680 



wise man and good man to consider these questions : Ought not farm- 

 ing in all its branches, to be studied as a science? Ought not States 

 ito foster it by their laws, and if need be, by their funds ? Ought not 

 genuine agricultural schools to be established ? Ouglit not associations 

 of farmers for mutual benefit and action, to be encouraged and perpet- 

 uated? Ought not "he who makes two blades of grass to grow where 

 there was but one before," to be honored as a benefactor ? Ought not 

 the combined intellect of tens of thousands to be employed to eradicate 

 thorns and thistles, the curse of a sinful race, and to make the whole 

 earth a productive garden ? 



Then, when wildernesses blossom and deserts smile, and the world 

 puts on an Eden dress, we may expect that the moral and rehgious 

 character of man will be perfect, corresponding with the Paradise in 

 which he wiU dwell.; then, poisons will be eradicated or curtailed to their 

 proper proportions, and used only as medicines ; then, rocks will no lon- 

 ger be unsightly deformities, but useful for shelter and defences ; then, 

 the bowels of the earth will give up their mineral treasures to man ; the 

 mountain sides will be clothed with verdure, and the valleys abound in 

 luxuries; then, by the winds and waters over the oceans and through 

 the rivers, will the produce of nations be interchanged ; then, will every 

 science and every art be encouraged, and while the body is fed, the mind 

 be disciplined, and the soul perfected ; and battle fields forgotten, and 

 wild wastes remembered only in history, the whole earth become a suit- 

 able seminary for the generations, a preparatory school for Heaven. Less 

 than this, .certainly, should not be our object ; less than this we will be- 

 live, shall not be the ultimate i-eward of industry and science. 



