c. F. READ ik •H. H. FRAZIER, EDITORS. !
OCTOBER.
DT LTD!♦ A. CALDWILL.
The years grows splendid ! on the mountain-steep
Now lingers long the warm and gorgeous light,
. Dying by slow degrees into the-deep, •
Delicious might.
The final triumph of the perfect year,
ittses the woods magnificent array;
Deyord,' the purple mountain heights appear,
And , slope away.
- -
The elm. With mttsical, slow motion, laves
Fib; long, lithe branches in the tender air:
While from h i s top the garsOrdello wave'
• Her scarlet hair.
'Where Spring first bid her violets 'aeath the fern,
Where Summer's fingers oped, fold after fold,
'The odorous, wild, red roSe's heart, now hum
'• The leaVes of gold.
The luftiest hill, the lowliest flowering herb,
The fairest fruit of season and of clime,
•All wear alike the mood of the superb
Autumnal time
Sow Nature pOIIN her last and noblest wine! •
Like some Itacchante beside the singing stream%
Reclnes thz• - ctrzhauted Day, wraptin divine,
Impassioned dreams, - ••'
Rat where the painted leaves are fatting 'fast,
Among the vales, beyond the Euthest
There 'sits a shadow, dim, and sad, and vast,
And lingers still.
•
And still we hear a voice among the hills,
A voice that mourns among the haunted woods,
And with the ttivsi"ery of its soriew Milk •
The-solitudes. •
For while gay Autumn gilds the fruit and leaf,
And cloth lief...fairest festal garments wear,
Lo, Time, all noiseless, in his mighty sheaf - .
Rinds up the year.
mighty sheaf which never is unbound!
The Reaper whom our souls beseech in vain!
The lovCd, lost years that never may be found, -
Or loved again ! •
-
ADDRESS
BY E. GUYER, ESQ.
.
Delit'ered 6rfore the .I:St.tt7E.IIANNA CM:NTT AG
RICULTURAL SOCIETY., at their Annual Fair,
September 2:L 1557.
BROTHER FARM ritS is:ob v iously need
less to dilate.on the - importance of agriculture
as a branch of human industry, _before an
American audience"; yet I - have •alwaym
tipuzlit tluit, even here, the subject is not.
sulfieiently regarded, and that those engaged
in it have not those civil ad ‘ vantages and social.
distinctions they so eminently merit.
‘‘' hen we remember that agriculture affords
employni ! etit to illogt of the laborers of the
world; that: by.it comes nearly all the wealth
which sustains modern comenunities; and a
great proportion of comforts, and luxuries 6f
lif, we have an itikiii.g of- its niagnitude.—
Should all the world's- farmers cease to sow.
to plain, to . rear, and .to gather-in, an anarchy •
Would-spring out of this horde (if .id lers, which
no human power - could control; and s t ares:
tien would makes burial more terrific : than'
the deluge. . .
.
. I:(.lleetions like these bring to mind. the
stupendous interests involved in this vocation,
and point 'clearli o to• the duty which all owe
it. •But liesidr. a few Vague -and. general
compliments 'which politicians occasionally
bestowon agriculture, what have_goveniments
done to advance it ? Comparatively nothing ;
and, unaided, poor • men have carried it Go
ward to its present,position, while the super
abundant wealtrad extraordinary exertions
of nations have - been lavished. on commerce'
and manufactures. This is both short-sighted
and unjust. The firs use a nation can have
/40 material wealth t t ec ith a ont age ieilltUre, and
to build this up is, therefore, a first and last
duty ; and the second, because it is not only
it hindFance to general prospoity, but abso
lutely unfair to raise up one set of laborers
at. the eXp£lls 4 .•
• er. •It is true that, of
late years; ' e indicatingtto states
the correct • • t, excepting trifling'do•
nations. not' .... . .- done for the 4 4utling
millions" who work out the nations' blessings
through agriculttire. Nor is it denied that
the light of science is - tiag ail rays across
400
the farmer's path. H ady itnplernents, , deep,.
plowing, drainage, mntrated - fertilizers,
&e.... are all helping;
b t.thesii. aid chiefly the
fancy farmer. Wh . the practical farmer
would use them, gene 'lly he is not - able to
purchase; and when • he ability to buy has
been brought about y hard', work, he is un
able to use, and loses interest in them. "Be-_
sides, he .is so. often d eived by imperfectly_
made, articles, and hig ly lauded cheats, that
be fears to trust these lights in the distance.
They frequently pro): a lags, and this eteates
distrust. Hence. too, we haVe this sneering
at Boek-farming among tillers of the soil, be
lieving as they do,these appliances to be only
other contrivances of labor-hating wits to de
fraud them. • 1 .
In order to illustrate more forcibly the po
sition I assume.. namely, that the agriculturist
is not properly appreciated, or suitably re
warded, tor the benefits be confers on com
munity, 1 will give a brief biography of: one
of the early settlers of Bradford county, per
sonifying thereby the life of toil and hardships
which thousands of her farmer s; mid those of
her - sister Susquehanna. have had to endure.
• At the 'lac! of one.and-twenty, John Lin
coln left his , paternal fireside, to commence
the warfare of life, his principle capital con
sisting in his ability to-:work. To -this he
was used trnm childhood... Of book learning
he had but little. lie could read, write, and
figure in the fundamental rules of arithmetic.
