Chapter II: Part 2

Common salt, pulverised, and applied as a top dressing, at the rate of from two to four bushels to the acre, has, in many instances, powerful effects as a manure. Sea-water is peculiarly adapted for this purpose. Mr. Deane, in his Farmer's Dictionary, mentions an instance where a crop of potatoes, and another of flax, were greatly increased in product by an application of sea-water to them while growing. About a pint of the water was applied to each hill of potatoes, and for the flax crop the water was sprinkled over the ground.

Some trials have been made in this country of using burnt clay as a manure, and its use is recommended, particularly for all dry arable lands, not inclining to clay. The first step in preparation for burning clay, is to have a considerable quantity of this earth dug up in spits, and laid to dry in the sun: when pretty well dried you prepare for burning by raising a little pile of dry wood in the shape of a pyramid, say 4 or 5 feet high;--round this you build up the dried spits of clay, leaving a hole at the bottom, for the entrance of the air, and another at the top for it to pass off. Such, at least, was the method formerly practised in Great Britain, but the modern improvement of retaining the smoke within the mass, agreeably to the plan spoken of by Mr. Cobbett, for burning earth, ought also to be pursued in burning clay. After the fire has been set to the wood you continue digging up fresh clay and piling it around and over the heap, as fast as the fire penetrates the mass, taking care, however, not to pile on so much at once as to extinguish the fire. If there be danger of its becoming extinguished, it may be advisable to make one or more holes in the sides of the heap by running a hole into it. The fresh earth is to be added during pleasure or until a sufficient quantity is burned. After the heap has cooled it is fit for use, either by mixing with the soil as directed by Mr. Cobbett, for applying burnt earth, of which we will next speak.

By a late improvement, earths, other than those of clay, are successfully converted into good manure, by the process of burning. It is effected by retaining the smoke within the mass of earth while in a state of ignition. Mr. Cobbett says he has tried this manure for the ruta-baga crop, and found it as efficacious as barn dung. His manner of preparing it, and which we believe would also be the best method of preparing burnt clay, is as follows:

"I make a circle," says Mr. C. "or an oblong square. I cut sods and build a wall all round three feet thick, and four feet high. I then light a fire in the middle with straw, dry sticks, boughs, or such like matter. I go on making this fire larger and larger, till it extend over the whole bottom of the pit or kiln. I put on roots of trees or any rubbish wood, till there be a good thickness of strong coals. I then put on the _driest_ of the clods that I have ploughed up round about, so as to cover all the fire over. The earth thus put in will burn. You will see the smoke coming out at little places here and there. Put more clods wherever the smoke appears. Keep on thus for a day or two. By this time a great mass of fire will be in the inside. And now you may dig out the clay, or earth, any where round the kiln, and fling it on without ceremony, always taking care to _keep in the smoke_; for, if you suffer that to continue coming out at any one place, a hole will soon be made; the main force of the fire will draw to that hole; a blaze like that of a volcano, will come out, and the fire will be extinguished.

"A very good way is to put your finger into the top of the heap here and there; and if you find the fire _very near_, throw on more earth.--Not _too much at a time_, for that weighs too heavily on the fire, and keeps it back; and, at _first_ will put it partially out. You keep on thus augmenting the kiln, till you get to the top of the walls, and then you may, if you like, raise the walls and still go on. No rain will affect the fire, when once it is become strong.

"The principle is to _keep out air_, whether at the top or the sides, and this you are sure to do, if you _keep in the smoke_. I burnt, this last summer, about thirty wagon loads in one round kiln, and never saw the smoke at all after the first four days. I put in my finger to try whether the fire was near the top; and when I found it approaching, I put on more earth. Never was a kiln more completely burnt.

"Now, this may be done on the skirt of any wood where the matters are all at hand. This mode is far preferable to the _above ground_ burning in _heaps_. Because in the next place, the _smoke escapes there_, which is the finest part of the burnt matter. _Soot_, we know well, is more powerful than ashes, and, soot is composed of the _grossest parts of the smoke_. That which flies out of the chimney is the best part of all.

"In case of a want of wood wherewith to begin the fire, the fire may be lighted precisely as in the case of _paring and burning_. If the kiln be large, the oblong square is the best figure.--About _ten feet wide_, because then a man can fling the earth easily over every part. The mode they pursue in England when there is no _wood_, is to make a sort of building in the kiln with turfs and leave air holes at the corners of the walls, till the fire be well begun. But this is tedious work; and is in this country wholly unnecessary. Care must, however, be taken, that the fire be well lighted. The matter put in _at first_ should be such as is of the lightest description; so that a body of earth on fire may be obtained, before it be too heavily loaded.

"The burning being completed, having got the quantity you want, let the kiln remain. The fire will continue to work, until all is ashes. If you want _use_ the ashes sooner, open the kiln. They will be cold enough to remove in a week."

