Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-05-14

| sivate broad acres. pile mp treasures o!
bonds and lands and herds. and at the
same time ton and storre the Godlike
form. harden the hands. dwarf the immor-
tai mind. and aliensse the children from
the homestead. is damning disgraee to
any man. and should stamp him as porse
than brute.
It is not honorable to sacrifice the mind
and body to gain. It is not trait Of true
nobolity TO bring up children to hank'ess,
anregmited labor. Il 10 not just or good
or noble 10 rear out the rife Of your bos-
ons is the dradgeyy of the farm without =
just return. You have no right to make
agriculture SO disogreeabte as to drive all
young men Of spirit and enterprise into
other branches Of business.
will be met right here with the thou
sand time repeated rejoinder. "Oh! We
farmers have to work hard. We can't
ge, along as mechanics in town do with
ten hours work. We can't afford to hire
help. We can't afford to have holidays.
We can't get time to make a vegetable,
flower. and fruit garden. and supply our
wants with vegetables. flowers and fruits
We can't get time to make a lawn asd
pant trees around the house" You can't :?
You can'tf Then what are you farming
forP As men. as citizens. as fathers. rs
husbands. you have no right to engage
i6 business which will condemn yourself
and your dependents to life of unreward-
ed toll. If the calling Of agriculture will
not enable you and yours tn escape phys
ical degradation, and mental aud social
starvation; if it does not enable vau to en-
joy the amenities, pleasures, com mforts, and
necessities Of life as we'll as other branches
OF business, il is Your duty to abandon it
at once. and rot drag down irs misery
your dependent family. But | do not
believe We need be driven to this alter
native. do believe that agriculture. fol-
lowed as n business. with q reasonable re-
gard to business principles. can be made
business success. l believe that by
keeping steadily in view the primary end
Of life-our happiness. our comfort. our
bodily health. our mental improvement
an! Grow,h-tley can be az we'll attained
or better than in any other calling Right
here is the or at difficulty: right here
with GU selves is the remedy: We rork
too much and think too little We make
our konds too hard. while our brains are
too son The day is long past when
muscle ruled the world Brain is the
great motire porer eff this age, and mus
ce but feeble instrument The locomo-
tive. tearing along. jarring the earth be-
low. outstripping the wind above. and
bearing in it's train the beauty. honor.
and treasure of State. represents brains
The dusty. sweaty footman. wcarily plod-
ding along. carrying pack on his back
symholizes muscle. The self-raking reap
or. drireR rith g'ored and unsoiled hands,
s~eePing down like a fable the golden
grain. represents brains. The bowed
husbaniman. painfully gathering handfuls
of straw and cutting them with sickle.
represents muscle. The steamboat. plow-
ing its way with ease against the strong
est current of our swift and noble rivers,
is brains. Tie dug-out. slowly creeping
along the willow margined shore. propcl-
led by the Indians paddle. is muscle-
The sewing machine. which stitches fas-
ter than the eye can follow and never eat.
or tires. is brains. The weary. pale. and
worn wife. psinfully toiling over the mid
night task. is muscle. How futile the
attempt. then. for muscle to compel
agains, mind in the great battle Of life
A wise man once wrote. THE wisdom o
a learned man eometh with opportunit,
Of leisure" and in that sentence is food
for reflection aud thought for an en,ir,
sermon. Unless farmers devote more time
to the use Of the brain and the improve
men, of the mind, aud less to wearying an,
exhausting muscular labor, how can the,
hope to successfully compete agains, tn
vigorous minds Of the present age? Iii
not the skillful Lsnd. the strong arm, or tn
wa'chful eye alone that will in these day
brings ucccss to the farmer. These arc need
ful. but a cultivated. intelligent. actir
brain to direct them is Of ten times NOR
importance.
Again | say. we work too much an,
think too little. A farmer rises at fou
o'clock. goes out and does the chores
among the stock. chops wood for the day
Gus. BY break!as, time. he has got al
ready for the days work All hands the
pitch into severe labor till noon Dime
is called and despatched an haste. aud Ia
Dor renewed till supper. This unavoida
bic bat necessary "hindraRce" to labor i
hurriedly performed, work resumed unit
darkness eompeis cessation of labor il
the field. and then the laborcrs return {
the house. A lantern is procured. by th
aid Of which the milking and other chore
are "done up" aud by nine or ten o o'clocl
at night the days work is closed. and th'
family. tired aad stupid, retire to bed
cu'r on the following DAY to repeat ia
sou,s routine Of slarery And yet sue
men are called good. thrifty. indus,riou
farmers. Ii is lie base SANDER (
cal! such stupid slavery Of body. such star
ration es mind. good or thrifty. or in an
irise commendable.
Go into the country, and you will fn'
numberless cases of men with poor health
crushed energies. ruined constitutions
and .,unied souls. and women the slave
Of habits of excessive labor. moro fats
than the pernicious and much coniemne
customs of fashionable society. You vii
fnd children pren,.twr,ly old. with ,h
trigh, light Of happy childhood ertia
gsished. aud every where q lack Of tha
t.fe aud cAcerfaiaess which gives to lif
its greatest charms. Most Of these evil
can be traced directly TO overwork. l
such work necessary or even profitable f.