Smyrna times., 1855-08-22
Wha. Is ksact.c ii Ea.....s.A i.


| Will any of our readers inform us who are
the practlcal farmers! Is 1t those that have
practical knowledge of all the truths connected
with agriculture, p. indusfry ehOugn TO put
their knowledge TO use lual uot practical
farmer necessarily be e scientific one! Does
science mean knowledge reduced 10 . ey,tem,
so as to be easily taught AID readily under
stood" or does II NEE n something else / Does
1t render farmer i4ss practical If ne writes
what he ascerlllns as truihs, and permits these
truths to be printed for the benefit OF the others
1t he reads ruth ascertalned by other farmers,
and adopts what his scientific knowledge ena-
bes HIM to select as such, is he less practical
farmcr!' What is meant by book farming 3
Can it be such 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 oh
servatlon alone, has surpassed the requirements
OF world tor 5000 years and if this is not
supposable case, how can any man assume to be
a practical tarme, without being a book farmer,
SO far as to know what others have done before
hm! If this is not SO, how is it that no one
farmer lived hundred years ago who knew the
truths which have since been Ascertained. We
should advise those who dcride the ambitious
and spirited Investigators after truth, by calling
them 6ooa farmers, to convince themselves Of
the folly By employing lawyers and dlvines who
are practICgi atu.l. ..... w used books
unread ludge-, uocIu,s q. 4" nav thc,r own ex-
periehcc al"ne, ana 'yh" 81 ~c0raed to take
advantage by tne ~ ia ext renee Of others.
Take pTact Cal S,II"t~ 80 cana boats and make
them commanders D. national vessels, and you
have ar s.aIl2 practical farmer who is
not took iarmer-a practical farmer who has
no sci"nc" " no ever learned navigation with
out the az Of books Find such a man and
you Will have man before the mast, and not a
practical sailor. Have not the mechanic arts
been advanced by science until the very age
seems to have perfected thousands of labor-sav-
lngs, which the last century would have laugh
ed at as visionary! And are the farmers an ex.
ceptlOn on the rest of mankind, that they, or
part OF them, should assume to know more OF
the mysteries of natures laws than can be as
certalned by scientific research Is the term
book farming intended as significant of fool!
1t so, we beg to enrol ourselves among them
! tor we cannot consent to be member of a
party IA any craft, whose egotlsm leaves them
no other claim TO greatness or usefulness, than
to deride the more active minded members OF
the fraternity.
Is it not pitlable at this date, after the onward
march Of improvement has taught men to teal
apart the constituents Of any substance in ma
ture and to know with certainty what they are
that some should suppose that the snylhes
held charms and process not encompassed BY
analysis.
Can any reasonable man suppose that plan
can grow better, ami increase more RAPIDLY, Il
soils not containing the slmpes OF winch b.
analyS.s we know II 10 De formed than one re
pletc with all the required c0nstltu, mis-; All
we have mauy that would argue that cicmis
try can inrn!aL no instruction to the t4rmer.-
We claim no special knowledge not common t
any mquIring ugrcuturlst, and yet we hav
ADVISED Il mode OF culture tor more than tw
hundred farms, including manures ascertaine
to be required by chemical investigation. Wi
any of these iault-fndng haters Of book-farn
ing, furnish us with one instance where W
have been in error, while we stand ready
: prove that in no case have we failed to increaS
/, the crop twenty-five per cent or more, withol
corresponding increase of expenses. Nor
:, we stand alone in such practices; hundreds
= others h We procured similar results stcad
4 aud undeviatingly, and without any special il