Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1857-03-25

Will any Of our readers inform US who are
the practical farmers? l. it those that have
a practical knowledge of all the truths con.
nected with agriculture, and industry enough
to put their kno Yiedge to use? Must not a
practical farmer necessarily be @ scientific
one? Does science mean knowledge re-
dnced to a system, so as To be easily taught
and readily understood" or does it mean
something else? Does it render a farmer
less practical if he writes what he ascertains
as truths, and permits these truths to be
printed for the benefit of the others?s IF he
reads truths ascertained by other farmers, and
adopts what is scientific knowledge enables
him to select as such, is he less a practical
farmer? What is meant by book farming ?
Can 1T be such a man as is represented above;
or is every practical farmer necessarily a
book farmer? Can it he supposed that any
one mar exists, who without books and from
his own observation alone, has surpassed the
requirements OF a world for 1000 wears; and
ikshls IS not a supp9sable case, how can any
man assume to be a practical farmer without
being 4 book farmer, 80 far as to know what
others have done before him? If this is not
so, how Is 1t that no one farmer lived a hun-
dred years ago who knew the truths which
have since been ascertained. We should adj
wise those who deride the ambitious and spir-
tied investigators after truth, by calling them
book farmers, to convince them selves of their
folly by employing lawyers and divines who
are practical without ever having used books,
unread judges, doctors who have their own
experience alone, and who have scorned to
take advantage by the printed experience of
others. Take practical sailors from the ca
nal boats and make them commanders of
national vessels, and you have a fair practi-
cal farmer who is not a book farmer-a prac.
teal 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, 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 savings, which
the last century would have laughed at as vi
sionary? And are the farmers an exception
to the rest of mankind, that they, or part of
them, should assume to know more of the
mysteries of natures laws than can be az
certained 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
member of a party in my craft, whose ego
tism leaves them no other claim to greatness
or usefulness, than to deride the more active
minded members of the fraternity.
LIZ it not pitiable at this date, after the on
ward march of improvement has taught men
totear apart the onstituents of any substance
in nature and to know with certainty what
they are, that SOM should suppose that the
synthesls held charms and processes not en-,
ompassed by analysis
Can any reasonable man suppose that a
plant can grow better, and increase more
rapidly, IN soils not containing the siImples Of
which by analysis we knew it to be formed,
than one replete with all the required con,
stltuents; and yet we have many that would
argue that chemistry can furnish no ~instruc.
ton to the farmer. We claim no special
knowledge not common to any inqeiring agri
culturist, and yet we have advised q mode OF
culture for more than two hundred farms
including manures ascertained TO be reouir
ed by chemica Investigation. Will any Of
these fault-fnding haters of book farming
furnish US with one instance where we hayt
been in error, while we stand ready to Prov
that in no case have we failed to increase
the crop twenty-five per cent or more, with
out corresponding increase of expenses. No
do we stand alone in such ~pratices hun
dreds of others have procured similar result.
steadily and undeviatingly, and without an,
special instances being selected to registe
their success.-AgricuHur0Z Journal.