1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
35 
am not able to assign philosophical reasons for this 
effect, nor space to suggest my own speculations on 
the subject. The fact has been confirmed to my 
mind by a cause of severe disappointment and cha¬ 
grin, and I allude to it for the benefit and guidance 
of others. 
After repeated plowing of sandy soils, I have 
observed that an encrustation is often formed at 
the usual depth of the furrow. The implement 
glides along upon this formation as it does upon 
hard pan or rocky surface. It gradually becomes 
very firm and impervious, and presents a strong re¬ 
sistance to the plow. It doubtless is produced by a 
constant plowing at the same depth. The effect is 
obviously pernicious. The surface water scarcely 
penetrates it, while it utterly resists the process of 
the tender roots of grains and vegetables. Hence, 
unable to derive moisture from beneath this encrus¬ 
tation, the crop necessarily suffers more severely 
from the heat and drouth. This serious impediment 
to successful cultivation is evidently the result of 
bad husbandry, and can be obviated by a more judi¬ 
cious plowing. Without having formed an opinion 
from experience, my impressions are that the sub¬ 
soil plow might be introduced under these circum¬ 
stances of the soil with great advantage. Has this 
plow been introduced in the cultivation of sandy or 
light soils, and what are the results? W. C. W. 
Port Kent, Essex County, N. Dec., 1849. 
Intellectual Improvement of the Farmer. 
Crushed beneath the supposed superiority of the 
learned professions, and the wealth and luxuries of 
trade and commerce, it has been the lot of the far¬ 
mer, for many years, to find himself looked upon as 
an inferior man. 
That farmers as a class have given grounds for 
being thus looked upon by the community, cannot 
be denied; for let any any candid and truth-seeking 
man look around him among the mass of the agri¬ 
cultural population of our country, and he will find 
an amount of ignorance that is wholly inexcusable. 
I mean no offence to my brethren of the plow, who 
like myself, earn their bread by the sweat of their 
brows, for I know full welL by experience, how 
hard it is to earn one’s bread, and make any pro¬ 
gress in literary pursuits at the same time ; but 
I know as 'well that many, very many hours are 
wasted which might be spent in storing the mind 
with useful knowledge. There is in truth a shock¬ 
ing indifference among farmers as a mass, to the ac¬ 
quirement of intellectual knowledge, and the quick¬ 
er we are aware of, and acknowledge this fact, the 
more likely will we be to correct our error. 
But if farmers are ignorant, it is not the fault of 
their vocation. There is no life that can be made 
more eminently a life of reflection than that of the 
agriculturist. Living, as he does, in the very ‘‘trea¬ 
sure-house of wonders,” is there not enough to 
awaken thought and reflection in him? But alas! 
too true is it that things so common and familiar 
as the operations of nature, cease to excite our 
wonder and admiration. The green grass grows 
beneath our feet—the bright blossom bursts forth in 
beauty—the forest waves in rich luxuriance—sun¬ 
shine and shade are upon our path, and yet we toil 
on, toil ever, in the pursuit of worldly gain, passing 
the beautiful unheeded by; and if, perchance, there 
is now and then, one man amid a group of farmers, 
who has a soul to look upon the beautiful in nature 
or in art, those wise men shake their heads, speak 
with a sepulchral tone, and prophesy the downfall 
of him, so recreant to his interest, who dares to let 
a flower grow upon a spot that might have grown 
a blade of grass or grain! 
But let us hope that the dark night is passing 
away—let us hope that a bright day is dawning up¬ 
on us and upon our children, and let us prepare for 
them, at least, if it be too late for us, a wider 
range of education—finer tastes and deeper sensibi¬ 
lities. 
The good work has begun—there seems to be a 
general stir upon the subject of educating the farm¬ 
er—the text is in every man’s mouth; let it go on¬ 
ward—let ways and means be devised for educating 
the mass of farmers, and let it no longer be neces¬ 
sary for lawyers, doctors, ministers—any body else 
but farmers, to deliver addresses, or make speeches 
upon the subject of agriculture. Let farmers un¬ 
derstand their own business, both theoretically and 
practically, and let them be able to tell what they 
do know, when it is required of them. 
I do not say all this because I think it so enviable 
a lot to give an address or make a speech, but I say 
it in sorrow for that ignorance among those who are 
strictly called practical farmers, that caused the 
necessity for calling in the aid of others to do what 
they themselves felt their inability to do. 
Truly hath it been said that the farmers have done 
everything for others, and nothing for themselves. 
Had it been done with a noble and benevolent spi¬ 
rit, we might be joyful for the goodness that led to 
it. Were it a noble sacrifice of selfishness for the 
benefit of our fellow’ man, wo might glory in the 
disinterestedness that prompted it. But alas! can 
wo plead this? Oh no; ignorance, ignorance—no¬ 
thing but ignorance of the gi*ossest kind has caused 
their elevation and our shame. It is only by a tho¬ 
rough system of education, both moral and intellec¬ 
tual, that we can attain the position wdiich of right 
belongs to us. We call upon the farmers then of 
every state in this wide Union, to aw’ake from their 
lethargy—we beg of them to plan and devise means 
for the improvement of themselves and their chil¬ 
dren. We call too upon all good citizens to aid us 
in this endeavor. The education of farmers is not 
a thing that alone concerns him ; it concerns the wel¬ 
fare of the whole country. We are here now in the 
midst of peace and prosperity, but still we think 
that he who has looked far into the future, may dis¬ 
cover upon the horizon some clouds, which though 
now “ no bigger than a man’s hand,” are destined 
to gather and burst in fury over our own beloved 
homes. Perhaps no sagacity of any party can pre¬ 
vent the storm, but it is better to meet it w r ell pre¬ 
pared than not to be prepared at all. And what 
must that preparation be? I answer—the universal 
education of all classes in the community. In a re¬ 
public, if anywhere, we must have an intelligent 
people. Monarchies and aristocracies may support 
themselves through the wisdom and tact of their ru¬ 
lers, kings, and princes, without the education of 
the common people, but a republic must look to the 
virtue and intelligence of its community for support, 
or it will fall a prey to scheming men and heartless 
demagogues. 
The farmers, from their numbers, hold the bal¬ 
ance of pow'er in their hands in this country, and 
must continue to do so for years and years to come; 
educate them, and our republic will stand, the mo¬ 
del and the glory of the world; let them remain ig- 
norant and uneducated, and who shall dare to solve 
the enigma of the future? H. C. W, Putnam 
Valley, N. ¥., Oct., 1849. 
