USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > More chronicles of a pioneer school, from 1792 to 1833, being added history on the Litchfield Female Academy kept by Miss Sarah Pierce and her nephew, John Pierce Brace > Part 18
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is a short tho' weary journey, & will soon terminate in "the dark inn, the grave." The airy bubbles of time will soon cease to dazzle or allure & other objects of brighter & truer influence will strike upon the soul - Can you discharge the duties of life, without religion? To you will be committed the charge of early discipline. Is it not dreadful to reflect, that without religion, you may instill into the youthful mind the bitterest hatred to the God of heaven; that, from the state of your own feelings you may produce in the mind of others, that spark of evil, that may eventually convert the heart into a perfect volcano of mischief. Can you meet the ills of time without religion? The day of life is not always clear and cloudless. Tho' to youth's unexperienced eye, its morning may be bright with joy and every face beaming in the sunshine of happiness - yet, you will find that all these vivid joys will be like the Borealis race, "that flit e'er you can paint their place & that you will soon see the rainbow of hope that paints the skies azure breast," "vanishing amid the storm" of misfortune - And when storms do arise, what will be a better feeling than to look beyond the tempests of time, to the unclouded, endless day that follows -
We dismiss many of you to the world, with anxious fears, for you, in many instances, have not those religious principles which alone can carry you safely thro' the dark tempestous times that await you. Reg- ulations for your future conduct cannot be here expected & indeed precepts avail little unless your own inclinations sanction them. Re- member however that you have just crossed the threshold of the temple of science let every other exertion be made to progress in that improvement you have commenced, knowing that knowledge will always be its own reward.
But remember, likewise, that the brightest blaze of intellectual grandeur is not that fire that burns on the altar of heaven; that the treasures of Golconda & Potosi are not those desirable riches of right- eousness found only in the kingdom of Heaven & that the brilliancy of personal beauty is not that glory which will shine with a star- like lustre, forever & ever.
ADDRESS-SUMMER 1820
In reviewing the occurences of the past summer & in giving out the rewards promised at its commencement, many subjects of reflection present themselves to view. Another season for improvement has elapsed & its influence on your future fate has been already stamped & cannot be erased. Standing as you now do on the threshold of the summer, & about to bid it adieu forever - pause for a few moments & ask yourselves the question, what have been its uses, its profit, its bearing on your happiness in this condition.
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Young persons, as they start in life, are too apt to suppose that they have almost an eternity of years before them & that the mis- improvement of one term or one year will be of little value. But how idle is such an opinion, how distructive to improvement & deadening to the mind -- Even, granting that ideas failed of being obtained in one year may be accumulated the next, yet the progress in the path of science must be stopped by this unreasonable indolence. Besides, the habit of mind given the power of all indolent habits, will be suf- ficient to exhibit the incorrectness of such positions. The mind, formed as it is, for activity, must be constantly exercised in the years of youth - otherwise it will move in a sluggish & indolent course & finally stagnate in its channel. There is no moment when the mind is stationary, if not moving onward in its orbit, its motion will be retrograde.
Hence a continual culture is necessary until the habits of intellectual industry are formed & the mind can go on in its progress from the momentum of its first impulse. Those of you, then, that have wasted this summer & have calmed your consciences with the notion that after industry will enable you to atone for this neglect - have reasoned from false premises & have perhaps originated those habits of indolence, whose cold and palsying touch will freeze the current of your soul & chain its every future effort. This question, then, should be heard with attention & reflection. "Have I this summer, by the constant improvement of every hour, accumulated those treasures of science which are so necessary to unselfishness & acquired those habits of intellectual perseverance that will render my future progress in science easy." To those who have not, I will repeat, that they themselves are the cause of the weakness of mind and want of genius of which they complained & "as they have sown to the wind, so they must reap to the whirlwind" - My young friends, hear my advice: whether you continue with us, or employ your hours at some other seminary, or under your parent's guidance, be advised by me to stop the deadly influence of indolence, the disease is now young & can be checked - wait for a few years & no power can control its lethargy; it will benumb one faculty after another, until your understandings "sleep the sleep of death."
