276 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MARCH 13, Ifiai, 



AN ADDRESS 



Delivered al Briilg-ewaler, Nov. 7, lb'32, before llie PlymouUi 

 County Agricullural Society, by Rev. Jonathan Bice- 

 low, of Rochester. 



[Concluded from page 269.] 

 The agriculturists of a country constitute the 

 parts and parcels of its constitution, not tliat con- 

 stitution whicli is written on ))arclmient, wltich the 

 winds may I'lovv away, or the fire consiune, but 

 that, which is before all others, and by which ali 

 others consist, and which held the State firm ii. 

 the hour when charters were abolished and laws 

 were no more. I say agricidturists for as they 

 feed the body politic and constitute its natural de- 

 fenders, so their condition gives tone and form to 

 its <roverninent. Answer me one question respect- 

 in" any country, and you answer all others re- 

 specting the real nature of the government and 

 the condition of the governed. Who owns the 

 soil ? does the sovereign, or is it subject to his di- 

 rect control ? Then the government is a despotism, 

 and the people are slaves. Is the soil owned by 

 tlie/eu) and cultivated by the many'} The govern- 

 ment is an aristocracy ; the people have vmny tc 

 tyrannize over them. Is the laud owned in com- 

 mon .' The nation has not emerged from barbar- 

 ism. Is it parcelled out, as our forefathers par- 

 x:elled out New England ; each family owning tin 

 farm it cultivates ; the government is essentiall} 

 a popular governun^nt ; the people have all the es- 

 sentials of freedom. — The French laid the corner 

 stone on which the temple (d'liberty will ultimate- 

 ly rise, not wlien they altered their constiiuticn 

 and form of government, not when the Guillotiiu 

 became a fountain frujii which flowed a river o 

 blood, not when they laid the neck of their gener- 

 ous but weak monarch on the block and chiselled 

 from the Tuilerics the insignia ami inscriptions 

 of royalty and proclaimed France a Republic, nor 

 yet when tlioy sinit the temples of religion in 

 which the ministers of abomination had long min- 

 istered and tyrannized, nor yd even when they 

 aimed a bolder stroke and exiled their Nobles anil 

 Bobility from their shores. All these, by a vult 

 ina_; be banished, and by a vote be restored. 

 They laid it in the hour, when the peasantry were 

 declared citizens, when the extensive domains ol 

 the King anil the e.xiled nobles were eonliscated, 

 cut up into small plantations and sold, so that mul- 

 titudes who Were oidy tillers, became in addition 

 owners of the soil. A misnamed Holy Alliance 

 restored the Bourbons, reinstated the nobles and 

 placed the Jesuits in all the departineirts of re- 

 ligion, and abolished all that could be abolished oi 

 the Revohilion. One thing alone remained — the 

 soil had cliiUigcd hands, the niiinors hud become 

 farms, fields, vineyaids and hamlets of cottages. 

 Power could compel France to pay for, but found 

 it impossible to restore to the nobility their ancient 

 domains and their tenantry. Henceforth France 

 may have Kings, but henceforth there will be no 

 subjects there ; and 1 venture to predict that no 

 Revolution can make the other nations of Europe 

 free, but one that shall upturn the foundations of its 

 society that shall make its tenantry citizens, anU 

 that shall wrest from the King, the nobles and the 

 Ecclesiastics, their domains, and permit the tiller 

 to become identical with the owner of the soil. 



All other measures will be but quack prescrip- 

 tions for the symptoms, instead of specifics for the 

 disjase. 



On this subject a volume of deep interest and 

 lull of instruction might be written, but lltose ol 



you who have reflected upon it, need no other 

 liroof to convince you that the agricultural ar- 

 angements of the non-slave holding states, are the 

 lernianent constitution of our country, the charter 

 of our liberties ; that which will give tone and 

 shape to our government through all coming time. 

 Yes, as long as these arrangements shall remain 

 unimpaired in the non-slave holding states, (the 

 owner and tiller of the soil being the same,) their 

 sons will sit as now, each under "his own vine and 

 his own Jig-tree, having none to molest or make 

 afraid," simply because it is his own; iind in them, 

 in the end, will you find agriculture attaining its 

 bijrhest point of perfection, and pursued with most 

 profit to the cultivator and the community. Egypt 

 was the granary and Palestine the glory of the 

 world only, when cultivated by the owners of the 

 soil. 



Thus I have attempted to show that agriculture 

 stands i)re-cmiuent among human pursuits, not oidy 

 because it is indispensable to individual subsistence 

 and national prosperity, but because also it is pre- 

 eminently conducive to the welfare of those who 

 are engiiged in it — it gives harmonious and health- 

 tid develoi)ement to the body ; energy, courage, 

 firumess and manliness to the mind ; is peculiarly 

 favorable to the formation of virtuous and temper- 

 ate habits, to the acquisition of knowledge, to the 

 growth of that peculiar property called common 

 sense, to purity and integrity of character. Thesi 

 properties are the foundation and pillars of sell 

 govermnent and rational liberty. 



I pass on to notice, briefly, the fact that agri- 

 culture is a progressive art and science, and alsu 

 to notice some ])oiiits where furtlier inqirovemeni 

 may be made, and is needed. 



