Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1858-10-21
AGRICULTURAL ADDRESS,
DELIVERED BEFORE THE
Marshall Co. Agricultural Society,
: Friday, October Is, 1858,
BY A SPER ARD, A. B.
Ladies and Gentlemen

to attempt to address you this occasion. Stand
ing here, as do, by selection of your Association,
and seeing before me many at whose feet might
proftably sit and learn Agricultural wisdom, must
admit that am somewhat surprised at the honor
you have conferred upon me, and / cannot help
thinking that YOU must have been governed in the
selection by motives of friendship, and out Of re-
gard for the days gone by, when /, as a barefoot
ed urehn, followed the pillow among the oak open
:ngs of old North Yes my friends, can boast,
and rH boast of being son Of the soil--of your
OWN soil. feel at home among the farmers of
Marshall County; and although there arc better
farmers here than can ever hope be, still there
are none here who have a greater rcgarl for
the calling than I-none to whom the old farm
house, and spreading fields are objects of greater
interest. look back TO them with a feeling of
regret which time, land hfe's duties in other avoca
tons cannot wholly overcome
In attempting to fix my mind on some particu-
Lar subject for consideration to day. wide fields of
thought--wider Ear than the fields which YOU cul
tivatc, stretch away before Invitinsly they
bcckon me forward; but there is one which, for me
possesses most charms and its usefulness YOU all
will admit when announce as the theme of my
remarks to day-Educatcd Agricultural Labor.
Educated Labor has ceased to be merely a catch
word for politicians. 1t is practical fact lv-
ing, vital reality, which hrusts itself upon our no.
ticc everywhere over the SOIL Now do not think
that am going to wild theories, or preach
to YOU on book learning. shall do no such thing
directly the reverse. | trust that you and l. and
all of us, willing TO estim,te at their proper
value the scientific statements OF books in agricul
ture in everything else But this is not the
whole of farming. There is work to be done,
work that ha,lcns the muscles stifens up the sim
ews, and sometimes even makes the bones ache.
There Is honest, earnest, robust labor of the hands
and this is necessary. He who thinks to farm out
of books, without labor, IN likes a most GORGEOUS
blundcr, AMI blum ler too, for which there is no
excuse. Such MN was the owner of the field
and vineyard that Solom)n passed by: "An1 10.
IL WAS all grown over with torns, and nettlcs had
covered the face thereof and the stone wall there
of was broken down" Solomon says it was '.ihe
field of the slothful, and the vineyard of the man
uoid Of understaadia5," so tAlt have high au-
taking for granted that sothfuEess in farming is
labor cneducIted, which is the same thing, asri
culturalv, mere theory without work. Paul saws
"Faith without works is dead" So Is theory with
out works. Ii has been said that there is no roya
road to intellectual emlinence. Neither is there
any royal road to success in farming. There must
be labor of the hands combined with labor of tn,
BRAIN And this is well Mans better and hipp; ci
that he is obliged to be laborer. 1t is the man
date. oftie Almigiify--..In the sweat of thy brow
shalt thou eat thy Bread and believe it wa.
i spoken more as blessing than curse. Hank t.
the poets triumphant singing:
"Llbor is lifc IT'S the still water failcth.
ldirncss ever dcspaircfh, bcwailcth;
Keep the watc! wound, for the dark II St ssaeth
Flowers droop and dc in the Stiffness of mon
Labor is glory the flying cloud lightcns;
Oniy the moving wing changes and briShtcns,
LII, ha.-,. s..,i.- tho darL fnturs f-is,lions
PLAY the sweet keys woudst thou keep then
i'll tune.
/. Dor is Health. 10 the husb,nlm IN rcaping
How through his veins goes the life currcn
leapi e,
How his strong arm in its stalwarf pride sweepin!
True as a sunbeam, the swift sickle guides.
>
Rich the Queens robe from the irai. cocoon
fpwcth;
From the fine acorn the strong forest blowcth
Templc and statue the marble block hides.
Labor is restroom the SORROWS that greet us,
Rest from all petty vexations that meet MS,
Rest from sin promptings that ever cntreat us,
Rest from world-sirens that lure us tn i'll.
Work, and pure slumbcrs shall wait on thy Iil' ow
Work thou shalt ride over cares comm.
biow;
Lie not down wearied meath woes wccpin.
willow;
Work with a stout heart and rrso.utc vll.''
But although there must always be toll connect
ell with the Turning interest yet there is doub
that modern improvements have served, and vii
servo still more to tighten the burden Of the hus
bandman, AMI make his gains corre 'pondinsl,
greater.
Educated Agricultural Labor is seen first in h
inventive talent which is now devoted to agrcul
tural machinery. In the first quarter Of the pres
ent century, inventive power was devoted to man
ufacturcs. and the world looked on and wondered
while the cation gin cleaned the cotton with mar
Vicious rapidity; and the spinning jenny did the worl
, of more thin hundred Susics and Jennes; AM
DeSlde> tnc~c tnerc we're TIC power ioOm ana VII
rolling mill, and the trip hammer, and the appca
ton of steam to manufactures, and hundred othe
things. Then followed an era when inventiv,
genius was given to commerce, and men entangle'
the whole country with spiders webs of iron, ant
fitted the engine to the vessel that to pillow tn
: deep. The steamer is launched, and with ru
and plunge, she's up and away, seeming to 81
: as she leaves the sail-vessels far behind:
-"I'm Queen. I'm Queen of the waters wide''
!, After this came the agricultural era, when man
. inventive powers were devoted to agriculture, an
to this there seems to be no limit Ofal fields 70
!. the display of invensase genius, this seems tn
!, most extensive and no other field has ever com
= manded the genius Of so many inventors. Ncarl
: every operation, hitherto performed by man.
: hands alone, can now be effected by machinery
We can scarcely enumerate the vast number 9
machines in use. There arc Reapers, and Mowers
= and Rakers. and Separators- and trave
ing There arc Sced-dri Is, and Corn planters, an
4 | Corn-huskers. and revolving Harrows, and Stump
a puliers, and Patent Flows innumerable. And on
. ofthese days whistle will be heard in our field
4 and sseamplow viii 90 dashing past, turning u
the solvider and deeper than Burns ever dreame
n Of while