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CONSIDERATIONS

ON THE
NECESSITY OF ESTABLISHING
AN
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE,
AND rea ae MORE OF THE
Children of Wealthy Citizens,
Wa : . EDUCATED FOR THE

PROFESSION OF FARMING.

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ALBANY : ia
PRINTED BY WEBSTERS AND SKINNERS,

AT THEIR BOOKSTORE, IN THE WHITE HOUSE, CORNER OF STATE

—
JK. AND PEARL STREETS.
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1819.

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CONSIDERATIONS, &c.

Tue purpose of the following observations is to
recommend an institution for the education of
agriculterists, or, in more familiar language, to
teach the business of farming.

The necessity of such an institution is the first
thing that will be required to be shewn before ad-
vocates for it can be expected, and this I think
will appear in a convincing manuer from the fol-
lowing considerations. |

There are now thousands of wealthy citizens
in this state who do not know what to do with
their sons. In the first place, without any deter-
minate object in view, they give them a liberal
education, or rather, they send them for four years
to a college to obtain the reputation of having a
graduate’s diploma, and so much instruction in
the dead languages and the ordinary sciences as
they are compelled or disposed to attend to ; after
that there are only three professions from which
ordinarily they are to choose their means of living
and rising into consequence—law, physic and de-
vinity ; but so great are the numbers of young

4

gentlemen destined for those professions, that their
prospects are truly dismal ; but what other provi-
sion can their fathers make for them ? Turn them
to some mechanic employment ? that is consid-

ered too degrading ; To manufacturing ? 2 it has
been tried and bibveae ruinous ; To mercantile bu-
siness ? that too is overstocked ; To the army or
navy ? there is little room there, and many rea-
sons against it. To farming ? nothing, it is sa

can be made by it.

In most European countries, the es
ing department affords a vast opening for respect-
able enterprise, and gives employment to millions.
Its business can scarcely be over done. In it are
found some of the most important and influential
men of the nation to which they belong. In res-
pectability, wealth and usefulness, few in other
departments excel them. Hither then, without
offence to the most fastidious pride, may the off-
spring of families of every rank be directed for
employment. To us this department may in some
sense be said to be absolutely shut, a circumstance
which most materially narrows the field of profit-
able and honorable pursuit. With us so few
are the channels of what is esteemed exclu-
sively reputable business. by the proud classes of
society, that a multitude, too great for their capa-
cities. rushes into them at once. Happily for the
agricultural department. it has, among all the ca-
pricious and absurd modifications and revolutions
ef notions, remained exempt from dishonorable

5

imputation ; but still it is guarded by a territic
phantom, which threatens obscurity. and poverty
to those who shall attempt to enter it, still repea-
ting, that by farming nothing is to be made.
That nothing is to be made by farming, howev-
er, is an Opinion easy to be refuted, and that will
presently be done ; inthe mean while, some fur-
ther preliminary observations are to be made. .
There are no entailed estates in our country :
and there are very few, however enormous, that
may not be dissipated by the immediate descen-
dants of those who have acquired them. It may
therefore be said, with little qualification, that ev-
ery person, whatever may be his patrimony, must
calculate on being the arbiter of his own fortune.
As many young men are now brought up in opu-
lent families, the inevitable consequence will be
that they, excepting such as may fortunately es-
cape the effects of their education, must eventual-
ly sink out of sight from the respectable part of the
community. In the mean time the descendants of
the industrious mechanics, following the lessons
and examples of their fathers, together with those
extraordinary geniuses, that not unfrequently rise
from the mansions of obscurity, will by their native
powers and unsubduable energies, mount to the
highest eminences, command the wealth, and rule
the destinies of their country. It is melancholy
to look back and see how many families of high
repute, have, merely by fostering a despicable, in-
ert, family pride, and disdaining such occupations

6

for their children as were only suited to their tal-
ents, and abandoning them to their wayward
inclinations, become exterminated from the
ranks in which they formerly stood. And it is
pitiable, truly pitiable, to see, as any one in every
section of the country may see, by looking not far
about him, a family raised to opulence and char-
acter by the genius, enterprise and industry of its
head, exhibiting, from the same cause, sure and
dismal presages of its speedily submerging far be-
Jow the level of its present stand in society.—
Who cannot point to some such in which not one
of its branches can be selected with the least pros-
pect of a surviving reputation distinguished from
that of the common mass of mankind, after the
head of it shall have ceased to uphold it? And
how is this to be accounted for? By that same
pernicious pride and most culpable tenderness,
which forbid persons, elevated by their cireum-
stances but a little above the common level, to
subject their children to that severe discipline
which is indispensably necessary to prepare them
for such callings, no matter which, as are indica-
ted by their capacities and the natural bent of their
dispositions. Such persons do to their sons the
office of the angel of paradise, in guarding, against
their entrance, the only place where happiness for
them is to be found. Nor can it escape observa-
tion, that to the neglect of early and systematic
religious and moral instruction, can evidently be
traced the annihilation of families once holding
conspicuous stations in the community.

rf

it may here be proper also to make some re-
marks on the notion which is generally entertain-
ed of the hardships, sometimes called cruelties,
of discipline. The discipline of young persons is
nothing more than compelling them to do what
they ovghtto do, and must do, to escape a com-
paratively ignominious life, but what they are
naturally unwilling to do, and by proper means
to impress on them the habit ofdoing it. This in
the operation may not be pleasant to the patient,
but the habit once induced will become the source
of his greatest enjoyments. As some confirma-
tion of the truth of this remark, | have heard per-
sons, whe had in their earlier age passed through
a course of the severest discipline, animadvert on
it with the highest satisfaction ; and with recollec-
tions of gratitude to their, once considered cruel,
master, ascribe to it all the consequence they had
acquired in life. On the contrary, I have heard
bitter upbraidings from those who have in after
life wofully experienced the effects of its not hav-
ing been enforced by those who had the controul
of them in the days of their infancy and youth.

