The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-08-01

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interests of the great body Of the
people:
May It not be owing TO The alb
( scncc Of farmers in or Legislatures
/ tina. 80 l.ttlc ~ done for the @cncr-
al welfare 81 this useful class OF our
citizens. We have to be,.r all the
burdens Of the government with
very little aid or little sympathy IN
its laws and legislative cnactlon.
We need Il fence law and a dog
law. but do those in other profes-
Ions make any serious effort to Sc
| care useful legislation on these sub
Gets: No We pay nearly all the
taxes for the support of the govern
ment and are expected TO furnish
sheep for the dogs of the idle and
diSsolute.
That the farmer is without his
ri@htful protection may be seen too
i'm the numerous trespasses made
with impunity upon his property.
His farm is cut up by numerous
paths-the wild fruits growing up
on his premises are considered his
who can first gather them-hls fen
| ces are torn down and his crops
trodden under foot by the hunts
man and others without fear Of the
law and frequently without any
sense of wrong. | see it gravely
urged by IL correspondent in one OF
our leading papers that it would be
Il great wrong to the poor for the
legislature to pass amy fence law
and gives as an illustration the case
of Il landless neighbor who rears his
hogs without expense to himself.
And his COWS furnish abundant
milk and butter for his family
without any other feeding than
what they get from the unfenced
lands Of the farmer. And says of
himself that he keeps considerable
stock of cattle, sheep and hogs
without any trouble OF expense to
himself until the winter frost. He
is himself Il farmer but his lands
furnish insufficient pasturage for
the stock. Should Il leading and
influential paper countenance such
lawlcss claims by publishing such
letters Why not also ms st that
the poor should have the right to
90 into his neignbor's crib, when
his OWN fails In winter: Thisis the
spirit of agrariamism that should
be nipped in the bud. A larger
element representing the farming
interest is manlfestly necessary to
counteract these rather growing
evils.
If we want to find great accumu-
lation of wealth, we will find it
generally among manufacturers,
and this is hot because there is
greater profit in that business than
in that of farming-but it is owing
in a great measure to the fact that
the manufacturer Is constantly
laboring to extend his business and
he does this by devoting all his
clear gains to increasing and i'm
proving his machinery-that is in
charging his fixed capital, which
constitutes the wealth in every
business. Now the farmer as a
general rule either wastes his clear
gains, CT else loans them to men in
other profcsslOns,-the merchant
and speculator and manufacturer.
If on the contrary he would devote
all his clear gains to increasing the
capabilities of his farm, would be
Oh the road to wealth. His lands
and houses constitute his fixed
capital and he should expend all
his profit IN adding to these. And
should extend the area Of his farm
as fast as his means will enable him.
He should cultivate no poor land,
and he should furnish himself all
the best machinery. And in pro-
portion us he does this, he would
increase the profits of his business,
and would advance IN wealth ut an
accelerating speed.
With firm, relioooa npon -bo