We are extremely happy in asserting that a stretch of industry & perseverance rarely equalled in the annals of this school has been exhibited this summer: but few are exceptions to this assertion - but to the consciences of those few I now wish to speak so plainly as to be felt, & so powerfully as to govern what will be the account that God will demand of hours supplied but wasted; of talents granted but to be abused of the light of intellect, given but to be stranded by the mists of indolence -
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From these few dark shades in the picture we turn to those brighter hues that have gladdened our eyes, and encouraged our hearts - To those who have employed their time to advantage, who have now been sowing that harvest, they will reap hereafter, we have many words of praise to give - But the character of our praise & the merits of each can be better learnt by a reference to the prizes & the credit marks - But there is another light in which the flight of time this summer is to be viewed. When industry shall have accomplished its object & indolence shall have performed its office; when the stream of time shall have emptied all its waters into the ocean of eternity, indeed long after this world with its own peculiar concerns & trials shall appear, "as some lone island-speck seen far - far off, across a wide long stretch of sea," will this summer be remembered with pain or joy as its time of probation has been improved. Have you not good reason to suppose that that remembrance will be painful if the occurences of this summer have not induced your repentance & ref- ormation, will any after consideration effect them. Is there not great reason to imagine that hearts that have resisted the providences of this season, will still resist them, when habit of sin has increased its power & the claims of the world have wound themselves more closely round. Will God be more merciful hereafter when you have sinned longer against him But will that hereafter arrive. Are none a prey to death. As young as strong, as blooming as you. Where now is all that was Clarinda Darling, whose sun at this summer's dawn rose as clear & bright as yours? Mouldering beneath the clods of the valley. Will you not pause one moment, & leaning o'er grave, resolve that e'er death strike you, you will give yourselves to God.
Do you think that strength of frame & vigor of body will secure you from the tyrants grasp & therefore neglect your repentance. Who, three months since, so blithely bounded on your path to school as she, "whose frame, so vigorous, & whose health so strong." Can beauty save you? Look at her grave & ask.
"Will the cold earth, its silence Break, "To tell how soft, how smooth a cheek, "Beneath its surface lies."
Can intellect stay the dart? If native strength of mind, if intellect's opening promise could e'er have stop'd the power of death, Clarinda would have heard my voice this day. Seldom, in the course of my experience, have I found at such an age, the promise
" of fairer flowers
"Or richer fruit, in future hours."
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To a memory of quick & ready powers, she joined a comprehensive grasp of mind, at her age rarely equalled. Sure she was young - her intellect just dawning, but it was a dawn of vivid light, a dawn that promised a bright & glorious day of mind.
Be advised then not, in your attention to other duties to neglect those you owe to God -
We have seldom dismissed a school with the regret we now do - You have marked this summer with a persevering industry, an atten- tion to our commands & a regard to our feelings that will lead us to hold you, long in remembrance - But the time of our control over you has elapsed & we send you from us with most ardent wishes for your future usefulness & happiness in life & hopes that we all shall meet in that world - where those who assemble meet to part no more".
ADDRESS TO THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY.
Oct. 13, 1824.
In addressing you at this anniversary of your agricultural society the speaker you have appointed labours under peculiar disadvantages. He is addressing the ablest theoretical and practical agriculturalists of Litchfield County, on a subject, upon which he, theoretically, knows little, & practically still less. The path of life that he has followed; the sciences with which he has amused himself & the employments he has pursued have led him far from a contemplation of the subject he is called this day to present to you. He now first puts his plough into an untried field, with the consciousness that many a well practised eye is observing the furrow that he makes, & will well discover his inaccuracies. Hear him then with impartiality while he employs the time allowed him for your instruction, in a few crude observations on the object that has collected you.
The subject that is proposed for your attention is the Modern Im- provement of agriculture and particularly its connection with science. That such improvements exist is abundantly proved from the very fact of your assemblage here; & that such improvements have been beneficial, the exhibitions of this day satisfactorily testify.
In former times, the farmer was supposed to stand alone, uncon- nected, in his improvement, with the arts & sciences. The bare rudi- ments of education, the strength of muscle, & firmness of nerve, that enabled him to endure toil & fatigue & the perseverance of spirit that caused him, from its elasticity, to encounter and overcome obstacles, were all that were considered necessary in the formation of his char- acter. True, these produced wonderful results; They filled the forest,
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they covered the fields with verdure; they reared the cottage, the village, the city, they planted & defended the tree of freedom & they now, place these states on the pinnacle of greatness & glory.
But will it not be allowed that a knowledge of the agricultural improvements of modern times, & of the sciences, that have produced them would have smoothed the path of our ancestors, & would have enabled them to have attained their great & glorious object with half the means. The sciences are all intimately connected with each other, & while the farmer, by his labour supports the scientific man in his leisure, he in turn, gives the results of his investigations to facilitate the labour, & improve the property of the farmer.
The first science I would mention that has, in the present century, influenced the improvement of agriculture, is that of Mechanism. The application of mathematical & mechanical principles to the con- struction of new, & the improvement of old machines & utensils is a distinguished characteristic of the improvement of modern times. These machines owe not their origin to fortunate conjecture & success- ful accident, the invention is founded on the deepest knowledge of the science of mechanics & its application to agriculture, & shows how useful a knowledge of that science would prove even to the practical farmer. The introduction of any machine, which with little or even much expense alleviates the toil & labour of man or beast, cannot but meet the approbation of every rational man, must do away those un- reasonable prejudices that hang upon the mind in favour of ancient long used instruments.
