96 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



entific. Annual, qnarterly, monthly or weekly 

 discourses of teachers and exercises of pupils, 

 happily mixed, might be practiced. A re§:ular 

 compendium for the exercises of the pupils, is 

 as easy, and proper in this branch of economics, 

 as in those relative to money in coins, money of 

 account, commerce, government. Sec. They are 

 all embraced in the enlarged system of moral or 

 habitual or customary or practical science of the 

 economy and business of human life ; which is 

 strictly ■■moral philosophy" or "moral science.''* 

 It must not be apprehended, that these ideas are 

 too formally learned and scientific for tlie busi- 

 ness of farming, for it is a truth, tliat it is tlie real, 

 simple and valuable character of the present 

 times, that the commone.st tilings are no longer 

 done by guess, by mere practice, fashion, cus- 

 tom or imitation. It is knovm. that there are 

 philosophical principles and technical processes 

 for boiling spinach, making butter, cheese, soap j 

 and bread, constructing a spinning u-hed, or i 

 loom, making maple sugar, fermenting home- I 

 brewed ale, cider and irine, distilling spirits, as i 

 real, true and sure as the principles on which the 

 Almighty Maker of all tilings has created and 

 ordained the motions of the spheres that roll 

 throughout theuniverse. Genuine Philosophy, 

 in its correct sense, is the whole system of prin- 

 ciples on which God has made. preser\-ed. and 

 applied every thing from the atomic dust of the 

 balance to the stupendous luminary of the uni- 

 versal frame. Our philosophy is all we know 

 of this immense mass of divine -wisdom ; and it 

 may be safely aiBrmed, that the profession of a 

 planter or farmer rightly understood, involves 

 more of its temporal materials, than any other 

 single pursuit ia life, not even excepting that of 

 the learned Doctor in the healing art. 



It will naturally follow from what has been 

 advanced, in regard to our common or primary 

 Bchools, and more reputable academies, that the 

 infusion of a knowledge of the principles and 

 arts of agriculture into the minds of the pupils 

 in o^ir colleges and universities arises as the 

 next duty, and in a superior degree. It is by 

 means of the learned professors, the excellent 

 books, in the routine of instruction, and the in- 

 valuable collections, which fill their libraries, 

 that the maturing student elevated by means of 

 the two lower schools, may search into the 

 whole round of our subject He may thus ob- 

 tain the best modem and tried knowledge of 

 the earth, its theorists and its operators, its cul- 

 tivations, its seed, its productions, its miscar- 

 riages, its methods of prevention, support and 

 core, and all its scientific and technical instru- 

 ments, means and auxiliaries. Here, too, the 

 professors and the students may perform the de- 

 lightful task of exemplifying all the science re- 

 lative to agriculture, in the various crops of the 

 neighbouring estates, preparing the youtliful 

 minds for the next and most important stage of 

 their juvenile instruction. 



It is now proposed to submit a proposition, 

 which may appear new, or at least not to be yet 

 practiced in the United States. 



It appears expedient to adopt in the educa- 

 tion of our sons for the profession of a planter 

 or farmer, a measui-e which is common and ap- 

 proved in every other walk of busy life. The 



t Moral Bcionce doc3 not mean mere ethical or vir- 

 tuous science ; but the science of the whole system, 

 or econnrny of civiiizud life, frim the ru'.es and ope- 

 rations of families and men of business in every line, 

 to thoee of corporations, states, govemmetits, and na- 

 tions. 



^ f204) 



youthful pupil in the miaistry of religion is pla- 

 ced by his parent or guardian, as a regular stu- 

 dent of divinity, tmder some suitable esiabUshed 

 minister, of talents, learning, and virtue. The 

 papils of the law and in medicine are placed in 

 similar situations, with established practitioners 

 of talents, learning and probitj'. Young men in- 

 tended for the profession of architects, masons 

 and other branches of the fine and useful arts, 

 are treated in the same judicious and faithful 

 maimer. If the profession of the plant^er or 

 farmer is to be rendered mo-re profitable and 

 distingziished for talent, improved by krunp- 

 ledge and experience, it is obvious that a like 

 measure, in the last stage of the education of the 

 rising generation, intended for rural life, is wor- 

 thy of further serious consideration." 



We would proceed to entmierate tlie several 

 branches of Agricultural industry, which might 

 be pursued with increasing powers of illustra- 

 tion, and intellectual enjoyment, as well a^ with 

 greater practical success, (embracing the pursuits 

 of cotton and sugar planting) — after an appro- 

 priate course of scholastic preparation ; and 

 might explain more exactly in what that prepar- 

 ation should, in our humble judgment, consist ; 

 but that as much space has been already occu- 

 pied as it wotdd be fair to appropriate to one 

 subject. It may be reverted to ia the Septem- 

 ber number, in the hope, not so much of sub- 

 mitting anything new, as of enforcing by addi- 

 tional illustrations views already urged and 

 which seem to be indispensably necessary to in- 

 sure the common aim. 



Thinking thus that so much depends on prac- 

 tical education, it becomes a cause in which w^e 

 shotild never tire of being useful, if ^ve could ; 

 for we believe it to be as true now, as it was in 

 his day, when two hundred years ago it was 

 quaintly written by Fuller : 



'• 'Tis a silly conceit, that men without the 

 dead languages, are also without understanding. 

 It's apparent in all ages that some such have been 

 even prodigies for abilitj-; for it's not to be be- 

 lieved that Wisdom speaks to her disciples in 

 Latin, Greek, and Hebrew." 



Sure it is, it wa.s in neither of these languages 

 that she spoke to our Washington' or Frakk- 



LIX. 



For the present you will be pleased to pass 

 from this to page 97, in \vhich will be pre- 

 sented an inkling of what science and what so- 

 cieties are doing for Agriculture in England. 

 Though nothing can be more unsafe than to 

 foUow English practices in detail, without refer- 

 ence to obvious dissimilarities, yet the general 

 principles of agricultural improvement are of 

 universal applicability. J. S. S. 



^p° Don't allow Rhubarb to seed if you 

 want very fine leaves next year. The roots, if 

 left in the ground, will require no care : if forced, 

 it is only necessary to transfer them from tlie 

 open ground to a warm and rather dark green- 

 house. 



