THE CULTIVATOR. 
147 
In the land of which we are citizens, all, to a certain extent, are 
placed on an equality; therefore, setting- aside the utility of study, as 
applicable to the ordinary business of life, it is necessary to exercise 
it, on some occasions, in a political point of view; for here, every 
citizen may, by rotation, be called to stand inofficial stations. The 
liberties of our country are placed in the hands of such men; and 
as we are either learned or unlearned, so will our republic stand or 
fall. Was it knowledge that overthrew the republics of Greece 
and Rome? Surely not. The temples of the muses were desert¬ 
ed ; ignorance, superstition, anarchy and confusion were exhibited 
in lieu of order, learning and constitutional propriety. 
Ignorance is the soil where ambition ever over-shadows the neigh¬ 
boring plants; surmounts all difficulties, and finally stands triumphant 
amid general ruin and devastation. Shall the disgraceful farce of 
Cataline’s conspiracy ever be reacted on the happy shores of the 
once peaceful America ? Shall the chains of monarchy ever fetter 
the sons of liberty? Can it be, that the blood of our fathers has 
flowed in vain, and their sons have become the slaves of ambition; 
sold their birthright and bartered away their freedom, simply for the 
want of education ? Our soil is well adapted to agriculture, and 
shall it, for want of tillage, refuse to yield its products, and become 
one barren waste ? If the young men of these United States would 
read, and practise what they read, our country would speedily be¬ 
come even more productive than at present and then the sun of 
prosperity and happiness will continue to diffuse its benignant rays 
over our land, and peace and liberty will endure forever. 
The objection is often raised, that the study of the ancient classic 
authors is altogether useless except to professional men. But this 
is a mistake. The Georgies of Virgil is the best work now extant 
on agriculture. One that was composed when agriculture languish¬ 
ed in Italy, and consequently peace and happiness had fled from her 
borders. The general distress was attributed wholly to the adminis¬ 
tration of Augustus. The friends of this immortal poet deplored 
this state of affairs, which threatened the overthrow of the country, 
and requested him to write upon this subject. He readily acquiesced. 
Retiring from the jarring interests of politics and the intrigues of 
court, he performed the arduous task. The Georgies appeared in 
their elegant simplicity, joined with poetic grandeur. 
He traces agriculture to its source; describes the implements pro¬ 
per for its use; notices the prognostics of the weather; the best 
method of managing various soils; of propagating fruit trees and 
the vine; the various kinds of cattle and bees. It is asserted, that 
Virgil did more for the prosperity of his country than he would have 
done, had he obtained the most splendid victories in the field of 
battle; for the country assumed a new and flourishing appearance, 
and peace, plenty and domestic happiness reappeared. 
If the young men of this country wish to see their fair republic 
prosper—the wings of the eagle still spread over the land, then let 
them seize with avidity every means in their power to cultivate their 
minds as well as their lands: so shall their days be peace and hap¬ 
piness—their decline, like the setting sun in a calm summer’s eve, 
full of glory. 
Small rivulets, oozing from the mountain’s brow, wend their way, 
clear and slow, through their contiguous neighborhood, giving life 
and refreshment to those within their reach, without attracting no¬ 
tice or applause, save from some humble admirer who tastes their 
sweetness, until they unite with tributary streams ; when rolling on, 
deepening and widening in their progress, they are noted and ad¬ 
mired at a distance from their source, like the majestic Mississippi, 
the father of waters in the western world, moving every obstruction 
from its way. Thus rivulets of knowledge flow from mercantile 
houses, mechanics’ shops and farmers’ dwellings, that not only ex¬ 
ert a salutary influence on the surrounding community, but as they 
pass along, tributary streams flow in from every quarter, widening 
and deepening the channel already-formed, until they constitute the 
palladium of our liberties, which can only be supported by the gene¬ 
ral diffusion of knowledge. 
Suppose a man devotes two hours per day to study; in one year 
he reads seven hundred and thirty hours, or sixty days and ten hours, 
at twelve hours per day. In ten years, six hundred and eight days 
and four hours. In thirty years, eighteen hundred and twenty-five 
days, or five years. What vast stores of knowledge might thus be 
gathered, simply by spending two hours per day in study! Every 
person spends more time than this in idleness, and why not devote it 
to literature? Only spend this time in study, and our country will 
be blest with scientific farmers and mechanics, together with wise 
energetic statesmen. E. A. R. 
A TABLE, lo shorn at a glance the number of kills or plants contained in an 
acre of land, at any given distance from each rlher, from 40 feet by 40 , to l 
jootby one, omitting fractious. 
feet . fed . 
per acre . 
feet . fed . 
per acre . 
j fed . feet . 
