The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1853-10-22
CONTINUED.

|. CONTINUED.
What il in effect conte nded for BY tfad.
vocates of Book.farming is simply d.
that farmer, like any artisan, whilhe
needs practical experience, may also preby
tie practical experience Of otaers. For EN-.
pie: A now plant or vegetable Is introded
which our anti book. farmer concludes toy,
though totally ignorant of its nature and q
son. Get us suppose the nearest neighr
who has ever grown this plant lives i've ms
away. Now, will not this new experiment
il he have decent share OF common see,
ride over and ask the experienced cultivar
what soil is best adapted to this plant. VT
manures are best for it, what time It shoi
be planted or sowed, how cultivated, &c. I.
Plainiy, il would be sheer madness for b
to omit such inquiries, and 60 ON 40 1t the
had been no preceding experience, to =
swer all these questions and determined
these points for himself. by bap-hazard pla-
ing on every variety OF soil, at every pos
bic season, with any or every sort OF fert.
ger! By so doing he must spend sevd
hundred dollars to determine what he mis-
readily have ascertained at the cost Of n d
lar. Well: il he could turn to the pror
page of an Agricultural Dictionary or En-.
cIopedia, and there learn exactly when u
plant sh ,uld be sown in this latitude, h'
manured, how cultivated. &C., would not tt
be still easier and cheaper than to T.
over to his distant neighbours! Would /
not be highly probable trat the directin
contained in the book, being founded on
ide range Of experiments. would be me
reliable and complete than his neighbs
, counsel, based on his narrow personal ee-
| rience! A prudent man would probably a.
suit both book and neighbor, and then fow
either only 50 far AZ his own ju 'gmt
> should dictate; but how can sny one p.
. prove his taking counsel OF one mans ee-
rience, yet condemn u course, which lin
fact, but paying Difference to the expeTies
! of many thousands!
But some say, Consult and profit byll
"the experience within your reach, but d.,
stalk to Us about Agricultural Sci nct-
"Grou ing good crops is tn Farmers W.
, "tion, and IN this pursuit experience 10 !.
"ways safe guide; not so what is eau
"Scence, which often msleads and impOv.
, "ishes."
Let US consid =:
Of course there is much fence SOCIAL
which 10 false Science-the brain.spun sp-
ulations and subtleties Of idle and fancl
people. anxious to account for phenoma
which they do not really understand
one considers SUCH Science worth any thr
and it 10 one of the chief recommendatie
Of TRUE Science that it enables men to .
tect the pretender and unmask him. /
= Science implies knowledge OF Nature q
, her immutable Laws; and who can seriou
|. doubt the importanae OF this to the Farm
For instance:
We all know that field of one humid
t acres entirely devoted during five succ'
4 sive years to q rotstion Of Corn, Oats, 9
yer, Potatoes and Wheat, respectfully wo,
yield . far greater product than would u
same field il divided into fv. equal ps fosI,.
: for five years in succession. Experience. b,
settled this, before Science was allowed ,
. say anything about it. When at last ins
: rogated, tor the reason Of law which und
: lies this fact, Science made answer thar er
' plant requires and exacts its peculiar mn
!. ment, and that this is relatively it not abb
Iutely exhausted by growing that crop
the sane land year alter year. 1t may
that the five plants above named all reqi
{ Lime, j o.ash' Phosphorus, Ammonia, CaD'
d &C., which, beside Water, are the chief d
lmenta of vegetable structure; but, If &
: they require them in very unequal proc
tions or quantities. Grown each OIL its "
% twenty acres throughout the five years, o
n will have exhausted the Lime, yet hav
abundance Of Phorphorus left; another "
have absorbed all the Potash in its divjit
yet hardly tasted the Lime; and SO on; ,h
i had the hundred acres been sown in rotai
It or succession entirely to one and then 4 q
other of these crops, or had the Eve bee,
ternated from portion to portion with %
succeeding year, they would all have yi,l'
abundantly, yet left no portion OF the
utter.p robbed of any single element. Bx
rience affrms that the rotation of crops
u taken far more from the soil than the adTe
}. system, which Science unhesitatingly corr
r crates, and adds that, while rotation has
ken more from the soil, it has neverthe
left il in better condition to bear future
u vests; and this Experience will in due 4
ratify and establish.
:, Here, then, Experience has been outstl
1 ped by Science, whose torch irra'iates
Future with light drawn directly from
III Preseat, not reflected from the Past.
perience has shown that particular rotal
is preferable to the growth of the "a
plant on the same soil for a succession
years; bu Science forecasts beyond this,
F" afirms that any possible rotation must be
ferable to incessant andRunchanging rep
OF ton, for reasons which lie deep in the boz
OF Nature and are inseparabe from her '
vitality. AZ surely az Experience has
ut monstrated the expediency Of keeping {
tie where they have grass and water both
up stead Of shutting up part where they
co have grsss enough but no water, and the
idus where they will have abundance Of
ter but no grass or other food, 20 clearly {
~ Science demonstrate the advantage Of or
ing different crops in rotation.
~ But in answering our first question-'V
"should different crops be grown in rotate
Science hiss thrown open wide field of