THE STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
Permit me now to occupy your attention for a brief space whilst I speak of this Institution—the State Agricultural College—upon whose grounds we are now assembled, and where by the kindness and courtesy of its officers, we have been so cordially welcomed and so pleasantly entertained. It is not, I think, inappropriate to the occasion that I should do so.
Let me remind you then, in the outset of my remarks on this subject, that this Institution is in its early infancy; and that notwithstanding the beautiful landscape which is spread out before us; with its verdant fields just springing into luxuriance, dotted with the finest specimens of the choicest breeds of sheep and cattle, with the College grounds skillfully laid out and now in process of being tastefully adorned by Art, a few years only have been numbered with the past since not only this spot, but all the surrounding country, as well as almost the entire territory of our young, but noble and now highly prosperous State, was an unbroken wilderness, covered with the primeval forest, the entangled woods giving shelter and concealment to wild and ferocious beasts, as well as to the wandering and savage red man. What a change has thus been wrought in a few short years! the result of the toil and privation of the adventurous pioneers, of whom many have already become intelligent, enterprising and forehanded farmers.
And more than this: Michigan, although but recently settled, and one of the youngest in the great sisterhood of States, has been the first to establish a professional school for the agricultural education of her sons, in which is not only taught the sciences and their application to agriculture, but also agriculture as an art, with such experiments as are calculated to impart a more thorough and practical knowledge of the same; and connected with the study of these a department of manual labor; the legitimate effect of all which is to increase the student's desire for knowledge as well as his love of study, and to remove the barrier too often existing between the educated and laboring classes—which can only be done by giving a better education to those who labor, and by removing the prejudices of the educated against labor.
But I propose to speak more definitely of the aims and objects of this Institution, as well as its claims to the favor and support of the farmers of Michigan. They need not be told, I think, that its design is to promote their benefit. But have the farmers of this State, as a class, heretofore recognized this fact? And have they in return for the advantages which it proposes to them, given it that countenance and encouragement which it claims at their hands? I fear not. There are, it is true, noble exceptions to this; yet it is also true that a large proportion of their number have looked upon it with suspicion and distrust, as though its purpose was to do them a wrong—to inflict upon them an evil. They have not merely withheld from it their aid and support, but their active influence has too often been exerted to its disadvantage and prejudice. This is certainly wrong—very wrong!
Let us look a little into this matter. Is knowledge—a knowledge of those sciences which are intimately connected with agriculture as an art—of no value to the farmer? Is it necessary that he should be a dolt in order to be fitted for his vocation? Will ignorance and bad husbandry increase his crops or enable him to find a better market for his products? Or, will his enjoyment, in his daily round of toil, be any greater because unconscious that he is groping his way along in the dark? No! For however that may have been in the past it is certainly not the case now. And although "ignorance," as it is said, may be "bliss," yet in these days, at least, it must be a sort of negative bliss.
Ignorance is certainly not power; nor does it lead to wealth as a means of comfortable support and enjoyment—which is the legitimate end of all labor. Will ignorance give respectability, or sweeten the toil of the husbandman? Will it elevate his thoughts and desires to higher and nobler aims, or inspire him to "look from nature up to nature's God?" Will it lead him instead of a fixed stolid gaze upon the earth over which he walks, to engage in the study of those great and omnipotent laws which regulate all matter, and which so wonderfully, yet certainly control both the animal and vegetable kingdoms? No! It will accomplish none of these desirable ends, but the very reverse of them all.
This proposition is so self-evident to intelligent men, that to advance it to such an audience as the one before me—except as the basis of an argument—must be entirely superfluous. But what was the social position of the farmers, let me ask—even in this highly favored country—fifty or sixty years ago? Were they not then regarded as men without knowledge—devoid almost of sensibilities—unfitted for anything except the mere routine of daily labor and toil—and capable only of delving in the soil day by day? And were they not then considered, even by themselves as well as by others, as occupying the very lowest position in the scale of society? Such were the facts. Every person who was regarded as too ignorant and uncultivated for other pursuits, was, by common consent, considered as having a prescriptive right to farming as a vocation. In fact ignorance was regarded as the proper and sufficient diploma for the farmer. And as a consequence he was not only poor and without influence, but too often considered by others as without respectability merely because he was a farmer; and all that was conceded to him—in fact all that he claimed for himself—was a simple subsistence upon the hardest fare, without any of the luxuries, and very often with a scarcity of the necessaries of life.
