248 [Assembly 



Examples are selected from Great Britain, because this is known 

 to be the best farming country in the world ; and to show that 

 even there prejudice yet holds men in bondage, to a great 

 extent. Crops are sometimes continued there year after year up- 

 on the same soil, by some of those stubborn followers of olden 

 rules, for ten or fifteen years. And so in this country, we can 

 find cases where rye, for instance, is sown and re-sown until the 

 ground is so completely exhausted that it will not give back the 

 seed ; then they let it lie awhile, until it is partly recruited, when 

 the same process is again gone through. 



There is, however, some shadow of excuse for the farmer in 

 not making more rapid advancement, for often even those who 

 would do so, are led astray. The guides of the farmer are here 

 to blame : some of the agricultural papers ; many of them are 

 not fitted to give him instructions ; some even of those that make 

 great pretences to scientific knowledge. One of them, for iu- 

 gtance, has published, lately, an article supporting the idea that 

 wheat turns to chess. Now chess is a wholly different thing, a 

 plant of a different genus botanically. If wheat can turn to 

 chess, it can turn to Cana'da thistles or anything else. Another 

 of these journals contains an article, which takes the ground that 

 shade is all that is necessary to give nourishment, and ensure 

 large crops ! .According to which theory, if we could take a 

 blanket and cover up our fields from the noxious rays of the sun, 

 it would do away with all necessity for any further research, and 

 any such Institution as this which is now commencing. The 

 Professor cited also other instances where these journals were at 

 fault, and thus were even those farmers who wou d improve, led 

 astray. 



The lecturer then compared our natural advantages for im- 

 provement with those in Europe, giving us the preference, for one 

 reason : because^ we had no feudal system, and hence lands must 

 be often changing hands. This prevented a continued system 

 from being followed for any great length of time. 



Science does not condemn practical experience. With the lat- 

 ter alone, we are certain of an existence, while without it, no 

 matter how good our theory, we are not. Experience is India- 



