THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



233 



in delicate health and would like to be relieved 

 of the cares of housekeeping, but these charm- 

 ing girls are unwilling to submit to such low 

 drudgery. They are too proud — think too 

 highly of their social position — to condescend 

 to learn how bacon is cured or cooked, or milk 

 is churned. Of course, their dresses are all 

 made in Philadelphia, and cost a large sum an- 

 nually. Their father has a piece of flat land, 

 which by an expenditure of fifty dollars, might 

 be made fine meadow land. He makes no hay, 

 buys several tons of Northern hay every spring 

 for his horses, and declares that ditching is so 

 expensive he cannot afford to pay his money for 

 such work. Unwilling to be so extravagant as 

 to give his cows anything more than straw du- 

 ring the winter, he goes without cream and 

 milk during cold weather, and sends to the 

 North for his butter. His cows gives him no 

 milk, and he makes no butter from the 1st De- 

 cember to 15th April annually. 



Mr. E. cannot spare any money to buy clover 

 seed and plaster, although anxious to improve 

 his land and appreciating clover and plaster 

 very highly. He has, however, resolved to ed- 

 ucate his son thoroughly, and therefore sent 

 him to the University. He is allowed four hun- 

 dred dollars a session to pay for books, board 

 and tuition, and the kind-hearted father being 

 solicitous that the son should avoid vulgar com- 

 pany, and move in the first circles, gives him 

 $400 for clothing and $400 more for pocket mo- 

 ney. The promising youth keeps a fine buggy 

 and horse, flirts with the young ladies, gives 

 nice suppers and entertains his numerous friends 

 with excellent wine and cigars of the best fla- 

 vor. He is quite popular and universally spo- 

 ken of as a noble and generous fellow. Al- 

 though his circulars are by no means flattering, 

 his father (like Mr. Macawber) hopes something 

 favorable will turn up, and tha^if his son fails 

 to be President, he will, at least, become a Sen- 

 ator of the U. S. 



Mr. F. avows himself to be an ardent friend 

 of agricultural improvement, talks fluently and 

 praises lime, bone dust and guano as absolutely 

 indispensable for all farmers. For five years 

 past, he has intended to buy freely of each, but 

 he could not well afford it. His farm is in full 

 view of the Blue Ridge, and his residence unu- 

 sually healthy. His fortune was at one time 

 large, but has been impaired by his inattention 

 to business and by fondness for card playing, 

 good dinners and good wines. He walks a lit- 

 tle about his yard and garden daily, and rides 

 over his farm once a week to see the overseer 

 and enquire what has been done the preceding 

 week. In June he is resolved to buy 20 tons 

 of guano to sow with his wheat in October, but 

 in July he borrows money of his commission 

 merchant upon the faith of his new crop of 

 wheat, and by the 1st of August he and his 

 family start for the White Sulphur. His fre- 

 quent trips to the Springs in pursuit of recrea- 

 tion and pure air have probably cost him not 



less than $10,000. He admires no other form of 

 government so much as what he calls a paren- 

 tal government, and vigorously maintains that 

 as all the sons of Virginia belong to Virginia, 

 it is the duty of the Commonwealth to educate 

 all of the white boys of the State. He advo- 

 cates the largest liberty upon this subject, while 

 avowing aristocratic and exclusive preferences 

 generally. Denying his obligation to educate 

 and provide for his children, he proposes to 

 send three of his sons to the Military Institute 

 and the other three to the University, provided 

 he can enter them as State students. 



Your family, Christopher, is small at present, 

 but it is your dut}- to look to and provide for the 

 future. You too may have six sons. Have you 

 any moral right to squander your money in 

 selfish and superfluous gratifications, and then 

 call upon the State to educate your children at 

 the expense of your fellow- citizens ? 



Some years ago, Mr. G. was induced to sub- 

 scribe to a northern paper, which zealously ad- 

 vised the farmers to plant the Morus Multicau- 

 lis and to raise silkworms. Intent upon money 

 making, he resolved to acquire a fortune by 

 raising and then selling the Mulberry. He in- 

 vested $1,000 in little Mulberry slips at 4 cents 

 each, and planted them in a lot. Ji. few months 

 after, his delightful visions took wing. The 

 Morus Multicaulis mania — like the Tulip mania 

 which once prevailed in Holland — had a brief 

 existence. Mr. G. had demonstrated his ardent 

 desire to advance agricultural improvement by 

 subscribing to the agricultural paper just men- 

 tioned. The result was unfortunate. Ever 

 since that time, he has abhorred and denounced 

 all agricultural papers and agricultural books, 

 as the mere instruments of deception and the 

 organs of villainous imposture. If you were 

 to suggest to him the propriety of subscribing 

 for the Southern Planter, he would probably 

 knock you down. He threatens to disinherit 

 any son of his, who in disregard of his orders, 

 shall venture to look at any agricultural journal, 

 or quote before him an agricultural book. By 

 his stubborn refusal to profit by the agricultu- 

 ral information which he might easily have ac- 

 quired within the last fifteen years, he has lost 

 more than he expended upon his Morus Multi- 

 caulis speculation. 



Mr. II. cherishes old customs and abhors 

 nearly every innovation, and is "too old a bird 

 to be caught with chaff." His neighbours ma}- 

 throw away their money in buying all kinds of 

 new machines, but being a prudent and saga- 

 cious man, he waits until he can profit by their 

 experience. Many years back, they abandoned 

 the absurd practice of treading out their wheat 

 crops with their horses and upon the barnyard, 

 threshing machines were introduced and proved 

 entirely successful. After cogitating, hesitating 

 and reflecting upon the subject from time to 

 time, for five years or more, Mr. H. concluded 

 that he would purchase^ a wheat machine the 

 next year. In the interim, he had a visitor who 



