St. Mary's beacon., 1858-03-11

Eiehed lsy ''cummuI,i ,at;ons" from sssr feIlov.
cuntyrnen. A variety of suhiects has been
treated of, and variety Of styles. ssntims Is
and phraseAugy has consequently been evuls.
ed At one tine, especially, perfext ru6iss
scTiaeRGi .ccfned 70 have seized npcn nc EN-
munity. Many were the aspirants for ehe la,,-
reis Of the lisical tousnay: many the anx-
ioUls fingers eager foF plunge into lie err 4.
pie of politics. A great deal Of time. uaper
tsnper and slso some talent. were exsended IN
the wordy war, and with what efFnrt4 Wbv
As far as one could judge by appearances. with
none at all Of that result most earnezslv desired
viz, conversion 90 the writer's views People
read, smiled or frOwned, as the case might be
asd Land aside the paper with opinions exactly
IN stasG quo, except, perhaps, with ssa added
drop Of bitterness towards some real ssr fane;eI
enemy or quondam friend. All that l.as passetl
for the present. The plot and cot,r,ter-pl,,t.
elimination and recrimination, the u,s.noeuver
ing and excitement generally Of the pciitical
campaign has gone, but left its sting behind to
ranklc alid tester for many day 20 come.
Next to the political arena, that which most
absorbed the public's attention al certain peri-.
DDS of the year, was the now defnnt4 Jockey
Club and its proceedings. This has hstrutted
and fFetted It's horr" upon the track. and new
Is heard no more. An effort has been made
recently, perceive, IN yourEpaper. ~ "Young
Fogy,e t0 resuscilate the club, thos8kh, be-
lieve. M response has yet been Il De. His
suggestions as to the management a ahe club,
in the event Of its revival, are very eDod and
perhaps necessary to give it the stausiing and
responsibility without which its exis:enre would
be an excrcscence upon the community. But
why reriye it at all-at least at present? Is
it the most urgent and important Of the wants
we feel - an agricultural community For
take it for granted that what is fnIst needed
should 6e first supplied. Let us see. We are
essentially almost exclusively an agricultural
population. Evidently, then, our first duty
CUR prime necessiiy-is the encouragement and
Improvement Of agriculture, both practi ally
ard scirntiical V by all tie legitimate means
within Our power. In order to attain that
great cnd, the first most important step il an
enlightened inyesti CATION into our present coll
ditlon as compared with the object to be ac-
complished; tor until full knowledge of the
nature, extent and causes Of disease Is obtain
ed, no wise, ettcacious remedy can be devised
of applied. Now, what is our present condi-
tioii With regard to an enlightened practice of
hnsbandfy Does il need many words or IL
Iustrations 10 convince candid mind that we
are tar, fir, IN the rear in the great march Of
agricultural progress Will not ride Of ten,
aye, five miles, in any direction, forcibly i'm
Prcss upon Us the sad truth Of defective prac-
tlce? y would be really superHuous 20 dwell
longer upon tilis proposition. as no Intelligent
man can iO1k around him and establish COM
parisOn, statistical AID otherwise, with some 9th
er PORTIONS vi our State and country without fecl
lng that we are losing ground III the race Of
lV.l rs1gas
t'e cluse, ami what tie remedy? AS 30 che
,auae, II cainJt DC our l0cati l, or climate, or
soai, Or any other natural obstacle, for it needs
Out trip through the country, OF glance at
the map, to SHOW that there are few spots more
iAvora'le tor rapid rise in the scale VI agricul-
tnrai excellence than cd St. Mary's. With
our natural advantages, forming, as we do, .
penillstilar between two noble rivers, whose
numerous tributaries afford easy access frun
all parts of the county - good markets eli
mate and slil adapted to tie growkh oi.1IsR sta
pies-0f almust'all parts Of the Union within
a hundred miles Of the commercial metropolis
OF the State and fifty 90 sixty Of the national
CAP ital, possessing harbors inferior to none per-
haps ON the habitable globe; with aIltlse ma
tural resources vouchsafed by kind Provi-
dcnce, aud with q fair share Of ENERGY, twhen
~
achieving an enviabe position in the agricnl-
tural ranks Of the country? Since, then, we
can pick no flaw in natures deed to ,is wher;
may the fault lie2 i answer, in the want Of
concert Of action on this great vital question.
In union there is strength, and, as converse,
weakness where there is no union. There is q
blind apathy prevailing among US on the sub
ject of this our common interest. Individually.
cola = III
is fully alive to his own interest, ard adopts
the bet means, rs he thinks, 10 promote sue
ces. But what can individual efforts alone ac-
complish towards the development of great
interest? What would now be the condition
Uf the arts, manufactures, law, medicine or
mechanics, had they depended for advance
ment ON the unai,led energies of individual en-
tefprise? Individual exertion is valuable GER
tainly-nay, indispensable, as forming compo-
nents Of the whole, but il will effect but little
without the aid of the great principle Of COM
bination. Look around for morncnt-North.
South, East and West-snd all experience will
confirm the opinion that wherever the science
Of agriculture is appreciated and intelligently
practiced, there will be found agricultural soci-
eties in as constant relation as cause to effect
State and county agricultural societies, and
reighborhood clubs, all form part Of the ma
ckinery of improvement, and contribute largely
to prosperity. Does it not form part Of every
ones experience, that we seldom meet in social
gatherings where the conversation turned upon
our common pursuits, without adding to our
store of knowledge by little scraps of informa-
tinn picked up here and there and put together
until valuable aggregate was formed? How
many usefui hints and suggestions and CLEAN
ings from the experiences Of others have been
obtained in these casual meetings? There is
hardly man, however humble and iIliterate,
that does not know something more than his
nsighbcr, and il often happens that that some
thing would prove . valuable acquisition 90
the neighb6r. See tie value, then, OF inter
course to disseminate knowledge. But social
intercourse. useful though it be, from It's desul-
tory circumscribed mode Of disseminating in-
frgnation, is very imperfect substitute for the
agricultural society or farmers club, where me-
thod and system relpler the same material Gar
more beneficial. Proficiency in agriculture
rs in all other pursuits, consists II tie result
derived from an aggregate mass OF IA 6, exc
pericnces and deductions carefully siftcd and
examined, collected here and there IN TIE vari-
o,ls fields Of its Iaburs and more or less valua-
bic, according % the circumstances under which
49,. Il