I believe every reader of this will, from his own
experience, be ready to testify to the justness of
this remark. For myself I can truly say, that
there is no hardship which I have suffered to pre-
pare me for the duties of life, nor any which I
have endured in the prosecution of them, which
I now regret If I have any one thing more than
others to regret, in my recollections of the past,

&

it is, that stronger injunctions have not been in-
forced, or that a greater self-controul, and a
course of more scrupulous and assiduous perfor-
mance of ‘duties have not been assumed. The
pains of additional labor would have been abun-
dantly compensated by the feelings of self-ap-
piause, which a retrospection would afford, and
the satisfaction yielded by a consciousness of
powers better matured for actions more extensive-
ly useful. — | |

On this topic I will make one other remark
which, as to its importance and truth, I recom-
mend to the serious and deliberate consideration
of those wealthy parents, whose anxieties to pro-
vide for the happiness of their children, render
them incapable of attending to the plainest dic-
tates of reason and the most impressive lessons
of experience. |

A youth supplied with cash to the amount of
his wishes, to be employed for his pleasures in
such ways as his undisciplined inclinations may
lead him into, and which will most probably be
to dissipated company, gambling houses, and the
resorts of obscenity and intemperance, will enjoy
much less real happiness than an apprentice un-
der the strictest master of a mechanic art. Be-
sides, such a youth must expect ultimately to find
the apprentice of the mechanic, and many a far-
mer’s son, infinitely his superior in the estimation
of the public,’ as well as in the abundance of his
comforts; and if he has any-reflection, he will

9

fook back with bitter but unavailing regret on the
cruel indulgence of his parents. Better for him
would it have been if he had been the offspring of
poverty, or, as is sometimes the melancholy fact,
better that he never had been born. But should he,
by a happy constitution, or afortunate coneurrence
of circumstances, be kept from the paths of disho-
nor and vice, still the chance is great that his pur-
suits will be after frivolous objects, and that his
character through life will be marked with the
stamp of insignificance. To sucha doom do many
of our most wealthy and respectable citizens de-
liberately devote their offspring. Cruel parents!

Neglecting to bring up a son to any busi-
ness, trade or profession, whatever may be the
rank or condition of the parent, is a crime of
the deepest die—it is next to murder—It is the
same thing as cutting off from society one of its
members, whose usefulness, if a due discharge of
parental duty had not been omitted, might have
been eminently great—It is more—It is letting
loase on society one, who, as he has not been taught
to do any thing useful, must of necessity do mis-
chief, for inaction is unnatural. If his constitu-
tional powers, temper and disposition happen for-
tunately to be feeble, mild and spiritless, he may
be comparatively harmless. But the greater his
powers, the more ardent his temper, the more per-
verse his disposition, and the more inflated his
pride, and these commonly go together, the great-
er is the evil to be apprehended from bienselt i is
a parent’s devoting his a to that unhappy ex-

10

istence, which is the inevitable lot of all who are
not put into the road of useful employment, and
often it happens that it is also consigning him to
ignominy, coupled with every calamity of life, in
its most terrible form—lIt is a crime of the worst
kind against the community—It is one of the most
cruel curses that a father can inflict on a son.*

Let the biographies of eminent men be consul-
ted, and it will be seen, that, superadded to the
ordinary severities of their instructors or masters,
their distinction is to be chiefly ascribed to se/f-
emposed severities, deliberately adopted and per-
severingly observed, till they have rivetted the
habits that gave the complexion of their for-
tunes and determined their destinies. Such men
have in their education and subsequent pursuits
submitted themselves to privations and toils com-
pared with which the apprenticeship and labors
of the most active farmer may be said to be but of
trifling amount. Without such self-imposed disci-
pline, Franklin would not have risen above the
standing of an ordinary printer. Washington,
whose name js encircled with a halo of glory un-
paralleled among mortals, would have been con-
founded with the common planters of Virginia,
had he not, from early life, subjected himself to a
uniform series of labors and sufferings, both of bo-
dy and mind, of which the most industrious farm-

* The author has been informed, that in a town in this state, not
as populous as Albany now is, and not les healthful, out of forty young
men of the most respectable families, who had reached the age of
manhood, and who had not been educated for any profession, not one
Survived his fortreth year.

11

er or mechanic cannot form an adequate idea.—
It is nevertheless true, however, that the innate
greatness of such men gives them a sublimity of
feeling that makes their labors and sufferings
comparatively light. And so will it be with all
who undertake a profession with that exalted en-—
thusiasm which is not to be daunted, nor chilled
for a moment, by prospects of the greatest obsta-
cles, but, ever confident of victory, will encounter
them with the utmost pronyptitude and alacrity,
however formidable and appalling their character
or appearances may be.

The chief difference between the noble and ig-
noble of the human race is this : The one, after
having obtained a distinct view of his duties, and
the necessary means for attaining a noble end,
prescribes to himself a conduct for accomplishing
his purposes from which he will never deviate,
whatever may be the temptations or discourage-
ments to induce him to relinquish it or to relax in
his efforts. The other will, on the appearance of
every little difficulty, shrink into himself like a
snail, or sink into a helpless state of despondency.

Read the choice of Hercules when addressed
by Fame and Pleasure personified as deities. Had
he been intimidated by the labors which the first
: required of him, or accepted, like many an unfor-
“tunate youth of our times, of the promised dalli-
ances of the other, instead of that immortal fame
which he acquired, he would have sunk, a misera-
ble, debauched, effeminate wretch into the gulf of
oblivion. ;

12

Nothing is more idle or preposterous than the
notion that success or celebrity, in any sphere, can
be obtained without great exertion and intense
application. Reason at the first glance pronoun-
ces it foolish ; and every day’s observation shows
it to be false ; and yet it seems, some parents think
that their sons will become something without
any labor to qualify them for it, and as a conse-
quence, their sons dream of distinctions without
an effort to attain them. They expect to glide
smoothly down stream on the credit of a family
name, ora family’s riches, or possibly on the repu-
tation of a superior genius, without the necessity
of combatting contrary winds and currents. into a
port where accumulatious of wealth and honor
await them. Miserable dreams ! fatal delusions !
No: young men must have it impressed on them,
as anundeniable self-evident proposition, that they
must work, and work hard both in qualifying them-
selves for the business of their profession, whatever
that may be, and in conducting it afterwards, if
they have any ambition to be seen in the ranks of
honorable men ; and that all their powers must be
strenuously, systematically and perseveringly ex-
erted, if they aim at any thing like superiority.