A practice has long prevailed in Europe of paring and burning soils for the purpose of improving their texture and increasing their fertility. On clay lands, and such as contain too much vegetable matter, we conceive the process might be advisable if not too expensive. Its effect on clays is to destroy the adhesive quality of the soil, as the earth burned becomes rather of a silicious texture; and at the same time the surface is much enriched by the operation. In the other case it is calculated to reduce the redundancy of vegetable matter, as well as to enrich the soil. The operation is performed in the following manner:

When the ground is in a good sward of grass let it be carefully turned over with the plough, the irons of which should be well sharpened. Let the plough run about three inches deep.--Then cross plough with a very sharp coulter, and the sward will all be cut into squares of about 10 or 12 inches. You then proceed to set these square chunks up edgeways, by leaning two together, in which situation they will soon dry.--When well dried build a part of them tip in the form of little ovens, and let this be done at the distance of about every 18 feet each way. These are all to have a little opening or door, at a common windward side, for the air to enter, and another opening above for the smoke to pass off. On some dry day when the wind is fair for blowing into the holes below place some straw or other dry rubbish into the holes and set fire to it. As soon as the fires have got fully going in each of the heaps, let the holes in the tops be stopped up, for the purpose of retaining the smoke, and keep gradually building up the heaps as the fire penetrates them, until all the chunks of earth are piled up round them; and when the heaps have fully burned and sufficiently cooled, they are to be evenly spread over the ground, and ploughed in.

In some parts of Great Britain it has been the practice to burn peat earth, in a manner very similar to that before described for burning clay, and the ashes thus obtained from the mass were used for top dressings; but we believe this practice has mostly given way to that of rotting or decomposing peat in compost, the method of which is as follows: you form the compost heap of about one half of peat, a fourth of lime, and a fourth of barn dung, and these substances are to be separately laid along in a manner most convenient to be afterwards thrown into the compost heap in their proper proportions. You commence at one end with spreading a layer of peat on the ground, say, ten feet square and four inches in depth; then a layer of lime on this and another of barn dung, each two inches thick; then another layer of peat, as before, and then the lime and barn dung, as before, until in this way the heap is raised about four feet high, and let the last layer be of peat: then commence another ten feet square along side of this, and raise it as before, till you raise it to the same height; then with another ten feet square, at the end of this mass, and so on, till the heap is completed. After the heap has stood a while, it will heat, and when the heat begins to subside, you commence again at one end of the heap and cut the whole down to the bottom, with the spade, and form a new heap, throwing the exterior parts of the heap, thus cut down, into the middle of the other. A second heating of the mass will then commence, and when that subsides, the peat will be found sufficiently decomposed, and the whole an excellent mass of manure.

In this country peaty substances are usually to be found in morasses; as the superstratum of marle, as before-mentioned; as the principal ingredient of the salt marshes contiguous to the ocean, and as the superstratum of tracts of cold lands which are covered with growths of evergreen trees.

In making composts with upland marle, before-mentioned, the proportions of the marle, with that of the lime and dung, may be similar to those just mentioned for the peat composts, or perhaps the marle may be in greater proportion. The layers of each may be as before described, but the heap only raised to such height that it may be cleft down to the bottom with the plough, then thrown together in a ridge again with this implement; and let these operations be repeated, at intervals, till the whole becomes well mixed, pulverised, and in a state of fermentation, when it is fit for use, and should be immediately applied to the soil in the manner before-mentioned.

The use of wood ashes as a manure, is well known. It is good for almost all crops, and is to be used as a top dressing. It is much more efficacious as a manure in some parts of the country than others, particularly on Long Island. It is most valuable on light dry soils, particularly those which are sandy. Soot, as a top dressing, is much more valuable than ashes, and is proper for almost all arable lands. It is most efficacious when well pulverised before its application.

The dung of fowls of every sort has much calcareous matter in it, and is very efficacious, applied as top dressings. Malt dust is good in the same way--40 bushels of it is a proper allowance to the acre.

_Night shade_ should be mixed with earth, say, two thirds of the latter to one of the former, and in the course of a few months it forms an excellent manure. In most European cities this excrement is carefully collected, for manure, while in this country its use has been neglected.

Many liquids are furnished from every domicile, and particularly the kitchen, which, mixed with earths, and other substances, would form valuable masses of manure. The liquids to which we principally refer, are the soap-suds, dish-water, brine of meat, urine, &c.; these should all be preserved, by being absorbed in rich earthy substances, together with the contents of the hog-sty; and in this way a large heap of good manure may be made that is commonly lost for want of attention in saving these ingredients.

FROM THE RECORD.

_Agricultural Education._

No cause has more retarded the progress of education in the agricultural part of the community than a mistaken opinion, in regard to the use that can be made of it.--That the advantages of learning, in every state of society, should not be appreciated by the grossly ignorant, is not to be wondered at; but that men well informed on many subjects, should fall into the vulgar error of denying the advantages arising from extensive knowledge is really surprising.

