THE CULTIVATOR 
171 
State Agricultural Society. 
DR. BEEKMAN’S ADDRESS AT ROCHESTER. 
Fellow Citizens —The place that I now occupy, and 
the address to be made, I did hope would have been con¬ 
fided to some other and abler man. Individuals have 
been named for it whose reputation for talent and elo¬ 
quence would have done more justice to the cause and 
better suited the occasion. But, as we could not control 
their action and this duty was to be discharged, it has 
fallen to my lot to address you. This notice on my part 
at this starting point is the more necessary, as on the two 
preceding anniversaries of this Society, we had the plea¬ 
sure on one occasion to listen to that veteran of elo¬ 
quence, the president of Union College, and on-the other 
to the pertinent and glowing delineations of our then 
Governor. . , . . , 
The yearly exhibition of American skill m the pro¬ 
ducts of the farm and the workshop, iscompleted. What 
remains to be done is for us to commune together a few 
moments on the great theme on which it is our delight 
to dwell, and then to bestow the civic prizes that have 
been so nobly and honorably won. I trust, however,we 
shall not soon lose the impressions created by the satis¬ 
factory display we have just witnessed: those impres¬ 
sions are to be taken home to occupy our evening 
thoughts, and to be hereafter a subject of fruitful remark 
and amicable discussion. What can be more natural and 
what more gratifying? 
The exhibition is the evidence of our skill. To think 
and talk about it, will as necessarily follow, as the de¬ 
sire to outstrip, hereafter, all that has gone before us, is 
inherent in the breast of man. Our object then is accom¬ 
plished. 
You see the position which w^e now occupy as an kg- 
rieultural community, and we ask you to lend your aid 
to the farther advancement of the great cause in which 
we are engaged. In this assemblage, who is there that 
would not rejoice in a prize this day, as the testimonial 
of his industry and skill? Who would not wish to stand 
before his neighbors and friends, and receive from the 
judges the civic crown that well directed exertion is sure 
to win? Is that man present? If so, point him out to me, 
and I will show you a man not tit to associate with Ame¬ 
rican freemen, nor hold converse with the farmer of my 
country. He has no business here. If you find him, go 
to his home and you will soon perceive he has left the 
footprints of his husbandry behind him, in his broken 
fences, dilapidated buildings, and all else that constitutes 
him a bad farmer and a worse neighbor. 
But, we will turn from this subject, and take a hasty 
view of the operations of the Society, since we have had 
an organization. It has been in existence since 1832. A 
short time previous to that period, a circular was issued 
by a few friends of agriculture, and a meeting proposed 
to be held in the city of Albany, in February of that year. 
A few individuals met for that purpose, and although the 
farmers generally did not attend, yet it was gratifying to 
see that the spirit was there; for we had gentlemen at 
that meeting from different parts of the state, who had 
traveled from two hundrett to three hundred miles in the 
depth of winter, and thus gave evidence of their zeal and 
of the benefits which they expected would result to the 
farming interest from associated action. 
Some of the first men of the state were there, and 
mixed with others, who had more intelligence than 
fame. 
The Society was formed, and Mr. Le Ray de Chaumont 
chosen its first President. The public mind had not been 
sufficiently prepared to give it a hearty and welcome re¬ 
ception. The objects of the Society were not generally 
known, and few persons offered their names as members. 
To overcome this difficulty and enlighten the public as 
to our objects, we came to a iletermination to establish a 
paper devoted solely to the advancement of Agriculture. 
This gave birth to the “Cultivator,” a paper started in 
Albany, in March, 1834, as the organ of the Society and 
its medium of communication with the public. How far 
it has sustained the cause for which it was established, 
most of you, I trust, have been able to judge, as it soon 
gained a circulation of many thousands. True, it was 
chiefly edited by a man of uncommon intelligence, and 
with whom farming was a favorite pursuit, and who has 
left behind him a name unspotted, and a fame as endu¬ 
ring as the pursuit of Agriculture will be beneficial and 
lasting. 
