APPENDIX.

CHAPTER I.

Pursuits in Life.

In order to supply all the real or imaginary wants which grow out of the condition of man in a state of society, a great variety of pursuits have become necessary. Of these the most important are those which furnish him with food, guard him from heat and cold, protect him from the inclemencies of the weather and the seasons, and enable him to inhabit the different climates of the earth.

To these are added numerous others, which have sprung from his desire of improvement. These render his habitation and his garments convenient and comfortable, excite and gratify his taste, and bring to him, while dwelling in a little corner of the earth, all the delights and advantages of every other region.

That he may possess these enjoyments in security, and, possessing them, may employ his leisure in occupations worthy of his intellectual and immortal nature, other arts and professions have been found necessary, to record and ascertain his acquisitions, to extend his power over nature, to enrich him with knowledge of the distant and the past, and to enable him to prepare for the future.

If a man would be skilful in any one of these pursuits, he must spend a considerable portion of his youth in preparation for it. If he would be useful and eminent, he must devote a large part of his middle life exclusively to his particular calling.

All the different pursuits are in themselves equally respectable. But all are not suited, nor agreeable, to every person. They require very different kinds of preparation; and some require a much longer and higher preparation than others. It is the object of this Appendix to give some account of the various kinds and degrees of preparation, which it is necessary to make for some of the most important of these pursuits. It has been thought not unsuitable to annex this account to a book which points out the ́duties and rights of the American citizen. Its importance is obvious from the fact, that while ample provision is made for a course of study for persons destined to become physicians, lawyers or

ministers of the gospel, no such provision is made for young persons who are desirous of qualifying themselves to be good farmers, mechanics or instructers.

CHAPTER 11.

Agriculture.

THE pursuit which occupies the greatest number of persons, in a civilized state, and which is essential to the subsistence of men in a social community, is the cultivation of the earth, or agriculture. ' This includes the raising of all kinds of vegetables for the food of man and other creatures that depend on him; the rearing of cattle, horses, and other domestic animals; the management of the dairy; the preparation of fruits and their juices, such as the making of cider; the planting and preservation of fruit and forest trees, and whatever else is necessary to the bringing to perfection the productions of the earth. It is commonly supposed, that very little information is necessary to enable a man to conduct the business of a farm. But to be an intelligent and successful husbandman, requires no trifling acquisitions.

He must understand the nature and management of soils. Without this knowledge, he cannot be sure that he tills his ground on right principles, or applies the different soils to their right uses. He ought therefore to be acquainted with chemistry,* which treats of the nature and qualitice of soil. Chemistry will also give him much valuable information upon the qualities of milk, and the processes of making butter and cheese; upon the management of fruits, and the modes of making cider, perry and. wine; and upon the preparing and applying of manures. So that some knowledge of it should be considered indispensable to the well-informed farmer.

Indeed, without a knowledge of chemistry, a farmer cannot avail himself of the advantages of his situation. There are often to be found, beneath the surface of the ground, clays, marls, and other substances, which, when properly applied, are excellent The knowledge of chemistry will assist in finding and

manures.

applying them.

Then the farmer should be well acquainted with the mode of growth, and the diseases, of the different kinds of vegetables, grains and fruits which he cultivates. He will otherwise often waste his labor in attempting to cultivate a plant upon soil which does not yield it proper food, or lose his crop from not knowing what remedy to apply, to remove an evil which he does not understand.

* The word chemistry is derived from an Arabic word, signifying the secret science. It was early cultivated by the Arabians, who sought thereby for the means of prolonging life, and converting inferior metals into gold

He should know how to breed horses, cattle, sheep, swine, &c., so as to stock his farm with animals of the best breeds; to prevent or heal diseases among them; to improve the breeds, and to do all profitably. He must therefore not be ignorant of that part of natural history which relates particularly to these animals.

There is a branch of culture which has been much neglected in this country, but which is very important, and deserves to be attended to: this is the management of forest trees. There are now, throughout New England, large tracts of land, which are very valuable only while covered with trees. The forests, in many parts, are disappearing, and new ones are not often planted to take their place. This was once the case with Scotland; and the destruction of its forests is, at this day, lamented as a national misfortune. Many animals and delicate plants are supposed not to flourish so readily in an open country, as in one protected by trees; rain is thought not to fall so beneficially, nor the lightning, that mighty but beneficent agent, to do its office so gently, as when it is drawn from the clouds, gradually, by these natural attractors. In our burning summers, too, shade is sweet to man and beast. Against the fury of the north-west wind, what a barrier is presented by a grove of old oak trees! I say nothing of the value of fuel and timber; and yet, for these alone, a growing forest, even if left to itself, and much more if taken care of, is like money at interest.

Let the landholders of New England hesitate before they throw away so many advantages, which they now hold in their possession, in the forests that cover their hills.

