Directory for Fairs—Support of the Agricultural Press—Wheat Sheaf Farm. 
that whatever they profess to know, they are absolutely 
certain is true ; and what they assert to be false, can¬ 
not, by any efforts of sophistry, be made to assume a 
guise, other than that in which reason clothes it. We 
are not led on by the delusions of a fanciful philosophy, 
falsely so called, to waste our energies, our reason, and 
resources on things absurd and impracticable; but our 
course, in things natural, is as plainly marked and de¬ 
fined, as that in things spiritual, since the fullest develop¬ 
ments of revelation. The road we are to travel is laid 
down with the distinctness of the milky way amid the 
starry host; the progress we make must depend on 
ourselves. If we are now blind, we are wilfully so; and 
if we grope in thick darkness, it is only because we 
prefer it to the light of day. It was the principle of 
Bacon, to evolve what was unknown by what was fixed 
and certain; to assume nothing, but to prove everything; 
to take no step in the dark, or on uncertain foundations; 
and whenever he could not advance v/ith the certainty 
of holding his ground, to pause till further investigation 
gave him full assurance that he would not be forced to 
retrace his steps. To give these remarks a practical ap¬ 
plication, let us say, this is the mode every agriculturist 
ought to pursue in the whole course of his experiments 
and practice. His observation should always be awak¬ 
ened to what is going on around him, and nothing that 
can be noted should pass unobserved. From these ob¬ 
servations should he deduce his facts; always carefully 
avoiding the classification of anything among the latter, 
but such as are beyond the possibility of overthrow or 
doubt. Whatever falls short of this, should remain as be¬ 
fore, invariably ranked among the doubtful and unknown. 
But we find we have occupied more space than we 
intended, and our illustrations from our old black letter 
friend, Barnaby Googe, Esquire, and his classic lucu¬ 
brations of 400 pages, <£ printed at London, for John 
Wright, in 1578,” must remain till a succeeding number. 
The usual receipt of foreign monthly and quarterly 
journals have been received at this office, from which 
we shall extract hereafter. 
EDITOR’V TABLE, 
Directory for Fairs in 1842^' 
Chatauque Co. N. Y. at Westfield, Sept. 28 and 29. 
Berkshire Co. Mass, at Pittsfield, Oct. 5th and 6th. 
Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Ag’l. Show, 
Oct. 12th and 13th—Edward Dickinson, Pres’t.; Har¬ 
vey Kirkland, Sec’ry. 
Tennessee Ag’l. Soc.—The Annual Meeting will be 
held at Nashville, Oct. 11—John Shelby, Pres’t. ; T. 
Fanning, Sec’ry. 
Orange Co. N. Y. Fair at Goshen, Oct. 12th. 
Ourselves. —We trust we properly appreciate, and 
are sufficiently grateful, if we do not publicly acknow¬ 
ledge our indebtedness, for the many kind things said 
of our undertaking. We shall endeavor to render our 
quota of service to the farming community, by mixing 
the dulce with the utile, and strive so far as our feeble 
efforts may go, to give our farmers a taste *or agricul¬ 
tural reading. We must beg the community, however, 
fully to understand, that a work of this extent cannot be 
carried on without means, and especially since there is 
measurably an end to the credit system of this country. 
If they wish it sustained, they must not only subscribe 
themselves , but they must induce their friends to subscribe, 
and forward the cash for their subscriptions. The ex¬ 
cuse frequently offered for not taking a new agricultural 
paper is, that they take one already ! Indeed ? Take 
one paper ? Then it is the height of audacity to sup¬ 
pose you should be persuaded to take another. But se* 
riously, there is not a man in the United States who 
cultivates five acres of land, but would make more mo¬ 
ney by taking and paying for three good agricultural 
papers , than by the same amount laid out in any man¬ 
ner whatever. The short-sighted, narrow-minded, un¬ 
qualified meanness that people exhibit on this subject, is 
sickening. If a paper is unworthy support, let it be 
said so, point blank, and it settles the matter so far as 
their judgment is concerned ; but for a person to allow 
that a paper may be “ a good one enough,” that’s the 
phrase, and yet that 384 pages per annum of large 
page double columns, filled with the latest and best in¬ 
telligence on the very subjects they derive their whole 
support from, is not worth two cents per week , and it is 
even less than this, is too absurd and drivelling an ex¬ 
cuse to offer a rational person. It is highly probable 
no man who cultivates 50 acres of land, but would re¬ 
ceive, by putting the information he receives from good 
agricultural works into practice, more than one dollar 
per week for what costs him less than two cents. The 
color of these remarks is perhaps a little tinged by an 
occasional circumstance like the following, reported to 
us :—One of our friends having an acquaintance who 
had just bought a $30,000 farm for his son, and who 
expects to lay out half as much more before he com¬ 
pletes his improvements, advised his taking our paper; 
but was repulsed with the cold calculation, that “ it might 
not be just the thing he wanted, and he took a $1 pa¬ 
per already.—However, he would consider the thing— 
and if on further reflection—he approved of the sug¬ 
gestion—he did not know—but he might be induced— 
to take the matter into a favorable consideration.” 
Great condescension, immaculate prudence, well con¬ 
sidered economy! He has saved his dollar thus far, 
but there are ten chances to one he is losing more than 
his dollar every day he lives, by omitting the adoption 
of some improvements he would meet with, beyond the 
line of his reading. We can point out to any novice in 
farming, who has invested $30,000 in a farm, or even 
$10,000, at least ten paragraphs, not exceeding ten lines 
each, every line of which is worth at least one dollar to 
him, and thus far we have reached but half our volume. 
The above instance of prudence (?) is from a profes¬ 
sional person, every way cognizant of the fitness and 
appropriateness of things, and from invested andprofes- 
sional income, enjoys a revenue of $25,000 a year. But 
on reflection, such a man can afford to do without our 
paper, a poor man can’t. f 
Wheat-Sheaf Farm. —It will be noticed in our ad¬ 
vertising columns, that this well-known farm is now for 
sale. We had the pleasure, recently, of looking over 
it, accompanied by its highly intelligent proprietor. We 
intend to give a detailed description of it in our next, 
for the purpose of illustrating to our readers the practical 
application of some of the most valuable principles of 
agriculture, which have here been successfully applied. 
The facility for manuring the land and rendering it sus¬ 
ceptible of the most profitable cultivation, from the 
unlimited resources of the farm itself, together with the 
convenient and scientific arrangement of the lots, build¬ 
ings, &c., render it every way a most desirable invest¬ 
ment for the well skilled agriculturist. If Mr. S. will 
convey, with the title, his mode of management, and the 
science he has brought to bear in its cultivation, for 
which his well-known benevolence is an ample guaran¬ 
tee, we might say of it, as executor Johnson (the learned 
and pompous Dr. Samuel,) said of his deceased friend 
Thrale’s brewery:—“ We offer you, gentlemen, for sale, 
not a few beer tubs and brewer’s vats, and the buildings 
to shelter them; but the potentiality of growing rich be¬ 
yond the dreams of avarice.” The Doctor’s prediction 
was fully verified, for the purchaser realized a princely 
fortune from the investment. 
