in 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER 



Vd-L. t 



LAST SPEECH OF JUDGE Bl'EL. 



The f.)!low:ii3 ex'.ric'.a arc from the AJdrees deliv- 

 ersd before ihe Xew-IIaven Cjuaty Agricultoial ard 

 Hirticuhural SJcieties, Stptember aSih, la39, by the 

 H.jn. JioSE ButL, whoBi lamented d.;ath to jk place at 

 Danbury, the lollowing week. 



I api)car here, g nili-'mtn, by invitation, to address 

 you o.i ih'J ciiltivaiion of the s.jil, which it ,8 the object 

 of the o88.)Ciat.one here cjn'.eiicd to promote iniiirovc- 

 inent in. 1 have been prompted in the undertaking, 

 rnihcr by a ila/irc tj render a sjivice, than from a con- 

 fidence m my ubdiuj to perform one ; and in the few 

 remarks 1 have t.) oilLr, ehiiil need nnich of your indul- 

 gence, for defect in a'.yie and delicicncy in matter. 



Agriculture and Horticulture are intimately related 

 ' to each other. They both depend upon the soil, ami 

 animals and plan'.s which it nunuics, for B-upport, 

 fur profit, and for plcr.8:,ie. They both adrnin.etet, and 

 are ind spensable, to our wanls and condbiis. Thty 

 ore govern 'd in their operations by the same na'.urul 

 laws. Agriculture has cognizance of the turm, which 

 Bupplies our prmcpnl wants: lloiticuiturc, ol the gar- 

 den, which admin. slers to our nioie relmcd apptt;tC8, 

 to our health, and to the ralioiial plccsir^sof the mind. 

 The oni gives us bread and meal, and the mnlerialsfor 

 our clothing ; the other, the thoice delicacies for the ta- 

 ble, and mullipli. s around us the charms ol lloral beau- 

 ty and rural scenery. IJjth tend to beget bal.i.s of use- 

 ful indusliy and s ibcr rellection, and to improve ue in 

 all the Bjcial relatrons of life. It is belitting, therefore, 

 that institutions designed to foster and promote im- 

 provements in these primary and aseoc ate branches ol 

 labor, should unite in their aiiniversnry celebration, and 

 in returning thanks to the Supreme Being, lor the 

 bounties of a fruitful season. 



