30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. > 



elicited some discussion, -which was shared in bj INIessrs. Anderson, 

 Flint, Goodale and others. A slight modification of the lanojuage 

 being made hy the chairman, (and which is incorporated above,) the 

 report was unanimously adopted. 



Mr. True, chairman of committee on second Topic, reported as 

 follows : 



" The subject of Agricultural Education has, for many years, been 

 an important problem to the men of progress in this country. 

 Theorists have been inclined to look to European countries for a 

 solution of this question ; but whenever this has been tried, it has 

 resulted in an attempt to engraft upon American soil, habits, cus- 

 toms, and modes of agriculture entirely different from what this 

 climate and country will warrant. 



Agricultural schools and colleges have been organized in Europe 

 with good success. But it must be borne in mind, that in Europe, 

 men of all classes are in a certain sense, cultivators of the soil. In 

 England the landholder may have his thousands of acres under cul- 

 tivation. He wants a superintendent of such immense estates. He 

 must be a man educated to agriculture as a science, and as a pro- 

 fession. He secures a man thoroughly educated for this purpose, 

 who, with the title of land steward, is well acquainted with agricul- 

 tural chemistry, the laws of breeding cattle, in fact, everything 

 pertaining to his calling. This superintendent calls to his aid the 

 poor farmers, who are hired at the lowest possible price, to carry on 

 the labor under his direction. These are virtually slaves to the 

 better educated men. 



But we find a different state of things in this Republic. Equal- 

 ity of thought, and equality in social and intellectual position seems 

 to be the watchword in agriculture here. Adopting the European 

 method of cultivation, we must virtually reduce to servitude nine- 

 teen-twentieths of our rural population for the advantage of the 

 other twentieth. The heart of every American freeman revolts at 

 such a thought. 



We must then come to the conclusion, that the genius of our in- 

 stitutions will not admit the introduction of agricultural schools and 

 colleges on the same basis as in Europe. Under our present system 

 of agriculture, it is expected that every man and boy shall devote 

 his energies to manual labor. No substitute for this has yet been 