We hear it frequently observed by farmers, who have sons to educate, that they intend such a one to follow his own occupation; and it will be necessary that he should be taught to read, write, and cypher to the "Rule of Three." Now it is believed with these _extensive_ acquirements, a farmer will be able to keep his accounts tolerably decent; to estimate the amount of any number of bushels of grain, at a given sum per bushel: but I shall forbear to mention all the advantages which this kind of knowledge may confer. The intelligent farmer well knows it has a boundary, and a very limited one too. To endeavour by force of reason to induce this class of farmers to abandon their errors, would be time spent to little purpose; their minds are not recipient for truths which lie beyond the narrow boundary of their learning.

It is to the enlightened and public spirited yeomanry of our country, that we are to look for a change in the education of our youth.--Change, did I say? Rather an entire new system of education. I ask this class of farmers if they have any such a thing as an agricultural education among them. I mean an elementary, a systematic one: we train our youth (at school) for the counting-house, and not for the farm. We teach them the mysteries of the _cent per cent_; all the dark intricacies of annuities, all the crooks and turns, and all the advantages of barter, discount and fellowship. While of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology and other sciences, directly or indirectly connected with agriculture, they remain as ignorant as if they never were to apply any of the principles to practice. Can it then be wondered that agriculture has advanced so little? Ought we not rather to wonder that it has advanced so much as it has, since so little pains are taken to qualify our youth to make improvement in it? As an art it is perhaps more capable of improvement than any other, because the sciences on which it is founded, are more numerous and more extensive in their nature.

By whom are improvements to be made? by men whose knowledge of the art has never deviated from the beaten track which their forefathers had trodden, and this knowledge was bequeathed to them with this condition, "thus far shalt thou go and no farther?" Common sense answers in the negative. Do we expect important improvements in our present systems of agriculture, from men who have been educated merchants or schoolmasters? Their minds cannot be sufficiently interested in such subjects to pursue them either with ardour or with profit. They have never acquired a taste for those studies which would render the different operations of farming a series of philosophical experiments.

In too many instances, farmers' sons, who have been educated as above described, lose all relish for their occupation, and engage in some mercantile business. In many instances they contrive to worry through life without deserting their calling, though they receive little pleasure from any part of it, except counting the money which it yields. The source from which we have received our new systems of farming lay in quite a different quarter. Inhabitants of cities, or men who have been educated for some learned profession, are our teachers in the rules of husbandry. We will suppose these men to be well versed in the sciences above alluded to. But have they ever learned their application to agriculture? If not, as well might they adduce principles on that subject, as a person to attempt solving an abstruse problem in surveying, who has only learned the elements of geometry. When I spoke of an _agricultural education_, I did not confine my views to the sciences above specified. _Practice_ is an indispensable part of this education. The chemist may sit in his laboratory and give us a system of agriculture, stolen from European treatises, and may occasionally sprinkle it with some hard words of his own; but it is only the _practical and scientific farmer_ that can draw from this heterogenous mass, all that is valuable and applicable to his own purpose, and nothing more. The principles he receives from books must be tested by experiment. To make important deductions from these experiments, unwearied patience must be exercised, in order to sift real conclusions from those which are only plausible. Let him not sit down supinely, after having ascertained a rule, for general rules in this science as in most others have their exceptions, and an accurate knowledge of these exceptions will require much time for discernment, and investigation. If agriculture, then, is an art of calling forth all the faculties of the mind, why is it not taught like other arts by a regular and systematic education?

AGRICOLA.

FROM THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.

_On the Grape Vine, with its wines, brandies, salt, and dried fruits._

No. II.

The object of these papers is to excite to objects of agriculture, manufacture, commerce, and consumption of the utmost importance to the prosperity of our country. The forms and niceties of literary composition will yield their claim to attention to the more solid substance of the pertinent information and suggestions.

In the course of the consideration of this subject, several letters from living friends to our prosperity have been brought together. The remainder of this paper will be appropriated to the publication of one of those letters, of very recent date, from a native of the United States, of the best opportunities, in _Bordeaux_, the emporium of that part of the kingdom of France which gives to us the largest quantities of the most esteemed wines and brandies which enter into our regular consumption. It here follows, in its own clear and instructive terms.

"I have been favoured by your letter of the 24th. _Chaptal_, sur la Culture de Vine, _l'Abbe Rozier's_ memoire sur le mellieure maniere de faire et gouverner les Vins, and _Jullien's_ Topographie de tout les Vignobles, are the authors the most in repute in France on the vine and on wine. The first and last can be had in Philadelphia; and if _Rozier's_ memoir is not to be found, as it is an old book, you can doubtless find at your French book stores, his Dictionary of Agriculture, 5 vols. in 4to. which, under the head of _Vine_, will give you all the information you desire.

"The district which produces the best wine, about Bordeaux, is _Medoc_. That county is divided into upper and lower _Medoc_, lying between the Gironde and Garonne and the Bay of Biscay. It is much such a country, as to hill and dale, or general surface, as that between Philadelphia and Trenton, of a sandy, sandy-loam, and gravelly soil, with some few exceptions of small patches. About seven leagues from north to south, and three from east to west, of this district, is occupied with vineyards, which produce the best wine, whose expositions are from east to south.

