The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-04-01
RashIngsOn's Farm Life.

/ Washington carried into his rural
affairs the same method, activity and
circumspsctiOn that distinguished
him in military life He kept his own
accounts, posted up his book. and bal
! aneed them with mercantile exact
ness. We have examined them IS
well as his diaries recording tbs daily
Z occupations, and his letter-b0oSs con-
tanning entries OF shipments of tooae-
I co, and correspondence with his Lou
don agents They are monuments OF
/ business habits.
/ The produce of his estate also BE-
came so noted for the f4ithfulness as
to quality and quantity with which
( they were put up, that it is said any
/ barrel of flour which bore the b-snd of
''GeO. Washington, Mt. Vernon, :" was
exempt from the customary inspee-
! tion in the West India ports.
he was an early riser often before
| dsy-break, in the winter, when the
nights were long. On such occasions
he lit his own fire, aud wrote or read
by esndle-light. He brezkfasted at
seven in summer. at eight in winter,
I two small cups of coffee and three or
four cakes of Indian meal (ealled hoe
cake formed his frugal repast. I'm
mediateIy after breakfast he mounted
his horse, and visited those parts of
the estate where any work was going
on, seeing everything with his own
eyes, and often aiding with his own
hands.
Dinner was served at two O'Clock.
He ate heartily, but was 20 epicure,
7 mr. rarfffnol n D rr.1 =
erage was small beer or cider, and two
glasses of old Madeira. He took tea,
OF which be was very fOnd, early in
the evening, and retired about 8
O'Clock.
If confined to the house by bad
weather. be took that occasion to ar
range his papers, post up his accounts,
or write letters; passing part of the
time reading, and OceassiOnly reading
aloud to the family.
He treated his negroes with kind
ness attended to their comforts, and
was particularly careful of them in
sickness; but never tolerated idleness,
and exaeted faithful performances of
all their allotted tasks. He had a
quick eye at calculating each mans
capabilities. An entry in his diary
gives a curious Instance of this. Four
of his negroes employed as carpen-
ters, were hewing and shaping tim
Der. 1t appeared TO him, in noticing
the amount of work accomplished
between two succeeding mornings,
that they loitered at their labor.
Sitting down quietly he timed their
operations. How long it took them
to get their eross-cut saw and other
implements ready bow longt0 clear
away the branches from the trunk of
fallen tree how long TO hew aud
saw it; what time Was expended in
considering and consulting aud
after all how mnch work was accom-
| Dlished in the time he looked on.
| From these he made his computation
how much they could accomplish In
the course of a day, working entirely
at their ease.
! At another time we find him work.
ing part of two days with Peter, his
smith, to make plow, on a new in
! yentiOn of his own. This, after two
or three failures, he accomplished.
| Then, with less than his usual judg-
ment, he put his two chariot horses
| to the plOw and ran n great risk of
spelling them in giving his new in
vention trial on ground thickly
swarded.
Anon, during thunder storm, a
/ frightened negro alarms the house
/ with the word that the mill is giving
away, upon which there is general
turn out of all the forces, with Wash
ington at their head, wheeling and
shOveling gravel during a pelting
rain, to check the rushing water
IrUilJ's Washington. @