170 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. I 



Education of Agriculturists. 



It is admitted that agriculturists are of llu! 

 most honest, u|iri:;lit, industrious and peaceful 

 class of mankind. ~ It is acknowledged, that they 

 are the buhvark of our protection against the 

 overwliclniins tide of selfish propensities pre- 

 dominant in tlie breasts of too many of our ease- 

 seeking lovers of pleasure. It is by their labour 

 that the sustenance of those millions is dravvn 

 tiom the eaith vvlio revel in pleasure and roll in 

 luxury. 



Why then shoidd llieir education be neglected .•' 

 Whv should not knowledge be imparted to them 

 in adegree that woidd comport with the impor- 

 tant station they occupy in general esteem and 

 individual welfare, and such as would have a sal- 

 utary effect on the influence they exert on all 

 around tbeni ? Why should not they be made 

 finished scholars in tlieir sphere, with as much 

 propriety as the professional man is made fanfil- 

 iar with the sciences? Why should not the far- 

 mer store his mind with knowledge useful to 

 him, with as much propriety as the classical 

 scholar hoards up the treasures of Greek and 

 Roman literature ? 



It is saying much to aver that on the laboring 

 nopulace'chiefly rest tlie stability of the govern 



' '^ 1 .* _i It: ■. .1 ,, ;*^. .^4^ ^...1 



ment and national welfare ; the prosperity of our 

 free institutions and enjoyment of liberty so 

 dearly bought; the protection of our rights and 

 freedom of all ; the continuance of a well con- 

 structed government and the integrity of our na- 

 tional character. Those dignified personages 

 who look upon tlje agriculturists as an inferior 

 species of huinaiikind are but wheels of minor 

 importance in the great machine whose main- 

 spring is the class they despise, and whose reg- 

 ulator ougiit to be their will. 



Many and weighty too are the reasons that may 

 be adduced for the education of those on whom so 

 much dejiends. As much as we may urge the 

 necessity of intellectual cultivation, it is not meet 

 to ur^e farmers, against tlieir means and w ishes, 

 to aim at a classical education. It avails them 

 but little farther than the profits arising from 

 mental disc iiiliue. It matters little with the man 

 of the plough whether a circle be squared or not; 

 he cares not lor the abstruse facts of mathemat- 

 ics, nor heeds the vain speculations- of antique 

 philosophers. 



It is vain to press the necessity of such knowl- 

 edoe upon the conscience of the laboring far- 

 mer. His vocation turns his attention from these 

 things to those which have more innnediate ref- 

 ereirce to his calling and situation in life. To 

 those who live by the learned professions a 

 knowle<lg(- of these'things may he indispensable ; 

 hut to the man who earns his bread by the sweat 

 of the brow and draws his wealth from the clods 

 of the earlh.a knowledge of the whole routine of 

 Grecian philosophy is less to be desired and is of 

 less practical benefit than a chemical knowledge 

 of his soil and the best mode of renovatiiig it so 

 it mav prove a source of emolument. It is more 

 desirable that farmers should be instructed in 

 their occupation, than that they should spend 

 some half a dozen years, perusing the works of 

 the scientific on siihjects that do not concern 

 them merely fur the sake of mental disci|>line. 

 He should enter upon .<> course of study begin- 

 iiiiu? Willi e\]ierience, and graduate only to die. 

 He shoidd make those pul)jects objects of his at- 

 tention that every day and week of his life will 

 assist and benefit him, and lay the foundation in 

 his mind on which he may build the monument 

 of his own literature that may forever stand un- 

 tarnished beside tlie revered cenotaphs of those 

 philoso|ihers iiiid poets who flourished in ages 

 that long since the overwiielnnng tide of time 

 has overrun. The ostentatious pedantry of pres- 

 ent systems of instiuction should be banished 

 from those who wcnild honor their name and gen- 

 eration. The gaudy display of superficial ae 

 eomplishments should be displaced, and upon the 

 very bone and muscle of our country let the light 

 of pure intelligence shine. 



Let the lawyer be learned in law — let the phy- 

 sician be trained in his profession — let the farmer 

 be instructed in the science of farming, and the 

 theory will be reduced to practice. But how is 

 this to lie efiected? Abundant are the means 

 and many the ways through which it may be ac- 

 complished. Begin v. ith nature and feast your 

 greedy mhids from that volume ever before you. 



