The American union. (Griffin, Ga.) 1848-186?, October 27, 1855, Image 1

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A. 0. MURRAY, VOLUME X. From tlie National Intelligencer. the dignity of agriculture. The lion. Edward Hates lately delivered a most interesting and instructive address before the Missouri Agricultual Society. Though not a prac tical farmer himself, it is easy to perceive that he has been a close observer of agricultural pro gress, and has taken a rational view of the true means of developing the fruits of the earth, and of giving to agricultural science its proper po sition in the scale of human industry. Wcsub join a few extracts: “In all the conflicting labors of life men strug gle against each other, each counteracting the efforts of his adversary. Success is victory and failure is defeat, and the victor rises by the down fall of the vanquished. No real good is accom plished by such a strife. The vanquished loses whatever the victor wins, and the victor himself often retires from the contest exhausted and im poverished. Ilis shout of triumph is sounded with a feeble voice, and, while he proudly wears upon his haggard brow a wreath of bloody lau rel, he hobbles on crutches through the painful remnant of his life, with * “ An empty name and a paltry fame, And thousands lying dead ; While every glorious victory Must raise the price of bread.’ “Not so with the cultivator of the earth.— Ilis are no conflicting labors. 11c has uo ad versary. He is no man’s enemy, no man’s rival, no man’s dependant. His success is un- j alloyed good, a comfort and honor to himself, a blessing to his neighbors, and a valuable service j to his country. His is the most independent of ] all occupations, for he is not obliged to ask fa- j vors of any but the bountiful Creator. Sunshine, j and rain, and dew, and the delightful succession 1 of the seasons is all that he needs for the attain- j ment of his worldly ends, and these he knows-; are rarely, if ever denied to those who ask the’in ‘ with pure hearts and diligent hands. —*tf agriculture consisted only in the -o.ult.i va-1 lion of the earth for the mere purposed’ supply j in ,r the cultivator with food, clothing, and slid- j ter, this broad and fertile valley Would doubt less ! be the abode of a few titoti.-qjm clownish inliab j idiots, who might eat. and.-sleep and propagate i t leir species in abundant ignorance, and sue-I rounded by a sluttidi plenty of the vulgar r.rees- 1 saries ot life. It these were indeed the onlv ob jeets of agriculture, an I such its low rest i leted : character, tliere would he small reason to coin-i plain of the injustice of mankind, through all j past ages, in assigning to the tillers of the soil a I degraded and servile* condition, lint such are not its objects and character. Its apparent de gradation is a forced condition, unnatural to tin* | intrinsic dignity and usefulness >f the occupation imposed'originally bv violence, and maintained for ages by the false policy of oppressive (Jnv cmmerils. \\ e need not go hack to* the early ages of the wot Id, to Assyria. Egypt, (■ recce and Koine, to find.out why pred : al labor was degrad ed—why it was scornfully asked. ‘How can lie | be wise who handlelli the plough, whoso falk.is , of oxen, who delighteth in the goad Wo need ! go hack only to the middle ages of-Europe, j whose history is thebeginuing of our o\\ n. Tinuo and tin’ll the feudal system universally pivvailei! and that system was a stern military ari-1* *cr.n*v. ] All the land belonged to the feudal chiefs, and all its inhabitants WO'C tiicir tenants ami v.v mis. : War was the only source of lmnoi and power;, and all that a chieftain neednil was sohlieis (o’ fight his battles and be honored with his com panionship in arms, and laborious drudges to - work Ilis lands, and thus procure the means of liotoits living in the intervals of peace. Then 1 no mail cultivated his own laud. Nollies, knights and gentlemen were not farmers. Their lands were tilled by sueli of their vassals as would have though it a promotion to be allowed to serve in the humblest rank of their martial following, i And this was the condition of agiicultiire for ages in Europe. The agriculturists formed a weak,) poor, and subdued class. Hereditary oppression and contempt on tin* oneside, and timid siibmis- i sion on the other, could not fail to produce the! natural effect—a feeling of conscious degrada- j tion and an unresisting descent into ignorance! and vice; for the spirit of man will bow with the body that habitually crouches. “When literature began to revive in Europe 1 and know ledge began to rise and assert its pow - er, trade and the mechanic arts were the first to , receive the benign impulse. These (trade and! tile arts) are essentially gregarious. 1 bev draw men together into markets, workshops and tow ns.’ Here, while for mutual profit they plied their trade and exchanged the productions of their la bor, they exchanged also thoughts and opinions: l and in this process they could not fail todiscov-: er that they had a ccunmon interest and a com-: mon enemy. Their common inteicst required j order, peace, and security ; and their common i enemy was the military oligarchy which then! opposed and degraded all Europe. Their occu pations, so social in their nature, gave them at once the will and the power to combine for self protection against the petty tyrannies that sur rounded them; and hence arose towns and bor oughs which, freed from many of the cruel ex-; actions of the feudal law, became marts of com-1 merce, workshopsof skillful industry, and schools of modern civilization. Here the people enjoy ed much of practical freedom, and exercised to * good extent the glorious privilege of self-gov ernment. Hut they could not at once reform the heredjtory abuses of Government; they could not renovate nations in a day. They stood alone, isolated by dangerous foes. They were but green spots in the waste of despotism, few and far be tween. The fire of freedom still burnt upon their altars, but it burnt, through ages, for themselves alone. Its feeble light could not penetrate the artificial darkness of the rural districts, where the peasant, the boor, the serf, the villian’toiled in hopeless ignorance of his feudal lord and his • exacting hierarchy. “If I were writing a book.instead of making a brief discourse I might attempt to trace, histo rically, the rise and progress of agriculture and its progeny of arts ; but we have neither time , nor occasion now for such a disquisition. Our present objects are practical ; they concern our j personal interests, our homes our neighbors, and j our oountry. It is fair to presume that every Man who takes a deep interest in the objects of; our meeting has taken the trouble to make him-1 self acquainted with which char-! acterize our agriculture and distinguish it, in a very marked manner, from the agriculture of Eu- j ®he American Union. rope. How things were formerly there we have briefly seen. Here they are wholly different.