VOI,. XXI. NO. IT. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



131 



es and requiring ilifloront food to nourish and sus- 

 »in them. Those in their turn inny bo succi'cded 

 y a third and fourth crop of dilFcrent plants suc- 

 essively, in ns many yours — each extracting cer- 

 Rin components of the soil necessary to its sup- 

 ort, and leaving behind or returning to the soil 

 ther elements required for the growth and proJuo- 

 ion of other kinds of crops. 



Thus in three or four years the land may again 

 ecome prepared for a crop like the first of the so- 

 les, and so on again successively in rotation. 



In this manner, the skillful farmer may keep his 

 nm under a constant system of cropping, and at 

 •^e same time improve its fertility and increase its 

 oducts. 



Bat it is evident that this result will not be ac- 



omplished by a mere succession or rotation of 



rops without regard to their kind or adaptation to 



le nature and condition of the soil. Unless the 



nation be established upon well considered scien- 



fie principles, there is no guarantee of success: 



11 is hazard and uncertainty. For as different 



lants require different kinds of f(jod, and as diffe- 



3nt soils contain different component elements, it 



I obvious that a rotation of crops, in order to be 



uccessful, must be established with reference to 



hat tlie plants require and what the soils contain. 



It is, therefore, only by a knowledge of the na- 



ire of his soils, and the kind of plants they are 



dapted to produce, that the farmer will be enabled 



establish a judicious rotation of crops. With- 



ut going into a more particular e.\amination of 



lis theory, I will allude to one more important 



rinciple belonging to it, and which should be con- 



dered in establishing a rotation of crops. 



Plants while green, derive much of their nour- 



hment from the air ; and those which have large 



laves exposing a large surface to the atmosphere, 



erive from it much more nourishment than those 



aving a slender stalk and small leaves. Those 



rops which remain upon the land to ripen after 



leir leaves become dry, are found to exhaust the 



uil much more than those which are taken off 



ircen, because during the time the fruit is ripon- 



ig, the plant draws its whole nourishment from 



le soil. These are generally called white crops, 



•hich class includes all our grains. The green 



rops, including potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, 



nd some others, exhaust the soil but little, and 



hould always be embraced in a rotation of crops, 



8 they serve to ameliorate the soil. 



Little of a systematic rotation of crops prevails 

 1 any part of this country ; but in many parts of 

 lurope the system has been carried to great per- 

 sction, and been practiced with eminent success 

 nd upon a large scale. Cliaptal, a French writer, 

 ays that by this means " nearly the whole sea- 

 oast of Belgium, consisting of sterile sand, has 

 •een rendered as fertile as the best soil ; and the 

 ichest harvests have followed a judicious system 

 ,f cropping." " Upon the sands in the neighbor- 

 lood of Burges, Ostend, Niewport and Arvens," 

 ays the same author, " the cultivation of the grains 

 s made to alternate advantageously with that of 

 leans, cabbage, potatoes and carrots." "In the 

 Iry bed of sand which forms the soil of Cumpine, 

 he industrious inhabitants have, with equal suc- 

 ;ess, vanquished all obstacles and fertilized the 

 loil. It is surprising," says he, " to find in these 

 ilains of sand, excellent crops, which by their judi- 

 ;ious arrangement, are constantly ameliorating the 

 oil." 

 Equally satisfactory results have attended a sys- 



tem of rotation of crops in England. It is said 

 that the Karl of Leicester, whose Iai;ds lie in the 

 county of Norfolk, and are similar to the lands in 

 our own county of I'lymoulh, by his judicious rota- 

 tion of crops and other improvements which he in- 

 troduced, increased the rents of his farms from 

 iwontyfive to two hundred thousand dollars a year. 

 The great secret of good husbandry is to obtain 

 the greatest amount of crops with the least ex- 

 pense and the least detriment to the soil. Extra- 

 ordinary crops may be obtained with but little at- 

 tention to principles of vegetation, by applying 

 large quantities of manure and bestowing unusual 

 labor; but this can be done only to a very limited 

 extent, and as the expense of cultivation is in- 

 crensed in proportion to the increase of crop, but 

 little advantage is gained. 



Economy is the fundamental principle in agri- 

 culture. I have endeavored to show how a farmer 

 may economize the strength of his soils, by a sci- 

 en'ific rotation of crops. 



By attention to the same principles of science, 

 applicable to a system of cropping, he will be able 

 to make the most economical use of his manures. 

 As there is a great variety in the nature and fer- 

 tility of different soils, in order to make a judicious 

 application of manures, a farmer should not only 

 understand the different qualities and components 

 of his soils, but he should also have a knowledire 

 of the component elements and effect of the various 

 substances which he uses as manures. These are 

 composed of a variety of elements, which consti- 

 tute the food of plants. A knowledge of these is, 

 therefore, necessary, to enable a farmer to select 

 and apply as dressings, those fertilizing substances 

 in which a particular soil is deficient, and which 

 are consequently necessary to render it productive. 