Yet its effect in increasing the members of the Society 
did not meet the expectations of its friends, and for many 
years we struggled through discouragements that would 
have disheartened less determined men. We knew we 
deserved success, and were determined to accomplish it. 
We had confidence in the good sense of our farming com¬ 
munity, and that when they fully appreciated our object 
and efforts, they would give us the encouragement we 
deserved. 
Our first Fair was held in Albany, in 1834. It was an 
exhibition creditable to us as a first essay, but not such 
as we had a right to expect from a state as wealthj^, in¬ 
telligent and populous as ours. These fairs were annu¬ 
ally continued with varied success, while we were slow¬ 
ly, yet steadily, gaining the confidence of the public. 
Two years ago, we determined to give more scope to 
our operations and throw ourselves more fully on the 
liberality and intelligence of our farming and mechani¬ 
cal community, and appointed a Fair to be held at Syra¬ 
cuse. 
How far we were successful, most of you, through our 
agricultural journals, and the ordinary newspapers, have 
been informed. Suffice it to say, it was cheering to the 
hearts of the friends of the Society to witness, as we did 
on that occasion, the complete success that crowned our 
efforts. We saw there congregated the choicest collec¬ 
tion of animals, brought from the most distant parts of 
the state—a large assortment of the varied farm imple¬ 
ments, made after the most improved models, and with 
excellent skill, together with a great variety of articles, 
the product of the work shops, and evidences of the a- 
bility of the manufacturer. To the best of these several 
specimens, suitable premiums were awarded, and I hope 
the gratification witnessed on that day, in the thousands 
there assembled, has not been suffered to lose its influ¬ 
ence in awakening this western community to the great 
benefits that must result from this most laudable compe¬ 
tition. What can be more gratifying to the farmer, than 
an exhibition of the best specimens of all the different 
animals necessary to him in the profitable cultivation of 
his farm?—the varied farm implements made with con¬ 
summate skill—the manufacture' of a thousand articles, 
beautiful in themselves, but more beautiful collectively, 
and intended for his use or his enjoyment? These are 
seasons to him full of instruction, for he sees perfection 
as far as human ingenuity has reached, and profits by the 
lesson. When at home he looks upon his own as almost 
perfect, but here he is astonished that his humble efforts 
fall so far short of what he sees before him, and if he is a 
man of sense and reflection, he determines to carry home 
with him a new stock of ideas thus gained, and engraft 
them upon his own, by adopting the improvements every 
where manifest. The man who cannot profit by these 
lessons, is either very stupid or very conceited, and in 
either case is a bad specimen of the American character. 
In the autumn of 1842, the Fair of the State Society 
was held at Albany. The collection of animals was lar¬ 
ger than at Syracuse; so it was of farm implements, of 
the products of the field, the vineyard and garden; the 
manufacture of all sorts of carriages, and all that pertains 
to them, and a vast variety of things called for either as 
articles of necessity or luxury—all most beautifully made. 
It was an exhibition as pleasing to the farmer as it was 
to the American patriot; for he had the evidence before 
him of the skill of his countrymen, and of his indepen¬ 
dence of the foreign manufacturer. There, too, we saw 
collected the intelligent friends of agriculture, mechanics 
and manufactures, from different parts of the Union— 
from the east, the south, the remote west, and her Ma¬ 
jesty’s possessions in Canada. Truly this meeting was an 
intellectual feast, and 41 was one of those great occasions 
that do more to give vitality to the cause and carry it on¬ 
ward, than years of steady plodding labor. I trust the 
occurrences of the three days spent at that time will not 
soon be forgotten, and that the gentlemen from other 
states who honored us with their presence, and encour¬ 
aged us with their remarks and example, have them¬ 
selves carried home a conviction, from the display there 
witnessed, that the sons of the Empire State are alive to 
her great interests and not wanting in ability to develop 
them; that they know how to make the best use of her 
numerous railways, her extended canals, her noble lakes 
and rivers, to give efficiency to the industry and hardi¬ 
hood of her population, and to increase the fertility of 
her soil. 
