NEW ENGLAND FAIIMEK, 



Sept. 21, 1831/ 



Eolivered befor 



AN ADDRESS 



the Hirtford i;ounty Agriculfiital Society, at liicir 

 Aniiuul Meeting, Ucluber ad, IS:lO. 



liv (HiRLES KOIIINSOK, Eiq. 



On occiisioiis like the presttnt tin; mnlienoe are 

 a''ieii niliTtiiiiieil with a liistory nf agriculture. 

 Tiie wrilcr trafes tlm art tlir(>u<;li its ra|Piil advan- 

 ces and iis occasional declinf, and end.s with a 

 (.lowing picture of its present state ainongjit u.<. 

 He ollen descrihes tlie farmer as free from the 

 c-Jires and anxiflies which assail all other niojtals. 

 lie puin-irays him as po.-sesseil of manly iinlepen- 

 denc.i', as nir.sier of his own time and movt'inents, 

 aci'ni)i(!d it is true in the direciion and tJiiperin- 

 (cndeiice ol' his liiisiness, hut still with thoiiirhts 

 Jjilnnt iipoii ilie beanties of natnre, as viewing 

 wilh dilighl the verdnie with which nalme has 

 BO lavislily iiivesletl the surface of the earth, as 

 tnnsnig with grateful emotions upon the o|ieniiig 

 flowers, upon all the works of ii kinil providence, 

 airJ as dwi.'lliiig under his own vine and lig tree, 

 with none to molest or make him afraid. 



What is the use or where is tin- policy of in- 

 vesting this subject witli the mantle of .sentiment? 

 of ilec-Uing it in colors foreign to its nature which 

 throw a false and deciitfcd chain around it, e.vert- 

 in" an inllucnce most unwholesome and improper. 

 In answer to a traveller on n ilevious and difii- 

 dllt road would you tell him that onward all was 

 |>l.iiu and pleasant, that there were no iloidjlful 

 lurnin"-s, or 'rather would you not descrilie to him 

 wilh precision the difficnhies and dangers he w.ns 

 ahonl to encmnter, would not he hi; tmn-e on his 

 guard .-md lictier [trepared to overcome those tlan- 

 gers and dillii-ullies if they were fcdiy aitil freely 

 lioiiited out to hiin. If you s.iy to iIk; farmer 

 llnit his path onward is fair and beautiful, what 

 motive! do you place before him for exertion ? But 

 if (Ml the other hand y(Mi tell him in the language 

 of trnlh that, the coirrse he is pm-suing is one of 

 labor and troul>le, will not he put fiirtli the ener- 

 pes of his nature and rise superior to the ten 

 tbonsaiid cares which beset him on every hand. 



The path which the farmer treads is a devious 

 path. His is an occupation which ran Ite learn- 

 ed only by practice and experience. General rules 

 aud mawins are of little use. They are liable to 

 sn many escnptions, so many different circumstan- 

 ces eoncm- to alter ahd change the premises that 

 no ciuiclusioii can ordinarily be drawn which upon 

 g;>pliciitiipn will not prove erronemis. 



Modi of the treatises on this snhjeet are written 

 upon the presumption of more information thmi 

 r>rmers in general possess and hence are of no 

 T.»lue except to a few. iMany of ihem'arethe pro- 

 diictituts Of speculative enthusiasts who tui.stake 

 tlie workings' of tlieir own distempered imagipia- 

 Coii for the conclusions of scientific research and 

 llie results of experience. 



In acrriculmre no two cases occur which in all 

 respects are exr.ctly alike. The external appear- 

 ance of laiul affords no sure indication of its true 

 jfuality and value. This can be fairly tested only 

 fcy experience, and the »pi>lication of various crops 

 ifi successive years, and iti general there are so 

 many kinds of soil in tlie same inclosure, whii-h 

 Com their situation must of necessity be subjected 

 tit the same mode of treatment, that it is difficult 

 Co adopt any one course whiih will be equally 

 beneficitd. 



The life of the farmer is frequently spoken of 

 a devoid of care. But is it forgotten that his la. 

 Lar is performed under a capricious sky, that his 



crops depend upon an auspicious seed time and a 

 proper state of the soil, neitlier to be obtained 

 without much labor, care and atlculion. that his 

 stock are subject to disease and death, that his 

 premises are liable to be entered and his crops 

 destroyed, that a profusion of rain or drought are 

 alike "desiructive, that bUsiing and niihiew prey 

 upon his hopes, that the whirlwind anil llie hail 

 in one short hour may cut o.T.aiid desiroy his pros- 

 pects for the season, lh.it the len tlinnsaiid vicissi- 

 tudes uiiielt and unnoticed by the professional man, 

 the merchant aiul the mechanic are ii death blow 

 to his labor and his hopes, and that no mortal is 

 exempt from sickness and sorrow. The life of a 

 farmer is a life ■ f toil, of care and anxiety. 



The great art of eoiiduciing a firm wiih advan- 

 taL'e, wii='. ease and pleasure is the adoption of a 

 regular plan of operation and a thorouiih and sys- 

 tematic execution of that plan. However excel- 

 lent a system may be, it is of little value, uidess 

 the filling up be in aeconlaiice wiih the general 

 j principles. Our happiness depem s upon small 

 things. The destiny of nations often Inrns upon 

 a trifle. Our whole life is a coiiibimition of trifles. 

 If therefore each point trilliug as it may appear 

 receives line attention the whtde subject is proper- 

 ly weighed and considered. But if trifles are ueg-. 

 lecteij and overlooked the whole system falls tu 

 the ground. 



