398 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the ordinary discoveries and experiences of practical men, will- 

 ingly disseminated for the good of all. 



In 1824, the editor of the New England Farmer went out to 

 Jamaica Plain, "with a view," as he gravely states in his paper 

 at the time, "of obtaining information concerning the worms called 

 borers, said to be infesting the apple trees on the farm of Mr. John 

 Prince." He then goes on to describe these "worms," which is 

 done very minutely, tells what the neighbors know of their habits 

 and depredations, and concludes by saying that the best method 

 of getting rid of them is to " cut them out of the tree by means of 

 a knife, chisel or gouge, and killing thorn." And from that time 

 to this has any thing better been devised, except the flexible wire 

 in place of the gouge ? A year later, Mr. Leonard W". Briggs, 

 writing to the same paper from Bristol, R. I., describes a horse 

 rake which he says has been in use two or three years in that 

 State, and in urging farmers to make and use it he says — "it is 

 confidently believed that it only requires the experiment to be 

 made to show its utility and bring it into general use." He then 

 goes on and tells how to make it, describing very exactly a large 

 rake similar to the hand "drag rake's" of the present day. When 

 this rake is full the horse is stopped, backed, the rake lifted over 

 the winrow, and then driven on until again filled. By gradual 

 stages, the revolving horse rake grew out of this improvement 

 which Mr. Briggs describes with so much confidence ; and even 

 now there are men who believe the old revolving horse rake as 

 good as any ; and I am inclined to think them about right. These 

 two instances are sufficient to show how powerful an agent the 

 press has been in making known not only the more important 

 inventions in agriculture, but in disseminating for the general 

 good, the practices and experiences and discoveries of the best 

 farmers in all the past. 



The farmer is no longer obliged to talk with his neighbor in 

 order to make known to him what he has learned — and wait for 

 the same slow method to be repeated over again and put in 

 practice by other neighbors, and yet to others still, before he can 

 see that his thoughts or his practices are of benefit and advantage 

 to the world. This primitive arrangement is played out. The 

 farmer of to-day communicates his thoughts to the agricultural 

 journal ; and embodied in type, duplicated to the extent of the 

 entire edition of the paper, sent out into every school district of 

 the land, the farmer who employs this means of disseminatinghis 