— We have never had over us ferocious nobles or rapacious priests to calculate how little and how mean would support the life of the cultivator and take to themselves all the rest. Our lands have never been in the hands of the few to be cultivat ed by the many for the purpose of raising rents and tythes, but in the hands of a Government of our own choosing which can havenoopposingin terest. Our laws are free; our men are are equal; our land is plenty; our soil and climate are al most infinitely various; and everv man who lias the industry to till a field has the’ ability to own it. With us agriculture is not a separate exis tence, a peculiar interest; it is the nursing moth er of other arts, the controlling element of our manufactures and of our commerce, domestic and foreign. It pervades and influences all the relations of society, and is interlaced and com bined with aii the pursuits and interests of the people ; and in this comprehensive character it is considered by the State government; for the character under which we have assembled, while it incorporates, by name, an agricultural society, provides expressly for the encouragement of ag riculture, mechanical and domestic manufactures and productions. “Such then, is the comprehensive character, the pervading influence, and the inappreciable j usefulness of agriculture. The practical pursuit !of its object is a high Calling. When well fol | lowed it never fails to enrich the individual, to advance all other honest callings, and to give power and dignity to the Commonwealth, by de veloping its resources and drawing forth its hid j den treasures into active utility. And thus the ’ intelligent farmer, in profitably serving himself, must needs serve his country. Hut this is not ! all. Its moral and intellectual advantages are j hardly less than its physical. The labors of the ’ husbandman are all innocent and harmless.— ! 1 ’eace, order, and protecting law are necessarv i-to his success,.and the daily habits of his life | lead on to truth, justice and benevolence. All! j the influences of his profession lean to virtue’s! ! side, with a constant tendency to make him love j | his country and its laws and to honor his j i God. “Having indulged in these general remarks, I desire now to draw your attention to some of j ;the more practical parts of the subject. The | : great object of agriculture is production—the ill- 1 ! crease and multiplication of vegetable and uni- j mal life, whereby the farmer supports his family, | the merchant and manufacturer are furnished j with profitable employment, and the State is ; made rich and prosperous. llow to accomplish ! | this great object and to make the most of the I means at our disposal is a problem not for farm- i * f* only, but well worthy of the intensest thought **f every sensible man, and especially of our statesmen, whose opinions exert a mighty in tlence for good or evil unoti the interest of us all. “Three things are necessary to the perfectsuc ! cess of agriculture—land, labor, and learning.— The two first are indispensable, for'without land ! and labor there can be no cultivation ; and the third, learning, isrno less necessary to the full j development of the nobler art, and to enable it i | to fulfil its gracious mission by doing the great- J est sum of good to the greatest number of our | raise.” Mr. Hates then discourses upon what he calls | the earthly trinity of farming— hind, labor, and j Irarniiaf —and disposes of these in a truly phi-1 losnphieal spirit. We have only room fora por- j tion. He shows the advantages to be derived from the use of machinery in large farming, es pecially upon the prairies: “Alieadv we reap and mow by machinery,and can it he that lire restless and progressive, mind of the country will consent to stifle its ruling! passion and stand still before it has learned how j to ‘plow and sow by the same means ! So, never < Hie thinking head can do more work than fifty thoughtless hands, (muius and art and enter prise belong to the country, and are necessary to the full development of its vast capabilities, and, trusting in the good providence of God, I confidently expect that they will he called into action as soon and as fast as our occasions shall j require their efforts. Who that has seen the j steamboat, the railroad, the telegraph, the reap- j er. the thresher, and-the sewing-machine, ban | doubt that the broad plains of the West will be ] ploughed, and sowed, and reaped, and mowed ! by maehinery as soon as the country shall he in j a condition to need so great an accession to its j productive labor? When that lime shall come, : (pnd I think it near at hand and that we ought j to be preparing to meet it,) the toiling farmer will he relieved from much of his severest drudg ery. and the very horses and oxen will share in the gracious respite ; for assuredlgsteam (or pos sibly something better) will be harnessed to the plough and be made to drudge forourdaily com fort. Let no man be alarmed at so vast a new creation of productive labor lest it should injuri ously interfere with the occupations of men by diminishing the profits of their work or throw ing them out of employment. There is no dan ger of such a result. In all the mechanic arts, in the power of locomotion, and in mechanism generally, the effect of work doing engines has j been to inciease the demand for human labor, to ; multiply production and enjoyment, and to send ; down comforts and luxuries to the lower strata of | society. It may induce many to change their j vocations by turning to other engagements more pleasant or more profital(fiJ> but it will deprive no man of employment who is willing to work.— success in agriculture needs and produces man ufactures, commerce, and transportation, and all these will require an increased number of hands. New crops will be introduced, such as silk, wine, fruits in variety, and drugs and dyestuffs with out number, and perhaps even the South African ; t sugar-cane may be found as well adapted to the i middle and upper regions of the Mississippi as I the tropical cane to its delta; but, above all, the ! great staples of the planting States —cotton, su gar, rice, tobacco —flourishing and prosperous as I is their present condition, stand in urgent need ( of more hands.” Mr. bates combats the too common prejudice a -1 gainst science in farming in the following happy | manner: “There was a time when a common error pre i vailed, to the effect that no learning is ncccessary | to qualify a farmer for his trade ; that knowledge, , which in all other callings and in all other places jof human life is power, is of no use in farming GRIFFIN, GEORGIA, SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 21, 1855. Those, if any. who now entertain that opinion, so degrading to agriculture and so sutltifying to its followers, ought to be pitied a.. 1 forgiven, fortlip idea springs from that mental darkness and moral obliquity which are greater misfortunes tliaD faults This