Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1881-07-14
AGRICULTURAL.
An address prepared for the Balti-
more County farmers Convention
of 1881, by DR.. j. T. Councilman.

It has occurred to me, in thinking
over the situation, that to attain per
feet success in our business Of forming
we should devote attention to tht
training Of our successors. The ides
seems to prevail that culture is mol
necessary in farming. and If learned
man comes into our ranks tits because
he was educated for some other posi-
ton and has kicked out Of the traces
Let rs try to raise race'of new farm
.srs who shall supplement our dshcien.
.cies, restore our worn-out soils and
make a paradise Of the earth ON which
We live. How this may be best &C.
.complishsd VA propose now to cousid.
er. We propose to speak Of the farm
ar's education.
We do not deny that good farmer
may grow up on the farm and learn to
perform all the operations. to pillow, to
harrow, to reap, to NOV, without
knowing anything more than the mere
practical routine Of farming, but he is
only laborer, strong and stalwart
perhaps; his daily tasks awake no en-
thusiasm; they are performed as tasks,
and be turns elsewhere for amusement
and recreation, and fiat all ambitious
soon grows ashamed Of his ignorance
and Disguised with his occupation
These are they whom our city cousine
call clodhoppers, &c. He goes to the
ale-ho for consolation and says
farming does not pay, or perhaps takes
to saving money, becomes too penuri-
Gus to farm wisely. and falls far in the
rear Of the march Of Improvement
No, gentlemen, it viii never do; if We
wish 10 dignity and e1alt our profess
sion, the most ancient and honorable
of arts, we mast, to the careful per.
Torrance Of its operations, add a
knowledge of the why and the where
fore; we must not only be operators,
but philosophers skilled to discover
causes, and intimately acquainted
with the laws of nature under which
our operations are conducted. This
alone will satisfy our aspirations for
higher life, culture, and refinement.
LAS life is short and art is long," We
must limit QUE research to the useful.
In modern times, as mankind have
become aware Of the almost unlimited
extent Of knowledge, when the indi-
vidual who has advanced farthe# and
attained the highest eniuence in tho
domain Of science sees around and be-
vond him still vaster fields inviting
investigation, the necessity Of limiting
our study Of details to some rarticu.
lar line of inquiry becomes more and
more apparent In short, concentra-
ton is necessary to success. A river
whose waters are widely spread cat
over meadow flows quietly along it's
course scarcely abrading its channel,
but if confined in narrow limits will
cut its way through mountain gorge
with irresistible force; so the man Of
general education, although it may be
a great satisfaction to be 80 we'll IN
formed, rarely accomplishes any thing,
whilst he who devotes his whole time
and energies to some particular point
will sometimes achieve results that
will astonish mankind, just as the heat
of the sun ditfused through our at
mosphere only warms-conceutrats
its rays by lens and it burns:
Higher education is the fashionable
talk of the day, particularly since the
establishment of the John Hopkins
University in our midst. l am an
advocate Of the highest education, and
all honor be to the noble man who
could perceive it's value and devote a
lifetime to make it's attainment pos.
eibility amongst us; but do not let us
deceive ourselves ia this matter. The
highest education is for the few and
not for the many. One star differeth
from another in brightness; one man
has twice the physical strength Of an
other, and the gifts Of the mind are
equally varied; one man in thousand
may have that peculiar organization
and surroundings; many have that de-
votion that genius alone gives. that
will enable him to surmount all OBJ
stacles and grow eminent by his learn
ing; but for the crowd the highest ed
ucation, the best education, is that
which enables one to make an honest
IL