_Address._
But I am desirous at this time, gentlemen, of introducing to your
notice an Act of Assembly of this Commonwealth, passed at the
last session of the legislature, which, if its provisions be duly
attended to, may produce many beneficial effects. It is entitled,
"An Act for the promotion of agriculture and domestic manufactures."
The 1st, 2d, and 3d, sections enact:
"That as soon as the Board of Commissioners and two-thirds of the
Grand Jury, of any county within this Commonwealth, shall agree,
in writing under their respective hands (which agreement shall be
filed in the office of the Prothonotary of the proper county) that a
society shall be established within the same; then it shall and may
be lawful for twenty or more inhabitants of any such county, fifteen
of whom shall be practical and actual farmers, under the name of The
Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and Domestic Manufactures,
in and for such county, to sign an agreement, promising to pay the
treasurer of said society, so long as he shall remain a member
thereof, the sum of one dollar each, or more, annually, for the
purposes hereinafter mentioned, and cause such agreement to be
filed in the office of the Prothonotary of proper county; every
such society shall by virtue of this act become a body politic and
corporate, in deed and in law, with perpetual succession, and all
the rights, liberties, privileges, and franchises incident to a
corporation, for all the purposes of this act, and to admit new
members upon the terms aforesaid. _Provided_, That the association
which shall have first filed their articles of agreement shall be
the only one entitled to the privileges granted by this act.
"That the said societies, respectively, shall meet at some
convenient place on the Wednesday of the next Court of Common Pleas,
after the said agreements shall have been filed as aforesaid, and
choose by a majority of votes, out of their number, one president,
ten directors, one treasurer, and one secretary, who shall be
officers of said society for one year and until others are duly
elected. And the said societies respectively, at their first
meeting, shall have power to fix on the time and place of their
annual meetings on such day of the year as they shall designate,
which shall continue to be the day of the annual meeting of the
societies respectively, until otherwise altered by a vote of
the members as aforesaid; and also to make their own rules and
by-laws, not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the
United States, or of this state; and to add other officers to those
designated, and prescribe their respective duties. And the president
and directors shall have power to summon special meetings of said
societies respectively, at such other times as to them shall seem
proper.
"That at the next assessment of county rates and levies, after said
societies respectively shall have been established and organized
in any county within this commonwealth, and annually thereafter,
the county commissioners are hereby required to assess, levy, and
cause to be collected, in the same manner that county rates and
levies are assessed, levied, and collected, an additional sum of
fifty dollars for every member which said counties respectively are
or may be entitled to elect to the House of Representatives of this
commonwealth, and to cause the same to be paid to the treasurer
of the society, by warrants drawn on the county treasurer: to be
expended, together with their annual subscriptions, in the manner
hereinafter mentioned."
I need not read the remaining sections of this law. The pamphlet
containing it will be laid upon your table, and you will have an
opportunity of deliberately considering it in all its parts.
I wish to impress you, gentlemen, with the importance of this
subject, as it affects the vital interests of our country;
particularly at a time when our foreign markets are almost
destroyed, and we must learn to establish our prosperity on the
interchange of commodities within our own limits. This will produce
a solid independence, teach us the value of our connexions with one
another, and bind us in bonds of mutual interest. The struggle has
heretofore been (and a fatal one it has proved) to get _rich_: the
endeavour now must be, how to _live_ in comfort and plenty.
The consumption and use of the necessaries and conveniences of
life, by 10,000,000 of people, and the demands for the materials
of domestic manufactures, cannot fail to afford to every quarter
of our Union the means of substantial enjoyment. _Industry_ must
take the place of hazardous _Speculation_, and _Frugality_ must
succeed _Extravagance_. We shall then be taught to live within our
means, and this will easily be accomplished, when we have only real
wants, and not those which are, for the most part, artificial and
fanciful. We must "eat our bread in the sweat of our faces," and
we shall find it the sweetest and most nutritive of any food we
have heretofore enjoyed. It may not be accompanied by luxurious and
expensive viands; but its associates will be health, peace of mind,
and corporeal vigour, ensuring exemplary life and purity of morals.
The foundation of the public prosperity is undoubtedly agriculture.
This brings forth all the materials about which other branches of
labour are, for the most part, employed, and sustains the workers in
every department of the mechanic arts, in their labours. Without it,
the earth would be a howling desert: with it, the cultivated world
is an artificial Paradise, produced by the labour of Man, who, being
doomed to "eat his bread in the sweat of his face," thus fulfils
the decrees of Heaven, while he ensures to himself and his race the
blessings of plenty, innocence and health. To what a high destiny,
then, is the farmer appointed, when to him is committed the art on
which the subsistence of his fellow men necessarily depends. His
responsibilities are great indeed; and shall he rely only on his
individual efforts and limited experience, for the fulfilment of
such important duties? No: he should call to his aid the experience,
the intelligence, and the scientific as well as practical knowledge,
which associations for promoting agriculture are universally found
to afford, and thereby add to his own, the experience of those with
whom he is associated, and, by joint efforts, produce results to
which any one individual is incompetent. The practices, good or
bad, which are handed down by his predecessors, are repeated; and
little progress is made in improvement by isolated or self-confident
individuals.
