358 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 6 



enjoying a supply of information and entertain- 

 ment for the whole period without the cost of a cent. 

 At the end of the year, a new instalment of the 

 approprialion will be doubled, and another year's 

 reading conmienced. We firmly believe that in this 

 way the library will be found a great auxiliary 

 to the school, by creating a new interest in its man- 

 agement and its welfare. Should the district con- 

 clude to have a little gathering every Saturday 

 evening, or some other evening, to exchange 

 books, or return and draw again, a lyceum, or as- 

 sociation for mutual improvement, would soon 

 grow out of it, and still greater benefits be re- 

 alized. Each parent and scholar would feel that 

 he had a personal interest in the library, as well 

 as the school ; and thousands would spend their 

 leisure hours in reading, which would otherwise 

 be given, almost ol" necessity, to frivolous, if not 

 corrupting amusements."' 



Thus far our quotation. But we are not pre- 

 pared to go I'arther with the Jeff'ersonian — in its 

 approbation of the selection of books designated 

 and recommended as the basis of common school 

 libraries. The Messrs. Harpers, to whom we ac- 

 cord great credit for their enterprise and indus- 

 try, have printed, we are told, under the direction 

 of the American Society for the diffusion of use- 

 ful knowledge, a series of fitly handsome volumes, 

 of uniform size and appearance, to be comprised 

 in a neat case, and furnished at twenty dollars. 

 These books, of which a list is given in the Jet- 

 fersonian, treat mostly of foreigners, foreign lands, 

 and of matters foreign to the great pursuits of our 

 country. They are the Lives of Bonaparte, Alex- 

 ander the great, Peter the great, Oliver Cromwell, 

 of celebrated travellers and female sovereigns; an- 

 cient and modern Europe, the Holy Land, the 

 Crusades, Arabia, the Chinese, voyages, travels, 

 &c. We see but eight volumes that seem from 

 their thle to relate particularly to our continent, 

 and but about the same number that are written by 

 Americans. But we do not recognize one, among 

 these books — which are designed almost exclusive- 

 ly for an agricultural community — we do not re- 

 cognise a single volume on agricutural chemistry, 

 or on agricultural botany, or on agricultural geolo- 

 gy, or on the mechanics of agriculture, the great 

 modern lever which simplifies, abridges, and at 

 the same time augments the products and pro- 

 fits of human labor; we see nothing on the vete- 

 rinary art, or the management of cattle — nothing 

 upon practical agriculture or horticulture — and 

 little, if any thing, upon the moral, relative and 

 political duties of Wlb. The studies to which we 

 have last alluded, ought to form the foundation, 

 the basis, of a rural education ; those selected 

 might become auxiliary, or supplemental; or, the 

 two classes might be blended like brick and mor- 

 tar in the walls of a building, to give beauty, as 

 well as solidity, to the structure. 



It needs no argument of ours to convince any 

 reasonable man, that the proper study of" youth, 

 is the business which is to employ them in man- 

 hood. Thus we give to the law student element- 

 ary books in the business which is to constitute 

 his living; and to students in divinity and physic, 

 the elementary books suited to their several pro- 

 fessions; and we require a lour years' study in 

 these elementary works, in order that the student 

 may fully understand the principles upon which 

 he is to preach or practice, before we permit him 



to put on the toga of manhood, and to take rank 

 with his profession. And shall not the student of 

 agriculture, whose business embraces a wider 

 range of useful science than either of the before 

 mentioned classes, be permitted, during his mi- 

 nority, to study the elementary principles of his 

 profession? — to store his mind with the precepts 

 and practices of eminent men in that profession? 

 We say, lay the foundation in usefulness — in that 

 knowledge which will fend to make intelligent, 

 useful and contented farmers, and good citizens, 

 of the boys of our common schools. You may 

 then build whatever superstructure you please 

 upon this solid foundation, and embellish it to your 

 taste. 



But we are reminded, that we are (reading on 

 hallowed ground; that the society for the promo- 

 lion of useful knowledge, with Gov. Marcy as its 

 head, have sanctioned the selection that has been 

 made, and, as if to silence every doubt, that Gen. 

 Dix, superintendent of common schools, has also 

 given it his approbation. Without wishing to 

 derogate, in the least, from the high character of 

 the gentleiTien who constitute the society, or to 

 depreciate their eflbrts to do good, we must be 

 permitted to doubt their pre-eminent qualifications 

 for selecting a suitable library for an agricultural 

 community. Most of the gentlemen, we believe, 

 belong to the learned professions, or to the mer- 

 cantile class; and we are willing to award to them 

 a high standing in literature and general science; 

 yet lew of them, we apprehend, know much of 

 the practice or theory of farming, a business 

 which stands first on the roll of usefulness, and 

 which it is the interest of every class of the com- 

 munity to enlighten and improve; and they are 

 therelbre not exactly best qualified to promote 

 this great object of national prosperity, be their 

 intentions ever so patriotic. Or at least so we 

 are obliged to infer, from the catalogue of books 

 which have been published. And as tor our 

 highly respected secretary of state, he is no doubt 

 well qualified to select a law or literary library, or 

 to thread the mazes of politics — yet we should not 

 venture to trust him, with all his qualifications, to 

 select oi(r library, or manage our farm. Wotrhr 

 these gentlemen trust an association of farmers, 

 however intelligent, to select their professional li- 

 braries? We think not. 



But perha[)s we are going too far: something 

 on agriculture is promised in the next series, and 

 we ardently hope it will be furnished. 



After all, it may be said, and will be said, and 

 by thousands of farmers too, that agriculture 

 wants no auxiliary aids; that it has done \yell 

 enough, heretofore, without the aid of books or of 

 science — and that it can continue to do so. How 

 would such a remark apply to the other arts of labor? 

 Look at the cotton factory for instance — a yard of 

 cotton goods may now be purchased for half the 

 price which was paid for barely weaving a yard 

 thirty years ago. The manipulations in most of 

 the other arts have been so abridged by machine- 

 ry, and the processes so simplified by science, that 

 the fabrics produced by these labors are greatly- 

 lessened in price. In these arts, the improve- 

 ments of the age are speedily registered and pro- 

 rhulgated in books and periodicals. Mechanics 

 and manufacturers know how to appreciate this 

 sort of book knowledge; and it enables them to 

 keep pace with the improvements of the age. 