per acre 
40 by 40 
27 
8 by 7 
777 
3 9 .. 2 9 
4224 
39 .. 39 
28 
— .. 6 
905 
— ..26 
4646 
33 .. 33 
30 
— 5 
1089 
— ..23 
5162 
37 .. 37 
31 
— .. 4 
1361 
— ..20 
5808 
36 .. 36 
33 
— .,/ 3 
1815 
— ..19 
6637 
35 .. 35 
35 
— 2 
2722 
— ..16 
7744 
34 .. 34 
37 
— .. 1 
5445 
— ..13 
9272 
33 .. 33 
40 
7 ..7 0 
888 
— ..10 
11616 
32 .. 32 
42 
— ..66 
957 
3 6 .. 3 6 
3555 
31 .. 31 
45 
— ..60 
1037 
— ..33 
3829 
30 .. 30 
48 
— ..56 
1131 
— ..30 
4148 
29 .. 29 
51 
— ..50 
1244 
— ..29 
4525 
23 .. 28 
55 
— ..46 
1382 
— ..26 
4978 
27 .. 27 
59 
— ..40 
1555 
— ..23 
5531 
26 .. 26 
64 
— ..36 
1777 
— ..20 
6222 
25 .. 25 
69 
— ..30 
2074 
— ..19 
7111 
24 .. 24 
75 
— ..26 
2489 
— ..16 
8297 
23 .. 23 
82 
— ..20 
3111 
— ..13 
9956 
22 .. 22 
90 
— ..16 
4148 
— .. 10 
12445 
21 .. 21 
98 
— ..10 
6222 
33 .. 33 
4124 
20 .. 20 
108 
6 ..6 0 
1210 
— ..30 
4818 
— .. 15 
145 
— ..56 
1320 
— ..29 
4873 
— .. 10 
217 
— ..50 
1452 
— ..26 
5361 
— .. 5 
435 
— ..46 
1613 
— ..23 
5956 
19 .. 19 
120 
— ..40 
1815 
— ..20 
6701 
— .. 15 
152 
— ..36 
2074 
— ..19 
7658 
— .. 10 
229 
— ..30 
2420 
— ..16 
8935 
— 5 
458 
— ..26 
2904 
— ..13 
10722 
IS .. 18 
134 
— ..20 
3630 
— ..10 
13403 
— .. 15 
161 
— ..16 
4 S 40 
30 .. 30 
4840 
— .. 10 
242 
— ..10 
7260 
-..29 
5289 
— .. 5 
484 
56 .. 56 
1417 
— ..26 
5808 
17 .. 17 
150 
— .. 5 0 
15 S 4 
— ..23 
6453 
— .. 15 
170 
— ..46 
1760 
— ..20 
7260 
— .. 10 
256 
— ..40 
1980 
— ..19 
8297 
— .. 5 
512 
— ..36 
2272 
i —..16 
9680 
16 .. 16 
170 
— ..30 
2640 
— ..13 
11616 
— .. 15 
175 
— ..26 
3168 
— ..10 
14520 
— .. 10 
272 
— ..20 
3960 
2 9 .. 2 9 
5760 
— .. 5 
544 
— ..16 
5280 
— ..26 
6336 
15 .. 15 
193 
— ..10 
7920 
— ..23 
7040 
— 10 
290 
5 0 .. 50 
1742 
— ..20 
7920 
— 5 
580 
— ..46 
1936 
— ..19 
9051 
14 .. 14 
222 
— ..40 
2178 
— ..16 
10560 
— 10 
311 
— ..36 
2489 
— ..13 
12672 
— •• 5 
622 
— ..30 
2904 
— ..10 
15840 
13 .. 13 
257 
— ..26 
3484 
26 .. 26 
6969 
— .. 10 
335 
— ..20 
4356 
— ..23 
7740 
— .. 5 
670 
— ..16 
5808 
— ..20 
8712 
12 .. 12 
302 
— ..10 
8712 
— ..19 
9956 
— 10 
363 
46 .. 46 
2151 
— ..16 
11616 
— .. 5 
720 
— ..40 
2420 1 
— ..13 
13939 
11 •• 11 
360 
— ..36 
2765 
- 10 
17424 
— 10 
396 
— ..30 
3226 
23 .. 23 
8604 
— .. 5 
792 
— ..26 
3872 
— ..20 
9680 
10 .. 10 
435 
— ..20 
4840 
— ..19 
11062 
— .. 9 
484 
— ..16 
6453 
— ..16 
12906 
— .. 8 
544 
— ..10 
9680 
— ..13 
15488 
— .. 7 
622 
4 0 .. 4 0 
2722 
— ..10 
19360 
—- .. 6 
726 
— ..39 
2904 
o 
c * 
o 
<N 
10890 
— 5 
871 
— ..36 
3111 
— ..19 
12445 
— .. 4 
1089 
— ..33 
3350 
— ..16 
14520 
— .. 3 
1452 
— ..30 
3630 
— ..13 
17424 
— .. 2 
2178 
— ..29 
3960 
— ..10 
21780 
— .. 1 
4356 
— ..26 
4356 
19 .. 19 
14223 
9 .. 9 
537 
— ..23 
4840 
- 16 
16594 
— 8 
605 
— ..20 
5445 
— ..13 
19913 
— 7 
691 
— ..19 
6222 
— ..10 
24454 
— .. 6 
806 
— ..16 
7260 
16 .. 16 
19360 
— .. 5 
968 
— ..13 
8712 
— ..13 
23232 
— 4 
1210 
— ..10 
10890 
— ..10 
29040 
— 3 
1613 
39 .. 39 
3097 
13 .. 13 
27878 
— 2 
2420 
— ..36 
3318 
— ..10 
34848 
— .. 1 
4840 
— ..33 
3574 
10 .. 10 
43560 
8 .. 8 
680 
— ..30 
3872 
