MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
ADDRESS 
Of the Hon. STEPHEN A. DOUGLASS, before the 
S New York State Agricultural Society ; delivered at 
) Rochester, September 19th, 1851. 
) Mr. President and gentlemen of the New York 
< Agricultural Society. 
( I have not the presumption to suppose that I 
S can enlighten this immense assemblage of scien- 
I tific and practical farmers, by any thing lean 
say on the subject of agriculture. The theme is 
so vast, and embraces so many co-ordinate 
branches of science and industry, that a mere 
enumeration of these would far exceed the limits 
! of this disconrse. 
Agriculture has found a larger field for the ex¬ 
ercise of the intellectual and moral energies of 
^ man in this country, than in any other on the 
( globe. It has found here the conditions of its 
) fullest development and its most ample success 
) —the greatest stimulus to exertion, and the high- 
{ est reward. Our country embraces a greater ex- 
) tent of territory, a more fertile soil, a more di- 
< versifiec climate, and above all, a far more intel- 
) ligent, energetic and independent yeomanry, 
( than any other with whose agricultural produc- 
) tions it is now competing for the markets of the 
( world. Our lands are cheap, and not exhausted 
I t by the cultivation of twenty centuries. Our far¬ 
mers are the owners of the soil in fee-simple, 
while the abolition of the laws of primogeniture 
prevents the accumulation of real property in 
the hands of a few land owners. Our country is 
the first that has set the world the example of 
( independent farming—the first that has restored 
l agricultural labor to that natural dignity, of 
i which the feudal systems of the old world had 
deprived it. Every tree planted by the Ameri¬ 
can farmer, every shrub, every flower he culti¬ 
vates, every hedge he grows, is his own, and de¬ 
scends as an inheritance to his children. 
Agriculture in this country is a highly respec¬ 
table, and, at the same time, a most attractive 
pursuit. It is not only resorted to as a means of 
| acquiring an honest independence, but as a dig- 
) nihed and pleasurable occupation by men of sci- 
) ence and letters, by statesmen and warriors, 
) merchants and navigators, in short by all who 
< have gathered wealth, honor and distinction in 
£ other pursuits of life. 
I So long as agriculture was the exclusive occu¬ 
pation of an enslaved peasantry, it produced lit¬ 
tle more than the necessaries of life. It remain¬ 
ed a mere sluggish labor; consuming men’s phys¬ 
ical strength, and descending, with little improve¬ 
ment, father to son, among those who were born 
and bred to it. Happily for the progress of 
mankind, the condition of the agricultural labor 
has changed in many parts of the world, and 
it is no small source of pride and gratification for 
us to know that it is the example of America 
which has wrought the change and restored ag- 
) riculture to itsoriginal rankamongthe mosthon- 
) orable occupations of men. It is now a profes- 
: sion calling to its aid science and the mechanic 
! arts, and, in its every branch, the inventive gen- 
> ius of man. The farmer, instead of merely fol- 
> lowing the beaten track of his ancestor, now 
\ brings to his pursuit his own powers of inquiry 
> and investigation. Chemistry teaches him the 
' nature and quality of the ingredients composing 
) his soil, the species of crop most suitable to its 
productive power, and the kinds of manure he 
! must use, and the proportion of cattle he must 
1 keep to make his farm productive. As be ac- 
' quires a knowledge of chemistry, of agricultural 
) geology, and of the physiology of plants and 
f animals, his crops become more certain, and his 
reward more sure. Armed with knowledge, the 
fertility of man’s mind has discovered remedies 
for the sterility of soils, and found means of 
guarding the fruits of his labor even against the 
vicissitudes of climate. This is not all. The 
\ American farmer possesses the means of multi- 
\ plying labor, and thereby its reward, by the most 
ingenious and effective machinery. 
Great as the ratio of our farming population 
may be, compared to that engaged in other pur¬ 
suits, it bears, as yet, no proportion to the quan¬ 
tity of uncultivated lands. We have more soil, 
than people to render it productive; while the 
very opposite ratio exists in the whole world._ 
As manual labor is expensive and procured with 
difficulty, machines are naturally called in to 
take its place without detriment to the laborer. 
The machine does not deprive him of employ¬ 
ment,—it merely performs that labor for which 
he has no time to spare, and without which his 
cultivation would be confined to narrower limits. 