His father owned' a - small farm, north of New
London, Connecticut, and on it raised a large
family. fIE could give his children little,
save good advice. To ; John he gave fifty
dollars on leaving home. With this the
young man started to the Connecticut river,
where he found employment for a year;
but hearing of cheap lands in Pennsylvanis:,
he could hardly wait until this year was'up,
so eager wars he to get a piece fur himself;
and with one hundred dollars in his. 'pocket,
Sean find him on his Way hither. Fle
stopped on the Chemung rivet, not far from
the press' nt site 1.4 . Elmira,where ho engaged,
fon short terms, with different fanners, mean
time inquiring diligtmtly for, land. This was
soon found, in what is.at present Wells town=
Ship, Bradford, county, - Penn. The lot he
purci,aj . was 'fifteen. miles from the river,
and covered with a.dense forest. .After tak
ing every precaution that suggested itself to
his-mind, to be sure that he was on his own
land, he commenced chopping ,and clearing.
When he had gone over four acres, he worked
u month fur the use of a pair of 'cattle and a
chain the same length of time. - Then. procur
ing the assistance of another young emigrant
from New England, he cut a road nine miles
in length, through the woods, to his clearing.
His reuzli sled was then loaded - up with a
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sack of coarse meal, i small iron pan, some
newly made hay, and, drawing them to his
fallow, the work of logging was commenced
in gdod earnest.
It would take 'too long to detail minutely
the trialS orl this first clearing. The timber
was heavy, and the lifting of course severe.
Sometimes he and his companion were almost
discouraged. They were several times,
drenched withrain; in their - bed and shelter ot
.•hen;lock boughs . ;' and their meal soured from
expesure; but :they struggled through, .and
procuring, with great difficulty, three bushels
of wheat, it. was - harrowed . in with a wooden
drag. Our hero Was now some in debt. .fie
relied, hOwever, on getting work to help him
out. This he sought . and found with Lemuel
Griswold, who lived on a farm, on the Oats
below 'Newtown; Now this 'Squire -aris
vrold, as he was called, had also removed from.
the East,but with a family of three daughters,
and two sons, and several years previous to
John Lincoln's departure from the place of
- his nativity. The 'Squire's two oldeskdaugh
. ters -were married. Jane was ninenen years
old, !old-sip:Rat home; and a rollicking young
woman 810 wmk - - . iCardessly reared amidst
work, and on simple food, she grew up strorg
and full of animal life. Morning, noun, and
night, the surrounding .hills echoed back the
;shrill tones of her song, as ; she plied her busy
hands; and at the gatherings of the young
folks in the neighborhood, she laughed the
loudest, danced the longest, and frolicked the
most excessively'. This working wo.
• man, in less than a year, became the wife of
John Lincoln .; she oeipeehim to gather the
Wheat on his fallow, the deer and other wild
animals hail not ',des.iroyed ; and she daubed
the Mud . on their lonely log c4le, while he
chinked it. She'brciuggt him, too, alifig with
her industiious hitii44, her earn e st nature, and
loving heart, a -Cow, a present from her par
ents ; and-two Months after the removal of
the pair to their rude wild
_home, this cow
was killed by the filling of a tree. l,,cannot
tell hoW sorrowful Mr.and Mr .Linco ln weie
at this mishap.' ' Time and hope, however,
those ebre:alls for human maladies, assuaged
their grief ;
.and :,that too, occasioned by the
selling of their next year's crop in the ground,
nn the note given for a cow to replace the
one killed,
Mil
. .But a deeper trouble soon came on this
!fumble, yet noble and courageous pair. 'ln .
logging-the third 'fallow chopped at hia new
home; John-Lincoln had his leg broken, two
days before hi 4 second child was born ; yet
his wife walked to Newtown, for a physician,
crying all the way., This new. disaster turned
out a sore affliction. That season no crop
was put out, and the store of provision. on
hand, *as small.' Cold weather, too, was on
hand ; and for four months, that heroic wo
man carried, through a forest, and by 'a path,
from a mill fight miles distant; all the cc-rn
meal; the only food that was consumed in
her lowly- dwelling, during that winter of ad
versity. It was a dismal period. - At night;
thewolves howled piteously, - and threatened
her sheep. Sometimes she had to take these
into the house,. to save then,. So with her
chickens. Then she had the -little stock- to
teed, and the wood to get; but she worked
bravely on. 'And when John Lincoln was
again able to go out, his only pair of three
years-old steers and seven sheep, the only
stock he had, &ire a cow, were driven off, to
pay the millei; leaving the 'Doctor's bill,-
and sundry ether, claims unsatisfied. It wall
a gloorr.y out-going to him , and his heart al
most sank in despair, when the prospeet be
fore him looked him full in the fee?. , But
hope again cane to his relief, and time mel.
lowed.- hia sorrow. Ilia wife, too, who had
wept more during the last five months, than
she had ever sung before, in the.same length
of time, began to be hopeful, when she saw
John was able to go to work. True, tbrongh
bungling setting of the he,-was lama,
and would be . -so for life; but he was still
l iwith her, and that comforted her.
In good earnest they again began the strug
gle; and in two years, the evils of this disas
ter Were nearly - repaired. Clearing was ad
ded to clearing; year by year, by that reso
lute man and woman. He chopping all day.
and spending some nights in going to mill,
and others, in picking up and.burnmg on' the
.By means such as these, in a few
years,they had cows and oxen • bat riot with.
out severe losses. Mr. Lincoln had bought
-his land under a Connecticut title. This
turned out to be worthless, and he was oblig
ed to pay for his land a second time. Then
he lost a fourth of his cleared land, through
mistake in the bounding lines. Still John
Lincoln and his wife worked on. Sickness
now prostrated her. From this she recov %
ered ; but was' blind for a year afterwards,t
from its effects. Not Yielding -Yet, nor yet
despairing of final success, the battle with ad
versity wag continued, until twenty-five years
had elapsed: During this period, many oth
ers had made beginnings in the woods around
them, and with various results. Some re
mained only a year, not being, able to stand
it longer. Others remained two, some three
years, and then gave up hope and their im
provements together ; while -a few,
like the
Lincolna, would not yield. On the farm oftbe
latter, thre were now seventy acres tinder
fence, some of it, of stone. A frame barn
and • substantial frame house occupied the
place of those of logs, of other days. With
in a few years, Mr. -Lincoln had received
from his father's estate, three- hundred col
tars; and his wife • had obtained; in the Jaime
way, two hundred dollars. With this money
_;
they bad built, involving themselves, in the
enterprise, an' debt• of five hundred-dollars ;
but they had a farm' worth three thoneand.
