156 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



from the WiiichestL-r Republican. 



I vveli as llie substantial benefits ol' this institution. 

 To such we ngain extend the hand of fellowship ; 

 Address of Wm. TH. Barton Esq. delivered befoie , ^^g invite them to participate in the laudable 

 the Agricultural Society of Winchester, Virginia, at undertaking to enhance the blessings and com- 



their late cattle Show and Fai 



[PiMished at the request of the Societj/.] 

 GentUmen nf the Society : 



It would be regarded as a poor affectation of 

 modesty, did 1 express any regret that the of- 

 fice of addressing you to day has devolved upon 

 me. A subject ofsuch interest and magnitude as 

 that which now invites your attention— one, too, 

 which has long employed the best wishes of 

 patriotism, and the ablest efforts of genius — 

 should certainly be approached with reserve 

 and embarrassment : but on the importance of 

 the theme, and the ardor which most of you 

 have manifested in its behalf, 1 rest my claims 

 to your kindness and indulgence. While I am 

 conscious that I shall in vain attempt to clothe 

 creation with new beauties, or impart to nature 

 the charms of novelty and variety ; I am sus- 

 tained and encouraged by the reflection that 

 creation is already furnished with flowers and 

 beauties enough to beguile you, and that Nature's 

 simple livery presents to honest and ingenuous 

 minds more fascinations than all the tawdry or- 

 naments with which foreign art can clothe her. 

 On this occasion, it will be much more expedi- 

 ent to detail to you the short and simple annals 

 of our infant institution, and to suggest to you 

 some means by which we may effectually in- 

 sure its future advancement and prosperity. 



Three years ago a call was made upon the 

 liberality and public spirit of our farmers, to aid 

 in establishing an agricultural society in this 

 section of Virginia ; and although this invitation 

 was proclaimed throughout the valley, so few- 

 were affected by the appeal, that but for the in- 

 creased ardor and exertions of three or four in- 

 dividuals, aided by the scientific attainments 

 and personal influence of one who now stands 

 foremost in our ranks, our efforts would have 

 been fruitlessly expended — the plan would have 

 been ultimately abandoned — and the favored few, 

 who have obtained knowledge from observation 

 and experiment, would have been suffered 

 to carry it secretly to their graves, leaving 

 their less fortunate neighbors to continue and 

 hand down to posterity the same rude and im- 

 perfect system of cultivation which they have 

 followed and too generally received from their 

 forefathers. 



After having finally surmounted the opposition 

 of those fond of continuing in what is termed 

 •' the good old way," and opposed to improve- 

 ment solely because it wears the aspect of inno- 

 vation, we succeeded in organizing this institu- 

 tion and establishing it on its present basis. As 

 soon as the tocsin of success and triumph was 

 sounded, multitudes flocked to our standard, and 

 ■we now behold among the active and devoted 

 friends of agriculture, the science, the wealth, 

 and the respectability of the valley. 



Much yet however remains to be accomplish- 

 ed. Although our prosperity exceeds our most 

 sanguine expectations, and we may be proud to 

 enumerate, among the votaries of our profes- 

 sion, names which are honored and revered 

 for private virtues and for public services, — 

 there are hundreds of our most useful and valu- 

 able citizens who stand aloof, silent and uncon- 

 cerned spectators of our exertions, and who vol- 

 untarily exclude themsehes from the honors as 



forts of rural life, and more extensively to dif- 

 fuse the profits and advantages of successful ag- 

 riculture. That such is the certain effect of in- 

 stitutions like this, must be obvious on the least 

 reflection. Without appreciating the influence 

 of that zeal and activity which emulation never 

 fails to excite in behalf of any object to which 

 it is directed, agricultural societies, considered 

 merely as depositories of new truths and origi- 

 nal information, are well worthy of support and 

 encouragement. 



Throughout a farming country you invariably 

 find scattered here and there individuals, who, 

 though sowing and reaping at the same time 

 with their neighbors, and cultivating perhaps 

 inferior land, seem to be peculiarly favored by 

 nature, and reap an abundant harvest in seasons 

 of general scarcity. These things, I am well 

 assured, are not the freaks and caprices of 

 chance or fortune. Every effect must have 

 some cause adequate to its production ; and the 

 o-reat end, both of experiment and speculation; 

 is, from a series of effects, attentively observed 

 and examined to deduce some rational inference 

 as to the efticienf causes. The object of agri- 

 cultural associations is to excite a spirit of re- 

 search and observation — to create a fountain to 

 which the ignorant may resort for useful infor- 

 mation — to furnish a medium through which 

 the knowledge and experience of the few may 

 be communicated to the many; and whether 

 you convey through its channels the record of 

 your success or failure, you confer the same 

 benefit on the community ; for to say to us what 

 we ouu;bt not to do better enables us to deter- 

 mine what we ought to do. To point out the 

 wrong road, is at least one step towards showing 

 us the right. 



