Show AND FARMING for the benefit of our agricultural friend wo publish the following from the christian union emerson has said in his pointed way that as a rule the farm owns tho man the man the farm there is much ai wit in thia and the truth of it is strikingly illustrated by the the farm has received fir more attention from writers of all sorts than the farmer the culture and enrichment rich ment of the former leave been exhaustively discussed but the development of alie latter only re bently attracted attention to gel the best and the most out of the soil is not so important by any means as to get the most and the best out of the farmer ilia personal development means an immense increase in hi power ai a producer for there i not the slightest doubt that the highest success in agriculture can bo only through intelligent and farmers agriculturists need he best culture they can get adapted to their work not only because they are farmers but they constitute nearly one half the voting population of this country in tho report of the sixth state convention of the agricultural societies of michigan it is stated that of all who are engaged in commercial and industrial pursuits of every kind in that state omitting professional and personal five sev entas are agriculturists nearly three quarters in the census of 1870 in the same classes there are in all other commercial and industrial employments and 1471 in agriculture not quite so nar three quarters but a large majority add for professional and personal and the agricultural is very little less than a majority in other words the farmer lias largely the balance of political nl power his importance in the state has always been recognized egypt persia china babylon greece and rome regarded the farming clas as fundamental in the state in lyet and babylon it was earliest and most fully developed by a wonderful river system in the better ages of greece and rome it was the principal and most honorable employment of leading men yet even the majority of agricultural workers were not educated i or developed for these leading men employed slaves the Lace however held agriculture to ben servile bo workers on tho soil in tb to of greece and rome workers on tho soil were slaves in the middle ages the soil was owned by kings barons and nobles they employed tenants serfs or slaves the necessity of a class of workers on the soil has been obvious in all ages but as a general fact they have been io i and servile condition the result of an aristocratic ownership of tha soil it his been owned oy a lordly few and the cultivator a have been tenants or ereg or slaves laboring for the wealon f nn aristocracy such they have been now however here are evidences on all sides of a development of the farming chats unknown in all preceding alges they are the stable basis of the system their relations moreover the old world are now so com manding ay to greally increase heir importance as ft clas the old world is full and increase of population taxes the soil one or two poor baue famine here is the granary and our alavo fi iwa C A few figures will indicate more than can be done in any other way the present condition of he farming dais statistics as to number of farms i in 18 SO ineski in WOSS in lajo the rate of increase has been about every ten years hence the estimate for average sue of the majority asto banns bid fre nd loco asrin bd 1000 cre cd ow CT farms hd to I efres farm hd to low acre 1370 firms bd acre asso bid aw o WO acres fim had BO to acres barint had 69 to aw farms ud 30 to SO acela itaw aras had Q to OD acres 1870 had 10 to 20 gercs to aaeree 1870 farms bad to 10 acres ly farma td to 10 comparative number of persons employed i liy tho census of the population ana employed in all occupations men of ilese were employed in agriculture in all other employ nientai other i and personal trado and transportation 2707 alf moc hanics and mining fisheries comparative volu of fixed capital ferins abil tool t ainu fash S uy this showing of atio cenua the agricultural tsi timofi all other fixed capital but ill the toran and and other flap of corn are wo may wt on tho of W johnstone anth of the fixed culture value of products i orchard aed included n A these figures than adequately concey the present resources of this country from an ag ri cultural point of view and they indicate the importance and growing influence of our farming clasil |