1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



411 



the primarj- cause of its being so is, that instead of 

 impro\-ing a little ground well, we attempt too 

 much and do it ill. A half, a third, or even a fourth 

 of what we mangle, well Avrought and properly 

 dressed, would produce more than the whole under 

 our system of management. 



In a letter to Sir John Sinclaii', the drift of 

 which is to show what improvements may be made 

 in stock in this comitry by proper care and feeding, 

 he states that after the Peace of Paris in 1783, and 

 his return to farming, he jiaid particular attention 

 to the improvement of his sheep, (of which he usu- 

 ally kept from seven to eight hundred;) that by 

 this attention, at the shearing of 1789, the fleeces 

 had increased from 2^ lbs. to the average quantity 

 of 5i lbs. of wool — a fleece of which, promiscuously 

 taken, he sent to Arthur Young, who put it into the 

 hands of manutacturei's for examination, and they 

 pronounced it equal in quality to the Kentish wool. 

 He then goes on to cite instances of greatly in- 

 creased weight of beef cattle, by means of attention 

 to breeding and to pastures. 



When called to assume the office of President of 

 the United States, he frequently alludes in corres- 

 pondence to the conflict his mind endured in decid- 

 ing to leave liis delightful employments at Mount 

 Vernon, to launch again upon the labors and anxie- 

 ties of public life. In liis Inaugural Speech to Con- 

 gress, he feelingly says : "I was summoned by my 

 country, whose voice I can never hear hut with ven- 

 eration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen 

 with the fondest ])redilections, and in my flattering 

 hopes, Avith an immutable decision, as the asylum of 

 my declining years ; a retreat which was rendered 

 every day more necessary as well as more dear to 

 me, by the addition of habit to inclination, and of 

 frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual 

 waste committed on it by time." 



On leaving Mount Vernon, to enter upon the du- 

 ties of chief magistrate of the country, he again 

 consigned his estates to the care of a superinten- 

 dent, leaving with the latter duplicates of his vari- 

 ous plans, charts and tables, and very full written 

 directions for the management of the farming. 

 During the whole period of his absence on these 

 public duties, he required from his manager, regu- 

 larly once a week, a full re])ort of proceedings and 

 of the con(Ution of everything ; also a weekly me- 

 teorological table, showing the state of the ther- 

 mometer each day, the direction of the wind, and 

 stiite of the weather, by which, among other things, 

 he might form a correct judgment of the labors 

 performed on the farms compared with the oppor- 

 tunities aflbrded by the season. These rejjorts were 

 regularly answered by the President, his replies 

 often filling two or three sheets of paper, and in 

 tlie course of the year embracing remarks upon 

 every field and every crop, every branch of labor, 

 the stock of the farm, repairs of fences and build- 



ings, care of tools and carts, preparations of ma- 

 nures, and every minuti;? of farming. I would 

 lilie to give a sketch of one or more of these mas- 

 terly productions, but want of space forbids. Suf- 

 fice it to say, that they possess to my mind very 

 great interest, coming from such a source, and when 

 the writer was surrounded by such circumstances, 

 and engaged in such pubHc labors. The like of 

 them, considering all these things, cannot be found 

 elsewhere. 



As previously remarked, it was during the eight 

 years Washuigton held the office of President, that 

 his correspondence \\ith Sir John Sinclair was con- 

 ducted. The correspondence commenced soon af- 

 ter the estabhshment of the British Board of Agri- 

 cidture, in which enterprise Sinclair was a princi- 

 pal actor. The correspondence dwelt largely on 

 the operations of the British Board, on the mpor- 

 tant results flowing and to flow therefrom to Great 

 Britain and all other countries. Wasliington's mmd 

 at once caught the enthusiasm of Sinclair and his 

 associates, in Board, and he corresponded with 

 ^some of the leading agriculturists in this country, 

 urging them to furnish reports to the Board on 

 several important subjects. His mind was so much 

 interested in the promotion of agriculture by pub- 

 Hc patronage, beHe\ing that it would add greatly 

 to the wealth and happiness of any nation, that he 

 recommended the subject to the consideration of 

 Congress. Many of us are familiar with his mem- 

 orable words on that subject, admire his foresight 

 and patriotism in framing them ; but wonder at 

 the apathy ^\^th which they have ever bee regard- 

 ed by our legislators, from the time they were ut- 

 tered to the present moment. Many of us believe 

 that an establishment by Congress such as he con- 

 templated, with but a very moderate appropriation, 

 as compared with many that have been given to 

 much less worthy objects, would have proved of 

 great and lasting value to the country. However, 

 what the general government has neglected to do, 

 in this regard, several of the States separately are 

 doing, and the benefits flowing therefrom are quite 

 api)arent, j)i*oving beyond doubt the correctness of 

 Washington's views. 



In one of these letters to Sinclair, Washington re- 

 marks : — "I could not omit so fa\orable an oppor- 

 tunity, as the dejjarture of Mr. Stickland aiibrds 

 me, of presenting my best respects to you ; and my 

 sincere thanks for the views of agriculture in the 

 different countries of Great Britiun, which you hare 

 had the goodness to send me, — and for the Diplo- 

 ma (received l)y the hands of Mr. Day) admitting 

 me a foreign honorary member of the Board of 

 Agriculture. For this testimony of the attention 

 of that l)ody, and for the honor it has conferred od 

 me, I have a high sense. From the first intima- 

 tion you were pleased to give me of this Institu- 

 tion, I conceived the most favorable ideas of its 