No country can award a higher premium to the 
inventive genius of machinists than our own: 
none can boast of a greater number of inventions 
applicable to agricultural and the mechanic arts. | 
Our agricultural machines, especially, have excit¬ 
ed the admiration of the world; and along with 
our substantial achievements in that department ■ 
of industry, it is perhaps not unpleasant to have | 
extorted the testimony of England, on a late oc- , 
casion, to the ingenuity displayed by American , 
inventors. 
The growth of our country is marked by the , 
advancement of agriculture. Agriculture is set- ( 
tling our new States and Territories; agriculture , 
gives employment to our workshops; agriculture , 
furnishes the products which form the basis of ] 
our foreign and domestic commerce, agriculture, ; 
by supplying the bulky articles of our exports! r. 
employs the tonnage of our ship-builders, and in r 
seeking markets for its increased products, calls r 
for the construction of railroads and canals. The , 
farms of Western New York demanded the con¬ 
struction of the Erie Canal, and the farmer of the c 
Western States now calls for its enlargement._ v 
As the Western States and Territories become t 
settled, and agricultural products .accumulate, r j 
new railroads and canals become necessary to „ 
furnish means of transporlationto the seaboard. , 
The West is desirous of securing* - every avenue to c 
the sea. It requires the navigation of the Mis- c 
sissippi and of the St. Lawrenca, the canals of N. c 
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, c 
and all the railroads now constructed or in pro- r 
cess of construction from the sea coast to the Mis- 0 
sissippi valley. And all these facilities will yet t 
prove insufficient to form adequate outlets for the c 
constantly accumulating products of the Western a 
farmers. New lines of communication will be c 
called into existence, and it is extremely doubt- e 
ful whether the capital and enterprise of the coun- t l 
try will be able to keep pace with the increased j, 
demands for internal improvements. c , 
Thus agriculture stimulates every species of c. 
industry, and is the parent and supporter of them ci 
all. What, I would ask, would be the present 
condition of our foreign commerce, had it not ti 
been stimulated by the increased productions of |, 
agriculture? What the condition ofourmercan- a 
tile navy, in steamers and sailing ships already ti 
outstripping that of the first maritime nation of n , 
the globe? It is the bulky products of agriculture ;u 
that makes up freights, and furnish the principal 
portion of our foreign exchanges. * ;| 
And it is fortunate for us, and for the preser- la 
vation of our liberal institutions, that agriculture th 
enters so largely into the political economy of th 
our country. cc 
As now pursued, it develops the mind and the or 
body, and preserves both the health and morals m 
of our people. As long as so large a portion of 
our voters are engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
we need apprehend no danger to our republican 
institutions—no pernicious influence of foreign 
nations on the steady development of our wealth 
and power. Producing all the necessaries of life 
far beyond our own wants, and importing for the 
, I most part, only the luxuries, we are, whenever 
a- we choose, independent of the rest of the world; 
in while other nations, producing the necessaries of 
is life not in sufficient quantities to feed their own 
,te population, and depending on the sale of their 
re luxuries for the supply of this deficiency, will 
ts have a care not wantonly to interrupt our peace¬ 
ful relations with them. England, once ready 
x . “to spend her last guinea, and to sacrifice her 
0 f last man,’! to break down the continental system 
ie of Europe, will not easily be tempted to build 
tg up a similar system in America; arid it is not to 
ss be supposed that other nations will press forward 
j. to do that from which Great Britain wisely ab¬ 
le. stains. As long as the great body of our popu- 
j. lation is composed of owners and cultivators of 
the soil, we shall remain true to our republican 
y j instincts. We may not succeed in the produc- 
c .’ tion of every luxury for the enjoyment andgrat- 
le ification of man; but we will produce, at the 
.q cheapest rate, and in the greatest abundance, 
r _ those things which contribute most to the com- 
e fort, happiness, and peace, not only of our own 
re people, but of the laboring classes of all other 
j n countries. 
ja We are now able to furnish the whole world 
of with the cheapest and best food, and with the 
)( j cheapest and best raiment. We furnish grain, 
0 f provisions and cotton—the three staple articles 
1C 1 of commerce—in greater quantities and of better 
j. qualities, than any other nation; and the time is 
i_ not far distant when we will be able also to reg- 
3 _ ulate their prices. What a boundless field, then, 
is opened to our agricultural industry. What 
ample reward to the labor of our farmers! The 
'f command of the world-staples, even without the 
* acquisition of California, (which secures to us 
r _ the control of the precious metals,) must have 
i given us the control of the commerce of the 
world. 
