102 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Agricultural Sucictg of tljc H. States. 
MR. GARNETT’S ADDRESS. 
At the first annual meeting of the Agricultural Society 
of the U. States, held at Washington on the 4th ult., Mr. 
Garnett, on being re-elected President, delivered the fol¬ 
lowing address: 
Brother members of the Ag. Society of the V. States: 
I beg you to accept my very sincere thanks for the 
honor just conferred on me, and to assure you that no ef¬ 
forts shall be wanting on my part, to discharge the duties 
of my office in a manner which shall be satisfactory to 
you, and at the same time promotive of the great objects 
of our Association. 
If the great increase of State and County Societies of 
Agriculture, be any true indication of the increase of 
that spirit from which they originate, and by which they 
must be cherished to render any essential and permanent 
good to the cause of A merican husbandry,— then, surely, 
the friends of this cause were not too sanguine in en¬ 
couraging the hope that an Agrigultural Society might be 
formed, which would accomplish for the United States, as 
a whole, what the local societies of the same character 
were accomplishing for the separate parts. If a numer¬ 
ous attendance of its members from every state, at every 
regular meeting, were essential to its success, and that 
those meetings should always be held in the District of 
Columbia, then I admit our scheme would be impracti¬ 
cable. But neither of these conditions are necessary. 
On the contrary—it is easy, I think, to prove that the 
chief objects of our society may be effected without any 
such numerous attendance from every state; and that to 
meet alternately at some of our principal towns and ci¬ 
ties, as the Royal Society of England and the Highland 
Society of Scotland do at theirs, would be a far better 
plan than always to hold our meetings at the same place. 
On each occasion, we should thereby afford an opportu¬ 
nity for a different set of members to attend, which 
would have the effect of diffusing and keeping up the in¬ 
terest that such spectacles never fail to excite—especially 
if the funds of our society would enable us to hold an an¬ 
nual show and fair, accompanied by public trials of agri¬ 
cultural machines and implements. But the great object 
of every such association is, or ought to be, to collect and 
make public all facts within the sphere of their opera¬ 
tions, which can in any degree contribute to the im¬ 
provement of American Husbandry. Our society might 
do this I think, very effectually, if they would only adopt 
and execute the following scheme, which I now beg 
leave to propose. Let it be made the duty of our Vice 
Presidents,annually,to make a full report as far as practica¬ 
ble, of the agricultural condition of their respective states; 
to enumerate all the improvements (if any,) which may 
have been made in their agricultural machines and im¬ 
plements; to describe the most approved modes of cul¬ 
ture—of manuring their lands—of managing their vari¬ 
ous crops—of rearing and treating their stocks—in short, 
to make these reports so comprehensive as to form, when 
condensed and arranged by some competent person, as 
complete a body of husbandry for the United States, as 
Sir John Sinclair’s justly celebrated “ Code of Agricul¬ 
ture,” has formed for Great Britain. I have not the plea¬ 
sure of a personal acquaintance with many of our Vice 
Presidents, but if I may judge of the others by those 
whom I do know, there cannot be a doubt of their entire 
willingness to perform such a task; nor will I doubt their 
readiness to undertake it, if called upon to do so. It 
would surely be a truly honorable, patriotic, and praise¬ 
worthy occupation, although no food for vanity and ambi¬ 
tion—that mental diet with which,by the way,far too many 
of our brethren are so marvellously fond of regaling them¬ 
selves, that they can find no time for studying and praticing 
their profession; by which neglect they deeply injure 
themselves and families, without being able to do the 
slightest good to their country. Moreover, the occupation 
which I have taken the liberty to suggest for our Vice 
Presidents, would be one to which, I should think, any 
farmer might be proud to devote as much of his time as 
would suffice for the purpose; particularly when he might 
feel perfectly assured, all the while, that he was not la¬ 
boring in vain, nor doing worse—as the politician often 
does even without being conscious of it—but actually 
rendering no inconsiderable service to his fellow citi¬ 
zens, and thereby indirectly benefiting his country. The 
agricultural societies of his own state could probably, and 
willingly would furnish each Vice President with all the 
information which he himself did not possess, so that the 
work would prove in the end, far easier to accomplish, 
than might at first be supposed. All they would need to 
secure success, would be earnestly to strive for it, and 