Yes, that dread wilderness, which was val
ued at one dollar per acre twenty-five ye a rs
before, was converted into a farm. 'And
how ! Through sweat, that was little less
than blood; through tears, that wore furrows
into the cheeps of youth and beauty ; and
anguish of heart, that drove two
: mortals to
an early grave. Yes, that fitithful, glorious
pair were not destined long to enjoy their
improved home. ' Exposure, hard wort, and
scanty fare, broke down early an otherwise ,
good physical frame, and John 'Lincoln work
ed no more, after his house was finished.—
During five years he lingered, and then died, -
arid his trustful loving wife to the last, over
burdened with care, and her spirit tortured
beyond' endurance, 'by the darkness of the
road she - had traveled through life, became
melancholy. yes, that wildly joyous girl,
whose youthful song end merry laugh made
glad the rude habitations around her early
home, saddened .to despondency with life's
confliiit • indoUt if fearful that her John would
go hens; before - her; her sorrow pressed into,
the rive t three months before. boardrilif,
66 FREmDcl iamp
and trouble - together. " At...the time of her
demise, Mr. Lincoln was too weak to attend
the funeral ; but - gathering ;strength i a few
days, be required his children to m e him
t i .
a bed on a sleigh, and take bins to th grave.
There, alone,and in feeble strains, he t isang to
the departed spirit of his. faithful . ccinlxtnion :
"Ye living-men, come view the -d,
Where
,you must shortly lie."
And a - requiem it was, worthy th living
and the dead, and more sublime. ban the •
grandest composition ever tuned in o :har
mony in of great ones of the é rth;
Thus lived and thus died one pais of the
pioneers of the now flourishing county of
Bradford. •Ofien has my heart saddened,
when-memory called up the scenes ihrough
which they passed, their love for eat other,
and their - fidelity to life. • Oh, they . 4r - served
better thatethey had : and who has lieard : of
their hardships, or cares for their sucringe ?
Ah, echo comes back empty, like he first
dove sent from the ark. • Nor is t story
Of their a ffl ictions ended. John • incoltf r s .
i e
long sickness, ' and additional rcve s, . in
creased his indebtedness to sevente u hun- •
dred.dollars, at the time of his death. This .
finally took his hard-earned proper y from
his children. So they had nothing lett,' but
the example of their parents' lives ; and, for
its results, was it worth - fidlowing f Each
child of the seven, of these worthy I but un
fortunate workers, had to cornmencb in the .
woods, and rehearse the drama alter, I have
only faintly- sketched. That of. 4716.4 C., the
oldest, appears yet more ' terrible- i; its be -,
ginning. FOr•three 'dines hii log bin and
tbklittle iniproved surrounding were swept`
away. Yet be faltered not, nor yet u sing to
battle, he triumphed at last. reelai ing the
burial place of his unsuccessful fi4ier and
.broken-hearted mother, and is noWquietly,
and as happily as mortal well can passing
i
away in vigorous old age, the evening of that
life hich had such a dark morning 4
Nair, brother flirmers, you ask,-,llthy this
episode!? This, I trust wil . l becomchOanifest .
as I priticeed: And first,-1 claim thaf the ear
native I have giVen, is not an isolated occur
ence ;•for every
. fertile hill and blooming
vale in Bradford, has, connected wit h . its ear- •
ly history, a. tale of woe equal to th o'ne just
1
given, and the bread, beauteous fief sof Sus.
quehanna, could, if able to speak," tell of
hardships endured, privations suffered, con;
tumely and poverty patiently . borne With,aixi
by hearts as hopeful of bi;tter think, as lov
ing, as faithful, and minds as sei sitive ' as
those who surround me in this ask; bly, the •
recital of which would make you cep ; as Ii
l
hope none of you have wept for a I mg tirne.
Ye., fellow-citizens, it is the commonness of i
these untold and indescribable lives of grief,
which so immensely aggravates :Olt evil.—
Terrible misfortunes overtake Merl and wo
men, in, all pursuits and stations of Ire. These
are looked tur,and because of rare oecurrence,
•as well as because they are evil:ain't* come,.
we pity the sufferers . , and pass th r. But
when a whole class of Jaen and w anon, I:14
come a sacrifice to tho public weal,ibecom4 l
a national calamity, and deserves. not 0n1y . ..
E.
our Sympathy, Vut our earnest etions to alle
viate. It is-to this end, I labor to-clay.
