208 
The Present State of Afjricultnrc 
lluis gradually to iinpai t a higher tone to the minds of the rural 
population, — and to convert a<iriculture from an empirical art 
into an occupation suited to intellectual men. 
To the less purely scientific these latter ends may appear not 
less important or worthy to be aimed at than those for which ex- 
periments are in the first instance recommended. It is certain, 
indeed, and is worthy of general and serious consideration, that 
the prosecution of all the arts of life, as masters or leaders, will 
ultimately be wrested from the hands of the unintellectual, who 
must become the Gibeonites of their class. The progress of 
such changes in society, if measured by the length of a single 
life, may aj)pear to be slow, but it is a sure progress. The sons 
of some wliom I now address may live to hew wood and draw 
water for the sons of others who now move in the same sphere, 
and occupy a similar position with themselves ; and these sons of 
yours, looking back with regret to their neglected youth, may 
forget to load your memory with natural blessings — when they feel 
how much the wiser affection of other parents has raised their 
children above the less-instructed companions of their youth. 
The second point urged upon the agricultural public was the 
rejection from among received views of every opinion, by whom- 
soever propounded or propagated, in support of which there were 
no un-mistakealde facts, or in favour of which the balance of 
known observations did not appear distinctly to incline. Eri'one- 
ous opinions are the rubbish which encumbers and conceals the 
foundations of truth. To clear away this rubbish is to make our 
work of discovery more easy. To remove from our books a wrong 
opinion, which had obtained a prominent and settled place in 
them, or which has been introduced on the authority of a great 
name, is as useful to the progress of science as the establishment 
• — is in fact often half way, if I may so speak, to the establish- 
ment — of an important truth. The inculcation of this cautious 
spirit has, I believe, been attended by the best effects ; and the 
heads of the rural community are less likely now to be turned by 
the mere beauty of poetical theories than they were a few years ago. 
It was suggested, in the third place, that analytical researches 
of various kinds should be undertaken in the laboratory, at the 
cost, under the direction, and for the immediate benefit of the 
practical agriculturist, and for the direct advancement of his art. 
This suggestion led to the establishment of agricultural chemistry 
associations in Scotland, Ireland, and England, in the order in 
which I have named these countries, — to the formation of similar 
institutions in the United States of America, and in various 
countries of Europe, — and to the numerous researches which 
private individuals have made in aid of this department of agri- 
cultural science. 
