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ploughing the ground, sowing the seed, and reaping the har- 

 vest, Avill never of themselves lead to the highest principles 

 and practice in farming. Improvements in husbandry, as in 

 mechanics, may sometimes be the result of accident ; but are, 

 with few exceptions, the result of careful study and deep 

 thought. Our best and most successful farmers are reading 

 and reflecting men. — men who know how to combine figures 

 and how to investigate theories ; who, by careful reading, have 

 learned by the experience of others, and who, by observation, 

 have become acquainted with the relations between cause and 

 effect ; who have studied the comparative value of the different 

 crops, and the effect of climate and season upon the same ; 

 who have calculated the cost of cultivation, and the net profits 

 of their productions ; who, by means of study and observation, 

 have learned not only how to save expense, but also how to 

 increase the quantity and value of their products. If you will 

 but cast about your eyes, you will observe a great difierence in 

 the appearance of farms. That farms, equal in the quality of 

 soil, and upon which an equal amount of physical labor has 

 been bestowed, present very different appearances, examine 

 them from what point you will. How is the difference to be 

 accounted for ? The land is the same, the labor expended 

 is apparently the same ; but yet the labor is not the same. 

 On the one it has been entirely physical and mechanical, a 

 labor that is apparent to the eye ; on the other, there has been 

 a labor unseen at the time, yet constantly felt in the direction 

 which it has given to that which is seen ; a labor which has 

 made the fields greener, which has stored the barns fuller, 

 which has improved the diary, which has put more gloss upon 

 the coats of the horses, and more fat upon the ribs of the cattle ; 

 which has put more comfort in the house, and more money in 

 the pocket. This labor has been the labor of the head, the 

 work of the brain, giving systematic direction to the labor 

 of the hands. Here has been a two-fold labor working in har- 

 mony together, and the accumulated results are visible to the 

 world. You need to work your minds upon your farms as well 