Remember, I am speaking of the farmers, as a class, fifty or sixty years ago—before there were any county fairs, or agricultural colleges, newspapers or magazines, and when agriculture was the result of labor without knowledge, system or calculation.
But although the farmers have emerged from this condition very slowly, yet what is their position now? Are they not regarded as being on a level at least with those of other callings in social importance? Do they not occupy positions of confidence and trust in society? Are they not found in our Legislative Halls in fair proportion with men of different pursuits? This is certainly true: and the advance alone is the result of a higher mental culture—of a wider range of thought—and of an increased fund of knowledge, and consequently of an improved system of farming.
And if the advance of agriculture and the condition of the farmer have been tardy, as compared with the improvement in other departments of labor—in other avocations of life—it is solely because science and study have not as soon been applied to agriculture—and because also the farmer has not been permitted the advantages resulting from so early a development of facts connected with his calling as have other classes of men.
But the great work is now fairly in progress of elevating the farmer to his true position in the social order of society—of teaching him that his vocation, instead of being the dull, unintellectual lot of the ignorant, is the most noble and dignified, as well as the most conducive to men's happiness in which he can be engaged; and nothing is now wanting to secure the steady advancement of this work, but for the farmers to do justice to themselves and to their calling, by laying hold of the means for that end which are placed within their reach. Assuming all this to be undeniably true, where can be found more potent agencies in the work of elevation than Agricultural Colleges? And why, then, should any farmer in this State hold back from giving this Institution his cordial and hearty support? And stranger still—why should he put himself in antagonism to its success? Such an attitude, to my mind, is not merely unwise, but preposterous—yes, suicidal. If the College is not what it should be, the more his self-interest should prompt him to bestow upon it his aid. It is the Farmers' Institution—founded for his benefit, at much cost; and if he does not feel an interest in it and labor to make it a success, who will? Who should?
But why have a portion of the farmers of Michigan seemed to look with distrust upon this Institution, and in some cases, I regret to say, seemed to regard it as a sort of wrong to themselves; and if they have not actually opposed, have, at least, withheld from it their support? I must confess, that should I give what seemed to me to be the true answer to these questions, it might be regarded by some who have not very carefully looked into the subject, as an assumption on my part unwarranted by facts.
Would that it were so; that I were mistaken. But having given the subject some little thought and investigation, you will, I trust, permit me the honest expression of my own views upon this important matter. It is for that purpose and none other, that I am here. But you, Mr. President, as well as all those now present, can certainly take no personal exception to these views, as the very fact of such presence shows that you are not of the class to which I may allude; and I am gratified in being able to say that I believe there are very many others, not present, who are the warm and devoted friends of this Institution; and who, with you, I most certainly hope, constitute the rule and not the exception.
But the answer: And in giving which, I will avail myself of the privilege conceded to a certain class of men,—that of answering one question by asking another. Why then do men ever oppose or neglect their own interests? To my mind, only from want of knowledge, from prejudice or self-will—or some other of the same brood of enemies to man's success in laudable undertakings; and of which ignorance is the chief, and may be regarded as the prolific source of all the others. In this case, undoubtedly, as in others, some are opposed from a mere notion of opposition, or from a mere whim; others again, simply to agree with, or differ from, some, who are either in favor or opposed; whilst some must oppose whatever they themselves do not originate;—and, others again, have no doubt been led honestly to entertain a distrust which has finally grown into an opposition, through the influence of misrepresentations, or from a perversion of facts by those whose interests, from some cause, are at variance with its success.
But I am quite certain that the whole opposition and indifference to this Institution, so far as it may come from the farmers themselves, is unnatural and fictitious, and will soon pass away as does everything else which is built upon such foundation. It is said by some that "the Institution has been a mistake from the beginning;" that it "was located wrong;" that it "was not started right;" that it "has been badly managed;" and that it "is an expensive concern, and will never pay;" and a great deal more. But it is very easy to say all this, and yet there may be very little reality in it, and still less reason.
