228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



cents apiece, in consequence of his having to fight the canker- 

 worm. I have understood that Mr. Reed takes the same course 

 that Captain Pierce does. He buys all the meadow hay he can 

 get hold of for the purpose of putting it under his trees. It 

 prevents the growth of vegetation, keeps the ground moist, and 

 at the same time makes a bed for the falling fruit. I believe 

 that is the true secret of the success of those trees. I think the 

 mulching is beneficial in keeping down the canker-worm. I 

 believe the great thing to be done to secure success in raising 

 fruit is to keep everything else back. You cannot have your 

 cake and cat it too. You cannot raise two things on one piece 

 of ground. If a man is going to raise fruit, he must give up his 

 land to that object. The idea of raising grass in an orchard, or 

 grain, or potatoes, or anything else, I do not believe in. If a 

 man wishes to get a crop of fruit, he must give up his land to 

 that crop. I believe the mulching of those trees is the main 

 reason why they bore so large a crop. 

 Adjourned to 7| o'clock, P. M. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The Board met again agreeably to adjournment, to hear a 

 lecture on 



WHAT CHEMISTRY HAS ACCOMPLISHED FOR AGRICULTURE. 



The inquiries frequently made by those interested in prac- 

 tical husbandry, are such as assume the unsettled aspect of 

 several most interesting and important questions : — " Is there 

 reasonable grounds for hope that science will ever prove of 

 practical benefit to agriculture ? " " Will chemists ever furnish 

 us reliable assistance in the fertilization of our fields ? ' Ques- 

 tions of this nature very naturally suggest others proper to ask, 

 and which I will endeavor to answer, before considering 

 whether the assumptions of the former arc founded in fact or 

 not. The most prominent one is " What has Chemistry accom- 

 plished for Agriculture ? " This inquiry will form the main 

 topic for discussion this evening. I fear if a response was 

 demanded without discussion, it would not be very flattering to 

 science ; and, therefore, I am unwilling to jeopardize so impor- 



