So that, by feeding his hay out to horses, the farmer
gets his produce into a better state to be transported to market. The
Vermont horses go all over the land. Thus you see that the farmers
in the grass country have to turn the vegetable products which they
raise, into animal products, before they can get them to market; and
as the rearing of animals is a work which requires a great deal of
attention, care, patience, and skill, the cultivators must be men of a
higher class than those which are employed in raising cotton, or even
than those who raise grain. The animals must be watched and guarded
while they are young. There are a great many different diseases, and
accidents, and injuries which they are exposed to, and it requires
constant watchfulness, and considerable, intelligence, to guard
against them. This makes a great difference in the character which is
required in the laborers, in the different cases. A cotton plantation
in the south can be cultivated by slaves. A grain farm in the middle
states can be worked by hired laborers; but a northern grass farm,
with all its oxen, cows, sheep, poultry, and horses, can only be
successfully managed by the work of the owner."
"Is that the reason why they have slaves at the south?" asked Marco.
"It is a reason why slaves can be profitable at the south. In
cultivating cotton or sugar, a vast proportion of all the work done
in the year is the same. Almost the whole consists of a few simple
processes, such as planting, hoeing, picking cotton, &c., and this is
to be performed on smooth, even land, where set tasks can be easily
assigned. But the work on a grass farm is endlessly varied. It would
not be possible to divide it into set tasks. And then it is of such a
nature, that it could not possibly be performed successfully by the
mere labor of the hands. The _mind_ must be employed upon it. For
instance, even in getting in hay, in the summer season, the farmer has
to exercise all his judgment and discretion to avoid getting it wet by
the summer showers, and yet to secure it in good time, and with proper
dispatch. A cotton planter may hire an overseer to see to the getting
in of his cotton, and he can easily tell by the result, whether he
has been faithful or not. But hay can not be got in well, without the
activity, and energy, and good judgment, which can come only from the
presence and immediate supervision of an owner. This produces vast
differences in the nature of the business, and in the whole state of
society in the two regions."
"What are the differences?" asked Marco.
"Why, in the first place," said Forester, "the fact that cotton and
sugar can be cultivated by hired overseers, with slaves to do the
work, enables rich men to carry on great plantations without laboring
themselves. But a great grass farm could not be managed so. A man may
have one thousand acres for his plantation at the south, and with a
good overseer and good hands, it will all go on very well, so far as
his profit is concerned. They will produce a great amount of cotton,
which may be sent to market and sold, and the planter realize the
money, so as to make a large profit after paying all his expenses. But
if a man were to buy a thousand acres of grass land, and employ an
overseer and slaves to cultivate it, every thing would go to ruin. The
hay would get wet and spoiled, - the carts, wagons, and complicated
tools necessary, would get broken to pieces, - the lambs would be
neglected and die, and the property would soon go to destruction.
Even when a rich man attempts to carry on a moderate farm by hired
laborers, taking the best that he can find, he seldom succeeds."
"Does he _ever_ succeed?" said Marco.
"Yes," replied Forester, "sometimes. There is Mr. Warner, who lives
near my father's; he was brought up on a farm, and is practically
acquainted with all the work. He has been very successful, and has
a very large farm. He works now very little himself, but he watches
every thing with the greatest care, and he succeeds very well. He has
a great stock. He cuts fifty tons of hay."
"I should like to see his farm," said Marco.
"We'll go some day," replied Forester.
"So you see," continued Forester, "that the work of a cotton or sugar
plantation, is comparatively simple and plain, requiring little
judgment or mental exertion, and a great deal of plain straightforward
bodily labor; while on a northern stock farm the labors are endlessly
varied. Every month, every week, and almost every day brings some
change. New emergencies are constantly arising, which call for
deliberation and judgment. It is necessary to have a great variety of
animals, in order to consume all the different productions of the farm
to advantage. I can explain it all to you better, when you come to see
Mr. Warner's farm."
As Nero traveled very fast, they began by this time to draw near to
the place where they had left the sailor. When they came up to the
house, they fastened the horse to a post, and went in. The man who
lived there had gone away, but the woman said that the sailor was
somewhat hurt, and asked them to come in and see him. They found him
in the kitchen, with his foot up in a chair. He seemed to be in some
pain. There was a great bruise on his ankle, made by the cork of one
of the horses' shoes. These _corks_, as they are called, are
projections, made of steel, at the heel of a horse-shoe, to give the
horse a firm footing.
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