confidently believe it attainable; for the old maxim— 
ee possunt quia posse videntur," will be found to holt! good 
in regard to every thing which can be accomplished by 
human effort. Faith must always precede works, or they 
will either not be attempted at all, or commenced in such 
a way as certainly to fail. I know not how others may 
estimate those works which I propose to require of our 
Vice Presidents, but to me, they seem of great impor¬ 
tance; although I confess they will be entirely destitute 
of all that ostentation and eclat which so fascinates the 
minds of ambitious men, that they will very rarely ever 
attempt to do any thing—especially, of a public nature— 
umess it will place them in some situation of dazzling 
show and notoriety. Simple, unobtrusive, silently work¬ 
ing acts of patriotism, however beneficent in reality, have 
no charms for them, but pall upon their vitiated minds, 
as simple food does upon the appetite of the gourmand. 
The public good!—the public good!!—although constant¬ 
ly in the mouths of such pseudo-patriots, is never in their 
hearts; and most unfortunate indeed, would it be for eve¬ 
ry community, if the mass of its citizens consisted of such 
fasle, pretended friends. Especially unfortunate will it 
be for our class, and hardly less so for our country, if the 
inordinate passion for public life, which of late years has 
been spreading so alarmingly fast among our brethren, 
should not speedily be checked; for it is seducing very 
many of them from their farms and families, where they 
can do some good, into situations for which they are to¬ 
tally unprepared, either by early education or subsequent 
study. I may be thought presumptuous in making this 
declaration; but it is the literal, undisguised truth, which 
it behooves some of us to tell our brethren, and I am 
willing to take the responsibility, as I cannot expect to 
live many years longer among them. It is a deeply 
seated, rapidly increasing moral disease, which, like 
deadly blight upon our crops, destroys for a time all dis¬ 
interested efforts to improve our husbandry—as there are 
no pompous, gorgeous honors in store for such laborers— 
nothing to feed insatiate vanity—nothing to gratify inor¬ 
dinate ambition. The workers in our sphere, must be 
content to toil without public appplause; to struggle 
with all the difficulties of their situation without public 
sympathy; to be even looked down upon by some, with 
feelings not far short of contempt; to labor for their 
country, whilst their country labors not for them; and to 
seek their reward in the thorough consciousness that as 
their profession is first and above all in general utility, it 
has a just,—an inextinguishable claim to be ranked as fully 
equal, if not superior, to any other, in honor, in dignity, 
and in the hearts of their countrymen. To this cause, I 
fear, we must ascribe the fact of our finding so few in our 
profession who are willing to exert themselves in its be¬ 
half, with sufficient zeal and perseverance to promote it 
as a source, not only of their own, but of our national 
prosperity. Too few of us are accustomed to take this 
comprehensive view of the subject; too few to notice 
the important fact that our individual gains constitute an 
elementary and essential part of our nation’s wealth. To 
induce such a sentiment, (for it is something more than 
simple belief,) at least in a majority of our brotherhood, 
is one of the advantages—may I not call it a blessing— 
which I have always expected our country would derive 
from the general establishment of agricultural societies 
properly contstiuted and judiciously managed; and from 
ours more than any other, simply because it was more 
comprehensive. This has been my chief reason for at¬ 
taching - such importance, as I have ever done, to these 
associations: for nothing seems to me more perfectly de¬ 
monstrable than the necessity of thoroughly convincing 
the agriculturists of our country, that it is their impera¬ 
tive duty always to consider the improvement of our hus¬ 
bandry, as well in reference to the national interests as to 
their own, if we would qualify them to discharge as they 
ought to do, the various and all-important duties, both 
private and public, which they are destined in every com¬ 
munity to fulfil. Shall we therefore be proud of our pro¬ 
fession? Surely not, unless we render ourselves worthy 
of it; otherwise we should take shame to ourselves, and 
not acknowledge to what family we belong, lest we 
should disgrace it. But only let us contemplate it as it 
deserves to be contemplated; let us view it in all its 
bearings upon the great, the vital interests of society; and 
sure I am, that there would be few, very few of us indeed, 
who would not thereby be irresistibly urged to the dili¬ 
gent study and practice of our profession, by the two¬ 
fold motive of self-interest and patriotism; the joint influ¬ 
ence of which could hardly fail to produce all the happy 
effects that might reasonably be anticipated from them. 