Who enjoys the fruit of the pati nt toil of
John Lincoln ? and his devoted wife and their
hardy copatnots 2 The fields the cleared,
brought nom
Ist to their bruised . les, no
cordial to the etuhitteredlnindi i declining,
years, yet they produced abundant. y.' Hun.
dreds and thousandslive off the products of
the &nits which these heroic workers prepar
ed, and they will continue to slimily food aor
ages to come. In addition, goverimenc d e ...
rives a heavy revenue from them. Why, it
is said, "He is a benefactor, whoes two
blades of grass grow where but on grew be
fore;" and what,shall be
. said of hose who
a inak
tore from these mountains and v ley: their
primeval - forests, and nature's reggedness,
an? made them "run with fatness 1' doing
this too, in .winter's bitter blast, with little
clothing, mid with still less food; and; in sum;
mer's sun no comforts, no relaiation from
necessitous pressure; bearing the oiling yoke
until the cof fi n hid it from view. '' Are such
as these not benefactors ? .A.y,thousand
times more so than many who . ha .e fame.—
We refer with just pride to the wonderful
fortitude whie# carried the sold ers of our
Revolutionary'vrar,through the ho rid winter
at Valley-Forge, and other tryi g scenes;
a l
but they. were of short duration. I Nor were
' they any more severe than those which the
pioneers had to contend with du ins a life
time. Panegyric has been exhau-ted on the
noble perseverance of the one, wb le the 'oth
er has no honor in the _land, yet .. eserves it
no less. . _
1,-- And compare- the lives of oat of our
prominent politicians with that o JohtiLin
coin, and how they sink into insvificance !
In youth, going -to school, thence to college,
the law-office ' oongress, and even the Presi
dency of the Republic. As lawyqrs, getting
rich on the hard earnings o f. therpoor ; and
a ft
as politicians, fi lling their coffer* overflow,
out of the taxes collected , from e tiller of.
the soil. Yet,'Such men, partisan editors fre
quently call great, and what .a isnomer it
.
is! But few of them have crea any 'hen- '
efactions for their specie', or impliihed
any good for their ou,untry.
s ir lives are
the lives of politicians, and 'these mostly
made up of selfishness and. arrogance.. Tell
4
me not that they have superior i wiled, for
it is not true. I know a dosed hardwork
ing, unknown tartnets,.wito, if y had the
same opportunities, could display as much of
all that is noble, in the head aqd heart, as
characterizes most of the parties teferred to.
But yon-atikovity is this not know n, , for in our
day merit is -generally found (Out. In , the
first pixie the interrogatory may ell be met
by asking, why the eartb-op settler
_received no benefit of all the good be wrought.
Many of these had merits, as m and their
work deserved great reward • y , the one is
unnoticed, - and the other denied f But there
are other solutions. One is, tha k the farmer
'does not use the prow, to pa Bak to' the
world column after_ column of fa ,sotne lauda
tion of fe
l ls preonal acts;` finds ...'. deal of
the notoriety statesman have,' .. es in' this
way —they .verk frequently wring it • them.
selves.' Bo while the fanner *ekes's,
i
t ut 4
plow; aows, p ] ants , and . gstliertt In, tAti l t men
may'llvOri
d the earth be, lied as a
habitation; the wily politician 'w 'tee in blaz
ing lettees in 'the sky, that bent e a famous
speech for bunkum, or played Macititivill In
some other way, to chest thipePple into the
belief that be only is great.. gip& it cable;
that the useritoriouitiller oftlselpoit, an d his
iterfecitpd manhood; :main uoitilown,iuSip
unrcw*ClUat arra.4. l ..,coVi fir" 1 . 4 4: -..alt AtlP*
MONTROSE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1857.
R Y AISD WRONG."'
principled schemer, secure hitit riches and
honor.
There is, however, still another solution,
More commanding in Its application, and
more general in its infhieUce, than any yet
named ; and which, more than all others, I
desire to present to, and impress upon the
attention of this intelligent assembly. •
The one is edueated—the other is not; and
herein lies the wonderful disparity .that pre
vails in social life, between men of
,equal
parts ; and which, above all, and beyond all,
is the most pOtent in hindering the farmer
f rom ookiyieg all del - benefits of civilized
life. Yes, it is education the Gilmer needs,
and has needed ever since organized commu
nities existed. It is eidknated that nearly
seven-eighths of the enlighterw i d portion of
mankind, are engaged in tillink r the earth,and
that the remaining eighth does all the gov
erning, makes most of the public sentiment,
and enjoys meat of the luxuries, mental ar.d
physical • and this, only because • it has the
greater lire of the education. There is pro
portionally is much bright brains, in its in
herent form, in the seven-eighths, as in the
one-eighth • but it is not. eultivatml. Science
i
is proud, beesuse it is certain ; and, t tnakis
its possessor superior and confident. .• It is
fur this reason that the professional man is as
proverbially presumptuous as the yeoman is
modest. The former has assu.medithe con
trol naturally ; - and the latter has, as sponta
neously, submitted. As a matter of course,
as well as of necessity,
,the one proVided for
himself, at the expense of the other. 'lf the
farmer would only read, as he Works, this
would not be so. His delving is' into the
earth. lie should peer into books ; and just
in the ratio that be does not, is he sliort-sight
ed. Work be dues—works gloriously,—
without which the social edifice must crum
ble; but he keeps too remote the mental and
physical sciences, fur his personal, and the
world's interest. Let us look, only , fire mo
ment. at shut he has lust. Through medi
cine and law, the ono 'mystified by empiri
cism, and the other befogged by pettifogging
chicanery, the laboring man has lost, and . i s
losing annually millione upon Millions of
money. besides destroying health and life,and
fomenting strife, trerlful to individuals, and
sowing the seeds of an antagonism which
threatens ruin. These things need not be,
and exist only because we do not resid enough.
Fur the laws of health are ftw and simple,
and easily comprehended; and jurisprudence -
means nothing more than reciptal rights
and duties. Every man should know these,
and to,know them, is money and .power.—
But inconsequence of the absence of educa
tion as an associate, farm labor has been dis
graced. This, too, is wrong, and does great •
injury, coming as it does front perverted
taste and gross ignorance. , For how much
more healthful, dignified and conscience-ap
proving, is it, to inhale the exhalations of
the new-Mown. hay, withering
_the ,precious
laden sheaves of grain, and the golden fret,
than dressing the foul_ ulcers of the debauchee,
or defending the villanous desperado from the
joist vengeance of the law .