By the infallible oracles of divine inspiration we
are taught, that no man can obtain a good charac-
ter as a christian, unless he denies himself, takes
up his cross—cuts off a right hand, or pulls out an
eve, if necessary for his advancement to perfec-
tion—Figurative expressions, denoting the ex~-
tremes of self-denial, fortitude and voluntary suf-

13

fering. ‘The same doctrine may, with a qualified
propriety, be addressed to those who aim at dis-
tinction in any of the professions of civil life.
Whatever may he the genius or natural powers,
there must be the labor tmprobus, hard labor,
strong exertions, struggles against improper pro-
pensities, a rigid observance of rules, a radical
extermination of evil habits, a scrupulous im-
provement of time, an unwavering perseverance,
and a judicious exercise of a well disciplined
reason in the selection of means for the attain-
ment of the objects to be achieved.

A generous youth, anxious about his fate, waked
from his reveries, and adverting to his lost or mis-
applied time, will often exclaim with the poet,

* The bell strikes one !—How much is to be done !
My hopes and fears start up alarm’d,

And o’er life’s narrow verge look down—

On what !”

and redouble his exertions so to improve his nat-
ural powers as that they may be displayed ina
manner the most eminent in the character he has.
chosen to appear inon the stage of life ; diffuse
to others the greatest good, and procure for him-
self the greatest eciimet with an approving con-
science.

These observations are tude to Wipe away the
flimsy objections which that foolish womanish
tenderness, and that contemptible pride, which
are the usual concomitants of an imbecility of in-
tellect, may raise against the discipline and labor.
that will be required by the institution propasod to
be created.

14

But perhaps our young gentlemen, or their
foolish sympathising parents, will be afraid that
working like a farmer may spoil the delicate com-
plexion of their hands, and destroy that mark by
which they are to be distinguished from the vul-
gar. Whata ridiculous notion of merit ! What
a contrast to the opinions and practice of the most
admired eras of antiquity, when man rose in
unparalleled grandeur ! When Cincinnatus, after
having, as dictator of the proudest and most
powerttl nation on earth, performed such deeds
as have shed a superlative lustre of glory about
his name, and transmitted it as an object of
supreme admiration through every age, returned
to the plough, and resumed his occupation as a
farmer for a living.

In ancient times, the sacred plough employ’é
The kings and awful fathers of mankind,
And some, compar’d with whom your insect taihes
Are but the beings of a summer’s day,

Have held the scale of empire, rul’d the storm

Of mighty war, then with unwearied hand,
Disdaining little delicacies, seiz’d

The plough, and greatly independent liv’d.”

As in ourcivil institutions we have nearly eman-
cipated ourselves from all the trammels bequeath-
ed by the ages of barbarism, and with which the
nations of Europe yet remain shackled, so let us
also discard such of their customs, and fashions,
and rules of taste, as have not a spark of reason to
vindicate them ; but on the contrary, must, on the
slightest examination, appear notoriously deroga-
tory to that independence and superiority of Pht

15

acter of which it is the glory of the a to
be able to boast.

All kinds of useful labor and hardihood, connec-
ted with an unimpeachable morality, and a deco-
rous deportment, deserve respect and honorable
treatment ; and wherever the contrary is custo-
mary, a corruption of manners is indicated, which,
so far from descending to emulate. we should treat
with the proud scorn of conscious superiority.

Every thing in man of an effeminate cast must

detract from his character, and if voluntarily ac-

quired, or cherished as a matter of value, deserves
contempt. Such is the lady-like lily hand ofa pet-
it maitre ; which is about as proper an object to be
proud of, as the long nails of the Asiatic beaux,
cherished and guarded with idolatrous care, to
shew that they are above the rank of laborers, and
for the preservation of which, elegant ivory tubes
are worn at the ends of their fingers.

A number of considerations not capable of enu-
meration, besides those already anticipated, crowd
on the-reflecting mind in favor of an institution, es-
peciallyin our country, that shall have for its pri-
mary object instruction in theoretic and practical
agriculiure. Butit may be asked, on the intro-
duction of the subject, why have not institutions
of this kind been formed and patronized in older
countries, especially in England, where agricul-
ture has so much engaged the attention of its first.

characters, and where it has been carried to such

a height of perfection? The reason is obvious. In
most foreign countries the fee of the soil is gener-

16

ally in the gentry, who besides their tenantries,
have extensive farms under their immediate su-
perintendence ; who make farming in some meas-
ure a business, and who can afford to make experi-
ments and communicate such as result in improve-
ments of consequence, to those, who, pursuing a
steady course, known to be safe and profitable,
will not hazard a departure from it without such
a demonstration. Such improvements are more-
over communicated to their societies or boards of
agriculture, by which they are published for the
benefit of the public, and thus constantly recipro-
cated among all who are engaged in its interests
—The sons of such gentlemen farmers, from the
practice of which they are the constant witnesses,
can hardly fail of acquiring a proficiency in the
knowledge ofagriculture, so far at least as to qual-
ify them for its superintendence. Thus, then, ev-
ery landlord’s farm, becomes to a certain degree,
a school of practical agriculture, where experi-
ments are constantly made, by wealthy, scientific,
and practical men, to ascertain the best methods
of profitable culture ; where the knowledge of it
is transmitted as a family inheritance, and sheds its
meliorating influence, immediately over a wide
circle of tenantry, and remotely over the kingdom
at large. And even in those countries there are not
wanting some arrangements in their academical
establishments for teaching the scientific parts,
if not the actual practice of agriculture. But here
circumstances are widely different. With but ve-
ry few exceptions, we have no Jandlords and few-

