SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
57 
FARMING AS A VOCATION. 
Thb life of the farmer has ever been considered hy him- 
self, one of toil and drudgery, but with how much reason, 
it may be well to aslr, to investigate, a'^d to become satis- 
fied. It is the lot of man in general to have an occupa 
tion. If not necessary for a living, it is made a means of 
obtaining wealth, fame, or power. A few, born to wealth 
or titles, pursue no calling but that of pleasure. Such 
lead miserable lives, and do little or no good in the world. 
It is appointed unto all men to work. It is necessary to 
health, strength, comfort, and happiness. But to work, it 
is not necessary to guide the plow or harrow, to wield 
file axe or scythe, to sow or reap. 1 here other kinds of 
work, equally laborious and fatiguing — other occupations 
more wearing to the system, and attended with less plea- 
sure. In this country, there are more men engaged in 
forming than in any other occupation, and in the rural dis- 
tricts, they constitute a large majority of the inhabitants, 
and, as a consequence, see and know little of the drudg- 
ery of other occupations. In their visits to the mechanic, 
or manufacturer, they see him sheltered from the storms 
and cold, they notice that his skin is less tawny, his 
hands softer and whiter, and his clothes, perhaps, less 
toiled and torn ; and it is but natural that they should 
think his labor less hard than theirs. They see the mer- 
chant behind his counter smiling to his customers, or at 
his desk counting his money, and they cannot think he 
works; and they go away wishing that Providence had 
been as kind to them. They see the lawyer advocating 
the cause of his client, uttering with eloquence witty or 
grave sentences, bringing tears to the eyes, or laughter to 
the countenances, of judge, jury, and spectators; and they 
go away, repining that the gifts of Providence are so par- 
tially bestowed. They see not the mechanic at work by 
his lamp, while farmers are reading by their firesides; 
they see him not with his accounts, anxiously looking 
forward to the time when his payments become due, or 
his flour barrel empty, or his por« barrel out ; they see 
not the anxious and care-worn countenance of the mer- 
chant, while alone in his office, just before his bank note 
becomes due, and no money to meet it ; and they see not 
the lawyer in the still hoars of the night, with aching 
head and wearied eyes, looking up authorities to sustain 
his cause on the eve of trial. 
It IS t'hey themselves— the farmers— \hdX have set the 
stamp of drudgery upon their occupation. No one else 
admits or believes it. The lawyer, the doctor, the mer- 
chant, and the mechanic, envy the farmer his farm and 
his happiness — his bread, butter and cheese — his fruits, 
»eai8, and his grains, the product of his own labor, that 
he can eat with an appetite sharpened by muscular exer 
oise, and knowing that they are pure and healthy. Ask 
the mechanic what he is striving for, and what is his aim. 
a home, a piece of land that 1 can cultivate, and eat 
flje fruits of my own raising; the merchant will tell you 
that he hopes to end his days upon a farm ; and the law 
yer and doctor will tell you the same. What if their faces 
are blanched while the farmer is tawny — their fingers deli- 
cate and supple, while the former are dingy and clumsy 
— their garments fine and clean, while his are soiled and 
coarse. Each is appropriate and equally respectable. A 
chimney-sweep in white linen, or a farmer at his plow in 
fine broadcloth, would be an object of ridicule, equally 
with the lawyer in rags. More naen make themselves 
ridiculous by overdressing than the reverse. If the farmer 
has noi delicacy, he has strength, and power of endurance 
—far more valuable. Ifhcis not educated and refined, it 
is no fault cf his occupatum, did he .himself not think so ; 
for no one has more leisure for r-Mding and study. If he 
mingles less with the world, ond leurns less of etiquette, 
he has opportunity for thought, and ieai ns less of deception, 
intngue, and chicanery, which make no one happy. 
Whose sons make the most enterprising and successful 
merchants, the most profound statesmen, the most emi- 
nent engineers, and the most learned lawyers and di- 
vines'? The Farmer's. They go forth from the farm, 
with healthy blood in their veins, inherited from healthy pa- 
rents, and consequently have healthy and vigorous minds. 
Who are looked up to as defenders of our homes in case 
of invasion 1 Whose names are in our jury boxes, and 
whose names are sought for (aye, a little too often success- 
fully), ofl a bank note 1 Brother farmers, let us not re ' 
pine at our lot; let us not envy others v/hile they envy 
us ; let us honor our calling, and it v/ill honor us. 
“ Honor and fame from no condition rise ;” 
“ He thatyould win, must labor for the prize." 
[Genesee Farmer, 
HOW SHOULD WE IMPROVE OUR HIGH* 
ways. 
This important subject has not been sufficiently discuss- 
ed heretofore. All acknowledge that our highways should 
be improved, and in the right way. 
Which is the right way 1 Here is a question which 
will call out many different opinions. In considering the 
subject many things must be considered. First, the con- 
dition of the soil; second, the hill and the valley; and 
third, how should a road be made on level ground. Turn- 
piking has gone into disuse in many localities, and yet it 
is, in many places, deemed necessary to throw up the 
highways in this form. In swamps and such localities, 
turnpiking is thought to be the more judicious mode of 
making good roads, and keeping them passably dry. 
This can only be done by a thorough system of ditches 
and draining. 
I purpose to give my plan of making a road in soil 
where it is apt to cutup, and become rutty by reason of 
wet, and one which trial has shown to be the most durable 
and cheaply made road — all things considered — now ia 
use. Open a trench in the centre of the highway from 
nine to twelve feet in width and one foot in depth, w'itk 
plow and scraper. Stone being plenty in almost every 
country, fill this track with small field stone, and pound 
down the surface with hammers smooth and regular. 
Having done this, go to a gravel bed, (most every neigh- 
borhood having one,) and draw on to the stone bed thus 
prepared from five to eight inches of gravel. Level down 
and make the track on the whole a little rolling that the 
water may run off. The dirt that was plowed and scraped 
out of the track, can now be hauled up on each side, and 
rounded off, to correspond with the gravel, scooping out 
the gutter to form good drains on each side This kind of 
a road— and we have thoroughly tested it here— will last 
for years. Its cheapness equals its durability. Its smooth- 
ness at most all seasons of the years — in wet or dry 
weather — is unequalled by any other kind of road in use. 
In clay ground, it is better, far better, than plank; and 
when once made, you need not trouble yourself about re- 
pairing it once in a decade. If the gravel wears out, as it 
may from constant and long use, replace it in quantities 
sufficient to keep the road smooth. 
On gravily soil, not liable to cut up, we use gravel from 
a clean bed, and draw on a suffiieni amount to make a 
good round track. In this kind of soil, stone need not 
necessarily be used. In sand beds the stones may be used 
for a foundation, and then covered with gravel, as above 
described. 
Now let us look a little to our hills, &c. We have a 
good deal of ram in most all countries. Our hill?, there- 
fore, are apt to wash in consequence The only sure way 
of managing them on a permanent plan, is to put in stone 
as I have already described, and cover with ,jravel. not 
forgetting side diicties; in addition to which water breaks 
