 intellectual and interesting than they now generally 

 are. For the habit of recording- at night the ob- 

 servations of the day, would keep the mind awake 

 to the occurrences around it; would cause one to 

 be accurate in his observations ; inquisitive for the 

 causes of what he witnessed, and a reasoner from 

 tlje feets so carefully noted. Thus the mind being 

 keptP active and bright would acquire a deepening 

 interest in a pursuit which is constantly presenting 

 new views of nature's operatiims. If properly pur- 

 sued and explained, I see not why the- business of 

 husbandry need be less attractive to the intelligent, 

 active and enterprising boy, than is the business at 

 the merchant's counter, the mechanic's bench, or 

 on the merchantman's deck. But to render it such, 

 more employment must be furnished for his mind 

 than most of us had in the days of our boyhood. 

 'I'he boy is directed to learn in the school-room ; 

 but on the farm he must work. This is very well, 

 though I cannot allow that it is enough. More 

 pains than is usual should be taken to teach boys 

 the best methods of doing their work, and the rea- 

 sons for those methods ; more care and experience 

 bestowed in procuring for them the best of toids, 

 particularly the scythe. I know not how a farjier 

 can display greater inhumanity and improvidence, 

 than by setting a boy to learn to mow with one of 

 his worn out and cast oft" scythes ; if, with tiie 

 man's greater strength and many seasons' practice, 

 the tool cannot be made to cut, what can be ex- 

 pected from it in the feebler and inexperienced 

 hands of the beginner! But what I wish to pre- 

 sent most distinctly here, is, the importance of dis- 

 closing to boys the reasons for nearly all the ope- 

 rations upon the farm. This method will give them 

 a greater interest in their labors : will furnish occu- 

 pation for their minds; will make them observers 

 of the « advantages and disadvantages of different 

 modes I of cultivation. It will lead them to study 

 Agriculture in that period of life when the senses 



