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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.! 1.25 ■- IIIIIM III" 1^ 11^. 2.2 ■ »3 i: i^ " It 1^ 1 '■' 1.4 .8 1.6 ^ APPLIED INA^GE 1653 East Main Street Rochester, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 -0300 -Phone <716) 288-5989 -Fax ; THE WEEKLY WITNESS; THE FARMtR^. PAPrR. ' •> >: THE ' / "'MONTREAL WITNESS " AGRICULTUB A L*^ LECTURES BY h' REV. W. F. CLARKE. O >o. /. ..5.. THE NOBILITY OF AGRICULTURE: • BiTtvered at the Ontario School of Agriculture, Guelph, Monday,, 14th October, 1878-. ■ V jr John Dougali, & Son. 1878. . o > en O 2: H X m m O X H X $i.i» PER annum' IN A^VANDSE. _ i of this andjeubserjuent Ijectftres by Mr.*(:;i,ARKE will be sent to any address ton receipt ef a ONE ofcxT PeSTAGfi. STAMPS In orderingit^a"^ • h»w many copies are wanted for DISTRIBUTION; • * ^^-«xon jne of necessary economy and quiet. The year has been uneventful. The principal matter of noto in connection with the history of Our publications has been the receipt from the Committee of the Witness Testimonial Fond of a considerable sum of money towards the pur- chase of our great eight-cylinder press, which is beinR duly inscribed in memory of so important and interesting an event. The most important announcement we have to make for the coming season is to be found below. AGRICUIx WITNESS LECTURES ON TURE. The publishers of the Witness have of late been strongly impressed with the idea that Canada has reached that stage in her agricultu- ral development when the country is ripe for very considerable improvements in her farming cus- toms. Our best farmers have come to realii^e that the culture which has served iu the past will not serve in the future. Agricultural science— the application of mind to matter — is what is needed. Agricultural colleges are abundant in many parts of Europe, and in countries of which we know almost nothing a large proportion of the farmers have had thorough scientific train- ing, and expensive wurks and journala are foimd iu neatly overy i*»iiii"uOiiD«. XIi« HoXu gduorcb' tion of Canadian farmers must be of this clacs. Those who cannot attain to education will fall behind in the race. The great majority may easily be educated farmers if they choose. There is already one agricultural college in each province. If they were properly appreciated there would be one in each county. The publishers of the Witness have during the past few weeks been made the recipients of a munificent donation from the people of Canada, . and have conceived the plan of making some re- turn to the country by the establishment of a winter course of " witness" free lectures on AORICHLTUBl, with the object of enlisting the zeal of in- telligent farmers iu the diffusion of agricul- tural knowledge among their fellow-agricultur- ists. To that end they are fortunate in having secured the services of the most popular and best known agricultural writer and speaker in Canada, MB. W, F, CLARKE, OP LINDENBANK, OUELPH,. formerly editor of the Canada Farmer and of the Ontario Farmer, who will lecture be- ginning about October first, in such parts of the country as may offer him the best openings. We should be fii'^id if it were pos- sible to cover the whole country Vith svch a course, but es concentration is necessary to ef- ficiency, he will probably work out from twc or three centres in Quebec and Ontario, trying to leave . behind him wherever he goes some perma* nent result in the shape of organization for mutual improvement among the farmers in the various localities he may visit. All who would like to have such lectu.'es delivered in their neighborhoods are requested to write at once to the undersigned, when the possibility of fulfilling' the request' will bo immediately considered. Wo would not have it thought that this plan is intended to be a diversion of the generous gift of the subscribers to the Testimonial Fund from its original intent of establishing the Witness enterprise, as we are in the hope that Mr. Clarke's tour will not in the long run prove a loss tu the Witness, but that on the contrary it will do much to establish the paper