17

er still of that class who turn their attention to
farming. It is the glory of our country, that with
such rare exceptions, every farmer is the absolute,
independent lord of his own territory, little as it
may be, and works it with his own hands, and by
his own hired laborers : His children are his pupils,
whom he teaches from their infancy the mysteries
of his calling ; but the mediocrity of his cireum-
stances, and his habitual prudence will not permit
him to hazard experiments for improvements.
What he knows of it as practised by his father,
will be known by his children, and they will prob-
ably during their lives, follow his track without
deviation. Under such circumstances, agriculture
must remain at astand, although. like other arts,
its past progressive improvements, warrant the
presumption that to its future no limits can be
assigned. oath 3

The agricultural societies organized and brought
into action of late, operate principally by the stimu-
lus of emulation ; and the good that they are cal-
culated to do, and will unquestionably do, if con-
tinued with the spirit with which they have star-
ted, and with the improvements which time and
experience will indicate, must be great, very great,
in a department of business which of all others is
the most important to our country. But it is evi-
dent that the good derived from them is conveyed
through one channel, broad indeed and deep, and
having attached to it numerous ramificatious ; still
there may be others nee to the same port, and

is

as essential to the effectual promotion of our na-
tional prosperity. The institution now proposed
will not be their rival, but rather a co-operator.
Its essential difference of character will be, that,
availing itself of all the improvements that have
been made, and are constantly making, in the sci-
ence and practice of agriculture, it will be a school
where they will be taught in that perfection to
which they have been carried by all those varie-
gated means, and by all the experience of every
nation, and every age, since men first emerged
from a state of barbarism. It is intended not so
much to give instruction to farmers as to make
farmers from the other classes of society, which
are stocked with such a superfluity of members
that hords of them must otherwise remain useless,
or worse than useless to the community—And
while this is doing it will shed a light over the
profession, that may be greatly useful, even to
those who are most eminent in it. .

The farming department in America cannot be
overstocked, at least for centuries before us, so
wide, so vast, so boundless is the field, that ima-
gination cannot grasp the population sufficient te
fillit ; and it is only in proportion as that flourish-
es will be the substantial wealth, the power, the
grandeur, and the happiness of our country. It is
the only solid foundation on which our national
prosperity can be erected, and therefore the object,
of all others, that ought first and chiefly to en-
gage the attention of government. No rational!

19

scheme for its advancement can therefore, consis-
tént with that wisdom which characterises true
statesmen, be treated otherwise than with an im-
partial and a deliberate investigation of its merits ;
and if found eligible, whatever apparent difficul-
ties may be in the way, its aopner must and will
be effected.

It is therefore true policy to draw into this field
as many as possible, especially of young men,
qualified for it by a suitable education, and pos-
sessed of a capital sufficient to conduct their affairs
to advantage. But how is such an acquisition to
be effected ?

At present there is no doubt that there are
numbers of men of fortune in our state, and many
of them large owners of lands, who would wish to
qualify, as farmers, at least some of their sons,
and give them suitable establishments as such,
but are deterred from it by such considerations as
the following.

Success in every profession or calling depends
on a perfect knowledge of it.—-Such knowledge
cannot be obtained without actual application for
its attainment as a student or apprentice for a
competent time.—The profession of a farmer, no
less than that of a lawyer, a physician, a divine, a
manufacturer, or of any of the mechanic arts, can-
not be duly acquired without such application.—
For any one to undertake a business with which
he is unacquainted, or rather for which he has not
been regularly educated, is the height of folly, as

20

it must in all probability eventually ruin him.—In
every kind of business there will be sharp compe-~
titions, and those who are the most adroit and skil-
ful in it, will, with equal means and industry,
make the most by it, and those who have not a com=
petent knowledge of it must suffer in its pursuit.

Now, how are the sons of wealthy gentlemen of
other professions to acquire such knowledge of
agriculture? At present there is no other way than
to put them out to serve as apprentices to farmers.
To this there are many objections. From their
previous education they will not be disposed to sub
mit to the necessary discipline, and their masters
will not have it in their power to enforce it—They
may be associated with laborers whose manners
will contaminate theirs—They will probably be
destitute of all society by which they might be stim-
ulated to further advancesin their previous studies
and a progress in refinement—Released from ade-
quate restraints, they may be enticed, by profligate
companions, into low-bred practices, and contracy
disgraceful and ruinous habits. And, after all, in
the best situations, they could learn little more.
than the business of a farmer in its most ordinary
state.

For all this there is no remedy but an institu-
tion like that which is now proposed, the happy
tendency of which, when once established, will
beyond all doubt be abundantly demonstrated as
soon as it shall be completely carried into opera-
tion.

21

it will make agricultural pursuits more fashion-

able, and engage in them the noblest spring of hu-

man activity, the ambition to shine pre-eminent in
a sphere of usefulness, of the most brilliant charac-
ter, and the widest extended magnitude.

_ It is a mistaken idea that nothing can be made
by farming. Universal fact proves the contrary.—
The chief part of our immense population lives by
it, and lives too ina comfortable, and very many of
it ina luxurious state. It is a fact, not now notic-
ed for the information of our countrymen, who all
know it, but as a contrast to what prevails on the
other side of the Atlantic, where probably it will
be considered incredible, that our farmers’ tables
are ordinarily furnished, three times a day through-
out the year, with as much meat, besides a su-
perabundance of vegetables, as their families and
their laborers can use, and that two, out of the
three meals a day, have commonly coffee or tea,
with sugar and cream or milk for their accompa-
niments. It is fervently to be wished, that a
more economical mode of living were adopted—
but so is the fact. Is this making nothing by far-
ming 2? Which of the other pursuits of life furnish
more of the means of comfortable living ? Do we
not often see it the source of riches and abundance,
while many in other professions find it difficult to
subsist ? It is the only one that is independent.
Indebted to his industry, and the ordinary good-
ness of Providence alone, the farmer can live
should all others be annihilated. His bosom is

22

free from the anxities which agitate others; whe
have not the same certainty of enjoying a compe-
tency, who know not whether there will be suffi-
cient openings for their industry, whether their
labors will be daly appreciated, or whether the
chances on which success depends will eventtuate,
for or against them.

