TO IMPROVE THE SOIL AND THE MIND. 
New Series. ALBANY, DECEMBER, 1851. Vol. YIII.— No. 12. 
Close of the Volume. 
Another year has been added to onr labors, which com¬ 
pletes the twenty-first, since an early formed love for 
agricultural pursuits, and a firm conviction that no branch 
of industry so much needed the aid of the press, induc¬ 
ed us to embark in the then new enterprise of an Agri¬ 
cultural Journal. We were, at that period, almost alone, 
and the support received for the first two or three 
years, would have driven less sanguine hearts from the 
field in despair ; but finding a few who appreciated our 
efforts, and extended to us their sympathy, we persever¬ 
ed until we saw our favorite Genesee Farmer increase 
in circulation, from a few hundreds in 1831 and J 32. to 
seventeen thousand in 1839, when it was united with The 
Cultivator. We deem it no more than just to name, 
among those to whom we were most indebted for aid and 
sympathy, Judge Buel, of Albany, Hon. Dan Bradley 
and Willis Gaylord, of Onondaga county, men whose 
early and strenuous efforts in the cause of agricultural 
improvement should make their memory duly cherished, 
—David Thomas, of Cayuga county, Lewis F. Allen, 
of Erie county, and Lyman B. Langworthy, of Monroe 
county, all of whom, by their constant and valuable con¬ 
tributions, did much to give character to our Journal, 
and place it on a firm basis. 
Then—in 1831—there were hut three or four agricul¬ 
tural papers in the Union, and these had a very limited 
circulation, and but few Agricultural Societies. Scarce¬ 
ly a hook on rural affairs could be procured, because 
there was no demand for them. Farmers had little am¬ 
bition, and their farms, with rare exceptions, were rapid¬ 
ly deteriorating. 
Now, Agricultural Papers and Books are scattered 
broadcast over our land, and the demand for information 
taxes science and experimental industry to the utmost. 
The wonderful achievements of American ingenuity, ener¬ 
gy, and intelligence, are nowhere more distinctly per¬ 
ceptible than in the change in the agricultural aspect of 
the Union. Along side of the roads, whose iron-bands 
unite our most distant cities, upon the banks of the riv¬ 
ers and canals, whose waters bear away the products of 
our soil, there have been springing up intelligent, think¬ 
ing farmers. We see proof of this in the crowded fairs, 
in which states vie with each other in the fruit of their 
labors, in the usefulness of their inventions, in the beauty 
and superiority of their domestic animals. Neighbors, 
towns, counties, states and nations, are all ambitious to 
excel in this first-born of arts, and to add new dignity 
to a profession as stable as the soil it cultivates, as wide 
as the earth it tills. Science boasts not now so much of 
the wonderfulness and intricacy of its results, as of their 
useful and practical bearing. Giving each feature of 
this progressive age its proper consideration, we must be 
allowed to rank advance in Agriculture as among the first 
of our national improvements. 
F rom all this we gather abundant reward for past ex¬ 
ertion, and increasing encouragement for the future. The 
science of Agriculture is yet in its infancy. A mere frac¬ 
tion of the farming population are aroused to the work 
of improvement, and who can say that his desire for 
knowledge on this subject is satisfied? The past should 
only teach us what mighty results continued effort may 
bring out of the future. There are momentary demands 
that once met, are never again heard of. There are fluc¬ 
tuating interests, that demand auxiliaries as variable, but 
there are also fixed and deeper demands which can never 
be fully supplied,—interests which cannot be pressed 
home too closely, or consulted too much. History, as 
well as experience, teaches that no scheme can be carried 
into successful execution, that is not vitally connected 
with the permanent well-being of the country. That 
an improved and fertile soil, and cultivated, resolute, ac¬ 
tive laborers on it, are the sine qua non of a prosperous 
nation and a happy people, no one will deny. To satisfy 
the demand for reliable information—to direct inquiry, 
—to incite investigation,—to form a correct taste on sub¬ 
jects of agricultural interest, and to perfect a system of 
husbandry, are our aims. In the variety, worth,, and 
amount of matter we present, we are determined not to 
be out-done. • To meet, as far as possible, the wants of 
the age,—to deserve the support and co-operatiou of those 
to whose interests we devote our best efforts, is our pur¬ 
pose. 
It is then with little regret that we see the close of 
another volume of The Cultivator, for it brings renew¬ 
ed hope that the seed it has sown will spring up and bear 
a richer harvest than any of its predecessors; and we shall 
enter upon our next year’s labors in the full confidence 
that we shall deserve and receive the co-operation and 
aid which has been so liberally and increasingly bestowed 
upon our efforts during the twenty-one years now 
brought to their close. 
IT jr“ We are preparing a Pictorial Almanac for 1852, 
which will form the first thirty-two pages of our next 
volume, and be sent with the January number to all our 
subscribers. 
