NEW PUBLICATIONS. J21 



and Doctor Mitchell— all names of note— were engaged in the 



^ jenterprise, and drew up the " Rules and Regulations for the Gov- 



' fernment of the Society." The object of this association was not 



solely the encouragement of agriculture, but it was for the " Pro- 



;. Imotion of Agriculture, Manufactures and Arts." The Society 



was not incorporated till the 12th of March, 1793. Immediate 



efforts were made to render the enterprise useful. A circular let- 



er was issued, asking information on various points of husbandry ; 



md it is worthy of remark, that the same questions, or many 'of 



hem at least, may be, and are asked, at the present day ; and so 



ittle attention has been given to them, that they still remain un. 



t mswerod. What effect this Society produced upon the condition 



^ )f farming, at that time, we are not able to ascertain. The volume 



.f Transactions published in 1801, contains numerous essays and 



ccounts of experiments, far superior to many of those put forth 



t the present day, and evincing an interest in the subject, which 



vouU do honor to many men of similar stations now. These 



rticles are from the pens of such men as Dr. Mitchell, Robert R. 



!.ivingston, Ezra L'Hommedieu, &c., &c.— men whose hearts 



[ frere in the cause, and whose efforts deserved the reward of suc- 



i ess. 



!: The discoveries of modern science had not opened to them the 

 f Rations of organic and inorganic matter— the true constitution of 



• plants, animals, and the soil— and consequently, their reasoning 

 » h regard to the action of manures and the life of vegetables, would 

 ? Ippeartousveryunphilosophical. But let us remember, that to our 

 . hildren, our's may appear equally so. Satisfied as we may be that 



• ire have arrived at the truth, it cannot be denied that the astonishing 

 : ^scoveries of the present age, instead of fixing as absolutely cer- 

 ■' am any conclusions, have a tendency rather to make us fear that a 

 : [iture day may show us to be in equal error, with our predecessors. 

 ^ ! In some things the writers of that day have taken a step in ad- 

 pee of our own times. As an example, take the following ex- 



; [act, from an essay " on the growth and nourishment of plaints," 

 I which the writer has gone beyond that sect who insist upon the 

 mosphere as the only source of carbon to plants. 

 Page 336. "I believe we are on safe ground, when we say the 

 lant receives no nourishment from the earth. Many have been 

 le experiments of raising plants, shrubs and trees, in boxes filled 