society was formed for the very purpose of collecting and diffusing knowledge; for bringing together and comparing (for mutual instruction and profitable learning to us all) the various pro ductions of the soil and the mind, the combined re sults of the land and labor of the State, controlled and directed by an enlightened intellect. The members of this society need no argument to prove that knowledge, art, science, a thorough cultiva tion of the mind, are all necessary to enable a man to cultivate the earth to the best advantage: to understand and appreciate all the elements of bis nature, which are iiis co-workers, his partners In business, striving by united efforts to bring about the great result he aims at. And how can he be a valuable assistant.,a profitable servant in the great laboratory of GoJ'h own chemistry, vegeta tion; unless he knows something of the glorious art which would teach him to understand the soil lie tills and the air lie breathes, and how to sepa rate or combine their component parts, to neutral ize a bad ingredient or stimulate a good one into fruitful action ? And how can ho wisely select and profitably use the implements and machinery necessary to his daily business if he be wholly ig norant of mechanical science I In short I venture the opinion that there is no art or science befitting a gentleman to know which may not be made, in i some form or in some degree, subservient to the ; interest and the pleasure of the agriculturist. The l whole encyclopedia's auxiliary to bis noble voca- j tion. Agriculture, as a separate department of 1 industry, is by lar the most important of all, and ! ought to exert a powerful influence in forming the ] texture and tone of society, and in giving direc tion and force to the measures of Government. ! Its members are not merely and simply tillers of j the soil. They are citizens also, with the the same ! rights and duties that belong to men of all other: callings : the same general interests; the same hopes and fears : and the same honest ambition'to rise tu the high places of influence and pnwpr. and to lie first among their equals. Then how does it happen that so lew practical farmers are found in the high offices of Government, exerting a person al influence in so moulding the measures of public* | policy as to encourage and promote the great in-! terest to which they are particularly attached ! ; How docs it happen that nine-tenths of the great I public offices arc filled from the so-called learned] professions ! That fact is fault in the actual work-! ingot our political machine—a great fault that; there should ho an apparent necessity to choose j men from a few small classes only to rule over the many ; hut not the fault of the members of those! classes. They do right in acquiring as much knoivl-! edge as possible, and in fitting themselves, as well j as possible, for the eminent places to which they ‘■ may honestly aspire.” If any one of you ask me j who, then, is in fault, I answer here, as Nathan j answered David, *thoU art the man.’ It is the; fault of the farmers. They, as a class condescend to a low place, and agree to remain uneducated and comparatively ignorant. And believe me, my friends, fu the assertion of this affirmative truth, i that whoever consents to ignorance consents also! to its inseparable companion, imbecility. But this ; state of things is coming to an end. The organ- ; ization of this society is one among a thousand proofs that the agricultural class, embracing as it docs the great body of the people, is determined henceforth to maintain its own rights and fulfil its duties to the country, by self-improvement, by the culture of the arts and sciences, and by assum ing the position in society and exercising the in fluence in Government which belongs of right to its members, its wealth, and its incalculable use fulness. The means and the modes of accomplish ing this great end lie all open before you. They ) are too many and various to admit of discussion j or even statement now and here. Domestic instruc- j tion. common schools, academics, and colleges, the ] habit of private reading for self-toachingandprac- j tical experiments- for the demonstration of the truth or falsehood of theories—these are some ofi the infinitely various means by which the great object may bo attained. When these and the like 1 means shall have been fully and fairly tried, agri culture will take its proper relative position and exereise its just share of influence in the country ; and then its members will rejoice in the conscious ness that they are as strong in knowledge as in numbers.” Agricultural Education. Sketch of an A dire* sdt 1 1 re red by Prof. /. *Y. Loomis be fore the Southern Agricultural Smiity, at Atlanta, on the -subject of an Agricultural College in Georgia, Sept. \'Mh. IS).). I.aihks and Gentlemen : Through the courtesy of the officers of tin* Southern Agricultural Society, I am per- j mittol to address you on a subject that deeply concerns j us all-—the improvement ol our methods of cultivating tin* soil. In easting Hits eye over portions of our noble States,! basking beneath a climate,as genial as cvershone.upon the j earth, one is struck with the large amount of waste lands j he may see on every side, turned out ns c ‘old fields,'” and in their present condition wholly unfit for cultivation, A ! ranger might inquire whether they were originalv in this barren and desolate condition, or whether some blighting influence from Heaven hud blasted their fertility. We j know it is neither of these, and inillions]of the once fertile ; acres of Georgia now slumber in wasted barrenness, a ( stern comment of < lod and Nature upon our ruiucus sys tems ot agriculture. in a report from the Patent Office in IS.V). it is esti- | mated that in the I'nited States there are unless than one . tiftmtred millions of acres of land either abandoned, or so ! deteriorated as to be scarcely tit lor cultivation, and that to resuscitate these lands by manuring would cost one thousand millions of dollars. YV'e have no data from which i to judge, but from our own observations, wc should infer that Georgia, in proportion to the length of time it has j been cultivated, and to the number of acres in cultivation, j is not behind any of her sister States in this respect j llow long, at this rate, before the entire State of Georgia will be turned out as one vast •* old field V * Another question no less significant forces itself upon every reflecting mind. Is there anv remedy for all this 1 Is there any system of agriculture by which the virgin i soil of Georgia may not only be retained in its primitive • fertility but by which those vast tracts, now as sterile as 1 the samLs of Sahara, may beredeemed, and made to bless! the laborer with their abundance! ‘1 his is not a suitable oc- 1 casion for the presentation of tact sand arguments to show this to be practicable, to demonstrate that by aright sys- j tern of culture, our soil may not only be saved from