Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-04-02
4 Plea for tic Farmcr,s Life.


How to make farming moro attractive,
so as to keep the young people Of the
country more generally on the patcrnal
acres" Is the question which is forcing it.
self upon the people Of our small rural
towns, and he who will furnish true an
swer to 10, will help to stay the tide Of emf.
grafton from The old homestead to our busi-
ness ccuters
First Of all, the minds Of young men
should be disabuscd Of their false ideas as
to the gcntiity Of the iamer's occupation.
10 is one Of the most honorable Of callings.
It was man's original work to ill the soil.
Also it is truly enuobIing 1t brings him
right into communion with nature. There
is something exhieratiug in seeing the
morning sun gid the horizon, aud I'll the
landscape with glory in breathing the
fresh air Of the hills; and beholding every
thing revived by the presence OF the sun.
IL lifts up the mind from earth TO heaven,
aud ellis it with pure thoughts. Through
the day the tillcr Of the field has for his
companions sunshine, bright clouds, and
sweet lephyrs whisper IN his ears. It is
not a few patches OF the sky that we see
n the country, but each man can look upon
the whole heaven indeed, philosophers
tell us that each one has his own horizon,
which changes with every step he takes.
Then there is something ennobling in
ubduing tho soil, and making it minister
to our comfort. 1t may be covered with
tough boys, or overrun with briars and
weeds or be a cold, moist swamp, but the
skill Of the farmer brings it under, and
makes it yield precious grain and the most
luscious fruits. | wonder not that an old
man fingers upon the place which be has
in his old age, where his own labor has
wrought great changes. la a very import
ant sense the grass grows, and the corn
springs up, where the farmer bids it, and
the grain waves where he chooses to scat
ter IT, The trees lilt up their heads where
be sets them, aud roses bloom where no
plants them.
The care and the management Of the AMI
mails of the farm, too, onnoble one. How
large | used to feel in driving the young
cattle home from the chill pasture" in the fall
Of the year, and you may be sure that my
voice sounded very much like that Of
young droyer. Aud then, the day after
Thanksgiving, we boys had breaking
steers Tor pastime, and was it mere fancy
that made the little driver step so grandly
along by the side of the team, or was there
not something inspiring to a boy in subdu-
ft.r. Of al i A t,l Il
who watches from week to week the growth
Of the potted members of his herd, moves
among the graceful, gentle, promising Al.
derncys or caressos the sleek, well proper
toned forms of his Short-horns, and knows
that his skill AMI his care have made them
uoblcr works Of the great Creator, is he not
elevated and made a better man by every
hour he spends among that herd2 Who
would not coyet the task Of driving on the
road wsll-matched pair ofspirited horses,
or following them each day among the fresh
burrows Of the field, or along the margin Of
the waving grass?
There never was greater mistake than
to associate farming with humiliation; and
TO be ashamed Of the coarse frock, the
heavy boots, and the weather-boaten hat, is
an error indeed. The sun-burnt face and
the callous hand are the marks Of natures
noblcmen. and we want our young men to
have pride in them. We must more fire.
queutly remind them that the dress is not
the man, but the mind the soul is, and that
IA CiCNutcs uuu ennObies tnaU intnd ~ be
brought into immediate contact with ma.
ture, and to commune with her, as the
earnest farmer does nearly every day of his
life.
A LOVER or THE Oh HOMESTEAD.