170 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



DBCEMBER 7, 1«?6. 



some filled with aliiiriinc, otliirs witlisilex, otliei;! 

 with [carhonir oC] lime, nil [)iire, has made jilants 

 to grow, of wliich the Imriiiiiij has yiilded to 

 analysis like results; niid whieh, consequently, 

 contained earths which were not in the soils 

 which bore them. 



ADDRESS 



Delivered before the Pljmoulli County Acrlculniral 

 Society, at thpir Anniversary, hfdd at BridgPvvHler, 

 Oct. 12ih, 1836, by Rev. Mr Carll, of North'^Bridge- 

 water. 



It is with extreme diffidence, that I now under- 

 take to address an asseiidily composed of scien- 

 tific and practical agricultn lists. These feelings 

 are quite natural to oDe, who is coiM(>aratively 

 ignorant even of the, theory of tlie subject, and 

 ulniost entirely so, as rftgards any prnctical know- 

 ledge. I have nothinp: to plead in extenuation, in 

 accepting the polite invitation to address you on 

 this occasion, and Ijy such acceptance occupying 

 the place of others, far better qualified, hut a deep 

 consciotisness of the great utility of this mdde 

 branch of huin-an industry, and a profound re- 

 sjiect for that .jlasa of my fdiow-citizens, who 

 are engagr-d in jt. 



lj«<ier these impressions, the office of instruc- 

 aion, ns regards qualities of soil, influence of 

 climate, chemicsi'. action of manures, and modes 

 •of cultivation, \vould in me, be presumptuous ; 

 these subjects, confessedly itnjiortant, must there- 

 fore, be left to I'liosc who are l)etter qualified from 

 exprience to sjieak of them. 



Mine shall bo the more humble office, of treat- 

 ing the sid)jeot in a very general manner, by tak- 

 ing a rapid view of the different sections of our 

 vast country, glancing cursorily at the difference 

 of climate, soil and f)roductions, and more espe- 

 cially at the comparative advantages of these 

 distinctly marker! divisions, with the ultimate 

 view of demonstrating, that the blessings of lite 

 are very equally distributed ; that every situi'tion 

 h.HS its advantages and disadvantages; and that it 

 is .'n vain for men to seek that by change of place, 

 -^_iiii.-li can alone be found within their own 



'11)6 blessings anU comforts of life, are much 



■more eijii'''".v distributed than men generally seem 



willing to .Hcknowledge ; like the blessed light of 



.the sun, whii'li is difl^used by the munificent hand 



loC our Creator, in eqiu\\ portions, though unequal 



.djvisious, over every portion of the globe, to the 



polar as well as the tquatoii.il legions, shining 



alike on the evil and on the good ; so the blessings, 



the comforts and' conveul.ences of life, are not 



confined to any portion oi*" the great family of 



man, or monoplized exciusiv ely by any cl;i.ss of 



men. 



God has so ordained, that his best gifts shall 

 not be dependent, so much upon external circum- 

 stances, as upon the inteilia! condition and temiier 

 of the mind ; nor l)e sidijected to those outward 

 changes, which are incidental and fortuitous. 

 Content waits at the door of every man, and 

 knocks from time to time for adiuittance, but 

 when her presence is disregarded, or when the 

 house is preoccupied by guests of a discordant 

 and uncongenial character, her summons is not 

 answered ; the invitation to enter is reserved for 

 the summons of wealth, ambition, or by some 

 phantasy, clothed by our imagination with the 

 attributes of substance and reality, who points 



with her finger to some distant region, some oasis, 

 exempt from clouds and storms, a promised land 

 where flowers are in perpetual bloom, where 

 fields are 0[>pressed with spontaneous harvests, 

 and nothing is required from man, but to eat, drink 

 and be merri/. 



" Know thyself," is an important maxim, for 

 whilst a man continues ignorant of himself^ he 

 remains ignorant of the nature of that object, 

 which of all others, it is most useful for hitn to 

 pursue ; he will grasp at that, which when at- 

 tained, wi!l perish in his grasp, and which will 

 consequently end in dis.ippointment, because he 

 will make a wrong estimate of tlie relative value 

 of the various objects iiresented to his choice. 



" A man's life, consisteth not in the abundance 

 of the things, which be possesseth." It undoubt- 

 edly ought, and in a well regidated mind, it will 

 be a stable and uniform principle of action, to 

 perform the duties of our respective stations in 

 society, as a ruling end and object; where this 

 principle is conscientiously acted upon, all things 

 needful will follow in their proper order and 

 course. But when we regard any other object 

 as the supreme good, we contravene the laws of 

 Providenr* ; we take the reins into our own 

 hands, and we ex()erieiice the bitter fruits of 

 our mistaken choice as the necessary conse- 

 quence. 



The mind of an individual, or of a whole com- 

 munity, would be in the most perfect stale of 

 order, attainable here, in this world, if goodness 

 or virtue was regarded as the primary object of 

 respect and veneration, if its influence was para- 

 mount and the chief end and aim of man. 



