The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1857-11-05

and reaping his own felds-pushing the
/ researches of science into the region Of the
useful and the practicai- extracting from
nature the secret wonders ofproduction-
enjoying securely the fruits Of his labors-
eating "the chiefest of the wheat" and, in.
strunaenfaNy blessing the land with abun-
dance of "corn and wine aud oil"--shall
realize our highest conception of an honor.
able, digniied and exalted manhood.
But what is agricultural educationl That
phrase can mean nothing more than the
most skilful and successful method OF cult.
vating the soil. Now, one Of the schools
where tliis knowledge is to be impaired is
such an organization as yours-an agrcul-
tural society. You are doing the work, to
the extent of your operations, of educating
the agriculturists. 'Enlighted experience
is another school wherein much is to be
learned. But we have profted but too lit
tie in this way heretofore, partly because
/ planters have pursued no systematic order
of experiments; partly because the results
OF experiment have not been published and
preserved in any convenient form: aud
partly (and mainly because competent sci,
entitic investigation has not been sufficient
ly directed TO this important field
1t is idle-rather, it is sheer ignorance
and folly-to sneer at scientific farming"
1t can easily be demonstrated that every
important advance, either in stock. raising,
or planting, has been the legitimate result
OF science applied to agriculture, or Of en-,
lightened experiment made by competent
and educated men. The light once shed
by scieucc-the experiment once made by
men of science--tbe results and the practi.
cal benefits then become The common prop
erty OF all planters, both learned and un-
learned. The application oflime-of mari
-of plaster-and of guano, and Of those
substances generally having the largest per
cent. ofdmmonid, TO increase the productions
OF the SOIL is the direct and legitimate re-
suit of agricultural chemistry The intro
duction Of the best varieties Of seeds, and
the most profitable vegetsble products, is
the benefaction of science. Through the
guidance of the same enlightened power
the Chinese Sugar Cane, which is likly 10
prove national blessing, has been given
10 the country.
1t is at least dou6tfn' Whether academies
or colleges especially iu-,i;nrca 10 instruct
exclusively in agricultural science, would Le
advisable. This branch Of knowledge. like
all others, stands intimately related To- nl-
most all other departments al plysica! sc::.
ence. Truth is one. And tho different de.
partments of science reciprocaIiy aid aud
| illustrate each other. The science of u,,I,a
mates aids In constructing r mansion or n
stable The science of physiology is almost
| indispensable to the highest success IN the
culture of animal life. The truths of natu
raj philosophy are necessary to enable us
to raise and to apply mechanical power-to
construct water-punp-to ditch hill
side-to irrigate thirsty iied-and 10 save,
IN many modes, too great an expenditure
OF labor The science of chemistry reveals
to our wonder and admiration the compo.
nent elements of all vegetable and animal
substances-how they grow, aud how they
decay-why they are healthy, and what
causes disease-wlrat conditions are most
favorable TO their growth and development
10 what uses they may be applied-what
aillnltles they posseSs-and what they like
and what they dislike-how they eat, how
they breathe, how they assimiate other sub.
stances, and grow by what they feed on"
All these sciences are more or less impor.
tant to the highest results of agriculture.
We infer from this meag.e and hurried
statement that Eber0i education, in the
ordinary acceptation of that term, will meet
all the necessities and requirements Of an
agricultural education, when ;he results of
such training are combined with practical
experience, and brought to operate in this
field OF enterprise.
| Not the least of the benefits TO be de-
rived from an educated agriculture, is the
cultivation and development of rural taste.
How much of the elegance, as well as the
comfort and refinement, of rural life, de.
Pends on the taste displayed in domestic
| arrangements.
Shall we never cease to be fatigued and
PANIED by dingy gates and dirty fences-by
! sombre'looklng walls-by neglected and
deforned front-yards-b the absence Of
shade trees and flowers by the doorway
by the stables fronting tho house, and ne
gro huts In uncomfortable proximity with
the manor-with the absence of all that can
charm the eye and attract the taste9 A
little lime whito-wash- hours work-a
llttlo tasle-a little regard to comfort and
cIeanlness-would remove the unsghtly re-
pugnance of home, and change beyond con
cep!on the appearance of our rural habita
tions. 1t is not always the result OF lazi
ness, nor OF poverty, nor of ignorance; but
the want of cultivated taste.
See an humble residence erected in a
woodland. 1t might become the abode Of
comtorL--even OF simple elegance. But the
first operation seems 10 be TO cUt dorm eye;y