THE STATE FARM. 81 



finds that the course he has been pursuing has not been profita- 

 ble to him, he will change it at once. He has only his own 

 interest to consult, and his only end is and should be, to seek 

 that interest in the way by which he is most likely to attain it. 

 But it is not precisely so with the State Farm. 



Nor is the reasoning with reference to* the general manage- 

 ment of corporate property of any force here, since in no case 

 would the State Farm be managed by an individual owner, it 

 having been purchased, in part at least, by the fund established 

 by the benevolent founder of the State Reform School. 



The true question then to be considered in this connection, is 

 whether the Board of Agriculture have managed the State Farm 

 as well as could reasonably be expected, under all the circum- 

 stances of the case ; not whether it has been managed as well 

 and in the same way that his own land would have been by a 

 sagacious and prudent man. Is it not better, in other words, 

 to manage a particular portion of State property in the shape 

 of a farm, by a body of men pronounced by the farmers of the 

 State to be thoroughly competent, selected by themselves to act 

 for and to represent them, than by a body of men appointed 

 without any reference to skill in farming and for an object 

 entirely distinct ? I think no impartial legislator can doubt for 

 a moment what answer should be given to the question. 



Of the experiments on the farm, I have not time to speak at 

 length, without wearying your patience. They are, as it were, 

 just begun, and no one should expect the most valua))le results 

 the first year, or even the second, or the third ; but if we may 

 judge from present appearances, we shall at last arrive at facts 

 of great value. I can only allude briefly to the experiments on 

 stock, which have been carried on by a committee appointed for 

 the purpose, with the utmost care and faithfulness for more than 

 a year. 



More than twenty cows were taken for experiment, and all 



were treated in the same manner. Names were given to all, 



and the age of each, and the time that had elapsed after calving, 



were noted. An account was kept of the weight of each animal 



morning and night, at the beginning and end of the trial, and 



of the exact quantity of food consumed. The daily yield of 



milk for twenty days was also accurately weighed and measured, 



and the percentage of milk on the weight, and all other items- 

 11 



