36 



But without extendiug our ai'gument farther, the general proposition, that 

 agriculture is benefitted by the advancement of every other interest essential to 

 civilization, has, I Avould hope, been satisfactorily demonstrated. 



That every other element in the economy of society, is reciprocally interested 

 in the prosperity of agriculture, has been made, at least, erpially apparent in the 

 course of the argument. 



To lay down the additional proposition, tliat agriculture is interested in the 

 improvement and perfection of its own processes, might seem to be the super- 

 fluous statement of a mere truism. 



Every farmer with a given amount of land, capital and labor, looks to his gross 

 produce, as the proper return for his outlay — and on the volume and quality of 

 this produce, depends his ability to command and to enjoy for himself and those 

 dependent on him, the productions of the Arts, and the services of the profes- 

 sions. Every agricultural improvement looks to the larger quantity, or the better 

 quality of the product. To promote these two ends is, of course, the more 

 obvious and direct object of your association. 



Having thus unfolded to you some of the outside relations of the great calling 

 of the farmer, I gladly leave this important interior field to those who shall suc- 

 ceed me in addressing you on occasion of your future anniversaries, and who wnll 

 bring to the task a knowledge of the theory and practice of Agricultiu-e w'hich I 

 cannot pretend to. 



I will, however, before closing, venture to call your attention to a few topics 

 connected with this part of the subject. 



In the first j^lace, it is a truth that will become evident on a little reflection, 

 that the division of labor cannot be profitably carried to the same extent in Agri- 

 culture, as in Mauufiicture. In the larger establishments we are told, there are 

 ten distinct processes in the manufacture of the pin, each of which may employ 

 the labor of its man, from one year s end to another. But not so with the pro- 

 cesses of Agriculture. — One cannot plow throughout the year, and another sow, 

 and another make hay. 



But, on the other hand, there are certain classifications of the greater opera- 

 tions of husbandry. We hear, for example, of stock farms, dairy farms, grain 

 culture, and the planting interest, comprising the subdivisions of the growing of 

 tobacco, of cotton, of rice, and of the cane. 



I take it to be sound doctrine in this connexion, that large tracts of country 

 should not confine themselves to any one of these forms of husbandry — for a 

 failure of the staple produce for a single season, would occasion unmitigated dis- 

 tress to the agricultui'al class, and aftect disastrously all collateral interests of the 

 district. 



The jiartial failure of the wheat crop of two or three seasons past, furnishes an 