Even the grass of your fields is fraught with in- 

 struction. Not a day passes but aflbrds objects 

 for contemplation and inquiry. The daily oper- 

 ations of nature are so complicated as to con- 

 found the wisdom and perplex the sagacious dis- 

 cernment of the wisest sage. — There is no prac- 

 tical farmer, however small his revenue may be, 

 who caimot aflibrdtotake at least one agricultur- 

 al journal : — suppose the cost of this may be two 

 dollars, will lie not in the course of his life be 

 repaid abundantly in his pecuniary emoluments? 

 How much more intellectual profit may he not 

 derive from its perusal ? The instruction he 

 gleans from its columns may avail him, and no 

 estimate can be made on the good effect it has on 

 his own habits and those of his family. They 

 all imbibe the s()irit of research,and not long will 

 he remain unconscious of the means by which in- 

 calculable blessings are showered upon him. 



There should be agreement among farmers: 

 let all of one district or neighborhood unite to- 

 gether and take several agricultural journals, 

 put together their mites and form a libiary for 

 their own special benefit — and not be so far be- 

 hind tlieir learned neighbors in this respect as 

 justly to merit their sarcasm. Farmers should 

 meet often and discuss matters relating to their 

 occupation. Let them be as much excited in 

 this as in other matters, and we have little reason 

 to fear that the disruption of such an association 

 would soon take pbice. They would soon be 

 knit together as firmly as self interest and love 

 could consolidate them. 



There is a lack of energy among the far- 

 mers of New England: too many of them take 

 hold of a systen^ of improvements "with mit- 

 tens on." There seems to be a sort of vacilla- 

 tion in their progress — they do not advance bold- 

 ly onward in their cause. This passive sluggish- 

 ness must be cast of!'. The nigged hills of New 

 England requii-e something sterner than the 

 thin finger of disparagement to crown them with 

 autumnal abundance and convert the desolate 

 waste into a fruitful field. 



Farmers — philanthropy calls on you to edu- 

 cate yourselves. Patriotism presses its suit, and 

 in bold and fearless accents commands you to 

 improve your privileges as you enjoy them. 

 Posterity urges the necessity as an imperious du- 

 ty devolving on you. Consciousness admonish- 

 es you to beware of slighting so many opportuni- 

 ties for stocking your minds with useful knowl- 

 edge. Self respect and gratitude to God require 

 it. Heaven warns you to improve your talent 

 and as you receive instruction so impart it by 

 voiir e.xamplesof improvement. 



JUVENIS. 



the common long eight rowed corn, both the 

 kernel and cob being smaller and more compact, 

 it is possible this may he an exception, and may 

 adapt itself to our north "hill country." It 

 should be marked as dangerous always to take 

 seed corn from locations where there is a longer 

 Slimmer for its growth to a position where it must 

 sooner ripen to escape the early frost ; it wilt 

 never be safe to carry seed corn from the north 

 to the south to any perceptible diflTerence of cli- 

 mate. Corn will change from smaller to a lar- 

 ger stalk and ear as the climate is more mild, in 

 the course of a few years : so corn may be im- 

 proved every year by selection of the seed in the 

 field, takingears of the best size and must per- 

 fect growtiiand which may be earliest ripe. — Ed. 

 Visitor. 



Long-eared Corn. 



Amherst, Xov. 5, 1840. 

 Dear Sir: — 



As yon a|)pear to be the " Receiver General" 

 of the rare products of the earth, (as well as the 

 cash of the nation,) I send you herewith two ears 

 of corn, of half a dozen presented me by Mr. 

 James Dickey, a farmer of this town, of unusual 

 length, measuring about 17 inches — uniformly 

 eight rowed, of large kernel ; — it being a speci- 

 men of 40 or 50 bushels of the same kind raised 

 by him this season. He says he has raised this 

 kind a number of years; and that the richer the 

 ground the larger will be the ears of corn : gen- 

 erally one ear on a stalk ; but in some instances 

 two or more. It may be worth your notice ; al- 

 though perhaps you are already acquainted with 

 the kiiul. It evinces that our farmers are not so 

 "long-eared" but that they readily discern what 

 is of general utility and for their own benefit and 

 advantage, lam no fartner, you know ; " crop- 

 pini:" here and there a little where I have not 

 "strowed" — and make out to "cut my own fod- 

 der," and raise my own "cellery" with a diligent 

 hand. I mhmit to you thereibre, this specimen 

 of long corn, for your " crib" of extraordinaries, 

 — hoping it may be a source of filling it with the 

 means of a siii-stantial treasury on which to 

 •' draw" without " check" or liniit. 



