464 State Board op Agriculture, &c. 



and observation, and challenge the investigation of the pro- 

 gressive farmer. He who fully comprehends the nature 

 and importance of the nmnberless questions to be settled 

 in perfecting the details of a complete system of agricul- 

 ture, will not fail to discover subjects enough for thought 

 in this department of industry. "What science presents so 

 wide a field for practical improvement, or so many subjects 

 of interest to the cui'ious observer of natural phenomena, 

 as this ? 



Yet a scientific knowledge of agriculture will not alone 

 insure success in farming. Only a diligent application of 

 its principles, under the supervision of sound judgment, 

 and a good degree of practical common sense, will do this. 

 The indolent man should never attempt to gain a living by 

 agriculture, drones cannot thrive by this occupation ; and 

 the mere theorist, he who only imbibes ideas, without an 

 intelligent knowledge of their practical value and applica- 

 tion, will not succeed in this calling. 



But, says an objector, of what use is all this learning to 

 the farmer ? Om- fathers got along without it. and so 

 have we thus far. True ; but our fathers found here a 

 vii-gin soil, rich in all the elements of plant life. This 

 natural deposit has been greatly reduced, and comparative 

 sterility has taken the place of superior fertility. This has 

 been brought about by the agricultural vandalism of the 

 past three generations. Farms, where once large crops of 

 wheat, corn, and other grains could be raised upon any of 

 the arable land, now, if raised at all, only on comparatively 

 small areas, and by the application of patent fertilizers, or 



