190 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



We made a law, as we thought, strong enough, and if "T am 

 not mistaken, that hxw stands to-day upon the statute book 

 of Massachusetts for the protection of every man who buys a 

 pound of any fertilizer. No manufacturer of a commercial 

 fertilizer has a ris^ht to offer that for sale within the bounds of 

 INIassachusetts unless an analysis of the compound is attached 

 to every package. But this law is very much like the tem- 

 perance law ; you will Avork hard to get a law, and the mo- 

 ment you get it, you fall back and will not support it. That 

 is the whole trouble with the temperance law of Massachusetts. 

 It is so in this matter ; you have a law now sufficient for your 

 protection ; will you use it? 



President Clark. I am very glad that Colonel Stone has 

 made known to the farmers here that they have a law. My 

 point in regard to the law was, that it was not sufficient, 

 because it did not make the offence a criminal one. The man 

 who buys a worthless fertilizer can only get his money back. 

 I say that does not cover the ground. It should be a crim- 

 inal offence, and a man who sells a fertilizer which does not 

 conform to the analysis upon the package, should be subject 

 to fine and imprisonment. It is very desirable that even the 

 existing law should be executed, and that it is understood 

 that it is to be executed. I am very happy to say that we 

 have been at work for three years experimenting upon fertil- 

 izers. We have a very large number of analyses, and the 

 report is now being written by our distinguished professor of 

 chemistry, upon that subject, which you will have the pleas- 

 ure of seeing in print, if the legislature vote to print it. 



JNIr. Lewis. For fear some of the people of Barre, with 

 wdiom I have fallen in love, — I confess it, — may misunder- 

 stand me, I wish to make a little explanation. You know I 

 said to President Clark, that if he would train up the young 

 men at the college to get a living in Barre, they could get a 

 living anywhere else. I did not mean to speak disrespectfully 

 of Barre. You have some good farms, but you have some 

 mighty hard farms to get a living upon. As I have seen 

 them, I have thought to myself, "I am afraid if these 

 farmers were placed in some portions of the Mohawk Yalley, 

 it would ruin every soul of them. They would work a few 

 hours each day, and the balance of their time they could 



