The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-02-18
Letter from DR.. Glow.
ATcHArALAYA, January 10th, 1871.

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ATcHAFALAYA, January 10th, 1871. =
Mr.. Editor 0pelousas Journal:
DEAR SrR-Your plain and unvarnished
account of 'How much you know about
printing" which appeared inyour Issue of
the 7th inst, presents a fair example of
what q young mar may accomplish by en-
ergy and perseverance,, in the prosecution
of any of the industrial pursuits of life,- for
which his talents and education may fit
him, and of which we have so few instances
of success that instead of their being the
rule they constitute the exceptions; and
hundreds Of young men are living in idle
ness, in the vain expectation that some
thing will turn up" which will enable them
to live without exertion Or labor Of any
kind. All boys are Disseminated with their
lot, no matter what it is, and at a very early
age fix their ambition on some real or fan
cied improvement of Unusually fancied.
From this time forth the harness begins to
chafe. and they are never satisfied until
they have cut their traces and made their
way to the new fields. In many instances
it j is merely a desire for change-in a few
for Improvement; and educated as they
have been, miSled as they are by every in
fuence that appeals to their understanding,
their only notion of improvement is to have
more money and more prominence before
the world, and less of distasteful labor. The
consequence is that the so called LEARNED
professions" are crowded to the great detri-
ment of mechanical pursuits, and many a
useful farmerboy sunk in the country store
and the coffee house. Of these young men
one in a hundred may turn out well the
other n%inetv-nine NAV be considered non
producers-mere drones in the social hive.
But it is only the hu7dredth man whose
light is reflected back to his native plains,
and gilds the fancies of his successors in
boyhood life. It is useless for US to urge
them not to follow a fancy so delusive. On
the contrary we should svmpathize with
their discomfort, and-taking the first hold
of their imaginations-shoW them that the
very best chance for them to make money,
surely and safely if not rapidly and to gain
influential and proud position-which is
better even than money to q young ambi-
tion-is in taking hold of the farm aud to
make it blossom like the rose. They will
| 20 through any amount of working and
waiting, if only they can be made to believe
that in the end they will realize this dream
and realize it they WIFI, in proportion to
their ability and their merit. Let us make
farming the occupation par excellence of
educated sentlemen-for it is educated gen
tlemen that our boys want to become, and
that we want them to become-and we shall
then have their healthy ambition as our
best ally, in working for their good and the
good of society; and it will not then re-
quire a constant surveillance over our
daughters, to keep them from throwing
themselves away by placing their affections
on a worthless fellow, who will bring her
to poverty and disgrace.
With this end in view, there should be
agricultural schools mot Colleges in every
parish, conducted by educated and practical
men, who would make such establishments
not merely self-sustaining, but even profit
able, by establishing Nurseries, orchards,
and gardens, in which choice trees, fruits,
and vegetables are raised for market, or at
least for home supply and consumption.
Thousands Of dollars are wasted annually
in purchasing fruit trees from Northern
! nurseries, for the want of enterprise and
energy in this country to supply the dc.
mand. Even when they are raised by anna,
tours III large quantities, they let them re-
main in their nurseries for the lack Of the
nerve to advertise them, and let it be known
that they have them. | was only the other
day informed by a friend that a worthy con
.fr6re at Chicot had a large number of pear
trees Of a choice variety, which he was Of
fering at one-fnurth of the price they sell at
in Northern nurseries, and could not sell
them whereas, if he had let it be known
through the COLUMNS of your paper, he
would have before this had more orders
than he could fill, as there is no fruit more
highly appreciated by all who are acquaint.
ed with it. But this is only one instance
in a hundred which might be brought to
light by advertising. Whilst cotton bore a
good price every thing else has been neg
lected, and now when cotton is low, and
likely to continue so, on account of over
production, many of the commonest pro
auctions of the farm are SO scarce that it is
difficult to prorure seeds, and among them
cow peas, which cannot be had in the city
for less than six dollars a bushcl; but no
doubt we have a few %provident farmers who
have them to spare, and if they would let it
be known through the columns Of your paper
Iouio nSil SaSii mighty
price. So also with regard to seed corn. l
heard a year or two ago that some of the
new settlers below Opelousas had introduced
a valuable variety of corn known as the
~'velvet cob" andI was anxious to procure
some, as | had seen it in De Soto parish,
twenty years ago, and know it to be the
best variety | have ever seen. But / have
strayed from my subject and exhausted my
sheet and, probably, your patience, and
must close for the present with the recon-
mendation that you open a column for one
or two line advertisements, and invite the
farmers TO advertise anything and every
thing they have to spare, from a bushel of
peas to a gallon of pumpkin seed, and you
may head the column with the following:
s"Tanyah Seed for sale at John Posey's
and G. Mayo's, by the gallon, bushel or
barrel.o
] did intend to say something about Far
mers' Clubs orr Agricultural Societies, and
the propriety and advantage of organizing
one in this parish, but viii defer-it until
another time. ,.as .,,
Yours truly, 80. " ,ri's
JOHN J. Glow.
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