44 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



new energy, and with a determination, as far as may be, to master them ; 

 and to awaken for the subject an additional respect, that more gratifying 

 results may, if possible, be obtained. 



All labor, in legitimate pursuits, is honorable; but the status of a pro- 

 fession depends much upon its importance to man's welfare, the amount 

 of ability required for its successful prosecution, and the character of 

 those who follow it. Judged in this connection, and the calling of the 

 farmer attains the very highest standard. 



To man's necessities, comfort, and happiness, the tilling of the soil and 

 the yield it may be made to produce, are of the first consequence; and 

 an intelligent prosecution of his work requires from the agriculturist a 

 familiarity with the causes and effects of his labor, and a knowledge of 

 botany and chemistry, which aids him in the development of his re- 

 sources and elevates his calling to the dignity of a science. As to the 

 character and standing of those who have tilled the soil, history, both 

 sacred and profane, abounds with the names of many who were renowned 

 and illustrious in public and private life ; and this, too, from the very 

 creation of the world ; for agriculture, while it is the noblest, is the oldest 

 of all the arts. 



Whether or not Adam was a tiller of the soil, is a question that may 

 be left to the wide field of uncertainty which surrounds that early period 

 in the history of man ; but that his two sons were farmers, is proved be- 

 yond a doubt in the book of Genesis, where Cain is introduced as a " tiller 

 of the ground," and Abel as a " keeper of sheep." At this primitive age, 

 and for centuries thereafter, agriculture and religion went hand in hand. 

 The noblest patriarchs and the most venerated sages testified their belief 

 in the Most High, by erecting altars to His name, and by sacrificing 

 thereon " the firstlings of their flocks." Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 

 were farmers, owning large tracts of land, ',' rich in cattle," and fruitful 

 in the products of the field and vine. 



The classic authors and orators of Greece and Rome delighted to write 

 and speak upon the subject of agriculture, and labored to instil a love 

 for it into the minds of their readers and hearers. In those ancient 

 times, the highest citizens and the most prominent statesmen — the most 

 successful warriors and the most convincing writers — were cultivators 

 of the soil. Even kings and princes have been known to resign their 

 power to become farmers, while farmers have been called from the field 

 to become kings. The familiar story of Cincinnatus, who had in the 

 days of the old Roman Republic received an embassy from the people 

 while in the very act of plowing in the field, had an illustrious proto- 

 type in the example of Elisha, whose mantle of a prophet was urged 

 upon him while working his land with a team of twelve yoke of oxen. 



By the law under which Rome was organized, every citizen was enti- 

 tled to one and one fifth acres of land in his own right. This was sub- 

 ject to mortgage, sale, and bequest, but no man was allowed ever to 

 accumulate more than three hundred acres, either by purchase or other- 

 wise. In those days large farms were not regarded as a sine qua non to 

 happiness and success. In fact, it was remarked by an orator of that 

 time that " he was not to be accounted a good citizen, but rather a dan- 

 gerous man to the State, who could not content himself with seven 

 acres of land." 



Cato urges it, " as a grand point of husbandry, not to have too much 

 land in one farm, there being more profit in holding little and tilling it 

 well." And Virgil, whose noble poems on rural life are read in every 

 college, says " the farmer may praise large estates, but let him cultivate 