Now look in another direction. The man
ufactoring and commercial interests of our.
country, early invoked aid and protection
against disasters at sea and competition from
abroad. And millions of the dearly earned
money of the farmer 'collected through
im
ports, has been expendedin building up these
classes; until merchants have bernine princes
in wealth, and the wholesale worker in ,the
raw material revels in riches. This was well
enough. I object not to it.; but to the neg
lect extended to the tiller of the soil.
• Now the.pioneersithe John and:Jesse Lin
toles, who prepared the .surrounding glossy
meadows for our enjoyment, did More, ten
thousand timecraore, fur the prosperity of ,
our almost illimitable, and inimitable coun
try, than all the iron-turn:tees and , spirming
jennies ever created : yet who hsathought of.
calling on the government to help the settler,
by giving him a bounty on his work I Nu
one; nor was this aid withheld =because it
was not sorely needed. Will any one pre
tend that the merchant and manufacturer
struggled through as many perverse obstacles
as did the ,piotteer 'I No one of sane mind
will. Why, navies and light-bowies were
ctested_to protect the property of those al
ready rich. It was capital the- government
aided.. It was to make the rich richer. The
settler has no means, except that in his strong
will and muscular power ; and by these, her
culean labors have been perforated, not for
himself, but for us, fur the_government, -and
coming generations. He brought light and
civilization into the dark foreattof America,
amidst perils and' cheerless poverty enough
to daunt the stoutest heart, but he could have
no bounty for his enterprise,,and • no one to
plead for a mitigation of his, not tosay hard
ships only, but positive suffering. Was this
politic, so far as the' general prosperity of the
country was concerned'? Surely not. . Then,
is it right, in a government predicated on the
doctrine that all are equal, to lay burdens on
the many, for the benefit of a few •No one
will have the hardihood o, claim this.
Only a iew years' ago, the whole country
was disturbed by the - clamor raised for
'Proteciiie•Tariff, among the manufacturing
and conimercial ranks, when thousands of
poor farmers, who were making beginnings
on the unbroken prairies of the . West, had
to haul their Whtst'sixty and seventy miles,
and then sell it at forty cents perbushel, and
take fading calico at twenty-five cents per
yard, in pay ! And to help, it along, gov
ernment sold_ away the farms of' these set
tlers, improvements'and all, because they
could not, et, this rate, pay - the dollar and
twenty-five cents per acre which ,it unjustly
exacted for the laud be had taken up ! the
whole being still further aggravated by tak
ing the money which this lend ' brought, to
aid in. the shipment of wheat frotn abroad,
for breed and starch for the New England
manufacturers! I 'become excited, and my
blood state witli.nuivering velocity, whenev
er think this 'enormous outrage, peeps
trated•yesrly, as It is, by the settled polity _
of the country.
Farmers and laborers, these wrongs.urer
imposed epaulets, chief' ly.•beistsse you bare
not reed sad learned ; and 'aphid will con
tinue to swindle you, so long as vou *word
books.. If the John and Jesse Lineolus. of
14'004i:hopping andfalloW'burniiiimatories,
bed bevn our rulers MA law•Mikeri; as they
shetildhaveleen, would theie robberies-of
.thetu their succeletors bavpen as they
Innie happened, and are , hsppemnit Never.
And why were they not, and sre •
ngil ,
our ndeno acid law-makeri I Solely bo•
Mutat thai dij aotoind,arik_ not; educate ea
that lama ,
Farmers, I havi not time to point out a
tithe of the toms you sustain by your indif.
ference to truthful education. • Would that I
could arouse you to your true interests in
this Metter ! You owe it to yourselves, to
your children, and to your country, :to edu
cate' more thoroughly. D eed my voice, for
.1 am one of your number. I too, have chop
ped and burned fallOws, and Logged fur days
and weeks; and it dues my very soul - good.
to shake the brawny band of.the sooty-faced
man whO piles up the blaCkened timber. ' I
know his.toils, and sympathize most deeply
with him. Then heed my words, farmers.—
Take counsel together over when I re
peat,' educate, educate, educate. -
And by education, I do not mean the
bungling reading, writing and ciphering les
sons your children get in the dingy hovels
hung by the road's side. They afford no
more light to 'the mind, than to the highway,
in which they stand, in midnight darkness.
They are only distorted spectres, furhidding
approach. Nor do I mean the . tinseled
flummery of boarding schools ; or galvanized
Latin lessons of the three months rural ac
ademies. These do .not educate. Educe-
tion is experience, and the properly educated
young men of twenty-one, has the practical
knowledge of the•man of sixty ; and can your
young unlettered boys of seventeen, and list
less girls of fifteen years, impart this ?
About as much as they can teach stones to
talk. No, farmers ! Discard all these.—
Build school-houses equal to your meeting
houses, and employ better men, if they can
be found, to fill them, not occasionally either,
but constantly, to instruct your children in
book-learning, and the practical duties and
courtesies of social life. Do this, if it takes
'half your farnts. Do this, and joy will come
to your hearts, and our nation will be cover
ed with glory.
Government should establish an agricultu
ral school and experimental farm in , every
county of the Union, where the fiirmer's sons
oould be made familiar with the chemist's
laboratory, the botanist's class-books ' and the
laws of mechanism. This the farmer's
right, and the well-being of the nation de
mands it. If this were done, a tide of pros
perity, wealth, and national glory would
come, that would east into the shade all.past
experience. And when will this be done ?
