THE CULTIVATOR. 
53 
thrashing, sawing, or to any other stationary purpose upon the farm, 
or in the shop of the mechanic. The patent right for this and se¬ 
veral adjoining counties, belongs to Messrs. Hanna and Jaggers, 
Valatie, Columbia county. 
ETWe are under the necessity of postponing or omitting many 
favors of our correspondents, for want of room to insert them. We 
contemplate such arrangements as will enable us to give a greater 
quantity of matter hereafter. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
MR. BALL’S REMARKS. 
Remarks of L. Chandler Ball, of Rensselaer, made in the Agricultural Con¬ 
vention, on the resolution of L, F, Allen, that, the legislature be requested to 
aid in the agricultural improvement of the state. 
I beg leave, Mr. President, to make a few remarks in support of the resolu¬ 
tion offered by the gentleman from Erie, in the earnest hope that the united 
appeal of this convention in behalf of the farmers of this state, may reach the 
ears and the hearts of our legislators, and cause them to award to us the long 
delayed justice we demand. The importance of an agricultural school, and 
the establishment 01 societies for the diffusion of agricultural knowledge, where 
the sons of farmers, destined to fill their places, may obtain a thorough scien¬ 
tific and practical knowledge of their profession, is too obvious to need either 
argument or example to convince them of the fact That it may be a ques¬ 
tion of policy, with those who hold the reins of government, and are basking 
in the sunshine of popular favor, I will not deny—it would undoubtedly 
thwart some of their plans of personal aggrandizement, and dissipate some of 
their ambitious schemes, were the farmer to receive equal advantages with 
themselves, and be made that high intellectual and reflecting being, which 
God designed him Educate the farmer, and he is no lunger the tool of pow¬ 
er, the cat’s paw of artful speculators or intriguing politicians. His faculties 
of body and mind are innocently and profitably employed in improving the 
soil, beautifying his home, rightly educating his children, enlarging his own 
mental powers, and increasing the amountof individual happiness, and nation¬ 
al wealth and prosperity. Keep him in ignorance, and he barely rises either, 
in intellect or enjoyment, above the brute creation; his life is one of toil and 
misery, uncheered by a ray of hope, orJhe prospect of a brighter day, and 
even his physical et.ergies are wasted and destroyed in a vain attempt to 
change the laws of nature. 
There is an old saying, which, though often quoted, has lost none of its 
emphatic meaning, or peculiar adaptation to the farming community, that 
knowledge is power. And if we look abroad upon the world, we shall see 
individuals, communities, states and empires, ail acting upon this principle, 
vieing with each other in the depth of scientific research, and the application 
of their discoveries to the wants, the comforts, and the business of life. This 
may most truly be called the era of learning and scientific improvement. The 
age of chivalry, of pastoral irdolence and fairy legend, has gone by. The 
pomp and glory of the crusaders, the renown of the victor at the Olympic 
games, or gladiatorial combat, the deafening shouts, that welcome war’s con¬ 
quering hero home, and gave him a niche in the temple of the gods, these 
with the tilt and tournament, and gay song of the troubadour, have all passed 
away with the times that gave them birth; and mind, mighty and immortal 
mind, has become the only source of pow’er, and the only standard of great- j 
ness. In this free and happy land, it is impossible to chain the intellect, and ! 
