THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



103 



a severe blow at agricultural improvement ; but 

 if he can so educate the young men placed un- 

 der his charge, that when they return to their 

 homes they can make more money from the 

 same means than their neighbors, then will his 

 labors be crowned with success, and then need | 

 he entertain no fears of a want of patronage. ! 

 If he cannot teach them this, no matter how 

 learned he may make his pupils, he has done 

 little for them, and nothing for agriculture. 



At a meeting of the New York Farmers' 

 Club, Mr. Schermerhorn being called to the 

 chair, remarked, 



"I am here accidentally. You honor me 

 with the chair. I thank you, gentlemen ; and 

 as I have long felt the immeasurable value of 

 agriculture, I will say what I think, in a few 

 words. I have long looked in vain to the State 

 Legislature for encouragement to agriculture. 

 It is a remarkable fact that our General and 

 State governments have legislated for every and 

 all interests except one, and that one the greatest 

 of all, agriculture ! Surely the public funds i 

 should be used for the establishment on solid j 

 foundations, of proper schools for agriculture. — j 

 When Franklin said that the growing of two 

 blades of grass where but one grew before, made 

 the grower a benefactor of mankind, he said a 

 great truth. If science can make thirty bushels 

 of wheat where only ten grew before, who can 

 dispute its value ? As to my plan, I have passed 

 the last year in Virginia. I found there a build- j 

 ing of about 180 feet in length by 36 in width, | 

 containing 52 rooms, large and small — some of! 

 them large lecture rooms, well ealcalated for my 

 Agricultural College. There are 120 acres of 

 land attached to it. The building is of brick, 

 three stories high. The land is what is termed 

 in Virginia tired; it is the very place for my ex- 

 periment ; I mean to render that tired land ac- 

 tive, healthy, and vigorous, by the application 

 of science and industry. I am sure of success ; 

 when I want them, I shall add to the farm about 

 300 acres more. I have been looking about for 

 proper persons to be employed as Professors. I 

 want one of Language, one of Philosophy and 

 Mathematics, and one of Practical Agricultural 

 Chemistry. This last professorship is difficult 

 to fill. I must have a young man, one who is 

 well read, who is enthusiastic in the cultivation 

 of the soil. I hope that I shall be able to find 

 the right kind of a man. I mean that my stu- 

 dents shall be able to lake hold of any profes- 

 sion ; but my main purpose is to make them 

 practical, scientific farmers. I mean that, like 

 physicians, they shall know well the diseases of 

 soils and the remedies. They shall take a spe- 

 cimen of soil and determine practically what are 

 the diseases and the remedies. Every boy that 



possesses the necessary faculties, shall be able 

 to do this himself. I shall teach the boys that 

 in farming, the first law is economy — that ruin 

 ensues where the outlay on the farm exceeds 

 the product! I shall cause the boys to le rn 

 practically, with chain and compass, land sur- 

 veying and civil engineering. They shall learn, 

 when a stick of timber is required for any pur- 

 pose, to go into the woods, select the best tree, 

 and make no mistake by cutting my trees down 

 to waste. They shall take a bag and hammer 

 and collect minerals, and when brought home, 

 thoroughly understand and describe what they 

 are ; and the like practical course in botany. — 

 In the garden, they shall cultivate all the useful 

 vegetables and fruits, and not omit those that 

 are merely ornamental ; nor shall they fail to 

 understand the medicinal plants, and all useful 

 plants, whether for man or animals. Boj 7 s get 

 weary of study in confined rooms. I intend 

 that mine shall use the old peripatetic plan. — 

 They shall walk, and talk, and learn. I never 

 saw a boy that did not want a spot in the gar- 

 den to cultivate himself. He shall have one, 

 and all the seeds and instruction. He shall per- 

 fectly learn how to bud and to engraft. By 

 mixing study, exercise, and amusement, in an 

 agreeable variety, I hope to see them cheerful 

 and strong of body. I shall have about ten 

 acres for an experimental garden ; there we will 

 plant all kinds of new seeds and plants : we 

 will apply every manure, test them all, and 

 when approved, transfer to the farm. So we 

 will have the best animals — learn all their points ; 

 best modes of crossing breeds, of feeding and 

 keeping. We will teach the diseases of ani- 

 mals and the remedies ; the most economical 

 keeping and management; soiling and fatten- 

 ing — all practically. We will raise everything 

 for our table. I shall look out for new staple 

 articles for cultivation — we must have some new 

 ones. The mountainous portion of Virginia is 

 one of the most admirable in this country for 

 raising stock. No part of New England is 

 comparable to it for raising sheep and stock of 

 all kinds. We will improve the breeds of sheep, 

 where it is required j they shall have good fleeces 

 and carcasses ; and our boys shall see and learn 

 how it is accomplished. 



"I am preparing a prospectus which will 

 contain my plan of operations in better order. — 

 I was called upon here unexpectedly, and have 

 thrown out these ideas without the proper order. 

 As to the professorship of agriculture, I shall 

 have the advantage of the intelligent and tho- 

 rough-bred agricultural scholar, Fleischman, of 

 Washington. He will lecture for me for three 

 months in the summer. He has received the 

 full education as such in the best school of Eu- 

 rope. I mean to apply art to agriculture — have 

 a shop where the boys shall learn how to make 

 every implement — stock a plough, make a hav- 



