278 MY FARM. 



the fattening of fine beeves, but whether the life and 

 the rural occupations offer verge and scope for the 

 development of his culture whether land and land- 

 scape will ripen under assiduous care into graces that 

 will keep his attachment strong, and enlist the activ- 

 ities of his thought ? 

 Let us inquire. 



Place for Science. 



BECAUSE a man cannot revolutionize farming 

 and its practice by clean copies of Boussin- 

 gault and Liebig under his arm, or upon his table, it 

 by no means follows that an intelligent person who is 

 concerned in rural occupations may not profitably 

 give days and nights to their study. Because we 

 cannot conquer all diseases, and clearly explain all 

 the issues of life and death by the best of medical 

 theories, it by no means follows that the best medical 

 practitioner should therefore abandon all the literature 

 of the subject. The scientific inquirers who direct 

 their view to agricultural interests, deal with prob- 

 lems which are within the farmer's domain ; and if 

 their solutions are not always final or directly avail- 

 able, the very intricacy of their nature must pique his 

 wonder, and enlist his earnest inquiry. 



A magnificent mystery is lying under these green 

 coverlets of the fields, and within every unfolding 



