206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The lands hereabout are of some account in the State, or we all 

 must admit that those who have abandoned them in disgust are 

 the wiser people. Can you do the State better service than to 

 qualify yourselves to give an opinion upon these local matters ? 

 If it is sound policy to encourage immigration from Scandinavia to 

 people vacant lands in Aroostook, why not give some thought to 

 unoccupied lands near the centre of the State ? So much atten- 

 tion at least as is involved in the inquirj^ touching the general qual- 

 ity of the neighborhood lands. Piscataquis has a vital interest in 

 this Convention, in the fact that it will be a long time before it 

 comes here again. Hancock, Oxford— all the counties — even 

 Aroostook, will be claiming their proximity to the college at 

 Orono, and put in their invitations. Then these college boys will 

 be pleading, perhaps, for a ride to Aroostook for a glance from the 

 blue eyes of those imported damsels — and we will not blame them 

 for that. 



If this meeting shall result in converting the farmers here to a 

 full belief in their locality and their business ; if what they learn 

 here from your discussions prompts them to more zeal in perma- 

 nent improvements ; if the meeting leads to a great many sensible 

 practices, and directly introduces many good things — if it teaches 

 one farmer to improve his pastures, another the use of bone fertil- 

 izers at a profit, encourages a third to displace a shocking bad 

 barn, instructs a fourth in the cause for his cattle eating. away the 

 barn that shelters them, and the cure for that morbid appetite, — if 

 it converts us all to the belief in modern associated dairying — if it 

 reduces the number of colts that are "threatened with speed" (in 

 the eye of their owners) and increases the number of cows, it will 

 do enough for once. 



Now as I intend to be very brief I wish to say only a few words 

 by way of introducing to you some of our citizens whoso voices are 

 expected to be heard in the lectures and discussions here. I take 

 pleasure in saying that the most prominent of our professional 

 men in this county, who get their gains mainly by helping people 

 ow^ 0/ (?) litigation, rank also amongst our best farmers. They 

 have plenty of money to make their improvements thoroughly. 

 Then, as a member of a Farmers' Club, a talking, practical, 

 lawyer-farmer is in a way to make some amends for the sins that 

 are apt to be ascribed to his profession. We have some others 

 here beside lawyers who can talk to some good purpose— some 



