NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ery observer. It teaches the thinking observer a 

 great and beautiful lesson. It proclaims that na- 

 ture is never ungrateful, in trees that wave, or in 

 plants that grow. He that blesses the earth shall 

 be blest by the earth. 



Mason, N. IL, July, 1851. c. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EDUCATION AND FARMING. 



Mr. Editor: — It is often intimated that it is un- 

 necessary for farmers to have any more than a com- 

 mon education, by which it is meant almost no educa- 

 tion at all, and indeed it is a lamentable fact, that far- 

 mers in general are almost entirely destitute of what 

 is properly denominated learning, although nearly 

 all in our country know how to "read, write and 

 cipher," and hence pride themselves in the belief 

 that they have a sufficient amount of knowledge for 

 most "practical purposes." 



It may be well to examine the ground for this 

 too prevalent opinion, and to show, as I shall endea- 

 vor to do briefly, that it is entirely erroneous, and 

 that on the contrary a thorough education is as use- 

 ful and necessary for those who cultivate the soil 

 as for those in most other professions, — in order to 

 work to the best advantage, that is, to gain the most 

 with. the least labor. 



To say that a man is capable of being a good far- 

 mer without understanding the principles of agri- 

 cultural chemistry, without knowing the nature of 

 the different soils, the effects of the various kinds 

 of fertilizers on the several crops, and a thousand 

 other things "too numerous to mention," many of 

 which are comprised under the head of chemistry, 

 would be absolutely absurd. 



It is a fact undisputed by those whose opinions 

 are to be credited, that a man in order to be in 

 every sense of the word a good farmer must have 

 a thorough knowledge of the principles of agricul- 

 tural chemistry, and must know how to put this in 

 practice. Now, to intimate that a vast majority of 

 our farmers are almost destitute of this knowledge, 

 would be only to say what would be readily admit- 

 ted; but this is not the worst aspect of the matter, 

 for the knowledge requisite for the best farming is 

 not only not generally possessed, but it is not in 

 most cases realized, if indeed it is known that such 

 scientific knowledge would be of any value. 



That this is the case is plainly admitted, when it 

 is considered that a great many, perhaps a large 

 majority, refuse to take an agricultural paper, even 

 at the mere nominal prices at which they are now 

 afforded; and if it is suggested to them that such 

 a paper would be exceedingly useful, that it would 

 pay many times its cost on account of the valuable 

 information it w(uild give, it would be too probable 

 that the reply would be that "book learning" does 

 more harm than good, and that they had always 

 "worked on a farm," and hence that there is very 

 little as regards agriculture which they do not al- 

 ready understand; and perhaps the case of the man 

 would be related, who, following the directions as 

 given in a popular work on agriculture, soon after 

 his iea/?.-? which he had planted "were up," cut 

 them off, the book saying that thereby the crop 

 would be greatly increased. 



If it is not a fact that it is highly important for 

 farmers to be well educated, why is it that profession- 

 al men who have retired from business, and devote 

 their attention to farming, are almost always pat- 



terns for good management, that their farms are al- 

 ways better than those of their neighbors, and that 

 from them they realize a greater profit than oth- 

 ers? 



It may be said in reply that they have means 

 aside from their farm, and that thus they are enabled 

 to manage in a manner very different from those 

 who have nothing but their farms and the appurte- 

 nances thereto, and were it not for this they would 

 not be better farmers than others. It is true that 

 this is often the fact, that they have extra money, but 

 yet it is not universally so, for the cases are not 

 rare, in which a liberally educated man, and some- 

 times men in the learned professions, being disgust- 

 ed at their employment, choose farming for their 

 calling, and so well succeed as utterly to surprise 

 their neighbors. 



Thus it is almost capable of demonstration that 

 farmers should be men of intelligence and educa- 

 tion, and indeed the truth of the theory might be 

 plainly shown, from the fact that a person intend- 

 ing any other profession must specially qualify him- 

 self for that particular business, and hence, as of 

 course, a farmer is not exempted from the same du- 

 ty. 



Thus I have "spun out" a long article, and if it 

 shall have induced but o?ic farmer to more thorough- 

 ly inform himself of all topics connected with the 

 important business of agriculture, I shall be amply 

 rewarded for mv labor. d. 



Franklin, N."!!., July 5, 1851. 



Remarks. — One reason that intelligent gentle- 

 men, who leave other professions for farming, do 

 not make it profitable, is that they often have am- 

 ple means, and farm it for pleasure, thus ac- 

 complishing their design, which is to enjoy life. 

 They often spend thousands of dollars on buildings, 

 and hundreds or thousands of dollars in ornament- 

 ing their grounds, making beautiful walks, groves, 

 ponds, &c., which the farmer would not spend while 

 profit was his object. 



We asked a gentleman of considerable means, 

 who had thirty acres of land, whether he attended 

 to farming; and he replied, "no," he was not able. 

 We asked for an explanation, and he said that he 

 wanted several thousand dollars, if he attended to 

 farming, to improve and embellish his lands. There 

 are many, who do not wish to form it for the sake 

 of dollars and cents. — Ed. 



For the New England Farmer. 



MULCHING GOOSEBERRIES. 



Mr. Editor: — I noticed in a recent number of 

 the Farmer, that old hay, &c., were recommended 

 as mulching for gooseberry bushes. I have some 

 set out where the soil is full of orchard grass, and 

 the course I have taken with them has been to 

 raise a bank around them or cover the ground un- 

 der them with small stones, and the result is, I am 

 rewarcd with a good crop. Stones possess two ad- 

 vantages over straw for this {)urpose; they afford 

 the mice no shelter, and are ahvaysthere, and they 

 do not rot. S. Tenny. 



N. Raymond, Maine. 



E^ True charity consists in the performance of 

 every duty of life, from the love of justice. 



