scientific farming.

res rustica, sine dubitatione, proxima, et quasi consanguinea sapienti? est. columella de re rustica.

oh, blessed, who drinks the bliss that hymen yields,

and plucks life’s roses in his quiet fields.—ebenezer elliot.

there may be a difference of opinion as to the strict utility or wisdom of the pursuits noticed in the last chapter;—of the excellence and rationality of those which form the subject of this, there can be none. nothing can be more consonant to nature, nothing more delightful, nothing more beneficial to the country, or more worthy of any man, than the georgical occupations which form so prominent a feature in the rural life of england. whether a country gentleman seek profit or pleasure in them, he can, at any time, find them. while he is increasing the value of his estate, he is in the midst of health, peace, and a series of operations which have now become purely scientific, and have called in to their accomplishment various other sciences and arts. in every age of the world agricultural pursuits have formed the delight of the greatest nations and the noblest men. some of the most illustrious kings and prophets of israel were taken from the fold or the plough. david and elisha are great names in the history of rural affairs. king uzziah “built towers in the desert, and digged many wells, for he had much cattle both in the low country and in the plains; husbandmen also, and vinedressers in the mountains, and in carmel, for he loved husbandry.” how delightful[50] are the associations which the literature of greece and rome has thrown around country affairs! homer, hesiod, and theocritus—how elysian are the glimpses they give us into rural life! how simple, how peaceful, how picturesque! laertes, that venerable old monarch, pruning his vines, and fetching young stocks from the woods for his fences. eumeus, at his rustic lodge, entertaining his prince and his king. hesiod himself, wandering at the feet of helicon, less impressed with the sublimity of the poet than with the spirit of the husbandman! he shews us the very infancy of agriculture:

forget not when you sow the grain, to mind

that a boy follows with a rake behind;

and strictly charge him, as you drive, with care

the seeds to cover, and the birds to scare.

works and days, b. 2.

the harrow, an implement well known to king david, for he put the subjected ammonites under it, was unknown then in greece! they raked in the grain. that was but the second stage in the progress of tillage; the first undoubtedly being that in which their plough was a pointed stick, and their harrow a bush; as the most ancient drawing of hay-forks shews that they were forked sticks cut from the thicket. but to leave those primitive times of greece,—there is no nation that at once acquired so vast a military renown and yet retained such a passion for the peaceful pursuits of agriculture as rome. nothing is so soon familiarized to the mind of the school-boy as the fact of their generals, dictators, and emperors tilling their own lands—leaving them with reluctance for state honours, and retiring to them with gladness to end their days in meditative tranquillity. cicero tells us that couriers were first introduced by them, to run between the capitol and their farms, that they themselves might leave them only on most important occasions. almost every one of their writers on rural affairs, whose works have reached us, were men of distinction in the state. varro was consul; cato, the most remarkable man of his time, filled the highest offices; columella and palladius were men of note; and pliny, a patrician officer, was governor of spain. but what is more remarkable even is, that such men as virgil, horace, and cicero, men of imaginative[51] genius, and so involved in court life, or the business of government, should be such passionate lovers of rural concerns. everyone knows how their writings overflow with the praises of country life, and what delight they took in their farms and villas. cicero seems as though he could never have done with telling us of the pleasure he took in farming. “i might expatiate,” he says, “on the beauty of verdant groves and meadows, on the charming aspects of vineyards and olive-yards, but to say all in one word, there cannot be a more pleasing, or a more profitable scene than that of a well-cultivated farm. in my opinion, indeed, no kind of occupation is more fraught with happiness, not only as the business of husbandry is of singular utility to mankind, but, as i have said, being attended with its own peculiar pleasures. i will add too, as a further recommendation, and let it restore me to the good graces of the voluptuous, that it supplies both the table and the altar with the greatest variety and abundance. accordingly, the magazines of the skilful and industrious farmer are plentifully stored with wine and oil, with milk, cheese, and honey; as his yards abound with poultry, and his fields with flocks and herds of kids, lambs, and porkets. the garden also furnishes him with an additional source of delicacies, in allusion to which the farmers pleasantly call a certain piece of ground allotted to that particular use, their dessert. i must not omit, likewise, that in the intervals of their more important business, and in order to heighten the relish of the rest, the sports of the field claim a share of their amusements. * * * of country occupations i profess myself a warm admirer. they are pleasures perfectly consistent with every degree of advanced years, as they approach the nearest of all others to those of the purely philosophical kind. they are derived from observing the nature and properties of their own earth, which yields a ready obedience to the cultivator’s industry, and returns with interest what he deposits in her charge.”—de senectute.

