for her comfort, hold the chair, or push it 
backwards, or forwards as required, before 
he takes his own seat. And during the 
meal he will see that she is provided with 
all she is likely to want. The lady ought 
not to be obliged to ask for salt, for water, 
for another cup of tea, or, in fact, for any¬ 
thing that is on the table.— Cassell's Family 
Magazine for September. 
The Modern Farmer. 
We live in a progressive age, and have 
verified the Scripture wherein it has said 
that “the old things must pass away and all 
things become new.” How truly has this 
been demonstrated with the farmers. Years 
ago, the farmer turned the soil with an ill¬ 
shaped and poorly constructed plow; har¬ 
rowed with a “crotch” or three-cornered 
drag; and “bushed” in his grain with a 
tree top. His “haw, Buck,” and “come- 
along Bright,” resounded through the 
“clearings” “from early morn till dewy 
eve.” His reaper was a sickle which he 
took in one hand, while he grasped the 
grain to be cut, with the other. It was a 
slow process, thus to gather a field of grain, 
a handful at a time; yet it had its pleasures, 
and I doubt not, that the pioneer farmer 
was a^ happy in his log house as the mod¬ 
ern farmer of to-day is in his fine residence. 
There was a wild newness in his life that he 
helped to change daily as he felled the for¬ 
est trees, thereby changing the face of na 
ture, .and laying the foundation of future 
prosperity, which we so much enjoy to¬ 
day. 
Now, what a change! the farmer no 
longer follows the plow; but rides on it, 
and turns a better furrow. The grain-drill 
does more and better work than hand-sow 
ing and drags. Genius has converted the 
sickle into a machine that reaps and binds 
the grain both at the same time, and the 
old scythe and snath has been run out of 
tthe race, by the noisy mowing machine 
The sound of the flail, with its regular beat, 
its no longer heard; and the winnowing 
grain no more falls through the autumn 
winds to the threshing floor. We do those 
things with steam now. 
Cheese factories everywhere dpt the land. 
The farmer no longer rides on “ox-sleds” or 
“buck-boards,” but in swell-box cutters and 
phaetons. “Buck” and “Bright” have long 
since been consigned to beef. Normans, 
Hambletonians, Mambrinoes and Morgans, 
are the go now. It is commendable to the 
farmer, and especially those of Western 
New York, who are largely interested in 
breeding and growing fine stock. They 
take a just pride in it, and well they may, 
as they have some of the finest stock in the 
world. 
The time has come when farming has 
not only become a trade, but a science as 
well, and it is as necessary to understand 
it, as for the blacksmith or chemist to 
understand theirs. He must know the 
nature of the soil he tills, and what crops 
are likely to succeed best. He must also 
know where and on what crops his ma¬ 
nures are most needed; when the best time 
to do all the various kinds of labor pertain¬ 
ing to the farm. In fact, it embodies as 
much care, forethought and attention to 
make it a success, as the merchant’s or 
any other business does. Therefore, let us 
have more labor-saving machines, and less 
backache; more science and less stupidity; 
more brains and less muscle, for if you de¬ 
velop the former there will be less need of 
the latter. The old plan, that, if a man was 
too ignorant for anything else he could be 
a farmer, won’t work now. A man has to 
be educated in his particular line to make a 
success, and the ignorant farmer of to-day 
will never succeed until he knows and 
thoroughly understands all the principles 
of farming. The name farmer is as honest 
a one as Professor or Judge, and it can be 
made as dignified. What makes theirs so, 
is the superior knowledge they possess of 
their business. The same with the farmer, 
and he is their peer. For without him 
they would have no calling, and their dig¬ 
nified titles would fall into disuse, and we 
should all deteriorate into the barbarous 
state. The farmer is the keystone of civil¬ 
ization and should feel proud of his posi¬ 
tion, for, indeed, “he feedeth all.”— O. W. 
S. in American Rural Home. 
What a man gets for nothing he is very 
apt to value at just about what it cost him.. 
