The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1875-05-12
Agricultural Life.

{, The following extracts from Irving
life of Washington will be cherished BY
! every enlightened and working farmer
. A large Virginia estate in those day,
was little empire. The mansion house
was the seat Of government, with It's nu
merous dependencies, such as kitchens
smoke-house, work shops, and stables
/ In this mansion the planter ruled su
/ preme his steward, or overseer, was his
prime minister and executive officer be
had his legion Of house negroes for do
mestic service, and his host of field 14e-
i groes for the culture OF tobacco, Indian
corn and other crops, and for other
out of door labor. Their quarters formed
a kind OF hamlet apart, composed OF
various huts with little gardens and
poultry-yards, all well stocked, and
swarms Of little negroes gamboling in
the sunshine Then there were large
wooden edifices for curing tobacco, the
staple and most profitable production,
and mills for grinding wheat and Indian
corn, of which large fields were cultiva-
ted for the supply of the family and the
maintenance Of the negroes. x Z.
The Virginia planters were prone to leave
the care of their estates too much to their
overseers, and to think personal labor a
degradation. Washington carried into
his rural affairs the same method, activity
and cireumspection, that distinguished
him in military life. He kept his own
accounts, posted up his books, and bal
anced them with mercantile exactness.
We have examined them as well as his
diaries recording his daily occupations,
and his letter-books containing entries of
shipments of tobacco, and correspond
ence with his London agents. They are
monuments of business habits.
The products of his estate also be-
came so noted for the faithfulness, as to
quality and quantity with which they
were put up, that it is said any barrel of
-four which bore the brand of Geo.
Washington, Mount Vernon was ex-
empt from the customary inspection in
the West India ports.
He was an early riser; often before
day-break, in the winter, when the nights
were long. On such occasions he lit his
own fire, aud wrote or read by candle
light He breakfusted at seven in sum-
mer, at eight in winter-two small cups
of tea and three or four cakes of Indian
meal Called hoe cake), formed his frugal
repast. Immediately after breakfast he
mounted his horse, and visited those parts
of the estate where any work was going
on, seeing to everything with his own
eyes, and often aiding with his own
hands.
Z" Dinner was served at two o'clock.
He ate heartily, but was no epicure, nor
critical about his food. His beverage
was small beer or cider, and two glasses
of old Madeira. He took tea, of which
he was very fond, early in the evening,
and retired for the night about nine
o'clock
g If confined to the house by bad
weather, he took that occasion to arrange
his papers, post up his accounts, or write
letters; passing part of the time in
reading, and occasionally reading aloud
to the family.
He treated his negroes with kindness;
attended to their comforts, and was par
ticularly careful of them in sickness;
but never tolerated idleness, and exacted
a faithful performance of all their allot-
ted tasks. He had a quick eye at cal
culating each mans capabilities. An
entry in his diary gives a curious instance
of this. -Four of his negroes, employed
as carpenters, were hewing and shaping
timber 1t appeared to him, in noticing
the amountof work accomplished between
two succeeding mornings, that they lott
cred at their labor. Sitting down quiet
ly he timed their operations. How long
it took them to get their cross-cut saw
and other implements ready; how long
to clear away the branches from the trunk
of fallen tree how long to hew and
saw it; what time was expended in con-
sidering and consulting and after all,
how much work was accomplished in the
time he looked on. From these he made
his computation how much they could
accomplish in the course CT day, work
ing entirely at their ease.
AT another time we find him working
a part of two days with Peter, his smith,
to make a pillow, Oh a new invention of
his own. This, after two or three fail
ures, he accomplished. Then, with less
than his usual judgment, he put his two
chariot horses to the pillow and ran great
risk of spelling them, in giving his new
invention trial on ground thickly sward-
ed.
Anon, during thunder storm,
frightened negro alarms the house with
the word that the mill is giving way, upon
which there is general turn out of all
the forces, with Washington at their
head, wheeling and shoveling gravel,
during pelting rain, to check the rush
ing water.