as the farmer's paper throughout the Dominion. We shall expect our friends who invite the visit of the Witness lecturer to make the neces- sary local arrangements^ the way of hall or other public building, are quite sure they will | nts^ i fiAn .nd lights, which we sry cheerfully. OuuALL & oOK, Montreal. ' " i ] i t c I t c V o: tl ai pi e,\ w 891206 ■♦ Naihona/ Library o< Canada s.'S':^'"-^ ( ' W ■^ f THE NOltlLITV OF AGRICULTUUR INAUGURAL JK/rjV^iS,'.S'.S- LECTTJRV nv TJI/X7 «r , • 'EFORE THE ON- On Monday evemng, Oetobor H th, the first of *he series of leotureson "Agriculture," arrang- ■ rccppiiou in i lii the United Mtaf-^a Tf ^„ x-l ^ . . every neighborhood whiSh he odKht visit Tt flUh, to meet tho world's need. The farmer Thf. NoniLiTY OF Ar.Ricin.TiKP;. 5 in a Hort of creator. Agriculture is the only ■ourno of wealth. There muHt be a broader baMiN made for the Hooial MuperNtruoturo. It iH top-hoavy, and noedH buttruHHiug with the ini- plemontM of huHbandry. Two aoreH of land will Hupport iu iioiiifort a Dvitfh or Helgian family. John Chinaman in rich on a Hiugle aero or lewn. In I'Vanoo every family has itH little homestead, and no buHineHH cii.uiges can effect the proHpority of the great maHH of tli" working people. It is better to be a Mmali landholder than a pinched mochanio, or half- idle laborer. In the HuburbH of aU our towns and oitieH there are groat expanseH of unoccu- pied land which the owners woiUd be glad to let for the payment of taxes, or hoU on long time. Why on earth cannot people who have nothing to do get hold of these waste places, and make productive gardens of them P Able- lodied men lot the spade and hoc lie unused at their feet, and go about moping and starving. The fact is, nothing is so generous as the soil ; nothing repays with such liberal profusion the labor you bestow upon it. You give Mother Earth of your scanty measure, and she flings back to you from her bountiful stores a thou- sand fold. The late Horace Greeley advised the Toung men to "Go West." The speaker didn't care whether you went west or east, north or soulh, or stay where you are, but if you are hard up and don't know what to do for a living, OET A BIT OF LAND, work it well, and you will not toil for nothing. If a little garden patch on the edge of your town or city is too sorimpt-up a domain for your ambition, push ort into the country and •' bite bigger.' ' Begin with spade husbandry. By-aud-byo you will bo able to run a plough. He should like to see a generation of little farmers spring up out of the debris of these hard times. With generous manuring and high culture gseat crops may be harvested from very limited acres. And this, be it re- membered, is literally " making money." It is going to the fountain-head, and tapping the springs of wealth at their source. "This is not fictitious, but real and actual gain. There is one moral taught by all this, from which there is no getting away. It is, that those al- ready loctited .on farms and able to make a living oti them had better stay -where they are. With so many idle people in towns and cities — idle not. from choice but from necessity — idle becar . /.ey have absolutely nothing to do — is it .' t aownright insanity for hale and hear- ty young fellows to abandon the farm ? In the second place, he argued in favor of efforts to educate our people agriculturally, from the claims of farming as an occupation. Two VEBY OPPOSITE OPINIONS are widely prevalent in regard to farming as an occupation : tho one that it is eminently desirable, and the other that it is well-nigh »^/\ff^a*'n^"Kifi Tlift liiirli sstiiii3.ts o£ f Hxinimr just alluded to is formed extensively by people of education and culture, by professional men, merchants, and those whoso duties confine them to the town or city. Here and thoro you And a practical farmer who thinks thuii highly of his calling, though it must be con. IcHsod that cnthuHiasm in regiird to their vo- (Mition is rarer among farmers than among other olasseM of persons. Whatever may bo the cause, it is, to say tho least, unfortunate that farmin)< should be in better repute among those not engaged in it than among tlioso