Hope, which only can illumine the gloom that
envelops hamanity, and assuage its sufferings,
holds her lamp, burning with a bright equable
flame, before the cultivator of the earth; while to
others, if appears and disappears aiid appears
again, like the wandering fire of an ignis fatuus,
or fiutters like the faint light of a glimmering ta-
per, or like a meteor blazes intensely for a ae
then vanishes for ever.

Travel throtigli otir country. especially the wes-
tern parts of this state; look at the groups of rosy,
well clad children, that swarm from their dwel!-
ings, and cluster about the school houses ; observe
the neatness and elegance of the farm houses as
you pass them ; examine their appendages of out-
houses, gardens, orchards and fields, stocked with
cattle, or enriched with crops riperiing for the har-
vest, estimate their value ; go into the churches,
raised in all their magnificence, from the surplus«
ages of farms, and behold the brilliance of appear-
ances there, where not 4 single object, with the
marks of poverty on it, is found to disfigure the
scene; enter some of the stately abodes which will
‘neet yon with frequent occurrence ; see the plen-

Q
23

ty, independence, comfort and happiness predom-
inant in them, which the lords of palaces might
envy, but which they never can know; ask if these
are the fruits of a fortunate or prosperous ances-
try ; you will be told, no! they have all been ex-
tracted from the soil by a judicious and industri-
ous application of their present owners to the bu-
siness of agriculture. After this say, is there no-
thing to be made by farming ?

Little do many think what they make by it.—
Let them only calculate the amount of every arti-
. cle that enters into the consumption of their fam-
ilies, according to the prices which the inhabitants
of cities pay, and they may obtain some idea of
the produce of their farms. Most of them, and
those not of the wealthiest, will no doubt, at the
end of such a calculation, be astonished to find
that, with all their economy and avoidance of ex-
travagance, and notwithstanding their previous
very different belief, they live at the rate of two or
three thousand dollars a year : a fact easy to be
ascertained by keeping regular accounts ; and yet
many such have accumulated no ordinary fortunes
to bequeath to their families.

Englishmen, in their characteristic vain-glori-
ous manner, exult in the happy condition of their
farmers ; and what is that condition ? They cul-
tivate a soil not superior, but perhaps on an ave-
rage rather inferior to ours, The price of their
land, compared to that of ours, is exorbitant, and
rents of necessity are equally exorbitant. They

24,

possess no incommunicable arcana for managing
their business ; on the contrary, the American ge-
nius is well calculated to outstrip them, and will
most undoubtedly do so, under the influence of
that spirit which has become so active of late, in
all the niceties of husbandry. One third, proba-
bly one half, if not more, of the fruits of their la-
bor is taken from them, without remuneration—
by tithes to support an ecclesiastical nobility with
its numberless dependents,—by taxes to pay the
interest of a national debt, of incomprehensible
magnitude, incurred for carrying on a savage war-
fare against the human race, almost without in-
termission, for centuries past, and for the support
of an aristocracy, of which the thousands that
compose it, each must be supported in a style of
magnificence which the first magistrate of this na-
tion cannot afford—by the poor-rates exacted
from them to keep a great portion of their im-
mense population from actual starvation—and by
what is drawn from them in private charities by
that enormous mass of pauperism, utterly incon-
ceivable to Americans, which overwhelms the na-
tion, and, not being adequately provided for by the
public, continually assails their humanity with ir-
resistable importunities. [t is from this compul-
sive display of Bretish humanity, that Britons,
proud Britons! have obtained a character at
home so perfectly the reverse of what their pub-
lic acts have indelibly stamped on them abroad.

25

If then the English farmer, after having so
much of the ‘fruits of his labor taken from him,
can, as represented by his own countrymen, five
in an enviable style, what must we say of the
American, whose contributions for the support of
government, and all needful charitable purposes,
are comparatively but as adrop in the iain or
the small dust in the balance!

O fortunatos, si sua norint bona, eolones !.

But with all these superior advantages of the
American farmer, it is nevertheless true, and it is
no less true in regard to every other profession,
that he who has not been in the way of becoming
thoroughly acquainted with actual farming, will
make nothing by it, or rather will siuk his fortune
in the attempt. A rich young man, sent into the
country to prosecute farming, without an educa-
tion for it, will, most assuredly, be cozened and
swindled out of his property, till all be lost; on
the contrary, a competent knowledge of his busi-
ness, to be acquired only by a regular education
for it, would make it to him, if not.a mine of
wealth, at least the means of an affluent living.

The inference from all these facts and observa-
tions then is, that there is and must remain an in-
surmountable barrier to prevent the sons of men of
other professions, and especially of the rich, from
becoming farmers, unless there be some institu-
tion in which they can receive an education for
that profession i in a manner different from what
is now possible :—That it “ifort be incalculably

— 26

for the benefit of our country if the surplus eandi-
dates for other professions, could be diverted to
this, the most useful of all :—And therefore, that
an institution specially intended for this purposeis
of the greatest importance ;—that it is demanded
by every consideration of the wisest policy, and
that the resources of government cannot be bet-
ter employed for any other object for which gov-
ernments are formed. 3

It may be called an agricultural school, acade-
my or college, no matter which ; but if any im-
portance is to be attached to names, I would give
it the most respectable, and call it THE AGRI-
CULTURAL COLLEGE OF THE STATE
OF NEW-YORK.

Its primary object should be to fuel the theory
and practice of agriculture, with such branches of
other sciences as may be serviceable to them :
its secondary, to make emprovements.

This state has been liberal, almost to excess in
the endowment of other eolleges. For the pur-
chase of but a little, almost useless, and now
nearly neglected appendage to the college of
physicians and surgeons—Hosack’s botanical
garden—a sum has been given which alone would
place the all-important institution, now advocat-
ed, on arespectable footing. After this, an en-
dowment of such an institution as this cannot be
consistently refused.

