MODERN HIGH FARMING. 41 



can any penalty be proportionate to the enormous evil caused by 

 this fraud, by which the farmer is robbed not only of his money, 

 but of his time, his labor, his seed, the interest on his capital, and 

 the rent of his unproductive land. 



"We are taught by an old adage that, " the wise rogue is the fool's 

 natural parasite," and every day brings fresh instances of the folly 

 and gullibility of mankind. Now, we do not agree with Carlyle in 

 thinking that the majority of our rural population is composed of 

 "mostly fools." and our system of education is gradually raising 

 the standard of their intellect and intelligence, to a point which will 

 soon leave the villages very little or nothing to learn from the towns. 



Notwithstanding this, it is unreasonable to suppose that any class 

 of men can suddenly overcome their old habits; discard their tradi- 

 tions ; abandon as worthless all those methods which have been 

 handed down to them through countless generations ; and throw 

 themselves into our arms without due reflection and perhaps some 

 fighting. All great reforms have commenced with small minorities, 

 and have had to struggle in the cause of truth, against prejudice, 

 interest, and established custom, before being universally adopted. 

 Is it not natural to expect that the great discoveries of scientific 

 culture, should at first be sneered at and scouted by those who are 

 unable as yet to understand them ? 



If the farmer will only take seriously to heart what we are trying 

 to impress upon him ; if he will only realize, once and forever, that 

 the science of high farming is no longer a shadow but a living and 

 indispensable reality, there will soon be an end to unproductive 

 lands. 



The States have placed at his disposal, and near to his hand, most 

 excellent chemists, ever ready to advise and to assist him ; he can 

 therefore no longer plead ignorance in extenuation of any of his 

 shortcomings. 



A very trifling outlay, insignificant when compared with the im- 

 portance of the result, will obtain for him all the information he 

 requires : the composition of his soil, the elements in which it is 

 deficient, and in what form those substances can best be introduced. 



