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these embrace all the relations of humanity : some comprehend 

 those of country and political society ; and others are limited to 

 the particular calling by which one's bread is earned. Every 

 farmer in Massachusetts is first, a man ; second, a citizen, and 

 last, a farmer. But I shall eliminate all the elements and consid- 

 erations except those -which belong to the innermost circle, and 

 shall confine myself to those points which touch the farming popu- 

 lation of Massachusetts, and do not go beyond them. Still the 

 condition of the farmer himself — the desirableness or undesirable- 

 ness of his position — is dependent, in some measure, upon elements 

 which operate upon other callings as well as his own ; but I shall 

 treat of these elements only as they directly or indirectly affect 

 him. 



An obvious division of my subject is suggested by considering 

 the answer to these two questions : What is the relation of man to 

 the land ? What is the relation of man to the soil ? 



By land, I mean landed property, or real estate ; and by soil, I 

 mean that portion of the crust of the earth from which all forms of 

 vegetable life derive such part of their growth as is not drawn 

 from the atmosphere. Man's relation to the soil is substantially 

 determined by natural and irreversible laws, and can only be modi- 

 fied by labor or capital. Man's relation to the land is regulated 

 by usage and custom, taking the form of positive law. 



Let us first consider what are the relations of the farmer to the 

 soil in Massachusetts ; in other words, what are the natural ad- 

 vantages and disadvantages attendant upon practical agriculture 

 here. The soil of Massachusetts shares in the general character- 

 istics of the soil of New England. New England is a primary re- 

 gion, in the nomenclature of geology ; and its soil is the disinte- 

 gration and decomposition of the primary, or crystalline, rocks. It 

 is for the most part light and thin ; frequently running into sand 

 and gravel ; and, except in certain favored spots, as in the valley 

 of the Connecticut, of only moderate fertility. A larger propor- 

 tion of it is more suitable for grazing than for arable tillage. But 

 if our soil be not of that great fertility which invites capital, and 

 tempts to minute subdivision, little or none of it is of that hopeless 

 barrenness which discourages labor. It is a soil which stimulates 

 industry, and reasonably rewards it ; and who has a right to ask 

 more than this ? 



