Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1860-09-29

4 IL Is at Such cOnY0cat1OnS as We now CONE
pose, that by consultation, 5y comparison
land reciprocal instruction, we augment the
knowledge ofagricuture and extend the do
-Iminion Of the plowshare.
The passage SO thickly interspersed, not
only in the history, but poetry Of SO many
olden and venerable nations, permit but few
leitations: and although we must infer Shat
] the existence of populous and opulent cities
1 demanded supplies equivalent to their size
1 and glandeur, we are further told of the
linumerable villages and wallet Cities Of
!, Canaan, their wealth, their highly cultiva-
ted soil, their vineyards and oliveyards.-
i When the chosen people entered the land
they numbered six hundred thousand able
bodied men with their families and the ust-
al multitudes who follow the march of an
Iarmy, or more especial by migratory ma
,ition Of tribes-yet they found 'sold corn
sufficient to maintain them from the river
Jordan until they ceased their march.
i We could well credit therefore, upon less
authentic testimony than we possess, that
lin that felicitous climate amid "the land Of
Fgcorn and wine, aland ofbread and vineyards
a land of oil, olive and ofhoney' each dwell
}, Ter in Judea sat not figuratiyely, but litter
1 ally, under the shadow of bis own vine anC
! fig tree.
i How eonyincingly does the great Sehleg
eli depict the Roman love of agriculture anC
its earnest pursuit. "In all their foreign
enterprises he says, seven in the earliest
times they We're exceedingly eoveteous d
gain, or rather of land for it was in land
and in the produce Of land that their prin-
cipal and almost only wealth consisted
They were thoroughly ~ agricultural peo-
i pie, and it was only at latter period thai
i commerce trade and the arts were intro
! duced among them, and then they held {
subordinate place: and another significant
4 fact is that not deriving their names from
the heroes or demi-gods of mythology, the
slmost illustrious families accepted appelIa-
tives from the productions Of the Earth
as Fabii, Beans, Lentel, Peas, Lentuli, Pts
scnes."
Are not the following sentences precise
i " such as we might have heard from tbs
/ lips of our own departed sage of Marsh
i field? 1.-THE pleasures Of husbandry ars
not interrupted by old age, and they seem
to me to bepursuits III which the wise mans
/ life should be spent. The earth does moi
,irebeI against his authority: it never gives
back but with usury what it receives. II
] my opinion there eau be no happier life
mot 0nly because the tilage Of the earth ]:
salutary to all, but for the pleasure it yields
t, them. It's gains do not exclusively
Recommend it, for | am charmed with the
y productive virtues Of the soil. Nothing
can be more profitable, more beautiful than
/ a well cultivated farm.' YET these accents
arc related to US by Cicero as they fell from
I the lips of Cato himself.
Again, Piny commenting upon virgil
/ discourses, ssour poets are OF opinion that
the land should rest every second year
This IS indeed both true and profitable, pro
vided a man have land enough to give the
! soil this repose! But how If the extent be
insufficient In that case let him help him
self thus: Let him SOW next year wheat
crop on the field where he has just gather
ed his beans, yetch or lupines, or such other
crop as enriehes theground. For indeed j
4 is worthy Of notice, thatsoIne crops are SOW I
i for no other purpose but as food for others
a poor practice in my estimation. Again
HE tells us, "Wheat the later it is reapec
the better it casts: hut the Doney il IS reap
ed the fairer the sample. The lest rule ]:
to cut it down before the grain has got hard
4 when the ear begins to have reddish brown
j appearance, better two days too soon thar
i rs many too late, is a good old maxim anc
might pass for an Oracle In another
I place Cato would have this point especially
I To be considered, "that the soil Of a farm *
rood and fertile, also that near il there be
\ plenty Of labourers, and that it be not tal
h from a large town: moreover that it has
! sufficient means for transporting It's produce
either by LAM or water. Also that th'
\ house lie well built, and the land about i
as well managed. But observe a great
l error and self deception which men commits
/ who hold opinion that the negligence and
,lill husbandry of the former owner is good
for his successor or after purchaser" He
SAYS too othat land IS well as men which
are Of great charge and expense, how gam
'Eful soeyer they may seem to be, yield little
profit in the end, when all reckonings are
made "What' says che j. ttii,s greatest
prolific be made out Of Iard?' 10 feed
j stock well, which means t., feed with llsstiSs
ration" Also "that man should stoct
] his ground early ard well, but take Ions
i time and leisure before he be a builder
Is it, Iask.net cariously interesting. land
i the question has been asked before,) e
read such passages as these and find tn
I very same subjects still handled week ate
!, week in flesh and eager controversy IN tn
/ agricultural writings and periodicals Of tn
/ present day eighteen centuries after thes'
i opinions were written
I. AS we glance over the fragments OF his
Il tory which oftcntimes seem 70 have beer
niiraculousIy preserved, when the art pre-
I seryatiye Of ali other arts did not exist, w
become alive to the fact that at the disrup
4 t;on Of communities the record Of Their ct
fairs grows dim and uncertain, and that th'
slmm,lt Of nations rapt with the passion o.
conquest, earnage and invasion. browns tht
j eauable flow Of history. The accounts
j which reach Us from such periods are les