30-1: 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



Eore observan: of its faiih than she — and if 

 CTer den existed, wiih talents capable of de- 

 aremin? and obriadns ■what may ha^e been 

 iaiprovident or short-siEhted or paralyzing in 

 her leeisladve policy, sach men are the sons of 

 the old Dominion. Any calm observer beyond 

 her borders may see that her strong- men are 

 iww beginning to think, and to come together 

 far her inieilecmal and physical improvement 

 It K not now- a mere play of the zephyr on the 

 soi&ce of the waters. Ir is not the momentary 

 Imitation of a stagnant pool by a gasi of wind 

 — DO let Tis hope that living springs are boiling 

 up fiom die bottom, that -will vivify and purify 

 and give activity to the mass and secure a per- 

 ennial fiow of wholesome waters that wiH ir- 

 rigate and fructify the whole common-wealth. 

 Tes. and pray God for a -wholesome direction to 

 the public mind — ^for -with such men and with 

 sach interests ai stake, " rhere there is a tciil 

 there is a ray," — ^we trust in heaven that the re- 

 sult -win tend to give its proper preponderance to 

 the agricnhnral interest in the futore councils 

 and legidative actitm of the State. That the 

 sons of the soil may be educated, not as parti- 

 tan poUtuMou and demagogues of an hour, 

 but as m^i capable of understanding and ready 

 to itiaJntaTfi ber landed interest. Let those to 

 -whom the work of projecting a system of gen- 

 eral edocadon is entrusted, procure at once and 

 and le&d the several Heports of the Saperin- 

 tendents of the Common Schools in Xe-w-York 

 and other States. "-The Common School System. 

 by S. S. Haxdai-I.," and the several Reports, 

 die last being the eighth, of the Board of Edu- 

 caticHi of the State of Massachusetts — and tho' 

 last by no means the least, let them procure the 

 Educational Journal conducted by the Secreta- 

 ry of the Board. - As a repository of the Re- 

 ports of the Board and of the Secretary and as 

 a vehicle fi>r the comnranication and dissemina- 

 tion of the views of practical teachers, in refer- 

 ence to modes of instruction, it is an invaluable 

 -work for persons employed in teaching, and 

 diould be in the handf of every one who -wishes 

 weU to die physical the moral and the inteUect- 

 cal edacadon of his family.'' 



It has been and will continue to be a matter 

 of heartfelt solicitude -with the editor of the 

 Faiuiees' Librakt, to make it such a -work as 

 ems'hi to be in the hand* of every young man, 

 and in the library of every cmmtry school in 

 the United States ; and we feel authorized to 

 say that School Libraries -wili be famished with 

 copies at the wholesale price. 



^Ve stw^ Tilfi never tire of ^writing on this sub- 

 ject as long as -we could hope to assist in achieve- 

 ment of the great object — universal practical 

 instroctioii — ^but pressed now for time and space, 

 -we adopt for the ezpresEion of -what we would 

 say in cocclTision, die followinz extract from 



thg last number of the Q.uanerly Journal of 

 Agriculture. 



Again, a more thorough education for those 

 -who till the ground, than has hitherto been con- 

 templated, seems especially demanded, to ena- 

 ble them to avail themselves of the discoveries 

 of modem science. This, however, is a posi- 

 tion which many are now ready to take, al- 

 though its importance cannot be so well appre- 

 ciated by those who are placed upon the very 

 rich soils of our country : but those who are till- 

 ing soils already exhausted of their natural fer- 

 tility, see the necessity, and -woold see it still bet- 

 ter, if they could not seU or exchans-e their farms 

 for the new and exuberandy rich lands of the west. 



Leaving this point as it is, -we remark once 

 more, that the times and the circumstances of 

 our country require more than ever the cultiva- 

 tion of die minds of this great class of the citi- 

 zens of our Republic. It was safe in the morn- 

 ing of our coantry. w-hen oppression tausht our 

 fathers the value and the price of liberty .for the 

 husbandman and mechanic to commit most of 

 the duties incident to office to those -who -were 

 by their profe-ssion allied to a public Ufe. But 

 no-w in this age. it appears to us, that to the 

 owTiers and cultivators of the soil should more 

 especially be committed this trust, as they have 

 a paramount interest in the afiaire of the State 

 and nation. They -who are -withdrawn irom the 

 sinister inScences os a dense city populadon. 

 where the unvvorthy and the demagogues of the 

 land are -wont to congregate.* should now stand 

 up in the halls of legislation and justice, and at 

 least possess themselves of that power to which 

 their numbers entide them. Some may sneer 

 at the expression, but to us it is plain, that, to 

 the cultivators of the soil is committed the des- 

 tinies of this country : that to them more es- 

 pecially is committed the great duty of handing- 

 down, unimpaired, our institutions to posterity. 

 If this is true, it foUo-ws that the iatellecrakl 

 faculties should receive that share of culmre 

 which is contended for in this our essay. 



We would not by any means be understood, 

 in these remarks, to say that farmers are to be- 

 come poUticians, in the odious sense of the 

 phrase. "We mean only that they should under- 

 stand as much of history, of law and of legisla- 

 tion, and of rights as they are defined in oar 

 constitution, as shall enable them to stand up by 

 the side of otir professional men. and to encoun- 

 ter successfully the demagogues and party bad^ 

 ■which in these days seem to swarm and multi- 

 ply out of all proportion to the rest of society. — 

 Who. of all our citizens, are so well prepared 

 to act dispassionately and rightly, as those who 



* [Demaacenes are not the pecniiar gro-wlh of 

 cities — as the vermin that feed on the begsar are 

 bred in bis own filth, so demagogues are the growth 

 rf the ignorance of communities, who hatch out JBd 

 say^an them — sound and widely diffused ednaoo* 

 will ejktirpate them, as clear culture esarpates kMth- 

 some weeds. -Dense city populations'' have their 

 advantases a3 well as di=advantagB6. It is in than 

 that sharper conSicls of the mind, and easier eom- 

 mucication of and access to all modem discovenea 

 strike out new ones. They are, too, the Emporimw 

 of Commerce, lae great promoter of diacorery aad 

 ciTiLization. Ko nation can reaci to great efewaUm 

 in power and glory and K'uerty and sccnray as loa* 

 i= i: Li p'A'.icaHy, prie=t ridden. Ed. Farm- LB] 



