Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1853-01-07
The Farmer.

culeurM oociety mel II Ouupury on MOI
daylast, t,sId elected Col JAMES CAMERON,
of Chillinquaqe Tp., President
- viae Presidents ntx-Hon. Geo. C. .Welker, Jacob
seesholtz. VIM. D,Kipp, Jacob Hilbish. John
Montgomery, d. L. Ireland, A. F. Kapp. !
Corresponding Sec-David Taggart, Esq. i
Treasurer-Maj. w. l.. Dewau. I
Iibrarian-wm. MCarty, Esq. -.e.-..-l
Managsrs-Hon. A. Jordan. Hon. J. Pollock /
J. e. Horton. Vim. FoExyshe. Sam. Shannon,
Sam- IoAa. Jas. Eekman. r. Overdorf, Joseph
Wetzel, VIM. Fagely, VIM. Deppen. +. Mason,
Philip Sratz, Gid. Krcmer, A. J. Fetzer, James
Beard, Charles Riddell.
The next Fair is to be Milton. The time
is to be fixed by the Executive Committee.
We hope it will soon be announced, so that
the Union County Fair may not interfere
With it.
.>-------~- -~.->.-----
Should Farmers be Chemists?
No error is more common, than to sup
pose that every farmer should be capable
of analy1ing soils, plants, &c. 1t is true
that knowledge Of the constituents Of the
soil is necessary to enable the farmer to
judge correctly of The kind Of fertilizers
which should be used, but it is not ncces-
sary that hs shonld be capable Of making
these an.lyse. himself We have already
published the analyses Of many crops, and
shall publish the analyses of all. The
constituents Of the soil are easily asccr-
tanned, and at small expense, by expert
enced chemists. i farmer seldom will
need more than three or four analyses Of
sGi during . lifetime, and he will find it
more economical to have those made b. ali
experienced analytical chemist, than TO at
tempt to study the subject sufficiently TO
mako them himself. Farmers, like other
men, are occasionally sick, and occasionally
have lawsuits, still they never deem it
necessary to become students Of law or
medicine to meet these exigencies, and
they prefer to employ the services of ex-
perienced jurists and medical practitioners,
10 fitting themselves to similar duties,
The same facts are equally applicable to
chemistry. Every farmer, and indeed cv-
cry gentleman, should be capable Of read
ing chemical rationale uudcrstandingly,
and those who have read our twelve num-
bcre, entitled I" Course of Scientific Read
ing for Farmers" in vols. j. and H., and
have continued to read the various chemi-
ical article. We have published, will find
no difficulty in readily understanding what
ever they may hereafter meet with in the
application Of chemistry to agriculture.
A bsd pugil;st is often whipped, because
his slight knowledge Of sclf-dcfonce temrts
him into quarrcl., and sometimes with
those Of greater requirement than iMsclf.
A poor chemist is more likely to make
errors than the common sense man who
follows the directions Of good chemists
without attempting analyses himself. No
man has time to lecome an accomplished
chemist and farmer, provided he has to
E call on the results Of his farm as tie source
of living. lie may, however, in a singh
week, gain 50 much knowledge Of chsmis
try as will enable him to avail fully Of the
labor Of others. The fourteen constituents
of tho soil, and the properties of each.
should be clearly understood by the farm
er. He should know what difficulties will
occur from the absence of each, as we'll as
the best manner Of adding them to the
soil when found als,nt. He should be
able to read the analyses Of plants under
standingly, and readily to apply the RENE
dy when required by soils.
The spirit of our age, and particularly
Of our country, is to acquire knowledge
without reading through the necessary
amount Of primary information. Now
the chemical terms used in agriculture are
but few, and they may be easily learned
with their signifca;ions, in a single eve
ming; and those who have followed our
pages from the commencement, can not be
at loss for the meaning Of any term We
may use. These can net readily be more
simpli6sd. Many Of them express abstract
names, which are no more difficult to rec
ollect than the names Of ones acquaintan-
ces, or the names Of things with which We
have recently become acquainted. Indeed,
the terms used 10y tho farmer himself, are
full as difficult to learn as those connected
with chemical agriculture. The names Of
farming tools, implements, the words fur
rou, ,turror-slice, aud variety of othcrs
too numerous to detail, are as ambiguous
to the citizen merchant as are the terms
Oxygen, hydroyen, &C., to the farmer.
JoLnson's Ca,echism, Norton's Essay, and
Aruott's Physic, if carefully read, will
supply every farmer with a sufficient
knowledge Of technical terms and their
uses, to enable him to read understanding
ly, every book in existence on the subject
Of agriculture. Many are now advocating
the doctrine that farmers should be bota-
nists, biologists, mincralogists, &c, but
tb;. 10 no;,lor ,r.ot;c,L1,, nor hle