The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-10-28
Farm Life an Ideal One
Grom the Country Gentleman.


:. :: :: !. !: !. :. T.: ( :.
If some Of the farmers who arc dis
| couraged because they have MOI made
| fortune off their farms and who feel in
| clned to envy their brother toilers in the
| clty, imagining that life in the city is
| more desirable than theirs easier and
| hlled with plenty of leisure to enjoy all
| the pleasures with which the rustic i'm
| aSlnatiOn gilds and glorifies those distant
| scenes and activities, they need ONLY try
| to ind their mistake. Far fields are
| green and lose much of their attrac-
| uVeneSs uoon nearer view
| 10 the city man of ordinary means
ana opportunities, who, like the ordinary
| farmer. has no bank account to fall
| back upon in case Of emergency life is
one "demnition grind" and without the
! soothing Influences of nature that sur
round the farmer to quiet the fever and
| unrest with which the struggle cornpeti-
| ton and turmoil around him keep his
| nerves on the rack day after day. AS
| rule such men are not their own masters
put must order their speech demeanOr
ana lncllnatiOnS to please the powers that
have control over their daily doings in
| order TO keep bread in the mouths and
clothes on the backs OF both themselves
and their families
| The farmer, if he does not feel we'll
| can rise in the morning at whatever hour
1t pleaseS him to do for an hour or so
| or day or two does not make much diff
ference in his affairs except at the most
critical periods of planting and harvest
ing. He can have his own opinions, and
voice them too, on politics and religion
and all the stirring questions of the day
without fear Of antagonizing the power
| that be, who can sack him if his views
ana opinions do not happen to coincide
with those of his masters or over lord =
(the boss).
WORK IS INCESsANT.
That the farmer is a hard worker no
body can deny Tilling the soil is not
easy work. Since God gave the command
to man to earn his bread by the sweat
] of his brow" the farmers life has been
a life of toll. 1t takes some strength
and effort to dig a living out Of the
ground. 1t is not easy to earn liv-
ing, much less d fortune, without effort
and the farmer is not the only one who
| sWeats." Brain workers have no sine
cure, although some ignorant persons
imagine that all the.' have to do is to
sit at a desk and add up figures or to
twiddle pen in their fingers. The life
of a salesman behind the counter is most
wearsome and monotonous. The beauti-
full days of spring go by, the birds are
singing as they build their nests. the
flowers are blooming in the valleys and
on the hillsides and the grass is growing
greener and greener in the meadows yet
rever glimpse does he get of the beauty
world except when he can take car
ride of an evening or on a Sunday or
holiday. A grocer's clerk works more
hours and harder than the average coun-
| try boy, who can go to the corner and
pitch quoits or gissip with mis- cronies
when the city young man is just getting
en- work and for the man who de-
livers milk n the city he has even har
der work and longer hours. At 4 in the
morning and even earlier his wagon is
heard on the streets and himself racing
from bottom to top and from top to bot
tom of the high apartment buildings IN
the cold and sleet of a midwinters morn
irg or in the encrvating heat Of sum
mer. At brcakneck speed he goes, and
tne could almost ina gine that his life
depended upon getting through his rounds
| in due season. Competition is so great
that he must neglect nothing and al
ways be pleasant and obliging to the most
| unreasonable of customers for fear of los
, irg one There are the icemen, carry
) ing fifty pounds and often 100 pounds
of ice UP four flights of stairs. which IS
, no easy task, and as it is not skilled
la Dor the pay is probably not more than
, it should be considering the amount OF
strength expended Hard as the work is
and moderate as is the pay, no man can
afford to lose his job SO he has to be
very careful not to antagonize his en-
p1oyers in any way.
THE REWARD IS CERTAIN.
The man who does business on a small
scale ana is his own boss probably nnd,
it 10 easier to make living, for he has
to do tho greater part of his own WORK,
and in the case of a bad or Improbable
season is sometimes not SO we'll OFF as
his hireling, who is sure of his wages
at least.
That man who owns his land and has
good health is a poor farmer who can :
not make at least a living for himself
and family. 1t may not be q sumptuous
living but it may be a comparatively
comfortable one. This cannot be said OF
| all sorts of occupations.
There is always hope ahead for the
farmer If he doesn't have good luck
| this year he may the next. There IS al
| ways a chance that there will be bet
ter yield of crops and a better price IN
| the market. The element Of uncertainty
| adds zest to life which settled amount
of wages from month month and from
year to year cannot give and he is al
ways sure of enough to eat on the Iafii
Of some sort or another.
| One of the most dscouraging features
about farming is the drouth which SO OF
ten comes to wither both the iaTmtr $
hopes and his crops. To see the lana
that has been SO faithfully and carefully