164 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



MR. G.mytn'Ts addresh. 



Delivered before the Fredcricksburgh, (\'a.) Agricul- 

 tural Society at their late mettin». 

 Ff.i.low Citizens : 



It ftilonlj me a degree of gratification which 

 I cannot easily-express, to behold so conclusive 

 a proof, as this assemblage present--, tiiiit we 

 have at last become sensible of the great bene- 

 fits which may result to our agriculture from 

 similar meetings and exhibitions, to the one now 

 before us. And I beg leave to avail myself of the 

 present occasion, to offer my cordial congratu- 

 lations to all my agricultural brethren who may 

 now be with us, on this auspicious commence- 

 ment of our long medi'.ated Agricultural Shows. 

 It is true, that we have not, nor could we have, 

 for the first time, an exhibition, to be compar- 

 ed with the many highly imposing, and praise- 

 worthy spectacles of a similar character, which 

 have, for some years past, distinguished our sis- 

 ter States, to the North. But we behold enough 

 to afford us great encourgcment, and a fair 

 promise of much better things hereafter. 



It would be passing strange indeed, at a time 

 when skill, zeal, and industry are pushing on all 

 the other arts of civilized life to tlicir highest 

 state of attainable perfection, if that art, wliich 

 fills the purse and sustains the sword of the na- 

 tion ; that art, by which, under God, we -ill live, 

 and move, and have our being ; which supplies 

 not only most of the necessaries, but also of the 

 comforts and luxuries of our existence, should 

 be the only one neglected and despised among 

 us. Yet this has been the fate of our agricul- 

 ture, until >vitbin a few year* past. Aiid there 

 are still some among us, 1 fear, who, in their in- 

 fatuated reliance upon the innate energies (as i( 

 would appear) of their art, or on some other yet 

 more incomprehensible dependence, rest, with 

 folded arms, and drawn as it were within their 

 own shell, without everspendmga thought, mov- 

 ing a finger, or bestowing a cent towards the 

 improvement of this tirst and best of all occupa- 

 tions. Can they imagine it is all-sulficient to 

 take care of itself, single-handed, and without 

 any concert or co-operation among those who 

 pursue it ? Is it so unlike all other avocations 

 and professions in life, that the insulated powers 

 of each individual, engaged in it, will suHice of 

 themselves to bring it to perfection ? No, my 

 friends, there cannot be a more absurd, nor per- 

 nicious notion, than the belief, that each man, 

 for himselt', can study and practice any, or all the 

 branches of husbandry, with equal advantage, in 

 seclusion from his agricultural brethren, as if he 

 frequently mixed with them,and sought to realize 

 all the benefits of their experience, as well as of 

 his own. If such belief be not sheer madness, 

 it is, at least, the pitiable folly of those who arc 

 far too wise in their own conceit, cither to re- 

 ceive, or impart knowledge. As well might wo 

 expect, that the plants which are reared for hu- 

 naan sustenance, would yield their fruit without 

 human labor ; or that the aggregate products of 

 human industry, exercised in all the infinitely 

 diversified pursuits of life, would be found spon- 

 taneous in their present abundance, as that the 

 theory and practice of agriculture can be brought 

 10 perfection, or made even to approximate, in 

 any very profitable degree, towards it, unless 

 her sons can be prevailed upon to act more as a 

 body, movmg in harmonious concert — at least, 

 in regard to their great leading interests. In 

 other word?, they should serk opportunities of 



frequently meeting together ; of coni'erring. 

 consulting, and combining for the general good ; 

 of interchanging the results of individual experi- 

 ence and observation ; of encouraging by joint, 

 but voluntary contributions, such exhibitions as 

 we are now endeavoring to establish, with a 

 view to elicit all that is known among us, in re- 

 gard to the improvement of stock, of agricultu- 

 ral implements, of the various processes by 

 which the soil itself can be best cultivated, and 

 most effectually fertilized — and, in short, of do- 

 ing every thing in their power, to elevate, to 

 honour, and to perfect the profession to which 

 they are devoted. With siich views and objects, 

 always present to our minds, were we zealously 

 to pursue such a plan, for a few years, anil ex- 

 ert, for its promotion, all the agricultural talent 

 and information among us ; instead of the afflic- 

 ting prospect of deserted habitations, falling into 

 ruins — of fields, once under culture, but now 

 barren, desolate, and rarely trodden by the foot 

 of either man or beast; instead of frequently 

 having to undergo the pangs of separation from 

 our dearest friends and connexions, compelled 

 to seek, in distant regions, that sujiport which 

 our exhausted soil can no longeryield, we should 

 behold the heart-cheering, delightful spectacle 

 of a moral, industrious, well informed, and hap- 

 py population, gradually, but continually in- 

 creasing, in a ratio proportioned to the augment- 

 ed fertility of our lands, and the consequent ex- 

 pansion and multiplication of our agricultural 

 resources. We should no longer witness the 

 rapid depopulation of sever.il of the good old 

 United States from the operation of that ever 

 restless, erratic spirit, the general tendency of 

 which is, to convert civilized man into a kiml of 

 wandering Arab, a stranger to all the endearing 

 associations, connected with the words " native 

 home ;" always in search of new pastures for 

 his herds, new forests to subdue, and new fields 

 to wear out, as fast as the process of continually 

 exhausting culture can destroy them. For my 

 own part, I have always been strongly inclined 

 to doubt our moral right to pursue such a course; 