' ’ Butindependent of these international consid- 
1 erations, there is yet another which will naturally 
1 suggest itself to your minds. Our agricultural 
products, owing to the vast extent of our territo- 
[* ry, and the great differences of soil and climate, 
> are so varied as to furnish abundant exchanges 
l_ for the domestic trade between the different 
>' Statesof the Union. They furnish in themselves 
'■ the materials of a very extensive internal com- 
n merce, employ, to a large extent, our coasting 
tonnage, and secure constant employment to our 
Steamboats and Railroads. Planting and farm- 
ing are the mutual allies of each other, as aie, 
' r indeed, all branches of agricultural industry, not- 
a withstanding the many prejudices which, in this 
’* respect, may be entertained in various sections of 
- the country. They take a narrow view of politi- 
- cal economy, who can see but jjval interests 
c growing out of the different productions of the 
- same country; and they are worse than bigoted 
- who, in consequence of it, indulge in unworthy 
7 jealousies or hostile sentiments towards brethren 
V of the same family. You cannot, by legitimate 
e means, benefit any one branch of industry of a 
? great country, without indirectly benefitting all 
8 the rest; but when, as in the case before us, one 
e interest is dependent on theother—when the pro- 
t ducer of the one article is the best and often the 
■ only consumer of the other, who is so rash as to 
1 assert that the prosperity of the one works the 
I injury of theother? But it is not my purpose 
3 on the present occasion, further to pursue this 
3 train of thought. My object is not to make pro- 
8 selytes for a particular theory; butsimply to show 
f the necessary connection and intimate relation- 
5 ship of all the branches of the same species of in- 
3 dustry, and their harmonious co-operalion in pro- 
• moting the wealth, happiness and power of a 
t great people. The free international exchanges 
of commodities, so eagerly sought for, as the 
i great commercial desideratum of the different 
• nations of Europe, exists already, by the simple 
■ operation of our federal constitution, between the 
, different Statesof this Union; and the products 
: of the different States of Europe are less varied 
than those of the different geographical divisions 
[ of our common country. The domestic exchang- 
i es of every country naturally constitute the great 
bulk of its entire commerce; but in none—per¬ 
haps not even in China—is so laage a portion of 
them furnished exclusively by the products of 
i the soil, as in our own. 
I have, thus far, briefly referred to agricul¬ 
ture, in connection with other branches of indus¬ 
try; but I propose to go a step further and con¬ 
sider by themselves some of the principal agri¬ 
cultural products which enter largely into die 
political economy of this country. I do this for ! 
the purpose of showing, not only how each par- 1 
ticular branch of agriculture may in turn aid in 1 
building up the commercial and maritime iin- 1 
portance of a nation; but also, how one species ( 
of agricultural industry may come to the assis- c 
tance of another, with which it seems to have no c 
necessary connection. And I may also be able c 
to show, from examples furnished by our histo- i 
ry, that even products seemingly competing r 
with each other in the same markets, may yet j 
have a tendency to create increased demands for \ 
all of them. With the theories and speculations s 
of political economists, I have no disposition to 
meddle before this audience. I shall content c 
myself with presenting facts, leaving you to t 
make the application. c 
The leading American agricultural staple is s 
cotton, and its cultivation and manufacture have c 
within the lest half century acquired an impor- ( 
tance tar exceeding all other similar pursuits.— a 
The plant, though indigenous to the tropical re- !, 
gions of Asia, Africa and.America, had only been y 
used to a limited extent, sor the purposes of r 
clothing, when the American invention of the f ( 
cotton-gin gave its cultivation an impetus and 0 
extension unprecedented in the annals of agri- r 
culture. No branch of human industry has ever j 
risen to importance and power so rapidly as that „ 
of cotton; none has produced so great a revolu- ^ 
tion in the commerce and manufactures of the c 
civilized world. Previous to the Revolution, r 
and even as late as the adoption of the federal q 
constitution, not a single pound of cotton was v 
exported from America; while it is now not only c 
the principle article^of our exports, (exceeding c . 
