Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-03-15
The Farmer.

The Farmer.
The pleasure Of farming, aud the iucstma-
bic benefits which the farmer coniers upon
the human race, arc ably and beautifully set
forth by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the fol-
lowing passage in one of his essays 90 The
glory Of the farmer is, that, ia the division
Of labor, it is his part TO create. All trade
rests at last on his primitive authority lle
stands close to nature, hc obtains from the
earth the bread aud the meat. The food
which was not he causes TO be- The first
farmer was the first man, aud an historic
nobility rests ON possession and use Of land
Men do not like hard work, but every man
has an exceptional respect for ti.laee, aud the
feeling that this is the original calling Of his
race that he himself is only excused from
it by some circumstance which made him
delegated for time to other hands. If he
had not some skill which recommends him to
the farmer some product Cor which the farm
er will give him corn, he must himself re.
turn into his due place among the planters
And the profession has in all eyes its ancient
charm as standing nearest to God, the first
cause. Then the beauty Of nature, the tran
guilty and innocence Of the countryman,
his independence aud his pleasing arts, the
care Of bees, Of poultry Of sheep, Of cows
the dairy, the care of hay, Of fruits, Of orch
ards and forests, and the reaction Of these
on the workman in giving him a strength
and plain dignity, like the face and manners
Of nature, all men acknowledge All men
keep the farm in reserve as an asylum, where
in case Of mischance, TO hide their property,
or a solitude if they do not succeed in socie-
ty. And who knows how many glanccs Of
remorse are turned this way from the bank
rupts Of trade, from mortified ploaders in
courts and senates, or from the victims Of
idleness and pleasure Poisoned by town
life and town vices, the sufferer resolves
Well, my children, whom | have injured,
shall 60 back to the land to be recruited and
cured by that which should have been my
nursery and now shall be their hospital"
1.-The farmer has grave trusts coniided to
him. In the great household Of nature, the
farmer stands at the door Of the bread.room
and weighs to each his load. 1t is for him to
say whether men shall marry or not Every
marriage and the number Of births are ndis.
solubly connected with the abundance Of food
or, as Burke said, man breeds at the mouth.
Then he is the Board Of Quarantine The
farmer is the boarded capital Of health, as he
is also the capital Of wealth, and il is from
him that the health and the power, moral and
intellectual, Of the cities come The city is
always recruited from the country. The mon
in cities who are the centres of energy the
driving-wheels Of trade politics, or practical
arts, aud the women Of beauty and genius,
are the children or grandchildren Of farmers,
aud are spending the energies which their "a
Tiers hardy, silent life accumulated in frosty
burrows, in poverty, necessity, aud darkness
In English factories, the boy who watches the
loom, to tie the threads when the wheel stops
to indicate that the thread is broken, is called
a MiRder. And in this great factory Of our
Copernican globe, shifting its slides, rotating
its consultations, times aud tides bringing
now the day Of planting, then of watering,
then of wedding then reaping, then Of curing
and storing--the farmer is the Ni8der. His
machine is Of colossal proportions; the diam
eter Of the water-wheel the arms of the lev
ers, the power Of the battery, are out Of all
mechanic measure aud it takes him long to
understand its parts and its working This
pump never sucks; these screws are never
loose this machine is never out Of gear the
vat and piston-wheels and tires never wear
out, but are self-repairing. We see the farmer
with pleasure and respect, when we think
what powers and utilities are so meckly worn.
lie knows every secret OF labor lie changes
the face Of the landscape. Put him on new
planet, and he would know where to begin !;
yet there is no arrogance in bis bearing, but
perfect gentleness. The farmer stands we'll
on the world. Plain in manners as in dress,
he would not shine in palaces he is abso.
lutely unknown aud inadmissibe therein.
Living or dying, lie never shall be heard Of
in them. Yet the drawng-room heroes put
down beside him would shriyel in his pres.
ence-he solid and INEXPENSIVE they OK.
pressed to gold-leaf But he stands well on
the world, as Adam did, as an Indian does
as Homers heroes, Agamemnon and Achilles,
do. He is person whom poet Of any cline
Milton or Ceryantes appreciate as
being really piece Of the old nature, com.
parable to sun and moon, rainbow and food ;
because he is, as all natural persons are, rep.
resentative Of nature as much as these. That
interrupted behavior which we admire in ami.
mails and in young children belongs to him,
TO the hunter, the sailor--the man who lives
in the presence Of nature. Cities force
growth, and make men laxative aud enter
tanning, but they make them artificial. What
possesses interest for us is the natural part Of
each, Its constitutional excellence. This is
forever surprise, engaging aud lovely; we
cannot be satiated with knowing it, and about
it, and it is this which the conversation with
nature cherishes and guards"
How TO MAKE FAM InFE ArmACrNE.-l
BY less hard work. Farmers often undertake
more than they can do well, and consequently
work too early and too late
2. By more system. The farmers should
have time to begin and stop labor. They
should put more mind and machinery into
their work. They should theorize as well as
practice and let both 60 together Farming
is healthy, moral and respectable; and, in the
long run, may be made profitable. The farm.
er should keep good stock, and keep out Of
debt.
8. BY taking care Of health Farmers have
a healthy variety Of exercise, but too often
neglect cleanliness, eat irrcgularly aud hurried.
ly, sleep in ill-yentilated apartments, aud ex.
pose themselves needlessly to cold
A. BY adorning the home. Books, papers,
pictures, music, and reading should all be
brought TO bear upon the indoor fiimily en-.
tertaiments and neatness and comfort, order,
shrubbery, flowers aud fruits should harmonic
all without. There would be fewer assertions
of old homesteds II pains were taken to make
them agreeable. Ease, order, health aud beau
ty are comparable with farm life, and were
ordained TO 90 with IL
W..