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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



away carbon in their lungs, and waste heat. Vegetables 

 store up the means of warmth. But every vegetable 

 requires its own particular mineral food; and if this be 

 deficient, the plant sickens. Vegetables also need fresh 

 air : they imbibe food by their leaves. Each vegetable has 

 its own " heat mark," below which it stands still. Tlie 

 drier the soil in winter, the warmer. A rough surface 

 causes heat to radiate, and therefore keeps down tem- 

 perature; therefore moisture is retained in summer by 

 roughening the surface of the land. And in mechanics 

 there are certain laws as to the balance of action and 

 reaction ; as the relation between power used and space 

 travelled over and time consumed, the connection be- 

 tween speed and resistance or friction; from which laws 

 there is no escape. We may sum up thus : Our Crea- 

 tor has given us nature to subdue. In the struggle 

 with nature we learn our strength and our weakness. 

 We find our strength increased by every effort ; but the 

 further we advance the more certainly do we know that 

 there is something which cannot be done. In a word : 

 the first condition for mastering nature in detail is to 

 understand her general laws, and to submit to them. 

 These laws then become living principles of science, and 

 bear fruit in consistent practice. Formerly the handi- 

 craft of the husbandman was looked upon as the stan- 

 dard of success, without which he could not be classed 

 as a " practical man." If he ventured to read or to 

 act upon new designs, he was at once branded with the 

 stigma of a doomed man. This state of things reminds 

 me of an anecdote. A certain farmer, in the good old 

 days, decided upon giving up his farm to the elder son. 

 To effect this it was thought best to see " The Lord" in 

 person. Accordingly " father and son" set out for the 

 "Hall." Then came the familiar story — 



"The soil I now hold, on your honour's estate, 

 Is the same that my grandfathers tilled." 



This over, it was found a good opportunity for review- 

 ing the farm. The dialogue ran thus: " You see, my 

 Lord, we have all ploughed the ' Barn Close' for years, 

 until 'tis tired out, worn out, and grassed o'er. We have 

 been thinking, my Lord, that as we have all mowed 

 the ' top Woodfield' for years and years, and it grows 

 nothing but weeds, your Lordship would let this ere 

 boy of mine change the system a bit, so &3 to let the 

 ' Barn Close' lay down, now it has grassed o'er, and 

 plough up the 'top Woodfield' that won't grow grass." 

 His Lordship, not quite seeing the drift of the argu- 

 ment, summoned his agent from " Chambers" to the 

 country, who proceeded to view the fields ; subsequently 

 agreeing that as the fields represented the story told, and 

 the good old man could have no interest in placing his 

 son in a false position, the change should be allowed. 

 The ride was prolonged and all went well until the 

 London agent dived into matters " purely agricultural," 

 by remonstrating with the son as to his not taking " two 

 white crops" in succession, saying this he could not 

 allow. The old boy at once came to the rescue, and 

 quaintly replied, " Quite right, your honour, quite 

 right; there's nothing like a change. It has always 

 been our custom to sow wheat, and th^n black oats be- 

 tween it and the barley ; and I wish the boy to do the 



same." Whereupon the agent apologized, and agreed 

 that the black oat crop between was an excellent thought, 

 and evidently constituted what he had heard so much 

 about, viz., "the alternate husbandry!" (laughter). Such 

 was the state of things when the "handicraft" of the 

 husbandman was looked upon as the only standard of 

 success. Happilyforthe increasing population of the pre- 

 sent day, this handicraft state of things is passing away, 

 and we have in exchange not only the modern practices 

 of the art, but the free discussion of all subjects which 

 relate to the "progress of agriculture." Wore espe- 

 cially is this the case at the Central Farmers' Club. In 

 reviewing this auxiliary I feel bound to give praise where 

 praise is due. The happy formation of this Club on the 

 28th June, 1843, at once announced a new era in the 

 annals of our agriculture, inasmuch as our very excellent 

 and intelligent friend, Mr. Baker, of Writtle, was invited 

 at the outset to introduce the subject of "Artificial 

 Manures," for the free discussion of the members. 

 Since that period this interesting topic has been dis- 

 cussed ten different times, and there have been up to 

 this date no less than one hundred and ten subjects dis- 

 cussed by the members, each of them relating to agri- 

 culture. The question of "Tenant Right" has been 

 before the members ten times. The agricultural labourer 

 and his education seven times ; and draining and root 

 crops five times each. The important subjects of geo- 

 logy, diseases of cattle, agricultural statistics, agricul- 

 tural machinery, waste lands, food of cattle, farm 

 leases, sewage manures, the breaking-up of grass land, 

 carts and waggons, deep cultivation, the influence 

 of science, the rotation of crops, weights and measures, 

 allotment system, and the education of the farmer's son, 

 have also shared the attention of the Club. This is a 

 result which may be written upon the broad pages of 

 our history, in the book of agricultural progress. Well 

 may it be asked, " What should we now do without 

 this Club ?" What would the five hundred members 

 think if their Bridge-street sessions were terminated, 

 and the Club disbanded .' Let us rejoice that " union 

 is strength ;" let each contribute to the cause by in- 

 troducing new members — only one — and our strength 

 will be increased twofold. I have noticed that this Club 

 has now discussed some hundred and ten subjects re- 

 lating to English agriculture, none of which have con- 

 vinced me so much of our growing position as the one 

 recently introduced by Mr. Bond, upon education. That 

 gentleman his well reminded us of the necessity of 

 keeping pace with the times ; and that it is to man's 

 mental powers that we have to look for the future ad- 

 vancement of agriculture. The sons of agriculture 

 must have an improved education, an education that 

 will now grapple with advancing science. Formerly 

 the mere routine practices of the year were sufficient 

 to make a farmer's son a "practical man," and the 

 country schoolmaster was an ample teacher for the age. 

 But now, ihanks to advanced education and scientific 

 men, we live in an age of progress, and have yet a new 

 era before us. And if this be a truism, then I may 

 ask, who shall hold his own without steadily embracing 

 the improved facilities for education that are daily being 



