aiid more or less reduced to the finest practica- 

 ble slate, a considerable volume of air is incor- 

 porated therewith, and that this air, according to 

 its temperature and the moisture of the soil, 

 facilitates the germination of the seed, and con- 

 tinues to assist the development of the plant. 

 To obtain this close embedding of the seed, it is 

 the practice to tread it in — a practice which is 

 found of service to wheat, peas, beans, and 

 almost all small seeds ; but wliich would be of 

 no avail without the previous disruption and 

 aeration of the soil. 



All these matters premised, it only remains to 

 conclude with a general declaration that, in all 

 our practices and means employed for the ame- 

 lioration of the land, every thing that can be 

 added or taken away, every operation perfonn- 

 ed, and evciy implement used in the culture, 

 should all have for their ultimate object either 

 directly or indirectly, the breaking up of the 

 compact and impervious surface, so that copious 

 and constant supplies of air may be freely ad- 

 mitted to the i-oots of the plants. 



ON THE VALUE AND PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



The dignity of Agriculture was rightly vindi- 

 cated by the younger Wadsworth, when de 

 claring that •' there is no pursuit in which so 

 ' many of the laws of nature must be consulted and 

 'understood, as in the cultivation of the earth." 

 The New-York State Agricultural Society, hon- 

 ored itself when honoring him with its Presi- 

 dency; and we knownot hovs^we can better pro- 

 mote its noble objects more eflFectually than by 

 disseminating the sentiments which have influ- 

 enced that gentleman in devoting his energies 

 and the influence of his example to the agrono- 

 mic interests of his countrymen. The import- 

 ance of associated effort, as well as the value of 

 intellectual investigation and scientific research, 

 were properly enforced in his Addresses on the 

 subject of Agricultural Improvement ; and we 

 fi'eely occupy the requisite space with extracts 

 fixjm one of tliose productions, with the fervent 

 wish that the interest which has been mani- 

 fested by Mr. Wadsworth of Genesee, Mr. Lenox 

 of this city, and Mr. Colt of Paterson, and other 

 men of fortune, who might be named, may he 

 more extensively emulated — men whose wealth 

 and influence enable them to exemplify and 

 sustain the claims of Agriculture upon the at- 

 tention of the rich even more than the poor, 

 upon the millionaire and the scholar even more 

 tlian upon the Farmer of more limited means. 



The paramount want of the landed interest 

 in this country, is capital. Thousands have too 

 much land, who are restricted in every means 

 necessary for its improvement. Of what value 

 will be all the .science and all the improved la- 

 bor-sa^'ing implements and improved domestic 

 animals, if the means cannot be found for their 

 introduction and practical application. 



What Farmer of moderate circumstances, for 

 example, can send to Peru for the Apachian 

 Sheep, which every consideration founded on 

 a knowledge of its qualities leads us to believe 

 ought (n be imported and tested in our country ? 

 Is it not then obviously, in direct proportion to 

 their fortune, that opulent men, inspired with a 

 noble ambition, can entitle themsi^lves to the 

 CO) 



benedictions of their country. If there be any 

 trath in signs, even the political horoscope is 

 full of them to show that the day is at hand 

 when men are to find present popularity, as 

 well as true glory, in promoting the arts of 

 peace — in equalizing the comforts and augment- 

 ing the happiness of their fellow men. For 

 us and our House, we shall ever stand ready 

 to exalt the names of men \vho with the means, 

 unite the taste and the noble feeling to put their 

 hands to and say, God speed the plow. But our 

 own feelings would cany us away — let us back 

 to our theme. 



For all classes of society there is certainly in- 

 struction and consolation in the following pas- 

 sages on the application of Science to Agricul- 

 ture : " The application of science," said Mr. 

 Wadsworth, "the most profound which has 

 ' yet been attained by the far reachmg eflbrts of 

 ' the human mmd, to all the products of our in- 

 ' dustry — to the soil, the crop, the annual — has 

 ' been reserved for the age in which we live. It 

 ' is not claiming too much to say, that more pro- 

 ' gress has been made in this direction within the 

 ' last twenty years than in any previous century. 

 ' Our own countrymen, it is gratifying to per- 

 ' ceive, are securing their share of this abundant 

 ' har\-est. Our chemists and geologists will not, 

 ' we may be sure, rest contented as industrious 

 ' gleaners after the Davys, Liebigs and Jolms- 

 ' tons of other countries, but will push forward 

 ' into the ample domains, which even those 

 ' acute discoverer.s have not peneti'ated. 



" From the origin of our race almost to the 

 present time, the path of the hu.sbaudman has 

 been clouded in darkness and doubt. From the 

 sowing of the seed to the gathering of the har- 

 vest, mystery attended every step. The first 

 link in the great chain of cause and eft'ect was 

 hidden in uncertainty. The precepts of tradi- 

 tion, the result of a multitude of experiments, 

 were founded mostly in wisdom ; but they were 

 as inexplicable as they were sound. Not so 

 now. The scientific analysis of soils, of ma- 

 nures, and of vegetable products, explains not 

 only the ^\orkings of nature and the practices of 

 art, but opens an inexhaustible field of new 

 combinations and novel results. *■ » - - 



