10 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



had before, while the scientific investigations and reports of 

 the State Inspector of Fertilizers, appointed by the Board, 

 have been among the most valuable contributions to scien- 

 tific agriculture and to agricultural literature ever published 

 in this country. 



The importance of this change will be more and more 

 appreciated when it is considered that the judicious use of 

 artificial fertilizers increases the possibilities of production 

 many fold. The amount of plant-food to be accumulated 

 upon the farm, under the old system of farming, had its 

 limits. It could be increased to a certain extent by extraor- 

 dinary care and labor; but there was always a point be- 

 yond which it was not economical to go. When that point 

 was reached, it became very desirable to seek foreign aids. 

 They were offered in the form of guano, and more recently 

 in superphosphates and in a great variety of other forms ; but 

 so great and so general had been the disappointment in their 

 use, owing to the fraud and imposition in the manufacture, 

 that farmers had come to entertain a universal distrust of 

 them. That some action was absolutely needed is suffi- 

 ciently clear also, from the fact that several of the States 

 have enacted laws modelled after our own. 



In 1864 the Board instituted a series of public meetings 

 for lectures and discussions, to be held in various parts of the 

 Commonwealth, to which the whole community were invited, 

 and in which all could take part. These meetings, begun at 

 Springfield, have been held in all sections of the State, and, 

 though not very largely attended at first, have become very 

 popular, attracting large audiences, and creating great and 

 well sustained enthusiasm. The last of these meetings was 

 held in the town of Waltham by the special invitation of the 

 thriving Farmers' Club of that town. 



