616 



FARMJblRS' KEGISTER. 



[No. 10 



cuiitiiiued liic use ol'ilio iaill lungue. The result 

 vva-, tliat the [jart, planted deej) in the o|»eijiiijr 

 made by the siuall pluugli, where the larirer uue 

 liad previously been run, produced a tiiud more 

 liidder, and ot'a beiler i]iialiiy than lliat planted in 

 the shallow mark made by the large plough alone; 

 be:^ides the great dilierence there must be in tlie 

 weight ol" the corn, the latter drying tip too Ja^l ol 

 course to maice a proper urtice lor bread. Thi.s 

 should be remembered liy linaiers, and tiie evil oJ 

 shallow jjlautiiig avoided, especially saice all seem 

 to think the seasons are becoming shorter, and 

 much dryer tlian loraierly. 



PETITIOiV OP THE AG RICU I-TU RAL, SOCIETY 

 OF ALBEMARLE FOR TIJ E ESTABLISH JIEAT 

 OF A BOAKU OF AURIC U LTUKE. 



jlugust 5th, 1839. 



At an adjourned meeting ol the xVgriculiural 

 Society ot" Albemarle, James BcU'bour, seu'r., \Vm. 

 C Hives and Frank Carr, were appointed a (om- 

 mittee to dr.il't a memorial to the legislature ol 

 Virtfinia, urging upon that body the establisluneni 

 of a Board of Agriculture lor the slate, and to cir- i 

 culaie said memorial, iliereby sohciiing theco-ope- I 

 eration ol'those iiiendly to its object. 



Teste, FuAi\K Cark, Secretary A. S. A, 



To THE Legislature of Virginia. 



Tiie. AgricultanU Society of Albemarle was Ibun- 

 ed some twenty years past, l)y some oi the wisest 

 and most patriotic citizens of the commonwealth; 

 among whom were their fii-st president, the late 

 James Madison, and his distiiij^uished compatiiot 

 and I'riend, the late Thomas Jelterson. Associated 

 under such auspices, and having m view an object 

 of such general and high importance, it presents 

 itself belore the legislatui-e to invoke its ibstenng 

 aid in behallol' agriculture. 



The views of the society, were there a reason- 

 able hope olsuccess, would extend to ihe establish- 

 ment of a proltissorship of agriculiure — a board 

 ol' agriculture, and an expeiimental iarin. Taught 

 moderation, iiowever, by the ill success heretolore 

 attending tlieir ellorls belbre the legislature, they 

 conient themselves with asking now lor the cre- 

 ation of the board — the members to be ap|)oinied 

 by the governer, and to be selected in equal num- 

 bers Irom the lour great divisions of the slate. The 

 number at the beginning to be twelve — the com- 

 pensation to be the same as that allowed to the 

 members of the General Assembly, with an allow- 

 ance for the contingent expenses of a cleik, print- 

 iiu)-, &c. Their sessions would be linnted to a 

 few days, and the amount of the cost of such 

 sessions could not exceed a thousand dollars. And 

 to what purpose couid a sum of thai amount be 

 appropriated with a prosjiect of a lairer return I 

 It IS about equal to the exjienses of one day's set- 

 ting of the legislature. Tlie Society will not per- 

 miTitself to believe that an elaborate enumeralion 

 of the benefits of the measure they recummend 

 need be made to the legislature, many of vvlu)m 

 (and it is liervently wisheil ilieir number were 

 greater) are agiiculiurists. Let a few of ihe more 

 proimneiit considerations in its liivor suffice: It 

 is known to the legislature that such an estab- 

 lishment exist in every eligluened govermneai 



ill Europe; where the welfare of the people 

 actuates their policy — but pailiculariy in Eng- 

 land, whose good Ibrtune it has been to take 

 the lead in cherishing Ihe arts and sciences.— 

 And it is an important truth that ought to be deep- 

 ly impressed on the mind of every legislator, that 

 agriculture has advanced liand in hand with such 

 establishments — that while the small outgoings to 

 sustain tiiem have returned in benefits an hundred 

 (bid, the couiuless millions squandered in schemes 

 of" lawless ambition and in ruinous wars have left 

 no monuments save of the lolly and wickedness of 

 rulers and of the sutierinus of mankind. And it is 

 submiiied to the sober refiection of the legislature 

 whether the dedication of a small portion of their 

 lime to the important interests ol agriculture, might 

 not be as profitable as when spent in the endless 

 political strites that exercise so baneful an influence 

 on the quiet and happiness of society. 



A board of agriculiure, composed of twelve of 

 the most intelligent cultivators, could not fail to 

 concentrate a jrreat mass of agricultural inlorm- 

 aiion now confined to a few, but then to become 

 the properly ol ail. It is not merely the knowledge" 

 we now have, but we may confidently count on iis 

 coniinual increase which could nut liiil to ensue by 

 a coinmunicaiion wiih each other. The errors in- 

 to which they may have tiillen, and ofconsequence, 

 prevail in the regions they represent, by this com- 

 munion would be detected and exposed; and being 

 a rallying point which would attract to it the al- 

 lections of all who take an interest m the subject, 

 all would contribute to ihe usefulness of the es- 

 tabiishment, by communicating whatever was 

 calculated to further the ottjecis of its creation. 

 Inlbrmaiion would be souiiht by such a board, by 

 carrying on correspondence with similar in- 

 slilutions, whether in this country or in other quar- 

 tersol the globe. With these funds of intelligence 

 ihe board might prepare a code of agriculture, 

 combining all the now well established prin- 

 ciples of husbandry, and to be progressively im- 

 proved by successive discoveries. Nothing has 

 been productive of more mischievous consequences 

 tlian pursuing, in the absence of a better guide, 

 treatises on airriculture adapted to difierent cli- 

 mates and different circumstances — as pernicious 

 as the acts of a Ibreign legislature, ignorant of the 

 wants and the condition of the distant people for 

 whom they legislate. 



The society will not resort to the threadbare and 

 disurusling theme of exhausted fields, dilapidated 

 houses, and an impoverished and emigrating pop- 

 ul.iuon — lor it is not to your sympathy they would 

 appeal, but to your justice — It is not a tiivor they 

 ask, but a right they demand. The cultivators of 

 the earth pay directly into the treasury nine-tenths 

 of the revenue. Has a solitary Itirthing been ex- 

 pended directly in their favor, althouG-h agriculture 

 IS the most important, and at the same time, (forn 

 i:s complication, the most difticHilt to acquire among 

 the [lursuils of lile? They have seen, and without 

 regret, portions of their hard earnings expended 

 on objects proper in themselves, but when com- 

 pared with the inif)rovement of fmsbrindry, in- 

 sisnificant. Thev now ask that sotnething may 

 be done for the very foundation on which the pros- 

 peritv of the state reposes. 



Small as may be the dispensation now required, 

 compared with what they have a right to demand, 

 they console themselves with a hope that when 