degrade the farmer to the standard of the feudal serf, or Russian peasant. The 
commanding place vve occupy among the family of nations, the freedom of the 
press and the institutions under which we live, all conspire to elevate the peo¬ 
ple, and render this Western Republic, the chosen land of genius and of en¬ 
terprise. Here the mind, subjected to no government censorship, fettered by 
no decree of oriental despotism, triumphs in the exercise of its nobler powers, 
and like the fledged eagle as he soars aloft in conscious strength and beauty, 
it ranges on with untiring wing, till the whole arcana of science, the wonders 
of creation, and the hidden mysteries of nature, are all unfolded to its enrap¬ 
tured gaze. But 'tis not only in the development of the abstruse sciences, 
that the operation of mind is seen and felt, its influence pervades every call¬ 
ing and pursuit in life—the bare necessaries, as well as the comforts, conveni¬ 
ences, and luxuries we enjoy, all flow from this pierian fountain; and it is a 
fact, now obvious to the meanest capacity, that in this enlightened age, suc¬ 
cess cannot be obtained in any undertaking, unless '.he powers of the intellect 
are brought to co-operate with, and diminish the labor of the hands. For in¬ 
stance, can the manufacturer succeed, who neglects to avail himself of the in¬ 
ventions and improvements which science has made in machinery, in the pro¬ 
duction of the power loom, the spinning jenny, and the steam engine ? Can 
the artisan and mechanist gain patronage and distinction, who jog on in the 
path their fathers’ trod, giving no thought to the advancement of intelligence 
among the people, and learning nothing but the principles of striking the an¬ 
vil, or shoving the plane? And can the farmer, whose scientific research is 
bounded by his almanac and the moon, who only learns the use of such ill- 
adapted implements of husbandry as he may chance to inherit, along with 
some half tilled “ paternal acres,” compete with him who understands the 
laws of nature, the character of the soil he cultivates, the growth of plants, the 
importance of labor-saving machines, in short, with him who makes mind an 
active agent in all his operations ? The condition and enjoyments of the form¬ 
er I will not attempt to describe. Where you have the original, a picture is 
unnecessary; but the efforts of the latter are crowned with a rich reward. His 
fields show a luxuriant vegetation, and his store house an abundant harvest; 
his premises wear an aspect of neatness and elegance, and his home is the 
abode of happiness and love. ’Tis thus, Mr. President, with all the varied 
occupations in which man can engage. Mind grapples mind with stern and un¬ 
yielding perseverance, and he alone is victor in life’s pursuits, its contests and 
its hopes, who brings the greatest amount of talent, and the loftiest intellect, 
to his aid. 
While we see every other class of community impressed with the impor¬ 
tance of these facts, and eager in the pursuit of knowledge, how is it possible 
that the farmers of this state can sit quietly down, without one aspiring wish, 
without a single ambitious hope, and content themselves with the ignooletask 
of ascertaining how many of the comforts of life they can deprive themselves 
of, and live ? Why, sir, the farmers are, in truth, the bone and muscle of the 
country, the supporters of government, the means of wealth, and the source of 
power and authority. With the proper knowledge, and with concert of 
thought and action, nothing within the bounds of reason and honoris beyond 
their attainment. Who can be so happy and so truly groat, as an enlightened 
husbandman? For him are the gorgeous livery of the earth, the sublime 
grandeur of the heavens, the harmony of nature, the music of the spheres I 
Neatness and order reign throughout his own little domain, and joy and hap¬ 
piness are dispensed to all who come within its borders. In the family circle, 
and around the hallowed fireside, meet congenial spirits, hearts void of guile 
and free from care, to receive new pleasures, and to strengthen by interchange 
of thought and acts of kindness, the ties of friendship and the bonds of love. 
Secure in the enjoyment of these domestic pleasures, he heeds not the whirl¬ 
wind of men’s passions, the gaudy tinsel of the great, the rise and fall of par¬ 
ties, or the wreck of na ions—and rightly appreciating his advantages and 
means of happiness, would not exchange his humble cottage and contented 
mind for a kingly palace, or a conqueror’s diadem. 