he then goes on to tell us what delight he took in the cultivation of the vine; in watching the springing and progress of corn; the green blade pushing forth, shooting into a knotted stem, nourished and supported by the fibres of the root, terminated in the ear in which the grain is lodged in regular order, and defended from the depredations of birds by its bearded spikes.[52] he tells us that he could name numbers of his most distinguished friends and neighbours, and some of them at very advanced ages, who take such interest in all that is going on at their farms, that they will be present at every important agricultural operation—many of them engaged in improvements of which they will see neither the benefit nor the end. “and what,” says he, “do these noble husbandmen, when they are asked for what purpose they dig and plant, reply,—‘in obedience to the immortal gods, by whose bountiful providence we received these fields from our ancestors, and whose will it is that we should deliver them down with improvement to posterity!’” and this generous and high sense of duty it was which animated the romans during the better portion of their republic, and kept alive their virtue and their simplicity of life, so far as to give them power to despise wealth, and to command the fortunes of other men. cicero is delighted with this noble principle, and he reverts with enthusiasm to the picture of manlius curius, who, after having conquered the samnites, the sabines, and even pyrrhus himself, passed the honourable remainder of his age in cultivating his farm. he adds, “i can never behold his villa without reflecting with the highest degree of admiration both on the singular moderation of his mind, and the general simplicity of the age in which he flourished. here it was, while sitting by his fireside, that he nobly rejected the gold which was offered him on the part of the samnites, and rejected it with this memorable saying, ‘that he placed his glory, not on the abundance of his own wealth, but in commanding those amongst whom it abounded.’” with equal exultation he refers to the enthusiasm into which xenophon in his treatise of ?conomics breaks forth in the praise of agriculture, and relates the interview of lysander, the spartan ambassador, with cyrus the younger, as told by socrates to his friend critobulus, in which cyrus assures lysander that all the trees, shrubs, etc., which he admired in his garden, were planted by his own hand.

