12 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
Suggestions for .farmers. 
< 6 To Improve the Soil and the Mind.” 
This was the motto adopted by the lamented Bitel to 
express the design of our work. Though the words are 
well chosen, perhaps the object might be more dis¬ 
tinctly told by a transposition of them, inasmuch as 
a proper improvement of the mind of the farmer, 
seems naturally to constitute an important step to¬ 
wards the improvement of the soii. 
By a proper improvement of the mind, we mean, in 
this case, the acquirement of such knowledge as will 
better enable the farmer to understand and prosecute 
the business of his profession—knowledge which shall 
bear the same relation to his vocation, as that which 
is possessed by the physician, the merchant, and the 
mechanic, bears to their pursuits. 
The idea, we trust, is not now very extensively 
held, that little or no intelligence is necessary to di¬ 
rect, rightly, the operations of agriculture; though we 
fear the supposition is too frequently indulged, that 
the circumstances in which farmers are placed, are 
unfavorable to mental energy and the culture of the 
mind. It is admitted that severe bodily labor is pre¬ 
judicial to the exercise of the mental faculties; but we 
are confident that the organs of both mind and body 
are developed and strengthened by a due degree of 
muscular exercise. Hence the circumstances best cal¬ 
culated to improve the condition of the farmer, are 
those which call into proper action the intellectual and 
physical powers with which he is naturally endowed. 
But there are now, fortunately, many farmers in our 
country whose labors are not so constant as to inter¬ 
fere with the improvement of their minds; many, in¬ 
deed, are thinking and reading men; and we are 
forced to conclude that it is more from lack of inclina¬ 
tion than the existence of real obstacles, that the class 
is not more numerous. The long winter evenings and 
stormy days, afford many hours of leisure, during 
which a great amount of useful information might be 
gathered. 
To show that manual labor is not incompatible with 
high mental capacities, it is not necessary to go back 
to ancient times—when 
-“ the sacred plow employed 
The kings and awful fathers of mankind.” 
The names of distinguished individuals of our own 
country may be given as examples of the fact. Pick¬ 
ering, Buel, Harrison and Wright, were accus¬ 
tomed to the practical labors of the field; and if we 
look, now, into our halls of legislation, either for the 
different states, or the nation, we shall find, among 
the sensible, sound-minded, and influential members, a 
fair representation of working farmers. 
We have spoken of that kind of knowledge which is 
to assist the farmer in his business, and the question 
naturally arises, how can this knowledge be most 
readily obtained? We answer, by observation, by con¬ 
versation with, and by reading the writings of each 
other. But while we would urge the importance of 
inquiry, we would by no means advise a credulous as¬ 
sent to every story which may be heard or read. The 
mind of the farmer should be so enlightened that he 
may be capable of judging for himself, and by a care¬ 
ful discrimination, be able to select w T hat is really use¬ 
ful and applicable to his peculiar wants. It is only 
by observation, by reading, study, comparison and re¬ 
flection, that this important faculty of discrimination 
>an be acquired. 
In recommending to farmers the reading of agricul- 
■^ural books and periodicals, we would not be misun- 
lerstood as to what we consider the proper office of 
such works. They should be regarded as aids to ex¬ 
perience and practice. “ They furnish hints,” says a 
sensible writer, u which intelligent men may turn to 
great advantage, by trying them first on a small scale, 
and altering them to suit their particular eircum- 
stances; they inform us of the progress of our art in 
various districts; they refresh the memory, brighten 
the intellect, and improve the mind; they are vast 
stores of facts, from which many useful lessons may 
be learned by the studious farmer.” 
But though we deem it the first duty of the farmer 
to make himself acquainted with the business of his 
profession, we would not restrict his mind to one class 
of subjects. The pleasures of the imagination, and 
even the cultivation of a refined taste, are not beyond 
the sphere of persons in rural life. The favorite bard 
of Caledonia, who was proud of the appellation of 
“Ayrshire Plowman,” composed many of his best 
pieces wdiile holding the plow—a favorite employment 
with him. 
James Hogg, the “ Ettrick Shepherd,” became 
widely known on account of his poetical effusions, 
while tending sheep on the Scottish mountains; and 
his prose writings, penned under similar circumstan¬ 
ces, relating to the management of those animals, are 
among the most valuable we have on that subject. 
Gilbert Burns, a brother of the poet, distinguished 
as a man of sound sense and extensive information, in 
a letter to Dr. Currie, respecting the propriety of ed¬ 
ucating the middling and lower classes, combats with 
great force the idea that the exercise of the mind is 
inconsistent with the employment of the hands. He 
observes—“ I can say from my own experience, that 
there is no sort of farm-labor inconsistent with the 
most refined and pleasurable state of the mind, that I 
am acquainted with, thrashing alone excepted.” The 
primitive mode of performing that kind of work, he 
regarded as “ insupportable drudgery f and he sug¬ 
gested that the man who invented the thrashing ma¬ 
chine, deserved a “ statue among the benefactors of 
his country, to be placed in the niche next to the per¬ 
son who introduced the culture of potatoes.” 
The happiness which may be derived from a con¬ 
templation of the beauty and harmony of nature, as 
evinced in the laws which govern the mineral, vegeta¬ 
ble, and animal kingdoms, constitutes one of the 
strongest incentives to investigation and the pursuit of 
knowledge; and in this respect, none have greater op¬ 
portunities than the farmer, who— 
“ To Nature’s voice attends, from month to month 
And day to day, through the revolving year; 
Admiring, sees her in her every shape, 
Feels all her sweet emotions at his breast.” 
Order and System in Farming. 
The improved condition of Agriculture in the state 
of New-York, is evident in nearly every county, it is 
made apparent in the products which flow in abundance 
to our seaport markets, and it is equally apparent on the 
whole face of the state. Science has industriously 
collected the fragments of agricultural knowledge, 
heretofore scattered over this and other countries, and 
having arranged them with system, we are enabled 
readily to retain and to employ them. 
With advantages so great, it is surprising to notice 
the embarrassment and loss, which are permitted to 
harrass and distract a large number of our most in¬ 
dustrious farmers, an embarrassment which neutralises 
their efforts, and holds back from them much of the 
profit their farms would naturally afford. 
It is the absence of Order and System in their pro¬ 
ceedings, to which allusion is made.; a palpable w r ant oi 
arrangement of facts, of principles, and of objects, to 
form a complete whole. 
At this season of the year, (November,) we are 
