Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-11-07

oinfr 'hele IS no pursuit, when anofns such ele-
CANT and healthy exercise 10 both, as The profession of
Agriculture.
But 10 him who has not experienced, and desires to
know, what may be the advantages and delights Of u
country lie, would ecommend the perusal of The
elegant work nsthat accomplished author, WIN Hewitt,
called "Rnral Life in England" He paints, in the
most glowing and graphic manuer, the enjoyments that
are common 10 the nobleman and the peasant.
But, alas! my friends, these bright pictures of a
country lie have their dork sides too: Nature is not so
very bohnt'iul, even in he rountry, as to require no
thing OF man. There, as elsewhere, every thing de-
ponds upon the manner in which he performs his part.
II he can convert the wilderness into i garden, SO also
can his EVIL passions and bad habits lay waste the kind
est gifts OF Providence. rccoliecl, that during The
last summer, had occasion 10 make \ little excursion
into the country; and one day about noon, suffering
from the oppressive heat oil a burning sun, sought, at
a little iarni house, that rrfreshment to which a travel
Ter is always welcome in this hospitabIe region of vir.
ginla. AS approached the house, ] met The plough
men with tleiE teams coming in TO dinner. The style
OF the harness, the leather eked out, with u string here,
and a grapevine there, would have been sufficient, if
the Struggling fences had not already told the tale, 10
assure me, that the proprietor was, what is EN- phatically
called, n bad manager. The yard was unenclosed; the
house, ignorant OF paint, was propPed on one side,
and much needed %Propp,ng on the other; the potches
were dllapidated, the blinds s%louching, the panes bro
ken, and The whole premises wearing an air of intoier-
able discomfort. The proprietor himself was sleeping
on a plank, under the shade Of a large tree, with his
hat drawn over his eyes, and was the only thing upon
the premises that seemed TO be at its ease. was re-
ceived with the warmest hospitality, md kindly made
welcome to every thing that the house could afford -
] found that mine host was a shrewd, intelligent, lazy
gooGnatuted, good for nothing fellow. Although living
almost without the comforts OF savage life, he was still
what might be called q man of substance that is, he
owned seven or eight hundred acres of land, such es il
was, and twenty or thirty negroes-iE short, his goods
and chat,sls, 1t reduced TO money, could not have
welded less than fifteen or twenty thousand uullarS.
1T pohteness had permitted, should like to have
suggested 10 him, how mach Il little repair and paint
would hive added tc the comfort and convenience ol
his family; how many elegant pleasures and delights,
the work of his own hands could have afforded them,
if he had only employed. in ornamentiDg and adornIng
his hon.ested, those hours lie had spent upon that
plank. But be, wise soul, had found out 'exacily how
II was, 'nothIng was to be made by farming in this
country, y and he had determined, as a panacea for all
the ills of life, To remove to the West. | could nat help
thinking Of the old maxim, CGium, non animum mutant,
gun trans mare cnrrunt; my poor friend may change
his climate, but, much fear he will never get rid Of the
bad habits which made the change neces airy. This
unfortunate gentleman was only the type OLA class, that
was formerly much more numerous than IL IS now
Qhank Gody in Virginia. Indeed, a new source OF tx.
tinciion has lately appeared, which threatens TO jlssi
pate entirely this ancient ana venerable race OF farm
e!s. Our Northern ne'ghbors, with that sagacty Tor
which they are remarkable, have discovered that there
10 m portion of the country, that offers such induce
II ~ sptCuldtoTst us ~ dHClcHl Il VI Uu
Virginians, whose slo,h and extravaganza force them to
sell their bir,hrights for a song. These new corners
have discovered The grand secret, which modern i'm
provements in Agriculture have revealed, that It is
easier and cheaper 10 renovate an exhausted acre, than
to bring a new one into cultivation. With this know
ledge, with which their superior intelligence has &C.
quainted them, they are well content TO purchase the
pleasant homes oil the former occupants, and send them
forth, wives, little children and all, 10 encounter the
hardships and pri7ations OF a lIe IN the wilderness.