The state of New-York, from her size, her position, 
and her natural advantages, is most happily situated to 
avail herself of the gi’eat benefit these confer; and whe¬ 
ther individuals, for the purpose of agriculture, are loca¬ 
ted in her eastern, middle, or western portions, there is 
still a greater equality of advantages than one at first 
sight would suppose. The city of New-York is the great 
market for all, the Hudson river and the Erie canal the 
viaducts that lead to it. The Hudson river farmers boast 
of their easy and quick communication with it—the west¬ 
ern farmei’s, of the superior fertility of their soil. Both 
are true; and the scale of benefits is thus beautifully ba¬ 
lanced. The coarse grains of the east do not come in 
competition with the wheat of the west, and the profits 
of each are probably equalized. The Maker of the Uni¬ 
verse, with a wisdom that we but faintly comprehend, 
deals out his bounties to his creatures with an equal and 
liberal hand. He gave us understanding, and made the 
earth for the use of man; but while He requires him to 
earn his bread in the sweat of his brow, man is so hap¬ 
pily constituted that the labor of his hands can be most 
essentially aided by the exercise of his reasoning powers. 
These have taught us to dig canals, malce railways, 
excav'ate mountains for their treasures, cover the hills 
with grain and with herds, fill the valleys with herbage, 
and use the ocean to carry our several products to sup¬ 
ply the wants of the most distant countries. The time 
has been when none but serfs and slaves labored; that 
time, for man’s prosperity, has happily in a measure 
gone by. 
In many portions of Europe, to labor is dishonorable. 
In this country, to labor is honorable, for here an idle 
man is a nuisance. An author asks, “ What honest vo¬ 
cation can be named that does not contribute, in a greater 
or less degree, to the enjoyment of man? It may be 
humble indeed, but it goes to swell the mighty aggre¬ 
gate. It may be the rill that trickles down the moun¬ 
tain side, but it diffuses fertility to the valley, and min¬ 
gles its drops at last with the ocean. The American 
motto is industry. Labor is honorable—idleness is dis¬ 
honorable; and I care not whether it is the labor of the 
head or of the hands, for they mutually aid each other. 
Let me, howev^er, exhort those who are devoted to in¬ 
tellectual pursuits, to cherish on their part an exalted 
and just conception of the dignity and value of manual 
labor, and to make that opinion known in their works, 
and seen in their actions. 
“The laboring men of this country are vast in number and 
respectable in character. We owe to them, under Pro¬ 
vidence, the most gladsome spectacle the sun beholds in 
its course, a land of cultivated and fertile fields, an 
ocean white with canvass. We owe to them the annual 
spectacle of golden harvests, which carry plenty and 
happiness alike to the palace and the cottage. We owe 
to them the fortresses that guard our coasts, the ships 
that have borne our flag to every clime, and carried the 
thunders of our cannon triumphant over the waters of 
the deep.” 
Enterprise is another great trait in the American cha¬ 
racter. United with industry, it stops not at difficulties— 
it delights to overcome them. If occasionally its efforts 
are misdh-ected, in the main it is a healthy exercise of 
a wise forecast, aided by good sense, to advance indivi¬ 
dual and common interests. That enterprise has opened 
our forests, built our cities, manned our ships, projected 
our canals and railways; and whether we circumnavi¬ 
gate the earth, or people the Oregon, the cry of “ go 
ahead” is still the watchword to urge us forward. In 
passing from this place to Buffalo on your railway, a 
few months since, I was forcibly struck with a practical 
and beautiful illustration of this trait in our character. 
