Litchfield enquirer., 1837-08-24
IS FARMING PROFITABLE.

SO lar as EegdguS IenpOTdl udltSFSS coupe" tency may at last be secured; and the way in which this can be done the most ensiIy, eRectually, and with the least probability of reverses, becomes an inquiry of consid- cradle interest. We speak now of the or- dinary means of obtaining good living, of the regular prosecution of professional bu- siness of the usual results Oftrade, of mon- ey at the legal rates of interest, and farm ing as it has been on an average for the last five years. Nowin some respect the Hines are ont of joint;' all the customary modes of doing business seem to be broken up; men are in haste to be rich; and the op- portunities for speculation, and the success which in some instances has attended it, appear to have had their influence every where-less perhaps among farmers than any other class of citizens, though even for them, it will not do to plead entire exemp- ton. Many have sold their farms, and af- ter spending months in looking for others, have come home again and consented to pay roundly for the privilege of getting on the old place. again. Other farmers have sold out, ,and without personal investigation, have at once started for that earthly para disc the far west. Disappointed they have returned, and after having lost most oftheir property in the expenses of removal, are content to again commence gradual ac- emulation of property. Buta great ma jority are still working on, sowing and reap ing, and it is question which should be solved whethe, such or not, on the whole, are making money as fast as they probably would with the same capital in any other legitimate business. What we mean is, can a man with five or ten thousand dol- lars realize as much from it, by investing it in farm, as he could by leaning it at the legal rate of interest and will it support himself or his family as handsomely ly in the first way as the last? To contribute our mite towards answering these questions is the great objec. of this paper.
 The man who expects to get rich at once by farming, must expect to be disappointed; 1; but in this manner he is no worse off than he who has only the same moderate capital
 in cash and uses it in legal way. In both cases. the addition to the capital stock, can consist only of what remains of the income after all demands upon it are met. We will attempt to illustrate this. Two men, A, and B, are about to commence life with the same capital, say five thousand dollars in cash each; and their personal expenses his in farm and stock, and goes to work upon i'. B. is apprehensive that he could not live SO, and invests his cash in stock that yields him per cent, and determines to do enough to pay his way, SO that the interest shall be clear, now which of the two are the most likely to possess compe- tcnce, if not actual wealth at the end often years Perhaps majority at frs, thought would say, B. certainly; but we think diff feren,ly, and imagine that the chances are altogether in favor of A. and these are some of the reasons for this opinion.
 In the first place, his occupation is fa- vorable to health. The life of the farmer is one of labor, it is true but labor, unless carried to excess, is far from being preju- dicial to the body or mind. Vigorous cx- ercise, such is the law of our nature, is ne- cessary to the full development of either our bodily or mental powers, and unless this necessity is forced upon us in part, we are apt to evade it, and we suffer the conse- quence. The maxim that every man is as idle as he can be, we do not dispute 'ac- qnired habits induced by the necessity of exertion, are sufficient to account for any seeming exception to this rule. Hence tho probability is, that A. having before his eyes the necessity of labor on his farm, will perform the labor, and reap double the ben- eft in his health and in his purse; while B. who cannot expect to feel that necessity, will of course be less active and industrious, will become less and less inclined to labor and will eventually feel the effects of this disinclination in diminished health and de. creasing profits.
 Another reason why tho prospects of A. arc better than those of B. is to be found in the habits that personal industry is al- most sure to create. Experience and ob- servation both assure us that the man who has any means of living beyond what de- bends on his own exertion, is very apt to acquire contemptuous ideas of economy, and whatever may be his original inten- tions, sooner or later finds himself trench ing first on the interest of his capital, and then on the capital itselE There can be very few instances found in the country, where the sons of rich men have not dimin- ished the inheritance received from their parents, and the examples are still more rare in which the second generation have not succeeded in scattering the descending property to the winds. A pride, as false as it was injurious, makes those who can live upon their money, dislike exercise, until this dislike becomes habit rarely shaken of, even afer its effects are staring the individual in the face.