INSTITUTE AT DEDIIAM. QJ 



Institute at Dedham. 



A second Institute for Iliincock county was held at the Town 

 Hall in Dedhani, October 2oth, at which the papers and lectures 

 were essentially the same as those given at Penobscot. 



Mr. J. H. Burrill took the chair, and introduced 

 P. P. GiLMORE, Esq. : 



In behalf of the citizens of Dedham and vicinity', I wisii to ex- 

 press the pleasure felt at having the Pioard of Agriculture favor us 

 with their attentions. It is the first meeting of the kind that has 

 ever been held here, and it is believed it will give to our farming 

 interests a marked and lasting impulse. 



That agriculture is an honorable, an indispensable pursuit, none 

 will deny, for upon it all others must depend. We, as f\irmers, feel 

 that ours is a noble calling ; that the cultui'e of the soil is an inter- 

 esting and useful vocation, and, when pursued with intelligence and 

 perseverance, profitable. 



How we can best maintain the fertilit}- of the soil, and at the same 

 time gain a livelihood from it, is the problem which we are anxious 

 to solve, and uj)on which we hope to get new light before the sessions 

 of this Institute are brought to a close. A\^hether our farms bring 

 as good returns as thev should for the time, labor and money invested, 

 and whether our methods are those which will bear criticism and 

 win approval, are also questions which demand our careful and seri- 

 ous attention. AVhile we have made quite an advance during the 

 past decade — a greater advance than we have ever made in the same 

 time before — we are aware that we have onh* just begun the work 

 of improvement. 



Ours is a mixed husbandry, and is not carried on as extensively 

 as in some portions of the .State. We have fair markets, good 

 natural soil, though somewhat broken, but not easily affected by 

 drougth or heavy rainfalls. 



In regard to our wants, I may say, l)riefly, that we need l)etter 

 stock, a higher cultivation, more system, and a greater faith in 

 farming. 



Although we do not claim for this section thfit it is rednarkable, 



that it has striking advantages, or that it has furnished great names 



in history, yet we do claim that here among us. ma}'. , he found idenl 



New England homes ; that all who will may obtain a good education 



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