The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-11-28
farnler s Goluran.
How blest the Farmers simple life.
Far from the noise of the City's strife.
[From the Monthly Jubilee.l
WHAT Is PRACTICAL FARMING

- NH.a .n
VIII any of our readers inform us
who are the practical farmers ? Is it
those who have a practical knowledge of
all the truths connected with agriculture,
and industry enough to put their knowl-
edge to use? Must not a practical Far
mer necessarily be a scientific one? Does
science mean knowledge reduced to a
system, SO as to be easily taught and
readily understood, or does it mean some
thing else ? Does it render a Farmer
less practical if he writes what he ascer-
tains as truths, and permits these truths
to be printed for the benefit of the 9TH
crs? If he reads truths ascertained by
other Farmers aud adopts what is scien-
tifc knowledge, enables him to select as
saeh,+is he less n practical Farmer !?
What is meant by book farming I? Can
it be such a man as represented above,
or is every practical Farmer necessarily
a book Farmer ?-Can it be supposed
that any one man exists, who, without
books and from his own observation alone
has surpassed the requirements of a
world for six thousand years aud if
this is not a supposable case. how can
any man assume to be a practical Far
mer without being a book Farmer SO
far as 20 know what others have done
before him? If this is not so, how isit
that no one Farmer who lived a hun
dred years ago, knew not the truths that
have since been ascertained. We should
advise those who deride ambitious and
spirited investigators after truth, By call
ing them book Farmers, to convince
themselves of their folly by employing
Lawyers and Divines VINO are practical
without ever having used books, unread
Judges, Doctors who have their wi ex-
perience alone, and who have scorncd to
take advantage of the printed expert
ence of others, Take practical Sailors
from the canal boats and make them
commanders of national vessels, and you
have a fair smile of i practical Farmer
who is not a book Farmer practical
Farmer who has no science. Who ever
learned navigation without the aid of
books Find such a man and you will
have a man before the mast, aud not a
practical sailor. Have not the mechau-
ic arts been advanced by science, until
the very age seems to have perfected
thousands of labor savings which the
last century would have laughed at as
visionary And ar3 the Farmers an
exception to the rest of mankind, that
they, or a part of them, should assume
to know more of the mysteries of ma.
lures laws than can be ascertained by
scientific research ? Is the term book
farming intended as significant of a fool ?
If SO we beg to enrol ourselves among
them, for we cannot consent to be a menu
Der of a party in any craft, whose ego
tism leaves them no other claim to great
ness or usefulness, than to deride the
more active minded members of the fra
ternity.
Is it not pitablc at this date, after the
onward march of Improvement has
taught men to tear apart the constitu-
ents of any substance in nature and to
know with certainty what they are, that
some should suppose that the synthesis
held charms and process not encompass
ed by analysis.
Can any reasonable man suppose that
a plant can grow botter and increase more
in soils not containing the sim
pies of which, by analysis, We knew it to
be formed, than n replete with all the
constituents and yet We have
that would argue that chemistry
IAN furnish no instruction to the Far
ner. We claim no special knowledge
lot common to any inquiring agricultn-
rist, and yet we have advised a mode of
for more than two hundred farms,
including manures, ascertaine1 tc be re-
by chemical investig ton. VIII
of these fault-fnding hators of book
furnish US with one INSTANCE
where We have been in error, while we
stand ready to prove that in no case have
failed to increase the crop twenty
Eve per cent. or more, without cores
increase of expenses. Nor do
We stand alone In snch practices hun
lreds of others have procured similar
results steadily and undeviatingly, and
any special ipstsnces being Sc
lected to register their success.