20 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



This act, it will be seen, bestows no power beyond tliat of as- 

 sembling annually for discussion. It charges the board to devise 

 and recommend to the county societies, and to the people, facts, 

 discoveries, improvements, etc., but withholds the necessary 

 means to accomplish the end ; no one being charged with, or 

 compensated for, the time and labor necessary in the collection 

 and digestion of material, — tlie Secrctarij receiving barely the 

 sum of one hundred dollars for the preparation of such matter 

 as the board might order pointed, and for superintending the 

 publication of the same. Thus, with considerable form, there 

 was little substance. — semblance, without reality. 



In conformity with the requirements of this act, the board 

 met at Augusta in January, 1S53. The session (of ten days) was 

 devoted to the consideration of such topics as seemed to the 

 members most important to the interests of agriculture. The 

 subject of agricultural education occupied a very large share of 

 their attention. There was found to be a great diversity of 

 opinion among the members, on most of the topics introduced, as 

 well as upon the means to be used to gain the purposes sought. 

 The result of their labors, in tangible shape, was the publica- 

 tion of a volume of the transactions of the county societies. 

 Their meeting had the effect, not only to reveal the diversity 

 of opinions and schemes, among the intelligent farmers of the 

 State, in relation to the means to be used to attain the ends 

 which all were seeking, but also to turn thought more in one 

 direction, and thus harmonize views and schemes. 



In January, 1854, the board met again; during which session, 

 the leading matter of consideration, was the means to be used 

 to foster agricultural education. Various schemes were pro- 

 posed, but only one was commended to public attention, which 

 was, that the study of agriculture be introduced into our com- 

 mon schools, and that the superintending school committees of 

 the several towns adopt a suitable text book on this suljject, to 

 be used in the schools under their supervision. 



The board held its third annual session according to law, in 

 1855. A large share of the members were new. Ey this time, 

 the law under which it had existence, had come to be well 

 understood, and its defects fully apparent. Most of the mem- 

 bers were convinced that something should be done immediately 



