6 
has been taken towards a general diffusion of sound and 
useful information among the great mass of the people, 
has been the appropriation for the District School Li¬ 
brary ; and it can scarcely fail of producing the happi¬ 
est effect, in every district of our state, except through 
the unpardonable remissness and negligence of those who 
are necessarily entrusted with the carrying out the libe¬ 
ral and praiseworthy design of its projectors. It may not 
be improper to add here, that those individuals whose 
means of forming private libraries are limited, will pro¬ 
bably find the series published by the Messrs. Harper, 
as comprehensive and valuable, and certainly as reason¬ 
able in price, as any collection of a similar miscellane¬ 
ous nature that could be made. 
Means of Improvement in Agriculture. 
That farmers at the present time have within then- 
power the means for a more rapid advance in their pro¬ 
fession, than was enjoyed by those of fifty years since, 
is perfectly plain to all. The object of this paper is not 
to establish this fact, but by the enumeration of some of 
the means within our reach, to enable us to decide whe¬ 
ther we avail ourselves of them to the extent that we 
might and should, were their importance properly ap¬ 
preciated. The age in which we live is one of move¬ 
ment ; and though farmers, as a class, are the last to be 
infected with the spirit of change and innovation, it 
would have been surprising indeed had this honorable 
employment of so large a portion of mankind, been suf¬ 
fered to rest without availing itself of the benefits which 
science and experience have furnished. The grand fact 
that the earth, through the operations of the farmer 
principally, is the great source of wealth, had long been 
overlooked ; and when, by progressive advancement in 
civilization this truth was understood, it was at once 
obvious, that to foster and encourage agriculture was a 
paramount interest of society. With a knowledge of the 
necessity of agriculture to the increase of wealth, it be¬ 
gan to assume a place in the estimation of the commu¬ 
nity, to which, however justly entitled, it might former¬ 
ly have looked in vain, as no such claim would for a mo¬ 
ment have been allowed. 
The application of science to agriculture, was one of 
the first benefits which the business of the farmer receiv¬ 
ed from a proper estimate of his employment. Former¬ 
ly the farmer was compelled to plod on in an unvaried 
routine, he being presumed to understand by nature or 
by instinct, all that was necessary for the cultivator of 
the soil to know. The reasons for the processes he em¬ 
ployed ; the cause of the various phenomena of animal 
and vegetable nature; the why and wherefore of the 
changes continually going on before him, and for the ob¬ 
servation of which no man is more favorably situated 
than the farmer, were held to be beyond the acquisition 
of the occupier of the soil, not easily understood, and 
useless if known. Science placed her torch in the hands 
of such men as Davy and Chaptal, and its light dispell¬ 
ed this delusion. Chemistry, by its powers of analysis, 
showed the nature and composition of soils; the proper 
kind, time and value of the several varieties of manures ; 
the mode and the means of nutrition; and with the 
knowledge of these came the power of supplying wants 
where they were found, and correcting deficiencies where 
they existed. We do not mean to say that manures were 
not applied to soils and good crops occasionally raised, 
before the investigation of science had been directed to 
agriculture, but the whole business was one of uncer¬ 
tainty, and must always have remained so, had not the 
causes that produced these favorable results been shown, 
and the means of repeating them at pleasure placed in 
the hands of the tiller of the soil. 
While the public mind was thus awakening, and sci¬ 
ence was beginning to lend her aid; men of inquiring 
minds, practical farmers, commenced a series of experi¬ 
ments, which, embracing in its advance the whole cir¬ 
cle of agriculture, and continued with increasing zeal 
till the present time, has afforded the greatest benefits, 
and placed within reach of the farmer one of the surest 
means of unlimited improvement. Well conducted ex¬ 
periments, that is, experiments based on a knowledge 
of the ends to be obtained and the surest means of arriv- 
ing'at them, now constitute the most effectual means of 
advancing agriculture; and in every country are to be 
found men who are engaged in carrying them forward 
with a success that equals every reasonable anticipation. 
