isr!>^] 



F A II M E n S ' II K G I S T R II 



6S3 



in the results may be produced, even by tlie liill ol 

 a hiiir an inch of rain more or lof?s in llie courpe ol 

 a season, or a ti3\v deigrees of teniporature, or even 

 by a slirrlu diticrence in the sub-soil, or in the in- 

 clination ol' the land. 



Inlbrmalion collected alter views of distinct in- 

 quiry would necessarily be fitted for inductive rea- 

 fionint;^, and capable of being connected with the 

 •Lrencral principles of science; and a lew histories 

 of the results of truly philosophical experiments 

 in agricultural chemisiry would be of more value 

 in enlightening and bcneliiing the farmer, than 

 the greatest possble .accumulation of imperlijct 

 trials conducted merely in the empirical spirit. It 

 is no unusual occurrence for persons who argue in 

 liivor of practice and experience, to condemn gene- 

 rally all attempts to improve agriculture by philo- 

 sophical inquiries and chemical methods. That 

 much vague speculation may be found in the 

 works of those who have lightly taken up agri- 

 cultural chemistry, it is impossible to deny. It is 

 not uncommon to find a number of changes rung 

 upon a string of technical terms, such as oxygen, 

 liydrogen, carbon, and azote, as if the science de- 

 pended upon words rather than upon things. But 

 this is, in fact, an argument for the necessity of 

 the establishment of just principles of chemistry 

 on the subject. Whoever reasons upon agricul- 

 ture is obliged to recur to this science. He feels 

 that it is scarcely possible to advance a step with- 

 out it; and if he is satisfied with insufficient views, 

 it is not because he prefers them to accurate 

 knowledge, but generally because they are more 

 current. If a person journeying in the night 

 wishes to avaid being led astray by the ignis ia- 

 tuus, the most secure method is to carry a lamp in 

 his own hand. 



It has been said, and undoubtedly wi(h great 

 truth, that a philosophical chemist would most pro- 

 bably make a verj' unprofitable business of farm- 

 ing; and this certainly would be the case, if he 

 were a mere philosophical chemist; and unless he 

 had served his apprenticeship to the practice of the 

 art as well as to the theory.* But there is reason 

 to believe that he would be a more successful 

 agriculturist than a person equally uninitiated m 

 farming, but ignorant of chemisiry altogether ; 

 his science, as tin- as it went, would be useliil to 

 him. But chemistry is not the only kind of know- 

 ledge required; it forms a email |)ai t of the phi- 

 losophical basis of agriculture ; but it is an im- 

 portant part, and, whenever applied in a proper 

 manner, must produce odvanlages. 



In proportion as science advances, all the prin- 

 ciples become less complicated, and consequently 

 more useful. And it is then that their application 

 is most advantageously made to the tirls. The 

 common laborer can never be enlightened by 

 the general doctrines of philosophy, but he will 

 not refuse to adopt any practice, of the utility of 

 which he is fully convinced, because it has been 

 founded upon these princijiles. The mariner Ciui 

 trust to the compass, though he may be wholly 



•Lavoisier is a remarkable example of the advanta- 

 ges wfiich may be derived from the applicaton of 

 science to agriculture, even without a minute know- 

 ledge of the art of farming. By following an enligiit- 

 ened system, he is said to have doubled in nine years 

 the produce in grain of his land, whilst he quintupled 

 the number of his flocks. — Notice sur Lavoisier, in Bib- 

 Uotheque du chimistc, tom, vii. p. 121. — J. D. 



unacquainted with the discoveries of Gilbert on 

 magnetism, or the refined princiiilcs of that science 

 developed by the genius of ^'Kpinus. The dyer 

 will use his bleaching liquor, even thouifh he is 

 perha[)s ignorant not only of the constitution, but 

 even of the name of the substance on which its 

 powers depend. The great purpose of cbcmic^til 

 investigation in agriculture ou^ht undoidMedly 

 to be, the discovery of improved methods of cul- 

 tivation. But to this end general scientific prin- 

 ciples and practical knowledL'e arealike necessaiy. 

 The germs of discovery are often Ibiind in rational 

 speculations; and industry is never so efficacious 

 as when assisted by science. 



It is from the higher classes of the comniuriily, 

 from the proprietors of land; ilmse who are fitted, 

 by their education, to form enlightened i)lans, and 

 by their fortunes, to carry such plans into execu- 

 tion : it is fiom these that the principles of im- 

 provement must flow to the laboring classes of 

 the community ; and in all cases the benefit is 

 mutual ; fn- the interest of the tenantry must be 

 always likewise the interest of the |)roprietors of 

 the soil. The attention of the laborer will be 

 more minute, and he will exert himself more for 

 improvement, when he is certain he cannot de- 

 ceive his employer, and has a conviction of the 

 extent of his knowledge. Ignorance in the pos- 

 sessor of an estate, of the manner in which it ought 

 to be treated, generally leads either to inattention, 

 or injudicious practices in the tenant or the bailili. 

 ^'■j/grum pcsfiiimim muldnrl cujiis Dominits noii 

 docet sed audit villicuviP^ 



There is no idea more unfounded than that a 

 great devotion of time, and a minute knowledge 

 of general chemistry, is necessary for piirsuinir ex- 

 periments on the nature of soils, or the properties 

 of manures. Nothing can be more easy than to 

 discover whether a soil efiijrvesces, or changes co- 

 lor by the action ol" an acid, or whether it burns 

 when heated, or what weight it loses by heat; 

 and yet these simple indications may be of great 

 importance in a system of cultivation. The ex- 

 pense connected with chemical inquiries is ex- 

 tremely trilling; a small closet is sufficient for con- 

 taining all the materials required. I'he most im- 

 portant experiments may lie made by means of 

 a small portable apparatus; a few phials, contain- 

 ing acids, alkalies, and chemical re-agents; some 

 foil and wire of platinum; a lamp, a crucible, 

 some filtrating paper, some liinnels and glasses, 

 lor receiving products, are all that can be consi- 

 dered as absolutely essential for pursuing useful 

 researches. 



It undoubtedly happens in ngriculturni chemical 

 experiments conducted after tlie most refined theo-^ 

 rctical views, that there arc many instances of 

 liiilurc for one of success; and this is inevitable 

 from the capricious and uncertain nature of the 

 causes that operate, and from the impossibility of 

 calculating on all the circumstances that may in- 

 terfere: but this is far from proving the inutility of 

 such trials; one happy result, which can general- 

 ly improve the methods of cultivation, is worth 

 the labor of a whole life; and an unsuccessful ex- 

 periment, well observed, must establish some 

 truth, or tend to remove some prejudice. 



Even considered merely as a philosophical 

 science, this department of knowledge is highly 

 worthy of cultivation. For what can be more de- 

 lightful than to trace the forms of living beings 



