32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The above aggregate is collected from the records of S. N. '\Vhite, 

 Esq., head farmer of the State Farm. A more detailed account of 

 crops and fertilizers will be found in his statements, as given below. 

 It will be understood that the designations, Sibley Farm, Warren Lot, 

 &c., refer to different portions of the State Farm, as cultivated under 

 the direction of the Board the past season. It should also be under- 

 stood by those members of the Board not already apprised of the 

 fact, that the early frost and the drought, which did but little damage 

 in most parts of the country, were somewhat severe at Westborough. 

 This will account in part for the large proportion of imperfect corn 

 mentioned in Mr. White's report. 



Your Committee would further remark, that while they have 

 confidence in his endeavors to do every thing in good time and in the 

 best manner, yet such has been the pressure upon him for labor and 

 superintendence in matters of permanent improvement, pertaining* 

 to the future benefit of the farm, that much of the oversight has been, 

 necessarily, confided to others, and, therefore, their directions may 

 not have been, in all cases, carried promptly into effect. The crops 

 raised are numerous. A large amount of land has been cultivated, 

 and it is known to all, that the labor has been performed, principally, 

 by boys, (under the care of an officer,) all of whom are entirely 

 xmacquainted with farming business ; therefore, some crops may have 

 suffered by late and improper planting, and others from want of 

 subsequent care, and we are of the opinion, also, that the application 

 of the fertilizers, and the treatment of the crop, has not been such, in 

 every case, as was intended by your Committee. Owing partly to 

 causes already named, but more, perhaps, to others yet inexj)licalle^ 

 your Committee are free to say, that their expectations are not realized, 

 and that these experiments must be prosecuted much further, to 

 warrant the publication of experiments that shall be reliable as the 

 basis of general cultivation. 



The disparity of results obtained from different fertilizers, in some 

 cases, is so great and so different from those generally realized, both 

 in this country and in Europe, as to awaken an inquiry, whether 

 there has not been some mistake in the experiment, and, there- 

 fore, how far reliance can be placed upon these fertilizers. For in- 

 stance, last year, guano produced an extraordinary crop of potatoes, 

 while this year, on the same land, and with the same treatment, the 

 crop was inferior in quality, and much less in quantity. So Avith the 

 super-phosphate of lime, the reputation of which is now established 

 as a valuable fertilizer. In some instances, Mapes' had the advan- 

 tage ; in others De Burgs' ; and while the soil and cultivation were 

 the same, the effect was not uniform. Your Committee are unable 



