1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



203 



For the Aetr England farmer, 

 THINGS TO BE LEAKWED. 



Among the many difficulties with which the 

 farmer has to contend, is one, which, although re- 

 ferred to by agricultural writers, yet is ever re- 

 garded by honest, open-hearted men as an evil of 

 the first magnitude. 1 refer to those individuals 

 who maive it their business, or a i)art of their 

 business to cheat in trade. The farmer often has 

 occasion to buy, sell or exchange horses, cattle, 

 and other commodities of the farm ; and in so 

 doing is extremely liable to be cheated if he does 

 not possess the requisite knowledge, tact and 

 judgment. His occupation has a tendency to 

 prevent him from acquiring that sharp and ready 

 insight into the chai-acter and motives of others 

 which those generally passess who are daily in 

 close contact with their fellow men. He is there- 

 fore liable to be duped by men who are inferior 

 to him in moral character, but who understand 

 human nature and the art of cheating. 



Let us suppose a case. An honest-minded 

 farmer not fully acquainted with the tricks of 

 trade wishes to buy a horse. He makes inquiries 

 and spends perhaps several days in tlie search for 

 one to suit him. Finally some "horse-jockey" 

 hears of his want, and quickly, like a vulture to 

 its prey, rides over to see him. He takes a horse 

 along with him which he says is a most excellent 

 animal, perfectly sound and kind in every par- 

 ticular. The farmer is soon persuaded to buy, 

 and pays, of course, a I'ound sum. Not many 

 days elapse before the poor farmer discovers that 

 he has been most sorely "taken in." The horse 

 proves to be either much older than was repre- 

 sented, or has the heaves, or a spavin, or is af- 

 flicted with some one or more of the thousand 

 and one ills which horse flesh is heir to ; or he 

 may be vicious and unruly. The man sees at last 

 that he has been cheated to the amount of twenty- 

 five, fifty or a h\indred dollars. And there is no 

 help for it, for it would take, probably, three times 

 the sum of his loss to recover it (supposing such 

 a thing to he possible) by a lawsuit, of the villain 



secure from the pilferings of those who belong to 

 the lowest, or constitute the lowest class of thieves 

 and robbers. 



Although I am but a novice in the art of buy- 

 ing, selling and "swapping," yet I would like to 

 give a_ little advice to any who need, and will re- 

 ceive it, hojiing it may do some good. 



1. Study human nature, and learn to perceive 

 at a glance the real motives of men. In acquiring 

 this knowledge you would be immensely aided by 

 the study of jihrenology and physiognomy. 



2. Thorougl)]y acquaint j-ourself with the physi- 

 ology of all domestic animals ; with the diseases 

 to which they are liatjle, and the various remedies. 

 Become, in fact, your own cattle doctor. You can 

 then readily detect any imperfection or disease in 

 an animal which you are about to bargain for, and 

 be able to preserve the life and health of those al- 

 I'eady in your possession. 



3. Keep j'ourself well acquainted with the price 

 current of every article in which you ever deal. 

 In so doing you would be greatly assisted by tak- 

 ing the Farm-er, or some other reliable agricultural 

 journal. 



4. In dealing with a stranger, or an acquaint- 

 ance of whose veracity you have the least doubt, 

 never believe what he says, unless the evidence of 

 your own senses, or some other positive proof 

 convinces you that he speaks the truth. You had 

 better sjiend five dollars in obtaining good evi- 

 dence of the truth of his assertions, than lose 

 twenty by a bad bargain. 



5. Whenever you have an opportunity to cheat 

 a man, by all that is sacred in earth and heaven, 

 never improve it. 



If those few directions, and especially the last, 

 were closely followed b}- all men, that species of 

 polite or fashionable robbery called cheating, 

 would cease to flourish, like a green bay tree, 

 among us. S. L. White. 



South Oroton, Feb., 1863. 



Rejiarks. — Timely and excellent. The prac- 

 tices which our correspondent describes are of 



who has knowingly defrauded him. And to make j every day occurrence, and some of them, as he 



his misfortune still more unbearable, no one seems 



to jiity him, but he is laughed at and called a 



■"greeny" or a fool. The jockey, instead of being 



denounced as a liar and thief, and expelled frc^pi 



respectable society or sent to prison, is considered 



by many to he a pretty smart fellow ! 



Cases similar to the above are very common, not 

 only among horse-dealers, bnt among those who 

 trade in cattle and other domestic animals. And 



says, absolutely fashionable. Never was greater 

 mistake. No man can aff'ord to do the slightest 

 wrong, for any consideration. No, — not if the 

 wrong were what is called a trifling one, and the 

 reward were a crown or an empire, the compensa- 

 tion would be all loo poor. We cannot afl^ord to 

 do wrong, on any account. It is a loss to us too 



: „„ir ™ „ f .!,„ 1 .• f u- t 1 .1 , tmimense long to be borne. Was there ever a 



in selimg anv of the productions of his land, the \ => i i- , 



farmer is in danger of being cheated if he is not, I person, dying, who did not wish he had lived an 

 at all times, well posted in the market prices, i upright life in every thing? Let us, then, live 

 He has something on hand which he wishes to as we shall wish we had, when we come to die. 



sell: a stranger, or a friend, (?) it may be, comes 



along and offers him a certain price for it, which ,^ ^„ immense amount of rejoctcd corn has 

 he, the buyer, says is all that it is worth, according j^^^.^ been received in CliicaKo. Entire trains and 

 to the market price ; a bargain is made and the ,3^,^^- lo^^i^ daily pass "reiectcd." The imperfect 

 man departs. Soon after the farmer meets a ; cleaning' of the grain and «)e nesliffont manner of 

 meighbor who "takes the papers," and informs i sendin^^- it to market is said to ho fiie cause of this 

 him of the sale and its terms. The neighbor j rejection, which entails a hiss of from tiircc to ii?lit 

 looks surprised and exclaims, "Is that all you re- ' cents per bushel. The loss to the West when duly 

 ceived ? Why, the man paid me nearly a third approximated must be enormous. 



more for the same article !" 



Such instances as these, and they arc by no f^ In the town of Sandwich. N. IT., this season, 

 means rare, prove that the farmer must learn how there liave been ll.oi.'o pounds of maple sugai 

 to deal with all classes of men, if he desires to be manufactured. 



