Year: 1860

UOAA AOA - AeteAMg D0ga


To be a good and complete Farmer, a
man would need to be something of a
genius. There is a whole round Of arts
and sciences that would each and all be
laid under contribution. For instance, 10
properly mix and eaaposi lis rRanares, he
rr need NJ q chem.

nals, he need na med.
icine and 6 be b buld him
a mouse or barn, ne might require some
knowledge of architecture. And so on
through the catalogue. Even very su-
per6ciaI knowledge of few of them
would be beneficial - hardly anything
could come amiss. But to put the scien-
ces out Of the question, how few of our
farmers know anything of the most COM
mon arts. And as natural consequence
what prodigious waste of time there is
on every farm. A waste of precious
time, sometimes that can never be recov-


We were thrown into this train of
thought from the frequency of the ap-
plications to US, to do some job for some
neighbor, which, by the way, is almost
always "thank-'ee" job; don't pay, to
be sure but as we happen to know some-
thing about mechanics, of course we must
take the job. And so, finding little me-
chanical knowledge so useful, we would
say few words to our brother farmers,
propose that they will not learn them
selves, at least to let their sons learn
Get few tools, saw, couple of planes,
chisels, a draw-knife, brace and bits, and
so on; few of the simplest tools. And
then rig up a sort of workshop in a cor
ner of the barn, or granary. And here
we would say word, don't by any means
come into the house, let the women reign
there, though we are not very radical
about women's rights, yetwe must say it
is perfectly heathenish TO convert the
kitchen or sitting-room into a workshop.
we should not blame any woman who
would give ''iessie" to the fellow who in
trudes into her domestic kingdom in that
manner. aa


But 70 resumes rig up shop anywhere
oui % the house; get the sools, and then


ready It you ate 800 old to-
learn, your sons are not; and you bave no
idea how much il will add to the feeling
of independence in your sons breast.
You may set him down in the wilderness,
far away from civilization, and with an
axe and saw he viii build him house
1t will make him the self-reliant in fact,
and will develop ingenuity and talent in
many, in whom it now lies latent. And
moreover, it will save time. There are
all your rainy days, now lost, which may
be profitably turned to account. l sup
pose that you have heard that ''Satin finds
some evil, still for idle hands to do" Be
industrious, then and give no room to the
tempter.


That you may understand that it pays
to understand the use of tools, we will
instance a case. Last spring in the
midst of blowing, one day about noon,
broke plow beam. We started to work
and before the sun was down we were
blowing again, loosing not over a half
day. Now if we had not been able to
do the Job, we should have had to take it
to the plow shop, twenty miles off. We
should have lost about two days work,
and had to pay 81 so for putting in the
beam, besides the uncertainty of getting
the job done right off. And then, as I
said before, you can save all the rainy
days. If one of your whiffletrees are
cracked, you can make new one; put
spoke in your ladder; fix rakes; put
new handle in the hoe mend that bro
ken chair; put shelf in the corner; put
your reaper or mower in order, and all
the numberless things that have to be
done on the farm, or else paid for, there
by materially reducing the profits and all
these things, or the most of them, may
be done on wet days; thereby, in effect,
adding that many days to the year. Try
it for year or two, and if you do not
agree with me, then give it up.


A MECHANIC.