THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



509 



whilst Practice cannot contradict' the teachings of Science, 

 it may, however, be opposed to Theory; but so far as 

 this exists, so far is the theory influenced by error ; on 

 the other hand, the more correct our theories are, so in 

 like manner will they more fully harmonize with the 

 evidence of practice. 



Such being the relation in which Science stands to 

 Practice, it is evident that scientific knowledge is of the 

 highest importance to those who are connected with the 

 soil, and whose duty it is to convert the materials of our 

 soils into forms endowed with vitality, and fimilly pre- 

 pared for the requirements of man. Do not let me be 

 for a moment supposed to advocate scientific knowledge 

 alone as a sufficient preparation for the successful 

 management of land ; for I am fully persuaded that 

 practice can alone render a person competent for such 

 duties ; but I would most emphatically express my con- 

 viction, that no one is in a position to learn farming 

 with the greatest advantage to himself, who has not been 

 rendered a correct observer of Nature by a knowledge of 

 her laws. I shall only be expressing the opinion of the 

 leading agriculturists of this kingdom when I say that 

 a course of scientific instruction must be looked upon as 

 a proper completion to the education of those young 

 men who are destined for taking a leading position in 

 the agricultural body. This knowledge of science no 

 more supersedes a knowledge of practice than a youth's 

 ordinary school education does ; but they must be looked 

 upon as separate stages in that course of tuition which 

 prepares him to teach himself. I look upon a study of 

 the sciences as a suitable preparation for gaining a 

 knowledge of farm practice, rather than as in the least 

 degree superseding a thorough acquaintance with the 

 practical details. 



It may be desirable for us to glance at some of the 

 circumstances which render it necessary for those con- 

 nected with the management and improvement of land 

 to be rendered familiar with the sciences which are 

 directly and indirectly connected with the productions 

 to be obtained from the soil. The duty of the agricul- 

 turist is somewhat anomalous, for he enlists the assist- 

 ance of Nature to produce unnatural conditions both of 

 animal and vegetable life. If you examine the crops 

 which receive his greatest care and attention, you will 

 observe that they differ so widely in character from the 

 parents whence they originally sprung, that you can 

 scarcely recognize any relationship or similarity of form. 

 Take, for example, the wild carrot, with its tough and 

 woody root, seldom weighing half-an-ounce ; compare 

 with it the fleshy, nutritious, and heavy roots you see 

 exhibited at the Christmas Show in Bingley Hall, and 

 you need a tolerable degree of confidence in your in- 

 formant to believe that the latter is a descendant of the 

 former. The processes of cultivation have encouraged 

 and perpetuated the peculiar abnormal character which 

 the cultivator needed. This variation can only be 

 maintained by a proper exercise of judgment and care. 

 If left uncared for by man, it will soon resume its 

 original and, I may say, its natural character. In fact, 

 nearly all our crops are unnatural developments of 

 peculiar characters which are suited to our requirements ; 



and who can say whether or not, from amongst the 

 numerous weeds we now reject as worthless, fresh pro- 

 ductions valuable as food may not be developed under 

 the processes of cultivation ? 



So also with our live stock. We have improved the 

 native breeds, and encouraged in them certain unnatural 

 developments of body which under the management 

 they receive whilst in domestication we are able to main- 

 tain ; but Nature stiil sets us boundaries which cannot 

 be passed, and hence we know in practice that when we 

 have rendered an animal most fully in accordance with 

 our artificial standard, then tlie difficulty of perpetuating 

 the species shows that we are on the limit over which 

 Nature will not allow us to pass. In a state of nature 

 animals are fitted to withstand the vicissitudes of sea- 

 sons, and their frames possess ihat configuration and the 

 organs of their bodies that formation which are best 

 suited for the healthy discharge of the functions of lifej 

 but in our domesticated animal we have one less able 

 to withstand the severity of our seasons, with a disposi- 

 tion for rest rather than for motion, with lungs and 

 liver small and sluggish in their action, with bones fine 

 and an excessive tendency to form fat, whilst the povrers 

 of reproduction are diminished, and in some instances 

 destroyed. Thus the entire produce of our farms pre- 

 sents to us a series of unnatural and abnormal forms 

 totally different from the parents from which they 

 were originally obtained. These conditions, although 

 unnatural, are still eminently desirable for our social 

 welfare ; and the maintenance of these peculiarities is 

 essentially necessary, for each possesses a tendency to 

 retrograde into its original form. Can it be that the 

 works of Nature, so perfect in their chatacier, are 

 capable of receiving further improvement at the hands 

 of man ? Nature has given both to plants and animals 

 that form and that character which archest suited /o?' the 

 preservation of their species ; but to meet the require- 

 ments of man in his civilized condition, we are per- 

 mitted to modify their character for our special require- 

 ments, and thus man's industry and skill are enlisted in 

 the promotion of his own welfare; but each plant and 

 animal still maintains within itself a tendency to return, 

 when no longer under man's control, to its original form 

 — the form best suited for the preservation of its species. 



In order, therefore, that we may most advantageously 

 carry-out that artificial system which constitutes our 

 farm practice, it is clearly to our advantage to under- 

 stand the materials we have to deal with, and the 

 influences which control them. This, however, em- 

 bodies a very wide range of study. The progressive 

 changes which we observe in the ingredients of our soils 

 becoming organized and changed into vegetable matter, 

 and this again being consumed by animals and converted 

 into flesh, offer an extensive field of research alike ad- 

 vantageous and interesting. Fully to demonstrate the 

 advantages and the scientific interest they produce would 

 occupy an extended series of lectures ; and in the 

 course I am now about to deliver in this College I shall 

 have an opportunity of going somewhat into detail upon 

 the principles of agriculture ; but as you may anti- 

 cipate from me some reference to the practical benefits 



