434 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



upon a subject, I am as perplexed and unde- 

 cided as when I began, and I have ahnost re- 

 solved to tiifjcard all reading and advice and 

 rely solely upon my own experience." 



Silt'h are no uncommon remarks. And it is 

 not surprising that the mass of" diverse and 

 conllicting opinions and statements found in 

 our agricultural periodicals should be a source 

 of bewilderment and discouragement, and that 

 the novice, in his endeavors to learn the truth, 

 is sorely perplexed and often mislead. At 

 first thought, the dillu^ion of science among the 

 tillers of the soil may seem only to have added 

 confusion to blindness, and to have caused 

 men to take more ultra views and to differ 

 more widely than formerly. Such, however, 

 •would be a hasty and unfair conclusion. True 

 science does not thus delude her followers. 

 The apparent want of harmony constitutes no 

 argument against the benefit to be derived from 

 its application to agriculture, nor against book- 

 farming, so called ; for men are generally more 

 careful of what they commit to paper, than 

 of their statements in ordinary conversation 

 and discussion. The study of the natural sci- 

 ences awakens a spirit of investigation, and 

 farmers of the present day are thinking as far- 

 mers of no other age have thought. Although 

 the laws of nature applicable to agriculture are 

 plain and simple, yet they cannot be applied 

 with that precision that they can be in the case 

 of the manufacture of cotton cloth or shoes, 

 where a few rules definitely laid down, and all 

 under the control of man, can be observed. 

 In farming every step, every operation, must 

 be modified to suit circumstances ; and these 

 ever varying circumstances, under which men 

 act or view a subject, give rise to the great di- 

 versity of opinions which unfortunately prove 

 a stumbling block to some. 



Massachusetts presents a good illustration 

 of the subject. To one unacquainted with her 

 physical geography, the varied and mixed hus- 

 bandry here pursued must seem complicated 

 and undesirable, if not unprofitable. He must 

 be not a little puzzled to understand why intel- 

 ligent cultivators, living in close proximity, 

 should obtain such diverse results, and main- 

 tain opinions, and adhere to practices so dif- 

 ferent. Every theory appears to be rife and 

 to have its supporters ; every fruit and vege- 

 table its advocates ; every animal its admirers. 

 Yet all this is easily understood when her pe- 

 culiarities of soil and climate are well known. 

 Probably no other State of its size in the 

 Union contains so many elements which favor 

 a varied husljandry and diversity of practice. 

 Although the extent of latitude is limited, the 

 climatic influences to be taken into account 

 are great. Through the peculiar conformation 

 of the coast, a large portion lies fully exposed 

 to the sea and is tempered by its breezes ; 

 •while the broken and uneven surface every- 

 •wbere, gives elevation and depression, aspect 

 and exposure to bleak winds. Add to these 

 the nature of the soil as regards its natural 



warmth, and humidity of the atmospheres and 

 we have causes fully equivalent to a variation 

 of two or three degrees in latitude. Often 

 killing frosts strike some portions of the farm 

 earlier than other portions. Tiie variety of 

 soil is also great ; three and four kinds, each 

 requiring distinct treatment, are frecjuently 

 found on the same farm. All the various 

 branches of stock farming are successfully pur- 

 sued within her stnall limits ; the rearing of 

 young, preparing for shambles, keeping cows 

 for butter, for cheese and for milk alone. 

 Thus all the popular breeds find favor in dif- 

 ferent parts of the State. Certain fruits flour- 

 ish finely by the sea side which cannot profit- 

 ably be grown in the middle and western sec- 

 tions of the State. Some succeed better upon 

 our hills than in the valleys or plains. Hence 

 it often happens that men cultivating adjoining 

 lots obtain very different results with the same 

 fruit, and one will condemn what the other 

 praises. I think it safe to say that a larger 

 variety of fruit is raised within her borders 

 than in any other State with the same extent 

 of latitude. With this great variety of soils 

 and crops, whatever may be the season, more 

 than a partial failure rarely occurs. 



Thus the seeming incongruities arise from 

 a subject being seen under different circum- 

 stances or influences ; and if at times men re- 

 cede from a position which they find is untena- 

 ble, it only shows they are willing to be taught, 

 and it cannot be inferred from a few retro- 

 grade movements that there is not real pro- 

 gress both, in the cause and in its followers. 



So far, then, from refusing to read or listen 

 to the experience of others, it is all valuable ; 

 for in this enlightened age success cannot be 

 ascribed to good luck, to fortune, or to some 

 mystical charm, but is simply conformity to the 

 laws of nature, and failure is the result of non- 

 conformity. Every plant requires just the 

 right kind of soil and atmospheric influence for 

 its successful cultivation, and the profit of 

 any animal depends upon certain conditions 

 which ensure its full development and easy 

 maintenance. 



It is the part of science to show the true 

 cause of success and failure, and to shed light 

 where men have hitherto groped in darkness. 

 The enthusiast, stimulated by finely wrought 

 theories, may ride his hobby into ultraism, and 

 the superficialist m.ay send forth his imperfect 

 statements and hastily drawn or forced con- 

 clusions to the perplexity of those not well 

 grounded in fundamental principles. But 

 these extravagancies and falacies do not dis- 

 courage the thorough student of nature, for 

 he quietly discerns between truth and error, 

 and at once seeks to harmonize all apparent 

 discrepancies, knowing that true science can 

 never contradict itselft It is only when men 

 depart from immutable laws, and are guided 

 by their own reasoning and wishes, that tlieir 

 teaching appears incongruous. N. S. T. 



Lawreitce, Mass., July, 1868. 



