Daily national Democrat., 1860-09-05

VIC Meie CHc glory OF the land of w. and
who in the midst of his trials and affections
exclaimed, "If my land cry against me. or
that the furrows likewise thereof comnlo;r
let thistles grow instead of wheatand cocklo.
instead Of barley" 1t was Confucius who
taught the Chinese agriculture; Cincinnatus
who left the plough to lead the armies OF
Rome and become the deliverer of his coun-
try; and Washington to give liberty and
peace to our own free and happy land.
Hand IN hand with agriculture have the
mechanics, arts and commerce hourished,
built up and established the prosperity.
wealth and greatness of nations. The haudi
craft and achievements of the mechanic have
diminished the drudgery and improved the
method OF labor They have surrounded us
with the comforts and the refnements of life,
while trade and commerce has placed within
the reach of mankind the fruits of the soil
and the production of the workshops ofeverv
country upon the globe and blessed them bv
an interchange OF sentiments, opinions and
feelings, and established among the nations OF
the earth the princip pies of national sympa-
thy, courtesy and respect
Nmle we contemplate with pleasure and
lhankfulness the rapid progress in wealth and
prosperity of our fiourshing State, we must
not be unmndful of the great interests upon
which she must rely for her future promo
ton and Advancement. The husbandman
must remember that it is the ploughshare that
has uprooted barbarism and planted civiliza-
tion that has located the wandering and
predatory nations of the earth and reused
mankind from their slothfuness and indo-
lence to industry and usefulness; that has
surrounded us with beautiful fields and
crowned them with waving grain whose
noddng heads, bending in majesty and love-
illness beneath the zephyr's breath, pictures
to the eye the wavy bosom of the mirrored
ocean; that it is the plough that has nurtur-
ed the mechanic arts, established marts, built
up cities and towns and supported com
merce. They, too, must remember that it is
to them that mankind must look for the
means of subsistence and support That
though the earth is productive and the soil
fertile, yet it is by the sweat of the brow that
man shall gain his bread That the wise
man has said, "IIe that tilleth the soil, shall
be satisfied with bread" That though toll
and industry are essential and necessary for
the proper cultivation of the earth, vet the
Lord has established nothing without order,
without system, without method. That all
his tillage must be conducted methodicallv.
with order and system and with due re.
gard to the seasons, climate and the charac-
ter OF the product to be grown.
10 be good farmer requires much knowl-
edge, experience and observation. The ex-
perience and observation of maknd has
taught them that, in order to raise profitable
crops, the land should be ploughed deep and
thoroughly titled, and should have periodi-
cal rests. The system of the shallow cult
walton of the soil, and the yearly repetition
OF the same which has been practiced upon
our rich alluvial bottoms and our higher
grain lands, for the last few years is forcibly
teaching the farmer the truth of this princi-
pie. That the land needs rest from cultiva-
ton, so as to renew its strength, vigor and
lertilizinS properties, was well understood
by the ancients. The Egyptian farmer prac-
tlced 1t; and Moses, who was thoroughly
lmbued with the knowledge of Ethiopian
and Egyptian agriculture, and acquainted
with the habits of their husbandmen, an.
nounced as solemn commandment unto the
children of Israel fom the Lord, that "SiX
years thou shalt SOW thy fields, and six years
hon shalt prune thy vineyard and gather in
the fruit thereof; but the seventh year shall
be Sabbath of rest unto the Lord thou
shalt neither SOW thy field, nor prune thy
That which groweth of its own
accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap,
neither gather the grapes of the vine un-
dressed; for it is a year Of rest unto the
land. 'Ye shall keep my sabbaths.' Then
will give you rain in due season, and the land
shall yield her increase and the trees of the
field yield their fruit and your threshing
shall reach unto the vintage and the vintage
unto the sowing time, and We shall eat your
bread to the full and dwell in your land
safely"
This commandment, though embodving
great principle in the cultivation of the earth,
has been, like many others, disregarded un-
til the fertility and productiveness of the
soil has been expended and wholly destroyed.
1t is to be hoped that the rich virgin soil of
our own beautiful valleys and mountain sides
may never become an unproductive waste by
m overtaX Of its capabilities If our farm
ers would adopt the system of fallowing
heir ground they would realize a more
abundant yield and at the same time retain,
# not increase, the productiveness of the
soil. Too much care cannot be paid to the
of the land from the litter of
your farm yards and your fields In so do
ng, the increase of your crop will amply re
pay you for the time and labor bestowed in
It's removal, and you would thereby lend an
air of thrift and taste to all around you
In the growth of grains you must remem
Der the old commandments Thou shalt not
SOW thy fields with mingled seeds" BY so
1oing you deterioate the value of your crops,
both for seed and the market If more at
.ention had been paid. in this respect, by
California farmers, the wheat of the Sacra- |
nento Valley would have been as noted in |
oreign markets as the wheat of Milinnith and |
'annag, in the Fairs and markets of that once |
great commercial and opulent city of Tyre |
The farmer, of all men, should keep his |
possessions and all things about him in |
good condition. His improvements should |
De suited to his wants his fields well fenced |
md freed from noXious weeds, unless thickets |
md hedges; his orchard and vineyard well |
)runed and cultivated his dwelling and out
buildings in good repair; his yard and |
grounds III condition to give favorable |
aspect and denote prosperity his flock should |
be well attended and well fed, and all things |
about him present smiling and thrifty APP |
Dearance. If they are otherwise, there is |
hat want of industry, or want of knowl |
edge manifested, that is prerequisite to a good |
armer And this was so considered by Sol |
'mon and beautifully illustrated by him
when he says: 81 went by the field of the |
louthful and by the vineyard of the man
void of understanding; and 10 it was all
grown over with th,rns, and nettles had |
covered the face thereof, and the stone wall |
hereof was broken down."
The mechanic and artizan, they too must |
'emember that it is 10y their skill, ingenuity |
md efforts that the great interest of a coun
ry are promoted and advanced 1T is to
hem mankind must look for their habita-
ions and the comforts Of home, and for the
conversion of the products of our farms, our
locks, our forests, our mines and our quar-
.ins nnl tLn 1,Lin.rnti..,. nE d. ,rinl. ..nl |