The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1873-02-14
Agricultural Implements.

A great deal has been spoken and
written concerning agriculture and its
influence on the nation and on the in
dividual, and it viii not be denied that
the advancement of the one in every
desirable direction, and the prosperity
of the other depend in a direct degree
upon the progress made in this funda-
mental interest. And the prosperity of
of any section Is in proportion to its
advancement in agriculture andits asso-
ciated interests. Agriculture is now
understood, and properly so, to be a
science-the gaining of the mystery by
man over nature, and the acquisition of
such knowledge of her ways, and her
laws of action, as viii enable him to at
tain the control necessary to secure the
result he has IN view.
There can be no successful agriculture
unless it. be made profitable and pleasant
But before this result can be obtained
there must be an abandonment of old
preiudfces. These prejudices that stand
in the way of improvement of any kind,
are the off spring of Ignorance, and
they constitute the formidable obstacle
to anything like progress. Whenever
these exists, an obstinate determination
to permit no innovation of the rules and
practices of ones forefa theirs, no devia-
ton from the customs of otherye years, there
cannot possibly be taken any step for
i = 4oI
that it can find nothing attractive in the
inventions of genius, or the discoveries
of science, we can confidently assert
that it is stagnant, and until its depths
are stirred by the power of enterprise
or learning, it will remain dull and
sluggish, contracting always.
We must get something to dispel. old
preiudices. Obstinacy is the result of
prejudice and Of ignorance, and when
we can dispeI them, we can, with reason,
look for improvement. Now, this is a
fact that demands more attention than
1t has received. Unless farmers devote
more time to the cultivation of their
minds, how can they make any desira-
bic advancement
The wise men once wrote: ''The
wisdom of a learned man cometh by
opportunity of leisure" And in that
sentence is food for reflection and
thought sufficient for an entire sermon,
if we had time to preach. It is not the
skilIful hand, the strong arm, or the
watohful eye alone, that will, in these
days, bring success and wealth to the
farmer. These are needed, but the
cultivated mind is far more important.
If thorough tillage is indispensable to
profitable results, then an educated
mind, with experience and observation,
are essential, for there can beno Thorough
| tillage in the sense here understood,
unless it be performed with intelligence,
care and skill. Judgment is absolutely
worthless unless it is based upon know
ledge. An ignorant farmer is sometimes
successful, because the circumstances
are fortuitous, but we urge a higher
standard of mental cultivation for far
mers that they may, at times, wrest
success from unfavorable circumstances
that practical skill, learning, expert
ence and matured Judgment, may secure
! desirable results even when the elements
seem to oppose him. We have written
great deal on this subject, and it is
ever an interesting one to us, for
throughout the whole country, we can
see that agriculture is making rapid adj
vancement, and that farmers are increas-
ing in their social and political influence,
while their material prosperity is being
improved. But the full power and
grandeur of agriculture will never be
acknowledged or known, nor viii it
ever attain that pre-eminence it is enti-
tied to as the basis of national prosperity
until farmers everywhere, large and
small, powerful and humble, admit the
truths we have just stated.