The Botanist, likewise, flings in the treasures of his knowledge to assist the agriculturalist. He points out the various grasses that may be useful for his experiments, ascertains the quantity of nourishment each affords, shows whether that nourishment will be the greatest if the grass be cut when in flower or in seed. He discovers different varieties of grain, brings new species from foreign & unexplored coun- tries, & points out the proper soils for their cultivation. It is to the Botanist that the agriculturalist owes the information that the smut on grain is a fungus plant growing like toad stools on rotten wood, on the seed, & that to avoid its occurence it is necessary to prevent the seeds of this fungus from remaining on the grain, by some previous preparation.
To the Mineralogist the farmer is likewise indebted in giving him a knowledge of the nature of the materials found in his soil, of their change & application, of the various descriptions, powers, uses & appli- cations of mineral manures. But his exertions in the cause of agri- culture are so intimately connected with chemical philosophy, that, to that head, they can be more particularly referred. Indeed no science is so intimately connected with agriculture as Chemistry. It is useful in describing the different properties of soils; in ascertaining
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the causes of their sterility; in showing the various methods of their improvement; in decomposing the salts of iron present; in improving the sandy by mixtures of lime, in removing an excess of vegetable matter or in supplying its deficiences.
It is farther useful in describing the principles of germination, & therefore pointing to the farmer where to apply the elementary princi- ples of vegetation & where to remove the poison and it is particularly useful in showing the nature, the mode of application & the use of manures. So important is this last particular that I shall be excused for detaining you by a concise description of its use, & if I should give one new practical idea to one farmer present, the exertions of this day will not have been made in vain. Plants cannot receive their nourishment from pure earth or pure water; they obtain their ele- mentary principles from decomposing vegetables or animal matter near them. To the copious supply, then, of these elementary princi- ples from decaying vegetables or animals they owe their health & vigour. Hence the use of manures of various kinds which consist of animal or vegetable matter, ready to undergo decomposition. Again, these principles must be obtained from the decomposition of the manure and during that decomposition. Decomposition is, in all cases, pro- duced by the agency of heat, air, & moisture; its products are either liquids or acidform fluids. If, therefore, manure be suffered, by stand- ing, previous to its application to the plant, to be exposed to heat & moisture the elementary principles necessary to the future growth of the plant will escape, & it will lose, when used, great part of its effect. The practical use, then, to be derived from these chemical principles is that manure should be applied when undecomposed, in order that its decomposition may go on in the neighborhood of the plant, & none of its efficacy be wasted. But, as it does not always happen, that manure can be thus applied, chemistry teaches the practical farmer to preserve it, as far as he is able from the agency of air, heat & moisture, in order to prevent decomposition, by keeping it on floors of wood or stone, in the coolest place of his farm and by covering it with clay or dirt from the agency of the air. It is the opinion of the chemist that much is lost to the farmer by manuring his fields in the autumn: a partial decomposition may then take place, when not wanted for the sustenance of vegetable life, and though winter checks the progress yet the spring floods & rains will carry away its fructifying principles, from the place designed for their operation.
To these scientific improvements in agriculture, others of no less importance have been made by the experimental farmer. He no longer supposes he must adhere to the ancient system of cultivation because it is ancient, but mingles his own experiments with the ex- perience of former times, corrects their mistakes improves upon their
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plans, & adds to their attainments by the resources of his own genius & the improvement of his neighborhood. To repeat these improve- ments, even by name, would be beyond the limits prescribed to this address: Improvements in the establishment of experimental farms, in summer-fallow, in the rotation of crops, in their adaptation to differ- ent soils, in irrigation, in improvement of the breeds of animals, & in various & improved methods of cultivation.
You yourselves . can easily discover whether you have made the necessary use of these improvements & whether the alteration of many of your present systems of cultivation would not be beneficial. All, it is to be feared are not aware, of the advantages gained, to soil & to the cultivation by a proper rotation of crops. In England this subject has been reduced to a system, & successions of fallow, turnips, wheat, beans, & clover with some other variations, have almost super- seded the use of manure. It is to be feared that all do not take ad- vantage of those improved breeds of stock that some of your public minded members have introduced into the county not reflecting that the expense of keeping valuable stock is no greater than inferior, & their superior usefulness & beauty will amply compensate the expense of their introduction. To the raising of sheep particularly, this county is eminently adapted; with proper means & proper precautions wool as fine as the Saxon might be raised for the manufacturer, & he no longer pay the present heavy duty on foreign wool. Sheep farms could be easily formed in such a grazing county, & probably would be more productive of profit in proportion to the labour employed, than any other mode of occupying land. Sheep require little care, in comparison with other agricultural employments & the present price of wool & its demand, would amply compensate the trouble of the introduction of the Saxon breed, which must, it would be supposed, assimilate to our climate much sooner than the Spanish.