"In this district, Lafitte, Chateau Margaux, Latour, Leoville, La Rose, Braune Mouton, and St. Julien, with various other qualities of Claret, are produced, which bring from $60 dollars the ton, of 4 hogsheads, (or 252 gallons,) to $600, according to the estimation they are held in. The vines in this district are not suffered to grow above three feet from the ground.

"_Hautbriant_ is produced on a single estate of that name, lying in La Grave, about a league south of Bordeaux. The soil is sandy and gravelly; so much so that you would hardly suppose it capable of vegetation.

"The districts which produce _Sauterne_, _Barsac_, and _Grave_ wines, lie from the skirts of the city south about four leagues, presenting much the same swell of surface as that part of New Jersey through which the mail runs between Trenton and Brunswick. The name of this district, (or, more properly speaking, the northern part of it,) _Grave_, denotes its soil _Gravier_--_Gravel_. I have seen hundreds of acres of vines in _Grave_, growing in pebbles, from the size of a bean and nutmeg to that of an egg, without the least vestige of earth, cracking under foot, and filling one's shoes. Of the white wines of Bordeaux, _Sauterne_, _Barsac_, and _Corbonnieux_ are of the first quality; but there are many other growths which vie with them, and the ordinary qualities of these white wines are various. I have purchased good pleasant white wine at six dollars the cask of sixty-three gallons. The quantities sent to this country cost from $12 the cask to $40. Of the other wines you mention, I have no knowledge.

"It has been stated that two millions of acres are taken up in the cultivation of the vine, in France, producing, one year with another, five hogsheads of sixty-three gallons to the acre; which, at the moderate price of fifty francs, or ten dollars, the hogshead, gives one hundred millions of dollars. This produce is immense; and, what renders it still more valuable is, that it does not lessen the quantity of other necessary productions, such as wheat, &c.; for where the vine generally grows _in France_, nothing else will grow: such is the poverty of the soil generally employed for vines.

"They have the wild vine in France. I have seen large quantities of it near _Bayonne_, and round the foot of the Pyrenees, up to _Pau_: the inhabitants make beautiful hedges of it, and I have been assured by a distinguished naturalist, Mr. Pennieres, who is now in the Alabama territory, that some of the excellent grapes of France have been produced from the wild vine, after some years of careful cultivation. He is now engaged in inoculating our wild vines with those of France, from which he expects the most favourable results.

"I shall conclude these hasty observations by an extract from _Rozier_:

"'The vine is a plant whose transpiration and _suction_ is _abundant_ and _vehement, which sufficiently indicates the soil and exposition natural to it_. For this reason, grounds, _composed of sand, gravel stones, and rotten rocks_, are excellent for its cultivation.

"'A _sandy_ soil produces _a fine pure_ wine. The _gravelly_ and _stony_ a delicate wine. Rotten and broken rocks a fumy generous wine, of a superior quality.

"'A rich, strong, compact, cold or humid soil, which is pressed down by the rains, and which the sun hardens or bakes, is essentially prejudicial to the quality of the wine.

"'The most advantageous exposition for the vine is that of a gentle slope, or side of a hill, facing east and south, on which the rays of the sun continue the longest time.

"'Hills, in the neighbourhood of the ocean and rivers, ought to be preferred to all others.' The lower parts of these hills are not so favourable to the vine as the upper, and neither are equal to the middle region, the soil being the same.

"'_All trees are unfriendly to the vine_, as much from their roots as their shade. All who cultivate the vine, should remember this precept of Virgil: _Apertos Bacchus amat colles._--The vine flourishes in the open unshaded hills.

"'In a word, the vine ought never to be planted in soils that can produce grain, &c. because it wants nothing but heat, and thrives best in the poorest ground. This will appear ridiculous to those who look for _quantity_: but as to the quality of the wine, it is in strict conformity with the laws of vegetation and with experience. I must be understood to speak here of countries only whose temperatures are favourable to the success of vineyards. We must except those in more northern latitudes. These general precepts admit of no exceptions: They will be acknowledged by all those who, with good faith, and free of prejudices, have studied the cultivation of the vine. If other modes and precepts are followed, we cannot answer for the age of the vine, or the quality of the wine.'"

These views of the locality, soils, and exposures of the fine _Bordeaux_ wines, such as the white, or _Sauterne_, and _vin de Grave_, and the red or clarets, such as _La Fitte_, _Chateau Margaux_, &c. will be left, for the present, on the public mind, with a firm confidence in their due impression, accompanied by the remarks that the difference between our temperatures, in our present wooded condition, and that of the south west of France, may be safely taken at eleven or twelve degrees; and that the progress of clearing lands and draining swamps will reduce that difference, in a few years, below ten degrees. Thus, St. Mary's, in Georgia, will ultimately prove about as warm, for vegetation, as Oporto in Portugal, and the productions of Europe, in any given latitude, may be found in, or, as we drain and clear, introduced into the United States, in latitudes nine or ten degrees farther south. The pride of all Europe is certainly the wines of the following places:

Champagne, | 49° N. |in Europe equal to
in latitude | |39° to 40° in U. S.

