GENERAL REMARKS. 189 



facts in detail. There are two additional reasons ; a preconceived opinion almost inde- 

 pendent of any fact, and a wish to advance something new and striking, something novel 

 to the common mind. These two reasons are, perhaps, as prolific of error as utter igno- 

 rance ; there is far less expectation of correcting errors originating in the weakness and 

 vanity of men than those which arise from difficulties which belong to the subject. Those 

 errors which arise from defective observation and a want of power to discriminate between 

 the essential and accidental, may be corrected by education. That course of education 

 which bears as a corrective upon such faults is one which embraces a full and thorough 

 study of the characters of matter and of the phenomena of organized things ; those which 

 are due to chemical change, as well as those which are due to, and modified by meteoro- 

 logical conditions. Sunlight and shade, rain, dew and drought, winds and calms, heat 

 and cold, all have their influence upon the constructive atoms of organized matter, and 

 all the phenomena which accompany such changes must be noted with a direct reference 

 to their influence upon living beings. To succeed as an observer it is necessary that the 

 observing powers should be highly cultivated ; that they should be educated. There is no 

 fact probably more striking than the ability which is acquired of distinguishing counterfeit 

 money. Clerks in mercantile establishments often acquire the power of detecting a spuri- 

 ous bill at a glance : they see a suspicious look without an effort ; they have created as it 

 were a new sense ; and hence, what is nearly undistinguishable to other men is apparent 

 to them. This result, however, of seeing simply what is, or what is not, belongs to the 

 lower grade of acquirements, and yet is of the utmost importance. To complete the de- 

 velopment of those faculties which are necessary to form a complete husbandman requires 

 the deductive or inductive powers ; to make philosophical deductions from phenomena is 

 the highest result of the educated sense and the educated mind. It is of no use for a man 

 to see, unless he can reason ; and it is no use to reason unless he can see ; and in propor- 

 tion as both the outward and inner senses are perfected, in the same proportion will the 

 individal take his grade or standing. A great majority of men, however, see without 

 reasoning, and reason without seeing, and hence it is not strange that error in agriculture, 

 in the bearing and relation of phenomena, and in political economy, as well as religion, 

 is so common. 



A perfected agriculture can result only from nice adjustments ; a determination of the 

 nature of the matter to be dealt with, and its inherent forces, combined with a special 

 knowledge of the individual organization and its functional endowments and functional 

 wants. Defective products are mainly due to functional wants : there are no truly diseased 

 products or disorganized organs. Graduate the supplies to the nutrient powers, satisfy the 

 capacities of the plant at the proper time, and all other things being adjusted the husbandry 

 is perfect : or give the plant its climate, temper the heat and moisture to its constitution, 

 make its physical condition happy, and put within its reach the assimilating elements, 

 and enough is done to insure productive returns. But to do this requires probably more 

 knowledge of soils, and of the cultivated vegetables, than we now possess. The object is 



