AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
169 
June, 18‘59. 
(Original Design for the American Agriculturist.) 
F r om brightening fields of ether, now disclosed, 
Child of the Sun, refulgent Summer comes, 
In pride of youth, and felt through Nature’s depth, 
lie comes attended by the sultry hours, 
And ever fanning breezes, on his way ; 
While from his ardent jook, retiring Spring 
Averts her blushful face, and to his hot 
Domain leaves the all smiling earth and skies. 
Hence let me hasten to the cooling shade, 
Where scarce a sunbeam wanders through the leaves ; 
And on the dark-green grass now lie at large, 
Deside the brink of haunted stream, that rolls 
Along its rocky channel. 
Nearly thus did Thompson greet the English 
Summer... .With the aid of an artist’s pencil we 
have attempted to present, above, a picture em¬ 
blematical of the season upon which we now 
enter. The scene here portrayed is characteristic 
of American rural life, and, with slight variations 
in the grouping, it is one which may be witnessed 
during the coming weeks upon ten thousand 
American farms. The sun is high in the heavens, 
and pours down his scorching rays. The father, 
wearied with bending over the corn rows for 
three or four hours since breakfast, has retired to 
a shaded grass-plot, laid down his hoe, and is par¬ 
taking of the “lunch ” brought from the distant 
dwelling by his daughters. The younger one has 
in the meanwhile gathered a bouquet of wild 
flowers, which she has entwined for her papa, and 
he rewards her affection with an approving smile. 
The elder one is calling to the man and boy, 
plowing out the corn, to come and join in the re¬ 
past, but they seem intent on “ finishing out then- 
row ” before stopping. The brother has gone to 
the water-fall to quench his thirst, followed by the 
dog, who has perhaps been as active as his 
master, chasing the squirrels, and digging out the 
corn-stealing chip-mucks, or gophers. 
' With what renewed vigor and energy will the 
laborer resume his work, after a few brief mo¬ 
ments of such relaxation and refreshment as he 
is now enjoying. We, and very many of our 
readers, know by experience how this is. And 
just here comes up a practical suggestion. We 
labor too incessantly—too long at a time—as a 
general thing. The bow that is long bent, 
soon loses its elasticity. So it is with human 
muscles. A man may carry a hundred pounds all 
day, if he frequently cast it off for but a moment 
at a time, to allow the strained muscles to relax; 
while his strength would be entirely exhausted in 
an hour, if he attempted to carry his load with¬ 
out once laying it down. So it is with one bend¬ 
ing over the corn-rows, or at the scythe, from 
breakfast to dinner, with no cessation. We have 
particularly noticed the practice of two large 
farmers, both of whom labor with their “ hands” 
in the field. The one keeps both himself, and his 
men and boys, pressing at their work every 
moment. He reasons that every minute’s delay 
is so much time lost, multiplied by the number 
of men at work. The other will stop at the 
end of a long row, or after cutting a long swath 
of grass, and perhaps tell a story or get off a joke 
which puts all in good humor. Then all fall 
again to work with a will, as if in haste to get to 
the next resting place. The number of two mi¬ 
nute respites thus taken, frequently amounts to 
a dozen or more during a single half day, yet 
it is plain to any one looking on, that he accom¬ 
plishes at least ten per cent more than the first 
named farmer, who seems to thinks the slightest 
cessation from steady labor as so much time ab¬ 
solutely lost. There are times when, in the hurry 
and excitement of getting in a crop before a storm, 
for example, a man may keep himself and all 
about him in active exertion for hours, yet as a 
general rule, no one should keep his muscles upon 
a constant strain, in the same position, longer than 
twenty or thirty minutes at a time. However 
short the relaxation, let there be one at very brief 
intervals, and much more will be accomplished 
during an entire day, than by the contrary course. 
And here let us add, also, that the same rule 
holds good in the treatment of working animals. 
Some will start a team on the road, drawing a 
heavy burden to market, and keep up a steady 
“jog” for half a dozen miles at a time. But the 
truth is, the team will draw the load much easier, 
get over the ground quicker, and be far less worn 
in the operation, if stopped and backed in the 
harness for a minute or two as often as once in 
every fifteen or twenty minutes. The same thing 
is true in regard to speed. An animal may be 
driven at the very top of his speed for a few 
minutes, and no harm will be likely to result; 
but let that speed be kept up for ten or fifteen 
minutes, the same set of muscles being in con¬ 
stant action to their utmost stretch, and the 
chances are, that complete exhaustion will fol¬ 
low, succeeded by permanent injury. Let this 
fact be ever kept in mind, then, that rest must 
follow activity at short intervals, if the highest 
degree of efficiency would be maintained, in man 
or beast. 
--» --rasKS-SM.--- 
About Hired Men. 
We have had frequent occasion to notice the 
different “ luck,” as they called it, which employ¬ 
ers have had with their hired help. We knew a 
Mr. P. who was for ever in hot water with his 
men. They couldn’t be trusted out of sight. They 
would idle away half their time, slight their work, 
abuse the horses and cattle, and waste more than 
their help was worth—such was the frequent 
complaint of them and to them. On the other 
hand they unhesitatingly declared, that there ne¬ 
ver was such a driving, miserly, surly, and alto¬ 
gether contemptible man as their employer. 
From early summer until their employment 
ceased in the fall, there seemed to he a continual 
strife between thepn ; each aggravating the other, 
each apparently studying to find the limit of hu¬ 
man endurance, and it sometimes happened that 
actual violence was resorted to, a hand-to-hand 
encounter with one or more of the men, followed 
by prosecutions, law-suits, and costs to pay. 
But neighbor G. never appeared to have such 
difficulty. He frequently hired the same men 
