NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



67 



iHccIjanics' department, ;2lrt0, Ui. 



Extract of a Prize Essay, by Edmond Maker, j^ublishcd 

 in the Scientific American. 



Invextive Genius of the Age. — The nineteenth 

 century stands out in basso relievo upon the rock of 

 Time, as the epoch of discovery and fruition — as the 

 inceptive period of mighty truths, such as the -world 

 know not before, and which, in their cubninating 

 progress, are destined to embrace the universal family 

 of humanity in the circle of their immense results. 

 The key with which our immortal Franklin unlocked 

 the mysteries of the storm, was also the talisman 

 which may in after times reveal the secret machinery 

 of life itself. Already have the " sightless couriers of 

 the air" Avoven their web of lightning over the face 

 of creation, realizing, ay, and surpassing the ambi- 

 tion of him who would have " put a girdle round the 

 earth in forty minutes." Already have the moun- 

 tains bowed, and the "little hills skipped like lambs " 

 before the track of the iron horse, whose limbs are 

 tireless, and whose breath fails not in the race. 



The popular mind of our country is essentially in- 

 ventive. Almost as soon as the American child can 

 think, he imiuires, demands illustrations, and suggests 

 changes. The Anglo-Sa.xon superiority of intellect 

 requires independent and individual development — 

 which, under a republican form of government, is 

 almost certainly obtained ; for each man born into the 

 community feels, that in himself lies his destiny, and 

 that equally with another he may aspire to all the 

 rewards of enterprise. The North American mind 

 seldom dreams — seldom indulges in vague or chi- 

 merical speculations; it must have a tangible foot- 

 hold, a solid standing point, and thence it will uphold 

 the loftiest structures that intellect can conceive or 

 action execute. It never stagnates, and seldom is at 

 rest ; for in viewing a mountain torrent, the American 

 plans a watcrpowcr that shall perform the work of a 

 thousand men, and in examining a pebble he may 

 divine the locahty of untold treasures hid in the 

 bowels of the earth. 



It is this national trait of obser^'ation and applica- 

 tion, that gives our countrymen a peculiar proclivity, 

 if I may use the term, towards invention and improve- 

 ment. Nothing is passed by them without inquiry and 

 examination ; and errors are detected, mistakes recti- 

 fied, and crude hints reduced to practice with a 

 facility that is truly wonderful. Tliroughout all 

 classes this trait is noticeable, its development, per- 

 haps but partial and incomplete, yet still marked and 

 recognizable, as a feature of our national physiognomy. 



It is this which sweeps away every vestige of the 

 ruined past, and replaces it with solid monuments of 

 the present. It is this which diverts our rivers hun- 

 dreds of miles from their natural courses, to top the 

 resources of inland commerce. It is this which 

 crosses and rccrosses our fertile plains with a woof 

 of perpetual tralKc, over which ily continually those 

 mighty shuttles, the steam engines, weaving yet 

 closer and denser, the fabric of our prosperity. It is 

 this which builds sliips in the backwoods, launches 

 them upon canals and inland lakes, or transports 

 them piecemeal to the miglity ocean, to assume their 

 place anaong the navies of the world. It is this 

 which paints our glowing scenery on miles of can- 

 vas, revealing our natural and national life to mil- 

 lions beyond the Atlantic, who thus behold, as it 

 were, face to face, a people who exist four thousand 

 miles away. Our flails thresh the corn which grows 

 around the tomb of Pharaoh ; our saws sever the cedars 

 of Lebanon ; our steam whistle startles the echoes of 

 the Black Forest and the lialtic; our cotton forms 

 the Moslem's turban ; our palmleaf shelters the Su- 



matra planter. We cool the nabob's sherbet with our 

 ices — and wc heat the Creole's sugar-boiler with our 

 coals ! 



No nation in the history of the world has illus- 

 trated the spirit of improvement to the extent of ours; 

 and this because every man has been a self-acting 

 motive power in the grand machinery of progression. 

 We exhibit the ideality of materialism m every thing 

 — grounding in the smallest fouiulation a superstruc- 

 ture of practicable theory. A churn, a lock, a door- 

 knob, a plough — these are not objects merely, to a 

 Yankee's mind, but are problems, which ho endeavors 

 at once to resolve into an "improved" churn, or lock, 

 or door-knob, or plough. And the pl-oblcm presents 

 itself, and must be solved throughout all the handi- 

 work of man. 



With this universal genius, then, for invention, the 

 American mind requires but two things to make this 

 influence effective, and constant in its great results ; 

 and these are education, and governmental protec- 

 tion in its offspring. Our rambling, luxuriant, eccen- 

 tric inventive talent, must be controlled and directed 

 by a wise system of scientific instruction, as well as 

 protected by law in its results. 



A Bureau of Arts, supervised by practical men, 

 should be as distinct a department of our national 

 government as that of the Treasury or of State. It 

 should ever be the policy of a far-seeing statesman to 

 encourage these manifestations of popular intellect 

 which result in practical fruits, whicli exhibit new 

 modes and means of producing tangible good, whether 

 it be in the perfection of mechanics, agriculture, or 

 the fine arts ; for all these things directly advance a 

 nation, and of course create wealth, prosperity, and 

 social honor for all the integrals of that nation. 



The institution of a National Academy under the 

 patronage of government, where mechanics, man- 

 ufactures, and agriculture, should have their appro- 

 priate professorships ; where the children of the 

 people might be instructed in all the great truths 

 which form the educated workingman ; where the 

 cumbrous details of patcnteeism should be reduced 

 to a simple codification ; where premiums and hon- 

 orable prizes should be awarded to successful in- 

 ventors, discoverers, or improvers ; where lectures 

 upon all the branches of art should be given by the 

 great scientific men of our country ; where a gallery 

 of models and catalogues of all the inventions and 

 discoveries of ancient and modern times should be 

 accessible to all ; such an institute as this would do 

 more to elevate our national character, and ennoble 

 our countrymen, than all the victories of a thousand 

 wars, or the acquisition of all the mines of the uni- 

 verse. 



With such a fostering institution, the American 

 mechanic could lead the world, in all that adorns and 

 benefits mankind. lie could hold up to the gaze of 

 nations a model and a standard of scientific develop- 

 ment, that would tire all men witli emulation. Then 

 could he grasp and guide tlie awful elements of 

 nature, curb the ocean and the sky, and overcome the 

 forces of evil throughout creation. Then could he 

 banish miasma from the face of the earth, disarm 

 pestilence, avert famine, regulate climates, and mixko 

 deserts " blossom as the rose." This power exerted 

 for the good of mankind, and encouraged to its utmost 

 capacity, would be equal to all labors, and sujjerior 

 to all obstacles. Then indeed could we address to 

 him the apostrophe of the Poet — 



" Lift then tliy hand to heaven ! 

 Spread the 'roil-spectre o'er tlic sea and land ! 

 Thou hast the world entrusted to thy lumd — 

 Eurtli to thy cliaige is given." 



Experience and Wisdom are the best fortune tel- 

 lers. 



