A PLAN FOR EXPERIMENTS. 403 



the understanding that it woul4 be likely to be required 

 in future, submitted the following : — 



To the Officers and Members of the Agricultural Society, receiving the 



bounty of the State. 



The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, believing 

 that a series of thoroughly conducted agricultural experi- 

 ments under the management of each society will be of 

 great value to ail the farmers of the State, hereby directs 

 each of the societies, after the present year, to offer the sum 

 of not less than fifty dollars in premiums for the most suc- 

 cessful and satisfactory experiments on some one (or more) 

 of the following subjects, under the conditions annexed, to 

 be awarded by a committee appointed by the society for that 

 purpose. The officers of each society shall, as soon as may 

 be, notify the secretary of this Board what experiments will 

 be tried, and shall in its printed Transactions furnish a 

 detailed report of the same to the Board. 



EXPERIMENTS TO ASCERTAIN THE RELATIVE VALUE OP 

 LEVEL OR HILL CULTURE. 



For the best experiment, fifteen dollars ; next best, ten 

 dollars. 



Competitors for these prizes shall select one half-acre of 

 land of as equal quality as possible, and divide it into two 

 equal parts : in one part the land shall be kept perfectly 

 level, and in the other shall be hilled in the usual way at 

 the time -of hoeing. 1 When the crop is harvested the two 

 parts shall be kept separate, and accurately weighed, and a 

 detailed report of the result given, including the difference 

 in the cost of cultivation, if any. 



EXPERIMENT TO ASCERTALN THE VALUE OF SKIM-MILK 



FOR SWINE. 



For the best experiment, fifteen dollars ; next best, ten 

 dollars. 



The period which this experiment shall cover to be four 

 months. 



Two pigs shall be selected as nearly alike as possible, of 



1 In all other respects the crop and cultivation shall be the same, and shall 

 have the same number of hills or drills. 



