" Here we have, as cause and
effect, the philosophy of Mr. Ball, and the facts of Mr. Clay. And,
further, this philosophy is as bad in principle, when tried by the rules
of political economy, as when subjected to moral and Christian tests.
Mr. Ball says there is no machinery by which the farmers can get the
weeds out of the land. This may be true; and once there was no
machinery by which they could get the seed into the land, or the crops
from it. Once there was little or no inventive power among the
mechanics, or scientific knowledge, or even spirit of inquiry, among the
farmers. How have these changes been wrought? By education, surely, and
that moral and religious culture for which secular education is a fit
preparation. The contributions of learning to labor, in a pecuniary
aspect alone, have far exceeded the contributions of labor to learning.
It is impossible to enumerate the evidences in support of this
statement, but single facts will give us some conception of their
aggregated value and force.
It was stated by Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of
Agriculture, in his Annual Report for 1855, "That the saving to the
country, from the improvements in ploughs alone, within the last
twenty-five years, has been estimated at no less than ten millions of
dollars a year in the work of teams, and one million in the price of
ploughs, while the aggregate of the crops is supposed to have been
increased by many millions of bushels.
Pages:
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39