354 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Nov. 
as times are good and business prosperous, you may 
get along, but let a panic come, and then what? 
Not only are you almost certain of failing yourself, 
but in your downfall you make others suffer with you 
—you are, in fact, living and doing business on other 
men’s money. It is computed as a moderate calcu¬ 
lation that 80 to 85 business men out of 100, 
fail during a period of 25 years. This thing alone, 
to any man sensitive to debt, would render him cau¬ 
tious about entering the arena of trade. 
From the remark above made, I hope no one will 
think that I oppose a just and lawful use of credit— 
this is well and good—it is the abuse and notthewse 
of it, that I would censure. A man may trade and 
do business to once, twice, and even thrice the 
amount of his capital, and yet do a safe business, 
but when he attempts, on a small capital, to do a 
business unauthorised by that capital, I say then it 
is not morally honest. Many men make more money 
than the farmer, but we cannot always measure the 
amount of actual profit by this alone; for those who 
make the most, are of necessity obliged to spend the 
most. Thus the merchant, doing a large business 
at home and abroad, is of necessity compelled to en¬ 
tertain largely. His profits are doubtless some¬ 
times large, but his losses are often heavy, and his 
expenses great. His style of living, too, must be 
somewhat in accordance with his business. Let no 
man say that this matter is optional, that the mer¬ 
chant need not do it—he must do it. It is to a great 
extent by his courtesy and hospitality, and magnifi¬ 
cent entertainments, that he obtains his business. 
The profits of the farmer may be slow, but they 
are sure, and we entertain a hope that with more 
knowledge, they will be more rapid and still remain 
sure. But before we consent to call the profits of the 
farmer less than those of many other occupations, 
let us examine a little further into the matter. 
Take, for example, the mechanic; do his wages en¬ 
able him to get rich in a little while? So of the 
doctor and the lawyer; years of toil and study must 
first be passed through, before they can arrive at 
great profit or eminence in their professions. If the 
young farmer leaves his father’s farm for the sake of 
the profits attending a clerkship in some large city, 
we think he will be mistaken, for it is not long ago 
that meetings were held in the city of New-York, 
among the clerks, with a view to better their condi¬ 
tion, and it was stated as a fact, at some of those 
meetings, that the average wages of clerks was not 
equal to those of day laborers; and upon these wa¬ 
ges they were obliged to live and make a respecta¬ 
ble appearance; and I feel warranted in saying that 
things are no better now. Here and there a clerk 
with fine business talents may rise to eminence 
under favorable circumstances, but as a general 
thing, the rising of a clerk is like promotion in the 
army and navy, very slow. 
The profits of the farmer may appear slow; but 
look at the facts in many cases ; see how many farm¬ 
ers are laboring under heavy debt. Small means and 
a heavy debt, would be a great drawback in any 
business; but yet the industrious and enterprising 
farmer is not dismayed at it; through difficulties, 
through trials he presses onward and in most cases 
wins the victory. It must be an occupation worth 
following that can enable a man to do this. But 
with the farmer, it is not only the actual profit he 
derives, for if he is a good manager his farm is al¬ 
ways increasing in value, and this is a continual 
profit to him. Many instances can be shown in al¬ 
most all sections of the country, where men who be¬ 
gan farming with very little means, are now quite 
comfortably off. If, then, farming has been made 
a source of profit in days gone by, may we not hope 
when the light of science shall be brought to aid 
practical experience, that the profits of the farmer 
will be increased according to the intelligence and 
experience which he brings to his vocation. If the 
farmer would make his calling profitable, he must 
learn to think—to work with his head as well as 
with his hands. The same system of farming will 
not answer for all parts of our widely-extended coun¬ 
try. In one section it may be most profitable to 
grow wheat, in another corn, in another to raise 
stock, in another to keep cows, in another to sell 
hay and buy manure; in almost all to combine with 
farming the growing of fruit. About these things 
and a hundred others, the farmer must use his own 
judgment, and in each and all, must take care not to 
be wedded too much to the opinions of his fathers, for 
since their day, things have changed; railroads, ca¬ 
nals, steamboats have brought the far off places of the 
West in close communication with the seaboard, and 
we, who occupy soils worn by the culture of long 
years, must redouble our vigilance, if we would com¬ 
pete favorably with our western friends. Above all 
things, let us never despair. If we think that other 
men in other callings are making more money than 
we are, let us be satisfied with our lot, when we 
think that our calling is less harrassing, and in gen¬ 
eral far happier. But we must take care and not 
be deceived by appearances, for when we examine 
the matter closely, we will find that gold and silver 
are not accumulated very fast at the present day, 
in any ordinary business. 
I have spoken of the toil and the profits of agri 
culture. I cannot leave the subject without, for a 
few moments, turning to its pleasures. My farm¬ 
er friends, I cannot but feel that few of us esteem our 
noble calling as we ought. With many it is a life 
of ceaseless and unending toil, no higher aim or ob¬ 
ject is seen in it, save to plow, to sow, to reap, to 
“do business and get gain;” so that the dollar be 
made, no matter whether the soul is buried beneath 
the body’s toil or not. Lost in its toil, we think not 
that it has a pleasure. But let us pause a moment 
and look around us; there are things that come to 
us in the way of our business, that to other men, 
in other occupations, would be looked upon as lux¬ 
uries. It is in the power of every farmer to have 
a good garden ; from this garden, during the season 
of vegetables, his table can be supplied at a trifling 
expense, with the choicest and freshest of them; so 
too of fruits, apples, pears, peaches, cherries, plums, 
and a variety of others, all can appear at his social 
board. During the summer months, the inhabitants 
of the city fly to the country for health and fine air, 
whenever opportunity offers; but the farmer and his 
family, if health and fine air are to be found in the 
country of his abode, will be sure to possess them. 
Contrast the pale and sickly appearance of many 
children inhabiting our large cities, with, the rug¬ 
ged and healthy look of our farmers’boys and girls, 
and tell us if we have not cause of rejoicing. Need 
I tell you of the many rides you enjoy through the 
still, sweet summer morn, which to the mechanic 
or man of trade, would be so welcome? Need I point 
to the sweet flowers around your dwellings, grow¬ 
ing there almost spontaneously, whose perfume 
greets your senses? Different, ah! different, indeed 
is your abode amid fruits and flowers, to the abode 
of him who is hemmed in in the busy mart of trade. 
There is not a busy time or season but hath its joy 
for us. From the first note of the peepers in the 
early spring-time, through the flowery summer, the 
rich and golden autumn, and the social hearth of 
winter, each and all in their good time, bring to us 