And if there ever was a time, when more than any other, 
it deeply concerned the Farmers and Planters of the Uni¬ 
ted States, especially to cherish both these powerful 
stimuli to human action, that time is now present. Enor¬ 
mous debts oppress and nearly paralyze the energies of 
our whole country, as well as of every honest trade, 
profession, and calling in it; dangers of no ordinary 
character and magnitude threaten us both at home and 
abroad; whilst vice and crime are stalking over the land 
with most alarming increase, and almost entire impunity. 
For most of these apalling evils, I am not presumptuous 
enough to suggest any remedy whatever; but for th ('.first — 
I mean our great indebtedness chiefly to foreign nations, 
of which every sentiment of honor and honesty, binds us to 
acquit ourselves—I have no hesitation in saying, that the 
only cure must be sought in augmenting the skill,industry, 
and economy of the productive classes of our society, and 
especially of the agriculturists, who produce by far the 
greater portion of the materials from which our debts 
can be paid. The only question then, is by what means 
this augmentation can be effected, at least among our own 
brethren? The answer, I think, readily suggests itself. 
Make us more conscious of our own deficiencies, both in 
the science and practice of our profession; make us 
better acquainted with the nature and magnitude of our 
resources, with the best methods of developing and ap¬ 
plying them—with the imperious necessity of speedily 
ascertaining those methods—with the great advantage of 
frequent mutual consultation and cordial co-operation, 
for the purpose of making this discoveiy—to all which, 
agricultural societies in general, and ours in particular, 
may most powerfully contribute, and more than half the 
all-important work would be accomplished. 
Many of my auditors probably, and not a few of my 
own brethren, may be unaware of the extent of our ig¬ 
norance as a class, in regard to nearly all the matters just 
stated; and particularly of the great disproportion which 
still exists between the vast arable surface of our coun¬ 
try, and the number of persons employed in cultivating 
it: although I believe the common opinion is, that we 
have quite enough for the purpose. If such were not the 
general belief, we should surely see more, at least of the 
intelligent, reflecting portion of our fraternity, educating 
their sons for their own profession. But this belief of a 
full supply of agricultural labor, even if it were univer¬ 
sal, is most assuredly wrong, as can easily be shown. 
