Agricultural.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 30, 4 February 1875, Page 3

Agricultural.

FARMERS' BOYS. No fact is more evident among farming communities than that thq boys almost universally grow up with a distaste for farm pursuits. No sooner are they of age than they turn to seek for more varied, if not less laborious, duties. in town and city life. Thus agriculture is yearly robbed of what sheuld he its strengh and hope. The places these boys should have been qualified to fill, ahd should have filled, with the gathered wisdom of experience, aided by the light of progressive science, are left, to doubtful experimenters ; while aged parents, deserted at a time when .filial care is most needed, can only look upon their loneliness and say, " There must be something wrong somewhere." "Yes; in regard to farmers' boys there h&s been " something wrong " a great while. In the first place many of them never should have been farmers' hoy's, at least not farm boys, though they may happen to have been born on a farm. It is not every nature, even among boys, that is, or can be accommodated to the requirements of such an occupation, though parents are far too prone to think that, being boys, a farm is the proper place for them, and the weapons best suited to them in ; the warfare of life, the shovel and the hoe. Their physical, mental, and intellectual peculiarities are seldom taken into consideration. The strong, rough nature, the delicately organised, sensitive one, and the one with a craving hunger for the intellectual or scientific, are all kept together on the farm that they may grow up and be taught to work out of temptation's way. The father invests them like so much capital on which he is to receive a per diem interest in the improvement of the farm, and works them to the limit of endurance under sanction of securing " the greatest good to the greatest number," the necessities of the family it is thought justify the sacrifice of individuality. The usual expectation is that when the pecuniary ends of the farmer are accomplished, or the boys grown out of his hands, they will accept a portion of so many acres each, and settle down to plod through the same routine with the next generation. Or a higher aim may be made at selecting on separate portions of land in the neighborhood that each of them may he under the eye of the head of the house. Much seeming wisdom and parental affection are thus manifested ; but the wisdom too often proves unwise, and the affection only a mistaken form of well-developed selfishness. The possibility is that out of a family of three, one may fulfil the desire cf»AJUfr3& parents, accept the acres, ainfp. o Vith the homestead in prospect, Settle down to be the staj' of their old age ; but the greater probability is that as soon as legally free, nature will assert claims in each, and they will go out into the world seeking for the life that should have been theirs, through early years of preparation for it, but having been cheated of that preparation neither the world nor parents need wonder if they come forth ill-developed, disconted spirits, seeking their places, and finding none to suit their taste. As farming has heretofore been considered a business that any ignoramus might engage in successfully, it has not been thought necessary to lighten or brighten the labours of the farm by any rays of science or gleams of intelligence from the world of thought and action without. Work was the one thing wanted from sunrise till bedtime, and the physical nature often over-wrought, had neither strength nor sympathy to give to the mental, which of course grew dwarfed and distorted in the unnatural atmosphere. Struggle against as they might with bits of candle and lighted firebrands in the chimney corner, ' over-wearied nature has been more than a match for fancy, philosophy, and metaphysics; and where one boy with such culture has come forth a perfect man, mentally, morally, and physically, nine hundred and ninety-nine have proved unhappy failures. Boys on the farm, as well. . as in the college, have a future before them and should be educated in reference to the place in that future, which their natural abilities entitle them to fill. Parents who do not act upon this principle, but simply drive their boys like horses or oxen to the plough, will find their farm improvements paid for at a dear rate, and need not wonder at finding themselves deserted and left to a lonely old age. The class of formers now fast coming on the stage, are, or must, begin to learn that they will be compelled to progress with the times, that they must admit science and intellect into their fields and barn-yards when they want their boys to work, or the boys will soon .grow restless^ performing their laboui" like so much mere drudgery, and longing for their days of freedom, when they can go out into the world and be like \ .other people; and. jthey will go as generations past have found to L their sorrow, unless employment is givon to the brain as well as tq the^ hands. Formerly -it was not, and in this colony it still is, thought unneces-j sary -for farmers to have : brains at all j atvleast* it was not supposed that thero was any necessity for using', them, in connection w^th farmings operations,; The main "thing was to work, and anybody with ordinary senses and two good stout b'jfls could do that. It all

