180 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



DECEMBER 14. 1836 



AD3RESS 



Delivered before the Plymoulh County Agricullural 

 Society, at thfir Anniversary, held at Bridgewater, 

 Oct. 12th, 1836, by Rev. Mr Carll, of North Bridge- 

 water. , 



(Contmuea.) 



Mamifectui-es and Coinmerce predominate over 

 agi'iculture in tlie New England States ; affording 

 constant etnplnyinent for multitudes of people, 

 and funiisliing a ready market for the products of 



the soil. . 



We all know how much the value of an article 

 is enhanced hy the lahor hestowed upon the raw 

 material, and that this difference is the clear profit 

 of the manufacturer. A pound of cotton or silk, 

 which in its raw state costs hut a trifle, hy passing 

 through the hands of the artisan, is increased to 

 very many times its original cost. 



A pack of wool weighing 210 lbs. employs 200 

 persons before it is ready for sale in the form of 

 stuffs, cloths, &LC. To be made into stockings, it 

 will occupy 184 persons for a week ; viz. 10 comb- 

 ers, 100 spinners, winders, &c., 60 weavers, be- 

 sides dyers, presses, &e. 



A sword made of steel, the original cost of 

 which was not worth a shilling, is sometimes sold 

 for 300 guineas ; and a watch-chain hag produced 

 50 guineas, the metal of which, before it was 

 wrought was not wortli three pence. 



!n like manner, a yard of mechlin lace will 

 fetch 20 guineas, the flax in v/hich was not worth 

 three-pence. So likewise a painting, not two 

 yards square, has beea valued at $100,000 ; and a 

 shawl, which contains but a few (Uinces of wool, 

 sells for 60 or 80 guineas. 



A manufacturing community must therefore pos- 

 sess a great advantage, as regards profit, over the 

 grower of the raw material. 



There are advantages enjoyed hy a maritime 

 community that are peculiar, and which must al- 

 ways impart a decided superiority over those 

 which are inland. Access to a foreign market for 

 purposes of export, or for the import of those ar- 

 ticles which are the growth or manufacture of 

 other climates, may be mentioned among those 

 peculiar benefits. To exemplify this single fact ; 

 a ton of iron may be transported from Liverpool 

 to Boston, a distance of 3000 miles, for less than 

 would he the e.xpense of its land carriage a dis- 

 tance of 30 iTiiles. 



But there are privileges enjoyed by the New 

 England States of far greater weight and impor- 

 tance than those arising from any condition mere- 

 ly physical ; I mean those of a moral nature. As 

 regards education, the institutions of the; northern 

 1 States place her far beyond all competition as to 

 \ comparative advantages. As regards intellectual 

 moral and religious instruction, the general diffu- 

 sion of knowledge, the absence of distinctioBS aris- 

 ing from inequality of wealth, the advance to- 

 wards uniformity of manners and a national char- 

 acter, she is, at the least, a century in advance of 

 the great west. 



With respect to the middle section, embracing 

 the States of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jer- 

 :sey, Delaware and Maryland, it differs in many 

 important particulars from that of New England. 

 Its climate is more lenient, the cold season be- 

 ing three or fo-ir weeks shorter, though as regards 

 intensity and vwiahleness, nearly the same. Its 

 soil is more fertile, \iroducing all the bread stuffs 

 in great abundance, particularly Indian corn and 

 whiSJ." it i** "'so proiuctive in fruits, and the 



natural and artificial grasses. Its mineral treas- 

 ures of coal; iron, lime-stone, nwrl, &c., are of 

 graat and increasing value. 



The east."rn part of those States, lying upon the 

 sea-board, or imlented with noble bays and rivers, 

 enjoy the advantages of commerce, and are rap- 

 idly advancing in the establishment of manufac- 

 tures, for which they possess peculiar fteilities 

 from the vicinity of the coal region. In these 

 States, Agl-icnlture predominates over the two 

 other branches of industry, the western Bounties 

 being ainiort exclusively agricultural. 



In this middle section, the blessings of educa- 

 tion are not so generally diffused, and there is less 

 of uniformity of character and manners. A spirit 

 however, has been awakened, and measures for 

 the establishment of common schools are now 

 nearly on an equaly with New England. Every 

 year witnesses their progress, which will in 

 time, raise these States to an equality with New 

 England. Every year witnesses new accessions 

 to her institutions of learning, soine of which for 

 munificence of endowment, extensive and salutary 

 influence, will stand among the first in the coun- 

 try. In short, there is everything in the middle 

 States, that a reasonable being can desire: an 

 agreeable climate, fertile soil, an abundance of the 

 comforts and even luxuries of life within the reach 

 of industry and moderation, means for intellectual, 

 moral and social improvement ; and for the man 

 wlio is disposed to cultivate a spirit of content- 

 ment, there "is no deficiency of means. 1 would 

 therefore say to the man of this section, and es- 

 pecially if he tie the owner of a little farm, as I 

 would to the man of New England, improve what 

 you have, and be content. 