Burgundy, 48 38 to 39

Old Hock | 49 39 to 40
wine. |

Bordeaux, |
Claret, & | 45 35 to 36
Sauterne. |

Best brandy |
of the wine |
grape: Bordeaux | 45 35 to 36
and |
Cogniac, |

The wine districts|
of Europe |
for the |
finest wines |
from Malaga | 36¾ to 49 27¾ to 39 or 40
and Xeres |
to Epernay, |
in |
Champagne |

_A Friend to the National Industry._

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 5, 1819.

_Officers of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, elected January 18, 1820._

_President._
RICHARD PETERS.

_Vice Presidents._
WILLIAM TILGHMAN, GEORGE LOGAN,
JAMES MEASE, ROBERT COLEMAN.

_Treasurer._
EDWARD BURD.

_Secretary._
ROBERTS VAUX.

_Assistant Secretary._
RICHARD WISTAR, Jun.

_Committee of Correspondence._
RICHARD PETERS, JAMES MEASE,
ZACCHEUS COLLINS, WILLIAM TILGHMAN,
JOHN VAUGHAN.

_Curators._
ISAAC C. JONES, JAMES M. BROOME,
STEPHEN DUNCAN, JOSEPH R. PAXSON,
REUBEN HAINES.

At the annual meeting of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, held first month 18th, 1820, it was Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of the Society be presented, and they are hereby presented to WILLIAM TILGHMAN, for his able and highly valuable Address delivered this day by the appointment of the Society; and that he be requested to furnish a copy for publication.

By order,

ROBERTS VAUX, Secretary.

An Address delivered before the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture; at its Anniversary Meeting, January 18th, 1820. By WILLIAM TILGHMAN, L. L. D.; chief justice of the State of Pennsylvania, and one of the Vice Presidents of the Society.

ADDRESS.

Gentlemen of the Agricultural Society.

When you did me the honour of requesting me to deliver this Address, you did not expect that I should enter into minute details of the process of Agriculture. Such an attempt might expose my own ignorance, but could not add to your information. The object of our Society is _the promotion of Agriculture_. Whatever conduces to this end, either immediately or even remotely, is worthy of our attention, and within the scope of our Association. In this view of the subject, I perceive so wide a range, that there is less difficulty in finding objects, than in making a proper selection. To call forth the exertions of the Society its zeal must be excited. But zeal is not to be excited, without a conviction of the importance of the cause in which we are engaged. May I be permitted then, to declare my conviction, that amidst the profusion of Societies with which the present age abounds, there is none more useful, or more dignified, than that for the _promotion of Agriculture_. Indeed, in point of _utility_, I might justly say that it _precedes_ all others. Because, even if mankind could exist without Agriculture, yet they could exist only in a savage state, and in small numbers. The great command "_increase and multiply_," could not be obeyed. There could be nothing worthy the name of art, or science, or literature. When I cast my eye on the map of Pennsylvania, and view the vast quantity of excellent land, in the rude state in which nature formed it, I am struck with astonishment at the multitudes which throng our cities, struggling with hunger, cold, and disease. Nor is my wonder confined to the lower orders of society. For I see many of liberal education, and with the means of acquiring a competency in the country, wasting their lives in disgraceful idleness, or fruitless efforts to force their way through the crowds which block up every avenue to profit or preferment. The flood of commerce which set upon our shores during five and twenty years of war and disorder in Europe, has given to our cities a premature growth. In every branch of trade and commerce there are too many competitors. Labourers are too numerous. Every mechanic art, every liberal profession is overdone. Happy would it be for the city, and happy for the country, if any efforts of this Society could inspire a respect, and a taste, for an _art_ in which no man need be ashamed to employ his faculties; for a _condition_, which after all, seems most congenial to the nature of man. It is a life, to which, at one time or other, we all aspire. For who is there, that amidst the eager pursuit of wealth or ambition, does not sometimes pause, and console himself with the fond, though often fallacious hope, of passing his latter days in the independence, the ease, the plenty, the safety, and the innocence of the country! In Pennsylvania, young men of education would have peculiar advantages in spreading themselves through the country, for it is a fact (and we are every day feeling the effects of it) that in no state in the union, is education so much confined to towns. There are many inhabitants of this city, who hold extensive tracts of land, which neither they nor their children have ever seen. This is a bad state of things. For, through ignorance of the quality, the situation, and value of their lands, these persons are sometimes a prey to speculators, and sometimes, erring on the contrary extreme, they conceive extravagant notions, and refuse to sell at a fair price. Hence Agriculture suffers--either the land remains a desert, or they are occupied by poor intruders, who knowing the instability of their title, are afraid to attempt any valuable improvement. These people, with few exceptions, lead a wretched life, and are apt to imbibe sentiments hostile to the proprietors of the soil, whom they consider as natural enemies. Could the parties but see each other, very different feelings might prevail. A little kindness and condescension on the part of the proprietor, might convert a discontented trespasser, into a useful tenant or purchaser. That this has happened in many instances, I know; which induces me to think, that were the trial made, it would happen in many more. Where large property of this kind, is in the hands of heads of families with several children, one or two of the sons might manage the estate to great advantage, by living on the spot. Agents are expensive, and often unfaithful. But one may confide in his own blood. Besides, the very circumstance of a well educated young man residing in any place, will naturally attract others of similar qualifications, to the same spot; and thus an agreeable society might be formed, and great encouragement afforded to the labouring poor of the neighbourhood. In this kind of policy, the state of New York has set us a good example. And the consequences of her conduct are obvious; a greater proportion of her lands is settled, and her unsettled lands, of equal quality, sell for a higher price than ours. Although the views of our society are not confined to the limits of the state, and our earnest wishes are for the prosperity of the whole, and every part of the union, yet it may be considered as our duty to direct our attention more particularly to Pennsylvania. We cannot be accused then of acting with ungenerous policy, if we endeavour to promote the settlement of our own lands in preference to those of our neighbours. We may, without impropriety, suggest all fair and honourable arguments, to convince the emigrants from the eastern states, and from Europe, that it is their interest to establish themselves here, rather than seek a residence in a distant country, to the west or the south. It is not my intention to enter deeply into this subject. It might be enough, to suggest to the Society, the utility of circulating good pamphlets, which have already been written, or may be written hereafter. But, one or two leading facts it may not be amiss to mention. The rich productions of the south, are not to be attained, but by men of considerable capital. The object is tempting, but when offered to the consideration of emigrants from Europe, or our sister states to the eastward, they will remember that the climate where rice, cotton, tobacco, indigo, and sugar flourish, is generally unfavourable to health; and that these articles are not to be cultivated to advantage, without slaves. They have therefore to engage in a new kind of life, opposed to the habits and principles in which they have been educated, and which, however flattering the outset, will probably terminate in an enfeebled body and discontented mind.

