FARMS. 33 



practical lesson. The statements to wliicli we refer may be 

 found in the Annual Report of the Commonwealth, on the trans- 

 actions of the agricultural societies in this State for 1852, page 

 239 ; but to aid those who may not have the benefit of this 

 volume for reference, we would suggest some of the outlines 

 which should constitute the form and material of the statements, 

 upon which the claim for premium should be predicated. The 

 number of acres contained in the farm ; the distribution of these 

 acres in relation to their culture — as tillage, mowing, pasturage, 

 woodland, and unimproved — with their aggregate value — the 

 number and value of the stock kept on the farm, the manner 

 of feeding and fattening all animals intended for slaughter, 

 the separate and distinct operations of cultivating the various 

 crops produced, the amount of manure made, how made, and 

 how applied ; the amount of help employed in the management 

 of the farm, both men and cattle ; these are some of the appen- 

 dages which are required to sustain the claim of the applicant ; 

 and no statements are perfect unless they include the internal 

 arrangement of his domestic interests, for no good farmer will 

 ever desire to exclude the industry, economy and assistance 

 derived from his partner, from a full participation in the exhibit 

 of his success, for surely neither justice nor equity would ever 

 award all the credit to the " off ox," for all the work done on 

 the farm ; so far your committee subscribe to the declaration 

 of " womcui's rights,^^ in the full belief that in this way they 

 will receive that just reward which their duties and diligence 

 entitle them to receive, but which are now denied them, as 

 silent partners in the concern. If an intimate knowledge of 

 one's business is necessary to success in any concern, it is surely 

 so in agricultural pursuits. This is in fact the true Science of 

 Agriculture ; a term too often misconstrued, and supposed by 

 many to mean something etherial, and beyond the reach of 

 ordinary minds ; something desirable to possess, but too distant 

 to be overtaken ; while in fact, it is nothing more subtle or 

 difficult of possessing, than a practical knowledge and an inti- 

 mate acquaintance with the various duties of your vocation : in 

 the mechanic arts, for instance, the steam engine is a complete 

 union of mental ingenuity and physical application, and is a 

 perfect demonstration of all we ask in favor of agriculture. 

 5* 



