JUDGE BUEI/S ADDRESS. 321 



of labour, the salt that best preserves from moral 

 corruption. 



Mistaken men ! What class of men in society 

 have within their reach so many of the elements of 

 human happiness so many facilities for dispensing 

 benefits to others, one of the first duties and richest 

 pleasures of life as the independent tillers of the 

 soil! "The farmer," says Franklin, "has no need 

 of popular favour ; the success of his crops depends 

 only on the blessing of God on his honest industry." 

 If discreetly conducted on the improved principles 

 of husbandry, agriculture offers the certain means 

 of acquiring wealth, and as rapidly as is consistent 

 with the pure enjoyments of life, or with the good 

 order and prosperous condition of society. Agricul- 

 ture is the golden mean, secure alike from the temp- 

 tations of mushroon opulence, and the craven syco- 

 phancy and dependance of poverty. " Give me nei- 

 ther poverty nor riches" was the prayer of the wise 

 mm of Scripture; "lest," he added, "lest I be full 

 and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord ? or lest I 

 be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in 

 vain.'' 



When we consider that agriculture is the great 

 business of the nation of mankind ; that its suc- 

 cessful prosecution depends upon a knowledge in 

 the cultivators of the soil of the principles of natural 

 science ; and that our agriculture stands in need of 

 this auxiliary aid, we cannot withhold our surprise 

 and regret that we have not long since established 

 professional schools, in which our youth, or such of 

 them as are designed to manage this branch of na- 

 tional labour, might be taught simultaneously the 

 principles and practice of their future business : a 

 business on which, more than on any other employ- 

 ment in society, the fortunes of our country, moral, 

 political, and national, depend. We require an ini- 

 tiatory study of years in the principles of law and 

 medicine before we permit the pupil to practice in 

 these professions. We require a like preliminary 



I. BB 



