184 PENOBSCOT AND AROOSTOOK UNION SOCIETY. 



it is not SO. In Europe, agricultural colleges are a source of great 

 national wealth and prosperity ; and doubtless would be in this, 

 were they established. Some may think because we export bread- 

 stuffs to Europe, our agricultural knowledge is as good as theirs, 

 and that Americans are as wise and leai'ued as Europeans. That 

 this country has produced men of world wide fame, for their sci- 

 entific and philosophic research and inventive skill, cannot be 

 denied. But shall we presume because our Franklin chained the 

 lightning, and Morse made it carry the news, because our Fulton 

 invented the steamer, and Hoe the lightning press, there is no 

 attainment in agriculture to which Yankee enterpi'ize has not 

 already arrived ? Let us look at Great Britain and see. When 

 the famous corn laws of England were repealed, popular clamor 

 was raised against it. They said our soil is old and exhausted, we 

 cannot raise our bread, whence shall we obtain it ? But wise 

 and learned men thought otherwise, and by the aid of chemistry. 

 Baron Liebig and others analyzed soils and plants, ascertained and 

 pointed out of what the plants were composed and the soil deficient, 

 and the fertilizing remedy for the soil, which resulted in astonish- 

 ing increase of crops. In the older parts of this country the culti- 

 vation of wheat is abandoned because they think the country is so 

 old it will not grow. But in England, an average crop of wheat 

 is over thirty bushels per acre, almost double ours, yet that Island 

 had been cultivated more than two thousand years when Columbus 

 discovered this. It is sometimes said that no other country is 

 accumulating wealth as rapidly as ours, especially in the rise of 

 real estate. And when we consider that a large proportion of our 

 territory was obtained of the Indians for a few worthless trinkets, 

 and still more worthless rum, the opinion seems well founded. 

 But let us look at France and see. When the desolating wars of 

 Napoleon were ended, b}^ his grand defeat at Waterloo, the nation's 

 attention was turned to agriculture. By the valuation of 1820, the 

 real estate of France was less than $8,000,000,000. After a period 

 of thirty years, in 1850, that same real estate was valued at over 

 $16,000,000,000, an increase of over $8,000,000,000 in thirty years 

 — while all the taxable property in these United States, including 

 real estate, commerce, manufactures, live stock, the southern 

 slaves, valued at $1,000,000,000, amounts to only $6,500,000,000 ; 

 or $1,500,000,000 less than the rise of real estate alone in France, 

 in thirty years. The all important question for us to ask is, how 

 did they manage to increase their wealth at such an enormous rate. 



