MR. SALTONSTALL S ADDRESS. » 



not give them barn room, or permit them to mingle 

 with his flocks and herds. 



Great permanent improvement has also b^en made in 

 the soils of England by draining, irrigation and other 

 processes, which have in effect enlarged the productive 

 lands of the kingdom. Millions of acres have been re- 

 claimed from comparative sterility, and are now luxuri- 

 ant fields. 



This improvement and extension of agriculture has 

 enabled England to meet the wants of a rapidly in- 

 creasing population, by an equally increasing production 

 of the necessaries of life. There is high authority for 

 saying, that the crop of oats and beans is equal in value 

 to the commerce between Great Britain and the United 

 States, which exceeds that between any other two na- 

 tions, and that the grass crop is of more value than all 

 the foreign commerce of the kingdom.* 



The spirit of agricultural improvement has been car- 

 ried to a great extent in Holland and Belgium, and an 

 impetus has been given to it in France, and in all the 

 northern nations of Europe. Governments and people 

 seem at length to perceive, and practically to acknowl- 

 edge, that agriculture is the paramount national interest, 

 as the producer of national wealth, and the means of 

 support, comfort and enjoyment. 



But successful cultivation depends so much upon cir- 

 cumstances peculiar to each nation, that it may be asked 

 — What has an American farmer to learn from the ex- 

 perience of other countries ? We answer, much every 

 way. The great cause of agricultural improvement in 

 England has been the application of scientific principles 

 to the practice of husbandry ; and science is universal. 

 She overleaps all national boundaries. She confines not 

 her favors to the old or the new world, nor contracts 

 within the narrow limits of geographical lines, what was 

 meant for mankind. 



But we need not go abroad for evidence of the juster 

 estimate of the importance of agriculture. — The spirit 



" Mr. Everett's Speech. 