In Europe, it takes centuries to build cities, and they 
suffer all the evils arising from their slow method of 
transit for the interchange of products, before they dare 
venture upon a more rapid communication. But in this 
country, the foundation for cities is hardly laid befoi’e 
railways are made in every direction to secure to it po¬ 
pulation, business and wealth. Between Rochester and 
Buffalo, the red man of the forest has yet hardly left his 
hunting ground, and the deer been frightened from her 
covert; yet the forest is already threaded, and a pathway 
made, on which you pass with the rapidity of the ea¬ 
gle’s flight, and by a power that seems irresistible. As 
you dash through the dark woods, your sensations are in 
unison with the scene around you, and an indescribable 
wildness is the predominating feeling. 
These forests cover yet a lai-ge portion of our state. 
The country is too new and the population too sparse— 
although it may number at this time near two and a half 
millions—to bring a large portion of our state under cul¬ 
tivation. 
The state of New-York is about the size of England. 
They have about ninety-eight millions of acres under 
cultivation—we, say ten. They produce annually two 
hundred and sixty-two millions of bushels of grain— 
we, about fifty-one millions. They have ten millions of 
cattle, and forty-four millions of sheep—we, two mil¬ 
lions of cattle, and five and a half millions of sheep. 
The comparison of many other farm products holds about 
the same proportion. 
In the cultivation of the soil, however, acre for acre, 
we are much nearer to tliem in the quantity of the gene¬ 
ral products; and when an equal area o£ surface is 
cleared, and we have about quadrupled our population, 
I trust we shall not be behind them in obtaining equiva¬ 
lent returns, Forly years ago, farming in the river 
counties was of the worst possible description. The 
virgin fertility of the soil had been exhausted by repeat¬ 
ed croppings, and when we heard of the immense quan¬ 
tity of wheat raised in what was then called Genesee, it 
was thought, when compared with our section, that it 
was a veiy paradise for farmers. 
Many of course were tempted to emigrate; and whj' 
not? The fertility of their farms was exhausted, and 
they did not know how to restore it. Their course of 
cropi'ing was nearly as follows: take off the timber, put 
in wheat; then a crop of corn; after that, sow it with 
rye as long as it would grow. This was the course on 
the sandy ground; on the clay, a stronger soil, they put 
in wheat as long as it would grow; after that, let it run 
to ptisture. To sow grass seed was not thought of. Cul¬ 
tivation like this brought at length poor returns to the 
farmer. 
A renovating system for the soil must be adopted, 
from which better returns could be obtained, or they 
must all emigrate. The use of clover and plaster was 
the first renovating power that was tried, and they re¬ 
paid tenfold the expense of their application. 
But that was far from being enough; other appliances 
must be added, and they at length found that the dung 
heap, if they could only make enough of it, would ef¬ 
fectually fill up the hiatus. Now, it is not alone the lit¬ 
ter of our barn yards that is used for that purpose, but 
every species of offal and refuse, from the mud of the 
ditch to the muck of the swamp—from ashes, marl and 
lime—all! all! and all else that can be obtained, down 
to old rags, are found to have the most invigorating in¬ 
fluence on the soil. Chemistry, too, is now coming to 
our aid, and she promises to be a most powerful ally. 
But we yet want to learn, as nearly as possible, how' 
cause pi'oduces effect; we need a more intimate know¬ 
ledge of our soil and its capacities, and what kind of 
substances and methods of husbandry will giv'e the 
largest returns. 
Our art is yet in its infancy, and our implements, until 
lately, have been of a piece with our husbandry. 
These, too, have essentially improved, but it is only 
since the whole system has been examined, and found, 
throughout, deficient. A better day, however, is dawn¬ 
ing. Many of these poor lands have been in a measure 
reclaimed, and the prospect for the future is brighten- 
. , 
Agriculture, for fifteen or twenty years, has occupied 
a prominent place in our pursuits, and it has already 
made such full returns for the little attention bestowed 
upon it, that its advancement has become not only ^ 
