138 THE NEW AGRICTJLTUKE. 



plain and practical in itself, and evidently of but moderate expense 

 in its adaptation to the uses and necessities of a very large propor- 

 tion of the people who are now suffering severely from the evils to 

 which I have above called attention. You style your system " The 

 New Agriculture," and from its probable effect upon agricultural 

 districts in which it may be hereafter adopted, as indicated by the 

 experiments you have already made, the name would not seem to be 

 in any way misapplied. If the results of its use in general should 

 be an increase in crops and vegetation, to but half the extent fore- 

 shadowed or promised by those experiments, (and I can see 110 

 sufficient reason why your claims in this respect may not be fully 

 verified by practical application of your plan) you have developed 

 and now offer to the country and the race a new system for hus- 

 banding the falling waters and a new plan for their use which will 

 not only establish a new era in agriculture, but which may be so 

 used as to afford the needed supply of good, healthful and pure 

 water for the other ordinary uses of life to very many sections of 

 the earth, where the inhabitants are now suffering disadvantages 

 and deprivations from its want. 



Your plan or invention is exceedingly simple in detail, and the 

 greatest wonder to any one who shall see or read of it will be, 

 that it had not been thought of, developed and adopted long be- 

 fore. It bears the impress of reason and sound sense upon its 

 first presentation to the mind and more mature reflection upon its 

 merits only results in more strongly developing these characteris- 

 tics in it. The scientist and the plow-boy alike can each with 

 equal promptness and facility perceive its scheme and merits at a 

 glance, and the person who proposes to use it on his farm or gar- 

 den, or in connection with his shop, dwelling-house, mill or fac- 

 tory will not require the assistance of the scientific and mathemati- 

 cal knowledge of the civil engineer or architect to enable him to 