We welcome those enterprising strangers amongst us,
for they make the wilderness 10 blossom as the rose,
and se. nm example in hGsbandry, worthy Of all lmita-
ton. Yet, II is a melancholy reflection, that for every
recruit we gain in this wag, some old settler has been
driven from The home OF ms childhood, and forced 10
yield his household associations 10 stranger hands
May God prosper him in foreign lands, and teach him
that industry and economy, the want of which drove
him from his own.
That Agriculture is the mother OF the arts-that it
was the primeval occupation OF man-thai II Is the
foundation and source of all industry, has been repeat
cd by every writer and speaker on The subject tor the
last 600 years; and these declarations are not less true
than trite. But there is one view OF the subject that
have never seen taken, al least pressed with sutil
cient force upon the public c1nside ration mean
the Importance, not 10 say necessity, of Agriculture to
the support Of lie publican institutions. These, IN Their
nature, depend upon the purity and virtue of the PEG.
pie, and they have most to dread from that foul cor
rup,ion, which seems To be engcnaered in man from
contact with his fellow man. know, II has been
claimed for cities, and not without reason, that history
proves them 10 have been the ardent friends of Liberty,
and ever the pioneers in the great struggles FOR free
dom, which man has been forced to wage with his
oppressors. They have been the first TO resist oppres.
sion, not from a greater love of liberty, but because
their local position gave them greater facilities oil UNION;
but, If theY are banded together for good, they are ire
quently united for evil, and IL IS in the corruptions en-
gendered in q great city, that the demagogne loves TO
riot. With an almost boundless territory, and the most
critic soil in the world, we mus remain tor many CEN
turies m agricultural people. Villages, such as Rich
mond, may, nav must spring IN, and enc or two, as
Nsw York, may in time grow 10 be the cities OF which
speak. But 1t will be long, very long, ere the leasen
Of purity and honesty, derived from agricultural occu.
patIons, will not more than overhalance all The vice
and CORFU ption that seem inseparable from a congre-
CATION Of great masses Of mankind.
But, if Agriculture is favorable 10 Republican institu'
tons, so are these 10 their turn wonderfully promntIye
of the growth of A agriculture. Indeed, il is the chief boast
OF free Government, that it releases the shackles OF
mind, and brings TO bear upon q subject ot public IN.
terest the whole, untrammelled force OF public intellect.
There is no subject upon which, in proportion 10 our
numbers, we cannot think .freer, stronger and more
ciear,y, than any other people upon the face OF the
earth. Our institutions would not be worth a rush, If
hi. were not true. And now, that the public mind in
America has been brought to bear upon ihis SUBJECT,
winch is to us IF peculiar Interest, | venture TO pre-
dict, that in this country, during the next ten years,
more real discoveries will be made in The science oil
Agriculture, than in all Europe combined.
AT the expression, aScience of Agricultural it is
possible, that a contemptuous smile may mark the
countenances Of some of my auditory. | know 1t IS
much the fashion of a sort Of men, who have grown wise
in their own conceit, and whom the modern discoveries
in agricultural science are gradually displacing, from
the oracular tripod, which they have been accustomed
,o.occupy in their own neighborhood- it is a kind Of
fashion with such men, say, 10 turn up their noses al
the mention Of S;icncc. 1'hey, forsooth, look upon her
as n dangerous rival to their OWN preiens;ons, and have
more than half n mind TO set up an opposition 10 her
claims. Poor, ignorant creatures they iiite under
stand the power they oppose, nor are they aware OF lne
ridiculous figure they are made to cut IN snch a contest
They do not know, that in plotting against Science,
they are guilty Of The grossesi treachery, and The black
est insralitude. To her, they are indebted Tor every
social comfort they enjoy her blessings are around
them and about them, wherever they endeavor 10 ra'se
a sheer at her expense. The old housewife cannot
make a pot OF soap without the aid of chemistry the
commodious dwellings, that they inhabit, are indebted
to innumerable scientific discoveries for their exist
ence. The scientific researches of Count Rumf'rd are
called into requisilion, whenever a fire place Is 10 be
built aud there is not q physical luxury or comfort
that they enjoy, 10 which Science has not lent her ard
And vet, these are the men, who live and breathe by
Science, that dare 10 deride her prctensions, or doubt
The limits Of her capabilities. Yet, SO it has ever been.
This great b%enefactor o: mankind, has IN all time been