THE GENESEE FARMER. 



19 



in the physical sciences; organic chemistry, or agri- 

 cultural technology, agriculture, aboriculture, syhi- 

 culture, veterinary art, agricultural zoology, and equi- 

 tation, in what are denominated technological sciences; 

 and rural architecture, forest economy, farm accounts, 

 rural economy, and rural law, in the noological sciences. 

 There are six professorships, and three years are re- 

 quired to go through with a course of study. 



At Versailles there is a National Agronomic Insti- 

 tute, employing nine fii-st class professors and 3,6.50 

 acres of land. The report of Prof Hitchcock fills 

 over ninety octavo pages, and we regret our want of 

 room to give copious extracts from this truly valuable 

 contril)ution to the agi-icultural literatvu-e of the 

 United States. It is a work of great labor and con- 

 densation. AVithout the text, the thirteen tables 

 would be nearly unintelligible. The following sum- 

 mary, however, will indicate the territory surveyed: 



But though my list is doubtless deficient, I have been 

 amazed, as I doubt not the committee will be, at ito extent. 

 The following summary will bring the whole subject under 

 the eye : 



lu Flndan.!, 



IreliUid, . 



Scotland, 



France, 



It.ily, 



Belgium, _ 



Prus.sia, 



Austria, 



Wurtemburg, 



Bavaria, 



Saxony, 



Brunswick, 



Mechlenburg Schwerin, 



Schleswig Holstein, 



Principality of Anli.ault, 



Grand Duchy of Hesse, 



Gratid D uchy of Weimar, 



Duchy of Na-ssau, 



Electorate of He^se, 



G-rand Duehj- of Baden, 



Duchy of Saxe Meningen, 



Russia, 



Total ..._ 22 I 54 214 48 14 3.5: 



The 22 " Superior Schools " in the above list will 

 rank with our best colleges in the extent and variety 

 of sciences studied, while the 54 "Intermediary 

 Schools" ■will compare favoral^ly with most Ameri- 

 can colleges. It is remarkable that the United States 

 should not contain a single institution of the kind, 

 and that all efforts to e.stablish one in the great State 

 of New York, for the last thirty years, should prove 

 unsuccessful. Nor has the report of the Massachu- 

 setts Commissioners been favorably acted upon, even 

 in a State so distinguished for its liberality to all 

 other educational institutions. One serious impedi- 

 ment has been the lack of well qualified gentlemen to 

 fill the several professorships. These must be edu- 

 cated in Europe before we can establish a first class 

 professional school. When meflical schools were first 

 founded in this country, nearly all our teachers of 

 anatomy, physiology, surgery, theoiy and practice 



of physic, &c., were educated abroad. Professional 

 schools of a high character could be established in 

 no other way. Doubtless Congress might establish 

 an institution of the scientific grade of West Point 

 Academy, and procm-e such gentlemen as Liebig, 

 Agassiz, and Boussixgault, to serve as teachers un- 

 til a reasonable number of talented Americans could 

 be prepared to fill professorships in State Agricultu- 

 ral Colleges. At present, we not only lack institu- 

 tions of this kind, but gentlemen duly quahfied to 

 teach all the sciences that legitimately appertain to 

 the noble profession of agriculture and husbandry. 

 The people of the United States have over six 

 hundred millions of dollars invested in domestic ani 

 maLs; and if a young farmer, engaged in stock raising, 

 wishes to study the digestive organs, the muscles, 

 nerves, or blood-vessels of the horse, cow, sheep, or 

 hog, there is not a inu.seum in all America where this 

 can be done, and he must cross the Atlantic for the 

 purpose, or remain in ignorance. We do not depend 

 exclusively on books to teach the anatomy and phy 

 siology of man, but make dissections, have occular 

 demonstrations, and valuable museums, still further to 

 illustrate all parts of the system, both in a healthy 

 and diseased condition. Why should we be so unwil- 

 ling to form agricultural museums? Why so reluctant 

 to provide facilities for the successful study of the 

 organization of valuable domestic animals, with a 

 view to preserve their health, increase the growth 

 of flesh, fat, and wool, and the production of milk, 

 butter, and cheese? \\ ill it be said that a knowledge 

 of all this living macliineiy is of no value to tie 

 country? Is there no chance for additional improve- 

 ment in thirty millions of sheep which elaborate wool 

 and mutton, nor in the five or six miUions of cows 

 which yield all the products of the dairy in the United 

 States? On the contraiy, is there an intelligent man 

 in the Union who does not know that nine-tenths 

 of all our domestic animals, from the horse down to 

 dung-hiH fowls, are susceptible of very great improve 

 ment? 



In 1818, William Kjxg, of Wurtemburg, estab- 

 lished an Institute of Agronomy and Forests on the 

 royal domain, of some 82.5 acres, having one direc- 

 tor, six professors, four functionaries charged with 

 various labors, beside two tutors who hear lessons in 

 the school. The instruction given is embraced in 

 forty courses, divided into three groups, as follows: 



1. Agricultural matters. 2. Forest matters. 3. 

 Auxihary sciences. 



In the Jirst course are included — 1, of climate; 

 2, of soil; 3, of manm-es; 4, of tools and implements 

 of tillage; 5, of clearing up of grouud; 6, of mead- 

 ows and pastures; 7, of agi-iculturc in general — this 

 is divided into plowing and other tillage, seed plots, 

 of grain and root culture, threshing and preservation 

 of grain, &c. ; 8, of special agi-iculture. All cultivated 

 plants are treated of particularly. Second course — 

 Viticulture: 1, culture of the vine; 2, wine making. 

 Third course — Culture of fruit trees. Fourth course 

 — The rearing of cattle; the races; the crossing; the 

 young. Fijih course — The rearing of the horse; 

 natural history of the horse; different methods cA 

 raising; choice of animals for reproduction; treatment 

 of mares; treatment of colts. tSeventh course — Ru 

 ral industiy in luinter; the manufacture of beet sugar 