But the great class of emigrants, is that of people who have small capitals, and must seek their bread, by the labour of their own hands. To such persons, health is every thing. The languid eye of sickness dwells without pleasure, on the fairest prospects of nature. In vain is the fertile bottom, or the rich prairie, offered to the arm unnerved by disease. It is a notorious fact, that rich, low, level countries, are subject to fevers. They should therefore be shunned by those who are to live by their own labour. Another great inconvenience in those countries is, that they are badly supplied with water, either for drinking or machinery. If, indeed, the lands in the western region, were extremely cheap, and those in Pennsylvania at a price beyond the reach of a poor man, he must go to the west from necessity. But that is not the case,--our lands are believed to be as low priced, as those beyond the Ohio; and much more so, when there is taken into the calculation (as there ought to be) the expense of the journey. Another important circumstance in our favour, is a much better market for the sale of our productions, and the purchase of necessary articles. This is important at all times, but peculiarly in war, when the Mississippi, the only inlet or outlet of the whole western country, may be blockaded by a hostile fleet.

* * * * *

Let it not be supposed, that the interests of Agriculture and of Commerce are at variance. On the contrary, they are inseparable. Of this the Agriculturists of the United States have had good proof. No persons on earth have profited more by commerce. During the long wars of Europe, the staple productions of the middle states sold at double price, and those of the southern states were very high, both during the war and after. Those prices were produced, in part, by the influx of wealth, which occasioned an increased consumption at home, and in part by exportation to foreign countries, but principally by the latter. Both causes, however, sprang from commerce; and both, as long as commerce exists, will continue to operate in a greater or less degree. Indeed, if we could suppose a nation cut off from all intercourse with other nations, (that is, from all foreign commerce) that nation, though abounding in all the necessaries of life, would be barbarous, selfish, illiteral, and ignorant. Neither let us give way to the idea, that either agriculture, or commerce, are incompatible with domestic manufactures. Unwise laws, may injure either one or the other, by unjust preferences; but under proper regulations, they will aid, and invigorate each other. This is not the place for entering into a disquisition of the degree of encouragement which should be afforded by _law_, to manufactures. That important subject is before the national legislature, where it will no doubt, receive an impartial and mature consideration. But thus much may be said, with certainty; that it is the _duty_, as well as the _interest_, of all of us, to use _our own_, in preference to _foreign_ manufactures, where they can be furnished on reasonable terms. It cannot be denied, that manufactures afford a sure market, for the productions of the neighbouring country; and as they are multiplied, in the same ratio, are the markets increased. And there is a peculiar advantage in markets of this kind, at a distance from navigable waters; that, the consumption being at home, the expense of carriage is saved. But, there is a kind of manufacture, _domestic in the strictest sense_, the benefit of which is inestimable, because while it adds to the _stock_ of the family, it protects their _morals_.--I allude to spinning, weaving, and such things as are done by the hands of the husband, the wife, or the children, without leaving their home. It guards them against _idleness_, that child of folly, and parent of vice, and is often clear gain, as it occupies those hours which would have been passed in inaction. I am afraid, that in this kind of industry, we have rather degenerated. A very respectable gentleman, a member of the Society of Friends, informed me, that about the year 1764, he attended a meeting, in Chester county, near the borders of Maryland, and that most of his society in that neighbourhood, were clothed _completely_ and _handsomely_ in dress of their own manufacture. Were he to visit that meeting now, I doubt whether he would see his friends in the same kind of apparel. Yet meritorious examples are not wanting, even now, and I hope I shall be excused for mentioning one lately communicated to me. In the western part of Pennsylvania, on this side of the Alleghany river, lives a man, who, ten or twelve years ago, seated himself on a tract of land, to which he had no title, in the humble character of a _squatter_.[11] This man has converted a wilderness into a fine farm; and, with the assistance of an industrious wife, brought up a large family of children. He raises on his farm all the materials for clothing the family; and whatever they wear, of linen or woollen texture, excellent in their kinds, is spun, woven, and manufactured in the house. They also make their own sugar, from the maple; and their own leather; and _purchase_ (or rather _barter_ for) nothing but iron, and salt. Their farming utensils are chiefly homemade.--But what is more commendable than all (and perhaps the cause of all) _very little whiskey or ardent spirits is drunk_ by any of them. To finish the picture, I have to add, that the proprietor of the land, with views, no less _politic_ than _liberal_, has confirmed these good people in their title, on moderate terms--so that this little story contains a moral, from which, both _settlers_, and _proprietors_, may profit.

