The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-12-20
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AGRICULTURAL BOOKS.
From the Neto York Times.

From the New York Times.
What bugbear are agricultural
books with the majority of farmers.
If you supply yourself with them, in
less than week you will have the APP
pellation of book farmer, whether you
intend to follow their teachings or not.
Book farming is all very good. True,
if you own a farm in Indiana, book
that was written in New York on
wheat growing would not answer for
wheat growing in Indiana. Still the
general principles would be the same,
but the mode of applying them would
be different One farmer would be cul
tivating q rocky soil, the other black
and rolling prairie. The fact is, practi
cal agriculture can never be learned by
means of books and papers; it requires
practice and an apprenticeship to be
good farmer. 1t could be learned no
quicker from books than the carpenters
or carriage-makers could learn their
trades from work on architecture or
carriage-making. Nevertheless there
are often many hints and suggestions
in book or paper that are worth far
more than the price of the work. What
can you learn from books may ask
some old fogy farmer that is going in
the same old ruts that his father before
him went, fearing if he should miss the
track that he never could get back
again. | assert, and using slang
phrase, Z" stick to it," that much can be
learned from good agricultural books.
If any one does not believe it, let them
take up Todd's Young Farmers Man
ual," and study it we'll, and if he does
not admit that he has learned some
thing of American agriculture | will
give up my argument as lost. But it
will not be So After he has perused
that book it will lead him to others
which he will buy and read, and if his
means will allow, before many years,
he will have regular library of works
relating to the farm, garden and house
hold. The man that cannot fad pleas
ure in learning more about his profess
sion had better quit it and go to some
thing else. By reading agricultural
books and papers we come in contact
with tie thinking powers Of the best
farmers in this and other countries
They tell US how they have raised their
crops and reared their stock; what
they have done, and what they are do
ing. They tell US of their successes
and failures; the joys and troubles of
farm life; its anxieties and vexations {;
so that we, the young farmers, may he
governed accordingly. For my part,
l like to read any and everything that
relates to my profession. | read an
English farm paper just as eagerly as |
would one of my native State. The
one published in England would inter-
est me just as much as the one publish
ed in Indiana or Illinois. When far
mer tells me how he is cultivating any
kind of plants, l care not whether it lie
tea, coffee, wheat, corn, cabbage, or any
other produce, l read with interest and
pleasure. The same with stock /
like to read anything that tells me how
to keep stock in all their variations and
varieties. How is it, then, that there is
so small number of books and papers
read that relates to agriculture compar
ed with what should be? The farmers
are afraid to invest few surplus dol
lars in reading matter which would
probably repay them double by the
suggestions it contains. A while back
l was reading piece out of "The New
York Times" stating that keeping our
skin and that of our stock clean was
beneficial to health and the attention of
young man to ia kind of farmer,
and, by the way, very sensible man.
He said he did not want to hear it
that all that was printed nowadays was
all lies, and that he knew more about it
than the man that wrote it. This is
the way that great many of our far
mers look at everything that is in type,
especially if it relates to the farm
They think that nearly all that is print
ed is not true, or written by people that
know nothing about what they are
treating Of Now, there is no use dis
carding all books because you have got
hold of worthless one. Separate the
wheat from the chaff: do not discard
all the wheat because it has little
chaff in it; fan it out; study it; think
for yourselves; digest and assimulate
it; and all that your mind won't assim-
ulate throw aside as worthless. If
some of our farmers knew what a diff
ference it would make to them by fur
nishing good books to the boys and
hands, they would never need any
prompting about it. Place well-se-
lected lot of books before your hands,
and see what difference it will make
in the work. The hands will appear
livelier and gayer, and your boys will
not always be pouting and talking
the hardships of farm-life If you can
not do otherwise, lay aside an acre of
ground and work it at odd spells, and
every year lay its produce out in read
ing matter for boys on the farm. 1t is
the agricultural press that has brought
American agriculture up to its present
standing, and it is still taking it up high
er, and doubt not that, in the next ten
years, we will rival the British isles in
raising produce, acre for acre, in our
older States. Farmers, take up this
subject, study and ponder over it, and
if you have few surplus dollars, lay
them out in good agricultural books,
and you will never regret it, if you live
as long as Methuselah.
p u Cupn.pr