If then an agricultural college is of the impor-
tance thus clearly evinced,—if the best interests

27

of the community so eminently depend on it—If
numbers of youth in the wealthiest families must
without it, be abandoned to dissipation, and finally
to ruin—If the perplexities, despair, and melan-
choly prospects of their parents, in regard to the
destinies | of their children, can be removed only
by it, and if capital to an immense amount, other-
wise devoted to annihilation in the sinks of prodi-
gality and vice, can by it be drawn into the most.
productive employment, then surely must the ag-
ricultural college share the patronage of govern-
ment, at least equally with others; nay, it must
become the DARLING FAVORITE,

There is another aspect of this institution not
unworthy of serious meditation, Men filling the
professions, exclusively called the Literary, have too
great a preponderance in our political machinery.
This necessarily results from their qualifications,
derived from a superior education, giving them a
superior power to accomplish their purposes, and
which, directed by an esprit du corps, as it una-
voidably must be, cannot be expected always to
harmonize with the general interests of the com-
munity. It has been observed, and not altogeth-
er without reason, that jn some places, the clergy
have had too much of a controling influence over
the politics of a state. Of such an.aristocracy ©
however, this state, we are proud to say, has had
no reason to complain, and has nothing to fear,
But the greatest evil of this kind, in our country
in general, is most to be apprehended fram the

28

profession of law. Every one on reflection, must
perceive the extent of the present existence of this
evil, and may conjecture to what, without a reme-
dy, it will ultimately grow.

The profession of law is considered, more than
any other, as directly in the line of promotion to
the highest offices, and therefore, like lottery gam-
blers, aiming at the highest prize, most ambitious
families destine some of their branches for it ; but
the profession becoming thereby overstocked,
numbers are necessitated to intrigue for measures
specially favorable to their individual interests,
and which may raise them to more fortunate sta-
tions. And thus are their superior acquirements,
for want of a sufficient counterpoise, successfully
employed with other views than the promotion of
the public good. When markets are glutted with
any commodities, the ingenuity of traders will be
stretched to the utmost for discovering ways by
which they may dispose of them, and necessity too
often urges them to the adoption of unjustifiable
means to effect their purposes. Not a few of the
lawyers of the inferior grades, it is believed, are in
similar circumstances, and obliged to resort to
a similar sinsiter conduct.

For the truth of these remarks let me appeal to
general knowledge. Is there a village or town
in which the little oracle is not alawyer ? Is there
any office in it worth possessing which is not most-
ly held by a lawyer? Is there any caucus for nom-
inating candidates for offices where lawyers have

29

not too great an influence over the votes of the
meeting * Are there any appointments of conse-
quence to be made which are not directly or in-
directly, at least attempted to be, dictated by law-
yers 2 Are there any political projects formed
in which lawyers do not take the principal lead ?
Are there any sycophants or parasites entwining
themselves about those who are supposed to have
the most influence with the general government,
of whom lawyers do not compose the greaiest
number ? May not these questions, with but few
exceptions, be all answered in the negative ? Thus
then it is inferred, that the profession of law forms
an aristocracy which virtually rules the nation ;
and it must necessarily be so, as long as there is
in other departments such a dearth of talents suf-
ficiently improved for the business of government
in all its branches.

These animadversions on the profession of law, —
as at present existing im our country, are by no
means intended to disparage the profession ; on
the contrary, it must be confessed that to it we
are indebted for the greatest blessings of gov-
ernment, the due investigation and correct dis-
crimination of the rights of the-people, and the
execution of the laws for their security and
protection. An honest, well qualified lawyer,
with suitable dispositions, m any community, can
be one of its most extensive public benefactors.
To him the oppressed may flee, with a consoling
confidence, as toa guardian angel, and, be sure of

30

relief. But the evil which has been noticed, and
which in its progress is considered to have an as-
pect sufficiently malign to justify apprehensions of
its dangerous growth, arises from the superabun-
dance of the numbers annually added to the pro-
fession, and the want of talents, elsewhere, to
form a counterpoise to its preponderating weight.
But we cannot pull up the tares, lest thereby we
destroy the wheat also.

The most essential, if not the only remedy for
this evil then is, to introduce more men of accom-
plished education into the agricultural department,
men who shall have discernment sufficient to de-
tect the tendency of sinister measures that may be
artfully projected, and the masked batteries that
may be raised in hostility to the public good, and
be able to meet the champions of them with their
own weapons, and with equal dexterity in the use
of them. It is believed that nothing better can be
devised, for bringing about this most desirable
reformation, than the proposed agricultural col-
lege, and the dissemination of similar institutions
throughout the nation: and if so, this view of it
urges, with additional force, the necessity of its
adoption, for giving a still higher finish to our al-
ready most wonderfully improved political fabric ;
the most perfect existing model of government ;
the wonder and the envy of the world.

In our ordinary institutions we have been the
mere copyists of foreign establishments. The
happy peculiarities of our country require some-

“81

thing different ; and it would be an eternal blot
on the American character if we had not the geni-~
us and the boldness to tread out of the paths tra-
ced in barbarous times, and pursue a course sui-
ted to this new world, so very different from the
old ; ‘especially in regard to the matter now con-
templated, which so eminently involves the high-
est interests of our country. Let it then belong to
the state of New-York, to give birth to an institu-
tion, which, if the view now taken of the subject
be correct, will exceed all others in immediate
and most lasting substantial utility. She will then
have the praise of being the mother of agricultu-
ral schools, by which the cultivation of the earth,
in the best possible known manner, will be taught,
and ultimately improved to the highest possible
state of perfection. |

One other very important effect will be produ-
ced by such an institution. Comparisons will be
made between the practice of those who are edu-
cated in it, and those who are brought up to far-
ming in the ordinary way ; and thereby an emu-
lation will be excited that will cause exertions,
which would not otherwise be made, for making
continual further approximations to the maximum
of improvement.

What the precise construction, organization
and discipline of the agricultural college ought to
be, I shall not at present presume todefine. They
ought to be well digested in the outset, but what-
ever may be the wisdom engaged in it, like all

32

other institutions, time only can bring it to perfec-
tion. Experience must teach what will finally
make it what it ought to be, to answer all its in-
tended purposes. The outlines of it only can
now be attempted.

