Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-11-06
From the Baltimore Sun.
agricultural Theorists.

From the Baltimore Sun.
Agricultural Theorists
! 1t is very common for those who thinl
/ themselves eminently practical, and, by
consequence, eminently wise, to speak de
risively of those whom they are pleased tC
tifc att.inments perhaps, who, from want
of practical habitudes and skill" are less
money-makinG. and therefore, as men think
commonly, less successful. If mere money.
making is the test of success, then are these
| indeed less successful than their hard fist
cd, drudSing neighbors who "get all they
can and save all they get )" but to those
who take n higher view of things, and
measure O mans success in life, not by the
littlo private service he has done himself,
but by his public works and benefactions,
the so-called theorist takes his stand on a
level far above the groundlings," who, as
they are incapable of understanding his
mission, fail equally Ill approaching his
services.
In our own State of Maryland there are
! many such, whose names must ever be held
in respect as leaders in the great progress
which agriculture has Of late years made,
of whom it is too common to hear those
dollars and cents from their teachings,
speak slightingly of rs impractical, and us
mere theorists.
To mention one such name, the late
John S. Skinner, the first man who had
the courage to establish a journal in the
United States exclusively devoted to agri-
culture-a man whose talents, energy,
skill in gathering information from all
sources and presenting it in an agreeable
and interesting form has not been sur
passed.
We designed, however, to speak now es-
pecially of one of the most able and en-
lightened of the friends Of agricultural i'm
provement, and one of the most remarka-
BILE of our theoretical benefactors, the late
Judge Peters of Philadelphia-who, emf
nent as statesman and jurlst, found time,
amidst his public duties, to labor for the
cause he had so much at heart We will
put upon the record, too, his opinion of
the class of men who then, as now, are Of
ten foremost in Obstructing movements in
behalf of their own calling, because they
cannot see that dollars and cents are to
flow from them into their own pockets. In
an address before the Philadelphia Society
for Promoting Agriculture, in 1916, he has
the following
During my long service in the General
Assembly of this State, zealously endeav-
ored to procure for it "a State Society of
Agricultural the patronage and adoption
of the Legislature. l was finally defeated
by the sottishness of some country mem
bers flor whose peculiar interests I had
been Iaboring), who turned, in a commit
tee, the scale of votes against me. They
insisted that the best mode of improving
agriculture was to LAY your hands on the
plow-handles, and urge on your horses =
It was in vain that combatted this quaint
and, as they thought, unanswerable dog
ma. If the hands of common sailor were
laid to the tillef and the vessel steered
without a compass, observation, nautical
knowledge or skill, her progress TOWARD
her port would be as hopeless as would be
the advancement of husbandry under the
direction of ignorant plowmer. Science,
teaching intelligence in the art, is as re-
quisite in agriculture as it is in navigation.
TO this, no doubt, must Ee added practi-
col habitudes and slzill'
This was not the only experience Judge
Peters had with men of this class. TO
him is due, as there is abundant evidence
in the Transactions Of the Philadelphia
Society, the credit of making known the
value of gypsum as fertilizer. 1t has
been believed by some that it was intro
duced by German farmers, who brought a
knowledge of its value from their own
country So far was this from being true
that there was just the same difficulty in
getting these German farmers to try it, or
to adopt it after trial, that he found in
dealing with them in the Legislature Of
the State. Another story calculated to
deprive Judge Peters of the credit due to
him in the matter is that told of DR..
Franklin having Brought it into notice by
making with it certain words, which bor
came apparent in the effect produced by
the gypsum wherever strewn. Whether
any such thing WAS ever done by DR..
Franklin or not, 1t is nevertheless owing
to the persistent and long continued efforts
of Judge Peters through many years, in
distributing parcels for experiment and by
his correspondence.
It is impossible to estimate the amount
Of wealth that has been the result of the
use Of this very cheap fertilizer. Thou
sands Of thousands of acres OF land in Ma
ryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Now York
and other States have been redeemed
from poverty, and owe their present con.
dition of productlyeness to the use Of this
fertilizer, through its effect upon the
growth of clover Its introduction made
an epoch in the progress of agricultural
improvement as marked as that which re-
suited from the introduction Of Peruvian
guano, and moro permanent in its effects
How, then, shall we compare such ben
efactor as Judge Peters with the men who
would call him theorist, and who affect
to be superior to those read books and
journals, and think there is something else
than hard digging necessary to the best
success. In agriculture, as in all business.
the informed and thinking mind must
guide the willing and rracticed hand.
The Grecian bend has now added to its
attractions the IS Roman wiggle."