Yet there are some, I am ashamed to say, who are willing to sell their proud 
privileges for a mess of pottage. But ’tis ignorance, that curse of individuals, 
and despoiler of nations, that rests like a mighty incubus upon the people, and 
holds in subjection their giant energies. Let then the farmer receive the 
countenance and support of government; let him be educated, and receive his 
share of the benefits that are flowing from the light of science and the diffusion 
of know'ledge. I contend, sir, that there is not an occupation ora profession 
followed, which requires so much actual knowledge, so much scholastic 
learning, as the science of agriculture. I know it has been thought to be quite 
unnecessary for a farmer to be taught any thing more than the skilful perlorm- 
ance of the mere mechanical part of his occupation, without even dreaming 
that mind had any thing to do with tilling the soil. But that day, I trust, has 
for ever passed. The spirit of improvement is abroad in the land, an impulse 
has been given to the mind, and a profitable direction to farm labor, and every 
day adds to the number of those, who are lending their wealth and talent to 
roll on the tide of .victory over ignorance, prejudice and error. 
Let us unite our exertions and influence, our prayers and petitions, to in¬ 
crease and continue this impulse, until every farmer throughout the whole ex¬ 
tent of this vast republic, shall become thoroughly educated in every branch 
of science which relates to his profession. Then will he take that station in 
society and in government, which God and nature intended him to occupy; 
J then will his calling become the most honorable, as it is the most useful; then 
will repining and w ant be driven from his door, and plenty with content and 
joy become its inmates; and then may we 
Sound the loud trump, o’er corruption’s dark sea, 
Th e people have triumphed, a nation is free. 
DRAINING—SWAMP MUCK. 
Northampton, Mass. March 15th, 1837. 
Judge Buet ,—Dear Sir, —In a former communication, I remarked that I 
might say something on the subject of draining. You recollect I spoke of my 
miniature farm, in full view from my house, and gently sloping, a canal pass¬ 
es between them, the house being distant from it ten rods, and about forty feet 
elevation, gives me a bird’s-eye view of what passes below. This farm, ex¬ 
tensive as it is, (six acres) lies in common, like the rolling prairie of the west, 
with only one enclosure. The various crops lie side by side, parallel with the 
canal, north and south ; a narrow swale from one to two rods in width, com¬ 
mencing at the canal, runs easterly, and is kept constantly in a wet or moist 
state by the water from it, percolating through the soil; from my elevated sit¬ 
uation I can, from day to day, watch its effects; and in the cultivation of corn, 
potatoes, carrots and rula baga, (the crops in which I have had experience,) 
I am entirely satisfied that the best land, by a superabundance of water, is en¬ 
tirely worthless for these crops at least; and by w’et land, I do not mean that 
only, which has some three or four inches of water for months laying on its 
surface, with here and there a bog peeping through, on which sits perched a 
frog; this obviously can be good for nothing; but as is the case with mine, like 
a wet sponge, may be detected by the touch, or pressure of the foot. I could 
distinctly trace the line of wet from my house, by the meagre growth of the 
vegetables, through the whole season, notwithstanding this is the ri; best part 
of the ground, having received not only its equal proportion of manure, i. e. 
at the rate of thirty-eight loads to the acre, but the wash from the adjoining 
ground. The corn through this swale did not give one ear for every twenty 
hills; while that on each side gave over one hundred bushels to the acre. My 
ruta baga, yielding eight hundred bushels to the acre, on this, was hardly 
worth gathering. So with the potatoes and carrots. Here then is cause and 
effect, in which there can be no mistake; and here, in miniature, are distant 
fountains, issuing in'springs, producing wet, boggy, useless land; here then, 
is enough to satisfy the most incredulous, of the importance of draining. You 
will take it for granted, that I shall run an underdrain, three feet deep, through 
this lot; in this you are right; and not only through this, but every like piece, 
on a more extended scale; thus redeeming some of the best lands, now lying a 
waste and blob Indeed, I have already, the past autumn, made eighty-seven 
rods of underdrain, three feet at top, tapering to one and a half at bottom, three 
feet deep, and carefully laid with large stones, from eight to sixteen inches in 
size at bottom, placing them endwise, so as to leave channels for the water; 
on these a second size, and so on, throwing the smallest on top, which forms 
a good pavement, and will prevent the earth working down; over these are 
