The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1874-04-18


Nov, Il i any advantage "a have and ,ns
bFaiusl Can man with brains get, in.tilling
he soil, fair compensation for fheir ass 2
Can brain work be employed on the Farm and
return . The owner as much OF comfort,
wealth, happiness, honor, and general pros
perity al ii other branches OF business at the
present limeg This is a knotty question, but
il Is one we have got TO meet, and meet II
now. There Is no use in attempting to esade
or ignore this great alternative. If there Is
anything in agriculture thaA NECESSARILY dwaris
the mind and makes it secondary to mere
physical exertion, thenlit Is disgrace to be a
farmer, and common honesty requires that we
cease talking about the honorableness OF the
noble yeomahry. But on the contrary, IL ag.
riculsure will give scope to thought and re.
search; il il win cause man to think while
he works and study while he has leisure if
his business is such that talent and tact will
transform his soil to gold and his house into
beautiful and happy home IL the same
amount Of bodily and mental labor on the
farm viii produce as much pleasure, wealth,
and happiness as in the shops, counting.room,
and mines, then We may conseientiously rec
ommend agriculture as one of the desirable
employments. Can this be done?
Brother Patrons Of Husbandry, our Order
has been formed TO assist in answering this
great question in the affirmative. How shall
We proceedg
do not underraie the Importance of max
ing an effort buy our reapers few dollars
cheaper and sell our wheat a few cents higher
and get our freights little lower. What is
gained in this way is certainly added to the
profits ofthe farm, but very much fear that
many members Of the Order place too high a
value upon the matter Of purchase and sale.
This is not what ails rs. 1t does nCA reach
the root Of the difficulty at all. 1t only prunes
away few slender twigs which grow again in
single night. We can never accomplish
what We want, and make agriculture respect
able, remunerative, and desirable farmers
intelligent, coutsnted, and honored; farmers
wives enyied and respected, and farmers sons
and daughters eagerly sought by the wise,
good, learned, and beautiful Of the land for
husbands and wives we cannot make beauti-
full homes, fertile farms, and improving Hoeks
by saving Eve dollars on pillow and FIVE cents
bushel on wheat. mol Nsyerl When we
build like that we must dig deeper, lay the
foundations broader, and use brains as the
chief stone of the corner. An OK excels us
in strength, horse in speed. The eagle has
keener sight, the hare quicker ear, the deer
finer sense of smell; but man cxeels them
all in mind and rules above them all. So
among men it is not the strong, the swift, the
keen-sighted, the quick eared or fne.scented
who rules the world, but the clear headed.
Human beings are like the pebbles on the sea
shore: by rubbing against each other they
become rounded, smooth, polished, symmet.
risali alone, they are rough, uncouth, repul-
sive.
Farmers are too much alone. We need to
meet together TO rub off the rough corners
and polish down into symmetry. We want to
exchange views, and above all We want to
learn to think. A man who has performed
fourteen hours of severe physical labor is in
no condition to think, and we may as well de-
eide at once that any class Of men which start
out in life by working at severe labor fourteen
hours Of the twenty.four, and faithfully ad.
heres to the practice, will I'll forever the posi-.
ton Of hewers Of wood and drawers of water
for men who use the Godgiyen mind, nour.
ISL the soul with liberal and abundant mental
food
have already tired your patience, and in
closing viii only say that in my opinion the
coming farmer will not toll with his hands
fourteen hours out of the twenty-four and
compel wife and children TO the same slavery.
But he will give liberal share of his time to
thought, study, and recreation. He will know
of what his soil is composed, in what it
abounds, in what it is deficient. He will know
what elements of earth and air are needed for
plant growth, and under what conditions they
can be most readily assimilated He viii un.
derstand the laws of plant and animal life,
that he may more successfully tire at them.
His house will be abundantly supplied with
books and papers on agricultural and matters
OF general interest. Pictures and abundant
amusements win make his home attractive.
A beautiful lawn and flower beds, frui, and
vegetable garden, an orchard, groves, and
evergreens and deciduous trees for ornament,
shelter, and use, will make bis home so lovely
and homelike that his daughters will not be
so disguised with farm life as to marry vii
lage dolt, or the son so worn, weary and dis.
pirited as to leave the farm at the first oppor.
tanity and open abarber shop in some country
village. Can this be done, and can the farm
really be happy homes of refined, intelligent,
honored men and women, instead of the
abodes Of overworked slaves2 Yes emphat.
ically yes But not by neglecting to rust the
God given mind, but by rousing it up and
making it the eompRs, the sail, and the rud.
der in the voyage oflife. The body is but the
hulk. Then set your sails, stand by the rud.
der, steer by the compass, aud start out boldly
on the great journey, whose passage is pleas.
ure and whose end is success.
Raising Turkeys.