Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1864-06-02
The Shiftless Farmer.

.ea.aar The Shiftless Farmer. erE
A man shows in his daily acts the
early education Of his home. The i'm.
pressions there made. upon him in his
young and growing life are proverbi.
ally deep and abiding The circum.
stances which develop the character
of the good farmer ia one town, are
the circumstances which develop the
good farmer wheresoever he may be |;
but the circumstances which make so
many of our farmers at this day, coarse
in speech. vulgar In manners. uutidy in
dress and in the arrangement Of their
farms and their habitations, ignorant,
thoughtless, thriftless, Indifferent,
wasteful, lazy, are not arbitrary cir
.cumstances, but plant aud yielding,
willing instruments, in the hands of
good workmen, to raise, elevate, and
instruct all who can be brought with
in their influence. a .Fsa1 s@s4sa Hs.
The agriculturist who combines
with his knowledge and skill in farm
ing refined taste for the simple ele-
gancics which may form part and
parcel Of every wclI-ordercd home
stead, will often grieve at the neglect,
Incidence, and ignorance, shown BY
the too sad condition Of many of our
50 called American farms. -a
The farmhouse of this waste place
we call a farm, is located as near as
possible to the dusty highway which
passes through the country. Unpaint-
ed, vi unwi,tewashed. without front
fence, without shade trees or flowers
near it, or by it, it stands like q grim
and sombre sentinel, guarding harsh
and lonely existence, at once a prophe-
cy and warning. There is no home
feeling in it. Everything connected
with the internal movements or the
external management of the place is
in full view; the woodpile with its
chips scattered about over radius Of
ffty yards /; q number of old, cast
away, and condemned vehicles lie
where they were left after their last
use mounds of rubbish aud old brush
wood, weeds, soiled clothing, farming
tools and implements of husbandry,
arc here and there, uncared for, unno-
ticed, and neglected. The poultry.
pigs and cattle he possesses, wander
about the door, at once front and rear,
or, unobstructed by any serviceable
fence, tresspass upon the newly plant.
ed field or unmowed meadows, getting
such living as fortune places in their
way. The barn may be without doors
the barpyard without gate or bars,
and in full view from every passer by
The sty and the house drain-in fact,
every necessary ou,building-is in
plain sight to the public, on the sunny
side of the house. or as near the from,
Of it as is possible for circumstances
to permit The airs Of summer and
Of autumn come to the delighted sens
es of the residents " imprsgnatsd with
the incense" /" Of these sweet surround
ings, which. like Gray's unseen Aow
or, are not destined "a
To waste their sweetness GA .;.e desert air.
And who are the delighted occu
pants of this charming spot3 The ex
formal appearance and condition o.
things too sadly bstray their charac
ter. The man IL coarse and vulgar
in speech and in manners untidy
careless. and oncleanly in person ant
dress ignorant. lazy. and perhaps in
temperate. with no thought beyont
the qualification Of his bodily wants
and desires. Slang words and obscen,
are his daily vocabulary; selfishncs'
his best developed trait. and want th'
only incentive for his labor. His part
ner is like unto him, Or worse. eithe
i BY nature or association. Withou,
taste. modesty, good sense, or natu
raj refinement. she accompanies he
dear Silas in bis round Of life, sympa
thizing in his lownsss, his common
feelings. and his common complaints
, slatternly in her dress. rude in speech
coarse in manner. slovsnly in he
household duties. These two crss
toraa nth xl,n.. nl.IA,~,~ xn- ,fx -