Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1857-12-03
NJ. President and Gentlemen :

SGN. OI4ONoi1 w. IONl1IAC,
1a Of .4nne .arundel County.
NJ President and Gentlemen: ~~
In accepting your kind invitation to deliv-.
er the Annual Address before sstke Charles
County Agricultural Society," have been
influenced more by,a desire to be present
with you on this interesting occasion than
by the hope or expectation Of being able to
communicate either novel or useful Informal
ton. s4ss,sesosl4. L. :. ; ..4.. q,
It would not be becoming in one who,'
like myself, has spent the greater portion of
an active life in other pursuits than those of
Agriculture, to attempt to teach the Farm
ers of Charles county how to cultivate their
lands. One of the advantages, however, to-
be derived from associations like your own
is the bringing together from different loca-
ities those engaged in the same occupation,
by which free interchange of opinion may
be established, and the experiments and OBJ
servations of each individual may become
the common property Of all; SO that, from
the mass of facts thus collected, we may be
able, in time, to ascertain certain important
principles of very general application. This
is the true system Of inductive philosophy,
and is the. reverse of that which starts with
theory and bends the facts to agree with
the hypothesis. 1t is only by long continu-
ed, minute and widely extended observations
andcareful comparisons of experiments, with
all the circumstances under which they were
made well understood. that we may hope to
build up true and useful system of A gri-
culture. Agriculture is an art as well as
science, or rather, to be successful, it must
be combination of both. It is indeed the
most beautiful of all arts, but at the same
time the most difficult: It requires especial
ly patience and perseverance. From the
nature of things it must long continue to be
more of an art than science-more sys-
tenn of empiricism than Of abstract prinei-l
pies, growing out of differences of climate
local positions, character of labor employed,
adaptation Of the soil to particular produc-
tions, presence or absence of means Of irri-
cation, and many other controlling Influences
Scientific principles cannot be wrong-for
science is truth, but the difficulty lies In their
rigid application to the varied circumstances
under which the farmer is placed. But
Science is the handmade of Art in all its
different departments-in the Fine Arts, in
Mechanics, in Navigation in Manufactures.
and in Agriculture. re ..s.s 9.,s = s.
We are too much prone in this active and
practical age to underrate those men who
devote long and laborious lives to the in
vestigation of abstract matters It is true
that science is not necessarily learned from
books or the teachings Of philosophers. A.
hxy- o1o obo
periments may discover for himself some
thing of the nature and principle Of things
but, unassisted by the researches Of others,
it is a long and weary hill to climb There
was, no doubt, navigation before the means
were devised to determine the ATTITUDES and
longitudes Of places before there
were mathematiclans- surgeons and sculp
tors before anatonists, and physicians, man
ufacturers and agriculturists before botanists
and chemists. But it is due to the obser-
vations of the astronomers that the sailor,
instead of creeping cautiously, as in ancient
times, along the coast and seldom venturing
out of sight of land, launches boldly into
the ocean, determines with precision his
position at sea and, guides his ship whittier
he will. The mathematician works out in
his closet the mysterious formula by which
the ingenious mechanician builds those won
derful machines which seem almost instinct
with life and intelligence. The Psychologist
teaches the principles of animal and vegeta-
BILE life. The anatomist, the frame, the diff
ferent parts. and the functions they perform,
of the human body. And the chemist, by
his analysis and experiments, shows the apo
thecary how to compound his drugs, the
artist and manufacturer how to mix and fix
their colors, and the agriculturist how to
preserve the natural, or to restore the ex-
hausted, fertility of his soil. 1t may be said
of this class of men that they are intezgcctu-
al tabor-sdving machines and work out for
the practical classes what they would other
wise be compelled to do for themselves.
The utilitarian professions have, no doubt,
been exercised ever since the expulsion of
our first parents from Eden-for they result
from mans necessities rudely and un-
skillfully lIscience came to theirassistance.
Whatever difficulties there may be in the
rigid application of exact scientific principles.
to farming operations, there are certain axi-
orns, derived from long experience, in agri-
culture regarded as art, which are so gene
raj atsthey may be said to be of universal
adaptabihty. Prominent amongst them are
the fundamental rules of thorough uorking,
comminuting and comningling Of the soils,
and drainage. ,Tothese two subjects I beg
leave to call your attention for few mo-