526 [Assembly 



it will appear how important a new invention, which in its present 

 form is a mere curiosity, may become when used as a part of some 

 other combination. 



But usual and expected brevity, on these occasions, reminds me 

 that I must close. I will do so, by adding a few words on Agricul- 

 ture. 



The importance of agriculture, as a leading employment of man, 

 has been sung by poets, proclaimed by orators, and is acknowledged 

 by all. 



When the harvest is abundant, manufactures may increase, com- 

 merce flourish, and the country prosper. But, for a single season, 

 let Heaven frown upon the earth, withdrawing its rains and its sun- 

 shine, and all is arrested; machinery motionless, vessels moored, 

 genius suppressed, and the distortions of want and despair fill the 

 places of departed plenty and gladness. 



It is to be supposed, that a thing so indispensable to the existence 

 as well as enjoyment of mankind, as the cultivation of the earth, 

 would have received their first attention. But, on the contrary, in 

 looking on the works of man, it will be found to have been strange- 

 ly neglected. Great and successful efforts have been made in de- 

 vising ingenious implements for working the soil, and machinery 

 for appropriating its products, but among the large body of the 

 farmers of this country, comparatively little has been done to im- 

 prove the kind and quantity of these products; nor can this stagna- 

 tion be ascribed to any deficiency in the developments of science. 

 Science has shone forth with peculiar lustre upon the pathway of 

 the farmer, but he has heeded it not. A prevailing prejudice, pro- 

 pagated and handed down from one to another, and to which he has 

 adhered with as much tenacity as to a choice relic of a distinguish- 

 ed sire, has bound him hand and foot. 



The idea has been entertained, that any one can be a farmer; 

 that a farmer is a mere spontaneous production; and that from in- 

 stinct alone, and without the aid of science, he can perform all that 

 is necessary in that employment, and that his success depends, not 

 upon his skill, but entirely on the amount of physical labor he be- 

 stows. Hence it has been the practice, that when a man of inge- 

 nuity and fond of research, or a youth of promise, and ambitious of 

 distinction, has appeared in the ranks of farmers, his attention has 