That every man who owns, or tills the soil, should en¬ 
gage in what may be termed experimental farming, is 
not to be expected or perhaps desired, though there is 
no one who must not at times feel the necessity of adopt¬ 
ing new modes of culture, or who may not have ex¬ 
perienced the benefit of doing so. A greater degree of 
attention and care than can be usually bestowed by the 
common farmer, is required to conduct experiments to 
useful conclusions, though as observers of facts, they 
can render the most essential aid to those who have 
means and leisure to attend to more strict investigations. 
In the accumulation of recorded facts, the result of these 
continued and multiplied experiments, the modern far¬ 
mer has a means of advance already given him, of the 
greatest consequence. 
A better understanding of the laws that regulate the 
improvement in the breeds of animals, and the increas¬ 
ed productiveness of plants, have furnished one of the 
most efficient means of advance as well as of profit. It 
has been stated as the result of this attention to breed¬ 
ing animals, that the average weight of the cattle slaugh¬ 
tered in London, or sold at the Smithfield market, has 
increased full one-third in fifty years, and that the differ¬ 
ence in the mutton is not less than in that of beef. A 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
house in Boston, that has for a number of years slaugh¬ 
tered the number of five or six thousand head of cattle 
annually, state that the increase in weight for the last 
twelve years, has amounted to ten or twelve per cent; 
and as the average weight of the animals is about 900 
pounds, there has been of course an average gain of 
about 100 pounds on each animal within the time stated. 
These facts are sufficient to prove the immense impor¬ 
tance to the farmer of improvement in stock, and show 
him the way in which still further advances may be 
made. Nor has the improved state of quality and quan¬ 
tity of the grain grown at the present day been scarcely 
less decided than that we have noticed in beef. Forty 
bushels of wheat, and one hundred bushels of corn, to 
the acre, are as common now as thirty of the first or 
eighty of the last were but a few years since ; and the 
fact of such crops not being oftener produced, does not 
militate against the theory of improvement; it only es¬ 
tablishes the truth that the farmer is too slow in seeking 
the means of advance in agriculture, or negligent in 
availing himself of them when pointed out. 
The great advances in the mechanical arts, by pro¬ 
ducing more perfect implements of agriculture, and ena¬ 
bling men of genius to carry out their plans in construct¬ 
ing new machines, have added further facilities to im¬ 
provement, and means, which fifty years since could not 
have been found, are now every where at command.— 
Thus we have only to look at our light, beautiful, easy 
working cast iron plough, and compare them with the 
heavy, unwieldly, ill looking and worse working ploughs 
of our predecessors, to realize in part the difference that 
exists between the former and the present times in this 
important implement. The superiority of the hoe, fork 
in all its varieties, scythe, cradle and rake, is not less 
manifest. The horse-rake, by which one man performs 
the work of a dozen ; the drill, so indispensable in the 
cultivation of roots; the reaping machine, by which the 
grain is cut, threshed, cleaned and delivered in the field 
fit for the miller ; the cultivator, by which the labor of 
hoeing and dressing corn and root crops is reduced at 
least one half; the roller, so necessary to good husband¬ 
ry, and in short the multitude of improved implements 
now in use, but which a short time since were unknown, 
furnish undeniable proof of the increased means of pro¬ 
gress the farmer at the present time possesses. 
