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SILK MANUAL, AN0 



tality of the soul, tlie Imman race must have 

 remained in a state of the most abject ignorance 

 and degraded barbarism. It is tlie inspiration of 

 divinity itself which animates and urges us on, in 

 the interminable career of intellectual attainnients 

 and moral grandeur. 



What is the biography of those mighty men 

 who have illumined tlie past and the present, and 

 thrown forward into the obscurity of the future 

 the effulgence of their glory ? Is it not the record 

 of genius struggling with misfortune, and battling 

 with prejudice and ignorance, to evolve some mo- 

 mentous fdcf, establish some fundamental princi- 

 ple in morals, proclaim some invaluable discovery 

 in science, or perfect some brilliant experiment in 

 art ? The very temerity of their enterprise, the 

 r,o?d indtfferonce of anticipated patronage, the 

 desponding thraldom of penury, and that unwear- 

 ied perseverance which knows not desjiair, are 

 the alternate subjects of our praise and commis- 

 eration. Our admiration is constantly excited l)y 

 that boldness of mind and that fearlessness of 

 heart, which are neither smitten down by the iron 

 mace of arbitrary power, the withering influence 

 of fanatical persecution, or the discouragements 

 of unrequited merit ; that, "unaided, unfriended 

 and alone," tFfey rose superior to the storms of 

 fortune, and became the ornaments of their age 

 — the benefactors of mankind. It is from these 

 causes that we honor the names, and dwell with 

 such profound interest upon the characters, of 

 Galileo and Tasso, Hampden and Milton, Watt 

 and Arkwright, Rittenhouse and Fulton. 



Let not the hardy sons of New England, then, 

 doubt of STJCces.^ in the application of efficient 

 means to ameliorate the condition of their tillag(\ 

 either from the rudeness of their climate, or the 

 less favoi*aWe character of their soil, compared 

 with the fertile savannahs of the South and the 

 beautifal prairies of the West. They have shown 

 what the Saxon blood can achieve, in the battle 

 field and on the deep, in science and in the arts, 

 in corsrnerciaJ adventure and mechanical skill, 

 and they will not incur the stigma of deg-eneracy, 

 by failing to rival their own lineage of another 

 hemispf)ere, in that pursuit where they have at- 

 tained sttch marked distinction. 



It should be recollectedj that it is not the geo- 

 graphical position or sterility of our inheritance, 

 which have thrown us in the rear of other nations ; 

 for that vast and favored region which lies under 

 more propitious skies, in the other extremity of 

 the Union, is not in advance of the North, 



There are nmny causes which have retarded 

 agricultural improvements throughout the United 

 States, other than the natural difficulties which 

 are to be encountered. None, however, have 

 operated more unfavorably, than the indifference 

 which has too generally prevailed, in relation to 

 the subj ;ct, but more especially among those who, 



from their ample means, distinguished attain men!?<, 

 elevation of character, and the time which they 

 might devote to ex[)erimentaj inquiry, could ren- 

 der such essential service, both by their practical 

 o|.erations and tiie powerful influence of their 

 example. Tlitre are, it is true, illustrious excep- 

 tions to this lamentable and inexcusable neglect 

 of the noblest pursuit in which man can be en- 

 gaged, when taken in the widest scope of its in- 

 tellect'ia!, moral and physical influence. 



Strenuous and commendable exertions have 

 been made in many of the States, to induce a bet- 

 ter disjjosition. This society bears npon its roll 

 of members, the names of individuals, whose lorrg^ 

 and faithful public services caimot be too highly 

 appreciated, whose jiatriotic ardor has experienced 

 no retiring ebb, and whose mimificent cnntrihu- 

 tions, lessons of instruction and practical labors 

 will be enduring monuments of their fame. Other 

 j»ortions of the republic can b^ast of like bene- 

 factors. Still there is nuich to be done ; and if 

 there is an earnest and generous co-opevatioUy 

 nsuch can l>e acconrplished by individual enter- 

 prise, numerous and active associations, and gov- 

 ernmeiiTal encoiiragenient. We have a'ready ex- 

 perienced^ in this State, the beneficial consequen- 

 ces of a A these influences. It is to be traced in. 

 «trr gardens, oiThards and ftelds — in onr flocks- 

 and herds, our farm-houses and villages, from the 

 bleak shores of the ocean to t!i« luxuriant banks 

 of the liousatonic. 



W'ithin a fi;w years the 0(rcu|iatron of a fanner 

 has been elevated in general estiinatron ; a r :si- 

 *{ence in the countrj' has l^ecome more desiralilo 

 among thase who have accumulated fortunes in 

 other pursuits, and a taste for useful anxl orna- 

 raental culture evinced, which arc full of | romise 

 for the future. But to rival other nations, there: 

 must be a more thorough change effected in jjub- 

 lic opinion. Here, niifortmiafefy and tnexpUcal)ly,, 

 the fashion has been in fjkvor of congregating m 

 large towns and cities, as well among such as. 

 have been reared or acquired fortunes there, as 

 those who were born and reached affluofice in 

 the interior ; while in England the reverse has 

 been the miiversal taste. There the noblemair 

 and commoHcr, the statesfman, orator and fmet^ 

 the generals of armies and the admirals of fleets, 

 the n>erchant and manufacturer, and men of for- 

 tune and intelligence in every rank and slatioUj 

 ©onsider the country not merely the most desira- 

 ble, but the only proper resitlence of a gentiernan. 

 It is, in fact, an indisjtensable prerequitiie to the 

 assunqition of that character, and obtaining the 

 position in society which it commands, while the 

 towns and cities are deemed hut a>3 temporary 

 al)0(i('.s, or as the places where means may be 

 acquired by such as do not inherit an estate, for 

 indulging, at some future period, in the comforts, 

 honors and luxuries of a country life. It is to - 



