182 
DIVISION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR. 
and arrives at ultimate wealth and success in his | 
pursuits. 
The common opinion entertained by the more j 
bustling part of our population in the North, is, that ; 
farming, or the business of agriculture, is an un- ! 
couth, unpleasant, drudging, and unprofitable busi¬ 
ness—fit only for the rude, and the vulgar, whose 
tastes are far beneath a high standard of intelligence, 
at least, if not absolutely beneath that of an ordi¬ 
nary one. That perpetual physical toil and inade¬ 
quate returns are its only recompense, and therefore 
it is fit only for those whose brains are deficient, 
or whose circumstances in life have prevented them 
from rising in the more favored pursuits, or profes¬ 
sions of life. Whether this opinion be well or ill- 
founded—and I conclude it is partly both according 
to the individual cases on which it is based—I shall 
not take the trouble to argue ; but if taken as a 
whole, the aggregate of wealth, prosperity, and 
happiness, according to the capital, toil, vexation, 
and disappointment, connected with commercial and 
professional pursuits, is greater than that of the in¬ 
telligent farmer, I shall be happily mistaken. But 
the question now is, are not we as farmers, in Ame¬ 
rica, very far behind our brethren who are engaged 
in other branches of industry, in the systematic ar¬ 
rangement of our business, and in the profitable 
division of our labors ? I think so; and propose 
to devote a few moments to an examination of the 
subject. 
Our southern brethren—and I speak in all kind¬ 
ness—from the very fact that they are compelled to 
work their estates with a rude and an ignorant 
“ force,” have adopted the plan of turning their at¬ 
tention to one principal crop. To that their entire 
labor is directed, and of course to its most economi¬ 
cal production and profitable result. True, some 
even among themselves contend that this system is 
wrong, and that each planter ought to raise, with 
his cotton, his rice, or his sugar, the corn, the pork, 
and the other commodities for the consumption of 
his establishment, and thus save his money at home 
while diverting a part of his labor and force to those 
objects. This is as it should be ; yet at the same 
time it will be best to keep the single object in view, 
and devote their main attention to that which they 
well understand, and in which they are sure to ex¬ 
cel. It should be much the same with us ; for after 
years of experience I am entirely satisfied that when 
anything further than a mere family support is de¬ 
signed, or the cultivation or improvement of any 
considerable number of acres is pursued, a less com¬ 
plicated system is demanded, and a fewer number 
of objects should be comprised in our productions 
than is generally the case north of the planting 
States. 
Is not the multifarious system of farming too 
often pursued in the northern and middle states the 
true secret of the want of general success with our 
larger farmers, and the really bad husbandry of 
many of them ? And is not the toilsome life of the 
common farmer, already referred to, the result of 
this diversity of production, and the occupancy of 
his time to a too laborious extent, and the conse- 
uent confusion and want of system in his business ? 
think so. 
What would be the probable success o e u man 
ever so well educated, who should combine the three 
| professions of law, divinity, and physic, in his pur- 
i suits ? Would he excel in either, or would his life 
j be anything but a round of toil, anxiety, and mor¬ 
tification? I fancy not. Or what would be the 
prosperity of one who should mingle the pursuits of 
an extensive commerce with ordinary merchandise 
and mechanical pursuits on a large scale, and em¬ 
brace the whole in his occupations ? It is needless 
to say that not one individual in a thousand would 
succeed by this complication of business, and that 
what was attempted to be done would be badly exe¬ 
cuted, and no improvement expected in any depart¬ 
ment whatever. 
So much for the principle. Not that I would 
apply the productions of the farm to a single staple 
alone ; but the capacity, taking into consideration 
the position, climate, and all the circumstances con¬ 
nected, of the farm having been ascertained, and 
its best production or productions settled, one ortwo 
of those products should be the main objects which 
should occupy the attention of the farmer; and he 
will under such system almost certainly succeed. 
It may be asserted, to be sure, that some portion of 
our country, in its individual farms, is equally fitted 
for the production of the grains and of grass. That 
wheat and corn, and the coarse grains and roots and 
grass and fruits flourish equally well; and when so, 
good economy requires that the farmer should pro¬ 
duce all these in proportion, or at all events equal 
to the wants of his family and the demands of his 
laborers and of the market. Now this may be so, 
and it may be not. To know exactly, the farmer 
should consult his own inclinations, and the situa¬ 
tion and inclinations of his family, for these have 
very much to do with the matter. In fact, the 
adage “ know thyself,” and in addition “ know thy 
family and estate,” can never become more applica¬ 
ble than to the intelligent husbandman who is 
planning out for future years his system of agricul¬ 
ture. Those possessing such soils as are above 
alluded to, are fortunate in having a choice of cul¬ 
tivation ; but it in no measure detracts from the 
weight of the proposition, that one object should 
chiefly engross the cultivator’s attention. 
And here let me pause and remark, that it 9 is not 
intended now to advocate the system of slavish toil 
adopted by too many of our successful farmers, who 
commence life in penury, and by a system of exces¬ 
sive labor amass a competence only to toil on, 
making themselves and their families still greater 
slaves in proportion as their means increase; and 
to whom the idea of a rational leisure and its grate¬ 
ful enjoyments is an utter stranger. Not at all. 
The system to be recommended is that of an intelli¬ 
gent, progressive agriculture—a system giving suf¬ 
ficient leisure to the mind, healthful labor to the 
body, and abundant occupation to the thoughts, 
together with cheerfulness of disposition,—the per¬ 
fection of enjoyment, if such degree of enjoyment 
for any time there be, in this humdrum world of 
ours. And this system, we contend, is quite practica¬ 
ble in our country in all situations where the soil is 
worth cultivation, let it be adapted to whatever 
branch of husbandry it may. 
There are few soils known that are not better 
fitted for the successful cultivation of some crops 
than of others, and of the production of some sta¬ 
ples than of others. And such as can be most easily 
