No. 338.] 
13 
rence of marl, peat, tufa or clay be noticed, sooner or later it becomes 
of advantage for agricultural purposes. Sandy soils can be rendered 
of proper consistence, and clay soils light and productive, by using the 
materials placed by nature within the means of every one, and gene- 
rally upon every man's farm. 
^ It is upon the relation which this survey sustains to agriculture, that 
your committee more particularly delight to dwell. Our colleges, aca- 
demies and seminaries of learning, teach very little that is of practical 
utility in the cultivation of the soil. All education doubtless strength- 
ens the mind, and prepares it for continued progressive improvement 
in the knowledge of all subjects which fall under its observation in the 
various relations of life. " But it has not been sufficiently understood 
that agriculture is a science as well as an art ; that it demands the labor 
of the mind as well as of the hands, and that its successful cultivation 
is intimately allied with the most profound investigations of philosophy 
and the most elaborate exertions of the human mind." 
To give to this first and best pursuit of man, high intellectual rank in 
the estimation of public opinion, is now a great desideratum in human 
improvement. How can this be accomplished otherwise, than by placing 
within the reach of the sons of our farmers, the facilities for obtaining 
an education, essentially agricultural. Being thoroughly acquainted 
with the sciences of geology, mineralogy, chemistry, botany, and the 
other departments of natural history, the cultivator of the soil would find 
abundant occupation for his mind within the sphere of his daily avoca- 
tions. Thus the tameness of a rural life would be relieved by a suc- 
cession of the most agreeable excitements. The book of nature would 
be ever open for his perusal, and from its pages he would learn lessons 
that would enlighten his understanding and improve his heart. Labor 
would cease to be mere drudgery, requiring simply the exercise of 
brute strength. The exercise of the mind would lighten his toil. He 
would discover in the administration of the laws of nature, which is 
continually going on around him, every thing to excite his imagination 
and arouse his intellect. While roaming over his farm and cultivating 
his crops, his sphere of enjoyment would embrace all the pleasura- 
ble excitements of poetry, and the severer contemplations of philoso- 
phy. 
The present time is most auspicious for directing public opinion to 
the pleasures and profits of agricultural pursuits, to the sciences connect- 
