The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1865-10-06
THE CALIFORNIAN
A0ritultural.
Fighting and Farming.

ter a dcSolatlnG evil war, which had we'll
nigh ruined the agriculture of Italy, the
old free ycomanry being almost extinct
and the land in the possession Of great
proprietors who were also shareholders,
Virgil, at the request, it is supposed, OF
Augustus, wrote his "Georgcs, to quick
en- the interest of the Roman people III the
production of grain, and to create nurser-
les for veteran soldiers whose, idleness might
leopard the quiet'of the empire. 1t was
an expedent worthy Of a great and ac-
complislled prince, but it presents an ex-
ample which in modern times, we fear,
can hardly be followed There have been
many English limitations of "the Geor-
aics." such as Dyer's "Fleece" and
Gr;iinger's "Sugar Cane" but we do not
believe the finest possible poem on the cul-
tivation Of cotton. would now in the least
stimulate the production of that staple.
We have. however, something better
than verses for provoking an interest in
agriculture and the stout, prosaic farm
cr. who never read poem in his life, I'M
dcr-tands the beauty of premium pump
kins, and the profit of prize potatoes.
We have the state agricultural fairs; and
We have what, perhaps, are better still
the county cattle shows. There is a ten
,'cncv in some parts of the country to-
ward permitting these to degenerate into
mere meetings for horse-racing-a tenden-
CIV We hope to see wholesomely and speed
liz checked Farmers need horses for the
pillow and the field, and not for the trot-
TING wagon and race course.
Rome took her great man from the
rlow and made him dictator-we must
now take our soldiers from the camp and
make them farmers. Gen, Hooker, who
is popularity supposed to have as much
Eight" in him as any man who ever
scented saltpeter, said the other night at
the fair OF the American Institute, that he
was most anxious to get back to the voca-
ton of farming, in which he was always
"thc most contented and happy" We
trust and believe that the general is not
our only Cmcinnatus We know that
thousands upon thousands of our brave
soldiers will return gladly to the pruning
hooks and plowshares. The country re-
lies upon them now not less than she did
when they We're confronting the serried
ranks Of rebellion-relies upon them to
fight famine, to keep down prices, to make
homes contented and happy, to preserve
other departments of production in good
heart, and to SO increase the wealth of
the land that payment of our debt will
not press hardly upon the poor and indus
triou-. The first necessity of society is
to eat There is no public delirium SO
dangerous as that cmenating from public
hunger When men talk of peace they
couple plenty with it; and so we have
the fine scriptural antithesis to which we
have just alluded, of swords and spears,
of plowshares and pruning-hooks. The
great question Of slavery or freedom now
before the country has, it is true, its NOR
al, lis clearly ethical aspects; but in the
minds of most men, it is chiefly question
Of production for if it could be beaten
into the brains of all doubters, that eman-
cipation will not bring pauperism and
famine and famine prices at the South, we
should hear 10 more scriptural sophistica-
tons of the problem. Now, any man
who produces as much as a potatoe in any
part of the country, helps us to that con-
diton in which we shall not be tempted
by selfish wants to require more of the
freedmen than can reasonably be expected
of them. Men grow hard and selfish as
they grow hungry and with anything
Ike public distress, Or the continuance of
the present prices, the public ill-humor
will be sure to vent itself upon the color
Ell man, and the whole question of treat
INC him with the commonest kind of JUS
tlce will become complicated. 1t is easy
to see how this may lead to dissension,
faction and to countless political follies
The country needs long season, not mere
ly OF repoSe, but Of recuperative industry
and production. Mines, manufactures,
commerce, will do much, but successful. |
steady. intelligent agriculture more than
all; and without this, money is useless,
and trade and productive labor are almost
impossible. y. Tribune.