Vapors arise from the seas, pass in clouds over the lands, and then, by their own weight, descend upon the earth to water and fer

tilize it. Dr. Halley attempted to estimate the vapor drawn

farmers may labor more arduously than most other persons, particularly in the cases to which reference has been made. Yet, the latter have no cessation-their toils are, as it' were, every day in the year, foul weather as well as fair-winter as well as summer; and during the press of business, till late at night; probably confined to labor, in the whole year, two hours, where the farmer labors one hour.

Nor is this all. With the farmer it is mainly manual laborno extra mental efforts-no solicitude-no distracting anxietyno vexations to keep him awake nights. Far from it; his labors finely prepare him for rest, and his sleep is sweet, sound, and refreshing. Not so, generally, is it with business men. In the first place, such is the competition in mercantile and manufacturing pursuits, that the mind is constantly on the stretch to find opportunities for investment that will yield a fair compensation; thus, even in devising plans for business, there is often as much real wear to the human system as there is in the labor of carrying them into execution. When at the table for their meals, and when on their pillows for repose, their thoughts may be intensely strained in devising and maturing such schemes. Besides, when all this is accomplished, and a fair profit is actually earned, how frequently does it occur that apprehensions of loss from debtors or depreciation of merchandise will, by night and by day, for months, gnaw upon the mind like a cankerdriving away sleep, producing frightful dreams, and, as it were, pressing its victims into the very dust!

Added to this, the occasional derangement in the monetary affairs of a community are more effectual in destroying all mental quiet and repose, than a whole regiment of ghosts in their full costume, and with the paralyzing echoes of their unearthly voice. How do such exhibitions test the moral courage of the merchant! How do they destroy his physical energies! How do they mar his social affections! Nor is this a mere spasm of a disordered imagination. The sad reality often follows. A shipwreck on the ocean; a commercial revulsion; or a wide-spread conflagration, often sweeps away the accumulation of years, leaving the sufferers in poverty and perplexing embarrassment, from which no exemption is of a certainty found, till in the grave. Let young men in rural life, inclined to be dissatisfied with their condition, think of all this before they resolve to change their occupations. When half bewildered with the apparent exemption from labor in other pursuits; with the idea of fine clothes, rich furniture, and a profusion of money rising to view in their visions in those pursuits, let them look on the other side of the picture before they resolve to relinquish the reality If you would know a bad husband, look at his wife's countenance.

from the Mediterranean, during one sunny day; and he was led to suppose that it might at least be 5230 millions of tons.

Dr. Halley mentions a hail-storm, which occurred in the north of England, 1697, killing fowls and other small animals,

82

splitting trees, knocking down men and horses, and even plough

AGRICULTURAL WEALTH.

they hold in possession for what, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, would become to them most bitter and heart-rending realities.

The idea that the wealth of a country is mainly in specie and stocks of various kinds, is a delusion. As long as money is the representative of most kinds of property, a man with his five thousand dollars of cash on hand, or suitably invested, may appear much more eligibly situated than his neighbor with a farm, and stock, and a year's produce on hand worth five thousand dollars. Money on hand, or securities for it, may be displayed and counted over with a gusto, of which the possessions in rural life are not susceptible. Yet a little examination will satisfy any one, that ordinarily the situation of the latter is far preferable. In the first place, the farmer's property is perfectly safe.

It is in no way liable in any considerable degree to loss. Unless an earthquake sinks his farm, it remains to his posterity. Besides, if properly cultivated, it is growing better every year. Not so is it with the estate of the moneyed man. If he keeps his cash on hand, it earns nothing, and he will soon eat it all up. If it is invested, his security may fail, and total loss ensue. In the second place, with the frugal, industrious habits on a farm, five thousand dollars in a farm, stock, and produce, will give a family a nice living. But, in the other case, it will require ten or fifteen thousand dollars to give a family of equal size a living equally comfortable. In the third place, the farmer supports his family mainly upon his own productions and resources. He is not obliged to resort to some one else for every meal of victuals to be eaten. He owes no one-if he act wisely. He has no fears that knaves or unfortunate men will deprive him of the means of living. Whether agricultural products are abundant or small, he has enough. If cheap or dear, it is the same to him, for he has no occasion to purchase. Far otherwise is it with his neighbor. For every meal of victuals he needs, he is dependent on the farmer. If prices are higher than usual from scarcity, his income is not sufficient to procure a supply without diminishing his capital. Also, he may be obliged to spend half of his means, in seasons of scarcity, in going great distances to obtain the articles wanted. The conclusion, therefore, is irresistible, that of these two, the farmer is far most independent and comfortable.

If such be the fact with two individuals, it must be essentially the same with collective numbers. Let us suppose a town of five thousand inhabitants, which will be about seven hundred families. It may be that one hundred of these families, which is a large proportion, are supported by the interest - Every fool can find faults that a great many wise men cannot mend.

ing up the earth to a considerable depth. Some of the hail-stones weighed five ounces, and a few even half a pound.