Last, improvements in grass lands can yet be made, in this county, by proper irrigation, & much bog-meadow might be reclaimed by the setting back of ponds during the winter, & more attention paid to the advantage of future generations by an economical attention to the growth of young timber in woodlands. In this last particular, you may think cautions needless. It is so short a time since the strength & energy of your ancestors were directed to the extirpation of the forests that covered the earth, that you cannot think their preser- vation necessary but your descendants will sigh over the wasteful, unnecessary destruction of the timber among the present generation, & will wish that their fathers had kept their young cattle from their woodlands & had left them something besides stone for building & coal for fuel.
Too much attention is too often paid by the farmers to increasing
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the number of acres in their farms without reflecting that a strenuous cultivation of a small estate is of more advantage. The additional expenses of labour in travelling, of taxes, & of fencing often eat up more than the additional profits.
It should be a good farmer's ambition rather to raise a large quantity from a small farm, than to be called the master of many hundreds of acres. His attention is not so much divided, his labour is all under his own eye & immediate direction, discouragement & misfortune do not so soon creep in, & in a short time he finds himself a prouder & a richer man.
It would be beneficial likewise, to the raisers of Indian corn to send to some more Northern climate for their seed, they might rest assured that their crops would come to maturity much earlier & yield a more valuable increase for the experiment.
One indication & cause of the improvements of Modern times is the foundation of agricultural societies. In free governments, next to the influence of universally diffused education, no cause has so powerful an effect in perpetuating the institutions of liberty, as bring- ing the sober, intelligent yeomanry of the country acquainted with each other's views & characters. The habits of intimacy formed, the knowledge diffused, the information gained of their own independ- ency & power, will always prevent the domination of the military tyrant, or the arts of the political demagogue. One of the most useful assemblages is that of agricultural societies; in addition to the agri- cultural knowledge collected & disseminated, in addition to the practi- cal benefit gained by the farmer, they show to every disorganizer, that the hand that planted the tree of liberty is as ready to defend it now while it shades them. Agricultural societies unlike military spectacles or the amusements of public days, bring not together only the young, the idle, & the dissolute, they assemble the industrious, the independent, the sober owner of the soil. He meets his brother farmer, hears his improvements, details his own, sees the bone & sinew of the county around him, & returns to his farm and his labour, with a happier and an easier heart, with the proud consciousness of his independence & his usefulness & the numerical & moral strength of his associates.
These interviews must likewise convince you of your superiority even to those nations called the favoured spots of the globe. You will learn from the traveller how much more healthful your climate, how much purer your morals, how much more free your government, how much more exalted & spiritual your religion. You will often learn from the returning emigrant, that smoother soils have their drought that milder climates have their desolating diseases. You will learn from the observer of men, that your bleak & barren hills, your wintry
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blasts, your cold & rocky fields have made you hardy, industrious and virtuous. Envy not then the fertility of southern climes; the noxious vapour floats over the rice field, the fatal exhalation lurks around the evening perfume of the orange bower, the noisome pestilence walks abroad at noon day, amid the plantations of sugar; & luxury and enervation and vice breathe in every gale that wafts the fragrance of the spice groves.
Such then are the reflections that should govern your feelings this day, reflections of gratitude to your ancestors for what they have done for your welfare, & to that Providence who has given you "so goodly a heritage" Thank him that he has not cast your lot in the fevery & tumultuous population of a city, amidst its impurities its diseases, its contaminations & its vices; that he has not sent you to toil a slave on the ironbound soil of Russia or on the arid sands of Africa; or that he has not rendered your days unproductive & your nights wretched from a sense of personal insecurity.
You occupy the most useful, the most important station in society. It is to your exertions that the support, the food, the employment of every other rank is owing. To the surplus produce of the farmer, we owe the institution & preservation of distinct employments, the origin of commerce & manufactures & the existence of government. It is the surplus produce of the farmer that set the wheel of the manu- facturer in motion; that bids the sails of commerce whiten every sea, that gives to religion her ministers, to education, her students; that supports the busy population of the crowded city, & that lends to government its energy, its resourses & its being. This is not idle declamation. Let the farmer but raise only enough for his own support & the mighty heart, which, by its beatings, communicates life to every extremity, would be chilled & every member of the great body politic would be palsied in a moment.
Go then to your homes, this day, satisfied with the useful & hon- ourable rank in society you hold: owners of the soil you cultivate, with no imperious landlord to demand from you, in rent, the products of your labour, & control you in the management of your farms; with no established clergy to collect the tenth of your earnings, with no arbitrary government to force from you what the aristocracy or the hierarchy may have left, & confine you if you dare to murmur, but free as the air you breathe or the water that fertilizes your fields.
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