Sl)c JTavincr's iHout!)bj llisitov. 



9 



By llie means heic su.^SRstcd llie usefulness of 

 our socifly may bt! greatly CMl:irj;L'ii, iuul iiiiicli 

 may be done, by its iiisiiiiiiieiitalily, Ibrtlie iuter- 

 ests of agricult'iire. But yet other measures, of 

 a wWer sco|ie, are deitiaruleil Ijy tbose interests. 

 A public emlowmeut, under the patronage of the 

 Slate, for instruction in the principles and prac- 

 tice of agriculture, is imperatively due to that 

 great class of the coinuuinity, which is immedi- 

 ately connected with the cultivation of the earth. 

 We have, in great iniMjber, schools of Law, 

 schools of Medicine, schools of gcner^d Litera- 

 ture, but none of Agriculture. Why is this so ? 

 The recent census shows that the ninnber of 

 persons engaged in Agricidtm-e is four times 

 erealer llian the whole iiuniber of persons em- 

 ployed in Commerce, Maniiractures, the Learned 

 Professions, a4id Trades of every discription, all 

 put together. Does not every consideration of 

 policy and justice, then, require the provision of 

 some means of professional e<lucation, in an art. 

 So which so pre<.lomiiiaut and vital a portion of 

 the industry and worth of the country is devoted. 

 Is agri<'idturc alone to be de;rraded into a vulgar 

 und empiii'"'*' pursuit, which requires no lilieral 

 instruciio!! .' On the contrary, there is no other 

 profession, ] will venture to atiirin, which de- 

 mands, for its intelligent cxeri'isc, so wide a 

 range of scientific knowledge. It embraces with- 

 in its scope, by u direct and tiecessary depen- 

 tlence. the domain of Chemistry, IJotany, Vege- 

 table Physiology, (Scology, Mineralogy, Meteorc- 

 3ogy, Zoology, Mecliariical Philosophy, not to 

 speak of the moral and political sciences winch 

 have so important a bearing, in many respects, 

 upon some of its highest interests. To which of 

 the Zt«nief/{irofessions, so called, I would ask, is 

 so large a group of kindred sciences associated 

 jn such close and intimate relalionshJi>r 



These considerations. are making themselves 

 daily more and more felt, and are arousing |Kib- 

 lic attention, in every enlighiend cooinumity, to 

 the justclainis of agrictdtural e<hicati-on, A pro- 

 fessorship of agrieuliine has lieen longestablish- 

 ■ed in the universities of Edinbui'g: and Onhljn ; 

 ond from the former has recently pi-oceeded one 

 of the most valuable works on tiie "elemetits of 

 practical agriculture," ever publishad. !f dis- 

 tinct professoi-sliips of agriculture have not yet 

 been founde<linthe English (miver.s=.ties, aiTange- 

 tnentsare in progress for establishing them; aiwl 

 in the mean time lectures of distingtrished abiii- 

 ty have lieen delivered on the s'.ibject hy some of 

 their learne<i professors, — among which it v/OiiJ<{ 

 •be inexctisable not to memion par-ticiilarly -the 

 jectures of Prefessor Daub^ey <;f the University 

 of Oxfortl. It is lime that Virginia should acqsiit 

 herself of the debt which every enl-iglttened and 

 ■especially every Republican connnonweltli owes 

 to this gr-cut primor<lial interest of society. We 

 must have a professorship of agiicuK-ire in om- 

 University as a jiart of the ge«eval course of lib- 

 eral studies, to linnish our youg men, when they 

 •quit its walls, v/ith ,-i conijjo'Hnt-linowiedge of the 

 •priiicipl'SS of a iirol'essioii which so many of 

 ■them embrace in alter life. I-!i a-driition to this, 

 there should lyj estahlishcol in c<inneftioii with 

 tlie University, a special figricuUur-al instilule, de- 

 signee! for tiiGse wlio might not wish or find it 

 convenient to follow the general course of Uifi- 

 versity stiulics, but whose olgect. would be to ac 

 qifn-e in shorter time or at less expense, the pro- 

 fessional education of an instructed agricultm-al- 

 ist,as well as the gener.-d accomplishments of an 

 nteliigent and useful cilisen. In this depi'.rtment, 

 theory and practice should go band in hand; and 

 for that purpose, a model and experimental farm 

 should be attitched to the Institute to be conduc- 

 ted under the mest skilful supervision and nian- 

 agetnent, an<l to afford examples of the most im- 

 proved methods of culture and fertilization. 



Of such ail iiistiiution, a perfect exemplar, 

 tested by forty years of sucesslul experience, is 

 presentetl to us in the admir.dile and celebrated 

 establishment of Von Felleidierg at Ilofvvyl in 

 Switzerland, I am sjiared the necessity of de- 

 fails in the develo[)n)ent of this suggestion, by 

 simply referring to that well known establish- 

 ment as a general model, admitting readily of 

 modifications where a difference of circumstan- 

 ces tnay he supposed to require them. It was my 

 good fiirlune during my residence in Europe, to 

 visit this classic spot ; and c.-ui safely say, that I 

 saw nothing in the palaces of Kings, in the mii- 

 seutnsof the fine arts, in tlie gorgeous displays 



of wealth and power on every hand, which im- 

 pressed me with half the adnfiration I felt in 

 contemplating the modest but noble establish- 

 ment of the Swiss Repid)lican patriot and sage. 