in value all other agricultural exports of our p 
country), but the great basis of our foreign ex- p 
changes, and the most powerful lever of the 
commerce of the world. P 
The cotton trade alone has sufficed to revolu- tl 
tionize the commerce of the world. Wherevera o: 
bale of cotton goes, it carries with it a portion of n 
American intelligence and power. The aboli- pi 
tion of the corn laws of England—opening the ai 
ports of Great Britain to American bread-stuffs 
and provisions—was a triumph achieved by the tl 
American cotton grower over the feudal aristoc- si: 
racy of the old world. It furnished bread to the is 
laboring masses of Great Britain and Ireland, at in 
the same time that it clothed them, and formed ci 
the first step towards the amelioration of their es 
condition. It afforded increased markets, not lu 
only to the products of the South; but, from the ia 
necessary relation of all articles of commerce, ca 
also to those of the Northern and North-Wes¬ 
tern States of the Union. What has been effect¬ 
ed in England by the power of American Agri¬ 
culture, must, in due coarse of time, extend to 
every commercial and manufacturing country on 
the continent of Europe. The battle against 
commercial restrictions is now waging in Belgi¬ 
um, France, Germany, and Italy, and must 
eventually terminate in the abrogation of all 
monopolies. 
In enumerating the leading agricultural sta¬ 
ples of our country, we are naturally led to the 
consideration of the tobacco plant. It is not my 
purpose here to inquire how far the use of tobac¬ 
co, in any of its forms, may be regarded as an 
elegant accomplishment, or whether its culture 
should be encouraged, as one of the necessaries 
of life. In Holland, on the shores of the Baltic, 
and other countries of Europe, I believe, it has 
been regarded as a medicinal plant, and an anti¬ 
dote against prevailing diseases: while in some 
of the German States, its growth, owing to the 
general use of the weed, is enforced by law.— 
Be this as it may, the use of tobacco, in some 
shape, has become general in every quarter of 
the globe, and its production an object of nation¬ 
al importandB. 
Tobacco enters largely into our foreign ex¬ 
changes, being second only to cotton on the list 
to cotton cm the list 
of our agricultural exports. There is no nation 
with which we trade that does not use tobacco; 
while in several European countries it is a gov¬ 
ernment monopoly, and one of the chief articles 
from which revenue is derived. In several 
Statesof this Union, it constitutes the chief sta¬ 
ple article of agriculture, and its producers are 
large consumers of the ordinary products of the 
farm and dairy of other States;* while in some of 
the Northern and North-western States, its cul¬ 
ture has been introduced,as even more profitable 
than the usual agricultural industry of our far¬ 
mers. 
But we not only export tobacco, we are also 
importers of the article to a large amount for our 
own consumption. It becomes an appropriate 
subject of inquiry, therefore, whether our soil 
and climate are not adapted to the production of 
those superior qualities which we now import, as 
well as to those in the production of which we 
excel other portions of the world; and the ques¬ 
tion may also arise whether our qualities of to¬ 
bacco may not be improved so as to equal those 
now imported from the principal West India Is¬ 
lands? At all events, tne action of government 
is invoked not to slacken in its endeavors to in¬ 
duce the governments of France, Belgium and 
Austria, to abandon their present tobacco monop¬ 
olies, and to open their ports to the reception of 
this, as well as other agricultural staples of our 
country. I am aware that these endeavors up to 
this moment, have met with but little success; 
but this constitutes no valid reason why they 
should be abandoned. The age of monopolies is 
passed, and the check which every monopoly 
imposes on other branches of commerce, and 
through it, indirectly, on the revenue, added to 
our own governmental remonstrances, can in the 
end hardly fail to open the eyes ot those nations, 
and to effect the desired object. 
I would now invite your attention to the ex¬ 
portation of breadstuff's. At one time, in the 
history of our country, a general impression pre¬ 
vailed that we should never be able to export 
wheat and flour to Europe. The distance from 
European markets, the cost of transportation, in¬ 
terest on capital, insurance, all were figured up 
against us to show that competition with the 
wheat growers of Europe, was entirely out of the 
question, and that we must confine our export of 
breadstuffs to the British North American Colo¬ 
nies, the West Indies and South America. This 
error, however, has been corrected by experience. 
