170 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
On the Practicability and Means of Improving 
our Agriculture. 
An Address, delivered before the Fulton County Agricul¬ 
tural Society , on the occasion of its organization, at 
Johnstown, Oct. 18, 1838, by J. Euel; published at 
the request of the Society. 
Gentlemen of the Society —To those who can car¬ 
ry back their recollections thirty or forty years, the im¬ 
provements which in that time have heen made in the 
mechanic and manufacturing arts will appear surpris¬ 
ing. Forty years ago we imported all our cotton, and 
most of our w r oollen goods, except of household manu¬ 
facture—all of our hardware and cutlery, a great por¬ 
tion of our nails, saddlery, hats, &c. and I well remem¬ 
ber, that a hatter in Albany, to give currency to his hats, 
was obliged to deceive his customers, by putting into 
them bills, representing them to be of British fabric. 
Now most of these, and many other articles indispensa¬ 
ble to our comfort, are not only produced within our¬ 
selves, in quantities sufficient for domestic use, but mil¬ 
lions in value of them are annually exported to loreign 
countries. Not only are they produced in abundance, 
but they are produced at a far less price than former¬ 
ly. East India hum-hums, a coarse slazy kind of cot¬ 
ton goods, were once reputed cheap at twenty-five cents 
a yard. We have now better goods, made at our mills, 
at six and seven cents a yard ; and it is but little more 
than twenty years, since the invention of power-looms 
reduced the price of weaving from eleven and twelve to 
one and two cents a yard. There is scarcely a manu¬ 
factured article in use, which has not, in consequence 
of the improvements in mechanics and manufactures, 
been improved in quality, and diminished in price. 
Whence these great and recent improvements in our 
sister arts ? They are not owing to the diminished price 
of labor; for that has increased, rather than diminish¬ 
ed ; nor to a reduction in the price oi provisions—for 
these, too, are higher than formerly. They have been 
brought about by the diffusion of useful knowledge, and 
the consequent development of the powers of the mind. 
The manipulations in the arts have been greatly abridg¬ 
ed by labor-saving machinery, and many of the process¬ 
es have been simplified and cheapened, and the results 
rendered certain, by the aid of science—by a knowledge 
of those laws which Providence has ordained for the 
government of matter, inorganic, as well as organic. 
Mind has been put in requisition, as well as physical 
power. And these changes have in some measure been 
effected by a more systematic arrangement of business 
—by a division of labor—and by a general and rapid 
dissemination, by means of the press, of a knowledge of 
the improvements which are every day being made in 
these useful arts of labor. 
Let us now turn to agriculture, the parent of all arts 
—the source of our purest and most substantial enjoy¬ 
ments—the basis of our national prosperity and inde¬ 
pendence. This is as susceptible of improvement as the 
other arts of labor. What progress in its improvement 
have we made, during the last forty years? Have our 
labors been abridged by the general introduction of im¬ 
proved labor saving implements of husbandry ? Have our 
lands increased in fertility, and in the amount of their 
products? Has the diffusion of useful knowledge, in 
the business of husbandry, been as extensive as it has 
in the manufacturing and mechanic arts ? The valley 
of the Mohawk was long ago celebrated for its fertility 
and its wealth. Have enterprise, intelligence and im¬ 
provement, in rural affairs, kept pace with the spirit 
of the age ? I fear these questions cannot be answered 
affirmatively. I fear that it will be found, on an impar¬ 
tial investigation, that while all the other arts of labor 
have, with rapid strides, been progressing in improve¬ 
ment, our farmers have too generally been taking a 
Hip Van Winkle nap ;—that with all the natural means 
of improvement, and all the common incentives to em¬ 
ploy them, they have been listlessly treading in the 
footsteps of their fathers, unmindful of the salutary 
changes which are enlightening and enriching those en¬ 
gaged in other branches of labor. 