deter- ; ioration, but that our waste places may be made to “bios- \ som as the rose.” We cannot, however, leave this ooiiit j without citing one or two authorities. President hitch- ’ cock, in his Keport to the Board of Commissioners appoint- J ed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the sub-; ject of Agricultural states that on some of the farms connected with the Agricultural Schools he visited in Europe—-for instance the Model Farm at Glasnevin, Ireland—he never saw better crops, and that the highest degree of fertility had been attained by a rotation of crons, and by a judicious system of culture, without going be. yowl tin farm for manures. Has the God of nature de prived the soil of< rcorgia of the elements of its own sal vation, or bears it the curse of our own stupidity ? Prof. Mapes, the well known editor of the IVorkifcig 1 Earrftfr, in a letter to Judge Talniadge, President of the American institute, states, that having a field which refused com the previous year, he analyzed the sod, then the several plants to be grown, and finding the soil want-; ; ing in certain constituents, such as chlorine, soda, lime, the phosphates.&•. hesupplied the deficiencyat an ex-j pens* of only one dollar and thirty:one rents per acre and • raised seventy-five bushels of shelled com per acre Prof ! Mapes further states “ that in no instance has the expert- ( ment failed to prod me desired crops, of superior quality, when manuring has becnfouwled on the chemuul canstitu - i ents of the soil, Sir. •Among’these hfe mentions several inMafWMMi whera torn! has produced over one hundred bushels per acre ; wheat, forty to seventy five bushels ; Irish potatoes, three hun dred to four hundred bushels ; Carrots, one thousand bushels; Kuta-baga? twelve hundred bushels, and oth er crops in proportion. Here is valuable testimony di rectly t*. the j>oirit. Many planters, after scratching their grounds to the; Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. * drpth of h few inches, hart trial various manures mdts ! motinolr/y and have failed. Perhaps upon their ill plow { cd lamb they have put from five to seven hundfod jmiuidls jof guano per acre, and because their burnt up t b**y have come to the conclusion that guano is a dan- I gerous manure, when perhaps their land only required deeper plowing, oaat most a small quantity of lime. — Others in attempting to adopt some suggestion met with in an agricultural journal or a work on funning, have failed for want of some of the necessary conditions, nnd they straightway come to the conclusion that “book farming *’ will never do, and henceforth “ as their fathers did so do they.” . . f Planters op Georgia: Is the picture over drawn t Do we not know, that melancholy as it is, it is true to life ; uml year by year large portions of the domain of Georgia are abandoned by the husbandmen, and turned over to the moles and gophers and tangled brier. What patriotic heart can conUrnidate tin* view with out emotions of deepest sorrow, uml who does not n.-k with deeper earnestness, is there any remedy fur this great and growing evil? ('an such a system of culture be adopted as to arrest it 1 By a careful analysis of the soil, ami of the plants to be raised, and of the manures used ; by a proper system of rotation ami rest ; inshort, by conforming to the immutable laws of nature, may not the soil of Georgia be continued in, and restored to its original fertility ! In the tru** science of agriculture we tuny find a solution to this question. ("uufd the next generation of Georgia planters be prop erly instiurted in tin* principles of scientific and practical agriculture, a consummation so devoutly to bo wished would soon follow. How is this to be accomplished ! Fortunately a plan lma been proposed, which—as we sincerely belie*e* —il curried out, will effect the desired results,and I will be- ! -peak your attention whilst 1 present an exposition of j the plan to which allusion has been made. It i - true, the subject does not admit of rhetorical flourishes'; pleasing flowers of speech or high sounding phrases. 1 ! I have to deal witli tacts and details, and at a time when j half the State has gone mad on the subject of politic?, i I may be able to awaken but little interest on so tame a j subject as that of agricultural education. But to the ! plan—an outline of which may be found in a le|tor from ; the Rev. Carli.do I*. B Martin to Col. James M. Cham bers; editor of tbs Soil of the Smith, Columbus, <a. This , letter has been r published in lie lloxv's Review , and in j most of the papers of Georgia. _ i j In what I say in exposition of this plan, I shall endeav- | ]or to represent Mr. Martin as faithfully as possible. He ‘ j is prevented Irorn appearing before you. as was his inten- | j tion on the present occasion, by a severe attack of illness, j yet having neen for the last several months associated j with him iu the same institution, and having frequently ‘* compared views on this subject, 1 trust 1 may be able t ‘ make tor it some friends amongst this large and intelli- 1 gent assemblage. He proposes, Ist. A College of high order, in which j the standard of scholarship will not be inferior to that of any in the land. And 2dly. In connection with the i college a model, tana, for purposes -t experiment, tUrntra - I I urn, and a practical apjificatuni of the principle s taught. j It is true the ancient classics will not have a prominent i place, but they, together with the modern European j languages, will be taught when The collegiate course will embrace, Ist’ The Lncji.ish Langatok—its ! Orthography, its Grammar, its Rhetoric,its Logic. 2d. | The Lautii—its (ieography, Mineralogy, Geology and ! Chemistry. 3d. Xumberaud Quantity-embracing higli ! * r Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Nir | vcying and Civil Engineering. 4lh. Natural and Moral ; Science —including Natural Philosophy, Meteorology, i Botany, Chemistry, Agricultural Chemistry and Ethics, j sth. Intellectual Philosophy, Political economy, tith : Ancient and Modern Languages. : All the operations on the farm will be conducted in t the most scientific and practical manner,under the diree j tion of men fully competent, and such instructions dori j ved from them as can be communicated in no other way. : But to he more specific. The workable portion of the j farm, consisting of two bundled acres, or more is to be ! divided into eight orten fields, that all the experiments ( and observations may be conducted in a more systematic i manner. Take lor instance, field No. 1. Each student i being provided with a suitable note-book, the date of j commencing will first be noted. A quantity of soil taken j trow different portions of the field will then be unalyzed !in the laboratory. At first this will be done by the pro i feasor of that department, but soon the class will be so instructed asto perform all the analyses. The analyses of the soil will be noted in the book of each student.