Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1853-03-21
From the Albany CuItivator.
The science of ARrlauIture.

| understood IN TINS country, PROBABLY (consiuelh9
all circumstances well as in any other. Our
farmers can do all the work, and do it well too.
But the science the theory of agriculture, is not
so well understood. Agricultural science en-
braces considerable number of other sciences.
| Indeed il is combination of sciences, for there
are very few that do not enter into the practice of
| the farmer. He may not know 1t, but II Is
true, nevertheless Let us enumerale thcm.-
The farmer should be chemist, mineraogist land
geologst, because he practices these sciences eve
ry day of his life, whether he knows 1t or not
He should be a botanst, for he practices 1t very
largely; he should be physician, Tor he has Ire
quent occasion to resort to this science, IN both
man and beast; he should be an entomologist, for
no class of profession has as much interest IN this
branch of knowledge as the farmer; he should
be well versed in natural history, and he often Is
without knowing sy liable of It's theoretical prln-
ciples; and he should be an astronomer, and this,
too he is, quite too often, ignorantly; he should
be political economist, for in him, at last, the
public welfare takes refuge in all its troubles, and
from him it derives all its slrength-lhe enlight-
ened farmers constitute the Site. II agriculture
! be science composed of nearly all other SCI
| ences it is also an art, composed Of or cOmprls-
| ing nearly all other arts. The farmer ought TO be
and frequently is blacksmith; some OF his taml-
! ly are bakers and brewers; he is carpenter, a
ildCulHlsl, anu quil6 HGquSlti) an
Now, if all this be true, what class OF human
family require 50 general and so thorough an ed
ucaton as The farmer, to make them masters Of
their profession? 1t seems to the writer that the
world acts most preposerousy In best0wlng ID
thorough a liberal education upon those who are
to practice single, simple science, and Withhold
ing from hun who is to practice all The sciences
and all the arts. Farmers themselves are TOO
apt to take the same course, 10y educating at the
university one OF their sons, who is destined TO be
doctor or a lawyer and coneniing themselves
with giving their other sons and daughters, who
are to be farmers and farmers wives, the simplest
of country school education. They would seem
10 reason somewhat like this" Doctoring and
awyering come from education, and farming by
nature,'' IA remark actually made to me by an
old and respectable farmer. That even the art
of farming is incapable Of easy and quick acquire
ment, every farmer knows; but that the science,
the theory of farming, as well as the handscralt,
should be expected TO be obtained more easily,
and in less time than those of the other profess
sions, is, of all human errors, the most unaccoun-
able. It's true boy raised upon farm and
diligently performing The labors of working
farmer will acquire the handicralt Of the art by
the time he is of lawful age without the aid of
school education-he may do 50 without being
able TO write his name. But then what sort of
farmer is he! A mere mechanical operator, who
is obliged to follow the patterns and examples Of
his predecessors, being incapable Of improving
! them 10 form or substance, not knowing anything
of the theory of their operation or upon what
! principles they may be changed for the BETTER
| The common blacksmith knows not why he
| blows the bellows--he only knows he increases
the heat of his forge by but he knows not why;
and so the merely practical farmer knows that by
doing certain things he produces certain results,
if the season be proptious; because such things
produced such effects in his predecessors time,
but he knows not why If the blacksmith and
the farmer knew all about the theory upon which
their labors depended for their effects, how much
more effectively, and with how much more GER
tainty olresuts, would they not both labor?
have seen stable manure applied to land already
too rich in such material, and have heard won
der expressed because it did not produce results
there equal to those it produced on land where it
was wanted. have seen lime applied TO land
wherein there was already IA superabundance,
| and withheld where it was much wanted, all be"
cause the operators were unaccqudinted with the
chemistry that properly belongs to their profess
sion. Suppose the dairywoman knew the theory
of the operation OF chnrnlug, the philosophy, if
you please, of the separation of the butter from
the milk or cream?-how many hours Of hard la
Dor would such knowledge save her; and how
much more butter would she not obtain from her
milk.
Even in the kitchen or every farm house, yes,
every city dwelling house, there are numerous
chemical operations constantly gotng on which,
if properly understood, would result greatly to the
advantage and comfort of all. The simple pre-
paration of cup of coffee will depend for its re-
suit upon a chemical operation, and the beverage
will be good OF bad, according it shall be pre-
pared in accordance with correct chemical princi-
pies. Generally, cooks have made coffee often
under the instruction Of others that they know
how to make it properly, but they have not the
! least idea of the philosophy of the work. The
same may be SAID OF all other operations IN cook
| ing. But the greater interests, such as making,
saving, and applying manures; analyZing soil,
selecting and applying renoVators Qime, &C., )and
mixing sois-these all require a knowledge of
chemistry, theoretical and practical. There are
but few farms that have not different qualities of
soil, in different places, in excess. Here, a low,
''sour" bottom there an arid sand HILL here,
! dead clay, and by the side OF that river a wide
margin Of black vegetable mold How speedily
would the truly scientific farmer commence carry
ing sand to the clay, and clay and sand to the
vegetable mold, and the letter to all the others
and by thus mixing the various soils, render the
whole fertile? Ii he be in doubt whether the
soils of his various fields contain the necessary
quantity of lime. how easily can he ascertain
that fact and, if they do not, apply the proper
quantity Of this renovator. Possibly his soil is
rich enough in vegetable organic matter; and if
so, he ascertais the fact,and applies no more that
class of manures, but resorts to chemical renov-
ats IN.
And probably thereyeIse turns out to be the case
he has found lime and potash enough in the soil,
and wants vegetable matter, and he applies it,
In fine, a knowledge of chemistry, vegetable
physiology, and modicum of common sense, will
enable him to ascertain what articles of manure
his various fields require, and thus avoid not only
carrying Goals to New Castle, but paying dear
ly for them too. A general knowledge OF chem
istry and the kindred sciences would also put an
effectual stop to blndold and costly experiments.
1t wood also put stop to universal agricultural
panaceas. Nobody would then think of saying
that common soil, soda, lime, anything, was an
universal manure. They would then be all good
only where and when they were wanted in a soil.
But, says everybody, how can all this be donc?-
How can everybody be educated and made scien-
tifc3 | answer, by introducing scientific educa-
ton into all the schools. How many farmer S
son is taught French, Latin, Greek, mathematics,
algebra, and a dozen other subjects, not one OF
which will ever be hundredth part as useful to
him chemistry and vegetable HISTOLOGY would
be. Enough of chemistry and all the collateral