As usual, its concerns will be committed toa
board of trustees. Its faculty will consist of a
president and professors of the several branches
to be taught, the chief of which will be one for
the theory and another for the practice of agricul-
ture, besides others for such appendant branches
as may be judged necessary, particularly chemis-
try and botany. What the business of each is to be
may be easily conceived, except that of the profes-
sor of practical agriculture, who is to be literal-
ly what the title imports, and whose duties it may
not be amiss more minutely to consider, as it is he
who is to make him, who is previously or simul-
taneously instructed in the necessary scientific
parts, the perfect practical farmer.

Much will depend on the choice of this profes-
sor. He should himself understand all that re-
lates to the theory, and besides have been so far
engaged in the actual practice of farming as to be
thoroughly acquainted with all the methods alrea-
dy successfully adopted. He must be capable of
making all prescribed experiments in the best
manner, and of stating true comparisons between
their results and the customary practice : He must
know how to make all the arrangements for the
work to be done, and direct every part of it toits

35

proper end, so as to produce the best and greatest
effects with the least loss of time. On this faculty
more depends than is generally conceived ; for itis
a well known fact that by skilful management one
person will obtain much more from his laborers
than another, although both may in other respects
understand their business equally well.

This professor will of course have the superin-
tendence and direction of the labor of the students
in the field. What will be required of them
there next demands consideration. It has alrea-
dy been observed that they must learn to work ;
and this is to be an essential object of the institu-
tion, for without knowing how to perform, with
their own hands, every kind of work belonging to
the profession they intend to pursue, they never
can become sufficiently acquainted with it or
qualified to conduct it to advantage.

It will be readily perceived that to such an in-
stitution must belong a farm of sufficient extent
and variety of soil for all the practice and experi-
ments that may be required to carry its views in-
to the completest effect ; and this farm is to be

‘made not only instructive, but, if possible, profita-
blealso. For certain regularly allotted portions of
time, the students are to be employed on it and
practice every species of work that may be requi-
site ; such as plowing, harrowing, sowing, plan-
ting, reaping, hay-making, threshing and prepar-
ing every thing for market ; and they are to be prac-
tically instructed in the nial qualities, man-

34

agement and value of cattle ; in shortin every
thing with which a farmer ought to be thoroughly
acquainted, and which he ought to be able to do.

Instead of giving formal lectures, this professor,
who must constantly attend his classes while
thus engaged, will, during the progress of their
work, explain to them the best manner in which
every thing is to be done, the reason of it, and the
errors that are or may be committed in it ; on all
which, the students will be required to make notes
and commeuts at their hours of relaxation, and
undergo examinations at stated times. And as
hired laborers will besides be necessary, the very
best should be selected to give examples of the
most proper manner of performing every branch
of business, and of the time in which it can and
ought to be done.

The knowledge of gardening, inoculating, graf-
ting, and the best manner of propogating fruit
trees and shrubberies, will also be taught by en-
gaging the students in the same way in actual
practice. dest

Every farmer ought to be able to repair his im
plements when out of order, without suffering, on
every such occasion, the loss of time and expense
to which the sending for the proper mechanic
would subject him. A workshop provided with
all necessary tools will therefore properly be a part
of the establishment. Some exercise here will
give to all the students an agreeable variety of
employment, and to those who have a mechanical

5)

turn it will be as gratifying as useful. Here al-
so ought to be collected models of all the best
implements of husbandry, of which the respective
merits will not only be explained by the’ proper
professor but proved by actual trial.

Books will be kept in which will be entered in
detail, al] the transactions of the farm, and perio-
dical statements of results, with accounts of pro-
fit and loss; and these the professors may make
the subjects of useful and_ profitable lectures.

Public examinations on theory and practice,and
exhibitions of work will be appointed, honors
awarded and diplomas given as evidences of su-
perior merit on a completion of education. And
these when justly estimated, as undoubtedly they
will be, must give title to a precedence before
those who hold licences for following any of the
liberal professions.

Here will also be taught, both by precept and
example, that frugality, temperance and economy,
of time as well as of expense, which are equally
essential with skill in the profession for its success-
ful prosecution ; lessons of the utmost importance
to those young gentlemen who may have been
contaminated by the customs of cities ; customs,
which besides fostering idleness and dissipation,
prescribe innumerable costly delicacies, as use-
less to adults as pernicious to children. And
it is sincerely to be regretted, that so many
of the farmers of our country depart from a
better manner of living for the purpose of aping,

36

in an awkward way, the more irrational style in-
troduced, partly by necessity, and partly by a ri-
diculous vanity, among the inhabitants of cities.
By such frugality and economy will be taught the
secret, of possessing, at all times in abundance,
the means of a better living than such citizens en-
joy ; if by better living be understood what is
more according to nature, more highly relished by
an unvitiated palate. and more conducive te
health, the see qua non of every enjoyment.

It is well known that there are men laboring un-
der an incurable infirmity, or delicacy of constitu-
tion, for which is assigned, as the most probable
cause, their having been pampered, when young,
with fashionable dainties. To have the effects of
such practices corrected, as early and as effectually
as possible, is therefore, to any such unfortunate
individual, a matter of the highest importance,and
to do this will be one, among the many other
good offices of the proposed institution. Foreign
luxuries will be discarded, and the food will be, as
it ought to be. with every agriculturalist as far as
possible, the sole produce of the farm, and that
will be made, independent of all other sources, to
yield in abundance, all the prime luxuries of life. .

If by means of the proposed institution, or by any
means whatever, foreign luxuries could be abol-
ished, or only retrenched to reasonable bounds,
how much would it annually save to our country!
how much to individual families ! and how much
would it contribute to the constitutional stamina

37

of the American people! I allude chiefly to tea,
coffee and spirituous liquors. The embarrass-
ments. of our country at this time are ascribed
chiefly to the abstraction of specie from us, direct-
ly by our commerce with Asia, and indirectly by
our commerce with the West Indies, for articles
which make no part of the necessaries of life, and
most of which, such is the unaccountable caprice
and tyranny of custom, are a perverse substitution
for articles produced by our own farms, greatly
superior in every quality to gratify the palate or
io give nourishment to the body. Time was
when tea and coffee were almost unknown in our
country, and happy for us would it be if such a
time should return, and that such things should
only make an occasional variety in our entertain-
ments and cease to be, as they now are, articles
of daily use. They contain extremely little of
nourishment if any at all; what then is the use
of them ? It is said that they possess something
of a narcotic quality, and thence arises the tempo-
rary refreshment attributed to them, and thence
also the attachment to them which their daily use
so strongly establishes. But it is an undoubted
fact, that no person without such use will acquire
a relish for them, and therefore are additions made
to them, as to other nauseous drugs, in order to
render them palatabie, and to decoy children in-
to the use of them. Children look to the conduct
of their parents for information about what is es-
timable, and if they see them prize any thing high-

38

ly in the daily business of eating and drinking,
they will, even if they have a natural aversion to
it, gradually force themselves into the use of it till
habit makes it desirable. How important to
children is the example of parents !