Agricultural societies have been found among the 
most efficient agents in promoting agriculture, and at 
the present day they are constantly increasing in num¬ 
ber, activity and consequent usefulness. The grand 
principle of association for the accomplishment of great 
objects, has received no better proof of its potency than 
is given by the history of some of the oldest of these so¬ 
cieties. Agricultural societies bring farmers into a be¬ 
neficial acquaintance with each other; they teach the 
best methods of accomplishing the several processes of 
farming; they bring to the knowledge of the many the 
most valuable plants, the choicest animals, and the most 
approved implements. They stimulate inquiry, they in¬ 
vite discussion, they reward care and research; and at 
the meeting of these societies, the bands of brotherhood, 
and a strong feeling of attachment to the pursuits of the 
farmer, naturally arising out of a congeniality of inte¬ 
rest, are created or materially strengthened. From 
these associations, and the undisputed benefits found to 
arise from such communications and interchanges of 
opinion, in regard to agriculture, may be said to have 
originated another and most important auxiliary in the 
cause of the farmer, which, as a means of improvement, 
is second to no other ; one which may be said to belong 
almost exclusively to the present age; one which alrea¬ 
dy exercises, and which must continue to exercise, a 
boundless influence on the cause of agriculture. We al¬ 
lude of course to the Agricultural Press. 
Other classes of men had long employed the press to 
advance their claims, enforce their rights, disseminate 
a knowledge of their principles, promulgate their viexvs, 
diffuse necessary information, and serve as a kind of 
chain to bind the scattered members of the pursuit or 
profession into a community of interest and feeling.— 
The agriculturist long neglected this obvious means of 
improvement; and in this case, as in many others, while 
he cared not for himself no one cared for him. There 
seemed a tacit understanding among most of those in 
other pursuits and professions, that knowledge was not 
necessary to a farmer—that all the information he re¬ 
quires comes by instinct—that science could do nothing 
in aid of the tiller of the soil; and in this disposition of 
matters the farmer for a long while seemed patiently to 
acquiesce. At last came inquiry, and with it the desire 
for information; the experience of others was sought, 
and when obtained there was no rest till the “ whys and 
becauses” were also given. Books could not circulate 
extensively or rapidly enough to meet the demand for 
agricultural knowledge ; the sneer, once so powerful 
against book farming, was disregarded; facts demon¬ 
strated the utility of science in farming as well as in 
other pursuits; the necessity of mediums of communi¬ 
cation between farmers became apparent, and the pe¬ 
riodical agricultural press had its origin. That well 
conducted agricultural publications are the most efficient 
means of promoting good husbandry in a country, will 
scarcely be questioned by one who has watched their 
operation, or noticed the change in the agricultural state 
of the country that has taken place since their introduc¬ 
tion. To be without the receipt of one or more periodi¬ 
cals of this kind, is a practical admission by the farmer 
that he is behind the age, and that his system of culture 
is of an old fashioned and inferior kind, and an exami¬ 
nation of his farm and its products, will be found usu¬ 
ally to confirm the impression. A paper which gives 
monthly a history of the opinions, or details the results 
of the experience of hundreds of the ablest, best inform¬ 
ed, and most successful farmers of the country, cannot 
fail to interest and instruct. Where is the agriculturist 
that would not esteem it a privilege to spend an evening 
with any half dozen of these, and listen to their opin¬ 
ions or their facts; and this privilege a well conducted 
and well supported paper will give him monthly, and 
allow him at the same time to change the conversation 
and the speakers as it were, at his own pleasure. Of 
all the means which the intelligence, experience and ge¬ 
nius of the age has invented or introduced for the aid of 
agriculture, there is none more effectual, less expensive 
or more decided, than agricultural journals. 
Agricultural schools deserve, and would harm received 
a prominent place in this notice of the means within the 
reach of the farmer to advance his interests, but the sub¬ 
ject has been so ably treated in a late number of this 
paper, that further remark would seem to be superflu¬ 
ous. The experience of France, Prussia, England and 
Ireland, demonstrate their utility; the testimony of Fel- 
lenberg, Von Thaer, Dombasle, Youatt, Farday, and a 
host of other distinguished men, is decisive in their fa¬ 
vor ; and we shall hail it as a proud day for the agricul¬ 
ture of our country, when such schools, either by pub¬ 
lic or private maintenance, shall be established among 
us. __ 
Notices of Agricultural Societies. 
