212 



THE N. Y. AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 



pose. Unfortunately, when the day arrived, 

 either the House did not sit, or the special 

 order was superseded again, as before,— the 

 Speaker pro tem., holding that after the third 

 reading of bills commenced, that order of 

 business could not be laid on the table, even 

 by the unanimous vote of the House. 



It was now near the close of the session. 

 Each member had his own bills to look after. 

 Few were willing to make any bill, how^ever 

 important, a special order, save his own. But 

 that no blame might rest on the committee or 

 its chairman, he made one more effort to get 

 the bill before the House, by making it a 

 special order. This was the only mode in 

 which it was possible to effect the object ; and 

 the motion was made with the advice, if not 

 at the instance, of Joseph Blunt, Esq., of 

 New-York, one of the warm friends of the 

 bill. But, as was anticipated, it foiled ; the 

 bill was not reached. 



So much seems necessary, by the way of 

 explanation, to show that there were " spe- 

 cial champions" in the House, both ready and 

 anxious to do all in their power to secure the 

 passage of this most important bill, and who, 

 in fact, did. do all that could have been done 

 by others. But I regret to add, that while 

 the House treated the bill with all proper 

 courtesy, and seemed willing to act upon it, 

 there was a large number of members, and a 

 majority of them active farmers, too, who 

 were either indifferent to the bill, or actually 

 hostile to it. 



There are two facts connected with this 

 subject which are most extraordinary. 



The first is, that while two-thirds of the 

 people of this state and the Union are en- 

 gaged in agricultural pursuits, there is not 

 on the entire continent, one institution of a 

 high character, where a thorough and practi- 

 cal agricultural education can be obtained. 



The other is, that while this utter destitu- 

 tion exists, and has been pointed out, and is 



seen and felt by many, a large majority even 

 of the farmers' — the intelligent farmers of this 

 great state, who have a perfect remedy in 

 their own power — are both indifferent to the 

 fact, and slow to apply the remedy. While 

 they have been willingly expending hundreds 

 of thousands for the education of the law- 

 yers, and doctors, and clergymen of the state, 

 they have expended nothing for the educa- 

 tion of themselves. May we not hope that 

 they will do themselves justice before another 

 winter shall have drawn to a close ? 



E. W. L. 



Syracuse, August Uth, 1850. 



Remarks. — We are obliged to the Hon. 

 E. W. Leavenworth for the explanation 

 of the delay in reaching the bill at the last 

 session of our legislature ; an explanation 

 which, from his position, he is so well able to 

 give, and which is so entirely satisfactory. 



We have heard, with a good deal of regret, 

 many other facts which go to strengthen our 

 correspondent's opinion, that to the luke- 

 warmness, apathy, or indifference of the farm- 

 ers themselves, more than any other cause, is 

 to be attributed the tardy action of the legis- 

 lature on this important subject. 



Certainl}', no enlightened farmer can be 

 ignorant of the great and vital importance of 

 such an educational institution for his chil- 

 dren at the present day ; and we should be 

 sorry to believe that any large majority of the 

 fanners is not sufficiently intelligent rightly 

 to estimate the importance of education. 

 Leaving out of the question the effects of a 

 practical farming education on the value of 

 land, (a thing as yet unknown in this country, 

 but which has actually doubled the amount 

 of farm products in England within thirty 

 years past,) the farmer should remember that 

 in our republic, knowledge is the element of 

 personal power ; and that his uneducated 

 sons, "who work the farm," are forced to 

 hold an inferior place, both in life and society, 