Without including our large exports during the 
famine year, when we were almost the only sel¬ 
lers in the markets of Europe, our exports show 
a respectable increase in ordinary years; our 
means of transportation have improved, produc¬ 
tion has become cheaper, distances have been 
shortened, by the saving of time, and in spite of 
all the lugubrious prophesies of our croakers, w,e 
find our farmers competing with the principal 
wheat growers of Europe in their own markets! 
American breadstuffs have gained a permanent 
foothold in the principal markets of the world, 
and our wheat flour is quite as great a favorite 
in Mark Lane, as any other species of the same 
article imported into England. Occasional fluc¬ 
tuations in prices—in particular years of large 
crops—must of course, be submitted to in the 
trade of all agricultural staples; but these will be 
met, and their influences guarded against, by a 
frugal, industrious people. 
But while in the trade of wheat and flour we 
meet with powerful rivals in the Nortli and 
South of Europe—among the people on the Bal¬ 
tic and those bordering on the Black Sea—the 
trade in Indian corn and corn meal, and in pro¬ 
visions, is to a great extent, left almost without 
competition, save that which proceeds from the 
offer of cheaper and inferior substitutes. We 
can furnish good provisions,at lower ratesthan any 
other country on the globe; and Indian corn has 
no longer any other real competitor in British 
markets than the now uncertain crop of Irish 
potatoes. With this view of the subject, you 
will pardon me if I at once proceed to the con¬ 
sideration of that important American staple. 
Indian corn is, no doubt, an indigenous plant 
of North and South America; having been cul¬ 
tivated by the Indians many centuries before the 
discovery of this continent. Antiquarian re¬ 
searches and architectural ruins show that Indian 
corn must have been grown and held in high es¬ 
teem as the chief article of food by the Aztecs, 
and this supposition becomes the more probable, 
as the principal other grains now cultivated in 
America have been since introduced from Eu¬ 
rope. It constitutes now a chief article of food 
for man and the animals subject to his dominion 
on this continent, and an important article of ex¬ 
port to Europe, although many parts of Southern 
Europe have been found well adapted to its 
growth. It recommends itself to the great body 
of consumers by its nutritious qualities, far ex¬ 
ceeding those of other substitutes for wheat and 
rye, now in use among the laboring classes of 
Europe, and by the great variety of forms in 
which it may be prepared for food. French 
chemists assert that two cents’ worth of Indian 
corn will go further in sustaining animal life than 
ten cents’ worth of wheat, rye or barley. There 
is no doubt that its consumption is increasing 
everywhere, and that its production in this coun¬ 
try, on the largest scale, will abundantly reward 
the farmer. Indian corn will, in due time, not 
only partially supplant the potato, (which is 
now an uncertain crop in Europe,) but also com¬ 
pete successfully with the more valuable grains 
and breadstuffs. 
Among the agricultural products entering into 
the general consumption of all civilized nations, 
sugar deservedly occupies a very high rank. It 
is a disputed question whether the sugar cane is 
indigenous to America. It has been known and 
cultivated from the earliest periods, in Asia, and 
especially in China, and is by some supposed to 
have been introduced into America by the Span¬ 
iards and Portuguese. Others maintain that the 
cane is a plant indigenous to the New World. I 
?- incline to the latter opinion, but leave the subject 
t- to those who have the time and the inclination 
i- to investigate it. 
,o Sugar from cane is produced to a great extent 
n in the United States: but a large portion is yet 
rt imported from foreign counties. Whether the 
i- United States will ever be able to produce the 
rt quantity required for their own consumption, re- 
11 mains to be seen, and will in all likelihood de¬ 
pend on the probable annexation of more sugar- 
i- growing states to the Union. Some portions of 
ie Louisiana, Texas and Florida produce cane su- 
y gar to the extent of rewarding the cultivators; 
;- while in many of lhe Northern States large 
n amounts of sugar are manufactured from the ma- 
■e pie tree. The whole quantity, however, does not 
:s meet the demand for home consumption, and the 
c, question has often been asked whether some oth- 
is er plant, easily raised and cultivated, may not, 
i- in part at least, supply the deficiency? 
