200 BOARD ^OF AGRICULTURE. 



sorry to see, two or three years ago, when one of the scien- 

 tific societies of Massachusetts applied to the Legislature for 

 a scientific survey, that they began with the statement that 

 Massachusetts never could become an agricultural State. 

 Now, mark that, farmers of Massachusetts, — Massachusetts 

 can never become an agricultural State. Why? The rea- 

 sons have been given over and over again at this convention. 

 The intelligent and well-informed secretary of the Board, in 

 his lecture on grasses yesterday afternoon, stated over and 

 over again clearly the reasons why, — because our pastures 

 were impoverished and made sterile, and their good qualities 

 carried off, and converted into vegetables and meats, and 

 then carried to the city, and converted into human beings. 



That is true : it struck the nail on the head. All these 

 things go to make men; and then the refuse is what I 

 call excrement. Now, does any man undertake to say that 

 that material is of no value ? Then barnyard-manure is of 

 no value. The excrement of cattle is of no value, if the 

 excrement of men is of no value. It is all idle to talk in 

 this way. Do not allow yourselves to be deceived by these 

 exceptional cases. I am sorry to say, that with the intelli- 

 gence we ought to expect to find in Massachusetts, and in the 

 city of Boston, no protest has been sent to the city against 

 the new sewer which they propose to build at an enormous 

 expense, — not even from our Board of Agriculture, not 

 even from the Agricultural College. That protest must 

 come. You must make your appeal to the Legislature : you 

 must take hold of the subject first. 



Now, what ought the city of Boston to have done ? In- 

 stead of making an appropriation of forty thousand dollars 

 for a survey, they should have offered premiums to the chem- 

 ists for the best method of chemical management of night- 

 soil and sewage, and also prizes for the best mechanical 

 method of working and disposing of it. Dr. Loring, at the 

 last meeting, hit the nail on the head in two or three words, 

 and with the clearest ring of truth ; but he condensed it in 

 so few words, that I hardly think it was felt. " The farm- 

 ers of New England," said he, " want a fertilizer of the right 

 kind, and they want it cheap ; and they have not got it." 

 And then what did he say ? " The chemists must give it to 

 us." That is it. It is the work of the chemist. Chemistry 



