FARMERS' REGISTER— AGRICULTURE IN VIRGINfA. 



1-25 



to give new hope and confidence to the despond- 

 ing minds of our citizens, and retrieve tlie lidiing 

 fortunes of Uie good okl inolher state ? This ques- 

 tion addresses itself to the heart of every indivi- 

 dual patriot — it solcnuily appeals to the hearts and 

 the heads of our legislators and all others in autho- 

 rity among us. The thing is practicable ; and 

 only requires a small sacrifice of pride, individual 

 interest and local feeling. Let us abandon and 

 discountenance that aristocratic feeling which we 

 have inherited from our ancestors, and have too 

 long cherished — Let us attend more in person to 

 ourbusiness, no jnattcr what that may be, instead 

 of trusting to agents or deputies — retrench expen- 

 ditures, particularly of living — bring up fewer of 

 our sons to the learned professions, and more of 

 them to industry in agriculture and the useful 

 trades and arts. In this way we may dispense 

 with many careless and costly overseers, with tlie 

 number of artists, engineers, skilful mechanics, 

 and even with the hosts of northern schoolmasters, 

 who find annual employment along side of our idle 

 sons. Let us al^andon the besetting sin of pro- 

 crastination and making^ood resolutions that arc 

 never executed — adopt an improved system of cul- 

 tivation — make all the maure we can, and reclaim 

 a given number of acres of land every year, ac- 

 cording to our means, if it be but one or two — use 

 better implements of husbandry — prepare for it, 

 and take better care of our crops and stock — re- 

 duce the latter to a number that can be v.cU fed 

 and kept in high order, and one fourth will give 

 more profit tlian the whole, and as much manure, 

 without extensive and runious grazing of the 

 fields. Ought we not, as soon as possible, get the 

 best breeds of stock ; and, gradually, adopt the 

 soiling system ; or, in other words, the plan of 

 keeping our stock within limited bounds, and feed- 

 ing them abundantly with food, cultivated and pre- 

 pared for them, throughout the various seasons of 

 the year.' One milch cow properly housed and 

 fed throughout the winter, will give to a family 

 more milk than half a dozen in our common way. 

 But experiments and their results upon this, and 

 almost all the branches of rural economy, have 

 been made known to the public, and may be re- 

 ferred to. The nature of this article prevents my go- 

 ing into specific details; since almost every subject 

 would be the ample groundwork of a little volume. 

 But, why should we not get up agricultural so- 

 cieties in different parts of the state, and keep them 

 up, by zealously encountering some little trouble 

 and expense for that purpose.' It is an old saying, 

 that "what is every body's business is nobody's." 

 This aphorism is not true in politics. And, why 

 is it, that we cannot feel a kindred zeal in what 

 is the foundation and life-spring of all other human 

 vocations.'' In politics every man takes an interest 

 — We are ready to attend public meetings — to 

 discuss the topics of the day around our fire sides ; 

 at cross roads, and all the sorts of shops and meet- 

 ing places in every county. We cheerfully pay 

 our money to support profligate and hired editors, 

 who either gratify our taste for slander, or minis- 

 ter to our bitter prejudices. And, yet, we are 

 unwilling to pay a small sum for the support of an 

 agricultural journal, or an agricultural society! 

 Out civil and political riglits are very important. 

 But, there are "matters and things" which address 

 themselves to our next dearest, sublunary inter- 

 ests, and which we ought to attend to ; because 



they involve so large a portion of our comfort, 

 prosperity and happiness. The human race is 

 struggling to get onward, in almost every thing 

 else, but in the homely pursuit on which all others 

 depend — agriculture — yes, every thing depends 

 upon it at last ; lor it supplies the substantial com- 

 forts of life What a host of men have we in this 

 half-i)eopled world of ours, where there is so much 

 land and such ample elbow-room, who literally 

 live u})on the industry of the husbandman.' It is 

 true that many of them are necessary auxiliaries. 

 But how many of the various craftsmen, including 

 the 6a//cr;i and s/tu///c, and other players j whe- 

 ther in the forum ; the sick room ; the pulpit ; the 

 necessary departments of public service ; in the 

 various and ramified employments of commerce ; 

 or in the circles of benevolent societies and other 

 trades devoted to our instruction, and edification — 

 how many, I ask, among ail these, are willing to 

 Vvalk upon old mother earth, during half the year, 

 without double and trible /oo<-cZo//u';ig: .' many of 

 them alTord us necessary comforts and conveni- 

 ences, and even the pretty things upon which we 

 may serve up in style, the productions of the hus- 

 bandman ; and, others live by their talent for offer- 

 ing up to Heaven fervent thanks for the privilege 

 extended to all, of consuming these savory viands. 

 But, after all, do not the varied and indispensable 

 vocations of human intellect and human industry 

 mainly depend upon the agricultui'al community ? 

 Upon that portion of our population, the least res- 

 pected, and the least regarded by the law makers, 

 and the patrons of other and less valuable pursuits? 

 Is not husbandry the great preponderating in- 

 terest in America.' Look at the happy varieties 

 of our soil, climate and productions — look at the 

 vast territory of unimproved and uncultivated land, 

 inviting the hand of industry, and promising the 

 slaw, but certain rewards of peace, health, abun- 

 dance. And, with all these things staring us in 

 the face, is it not preposterous in the federal gov- 

 ernment fo wish to hurry things beyond their na- 

 tural gait — to turn us into a nation of spinners and 

 iceavers, and handicraftsmek ! The talents 

 of the state have been too much devoted to some- 

 thing other than our primary interest: And, that 

 is tlie reason, as I have before suggested, that Vir- 

 ginia has sunk to what she is. Is not the time for 

 her renovation at hand.' — Many of us have been 

 unwilling to run aivay, either from the increasing 

 gloom and dilapidation, which annually thicken 

 around us; or from the moral depreciation, inclu- 

 ding our own faults, in which we find ourselves an- 

 nually involved. I say that many have been in- 

 fluenced by this consideration : We have expect- 

 ed a sense of returning justice on the part of the 

 federal and state governments — We have looked 

 to better times, and suffered present evils, under 

 the confident expectation, that, justice would be 

 done to us by the federal government, in relation 

 to the tariff, &c. ; and that, our own drones in the 

 state legislature would be either removed, or awa- 

 kened to a sense of their obligations to do some- 

 thing for the farmers and planters ; instead of spend- 

 ing their time in abstractions about federal poli- 

 tics, or catering for the interests of deputy sher- 

 iffs and clerks of courts. This remark, so far as 

 federal politics are concerned at this time, may not 

 be strictly just; for, I acknowledge that South 

 Carolina has placed the union in jeopardy. But, 

 my essay has nothing to do with that. 