I have said that agriculture is susceptible of improve¬ 
ment, and that our farmers have the power and incen¬ 
tives to bring it about, if they would do as others do, 
make a joint stock of their knowledge, and thus individu¬ 
ally profit by the experience of all. Scotland, in a little 
more than forty years, has increased her agricultural 
products four fold, and yet but few of her farmers are 
owners of the land they till. They are tenants at a 
heavy rent, which Prof. Low, one of her late agricul¬ 
tural writers, averages at more than eight dollars an 
acre per annum, while the burdens, in the form of taxes, 
are assumed by him to be about $140 upon a farm of 
500 acres. Thus the occupant of such a farm pays an¬ 
nually, in rent and taxes, about 4,500 dollars, which of 
course is a draw-back upon his nett profits, and most of 
which the American farmer, with Scottish intelligence 
and industry, might annually add to his income. Yet 
the Scotch farmer prospers under all these disadvanta¬ 
ges. 
What I have remarked of the increased profits of 
Scotch agriculture, will apply with very little abate¬ 
ment, to many districts of our country, and particular¬ 
ly to the county of Dutchess, in our state. Entire farms 
in that county have netted the cultivators an annual 
profit of fifteen and seventeen dollars an acre. Forty 
■years ago these farms did not probably nett a quarter of 
this sum; and if I am able correctly to identify one to 
which I make reference, it was, forty years ago, most¬ 
ly old field, a term denoting worn out land, and was ly¬ 
ing in commons! 
One of the best farmers of the age, a man of science 
and extensive practical knowledge in farming, has af¬ 
firmed, that by doubling the expense, in labor and ma¬ 
nure, he has, upon the same land, been enabled to tre¬ 
ble his profits, and to quadruple his products. I allude 
to Von Thaer, who has for twenty-four years been at the 
head of the great agricultural school in Prussia. 
If I might be permitted, without being charged with 
egotism, to cite my own experience in the business of 
improvement, I would point to my farm, on the Albany 
barrens, which many of my hearers have seen, I pre¬ 
sume, in its present and former state—as a further evi¬ 
dence that we can improve our lands. Twenty years 
ago, my soil was poor,—very poor—and my farm a 
part of the commons—a waste. It is now as productive, 
and its culture affords as liberal a profit, as any of the 
lands in yonder fertile valley. It is worth, for farm cul¬ 
ture, the interest of two hundred dollars per acre; and 
this year the product has been greater than I have 
named, although but ordinary labor was bestowed in 
the culture. It may be said that I have expended capi¬ 
tal in my improvements. This is true. I laid out ex¬ 
tra money and labor to put it into good condition, and 
I am now realizing compound interest upon the amount 
of the outlay: For having put it into good condition, lam 
enabled to keep it so, and to cultivate it, with as little ex¬ 
pense as I could cultivate poor lands that would not 
yield me a third of the profit that I now realize. Capi¬ 
tal is useful to its owner in proportion to the income 
which it brings him; and if by vesting it in farm im¬ 
provements. it is made to yield as much as it would 
yield in bank stock, or loaned on bond and mortgage, it 
would seem to be prudent, if not wise, so to vest it. 
I believe it will not be denied, by any one conversant 
with the history of the times, that improvements in our 
agriculture have been trivial, compared with those 
which have been made in the other arts of labor, or 
those which have been made in husbandry in other dis¬ 
tricts and in some other countries. On the contrary, it 
is but too apparent, that, with individual and local ex¬ 
ceptions, our old lands have been deteriorating in ferti¬ 
lity without any material improvement in the mode of 
their culture. A bare reference to the wheat crop in 
the valley of the Mohawk, comparing it now with wdiat 
it was forty years ago, will serve to substantiate this 
truth. 
From the examples I have cited, and from the person¬ 
al observation which most of you have been enabled to 
make, I think it will readily be admitted, that we are 
capable of greatly improving our farming operations, 
and of thereby adding to our wealth, our comforts, and 
to the substantial prosperity of our country. If by 
means of new farming implements—the improvement of 
our domestic animals—and a better system of culture— 
the labor which now netts us fifty dollars, can be made 
to nett us one hundred dollars—which I consider with¬ 
in the range of probabilities—we may then double both 
our products and our profits; and, under the guidance 
of correct principles, double, too, our usefulness to so¬ 
ciety. 
