Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1869-10-19

lay enjoy Of comfort and prosperity.

by which men learns to subdue the resources Q
the world about him to his service and enjoy
ment:
First Observation of facts in nature.
Second-Experiment for the discovery Q
further facts.
Third Logical deduction of principles from
the facts ascertained.
Fourth-AppHcation of facts and principle
when determined to the practical wants of ou
daily life. q ri
The husbandman notices the regular return
of seed-time and harvest, the usual succession
of the seasons, the facts that certain plants re
quire certain climates and thrive best in certain
soils, that in a new country a dense natura
growth of hardwood trees is an indication o
fertile land, while thin scrubby pines turnisl
as distinct evidence of poverty of soil.
As regards such observations, the main re
quirement is that they be dccurdte-that they
be recorded in such way as to really repre-
sent the TRUTH not part of the truth, but the
whole TRUTH fully, fairly, and impartially
stated. Thus, for instance, it is matter of the
most common, remark that the accounts giver
by travellers, in distant and little known coun
tries, of what they have seen and learned vary
enormously in reliability. Two men will visi
foreign land, and, although both men of in
telligence, both having had fair opportunities
for observation, and both free from any dispo.
sition willfuy to deceive, they will make re-
ports differing from each other almost as light
from darkness. The one may be careful to ex-
anime into the sources of his information and
to verify his supposed facts as he accumulated
them-the other may set down as facts what he
has but imperfectly seen or uncertainty heard
Or, even though both reports contain but vel
ascertained facts, nothing but what could be
proved to be true, yet the one may contain a
large and fair collection of all the principal
facts bearing upon the questions discussed
while the other contains only such unusual and
exceptional facts as totally misrepresent the
general condition of things. | know not what
your experience here may have been, but fur
ther South there are few people who have not,
within the last three or four years, heard just
such conflicting accounts of the observations
made in Brazil and some other countries by
those who went thither at the close of the re
cent war; some of those who returned repre-
sented the region visited as a paradise, in which
it scarcely required more than the exertion of
dropping the seed to ensure the most luxuriant
harvests, while others brought away the i'm
preston that the hardest toll and the greatest
privations could scarcely be expected to result
than in half stal walton, ruined health,
and shattered fortunes.
1t is not SO simple Or so easy matter as it at
first appears to see truly, fully aud without dis
tortlon what Is before our eyes, and then faith
fully report what we have seen, neither more
nor less, to others. A farmer who has always
lived in certain portions of Virginia might state
as the result OF his observation that red land
yields good crops Another, living in parts of
Georgia OF Alabama might assert that the poor
est soil is that of the red lands-both statements
.rbf ho fooo ilx,, h,7t 7 hor ha
put in the form Of gene al observation that
all red laud is good or all bad the error of fact
is manifest, and the two observers might dis
pute forever over their so-called facts without
deriving any benefit from the arguments.
But the thoughtful man is unwilling to rest
satisfied with simply thus observing what pass
es before his eyes in the undisturbed course of
nature He often desires to change the condi-
tons which go to produce a certain reSult-to
see what will happen if such and such arrange
ments be made by himself heforehand-to take
the plant which he has always noticed growing
by the water side and see whether it can be
made to grow in upland soil and, If so, wheth-
er its habit and character will be altered-to de-
termlne by experiment In the laboratory what
are the substances drawn from the earth by a
particular crop and BY experiment in the field
whether the application Of these substances ar
tifclally to poor land may not increase its fer
tiiity-to fnd out the several circumstances
which separately seem to favor the production
Of any form of vegetable growth, and then, by
the culture of the same, under all
these favorable conditions united to try what
is the best, and the largest product which can in
practice be obtained.
La making such intentional changes of natural
in trying erperinlents-the same
accuracy, the same careful attention to what
really takes place before our eyes must be OBJ
served as when We simply notice the operations
of nature unassisted by the efforts of man.
And, In addition, much thought must be be-
slowed, much judgment must be exercised in
deciding upon the precise manner in which. and
extent to which, special arrangements are to be
made to bring out the precise result of which
We are in search. =
Every experiment is a question asked Of ma
ture, aud nature never returns false answer;
but we must take care, first, that We ourselves
know exactly what question We want TO ask !;
that We ask that question and no 9TH
er, no more and no less, and, thirdly, that we
that the answer returned actually
Is. -
Three farmers might undertake to expert
ment upon the effect of common salt upon the
soil-one might report that the result was ex-
cellent and the Improvement of the crop mani
exactly the reverse, that positive
injury was done-and the third that no effect
Of any kind was produced. On sitting the
matter it might be found that one had used a
certain moderate quantity OF the material In
question, another an enormous and excessive
amount and the third SO little as not percepti-
bly, to influence the crop at all. Or It might
appear On examination that the same quantity
hnn hu oil h,lt ri
by the first, upon land some of whose dormant
constituents were rendered soluble and useful
by the salt; by the second upon soil poor in
most Of the necessary mineral ingredients but
already containing largely of salt and suscepti-
bic OF injury by further addition Of it by the
third upon a soil sufficiently supplied with sol
uble mineral matter OF all needful kinds to do
perfectly well without the solvent action OF the
SALT yet not Liable to special injury by such sur
plus of this material as had been brought In by
the manure. Or. yet again, the experiment
might have been tried upon similar land, but
upon altogether different crops or in altogether
different seasons
W hile, therefore, we must be very careful in
sitting the details Of the information, We sup
pose ourselves to have gained from observation
of what Is going on IN nature about US, and
must be equally careful in arranging the condl-
lions OF our experiments anu III Statltlg the pre-
else character and extent ct the evidence accu-
mulated by such experiments, We must still fur
ther exercise caution as to the logical conclu-
sons we draw from our facts when We have got
them-as to the manner in which we reason
from these facts, assuming that they have been
we'll determined.
There are many ways in which we may de-
ceive ourselves as to what is really proved by
admitted facts before U.S.
Thus, we may arrive at conclusion from
number of separate statements
taken as true, but Of which some are In fact
only probably or approximately true, and un-
certainty OF the conclusion increases astonish-