Fuiii'erly, tlnrinj our agricultural prosperity, 

 great iniluceiuents were held out to fanners iu 

 consequence of the high piiceof agricultural pro- 

 flucis, great improvements were made in the 

 mode of cultivation, am! great profits were real- 

 ized. Indeed much of thodi>tress and depression 

 which still prevails in many regions of our coun- 

 try arises from the fact that while pro-luce was 

 high and profits from ftirming great, much land wu? 

 purchased by our fanners at enhanced prices and 

 on a credit, iu the full cmifideiice that the exertion 

 of a short period would obtain for them the ne. 

 cessary funds. But the time had gone by, the sub- 

 sequent depression in the prices of pnxluce cut 

 off the extra profits, while the habits of [>ro(iise 

 expenditure acquired under prosperous circum- 

 stances still remained, and led to disbursements' 

 which the condition of business littlp enabled them 

 to sustain. 



Whatever improvements are now made must be 

 irradnal. The great body of our fiu-mers through- 

 out the country think, that if they do riot retro- 

 grade they do all that cm be expected of them, 

 and all that they are able 10 perforin. Hence it is, 

 that they are so Utile willing to make experiments 

 The constant dread of falling short, j.revents atten- 

 tion to the (irogressof the science of agriculture, 

 and all desire to participate in the improvements 

 which take place around ihem. 



Experiments should always be inade upon a 

 small scale. Their success depends oftentimes, 

 upon circumstances t^rifliiig in themselves, which 

 ,in be learned only by practice am! experience, 

 iiid hence it happens that experiment-^ which in pe- 

 culiar cases and under favorable circumstances 

 are eminently successful, with ordinary care hiuI 

 attention leail only to disappointment and vexation. 

 There is a rage among speculative men through- 

 out our country for expfriuients and innovation 

 and many a crude and undigested suggestion is 

 made in our periodicals which if tested by the 

 ardent and unsuspecting might by their utter fail- 

 tire lead to a distrust of all real improvement and 

 a disgust at all experiments. 



The general system or outline in every country 

 is undoubtedly that which experience has proved 

 to be the best adapted to the soil and climate and 

 it is only by modifications of this general system, 

 by iniprovenieiiis in the several items that any 

 amelioration can be effected. 



Taking therefore our system as it exists among 

 us, ii may be useful to examine some of the points 

 ill which iniprovenienis may be made, — and here 

 pirmil me to remark that in a discourse of this 

 kind it is impossible even to glance at n'aiiy points 

 all important to the interest of the farmer and 

 also many which affect liini in common with the 

 other classes of the eommuiiity. 



In regard to slock, it is of the utmost impor- 

 tance that the best breeds be (duained. The ex- 

 pense of rearing a valuable animal is no greater 

 than that of raising a worthless one, while the 

 profit is increased by some hundred [ler cent. Ill 

 the feeding of stock we are not sufficienily liberal. 

 A little extra care and full feed de\el'ipe qualiiies 

 iu an animal which in oriliiiary circimistances 

 would not appear. 



The fanner who has a liberal supply of roots for 

 his Slock at ihi! coinmencenient of liill feeding is 

 iliuch more advantageously siluated, all things else 

 the same, than he who depends entirely upon dry 

 feed, lie commences feeding earlier iu the fall, 

 befiire his cattle, picking a scanty subsistence of 

 frost biiien herbage are shivering in the piercing 

 winds of November, and is enabled to retain them 

 in bis yards longer in the spring. He thus com- 

 mences the season wiih great advamage, his stuck 

 in high i-ondiiion, liis pasiurcs fresh and abuiulant. 

 For the support of stock llie coiiimon field turnip 

 de-erves n high rank, as it is easily raised and yields 

 ubundanlly. It may not be inijudper here to sug- 

 gest a mode of culture not perhaps new, but one 

 which has hiiherto in repealed vrials been emin- 

 ently successful. Near the middle of July plough 

 with n deep furrow, laud under a strong turf, roll 

 and apply a light top dressing. Harrow tlioicuigli- 

 ly with a wooden harrow, sow the seed in pi uster 

 of Paris between the 25ili July and the Cih of 

 Augu.si, cover with a light brush. Under this 

 course very great crops of the best i]ualiiy have 

 unilbrmly been obtained. The land is also left in 

 excellent condition for a drilled crop the succeed- 

 ing season. 



To hf roncludptl next wpplr. 



Rail road meding. — A very numerous and highr 

 ly respectable meeting was held on Monday last, at 

 the house of Mr S|ir«ker, in the town nf Palatine, 

 tiir the purpose of concerting measures to procure 

 the passage of a law authorizing the cmistriiclion 

 of a rail road from Schenectady to Utica, on the 

 north side of the Mohawk river. The meeting 

 was composed of citizens from the counties of 

 Albany, Schenectady, Montgomery, Herkimer, and 

 Oneida, and was organized by the appointment of 

 I Gen. Weaver, chairman, and Stephen Vales, secre- 

 tary ; after which a number of resolutions were 

 passed and ordered to he published ; general and 

 corresponding committees were appointed, &c. — 

 Schenectady Cabinet. 



The Raihcnif. — Since the opening of the branch 

 of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway frimi Bol- 

 ton, there have been conveyed 1545 passengers. 

 The average receipts for fares and carriage of mer- 

 chandise, is at the rate of£10,000 per annum, and 

 the effect has been to drive every stage coach from 

 off the road between Bolton and Liverpool. 