Forest trees, like every thing else, are improved by care; the less useful trees may be removed, and the more valuable ones favored. In some cases, foreign trees might, with advantage, be introduced; in many, the health and growth of the native kinds be improved. To do these things successfully would require a particular study of the character and habits of the trees to be cultivated. In the last place, it may be said of a husbandman, what may, indeed, be said of almost every man, that he can hardly be strictly honest, and do exact justice to himself and, his neighbor, without the practice of keeping accounts. He must have a memory which never fails, to be sure that he has paid what he owes, and demanded what is due to him, if he trusts to his memory alone. The practice, moreover, will be of great use to him in his husbandry. The only sure way of knowing whether one crop is more or less profitable than another, is to keep an account with each crop, as if it were a person, to charge all it costs, and credit all it yields.

A farmer should, therefore, be familiar with arithmetic and accounts, and should know something of chemistry and the nat ural history of the common plants and animals. As he is often called to superintend mechanical operations on his farm, an i to judge of improvements in ploughs and other implements, l.e should not be ignorant of mechanics.

Books. The following books may be recommended to him :→→ Conversations on Chemistry, and Davy's Agricultural Chemistry; Conversations on Vegetable Physiology and the Elements of Botany; the Treatise on Mechanics, contained in the Library of Useful Knowledge. The New England Farmer, published weekly at Boston, contains a great deal of valuable information, suited to the wants and capacities of farmers. Thacher's Orchardist is a Treatise on Fruit-Trees suited to New England.

Conversations on Chemistry is the title of a book written for the instruction of beginners in this science. It is a very clear, sensible, well arranged book. It has the great advantage of being written in such a style, that every part of it is intelligible to a person who has never read anything upon the subject. It gives an interesting account of earths, metals, and all other substances with which we have anything to do; explains the manner in which plants grow, and the substances of which they are composed, ana the manner in which air acts upon them, and upon animals. It is a small volume, and costs about $1,00.

Davy's Agricultural Chemistry was written by the most distinguished of the English chemists, for the express purpose of rendering the subject interesting and useful to the cultivators of the soil. This end is very perfectly attained. It gives more information upon the nature of soils, and the suitableness of particular soils to particular vegetables, than perhaps any other book. It supposes a person to have some knowledge of chemistry, and is therefore to be read after the Conversations. The price of this valuable work is about $1,75.

A book with the title "Conversations on Vegetable Physiology, comprehending the Elements of Botany, with their Application to Agriculture," is by the author of Conversations on Chemistry, and is equally well written. It treats of the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, seed, and other parts of plants; of the action of air, heat, light and moisture upon plants; of the modes of planting, grafting, watering, and otherwise treating plants; of the nature of soils, and the cultivation of grasses and trees. In order to understand it, a person should know something of chemistry. It will be found a very useful book to a farmer. Price, $1,00.

The Treatise on Mechanics, above referred to, is contained in numbers 6, 7, 8 and 11 of the Library of Useful Knowledge, which was intended for, and is admirably well suited to, all classes of men who have not great leisure for study.

CHAPTER III.

Useful Arts and Trades.

NEXT to the pursuits of agriculture, may be considered what are called the useful or mechanic arts and trades. These have principally for their object to convert the productions of the earth

and sea, of vegetable, animal or mineral nature, into forms or fabrics suited to the wants, comforts or luxuries of men.

Classification. The arts may be divided into three classes :--1. those employed in changing the qualities of substances, and inparting new ones; 2. those by which the form only is changed, but the properties remain unaltered and 3. those which furnish the instruments and means by which all the arts of the other two classes are carried on,

The leather-dresser changes soft and perishing skin into tough and durable leather. The metallurgist converts the ores of iron, copper or lead, into the metals themselves. The dyer changes the property of color. The arts of these persons belong to the first class.

The glove-maker and the shoe-maker give to leather, without changing its nature, forms suitable for use. The boat-builder shapes boards and planks of wood, by the aid of iron, tar, hemp and paint, into boats of various kinds. These belong to the second class.

The artists who supply the former with needles and awls, and the latter with planes, augers, chisels, adzes, and other tools, belong to the third class.

First Class. Every one, who would produce a permanent change in any substance, ought to study to understand, as far as he can, the nature of the substance he acts upon, and of the change he would effect. With this knowledge only can he be reasonably sure that he is employing the most direct and efficient means of reaching his end. This can be made clear only by examples.

It is the object of the tanner to change the hide of an animal into leather. This, he knows, may be done in several ways, in a short or long time, and by the use of several different substances. It is desirable to do this in the shortest and cheapest way; while the leather shall, at the same time, be, in the greatest degree possible, strong, pliable, tough, impervious to water, and uninfluenced by air. Now, in order that he may improve any one of the processes, through which the hide has to pass, he ought, as far as he can, to understand the nature of each of them. He ought to understand the qualities of skin itself, what it is composed of, and to what circumstances it owes its qualities. He must understand what effect lime has upon it, and whether some other substance could not produce the same effect more easily, or a better effect. To this end, he must study the nature of lime, and of those substances which resemble lime. Then he must understand the effect which the tannin, which is contained in oak bark, has upon the hide; what the substance called tannin is, and whether it does not exist in greater quantities or better qualities in other barks or woods, or in some substances which are not bark nor wood. He ought also to understand what effect immersion in water, or exposure to air, or the action of heat, or of light, has upon the leather, during these processes. These are only a few of the circumstances and influences he should understand, and