Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-02-19
From the silk Cullurist.
HARD TIMES.


Some farmers are so habituated to fault
finding that let seasons be ever so favora-
BILE, crops ever so abundant, and prices OF
produce ever so high, they will still COM
plain about hard times. They also assign
them as reasons for pulling up stakes and
moving west where man is doomed to "eat
bread by the sweat of his face" They
saw. land which in sold times" could be
bought for "for,y shllngs" an acre, is now
selling at fifty and sixty dollars--that corn
which used to be sold for 'halt crown"
ond oats at ga pistareen" bushel, are now
selling. the former at dollar and The lat
for Mt sixty two and half cents, and that
every thing else is proportonaby high
that, in short, the times are so hard they
must 90 to Illinois or Michigan, where e
land can be bought "for song" and where
roast turkeys and frcassecd chickens are
skipping about and begging 10 be eaten.
We accdently met one of these grum.
blcrs few mornings since. lie was on
old acquaintance, farmer. from neigh
boring town. After the customary sauta-
tions and enquiries respecting the health
of his family, we asked him if there was
anv thing new. He said there was "noth-
ing stirring" except hard times, and he
supposed that was no news We informed
him that we had not been aware that the
times were hard; but on the contrary, had
supposed they were unusollyleasy, especial
" with farmers. He replied that we were
}"miphtly mistaken the times were
so hard that farmers found it very difficult
TO maintain their families and raise money
enough to pay their taxes and for himself
he was so embarrassed that he must "sell
f out" and 90 where land was cheaper and
better.
We expressed our regret at finding him
in stra,ened circumstances, and tended
, him every assistance in our power IN extrl'
eating himself from his difficulties. We
e told him we were laying in our winter sup
$ plies. and would take some of his produce
G off his hands and pay him the money for It
5 that if he would bring Us in few cords
IS of two feet wood, we would give him three
c dollars cord for it: but he said he had
If none to spare, having already cut off so
Il much ito buy necessarles' that he should
: soon have to buy for his own fire. We
= told him we wanted few loads OF hay. for
n which we expected to pay eighteen or
e twenty dollars ton, but he said his grass
II land had almost wholly run out" and his
N crop was so light that he should probably
e have t., buy for his own stock by the mid.
!. de of March. We offered him n dollar
l. bushel for corn-siXty two cents for oats -
'e twenty five cents for butter. &c. &c. He
r. said thew were great prices; but he was
u one of that unfortunate class OF beings,
o. who when it raincd porrldge. always had
i their dishes bottom side up he had
ar none of these things to sell, but had them
$ all TO buy for The support of his femlly.
TX We enquired about his farm, and the as
IN sis,ancc he had IN cultlva,ing it. He said
us he had one hundred acres OF what was once
OF "toerabe good and;' but it was "worn
y out" and would not pay the expense of cul'
ry tiva,ion-that his house was"a leaky old
Die thine" the roof Of which he had beer
er' irving to cover for eight or ten years; bu
NY could not as yet get money enough to buy
n shingles that he had three stout boys al
home of twelve, fourteen and sixteen year,
of age, and that they all had to "work like
dogs" to bring the year about" and ate
" all sit was tough match TO make the buck
= le and strap meet, and some years they dl'
not meet at all in which case he was obi
y, ged to Ego on tick. He imputed his diff
P0 culties wholly to the times-reprobatet
extravaganza in females dress-expatiatet
:, with considerable warmth on the evils o
~ pride. and wound up his story. by signing
Wv out that it was "terrbIe hard times"
~ We told him that he had fully satsfie,
9 us that it was indeed hard times, so far a
'"- times concerned him-that he might 60 t
Illinois, Michigan, or any where else. an
'"' rest assured they would follow him, unles
N he "turned over new leaf" and that h
might as soon expect to get rid Of "origin
Ivy al sin" as poverty in the course he wa
,' pursuing. That if he wanted better time
NV to stop grumbng and 60 home-shingl
:, his house-brush up his farmland remem
- Der in future to always have his dish RICH
o,u side up.