■^^?*??* i^r* - * ,, *w^~^ ■«»■*■**"■**■ did very well, perhaps, in those, quiet, old times, when one generation trudged on after another oblivious of the existence of elements in water, earth, and air, that were waiting but the ejectric touch of science, to make them burst forth into the blaze which has startled the agricultural world with, new developments almost numberless during the last twenty or thirty years. How obstinately the mass of those, old-times farmers shut their eyes against the light. They had their hands and hoes and ploughs ; what use had they for brains or brain-work in books or papers? It was work they wanted of the girls in the house, and the boys in the fields. And the boys and girls did work, but they were listing and looking too — and thinking. Listening to the sounds of new life waking in the world without, not as they should have been taught to do, how they might kindle new fires on their own hearthstones ; not how they might open the gates of prejudice to let in something of the life -that so tempted them from without : .'.but only of the day when they should be legallyfree from parental control, and at liberty to turn their backs upon the old 1 homestead, and the monotonous, drudgery of farm life for ever. This has been what thousands of farmers sons and daughters have done, and is what thousands more will do, till farmers as a class are willing to welcome improvement, to seek for light, and use it when they get it. The time has come when farmers ought to see that only in the light of science can labor, such as the farmers require, be made attractive and elevating. It is true, men and boys can dig and plough, and sow and mow, in the old fashion, and if they are not exceeding the old system by requiring more out of the farm than they put in, they will still make.a living at it, but the farther behind the times they are the more frequent will be the desertions from their ranks of the young and strong, who bend towards the excitement, of change and improvement as -yourfg plants bend towards the light of day. Changes, innovations, improvements, are going on everywhere else; why not in the fields and household of the farm as well ? Even the hired laborers on a farm are not satisfied when they are surpassed ; and neighboring forms have something* new while they are required to jog on in the old trot. The writer, has known young spirited men in the old country give up good employment to be engaged on an improving form It is counted a disgrace to be connected with those formers who have allowed themselves to be distanced in the race ot improvement. Another way in which great wrong has been done to boys is through the habit many parents and sisters have of treating them as inferiors. It is a habit thoughtlessly acquired, ard thoughtlessly practised ; but for all that not the less unjust and. cruel in its results. Often great partiality is shown to girls, in regard to' attentions bestowed upon personal appearance. It is not though that the boys, great rough fellows, have any need of accomplishments. When a friend drops in, the girl's can brush their hair, slip on a clean dress, and assist their parents in entertaining them, but the bojs are seldom thought as a part of the family on such occasions, consequently, as a rule, farmers' boys are about the most awkward, shy, and ungainly young men in the district. it is not strange that boys thus shut away from the world, deprived of womanly sympathy, and kept in kitchens and back yards, should grow discontented with farm life, possess neither respect nor veneration for women, and turn out at length to be slovens and tyrants in houses of their own. A word or two now to fathers. Boys have a right to be considered as not J only members of the family in all its social relations, but as proprietors in part of the farm they help to till, and the stock they help to raise. It would greatly encourage habits of industry, and foster a manly ambition in them, if fathers would treat them more as partners than as servants or mere j underlings working for their board. They should have a sheep, a calf, a lamb, a colt, or a pig, which they might ..call .their own, and the increase of -which should in reality be theirs, to be reared. or disposed of for their benefit. Give the boy something to begin with, anything of substance enough to establish a proprietorship in ; and add to this a patch of ground with time and means for its cultivation, the produce and proceeds of which shall.be the boy's own. These little attentions and concessions of right will work wonders towards developing a lad's manliness, and attaching him to the occupation and homstead of his father. Farmers need -- a hint or two in another matter also. As a class, they are far more niggardly and close witb: their own boy than any other. They keep them more rigidly at work, or they on the otherliahd give, them : too. much liberty - v neither is good. If a boy makes up his mind to stay at hpmeV4et him first of all have a good education,, and then train him-to the best modern: system of farming- .When he inclines^ to follow the new systems let him. have a trial qua small scale, because he will never b^cqnyinced^ without a fair trial J If he is successful it will do good for all parties, if he is not he will then settle all the better to the old system, but to curb

