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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED DEFORE THE ESSEX ACRICILTCRAI. SO- 

 CIETT, AT THE AORICl^I-TURAI. EXIIIBITIO.V IN 

 TOPSFIEMI, OCT. 2, lC2i. BV PETER EATON, D. D. 

 OK nOXFORD. 



It is evident from the constitution of man, it 

 was the orlsfinal design of Providence, lie sliould 

 derive his subsistence from the earih. Want 

 soon impelled him to rejiair to this nourisliin? 

 parent. Tilling the ground was an art not un- 

 known to the rirst human family. Where man 

 has existed in the most rude and savage state, 

 the chase has been a favorite pursuit. This, 

 however, alTords a precarious and sometimes a 

 scanty support. In proportion as civilization 

 has spread, and a knowledge of the arts been 

 cultivated, agriculture has claimed attention. — 

 Its progress was slow and inconsiderable in the' 

 early ages. Every thing was to be originated. 

 There were no hints by which to profit — no 

 rude instrument on which to improve — nothing 

 to aid and direct inventive genius. Hence, the 

 instruments of husbandry were very imperfect ; 

 yet necessity, the parent of invention, led to the 

 discovery of some of most essential use. 



Sicily »vas the first state in which agriculture 

 attained any considerable improvement. It was 

 here, also, religious rites were first instituted in 

 honor of Ceres, the goddess of husbandry. — 

 From this country a knowledge of the art was 

 carried into Greece and the northern parts of 

 Europe. In the early ages of Rome, relaxation 

 from the toils of war was frequently devoted to 

 the cultivation of the soil. The high and the 

 low, the patrician and the plebeian were united 

 in the same employment. All distinctions of 

 rank were lost in the field. Those of the first 

 standing in society might be seen toiling with 

 the peasant. Not only nations the most civilized, 

 bui even those the least cultivated and improv- 

 ed, have considered agriculture the most impor- 

 tant of the arts of life, because it provides for 

 the support of life. To do honor to the em- 

 ployment, and encourage the pursuit, Roman 

 dictators followed the plough ; and the emperor 

 of China, with the grandees of his empire, 

 make an annual appearance in the field, to sac- 

 rifice to their god, that he may be rendered 

 propitious to the labors of the husbandman. — 

 But it is not my purpose to trace the progress 

 «f the art. I would contemplate it as it now 

 exists. 



Gentlemen, I feel incompetent to the task as- 

 signed me, possessing neither that theoretical or 

 practical knowledge necessary to furnish me for 

 the occasion. As I have gleaned but sparingly 

 from experience, and not had opportunity to 

 consult the writings of those who have attended 

 fcicntilically to the subject, you may expect 

 only a few common-plnce remarks. 



No country holds out greater allurements 

 to agricultural pursuits than the United States. 

 Nature has obviously designed this for a great 

 farming nation. With a population spread over 

 a vast extent of territory — blessed with a soil 

 lich and fertile — the inhabitants distinguished 

 lor hal)its of industry and perseverance — the 

 •■.ountry intersected with rivers and canals, open- 

 ing a free communication with the sea-coast, 

 vfhicb skirts our whole border — our merchants 

 surpassed by none for calculation and enterprise 

 — with ports open to all nations — we have ev- 

 ery possible encouragement to nourish and im- 

 prove the arts of agriculture, it is the life of 



our commerce, and commerce richly repays the 

 industrious husbandman. Too often has there 

 existed a spirit of jealousy and rivalship, be- 

 tween the commercial and agricultural interests. 

 They are as intimately connected in this coun- 

 try as cause and effect. England is a commer- 

 cial nation, but of produce she is ot'ten a pur- 

 chaser. It is her manufactures that cherish her 

 commerce. In America, it is the farm which 

 gives activity to commerce, and commerce 

 which makes the farmer rich. Though agri- 

 culture is of vital importance to the prosper- 

 ity of our country, yet from its first settlement, 

 till a recent period, this art has been left to it- 

 self, neglected and unencouraged, and been un- 

 der the management of those who reflected 

 nothing more on the subject, than just sufficient 

 to perform the manual labor on the farm. Either 

 from a want of ability or inclination, few have 

 inquired, whether there was any defect in our 

 sj'stem of husbandry, or whether it was suscep- 

 tible of improvement. Hence the same annnal 

 routine of service has been performed on the 

 farm — the son following the footsteps of the 

 father, and continuing to cultivate the same 

 field, because his father had done it before him. 



We congratulate our country, that societies 

 are forming in every section of the Union — 

 that gentlemen of talents and acquirements are 

 lending their aid to this neglected art, endeav- 

 oring to discover the defects of our system, and 

 by experiments to ascertain the improvements 

 of which it is susceptible. Much has already 

 been done, an almost certain evidence more 

 may be done, and sure pledge it will not be left 

 undone. 