Of the utility of thee-- celebrations, and exhibitions of 

 the products of the farm and gaiden which are made at 

 them, I have no kind of doubt. They bring to public 

 notice whatever is new and most valuable, in a bus ness 

 ■which highly interes-.e us. They perform the work ol 

 years, in dill'nsing useful knowledge in all the depart- 

 ments of rural labor. They awaken, in the besoms of 

 hundreds, the dormant powers of the nnnd, which oth- 

 erwise migh have slumbered in apathy. They e.\citc 

 to industry, emulation, and to the study of those laws 

 which every where control the visible creation, and 

 which enlighten and reward ail who humbly seek and 

 follow iheir counsels. Nor is it the cultivatcr o( 

 the firm and garde n alone that are to be benelited by 

 thes J exhibitions. Whatever tends to incrciise and im- 

 prove the products of the soil, serves to augment the 

 common s'.ock, and enables the grower to supply the 

 market with more and better ptoducts, and to buy more 

 liberally of theoLher classes in return. The merchant, 

 and the manufdcturer, the mechanic, and the proles- 

 Bional man, have all, therefore, as deep an interest m 

 promoting the imprjvement of agncuhureand horticul- 

 ture, as the firnur and girdener have. Society is in 

 Bome measure ajniiit conc^arn, at least so far as relates 

 to whatare termed theproJucingcla8s._s; the more these 

 earn by their labor, the greater ,e tbeaeceeelon of sub- 

 Btaniial wealth to the eomnuinity. The amount of 

 honey in a hive, depends not upon the number of bees 

 which it contains, but upon the labor and sliill of the 

 toorking he.s. The farmer virtually provides for the 

 other classes, and is at the same time their princijial 

 patron and customer ; and although his labois are too 

 often held to be low and menial, by these who cannot 

 or will not appreciate their value, his condition alibrds 

 the best er.ter.on by wh ch to judge of the wcli'are of 

 those around him. No country cr.n long flour. sh, or 

 prcs:;rve its m.").-al and phys C'd health, whosj agricul- 

 ture IS neglected and degraded. — Tlie amont of a farm- 

 er's sniea, and of his purehtiesa, will depend upon the 

 Burplus pr iducta of his firm, and upon the prol.ts ol h s 

 labor. Dmble these by an impr.ived sye'.em of hus- 

 banJr/, which I feel assured can be done, and which 

 has been far mora ihnn realized, in many old districts 

 of our country, an 1 you v.-iil dnulile the si.bstiintlal 

 wealth of the ncighbtrhLiod, and imjiart coricEponding 

 lifj and activity to every other department of business. 

 If we look to S,)a n, to Portugal, to a great portion of 

 Italy, to S lulh Am:rlcn, or any other country where 

 agriculture is neglected, or holds but a subord.nntc rank, 

 we shall lind a degraded population, characterized by 

 Buperelitious ignorance, poverty, and crime. Every 

 class of the comiaunlty, therefire, has a deep interest 

 in promoting the impr.iveinent of the sod ; pnd all 

 should willingly contribute their aid towarilo enlight- 

 en ng, honoring, and rewarding thos; who ore honest- 

 ly employed in its cu'tivation. » • . 



The great obstacles to horticultural improvement 

 are ign-irnncc of the relative merits of different kinds" 

 of fru tB and cuUnaiy vefyetab^ca, and of tba proper 

 aa»di( of tul'.lTBtiRj and fT?pnring th»ra Iit ihf table. 



The generality of country gardens exhibit but a seanty 

 assortment ol vegetable productions, and these are tut 

 bjdiy cultivated, and oiien ofinfeiior i.uality. The 

 tendency of horticuitur^il exhibitions ie, to show the 

 good and bail in contrast, or rather to promulgate a 

 know ledge of the better sons, of their culture and use 

 — to e.xcite useful competition, and to denionstrato the 

 utility of garden culture, os a source ol health, pleasure, 

 and prolit. 1 have had many fruits presented to me, 

 which the donors considered of the hist quality, Lut 

 which I found, on compar 8)n, to be of secondary, or 

 infeiior grade. The man who has seen or tested only 

 inferior liulie, moy well mistake them for good ones. 

 It is as ccsy t j cultivate good fruits os bed ones ; and 

 no one cats 80 good fiuasas he who cultivates iheiii 

 himself. It is as toey to cultivate the vergaleu as it is 

 the choke pear ; the green gage as it is the heirse plum; 

 and yet the d.ilerence between them, in all the qualities 

 which we most esteem, is inconi| arably great. But 

 until we can show our neighbor Letter liu.te, he wdi 

 continue to cultivate and rest content w.th his choke 

 peiir and hoise plum. 



W.th regard to what is termed ornamental garden- 

 ing, or the cult.val.on of llowcring shrul s and planla, 

 there is an objectieii, real or'aliected, of'en made by 

 very many people, on the ground that it yields no prof t. 

 If the great object of life was to accumulate money, 

 without enjoying any of the cemfuita which it confers, 

 save the gratihcat on of animal appetite, the objection 

 would be conclusive. But we are endowed With other 

 and higher appetltLS than the ineie biute ; and I'lovi- 

 denee has every where suriounded us with euitnble 

 objects for their developement, and innocent gratiheo- 

 ti m. And thcll we reject the pioIic?red bcnefaclion to 

 kindly tendered for our benclit, because it adds nothing 

 to our pelf 1 And what is there in the natural creaiion, 

 better ealculated to toften down the rough asperities of 

 our na'.uie, to awaken kind leelings towaids each oth- 

 er, and excite leverenee ond love lor the Mo>t High, 

 than o fami.iar ociiuain.ance with the wonders and 

 beauliea ef His vegetable kingdom 1 Did you ever 

 know a misanthrope, or a mieer, v\ho was an admirei 

 of flowers ? 1 woulel not recommend the neglect ol 

 moie important duties for the cultuie ol a flower gar- 

 den : yet when there is ability or leicuie, and these 

 moy be found to a greater or le^s extent in alniofct eve- 

 ry lamily, a taste for lloial beauties should be inculca- 

 ted in the young, not only as a tource of rational plea- 

 btiie, but a:^ a salutary precaution against bad conipan- 

 ions and bod hobite. The minil niu-.t be employed, 

 and must have recreation. It is better to direct it to 

 the woiksof the Cicator than to the works of man. 