 The importance of chemical tests is strikingly 

 illustrated by another fact, mentioned by Sir Hum- 

 phrey Davy. He says that some lands of good 

 apparent texture, are sterile, on account of some 

 noxious principle which they contain, and which 

 cannot be discovered by common observation, but 

 which may be easily discovered and destroyed by 

 a chemical test and remedy. The salts of iron, he 

 says, is one of these noxious substances, and this 

 chemists have discovered may be destroyed by 

 lime, and the soil rendered fertile. 



I have thus endeavored to show in what manner 

 a knowledge of chemistry may be an advantage to 

 the agriculturist. I might go further with my il- 

 lustrations, but I fear I have already wearied your 

 patience. 



I am aware, gentlemen, that some may reply to 

 what I have said, that a knowledge of chemistry 

 may be a great advantage to the agriculturist, but 

 that to obtain this knowledge requires much time 

 and study, and that farmers generally have little 

 time to devote to such pursuits. 



Lr;t me not be misunderstood. I do not pretend 

 that every farmer must be thoroughly acquainted 

 with all the branches of chemistry, or be able to 

 make a nice analysis of his soils, or of every plant 

 that grows upon them. He should, however, have 

 an acquaintance with the different kinds of soils, 

 and the nature of the ; different species of plants. 

 Ho should also understand the principles of chem- 

 istry applicable lo agriculture, and then the knowl- 

 edge requisite to a systematic husbandry may be 

 easily acquired by experiments upon his own and 

 analogous soils. 



A great number of such experiments have al- 

 ready been made and are now continually being 



made, in this country and in Europe, a knowledge 

 of which may bo obtained by every farmer, through 

 the medium of the various agricultural newspapers 

 and journals of our country. From these alone he 

 may learn a great nuiiibor of facts and experiments, 

 and acquire considerable knowledge of the princi- 

 ples of agricultural chemistry. 



Every man who cultivates a farm, should take 

 and read a good agricultural newspaper. Every 

 intelligent firmer who will do this, and use the 

 other means of knowledge within his reach, may 

 obtain the knowledge requisite to establish a syste- 

 matic husbandry, by which he may essentially in- 

 crease the productiveness of his lands. 



I would not advise every farmer to attempt new 

 experiments. To do this, except on a small scale, 

 might prove ruinous to a man of limited means, or 

 a very limited knowledge of science. There are 

 those who may do this, who have ample means and 

 time to devote to such objects, — men whoso minds 

 have been rendered acute and subtle by the study 

 of science, and habits of observation, and who are 

 therefore better qualified to seize upon minute indi- 

 cations, and conduct a course of experiments to a 

 successful result. 



I would, however, advise every farmer to obtain 

 by the means which I have suggested, a knowledge 

 of such experiment.s, and avail himself of every ad- 

 vantage they afford. 



Every fiirmer has much leisure time to read. 

 The long winter evenings can be devoted to no 

 better purpose. If he is not afraid of "book farm- 

 ing," he may find, in addition to the agricultural 

 papers, many excellent and practical works upon 

 the different branches of agriculture, by which ho 

 would be both entertained and improved — unless, 

 perchance, he knew the whole before. 



Nor is the mere pecuniary advantage the only 

 benefit to be derived from the pursuit of scientific 

 knowledge. Beyond all that there is a compensa- 

 tion not to be computed, in the pleasures of intel- 

 lectual cultivation, and in the new interest and 

 attraction which it gives to every agricultural ope- 

 ration. 



" Happy the mnn who, studying Nature's laws. 

 Through known effects can trace the secret cause ; 

 His mind possessing in a quiet state. 

 Fearless of furtune and resigned to late ; 

 And happy too is lie who decks the bowers 

 Of Sylvans, and adores the rural powers." 



Gentlemen, I will come now to the inquiry, 

 whether the requisite amount of scientific knowl- 

 edge is possessed by the yeomanry of this our own 

 beloved Commonwealth .' And I think it must be 

 admitted ihat it is not; — that a better acquaintance 

 with the principles of science is required to carry 

 into effect a systematic husbandry. I infer this 

 from the fact, which is sufficiently obvious, that 

 but little of a scientific husbandry prevails in this 

 State. And I appeal to you if the inference is not 

 warranted. 



I would. Gentlemen, be the last person to de- 

 tract from the high reputation of the farmers of 

 Massachusetts. I have lived too much among them 

 not to know their worth. They are and ever have 

 been, my friends and neighbors. But while I honor 

 their incorruptible integrity, their devoted patriot- 

 ism, their high aonse of duty and justice, their gen- 

 eral intelligence, and strong common sense, I 

 would excite them to use the faculties which God 

 has given them, in the study of his works, and to 

 avail themselves of all the aids which a knowledge 

 of science can afford, to improve the art of culti- 



