Smyrna times., 1878-12-25
agricultural.
How to Elevate the Farmers Life.

LExtTast sST from an address delivered by the Rev;
Samuel Scovile, of Norwich, before the Chenango
County Farmers Club, Conn.
"The first thing that l would point out
to elevate the farmers life is the practice
of the old-time virtues of neatness and
order. Order, we are told is heavens first
law, and of course if the farm is ever to be
lifted up to be anything like its great model
this virtue must be practiced there. Order |
in the house, the husband and wife stand |
ing at the head and having control of the |
whole institution. Order about meals, and |
so preventing an unfailing source of rasp
and worry when no regularity is observed. |
Order out of door, in having everything in
its place, and place for everything, and |
order indoors as well. Order in income
and order in expenses. Now l doubt if
there can be any advance made by any class
of people who live in higgiety-piggiety
style. 1t is too expensive, too wearisome
and two demoralizing to allow of progress.
If a man, with his tools scattered all over
his farm, with bar-posts falling down, keep
ing no account of expense or income, holds
his own in these times, it is great deal
more than you have right to expect.
Shiftlessness leads to disaster, and he who
has everything at loose ends will cheat you
at last, for the same reason that he lost
several COWS last Spring, because of out
rageous carelessness-he calls it hard luck
Following hard on this comes neatness;
cleanness in the kitchen, cleanness in the
pantry, cleanness in the parlor, cleanness
in the cellar, cleanness in the dairy, up
stairs, down stairs and in the lady's cham.
Der, neatness in door-yard, neatness in keep
ing down the weeds in the highway and
fields, neatness in keeping up fences, neat
ness in not having the barnyard under the
xxriy, 1ATxy La
ness in the stable, that cattle can live there
without being suffocated, and a man can
pass without being mired. Neatness in
the pig-sty, that it shall not become
breeding place for trichin@, and last of all
neatness in person and dress. | am not, in
this last, advocating any dandy or boarding.
school miss, or broadcloth affair, but a real
appropriate Shaker style of cleanness. l
take the ground that no woman is ever too
slatternly, nor any man filthy and ragged !;
these indicate a lack of that care which is
essential to progress. Neatness has not
only honor, but money, in it as we'll On
Echo farm in Litchfeld county, Conn.,,
which, probably, is the best farm in the
State, the proprietor has room adjoining
the stable with a marble wash-stand, mirror,
towels hair. brush, etc. Here every EN-.
ployed man must wash, brush his hair and
clothes before he begins the work of milk
ing This is the standard of cleanness on
that farm, and last summer he sold his
butter for one dollar pound at the rate of
260 pounds a week. We cannot all have
handicapped stands, but the cleanness
we can have, and nothing will pay US
better
The farmers life needs for its elevation a
higher aim of excellence for his products.
Whatever he has should be the best of its
SaonpA 70 oir caoOp1 70
ducts, second rate prices, make a second
rate man, and no breed, you know, is ever
elevated by its second rates.
The farmers life needs for its elevation
more sociability, just what this picnic, and
your county fairs and farmers clubs, to
which you can all go, women as we'll as
men, give you. One weak point about the
farmers life is, that it is likely to be unso-
cial; you don't see one another often
enough, you don't get together with your
neighbors often enough, you don't 60 to
entertainments and meetings in the village
often enough, and life gets humdrum-
sometimes leads into positive insanity, and
the children are disgusted and 60 some
where where they can see folks.
Brain work, brain power elevates. A
pursuit is graded by the quality of power
that it calls into power and develops. 1t i.
a mistake that some fall into that educa.
ton is of no account for the farmer; that
he is Just as well off without it, and that
any attempt made to retain or increase il
is, to him, time and money thrown away.
This idea is altogether wrong No college
graduate knows too much for first.class
farmer. No farmer can be first-class with
out he used his head as well as his hands
and all the learning he has ever picked up
and all that he can gather as he goes along
by reading and study, and thought, will al
come in to help him, as an individual, anC
to elevate his calling. Let him be intelli
gent enough to reject, with contempt, OF
the one hand, all communistic scheme
that aim, through fire and blood if need be
to make him share his hard-earned com
potency with tramps and thieves. lie
him, in other words, cultivate that intelli
gence in public affairs that shall enabl
him to exercise that just, conservative pre-
gressive influence which his place and op
portunities put within his power. Whel
our country was in danger from armies O
rebellion, it was the farmers, with their pre-
duce and their arms, that the nation looke'
to with the strongest assurance. Thi
assurance was justified. Let this same
equally prepared to help their countr
from the destruction that threatens fror
visionary theories or false policy"
Let all our farmers thus follow these say
ings of Mr.. Scovile, and we would warran
that we should be better farmers, bette
people, better citizens; and we should b
better pleased with each other as farmers
and with our or own farm labors.
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