1 82.5.] 



NEW ENr^T.AND FARMED.. 



149 



ation, is groat allnchmpnt to former usages iiiul i 

 habits, ami, what is a natural consoiineiice, slrnng 

 aversion lo all innovations or changos. "Far- 

 mers," observes a very distinguislierl agriculliir- 1 

 alist, "are the most diffii^iilt of any people un- 

 Jer the sim, to be convinced of the errors which i 

 are manifest in their jiraclice; or, of the utili- 

 ty of the most ailvaulageoiis improvements, | 

 which may he made in their profession." j 



'The Pniclic.aU Scieiilifc Fanner, or ngriciiltn- 

 ralist, is one, who, with the practice, unites tlie 

 studi) of agriculture as a science. It is the same 

 character, as before ohserved, whicli is some- 

 times called the rtcfom/j/i.s/i<;c/yar(/i(/-. This char- 

 acter combines the excellencies of (he two lor- 

 nier vvilli'nit their defects. It is a character 

 on which 1 slionld delight to dwell, and exhibit 

 to you in all its beauty, in all its proportions, 

 would time permit. 1 must iiowever be brief. 



Men of this character, it must be confessed, 

 are not, generally, so much employed in the 

 labors of the tield, as those of the character last 

 described. But then they are no strangers there. 

 They visit, si)|>erinlend and inspect liio several 

 operations carried on upon their estates, and 

 distinguish the various causes and circumstances 

 which influence iheir fiilure or success. It is 

 not the circumstance simply of being employed 

 in the labours of the field, as some seem to sup- 

 pose, whicli makes the accomplished farmer; 

 for then the ox might aspire to this character 

 as well as his master; but it is vie-^ing those op- 

 criitinns in the light of science. Accordingly men 

 of this character are frequently found in the 

 learned professions, among our mechanics, mer- 

 chants, and even among our statesmen and war- 

 riors, who from commanding in armies and pre- 

 siding in senates, h;ive frequentl)' descended to 

 (he humbler walks of husbainlry, and have there 

 found an emplo^'racnt sufficient to interest the 

 most splendiii talents. 



Wa-^hington was of this character. M the 

 close of the American revolution, he retired lo 

 liis estate at Moimt Vernon, containina: between 

 three and four thousand acres of cultivable land 

 an<l exlendiug a distance, following the windings 

 of iho river, of more than ten miles on the Po- 

 tomac. There he opened a correspondence j 

 with Sir John Sinclair, President of the British 

 Board of Agricullurc, and with olher distinguish- 

 ed characters, both at home and abroad. In one 

 of these letters he observes, " The more I am 

 acquainted with agricullural affairs the belter I 

 am pleased with Ihem ; insomuch, that 1 can no 

 where find so great satisfaclinn as in these inno- 

 cent and useful pursuits." And again, — " In in- 

 dulging these feelings, I am led to reflect, how 

 much more delightful to an undebauched mind 

 i* the task of making improvements on the earth 

 than all the vain glory, which can be acquired 

 from ravaging it by the most uninterrupted ca- 

 reer of conquest." Such were the sentiments 

 of a man whom all the world have concurred 

 to honor. 



The ex-presidents, particularly Mr Jefferson 

 and Mr Madison, are of this character. The es- 

 tate of RFir JelTeison, at the time he accepted 

 the presidency, consisted of four farms, each 

 farm divided into seven fields of forty acres each, 

 the whole under a seven years' system of rota- 

 tion. Both of these gentlemen have written 

 several important papers on agriculture. Mr 

 Jefferson particularly, iu one of these papers. 



has condescended " to determine on llie most 

 malheuiatical principles, the proper angle which! 

 Ihe mould-board should make vvilh the plough' 

 share. In doing this he has rendereri a very! 

 important service lo his country. Draiviiigs of* 

 Ihis mould-hoard have been taken aud carried 

 lo Europe, and it will probaMy serve to perpet-' 

 tiate his name in grateful remembrance. [ 



But it is not necessary that a man should have 

 commanded in armies, or have presided in sen- 1 

 ates, or that he should have had what is called! 

 a liberal education, or that he should have sin-' 

 died Latin, or Greek, or Hebrew, or Euclid, to 

 his becoming a practical, 'scientific farmer. It[ 

 is necessary however he should possess an in- j 

 quiring mind, a talent for observation, and hab- 

 its of reflection. It is necessary he should be 

 capable of tracing effects lo their /iroyic;- causes. 

 In order for ihis it will he necessary he should] 

 have some acquaintance with the principles of; 

 natural philosophy, and especially, of ngricutlu-' 

 ral chemistry Some of his leisure hours must be | 

 ilevoted to reading. He must record f icls, com- 

 [lare this thing wilh that, and endeavour to find ] 

 out the principle in every thing. "• The growlh ^ 

 of a plant, its fastidious selection of a genial soil : 