In Lapland, Siberia, and other northern regions, snow falls to the depth of ten or twelve feet. In Labrador,

during winter, the natives make houses under the surface of the

of money already earned, or by profits on trade, or manufactures; one hundred more by day-labor; and the remaining five hundred by the products of their farms. It requires no metaphysics to show that the latter class, as a whole, as in the case of the two individuals supposed, are the most easy and independent in their circumstances. Besides, the probability is, that of the first class, not more than twenty are, in reality, worth anything, if their debts were paid. How many persons who in life seem to have abundant means for trade and for sustenance, are found insolvent by their administrators! Their principal means was their credit; and if, at any period, they had real means, the whole was used up or lost in business.

The fact is undeniable. The number of destitute widows and orphans, who once supposed themselves not within the reach of poverty, is incalculable. Who keep the countless number of boarding-houses in our cities? Mostly the widows of men once of ample means, but died insolvent! Who there make that extensive class of women, that support themselves and families by their needles, making shirts at ten cents each, and by thus working till midnight, perhaps earn four or five dollars a week? Mostly the widows of men once of ample means, but who died insolvent! Who make the tens of thousands of pale-faced, dejected young women, some with death's hectic on the cheek, that work daily in millinery and dressmaking establishments--in book-binderies-trimming hatsbinding shoes, and the like? Mostly, the daughters of these same men; yet who, in their days of prosperity, would not allow their wives and children freely even to breathe the pure air, lest they should have become tinctured with disease; much less to perform any servile labor! Let me ask if to farmers such monuments are often erected? Monuments whose inscriptions are thus written in tears of scalding heat, and whose frost-like surfaces, could they come in contact with the spirits whose names they perpetuate, would impart the chill of a second death? Far from it. Ordinarily, the children of deceased farmers, or some of them, remain in the same homestead, with undiminished competency, maintaining, in successive time, the family name. Such are the monuments raised to their Let it be supposed that one hundred young men, at the same period, reach the age of twenty-one years. One half of the number devote themselves to agriculture, to which they have been trained; and the other half devote themselves to merchandise, to which they have been trained. Which portion will be most prosperous? Which portion will acquire most prop

memory.

Trust not the praise of a friend, nor the contempt of an enemy.

snow, where they reside. The Moravian missionaries describe them as warm and comfortable habitations.

death.

Parents who are unable to support their female children, are permitted to throw them into the river.

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with great reverence. To strike a parent, is punished with

AGRICULTURAL WEALTH.

And

erty? Which portion will be the most useful citizens? which portion will be likely to live the longest? It will be impossible to answer these questions with perfect accuracy, because it is impossible to follow one hundred persons, so situated, through life. However, by making observations on society at large, we can tell very nearly what will be the career, and what the comparative success of these persons. The agriculturists will experience but little vicissitude. Their career will be monotonous. Seed-time and harvest, year after year, will make the principal eras in their life. All of them, we presume, will cultivate their own farms. All of them will have families. All of them will be able comfortably to support their families; and about one-fifth of the number will become comparatively wealthy for the country. But how is it with the fifty who devote themselves to merchandise? Do they all marry and have families? Only about two-thirds of them. Do they all reach the same aggregate age e? No. The farmers, as a class, live ten per cent. longer than the merchants. And how do they prosper in business? It may be that one of the fifty will become a rich man; that five will have property of their own to live comfortably; that ten will receive a decent living from clerkships; and that at the end of thirty years, or when they reach the age of fifty-one, most of the remaining ones will be dead, or no where to be found. And of the mercantile class there will be only half or two-thirds as many children as of the farmers, promising to make useful citizens in the world. This is believed a very fair comparison between the two classes; if it fails of accuracy, that the disparity in the reality will much exceed the calculation. It seems to have gained credence, that there is little or no wealth belonging to the agricultural community. Such an assumption must have proceeded from great ignorance or the most superficial views. A hasty glance on the subject will present its fallacy. Take, if you please, the State of New Jerseyby no means the most eligible place for my purpose-and the fallacy will be seen. There are nearly five million acres of land in the state. However, I will call it four millions, which, at twenty-five dollars per acre, will make the land capital of New Jersey sixty mililons of dollars. Now, if we suppose this territory divided into farms of one hundred acres each; and, that appertaining to each of these farms are farming implements, stock, produce, and other personal property, to the value of one thousand dollars, here will be an aggregate of forty millions of dollars more; making the agricultural wealth of the state one hundred millions of dollars. Now let those who are able to do

or,

Buy what you do not want, and you will sell what you cannot spare.

Customs in China.-Dress is regulated by law. White is worn for mourning. Children treat their parents