So inconsiderable is the gain of husbandry, so 

 laborious the employment, as to present little 

 inducement to young men, of talents and knowl- 

 edge, to engage in the pursuit. The enterpris- 

 ing youth looks around him for the lucrative 

 employment, by which he may raise himself to 

 affluence and ease. The only reward agricul- 

 ture promises to the most persevering industry, 

 is little more than a bare support. A further 

 discouragement is, it has been considered a 

 menial employment, less honorable than other 

 occupations ; and the sentiment has obtained, 

 that nothing more is necessary to make a far- 

 mer, than a vigorous constitution and a robust 

 body. Never was there a conclusion more er- 

 roneous. The inference that any man is qual- 

 ified to manage a farm, is as absurd, as that any 

 man is qualified to manage a ship at sea. It re- 

 quires careful observation, sound judgment and 

 a discerning mind. In every other art and trade, 

 practice and experience are thought indispensa- 

 ble ; and is no skill necessary in conducting the 

 complicated concerns of a farm? The practical 

 attention now paid to husbandry, the lively in- 

 terest taken in the subject by gentlemen of hon- 

 orable standing in society, have a tendency to 

 raise the reputation of this too often despised 

 profession. 



In commendation of this employment, it 

 may be observed, it is favorable to morals, 

 health of body, and vigor of mind. It is friend- 

 ly to morals, not presenting those temptations 

 to deception and fraud, nor affording opportu- 

 nities for imposition, nor inviting to the prac- 

 tice of that chicanery, to which some other 

 employments hold out a lure. The time of the 

 farmer is devoted to himself. He labors in 

 the clear light of heaven ; and if he cheat bis 



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farm, he cheats himself Besides, he is babit« <^ 

 ually conversant with objects, which cannot fai| 

 to conduct his mind to that Being, who super- 

 intends, directs and governs all. 



This employment conduces to health of body, 

 Some mechanic arts and manufacturing estab- C 

 lishments are debilitating in their influence 

 They produce a sickly body and enfeebled 

 mind. The farmer breathes a pure, uncontam- 

 inated air; and if his day is toilsome, his rest 

 is sweet. To no one class of men are we more 

 indebted for our independence, than the hardy 

 yeomanry of our country. From this class 

 were selected some of your ablest gener.Ms and 

 bravest soldiers; and on this class, more than 

 any, rests our hope for its preservation. 



Nor will it be said that husbandry is unfavor- 

 able to mental vigor. If we do not find, nor 

 should we expect to find, those literary acquire- 

 ments and general information which obtain 

 among some classes in the communitv, yet 

 where do we meet with sounder sense and 

 judgment, and greater intellectual vigor, thaa 

 among our industrious farmers? 



The great principles of agriculture are the 

 same in every country ; and the plough, the 

 hoe and the harrow are of essential use : yet, so 

 various the climate and the soil, as in some re- 

 spects to require a different process. One na- 

 tion cannot adopt the precise system of another 

 Labor is of the first importance in conducting 

 a farm. In old countries, with a dense popula- 

 tion, where it is much cheaper than in Ameri- 

 ca, undertakings may be justified, and attempts 

 at improvement made, which might prove ruin- 

 ous with us. The disproportion between the 

 price of labor and produce, is a bar in the wav 

 of agricultural success. The large extent ol 

 our unsettled territory, blessed with a salubri- 

 ous air and fertile soil, where a farm may be 

 obtained for a trifle, renders it probable this dis- 

 proportion will long continue. As one country 

 cannot take another for a perfect model in agri- 

 cultural pursuits ; incur own, so different our 

 climate and soil, that the South and the North 

 cannot adopt the same process ; and even in the 

 state of Massachusetts, so Tarious our local sit- 

 uations, that each section must adopt a system, 

 in some respects peculiar to itself. 



The society, which I now have the honor ol 

 addressing, while desirous of diffusing informa. 

 tion and of encouraging the interests of agricul 

 ture in general ; yet in its formation and in the 

 progress of its measures, has had a primary re 

 garJtothe advantage of the county of Essex. As 

 every district in the Commonwealth has its ad- 

 vantages and disadvantages, the soil various, and 

 that article may be cultivated in one, unsuited to 

 another ; it would be for the interest of husbandry 

 in general, that societies should be as numerous as 

 our districts. Even in the county in which we 

 dwell, certain portions enjoy advantages denied 

 to others. Farms located near populous towns, 

 or the sea shore, can be furnished with manure, 

 with greater facility than in the country. Gen- 

 eral principles in agriculture may be establish- 

 ed and recommended, but specific rules are as 

 various as the location of farms, which the 

 judgment and discretion of the manager must 

 search out and prescribe for himself. 



The farms in this county (with exception^ 

 not numerous) consist of from forty to an hun- 

 dred and forty acres of land. In experiments 

 land researches, is not special reference to be 



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