 — the manner in which it draws noiirishuiei.l 

 from the air through the medium of its leaves, 

 or from the earth by the agency of its roots, the 

 mullilude of changes which it undergoes Iromj 

 i;s embryo slate to its maturity — not only fur-| 

 nish subjects of curious research and ingenious' 

 speculalion ; but, if properly examined, evince 

 lliat there is some principle in the matter, some 

 universal law, by which these and olher phe-) 

 nomena are produced and regulated." In Ihe j 

 discovery of this law, and the different forms in 

 w hich it operates, consists the Science of ^Agri- 

 culture- 



And here permit me to notice — it is lo men 

 of this character we are indebted for most of 

 Ihe improvements and discoveries which have 

 been made in agricullure. Who, lei me ask, 1 

 first brought into notice gypsum or Pl.ister of| 

 Paris as a manure? It was Judge Peters, a dis- j 

 linguished praclical, scientific agriculturalist of( 

 Pennsylvania. Who fiisl imported and brought' 

 into iiolice the fine wooled sheep of Spain? — It 

 was the late Col. Humphreys, a distinguished 

 praclical, scientific agriculturalist of Connecti-! 

 cut. Who first described and brought into no- ; 

 lice the [irocess of horizontal ploughing, guided 

 by an implement called the rafter level? It was 

 Mr Jefferson, that distinguished sage and agri. 

 culluralist of Monticello. Who is it that has 

 given us the first example of hedging and soil- 

 ing agreeably to Ihe most approved method in 

 English husbandry ? It is Mr Quincy, a distin- 

 guished praclical, scientific agriculturalist, of 

 Massachusetts. 



We might proceed and enquire, for centuries 

 past, into the history of every important im- 

 provement in agricuhure, and we should, in al- 

 most every instance, trace them to the yjrac/ica/, 

 scientific agriculturalist. And yet there are some 

 among us, who have the folly to urge it as an 

 objection against our agricultural societies, that 

 ihey are composed pirlly of this class of men! 

 All such they would have excluded. It is true, 

 these societies like other improvements in ag- 

 riculture, have mostly originated with men of 

 this character, who, having a warm interest in 

 the improvement of the country, and public 

 spirit enough to bestow their services gratuit- 



oii>iv, m.ignai)ini(iusly oHlt on the altar of pub- 

 lic iililily, the devotion of their hearts and the 

 inspiring infiuence of their example. 



The fijsl grand imjiulse given lo agriculture 

 in every coiinlry, has been conicninicated by 

 men of this character, who, allhoi: ch not them- 

 selves engaged in the occupation of farming as 

 a prol'es.iion, studied it as a science, and per- 

 ceived its subserviency to national felicity and 

 independence. " In England," observes a late 

 wril°r, '' Dukes, Manpiises, Earls, Baronets and 

 all the ranks of nobility, emulate each other, not 

 merely in patronizing agriculture, but in active- 

 ly engaging in it. Manufacturers and merchants 

 of opulence embark in the honourable competi- 

 tion ; and no scheme is lel'l untried which prom- 

 ises to be useful, or to advance Ihe National 

 Agriculture. It is studied and pursued with an 

 enthusiasm which sets selfish calculations at de- 

 fiance, and which warms, agitates and interests 

 all the nobler passions of the heart. The peace- 

 ful labors of Ihe plough, become Ihe amusement 

 and solace of every gentlemau, who retires from 

 public life, and .liter he has made his fortune, 

 ills imagination pictures no greater happines.? 

 llian Ihe cultivation of his paternal estate, or the 

 embellishment of the country seat purchased by 

 his wealth, and on which he means to pass the 

 evening of his days. There his pleasures cen- 

 tre, anil there his hopes rest. He flies from the 

 din, smoke, and bustle of the crowded city, and 

 sits down tranquilly in some sequestered nook, 

 rich in varied beauty, and distinguished either 

 by the picturesque or sublime, there to enjoy 

 the melody of the grove, the low of cattle, the 

 grateful change of Ihe season, the alternation of 

 labour and repose, and above all that serene and 

 healthful exercise of mind, which rural recrea- 

 tions are fitted to produce. 



I" proceeds to retnafk — 



One great defect under which our agriculture la- 

 bours is the WA^T of general and scientific princi- 

 ples among the great body (f our practical farmers , 



In new countries little more is necessary than 

 to clear Ihe land of its forests and commit to its 

 bosom the seed, to ensure an ample relurn to the 

 cultivator. At length, however, by continued 

 crop|)ing, llie texture of Ihe soil, and in some 

 instances its very constitution, are altered; the 

 ashes, produced in the first instance from burn- 

 ing otT the wood, are spent ; the store of provis- 

 ion for the nourishment of plants, which had 

 been accumulating perhaps for centuries while 

 the laud was in forest, is exhausted. His crops 

 then become feeble, hardly sufficient to pay the 

 expense of cultivation. 



Pass through the counly of Hillsborough, look 

 into the several towns, and how many farms 

 you will see in precisely this situation ; — their 

 occupants toiling on from day to day in the bea- 

 ten track of their fathers, bereaving themselves 

 of comfort, barely subsisting from year to year, 

 in many instances going behindhand, and the 

 more so as their farms grow older and conse- 

 quently less productive. And is it possible in a 

 country like this, possessing so fine a climate, 

 under so hot a sun, where the maize, which has 

 been justly styled the "prince of grains" is indi- 

 genous, and where the government lays its hand 

 lightly on the industry of the husbandman — is 

 it possible in such a country men should not 

 generally make thrift by agriculture ? Cast your 

 eyes abroad, look to Great Britain, to an atmos- 

 phere loaded wilh fogs and dripping with wet. 