 Lord Bacon has said of the garden, " it aflurds the 

 purcot of human pleasuret — the gieate: t refiehment 

 to the spirits of man — without which, buildings ond 

 palaces are but groee handiwoiks." * ** 



Among the canoes which have e;-seniially contribu- 

 ted to thede.eiioiatiun of our lanele, and the coiifequent 

 de])rcc6ion of uur ogiicultuie, 1 consider the following 

 as prominent : 



Ignoiance i>( ihe principles of agriculture ; 

 The want of a tuihcient outlay iit the management 

 of our farms ; and 



The low eitimation in which the employment has 

 been held by all cla^ee,-, including farmers themtelves, 

 Agiiculture has too generally been considered a bu- 

 eincea reqtiiring mere pbye'ical power, with which the 

 |ii inciplej of natuial science had little or nothing to do. 

 To plough, sow, ond gather the croi>, has teen the 

 general routine of farming operation:, regardless of 

 the poverty which our jiraetice was inflicting u,}on the 

 soil and upon our children. Like the leekless heir of 

 wealth, we found ouiselves in pocscsbion of a treasure; 

 and without inquiring for what purpoje it came into 

 our hands, or realizing our obligation.^ to hu-band and 

 preserve it, for others, we have fiquandercd it lavi-hly, 

 through our ign nance or our folly. True, we have 

 been occationully admonished of our error by the 

 schoolmen ; who, wrapped in abstract science, aiul 

 kn.jwing lit'.le practically of its opplication to husband- 

 ry, have aa often tended to confu e aitd myclify, as to 

 enlighten and instruct. Hence the prejudice which 

 has ari-;en against book-farming. But science and art 

 are now uniting their labor?, and are deriving mutual 

 oitl from each other, oit the ftirm, aa they have for eome 

 time been tloing in the manufactory and in the shop of 

 the ai tii:an. A new era is dawning upon the vision of 

 the farmer ; new light ia illuming hie path, and a new 

 intereat and new pleneures are ttrging him on to im- 

 provement. He begina to study the laws which Prov- 

 idence has ordained for the government of improved 

 culture, an;i he flnds in their applicatiioi to his liibors, 

 the means ol increac^ing proflts aiul high inlellcntual 

 cnj'iymcnt. And the more he studies ond is guided 

 by those lawv, the more d:>e3 he become satiefie 1 of 

 former errors, ard of bis comparative limited sphere 

 of u9?fiilneT«. Sri^ncB i^ probably capable of render- 



ing more impoilant Ecrvicea to hui^bandry than to any 

 other blanch of labor, ond presents a wider held of 

 useful ttudy to the cultivator of the toil, than to aity 

 other cloos of bociety. 



The dehcicncy in farming capital, or rather the 

 stinginess with which cajiital is employed in impioving 

 and maintaining the condition of our lands, is another 

 cause of declension in the i reifits and chatacte; of eur 

 agricultuie. The farmer is loo prone to mvet 1. is (.ur* 

 plus means in &omc new business, or in adding to bis 

 acres, inoteaiL,,"' .iiiplyiftg them to inciease the prolita 

 of his labor (nid the products of bio faun, lie either 

 works more land than he can work well ond profitably, 

 or he diverts to other objects the means which would 

 yield a better leturn if apidied to the improvement of 

 the farm. He is apt tocontidcr twenty or thiity dol- 

 lars an cnorn.ous and wasteful cutlay upem on oera of 

 land, or upon a choice cninial ; ond yet the interest of 

 this tiutlay will be ten limes f aid by the increoce of 

 the onimal ; and in most cates the principal also wib 

 be returned to him in the couree of two or three years. 