 Agriculture he chose as the basis of hisenter- 

 piise: and by the happy combination, in the 

 training of bis pu|)ils, of intellectual and bodily 

 labor, mutually relievitig and giving zest to each 

 other, be has achieved those prodigies of moral 

 and physical inq)rovement, which have drawn 

 upon his institinion the earnest attention and ap- 

 plause of the civilized world. It has furnished 

 to Continental Europe the best models of its 

 agricullme. while it has sent lin'th into its various 

 States aiul Kingiloms some of their most useful, 

 virltioiis and enlightened citizens. At the same 

 time, the model tanii of liofwyl stands a proud 

 refutation of all the stereotyped satires, so fre- 

 quently iiididged, on scienlilic farming, as the 

 accounts of tlie establisbmenl, kept with niiimte 

 mercantile exa-"tiiess, disclose through a series of 

 years, a nett prolit of 8.J per cent upon the whole 

 capital employeil — a rate of profit with which, I 

 venture to say, any of us practical farmers would 

 be more than content. 



I have thought it not unsuitable to the present 

 occasion, gent^lemen, to present to you these ob- 

 servations on the means of extending the tiseful- 

 ness of our society, of elevating the standard of 

 our profession, and of promoting the progress of 

 agricaltural science, in which the highest pros- 

 perity of the State, as well as our own personal 

 ioterests a-nd feelings, is so deeply concerned. 

 If I ehaii have tlnown out any thing which shall 

 appear to you worthy of being further pursued, 

 i shsH es-teeiM myself happy in awakening the 

 iiit.?rest •ef those, whose intelligent exertions, 

 •oeticmTiitg with those of our agricultural breth- 

 ren elsewhere must ensure, by their united moral 

 influence, sociress to whatever object of public 

 good t^iey may espouse. 



Pass we now from these topics to those of a 

 Tiiore (a^niliar character conncci-ed with operative 

 agrtciiltore. The bountiful Author of our being, 

 ■gentfetiien, lias give to man dominion over the 

 earth, tiud over all its produ<-iions. but coupled 

 with the grant the expres condition and injunction 

 that he should juWue it by his industry and toil. 

 It is no iiart of the scheme of Divine Providence 

 that spontaneous nature should supply the wants 

 of man. On the contrary, there is hardly any 

 thing which nature presents to us in a state 

 which supersedes the necessity of liimian labor 

 to make some change in it, to prepare it for the 

 use of men. Political economists, indeed, tell us 

 that labor is llie only source of the necessaries 

 and conveniences of life, or what they call wealth. 

 Whatever exception may iie taken to this propo- 

 sition, in its unqualified strictiicss, it is neverthe- 

 less, undeniable that huniaii labor is, by fiir, the 

 most important constituent in almost all arlicies- 

 consumed by man — even the ordinary produrt* 

 of the earth. The great philoso|)lier, Locke, ?a^ 

 marks that "if we will rightly consider ihings-as- 

 they come to our use. and cast up the several ex- 

 penses aboiit lbeni,wbat is purely owing to nnfu-rs, 

 and what to labor, we shall find that, in most &i' 

 them, ninety-nine hundredths are wholly tw be 

 put to the account of labor.'" And he .idds,. 

 that "it would he a strange catalogue of tilings- 

 that the industry of man iirovided and macte use 

 of, about every loaf of bread, belijre it cam? to our 

 use, if ^ve could trace them."'' Let us nsS repine 

 at this law of our being, but recognise in it a 

 new proof of the goodness and wisdi«!j' of Di- 

 vine Providence, which thus supplies ws wifh 

 constant motives to that active exerti&a of our 

 liicnlties, nii;iital and bodily, in whicb eiily the 

 true dignity and happiness of man .ire' to be 

 found. 



The earth, then, is given to us in a s-tate tan-fit 

 and incompetent for the snpfiort of chifizcfi man, 

 but with varied and indefinite capacsoi-^s of |>i'o- 

 duction, to be drawn forth by huinan rndiistry 

 and art. Tlieie is no part of its praiiitive sur- 

 face which does not stand in need of improvement, 

 in some form or other, by arlificial iiiMJans. This 

 is the fundamental principle of n^ricnlfure as 

 an art, and points to a constantly pre^-ressive im- 

 provement as the end of every geiieroug sy.'tpm 

 of fill niing. No man should bo cofltenl sii>>ply 

 to preserve his lands in the condtliioii in whVcli 



•See Trentise of Civil Government, B.ll,cl«ip. V. s. 

