THE CULTIVATOR. 
103 
and productive, to the exclusion of the great body of the pepple; then, I 
think it will be conceded, that it is high lime that the attention of our le¬ 
gislators and those entrusted with the administration of government, 
should be directed to the subject, to the end that the evil may be reme¬ 
died, and equal and impartial justice done. And in pursuance of this sub¬ 
ject, I must remark, without wishing to disparage the literary institutions 
of the state, that their tendency is not to diffuse general science among 
the laboring and productive classes, but to build up a literary aristocracy 
in the country. They are peculiarly calculated to prepare young men for 
the learned professions. They make good lawyers and good physicians, 
and they elevate the clerical character of the country; but it is very clear 
to my mind that they contribute very little towards improving' the agri¬ 
culture of our country; but on the contrary, their influence is to abstract 
all the young men of talent from the pursuits of agriculture and the me¬ 
chanic arts; and merge it into the professions. They are filled mostly by 
the sons of the wealthy and most aristocratic part of-community, among 
whom the honest yeoman and his profession is in bad repute; and the son 
of the farmer who, perchance, finds his way into them, soon ascertains 
that the occupation which has given him sustenance, is derided, and 
viewed as menial and slavish, he consequently imbibes a disrelish, and, 
perhaps, a disgust for it; and he hies away to the office of some lawyer, 
or the shop of some apothecary, and there learns to-get a livelihood out ot 
the honest earnings of a less respected class in community. And if, per¬ 
chance, he does not take to one of the professions, as ai general rule, his 
habits of industry are destroyed, his taste is vitiated, and he spends the 
remainder of his life a useless drone, a burthen, and I had almost said, a 
nuisance in society. The consequence and effect ot this state of things, 
is, to protect ai.d encourage the professions, to elevate them in the public 
eye; and on the other hand, to depress and discourage the business of 
agriculture and the mechanic aits generally. 
With such effects, and under such discouragements, is it longer matter 
of surprise, that the first and best pursuit of man should be brought into 
disrepute and languish for want of the necessaiy stimulus and support ? Is 
it longer to be wondered at, that the sons of farmers and mechanics should 
forsake the healthy, invigorating labors of the field and the workshop for 
the law office, the banking house, and the counting room? It is a mat¬ 
ter of notoriety, and a lamentable fad, that almost every other occupation 
is considered more honorable, or more genteel than that of the farmer. 
Tho consequence is, a general abandonment of its pursuits, by all the 
ambitious youth of the country. This is an evil of great magnitude, and 
the cause is to be found in the want, or the absence of that knowledge in 
the agricultural community, that alone elevates character, exalts the hu¬ 
man species, and renders man truly respectable. An elegant writer has 
said, and it has ripened into axiom, that “ knowledge is power,—know¬ 
ledge is wealth,—it is the philosopher’s stone—the true alchemy that 
turns all it touches into gold. It is the key that unlocks the store-house 
of nature and discovers the hidden treasures of earth.” Without it man 
would not be distinguishable from the brute; and in proportion as he is 
possessed of it, in the same ratio is he elevated above that lower order of 
creation. 
That science has already done much to improve and promote the con¬ 
dition of our agriculture, cannot be controverted. To her she is indebted 
for almost all the improvements that have been made in tillage and the 
rural arts. To her she owes the introduction of the improved cast iron 
plough—the roller—the cultivator—the threshing machine—the hay 
press, and the whole host of labor-saving machines, that have lessened the 
toil of the husbandman and increased the productions of the earth. An¬ 
other triumph of science, we have also this day witnessed, in the recent 
invention of the silk reel and spinner; which promises to be of immense 
value and utility, in this new and interesting branch of rural industry. 
The benefits that will accrue from the establishment of public schools, 
where agriculture shall be taught as a science and an art, are incalcula¬ 
ble. There can be applied the well settled principles of/science, in the 
invention and introduction of improved farm implements. There,' the 
nature and qualities of soils can be learned, with the best methods of re¬ 
novating and improving them. There, the physiology of plants, and the 
nature and habits of the whole vegetable kingdom, can be made thorough¬ 
ly understood. There will philosophy, chemistry, botany, mineralogy 
and geology, unite in their contributions, to the advancement of man’s 
highest interest. There, the principles of mechanics can be taught, and 
the inventive genius of our country elicited. There, can be learned the 
science of entomology, or the nature and habits of the various, tribes of 
insects, that prey upon and often destroy the farmer’s hopes; with the 
best remedy or preventives for such depredations. In schools of this kind 
might also be taught the science of veterinary surgery, or the nature of 
the diseases of domestic animals, and the remedies. By a general diffu¬ 
sion of knowledge on this subject, thousands, yea, tens and hundreds of 
thousands, might annually be saved to tho community, that is now lost 
through a miserable, beggarly system of quackery. 