When the farmer edueates, and takes the
rule into his own hands. Not before. Grasp
ing. capital and selfish politicians have so
much to look atter, occupy and divert so
much of the time of our legislation in their
schemes ut personal aggrandizement, that the
necessary fiscal appropriations can hardly be
carried through that immense slough, the
Congress of the United States. Little., there.
fore, can be expected until the 'farmer, the
worker. the "hewer of wood, and drawer of
water," rises' from his sleep of ages, and
reigns over the land, that peace, plenty, and
halcyon summer may come to the nations of
the earth. And that he will, is jiist as cer
tain as that to-morrow's sun will rise. Al
ready light is radiating the horizon of his
heretofore darkened sky. Farmers and
workers, have, and are, to some extent, edu
cating; and intelligent, liberal-minded-.men,
in other callings, are striving with these, to
awaken public attention to the wants of this
long neglected interest. Through their •ef
forts, the government is distributing *Meng
farmers seeds .gratuitously. Despise not
little things. This is a beginning in the right
direction, of your approximating noon-day
glory. Then we have agricultural journals,
and societies, and above, all, a farmers high
school, 'throwing light on our path, and tend
ing to lighten our task and beautify our cal
ling. True, the hazy fiiekerings of thine dis
tant lights, distort the objects before us, and
cause - us falls and bruises; but the icy in
crustation which has so long manacled our
minds down to thsfsrtb we worked, is giv
ing way before theqp-coming sun, and the
early shoots of A living, beauteous green, are
already manifesting , themselves.
In order still further to impress upon my
audience the disadvantages to the- country,
and the difficulties which stand in the way of
the progress of the farmers, allow me to. ii.
lustrate by giving the experience of another
actual beginner, in fitrming, in our county,
but of a very different character from that of
John Lincoln.
Fifteen years ago, a young Couple, whom
I shall call Wiiliam..and Mary Fletcher, left .
one of. our eastern cities, and removed to
Bradford County, with the view of farming.
This lady and gentleman had 'been reared
and educated in the city, and had imbibed all
the peculiar fastidiousness about. dress, and
the foibles of etiquette, common to large
towns. They were married young, and Mr.
Fletcher started in business as a nle'rehant.
In five years be failed, but managed to save
a few thousand dollars, out of the wreck.—
Being now out o: employment, and-having a
poetic idea of agriculture, be bought a farm
in the wildest and poorest locality of our .
county. This property had been under cul
tivation quite a number of years and the,
buildings were respectable. On , all sides,
however,it was surrounded with dense hemlock
forests, which new settlers were just - begin
ning tq break into, at the time of the purchase
alluded to. Mk F. had read accounts of ex
traordinary crops, and the improved methods
of raising theta; which oceastunally appeared'
in newspapers at that time ; bet, beyond this,
very little; and, as to practical farming, he
;bad not the remotest coneeption. Ile had
' not planted a seed of any kind ; and all-in
all, was about as green a subject, for a far
mer, as can well be imagined. Both be and
his lady had exalted ideas of-the .ease, great ,
profits and beauty of this. calling ; and, of
' t
course, were most sanguine of success and
happiness in it. The road to their new home
Was rough, especially the list three miles,
which surpassed enytbing they had ever,
dreamed of beft.pre. At first, the ever-chang
ing landscape, with mounterrn and valley, hill
and•dale, coming and. receding; now passing
gong the water's edge, bordered with craggy '
rocks, and wild gnarled trees; and then on
high peaks 6 . l where:distanee fends enchant
ment to dm view ;" and, =ore than all, the
.miqestie grandeur end velvety green. of , the
hemlock and pine; as they approached the
north, brought frequent exelstnations id:
miration from the travelers'; bist towards the
last,' the roots of :the latter—fearfully: plenty
:.uo,y fielding—over which they to
pass, brought groans of ominousinr.part, ; and
the fi ne city vehicle, with `spolOsi no "bigger
than Your finger; talked ot Ziegler. This
eine bet too loon, and the journey-wits • fin.
isbed in a rode seut E drairer .br a pair ef halt
starved stmts.- ..Tbe -foisting. .wAth - Which
. *et 14 started,. and. wbO.
1 H. H. FRAZIER, PUBLISHER"---VOL8;NO. 446
them on the - ,way, Was by this time nearly
crushed. Isr. and Mrs. Fetcher's bruises
soon got well; and as they healed, th3lr spir
its revived.
They brought with them a good 'supplyo
broadcloths, silks, cambrick, handkerchiefs,
gaitered-boots, .kid gloves, silk hose," frilled
garments, cologne, musk, and household fur
niture to correspond. Light plows, barrow;
and harness, were! also brought in.. The
dwelling house was remodeled, and well fill
ed with closets, all of which had ezeelleit
lock's placed on them.
The new corners, with-their finery, created
a stir among the settlers; and their singular
manners were the general tbeme of converse.
tion. Curiosity prompted a few of the in
habitants to make excuses to come and see
for themselves. At first Mrs. Fletcher was
frightened at the plainness of these' people, ,
but when she fuund they were. harmless, she
would allow them to come on the veranda ;
and after a while, she would even play on the
piano fur them. Then help must be had,
and these neighbors being willing to work,
the likeliest looking among them were se
lected to assist, or, rather, to do the work in
the house and on the farm. For neither Mr
or Mrs. Fletcher - 11 A ever done any heavy
work, nor was it their intention to. do any
Hors es,,osen cows, sheep, hogs, and poul
try, were procured, and provender for all,
and it was•no small trouble and. expense .to
get all • these things together: The`•' people
thought Mr. Fletcher very. rich; end money
was extremely scarce among them ; and
though . wanting to sell, they a:lo-Nl enormous
•
prices for every article.
