MISCELLANEOUS ADDRESSES. 
SUGGESTIONS TO NORTHWESTERN FARMERS. , 
ADDRESS BY HON. FREDERICK WATTS, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
Delivered before the Minnesota Agricultural Society, Sept. 10,1872. 
Farmers and Citizens of Minnesota: 
As the curiosities of literature attract the attention of the phi¬ 
losopher, so do these natural curiosities which grow out of the 
mouths and lungs of the earth, the development and growth of 
plants, their life and death, their products and uses, attract the 
attention of farmers. There is no occupation of life to which the 
teachings of science are so applicable as that of agriculture, and 
no teaching so useless and deceptive when unaccompanied by 
practical experience. 
For more than forty years, have I been engaged in conducting 
the operations of a farm, not so much with the view of pecuniary 
profit as for the indulgence of an ardent love for the study of the 
mysteries of the art of farming. I shall be indulged therefore in 
the discussion of a subject so familiar to you. 
The first and great leading idea which presents itself with re¬ 
gard to the management of the farm is, rotation of crops. Wheat 
is the great staple commodity of your state; and while the genial 
nature of your soil, the delightful character of your summers, and 
the natural instincts of reason forbid the cultivation of this grain 
alone, I fear you are prone to forget that there are certain and 
fixed principles, dictated by natural laws, over which you have no 
control, which must be observed in the course of farming. It is 
not worth while to inquire into the mysterious influences which 
the growth of one plant exerts upon the production of that which 
succeeds it; it is enough that we do know and to some extent act 
