Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1846-02-13
THE =, FARM.
TO THE YOUNG FARMER.

Judge Buel, in his address before the Berk
shire Agricultural Society in 1887, said that
every age demands q greater degree of mental
culture, than the one which preceded il; and
it behoves you 10 qualify yourself for that which
now draws upon your mental vision. The
more you learn to depend upon yourselves, the
more you find developed capacities and ener.
gies OF which you are yet unconscious Of pos
eessing--the more likely you will be to pros.
per in life. The sapllng that 10 sheltered BY
the towering pine, or wide spreading oak, is
neither so strong nor 90 graceful. as that which
grows up without shelter, and acquires strength
and solidity from the buffetngs of tho winds
and storms. The plant that is nurtured in the
shade 10 not 50 beautiiul-i,s 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 engage your
serious attention, that you may sooner profit by
it's counsels and it's powers. Mind 10 the great
master power which instructs, guides and a..
bridges human lsbor-thc grand source OF in.
tellectual pleasure--a faculty which dstin.
cuisines man from tho brute, and which 40 it is
more or less cultivated, marks the graduations
in civilized society. Say not that you have no
leisure for this, that your time is engrossed in
providing for your animal wants. franklin
found time 10 bestow upon his mind high and
useful culture, amid the cares and labors of an
active mechanics life. The hours that the
avocatons Of the farm allow to study. amount,
in aggregate OF early life, 10 months and to
years. knowledge is power, it is wealth, i, is
responsibility, it is happiness, it endures with
life. The mind may be lkened to the soil.
Both are given To be improved; and the mea.
sures Of our enjoyments. and the welfare Of
society. depends upon the good or bad culture
we bestow upon them. Incidence may be
compared to the coarse marsh plants, which
iced upon the soil and faint the air. without
yielding anything that is comely and useful in
return for man or beast ;--intemperancs to
broken down fences, which permit beasts to
enter and consume the earnings Of industry,
and beggar the Offspring Of the owner--lhiga.
ton to the lhorns and thistlee, which rob the
soil Of it's fertility, and mar the beauty Of the
landscape. While on the other hand the faith.
ful application Of knowle ledge 10 the useful pur.
poses Of life, may be likened 10 the draining
and manurng, which give fertility to the soil
the good habit which We establish, to the good
culture bestowed by the husbandman--ndca
tive alike Of chcerIulness and plcn,y--and the
embe lshments Of the mind in literature, sci.
ence and taste, to tho gardens and ground. 4.
bounding in all that is grateful IL the senses
which should surround and adorn our rural
dwellings, and beautify the country.
You have chosen an employment which il
honorable. pro ftable aud indepe ndent. Devote
to it your best powers, till you have become
master Of the art, or Of such branches of it as
you design to follow--and until you have &C.
quired so much Of the science--know ledge Of
why and where fore--of the grea, laws Of ma.
ture, upon which good husbandry is based, as
shall enable you TO conduct your operations
with judgment and success. Who aims a,
excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims
at mediocri,y will fall short Of it, So the ad.
age teachesan SO is the response Of exper.
fence.