but if such were the charms which agriculture had for the roman nobility, how much greater ought it to possess for the nobles and gentlemen of england! amid all the advantages and recreations which have been pointed out in the preceding chapters as surrounding the country life of modern england, that of scientific[53] farming is certainly one of the greatest. it is a pursuit full of interest and variety, at once natural, philosophical, and dignified. it is difficult to imagine a man of wealth and education more usefully or honourably employed than in directing the culture and improvement of his estate. agriculture is now become, indeed, as cicero termed it in his day, “the nearest of all employments to the purely philosophical kind.” it is a science which requires a first-rate education to prosecute it to its full capability, to make the other arts and sciences of modern times bear upon it, and co-operate with it, so as to add something to its progression, or even to apply beneficially the knowledge of its already established principles and practices.[1] it is no longer an occupation which requires a man to forego the refined pleasures of society, to bury himself amid woods and wildernesses in some obscure hamlet far from the enjoyments and intelligence of the world. as we have already seen, locate himself where he will in these islands, the arts, the elegances, the news and knowledge of civilized life, will penetrate to him by swift agencies, and give him all the real advantages of the city in the peace and fulness of his retirement. and what a noble art is agriculture now become! look at the manner it is now practised by the most skilful of its professors. let any one just turn over the leaves of mr. loudon’s encyclop?dia of agriculture, and trace the progress of its implements only, from the plough of the ancients in the shape of a mere pick, to the almost endless machines which the active brains of men and their advancing knowledge of mechanics have given to the scientific farmer. let any one turn to the list of engravings of farming apparatus in the same excellent work, amounting to about 300, and he will obtain some idea of the amount of science and invention now devoted to the use of the agriculturist. there are no men who have availed themselves of the progress of the arts and of general knowledge more than they. mechanics, chemistry, hydraulics, steam, all have been seized upon, to develope the principles, or[54] facilitate the operations of agriculture. within the last century the strides which have been made in this interesting department of knowledge are admirable. the netherlands may be said to have been the mother of our modern agriculture—scotland its nurse. tull’s system of horse-hoeing and drill husbandry has been introduced by dawson, and has brought after it a numerous train of drills, dibbling-machines, horse-hoes, ploughs, rollers, scufflers, scarifiers, watering-machines, brakes, drill-harrows, etc., which we now see almost everywhere where the old system of plain ploughing, harrowing, and broad-cast sowing prevailed to the infinite loss of seed and growth of weeds. then comes the thrashing machine invented by menzies, and improved by meikle from stage to stage, successively adapted to horses, wind, water, and eventually the giant power of steam, thus giving to the operations of the barn a rapidity equal to the skill and neatness displayed in the field. the scientific genius of sir humphry davy, thompson, fourcroy, parmentier, kirwan, gay lussac, and many other eminent chemists, have been employed to investigate more accurately the real nature of soils and manures, and a vast increase of productive power has been the result. bones, a source of fertility till of late entirely wasted, have done wonders; rape-dust, malt-dust, oil, fish, salt, wood and peat ashes, soot, gypsum, and many other substances, have been made the active agents of human subsistence. the best mixture of crops has been determined by numerous experiments; and the benefits of stall-feeding clearly demonstrated. mangel-würzel, trifolium incarnatum—a plant which from its rich crimson hue would be an ornament of our fields even were it not a profitable production—and other vegetables, have been added to that plenteous growth of clover, dills, lucerne, rape, turnips, etc., with which modern tillage has enriched both summer and winter stalls. the improvement of the breed of cattle and sheep by bakewell of dishly, and the culleys; the growth of finer and better wools by the introduction and crossing with the merino by lord somerville and others, have been as remarkable as the superior cultivation of the soil. the science of draining has found devotees equally ardent, and has produced the most striking consequences. in many instances the mere act of draining has quadrupled the produce of land. in the weald of kent, land which produced only a rental of five shillings[55] an acre, has been raised by this process to five-and-twenty. and all these objects have been watched over, canvassed, and stimulated by the establishment of agricultural societies, agricultural journals and newspapers, and ploughing matches. agricultural associations are now to be found in almost every county, and in different districts of the same county, which offer premiums on the best specimens of horses, cattle, and sheep; the best ploughing, and the most steady and industrious farm and household servants. it is a new feature in rural life, to see the whole farming population of a district hastening on a given day, gentlemen, farmers, and farm-servants all in their best array, to some one spot where the cattle are shewn, the ploughing is done, the prizes are awarded by umpires chosen from the most skilful, and the different parties then going to a good dinner, and a long talk and hearty toasting of all the interests of agriculture.

[1] this education is now likely to be extended to the great body of farmers. in ireland, at templemoyle, a college is established where the sons of farmers are instructed in every branch of science which can enable them to pursue agriculture successfully, while they daily work certain hours on the farm attached, thus making a familiar practical acquaintance with all the best processes of cultivation under the ablest professors. similar colleges are also contemplated for england.

it is really too, as curious to see on our scientific farms the vast variety of implements and machines which these causes have produced;—ploughs—about a dozen and a half swing-ploughs, and upwards of a dozen wheel-ploughs of different constructions, and by different patentees; harrows, drills, cultivators. every species of soil and crop has its peculiar apparatus; in the field and the farm-yard; for getting seed into the ground, clearing and dressing when there, for thrashing it out and cleaning it for market; for sowing peas, beans, turnips, carrots, parsnips, etc., for chopping, slicing, and preparing them for cattle; their machines for tedding hay, for stacking it with least possible risk, for cutting and steaming it; for ploughing up weeds, ploughing up moorlands, and even roads; for reaping by wholesale, and raking by wholesale; for tapping deep springs, and guttering the surface for the escape of top-water; there are their machines for paring and levelling lumpy lands; for cross-cutting furrows to make rough mossy land take seed better; their channels, sluices, and schemes for irrigation. and then, who shall tell all their implements for hay-binding, rope-twisting, furze-pounding for cattle; their novel churns, their ratteries, their new-fangled mole-traps, their poultry-feeders, and pheasant-feeders, by which those birds are enabled to help themselves from tin boxes supplied with grain for them, without feathered depredators being able to go shares with them. truly[56] solomon might say that men now-a-days have sought out many inventions!

