298 [Assembly 



this corn question, because the destruction of the potato in Europe, 

 must render it to us a matter of humanity, as well as interest, to see 

 that next year there be Indian corn for all. Wheat and rye cannot 

 fill readily the place of the potato, nor are they, in my opinion, en- 

 titled to take the place of Indian corn. That corn is a stronger food 

 for man and cattle than wheat or rye, is a fact that has been delibe- 

 rately proved, and Ave know it to be true. 



Without any expectation that Europe would call upon us for it, 

 we have raised this year, as is heYie\ed, Jour or Jive hundred millions 

 of bushels of Indian corn! Next year, if our farmers are sure that 

 the old world wants it at fair prices, they can raise a thousand or fif- 

 teen hundred millions of bushels of it, just as well as let it alone ! 

 and a year after, they can double that last amount, for our land can 

 raise corn enough to feed the whole human race, without lessening 

 our crops of cotton, tobacco, sugar, rice, or anything else. 



Our land is under every climate, from the frozen North to the sunny 

 South, and of every grade, from the low lands of the river's mouth 

 and the valleys, to the snow-tipped Rocky Mountains. We shall, 

 before two centuries pass, have grapes on every farm, silk in millions 

 of cocooneries, myriads of sheep, " cattle on (more than) a thousand 

 hills," the lightning of Heaven for our correspondence, the speed of 

 the swiftest birds for our conveyance, and, I do firmly believe, a lite- 

 rature of our own, untainted by immorality or irreligion. Vice 

 grows not but with extreme difficulty in a free, farming republic. 

 The Sabbath to the farmer, is of indispensable necessity. He feels 

 the true force of the Divine rule — six days shalt thou labor, and rest 

 upon the seventh. His strong body requires that repose, and his ha- 

 bitual association with the beauties of nature render him a ready and 

 steady attendant upon the worship of the Almighty. 



To be up and doing, in the present progressive movements of the 

 age we live in, the American Institute deems to be every man's duty, 

 and while it ardently recommends progress in every art and in every 

 mechanical branch, it still adheres to the first title in its charter — > 

 agriculture, with determined perseverance. 



The Institute has taken hold of the last noble advice of Washing* 

 Ion to his country — that of establishing a National Department for 

 Agriculture, by means of which the farmer shall have brought from 

 every part of the earth, every plant and every animal that can be 

 found agreeable or useful to American citizens. The National Con- 



