Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-04

Iilliob iOOn W 1ttiCECllC oyotCuA VI 0AAeA3C
from that which was pFacticed when she
had virgin soil and when her lands sold
for nine pence an acre. There are some
old fogies who still adhere to the same
methods Ofwearing out the soil, and whose
farms are known by the number OF gullies
on them; by the meanness of their build
ings; by the shabbiness of their stock and
by their uncomfortable hatred of what they /
call shook farming" These men are enc
mics to their race, because they destroy /
the very means by which the race subsists.
They exhaust by their slovenly cultivation
the very elements of wealth. Humanity /
and the State and public morals and intelli-
gence, all suffer from their ignorance and
Incidence. Their chief honor lies in the
number of years they have lived; to tell
when such and such field, now worn out |
and grianing with deep red gullies was
cleared and produced large crops; to dis
courage everything like enterprise and pro-
gress; to set themselves up as impersona-
tons of wisdom and experience, believing /
doubtless that experience and wisdom are |
in proportion TO age--to do these things are 4
the chief employments of their lives. They 1
hang like dead weights upon the community; /
they clog the wheels of industry; they sting |
like scorpions the hand of progress, poison |
ing and paralyzing 1t, and any State or COM
munity is cursed that has majority OF !
such citizens.
We have reason, however, to congratulate |
ourselves that there is a visible change going
on for the better among the rural pOpula-
ton. Instead of relying as formerly upon
the moon or signs of the Zodiac, they are
paying more attention to the plow and cub
tivator. They begin to study the physiolo-
gy of vegetable vitality, the natural wants
of plants, the value of special manures and
the great laws that underlie and govern all
successful agriculture. The spirit of the
age demands this progress. The swelling
volume of thought that sweeps from conti-
nent TO continent, working its wonderful
transformations, can scarcely leave untouch-
ed the greatest of all human pursuits. Dur
ing the present century greater forward
movement has been made in agriculture
than was made in all previous time.
To the practical application Of the laws
of chemistry and TO the use Of improved
implements Is the world mostly indebted
for this progress. But, my fellow-citizens, to
keep up this progressive movement we need
| legislative aid, we need the fostering infiu-
ence Of our State government. 60 to the
State library and you will find the shelves
loaded with agricultural reports from other
! States in which information is disseminated
| in regard to the soil of the various counties,
| its aptitudes and deficiencies, its versatilities
! and relative durability. You will find an
estimate of the quality and quantity OF
stock, chemical analyses OF minerals and
| soils, minute reports of the various county
| and State Fairs and Farmers Clubs, and in
| deed everything that has tendency to en-
and oil
| farmer. These reports are printed and scat
| tered abroad by the State-streams ofthought
! radiating from the Capitol and carrying their
! fructifying influences TO every part OF the
| land. By this means vast treasures Of
! wealth are unfolded. Improbable expert
| ments are noted, and the shoals and quick
| sands that prove destructive to the farmer
/ are pointed out that they may be
avoided. The most practical sppliea-
| tions of labor in order to secure the
most desirable results are recorded. The
lands in such States are increasing in fer
, tility and value, while the amount Of pro-
ductions are multiplied.
And, nv fellOw-citizens, let me ask you,
in all honesty and sincerity, why it is that
our State is involved almost beyond re-
demption in a crushing debt, and not one
dollar of that vast debt has been used in
the interest and for the encouragement Of
almost our sole industry? Where is your
State Bureau of Agriculture Where is
YOUR agency for collecting information TO
assist in propeIlins forward that interest
upon which all others in the State rest?
Who is chargeable with this fault? Rail
roads are built, but where is your produce
to make them profitable? Why is it, that
but two or three of these great arteries Of
commerce have been able TO pay the inter-
est on the bonds issued in aid Of their con-
: struction? The reason, my fellow-citizens,
is plain. Had One-tenth of the 100000
expended on these railroads, nay, more, had
One-fiftieth of this vast amount been used
in making known to the world our vast
mineral aud agricultural wealth that lies
undeyeloped and unknown in our fertile
valleys and mountain chains, our State, to-
day, would be the home of millions of
happy and prosperous human beings. Our
streams that go rushing and leaping with
the sound of a cataract would be utilized,
and the clankings Of the loom and the hum
of the spindle and the shouting voices of
contentea labor would be disturbing the
primeval wildness and loneliness of their
banks, and awakening a responsive echo
| from the most distant parts of the world.
Lands that now are worthless would be
valuable and help to swell the revenue OF
the State. Good roads and good schools
resulting from an increased population and
a diversified industry would exhibit a
pleasant contrast to the present stagnation
and ignorance. Some are ready to say,
this is all imagination; that if railroads are
built population will come, and thrift and
industry will ensue. The light of expert
-, To hat wa
. look. When the Illinois Central Railroad
was built and large quantity of land
donated for that purpose, the officers
fonnd it necessary TO advertise their lands
in almost every influential journal in Amer
lea and Europe. Minute descriptions Of
their lands were given, their prices, terms
of sales, etc, and even to this day you will
: find an occasional advertisement of them
= Well. did it pay? Go ask the directors
I | After selling half their lands to an in
dustriOus, enterprising, hardy and intelli-
r gent population. the remainder was worth
e | quadruple, and SO they have gone on con
r tinualy selling, yet never diminishing the
r value of their landed property. And this il
+ not all. The produce raised by the settlers
= the trade and the commerce of the towns ant
s villages that spring up in a night on tbs
/; roads, and CLEAN like morning stars alOn.
+ the line, have given the road business L
If which none in the West can approximate
II might refer you TO the railroads in Kansas
e in Minnesota, in Iowa, and all the Western
II States. The governments of these State
e vie with each other in publishing their re
, sources. Farmers clubs, horticultural am
n genealogical societies, country fairs, an,
r State fairs, agricultural bureaus and bureau
= of immigration, all these are the special care
lie of the State governments. And, my fellow
i citizens, they should be. Agriculture is tn
h basis of all national wealth, nay, the found
h alton of life. Other occupations may g
81 on. this must Consider the calamities tina
10 would ensue were our fields TO fail for
I. single season. The professions would die
ct commerce would cease. and ships woul
1t lie idle and rot in their mOOrings. tn
re grass would enwrap the iron bars of on
a railroads Looms and factories and publ
X works would all cease their pulsatiOns
r. Gloom, poverty, misery, decay, famine, pes
Ne thence and death would follow in rapi
lie succession, and brood like a nightmare owe
Ne the face of the earth, spreading cOnsterna
n ton among the human race, more terribl
st than would the blOtting out of the SUI
Of from the heavens. Support, fos
he ter and encourage agriculture an
I'd YOU water and fertilize the roots of the tire