18 



FARMERS' REGISTER-AN APOLOGY FOR BOOK FARMERS. 



their llieories, or ttieir written iiwlructioiis: aiui it 

 will be tlie object (jf these remarks to show that 

 there are causes lor their jiractice being generally 

 unprolitablc, even when their theoretical opinions, 

 and in»tmctions for practice, may be both sound 

 and valuable. 



To enable a man to make discoveries or im- 

 provements of value, in any art or business of a 

 civilized people, it is requisite that he should be 

 directed to such investigations by natural genius, 

 1>y education, and early habits; and also by a de- 

 gree of enthusiasm and ardor tijr a iixvorite ob- 

 ject, which .causes it to be the sole object of pur- 

 suit, to the neglect of others perhaps of ecjual im- 

 portance. Fortunately for the success of such 

 projectors of improvements, most of the aits, and 

 our complicated employments, have been di- 

 vided into as many septu-ate departments as the 

 projier division of labor requires, and each man 

 may find employment for his intellectual, as well 

 as physical powers, in the particular pursuit in 

 which he ieels most interested, without being dis- 

 tracted by any other cngtigements. When Ark- 

 wright (tor example) had, alter the study of years, 

 conceived his plan ibr spinning cotton by ma- 

 chinery, which has, by its success, revolutionized 

 the mauutactures and commerce of the world, he 

 had only to bring his directing mind to bear on 

 workmen and materials of every, and ttie most 

 perfect kind, to have his schemes reduced to prac- 

 tice. He had only to give general directions, to 

 state what he wanted, and whatever could be 

 made with wood and metal, in the liands of the 

 most skiliid -workmen, was soon ready for his ser- 

 vice. But if Arkwright had not had such mecha- 

 nical aids — had he been compelled to superintend 

 and to direct eveiy particular operation, even from 

 the cutting of his timber, rmd melting his metallic 

 materials — and at last to be himsdf the cotton 

 manutacturer, and the controller of its numerous 

 laborers — there can be but little doubt that this 

 great discovery would have completely failed.^ 

 Arkwright would either never been Icnown except 

 as the dreamy and indolent barber, whose schemes 

 were considered (even by his own wife) as lead- 

 ing to starvation instead of riches — or would have 

 bet'ome bankrupt as a manuliicturer, because less 

 capable of managing men and women, than to 

 contrive, or even to construct the most complicated 

 mechanism. It is unnecessary to cite other indi- 

 vidual examples. Tlie fact is notorious that most 

 of the men to whom tlie world lias been most in- 

 debted for valuable improvements, have been such 

 poor economists 'and managers of their business 

 in general, as to liave lived and died poor. But 

 we do not thinlc the less of the value of the thrash- 

 ing machine, the cotton saw-gin, and the steam 

 boat, because Meikle, and WJiitncy, and Fulton, 

 obtained almost nothing li'om the sources of wealth 

 which their several inventions offered to them- 

 selves, as well as to the world. 



If a man has capital, prudence, energy, and ge- 

 neral intelligence, he may succeed in many 

 branches of business of great extent and compli- 

 cation, though possessing but little knowledge of 

 ■ any particular process — because he can call to his 

 service talents of every kind desired, all made per- 

 fect in their separate and limited departments. 

 But not so in fariiiing. In this business (particu- 

 larly in this country) there has been almost nodi- 

 vision of mtellectual labor — and the farmer must 



understand every operation, and superintend and 

 direct every laborer, or Ills interest Avill surely sut- 

 ler. There is more naturtd and peculiar talent re- 

 quired to manage a large liirming business, than 

 to command an anny, or to be a passable minister 

 of state — and there are fewer of the former, than 

 there are men who are even renowned as war- 

 riors or statesmen. The more ignorant the la- 

 borers are, and the more imperfect the materials 

 of every kind, so much the more of varied and 

 extended talents are required in the directing mind: - 

 and, therefore, it is much easier to be a successful 

 farmer in England than in Virginia. If Mr. Coke, 

 who has acquired and deserved so much fame for 

 the excellent management of his Norfolk estate, 

 could be placed in lower Virginia, to direct as large 

 a business tlirough overseers and negroes, he 

 could not by the apprenticeship of a long hfe, learn 

 to make any clear profit. His general plans might 

 be supposed to be faultless, and nothing wanting 

 to carry them into effect that capital and judicious 

 general arrangements could supply: still every 

 thing would fail, more or less, in execution, be- 

 cause it would be impossible that Mr. Coke cou.ld 

 know how to provide for the most minute requi- 

 sites, and also see that eveiy thing, however tri- 

 vial, was executed. He would be, in fact, placed 

 in the situation of a merchant, who before being 

 able to build and em])loy a ship, would have to di- 

 rect the preparation and use of every material, and 

 then the mode of navigating the vessel — every 

 order being supposed to be executed by ignorant 

 and unwilling agents. 



It is for these reasons that farmers who are suf- 

 ficiently zealous in pursuit of some object, to write 

 ibr the instruction of others, are seldom qualified to 

 attend well to all the details which a farmer's bu- 

 siness requires: and even were it otherwise, the 

 habit of wi-iting would probably withdraw from 

 business that continual superintendence, and un- 

 broken occupation of the mind, which is essen- 

 tial to good management in business of every 

 kind. The enthusiastic schemer, devoted to one 

 object, whether he succeeds or fails in that pur- 

 suit, will very surely not succeed in general ma- 

 nagement. 



it", then, it were admitted that every wi'iter on 

 agriculture was really as bad a farmer as has been 

 charged by the spirit of ridicule, or by malice, it 

 would by no means follow, that their instructions 

 might not be highly valuable, even to such as 

 were much better fiirmers (in practice) than the 

 writers themselves. From each one, perhaps, 

 something of value may be gained, though he 

 "may be deficient in most, or in all other resiiects. 



But it is not only the wa-iters, but the readers ol 

 books on agriculture that fall under popular ridi- 

 cide, and eveiy marked deficiency exhibited on 

 the lands of any "book farmer," is attributed to 

 his applying to books for instruction. It will be 

 ibund, however, upon investigation, that such bad 

 management is almost always in violation of 

 Aviitten instructions, instead of 'being in accordance 

 with them. It is true, that we may find in books 

 plenty of erroneous doctrines, and of true doctrines 

 totally unsuited to our ciirumstanccs; and that 

 sometimes, we err by following such wrong gui- 

 dance: but errors of practice like these, are rare, 

 and may easily be avoided by a discriminating 

 judgment. 



With these views, I do not consider it necessary 