 for the same general law, acknowledged by all 

 rational men, which forbids us to abuse any of 

 the gifts of our beneficent Creator, and which 

 we willingly obey, in taking special good care 

 of the constitution of our bodies, ought to lead 

 us, I think, also to take care of the constitution 

 of our soil, as an essential means of attaining 

 the first object. A contrary course of conduct, 

 if pursued by all the nations of Ihe eartli, would 

 evidently have rendered the whole habitable 

 globe itself, in the course of a lew centuries, 

 inadequate to the support of its inhabitants. To 

 improve our agriculture, therefore, is a moral 

 duly, as well as a rational, agreeable and profit- 

 able occupation. In a political point of view, 

 there is nothing in this world, the contempla- 

 tion of which, can give higher animation to the 

 hopes of the true Statesman, and swell the bo- 

 som of the genuine patriot with more pleasing 

 anticipations of his country's prosperity and hap- 

 piness, than the prospect of^ realizing such a 

 state of society, as an agricultural people may 

 form and maintain, if they will only avail them- 

 selves of all the means which are naturally con- 

 nected with, and grow out of their pursuits, for 

 the promotion of knowledge and virtue ; for the 

 security and beneficent use of property ; and for 

 the permanent enjoyment of the highest degree 

 of earthly felicity, which social man is capable 



of attaining. — This, my Iricnds, is no romantic 

 vision ; no picture, the coloring of which is bor- 

 rowed from an imagination, loo sanguine, in re- 

 gard to what may be done, provided only propel 

 means are used, and assiduously applied, ll 

 would occupy more of our time than we can no' 

 spare, to attempt even a brief enumeration otf' 

 the-ifi means. Let it suffice for the present, thai 

 I earnestly entreat you to turn your attention of- 

 tener to the objects at wliich 1 have merelj '>' 

 hinted. There is nothing can afford us amplei *' 

 scope for improving rellection, nor any thin" 

 in which our temporal interests arc more deep- 

 ly concerned. 



Although the foregoing spccnlations may not 

 appear to have any immediate connexion with 

 the purposes of our present meeting, they have 

 been suggested by it ; and as long as I have the 

 honor to be connected with this society, 1 shall 

 ever deem it my duty, to press similar topicat 

 upon the attention of its members, on every suit- 

 able occasion. If they serve no other end, they 

 may aid in illustrating the relative importance 

 of the agricultural portion of our people, as a 

 component, and most material part of our 

 great body politic ; in awakening sutTicient vig- 

 ilance, to guard against encroachment on their 

 rights; and in rendering them more sensitive of 

 the too frequent attempts to legislate them into 

 mere "hewers of wood and drawers of water."' 

 .Vol ihat I mean to charge the authors of these 

 acts with designing such an effect; but if it be 

 really produced, the purity of their motives >"■ 

 would be but a poor alleviation of the evil. 



Let me now solicit your attention, for a few 

 minutes, to the particular objects of our present 

 meeting; and to an endeavor, brietly to point 

 out some of the many advantages resulting I'rom 

 such exhibitions; as well as lo suggest ^a tew 

 hints, in relation to the feelings and views of 

 those who attend them — either as mere specta- 

 tors, contributors, or competitors for distinction, (fi 



We all well know the slow progress made by ili 

 agricultural improvements, and the time wh.cli |t 

 always elapses, before they get into general use. n 

 Our scepticism, in this respect, exceeds that ' 

 even of St. Thomas himself; for we believe 

 nothing that we hear — and require not only to 

 see, and to feel, before we give any credit to 

 what we are told; but rarely then, act immedi- 

 ately upon our belief The History of the 

 Carey or Dagon Plough among us, furnishes as 

 remarkable an instance of this fact, as any that 

 I have ever known. The two first ever brought 

 to this town, remained in the stable yard of the 

 Indian Queen Tavern nearly a year, before any 

 one would even try them. During all this time, 

 they lay the objects of doubt and cunning suspi- 

 cion, to all the knowing ones, each fearing- to 

 meddle with them, lest he should render him- 

 self a mark of ridicule to the rest, for putting 

 any faith in so ill-looking a tool. And there 

 probably they would have continued for years, 

 ifan enterprising Yankee, then a resident here, 

 had not boldly resolved, at every risk, to 

 achieve the perilous adventure of making the 

 first trial. Even after he had demonstrated the 

 merit of this plough, i dare say it was nearly 

 ten years, before it was generally used in all the 

 contiguous parts of the country. Nearly a sim- 

 ilar fate has attended those superior ploughs, 

 which have been slowly superceding the Carey. 

 One principal reason, perhaps, of this may be, 

 that after our cobbling Smiths once get into a 