Verv respcctfullv vours, in haste, 



■ ■ K. BOYLSTON. 



Hon. Isaac Hili.. 



The two ears received with the above are 

 specimens of beautiful corn. Of the long 

 eight rowed i:orn we have generally observed 

 that it requires a longer season for maturity than 

 the shorter corn. As this kind is different from 



Capture of a Bear.— The skill of the Mexi- 

 can rancheros in throwing the larriat, or slip noose, 

 is an exciting subject of remark and admiration 

 among travellers in that country. In a late Hous- 

 ton Morning Star, we find the following incident 

 related to the editor by a recent traveller. While 

 crossing a large prairie, with only a Mexican ser- 

 vant in company, he discovered at a distance in 

 advance of them abear, of the largest kind. The 

 animal was making long strides for a distant 

 piece of timber, when the Mexican observing him 

 seized his larriat, and [ireprred for a chase. — 

 Putting spurs to his horse, he soon overtook bru- 

 in, ami with no arms but his larriat he commenc- 

 ed the attack. At the first throw the fatal noose 

 with unerring accuracy, encircled the animal's 

 neck ; but before it could be drawn sufficiently 

 tight, he pushed it off with his paws, and turned 

 upon his enemy. The rojie was recovered in an 

 instant — thrown with equal accurecy — the horse 

 at Ihe same time was wheeled and put to his 

 speed. Tliis time the movement.-; were too quick 

 fiir bruin. He immediately found himself rolling 

 and tumbling along the ground in a manner alto- 

 gether surprising, while every struggle to disen- 

 gage himself from the thraldom only rendered it 

 worse. In this manner, the anim;d was fairly 

 chocked down ; and when the genllenian came 

 up he dismounted and easily dispatched him uith 

 his knife. — jY. O. Picayune. 



The Bride.— The writings of Washington Ir- 

 ving abound in pictures, which, for delicacy, taste, 

 and truth, are not surpa.ssed by any writer's in 

 the English language. The following is an ex- 

 quisite jiassase Vrum a chapter in his Bracebridge 

 Hall: "I know no sight more charming and 

 touching than that of a young and timid bride, in 

 her robes of vircin while, led up tremblingto the 

 altar. When 1 thus behold a lovely girl in the 

 tenderness of her years, fbr.saking the house of 

 her fathers, and the home of her childhood— and, 

 with the inqiliiit eunfidenee, and the sueet self- 

 abandonment which belong to woman, giving up 

 all the world for the man of her choice ; when I 

 hear her irt the good old language of the ritual, 

 yielding herself to him -liir belter or for worse, 

 for richer, ibr poorer, in sickness and in health, 

 to love, honor, and obey, till death us_ do pan' — 

 it brings to mind the beautiful and ;ifiecting de- 

 votion of Ruth. 'Whither thoii goest I will go, 

 and where thou lodgest I will ludg<> ; thy people 

 shall he my jieople and iby God my God." 



Knowledge as well as property is acquired by 

 piecemeal. Time and study are to the acquisition 

 of knowledge, what industry and prudence arc to 

 the accumulation of properly. Let there be few 

 idle hour.s. What of your time is not due to toil 

 and biisines.s — let it be devoted to a course of 

 systematic reading and study. Every new idea 

 acipiired, is more than a dollar stored where it 

 will always abide, and where it will ever be yield- 

 ing compound interest. Dig for new ideas, and 

 persevere in the acquisition of iliein. impress 

 them upon the memory, and ihe aggregate of 

 many ol'them will make you a learned and wise 

 man! Knowledge is worth more than money — ■ 

 for that can neither be stolen, nor can it, like gold, 

 takn to itself wings and fly away. .Vnd a wise man 

 will always be more resepcted than a rich man. 

 Many a liiol can boast of his wealth, to his shame; 

 but honest poverty suffers no disgrace if coupled 

 with a well cultivated and intelligent iiiind._ '-A- 

 boveallthy getlings, get under.-*tanding — in her 

 right hand" are lengtirof days ; in )jer left hand 

 arc riches and honor." — .Mninf Cullivatar. 



