1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
213 
Mental Culture. 
Eds. Cultivator— Time has been, when it was 
thought that mental cultivation in a farmer, would 
unfit him for the humble toils of husbandry; when 
it was thought unnecessary for him to cultivate those 
faculties, which alone distinguish him from the 
brute. And I blush for human nature, when I find 
many in the present age, who believe that intelli¬ 
gence is detrimental to the interests of the farmer ! 
But, thank Heaven! I believe that these relics of a 
barbarous age—these mists, which during the long- 
night of ignorance, have gathered about the human 
mind,—will vanish before the flood of light which 
is dawning upon mankind. Then will our hardy 
yeomanry appreciate their own strength; and then, 
but not till then, will others award them the respect 
which is their due. 
Man, without mind, is lower in the scale of exist¬ 
ence than any being which has animal life. Brutes 
are endowed by nature with instinct; which reason 
in man, renders unnecessary. But when man is 
destitute of reason—when the fire of intellect be¬ 
comes extinct— then we can see how much the mind 
has to do in forming the man! But still there are 
thousands who practically say that mind is not ne¬ 
cessary. Oh, what absurdity! As though there 
were nothing to be attained, nothing worth striving 
for, save a mere animal existence; to eat, sleep, 
then die and be forgotten. 
The pleasure arising from the cultivation of our 
mental powers, would alone be a sufficient recom¬ 
pense for all our study and toil. Every faculty of 
our nature, when exercised in its legitimate sphere, 
is in itself, an inexhaustible source of enjoyment. 
Hence the greater the number of faculties called 
into action, the greater will be our means of enjoy¬ 
ment ; hence those who cultivate only the physical 
powers, leaving the mind in a state of inactivity, will 
reap but a small portion of the happiness which they 
might have enjoyed, had they understood and follow¬ 
ed the teachings of nature. And further, as every 
organ is strengthened by exercise, and as the plea¬ 
sure derived from the action of any faculty depends 
upon its strength, and the facility with which it 
acts, so the more we cultivate our minds, the great¬ 
er will be the happiness derived therefrom ; and as 
the more we accomplish the more difficulties we 
overcome, the greater will be our strength ; we shall 
thus fit ourselves for still nobler efforts, and still 
higher flights toward realms which science has not 
yet explored. 
Considered in a moral point of view, the neglect 
of mental culture cannot appear otherwise than as 
the basest ingratitude. Few would treat with in¬ 
difference the favors of a friend, yet how many treat 
the mind—the greatest gift of God, as though its 
only use were to minister to our animal passions! 
The fact that God has bestowed these faculties up¬ 
on us, is a sufficient proof of our duty to cultivate 
them. 
But the greatest complaint among farmers is, that 
they have no time to study. But what is the rea¬ 
son? Why cannot the farmer find time for mental 
improvement, as well as the mechanic? Alas! I 
fear that the chief reason will be found in the fact 
that it is not considered necessary; yes—knowledge 
is considered useless in those who form the founda¬ 
tion of civilized society! As well might we expect 
to rear a durable structure upon a foundation of 
sand , as to expect the fabric of society to rest se¬ 
curely upon the rotten foundation of ignorance. If 
knowledge is not necessary to the farmer, then cer¬ 
tainly those who do nothing but consume the fruits 
of his toil, do not need it. 
But a brighter day is dawning upon the human 
mind. The time will soon come when the farmer 
will possess and be content with 
“ An elegant, sufficiency, content, 
Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books. 
Ease and alternate labor, useful life, 
Progressive virtue and approving Heaven.” 
May Heaven speed the day when the light of 
truth shall illumine every mind with its heavenly ra 
diance! Sylvanus. East Weare , N. H. 
Shrinkage of Corn. 
Eds. Cultivator —Knowing that a great differ¬ 
ence of opinion exists among farmers as to the loss 
of corn by shrinkage or drying, from the time it is 
cribbed in the fall, till spring,—say the latter part 
of March, I determined to satisfy myself on this 
point,—at least so far as a single experiment could 
determine. 
On the 23d of November last, the day on which 
we finished husking, I measured two bushels of ears 
in a standard bushel, as accurately as I could. I 
then weighed each bushel, and found the weights 
43^ lbs. and 44 lbs, respectively. The number of 
ears, 58 in one and 60 in the other. I had one par¬ 
cel shelled, and got 33^ lbs. by weight, and half a 
bushel and half a peck by measure, and 10 lbs. of 
cobs. The corn was spread in a dry airy place, 
where it remained till a few days since, when it had 
lost just half a peck, or 20 per cent, by measure, 
and a fraction over 3 lbs. or 10 per cent, in weight. 
This shows a difference of 10 per cent, between 
the'loss by weight and measure. How is this dif¬ 
ference to be accounted for? Is it owing to the mi¬ 
nute division of the water in the corn, that while 
we find a loss in weight that should occupy a space 
less than three pints, there is an actual loss of eight 
pints in bulk? The cobs of this parcel were acci¬ 
dentally destroyed; so that I was prevented from 
ascertaining the loss on the cob. 
The other bushel of ears was kept in a dry, airy 
place, and shelled a few days ago, and gave just 
half a bushel of corn, weighing thirty and a quar¬ 
ter pounds. The cobs of this parcel, weighed seven 
and a quarter pounds. 
These are the facts, as gathered from my small 
experiment. The corn was a variety of the white, 
between the Gourd-seed and Flint—a mixed variety 
having from ten to twenty-six rows. The corn was 
in good condition for housing, at the time we finish¬ 
ed husking. N. W. McCormick. Independence, 
Cecil Co., Md., March 25, 1850. 
How is it ? 
Eds. Cultivator —If I read them right, some 
agricultural chemists maintain that manures are 
valuable as they contain nitrogen; others say their 
greatest value depends on their phosphates. Prof. 
Norton, in his article on “Neglected Manures,” 
Cult, for March, says the value of bones depends 
upon both these substances. A question or two, if 
you please. Many farmers, perhaps the majority, 
in winter and spring throw the manure from their 
stables and cattle hovels ‘ out doors,’ and leave it 
exposed to ‘ rain and shine,’ till wanted for use. 
Now how is such manure injured the most;—by the 
escape of the ammonia into the air, or by the wash¬ 
ing out of the phosphates and liquid parts, by the 
rain? It is generally known that manure is best to 
be kept under cover, but why it is so, is not so gene¬ 
rally understood. But when kept under cover, care 