but who shall calculate all the thoughts and the labours of such men as fitzherbert, tusser, gooch, platt, hartlib, weston, markham, sir walter raleigh, sir john norden, john evelyn, worlidge, stillingfleet, harte, arthur young, maxwell, lord kaimes, sir john sinclair, etc. etc.? who shall aggregate and estimate the numerous and valuable suggestions and articles of anonymous writers in the journals; and the personal labours and fostering influence of such men as the late dukes of buccleugh, and of bedford, the duke of portland, earl spencer, the late lord somerville, mr. coke of holkham, now the earl of leicester, and many other noblemen and gentlemen who have spent their lives in the unostentatious but most meritorious endeavour to perfect the agricultural science of england? with the exception of naturalists, there are no men whose pursuits seem to me to yield them so much real happiness as intelligent agriculturists whose hearts are in the business; and though there are men whose offices or professions place them more in the public eye, there are none who are more truly the benefactors of their country. such were lord somerville and the duke of buccleugh, as described by sir walter scott; and there is a passage in his memoir of the latter nobleman well worth the notice of those who propagate or believe in the nonsense of the economists on the non-influence of absenteeism. “in the year 1817, when the poor stood so much in need of employment, a friend asked the duke why his grace did not prepare to go to london in the spring? by way of answer, the duke shewed him a list of day-labourers then employed in improvements on his different estates, the number of whom, exclusive of his regular establishments, amounted to nine hundred and forty-seven persons. if we allow to each labourer two persons, whose support depended on his wages, the duke was in a manner foregoing, during this severe year, the privilege of his rank, in order to provide with more convenience for a little army of nearly three thousand persons, many of whom must otherwise have found it difficult to obtain subsistence. the result of such conduct is twice blessed; both in the means which it employs, and in the end which it attains in the general improvement of the country. this anecdote[57] forms a good answer to those theorists who pretend that the residence of proprietors on their estates is a matter of indifference to the inhabitants of that district. had the duke been residing, and spending his revenue elsewhere, one half of these poor people would have wanted employment and food; and would probably have been little comforted by any metaphysical arguments upon population, which could have been presented to their investigation.”—scott’s prose works, vol. 4.

many such things may be daily heard of the present duke of portland, in the neighbourhood of welbeck abbey, in nottinghamshire; which convince you that he is one of those men that contrive to pass through life without much noise, but reaping happiness and respect in abundance, and while gratifying the taste for rural occupation, conferring the most lasting benefits upon the country. i shall close this section of this chapter with the substance of one such act, related to me some years ago. in the manner of relation it may therefore differ somewhat from that in which originally told, but in fact i believe it to be perfectly correct. the duke found that one of his tenants, a small farmer, was falling, year after year, into arrears of rent. the steward wished to know what should be done. the duke rode to the farm; saw that it was rapidly deteriorating, and the man, who was really an experienced and industrious farmer, totally unable to manage it, from poverty. in fact, all that was on the farm was not enough to pay the arrears. “john,” said the duke, as the farmer came to meet him as he rode up to the house, “i want to look over the farm a little.” as they went along,—“really,” said he, “every thing is in very bad case. this won’t do. i see you are quite under it. all your stock and crops won’t pay the rent in arrear. i will tell you what i must do. i must take the farm into my own hands. you shall look after it for me, and i will pay you your wages.” of course there was no saying nay,—the poor man bowed assent. presently there came a reinforcement of stock, then loads of manure,—at the proper time, seed, and wood from the plantations for repairing gates and buildings. the duke rode over frequently. the man exerted himself, and seemed really quite relieved from a load of care by the change. things speedily assumed a new aspect. the crops and stock flourished; fences and outbuildings were put[58] into good order. in two or three rent days, it was seen by the steward’s books that the farm was paying its way. the duke on his next visit, said, “well, john, i think the farm does very well now. we will change again. you shall be tenant again; and as you now have your head fairly above water, i hope you will be able to keep it there.” the duke rode off at his usual rapid rate. the man stood in astonishment; but a happy fellow he was, when on applying to the steward he found that he was actually re-entered as tenant to the farm just as it stood in its restored condition;—i will venture to say, however, that the duke himself was the happier man of the two.