[11] A term in use, in New York and Pennsylvania, to denote a man who seats himself on land to which he has no title.

It has been apprehended by some, that the late fall in the price of land, and its productions, would damp the ardour of cultivators, and deter men of capital from employing their funds in the purchase of real property. This apprehension appears to be ill founded. If the profits of farming have been diminished, so likewise have the profits of all other business; so that there is no particular reason for withholding funds from an investment in land. We are in a state of distress, which I trust, will be but temporary; for the country has great resources, and sufficient knowledge to bring them into action. A stagnation of commerce was to be expected, on the cessation of the wars in Europe.[12] But this stagnation is not peculiar to America--she shares it in common with all the world--we have indeed, particular distress, arising from our own errors, on the subject of banks. An immoderate issue of bank paper, afforded an unhappy facility of borrowing. The money when borrowed, must be made use of in some way--many of the borrowers, having no good use for it, either trifled it away, in unnecessary expenses, or in the purchase of land, which soon rose, nominally, to twice its value. Such a state of things could not last long--the delusion is past. It is to be lamented, that many good people have been the victims of this infatuation; but we must comfort ourselves with the hope, that some good will result from it, if a cure is not attempted by rash and violent means. As a people, we had become too extravagant and too luxurious. The slow but sure progress of industry was despised. Every man was in haste to be rich, by some visionary project, dignified with the name of _speculation_. But we are now suffering for these follies, and by suffering, we shall be purified, and brought back to better habits. This will be a lasting good. Instead of desponding then, let us prosecute our business with increased vigour and economy, and we shall soon find, that although we have fewer paper dollars, we have more real wealth, and what is of much greater importance, better morals, and of course more happiness. A large capital is at present locked up, because the owners are in doubt how to employ it. When business shall flow in decided channels, this capital will be brought into activity. It is almost certain, that neither commerce, nor bank stock will be as profitable as they have been; so that there is a strong probability of an investment of a large capital, in real estate, which, after all, possesses a stability unknown to any other kind of property.

[12] In a letter of the late President Adams, published since the delivery of this Address, he says he remembers that the like depression of commerce, manufactures and real estate, took place after the wars, which ended in 1748, 1763, and 1783.

But, it is in our own power, to increase the value of our lands by an improved state of Agriculture. Much has been done, but much more remains to be done. Though not at the bottom of the hill, we have not yet ascended half its height. It may be encouraging however to stop for a moment, and take a glance at the progress we have made. Before the war of the revolution, little of science was blended with the art of agriculture--things had gone on in their natural course. The counties first settled, now known by the names of Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks, though not rich (except the meadows) were sufficient to yield good crops at first, and tolerable ones for a number of years. But the soil near the surface, composed of vegetable substances accumulated during the lapse of ages, became at length exhausted by repeated tillage without refreshment. Red clover was introduced before the war, but it was produced in small quantities, and almost solely for the purpose of hay. The system of melioration by a rotation of crops, in which grass took its turn, was not understood. Natural meadow was in great demand, and not much hay being produced on the uplands, it was impossible to support during winter, a stock sufficiently large to amass a great quantity of manure. Consequently the crops of grain, and particularly of wheat were much diminished. Indeed, the _wheat_ crops were trifling. Gypsum had been imported, in small quantities before the revolution; but it was very little used, and very little talked of; and that little not to its credit, for an old proverb, said to come from Germany, was brought up against it, "_that gypsum made rich fathers, but poor sons_." Notwithstanding this prejudice, it was brought into general use, some years after the war, by the persevering efforts of a few, _and principally of the President of this Society_, to whom future generations will render thanks for this important service. Through the efficacy of this fossil, the face of the country experienced a magic change. The uplands were clothed with rich herbage, to which succeeded plenteous crops of grain. I have not been able to trace with certainty, the progress of the cultivation of clover aided by gypsum, but I believe, that Philadelphia was the centre, from which it spread in all directions. In Chester county, so great were its effects, that (as I heard it proved in the trial of a cause at West Chester,) the price of lands was doubled in a few years. Nor is there any reason to suppose that it was less beneficial in other places.

