208 THE CULTIVATOR. July, 
plow business for many years. It is my opinion, made 
up from observation of his pecuniary affairs, which 
were pretty well understood by all his acquaintances in 
this region, that his receipts from his patent-right were 
at all times small, and altogether disproportioned to the 
value of his inventions. And I think this opinion pre¬ 
vails generally, among his acquaintances in this coun¬ 
try.” 
Judge Leland, of Auburn, long acquainted with the 
labors of Jethro Wood, and thoroughly versed in a 
knowledge of the different improvements of the plow, 
gives the following statement in reference to those im¬ 
provements: 
“ Wood's plow of 1819, is yet equal if not superior 
to them all—all that s was required, was to take his sug¬ 
gestions in his specification, to make the plow longer or 
shorter, to suit the earth they were to be used in. 
When his plow was first put into use, the country was 
Hew, and full of what was called cradle-knolls, and re¬ 
quired a short plow. As the country became more 
smooth, the plow should be lengthened. This he sug¬ 
gested, and this is all the best improvers have ever 
done, such as Delano, the Livingston county, and the 
Genesee county plows, so called.” 
In addition to the above, Joseph Ridgway, lately a 
Representative in Congress from Ohio, and long enga¬ 
ged in the manufacture of plows, states that he has 
all the varieties of plow patterns, and that during the 
sale of forty-two thousand plows, he sold forty thou¬ 
sand of the patent of Jethro Wood, and but two thou¬ 
sand of the other kinds. Phoebe Wood, 
Sylvia Ann Wood, 
Administratrices of Jethro Wood. 
Study of the Natural Sciences. 
Eds. Cultivator—I was highly gratified with Mr. 
Buckley’s article on the study of the Natural Sciences, 
in your February number, and hope it will have the sa¬ 
lutary effect on your readers which its merits demand. 
Premising that such will be the fact, we may well anti¬ 
cipate a happy and brilliant change ; one of incalcula¬ 
ble benefit in the progress of the arts, and of soothing 
influence on the character of mind, as about to burst 
forth and flow, like pure and healthful waters, over the 
land. 
To no class of men do these studies present them¬ 
selves with richer promise of reward, than to the far¬ 
mer. All his labors are in the great workshop of na¬ 
ture, and all his success depends on his moving in co¬ 
operation with her secret workings. She humbles her¬ 
self, and her firmest rocks waste away to aid him in his 
designs. The clouds spread over the earth, and drop 
fatness, to increase his riches. The thunder roars and 
the lightnings play, to give purity to the atmosphere 
whose healthfulness is his strength. Even winter, with 
her howling winds and rugged storms,, is to him a visi¬ 
tation of mercy, a messenger of love sent to subdue bv 
frost his unyielding soil, and give repose to vegetable 
nature, which causes it to bloom with richer beauty and 
in firmer strength in the bright morning of spring. All 
nature, from the rolling sun with its planetary escort, 
to the crawling insect so small asto defy the searching 
of his vision, and so frail that a breath may destroy it, 
are his, and operate for weal or woe, in aiding him in 
his designs. 
How wide a field is thus opened for his investigation, 
and what a variety of objects are brought to make de¬ 
mands on his research * Meteorology, Geology, Mine¬ 
ralogy, Botany, Zoology and Entomology, all have 
their daily and hourly bearing on his labors. A know¬ 
ledge of them all, is therefore desirable. But the 
question will arise, how are farmers, secluded as they 
are from the sanctums of science, to make progress in 
these investigstions ? Our reply is, set yourselves about 
it; find out what you can by observation, and the vari- 
our publications on each particular science, which in 
these days are so cheap as to be brought within the 
reach of all, and so familiarly written that any one of 
ordinary capacity and common school education can rea¬ 
dily comprehend. Getting knowledge is like getting 
wealth. If the mind is intent upon the object, the la¬ 
bor will be directed towards it, and the end will be at¬ 
tained. And how much more lasting is intellectual 
wealth than that which is measured by dollars and cents. 
No fluctuations of the times can depreciate its value. 
The floods cannot drown, nor the flames consume it. 
To the young, these sciences present themselves with 
peculiay interest. The young are, by nature, natural¬ 
ists. Whoever saw an infant that was not pleased with 
a flower, a pebble, a shell or an animal. See with 
what energy it will divest the one of its leaves, as if 
analyses were already commenced, and with what fond¬ 
ness another is caressed. These principles of nature, 
if cultivated, would lead to results salutary and honor¬ 
able; a kind look, an approving word-—a whisper from 
the parent when the mind of the child is entertained by 
these things, might lay the foundation, if not for a New¬ 
ton or a Franklin, of a being, wise, useful and happy. 
Merely allow and encourage them, and their go-ahead- 
ativeness will enable them to make rich progress. 
But if parents are unwilling to stoop so low as to 
converse with and instruct their children from the book 
of nature and of wisdom, which no mortal mind has 
yet been able to comprehend, we will suggest the pro¬ 
priety of introducing the studies drawn from it into our 
common schools, where every child in the land may 
have an opportunity, without much trouble or loss of 
time from other studies, to become acquainted w T ith its 
valuable contents. A half an hour, or even less time, 
devoted by the teacher, each day, in talking upon these 
subjects, will effect much more, than in the outset will 
be supposed. 
Our own experience in this matter is the best testi¬ 
mony we can bring in favor of its truthfulness. In our 
teaching days we w r ere at one time connected with one 
of the oldest and best established academies in Massa¬ 
chusetts. When we entered upon our service, there 
was not a mineral to be found on all the premises, un¬ 
less it were such as nature planted there, or art had in¬ 
troduced to give firmness and security to the ample di¬ 
mensions of the building. We had not passed a week 
within those time-honored walls, before we suggested 
to some of our scholars the utility of geology and mi¬ 
neralogy, as studies worthy of feheir notice as matter of 
pastime if nothing more, and before that week w T as end¬ 
ed, shelves were prepared and some two or three spe¬ 
cimens placed upon them, as the corner stones of ft fu¬ 
ture cabinet. The idea once started, spread with de¬ 
sirable rapidity. The members of the school, instead 
of spending the hours of recess in indolence, or useless 
amusement, were awake by times, ar.d abroad in the 
fields snuffing the pure air, and exercising their mus¬ 
cles to sever a fragment from some hitherto unnoticed 
rock, to search out its peculiarities, and swell an accu¬ 
mulating list of specimens. All, both male and female 
scholars, were interested in the new study which per¬ 
mitted them to roam over the fields and seek new ob- 
jec s of observation. Nor were these operations limit¬ 
ed to the school. Others became interested, and little 
children often came to present their minerals, and ask 
what they were, and what they were good for. The 
same interest was kept up for years, and for aught we 
know, until the present time; and when we last visited 
the cabinet, it presented a rich collection from various 
sections of the globe. 
That the same happy effects will result from like 
causes in all academies and high schools in our country, 
