Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1853-11-04

Missouri. or Oregon. When the,
shall have got 90 far West as TO fine
lsnd that doesn't need nor reward fcrtil'
izlng, and will not be worn out by theil
mode OF farming, | trust they will come
to fall stop and send for their relations
Let me be rightly understood. Dc
not condemn a man for owning more
land, In new country where land i
cheap, than he 10 now able or willing te
cultivate. know perfectly well thai
the system oi thorough culture that sue
oceds 80 admirably In Belgium ls not yel
adapted 10 Indiana. Where good fenc'
cd pasture may be bought for eight ol
ten dollars per acre, you cannot afford
TO keep up your cattle and cut all their
food, though that is excellent policy In
It's place. II ensures the keeping Of q
much larger stock on given area, be.
side enriching the land far more rapidly
But II requires vastly more labor, and
whore weeks work is worth an acre ol
arabic land, IL won't pay. What In.
sist on is simply this-Land worth culti-
vating at all, Is worth cultivating WELL.
Almost halfthe soil In my section never
ought 10 feel the touch Of plow iron, un-
less for the purpose Of striking fire on
some OF It's abundant rocks. Such land
should be kept GOV cred from too pariicu-
lar observation by growth after growth
OF wood, giving variety and freshness 10
the landscape, and persistence, II not
stability, to the streams. But wherever
an acre Is broken up, Il should be with
fixed resolve to extract good crop
from Il, and to use oil the means requi-
site to that end A field of spindling
yellow corn, or s,unted, struggling oats,
or blossoming buckwheat, that seems to
have been compassionately sown for the
accommodation Of broken-winged bum
BILE boes, Is a palpable impeachment oil
the capacity Of its owner TO manage land
at all. II it can do no better than this,
he ought never to have broken IL up. II
he will do such stupid thing, he ought
at least to keep his folly out OF sight
from the public highway.
presume careful investigation would
discover the existence Of a pretty gen.
eral Law OF Proportion between the mar
ket value OF farm and the amount OF
labor that should be annually devoted to
It's cultivation, apart from enduring inn
provements. Let US suppose farm Of
100 acres to be worth this year $40 per
acre or 81 900 In all; then we will say
one mans labor or three hundred days
work per year, worth $500 In all, might
be as much as could be prohtably be.
slowed on Its mere cultivation. But
roads and markets improve until this land
is worth $50 an acre, or the iarm $4,000;
and now much more OF IL muy be taken
out OF forest or pasture, aud devoted to
grain anil vegetables. involving an In.
crease OF the labor expended on II to
three mems steudy work, or 5000 per
year. SO, "a the value increased 10 500,
10, and ut length 500 per acre. the labo r
employed thereon should bo correspond
lngly increased whether by division Of
the farm or otherwise. do not profess
10 indicate the precise proportion Of
present labor 10 valuation OF fixed
capital, but only that there Is such pro-
portion, aud that economic science will
yet ascertain and declare Il.
IL II not necessary that land should
be cultivated In order TO be productive.
The young, growing wood Is earning
money for iis owner, as well as the corn
field. lie who has land that he does not
need, yet wishes TO keep for his children,
can hardly serve them better than by In.
closing Il eiiectually, planting Il with lo-
Gust, hickory, and other choice timber,
aud leaving II undlsturbed ill his sons
may require IL. but even left In open,
naked common, land generally tends to
improve from the renoyatlng influences
Of the atmosphere alone, as the reclaim
ed "old.felds" OF the South bear witness.
IL Is only poorly farmed land that Is a
blight to It's possessor aud dscredlt TO
the country. Ifall the labor now devo-
ted to farming throughout the Union
were wisely concentrated on one.half
the land, our annual product woald be
much larger, our lands would appear far
more productive aud valuable, while the
timber thstwe are now wasting aud de-
stroying, as though Prophet Miller's
speedy conhagration Of the world were a
demonstrated verify, would be gradually
re-investing the earth with beauty aud
graceful majesty which Cabot or John
Smith may have realized, but OF which
our children seem destined TO have none
but hearsay evidence.
hold that Farmers may also learn Of
Mechanics and Artihcers to estimate
more highly and justly than most Of
them now do the Importance and neces-
sity OF SCIENCE, or profound and accu-
rate knowledge Of principles, to the etii-
cient and profitable prosecution OF thoir
labors. The worker In Iron, for exam
pie, recognizes his need to know what is
the nature and what are the properties Of
Iron; and not merely Of Iron in gem
eral, but Of the various qualities and
kinds. Without this, he may blow or
strike fairly in a blacksmith's shop, and
may have learned TO make a tolerable
horseshoe; but he has not risen TO the
rank OF an artisan. Let him acquire n
thorough knowledge Of Iron in the abb
stract, and OF the laws OF chemical aiiin.
ity which govern its combinations with
other substances, and the practical knowl-
edge he has gained in making horse
shoes may be made available In forging
anchors, In making plows, or In thou
sand other employmenis which, in the
absence OF science, he must have ap-
preached as a novice and learned from
the beginning. Science Is the bridge
across which our practical knowledge,
gained by experience, passes and repass-
es, to aid Us at need in our stern battle
with physical oppression and stubborn
ness. He who knows how to do one thing
well, and does il, is a good workman, So
far as that special function Is regarded;
but he who is thoroughly grounded | q
the Science which underles his voca-
ton is enabled to master n dozen differ
ent arts or notifications of his pursuits
with a celebrity and perfection otherwise
unattainable.
Now the farmer, who perfectly com.
prehends the value Of science in the con.
struction OF bridge or chimney, often
seems not to appreciate so vividly its in
portance in his own vocation. His un.
expressed but acted-on idea would seem
to be that, while other industrial calling'
require instruction, method, abstract
knowledge, Farming is a matter of in
-. -. ...ohauteaI innifnfi0n H.