No more decisive evidence can be offered that agri¬ 
culture, in its effects and consequences, is beginning to 
be better appreciated and understood, and the best 
means of advancing it more fully realized, in our coun¬ 
try, than the numerous accounts of the formation and 
proceedings of new associations that reach us from all 
parts of the country. Resulting, as these societies do, 
from a full conviction of their usefulness ; rising in the 
midst of our agricultural populatitm, by a, spontaneous, 
and, in many instances, a simultaneous movement, with¬ 
out the influence of foreign aid or other exciting causes ; 
we have good reason to hope they will, many of them 
at least, be permanent, and do much towards the diffu¬ 
sion of correct agricultural information, and sound and 
judicious agricultural practice. We should be gratified 
to enter into the details presented by the reports of some 
of these meetings that have reached us, and give to our 
readers some of the excellent addresses these occasions 
have called forth. Our limits, however, forbid, and we 
must be content with such limited notices as our space 
permits. 
We learn from the Onondaga county papers, that the ag¬ 
ricultural society of that county held its first cattle show 
and fair at Syracuse, on the 17th day of October. There 
was a very respectable display of stock of various kinds, 
embracing cattle, horses, sheep and swine; of the produc¬ 
tions of the earth, such as wheat, potatoes, 8tc. &c. and 
a spirit was manifested by the numerous company of 
farmers present, which argues well for the further ef¬ 
forts of the society. In its position and resources, Onon¬ 
daga is perhaps second to no other county in the state, 
New-York excepted ; and her farmer? have the means 
and we hope the inclination to render that society one 
of the most prosperous and efficient in the country.— 
We may add here, as a fact much to their honor, that 
the conductors of the principal political journals of that 
county, take an active part in the cause of the agricul¬ 
turist, and co-operate efficiently with the journals de¬ 
voted to the farmer, in spreading the most important 
facts and papers that appear before their readers. The 
good effect of this proceeding is apparent, and we men¬ 
tion it here as a hint to journalists in agricultural dis¬ 
tricts, that they may in this way render a most impor¬ 
tant service to the productive interests of the country. 
The able address before the Agricultural Society of 
Seneca County, by Mr. Strong, is now- before us. The 
journal containing the other proceedings of the associa¬ 
tion has been mislaid, but they were of the most encou¬ 
raging order, and promise much for that rich and fertile 
region. We copy from the address the following para¬ 
graph, as it contains important truth well and forcibly 
expressed: 
“ To understand what the true process for renovating an 
exhausted soil is, requires a knowledge as comprehensive al¬ 
most as the world of science itself. All the efforts and in¬ 
vestigations which have been applied to this study, go far to 
establish this truth; yet how difficult it is suitably to impress 
this fact upon the minds of the farming population generally. 
Able and enlightened men have labored, and are now labor¬ 
ing with their pens and influence, to imbue our minds with 
a deep sense of its truth and importance. Experiments have 
been made and their results minutely detailed, so that we 
are without excuse if we have not profited thereby. Yet 
farmers too rarely heed these lessons of wisdom and experi¬ 
ence. We seem to prefer to follow on in the footsteps of our 
respective predecessors, in the same modes of tillage and 
husbandry which they practiced, without stopping to in¬ 
quire whether there is any thing to learn by departing from 
them. In this we greatly err ; we misapply the lessons 
which experience in other departments of industry so em¬ 
phatically teaches in the great improvements and inventions 
of modern times. Man’s knowledge and usefulness increases 
in proportion to those expansive energies which direct and 
control his thoughts and investigations of subjects especially 
within the province of his vocation. This is an undisputed 
axiom, and how forcibly should it address itself to the farmer. 
No matter how much success may have accompanied his pa¬ 
tient toil, or in what abundance the blessings and comforts 
of life may lie scattered along his pathway, (for these do 
more generally attend the faithful and industrious cultivator 
of the soil than almost any other pursuit or occupation,) he 
is still without excuse if he has allowed his mind to grope 