who are compelled, in too many oases, aKainst their will, to follow it as a business. What are tho grounds on which the favorable estimate of farming is based f Are they substantial or il- lusory P Let us investigate them somewhat. Its admirers regard and speak of agriculture as a healthfid, independent and safe occupa- tion ; preferable to the in-door confinement, anxiety and uncertainty of commerce and the professions ; bringing those who pursue it into every day contact with nature, and with those scenes of tho external world which mankind by common consent are wont to delight in. Is not all this true P And can as much bo said in so few words concerning any other human occupation ? It will doubtless bo urged in re- ply that all this is the bright side of the farm- er's life, and that it is not without its draw- backs and difticidties. Granted : but every earthly condition that can be pictured has a dark background, whUo it will be hard to find another that has linos of equal brightness in tho foreground. Admitting, for argument'B sake, that THE IIIOH ESTIMATE OF AORICULTUKE is correct, how is it that so many farmers do not have it P Firstly, because discontent with our own lot and envy of that of others is among tho commonest besetments of human- ity. Secondly, because farmers and their families know but little of the real circum- stances of town and city people, and are es- pecially ignorant of tho toils, worries, priva- tions and hardships connected with business and the professions. Thirdly, because the rural population has not been educated up to an ap- preciation of tho beautiful in nature. This is often his misfortune more than it is his fault. His life has been one monotonous plod. Ho has been too much of an earth-worm and a drudge. What philosophers would call the a3sthetical part of his nature is undeveloped. " 'Tis pity, but pity 'tis, 'tis true." There are not wanting signal exceptions to all this. Many farmers, and their number is constantly on the increase, appreciate their calling as highly as any who look wistfully at it from a distance, and would hardly change places with a prince on his throne. There are others who, in the absence of any gushing en- thusiasm, seo ample reason for contentment with their lot. But it is time to glance at the low estimate of farming as p.n occupation", to which reference was made at the outset of this lecture. On what grounds is that attempted to bo Justified ? That it is ft filavifih. life ; that I it is not genteel ; that it does not pay ; that its I associations are low, coarse and unrefined. Thk Nonii.nv (»i- Acikh t iiikk. Let UN examine thew (iharalo objection raised against the School of Agriculture by our re- presentatives was that it gives too much theo- retical instruction. It is high time this bub- ble were pricked aiul the wind let out of it, whether it be found sailing aloft alor our con- cession lines or Heating ariniiid the heads of legislators in parli: mentary halls. Many years ago it was nmte the fashion in certain (luarters to decry theory in connection with agriculture, but we supposed that day was past for ever, until we were undeceived by the waking up of our legislative Rip Van Winkles, and their loud outcry against the danger that menaced the country from this source. Now, what is theory F Is it not a statement of the principles according to which any effect is pro- duced . in other words, a recognition of those unchan;-'eable laws by which the universe is governed * THEOEY IS AS NECESSARY TO THE FAEMEB who grows a bushel of wheat as it is to the mechanic who builds the mill in which the wheat is ground. The great mistake is that of supposing theory and practice to be hostile to each other, while the truth is theory should guide practice, and practice conform itself to theory. Generally speaking the farmer is a mere manual laborer. Ho works a cording to a few simple traditional rules. Certain modes of culture have been f jund by experience to bring about certain results. But he cannot explain the why and the wherefore of them. He cannot show why it is and must bo as ex- perience has demonstrated. Hence he gojs about his