— The next step will be to analyze the different plants to be grown on the field. By comparing the two analyses— that ofthesoiland any given plant—and knowing the constituents of water: and of the atmosphere, a correct estimate could be formed of what the soil needs to pro duce a given plant. By an analysis of the various ma nures it could be determined which was best calculated to secure the required result. By an analysis of the soil, two important facts could be ascertained. Ist, To what, in its present state, is it ’ adapted ! and 2dly. What will best lit it tor a proposed > enp. With a knowledge of the constituents of the soil, ! | of the various plants and of the manures, and of the va- 1 j ried agents concerned in vegetable growth, there is no) I reason why we may not furnish a particular crop with its • appropriate aliment as well as an animal with its wonted I food. It is true the animal lias instincts enabling him I to determine forßilusetTto a great extent, hut ngrirultu- * j nil chemistry, vegetable physiology, and a knowledge of ; certain physical or organic laws, guideitby the human 1 intellect, may become to the plant what instinct is to the animal, if these premises be true, and who will gainsay them, we may feed a crop of cotton with as much certain ty as a fold of sheep. These chemical analyses, then, being of primary im portance,* will form the very substratum of the course of j instruction proposed. Having ascertained and registered nil the facts fur-| nished by chemical analysis, the next step would be to j note the time of plowing, the kind of plow used, the j depth manner: &c., of plowing ; then the time and man- I ner of planting, together with the kind of weather, and i whatever might a fleet the germination ami coining up of the seed. Meanwhile daily observations will be going on in other fields, but we must not lose sight of field No. 1. When the crop reaches a working state, the times and manner of working will be noted, the implements j used, and the amount of labor bestowed. When the crop { is matured: the time and manner of gathering will be noted, the mode of preserving &c Lastly, having kept an accurate account of the expenses of cultivation, and having determined the value of the crop, the entire prof ! it.- will be entered on the note book. 1 (>ne hour in each day will he devoted to the observa tions above indicated, and the working of the different: j fields will be arranged in such order of succession as to t harmonize with the observations made. In addition to i observation on the soil, the manures and the crop, nil j the Geological and Mincralogical features will bo care- [ fully noted: In our latitude, the soil is derived from the | •rocks immediately .helow it and partakes of their charac- i ; ter, whilst in regions north of 40 degrees, the soil is form ed almost entirely of “ drift,” or “transported inn'eri ! h 1, m and independent of the rocks “in atfu.” The rcla . tions of agriculture to the Geological and Mincralogical characteristics <*f the land, will form constant subjects of observation. Botany ami Vegetable Physiology will be daily taught from actual observations of the objects of j Natures Extensive meteorological observations will be j constantly made ; and the relations of vegetable growth I to various atmospheric condition* carefully noted. | The subject of stock willfurnish material forextensive j observations. Experiments will be made with the vari ous breeds of cattle, swine, sheep, &c:, nnd the results ’ faithfully registered. Each animal will be charged with what it daily consumes, and an account of its expenses regularly kept. By this means a vast amount of valua- j ! hie information inay be obtained, and often gross impost- j | tion avoided. It not. unfrcquently happens that unusual t ■ virtues are claimed for a certain breed of stock, and j .high prices demanded wEen onTriaT they prove to posses* i 1 but ordinary or interior merit. This departnier tof the ; the institution will furnish a vast amount of reliable mat- ! i ter scarcely to be found elsewhere, whilst it will afford i I the student an opportunity of reducing to practice alii that is valuable iu regard tomaiiaging and raising stock. ; j The entire establishment will furnish a model, both in ! • its general characteristics, and in all its details. Each I ! plow will be a model plow, and every implement used will be such nsare best calculated to answer tnepurpose in- ( t. nded. Each house and stable and structure will be such as may be salelymodeled after. All such arrange ments will be under the special direction of inen compe tent to dictate models of taste, of usefulness and conve nience. In fact the institution will constitute a reliable umpire in a thousand matters of importance to the culti vator of the soil. Frequently a suggestion is made in some of the agricultural journals, and it may be tried by j many others, but either from a difference in cimunstan- I e* .s, or from the absence of gome essential condition it fails. The failure may often involve a serious loss. But such an institution should he competent to test all these •matters satisfactorily, or to judge at once *f the value of such suggestions, and when it is possible to point out the causes of failure. j In connection with the institution will bcajournal pub * lished,containing valuable records of the various *xperi -1 meats made, and such other matter as may be of inter ( c*t and advantage to the agriculturist. Intercourse will be kept up with the highest sources of information both | in this country and in Europe, and everything done that j can bo done to awaken an interest in the subject of agri . iiulLiifg, o.nd to improve our methods of cultivating the soil. In regard to the internal arrangements and manage ment ofthe institution, I beg the indulgence of a single remark. The discipline will be firm, yet mild and pater nal. Neatness, order, gentlemanly bearing, accuracy and thorough scholarship will be its leading characteris tics All who know Mr. Martin wdl hear witness to ! the statement when I snv there is not a better discipttttaf- J nan, a more thorough teacher or a rljwr scholar in Gi*or gin A nephew of Hev: 4!. I*. Beman, 1. Ithe celebra ted teacher of Mount Zion, and educated by right <4 birth j and education, all that personal affection s< fchecrfullv awards hiin. Having been engaged for the.last twenty j years of his life in successful t aching, and having devo ted a large amount of thought ami inv< ,t igatiori during the last fifteen years to maturing the plan I am now nri | senting, he, of all the men it is my lot to kn< w, is Rest i calculated to carry such a plan into successful <>|wration. \ i>u will perceive from the above sketch, holies nd gentlemen, that observation, kxim:imi ni anq I’RxrrH l vi. at’l'i.n’a rioN constitute the basis of the profaned sys-’ i tern of education. The janm* of i l> : r> vatun will b kept in almost constant exercise, and their systematic di-v el opement secured in the highest degree. ‘1 hen the ]*nr ers of reasoning from the facts and phenomena observed will be in constant training, affording them a dio-ipliiic , they could enjoy iu no other situation with w hich wc aic ! acquainted. The jwwrr of jmigrroait, too, or the faculty |of urawiugjust conclusions from the fuels observed and the unalvses made, after they hove passed under the re view of the reasoning power, will constantly erj. y a vig orous and healthful exereise. I ‘1 hen there will be a constant application of theknowl i edge thus acquired to soiin* useful praetie:i| le-ult And wc would ask. what institution in < ur land is ba*-ed upon those practical ideas f We know of but one. and that is our Military Academy at West Point, \w York We hear much about jiracticnl etlvration m.d there is probably in the whole range of educational topics, not our |>oiut on which there is more ignorance and iuqe-.