122 LETTER-FILES OF S. W. JOHNSON 



plete, account of the nature and uses of Peat and Muck, in 

 so far as they concern Agriculture, the careful study of which, 

 I hope, will enable any one to employ the abundant contents 

 of our swamps with economy and advantage. I had intended 

 to give here an account of the other technical applications of 

 peat; but since it appears that they are as yet very unde- 

 veloped and not likely to be of much immediate importance 

 in this country, I have concluded to leave them unnoticed for 

 the present. 



The Commercial Fertilizers that I have examined, with two 

 exceptions, have proved to be of good quality, while some of 

 them are new and possess much interest. Samuel W. Johnson. 



New Haven, Ct., January 12, 1859. 



In June, Professor Johnson again reiterated an 

 admonition to the farmers of the state to beware of 

 setting experience in opposition to scientific truth, 

 ending with an appeal for the support and extension 

 of the work of the Agricultural Society and that it 

 might surely be read by those he wished to reach, he 

 took advantage of a current controversy in the agri- 

 cultural press and called this article "American 

 Guano." An extract from it follows: 



Ever since it has been possible to benefit agriculture by 

 applying the discoveries and principles of science to its opera- 

 tions, science has been confronted by the appeal to experience, 

 as to something utterly opposed to and more reliable than her 

 teachings. 



Every farmer cherishes his experience because it is his own 

 and dearly bought. His time, his labors, his money and his 

 anxious thought have been largely swallowed up by all- 

 consuming experience; which, like his own live stock, eats 

 enormously more than it lies on. The farmer has a right to 

 cherish his experience. But whoever hints that experience 



