MARSHALL P. WILDER'S ADDRESS. 693 



a farmer, he has been invidiously styled a " hook farmer,''^ or 

 **o man of zeal, laithout knowledge." 



But what is agricultural education? It is that system of 

 training which teaches the application of science to the art of 

 agriculture. But what is the science of agriculture ? It relates 

 to the principles of successful cultivation. For instance, it 

 teaches that "all plants live and grow by eating," — what their 

 appropriate food is, — where it may be found, — in what quan- 

 tity, and how it should be administered. 



But how shall this be attained ? By guessing ? by protract- 

 ed and doubtful experiments ? or by the clear light of science, 

 which can solve these problems at once ? Science says to her 

 chemist, tell me of what that plant is composed, — then ana- 

 lyze that soil, and tell me if the plant will flourish in it ;— and, 

 if it will not, tell me what ingredients are wanting for the 

 healthy development of its functions — whether it is adapted 

 to the growth of wheat, Indian corn, of tho pear, the plum, or 

 the apple. Tell me what ingredients the growth of these will 

 abstract, and what kind and quantity of manure must be applied 

 to restore the productive energies of the soil. 



Now the analysis of the chemist may settle all these points 

 as satisfactorily as the longest and best practical experience of 

 the farmer, and by which knowledge he may ascertain the ap- 

 propriate food for his crops and for his stock. 



Education increases power ; and this is as true in agriculture 

 as in any other pursuit or profession ; and reflection will con- 

 vince any one that such is the necessity for science in this vo- 

 cation, that a long life of study and experience would leave 

 the most intelligent far short of perfection. In fact, there is 

 no pursuit which requires more intelligence ; first, because the 

 principles on which it depends are more difficult to understand 

 than almost any other; and secondly, because some of the 

 sciences which develop these principles, and their application, 

 are yet in their infancy. 



The farmer should have a scientific knowledge of his soils, 



and their adaptation to the growth of his crops ; the preparation 



and constituent parts of the fertilizers he applies ; the influence 



of his crops on the soil, and if exhausting, how its reproductive 



75 