e The cultivation of the beet-root,for the manu- 
e facture of sugar,was introduced in France,during 
- the operation of the continental system. That 
1(3 prohibitory system, as long as it continued, con- 
’ stituted in itself the amplest protection against 
■ all foreign competition: but when, upoir the fall 
of Napoleon, some of the French colonies which 
had been seized upon by Great Britain, during 
the war, were restored to France, and the conti- 
13 nental system itself abandoned, protection, in 
b the shape of high duties upon colonial sugar, 
- was deemed necessary to sustain the cultivation 
:8 of the beet-root. Under Louis Philippe the 
1 growth of beet-root and the manufacture of beet- 
■" root sugar, received the utmost attention and 
e fostering care of the Government. Both were 
e encouraged by a series of legislative enactments, 
i and, for a while, a fierce struggle was maintain- 
■ ed between the advocates of the French colonial 
e system, and the friends of the domestic article. 
- The large and predominant interest of the con¬ 
sumer, which required, as an act of justice to all, 
0 that both kinds of sugar should be able to com- 
1 pete fairly for the home market, was entirely left 
® out of the question. Meanwhile the protection 
| of beet-root sugar increased more than ten-fold 
* in amount, and since the entire removal of the 
8 protection by the imposition of an excise duty 
e upon it, equal to the import duty on the colonial 
article, that branch of industry has maintained 
* itself in defiance of all competition. 
e I am not aware that the soil and climates of 
- France are, in any respect, better adapted to the 
t cultivation of the beet-root than many portions 
■ of the United States. At all events, considering 
* that Prussia, Belgium, Saxony, other parts of 
* Germany, and even Russia, have imitated the 
* example of France, with the same if not greater 
r success, there is no reason to suppose that it is 
3 entirely inapplicable to the United States; situ- 
J ated, for the most part, in equally favorable lat- 
f itudes, and subjected to similar influences of cli- 
8 mate. Is it not, therefore, a question worthy of 
j your attention, whether the cultivation of the 
* oeet-root, as a sugar plant, may not be success- 
> fully introduced into our country, as a means of 
3 supplying the deficiency of cane ? 
’ This subject derives additional interest from 
the consideration that sugar in this country, has 
become an article of ordinary, daily consump- 
3 tion by every class of our population, and that 
the comfort and the well being of our industri- 
' al laborers require that its consumption should 
1 rather increase than diminish, in proportion to 
■ the increasing population of the United States. 
Rice is a native of India ; but was at an early 
, period of our colonial history, transplanted to 
: the shores of South Carolina and Georgia. I be¬ 
lieve I hazard nothing in asserting that it is now 
growing more luxuriantly on our soil, than on 
’ the one that gave it birth, and that South Caro¬ 
lina rice, on account of its superior quality, com¬ 
mands the very highest price in foreign markets. 
It is the staple article of a section of country, 
which is comparatively valueless for any other 
species of agricultural productions; being princi¬ 
pally raised on swampy ground, naturally sub- 
, ject to inundation. 
It is moreover confined to a few localities, and 
limited in quantity, though constituting a very 
valuable crop. Heretofore rice has only been 
raised in southern latitudes; but within a few 
years,—since the territory of Minesofa has been 
thrown open to settlers,—it has been ascertained 
that the innumerable small lakes and swamps, 
which dot the map of that section of country! 
upon the head waters of the Mississippi, contain 
a luxurious and spontaneous growth of wild rice, 
which is well adapted to culinary purposes. Is it 
not then, a subject worthy of in vestigation,wheth¬ 
er this new species of rice,a native of theNorth, 
and accustomed to a northern climate, may not 
be produced in the swamps and marshes which 
now disfigure our best agricultural regions, and 
remain a source of disease and death to their in¬ 
habitants ? I merely throw out these hints to 
direct your attention to the subject; not knowing 
whether others may not have preceded me. 1 
leave it to your better knowledge, and to your 
practical qualifications as farmers, to make the 
necessary experiments; believing that in agricul¬ 
ture, as in other sciences and occupations, experi¬ 
ence alone is the proper test of all discoveries 
aitd improvements. 
