Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1839-06-05
Agricultural.
From the Genesee Farmer.
EnucATTnN OF FARMERS.

professors of colleges, nor any otner
class of the community, have so many
inducements, or so many facilities for
becoming really intelligent, scientific men,
as farmers. No class of men have
occasion for so constant, or so extensive
an application Of science. in their pro-
fession. Botany, mineralogy, geology.
chemistry, natural philosophy, entomolo-
gy, and the natural history of animals
generally, are brought into use. directly
or indirectly, by every farmer, almost
every day he is engaged in his business.
III it should be asked, what the farmer
has to DO with botany, the question may |
be answered by asking another, viz: If
the farmer has nothing to do with botany,
or knowledge of vegetables. who has2
Does not the whole success of his BUSH
ness depend upon knowledge of the
various plants he cuItiyates, together with
many in the way of cultivation2 Some
may ask, how can geology be used by
the hrmerq The first object of geology
is to give knowledge of the component
parts and OF the strnetnro of the earth,
aud Uf course of the nature of soils. The
question might be answered by volume
of facts; will give but one. In New
Jersey there are extensive tracts of land
now worth from fifty to hundred dollars
an acre, which, few years ago, were not
worth fencing; the application of mari
has effected the change. Except for a
knowledge of that, the land would have
continued as worthless as at first.
What use has the farmer for chemistry!
A great part of his business is a series of
chemical experiments. Not a furrow
turned, no manure applied, not fence
made, nor root or a plant preserved or
prepared for food, without an application
of chemical science. But what has the
farmer to do with natural philosophy
Every plough, harrow, rake, hoe, scythe,
axe, cart, wagon, yoke or harness, not
constructed according TO the principles of
natural philosophy, imposes unnecessary
labor upon man or beast.
And can entomology, or a knowledge
of insects. be applied to farming2 In
the year 1887, single species of insect,
the wheat fly, cost one State, Pennsylva-
MIA, several millions of dollars. The
canker worm, the grass hopper, the cut
worm, and numerous other insects, fire.
quently present themselves, though small,
vet powerful enemies to the farmer, who
Of course, has occasion to understand their
weakness, while he has such fatal proof
of their power. The horse, the OK, the
sheep, swine and other domestic animals
the farmer has secession to understand
both in health and disease.
Some parts of the mathematics the
farmer has daily occasion to use in hi.
business. Practical geometry, in on,
form an another, comes in almost con
slant use in farming operations. A por
ton of arithmetic, is, of course, indis
pensable.
But some may say, perhaps, that how
ever important and necessary an extensive
knowledge Of science may be to tn,
> farmer, he has not the facilities for &C
quiring it. Is that possible2 Is not thu
daily use of any science or art, the bes
! Of all possible modes of obtaining a ia
4 miliar and thorough knowledge Of it2
! may be questioned, even now, whether
= farmers do not possess a greater amour
of really useful knowledge, than an,
other class of the community. They
certainly have not so many technicalitie.
of science. They have not so many
Latin and Greek terms to apply to things
or the laws which govern them, as those
devoted exclusively to scientific pursuits
But do they not know as much Of things
themselves2 Cannot almost any farmer
give the best scientific botanist much use.
full information about plants2
The graduate of college may know
that what we call oak, the Romans called
0uercus. and that the Greeks called i
drus. and still be unable to distinguish
oak from chestnut. The plain unpretend
ing farmer, though ignorant of the term:
applied by the Greeks and Romans, te
these useful products of the forest, could
readily inform the scholar, whether q
tree or stick of timber was oak or ches
nut, and whether it was white. red, grey
black, Spanish or some other oak. Also
what were its properties and uses. O
course the difference between the scholar
and farmer is that the former has three
terms but not an idea; while the latter
!, has but one term and . great number o
ideas connected with it. The question
then comes who is the man OF useful
knowledge and sound learning, the ignor.
ant farmer or the learned scholar2 How
ever it may be with others, no farmer
will hesitate for an answer. 1t may be
added, that this is not merely a suppose
bic case, but one which exits in thousands
of instances in our country.
The first steps requisite for rendering
formers the most truly and the most gen,
orally enlightened, as they are much the
largest class of the community, is to have
them understand and appreciate the knowl
edge they already possess; the second is