250 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



SO much "cellar work," as I call it. If a man is so situated 

 that he can not leave the paternal acres, if he has too much 

 water on his farm, I would have him go to work and iinder- 

 drain, and redeem it, so that it will pay him to cultivate it. 

 But it is expensive to under-drain, and if a man has a whole 

 farm that needs draining, he must add to it the price of one 

 or two more like it to make it available. 



Colonel Mead. — According to my observation about one- 

 quarter of our farms, on the average, need under-draining. 



Mr. Gould. — I have said a good deal since I have been here, 

 much more than I ought, and yet I do not wish to take leave 

 of this convention without saying a few words more. 



I feel the deepest interest in the occupations of agriculture. 

 I feel the sincere^t and deepest sympathy with my friends who 

 are engaged in agriciiltural pursuits. I wish to see the time 

 come when farmers shall cease to grovel in the earth, and rise 

 to a higher stand-point, where they can breathe an ampler 

 ether, a diviner air. I want to see the time when, if a man 

 shall come to our country from a foreign land to see and ex- 

 amine whatever we have that is noblest, purest, most intellect- 

 ual, and best in every respect, he will not go every where 

 other than among the farmers of the country to see it. The 

 time has passed by when a farmer can afford to be ignorant,, 

 can afford to be a fool. If it is necessary for any one man in 

 any department of life, to have a thorough knowledge of all 

 the laws of creation, that man is the farmer. The lawyer 

 may exist perfectly well without a knowledge of insect life, 

 but it must increase greatly the revenue of the farmer to be- 

 come a good entomologist. He is the man of all men who 

 can put money in his pocket by the acquisition of entomolog- 

 ical science. Professor Johnson may investigate the science 

 of chemistry in his laboratory, but he can make no more 

 money by discoveries in his laboratory than he could in any 

 other pursuit; but to the farmer it is indispensably necessary. 

 Professor Johnson may turn to some other employment, and 

 have as good pecuniary success in that as he does in that which 

 he is now following, but it is the breath of life to the farmer. 

 Without a knowledge of chemistry it is utterly impossible for 



