ANNUAL ADDEESS. 153 



The late distinguislied Judge Buel, better known as farmer 

 BuEL, in Albany, New York, where lie resided, in an address 

 bj him, prepared a short time previous to his death, says: 

 " "When we consider that agriculture is the great business of the 

 nation — of mankind — that its successful prosecution depends 

 upon a knowledge of the cultivation of the soil, of the princi- 

 ples of natural science, and that our agriculture stands in special 

 need of this auxiliary aid, we cannot withhold our surprise and 

 regret, that we have not long since established professional 

 schools, in which our youth may be taught simultaneously, the 

 principles and practice of their future business of life, and on 

 which, more than any other branch of business, the fortunes of 

 our country, moral political, and national, eventually depend. 



" We have professional schools in almost every business of 

 life, except the cultivation of the soil, one of the most impor- 

 tant and essential of them all, and one embracing a larger scope 

 of useful study in natural science, and in usefulness to the tem- 

 poral wants of the hmnan family, than any other. 



"Our agriculturists are our priviledged class, (if we have 

 such.) They are our sovereigns, because, from their superior 

 numbers, they must ever control our political destinies for good 

 or evil ; and the more intelligent and independent we can ren- 

 der them, the more safe we make our country from the convul- 

 sions of internal feuds, and the danger of foreign war." 



The progress of our calling, requires that experiments should 

 be made in stock, soil, crops, and fruits, which shall enlarge the 

 sphere of practical knowledge in those departments. These ex- 

 periments are often such as require the most exact application 

 of scientific iprinciples, in order to secure a reliable result ; but 

 when this result is once obtained, it can be applied by the ordi- 

 nary farmer. These experiments involve time and expense, 

 which the private farmer is not able to bestow. An experi- 

 mental farm, conducted under the supervision and direction of 

 the first scientific ability, would be of incalculable worth to the 

 husbandman. When these results are reached through such 

 means, they would be entitled to that confidence and respect, 

 emanating as they would from such a source, as would generally 

 R 



