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

countyInen. A variety of sul;b.ts has bees.
treated Of, and variety uf ssvseg srrfinne-.f<
and phraSeology lsaz esnssquently l,esn esol<-
cd. Az one time, esp6siaIly. q vswfex r..l,;. :
s1beHeS seemed % have seized rf,osa the e,,..
rluHity. Many were the aspirants for the sa,s-
r.!s Of the political touruay : many the srx-
iGs fingers eager fOr plunge into tie arEas
PIE Of poiitics. 4 grsat deal Of time. psper.
tmper and also scsTe talent, were exE.esseIesi =
the wordy war, and with what cfIsrf9 HIkx
as Ear as one could Judge By appearaneess w;ik
none at all Of that result most earnestly desfrn
vlz., cOalyersssn 70 the writer's views. Peorle
read, smiled OF frowned, as the ease might L.
and laid aside the paper with opinions exactly
'a Stair ono, except, perhaps, with an sxltlesi
dnp OF bitterness towards some real or ancies1
enemy crquondam friend. All that has passe3
fOr the present. The plot and eounter-r,lof
elimination and recriminasion, the nsanrnyars
ing and excitement generally Of the polificsI
campaign has gone, but left its sting behind 10
raskle and tester for many y day 10 eoilac.
Next to the political arena, ss,af Which naost
absorbed the pubiic's attention as certain peri
ods of the year, was the now defnnct Jockey
Club and It's proceedings. This has s'strutted
and fretted its hour upon the track, and I,os
ls heard no more. An effort las been n,ax3e
recently, lperceise. in your paper, By Young
Fogy, 70 rcsuscitate the club, Shouyh. [ b.
heve, no response has yet been made. His
suggestions as to the management Of the club.
in the event OF is revival, are very rood and
perhaps necessary to give il the standing and
respe;tabilIty without which It's exis;cnce would
be an excrescence upon the community. But
why rerive it at ail-at least at present r.
It the most urgent and important of the wants
we ieci rs an agricultural community? For
take is fqr granted that whatais most no1se<a
should he frst SUI piled. Let III sec. W. i
essentially almost exclusively an agricultural
population. Evidently, then, our FIRST duty
Our prime necesSity-is the encouragement and
improvement Of agriculture, lsCth practically
and scientifically, by all the legitimate means
within our power. In order TO attain that
great epd, the first most important step is an
enlightened investigation into our present con-
dition as compared with the object % be nc.
cOmplished; for until q full knowledge Of the
nature, extent and causes of disease Is obtain
ed, no wise, efticacious remedy can be devised
or applied. Now, what is our present eondi-
tlon with regard to an enlightened practice OF
Instantly? Dues it need many words or IL
llstiati0ns to convince q candid mind that we
are f.r, far, IN the rear in the great march of
agricultural progress Will not O ride of ten,
aye, five miles, in any direction, forcibly inn
press upon us the sad truth Of effective prac-
ticef 1t would be really supertiuous TO dwell
longer upon this proposition, As no Intelligent
man can look around him and establish a com
parison, statistical and otherwise, with some 9TH
er portions Of our State and country, without feel
ing that We are losing ground in the race Of
improvement. Such being the case, what il
the cause, and what the remedy? As TO the
cause, It cannot be our location, or climate, or
solI, or any other natural obstacle, for it needs
out trip through the country, or glance at
the map, TO show that there are few spots more
favorable for rapid rise in the scale Of agricul-
uiTal excellence than old st. Maryis. With
our natural advantages, forming, as we do, q
peninsuiar between two noble rivers. whose
numerous tributaries afford easy access from
all parts OF the county to good markets cli-
mate and soit adapted TO the growth of the sta
pies of almost all parts Of the Union; within
a hundred miles Of the commercial metropolis
of the State and fifty or sixty of the national
capital, possessing harbOrs inferior to none per-
haps on the habitable globe; with all these ma
tliral resources vouchsafed by kind Provi-
dence, and with 4 fair share Of ENERGY, (when
it can be aroused, what is to prevent Us from
achieving an enviab!e position in the agricul-
tural ranks OF the country? Since, then, we
can pick no flaw in natures deed to us, where
may the fault lie? / answer, in the want Of
concert Of action on this great vital question.
h, Union there is strength, and, as q converse,
weakness where there is no union. There Is q
blind apathy prevailing among us on the sub
)ect of tins our common interest individually,
there il no lack Of exertion. Each
ls fully alive to his own interest, and adopts
the beSt means, as he thinks, 20 promote sue
ces. But what can individual Efforts alone &c
complish towards the development Of great
interest? What would now be the condition
OF the arts, manufactures, law, medicine or
had they depended for advance
mcnt on the unaided energies Of individual en-
terprise? Individual exertion is valuable GER
tainly-nay, indispensable, rs forming compo-
nents Of the whole, but it win effect but lifte
without the aid Of the great principle of com
OinatiOn. Look around for moment--North,
South, East and West-and all experiences win
confirm the opinion that wherever the science
of agriculture is appreciated and inteiligeafly
pEacticed, there will be found agricultural soci-
sties IN as constant relation as cause 10 elect.
State and county agricultural societies, and
neighboghood clubs, all form part Of the ma
rhinery Of improvement, and contribate largely
10 prosperity. Docs it not form pars of every
one's experience, that we seldom meet i'm social
where the conversation turned apou
our common pursuits, without aliding 60 our
sse.e Of knowledge By little scraps &C insorsuz-
eNn picked up here and there and pus tugsfier
unse . valuable aggregate was forlnsd7 How
man! useful hints and suggestions and gicau-
',ss I'm the experiences Of others have been
oota,nea ! nm *hese casual meetings? There Is
that does pot know - sbP.ss1ss; sPss y:
ncighbs, and il often happens thaf tIisl 80 go.
thing would prove o valuable acquisitioe- =.
the ne;ghbor. See the valae, then, :of inter-
course to disseminate knowledes. But social
useful though is,be, from is desul-
tory circumscFibed mode Of disseminating in
formation, In . very Imperfect sahstiiufe for tKe
agricultural society OF hrmeTs club, whre ma-
thod and SYSTEM render the same Material far
more beneficial. Profcieney In agriculture
a in ell other pursuits, cOn9ists gf fbe result
derived from an aggregate mass q farzs, e.
periences and deductions caresally sified and
examined, collccted hare and therskn ths yari-
Gus fields Of It's labOEs. and mese d less vaIua-
ble, according 10 the circumstances ander which