Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-07-01
AN ARGUMENT FROM THE
FARM

FARM.
The very large prices which agricultural pro-
ducc has commanded for the few last years, has
brought under cultivation a greater breadth OF
land than ever before was cultivated upon this
continent. In the vicinity Of the cities and all
considerable markets, woodlands have been
cleared, and worn out lands have been restored,
low places have been drained, and more expen-
I siye appliances introduced into agriculture than
our fathers would have Thought possible. The
De lrncss of brcadstuffs has stimulated the cur
ture of other crops, and increased their eonsump-
ton. Farm buildings and public roads arc i'm
proved. and the whole aspect of agricultural
regions presents an advance which under Ordi-
nary circumstances, could not have taken place
in half a century.
But, say the alarmistS, prices are falling. We
wish there were more tangible evidence of such
a state of things-Or more considerable; for in
t%elligent farmers well know that they can afford
to submit to IN abatement. They have secured
the actual profit of the past extreme prices. 1t
is invested in their improved property. Old
mortgages are cleared off. Old lands are reiu-
venated. Old building are repaired; and though
it may . little shock the pocket nerve, TO drop
back toward the rates which rTled before the
rise, vet, with the cOnvenienccs which uneX-
ampled prosperity has created or developed, far
meTs will soon find they can afford better to seilat
/ the old prices, than before the high rates came in.
/ IL Is as II Uley nHu ESCelNeAA SPGEAAA
or bounty to be applied to the future cheapening
of farm produce. Besides the individual bene-
fits which some of the negligent may not have
improved. and the thriftIess may have wasted,
there are others which cannot be lost, and in
which all may partake. We allude to the i'm
petus which mechanical Ingenuity has received
and the consequent introduction of new and
superior agricultural machinery. ReaPing and
moving machines are every year more SIM
pliied; and to such an extent are they already
used in various sections, and particularly on
the level surface of Jersey, that scythes and
cradles threaten to become almost absolcte. Be-
sides these prominent and striking innovations
upon old modes offarming, the whole science OF
agriculture seems to have undergone q revision.
Steel manure, in the form of the pillow, the Gull
tivator and the hoe, does more for the farmer
than all the glano ever discovered. Constant
pulverising of the earth lets in air and attracts
moisture to the roots; and the oldwhim that to
stir up the earth is to make it dry, has vanished
before the practical common sense of increasing
the loose surface to absorb the moisture of the
atmosphere.
But, it may be urged. all the land laid under
cultivation, may not be wanted, and will not
paw. A part of this objection is met by the in
! creasing population, and by the fact that the
more land is farmcd, the more men are employ
ed; and the more men, the more mouths. Bnt
the most ready relief to the APPARENT difficulty
is, that land under good condition to cultivate,
if not wanted for corn finds profitable use for
Inquiries and comforts. If breadstufEs are low
enough to allow purchasers any surplus cash,
then Strawberries, peaches and other fruits come
into demand, The quantity of the first named
frui. this year sold in Philadelphia exceeds all
former experience; yet the price has been high,
and the quality never was finer. Other little
ctceteras, small in themselves, but great in the
aggregate, make the repasts even of the poor
t-.nt;r. Fn tho aOpnfifn Thorn * no other
country in which the daily labor of a man may
enable him to fare so sumptuously as he. may
fare in this.
Our legislators should take a lesson from ma
turc. 1t is within the power of legislation to
stimulate manufacturing industry as beneticialiy
as the farming interest has been stimulated
Let a protective policy be steadily pursued, and
not with intermittent checks; and in the course
of n few years, the embarkatiOn of capital in
business would lower prices without impOverish-
ing manufacturers. Competition would, as ii
has already done, discover modes of saving Ia
Dor and substitute machinery formuscle. Once
place the industrial force of the country on a
safe and permanent footing, and the chcapenlng
of the nccessarics of life would follow any par
tial and temporary rise in prices which might be
at first demanded. This chcapcning would not
be at the expense of manufacturers, as is the
case when they are ruined by u plethora of for
eign impOrtations. But as common articles
ceased 10 pay Legitimate profits, textures OF a
more valuable and elaborate character would
come into general demand. As Strawberries
s%upplant potatoes in the markets, fine fabrics
would take the place of coarse. Withincreased
encouragement to manufacturers, a wider per
manent demand would be caused for agricultural
products. The balance of trade would be put
where every honest individual in private life
keeps his cash book, and our earnings would
equal our expenses. With the increase of in
dustry, as we have already maintained, the in.
crease of virtue and intelligence keeps pace; and
the better customers we are to each other, the
frmer WILDE our domestic peace, and the more
formidable our outward front-Phila. NORTH
american.