Much more might be said of the advantages to be derived from institu¬ 
tions of this kind, were it deemed necessary. That they are sources of 
much public good, fountains from which flow health, wealth, and all 
those attendant blessings which enrich a country and ennoble the human 
species, cannot be doubted by any that have examined and reflected upon 
their utility; or have witnessed or become conversant with their operation 
and effects in Europe. There they are no longer considered experiments. 
France has long had her schools for the promotion of agriculture and the 
mechanic arts. In Prussia, where perhaps as much or more is doing to 
promote the cause of science, at perent, as in any other country, agricul¬ 
tural schools are founded and supported by the government. Germany, 
too, has her schools devoted to the improvement of the soil and the mind. 
And the advanced state of her agriculture and of science, within her bor¬ 
ders, attests the wisdom of the policy, and is but an earnest of what might 
be done in this free country. 
The school established by Fellenberg, in Switzerland, the result of the 
efforts of a single philanthropic and public spirited individual, challenges 
the admiration and the emulation of the world. His great aim was to 
“ produce men, not mere scholars■ The leading principle of his system 
"is, to unite physical, moral, and intellectual education, and to form all the 
faculties into ore harmonious system, corresponding with the capacities 
and destination of the individual.” Young men are sent to this school 
from all parts of Europe and even America. Its influence is more or less 
felt throughout the ciyilized globe. Cannot the great state of New-York, 
empire as she is in wealth, population and extent, do as much to promote 
the diffusionof science, am®ng the productive classes, as has one indivi¬ 
dual in Switzerland? Will she not awake to her interest and her honor, 
and do as much as has been done by the despotic governments of Europe? 
The character of our agricultural community will never be elevated much 
above what it now is, unless schools are established particularly adapted 
to that object. And how shall schools be established, except through the 
munificence of the state? It has ever been the policy of all wise govern¬ 
ments to promote the sciences and encourage the arts. And shall agri¬ 
culture, the greatest and most complicated of all the sciences, and the 
most useful of all the arts, be left to languish and decline, or even to re- 
I main stationary for want of the fostering care of government? 
Another method by which our interests can be promoted, is through 
the agency of societies. That united and concentrated effort can do more 
towards accomplishing any general object, than the exertions of insulated 
I individuals, does not admit of a doubt. We have evidence of it in the as¬ 
sociations that are almost daily formed, to promote the great objects of 
humanity and benevolence. The awarding of premiums for any improve¬ 
ments that may be made in labor-saving implements, or machinery, and 
also for the production of the greatest results in tillage with the least ex¬ 
pense, would give an impulse, and excite a general spirit of rivalry and 
I competition, that could be productive of the most beneficial consequen¬ 
ces. Does any one doubt the utility of these associations? Let him turn 
his attention to those countries in Europe where they have been esta¬ 
blished, and see the cold and barren earth made warm and fruitful, her 
productions quadrupled, and the moral and intellectual condition of the 
eople correspondingly improved. Look at those districts in our own 
appy land, where attention has been paid to this subject, and societies 
of this kind kept organized, and compare them with those where it has 
been entirely neglected. The contrast is too striking, and the difference 
in the general appearance of the country—the wealth of its inhabitants, 
and the social condition of the people, is too great to require one more 
word by way of illustration. 
But here again a difficulty presents itself. Societies of this kind cannot 
be maintained without funds, and funds cannot be obtained without the 
aid of the slate. The question then arises, will the state contribute to an 
object so nearly allied with its glory and prosperity? The present is a 
time auspicious for making such provision, for the advancement of this 
cardinal interest, as shall augment the wealth, promote the happiness, and 
redound to the honor and glory of this great state. 
The state is about to receive from the United State’s Treasury, nearly 
six millions, as her quota of the surplus revenue. Why not appropriate a 
part of the avails of this sum for the endowment of a State Agricultural 
School, and for the encouragement of societies? The amount so appro¬ 
bated, would soon be returned wiih compound interestinto the treasury, 
y the increased revenue that would be derived from canal tolls and taxes, 
in consequence of the stimulus that would be given to agricultural in¬ 
dustry. Soon would the productions of the stale be quadrupled; and in¬ 
stead of the greatest agricultural country in the world, being importers of 
breadstuff's for our own consumption, we should be exporters, and to a 
large amount. It is fact, that speaks volumes in favor of an increased at¬ 
tention to this subjest! and of the necessity of improvement, that we, who 
but a few years since threatened to reduce Great Britain to a state of 
starvation, are now importing, not only immense quantities of her bread- 
stuffs, but even hay, to supply a population scattered over an immense 
territory of the most fertile lands beneath the sun. 
It is perfectly proper, that in accordance with the publicly expressed 
voice on this subject, that a part of this money should be appropriated to 
the improvement and promotion of common schools—those nurseries of 
virtue and intelligence. In no way, perhaps, could so general a benefit 
be derived from it; but, Mr. President, I do most solemnly protest against 
