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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF AGRICULTURAL PROGRESSION. 



Progress in physical science consists of a series of 

 discoveries. It has been compared to a chain, every 

 link of which is a discovery ; to a stair or ladder, every 

 step of which is a discovery ; to a person travelling 

 along a road, every pace, as he advances in his journey, 

 being a discovery : and as agriculture is a brancb of 

 physical science, it consequently follows that the pro- 

 gress farmers are making consists of a series of disco- 

 veries, every discovery being in itself a tangible reality, 

 and as such acknowledged at the bar of Experience. 

 We admit that every link of a chain, for example, adds 

 to its length, the link itself being the undoubted evi- 

 dence, or measurement, of this length. So is it with the 

 progress made in farming ; for every step farmers take 

 in advance places them on fresh ground. 



The pioneering foot of the farmer, in the march of 

 improvement, is thus an interesting subject for practical 

 investigation. Prospectively, all is unknown — a mid- 

 night scene, upon which the light of science has not yet 

 dawned. Viewing them collectively, as a body, how 

 cautiously do agriculturists advance ! how slow, and yet 

 how manifest, are their onward movements 1 and how 

 certain is the annual advance they make in every branch 

 of their profession ! Individually, no doubt, many ap- 

 pear the reverse of willing travellers on the road, over 

 and anon sitting down, under the impression that they 

 have got to the end of their journey, and, like the 

 sluggard in the parable, grumbling loudly, when called 

 upon by their more restless, go-ahead neighbours to 

 rise and move on, for " a little more slumber to the 

 eyelids." Indeed, strictly speaking, those who are en. 

 titled to the application of pioneers are few in number — 

 a select company, meriting more approbation and en- 

 couragement than they generally receive. The great 

 body of farmers are merely followers, never starting 

 until the sun is up, some not until the day is far spent, 

 while too many are only to be heard rattled against op- 

 posing obstacles after sunset. Retrospectively, it were 

 difficult to trace the footsteps of either of these groups 

 through the dreary journey of the past. 



But, however diversified movements may be when 

 individually considered, yet collectively there is exem- 

 plified, in every branch of agriculture at present, a very 

 animated contest — thousands struggling in the race for 

 the common prize. This is seen to most advantage 

 when the different industrial elements, of which the 

 whole is composed, are viewed from neutral ground — 

 such as agricultural societies, landowners, tenants, im- 

 plement makers, and the various manufacturing in- 

 terests now actively engaged in the race of agricultural 

 progress. 



The grand object is to guide the wheel of progress in 

 as direct or straight a line as possible, in every branch 

 of husbandry, and at as great a velocity as is consistent 

 with the safety of the carriage. The railway train 

 moves along the line with a degree of certainty as to | 



speed and direction easily accounted for ; and although 

 discovery presupposes the existence of fresh ground 

 a-head, yet there is, nevertheless, a wide difference be- 

 tween the wheels of the two carriages under considera- 

 tion, for the agricultural pioneer has to lay his rails as 

 he advances. When once his line is open, thousands 

 will avail themselves of the privilege of travelling, 

 provided they are conveyed in the right direction. 



What then is this right direction upon which locomo- 

 tion depends ? Can any definite rule be laid down for 

 the safe guidance of the pioneering farmer ? The 

 mariner, as he navigates the ocean, is guided by chart 

 and compass ; or by the latter only, when in unknown 

 or hitherto unexplored seas. Can similar means be 

 placed in the hands of the agriculturist ? Or how is he 

 to guide his footsteps when he goes a-head into the 

 regions of the unknown, in search of a more profitable 

 system of husbandry than that which he leaves behind ? 

 Continuing this figure of speech for the sake of the 

 peculiar nature of the illustration it affords, since agri- 

 cultural progression is a journey whose termination can 

 only be attained when agriculture shall cease to exist, 

 the obvious and only answer that can be given to the 

 above question is this : The right line of direction is 

 that which steers equally clear of both sides. The 

 farmer commenced his journey when time began, and 

 he can only finish it at the end of days. Retrospectively 

 viewed, it cannot be said he has moved onwards at a 

 uniform velocity in a straight line. Through the dark 

 ages of Pagan times, the history of his career is very 

 characteristic of the rising and falling of empires, with 

 the many changes and sad uncertainty experienced 

 during the whole of that period ; and since the com- 

 mencement of the Christian era many obstacles have 

 been thrown before his chariot wheels. In this country 

 he has now, however, had upwards of a century of com- 

 paratively unrestrained action, and the result has been 

 a much more rapid rate of travelling than during any 

 previous period; while, prospectively, the future appears 

 full of promises. We repeat, in no previous period of 

 the history of agriculture has improvement been so 

 successfully prosecuted as at present. 



We have adopted this mode of illustration purposely 

 to show the propriety of keeping pace with the march 

 of improvement in every branch of husbandry. We 

 have done so because there appears to be abroad, at the 

 present day, what may not inaptly be personified as 

 "Old Experimentality," anxiously endeavouring 

 to establish here and there, on this promontory and on 

 that, perfect systems of routine, beyond which progress 

 is, as a matter of course, according to his theory, im- 

 possible ; for that which is perfect cannot be improved. 

 Instead of steering equally clear of both sides, and 

 moving onwards in the great trunk line of progression, 

 Old Experimentality leads us off at a tangent, or tan- 

 gental curve, into his own pet promontory, either at the 



