Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1859-03-25
The Positiun of the Farmer.

The intelligent farmer VINO uIie0' H'
energies with the zeal and spirit which
becin TO characterize his class-who looks
at his profession with pride aud pleasure,
and considers agriculture an art to be as
socia,ed with, and assisted by scientific
inquiry, is as far superior to the sIlken
dandy, who may think him clod hopper,
as one class of be ngs can be to another
The one is the prop of the State-the
other a trifiDg exereseuce upon It, 10
the intelligent farmer, nature unfoids her
! beauties as we'll as her bounties. Ills Is
the honest heart, the liberal soul, the ar
dent mind, the fresh Imagination. lie
makes the best of parents and citizens, the
most disinterested Of patriots. Between
the well systematized laborers of his life
are intervals Of leisure for general reading
and Improvement, enough to give him all
the information necessary for individual
culture and social enjoyment Though
every farmer should first look to the gen
eral fertility Of his farm, as the foGnda-
ton on which all improvements are to be
laiI, he would be utterly wanting IN the
true spirit of his profession, If he did not
design. in due time, to crown his whole
work by every domestic comfort and aP-
propriate rural ornament. The business
Of agriculture is not one merely of practI-
cal utility. The farmer is not necessarily
a dull swain. His pursuits are consistent
with the keenest admiration Of the beau
tiful in nature and art, with the most re-
fined taste, and with all the graees Of cul-
tivaied life. He owes it TO himself as a
rational being, gifted with all the capabll-
tiles Of his race, to the obligations Of do
mes,ic duty, and above all to the devotion
which We will acknowledge 20 that gentle
sex whose smiles are the crowniDg bliss
of life,,o provide for his own and his fam
ily's enjoyment all the comforts and en-
bellishments which belong to a nature
civilization. Among other high duties, is
that Of properly educating his children.
And TO such of them as are destined to
pursue bis own profession, be should give
much more than that teaching, which
stops at mere knowledge of the routine
of farm practice.
A good agricultural education is both
scientific and practical. The knowledge
which is necessary to make thoroughly
intelligent farmer is to be drawn from a
variety of sources.
1t is gratifying to see the attention be-
ginning TO tu paid TO chic Kind Of eduua'
ton in our country-to know that agri-
cultural chemistry is becoming one of the
branches of collegiate instruction, and that
institutions are projected, and indeed in
existence among US, where the best
methods of rural art and every branch of
farming work will be taught experiment
tally, practically and scientifically. In
such institutions the labors of the field,
the barn and the workshop, will be fol-
lowed by the lessons of the school room.
Thus practice and science will be combined,
and the agricultural pupil will become the
finished farmer. Let me commend such
institutions to your favor, gentlemen, for
the benefit of your sons.
The first thing for every farmer is to
improve himself, and to see that his chill
dren are growing up to adorn his own pro
fession or any other they may choose to
engage in. More than half the future
presidents, cabinet officers, men in all re
sponsible stations, are to be grown on the
farms of our country. Now, farmers and
planters, you must grow large crops /; it is
a great loss to only half cultivate the land.
You must grow fine cattle ; it would be a
shame to perpetuate scrubs. You must
drive horse 10 admire and no. one to be
ashamed of, since in the long run 1t will
cost no more but above all things you
must grow good boys and girls, for all
the country wants them-it must have
them, and nobody in the world is well sit
uated for raising them just right, healthy
vigorous, intelligent, incorrupt as the far
mer. Let no day 90 By, not even in the
harvest, without getting a new idea, and
see to it, that children are getting new
ideas and right ones.
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Statistics of the Banks.