work mechanically rather than in- telligently, and finds it more of a task than a pleasure. To unow the reasons of things, to be versed in the principles of agriculture, would convert drudgery into an enthusiastic observation of Nature, and lend a charm to an otherwise tedious occupation. It is not per- haps to bo wondered at that so few farmers are versed in the theory of their business when it is remembered that 'it is only very lately that agriculture could claim to have been reduced to a system. It was only in the early part of the present century that chemistry was first applied to farming, and there are patriarchs now living who have witnessed the birth of agricultural chemistry as they have the dis- covery of steam and the invention of railroads. The fanner who would be up with the times must be a book-farmer. He must farm by the book. It is quite tnie that reading alone wil^ not m*ke a mw n good fftnner, T^ere TlIK NorUMTY OF AoRtCUt.TlJRE. 7 li A PBACnOAI. PABT wU/eih miut \m leartit on thti ftirm itMlf . It nqnlTC* an exerolso of judjftnmit only to bo had by oxiwrienco, to adapt principloH to vary- ing cir<)mni(t.4nceii at noil and > limateH. Tho iarmer'i aim should bo to raise thn largoiit poHHiblo iTopd at the least poHMible liOMt, enpo- i;ially Hhuniiing that oo«t whKih comuH from in- flicting injury on tho moU. What tho soil con- tains IN his stw^k-in-trado, (jnd ho must kuop that up or his businoss will Hoon go to tho dogs. In conclusion the leoturer plead for tlio uso Of all available means to diffuse agrioultural in- formation in view of tho ohara(!toriHtics and wai.ts of Canadian farming. While tho general rules that govern agrioulturo are tho same all the world over, every country tias a husbandry peculiar to itself. Its character becomes mould- ed and fixed by tho force of circumstances. There is a certain alaptatiou about it, and in the study of that adaptation the secret of success is to be found. The MOST CONSPICUOITS AND STEIKIfn FKATUHE of Canadian farming is the m .ness of the oountrv which forms its field of operation. In many lo<;alitio8 the " oldest inhabitant " re- members when the first tree was felled and the light of day let into the primeval wilderness. Then the all-absorbing thought was to make a clearing. There was wholesale tree slaughter. Fields and farm steadings wore laid bare and left unsheltered. TL^ country was laid open •to the sweep of fierce winds. A lessened rain- fall, and our almost chronic summer droughts, had been caused by a too indiscriminate des- truction of the woods and forests. The ex- posed condition of ti i country had rendered the growth of fall wheat uncertain and unpro- fitable in many districts. Tho early settlers found a soil of astonishing fertility. This they cropped and cropped again, with the most exhaustive products, neglecting to return to the land by timely manuring, the wealth ab- stracted by abundant harvests. Dire necessity had Bometfiing to do with this. With their fanuB to pay for, their families to keep, their stock, tools, and implement to buy, it was not HO surprising that they drew upon the viigin soil to the utmost extent possible. But ignor- ance, as well as necessity .prompted their course of procedure. A restoration of tree growths was now loudly called for. The highways needed to be avenued with trees, groves plant- ed around farm-steadings ; and the fields belted with rows of evergreens. EKSTORATION OF LOST FEETILITT isanother urgent want of Canadian agriculture. A system to which the late Baron Liebig severely but correctly gave the name of ' spo- liation ' has been pursued to well nigh its uttermost limit. As a natural result of tt, the impression is widely prevalent thai'- ^Rvrjjing does not pay ! Ala8,for " our bleeding country " df ^-bia "hQ OQ^ A^rieulturs ^vx^of" h^ *h" ha?;*" of our national pronperity, if we are to have «nv. Unless w«) <^an make farming pay th« cointry will drift into bankruj)tecialtio8 of their voca- tion. Farming is a business, and men require to be educated and qualified for it just as for every of . i business. Even if a farmer's early education has been but scant, there is abundant