THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



as the rain water tlius waslied in its soluble part, 

 and when the plough turned over the ground, in- 

 stead of its being all four or five inches under, the 



34S 



greater part of the ammonia would be acting at 

 only one or two inches deep from having been 

 previously washed in. 



LONDON, OR CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. 



EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINE OF THE YOUNG FARMER. 



The Monthly Meeting of the Club took place on 

 Monday evening, March 7, at the Club-house, Black- 

 friars. 



Mr. Trethewy, in the absence of Mr. John Thomas, 

 the President of the year, was called to the chair. There 

 was a large attendance of members, including Messrs. 

 R Baker, James Wood (Sussex), T. Owen, W. Fisher 

 Hobbs, (Rev.) C. T. James, J. A.Williams, J. Russell, 

 J. Nockolds, E. Little, J. S. King, C. J. Brickwell, 

 S. Skelton, J. Wood (Croydon), W. Walton, L. A. 

 Coussmaker, T. Lyall, J. H. SAwell, T. Congreve, W. 

 Mitchell, G. Dobito, G. P. Tuxford, E. B. Waite, W. 

 Heard, S. Sidney, R. Marsh, J. Hooker, G. S. Har- 

 rison, W. Eve, J. Odams, G. Wilsher, J. C. Nesbit, E. 

 Tattersall, T. Chandler, J. W. Smith, G. Fidler, H. 

 Sholter, D. Reid, W. Kemp, &c. 



The subject for discussion — introduced by Mr. R. 

 Bond, of Kentwell, LongMelford, Suffolk— was, " The 

 education, discipline, and introduction of the young 

 farmer to life." 



The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, 

 said he felt bound to afford some explanation, 

 by way of apology, for appearing in that po- 

 sition. He did so in consequence of the unavoidable 

 absence of Mr. Thomas. It happened to be that gen- 

 tleman's rent-day. He was one of the largest tenants 

 on the estate of Lord St. John, as well as one of the 

 largest farmers in Bedfordshire ; and as his lordship 

 made a point of dining with his tenants on the rent-day, 

 Mr. Thomas thought it would not be becoming in him to 

 absent himself. He (Mr. Trethewy) trusted that, under 

 these circumstances, his own services would be ac- 

 cepted (Hear, hear). 



Mr. Bond said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, 

 we have this evening to consider and discuss an un- 

 usually important subject ; and it will be well for us to 

 bear in mind, that we have not simply to determine a 

 mere material question, embracing the cost of agricul- 

 tural production, or the increase of our pecuniary gains ; 

 but we have this evening to dwell upon the culture of 

 mind, not matter — of man, not material. We have this 

 evening to dwell upon the cultivation of the cultivator 

 of the soil himself; and much may fall from our lips 

 which may tend not only to form a character and fix a 

 future ; but I admit it will be a matter of regret with 

 me if we do not succeed in propounding and moulding 

 the formation of a system which shall be calculated to 

 meet the increased educational requirements of the age 

 —a system which shall ultimately be instituted to exalt 

 the intellectual standard of the agricultural character, . 



and which shall be destined to increase the mental, 

 moral, and physical greatness of Old England. You 

 will plainly perceive, gentlemen, upon the question of 

 agricultural education, I am an advocate for action and 

 co-operation ; and I am extremely desirous to see the 

 Central London Farmers' Club occupying the proud 

 position of a pioneer, practically, in every agricultural 

 movement of desirable progress and undoubted use- 

 fulness; and I trust, in this instance, we shall this 

 evening not only consider wisely, and discuss fully and 

 freely, but that we shall resolve, prudently and firmly, 

 to carry out to a successful issue some desirable agricul- 

 tural educational movement. In this age of change, 

 progress, and improvement, no change has been more 

 marked and decided than the altered position of our 

 British agriculture within the past fifty years. Not 

 half a century since, and the agricultural art was com- 

 paratively pure empiricism ; it was practice without sci- 

 ence, practice without the light of reason ; and the 

 standard of agricultural intellectual attainment was 

 necessarily low and meagre. Agriculture, as a purely 

 imitative art, required no depth of knowledge even in 

 its best qualified professors. There was nothing in a 

 simple course of routine to tax the mental powers. 

 But within the present century how marked the change ! 

 We have now the widest field and the most extended 

 scope for intellectual exertion ; we have now the whole 

 of Nature's laws opened up for our investigation and re- 

 search. There is scarce a science but bears directly or 

 indirectly upon the art by which we live ; and for a 

 rational fulfilment and a thorough comprehension of 

 agricultural practice, I know of no business or profes- 

 sion at the present day requiring a deeper knowledge or 

 a higher degree of intellectual attainment. Agriculture 

 is no longer a mere blind question of ploughing and 

 sowing ; but agriculturists now require to understand the 

 object, reason, and result of every mechanical operation. 

 They require to know why ploughing benefits the land ; 

 why draining answers ; what the plant derives from the 

 soil, what from the air ; why one manure as applied to 

 the soil answers, why another fails to answer ; how light 

 and heat affect the plant ; how they influence the crop ; 

 why the animal thrives well upon one kind of food and 

 not upon another — to say nothing of the structure of 

 the plant, the anatomy of the animal, the construction 

 of machinery, and many other subjects requiring the 

 greatest mental application to qualify any man to com- 

 prehend the intricacies of Nature's laws and the compli- 

 cations of Nature's operations, which it is the farmer'a 

 greatest success to subscribe to, to foster, and promote. 

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