Indeed, I think I can demonstrate, so far as facts and 
figures can do it, that however large our present agri¬ 
cultural population may appear to be, it still fails short— 
even in the old States—very far short, of what it ought 
to be, if our beloved country is ever to be cultivated in the 
manner and to the extent which its immeasurable capabili¬ 
ties of production evidently require of us. 'With a view to 
place this matter beyond a possibility of doubt, I hav e been 
at some pains to prepare from our late census and other 
public documents, the following tables.* In the first, the 
states and territories are arranged according to the num¬ 
ber of square miles in each; then follows the number of 
persons reported to be engaged in agriculture; next, the 
proportion of such persons to the square mile; then, the 
quantities of all kinds of grain produced by them; and 
lastly, the quantities of sugar and potatoes, together with 
the values of the orchard and dairy products, and the 
number of tons of hay. The other table exhibits the 
states and territories arranged according to the total 
amount and average values in 1840, of those agricultu¬ 
ral productions, and comprehends all the other articles 
included under the head c< Agricultural statistics;” al¬ 
though to place “ furniture” in this categoiy, (as I see 
has been done,) seems to me as queer a conceit as was 
that of an old congressional acquaintance of by-gone 
days, who, on a certain occasion, called to one of the lit¬ 
tle pages of the house to hand him a glass of grog, and 
charge it to the article “fuel." But there is another ob¬ 
jection to this classification. It probably includes the 
furniture of all the other classes of the United States; and 
ours is already sufficiently extravagant in such invest¬ 
ments, not to be made responsible for more than their 
own share of the innumerable sacrifices daily made to 
this highly culpable, and often most preposterous—most 
ruinous love of show. It is bad enough in any of the 
productive classes, but far worse in ours, because ice fur¬ 
nish the means of subsistence to all; and must furnish 
less and less, just in proportion as we spend more in use¬ 
less decorations for ourselves and houses, than we do in 
the substantial improvements of our farms. 
I will not tax your patience by reading the subjoined 
tables, but must solicit your attention to some of the re¬ 
sults, which to me, at least seem worthy of the deepest 
consideration. 
The first of these tables proves most clearly, that not¬ 
withstanding the immense agricutural resources of our 
country, and our great inducements to develop them, 
greater in fact, than at any former period of our national 
existence—if we would maintain the national credit both 
at home and abroad, as every honest man must most anx¬ 
iously desire to do—we are still deplorably deficient 
in agricultural labor. For even in Massachusetts, which 
possesses, in proportion to its whole population, the lar¬ 
gest number of persons engaged in agriculture, the ratio 
to the square mile is only 12.11, whilst in Arkansas it is 
no more than .45, the average for the whole United 
States being only a very small portion over 5.10. But 
this estimate is made on the supposition that the whole 
number of persons reported by the census to be engaged 
in agriculture, are really capable of labor; whereas, we 
may assume as it a thing certain, that at least one-fourth 
consists of persons either too young or too old for such 
occupation, and consequently, that the above statement 
makes the average proportion to the square mile, of ac¬ 
tual laborers, one-third larger than it should be. It is 
true that some deduction ought to be made in each state 
and territory, from its estimated surface, on account of 
inarable lands and water; but I have no means of ascer¬ 
taining what such deduction should be, and therefore 
have been compelled to argue as if our whole territory 
was arable, and as if all our population called agricultu¬ 
ral, were actual cultivators thereof. We should also 
bear in mind that the census itself is known to be very 
inaccurate in many respects; owing in part, to the care¬ 
lessness of the persons engaged in taking it, but chiefly 
to the highly culpable conduct of certain editors of news¬ 
papers who exerted all their influence to prevent the exe¬ 
cution of the new and extended plan. Still it affords a 
sufficient approximation to the truth for my present pur¬ 
poses, and theref ,re I have availed myself of it. 
This first table proves another highly important fact, 
which ought to excite the deepest shame in our brother 
agriculturists in some of the states. It is, that with nearly 
double the number of square miles, and about the same 
proportion of agricultural laborers to each, they produce 
but little more than half the quantity of food for man 
and beast. It would be invidious to name these states; 
but the table will show them to any who have the curi¬ 
osity to examine for themselves; and such examination 
may render them much service, if it be made with a sin¬ 
cere desire to contribute towards the removal of this 
shame by the only attainable means, and that is —better 
husbandry. This course however is the very last, I fear, 
which will be taken by the authors of the disgrace: who 
probably, will greatly prefer seeking to find an excuse 
for it in differences of climate, and natural fertility of 
soil. Something certainly may be truly ascribed to these 
causes, although not in the cases which particularly at- 
tz-acted my attention. But after making for them, where 
they really exist, all the allowances which can justly be 
* Most of the facts given in these tables, being embraced 
in the tables of Agricultural Statistics, published in our last 
number, we have not deemed it necessary to insert them.— Eds. 