The southern section embraces the States of 

 Virginiji, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Missis- 

 sippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and the new state of 

 Arkansas. The climate of this section is warm, 

 its latitude corresponding with Barbary, and that 

 of lower Egypt, in Africa ; but in its productions, 

 with the south of Europe. 



At some seasons of the year, it is unhealthy ; 

 and the planters seek the inore salubrious air of 

 the north, during the summer months, to recruit 

 their wasted energies, occasioned by their enerva- 

 ting climate. This observation applies more es- 

 pecially to the vast alluvial tracts, which consti- 

 tute the eastern and southern portions, bordering 

 on the sea and on the gulf of Mexico ; the west- 

 ern portions of Virginia, the Carolinas and Ten- 

 nessee, being inountainous and healthful. 



The soil with the exception of pine lands on 

 the eastern coast is very fertile. 



The ]iroductions of this region differ from the 

 other sections ; coHsisting chiefly of cotton, rice, 

 sugar and tocacco. Manufactures will not prob- 

 ably be introduced to any great extent, so long as 

 the present system remains ; the nature of the pro- 

 ductions, and the kind of labor employed seem to 

 he incompatible with this great branch of human 

 industry. The influence of slavery and of climate 

 is very discernible in the habits and manners of 

 the people : they are high-minded, generous and 

 hospitable, but ardent in temperament, impatient 

 of restraint and contradiction, sudden and quick 

 in (piarrel, and exceeding sensitive on subjects re- 

 lating to their ]ieculiar institutions. 



These States have furnished many examples of 

 the most noble patriotism, of disinterested devo- 

 tion to the cause of freedom and of man, as well 

 as of intellectual energy ; and many heroes and 



sages, whose actions adorn the annals of our coun- 

 try, were nurtured under a southern aky, and u 

 southern influence. This was the home of Ma- 

 rion, of Marshall, of Jefferson, of Madison, and a 

 host of others,^and last, though not least, of our 

 beloved Washington, combining in himself tho 

 character of the hero, the statesman, and the en- 

 lightened agriculturist; " Fir&t in war, first ia 

 peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen." 



Here are many literary and scientific institu- 

 tions of great respectability, of increasing benefi. 

 cial influence, evincing that the cause of educa- 

 tion is appreeiated and encouraged. 



Let us now turn our attention to the west, the 

 ''great west," as it is called; the chief element,, 

 however, of its greatness at present, is its vast ex- 

 tent ; hut it is doubtless destined to become great 

 in other respects, and to exert a vast influence on 

 the political and moral destinies of our country. 



This extensive region comprises the States of 

 Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Mis- 

 souri, together with vast territories bordering on 

 the Lakes, the upper Mississippi and Missouri, and 

 extending beyond the Rocky Mountains. 



It lies, for the most part, in the parallel of the 

 Middle States, and in climate is similar in its gen- 

 eral character. It is subject to intermitting fe- 

 vers, and those diseases produced by Jliasma, 

 which are inseparable from new, partially diaiaed 

 and uncultivated regions. The' prevalence of 

 Miasma or Malaria, may be traced to the vast for- 

 ests, extensive swamjis, prairies and low grounds^ 

 undrained of stagnant water, and a moist rich soil> 

 the accumulation of ages, of decomposed vegeta- 

 ble matter ; in the warm season, the atmosphere 

 becomes loaded with poisonous vapor, ascending 

 from these situations, the inhaling of which must 

 produce disease and death. 



Hence it is that new comers must undergo the 

 process of acclimation, which often proves fatal. 

 I speak from experience ; I have visited the west 

 twice, during the warm season ; on both occa- 

 sions I experienced the fever incidental to the cli- 

 mate. To populous towns, such as Pittsburgh, 

 Cincinnati, Louisville, &c., these remarks do not 

 apply in their full extent. 



The soil of this country, for the most part, is 

 deep and of exceeding richness ; the vegetable 

 productions similar to those of the Middle States, 

 viz: the different grains, grasses, hemp, &c. 



As must naturally obtain, in every country of 

 recent settlement, the population is of a mixed 

 character, composed of men of every nation. 



Their literary and scientific institutions, and 

 system of common schools are of course, yet in 

 their infancy. The consequence is, that with the 

 exception of favored situations, such as villages 

 and ]iopulous neighborhoods, the children labor 

 under great disadvantages, 'i here are a few pla- 

 ces, such as the cities above mentioned, in which 

 academic instruction is quite equal to any in the 

 older States. 



There is a bright and a dark side to everything, 

 and every picture has its light and shade ; when 

 man is called upon lo make his election, he finds 

 that it is hut a choice of difiiculties at best. It is 

 agreed, that the western farmer, from the mellow- 

 ness and fertility of the soil, can cultivate his farm- 

 with less labor than he can here ; he is exempted 

 from the trouble of manuring his land, which is 

 laborious and expensive, and his land produces, 

 abundantly ; but from that very circumstance the 

 produce is diminished in value. Here, on the 



