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

the UneOry ana pfacJlce OF lULL, VINO, VIII
some extravagances, was undoubtedly {
great agricultural reformer- whose system
in its leading features. has been confirmed
by the test of time and experience. He has
been accused-I think unjustly -of totally
ignoring the use Of manures; but [. shall
not enter upon that debatable question, X
him England owes what has contributed sc
much to her material prosperity-the tho
rough culture and aeration of land and the
Introduction of drill husbandry -.
The primeval implement for the prepare
ton of seed beds, was, no doubt, the spade,
as it was the most natural and best adapted
to manual labor. The poettells us, in dog
gerel verse, 1 So I'd
~. s'That Adam dezped and Eve spa,a"-
the earliest probably of human occupations
after the exile of ssthe original pair from
Paradise. But even in ''the garden" in
their original state Of innocence and simpli.
city, before, they eat Of "the fruit.
OF that forbidden tree whose mortal taste,
Brought death into the world and all our woes,
they had their allotted daily task, however
l iig hit and pleasing, to perform. Adam says
to Eve: ,.''-2 -. .....-...- g.. -
.... --"Other creatures all day
Rove unemployed and less need rest.
Man hath his daily work of body or mind Il,
Appointed, which declare his dignity
And the regard of God OH all his ways:' So
Thus, from the very creation of man, labor Of
body OR mind was condition of his exist
ence and a mark of his dignity. And it was
not until he had sinned that it became a pun
ishment- that the earth was cursed, and the
command went forth, In the sweat Of thy
face thou shalt eat bread till thou return
unto the ground" .'s.' ',.t.%-> ~
It must have soon been seen that the
spade was Of limited use in agriculture, and
the pillow was substituted in its place. In
Egyptian bas reliefs, of remote antiquity, a
rude implement, of that kind is represented
drawn by oxen, which were probably sub
jected to mans dominion before horses,
preceded BY the scotsman. The inefficient
manner in which this plow performed Aits
work, led to the introduction, long after
wards, as auxiliaries, of the harrow, the
roller, the scuAier and other ingenious inven-
lions, which cucumber modern farms, but,
like Peter Finders razors, were made for
sale not use. " @'-a
1t is by no means creditable to the inven-
tive genius of the age, of which we hear SO
much, that after an experience Of nearly
5000 years, the spade remains the most per-
feet instrument for the preparation of land.
In China and Belgium, where labor is cheap,
it is still extensively employed and deep
trenching resorted to- No doubt the pillow
has been greatly improved, on its clumsy
prototype, not only in principles, but in the
materials of which it is constructed; never
theless it must be admitted that it does its
work sloven1y and imperfectly. It has been
called ga tool worked by horses and drag
ging a man after it, Its defects are mani
fest to the most casual observer. It is pull
ed with a great expenditure ofpower through
the land-it congresses the soil under its
heavy share, in some cases forming hard
pan through which the roots of plants can
not penetrate, and it renders the hill sides
liable to WASN'T cannot be used when the
ground is very dry or very wet, and after all
and under the most favorable circumstances
it does not sufficiently pulverate, aerate and
mix up the different layers of soil; to effect
which, other expensive and oft repeated
operations must be resorted to-:
sEheu! quantus equis, quantus crit sudor,
Girls p.
Still, with all its imperfections, there are
certain lands that cannot well be worked
with any other implement. The only re-
commentator of the pillow is that it does its
work more economically and expeditiously
than the spade, SO far as mere inversion OF
the soil is concerned; but after all it does
but little towards cuLtication Some of the
objections urged against it may be obviated,
in measure, by subsoiling, but this very
operation is, itself, standing commentary
on the imperfection of the plow
: A leading idea in the Agricultural mind
of the present day is to harness the steam
engine to the pillow, and to make it perform
for the farmer the Office of horse. A
slight knowledge of mechanics should suffice
to satisfy us that this would be nisappli-
cation of steam power, and that it cannot
be economically and efficiently applied in
that direction.
There may be said to be, although per-
haps not in a strict philosophical sense, three
different kinds Of power-a1sanual, animal
and mechanical, from their several natures
acting in different directions. The power
of man. owing to his conformation, is best
adapted to vertical action, as in lifting, dig
ging and carrying weights power
to draft, as pulling in horizontal direction,
and mechanical to circular vertical motion.
Now, although these powers may be differ
entity applied, it will be. ineficiently, and
the resolution of their effective forces will be