88 WRITINGS OF JOSEPH HENRY. [1855- 



ceive the desired remuneration. But should the names of 

 the chemists who originally made the discovery of the prin- 

 ciples on which this public benefit depends be forgotten ? 

 Ought not their labors in enlarging the bounds of knowledge 

 to be properly valued, and their names held in grateful 

 remembrance? If living, should they not be afforded the 

 means of extending their investigations, without the distrac- 

 tion of mind attendant on the efforts to obtain a precarious 

 livelihood for themselves and families? 



In truth we must say — not in the way of complaint, but 

 for the purpose of drawing attention to the fact and with 

 the hope of somewhat changing the condition of things in 

 this respect — that in no civilized country of the world is less 

 encouragement given for the pursuit of abstract science than 

 in the United States. The General Government has no 

 power under the Constitution to directly foster pursuits of 

 this kind ; and it is only by an enlightened public opinion^ 

 and the liberality of wealthy individuals, that a better con- 

 dition of things can be hoped for. 



The great facts of the future of agriculture are to be de- 

 rived from the use of the microscope, the crucible, the bal- 

 ance, the galvanic battery, the polariscope, and the prism^ 

 and from the scientific generalizations which are deduced 

 from these by the profound reflections of men who think, in 

 contra-distinction to the efforts of those who act. The intel- 

 ligent farmer should be able (as we have already said) prop- 

 erly to appreciate the value of scientific discoveries; and for 

 this purpose his studies should not be confined merely to 

 rules or empirical receipts, but should comprehend also the 

 general principles on which they are founded. 



Though some of the points we shall discuss in the follow- 

 ing esssay may appear at first sight to be of too abstract a 

 character to be comprehended by a casual reader, yet they 

 will be found on attentive perusal, to be easil)'' understood by 

 a person of ordinary intelligence. But it may be well here 

 to call attention to a fact frequently overlooked, that there 

 is a great difference between reading and study, or between 

 the indolent reception of knowledge without labor, and that 