When- these matters were attended to, the
garden wax ~,assailed with fresh . hands and
new implements.• The'men thought it Was too
early—it being the first of April—and plainly ;
hinted as much: 11Lr. Fletcher received these
adMonitions kindly, and believing he could
contrive some way to obviate the cold and
frost, on early plants; the work was contin-
ued, his mind deeply set on planning. - When
the borders were ready. Mr. F. conceived he
had discovered, in .the few hours it took to
prepare them; a sure:remedy against, frost.
Full of this idea, and imagining what a won-
der he would start among his men, if notover
the countryfor he „intended to publiiih his
discovery—he had holes
,made; one inch in
diameter and eight inches deep, over his gar
den beds. Hie radish, bean, pea, lettuce,
and cabbage seeds, were then carefully_ p!ac.
ed at the bottom of these nicely made boles,
and the whole as nicely covered: I assure
you, the frost did not hurt any of the plants
that sprang from that seed, and it is needless
to say that mine of it came up. ' -
His, garden finished, Mr. Fletcher prepar
ed fur planting. For the reason , that the soil
.was black, he selected a low, wet piece of
groUnd fur his corn. This he had plowed and
prepared with great exactness. Having heard
that crows and ground squirrels take up young
corn, and having read that if the seed was
tarred they would not, he had his well-coat
ed with this resinous material. But he had
to replant, for not a spear came tips Then
-he sent to the city for guano. Of this article,
as a fertilizer, he had heard much, but had
no idea of its appearance. When.it came, its
strong smell induced Mr. Fletcher to think
it was spoiled, and he eras very angry for.a°
time, at the supposed cheat. A gentlemen
from a distance, however; suggested as it was
bird,' manure' it could not have an aromatic
odor, and that it had not, was , no evidence
against the quality of the 'article. So it was
concluded to use it. Withal, Mr. Fletcher
was a humane, and an ingenious inan, and
fearing that the smelt of the guano would
sicken his men, he cut pieces of sponge into a
peculiar shape, filled Ahern with cologne, and
had them fastened over the mputh and nose
of James and Philip.' Thus' 'fortified, these
men went to work with the guano, Placing it
'ea the tender corn; but it did nut make it
grow, and Mr, Fletcher.had to buy all -the
corn he consumed for that year, notwithstand
ing his
_care and expense. Besides, James
and Philip's faces - were worse for the cologne.
It burned, and prodUced a tickling sensation.
.This caused the men to rub with their un
washed hands, which poisoned, and nearly
proved the end of the two.
Mr. Fletcher's 'kindness .to his "men; in
striving t) mitigate the effects ut. labor on
their person; 'induced them to impose= on
him. Thus, James thought, as spading and
cutting sod in thtgarden was hard on shoes,
he should be supplied with that article, :in
addition to his wages, which were already
pretty well up; and,. in picking stone, Buck.
skin mittens had, to be; supplied, to save the
hands. .
The order and system established on this
farm, under Mr. Fletcher's regime, was re
markable. Every thing was constantly un
der, lot* and key. Every thing that-was con
sumed, was weighed, and every thing that
was produced, was weighed. The grain, the
hity and grass, the animals ate ; and the
bread and meat, the 'family and help ate ; all
wax weighed out to each, and separately, as
consumed. The eggs, because it was discov
ered they were of different sizes '
',were weigh;
ed, as beit.g , a more just method of determin
ing their ezaci value.
But I hdye not time, nor would your pa
tienee beiti with a minute recital of, all the
singular pro ce sses, and, their results,. of Mr.
Fletcher's twining operations. You can well
imagine, that the incongruity of the means to
the end, frequently, produced failures. And
the settlers around; as well as the hired help,
construed the watchfulness about the farm,
into suspicious of their honesty, so they sought
ways to pay back. Thus, Biddy thought the
wood and water consumed about the bouse,l
should also be weighed and locked up,though
they were profusely abundant ; and • James
and Philip would spend a good ,deal' of time
in going for the granary key, and carrying:it
back, often making two' journeys where one
would hare served just as well., At onetime,
the smoke-houie was chained and lo cked,
.to
the garden fence. At &Dottier, the warn
house was . Chained and locked' to an apple-
_ Then Mr. F. and his lady dressed too much
fur the glen they' were in. This was made
sport-ot A few of the young men bad lung
rake made of flashy tuition, and placed on
'their 'cheek shirts; and some. of the , girls
placed the same kind of article, enormginkly
large, on pantalets prepared for the pOrpose.
Thus dressed, they came to the intketiugs and
timidity schools, Mr. Fletcher tonic -pains to
get up at his re donee. For,yrith the “Cif•
.lion of foibles„ the result , of early train
ing, he was a good titling, and highly useful
in his present locality, dot% Ids 'utmost while, ,
there to freak fkinday os tgai g h
schools; and improve the roads.
Ile - and his companion felt sensibly than
reproofs. It was not their remotest inten
tion to offend, or s Flo injustice to the peopis
around them. It was hoivever, but tonsil.
dent, that they had done the one, and pin!s
baps, the other. Over this the,y grieved,
Then the - absence of every thing like Rosie.
ty, began to press heavily -upon .thein, The
sudden transition front a densely populated
city, to as dense a alirest, was foreshadowing
bitter _fruit and it was becoming daitytrawe
palpable to Mr. Fletcher that he was out of
his element. In vain be strove to suit him.
self to the position he was in. In via ebe
pained - his body, and mortified his pride. to
appease lit angry neighbors. He walrus.
ing hard lessone, about this time.
