Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-10-30
Practical Farming Not Scientific Farm
ing.

A correspondent of the Rural Nac
Yorker is pursuadcd that the time
has come when the term "ScicntiGc
Farmer rs synonymous with "Book
Farmer and used rs n term of re.
proach, should be done away with,
and that "it should be given a mean
ing at least parallel with the term
practical \ scientific farm
er' is cminently practical farmer,
and can be nothing else for if he
is not practical he is a quack and
4 humbug, and no scientific man at
all Thcreupon the Rural, which is
nothing If not "practical," proceeds
to read him lecture, and puts this
question of Scientific VS.. Practical"
in its proper light:
1t strikes us that there is a good
deal of lallacy in the above article.
which comes TO us from one Of our
most popular agricultural writers.
What makes scient fic many Is
lac scientific who is engaged in the
pmsWt Of pure knowledge No.
the knowledge must be gained.
Science is true knowledge. OF what ?
or one thing, or of all thingsy II is
well to understand the difference be
tween science and art, and TO keep the
plain distinction in mind. Our farm.
ers can never be scientific farmers in
the right sense of the word. 1t
would be impraciioaJie for them to
become so. The pursuit of any sin.
Gle branch Of science, with view to
original results, requires All amount
time and labor which the average
farmer cannot give, even though his
investigations ended in important in
vcntions or discoveries.
A good farmer is not necessarily
a scientific farmer, though good
farming is necessarily basel upon
scientific principles. 4 good farmer
has the Intelligence to apply the
teachings OF science TO understand
and to accept the conclusions which
scientific investigations have revealed.
The average farmcr-by which term
We mean him who depends upon his
farm for support-has no time TO in
quirc and 10 experiment for the sake
of lnow'edge, but for the sake of
production. lie can he scientist only
to the extent that he is quick TO
apply the system OF rules which
science establishes. Science must BE-
profession in itself. Scientific
truths Of great Importance are rare
ly ascertained by chance, and only
those who devote their lives TO scicn-
tifc research have been cminently
successful in adding materially to
our knowledge. The good, practical
farmer is he who knows how TO
adapt scientific teachings TO his own
surroundings and circumstances lie
has the practice, the skill, the cdu.
cation, the ART TO do this. lie may
follow rules, but he has little time for
original inquiry.
We assert that the agricultural
scientist would starvc if he were de-
pendent upon the products OF his own
farm for support. Can as" tell us
how much it cost to prove that artfi.
cial fertilizers could be proftably
used in agriculture ? How much
did the corn planter, the wheat drill,
the mower cost those who invented
them and caused their usefulness to
be made known Such men are
scientists. There is no science in be.
ing early TO make use of the discov-
cries or inventions of others. "All
these innovations have been closely
watched by your practical farmers,
who have been ready enough TO adopt
those which have turned out to be
successful" says as" That is pre-
cisely what we want our farmers in
general to do. We want them TO
hasten TO avail themselves of the ben
eiits of scientific research. But we
want specialists TO make those re.
searches. No other journal has been
more earnest than this in advocating
that farmers educate themselves as
far as may be, and that, especially,
they educate their sons-not, howev.
or, with the view Of making them
scientific farmers, but in order TO ena-
BILE them TO take advantage of agri-
cultural science as II develops.
DR.. J. II. Lawes is n scientific
farmer, and he has spent fortunes in
chemical researches which have
brought to light valuable facts which
must benefit agriculture everywhere
and for all time. Does as" advo-
cate that every farmer should become
= chemistl that laboratories, rain
guages, etc, etc, should be establish
ed and constructed on every farm 7
We would that we MIGHT hear iesa of