108 



Peter A. Broume^s Address. 



Vol. VIII. 



it, will there find how much useful know- 

 ledge might be imparted to our planters and 

 farmers at a very trifling expense. 



When some particular branch of agricul- 

 ture is required to be stimulated, Stale 

 bounties have been found efficient. In 

 1842, Ohio paid bounties upon silk to the 

 amount of upwards of $6,500; and, in 1841, 

 Pennsylvania paid bounties upon the same 

 article to the amount of upwards of 84,000. 



Some of the agricultural societies have, 

 it is understood, e.xcited the pens of the 

 learned upon such important subjects as the 

 causes of rust, and smut, and upon the Hes- 

 sian fly, &-C., which is very laudable. And 

 the recent endeavours of the General Go- 

 vernment, through their consuls and foreign 

 agents, to procure seeds of other countries, 

 cannot be too much applauded. 



The American farmer is the absolute and 

 unconditional owner of the soil. He is not 

 " a tenant'''' — not even in '■'■fee-simple,'''' in 

 the legal sense of those terms ; — for he holds 

 under no man! His farm is " Allodiutn'''' 

 in the most comprehensive meaning of that 

 word! His house is not " his castle" but 

 " sanctuary,''^ into which no one dare enter 

 against his will ! He sits in the legislature 

 to enact the laws, and in the jury box to put 

 them into execution ! He allows no Stale 

 Church to spread its sombre mantle between 

 him and Heaven! Aware of the benefits 

 of Christianity, he supports religion from 

 motives of pure piety, and worships the 

 Lord of Hosts according to the dictates of 

 conscience ! He is bountifully provided 

 with all the necessaries of life! The bread- 

 stuffs raised annually in the United States, 

 amount to upwards of 716 millions of bush- 

 els, which is equal to 39 bushels for every 

 man, woman and child in the Union ! Such 

 a man may well be said to " sit down under 

 his own vine and his own fig-tree;" and, 

 truly, " who shall make him afraid ]" 



" He knows no master, save protecting Heaven, 

 And those whom choice and common good ordain." 



Is it any wonder, then, that the honest 

 yeomanry of the United States, should be 

 considered as the muscle and sinew of the 

 Republic'? No pains ought ever to be spared 

 to raise them in the scale of mental acquire- 

 ments. 



It is much to be feared that sufficient at- 

 tention has not been paid to this exalted 

 condition of the American farmer, or so 

 many parents and guardians would not force 

 their sons and wards into professions, already 

 crowded with incumbents — professions in 

 which few excel, and in which a majority 

 drag out a miserable existence, in prefer- 



ence to placing them upon farms, where 

 they would be sure to arrive at prosperity 

 and happiness. In this country, the prac- 

 tice of "the scientific art of Agriculture," 

 always has been, and ever will be, respect- 

 able. An American farmer, Washington, 

 led the Revolutionary armies to victory. 



Congress and the State legislatures have 

 always been filled with planters and farm- 

 ers, who considered it no reproach that they 

 " lived by the sweat of the brow." 



My friends, our beloved country is just 

 emerging from beneath a dense cloud, which, 

 for some time, has overshadowed our finan- 

 cial horizon. It is believed that the farmer 

 has felt less of its baneful influence than 

 any other class of the community. If it 

 is so, it must be owing, in part, to their oc- 

 cupation not being liable to those fluctua- 

 tions which embarrass, more or less, almost 

 every other kind of business. It is to be 

 hoped, that the people of these States have 

 recently learned an awful lesson, that will 

 long remain in their memories, as a beacon 

 to the present and succeeding generations 

 to avoid those baseless speculations, which 

 seldom endure long enough to enrich even 

 those who are immediately concerned, and 

 which are always sure to prove disastrous 

 to the mass of the nation. Such delusions 

 have a tendency to disgust men with the 

 slow but sure progress of legitimate trade, 

 and, too often, beguile the weak to the com- 

 mission of crime, to support unnecessary ex- 

 penses. Too many awful derelictions from 

 virtue and duty, have recently occurred, and 

 it becomes the bounden duty of the farmer, 

 who has partaken less in these derelictions, 

 to exert himself to the utmost to support 

 the cause of religion, morals and virtue. 



Never having been engaged in farming, 

 it cannot reasonably be expected that much 

 can be offered in the way of advice, on the 

 practical part of our subject. Sometimes, 

 however, a by-stander becomes a better judge 

 of the game than those who hold the cards; 

 and I will, therefore, venture a few hints, 

 which, as they are kindly intended, it is 

 hoped they may be indulgently received. 

 One who is unable to travel the road, may 

 still be used as a road pointer, to indicate 

 the way. 



First, then, it is feared that our agricultu- 

 ral friends have not yet paid all the atten- 

 tion that the subject demands, to a judicious 

 rotation of crops, adapted to our climate; 

 particularly in regard to roots. 



Second. Much has been done, that is be- 

 yond all praise, in insuring the best breeds 

 of cattle. While we hear pronounced with 

 gratitude, the names of Mease, Powell, 



