10 MR. newhall's address. 



crop than if the whole had been unmarled. Hence he adds, if the 

 the occupier of the unmarled field would not have a succession of 

 poor crops, he must marl his lands also. On which professor John- 

 ston remarks ; — can it really be that nature thus rewards the diligent 

 and the improver ? Do the plants which grow in a soil in a higher 

 condition take from the air more than their due share of the carbon- 

 ic acid or other vegetable food it may contain, and leave to the ten- 

 ants of the poorer soil a less proportion than they might otherwise 

 draw from it ? How many interesting reflections does such a fact 

 as this suggest ! What new views does it disclose of the fostering 

 care of the great Contriver — of his kind encouragepnent of every 

 species of virtuous labor ? Can it fail to read to us a new and spec- 

 ial lesson on the benefits to be derived from the application of skill 

 and knowledge to the cultivation of the soil?" 



The vital importance of agriculture in a national point of view 

 may be seen in the consequence of its neglect a few years since, 

 when a speculating mania seized the minds of the community, and 

 the cultivation of the earth was in a great measure neglected ; when 

 the regular harvests of the field were of too slow a growth, and yield- 

 ed too small a profit to satisfy the minds of those, who, blinded by 

 visions of golden harvests to be reaped in a single day, looked upon 

 agriculture as unworthy of a moment's regard ; — and the melancho- 

 ly spectacle presented itself of this immense and fertile country be- 

 ing under the necessity of importing bread from Europe ! Had 

 this mad career been persisted in, it is obvious that we must, as a 

 people, have rapidly descended the path of national ruin. But these 

 schemes have passed away "like the baseless fabric of a dream." 

 More just and sober views have succeeded and this great pursuit of 

 the nation has been prosperous. 



According to the report of Mr. Burke, the Commissioner of Pa- 

 tents for the last year , the value of the grain crops and the great 

 agricultural staples of the country, amounts in round numbers to 

 eight hundred and thirty-eight millions of dollars. The value of the 

 products of orchards, gardens and nurseries is estimated at fifty-four 

 millions. The value of live stock, wool and dairy products amounts 

 to two hundred and fifty-two millions. The value of the products 

 of the woods and forests amounts to fifty-nine millions, — making a 

 total of more than one thousand, two hundred millions of dollars for 

 the products of the soil for a single year. From the same source I 



