The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1889-01-26
THE CECIL FARMERS CLUB.
AN INTERESTING JANUARY MEETING

At DelI-Burn the Residence of John X.
Bond, Esq, on Wednesday the Esd inst.
Tue bright sunlight and crisp atmos
phere of perfect winter day, were the
inspirations of full January meeting OF
The Cecil Farmers Club, at dell Burn
farm, the residence of Jno. r. Bond, Esq,
near Port Deposit on Wednesday last.
The panoramic landscape pictures, posi-
BILE from the SUBMITS of our bold Susque-
hanna hills, are indeed a revelation to
those whose life-lines are cast along the
level slopes Of the lower counties of this
State. The traditional reputation Of
Eastern Maryland for its monotonous
stretches of fertile lands and grassy
meadows, is lost in the bod outlines of
landscape, which gladden. the eye in the
sections of upper Cecil, which border
upon the romantic Susquehanua.
Promptly at 0.30 a. H., Samuel r. Car
son, Esq, President of the Club ordered
the call of the roll, when the following
members responded to their names.
Henry S. Coudon, VIM. w. Moore, Geo.
w. Sutton, S. r. Carson, Jno. r. Bond,
Enoch Noyes, Enoch Mccullough, A. J.
Kitchener, Jno. Ewing, Jno. P: Wilson,
Ii. II. Duyckinck, and Thos. G. Bond.
| The visitors present were, the Rev. Jas.
Conway, Rev. John SquieI, F. S. Everist,
Esq, Col. r. f. May, and II. Il. Torbert
OF THE WING.
Following the regular order of bus.
ness the minutes OF the last meeting were
read and approved. MIR. Jno. w. McCul-
| Tough notified the Club, that owing to
his business engagements with the Nc
Cullough Iron Company, he would be un-
able for some time TO attend It's meetings,
and Was reluctantly compelled to tender
his resignation as d member.
No statements OF experiments being
submitted, the reading OF the regular es-
say by the host being in order, MIR. Jno.
r. Bond presented the following paper.
AGRICULTURE
means or is so defined, as the art of Guilt
waiting the ground and obtaining from it
such products as are necessary for the sup
port OF animal life. Quesnsy, who lived
i'll the reign of Louis III OF France. taught
the doctrine, that only those who cultivated
the ground OF brought into use the produc-
tions OF the vegetable, mineral or animal
kingdom, really increased the wealth of the
sion Or calling We're unproductive, but
classed as useful, being necessary to the
farmer, herdsman, miner or hunter. This
doctrine to great extent Is true, for With
out food and clothing and the use OF the
metals, we could not exist. Yet, singular
anamoly, the wealth OF the world is found
not with the producing but with the So
called useful class.
The history Of Agriculture extends too
far into antiquity, and is too broad and ex-
tensive i'll its scope to be treated compre-
hensively in an essay of the length suitable
on this occasion, tnereturein this paper it Can
be reviewed only in cursory and sugges-
Tive manner. To write wisely or we'll. upon
Il subject that has agitated humanity Slice
the EXPULSION OF Adam and Eve" from
Elem, is "a difficult task aud beyond the
ability OF the essayist.
Tue decree pronounced against the first
man and first women by the sweat of Thy
lace shalt thou eat Bread" has been fully
Carried out, and at all periods OF the worlds
history. The tiller Of the ground has had
plenty of sweat and travail and hard and
bitter bread to eat. Raided, robbed, plum
dered and murdered by iron-clad barons and
Tier followers i'll feudal times, despoiled
and trampled by soldiers OF more modern
date in Europe, his life has had enough
diversity To keep him from rushing away.
When i'll the remote ages Of creation, popu-
lation was limited, mankind is supposed To
have subsisted by hunting, fishing and On
The unculIivated productions of nature. As
the population increased, these failed TO sup
ply the increased demand for food, and man
was obliged to till, SOW and resp, or keep
tiocks OF sheep, or herds of CATTLE, TO meet
Lhs requirements of life. Gain was tiller
Of the ground and Abel a keeper OF
sheep" Here, as has been well observed,
we have the two great divisions of agricul-
lure. The only setGied system of early times
OF which we have record, was that pursued
by The Egyptians, a system older probably
than the Pyramids. After tine annual over
flow of the Nile, when the waters receded
off OF the face of the land leaving rich de-
posit of mud, they sowed seed and turned
on herds of swine to trample it in, and
awaited the abundant crop which never
failed. So rich was this strip of land 4 OF 5
miles in width by about 500 miles in length.
that it was called the granary of the Roman
Empire.
To follow the progress of agriculture down
century by century possibly would not
prove an arduous task, as very little if any,
improvement in methods of tillage, or in
machinery was made from the time Joseph
was ruler in Egypt, and the sons of Jacob
| came down from Canaan for corn, to the
commencement of the 18th century. lis true,
however, the Saracen during his occupation
| of Spain pursuing the Eastern system of ir.
rigation made the land to bloom as a garden
| and built magnificent aqueducts to distrl-
butte water abundantly throughout the
kingdom; monuments that to day bear tes-
timony to his skill, industry and high Gull
| tivation. The revenue derived from this
method of cultivation was said to have ex-
| ceeded that of all the monarchs of cnristen.
| dom combined. With this exception the
old method was handed down from father to
son until 1850 when history states, that the
| condition OF the farmer in Europe was so
deplorable that language could not express
his degradation.
In 1910 Leibig by chemical analysis de-
| monstrated the relative value of fertilizers
| in their application to soil, also of various
| kinds of food for fattening CATTLE or feeding
| for dairy. This was the inauguration of
great change, and from the above date the
progress of improvement can be readily
| traced Continual and wonderful inven-
tions by American genius, of labor-saving
machinery, better tillage, and intelligent ap-
plication of fertilizers has brought land
which formerly produced from to bushels
of wheat, 20 to % bushels of corn, q to l ton
of grass, up to producing 25 to As bushels of
wheat, 40 to 80 bushels of corn and \ to
215 tons of grass per acre
Let us look back fifty years. Some of us
here can remember the small log farm
houses, the miserable log barns, barns in
name only, scantily filled with fodder OF
straw, and grouped around them few mis-.
cradle half starved cattle. worm fences
every corner filled with weeds and briars
tangled brakes here and there in almost