Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1870-11-18
For the Keoccc Courier.
The OcOnee Agricultural COLLEGE

MEssRs. EDIroRs AS the above embryo
Institution, with its prospectus advantages, is
at this time attracting the attention, interest
ing the minds and soliciting the patronage of
the people of tho County and State. and az,
in our opinion, an enterprise more laudable,
or one which holds out, respectively, greater
inducements to commend its hearty, liberal
and early support, could not possibly be inau-
guratcd, wo therefore wish to contribute our
humble mite by making few remarks in it's
favor.
1t is an institution which will be peculiarly
adapted to the wants of the agrculturist, COM
bining the intellectual with the physical, tho
theoretical with the practical and
art uniting ard 60 operating in harmonious
and delightful unison, to develop and utilize
the hidden resources Of the county, inoreas-
ing, in an incalculable ratio tho material
wealth of the County, the State, and, indeed,
of the entire South.
That agriculture is the foundation of all
material wealth and prosperity is, We presume,
to al intelligent aud rejecting minds, self
evident truth, and therefore no very elabotate
argument is required to prove it; that tho
agricultural resources of almost any country,
if fully and skillfully developed, and econom-
ioally and judiciously utilized, are worth far
more to it's people in accumulating and re-
tanning wcalth and prosperity, in giving and
securing competency and independence, than
would be all the golden sands of California,
combined with the silver mines of South
America; and that, that country, however
rich it may be in natural resources of an agri-
cultural character, whose people, through ig-
norance, Incidence or any other causc, fail to
develop them properly and judicously, will
remain poor, dependent and insignificant, are
propositions which the people of the South
are beginning to comprehend and appreciate.
But unfortunately for the agricultural inter-
ests Of upper South Carolina, the most sue.
cessful and only efficient mode of developing
tho material resources of a country is not so
clearly understood by us backwoodsmen, and
hence, is not so highly estimated as its great
Importance demands.
Many aooula.Je intelligent agricutursts,
when you probe them upon the great and mo.
mentous subject Of scientific knowledge of
the laws of physics, you will fnd, before pen
etrating very deeply, that they are so far from
admitting that theoretical knowledge Of tho
physical sciences, combined with practical
application Of the same, are indispensable pre-.
requisites in fitting man to be pre- eminently
successful as an ngriculturist that they almost
entirely ignore literary knowledge. They
will exultingly (if not insultingly) exclaim.---
"Away, sir, with all your book farming! It's
all a humbug! 1t requires bone and muscle,
and not printers ink and paper, to make corn,
wheat and cotton p And thus they will
egotistically and dogmatically contond as If
all knowledge were contained in the d!minu.
tiue circle ciroumsoribed by the limit Of their
obtuse mental vision, that It Is useless and
prodigal expenditure, Of both time and money,
for man to educate his sons only so far al
will be necessary, as they express Il, "to pre-.