1'here are Ihrte objects of universal pursuit or 

 regard among men ; and in proportion as the in- 

 fluence of either prevails as a governing [u-inci- 

 ple, it will indicate the state and character of that 

 country or community in which it prevails ; I 

 mean the influence of Birth, of Jf'ealth, and ol 

 Talent. 



In a country, in which there is a class or order 

 of nobility, the pride of birth vvill predominate, 

 and exert an influence even beyond that of wealth. 

 But if this class, which probably had its origin 

 in virtue and merit, becomes corrupt and degen- 

 erate, it exercises a most |)ernicious influence 

 upon all classes of society, in the country in 

 which it prevails, and must, in the nature of 

 things, sooner or later, work its own cure. No 

 country can long e.xi.tt with a corrupt nobility ; 

 because the very fountain of those influences 

 which descends to every subordinate class is per 

 verted, anil infuses poison into those smaller 

 streams into which it flows! 



In a country wherj iveallh sways the public 

 mind, and exercises a predominant power, the 

 condition of the people is corrupt and base, but 

 not in that degree exhibited by the former. It is 

 corrupt, because an undue deference for the for- 

 tunate po.ssessor of riches, for men, who pride 

 themselves on their possessions, the mere purse- 

 |iroud man, or the pursuit of it as a paramount 

 objo(rt, is a sordid and despicable feeling, unwor- 

 thy of a man ! And because its exclusive pur- 

 suit, is essentially disorderly, arising out of a state 

 of society wholly artificia', and based upon a 

 false estimate of ihe relative value of things. A 

 man may succeed in realizing the possession of 

 \' ealth, if he has the requisite industry, persever- 

 ance and eagerness; these are the chief qualitie- 

 vvhich need to be called into exercise; for its ab- 



sorbing nurstiit necessarily excludes the nobler 

 ami more exalted sentiments of our nature. It is 

 a common saying, that a fool can make money, 

 btit it requires a wise man to keep it; I do not 

 subscribe to this maxim ; a fool can make money, 

 and a fool keeps it, but a wise man will make a 

 proper and judicious vse of it ! 



In a ctmntry where talent is regarded as of 

 [uitnary importance, and its influence is felt and 

 respected as supeiior either to birth or wealth, 

 we may look for a better state of things, because 

 talent be'ongs te a superior degree, and manifests 

 itself in the various departments of useful indus- 

 try ; and although its exercise may sjiring from a 

 selfish and sordid motive, still its influence is of 

 a more diffusive character, regards the well-being 

 of man, and tends to equalize benefits. 



But in a country where birth, wealth and talent 

 are considered of minor importance ; where they 

 are estimated neither above nor below their true 

 worth and value, but are put in their proper place ; 

 where goodness or virtue is prized as the most 

 precious gift of heaven, and the most desirable of 

 all ac(|uirements ; where the jjeople have minds 

 capable of discerning its transcendant excellence, 

 and hearts willing to acknowledge its blessed in- 

 fluence, there will be found men living in the 

 order of providence ; men, who have no need to 

 travel out of themselves in search of a promised 

 land! 



The inclinations, habits and pursuits of men 

 arc various ; and th s variety of tastes and ten- 

 dencies, together with the claims of society, give 

 rise to all the various occupations and branches 

 of industry now in practice. These in general 

 are, Jlgi-icuUure, Mantifactures ar\<l Commerce ; the 

 business of instruction, the learned professions 

 and the fine arts, and the large class of ])ersons 

 eneaged in trade. To these may be added spec- 

 ulators, besides drones and criminals. 



Human society, as regards branches of indus- 

 try, may be com))ared to a stujiendous column, 

 agriculture forming the broad and noble base, 

 manufactures the shaft, commerce the capital, 

 whilst the learned professions and the fine arts 

 con.stilute its rich and beautiftil ornaments ; drones 

 and criminals are the excrescences or cobwebs 

 which gather round and mar its fair proportions, 

 but which are destined to be swept away by those 

 better influences which a purer state and order of 

 things will produce ! 



Our country, that fair portion of the globe 

 called Ihe United States, occupies a middle posi- 

 tion on the northern continent of America ; em- 

 braced between the parallels of 30 and .50 degrees 

 and stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific 

 ocean, having the British possessions on the north, 

 and those of Mexico luul Central .America on the 

 south. Large inland seas, of fresh water from its 

 northern boundary, affording great facilities for 

 intercommunication, whilst its central parts are 

 intersected by vast ranges of moimtains, and per- 

 vaded I y numerous streams and rivers of surpas- 

 .-^ing length, watering interminable valleys of inex- 

 haustible fertility. 



This extensive refjlon is divided into four great 

 sections distinctly marked, no less by difference 

 of climate, soil and productions, than by the cus- 

 toms, habits, and manners of their respective in- 

 habitants ; viz. the northern, the middle, the 

 southern, and the western. Each of these sec- 

 tions, will, upon examination, be found to possess 

 advantages peculiar to itse.f, advantages amply 