The progress of improvement in husbandry, will be 
graduated, in a measure, by the degree of intelligence 
which directs its labors. “ It appears to be strange—• 
and yet we see it to be true”—says the Rev. C. Young, 
“ that the more ignorant a man is, the more obstinate¬ 
ly is he wedded to his own notions and ways—the 
more ready to scoff at and oppose every thing that is 
new. Self-conceit and prejudice, the greatest foes to 
improvement, are the legitimate offspring of ignorance. 
And in proportion to the degree of ignorance, in a com¬ 
munity, will be the hostility to improvement, and the 
derision, and even persecution, at which all attempts 
at innovation and reform will be met. The spirit 
of improvement is thus cowed, and even smothered. 
And if occasionally, a bold genius struggles into life, 
and exhibits his inventive powers, he hazards his peace 
—sometimes even his life. When Hargrave, less than 
a century ago, attempted to introduce the spinning-jen¬ 
ny, which he had invented, into the cotton manufacture, 
he was obliged to fly from Lancashire in England, where 
he lived, at the risk of his life. The first saw-mill ever 
erected in England was destroyed by a mob, because 
they thought it would take bread from the families of 
the sawyers.” Fortunately in our day and country, acts 
of violence towards innovators upon old modes of farm¬ 
ing are not to be apprehended. We can only complain 
of a listless indifference to improvement, and of a con¬ 
ceited ignorance, which rejects the useful, because it is 
new. 
If our neighbor discovers on his farm a valuable mi¬ 
neral, and works it to great profit—we commend him 
for his good fortune. If the like mineral abounds on 
our own farms, and we can work it to equal advantage, 
what course, as prudent men, ought we to pursue? 
Should we not deem the man highly reprehensible, who 
neglected such an opportunity of adding to his wealth, 
by adopting the example of his fortunate neighbor? 
Now what are our farms but mines of wealth, if right¬ 
ly improved? They are certainly so to many cultiva¬ 
tors; and if we will follow their example in working 
the mine, and in husbanding the wealth which it yields, 
our farms will be such to us. If we lack the knowledge 
which precedes improvement, let us seek for it, by ob¬ 
servation, by study, and a mutual interchange of opi¬ 
nions and information, with our brother farmers in as¬ 
sociations like the one I am addressing. We shall see and 
hear, at these meetings, much that is new,—much that 
is instructing and useful, and much to stimulate U3 to 
new exertions in our business. 
Again—if a man embarks in a speculating business, 
and prospers in it, how ready are his neighbors to be¬ 
come his rivals and competitors? Good farming is a i 
speculation—-with almost a certainty of gain—without i 
the probability of loss. In agriculture, besides, compe¬ 
tition excites no unkind feelings, as it is apt to do in oth- ■ 
er employments, or should not, for the improvements of 
every competitor may prove beneficial to all. What one : 
makes does not lessen his neighbors’profits; but, on the i 
contrary, has a tendency to better the condition of all 
around him. There is no monopoly in good farming. 
The propensity which has too much prevailed of late 
years, to quit farming for a more lucrative, a more gen¬ 
teel, or a less laborious employment, has been a great 
obstacle to agricultural improvement, and has tended 
much to lower the respectability of our yeomanry in the 
public estimation. How many farmers have we seen, 
who were doing well upon their farms, allured by a 
weak ambition, into some untried business, in which 
they had every thing to learn—how many such, I say, 
have we seen bankrupted in fortune, and not unfrequent- 
ly in reputation. There is a vast difference in the chance 
of a man’s improving in the business to which he has 
been brought up, and his succeeding in a new one, of 
which he knows little or nothing. In the one case he 
has a capital in his experience; in the other, he enters 
into competition, without this capital, with those who 
are far his seniors in skill and in practice. A farmer 
may improve in his old business, at much less risk, and 
with less trouble, than he can learn a new one. Pie mis¬ 
takes equally his interest and his happiness, therefore, 
who quits his farm, or neglects to improve it, upon the 
untried experiment of doing better elsewhere. There 
is no employment which promises a greater portion of 
health and independence, the main sources of our enjoy¬ 
ment, than that of agriculture; while the return it 
makes, to skill and industry, is as bountiful, probably, 
as is useful to ourselves, our families ot our country. 
