37 



times the ameunt of the present population of the whole island, 

 was deemed an inexhaustible store-house of corn for others." 

 These examples show, that the earth is productire in proportion 

 lo the labour judiciously bestowed upon it. They are cited 

 from times when that more productive vegetable, the potato, 

 which now furnishes almost the whole food of thousands of 

 families in Great- Britain, was unknown. Is it therefore too 

 much to suppose, that when properly managed " every rood of 

 ground -will maintain its man" ? 



If the soil can be rendered so productive, it must be obvious, 

 that the agriculture of this county is susceptible of great im- 

 provement. 



What are the causes that have hitherto retarded this improve- 

 ment? Among these, are, I conceive, the prejudices that exist 

 among different classes of men engaged in agriculture. Specu- 

 lative and practical farmers have ever been at variance. By spec- 

 \ilative farmers, I mean those who have engaged in husbandry, 

 either for amusement or from patriotic motives, without depend- 

 ing on it for the means of subsistence. The former are gener- 

 ally too fond of pursuing visionary schemes, and the latter fre- 

 quently t©o much wedded to old practices to adopt the most obvi- 

 ous improvements. The speculative is apt to consider the mere 

 practical farmer as a narrow-minded, obstinate, perverse man, 

 who is determined to plod on in the path his forefathers had 

 trodden ; and the practical farmer in his turn laughs at the other 

 as a visionary, who, mistaking dreams for realities, pursues plans 

 that lead to disappointment and ruin. 



These prejudices are generally carried too far, and are much 

 to be regretted, although there is frequently some foundation 

 for them on both sides. They too often prevent that social and 

 free intercourse which would prove highly advantageous to both. 

 The practical farmer, who has had hut little opportunity to be- 

 come acquainted with knowledge derived from books, or with 

 practices, that have been found most successful in other places, 

 would derive many useful hints from the speculative farmer, 

 who might often be saved much useless expense by the experi- 

 ence and observation of the other. In this society both these 

 Cesses ofagrirulturalist^ are uniting their eiTDrts. May \ye not 



