NEW HUSBANDRY. 13 



thn experience of others had afforded ; and to apply 

 to the cultivation of the earth the aids that science, 

 and an increased acquaintance with the laws that 

 govern the formation of arable soils, and the growth 

 and improvement of vegetables, could give. In do- 

 ing this, they necessarily adopted, with suchmodifi-i 

 cations as our climate and country required, the im- 

 proved husbandry of Britain and Belgium, and this 

 with a success which has constituted a new era in 

 the agricultural history and prospects of the United 

 States. Objections have been made and opposition 

 has been encountered, but in a less degree than was 

 perhaps to have been expected, where established 

 and ancient usages were assailed ; and the rapid ex- 

 tension of the principle and practice of the New Sys- 

 tem, and the general favour with which it is viewed 

 where best understood, seem to indicate that the im- 

 proved husbandry has gained a permanent and secure 

 footing among us. Now and then, indeed, an indi- 

 vidual may be found who persists in cropping his 

 land according to the old method, until it is so redu- 

 ced that the crops will not pay for the culture, when 

 he abandons it to the recuperative powers of nature, 

 and proceeds to repeat the same exhausting course 

 on another section of his farm ; but such instances 

 are comparatively rare ; and where the New Hus- 

 bandry is not avowedly made the basis of the agri- 

 cultural course, its influence may be traced in many 

 ways, such as in the more general rotation of crops, 

 the increased quantity of roots grown, and the con- 

 sequent improvement in the numbers and quality of 