-i ----tinn than on this. In nearly every circular of our Cob leges nnd higher school*, ft is nmioumvd that cnlaiu branches w ill he taught pra/Hrfitly ; ns < Jeolugy, Bohfn\, Chemistry, tie. And w hat is their method of teaching practically (/) Why, in nine cases in ten it consists alone in tne student committing to memory certain pas rsages from his text book, and in the teacher sitting in his chair, and asking certain question* duly arranged at the bottom of the page. In this manner students gradu ate in Geology, nnd kindred sciences, and often with honors (I) but who of them could di.‘t mgtii.-h between a piece ot limestone find h brick but wlo-n brought into the practical arena of Geology ? And we have more than once seen students who have thus gradwtitd in Bot any* and who have been brought up on a plantation, un able to distinguish a young cotton plant when seen out of the cotton patch, and when they heard it called (• *- sypium hcchnceum, pronounced it a plant he had never met with before. Practical Education, indeed ! !rv What is practical education lor h t me n*k the tu ore's i in- j pie question, what is Education ? I appeal to your common sense: to your better judgment, whin I- ark it it consists ! in poring, for a certain number of v-*arn, <i\*r th< almost forgotten gibberish of Greece and Koine, with the ufldi- * tion of a prescribed amount of Mathematics, und the ub , ! straet and theoretical speculations of so e.ilb-d Philoo- • ! pliers I But how much more is embraced in the run un til mos most of our institutions of learning \ How much | docs the Student lent n therefor which hcrcMllv has nv | use in alt* r life ! You all know the origin ot the word Education, r uudduro to draw out. True ducaLiun coir sifts in u drawing out oft he natural capacities of the stu dent, in u harmonious flteelo/mnent of what is in him, ami not as most persons suppo.-e, a cramming into him, or a flogging into him, of a certain amount <d (Ircek ami Latin, with a sprinkling of Mathematics and the Jargotr and the formulas of school men. ‘] rue education consists in the effects produced upon our own ii trrnnl j owerg by all the impressions wc receive from without, und from within, from the cradle to the grave, il lan all Educa ted—the boy who lounges about the depot: or the dram shop, or the livery stable—and the man of mature yearn whose days and years arc passed amid scenes ot dissipa tion uml vice, ns well as the student environed by col lege walls. Whet we seek from love of it—whut we mo-t wish for and embody in our lives, whether good or e\ il; const itiifes our ed w a turn ; and often, w hits! the col lege professor is most faithfully er.immg your son with Latin and I ircek, usque adnavscum, his mil education is i.iogrcp.-'ing in quite a differcnl sphere. I? may be in his taste for reading, hi* love of natura, or perchance the t ollege t ‘lub, the nightly revel, or at the Eurobank.— The human mind, and the human heart are so organized, that they require other stimulus than that furnished from the musty tomes of Greece nnd Rome, and it wdl he sought. We think we speak from experience when wc say that w hile our teachers and college professors were most credibly performing their manipulations, so to speak, upon our brain, our real education was going on among the rocks, amid the wild flowers, and in our Youth ful laboratory, with its gun-barrel, its bottles and glass tubes. ‘l'lie experiments and reflections of inn turer years but convince us that whilst all the theoretical abstrac tions of the schools, and the prescribed task* of early life are fading away, passing to the shadowy regions of for getfulness, what wc leniTied u|M)ti the mountain side, the rocky cliff, in the green meadows and the forest shades, upon the sea nnd laud—in the tangled swamp and along the pebbly brook, in the vast domain of nature, or in -ur own little sanctum, will remain with us forever, uud con stitute henceforth the identity of our Doing. The human mind will seek relaxat from the severe tasks of the study room, and if it be not in wholesome and profitable reading, or in a study of Nature's works, wheie will ir be found but in the excitements of such seem s as will ever leave their influence uj*#n •the moral character. And what is there, wc would ask, in the course of study and (IticFftftne oT iiUi ordinary col leges calculated to awakeii a love for Nature, or even a taste for profitable leading 1 l>oes not the mind, when released from the severe, and often painful appliances of the study ond recitation room, more naturally fly to the other eAtreme,and seek the needed relaxation m some- j thing light and trivial, and too often corrupting? Our i collegesflare beendesignated,- and not wiiWut reason, “/he great moral slaughter houses of our land.” lew young men can pas* the fiery ordeal <*f a common collegi- , ate eourac unscathed. We speak what we know, when wo say that there aro demoralizing influences ever ope rating in our institutions of learning, whoso current few of your sons Can stem unpolluted. 1 appeal to the rvcol- : lections of your Alma Mater , ye who know, if my state- j merits ari* exaggerated. More than one of my classmates fell vict ilns ere their course was eompletnl, and many more will, bear to their graves the inoral sears ot the ter rible conflict. A young man of pious parents, himself a devoted member ol the church, who bad coinc to seek an education for the purpose of studying divinity nrepurato ry to going as a missionary to some foreign land, was stricken down from my very side, as the alphabetical ar rangement brought us together in the chu)ci and the lee- ; tureroom. lie was drawn into a course of dissipation,! which terminated in drunkenness undd ath, ere the close j of his first collegiate year. I could make the ears of ma- j ny a parent tingle, and their hearts quake for the safety ol a beloved son, but this is not a fitting occasion f>. t the cnuinciutinti of such painful details. I hn- much 1 have i deemed not inappropriate, however, that I might place in proper contrast our old systems of edmat.on, wit h the rational ami natural plan which 1 have the honor of pic senting before you to-day. us for a moment eoutciuplate the morn! hearing of the course of study wc propose. The mind :n and the heart of the student are constantly awake to the teachings of Nature. They will ever be drinking m it* health-giving spirit. There ia something iu the study of Nature'.