ignorant dunderheads are too self-complacent to "take a wrinkle;" too hopelessly obtuse to act on a hint; too slavishly wedded to antiquated custom to profit by the experience of others.
To give an instance: I once remonstrated with one man for burning the stalks of his maize crop. I informed him they were nutritive, contained much saccharine matter, could be chopped up and mixed with chaff and straw, and when moistened, and a little salt added, made an excellent fodder, and were so used by the Germans and by the cultivators of India. The old farmer only insulted me for my well-meaning bit of information; but a young neighbour of his took the hint, and it has resulted in a very considerable addition to his income.
Wherever any farmer has resolutely set himself to discard old, antiquated notions, and gone in for modern farming, availing himself of the use of modern labour-saving machinery, and growing such crops as were most readily saleable, growing them, too, on a scale large enough to enable him to concentrate work and expenditure, the result has, in every case I have observed, been a triumphant vindication of science over rule of thumb, and such men, though they may grumble at lots of things, do not blame either the soil, the climate, or the country.
If we in New South Wales can buy potatoes, wheat—nay, even cabbages, cheaper from Victorian, New Zealand, and South Australian farmers, the natural course is to buy them, and let our own
