'683 SELECTIONS FROM ADDRESSES. 



from its native bed to his arable land, in expectation of an 

 abundant harvest ; but to his great disappointment the crop 

 was an entire failure. Why ? It contained a large percentage 

 of sulphate of iron (copperas), fatal to his crops. To this, 

 chemistry would have applied lime as an antidote, and thus 

 converted the sulphate of iron into the sulphate of lime, a 

 deadly poison into a substance valuable to his soil and condu- 

 cive to its fertility. Again, a sea captain, who understood Nep- 

 tune's dominions rather better than those of Ceres, purchased 

 a farm in Massachusetts. He determined henceforth to plough 

 old ocean's wave no more, but that he would enjoy comfort 

 and tranquillity in the evening of his life, in ploughing the soil. 

 He had heard of the mistake of the New Hampshire farmer, 

 and resolving to avoid it, rushed to the opposite extreme, and 

 thought lime as a fertilizer must be valuable. Having four 

 hundred loads of excellent barnyard manure, he determined to 

 make his debut in farming by turning it to the highest prac- 

 tical account. He therefore purchased two hundred casks of 

 lime, and mixed it with the manure. At first, his expectations 

 were raised to the highest pitch. He beheld his manure heap 

 smoking like a coal-pit. Judge then of his disappointment 

 when his scientific neighbors informed him that he had ruined 

 the whole. The lime had disengaged the ammonia, and nearly 

 destroyed the fertilizing properties of the mass. The facts to 

 which we have referred, may be extreme cases, but many of 

 similar character have fallen under our observation, all teaching 

 lis the dependence of art on science, and the connection of 



-these is nowhere more intimate than in agriculture. 



We hear much said of the superior advantage of practice and 



practical knowledge. But we rejoice that the science of our 

 day is eminently "practical." Here lies the great superiority 

 of modern chemistry over ancient alchemy. The former works 

 for the farmer and facilitates the various processes of the useful 



.arts; the latter occupied itself in the vain attempt to discover a 

 universal elixir, and the philosopher's stone. Science will be 

 to the farmer, what the safety lamp is to the miner, enabling 

 him to explore the otherwise hidden treasures of mother earth, 

 and to bring them up for the benefit of mankind ; aye, as the 

 pole-star to the mariner, a sure guide to the haven of hope. 



