234 SELECTIONS PROM ADDRESSES. 



and careful observation. He is no longer content with the small 

 amount of manures which his farm naturally supplies. Nature, 

 at home and abroad, furnishes manures, and the materials from 

 which manures can be made, in almost endless variety ; and if 

 the farmer is diligent in inquiry and experiment, he can create, 

 in his barn-yard and compost-heap, a bank, from which he can 

 draw at pleasure, and without an endorser ; for the manure-yard, 

 the compost-heap, is the farmer's bank, it is his mine of wealth, 

 and, without it, he is poor indeed. 



But, besides all that the farmer can learn upon this subject 

 from his practical experience, he can undoubtedly derive great as- 

 sistance from chemical science, and to this he should by no 

 means shut his eyes. If he would elevate his profession, if he 

 would ensure to his labor the reward of wealth and competence, 

 he must make the discoveries of science tributary to it. The 

 true course of the farmer is, not to spend his time in complaining 

 of the advantages which knowledge and science give to other 

 pursuits, but rather to make knowledge and science subservient 

 to his profession. Instead of decrying the importance of these, 

 let us use them for our own purposes. Let us use them with 

 good sense, care, and economy. We see the vapor fall in rain, 

 and vegetation receiving it and rejoicing. The winds of heaven 

 are continually passing over our fields, and the air is purified 

 and made the proper food for vegetable life. The sun is contin- 

 ually warming and urging the plant to grow ; it also gives its 

 light, that it may mature. The air carries with it oxygen to 

 the seed, that causes it to germinate ; and furnishes to the leaves, 

 the lungs of the plant, carbon, without which the plant must 

 cease to be. These are facts well understood by the farmer. 

 But should he stop here 1 Should he rest content with but this 

 amount of knowledge, which nature has vouchsafed to him 

 almost unasked for ? Surely not, if he would be master of his 

 profession, and maintain that professional dignity which becomes 

 him. He should call to his aid the knowledge of scientific 

 men, and by this, learn to mix and manage the elements of 

 earth and air with more than magic skill. He should take care 

 that the mechanical and manufacturing arts do not enjoy all 

 the benefits of the discoveries of chemical science. He should 



