No. 85.] 385 



too porous, discoverable only by the practical eye of an observer fa- 

 miliar vfiih the geological structure of the adjacent country. In such 

 cases, it is obvious that the ability to determine the nature and con- 

 tinuity of the geological formations of the district vi^ould prove of in- 

 valuable service to the farmer — enabling him at once to detect the 

 existence and ascertain the extent of the hidden source of infertility, 

 and to apply those remedies which a mere investigation of the soil, 

 without this aid, might fail, even with the greatest perseverance, sat- 

 isfactorily to indicate. In short, a general and scientific acquaintance 

 with the component elements, and the position of rocks to each other 

 — a knowledge which may, without difficulty, be acquired after a few 

 elementary lessons, practically applied to the ordinary purposes of 

 agricultural improvement, might be most advantageously connected 

 with the earliest processes of intellectual culture. 



" Perfect agriculture," observes Professor Liebig, " is the true 

 foundation of all trade and industry ; it is the foundation of the riches 

 of states. But a rational system of agriculture cannot be formed 

 without the application of scientific principles." So important, in 

 particular, to the agriculturist, is a knowledge of the elementary prin- 

 ciples of chemistry, that it is not too much to say that without it no 

 improvement on existing processes of culture worthy of the name, can 

 be expected. The effects of different rotations of crops, the proper- 

 ties of diffierent manures, the preparation and adaptation of the soil 

 for the growth of particular crops, and a variety of other circumstan- 

 ces of equal importance, can be intelligently appreciated only by a 

 practical acquaintance with these principles ; and the farmer who at 

 this day expects to realize, from the cultivation of the soil, those ad- 

 vantages which it is capable of imparting, without such an acquaint- 

 ance, will labor under physical disabilities fully equal to those of the 

 mechanic who is ignorant of the essential properties of matter, and of 

 the fundamental principles of the various mechanical forces, or those 

 of the miner who is unacquainted with the geological structure of the 

 country he is seeking to explore. 



It would be easy to extend these views throughout the entire circle 

 of the useful sciences, the acquisition of which, as abstract sciences, 

 is deemed essential to a complete elementary education. There are 

 many and weighty reasons why all knowledge communicated to the 

 young should be accompanied with clear views of its practical appli- 

 cation in the various exigencies and pursuits of after life. If the cul- 

 tivation of the earth is among the most general, honorable and useful 

 of all these pursuits — if a large and constantly increasing proportion 

 of our fellow-citizens are constantly occupied in deriving from this 

 source the materials of wealth, for themselves and those who are de- 

 pendent upon their exertions— if every individual has a deep and per- 

 petual interest in the most efficient prosecution of this pursuit, and is 

 bound to contribute directly or indirectly to its support, to the best of 

 his ability, it would seem to follow that all the acquisitions of science 

 should be made subsidiary, to the greatest practicable extent, to its 

 improvement and advancement ; and that while the just claims of 

 the various other professions, arts and employments which make up 



[Senate, No. 85.] Z 



