The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-02-07
.ercise and we'll regulated physical devel-

The universities and colleges of an.ag
ricultural people should be adapted Il
the wants Of such a community. In or
der to meet their wants / am in favor o
abolishing the study of Latin and Greek
and in their stead to put geology ant
mineralogy, which will unfold to tn
farmer and planter the great mysteries o
the earth. For the last hundred year
our farmers and planters have been plow
ing and cultivating the soil withou
knowing its constituent parts. l woult
also have the study of agricultural chem
istry given q prominent place in the cur
riculum of our public schools and cole
ges, in order that the scholars may learr
how to analvze the constituent element:
of the earth and also the component
parts of their domestic and foreign fertil
izers. A thorough knowledge of these
would save the farmers and planter:
thousands of dollars annually out Of
their crops. This kind of knowledge
would enable them to know whether
their lands we're adapted to the growth
of wheat, oats, corn, cotton, &C., and il
not so adapted for their growth, what
fertilizers would supply the deficiency
I remember several years ago reading
David Dixon's great work on Agricul,
ture. In describing the component parts
of the fertilizer he used upon his cotton
crop he stated that it consisted of Peru.
yian Guano, land plaster, gypsum and
salt. ItPuzzled me to understand low
it was that salt was regarded as an essen
tial element in the food. of the cotton
plant. After considerable research, l
found in work on cotton, published by
a gentleman in Mississippi, that salt was
the main element that entered into the
formation of the lint of the cotton, and
that it improved the texture of the lint
of the cotton. The popular idea was
that it was intended to prevent rust in
cotton, and to create moisture around
the plant. If I had been taught geology
and agricultural chemistry the ten years
that l was delving among the dead form.
ulas of Latin and Greek, would in all
probability have known this fact. |
would also have been aware of the .act
that the gypsum and land plaster or lime
were intended to fix the ammonia that
was contained in the guano, and thereby
keep it from escaping by too rapid pro-
cess of evaporation. would also have
known that the cotton plant absorbed
ammonia from the air, and that ammonia
was the basis of all Of our best fertilizers.
Cotton is the great staple of the South,
yet nine-tenths of our people are ignor-
ant of. how this plant is fed by the prop
critics of the earth and the elements OF
the air.
Suppose our schools and colleges had
taught geology, mineralogy and agricul-
tural chemistry, would the untold wealth
of our phosphates hase laid for century
under our feet before their value was ap-
preciated7 The great mass of our peo-
ple are ignorant of the immense quantity
and the great value of these deposits OF
phosphates to the State. It is not an
over-statement to say that, under
proper system of development. the roy
atty could be made to pay the'entire ex-
penses ofthe government. In the year
1870 the royalty paid to the State was
81 ,9S7, and it has increased to the sum OF
Sl26,5 in seven years under the I'M
perfect system that we now have. This
great industry deserves the immediate
and careful consideration Of the General
Assembly.
Iwould also have mathematics 60 part
p1,su with the studies i have alluded to.
1t is the basis of almost all scientific edu-
cation. 1t. is by mathematical science
that the paralax of the sun has been cal
culated, and the great laws of the polar
and planetary systems have been defined.
From the application of the principles of
geometry to astronomy has sprung the
art of navigation, and out of navigation
the foreign commerce of the world. BY
the application of mathematics to hydro
states, Prof. Eads by his system of jetties
has made the port of New Orleans ac-
cessible to the largest ships of the ocean.
I would also have great prominence
given to the study of physics in our
schools and colleges. Our farmers and
mechanics deal with the wedge, tho lever
and the pulley in their daily avocations,
and are as a general thing ignorant OF
the laws that govern them in their appli-
cation to the agricultural and mechanic
arts. The are also equally as ignorant Of
the principles of wind, heat, light and
electricity upon the production oitheir
crops or the implements they manu-
facture.
The application of mathematics to
physics has piyen us the steam engine,
the great civilizer Of the century. On
the proper application of rational me-
chanics, the success OF all of our. manu-
factures and railroads depends. and upon
our material development rests the future
of South Carolina and the entire South.
Second to none of these studies is that
of political economy, which teaches the
laws of individual and national wealth,
the Origin and object of money, the rela-
ton OF labor to capital, the laws that
should regulate the renting Of lands, and
all the subjects that more or less come
uSier the consideration and judgment OF
the lawmakers of the land. It has ever
been the hand. book of the statesman,
and without thorough knowledge of the
great principles it teaches no one can
hope to riseabove the level of the shifting
policies of the demagogue and politician,
would not have you suppose, gentle.
men, that am opposed to ornamental
education. Such 1 regard Latin, Greek,
painting, sculpture, music and poetry
But they are part of aesthetic culture,
that is, the natural resultant of scientific
and practical education. What practical
education is to ornamental education, the
root and leaves of the rose are to the
flower in full bloom.
I am opposed to the 10th section of the
bill, that "all property, real or personal
rights of property and credits belonging
or appertaining to the Agricultural Col
lege, shall vest in and become the abso.
lutte property of the University of South
Carolina"
On July 2, 1862, the Congress of the
United States passed an act donating
10000 acres of public lands to the sew
eral States and Territories which may
provide colleges for the benefit of agri
culture and the mechanic arts.