No. 244. \ 291 



him and the club, that it is entirely unnecessary in my opinion. He 

 was for twenty years at the head of that most valuable agricultural 

 work, the American Farmer, respecting which I have heard Sir John 

 Sinclair say, " that it contains more practical information than any 

 other agricultural work." Mr. Hall claimed for our fathers, merits as 

 agriculturists, in many respects, superior to those whom they left be- 

 hind them in England. He spoke of the thorough knowledge of 

 soiling exhibited in the very fine farming of Josiah Quincy of Mas- 

 sachusetts. Sir, we are not behind England in the art of agricul- 

 ture. Our fathers, ay, sir, our puritan fathers made drains to improve 

 their farms in New-England, before it was ever done in Old Eng- 

 land. Nevertheless, it would be ridiculous to drain lands near dry 

 lands, to be bought, as in parts of Long Island, for three dollars an 

 acre; that beautiful island which by the application of true knowl- 

 edge, will be made the garden of America. It has more clear days, 

 a more temperate climate, and many other greater advantages from 

 its position than an}' other spot of equal extent. 



On draining, let me mention the great farm of Cook, in England: 

 when he began, his land was worse than the despised lands of por- 

 tions of Long Island, but he made drains of all sorts, but no more or 

 better than had been made here by our forefathers long before he was 

 born. But he made a great farm of it. Many of the laborers on 

 his farm had the ability to pay for their bottle of wine a day, and 

 Cook wished that every man on his farm could afford it. Jcthro 

 Tull, whose book on husbandry is valued, entertained some peculiar 

 theories of his own ; he taught that by a ihorough and frequent pul- 

 verising of soil, we might dispense with manures. Some suppose 

 that Mr. Tull was a common farmer. Sir, Jethro was a man of for- 

 tune, a gentleman who travelled extensively, surveyed the agriculture 

 of other countries and then devoted himself to it at home in Eng- 

 land. In 1740, our Elliot was teaching and practicing the best rules 

 in agriculture, including draining of all kinds. You see, Mr. Chair- 

 man, that I have no idea of surrendering any of our rights, nor Mr. 

 Skinner, will I consent to give you up. Our Timothy Pickering 

 wrote a valuable essay on draining, then comes Judge Peters, Jeffer- 

 son, Taylor of Virginia, Madison, whose papers on agriculture are 

 most valuable. On the subject of draining, we can look back to our 

 forefathers who have used it for two hundred years. 



Mr. Skinner. — 1 see Dr. Underbill is now here, and I repeat in his 

 presence, that the acres of land in this State which would be bene- 

 fited by draining, would cover one-half of the Statfe of Rhode Island. 