He was spirited and energetic, and finding
that the people he had about him, were disc:
posed, not only to ridicule 4 but to take ad
vantage of his ignorance of country life, he
discharged most of them; and worked himself.
This, too, went hard. Many times he sat
down and wept over the folly that had bro`i
him to this plight. Then his wife begarr re
ally to be miserable. At first, her mind was
occupied in the arrangements going on-in her
new home. . This and the novelty of, the
'scenes mound diverted her attention go '-
time.' Then the birds came, and chirped- so
Merrily ; and the frogs in the little pond, not
far distant, gave tokens of wonderful glee its.
the evenings. Besides, the forest trees wets .
putting 'on their summer dress; and their
shooting leaves, and budding flowers, begird.
ed for a while: the tedious hours that-were
,
geuink longer and lo,nger. When these flit'.
ed to rouse the drooping spirits, books were
resorted to, fOr diversion. Stillorearisome
hours came, and yet more wearisome days;
and finally, birds, trees, flowers, and books,
ceased to charm. Later - they became irk.
some, and Mrs. Fletcher -could think , of notho
ing but titU privileges, the society, and friends,
she had left behind. Her wild; -wild home, -
became abhorrent. She-was homesick t iind
wept bitterly. ' ' , '-_ .
Suffice it, that in a short time, Mr. Fletch• •
er exhausted most of his ineans, on his farm.
The gaudy bubble that flitted before his eyes,
when leaving the city; had vanished; and left
him a sadder man. ii. was now evident the
farm whuld nut yield him a living; , So
gatheririg up - what was left, he returned to- - •
e
the pla of his nativity, where-
ihe was -pro
vided ith a clerkship: by a relative. .-
Thi4 adventure is a-reality ; and the trials
of the Fletchers were only a little less. than"
those•of the Lincoln: ' ' ' -
iow Suppose Mr. Fletcher, had no rel!s
tiiies in the city, to find employment for him,
as is the case with many. whop) there. What
would havebecome of him and his family in
such a contingency'l They must live.' Per
haps, at first, be would baye resorted to ques
tionable means to secure this; then, step-by
step, lima evil to crime.
_Yes- s it is want of
employment—necessity, - _whick drives two
thirds of thsse oho go to ruin, to the vortex
of despair, before they indulge in wrong;
doing ; and had they employment, they -
would become tolgt able,- many of them (food
ci t izens. Ansi, by neglecting agriculture.
goveimment has indirectly ; aided in producing
*fearful amount of crime; until the iskl
lanthrispist and economist -are alike alarmed
fur its safety. For, if faem:labor was made
attractive and remunerative, the idlers of our
cities would be drawn to it. the govern.
theist would give land and bounty for impror
ing, establish agricultural schools, and riper:
'mental farms, dignity and succepa would ac
crue to those who embark in it. ,TheFleteb
ers, who sought in it a livelihood, and brought
capital, enterprise, and taste, with them, need
not sink for wantof knowledge of.agricelture,
or be driven out, by the rudeness of an- un
lettered neighborhood. The beneficial, re
sults of such s procedure, on the part of our
government, can'hardly ist- estimated. . -The
products of the country would double in five
years, and crime would almost • oesae. ;tin
stead, government gives the land toe:Mlles&
corporations, to speculate on. This keeps
back improvement, and increases wealth in
the hands of slew ; and produces corruption
among these, and discontent among the ma
-ny. Besides, government expends millions
in making Commerce profitable, and has long
given bounty to manufactures, thereby draw
itig capital and enterprise into these pursuits.
Why not do so, in respect to agricultural It
will afford employment told/ the idlers in the
land ;:and who can estimate the pod, that
would flow' through - to . the 'natio% Mail
these were tilling the soil 1 And all that is
-necessary to draw them into it, is fergovern- -
ment to do by it as it 'has done by( Com
merce and Manufacture. ; Why not do this)
-The influence of agriculture on society, is bet
ter than either of these other great - industrial
pursuits, end for this reason, too, it deserve*
every encou ragemen t . men a governments can
give to it. But when we took at it, as an ele
rnent of human society, and remember -that
all must sink without. and that -all `human
progress depends on it, it is amazing that_Men
and governments are so 'blind to the true in
tereats of the nation and humanity, as to over
look the demands of this calling, or weaken
it by advancing the interests of others. As
all depends on this ; all should strive to eko;
vote it. - •
But no, this. great essential, this health-be
getting, elevating, and laborious emplohnent,
fraught, as It is, with so many blessinOto
rnugt be mole a rack of cruel -tortures , ,tothe
'Lincoln's. and a hideous deformity to the
Fletchers., No, the privations of the one, is
opening a wilderness, are not enough to de.
ter; and whco,%y reason of insurmountable
difficulties, he cannot pay for his land„it must
be sold away from him--,improverneeti and '1
all—and the money , taken to tuivanee com
merce. And the other can . have no, return
for capital eshiusted in efforts to
.raise . the.
fitrtner's profession. This is not only
but it is outrageously whiust.Not onlyerush
ing in its effects on agricultureN as 'a , pursuit. -
but invoking ruin on the COurstry at larite..-
Oh, when will men;and governments be wisel.
And now. P.llow•citizens, a few words eou
cerning your duty to your own igricidtnral
1 do not say too much, when I tell you
'that it deserves your liveUeatsympatblesand
most earnest support. It has the p tdis.
bickering*, and jealcnodes, .o( ai ted ig.
norance to contend with. I doubt not; a nd
every inteliigent'man of the 0131111 % . rbetheM -
Wafer, ltiet*lei Inereltent..la**; 40c= .
tor owes it to hheselt and MS country, to
bogi it up, by every means in his porn..
ITor,_ just Or proportinn as the farmil is Oita
Ell