138 



A Discourse on Amculture. 



Vol. XII. 



straw in the farm-yard, a large heap of man- 

 gel wurzel, the produce of sixty acres; with 

 thousands of bushels of potatoes in cellars, 

 whence they were taken to be roasted in a 

 large oven, expensively erected, with iron 

 doors, and newly invented apparatus for 

 economising fuel, &-c. ; and then they were 

 fed to the cows, and, as I understood, to the 

 horses also. After this, I heard that Sir 

 Richard went largely into the carrot and 

 parsnip culture, and succeeded to admira- 

 tion, although it must be admitted, the na- 

 ture of his land was cold, wet and poor, 

 resting on a hungry clay gravel; " but such 

 a man can make a gold mine anywhere," as 

 the saying was: but with him too, as with 

 every man since the days of king Solomon, 

 when gold was the precious metal, and still 

 continues so to be, it takes a guinea in gold, 

 to make twenty shillings in silver. 



Sir Richard Simeon is a nobleman, in the 

 best acceptation of the term. Noble by birth, 

 parentage and education, he is the friend of 

 the poor, and the companion of the rich and 

 great. He inherits the beautiful seat of St. 

 Johns, from his uncle, Sir R. Simeon, Bart., 

 and the inimitably elegant mansion of Swain- 

 stone, in right of his lady, the eldest niece 

 of Sir John Barrington, Bart. There may 

 be those amongst your readers who can re- 

 member the character of the pleasure grounds 

 of Swainstone, in the time of Sir John; if 

 so, I pray them to attempt a description, as 

 they were known by the appellation, the 

 Willow Woods, and I will thank them. 

 Often as I have visited them, I confess I 

 should feel at a loss how to begin ; the ac- 

 count of the Leesowes might afford them a 

 text to preach from. 



I am truly glad to find that Sir Richard 

 Simeon still lives, and retains his love of the 

 country and its pursuits — maybe live a hun- 

 dred years; but his sheep stall-fatting estab- 

 lishment, like his Hog Palace, are more to 

 be admired than coveted, by men who have 

 a living to obtain, instead of a fortune to in- 

 herit. P. W. 



A Discourse upon Agriculture. 



At a Meeting of the Citizens of Oxford 

 and vicinity, Chester County, Pa., as- 

 sembled for the purpose of forming an 

 Agricultural Society, September 4, 1847. 



By William Darlington, M. D. 



And he gave it for his opinion, "that who- 

 ever could make two ears of corn, or two 

 blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground 

 where only one grew before, would deserve 

 better of mankind, and do more essential 



service to his country, than the whole race 

 of politicians put together." — Gulliver^s 

 Travels. 



Gentlemen, — Having, on some previous 

 occasions, uttered all that I really had to say, 

 in reference to the noble pursuit in which 

 you are engaged, — I had arrived at the very 

 natural conclusion, that I was finally done 

 with the subject : but a call for a renewed 

 evidence of my good will to the cause, pro- 

 ceeding from a district of my native county 

 in which agricultural skill and enterprise are 

 so conspicuous, was found to be irrisistible — 

 notwithstanding my conscious inability to 

 respond, in appropriate terms, to the flatter- 

 ing invitation. Were it as practicable to 

 renovate an exhausted intellect, as it is to 

 restore verdure and fertility to a worn-out 

 soil, the demonstrations of successful culture 

 in this vicinity, might almost warrant a hope 

 of reproducing before you — with something 

 of original freshness — the results of past ob- 

 servations and reflection : for, in truth, I can 

 but serve up, anew, thoughts and opinions 

 which have been long entertained and re- 

 peatedly expressed. It is vain, however, to 

 apply the theory of terrestrial culture to cases 

 of intellectual exhaustion; and therefore I 

 must rely entirely upon your good nature, to 

 tolerate the repetition of views which have 

 been heretofore presented to my agricultural 

 fellow citizens. 



In complying with the request to prepare 

 a discourse for this occasion, there was an 

 additional motive to the effort, in the recol- 

 lection that a goodly portion of the improve- 

 ment, everywhere so visible in this region, 

 owes its introduction to the discernment, 

 skill, and persevering energy of a departed 

 friend, whose memory is deservedly dear to 

 all who knew him, — and will be especially 

 cherished in the district where his example 

 was so beneficial to all around him. I have 

 long felt that some tribute, or testimonial, 

 was due to the memory and services of one 

 who did so much for the advancement both 

 of agriculture and manufactures; and the 

 present seemed a fitting opportunity for an 

 attempt to discharge that duty. To the 

 older residents of the vicinage, it will be 

 unnecessary to say, that my allusion is to 

 the late Col. David Dickey, — a man whose 

 uprightness, sagacity, and active public spi- 

 rit, rendered him an ornament and a benefac- 

 tor to the community in which he lived. It 

 was my happiness to know him well : and 

 the last public employment in which either 

 of us was engaged, made it my agreeable 

 duty to serve as his colleague, in a joint 

 commission from the several counties tra- 

 versed by the Slate Road, — which, passing 



