THE SOUTHERN 



PLANTER. 



175 



but they arc useful in imparting a tone of order 

 and system to the general conduct of the farm, 

 that is highly advantageous to the quantity of 

 its products. A neat enclosure, a clean yard, a 

 tasteful display of flowers, a freshly painted 

 dwelling, will, by the force of example, impart 

 a spirit of neatness and order that will be mani- 

 fest in the humblest negro on the plantation. 



To those, then, who are impressed with the 

 value of such things, we give this illustration 

 of an enclosure, the construction of which may 

 afford a delightful recreation to any gentleman 

 who is not ashamed to handle a saw and a 

 hammer. " The gate posts are 10 feet long, 10 

 inches square, and set 3 feet into the ground, 

 with a bed piece between, into which the inner 

 posts are mortised. The fence posts are 4 feet 

 long, 10 inches square, and made of 1^ inch 

 plank, well spiked together. A long stone is 

 set solid in the ground, the hollow post placed 

 over it, and the cavity between the stone and 

 the inside of the post filled with pebbles. I 

 know of posts set in this manner which have 

 lasted ten years, and continue as firm as ever." 



For the Southern Planter. 

 MANAGEMENT OF SERVANTS. 



Mr. Editor^ — The management and conduct 

 of servants in a family, especially about a house, 

 has been a source of much trouble and vexation 

 to the housekeeper or manager ; and to an ob- 

 serving person, the turmoil and labor of the 

 mistress of a family, in the management of her 

 servants seem to warrant the conclusion, that 

 the trouble of housekeeping more than counter- 

 balances the comforts and enjoyments procured 

 by the labors of her domestics. Indeed, very 

 few Virginia ladies, comparatively speaking, are 

 brought up in a way calculated to make them 

 what we would call good managers. Now 

 what I want to suggest, is, the propriety of 

 adopting the following advice. 



First, let me remark, that most servants are 

 incapable of understanding the explanation of 

 any thing which they cannot see with their eyes ; 

 therefore it is useless to tell them to do any 

 thing which requires a long explanation, or 

 which they are not daily accustomed to do. It 

 is by far the best plan, to allot to each his parti- 

 cular duties, and to have their affairs so arranged 

 that one will not be dependant on another. Let 

 not more than one be employed about the same 

 thing ; for if there is more than one, they will 

 depend on each other ; and, moreover, one can do 

 more work than two or three if they are em- 

 ployed closely together; probably some will not 

 believe this, but let them try it. 



Never change your servants from one line of 

 business to another, for it takes them some time 

 to get into the habit of doing things regularly. 

 Be always as concise as possible in giving or- 

 ders ; for servants cannot retain many things 

 in their heads at one time. Never scold when 

 a servant neglects his duty, but always punish 

 him, no matter how mildly, for mild treatment 

 is the best ; severity hardens them. Be firm in 

 this, that no neglect go unpunished. Never let 

 a servant say to you, "J forgot it? That sen- 

 tence, so often used, is no excuse at all. Fi- 

 nally, let regularity mark every action, and the 

 consequence will be, that every thing will be 

 done in its right place and at its right time ; and 

 the comforts and happiness of the family will be 

 secured. 



Cecilia. 



We set our fair correspondent down as a tip 

 top manager, and if we ever visit her section of 

 country, as we hope one day to do, we shall 

 carry with us her " card," that we may partake 

 of that hospitality, which her system so surely 

 enables her quietly and sweetly to dispense to 

 her friends and neighbors. But it is not in that 

 important department, the household, alone, that 

 "management" is required. One of the most 

 important, but least regarded, points in the con- 

 duct of any business requiring the manual labor 

 of others, is the control and management of de- 

 pendants. In a manufacturing business, where 

 numerous operatives are employed, (and such a 

 business is farming) no one who has not tried it 

 can imagine the difference in the amount of pro- 

 duct to be effected by order and system. Though 

 human ingenuity, in the shape of labor-saving 

 machinery, has done much, the reduction in the 

 price of manufactured goods is chiefly to be at- 

 tributed to the division of labor, by which one 

 task is regularly and daily repeated by one in- . 

 dividual. This system, as far as possible, should 

 be introduced into our farming operations. We 

 know an individual in this city, who, if he was 

 as well versed in the science of agriculture as 

 he is in the mechanical art to which he was 

 raised, would be worth his weight in gold to 

 any farmer in Virginia : sagacious and thought- 

 ful, he is ever on the alert to accomplish his 

 ends in the best and most economical manner; 

 calm and dispassionate, but firm and active, the 

 operatives under his charge know that punish- 

 ment will certainly follow disobedience, and the 

 consequence is, that, comparatively speaking, 

 there is no disobedience and no punishment. — 

 His nature is especially kind and gentle, and he 



