448 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



one, then better and better ones, till art in this direction reaches 

 perfection. How carefully, too, does the husbandman learn to 

 watch all weather signs, the changing aspects of the skies, till 

 he learns the laws of climate, and, if he have a brain capable 

 of philosophic processes, becomes an adept in meteorology and 

 astronomy ! The experience which he acquires about the com- 

 position of soils and the rotation of crops is the basis of the 

 noble science of chemistry, and of all the individual and nation- 

 al thrift expressed in the word economy. What an ingenious 

 process is involved in the simple practice of budding and graft- 

 ing ! What a skilful combination of elemental qualities is 

 shown in the mingling of barren sand, gravel, or clay with the 

 cold and dank soil of the meadows ! And as Agriculture has 

 served as the inventive energy to all arts and sciences, — includ- 

 ing even Commerce, which exchanges her productions, — it is 

 but meet that all arts and sciences should in turn serve 

 Agriculture, as they now do. And this is, on a grand scale, 

 one of the most striking and beautiful illustrations of that law 

 of reciprocity of service which the Creator has established be- 

 tween all men and all things, including all the stars of heaven 

 and himself. There is not a single science or art which is ex- 

 empt from this service ; and all of them are tributary to Agri- 

 culture. Even some of the most retired and speculative men, 

 whose bodily labor you would not conceive to be worth their 

 daily food, are employed upon such ingenious mechanical ques- 

 tions as will inform you, on scientific principles, what are the 

 proper proportions for the size of the hub, the spokes and the 

 rims of your cart wheels, where the line of draught is in a 

 plough for various soils and depths, how thick should be the 

 handle of a spade or a pitchfork, and how to arrange the cur- 

 rents of air for ventilating your barns. 



Nor, in this enumeration of the blessings that owe their 

 prime source to the tillage of the soil, ought we to omit that 

 continual demand for industry and hard labor which is the root 

 of so many virtues. Industry and effort are severe conditions 

 sometimes; but how rich their gains, from the health that 

 bounds through the red tides of life within the frame to the 

 stores of the well-filled garner and the joys of a happy home ! 

 All the useful discoveries and inventions have come from parts 