But as the excess of even a good thing may be pernicious, so may it be with gypsum. That it promotes the growth of many vegetables, and of clover in particular, is certain; though its mode of operation does not seem to be clearly understood. An increased quantity of grass, will support an increased quantity of stock, from which will proceed an increased quantity of manure, and that should be considered as the great end of gypsum. Not that great advantages may not be derived from ploughing in the green clover. But if that is relied on, as the only mode of meliorating the soil, (and in some publications which I have seen, it is asserted to be quite sufficient) we shall probably be disappointed. In Sir John Sinclair's Code of Agriculture, it is said that the practice of ploughing in green vegetables, as a manure, has been tried, in England, and found not to answer; and that more benefit is derived from those crops, when they are consumed by stock, and converted into dung; and Col. John Taylor, (of Caroline county, Virginia) to whose valuable labours the world is so much indebted, is also of opinion, that we ought not to rely on green vegetables only. In the first edition of his _Arator_, he seemed to think, that nothing more was necessary than clover, but in the second edition, he acknowledged his error, which had been demonstrated by the result of two crops of Indian corn. In 80 acres of land, improved by turning in the grass, without other manure, the crop averaged 25 bushels an acre. But in 200 acres, where the clover was turned in and the ground also manured, the average was 50 bushels. It is probable, indeed, that the ploughing in of clover, may have a greater effect in many parts of the United States, than in England. For, that large crops of grain have been produced by it, is so strongly attested, that it must not be denied. This may be owing to the Superior efficacy of the gypsum, which, no doubt, acts more powerfully here, than generally in England, and therefore produces a greater quantity of clover. But, as it is certain, that the manure of dung, incorporated with putrefied vegetable matter, is more efficacious than simple green vegetables; what I intend, is to exhort our farmers not to trust to the latter alone, nor relax their efforts to collect the former in as great quantities as possible.

Another important circumstance is to be attended to. We are not to expect, that land will continue to produce luxuriant crops of clover, for ever, even when aided by gypsum.--It would be contrary to the order of nature; which delights in change. Our _second_ crop of clover, has, for many years, been of little value, though the cause remains unexplained. A gentleman of veracity, who lives on the Delaware, between eight or ten miles above the city, assured me, that gypsum, which had done wonders for a long time, had at length ceased to have any effect on his land; and that the same was the case of some of his neighbours. I am informed also, that the same remark has been made by farmers in Montgomery county. Now it is not to be supposed, that the gypsum has changed its nature, or lost its virtue.--But the earth, being exhausted of those particles which are favourable to the growth of clover, no longer offers to the gypsum the same matter to act upon. That the matter, necessary for the formation of a particular plant, may be exhausted, while the same earth suffices for the vigorous production of other plants, is proved by daily experience; and is an accordance with the best theory.

In a late English publication, there is an offer of a considerable premium to the person who shall discover a grass which shall be a good substitute for clover, it being understood that clover no longer grew as formerly; and of another premium to the person who shall discover the means of restoring lands, which once bore clover, to a capacity of producing it again. It would, therefore, be wise in us, to look out in time, for some grass, to take the place of clover, when it shall be found no longer to succeed. In the mean time, we may avail ourselves (and it may perhaps be a very long time) of the united efficacy of gypsum and clover.

I said that we had much to do before we attained that degree of perfection which was practicable in agriculture. I presume, that our lands, in their natural state, were full as good as those of England. In England, the average crops of grain of all kinds, on 8,000,000 of acres, are estimated at twenty-four bushels the acre. I take this estimate from Sir John Sinclair, who says, moreover, that in "fertile districts and propitious seasons, from thirty-two to forty bushels of wheat an acre, may be confidently expected; from forty-two to fifty of barley, from fifty-two to sixty-four of oats, and from twenty-eight to thirty-two of beans." The best county in Pennsylvania, is supposed to be Lancaster. The matter cannot be spoken of with any kind of certainty; but, from the best information I have been able to collect, I should doubt whether the _wheat_ crops of the whole county of Lancaster, averaged more than fifteen bushels an acre, though many individual farmers get from twenty to thirty; and some from thirty to forty. But, when we compare the agriculture of two countries, we must take it in large masses. Penn's Valley, in Pennsylvania, is supposed to yield crops of _wheat_, averaging at least twenty bushels an acre; but that is owing to something peculiar in the climate; for the crops do not ripen in less than two weeks later than in most other parts of the state. The soil in Penn's valley, is limestone, and the water lies very deep.