** works, tending to inspire the loftiest and purest emotions. Who can contemplate a slurry sky. or gaze thoughtfully upon the timest flower that spreads its blushing petal* to the sunlight, without having awakened in his heart aspiration* after a higher knowledge of the mysteries ond the beauties of the natural World- The student who, by the very system of hi* education, is ever “ Looking through Nature up to Nature's God,*’ and wlione day* and years of college life arc spent mu-tly amid the pleasing recreations of a study of nature's har laonii s, would stand a poor chance of becoming either a vagabond or ascamp. Look, too,at the practical result* of the two system* of education, l ake the physician, if you please, a* an illustration. Place him by thie bedside of bis patient.— What i* the first thing to be done ! I,\ideally to observe the facts. The pulse, the tongue, the skin, the various excretion*, and such facts * tuiy be derived from inter rogating the patient, are all made the subject of careful observation. The next step would be to reason upon the facts observed. Having arrived at just conclusion* as to the state of the system, and the location of the disease, | the enlightened judgment will scarcely err in selecting | the proper remedies to fulfil the required indication*.— , Place the stultified book-worm in the .-aim situation.— i W hat advantage is it t” him to know that IMeurby is dc ! rived Jom the Greek Pleura, the side, or ptysmagegue i from petusmu and ago t Vet this kindof knowledge con ! stitutea hi* principal guide in making up his diagnosis ! and his prescription. i How much, too, might, the clergyman find in the course 1 of education we aid him in his labor*.— I T. lie precepts of religion urenever *o attrMcti\< us when il lust rated and enforced by the lessons of nature. hat run be more touchingly beautiful and impressive than , the allusions of our Saviour to the “lilies ot the field.” the lalmr* of the harvest and the changing glories of u I sunset, scene? We have often said every clergyman I should be a naturalist. j Notwithstanding the superior advantage* of such an ’ education in any calling in life, yet,the principal object iof an Agricultural < ollege* is to fit men for a more en lightened aud a less destructive cultivation of the soil. Vv Asbingt’ n said, “ 1 know of no pursuit in which more l real and permanent good can be rendered to a country, than by an improvement of its agriculture.” Actuat'd by a nrntiment'drlve-thf*. wmrs reiwd-ved fer v our for tune! in an enterprise unknown in our land. We want to see the teaching* of science applied to the improve ment of our method* of agriculture. WhiNt *cienceh.i* contributed so bountifully to every other dipartmrnt of human industry, what has.‘he really dune foi the culture ul d* sf*ll )*y the Application of ft* dcdUctlor* of TO nee, tffs *t-m engine is working miracle* in evary de partmcfit and tin • hanicat labor, or prq*d!ir>g thepooder • >iis train V\ ith aatomshirig velocity over’ the va*t iroff totwoik travel-ii g our lui din almost every direction, or bearing our “lev iatl an*” of war and commerce iuiom thed -j against the might of storm*, of tide* and otOOM wave** Ihe print ing press is cnbghtf r.ing the world,ana By’ a simple Application of science, thought and tottlli g< nee speed on lightning wings to the distant eornw ot • •itr land. But whatiins science done for Agricwltarbj nnd w here in its Aimnl* do you find name* worthy to tiled with those of Franklin, rulton, Arkwright and Marta f j The last quart* r of a century has been prolific ill it# cot j trivunces to advance every other industrial art, wMlti ! Agriculture remain* nearly where it wa* a century ago. !Is there id* n*, <1 of something to be done? l)o not our J impoverished land*, our slmenly tilled plantations an^ ! our iii.-*iable crops, pi* ad dooin ntly f,ir improvement t Agriculture. the inbb M of all human pursuits, ** tbu ; iitmdt.g mother of nations,” languish*** in a most drplor condition, .'"-bail nothing be done for her redcap t i**n ? Let ii* contemplate this state of things in anotksr uu pcct. What. its effort upon national character and up (<.n *4.<*in! Iff * ? When a planter settle* upon a plantation Ihe * id-.in regards that as hi* permanent home. He es , pcct. merely t<* remain a few years, until hi* soil shall bu . xliau-t* and. until h<* “-kin*”.it. and instead ol farnUtilus ) himself with a permanent home, nr.d surrounding him- I sell with the elegancies and comfort* of life, he puts up mi unwieldy st nurture **f log*, or at best a half finished -hell and :i house, probably cutting the trees entirely from around it. h* Broils there iu the sun until hi*landu“fiß j ishrd,” when he pulls un and “squat*' '* down tu loss • ther place, where he bivouacs I t a few more years, when Iu i* off again, t• blight another region with bit ignnrani c and stupidity, i b/fc different would ba the U|k p4-HMii.ee *d Georgia to day had this murderous system 1 never prevailed. Had each planter a* h* fettled on bit i first- plantat ion, said, this is henceforth my home, uud the home ot my children —bad he adopted such a system ot (•‘iilture as would have retained hi* lands in their i original state; had he striven to make bis home, what a home ever should be, a spot around W’hich all tha Hold* v t uud lust feeling* of our nature lore to cluster, U • home ever i resenting attraction*to hi* children stronger | than the ikllurrinciiG of the world without, a borne for whirl) the wildly bounding pulse of youth would ever bent most fondly* and where declining age would find a • place ot solace and of rest, a home that would ever im , age tin lost delights of Paradise, end foreshadow tba ; bliss *f It raven. O • how beautiful and lovely thesecna. j But, !•.-! t his is but . fancy sketb, and we look oat up ’ mi the reality aim* “t ft wild And desert waste. At tin* present time foreigners are purchasing large j tract - t the uncultivated-lauds ts Virginia, and oy cul | l i v siting small portmnsat a time, and by a proper system of manuring and rotation of crop*, are redeeming tbtnf ! from tliei*-bmten state. The Euroneun peasant, from i * be wild mountain ssrnrs of Switxerland, from the valea of iemisiny anl tlic bog* *t Ireland, are making tkau 1-cLes rich hotnr** nmtd the iinpiverifbed sons of thu j “nld liuminiMii.” It will *oon be thus in Georgia, mn* i lefts n great ctiange eoine over the spirit of our drsam.