It would be a toilsome task, nor indeed would my limited information
enable me, to enumerate all the discoveries and improvements in
husbandry which modern times have developed. I will mention one
or two of the most prominent. There have been but few articles
used among our farmers, for the most essential of all requisites,
_manuring their lands_. _Dung_, which can be produced only in
quantities inadequate to the demand for it, has been the universal
and main reliance, _Lime_ is also generally esteemed of primary
importance. Both of these are estimable, without dispute; and yet
it is now well known in Europe, and begins to be so here, that
_the ashes of burnt clay_ constitute a manure which is superiour
to them all, for every purpose to which they have been applied.
Clay is found every where in immense quantities, and can be cheaply
converted into ashes, and whole farms may be rapidly fertilized in
place of partial and protracted applications of more expensive and
less attainable manures; it is fortunately best adapted for strong
and clay soils, which thus afford renovations of their surfaces out
of their own bowels. This account of so valuable an addition to our
stock of manure, obtained from a material of little estimation,
walked over every day, and heedlessly neglected, will not, perhaps,
be believed by the generality of our farmers; and yet the most
celebrated agriculturists in England, Scotland, and Ireland are so
convinced of the fact, from actual experience, that it is maintained
to be "the most important discovery in agriculture which modern
times have produced."
The application of salt to our fields as manure, is now under very
extensive experiment. There is no doubt of its efficacy: but it
requires experience, as to quantity per acre, and the kinds of soil
the most suitable. This is not a new discovery; for its application
to _land as manure_ has been known before, and at the time of, our
blessed Saviour's appearance upon earth. In St. Luke's Gospel[1]
it is said, "_salt_ is good; but if the salt has lost its savour,
wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither _fit for the land_
nor _yet for the dunghill_; but men cast it out." Its uses, both for
cattle and manure, can be traced through the writings of the most
eminent among the _Romans_, down to the most celebrated chymists and
agriculturists of our own day. Where are our farmers to learn such
facts and discoveries? Not of themselves; for there are many who do
not read, and few go out of their way to try experiments. They can
only be taught by agricultural associations, wherein the experience
of practical farmers, the information derived from books, and the
assistance of scientific characters, are happily combined.
[1] Chap. xiv. 34, 35.
The spirit for agricultural improvement, and the formation of
societies, has very much spread throughout the Union. Shall
Pennsylvania be behind her sister states in such associations? She
is before them in many practical proofs of her good husbandry; but
has yet much to learn. Let us then promptly obey the call of our
legislature, and begin the great work by forming societies and
rendering them efficient. Let us pride ourselves in our household
manufactures; and for this purpose let us invite the female branches
of our families to join in our plan. _Without their aid_, we can
do nothing in such manufactures; _with it_, everything. Instead
of foreign gewgaws and expensive finery, we may be independent
in articles for household uses and our attire, and save the
expenditures which now go into the pockets of foreigners. Commerce
is certainly essential to an agricultural country; but the extent
of it should be no greater than our products will reach: when the
balance turns against us, our prosperity declines.
You know, gentlemen, that our farmers will be satisfied only by
actual observations of practical proofs. We must have public
manifestations of improvement. The institution of cattle-shows
should be promoted. They would be useful as places of sale, or for
the exhibition of the best breeds, or for exposing for imitation
or sale the best and greatest variety of household manufacture. On
these occasions, premiums, more honorary than costly, should be
distributed to successful candidates, either for such cattle or
manufactures, or for agricultural discoveries or improvements, or
the best execution of known practices. Emulation must be roused and
encouraged, and the honourable pride of excelling must be fostered.
Such public exhibitions must be conducted by discreet and reputable
men.
Under such guidance and with suitable accompaniments of innocent
pleasure and amusement, they will make a much stronger impression
than any oral addresses or written communications. By these
exhibitions, the emulation, excited in some neighbouring states
has improved their agriculture and increased their manufactures to
a degree almost incredible. Agricultural societies are extending
to every quarter of the Union. Until very lately, there did not
exist one to the southward of Pennsylvania, and she had but two,
_to wit_, the Philadelphia Society, which has long continued its
useful labours and eminent zeal; and that of Blockley and Merior, in
the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. In the Eastern States, they are
numerous; and in New York, forty or fifty are recently formed and
are making successful progress.
I shall not enlarge further upon these topics, but will dismiss you
with the expression of a hope that you may be governed in all your
deliberations by the pure principles of justice; that by preserving
your minds entirely free from hate, from friendship, from anger,
and from pity, they may be directed to such conclusions as may best
effectuate the great purposes for which you are assembled, and that
in clearing the innocent from unjust suspicion, and dragging the
guilty to deserved punishment, you may promote the best interests
of society, and secure the freedom and happiness of its individual
members.