I have, within the last year, procured a con¬ 
siderable quantity of the seeds of this rice from 
the Patent office at Washington, and distributed 
them among those whom I thought likely to 
make experiments in different parts of the coun¬ 
try; but sufficient time has not elapsed t6 ascer¬ 
tain the result. Were it not for the British sys¬ 
tem of differential duties upon articles, the pro¬ 
ductions of different species of labor, South Ca¬ 
rolina and Georgia rice would have continued to 
be exported in large quantities. But the system 
by which England has, of late years, favored the 
agricultural products of her East India provin¬ 
ces, to the detriment and ruin of her own West 
India colonies, has also, for a time at least, exer- 1 
cised a discouraging influence on the rice-grow- : 
ers of America. It is a subject of congratula- ! 
tion, therefore, to know that, more recently, rice J 
has found a ready home market, at such remu- 
nrrating prices, as promise to that branch of ag¬ 
riculture a long period of prosperty and success. 1 
Hemp has long been, and still continues to be, ' 
a very considerable item in our foreign imports. ^ 
The government itself has, from its foundation, ' 
been a large importer of hemp, for naval purpo¬ 
ses, in addition to what has been introduced, on £ 
private account, principally for the use of our I 
commercial marine. < 
l he importations commenced when little or t 
no hemp was produced in this country, and have 1 
been continued, under the impression that Am- t 
erican hemp was not equal to that of Russia for t 
the manufacture of cordage. It has long since r 
been ascertained, however, that our soil and cli- i 
mate are well adapted to the growth of hemp, c 
and that we can produce it cheap and in abun- t 
dance. It is now believed that the hemp grown t 
in Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, ii 
Iowa, and perhaps other States of the Union, is n 
fully equal to the Russian in strength and tex- h 
ture, and that our countrymen have discovered tl 
a process of rotting, by which it can be ren- z 
dered equal, if not superior, to that of Russia, 
for all purposes to which the latter has been ap- t' 
plied in this country. The fact renders the cul- a 
’t ture of hemp well worth the attention of Ameri- 
n can agriculturists. A people now only the sec* 
ond, and destined soon to be the first commerci- 
it al and maritime nation of the world, ought to 
it bestow a special care on all products necessary 
e to the success of its commercial and naval en- 
e terprise. The capacity of our soil for the pro- 
ductions of hemp is unlimited; while our im- 
*- mense foreign, coastwise, and internal naviga- 
'- tion, insure to it- an ample and increasing home 
>f market. 
I would fain say a few words on the culture 
R of Mulberries, in connection with the raising of 
e the silk-worm and the manufacture of silk. I 
- am aware that the experiments heretofore made 
't have usually proved unsuccessful; but the en- 
e terprise resembled more a mercantile specula- 
- tion than a fair trial by practical men. I am 
t, loth to believe that within the wide range of our 
Northern and Southern latitudes, there should 
. not be a spot favorable to the cultivation of the 
g silk-worm. Silk-worms, and the peculiar species 
it of mulberry upon which they live, were first 
- introduced into Asia Minor from China; and 
it the experiment having succeeded in Greece, in 
1 Turkey, in France, in Italy, in Spain, and in Por- 
h tugal, is it not reasonable to suppose that they 
g would also thrive in many portions of our own 
- country, if the attention ana care were bestowed 
n upon them which are the conditions of their 
r, growth? Experiments have lately been made 
n in South Carolina in the cultivation of the 
e Chinese tea-plant, and if the accounts I have 
,- seen, are to be relied upon, have entirely suc- 
d ceeded. 
e Why then should not silk, an article much less 
3 , delicate than tea, and which has already succeed- 
- ed in so many different climes, be susceptible al- 
.1 so of profitable cultivation in the U. States. A 
3 . large portion of our imports from Europe, con- 
- sists of manufactured silks, and if we could suc- 
1, ceed in domesticating that species of industry, a 
- degree of stability would be imparted to ourfor- 
’t eign commercial policy,which would serve to pre- 
a vent the confounding of political economy with 
i partizan politics. 
