The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1839-02-05

been said that the times are strangely altered
and certain it is that people are. 1t wa
onee thought honorable to labor, 10 be constant
iy employed in some active ami useful avocatioi
but nowadays it is thought more honorable
to be idle. There IS complaint of the high
prices of al! the necesSaries of human existence
and with much uutb-But if the amount o
ideness could he calculated with mathematical
accuracy throughout our extended republic, al
lowing the drones onl y halt price for the servi
ces they might perform, which others paid
for, it might not be an unsafe calculation to pu
down the whole amount now paid for provisions
and marketing in the United States. Is it no,
Il little inconsistent TO hear parents whine abou,
the prices of provisions while they bring up
their daughters TO walk the streets and to ex-
pend money?
In one of the great commercial cities resides a
gentleman worth from two to three millions OF
dollars. He had three daughters and he requr.
Ell them alternately to 60 into the kitchen and
superintend its domestic concerns Health and
happiness he said, were thus promoted-besitles,
in the vicissitudes of fortune, they might be
compelled ere they closed their earthly career,
to rely upon their hands for livelihood; and he
could say that they never could become wives
and proper heads Of family until they know by
practical experience all the economy of house
hlod affairs. One Of those daughters is now
the wife of a Governor of one of the states-all
at the head of very respectable flmies-and
worthy parent winning and securing the esteem
Of all around them.
Let the fair daughters ofour country draw
lessons from the industrious natrons Of the
past.-Ihe companions OF men who fought in
the revolution were Injured to hardshps and ac-
customed to unccasinS toil--and so did they cd
ucate tn -ir daughters. Health, contentment,
and plenty smiled around the family altar. The
damse who understood most thoroughly and
economically the management of domestic mat
tiers, and was not afraid 10 put her hands in.
to the wash tub, for tenr of destroying their
lasticty and thinning their snowy Wilderness
was sought by the young men Of those anvs ns
n fit companion for life, but now a days to learn
the mysteries OF the house hold, would make our
fair Gnes faint away, and TO labor, comes not in
to the code of modern gentily.
The MOUNT VERNON FARMER-Thc fame Of
Gen. Washington as soldier and statesman is
universally known and highly admired by all
who appreciate talents worth, and love of coun.
try but his character az farmer was less
KNOWN in his day, and his memory in this
respect. is ,n3hYhe cmeHhs ana The most ardent
love Of rural lie, he was one of the first expe.
rinenta and practical farmers in Virginia. His
estate at Mount Vernon consisted of 10 900 acres
of land in one body, equal to about Is miles
square. 1t was divided into farms ofconvenien,
size at the distance Of two, three, four and five
miles from his mansion house. These farms he
constantly engaged in making experiments
for the improvement of agriculture.
Some idea of the extent of his farming opcr-
atoms may lie formed from the following facts
in 1857 he lad 500 in grass-sowed 600
bushels Of oa,s-700 acres with wheat, and pre-
pared much more for corn, barley, potatoes,
beans peas &c. and $50 with turnips His
stock consisted of l40 horses, IL cows, 235
working oxen, hefers and steers, and 500 sheep
He constantly employed $50 hands, and kept ed
ploughs going during the whole year, when the
earth and state of the weather would permit
In 1875, he slaughtered 459 hogs, weighing 49,
560lbs 70, the use of his family, besides proyis
ions for his negroes.-.Siik Cultu,st.
SLAVERY IN RUSSIA
A foreign correspondent of the .Ne,O York a
mertcun, in describing the Russian peasantry,
thus speaks Of the condition Of the subjects of
the Gear, the slaves of tho so
ave passed through numerous Villages of
peasants, who belong the various estates. These
villages are composed of rough log huts, thatch
ed with straw g. IRE situated on one long street
mile in length. Some have pop
ulaton of n hundred thou sand serfs, who belong
to the soil, and work the ground either for their
masters or for themselves. In the latter case,
they have COMMITTED their services for u specific
sum per nnnum for money, seldom over So per
hend.-The income of many of the teudal lords
is i:nmense--though sometimes when "A success
ion of short crops produce Il deartlI, the lord OF
the soil is bound TO purchase and transport from
a distance, the means of subsistence for those
serfs and their families who have not com nuted
their time. In order to give you an idea of the
wealth ofsome of those nobility, will mention
one of them: Prince Cheremeteif owns 10000
male slaves 1.-THE females ofthe family are nev
er counted) All his male slaves pay him
pitaton of ten rubes, e dollars,) and all they
can earn beyond is their own. Soine1 ofhis
slaves, as well as those belonging to other no
bles have acquired immense wealth, by turning
their attention to traffic III the Bazars; but rs
slaves, they can never belong TO the caste of mer-
chants nor aspire to any employment under
government, neither can their children. They
also are slaves, aud either theyor their parents