The first step to improvement, is to acquire better 
knowledge in our business;—the second, to apply this 
knowledge to the management of our farms. He that 
is conscious he can improve, and resolves that he will 
improve, will most surely succeed—and the means of 
improving will readily present themselves to his mind. 
Agricultural journals will afford him a ready and cheap 
means of instruction. They chronicle and bring to him, 
periodically, at trifling expense, the improvements that 
are continually being made in the business by which he 
lives, and expects to acquire wealth for himself and his 
children. They convey to him all the discoveries in the 
science, and improvements in the art of agriculture, 
which are made in Europe or America, and that are cal¬ 
culated to improve him in his business, and advance his 
condition in life. They explain to him the principles 
upon which the new system of husbandry is more pro¬ 
ductive, more certain, and more profitable, than the old 
system ; and they demonstrate the correctness of these 
principles by the successful results they give in prac¬ 
tice. They explain to him the operation of manures— 
as essential to the growth and perfection of his crops, 
as hay, grain and pasture are to the growth and pro¬ 
ductiveness of his cattle—and enlighten him in the means 
of augmenting, and of applying them in the most economi¬ 
cal manner. They bring to his knowledge every improve¬ 
ment and invention in the labor saving implements of the 
farm. They instruct him in the principles and most ap¬ 
proved modes of draining—and of rendering salubrious 
and productive, those portions of his farm which have hi¬ 
therto, perhaps, been a prolific source of disease and 
death to his family, and neighborhood—a highly useful 
branch of modern improvement in husbandry, which 
we have yet to learn. They demonstrate to him, in 
principle, and by numerous illustrations in practice, the 
utility of alternating crops, and instruct him in the eco¬ 
nomy and management of root culture. They treat of 
the comparative value of different breeds of farm stock, 
and furnish the best examples of profitable manage¬ 
ment. They teach useful lessons in gardening and or¬ 
charding, and designate the fruits, roots and garden 
productions most useful to the family, and most profita¬ 
ble for market. They abound in instructions in house¬ 
hold economy, and show, that under judicious manage¬ 
ment, the garden and the farm may be made to produce 
most of the necessaries, and many of the elegancies and 
luxuries of life. They are in fact a sort of agricultural 
museum, in which all that is new—all that is useful in 
farming—may be found, and applied to the individual 
benefit of the reader. They are, in effect, a sort of uni¬ 
versal agricultural society, which collects into a focus, 
and from thence diffuses over the land, a knowledge of 
all that is useful in the improvement of the soil. But 
independent of these, and other advantages I might par¬ 
ticularize, agricultural journals are worth thrice their 
cost to the children of the family, in inducing in them a 
taste for useful knowledge, and a desire to improve 
their minds, their manners and their morals. The good 
seed, sown in the spring time of life, will produce its 
fifty and its hundred fold, in the summer of manhood. 
Another and very important means of improvement 
is agricultural societies or associations. Although these 
have been of long standing in Europe, and have contri¬ 
buted largely to agricultural improvement there, more 
new ones have been formed in the United States, in the 
last five or ten years, than ever existed with us before. 
They afford a strong indication that the important busi¬ 
ness of husbandry is commanding, as it ought, the par¬ 
ticular attention of the American people; and that the 
benefits resulting from these associations have become 
palpable and important. Agricultural societies tend to 
bring under the eye, or to the understanding, of each 
member, and in a great degree to the public at large, 