Breakfasts and suppers of milk, with bread, or
mush, or hasty pudding as it is called in the east-
ern states, would always be preferred by them if
it was not for the example of their parents, or at-
tendants, by which they are thus tempted into the
use of those deleterious drug's, procured at a great
and utterly useless expense, by us who have in the
productions of our farms, such an abundance of
better things. Such children, if not thus corrup-
ted, wouldall their liveslons, preserve sucha pre-
ference, and ever lament that they are compelled
by custom, and the habits of their associates, to
submit to a privation of their favorite meals. The
inhabitants of cities, who have to pay six-pence
and eight-pence for every quart of milk, and who,
for a stinted indulgence of their families with this
wholesome luxury, have to pay fifty or sixty dol-
lars a year, may be excusable for not furnishing
iheir children with it without limitation : but with
farmers, whocommonly have it in abundance, and
yet force their children to use tea and coffee in-
stead of it, itis absolutely a sin against nature.

But admitting that by thus reasoning we are
convinced of the impropriety of the custom, how
is it to be abolished ?% It is true, nothing can ap-
pear more romantic than a project for effecting a

i 39

material alteration in long established national
habits. With adults it is impossible ; but by
commencing with infancy in its earliest stages, it is
not absolutely impracticable, for the human being
as come from the hands of the Creator, is compo-
sed of such pliable materials that it can be moul-
ded into any shape, which time will barden and
render unalterable. But, one of the essential
means for this is the example of adults, and how
can that be procured ? Universally it cannot, but
in individual cases it may, and these may be mul-
tiplied till the effect shall become more and more
general.

Among the premiums offered by the agricultural
societies, let there be some liberal ones for every
new married couple settled in the farming busi-
ness, who shall, with certain necessary exceptions,
discard tea, coffee and imported sugars altogeth-
er from their family, for a certain number of
years. After having thus experienced the econ-
omy and other advantages of living in this manner,
there will be no danger that they or their chil-
dren will afterwards forsake it. The eclat and re-
putation which will thus be given to this style of
living, and the salutary consequences which will
be seen init, will induce others voluntarily to adopt
it, and such a reformation, once commenced, we
may hope, will proceed with a continued accelera-
ted pace till it shall finally become universal. The
simple fact, then first brought to the knowledge of
the public by the interest which the most respecta-

AO

ble characters will take in it, that the prevailing
custom is not innocent, and that it will be cousi-
dered honorable and meritorious to adopt the man-
ner of living for which prizes are offered, will
probably be sufficient with many to induce them to
conferm their domestic management to it,

At the same time let a liberal additional pre-
mium be offered to him who shall be entitled to
the ordinary premium for the best managed farm,
if no spirtuous liquors shall have been given to his
labourers or permitted to be used by them while
engaved in his service.

If cheering or exhilerating beverages are neces-
sary, and some thing of the kind seems, from the
practice of allages, tobe allowable, if not actually
beneficial, while reason does not condemn their
use in moderation, we have them of the most in-
noxious kind and the most grateful variety, with.
out resorting to places beyond our own territories
for them. Our cider, were it not for the unac-
countable prejudices of taste, would be deemed
superior to the ordinary wines of Europe ; and ev-
ery family, with a little instruction inthe process,
could make its own beer of sufficient excellence,
or it might be had from the best brewers by a rea-
dy exchange of produce. To send our money a-
broad for any such luxuries cannot then be consi-
dered otherwise than as a wanton waste of proper-
iy and a mistaken apprehension of what is neces-
sary to support true dignity of character.

41

A family of middling size will, in the course of a
year, use thirty-five dollars worth of coffee, and
probably its tea and sugar for suppers will cost
as much, making seventy dollars. This is a
serious sum to be paid every year for mere luxur-
aes by any farmer, and especially by new begin-
ners: It is the interest of one thousand dollars, for
which a little farm might be bought and many a
good one rented. But this is only a part of the
useless expenses of our countrymen. Add to it
what is laid out for spiritous liquors without taking
into the account unnecessary fineries of foreign
manufacture, and many other useless items, and
the amount will appear still more serious.

If anything can be done towards this reforma-
tion by the agricultural college, thus seconded by
agricultural societies, the immense good it may do
even in this incidental branch of its objects, pre-
sents its importance in a point of view that must
still more forcibly arrest our attention.

Here an enchanting picture might be drawn of
the happiness which will intermingle itself with
the little hardships of the tasks to be performed by
the young gentlemen that shall fill such a college ;
tasks which, notwithstanding the sternness of
their aspect, as pourtrayed in this treatise, will, by
habit, have every repulsive feature obliterated, and
become attractive by the group of pleasures that
will, on a more intimate acquaintance, be found
playing around them ; but enough has already
been said to give an idea of what thé agricultural

A2

College is intended to be, and what may be ex-
pected from it. Ishall take leave of the subject
by recommending it to the serious consideration
of the legislature, confident that, if it be deliber-
ately examined, there will be a unanimous dispo-
sition to give it a bemng, and a support commen-
surate with the importance of the purposes intend-
ed to be effected by it.

—e 00 BO 0 See ——-

The reader is requested to make the following correciious,

Page 7, line 18, for master read masters.

11, 3,4, from the bottom, instead of, that immor-
tal fame which he acquired, read ob-
taining an immortal fame.

Q2, 7, from the bottom, after harvest read and.

23, 15, for most read some.

30, 10, for essential read effectual.

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y Vpn: iP .

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