New-York tribune., 1870-08-27
WuATIKNOW OF FARMING.
BY HORACE GREELEY.
NM.
THE FARMERS CALLING.

iDS,sn,o 7 do not even join in the cant, which
49,, - fa-ners Is supporting everybody else-of
1a,,nine as the only Indispensable VOCATION
yo, NOV say you VIII that mankind couid hotsuo-
t Il there were no teIs OF the SOIL; out 'iie Same
- ,,f bons, s,buiders and OF some other classes
Atborourhly good farmer If nselui' '"Iuaoic Ci'f
40 is q GOOD merchant doctor or lawyer III If
~, osson+ial 70 he true nobility and genuine worth
of the farmers callins ti'"' any
assailed OF dispIagcd.
Stu il one of my three sons had heen sraIed 10
attain manhood should have advised him to Try TO
role himself agood farmer and this without any
- or n,,tic notions of Agriculture as a puT
-, Ilnow veil from personal though youthful
ovroricnee tha the farmers life is one OF labor,
arvietv and car; that hail. and flood, and hurricane,
ii ,ntiroe1v frsts over which he can exert no con-
troll viii often cSroy in an hour the net results of
months Of his persistent woll-directed TOLL that
disease will som,times sweep away his animals, in
sri.e Of the INST judcious treatment, the most
thouphtful providence his part; and that insects,
hight and rust Will often blast his we'll grounded
homes Of generous harvest, when they seem on the
very point Of realization. know that he is neces-
sallv exposed more than most other men, to the ca
prices and inclencncies of weather and climates and
that il he begins responsible life without other
means than thCs he finds in ms own clear head and
strong arms, witt those Of his hclpmeet he must
expect to struggle through years Of poverty frugal
ity, and rescute persistent industry, before he can
reasonably hope attain postiono of independence,
comfort, and comparative leisure know that much
of his work is rugged and Of absolutely repul
sive: know thai he viii seem, with unbTOken
good foTtune,to Ia making money much more slowly
than bis neighbOr the merchant the broker or
eloquent lawyer Who fills the general eye while he
prospcrs and when he fails sinks out oisght and is
soon forgotten and yet, should have advised my
TO choose farming their vocation, for these
among other reasons:
l. There is other business in which success is so
nearly certain as in this. or one hundred men who
embark in trade, a careful observer reports that
niuety-iye fail and. while think this proportion
too large, am sure that a large majority do, and
must fail because competition is so eager and traffic
so enormously overdone. If ten men endeavOr to
support their families by merchandise in township
which affords adequate business for but three ii is
certain that majority must fail, no matter how
judiCious their management or how frugal their hv-
ing. But you may double the number of farmers III
any agricultural county ever traveTsed, without
necessarily booming one to failure, even abridg
ing his gains If half the traders and professional
men in this country 10 betake themselves to
farming tomorrow, they would not render that pur
suit whit less profitable, while they would large
y increase the comfort and wealth of the entire com
tor may be starved out of any township, simply be-
cause the work lie could do well is already confded
to others never yet heard of temperate, indus
trious intelligent, frugal and energetic farmer who
failed to make living; OTwhO, unless Frustrated by
disease or disabled by casualty, precluded from
securing a modest independence before age and de-
crepitude dvested him of the ability to labor.
H. regard farming as that vocation which con-
duces most directly and palpably to reverence for
r1a-rrrr &c oft an Nnrf
strained or at least tempted by hisnecessties, TO do
the dirty professional work Of rascal intent on
cheating his neighbor out of his righteous dues.
The Young doctor NAV he likewise melted to resort
TO quackeTy he despises in order to secure Instant
bread; the unknown author is often impeled to
write what will sell rather than what the public
ought to buy hut the young farmer, acting as a
farmer must realize that lis success depends upon
his absolute verify and integrity he deals directly
with Nature, which never was and never will he
cheated He has no temptation to SOW beach sand
for plaster dockseed for clover stOop to any trick
OF juggle whatever Whatsoever a man soweth
that shall he also reap while true i'll the long run,
of all men, is instantly and papably true as TO him.
When he having grown his crop, shall attempt TO sell
it-in other words, when, he ceases to he farmer
and becomes tTadeI-he may possibly be tempted
into one Of the many devious ways of rascay; but,
80 long as he is acting simply as farmer, he can
hardly be ured from the broad, straight highway OF
integrity and righteousness.
Ill The farmers calling seems to me that most
conducive TO thorough manliness of character No
body expects him 20 cTinge, smrk, or curry favor
in order to sell his produce No merchant refuses TO
bnv il because his politics are detested his rel-
gious opinions heterodox. He may be Mormon,
Rebel Millerite. or a Communist yet his Grain OF
his Pork viii sell for exactly what it is worth-not
fraction less OF more than the price commanded by
the kindred product Of like quality and intrinsic
value of his neighbor whose opinions on all points
are faultessly orthodox and popular. On the other
hand, the merchant, the lawyer the Doctor espe-
cay if young and still struggling dubiously for
position are continually tempted to sacrifice or sup
press their urofoundest convictions in Difference TO
the vehement and often irrational prepossessons
of the community whose favor is to them the breath
of life. "She will find that Hdt won't 90 down
he.c" was the comment Of an old woman on MIS-
si-sipIi steamboat, when told that the PLAIN, deaf
stranger who seemed the focus of general interest
was Miss Martineau. the celebrated Unitarian; and
in so saying she gave expression to feeling when
peryadcs and governs many if not most cOmnuni-
ties doubt whether tie social intolerance Of adj
opinions is more vehement anywhere else than
throughout tie larger portion Of our own country
Ihaye repeatedly been stung hy the receipt Of letters
grayey informing ne that my course and views on
a current topic wCIc adverse to public opinion; the
wrtGs evidently assuming, as a matter OF course
that was q mere Jumping Jack, "hO only needed 10
know what otET people thought 10 insure my III
slant ard aect conformity to THEN prejndiceS Very
often iu other DAYS was favored with letters from
indignant ulscrbcIs. who dissenting from my views
on some question, took this method Of informing me
that they should no longer take my journala super
hlous trouble, which could only have meant dictation