294 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO AGRICUL- 

 TURE. 



The true principles of farmino: are just beginning 

 to be understood. It is but a few years, at least in 

 this country, since the farmer has sought assistance 

 in his important vocation from the safe and sure 

 guide of science. Tlie processes of the culture of 

 the soil have been handed down from father to son, 

 for a long period of time, without any attempt at 

 improvement. The time has already passed when 

 the tiller of the soil was content to produce just a 

 sufficiency for the support of animal life, and that 

 too of an indifferent kind. He has already begun 

 to reap the advantages of calling m scientific prin- 

 ciples to his assistance. 



Within a few years much has been done to im- 

 prove in a high degree the choice and delicious 

 fruits of our climate. Our markets are now loaded 

 with fruits of the most tempting kind, which by 

 their abundance are brought within the reach of all 

 classes of society. Who can estimate the amount 

 of happiness and substantial comfort thus bestowed 

 upon mankind ? 



For the last fifty years the energies of science 

 have been in an unpaialelled degree bestowed up- 

 on inventions and discoveries in the principles of 

 mechanics and the multifarious modifications in ma- 

 chinery, growing out of the motive power of steam. 

 Let the same amount of scientific energy be applied 

 to the investigation of the laws which govern or- 

 ganized bodies, both vegetable and aniinal, and the 

 result of such investigation will no doubt be the 

 knowledge of organized matter astounding as those 

 remarkable physical laws which we are daily wit- 

 nessing. 



The whole community are beginning to be waked 

 up to the importance of this matter. Our schools, 

 especially in this State, are introducing the study 

 of the principles of chemistry, as applied to agri- 

 culture. The guardians of the State Normal School 

 are doing very much towards disseminating a know- 

 ledge of these principles, by preparing its pupils 

 for teaching the same in the schools which they 

 may hereafter be called to take charge of. When 

 the teachers of our schools can be made to feel the 

 importance of this new branch of education, we may 

 expect rapid and permanent improvement in farm- 

 ing. It is in our common schools alone that a large 

 portion of our farming population are educated, and 

 for this reason it would seem very proper that con- 

 siderable attention should be given to this branch 

 of education in these schools. Let all who are en- 

 trusted with the supervision of schools see that en- 

 couragement is given to this study. — Albany Jour. 



fUci!)amc3' Dr|3ai;tinnit, ^fts, ^c. 



TO OUR MECHANICS. 



"come, let us reason together." 



It is an undeniable fact, that the great majority 

 of our mechanics are not reading men, that is, they 

 do not read useful and instructive works. We do 

 not mean to say that our mechanics cannot, and 

 do not read at all; far from it, for there are but few 

 among us who have not received the elements of a 

 common education; but we do say that the majority 

 do not make a ])ractice of reading works which ex- 

 pand the intellect and improve tlie mind. The 

 works which they make a practice of reading, tend 



to grossify and puddle the mind. This is one rea- 

 son why there are so iew among our mecbanics ca- 

 pable of taking charge of and managing the busi- 

 ness they have learned as trades. It is also a rea- 

 son why so nrany of them are rough in speech, and 

 uncourteous in manner. There are many, very 

 many men in our country who were once journey- 

 men mechanics, but who now occupy high and im- 

 portant positions in the repulilic. We rejoice at this, 

 hut we are not a little sorry to add that the major- 

 ity of them had to leave their trades, and become 

 hiwyers; they at least did not move out from the 

 workshop direct to the House of Representatives, 

 or the Senate Chamber. Fillmore, our President, 

 and Douglass, Senator from Illinois, were once 

 tradesmen, but they arose to their present positions, 

 not through the tailor's or cloth-dresser's bench, but 

 the lawyer's bench. There is not a solitary indi- 

 vidual in our country, who has, from a lowly, ele- 

 vated himself to a high position in society, but has 

 been and is a reading man, one who has read and 

 does read books that are books. 



Those mechanics who rise to foremen and em- 

 ployers are the reading men of the mass; they 

 aspired to be something, and adopted the best means 

 to secure the desired ends. Worth and intelligence 

 always command respect from those whose respect 

 is worth striving for. We are not pleading for a 

 gross struggle for wealth, although a reasonable 

 amount of it — as a provision for sickness oi old 

 age, is a laudable and proper desire; but we plead 

 first of all for an elevation of character as a means 

 to a social elevation among men of I'cal ivorth. 

 Wealth without worth will never make a man pass 

 among gentlemen as a current coin, but the man 

 who is industrious, intelligent, trusty, and courte- 

 ous, will always pass for the genuine metal. 



Industry, honesty and intelligence are qualities 

 of character more valuable than gold seven times 

 purified. A talented, first-rate handy mechanic, 

 without such qualities, will never rise, for he can- 

 not be trusted. It is not the smartest man who is 

 always selected to be a superintendent among his 

 fellow workmen; it is he who combines the great- 

 est amount of abilities with those qualities which 

 give his employers confidence in his moral worth. 

 VVe have often been solicited to furnish competent 

 mechanics to take charge of new establishments, 

 and have found it very difficult to secure, at any 

 time, the proper nmn; and no further back than 

 last week a gentleman writing to us from the south, 

 uses the following language: "Last summer, I 

 visited the North and purchased machinery for the 

 manufacture of chairs, and after considerable trouble 

 hired a man alleged to be competent to superintend 

 the whole business. I have not yet been able to 

 commence operations, owing to the incompetency, 

 in every respect, of the man in whom I trusted to 

 superintend my business; can you send me a man 

 with the requisite qualifications, and above all, let 

 him be a gentleman ?" We cannot send him the 

 kind of man he wants and requires. Our real good 

 men are scarce; they soon find situations, and we 

 believe there would be more good situations for 

 men (manufacturing establishments would increase) 

 if we had more men capable of filling them honor- 

 ably and well. 



We have now preacbed a sermon long enough 

 for a week's calm reflection, and next week we will 

 point out the way whereby young mechanics are 

 sure to rise. — Scientific American. 