— ! If the pr.esc.il ruinous system continue, it will not bo two genera! iot.s eie your sun* look back from tha Car ! w. st upot. th* homes of their fathers in the possession of the ul'ii anil h. s; i anger. But imagination recoils from • the conti tnplatifiu. W* will not listen to the nredietiou. Something must, l*e lune, and w ho will deny that the a§- j tahliriuiii nt * 1 a school f*r t-aehiiig scientific and prae : t ion I A rri*nltuie i- the first ami most important step. If | Agrnultim: tmt all guess w>rk, if one method is bet j t-r than nn*tlici. if science has any thing in store for ita I improv* in*nt. tlnn i* thr argument complete. Ourlanda ! i-4M be improved ‘1 he cold and naturally sterile landa j of iu, with their rock* nr.d wild volcanic gorg : cs, by a right system *4 culture have been brought to | yield nil abundance. The Island of Great Britain, par* ; tieulHily l .nghiud, lias stipplicd its milli ms for yet its soil i> more productive now than at the bcrinftinjf | of those centuries ; aud no one ran traverse that beauti ful Man.l. vv itb it* green hedge-rows, Nnd ft* field* Ufeb gurden*. without a strong *le*iretoeontrihutesomething towards making his own native land like that. Futhern of Georgia: You who have coinc up here to eontrihiite your mi to towards the improv ctnect of our have yet. uiiigher duty to perform* Agri cultural Fairs hu'c done much, hut they cannot striko the root oi the evil. \Our *n* must he educated in manner equal to the demand* of the age and the wants of Agriculture. Every year well stocked plintitioaa arc left to young men who are aa ignorant of the prinai ples of Agriculture as a Fejee Islander. They know nothing of the price of stock, and of the various supplied they have to purchase, of the value of labor, or Urn amount of labor ench hand should perform ; and they kimw less than nothing of the nature and composition of soils, of the various products to be ruined, und 6f tha means by whi h their soil may be saved from otter bar renne-s They are nt the tender mercy of the tirunoori and often whilst the once wealthy son of a wealthy plao tcr is h* *uiiiiig impoverished, mod pet haps himself, eg well as his farm, g* ing t*i ruin, his overseer is a thriving, gentleman, and bccAni• s one of the monied aristocrats of the land. Wc have all witnessed *uch its t hese. With an Instituti'm such ns we proponent here are mt ny young men of natural abilities, who would seek ltd advantage*, that they might better BUpepiidond the plan tations of others, and command better pay—for who would not he wilting To pay liberally for the itcrYices of n su|iarinteudent who had been educated in the builnesat Again we aik,do we not need such un Institution ? It j j 4, possible some may say it were better to establish a de : partment ol Agriculttiie in route of our existing Institu ! l imis. to engraft m w s*-i<ns upon some of the old stocks? but tins will never accomplish the desired end, however flourishing may b*- the limbs, or however thorough may I be the n’.ulriiing ot tii*- roots. Science not reduced to* ira.< lice, will never remedy the existing evils. In th# langtiAgc *•! Mr- Martin** letter, “ what wjj Uarn practi • ualiy ir. all Ho* Science.*, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology? | (‘hrinistry. which -*•* k'cs arc tlie frame-work and soul of Agriculture, is <•!’ intinitely more value to us, thanthu dciicti-i rat ion* of the l * turc room, however learnedaixl beautiful. ‘J’hese, vv*• know, are soon forgotten. What wc most want to ndvante the noble Science of Agrieul turc.is the• bb'iuling together- of the demonstrations of the lecture room, ami flu* demonstrations of practico.— Let the student-see the operation as well ha learn tbu fact ” In th** word* il-o *>f 1r Lee, “Science and prao tic** shi} 1 l< trieiMl*. an*i w*nk cordially together la tk# : siime field.. By the munificence of u patriotic farmer, j r-v isi*'H h.s ••♦•*:• in •!• l*r cultivating and teaching the | f4.'ieijr< oL,i* in the I “niirersiiy of Georgia. Ap t pi in nee- tmb inoti';atc in a fatufiiyicrv manner on broad ■ aeics.-tl < j tin* q !• - <*f the !;.#*■* advanced farm econoßßy^’ ■ fire still war*ting'. No men:’verbalinstructions,noehtai i icl|imir:i’ obit :,*• wit bin t lie four wall* of a laboratory, | will satisfy plain nut-door fanners.** Again b. say*. “1 here is a way in which man’ieufMt j city tor improvemcM? htay be indefinitely expanded ini ! agrictilf uml kii4.wl4.dgi . ns in that of other honorubl# ni.d us* tu! call ng*. ‘1 In- happy union of art andscieooti ! of mental culture with field culture, will alone atlainthw j noble r**sn!t. Rural sciences cannot udvamc witboallk* j assistance of rural arts.** | Mod do euduraa these views sagobly €*•. • pressed. * The lectures aim! demonstration#of the lecturo j room may do much, but more is needed. The desires! I I nd can never be uttained without tne union of a farm and college, where one shat! demonstrate the teaching# of the other. Nor can a farm for such purposes ever • sncccssfnlly united with any of our already existing Col leges. The students of the tWo different department# could never be made to Affiliate. Tbi* fact alone will pre i sent at! eternal barrier to such a union. Nor can tbe twd 1 *rtcma of education be made to harmonise in the sans# . institution. Tin Faun and the College must be a unity; one but a conn?* rpart of the other, and both of equal im portance. both united to carry out the same plan. | Su nan inst itution is demanded, and it will be estab lished. IL-\,tanlishim nt ia cnTrusfeff to meninwbofia j vocabulary, and in whose hearts, “there is nosaekwoH ! a** fail.” Wc kri.w of no such Institution in our land, gad it re •nain* for Gtorgiu to take the initiative in a matter of .Kuch importance. Through the maoifteence of thefrienda of Agricultural improvement, we hope to recti re a suffi cient amount to purchase a farm and erect suitable bulld og* for a beginning bv the fir.-t *f n*xt year. We hope also to make stick a bi gii.riing n*j will interest oor next Legislature, and Tu'ncnrc through its liherairty a mm suf ficient to estul.li-li nr.l •uj.'ly an institution ,qal to the wants of our time, and worthy the “Empire rotate of the Nuith.** From b-ttf'rs of encouragement rec-.tved front distinguisheil g< ntlcm'en. and from material aid a?rcadw I proffer red us. we have every reason to anticipate the full ! rcalizut ion of our hopes. In conclusion. Ladies and Gentlemen, permit roe to re ! turn rny sincere arknomledg* niehts to the officers of tbia Siciety for their ourte“y so kindly extended to roc, and to you for vonr kind attrition to my address. If I aaVa succeeded Id awakening anew interest in one heart, an a sufyect • t such vital importance to us all, 1 atn amply coin pen*tgted for the effort. - 1 -i’-L— ■■■■'■! MJHJBU FOIND ASMAI.T. 4u;ti of MONEY, which the nwnw can have by identifying it, an*l paying for this n|r,r tisement. H. I’. KIUKCATRICK. Oct. >. v Pny your City Taxes, T'Wlo.-i: ronccrncil arc dwired to tsk, notice that tb 1 Til* litioke ar now rca.ly for collcctioo. AU in r ---r. r? :r n sjici'tfuflv n ciucci.- l 4n csil ami settle J—L. ALEXANDER, 1 Griffin O'-T •>* fi'S fitt 4 ityc Mmbil Editor and ?roprieio#< NUMBER 47