help for him in the teeming issues of the press. "Read and you will know" is an unfailing talisman. Let him study and master the prin- ciples of his noble calling ; let him emulate the example of tho most successful tillers of the soil ; let him farm with brain.s as well as mus- cle, and he will achieve results of which ho little dreams at present. He will make two blades of grass grow where only one grew be- fore, and take rank among tho benefactors of his race. He will prove himself a true patriot, and be held in gratetul remembrance, when thousands of blatant politicians are deservedly forgotten. At the conclusion of the address, of which the above is a bare outline, it was moved by T'rof . Brown, seconded by Prof. Fanton, " That u. hearty vote of thanks be tendered to the lec- turer. Rev. "JV. F. Clarke, for the able and in- structive lecture just delivered; and through him to tho proprietors of the Montreal Witness for thus givbg us the opportunity of enjoying a privilege rarely offered — listening to a lec- ture upon agricultural subjects from one of the ablest exponents of those subiects in Canada." President Johnston expressed his hearty approval of the resolution before putting it to the meeting. It was carried amii&t great ap- -%1nns£> n-.-i-i %r *^ ; ^ J I . I i rT"!" ...... ™he daily and weekly witness will contain the whole ?JSe8 OF lO CLAEKE'S LECTTOE8 ON AQ3ICULTXJEE. ALL PERSONS who desire to keep well informed on AGKICULTUEAL aUBJECT^^^^^^ yariouB departmentn, on Bubject« of vrvAL intei.eht ^the Countiu of the ^^^^ at HoMK AND Abroad, and who wish to read that jvhich w 1 have a tendency to cultivate a desire for, and strenj^hen principles of Kfxioion AND Iempek^^^^^^ ,.n7i finri their obiectLi-eatlv aided in its attainment ly reading tfte jytOMutAi- Wit5C The S?^ of this paper is well known and its success S^'een-coisider^foL'i^f the marvels of ihe age , ^ny who des^^^^^^^^ secure its greater circulation can do so at a proht to ^Hf^^^^^ J!' ^^.k ^ot ""ly subscriptions to it, or the other Witness publications. ^^J'^V;,^ T„' V"^^^^^^ pleasant to those who engage in it, but which will obtain for them the thanks o^ those whom their influence causes to take any of these papers, ihis has oeen heLNTvETBArEXPEUiENCE of the workers for the WrrNE«. and its sister paper. Cash commissions are given for subscriptions and prizes, and the foUowmg oHers are also made :— ,,. ,. ^■ t. e New subscribers for a year to any of the Witness ]3ublications, -a list ot whifhTs gve"Mow,--will receive tlie paper to which they subscribe free to the end oFths veai so that any persons now subscribing will get their papers fJonrSe time they subscribe to tL first of January, IS'^O- foroneprice. at.$2e^ch, v^-iii , ft ft%i.;.-.i .>^y^f i i ' Bmaf ' Bi ' fi B l . n l teM l. lg i^■^ ^TTy person sending u.i.Y)UR now subscrij^ers to the Weekly V/itness, at $1.10 each, will get an extra copy for one year. Any pei-son sending us one new subscriber to the Weekly Witness will receive a copy of tl.e Northern MESSBKaER FRLL for one year. A special offer is made to Sunday-schools. To any Sunday-school that does not now take the Northern Messenger, we will send free to the end of this year a package containing a sufficient number of papers to supply one to each family. All instructions necessary to begin this work will be sent on application to the publishers. Theprize list may be found in any copy of the Weekly Witness. EVERY LETTER ANSWERED. HOW A NEWSPAPER IS MADE. '^ hiehlv interesting account of the manufacture of a Dailv Newspaper, reprinted from the New Dominion Monthly, has been issued by the ^nhlinheTs and will be sent fr.e to any address on receipt of a One Cent Stamp, 'fhis is a subject every one is interested in. Address at once, before the issue has been exhausted. JOHN D0UGALL & SON, Montreal. The Witness Publications. :oe: Montreal Daily Witness, price, post paid, Montreal Weekly Witness, . - • - L'Aui-ore, (French, lllus.), . - - - Northern Messenger, (lUus.), - - - ^3.00 circulation 14,951 1.10 " 26,300 1.00 " 860 30o. " 46,400 THE DAILY AND WEEKLY WITNESS TO JANUABY Ist, 1880, FOR ONB YEAR'S SUBSCRIPTION,