ESSEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 135 



institutions, in exciting a laudable spirit of enterprise, and high 

 achievement in the cause of agriculture. Complaints are some- 

 times made — and from high authorities — that agricultural soci- 

 eties have accomplished their mission — that premiums for large 

 crops and fat animals are rewards only for doing that which 

 has, time and again, already been done ; and that thus, little 

 progress, in agricultural knowledge and skill, is, in fact, made 

 by means of these societies. The opinion, that agricultural so- 

 cieties have done all the good they can do, even by the continu- 

 ance of the offer of the old premiums, may be justly questioned, 

 for the reason, that but a small part of our farmers have yet 

 reached the point, when they could be successful competitors 

 for these premiums. In the mean time, why not avail ourselves 

 of other means of progress, simultaneously with the offer of 

 premiums ? Why not advance a step beyond the ordinary in- 

 strumentalities, by establishing a library of useful works on ag- 

 riculture 7 Not only would this be a new vantage-ground 

 gained, but it would open the way for further progress. By en- 

 larging the sources of knowledge, and, as is presumable, knowl- 

 edge, itself, among the farming community, would it not lead, 

 necessarily and directly, to a higher standard of excellence in 

 agricultural skill, and to earnest and intelligent efforts to attain 

 to it 7 If, as the poet says, 



" To know ourselves diseased, is half the cure ;" 



so, to learn our deficiences in agriculture, by careful study, not 

 only of the skill and success of other farmers, but of the pro- 

 cesses by which their results was obtained, and the reasons of 

 such processes, would surely teach us the folly of old errors, 

 and the means of correcting them. 



Objections may, doubtless, be raised to the establishing of 

 such libraries as are here contemplated. Some of them have 

 been glanced at, and attempted to be answered, in the preceding 

 pages. There are but two others that occur to me as having 

 any great weight. And, first, it may be said, that such libra- 

 ries, if designed to instruct young farmers, will entirely fail of 

 their object ; that agriculture, being a practical art, must be 

 learned by actual practice ; and, to learn it well, books can 