 10, and 13. 



they are. The poor should be made rich, and 

 the rich richer; and such is the efficacy of arti- 

 ficial means of improvement that what was or- 

 riginally the poorest land in Europe, (1 refer to 

 the light sandy soils of Flaiider.s,) is now prob- 

 ably the richest — .so that Flemish Husbandry has 

 become synonymous with llie perfection of fer- 

 tility and productiveness. In effecting this ex- 

 traordinary triimqih over the disadvantages of 

 iiatme, much doubtless, has been done by good 

 tillage, deep ploughing, thorough draining, and a 

 judicious rotation of crops ; but the most effici- 

 ent agent has been the minute care in collecting 

 and preserving, and unwearied diligence in the 

 application of manures. These, indeed, in con- 

 nection with proper culture, are the "charms 

 and mighty magic" by which the wonder work- 

 ing power of agricultural iniprovement has every 

 where wrought its miracles. It is alike curious 

 and encouraging to observe how the catalogue of 

 these precious resources is daily extending by the 

 discoveries of modern science, and the inquisi- 

 tive spirit of the liunian mind. In addition to the 

 numerous class of vegetable and animal man- 

 ures, so long known, and \vhiise virtues have 

 been tested by centuries of experience, it is iiov'sf 

 discovered that the respective compounds of 

 lime and magnesia in hones, and the peculiar 

 chemical atfinilies of charcoal powder and soot 

 have placed them high on tl?e list of valuable for- 

 tilizers. 



But it is chiefly \n the wide field of mineral 

 manures, and in the bowels of the earth, that the 

 researches of the chemist and the geologist are 

 from lime to time unfolding new resources for 

 stimulating and increasing the productiveness of 

 its surfiice. ] need not bring to your \k\v any 

 of these modern discoveries, ni' which yoti wilS 

 obtain a liir m(/-re satislactory knowledge from, 

 the jiublicatioHs v^hich treat of them. But J 

 cannot pass without notice the extraordhiary and 

 cheering results, which have already ftillowed, 

 and are fikely to be still fiirther produced, in a 

 portion of our own sttite, by the use as a ma- 

 nure, of t\iose beds of fossil shells, which are 

 found deposited, in suc^) targe ahnndance,, 

 thro^^gbou£ the tide-water region, and to which, 

 the if-enomination ef mad is now general'ly ap- 

 ])lie*]» And here we have occasion to remark a, 

 striWng ex.ample of tliat w ise econoniy of Pro- 

 vsd«nce ro which i have already referred. The- 

 regioi) ill which tiiese hirge deposits of inarl are- 

 fotijjd is distil■,guishef^, for the most part, by nat- 

 fH'al soi-ls of an inferior fiirtility ; hut beneatlk 

 Eheii'sorfiise aatwre has [ilaced, in libera! meas- 

 ure, the muans of emichirig them to any extent, 

 ihns-hivitiiig tli& enterprise aud industry of man 

 to- their improvemeH?. h. was the- fortune of a 

 publisj- sfiiriteel &iid' intelligent Virginian, at a 

 arit-ical uroiBenS tor his country, to perceive the 

 inestin-iabls valae &f this hidden tals^nt ; and, un- 

 der the awakening influenee of his able writings 

 ami e."i[t>eri<neutal det«oiistrations, lower Virginia- 

 is now undergoing one of the most remarkable 

 traiisformaticns of tliis age of iinproveuieijt., I; 

 need not say that T speak of the able author of" 

 the "Essay on Cidcarcotis Wanures"^ — a work- 

 that has already taken a distinguished place- 

 among theagrictiltural Classics of the English 

 language, aud whieli will transmit the name of" 

 ',its authsr ts future times as a public beneriictor.. 

 You a^'s not anmindful; geiyremcu, that luiliiro- 

 has|)Jaecd on either siJe of u^, in the region wo- 

 occD^iy, one of the most erficienl of this fiimily 

 of ealeareoms manures. • t refi'r to t!io vein 01" 

 li'mestone which borders nson the east, nmning 

 parallel with, and at about a mile's distance froni' 

 the base of the- southwest moimtuins, and the 

 broaoler field »f it which skirls us on the west, 

 running along the western base ef the Blue 

 Ridge aionntai'iis. Tlieso liodics of limestone- 

 itiii- ill paralfel direetions through the entire widtli 

 iof the stale, and at aJwut an average disianco of 

 twenty-five mih's fi-otn caeii other. It hecoirie.s,. 

 thei'eJore, a mattci'of iiitsrest to the whole range 

 of eonnties lying in this situation, and not inap- 

 propriately e:dled the Pisdniouf, counties of Vir- 

 ginia, 10 enqaii-e how far we may profftabl-y avait 

 ourselves of this material, which nature has 

 placed on either hand of ws, I'm- the mipi-ovemenc 

 of our lauds. It strikes ane at first with some 

 surprise that linvc having been ailvantiigeously 

 employed, from the earliest limes as u inannrc, 

 doc.bls should still exist, in various localities, as 

 to the beticfits.of its (rpplicattuii. But when it is 



