Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-11-19
How to Keep the Boys on the Farm,

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various kinds are provided for their de-
struction. it is said cf those who com
mencc seeking business IN the cities.
aboJt IS per cent. fail without even
comfortable means Of subsistence. AstoI
amassing fortune, the chances are rare.
IL is true that some men make large for.
tunes by commerce, but it is the excep.
ton rather than the rule, and it general
ly happens that the rich merchant retires
to some pleasant villa where he can enjoy
the pleasures Of rural life without It's
hardships and inconyeucnccs. The city
invalid goes TO the country in search of
pure air as restorative. The farmers
son forms a low estimate of the blessings
which he enjoys.
The question is, why is rural life at
tractiye to the rich merchant, and dis
tasteful tp the farmers son ? The an
swer is that both seek relief from labor
of a kind to another. The merchant
flies from the cares, anxieties, and unccr-
tainties Of his business the farmer
son from manual labor, which, like the
moving stone of Sisyphus; returns to
the original position, no matter how Of
ten or how laboriously it has been re-
moved from it. 1t is said that hist ory
repeats itself, but the expression is more
applicable 10 the labor OF the farm, viii, n
returns periodically, one kind Of work
succeeding another verifying the provcrb
which says that "the farmers work i,
never done"
In every country except the United
States there is class Of peasants, or ag-
ricultural laborers who perform the
! drudgeTy of the farm. These hardg
SONS of toll form the bone and sinew of
| European countries, cultivating the land
in time Of peace, and filling up the ranks
of the armies aud navics during tue war.
When the European peasant emigrates
to the United States, and fails in obtain
ing remunerative employment ia the
country, lie takes up his abode in Il e
city, and brings up his family in entire
ignorance of farm operations, surround
ed by the temptations to vice which de.
mo:alize the inhabitants of tenement
houses, and other abodes of poverty and
destruction. Is it any wonder that IL
quor saloons are well patronized, and the
prisons filed ?
In order to make labor cheap aid
| available in the country, and to increase
the comforts aud lessen the hardships oi
the farmers family, agricultural labOrers
must be provided with suitable houses
and gardens, and encouraged to settle in
the country, and to bring up their tami-
lies on the land, so that they may not
only be exceedingly useful to farmers
while they remain laborers, but also be
prepared to cultivate farms of their own
when they get them.
Too much land in the tillage entails
great hardships on the farmer and his
family. Continual cropping with cereals
impoverishes the soil, and increases the
number of weeds and insects. The la
Dor of preparing the soil and harvesting
the crop is the same, whether the soil is
poor or rich but the acreable yield from
the impoverished soil scarcely pays the
expense of seed and cultivation, and at
fords little or nothing for providing for
the comforts of the family. The success
full, intelligent farmer who keeps the bull
OF his farm in we'll managed grass, auC
comparatively small area in the bes'
kind of tillage, can winter ard summer
a large number of live stock, and make
manure of the best quality, keep his land
in good heart, and his family home CON
tented and happy, by providing all thing:
necessary for their enjoyment, without
grinding them to incessant labor.
The farm should be made attractive tC
the farmers sons they should not bt
overtaxed with continual labor, and they
should have all the advantages f edu
cation which the city affords without tn
demoralizimg temptations which are IT,
banc of city life. When wealthy mer
chant retires TO the country, he surround
his home with orchards, fruit gardens
and pleasure grounds. His dwelling Ii
furnished with every convenience cal
culated to add to the comfort of tht
family.
If a farmer wants 10 make home de
lightful to his children, he must provide
ut least some of the attractions which nj
lure the merchant troh his countin!
, room. He must provide comtortabl
residence, a good library, the bast period
icals, agricultural and horticultural pa
pers, musical Instruments, etc. lie mus
) encourage social gatherings, lecture art
parlor amusemcnis. The care OF cholc
animals, the cultivation OF superior crops
!. the care and management OF agriculture
machines aud implements, aud the kccI
ing of a regular set of accounts, Will a
ford employment to at least one part 9
the family during the greater part OF tn
year, without the necessity OF very har,
, labor The members of farmers fam
l ly have different tastes aud nclination'
Some of his sons may fancy the breeding
!. of horses or cattle Others may prcte
sheep, and some may desire to improv
the various breeds OF swine, or to gro
: cereals, grass or roots. Some of h
+ daughters may prefer one branch of ruri
i economy, and some another, but by
!, : lttls tact and judicious management,
may be gratified, and their love for rur'
{ life iostered and increased.
a A little darkey was recently. toGn
e sitting on the steps of a faShlona0l
Ibon.,, -, Nm, Val arVinU DitltulIy