 Many of the most thriving fanners in seulhern New 

 Yerk, New Jersey, and Pennsylvonia, make a quad, 

 rennial expenditure of twenty dollars or more to mo 

 nuie on acie ; and it has beeome a maxim with them, 

 that the more the ouday for manure, the greater the 

 net prolit of their InnJs. But it is not the outlay for ma- 

 nure alone, that demands a libeial expenditi!ie of cap- 

 ital. Gooel seed, good farm stock, and gaod imple- 

 ment?, ore all e.-seniial to the economy of labor, and 

 to neat and p'lolitoble farming. And I think it will 

 appear fiom the caees 1 have quoted, that in many lo- 

 cauone, capital may be very ad\Bnlagci'Ut-ly employed 

 in reclaiming wet and marohy grounds, generally rich 

 and the mo^t productive when laid dry. 

 y When our cattle grow lean, and threaten lo disap- 

 point cur hopea of prolit, we elo not hc.iiate to imput* 

 the evil to the want o( food, or to inattention in the 

 herdsman. And if we are piudent mangers we at 

 once groduate our Etock to our fjod, knowing that one 

 well led animal is of more value in the market, than 

 two onimala that carry but skin and bones, and tako 

 care that the food is propely fed out. When our cropo 

 become lean, we need not he. iiate lo ascribe the do- 

 crease in product to like cause- — want of food, or want 

 of attention in the farmer ; and prudence and proflt in 

 like manner require, that our crops, like our animal?, 

 should be limited to the food and tabor which we have 

 to bestow upon them. In other words, on acre well 

 manured and well worked, will be found to be more 

 prolitable than four pour acres badly woiked. 



I may be here Ocked, from whence are lo be obtain- 

 ed the vast supplies of manure requisiie lo manuie our 

 old lands ? I answer, from a multiplicity of sources I 

 around us — from e\ery onimal ond vcgetatble tub ( 

 stance wi.hin cur reach. Nothing that ha.s once been 

 part of an animal or vegetable, but can be converted 

 into corn, graa.o, and roots. 1 think 1 may asEume as 

 facts, that upon on average, not half the manure ia 

 saved upon our farms that might he, and ibis moiety 

 is holf lo.:l before it is opplied to the soil. Every horfcc, 

 ox, or cow, vvinteicd ujion ihe form, if well fed, ond 

 lif.eieJ with the tttaw, tloike, &c. , of the crop, should 

 make from six to ten cords ol geied manuie. Dr. Co- 

 ventry, late professor of agiieuliUiC at Ediiibuigh, es- 

 timated that the straw of an ordinals acre of grain, 

 tvmputed at 21 cwt., may be converted by the urine 

 and liquids of ihe stables and cattle yards, into thiet 

 and a half tons of manure ; that meadows that cut one 

 and a half tuns of hoy, will give four tona of manuie 

 clover, the first year, six toiaa, and the second yen' 

 five and a half tons per acre ; and that with the exti.i 

 neous eubetaneea which may, with due coie, be col 

 Iceled without expense froin ihe loads, the ditches, tin 

 ponds, and from refucc of e\ciy kind obout the hoes: 

 and premises, the ocreoble omount fhould be omj li 

 eullieient for a full supply of manure once during evci ; 

 course of the four years system of bucbandry. Arihu 

 Young, with fix borscs, four cows, ond nine hogs 

 which ce-nsiimcd sixteen locda of hay and Iwcntv-nini 

 loads of straw, obtained 118 loads of manure, oti bush 

 e's to each ; and from 45 falling oxen, well fed ani 

 liueied, GOO tons of rotten manure. But an Amen 

 cin lawyer, ond an cxeelcnt practical larmcr withal 

 bos gone beyond these ejtimates. I visited bis laim 

 lew weeks ago, which lies upon the sea shore. It con 

 pists of obout yOO acres, most of which was in a cotire ' 

 ol crops. The crops of ihe season had all received ri 

 ample supply of manure, os their oppearance indicate 

 — and yet I woe ebeiwn mnstes of well prepored com 

 post, in reserve, consisting of yard manure, peat a. ho? 

 sea weed, and fish — estimated at twenty-five bundrei 

 loads — all produicd upon his own farm. 



The third obstacle lo agricuUural improvement 

 which I jiropose lo notice, is the subordinate rank t 

 which this employment bos been consigned, ond t 

 which the farmers tbemaelves hove eontribtited, by 



