MOWING AND PASTUEE LANDS. 195 



decay, and then lie will tell how useful it can be made to the 

 farmer. 



Let us then go on with our experiments and get the best 

 results we can. I insist upon it that science will give us a 

 sure foundation on which to stand ; not that it will give 

 us all the knowled2:e we want ; not that we are o-oino: to 

 find at the As^ricultural Colles^e the measure of all horticult- 

 ural and asrricultural knowledfi^e. That cannot be furnished 

 upon one farm or by a few men. We want stations in various 

 parts of the Commonwealth to test the value of discoveries 

 made, but the fountain-head of knowledge must be where the 

 scientific men are. 



Mr. MooEE. I think the professor of chemistry will not 

 say that there are not living and life-giving principles in soils 

 and plants which the chemists have not been able to detect 

 and put their fingers upon and tell the farmer what they are ; 

 because if you will compare some of the first analyses of soils 

 and plants Avith later ones, you will find they have discovered 

 some new things. They have discovered things which they 

 call new elements. They say they do not believe they are of 

 much use, and I do not believe they are. 



President Clark. If we should offer you rubidium and 

 calcium you would not buy them for your farm. 



Mr. Moore. No. I know that chemists will tell most of 

 the things. I admit, and I have always been willing to admit, 

 that you know from the analysis of the chemist most of the 

 articles contained iu the soil ; but suppose it comes from a 

 large field, you cannot take a small portion of that soil and 

 get a fair representation of it in the analysis. 



Adjourned to 2 o'clock P. M. 



Afternoon Session. 



MOWING AND PASTURE LANDS. 



The Chairman. We have listened this morning to an 

 address upon manures and commercial fertilizers, and to a 

 thorough discussion of that subject. We come this afternoon 

 to the discussion of the question of mowing and pasture lands ; 

 and while the question of manure is an important one, this also 

 is very important to the farmer, because it relates to that crop 