Until within the few last years the cultivation 

 of the sail, though ever regarded by the man of 

 sense and candor as the key-stone to the grand 

 arch of national wealth and prosperity, was 

 viewed as an humble and degrading occupation. 

 And in truth it must be acknowledged, that in 

 the dull and monotonous routine of annual labor, 

 and the ignoble drudging of sowing and reaping, 

 there is little to captivate or elicit admiration. 

 To exalt anrf ennoble art, you must convert it in- 

 to science, and render it an object of intellectual 

 effort. The arm of Roman industry was para- 

 lyzed, and her fields were devoted to barrenness 

 until the inspired champion of agriculture led 

 forth the rude and simple goddess, decked with 

 the flowers of poetry, and clothed with the ma- 

 jesty of science. In former days to become a 

 cultivator of the soil, was to renounce the labors 

 of intellect and the charms of literature ; to rel- 

 ish the enjoyments of a rustic life, was to aban- 

 don forever the comforts and pleasures of pol- 

 ished society. That these evils and privations 

 are not necessarily incident to the employments 

 of the field, has been of late years rendered 

 abundantly manifest. With pride and pleasure 

 we may now proclaim, that from no earthly 

 source docs social love aud happiness flow in 

 greater profusion than from the bounty of rural 

 cultivation ; from no soil does virtue spring 

 with more vigor and luxuriance than from the 

 soil on which we tread ; in no atmosphere does 

 geaius soar with laore buoyant wings than on 



the pure and elastic air which farmers breath 

 in no arm is the nerve of patriotism more fin 

 and athletic — in no bosom does its fires glo' 

 more intensely — than in that arm which is elevi 

 ted with nature's own energies— and that boso! 

 over whose sanctuary she presides. 



To those who live under a free governmen 



and who are blessed with an equal administratio 



of justice, the labors of husbandry are peculiar! 



adapted. Our laws look upon every depaw 



ment of labor and every rank in society wit 



the same just and impartial eye. With us i 



monopoly of interest or of influence is countt 



nanced or fostered. The mechanic — the far* 



er — the professional man — are all considered I 



necessary appendages to the same grand an 



magnificent .system, and as such are equally th 



objects of legislative favor and protectio 



There can be no collision of interest or fonndi 



tion for envy among the several classes of me 



whose exertions are equally essential to fh 



general welfare of a nation. Each class is 



part necessary to the perfection of the whol 



Together, we constitute one vast chain i 



mutual dependencies : from this chain | 



" Whatever link you strike, 



Tenth, or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike." 



Agricultural prosperity is far from wagin 



war with the commercial or manufacturing ii 



terest. The farmer, the manufacturer, the me 



chant, the physician, the lawyer, are all cm 



stituent members of the great family, and eat 



contributes some portion to the general wes 



This division of labor is demanded by the coi 



stitution of man and the economy of nature.- 



Were we all farmers, who then would pu 



chase the surplus produce of the earth, an 



without a demand, who would raise it? Wil , 



only the excitement to lalior of providing 



supply for domestic consumption, who would t 



cape from the imbecility of sloth or the reiii 



of idleness ? Can we all be manufacturers,- 



who then would provide the raw material, ( 



sustain the laborer? Nor can we all he devott 



to the learned professions. Neither can n 



all be rich. In making some poor, God bl 



moral purposes to answer : indeed, wealth a 



relative term, expressing a more than ordinaf 



amount of property', and can no more becoa 



universal than the whole earth can become 



mountain or a valley. 



Farmers, you have abundant reason to be Ml 

 isfied with your own condition, and little ca«| 

 to envy the honors or profits of others. Wili 

 the real and substantial comforts of life you ar 

 blessed perhaps beyond your due proporti» 

 and in the race of honor and ambition yo» 

 speed is equal. 



It becomes us, then, to .silence those univ(» 

 thy prejudices which we are too frequently dk 

 posed to cherish towards men of other vofll 

 tions. Remember that, after all, the true crilfr 

 rion of honor is usefulness ; and that he wk 

 serves his generation best, whatever his empltif 

 ment may be, will be most respected while In 

 ing, and will leave the strongest claim to poll 

 humous renown. While you are sinking undti 

 the proud man's contumely, let this reflectiot 

 sustain you — that he who, because elevated b) 

 wealth and fortune, looks down with disdain a 

 honest industry, however humble, is a maaifl 

 weak intellect or a bad heart. Supremely ridi i 

 culous and pitiable would be that upstart nobil! 

 ty vbich in this country, where ourgi^eatest m 



