THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



205 



to devote themselves to agriculture, in preference 

 to any other profession. One of the most obvious 

 of these means is, to improve our own Ivnowloiijie 

 of it, both by study and practice; for then we 

 ehail have the great adviintage of athiressinir 

 their underslandinffs, by the all powerful aiit^ncy 

 of example, as well as by that oCprecppt. When 

 a parent heariiiy work.s by bo'h, seldom indeed 

 will he I'ail to succeed with his child in any thinjf ; 

 for among ail the admirable lessons of wisdom, 

 which we derive from that great store-house ol 

 soul-saving knowledge, the Holy Scriptures, 

 there is not one of more practical utility, not one 

 of more vital importance, than that which incul- 

 cates upon parems the absolute necessity of first 

 doing as they would wish their children to do, 

 belbre they have any right to expect good con- 

 duct from them. By the same divine authority, 

 we are assured, that if we will bring up our child- 

 ren in the way in which they should go, they 

 will not depart from it. If, therelbre, any of my 

 brother farmers who now hear me, desire that 

 their sons should follow their own prol'ession, as 

 I certainly think they ought, these sons should 

 be brought up to it, educated for it, and taught to 

 love it. The very effort to do this, will benefit 

 yourselves lull as much as it will benefit them; 

 (or ihere is nothing wliich will operaie so effec- 

 tually, «io make us sensible of our own want of 

 instruciion in any particular branch of knowledge, 

 as the attempt to instruct others therein. This 

 will soon expose to us our own sell-conceit, without 

 a consciousness of which, notfiing can ever in- 

 spire us wiih an efficient desire to seek more im- 

 fbrmation in regard to our proli^ssion, inasmuch as 

 we Ibolishly imagine ourselves already possessed 

 of all that we need have. 



Should any of my hearers be in this self-com- 

 placent, opinionative condition, a condition so de- 

 lectable to the individual himself, but so truly re- 

 diculous to all others who behold it, I beseech 

 him to try earnestly, if it be but for a single day, 

 the experiment of teaching one of his sons the 

 principles and practice of agriculture. And if this 

 one effort did not so far open his eyes to his own 

 ignorance, as to cure him effectually of all over- 

 weening confidence in his own knowledge of his 

 profession, I should not hesitate to affirm of that 

 man, that he was doomed to live and die, without 

 any farther acquaintance with husbandry than 

 he then possessed. To expect him to improve 

 would be quite as hopeless a thing, as to look (or 

 it in one who was entirely destitute of all the fa- 

 culties which render man an improveable crea- 

 ture. 



Before I conclude, permit me to make one or 

 two other suggestions which I deem very impor- 

 tant to the successlLiI operation of an agricultural 

 society. The first is to make every member, as 

 far as practicable, a working member, instead of 

 what is generally called " a sleeping partner."' 

 To do this, the best meihod, I think, is one lately 

 Euggesied by Mr. RufRn, editor of that excellent 

 paper, "The l^'armers' Regisier." He recommends 

 that the constitution of every agricultural society 

 should require each member, who is a farmer, to 

 make annually and report the results of at least 

 three experiments, on a scale suited to his means, in 

 regard to some disputed questions in agriculture ; 

 that at least half the funds of the society be 

 offered in premiums -for the best of these experi- 



ments ; and that a fine of one dollar he imposed 

 lor every one that each fiirmer lails to make. 

 This would keep all the members on the alert; 

 and would certainly elicit, every years, some use- 

 ful inlormation which might be beneficial to all. 



JVJy ne.Kl suijgesiion is, that in every case 

 where premiums are oH'ered, it should never be 

 Ibrgolten, that the sole purpose which they ought 

 to aim at accompli.<hing is, to obiain the greatest 

 results at the least expense of labor and materials. 

 For instance, if the premium be offered Ibr the 

 greatest produce per acre, of any crop, let it al- 

 ways be made an indispensable cond'tion that 

 authenticated staiemiMUs should be pioduced, not 

 only of the quantity, but of the cjuantum and 

 kind of manure, and labor expended in makino' 

 it. Again, if the premium be offered Ibr stock,, 

 let it be required that the whole process of rear- 

 ing and liiitening be slated in a manner equally 

 well auihenticaied and panicular. The same 

 regard to economy should regulate all other pre- 

 miums, not only to enable poor farmers to com- 

 pete Ibr them with a fair prospect of success ; 

 but because every agricultural society should 

 make it one of the chief objects of its efforts 

 ro promote and encourage economy in all /arm- 

 ing operations whatever. Without a due regard 

 to this, no farm can properly be said to be well 

 managed, since the net profit may be reduced to 

 nothing, however large the crops, unless the va- 

 rious expenses in making them be constantly 

 kept within the narrowest limits compatible with 

 the progressive improvement of the farm, and the 

 regular increase olthe owner's clear income. 



And now, my friends, I will no longer detain 

 you from organizing your society, but conclude 

 with the lull assurance, that if properly sustained, 

 it will rapidly improve you, both in the knowledge 

 and practice of your profession ; it will strength- 

 en your conviction, that no other vocation con- 

 tributes so much to independence, so much to 

 health, plenty, and competence, if not to great 

 riches ; that it will enable all industrious, frugal 

 owners and cultivators of the soil to provide well 

 Ibr themselves and families, to give much to them 

 that need ; but above all, to impart to their 

 children that s^und moral and religious education, 

 which is the best, incomparably the best legacy a 

 parent can leave to his child ; lor it ensures to 

 him, so lar as human means can do it, happiness 

 both in this world and the world to come. 



TO GUARD SHEEP FROM BEING KILLED BY 

 DOGS. 



From the American Agriculturist. 

 Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to the 

 keeping of sheep has been the savage destruction 

 made among them by worthless cnrs kept 

 throughout our country, (or no other reason, that 

 we could ever imagine, than to gratify the lancy 

 of their owners. If these animals were kept 

 constantly chained up where they could do no 

 harm, no fault would be found ; but when suffer- 

 ed to run at large and become public destroyers, 

 it is quite another affair, and we hold every one 

 justifiable, nay, a positive duty on their parts, to 

 shoot all dog prowlers, without any more hesita- 

 tion than they would a mad wolf. 



