1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



49 



terest has been so long overlooked, leaving the 

 ground to be occupied by a species of fungus liter- 

 ature, lialf imaginary and half infidel ? It is high 

 time there was a change in the matter and style 

 of the lectures, now so frequent among the people, 

 and we therefore thank the State Board of Agri- 

 culture for these timely suggestions in relation to 

 this great interest of so large a portion of our cit- 

 izens. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 IMPORTANT TO THE FARMER. 



Mr. Editor: — Of all the plans yet proposed for 

 the advancement of agricultural science among far- 

 mers, there has none yet been presented which to 

 us seems so likely to effect the object as the one 

 recently proposed by the State Board of Agricul- 

 ture, of sending lecturers to address lyceums and 

 farmers'' clubs on tlie suliject. 



Wiiat the present circumstances of the case re- 

 quire, with regard to agricultural science, is, that 

 farmers as a body should be led to see its impor- 

 tance, and the advantages which would result from 

 its application. This, a few may learn from their 

 own practice and observation ; a few more may 

 be led to appreciate it, from the facts they find laid 

 down in agricultural publications. But the great 

 mass of those whose chief employment is the cul- 

 tivation of the soil, do not see, much less read, 

 such publications, because they do not believe in 

 them. What successful practice may have done 

 for them, they will try again, and under like cir- 

 cumstances will probably meet with like success. 

 Should circumstances, however, vary, either in the 

 nature of the soil upon which they operate, or in 

 the capricious fluctuations of the season, both 

 which, to some extent, may be regulated by fixed 

 laws of the farmer's own application, they become 

 nonplussed, and are ready to denounce all obser- 

 vation as the chief of vanities. It is the want of 

 practice and observation that becomes the precur- 

 sor of failure, and the absence of scientific knowl- 

 edge that leads men to declaim against it. 



But let scientific lectures on agriculture be car- 

 ried into the lyceum or club room, and you carry 

 them within the reach of all — those who are al- 

 ready wise in their own estimation, and those who 

 sit meekly seeking for wisdom. Let a stranger 

 go to give these lectures and all will be sure to be 

 there, to see how the man looks, what he has to 

 say, and very possibly some will go to confute all 

 he says. 



No matter, they will all be there, and then is 

 the time, and that is the place, to unfold the sub- 

 ject in all its attractions of thought-inspiring, pleas- 

 ure-giving, profit-yielding influence. All may not, 

 to be sure, derive equal benefit from these lectures, 

 yet all will gain something — some very much. If 

 the father does not feel particular interest, John 

 or Tommy may get an idea that will sprout and 

 grow wonderfully, and finally become a headful 

 of ideas, flowing out and flying over the land. It 

 may be that half a dozen Johns and Tommies will 

 be there, and each and all, get inoculated with 

 that love of science which only can be satisfied by 

 constant draughts on her deep, pure fountains. If 

 so, the commonwealth will soon have the solid 

 capital (the capital of intellect) necessary to es- 

 tablish and sustain what her wisest and best sons 



liave long wished to see in successful operation, — 

 an agricultural school. Produce the scholars, and 

 such a school must, in the order of things, come 

 into existence. Produce the scholars, such schol- 

 ars as have capacity to learn, and a disposition to 

 gratify that capacity, and the existence of such a 

 8i!hool will be a healthful and growing one. Let 

 one such class of scholars graduate and scatter to 

 the north and the south, the east and the west, to 

 the hill-top and the valley ; and there let their 

 knowledge flow out in living works of improvement, 

 and such a school — more, many such schools would 

 become permanent fixtures in the land. 



And then, what a glorious land this of ours, 

 which we now call "the glory of all lands," would 

 be ! A land where the plow-boy, instead of "whis- 

 tling for want of thought," with eye beaming with 

 intelligence and heart expanding under surround- 

 ing influences, would be all thought, all action. 

 lie would learn that the natural world has trea- 

 sures even beyond his imagination, rich beyond 

 his conception, — beauties that he never dreamed 

 of, wonders that have never been explored, system 

 and order and perfection the most lovely and sub- 

 lime, all his (jwu, scattering their treasures plen- 

 teous as dew-drops in his path, while he is labor- 

 ing to cause the earth to give seed to the sower 

 fur future harvests, and bread for the eater when 

 he fainteth. 



We do not think it a visionary Idea, in any way, 

 to suppose that a few such lectures as the Board 

 of Agriculture propose, sprinkled over the common- 

 wealth, would be the means of starting one or 

 more agricultural schools. We think it the surest 

 method that can be" adopted to bring such schools 

 into speedy existence, for the very nature of such 

 lectures would point to the advantages that such 

 schools would afford, as truly and as fixedly as 

 the needle points to the pole star. It is not until 

 men see and feel the advantages which are likely 

 to result from a specified enterprise, that they will 

 embark in that enterprise. And such lectures 

 must surely be the key which will open to the pub- 

 lic mind the advantages of such institutions. 



Another advantage would be, the tendency to 

 re-model these lyceums and render them more in- 

 teresting in their nature, and more important in 

 character. 



Many of them, as they now exist in our country 

 towns, can hardly be said to be of any avail, from 

 the fact that they are not managed in a way cal- 

 culated to insure success. Debating is, to a great 

 extent, the order of their exercises, and the top- 

 ics introduced are enough to confound wise heads 

 and strong minds. Yet on these subjects, mere 

 school-boys will toil and tug, labor and contend, 

 and one party is sure to come off conqueror — very 

 likely on a subject with whose merits, he is, after 

 all, as ignorant as he is of the physical structure 

 of the most distant planet. It has hitherto been 

 an objection to these institutions that the aspirants 

 have reached too far, and grasped at too much, 

 and hence, have failed of securing any thing sub- 

 stantial. If they will familiarize themselves with 

 common topics, which every day present them- 

 selves for investigation, until the mind becomes 

 familiar with them, they will increase in knowl- 

 edge faster, and of course become more fit for more 

 far off things and those requiring deeper research. 



These lectures will have a tendency to turn the 

 channel in the course of proceeding, and call the 