. him in /every;, attenppt to /improve; is dangerous to his future perseverance and energy... .Youth.. requires, enjoyment and recreation, allow him some holidays, some home pleasure^, and do not stint him too much of pocket money when he seeks variety elsewhere. Let the home they help to. make., be theirs jointly with the other, branches of the, family, to adorn, to enjoy, to honor, and to look back upon from the distance of years with pleasant memories. Here ! is where: the true 'woman's rights movement should begin— in educating and training up a race of men attached to j home, honouring and respecting her, as mother and sister. . The most tyrannic and illiberal men are those who have once been tyrannized^ oyer, and debarred from the. enjoyments and privileges that nature told them should be theirs. When power k does, come into their hands they are inclined to use it to excess*. Their rights have been disregarded. Why should they consult the wishes or rights of others ? Mothers and sisters hold the destinies of men in their hands. By the influences they throw around the fireside and the homestead, they may begin and carry to perfection a grander scheme of moral reform than has ever yet originated in the brains of the strongest minded women of the age. Woman at home is the true reformer, and boy the incipient man, is the true starting point, from which, if she turns her face in the rig*ht direction, she may read success in a brighter and not very distant future. Salt is said to destroy the white ant. Put a few handfuls of it on their nests, and they will disappear at once. Salt is poison to them. The nut grass, which is such a pest to some people can be got rid of by covering the grass with galvanized iron, old zinc, or other metal. The sun heats the iron, and tbe air being excluded, prevents anything from growing under it. The skin of an animal whether cow, calf, colt, or horse that dies on the farm, is worth more ai home than at the tanner's. Cut it into narrow strips, and shave of the hair with a sharp knife before the kitchen fire or in your workshop, on stormy days and evenings you may make them soft by rubbing. A raw hide halter strap, an inch wide, will hold a horse better and last longer, than an inch-rope. It is stronger than hoop-iron, and more durable, and may be used to hoop dry casks and boxes, and for hinges. Try it on a broken thill, or any wood-work that has been split. Put it on wet, and nail. Their skins make the best bag-string* in the world. A raw hide rope is a good substitute for a chain. It is valuable to mend a broken link in a trace-chain. For some purposes it i-*- best to use it in its natural state. For other purposes it may be dressed soft. The German papers publish details of a series of experiments carried out at the Agricultural Schools there, for the purpose of testing the nutritive properties of grass and hay at various stages. The experiments were initiated by the excessive demand for forage in Germany during the war, but are not the less valuable on that account By an elaborate series of analysis, it is shown why young grass is more neutritious than mature grass. The physiological experiments show that it is more easily digestible. Thus grass 2^ inches high contains nearly 50 per cent, more of albumenoids than grass which is 6 inches high ; and about 10 per cent, more of "crude fat" (5.24 per cent, against 4.82.) The mature grass contains more woody fibre and less flesh-forming matter than the young grass, and besides this, it is found that the nutritious albumenoids exist in a less soluble form in hay than in young grass. Hence the difference of nutritive value and digestibility. Autumnal hay was found to be more nutritious and digestive than summer hay. The English Agricultural Press, speaking of this result, make some qualifications, inasmuch as it obtained from German hay, grown in a much drier summer climate than theirs '; but. for that very reason, it applies closer to ours. Similar experiments were made on clover, and it was found that digestibility diminished during the four weeks from the beginning to the end of the flowering, while the digestibility of clover hay was about the same as that of green clover cut at the same stage of growth. The moral of this is obvious. To the squatter : There is exceedinglylittle nourishment in dry " white hay " or grass To the farmer : Don't be greedy with your hay crops by leaving them to grow so, very tall. By so doing you not only lose the seed, which, if fully ripe, falls on the ground during harvesting, -but you also obtain a less nutritive and digestible blade and stem, Better cut early,, and, if possible, feed off the after grass.: y /