1862, 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



331 



fort and support of man ! Were it all lost, bj^ 

 some terrible revolution, and but a single grain 

 left, under such a process as we have just related, 

 how soon could all the fields of tlw world be smil- 

 ing again with this golden and invaluable crop ! 



For the Ke/c England Farmer. 



"WHY ARE SO PEW YOUNQ MEW FOND 

 OF FARMINGS 



Mr. Editor : — Though in this country a ma- 

 jorit}' of persons are probably engaged in agricul- 

 tural pursuits, I have the impression that compar- 

 atively few yoinig men are really fond of farming. 

 Why do the sons of farmers so frequently forsake 

 the calling of their fathers, to engage in other oc- 

 cupations ? It seems to mc, one and perhaps the 

 principal reason may be, because parents do not 

 take sufficient pains to make home and the busi- 

 ness of fiirming pleasant and attractive. Is it 

 enough for them to clothe and feed the bodies of 

 their children, but neglect to furnish the daily 

 food which is necessary for the nourishment and 

 full development of the social as well as the intel- 

 lectual and moral faculties ? 



Are not boj^s ujjon the farm too often driven, as 

 it were, to their work, instead of being so taught 

 as to become interested in their employment, and 

 thus learn to love it, and perform the labor as it 

 should be performed by intelligent and accounta- 

 ble beings? 



"■Will not the sons, if rightly taught to toil, 

 Delight through life, to cuUivate the soil,'' 

 And Ihougli they leave the spot which gave them birth, 

 Still draw their sustenance from Mother Earth ?" 



Another reason to which I will allude, though 

 with diffidence, (for it is rather a delicate matter,) 

 is the influence of young ladies. Do they not 

 sometimes, to say the least, slight and shun the 

 hardy, sunburnt sons of toil, and bestow their 

 smiles and hearts' affections upon those with 

 smaller, softer hands, and alas, too oft, with cor- 

 responding brains ! 



A third reason may be the position, or place 

 which farmers occupy in the community. Though 

 not generally regarded as "mudsills," they may, 

 perhaps, with propriety, be compared to the firm, 

 substantial foundations of a building ; for upon 

 them the whole superstructure of civilized society 

 is built and depends for its support. In viewing 

 a public edifice, we seldom observe the plain, un- 

 pretending, yet essential fovmdation on which it 

 stands ; but take particular notice of the building 

 itself, upon which art and adornment may have 

 been lavished, almost regardless of expense. So 

 the learned, cultivated and refined members of 

 society, by being conspicuous, attract attention, 

 while the situation of the farmer is such that he 

 is sometimes considered beneath observation, es- 

 pecially in populous, aristocratic places, which 

 abor.nd somewhat with snobs and nabobs. 



The impression which prevails, at least to a 

 considerable e.x.tent, that farming is not profitable, 

 might be mentioned as another reason. But as 

 the profitableness of farming is a "much mooted" 

 question, and one which some of your correspond- 

 ents desire to have discussed again in your paper, 

 I will reserve that subject as a sort of groundwork 

 for another communication. a. c. \{. 



Leominster, 1862. 



MAKE FABM LABOR FASHIOWABLE, 



At the base of the prosperity of any people lies 

 this great principle — make farm labor fashionable 

 at home. Educate, instruct, encourage ; and offer 

 all the incentives you can offer, to give interest 

 and dignity to labor at home. Enlist the heart 

 and the intellect of the family in the support of a 

 domestic system that will make labor attractive at 

 the homestead. By means of the powerful infiu- 

 cnces of early home education, endeavor to invest 

 practical labor v.'ith an interest that will cheer the 

 heart of each member of the family, and thereby 

 you will give to your household the grace, peace, 

 refinement and attraction which God designed a 

 home should possess. 



The truth is, we must talk more, think more, 

 work more and act more, in reference to questions 

 relating to home. 



The training and improvement of the physical, 

 intellectual, social and moral powers and senti- 

 ments of the youth of our country, require some- 

 thing more than the school-house, academy, col- 

 lege and university. The young mind should re- 

 ceive judicious training in the field, in the garden, 

 in the barn, in the workshop, in the parlor, in the 

 kitchen — in a word, around the hearth-stone at 

 home. 



Whatever intellectual attainments your son may 

 have acquired, he is unfit to go forth into society, 

 if he has not had thrown around him the genial 

 and purifying influences of parents, sisters, broth- 

 ers, and the man-saving infiuence of the family 

 government. The nation must look for virtue, 

 wisdom and strength, to the education that con- 

 trols and shapes the home policy of the family cir- 

 cle. There can be no love of country where there 

 is no love of home. Patriotism, true and genuine, 

 the only kind worthy of the name, derives its 

 mighty strength from fountains that gush out 

 around the hearth-stone ; and those who forget 

 to cherish the household interests, will soon learn 

 to look with indifi'erence upon the interests of their 

 common country. 



We must cultivate roots — not tops. We must 

 make the family government, the school, the agri- 

 cultural fairs, the laboratories of our future great- 

 ness. We must educate our sons to be farmers, 

 artisans, engineers, geologists, botanists, chemists 

 — in a word, practical men. Their eyes must be 

 turned from Washington to their States, counties, 

 townships, districts, and homes. This is true pa- 

 triotism ; and the only patriotism that will per- 

 petually preserve the nation. — Gov. Wright. 



Lubricators for Bullets. — Formerly, tal- 

 low combined with wax was generally used as the 

 lubricating composition for cartridges. It answered 

 very well, when the old brown-bess musket WdS in 

 general use, but since the rifle has become the 

 general weapon of the soldier, this lubricating 

 compound has proved to be unfit for cartridges. 

 When tallow is kept in contact with a lead bullet, 

 it exerts a corroding action on the metal, and a 

 crust forms on the bullet, thus increasing its size, 

 and rendering it incapable of being rammed down 

 with ease and rapidity in a rifle. It has been 

 found that paraffine does not exert any chemical 

 action upon the lead, and hence it is now gener 

 ally employed as the best cartridge lubricant. It 

 is one of the products of petroleum and coal oil. 



