Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-02-18
agricultural.
Farming as it is, and Farming as it
should be.
BYE.E ANDREWS, $50. OF BERLIN.

RyE E. ANDREWS, $50. OF BERLIN.
Trend before the Frnaers' Meeting at a
session of the !Stnte Board Of Agriculture,
held at EtA Montpelier, Jan. 9, 1871
At the heading of a column in one of
our Vermont agricultural papers land by
the way, good one, toO) the practical
editor SAYS Articles that are brief, prac-
teal and to the point, will receive the
preference for this column" Ten lines
of what n man knows is better than a
column of what he guesses. All this IS
we'll enough; but supposing II man does
not know but little, and supposing the old
saving to be true, that a man Is not to
blame for what he does not knOw-shOuld
he be cut off from the exercise OF his Yam
kee freedom by not being allowed to guess
ut what he does not know, eXperlmentally
and practically especially since 1t is true
that a man is not obliged to believe all, or
even half, of hat another man says, ex
cept it comedies with his own views, OF
presents some practical truth in regard to
the topic under consideration? But beg
leave to differ somewhat from the old say
inc and earnestly contend that in this en-
lightened AGE IL man is very much to blame
for what he does not know except he h;a>
obtained liberal knowledge, t say the
least. in the arts and sciences of the pre-
sent day.
The subject have chosen for this occa-
sion is of no small magnitude, and should
be approached Systematically. But with
nv limited experience in writing, us well
as in agricultur i science, am placed in
about the same dilemma with a certain
individual | once knew, who had never
been to school day in his life until h,'
was about twenty-one years of age; and as
he was, as we sometimes say, IA great
two-fisted, green, awkward fellow, he
felt some embarrassment ut the thought OF
commencing to get an education ut his ad-
vanced age. But finally he was prevailed
upon to attend woman's school. The
teacher, of course, supposed that man Of
his stature and age must have been some
what advanced in book knowledge and
hesitated about asking him to read; but as
the time drew near for the first class tC
read, she says: = Sir, where do you prefer
to reau?T He, having never learned his
letters, exclaimed. in his awkward style
of Yankeeism: 1t makes no odds a
which end: l can read as well at one enc
as tother' So in regard to my subject
if I cannot reach it Systematically at ont
end. l can try it at the other, guessing a
whatever experience and observation hav'
not taught me, and thus leave it for you
earnest consideration.
l am aware, my friends, that the day il
which we live is day of progress on ant
wonderful improvement. And if we can
not conscientiously apply it to the political
social or religious life of to-day, we mos
certainly can to agricultural science and in
bo hnuovor
not rob our ancestors of the credit dJl
them; for the pages of history, whose re
cord Is to be handed down to generation
vet unbo II, can never be erased. but pei
petuat d. until agriculture shall yield to
Spontaneous growth of all that pertains t
the vegetable kingdom, rs at first. Whe
we look around us on every side, and b.
hold the vast number of fields for grain
purposes, together with the thousands
acres of the finest tilage land Ca superiC
of which buT few, if any, of ur sister state
can boast). we say it is the result of hone
industry and almost excessive toll; ar
who of us can doubt the conscientiol
scruples of our ancestors in carrying Of
that d vine injunction of our Heaven
Father by earning their bread by the swe
of their brow? In the curly settlement
our Green Mountain Stale, unlike the Gu
tom and practice of the present day, m,
did not aspire to high honors and mob
positions in life. for pride had not in tho
days. us now, made Its ravages so mu
among men. They We're more on a ba.
of equality all knowing his neighhor on
to esteem him us n brother and frien
There was no day of small things
despise, and it was then considered
very small thing for a man to hold twent
five cents in hi> cket.- | remember
hearing an old gentleman speak OF a bu
ness transaction that took place in t
early DAYS of his business life. He dire
a load of ashes seven or eight miles, tc
potash manufactory, and, contrary to t
usual custom, he earnestly p essed t
necessity of Il cash sale, and finally d
vailed on the buyer to cash the whole
which amounted to the enormous sum
seventy-fye cents The increase of ca
capital Nas so sudden and so uneXpect
that pride could not wholly be sub III
So he started with IL high head for hon
and every one he met was necess itated
outdo the requirements of the law by q
inc him two-thirds of the road, b cause
the seventy-five cents cash capital in
pocket Truly to him it was nlultuna
MARIO But are we not th ,nkful tt
notwithstanding, as Billings has it,
were - born ut an early period of our {
istence, - we were not born until bu
ness had assumed different form,
until agricultural products could be {
changed for their value in cash? We 10
along down the ages of the past, and
the arts and sciences were so little kno
until within few years, we note but lit
progre that marked their onward W;
but since the organization of agricultu
societies and agricultural colleges in
United States, strong men, scientific {;
energetic men, have ever held uppermos
their minds the matter of progression
their strongest incentive to active lab
and SO they have toiled on. spending ii
and money, experimenting and proving
analysis many important facts that pert
to agriculture and are valuable to the az
cultural world. And yet. after all Il
untiring efforts and expenditures and sa
fees, while they have inspired hope in 0
they have utterly failed to ftvorably
press the many with those important fa'