7^ 



The Coitntn,' Gcntlcmaiis Magazine 



one is injured by too much laiowledge, but infinite 

 mischief is done by ignorance — by which all suffer. 



" To the agriculturist, accurate statistics of the 

 extent of crops under culti\ation are of far more im- 

 portance than to any other class of the community, 

 for he is the largest dealer in corn. All the corn in 

 existence must pass through his hands 1:iefore it 

 reaches the com factor, miller, merchant, or consumer. 

 Therefore the agi-iculturist, above all other men, ought 

 to know accurately of any deficiency that exists in the 

 yield, and to what extent, that he may, by higher 

 prices, be compensated for the loss in quantity. If 

 Heaven has blest him with a good harvest, he will be 

 no loser by knowing the extent of his blessing, for it 

 will enable him to make his calculations, when and 

 at what price to sell his crop, or when to withhold it. 

 At present, in the uncertainty arising from want of 

 accurate information, the farmer is entirely at the 

 mercy of chance. He sells — perhaps just because he 

 wants straw — on the very eve of a rise in prices, when 

 he ought to have kept his corn. Or, he may lose an 

 opportunity to sell at the right time, and hold his corn 

 just when he ought to part with it. The farmer, 

 in respect to the state of the market, is generally 

 behind-hand with the factor or merchant, and 

 often, instead of reaping the full benefit of his care 

 and toil, by the most advantageous disposal of his pro- 



duce, he loses it, and has to pay the inevitable 

 penalty of ignorance. While the merchant, who gene- 

 rally takes every pains to be well informed of whatever 

 refers to the prospective supplies and imports, has in 

 this respect the advantage over the farmer, and justly 

 obtains the legitimate benefit of superior information. 

 The axiom that ' knov/ledge is power' applies to 

 commerce as well as to farming, and to every other 

 pursuit. ' Ignorance,' on the contrary, ' is weak- 

 ness' — it proceeds from selfishness, the effect of which 

 always strikes back upon itself, in obedience to the 

 eternal law of compensation and retribution. Sufficient 

 has been said here to shew that farmers, by withhold- 

 ing the little information required of them — which each 

 can and ought to give, of the extent of crops under 

 their own cultivation, are their own enemies, entailing 

 upon themselves losses and disappointments which 

 they might easily avert. No class of men more than 

 the agriculturists themselves would be benefited b}- 

 accurate information with regard to the extent of the 

 crops grown. It is to be hoped that all our farmers 

 will cheerfully undertake the little trouble of filling up 

 the few items in the papers, which will be sent to them 

 through the Boai-d of Trade. By facilitating the col- 

 lection of agricultural statistics they will best serve 

 themselves, and by it be, above all others, the greatest 

 gainers. " 



