SCIENTIFIC FARMING.-GALLOWAY CATTLE. 
347 
SCIENTIFIC FARMING. 
“ Knowledge is power.” I would that farmers 
more generally adopted this maxim. I look around 
and behold the rapid march of science, the vast im¬ 
provements in t rl various mechanic arts, and the on¬ 
ward progress of civilisation. Man has been furnish¬ 
ed with everything conducive to his happiness, and 
endowed with intellectual faculties capable of secur¬ 
ing it. He can study the sublime truths of the ab¬ 
stract sciences, his educated and expansive mind can 
soar above and contemplate the starry heavens, the 
mighty orbs that wheel their course around the sun ; 
he looks within himself and sees the beautiful sim¬ 
plicity of his internal organization, and is led to ex¬ 
claim, how “ wonderfully and fearfully are we 
made.” The talents of man have been variously ex¬ 
erted and applied since the first formation of society ; 
some of the most brilliant have been exerted in the 
pursuit of political fame; some have exhausted their 
energies in the promulgation of the simple and divine 
truths of religion ; the flowing minds of some have 
roamed over the flowery fields of imagination, and 
produced the most exquisite poetry; while the pow¬ 
erful and splendid talent of others, like those of a 
Newton or a Franklin, have demonstrated the most 
complex and abttruse problems of astronomy and 
philosophy. But how few have turned their atten¬ 
tion to scientific farming, and reduced it to practice ! 
White knprovements have taken such immense 
stride*' ir all other branches of industry, to which as 
yet has turned his attention, why is it, that agri- 
cutear' must remain behind the age, and plod on in 
its 'oo^otonous career? It is, because, until of late, 
tilling me soil was not considered a dignified occupa¬ 
tion, and as requiring no scientific investigation. But 
it should be studied deeply; each farmer being able, 
if possible, to analyze his soil, and learn what sub¬ 
stance is wanting to mature the seed he expects to 
commit to it; he should learn the nature and organic 
structure of each and every plant he wishes to raise, 
and apply those manures, containing the required 
matter, to bring them forth in their fulness, and he 
will be many fold rewarded. The cultivation of the 
earth is that occupation of which the Deity has ex¬ 
pressed decided approbation. 
Agriculture is the parent of all sciences ; it is co¬ 
eval with the history of man, and the surest safeguard 
to a nation’s prosperity and welfare, and the means 
of uniting in the strongest bonds of fellowship, its co¬ 
laborers. In the earliest age of the world agricul¬ 
ture was deemed paramount with the interests of 
mankind. The ancients tilled the soil and produced 
abundantly, and attributed that which was the re¬ 
ward of their own labor to the care of their 
goddess Ceres. Hesiod sung of the labors of the 
field ; the Carthaginians by agriculture,, prepared 
Sicily to be the granary of the world. Regulus, a 
Roman senator, sought retirement from public life, to 
till his farm. No pursuit is more congenial to health, 
to the free exercise of the physical and mental facul¬ 
ties. The green fields, the gently waving forests, the 
trees bending beneath their weight of golden fruit, 
and the rich harvests, bespeak the wisdom, goodness, 
and design, of an all-powerful Creator. We inhale 
the pure air, and are led to “ look from nature up to 
nature’s God.” Yet, young men who have been 
brought up in the country, must wend to the brick- 
bound city, in quest of a precarious fortune, which 
they more often fail in acquiring; whereas, if they 
would remain in the country, and exert their mental, 
in connection with their physical powers, they would 
be sure of a slow but steady gain, and generally 
make better men. But they must bow to their idol 
fashion, and sacrifice their fortunes and health upon 
her altar, not content to live by the sweat of their 
brows, and read the book of nature as it lies open 
before them. 
By the formation of societies, and the circulation of 
good agricultural papers, 1 hope to see a new era 
dawn on this the mother employment of the earth, on 
which all other industry must depend for a subsist¬ 
ence. A great stumbling block in the way of 
improved culture is, the stern prejudice which so 
many farmers have to so-called “ book farmingthey 
pronounce this with a sarcasm due to uneducated 
men. I have heard many say, an agricultural paper 
was the last thing they wished to read ; such follow 
precisely in the footsteps of their grandfathers, and of 
those farther back, for aught I know. But you have 
a laudable zeal, in arousing this dormant feeling 
which has so long prevailed ; 1 heartily wish suc¬ 
cess to your exertions. Children of the soil, put your 
shoulders to the wheel of improvement, that it may 
turn in your favor, and let it carry treasures to your 
coffers, and happiness to the community at large. 
Young men, turn your attention to that of rural occu¬ 
pation, which the Father of his country has pro¬ 
nounced “ the most healthful, the most useful, and 
the most noble employment of man.” 
_ A Young Farmer. 
Flushing, L. I.,Sept., 1845 . 
GALLOWAY CATTLE. 
I have been present at two agricultural exhibitions 
in Scotland, where the best of Galloways were to be 
seen, and on the whole, I think them a very valuable 
butcher’s beast, producing some of the very best beef 
in the London market. They are admirably suited to 
a short pasture, and a severe climate, and when re¬ 
moved to lower districts and richer pastures, make 
ample remuneration to the grazier. The farmers here 
who grow turnips, generally tie up a few every win¬ 
ter in the “ byre,” for fatting, which are sold the fol¬ 
lowing spring to the drover, whose facilities for trans¬ 
portation are already very great, and still increasing, 
so that the fatted animals lose but little in the transit. 
Black is the most approved color of the Galloway 
cattle, though dun is by no means uncommon now, 
and occasionally you find an equally pure bred ani¬ 
mal, which is belted with white ; but the belt must 
in no case extend beyond the body, having the two 
ends and the extremities of a jet black. The coat is 
made a point of the greatest importance, as the an«- 
mal’s best protection in this severe climate. It mu!,,, 
be long, thick, and silky, with a wavy rather than a 
curly character; and in evidence of this, the ear must 
be large, and at all seasons well fringed with a long 
lock of hair, hanging from the upper edge across its 
whole width, and down far below the under edge, 
thus curtaining the entire opening of the ear. 
A good “ stare,” or, in other words, a prominent 
and somewhat wild eye, is admired. A broad muzzle 
is sometimes named as a Galloway feature, and 
being a hornless breed, the poll must be narrow and 
running up to a point, as indicating purity of blood, 
and an absence of all disposition to put forth horns; 