e My remarks on the subject of Silk, apply, per- 
f haps, with equal force, to the cultivation of the 
,1 Vine. The vine is a native of Asia, but has at- 
i tained its highest perfection in Europe and Afri¬ 
ca. While there is scarcely a species of Asiatic 
f wine known to commerce,'some of the highest 
e priced wines in Europe are manufactured from 
s vineyards in lattitude 48 and 50. Careful tend- 
y ing and manuring, and the treatment of the wine 
f in the cask and in the cellar, seem to have done 
e everything. We have as many varieties of the 
r grape as any part of the world, indigenous to our 
s own country, and growing luxuriantly wild in 
- wood and prairie. The greater part of them,how- 
- ever, remain uncultivated, without the least val- 
- ue being attached to them by our farmers. Yet 
f strange to say, almost every experiment which 
j has been made with our indigenous grape, has 
- succeeded. Good wines, far superior in quality 
f to the ordinary hocks and clarets imported into 
this country, are now made from pure indigenous 
j grape, in many portions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
3 Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and doubt- 
. less in other Statesof the Union; while it is well 
^ known that wine has long been a staple article 
. of production in the valley of the Rio Grande 
I and the southern portion of California. The Ca- 
> tawba grape has shown itself admirably adapted 
to the manufacture of champagne, while the 
lighter sorts of it furnish an excellent article for 
^ the iGe of the table. I have been informed that 
1 natives of Europe, now adopted citizens of the U. 
States, are willing to pay a higher price for them 
than for the usual qualities of French or German 
wines to which they are accustomed. 
A very fair ladies wine is produced in North 
Carolina, from an indigenous grape, called senp- 
pernong, peculiar to that State. 
Similar experiments have been made in other 
States, and it would, indeed, seem as if the in¬ 
digenous American grape were infinite in its va¬ 
rieties, and its culture better adapted to the soil 
and climate of this country than that of any oth¬ 
er kind of grape imported either from Europe, 
Africa or the Canary Islands. In view of these 
facts, it is certainly no wild conjecture to suppose 
that the United States will, in a very short time, 
produce good wine so cheap and in such abun¬ 
dance, as to render it a common and daily bev¬ 
erage. Such a result is not to be deprecated on 
the part of those most, scrupulous on the subject 
of ardent spirits, for it is a well established fact, 
verified by the observation of every day, that 
the population of wine-growing countries is not¬ 
ed for sobriety and temperance. The mostsober 
people of the old world, are in the winegrowing 
countries of southern Europe, where the article, 
like water, is placed on every table, free of cost, 
but an extra charge made for coffee and a verv 
exorbitant one for tea. They scarcely ever in¬ 
dulge in it to excess, while in northern Russia, 
where ardent spirits are used as substitutes for . 
wines, intoxication is the prevailing vice; the ex¬ 
ample having been set by no less illustrious a 
person than Peter the Great. 
I am now about to say a few words on a very 
important branch of husbandry, of peculiar in¬ 
terest to the American farmer. I allude to the 
growth of wool; an article which in no small de¬ 
gree affects our foreign and domestic exchanges. 
So far as experience has demonstrated, large por¬ 
tions of our country are admirably adapted to 
the growth of wool. In the production of no 
other article has there been so great an improve¬ 
ment in quantity and quality. Our early at¬ 
tempts at wool growing were almost exclusively 
confined to the inferior breeds of sheep, and the 
coarser qualities of wool, under the prevalentim- 
pression that the Saxon, Merino, South Downs, 
and all other finer qualities, could not be raised 
in this country. Recent experiments however, 
go far to show that the finer qualities of wool 
can be produced in this country, by similar care 
and attention to the breed and culture of the 
sheep, as well as in any part of Europe, and to 
an extent far beyond our present demand. The 
hills of New England, New York and Pennsyl¬ 
vania, have been shown to be well adapted*to 
the raising of sheep, and it can hardly be doubt¬ 
ed that the mountains of Virginia, North Caro- 
! lina and other Southern States, are equally fa¬ 
vorable to the same culture. 
Wool and sheep-growing are also becoming 
an important branch of industry on the Western 
prairies, and it is highly probable that the regi¬ 
ons best adapted to them, will yet be found be¬ 
tween the Mississippi and the Pacific, in the val¬ 
leys and upon the great plains, on both sides of 
the Rocky Mountains. Those regions are par¬ 
ticularly adapted to grazing. They are for the 
most part elevated, dry and healthy, abounding 
in rich grasses and pure water. The extent of 
country to which I refer, embraces an area more 
than twice that of the original thirteen States of 
the Union, and is destined to be occupied by an 
intelligent, industrious and energetic race of 
men, not inferior in any respect to those who in¬ 
habit the old States. Nature has designed it for ' 
the habitation of an agricultural people, andgra- ! 
zing must be their predominant pursuit. 1 
In the early stages of the woolen manufac- \ 
turesof Europe, the finer qualities of wool were i 
almost exclusively supplied by Spain, and the ( 
