The Southern journal., 1846-01-31
AGRICULTURAL.
To the Young Farmer.

Judge Buel, in his address before
the Berkshire Agricultural Society in
1887, said, that every age demands a
greater mental culture, than the one
which. preceded it; and it Lehoove.
you TO qualify yourselves for tha
which now dawns upon your menta
vision. The more you learn to de
pend upon yourselves, the more 20,
learn developed capacities and ener
gies. of which yoa are yet unconscious
Of possessing-the more likely you
will be to prosper in life. The sap.
ling which is sheltered BY the tower.
ing pine, or ~ide.spreading oak, i:
neither 60 strong nor so graceful, as
that which. grows up without shelter,
and acquires strength and solidity
from the buffetlngs Of the winds and
storms. The plant that is nurtured
in the shade is not SO beautiful-its
blossoms are not SO fragrant. nor its
fruit so rich, as the form, the flower.
and the fruit Of that which grows in
the glare Of solar light.
The culture of the mind should en-
gage your serious attention, that you
may sooner profit by IFS counsels and
its powers. Mind is the great master
power, which instructs, guides and
abridges human labor-tbe grand
source Of intellectual pleasure-a fac
ully which distinguishes man from the
brute, and which, as it is more or less
cultivated, marks the gradations in
civilized society. Say not that you
have no leisure for this, and your time
is engrossed in providing for your
animal wants. Franklin found time
to bestow upon his mind high and
useful culture, amid the cares and la
bors Of an active merhanic's life. The
hours that the avocations Of the farm
allow to study, amount in the aggro-
gate Of early life, to months and TO
years.-Knowledge is power; it is
wealth; it is responsibility; it is hap
piness; it endures with life. The
mind may be likened to the soil; both
are given to be improved; and the
measures Of our enjoyments, aud the
welfare Of society, depend upon the
good or bad culture we bestow upon
them. Indolence may be compared
70 the coarse marsh plants, " hich feed
upon the coil and faint The air, with.
out yielding anything comely or USE
ful in return, for man or beast;-in.
temperance, TO broken down fences,
which permit beasts to enter and con-
sume the earnings of industry, and
beggar the offspring Of the owner
litigation, to the thorns and thistles,
which rob the soil Of its fertility, and
mar the beauty Of the landscape.
While, on the other hand, the faithful
application Of knowledge to the use-
ful purposes oflife, may be likened to
the draining and manuring, which
give fertility to the soil; the good ha-
bits which We establish, to the good
culture bestowed by the husbandman
indicative alike Of cheerfulness and
plenty-and the embellishments Of
the mind in literature, science aud
taste, to tie gardens and grounds, a..
bounding in all that is grateful to the
lenses, which should surround and
adorn our rural dwellings, and beauti
y the country.
You have chosen an employment
which is honorable, profitable and in,
dependent. Devote to it your besl
powers, till you have become master
Of the art. or Of such branches of it a.
you design to follow-and until yor
have acquired so much Of the scienc,
knowledge Of the why and where.
fore-ofthe great laws ofnature, upol
which good husbandry is based, a
shall enable you 10 conduct your op
erations with judgment and success
"Who aims at excellence will be a