314 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Oct. 
sound, handsome stock. A cross between the Lin¬ 
coln and Chinese pigs is productive of an animal 
presenting a great tendency to fatten, and a small 
eater. 
“ The old breed of this country, are long-legged, nar¬ 
row-backed, ungainly animals, with thick skins covered 
with short, thick hair; the head is large, the forehead 
wide, and the ears set far apart. They are far from 
being profitable animals, being enormous eaters and 
fattening but poorly.” 
GOV. WRIGHT’S ADDRESS,* 
At the Exhibition of the New-York State Ag. Society , Sept. 16, 1847. 
Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the State Agricul¬ 
tural Society :—Had it been my purpose to entertain 
you with a eulogium upon the great interest confided 
to your care, the Agriculture of the State, I should find 
myself forestalled by the exhibition which surrounds us, 
and which has pronounced that eulogy to the eye, much 
more forcibly, impressively, eloquently, than I could 
command language to pronounce it to the ear of this 
assembly. 
Had I mistakenly proposed to address to you a dis¬ 
course upon agricultural production, this exhibition 
would have driven me from my purpose, by the convic¬ 
tion that I am a backward and scarcely initiated scho¬ 
lar, standing in the presence of masters, with the least 
instructed and experienced of whom, it vrould be my 
duty to change places. 
The agriculture of our state, far as it yet is from 
maturity and perfection, has already become an art, a 
science, a profession, in which he who would instruct 
must be first himself instructed far beyond the advance¬ 
ment of him who now addresses you. 
The pervading character of this great and vital inte¬ 
rest, however ; its intimate connection with the wants, 
comforts, and interests of every man in every employ¬ 
ment and calling in life; and its controlling relations to 
the commerce, manufactures, substantial independence, 
and general health and prosperity of our whole people, 
present abundant subjects for contemplation upon occa¬ 
sions like this, without attempting to explore the depths, 
or to define the principles of a science so profound, and, 
to the uninitiated, so difficult as is that of agriculture. 
Agricultural production is the sub-stratum of the 
whole superstructure; the great- element which spreads 
the sail and impels the car of commerce, and moves the 
hands and turns the machinery of manufacture. The 
earth is the common mother of all, in whatever employ¬ 
ment engaged, and the fruits gathered from its bosom, 
are alike the indispensable nutriment arid support of all. 
The productions of its surface arid the treasures of its 
mines, are the material upon which the labor of the ag¬ 
riculturist, the merchant, and the manufacturer, are 
alike bestowed, and are the prize for which all alike 
toil. 
The active stimulus which urges all forward, excites 
industry; awakens ingenuity, and brings out invention, 
is the prospect or the hope of a market for the productions 
of their labor. The farmer produces to sell; the mer¬ 
chant purchases to sell; and the manufacturer fabricates 
to sell. Self-consumption of their respective goods, 
although an indispensable necessity of life, is a mere inci¬ 
dent in the mind impelled to acquisition. To gain that 
which is not produced or acquired, by the sale of that 
which is possessed , is the great struggie of laboring man. 
Agricultural production is the first in order, the 
strongest in necessity, and the highest in usefulness, in 
this whole system of acquisition. The other branches 
stand upon it, are sustained by it, and without it could 
not exist. Still it has been almost uniformly, as the 
whole history of our state and country will show, the 
most neglected. Apprenticeship, education, a specific 
course of systematic instruction, has been, time out of 
* Most of our readers are already apprised of the sudden demise 
of Gov. Wright, at his residence in Canton, on the 27th of 
August. This address was completed the evening before his 
death, and was read at the Exhibition, by the Hon. John A. Dix. J 
mind, considered an indispensable pre-requisite to a 
creditable or successful engagement in commercial or 
mechanical pursuits; while to know how to wield the 
axe, to hold the plow, and to swing the scythe, has been 
deemed sufficient to entitle the possessor of that know¬ 
ledge to the first place, and the highest wages in agri¬ 
cultural employment. 
A simple principle of production and of trade, always 
practjcally applied, to manufactures and commerce, that 
the best and cheapest article will command the market, 
and prove the most profitable to the producer and the 
seller, because most beneficial to the buyer and consu¬ 
mer, is but beginning to receive' its application to agri¬ 
culture. The merchant, who, from a more extensive 
acquaintance with his occupation, a more' attentive ob¬ 
servation of the markets, better adapted means, and a 
more careful application of sound judgment, untiring 
energy and prudent industry, can buy the best and sell 
the cheapest, has always been seen to be the earliest 
and surest to accomplish the great object of his class, 
an independence for himself. So the mechanic, who, 
from a more thorough instruction in the principles and 
handicraft of his trade, or a more intense application of 
mind and judgment with labor, can improve the articles 
he fabricates, or the machinery and modes of their manu¬ 
facture, and can thus produce the best and sell the 
cheapest, has always been seen to reach the same ad¬ 
vantage over his competitors, with equal readiness and 
certainty; and that these results should follow these 
means and efforts, has been considered natural and una¬ 
voidable. 
Still the agriculturist has been content to follow in the 
beaten track, to pursue the course his fathers have ever 
pursued, and to depend on the earth, the seasons, 
good fortune, and providence, for a crop, indulging the 
hope that high prices may compensate for diminished 
quantity or interior quality. It has scarcely occurred 
to him that the study of the principles of his profession 
had anything to do with his success as a farmer, or that 
what he had demanded from his soils should be con¬ 
sidered in connection with what he is to do for them, 
and what he is about to ask them to perform. He has 
almost overlooked the vital fact, that his lands, like his 
patient teams, require to be fed to enable them to per¬ 
form well, and especially has he neglected to consider 
that there is a like connection hetween the quantity and 
quality of the food they are to receive, and the service 
to be required from them. Ready, almost always, to 
the extent of their ability, to make advances for the pur¬ 
chase of more lands, how few of our fanners, in the 
comparison, are willing to make the necessary outlays 
for the profitable improvement of the land they have ? 
These and kindred subjects, are beginning to occupy 
the minds of our farmers, and the debt they owe to this 
society for its efforts to awaken their attention to these 
important facts, and to supply useful and practical in¬ 
formation in regard to them, is gradually receiving a 
just appreciation, as the assemblage which surrounds us, 
and the exhibitions upon this ground, most gratifyingly 
prove. 
Many of our agriculturists are now vigorously com¬ 
mencing the study of their soils, the adaptation of their 
manures to the soil and the crop, the natures of the 
plants they cultivate, the food they require, and the best 
methods of administering that food to produce health 
