SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR 
45 
ADDRESS 
Delivered before the Colaparchee Agricultural Society at 
the Third Annual Fair. 
EY ROBERT NELSON, A. M. 
Gentlemen of the Society — I appear before you in con- 
formity with a summons, received through your commit- 
tee; but, when I look around and behold the assembly of 
this day, when I reflect upon the subject that has brought 
us together here — lam prone to exclaim ; why are we here, 
and w'hat mean these shows ] 
No blood-stained swords are here to tell of carnage 
wrought — no bloody trophies tell of vanquished foes. Ah, 
>no! For higher and more useful purposes have we 
gathered here this day. You have fought, gentlemen of 
the Society, but the conflict is past, and now your stand- 
ard bears upon its broad and ample folds, your chosen 
motto : Agriculture. 
Ladies and Gentlemen ! — Feeble, indeed, will be my at- 
tempt to entertain you here, I lay no claims to oratory ; 
and, as a foreigner to your native tongue, my words must 
needs seem harsh unto your ears. But it is my ardent 
zeal in the promotion of rural economy, that has prompted 
me to add my humble testimony to this most noble of 
pursuits ; to tell my experience, and to encourage you to 
renewed strength. 
People are often heard to complain: some at the unfruit- 
fulness of the earth, some at the instability of the weather; 
and others again, ameliorating, as it were, these com- 
plaints, by supposing that the soil is exhausted on account 
of too much fertility in the past, and is, therefore, incap- 
able of supplying living creatures with the blessings of old. 
But I am sure that these causes are far from the truth : 
for it is hardly reasonable to suppose that the earth, which 
the Creator of the world endowned wuth eternal fertility, 
should be in danger of disease, as it were; nor is it pro- 
bable that the earth, which received a divine youth and 
has been called the common mother of all things, should 
should have become old, as if it were a man. And in fact, 
when we go to the thickly settled countries of Europe, 
ithe same soil has been constantly improving. It must, 
•therefore, be our fault, and be attributed partly to 
carelessness, and partly to ignorance. We also ofien en- 
. trust our tillage to incompetent persons, and I much w'on- 
-der why we should do so. 
Those who intend to pursue rhetoric, choose an orator 
whose eloquence they may imitate ; those who intend to 
build, procure themselves competent mechanics ; in short, 
every one seeks an able guide in the science he intends to 
pursue. 
And should rural economy, which is of the greatest im- 
portance to mankind, should it be wanting both disciples 
and teachers ] We have institutions for the most insig- 
iiificant pursuits, but public institutions in rural economy 
-are things unknown in this vast country. 
It is a well kiiown fact, that a numerous people can 
mot subsist without agriculture ; and it is a wonder, in- 
deed, that the science, which most promotes our health, 
.should be brought to the least perfection. It is, therefore, 
highly gratifying to learn, that Georgia is taking the lead 
in this matter, and that a professorship in scientific agi- 
<iulture has been established at the University of Athens, 
by the munificence of the high spirited and patriotic Dr. 
"VVn. Terrell, of Sparta, Ga. 
Of all the feelings which we cherish, none is dearer to 
■us than the consciousness of independence; and this, no 
man, wflio earns his bread by the favor of the public, can 
be said to enjoy in an equal degree with the farmer. I, 
therefore, mean to call attention to the fact, that, when 
pursued with skill and assiduity, husbandry offers one of 
the surest sources, not merely of independence, but of for- 
tune. 
When we rightly consider the grandeur of rural econo- 
my, as an immense body, or its parts, as each of the in- 
numerable members of the body, we may, then, fear that 
we shall never obtain a requisite knowledge of the whole 
doctrine ; for he who will call himself perfect in this 
science, must possess the faculty of penetrating nature’s 
powers into its most secret recesses. But there are few 
only, who are capable of appreciating all the parts of 
rural economy so that they may fully succeed in knowing 
the best use of every piece of land, the proper treatment 
it requires, and in rightly distinguishing between the 
many different and unequal soils. The black soil is re- 
commended in countries, in others the reddish is consider- 
ed better, and in still others the loose sand far exceeds the 
firmest soil in fertility. The intelligent farmer should 
also know how to plant trees and how to nurse them; 
how to breed stock, and their proper treatment. Besides 
this, how many are there, who have a sufficient knowl- 
edge of grafting, propagating and cultivating all kinds of 
fruits and vegetables ] 
I am aware that the pleasure of those who sacrifice 
their lives to agriculture might be weakened by the enu- 
meration of so many and different things, with which the 
farmer ought to be familiar; but an ancient philosopher 
has truly said, that those who are desirous of discovering 
useful things for the human race should leave no means 
untried. The industrious husbandman, therefore, who is 
desirous of following rational principles in promoting his 
domestic condition, by means of tillage, should make it a 
point of business to consult his most intelligent cotempor- 
aries in husbandry, and assiduously weigh what has been 
handed down to him. Practical experience belortgs to 
all arts, and there is no science but what failure will im- 
prove it. 
The life of plants, like that of animals, is bound to cer- 
tain conditions, and chemically considered, we must, 
amongst these conditions, describe the atmosphere and the 
water as essential ones, the earth, on the contrary as non- 
essential. That air and water are essential conditions for 
the vegetable life, no one will presume to deny, while my 
exception of the earth, as non-essential, may cause aston- 
ishment. Yet, I would ask the consideration of my hear- 
ers to the fact, that a great many bulbous-rooted plants, 
and the plurality of the water-plants do without the earth. 
Besides the whole family of orchideous plants, of which 
more than a thousand species are already known to 
botanists, grow upon solid rocks, or on rotten wood, sub- 
sisting upon nothing but the moist atmosphere. As proof 
that soils, strictly speaking, furnish nothing to plants, it 
may be stated that seeds have been made to germinate 
and pass through all the stages of vegetation in oxides of 
lead, in sulphur, and even in small shot, where it is evi- 
dent they could derive no nourishment. Soil serves only 
as a medium through which nourishment may be con- 
veyed to the plants, and support them. There are, how- 
ever, but few agriculturists who will believe that this is 
the only use which a soil answers in the business of hus- 
bandry. 
Now, although a soil is entirely passive during vegeta- 
tion, yet, by judicious management, it may be brought 
into a very fertile condition, whereas, by neglect, the 
same soil may be rendered sterile. This is a considera- 
tion to make the subject of soils a question of importance, 
and a knowledge of its nature and its uses, of considerable 
interest. The want of such knowledge had led many 
practical men into errors. The results of one experiment 
have frequen ly been considered as affording sufficient 
authority for the adoption of practices, which would 
never have obtained approbation, had such experiment 
been understood in principles. 
To understand the uses of soils is to know what is 
proper to be done for their improvement, and what will 