Let me here say to the objectors and fault-finders,—suppose all this be true? who then is to blame? Is the Institution itself responsible for all these mistakes? Or, are they not rather the consequences of unavoidable and untoward circumstances, magnified and aggravated by your opposition, and over which its friends and managers could have no possible control. I admit the probability that the early success of the College would have been more certainly secured, had an old and highly cultivated farm been purchased for the purpose; but for this the means were wanting. You say, perhaps, that College students should not be required to clear land and dig stumps. True; but when the officers and managers of such an Institution are compelled to do this, and to reach the end desired as best they may through such means, they are certainly entitled to all praise, and richly deserve the meed of commendation for even partial success, and which should be all the dearer to us because of being reached under such adverse circumstances. That the facilities which the College now possesses are inadequate to the proper accommodation of those who wish to avail themselves of its advantages, and even to the extent of the limited number of students now belonging to it, is certainly to be regretted. But this is an evil to be overcome by the patient and persistent efforts of its friends, and not by the antagonism and opposition of its enemies; by making the most out of the limited means at command, and not by abandoning the whole because the means are not now all we could desire. That its management may have been a matter of criticism with those who have known but little about it, or who have taken little or no pains to investigate the facts, is not strange; yet, for one, I am clearly of the opinion that—when all the difficulties with which it has had to contend, are duly considered—its management, thus far, has been all that any person could reasonably hope for or expect; and more—that its officers and professors are entitled to great credit and much praise, for securing under so much discouragement, that degree of success which is apparent here even to the casual observer; and claim of us, and are entitled to receive at our hands, a proper and just recognition of their valuable services, and the fidelity with which they have been rendered.
Farmers of Michigan! Be not led astray by such objections as I have stated, or by any others of a similar import. You have here a noble Institution, in faithful and competent hands—one that will soon be of incalculable value to you—and one, too, that will reflect much credit not only upon you, but upon the whole State. And although it may not now be all you could wish or desire, yet when we consider what it now is in view of the difficulties with which it has had to contend, we have a sure guarantee, that it will yet be a success and will realize all your reasonable expectations. Let me ask of you, in all earnestness and candor, to give it now your warm, your hearty support, so that you may not only assist in securing for yourselves and the public the great end of its establishment, but that you may, by and by, safely, and without the fear of successful contradiction, lay claim to the honor of being among its early friends and upholders. There is something noble and magnanimous in rendering substantial aid and support to a cause in the hour of its weakness and in the time of its need; whilst there is something not only selfish but mean, in stepping forward with proffers of assistance, and with spurious claims of imaginary or intended favor, when such assistance is no longer needed, and when the heat and burden of the day has been borne by others; for, be assured, that the time is coming when no farmer will covet the distinction of having been among the number of the enemies of this Institution.
The advantages of our Agricultural College, in connection with an experimental farm, are too obvious to every intelligent mind to require that I should occupy your time in dwelling upon them. And, when I speak of an experimental farm, I do not mean a mere model farm, by which a specimen of good farming only is exhibited; but, like this, a farm embracing a variety of soils—adapted to an extensive range of experiments—and where the value of the different kinds of grain may be tested, as well as the relative advantages of different modes of tillage; the relative effect and value, by actual trial, as well as by analysis, of various manures as fertilizers; and the economy of labor; as well as the comparative value of the different breeds of cattle, sheep, horses, swine, &c., &c., with a view to the introduction and dissemination among the farmers of the State, of such as should prove the most profitable; or of such as could be most successfully used for obtaining the most desirable grades. Such a farm as this, under the efficient and skillful management of its present able and persevering Superintendent, cannot fail to be of very great benefit to the farmers of this State, and should, both as a matter of duty to others and of interest to themselves, receive their united and generous support. And I am firmly of the opinion that when they shall afford this Institution such aid, it will soon become one of the first among our noble institutions of learning, and will be a just cause of pride, not merely to the farmers themselves, but to every intelligent person throughout the whole extent of our noble State.
And now let me invoke, for the future prosperity and success of this College, not merely the liberality of the farmers—or what they may regard as such—in the payment of a trifling tax for its maintenance, but what is of equal importance, and which it has a right to demand in justice to itself—their earnest advocacy of its claims.