New-York daily tribune., 1858-10-19


pat asde impertinent, trivial chsfy al mere
windy talk Of the dignity honor and happiness OF tne
AImer's calling. When hear any one dlate ID N,i'
vein, want TO look him square in the eye anu "'A'
"Sr, do YOU know farmer who acts ana I'e7 N
though he believed one word Of this 10 you
~know one who chooses the bnghtesf an'e' De,' '"-
ructed among his four FIVE sons, and says 10 h,
s.I<t the rest do a. they please, want you !" 'uo
me in the old homestead and be- the pcS' FARMER
81, the country i"' Do you know one Who really
.,h., his son who IL 10 b. farmer requires
w-., and ss thorough ar education az bis brothers
,ho are 10 be respectively lawyer doctor and divine
n, con know one who is to-day personally ting the
iii Who If be were enabled to choose for his only
and darling son just what he preferred above
.u others. would make him a farmer If you do
Know such famer-and confess do not-then l
sny YOU know one who will not be offended at any
thing shall say implying that Agriculture is not now
The liberal and hberalzng vocation it should aud yet
must be. Whenever the great mass o! our farmers
shall have fully to realize that there is scope aud
reward in their own pursnit for all the knowledge and
al the wisdom with which their can be mbned-
rare geuiusss az know many Of them are-then
we shah have achieved the first great step toward
making Agriculture that first Of vocations which it
r;phtfally should be. But to-day il is the current
though unsvowed belief Of the maorityand of farm
srr even more than Of othcrs-that any education is
good epough for husbandnan, and that any block
Mead who knows enough TO come in when it rains Is
qualified to manage farm.
H. The need Of gricuture next in order is cor
rector Of the that farming Is an affair
Of muscle only and that the best farmer - ne VINO
delves and grubs from daylight to dark and from the
frst of January to the last of December You VIII
not am sure interpret me as undertaking industry,
a;,~nce force; certainly, You will not believe to
commend that style of farming which leaves time for
loi,eripe away sunny hours in barrooms and for at
sencing every auction, horse-race, shooting-match
or monkcy-sbow that may nfest the township.
I know right well that he who would succeed in any
pursuit must carefully husband bis time, making
~ hour count. What maintain is that, while every
lour has it's duties, they are not all muscular; and
that the farmer who would wisely and surely thrive
must have time for mental improvement as well for
physical exertion. know there are farmers who de-
cline to take regularly any newspaper, deyo-
ted TO Agriculture because they say they can't afford
Il or have no time TO read il. say farmer can af
sord TO do without one. To attempt it, is blunder and
loss if he has children growing up around him, it
h moreover grievous wrong. If every hard-working
farmer who says he cannot read in Summer because
is hurying seasen, were to set apart two hours of
each day for reading and reflection he would not only
be wiser and happier man than if he gave every
hour 10 labor-he would live in greater comfort
and acquire more property To dig is easily learned
but to learn how where and when to dig mos, effect
jvely is the achievement Of lifetime. There is no
greater and yet common mistake than that
which confounds incessant, exhausting muscular effort
with the highest efficiency in farming. know men
who have toiled early and late, Summer and Winter,
with resoute energy and ample strength, through their
forty years of manhood, yet failed to compe
tence not because they have been specially unfortu-
nate, they are apt to suppose, but because they
hacked the knowledge and skill, the wisdom and sci
epce that would have enabled them 20 make their
ertions tell most effectively. They have been lifelong
workers but they have not known how TO work to the
greatest advantage. Each of them has planted and
sowed enough to shield him from want for the remain
der of his days; but when the time for resping
and gathering into barns, his crops deficient
One year, too much rain; the next year, too little;
now an untimely frost and then the ravage Of insects
have baffled his exeions and blasted his hopes and
left him in the downhill of life still toing for hand
to-mouth subsistence. think the observation of al
most any of You will have furnished parallels in this
respect for my own
III. Now am quite aware that no conceivable ac-
snirements and precsutions-no attainablc wisdom
and foresght-can absolutely guard the farmer against
dsapponiments and disasters. AS the ablest seaman
ship will not always triumph the angry, warning
elements so the most thorough, skillful husbaudry
will not always avert from the fruitful field the rava-
ges Of frost hail food. Ii is only in qualified,
yet nevertheless very important sense that the max
i'm" God is on the side of the heaviest artillery, the
"strengest battalions" is true. We cannot certain
" affirm that the man who farms excelenty will this
year have bountil harvest and that his shiitless,
dovn-a the heel neighbor will not have half G crops
forthe clements may in either der8nge our cacua
tio,s and defeat predictions. But what may be
doubtful with regard to single years operations and
Their results is not at all questionable when we en-
brace within our puryiew the operations of lifetime.
The pendulum may swing ever so far this way, then
that but does not the loss obey the nexorabe law of
sravi;ation; and, in spite of temporary and SEEM
ing alterations the connection of cause with effect Is
constant perfect, eternal The good farmer-he whose
fences fsto protect his crops, and whose crops
dealt With that they require and justify protec
tion-who plows deeper and better manures his land
more bountifuy, his grain earlier, tns bis fields
more thoroughly, and keeps down weeds more vigo-
ronsly, will not only have bushels per acre, but
h will grow his grain cheaper per bushel, secure
larger average profits and thrive far better, than his
esy-gopg eghb@ who plows in May, plants in June,
6nds no time for making composts, manures ftfully
and sparingly, and tills gudgingly. In any field Of
honorable exeroS success follows thoroughnoSs and
crowns merit. Were il not So the universe would be
q riddle and the distinction between right and wrong
. sutilety or an accident.
fear these truths need reerating in this Great Val