That agricidlme is a progressive art and science, 

 is evident to all who have altended to its history, 

 or to the improvements which every year brings 

 along with it, and although some remain, whoui 

 Miither example nor argument can convince, thai 

 the inqdemenis of ugrii iillure used aud the niodib 

 pursued by their giandlathers, were not perttcl, 

 their nmiiber is lust diii]ii]i>hing. — When Lantech, 

 with that iiiexplieable line of emotions, known onl} 

 to a faiher's heart, » iiduaced his inlant first born, 

 having surveyed bini with that anxious eye whid 

 would fain read in his countenance the initials o 

 his future hislory, he e.xcliiimed, "Noi:li, comloii, 

 this same shall eoinlort us concerning our work 

 and toil of our haiuls because olthegrouud which 

 the Lord hath enrseil," he saw, or thought hi 

 saw in him, a geinus lor agricultural improvetnent. 

 From some noiices in bis histoiy, it is prohabli 

 ihat the parent's iUiiicipations were realized, thai 

 Noah did greatly inqnove the agiicultuie of bi.^ 

 age, as we find him planting u vineyard immedi- 

 ately after leaving the ark ; and we know also thai 

 the plains of Sliinar, where he issupjiosed to havi 

 n sided, became higiily cultivated belore his death. 

 With feelings similar to those of the I'atriarci, 

 wiiiild the lather of Sir John Sinclair have em- 

 oraced his infant son, coulil he have foreseen ah 

 the blessings which that son was instrumental it. 

 conferring upon agriculturists. His indefatiga- 

 ule eflbrts resulted in the establishment of tin 

 British Board of Agriculture, the first and parent 

 of agricultural associations — 'an institution who.si 

 services,' says an Lnglish writer, 'cannot be too 

 highly appreciated. It caused fanners residing ii< 

 dilfcrent parts of the kingdom to become acquaint- 

 ed with each other and wiili the plans and modes 

 of culture adopted by eath^-caused a ropid dis- 



semination of knowledge among the whole profes- 

 sion — brought the art of agriculture into fashiorj 

 — amended old practices and introduced new ones 

 — and called forth a degree of eflbrt hitherto un- 

 exnnqilod in this Island. The inqmlse given to 

 agriculttn-e in Great Britain by that Institution ex- 

 tended across the Atlantic. Some of the sons of 

 America had been there — had employed their na- 

 tive inquisitiveness, and alive to every thing with 

 which profit is connected they transplanted into 

 our own soil a scion from the vine which cluster- 

 ed so thickly with blessings. The formation of 

 agricidtnral societies in America, has been attend- 

 ed with advantages and results as great if not su- 

 perior to those in Great Britain. There publica- 

 tions have extensively circulated important infor- 

 mation respecting the best implements, the best 

 modes, and the best products of agriculture. 

 Their inemiums have set in operation the inven- 

 tive genius of their countrymen, and greatly im- 

 proved the instruments of agriculture. — Their ex- 

 periments have convinced the community that ag- 

 riculture is a progressive, a great, and difficult art. 

 — Something also has been done towards convinc- 

 ing the community that it is also a science as well 

 as an art; and that it is only by calling science to 

 its aid, that it can ever hope to arrive at any tiling 

 like perfection or receive any great inqnoveinent, 

 or be reduced to general rules. The applica- 

 tion of science to agriculture is a modern improve- 

 ment. Ancient agriculturists, both luaclical and! 

 theoretical, were ignorant of those sciences which 

 have a direct bearing upon agriculture, viz: Geol- 

 ogy, IVlineralogy, Chymistry, Botany and vegeta- 

 lile riiysiology, or the analysis of jilants, and a 

 cnrdiil observance of their various natural locali- 

 ties and habitudes. All these have a direct bear- 

 uig upon the art of agriculture, and must be 

 thoroughly understood before the art can be per- 

 licted. Until the time shall come, when Legisla- 

 iiiri's, or wealthy individuals of enlarged viewsshall 

 endow Seminaries connected with farms where 

 agriculture shall be taught, both as a science and 

 an an, (which is at this moment the great improve- 

 luent dematided) we must look to agricultural so- 

 cieties and scientific and independent agricultu- 

 rists to call forth and supply this knowledge. Wo 

 must look to them not oidy to collect it in masses, 

 liut to break it np into morsels and distribute it 

 ong the people aud illustrate its application by 

 iheir example. 



Agriculture is a progressive art and science, and 

 although its friends may well lelicitate themselves 

 that through their instrumentality, its progriss for 

 -ome years jiast has been so much accelerated, 

 that so many improvements have been introduced, 

 ihut the art begins in cur own country to tako 

 among huinaii pursuits the high rank it ever ought 

 to hold, still, let us ever remember the field of im- 

 provement has but just been entered n])on. A 

 boundless Prairie lies before us — its soil is deep 

 anil fertile, and will richly reward those individu- 

 .ds or that generation which shall have the enter- 

 prise and industry to explore and cultivate it. 

 The ini|)lemeuts of agriculture, comparatively ex- 

 cillent as they are, are still susceptible of great im- 

 provement. Much remains to be done, before the 

 iiest breed of animals, the best varieties of vegeta- 

 liles, and the most [irofitable kinds of grains and 

 grasses shall be universally introduced. From ex- 

 periments which 1 have made for the last ten years, 

 on at least thirty varieties of the potato, I am sat- 

 isfied that every farmer may keep his table well 



