The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1857-11-20
Edward Everett on Agriculture.

dress before the New York State Agricuu-
raj Society, at Buffalo, on Friday, the 9th
instant. IL closes with the following elo-
quent and instructive paragraphs:
A greater than Burke in this country, our
own peerless Washington, with burden of
public care on his mind such as has seldom
weighed upon any other person,-conscious
through considerable part of his career.
that the success not only of the American
Revolution, but Of the whole great expert
ment Of republican government, was de-
pendent in no small degree upon lis course
and conduct,-yet gave throughout his life,
in time OF peace, more Of his time and at
tention, as he himself in one of his private
letters Informs US, TO the superintcndcnce Of
his agricultural operations, than to any
other object. ut will not he doubted"
says he, in his last annual message to Con-
gress, 9Th Of December, 1850 "that with
reference either to individual or national
welfare, agriculture is ofpri,nary importance
In proportion as nations advance in popua-
ton anu other circumstances of maturity,
this truth becomes more apparent, and rem
dcrs the cultivation of the soil more and
more an object Of public pa,roage
Amoug the means
which have been employed to this end, none
have been attended with greater success than
the establishment of boards, charged with
collecting and ditfusing information, and
enabled, by premiums and small pecuniary
aids, 10 encourage and assist spirit Of dis
covery aud Improvement. On the 10Th
oil December, 1890, Washington addressed
long letter to the manager Of his farnH,-
| thn l.Sf fl bnroto ,>roJ,,,,,.>,, IS
t'ansmtinga Il plan, drawn up on thirty
written folio pages, containing directions for
their cultivation for several years to come.
La seven days from the date Of this letter
his own vcneratcd form was "sown natural
body, to bc raised Il spiritual body"
Nearly all the successors Of Washington
in the Presidency of the United States, both
the deceased and the living, passed, or are
passing, their closing years in the dignfed
tranquility Of rural pursuits. One of the
most distinguished OF them, Mr.. Jefferson,
invented the hill side plow. Permit me al
SO TO dwell for moment OIL tho more re-
cent example Of the four great statesmen of
the North, the West, and the South, whose
names are the boast and ornament of the
last generation, Adams, Calhoun, Clay and
Webster, who forgot the colossal anxieties,
the stern contentious, the hercuean labors,
and the lhankless sacrifices of the public
service, in the retirement Of the country and
the calm and healthful pursuits of agricul-
ture. One Of these four great men it WAS
not my fortune personally to behold in The
enjoyment of these calm and national pleas
ures but we'll remember hearing him
say, with a radiant countenance, tlia: there
was nothing in the triulnphs or honors of
public life SO grateful to his feelings as his
return 10 his home in Carolina, at the close
of the session of Congress, when every indi-
vidual or his plantation, not excepting the
humblest, came out to bid him welcome
aud to receive the cordial pressure ofhis
hand. was often the witness Of the heart
felt satisfaction which Mr.. Adams enjoyed
on his ancestral acres, especially in coutem-
plating the trees planted by himself, thou
sands Of which are now scattered over the
estate. While lie ministered it this way TO
the qualification and service of other times,
he felt that he was discharging no small
portion Of the debt which each generation
owes to its Successors. At Ashland, in
1929, | rode over his extensive farm, with
the illustrious orator and states man fthe
West {; and as the "swinish multitude" at
tracted by the salt which he literally scat
tered from his pocket, came running about
US, in the beautiful woodland pasture, car
peted with that famous Kentucky blue grass,
he good hun,oredly compared them to the
ofice-seekers, who hurry to Washington at
the commencement of an administration,
attracted by the we'll favored relish of a
good salary. Mr.. Webster, reposing on his
turm al Marsllield, from tho tolls Of the for
uIn, and the conflicts OF The Senate, resenl~
bled the mighty ocean which, after assault
all the seetbing artillery of his furious billows,
when the gentle southwest wind sings truce
to the elemental war, calls home his rolling
mountains to tlIeir peaceful levely, and mir
rors the gracious heavens in bis CLASSY bo-
som.
One more suggestion, my friends, and l
relieve your patience. AS work of art, l
know few things more pleasing to the eye,
or more capable of affording scope aud
qualification to a taste for the beautiful, than
a well situated, well cultivated farm. Tue
man of refinement will hang with never
wearisd gaze OIL a Handicapped by Claude or
Salvador; the price Of a section Of the most
fertile land IN the West would not purchase
a few square feet Of the canvass on which
these greatartists have depicted rural
scene. But nature has forms and proper
tions beyond the painter's skill; her divine
pencil touches the landscape with living,
lights aud shadows mover. mingled on his
pallet. What is there.on earth which can
more entirely charm the eye, or gsatify the
taste, than noble farm I It stalda,4ponia a
southern slope, gradually rising With yaris-
gated ascent from the plin, sheltered from
the Southwestern winds by woody sheighis,5
broken here and there with moss.coyerel'
bontlsrs, which ippart variety and stteagt,s
cleared from The greater pars f' q .hs I'M.
but q su;.sbls portion, carefully steadsd, ,ss.
mains in wood for economical pufposs6snd
% give picturesque effect 70 il land
G,eya raueses Ia AZ tha hs,,ii3sssr