Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1855-10-11


= description consumed The crops, and gave n
r. adequate return During one Of our annu,
y y visits to New York, to dispose Of our sheel
v hogs, butter, ard other farm produce, Just 5e
lore the close OF the socp's running, and Ia
IN such winter stores as we needed, quit
. accidentally strayed one evening into boo
: auction establishment. Not knowing wheth
. ', or the aucticneer was selling perfect book
II or not, or whether they were selling cbea
J or dear, as amused myself in looking on
= never so much as looking up at him, for fee
: he should think ! was bidding At length
was getting late, and the people began t.
leave, myself among the rest; just as got Il
the door heard him cry out, Here is bush
el-basket full o! books of all kinds vii
give me one dollar Cor the lot!' Il will say
[ and went to the desk, paid my money. an,
? received my purchase.
ave reached home in due time. and The
first evening found me unfolding my treasure
1T is true. they were a mixed lot. Chemis
try, Roderick Random, Waverly and Sallust
Baxter's Call, and the Age of Reason; how
ever, there was variety enough to keep the
family in reading all " inter. The mex sum.
me: got married, and father having pur.
chased farm for me, which had been pretty
we'll run down, | was determined to see il
there was any thing in book farming, as Mr..
Buel and others were then publishing nc.
counts of their ways OF doing things, and de.
nouncing heavy plows, small seeds, and 9th.
err od-fashioned doctrines.
"My farm required all nv attention and
hllIar una lzl
orders in TACT. 1t was the hardest work for
me to spare enough to take the nearest VIII
lage paper. In the paper every week there
was just about sufficient farming information
to AXE one anxious for more-extracts from
this book and that pamphlet this lecture and
that magazine, that made me almost desper.
ate, because could MT get the works, and
thus study for myself what was new or in.
structive.
"One evening, whilst brooding over this
stnte of things, an idea seemed to strike me,
which appeared no, only feasible, but easy
to carry out. Immediately stated what it
was to my wife, and she at once entered into
my plan; it was this: We would set aside
small patch which should be GUILTY.. ted AT
leisure hours, half or quarter wet days, dinner
times, or any other period tlat could be
snatched, though not to interfere with the
regular working of the farm The very neyt
day piece of land was staked out and plsnt.
I'd with cabbages, they being as we thought
the least trouble, and we could not spare
| much time,
"'Oar crop was gathered in the fall and
sent 70 market, and the return was over $40
in cash. With this money subscribed for
farmers periodical, bought some books on
farming, aud disposed of the money in such
way as brought me. in information. what
eventually proved the making of my worn out
farm into one of the best in the country,
which you have aready acknowledged this to
be.
"'Having made such good beginning, I
kept i up year after year, adding continually
books papers, &c. As family was coming
around Us, we made il a point to lead our
children, as soon as they could pull weed
to the library, and here give them the first
lesson in manual industry, as from the pro.
ceedS their mental culture was to depend
| As our children Increased and grew larye-
30 did our patch extend and our shelves be-
come loaded, until you see the one with
| picket fence around it., and tho ether this
well filed ROOM of the choicest works of Eng
land and America
1.-The wonder ceased why the sons, and. in
TACT, all this family, possessed 50 much more
Intelligence than their neighbors, they had
been trained by far-seeing parents in the best
school ever selected by man. Taught from
infancy to labor, and then shown how that
| labor was mrst abundantly rewarded in fur
nlshing them with unalloyed pie ,s,ires, they
naturally delighted in their calling, aud, ap,
plying all the information their books gave
them, they far surpassed all their neighbors
in the quality and quantity of their crops
whilst their stock of all kinds was far supe-
rior to any others.
! sis it any wonder this farmer is not only
rich in all the blessings of this lite, but that
he is particularly blest in the love of his fam.
! lily! II is rue. he is the envy of his neigh
bors, aid they wonder how il is his meadows
never fail of yielding their increase, whilst
theirs very often fail entirely.
"Simple as this method of enrichino the
farmer is, so easy in all its ramificatons, vet
there is hardly farmer to be found, who, af
ter seeing the teasibleness of this plan. will
call his family around him, and say to hem
IF you want books ant magazines, select
patch for yourselves in one of the fields, and
we will see whether there Is any truth in DO.
tatoe or Cabbage libraries for Us, as we'll as
others; the subject is worthy trial at any
rate, and if we succeed the reward will be far
greater than any labor we need giye.' .l.
4 "Here was secret worth knowing, and
trust worth relating for the benefit of others.
From small beginnings the most wealthy and
influential merchants date their success, and
from few cabbagcs, planted in leisure hours
product is eventually obtained, which prob.
ably no personal riches could have done. Ev-
cry hour devoted to this employment was
producing wealth far Beyond the silver that
the articles would bring to market; the
mind was to be enriched by this extra indus.
try, which was far beyond any financial cal.
culation.
~ must confess was amazed at what
saw, and yet on little reflection, | did not
see why should be- The facts were clear. a