60 
EDUCATION OF FARMERS.-HOW TO MAKE FRL IT TREES BEAR, ETC. 
the name of “ White Skuppernong Hock,” at $2 
per gallon : and the latter, at $4 per gallon, under 
the name of “ Red Skuppernong Hock,” and was 
pronounced by good judges, as superior to foreign 
wine. 
EDUCATION OF FARMERS. 
It is a matter of profound astonishment to all 
who have ever seriously thought on the subject, 
that in the liberal provision made for the study of 
the different branches in our schools and colleges, 
agriculture has been so entirely neglected. Mil¬ 
lions of dollars have been paid the professors of 
theology, law, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, 
languages, history, natural philosophy, zoology, 
botany, geology, mineralogy, chemistry, and the 
destroyers of life and property, and scarcely anything 
yet for agriculture 1 One would suppose among a 
people, the great majority of whom are dependant 
upon the occupation of this art for their exist¬ 
ence, that the study of am. improved culture of 
the earth would be paramount among them. Not 
so, however, in this country * that is left to take 
care of itself, and come by intuition or not at all. 
With all their ample school funds, paying incomes 
of several millions of dollars annually, the older 
states do but little for agriculture: and the new 
ones, though even more liberally endowed, follow 
in their footsteps. 
It was with some surprise that we saw stated in 
the Journal of Commerce, of this city, not long since, 
that the general government had given to Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Missouri, 
three hundred thousand acres of land for colleges 
and academies, and five millions, five hundred and 
fifty thousand acres for common schools, besides 
paying three per cent, of all proceeds of public 
lands over to these and other states in which they 
lie. 
What magnificent grants ! And pray what is 
done with all this land and money I Most of it 
we will believe is faithfully expended in teaching 
the children of these states the essential branches 
of education, such as reading, writing, and arith¬ 
metic ; while we know a good deal of it goes to 
make theologians, doctors, and lawyers. All these 
are necessary in their way, especially the former • 
and no one would be more liberal in the education 
of what is technically termed, par excellence pro¬ 
fessional men than ourselves ; but if the choice lay 
between an elevated education of a professor of ag¬ 
riculture, rather than that of law, we should decide 
at once, if any must suffer, it should be the latter, 
and not the former. But there is no need of this 
suffering; yet there is very great need that professor¬ 
ships of agriculture should be endowed and more 
honorably thought of throughout the country, For 
many years past, European governments have been 
quite alive to the importance of agricultural schools, 
and every little while we find in our foreign journals, 
notices of new ones springing into existence like 
the following :— 
A writer on the subject of the low state of agri¬ 
culture in the county of Cornwall, says, “ but it is 
to be hoped that this will soon be improved. Hith¬ 
erto, there has been no institution where the sons 
of farmers could be properly educated. A new ag¬ 
ricultural school is about to be erected ; to it will 
be attached a model farm. The pupils will receive 
a good practical education, to which will be added 
a knowledge of the natural and other sciences so 
requisite to agriculture. The terms, I believe will 
be fixed at such a price as to be within the reach of 
all. It will then rest entirely with the parents 
whether they wish their sons, destined to cultivate 
the soil, to become acquainted with the science of 
agriculture based on true principles, or to plod on 
the old jog-trot way, remaining in total ignorance of 
those principles of which I am sorry to say many 
of the farmers of Cornwall are.” 
Now let us hope also in this matter, and not only 
hope but act; then shall the profession and practice 
of agriculture take that high stand among us, which 
the immortal Washington gave to it when on earth 
—exalting it above and before all others 
HOW TO MAKE FRUIT TREES BEAR. 
The Southern Cultivator, it seems, has taken ex¬ 
ceptions to our reply to J. S. Peacocke’s inquiry, 
in our November (1847) number, in relation to the 
non-productiveness of a pear tree, which blooms 
well and puts forth leaves in profusion, but in a 
short time the blossoms all fall off. According to 
the theory of the editor of that paper, the failure in 
fruiting “ arises from too great luxuriance—the or¬ 
ganization of too much wood, which robs the fruit 
germs of their share of nutriment.” “ The remedy,” 
he says, c ‘is to prune both the roots and the 
branches of the tree. Prune its roots and you will 
see that the petals will hold on for a due season, 
and fruit come to maturity.” 
What is here recommended rnay prove true at the 
north, and perhaps it may also apply to the south. 
We therefore would not discourage its adoption, 
but should hope that the theory might be tested 
along side of our own. 
ON REARING CALVES. 
The business of raising calves, some persons 
treat, as of no great importance, sometimes feeding 
them twice a day on milk, another day so much, 
and a third day, with a quart or two less, just as it 
may happen. But this irregularity is a great mis¬ 
take, as young calves need constant care, as well 
as chickens, pigs, &c. Many people take more 
pains in feeding their dogs and cats than they do 
with their cattle and hogs, all of which, I admit, 
should be well fed to be useful and to thrive. For, 
in order to have fat pork, you must feed your hog, 
or pig well: or to have a large fat cow, you must 
take good care of her when a calf. This 1 con¬ 
sider the best and the only way to have good cows. 
Last year, I raised a calf, which I bought when 
only two days old, and took it immediately away 
from the cow. I first began to feed it on milk and 
English hay tea. As soon as my stock of hay was 
gone, I commenced making tea from salt meadow 
hay, which I soon found answered very well; for 
it learned the calf to eat salt hay from the stack, 
which it seemed almost to prefer to good English 
hay. 
Another way to raise calves, is by hand. If 
taken from the cow immediately after birth, there 
will be no difficulty in learning them to eat, first 
giving them, three times a day, “ loblolly,” made 
of half a pint of corn meal and a pint of new milk 
