270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



will induce tliem to stay with us and devote themselves to tlie 

 work. I have had, since I came to this meeting, inquiries 

 which were made in a very friendly way, but which filled me 

 with perturbation, for fear that I should have to lose some of 

 the best help that I have now in the station, and perhaps be 

 induced to go away myself. 



Mr. Smith. I am very much pleased with the remarks 

 which we have just heard, especially with the leading idea of 

 the remarks, that we should not be too modest in the amount 

 of money which we asked the legislature to appropriate for 

 this object. I believe that we should be more likely to be 

 successful before the legislature, more likely to obtain the 

 appropriation which we asked for, if it was a generous sum, 

 something commensurate with the importance of the object, 

 than if it were a small amount, like four or five thousand 

 dollars. If we should present this subject to the legislative 

 comm.ittee as Mr. Day has presented it here, and represent its 

 overwhelming importance to the business of agriculture, and 

 then couple with that a request for the modest sum of four 

 or five thousand dollars, it would look inconsistent to the 

 average legislator, the effect would be unfavorable upon his 

 mind, and he would be more likely to oppose the whole thing 

 than if you asked for a more liberal sum. 



The question was then put, and the resolutions were adopted 

 unanimously. 



The chair announced the committee authorized by the last 

 resolution as follows : Albert Day of Brooklyn, James A. 

 Bill of Lyme, Philo Clark of Newtown. 



Mr. Sedgwick. I offer the following resolution : 



Resolved, That the committee just appointed be instructed to ask 

 of the legislature the sum of twenty five thousand dollars as a 

 special appropriation to equip and put upon a permanent basis the 

 Experiment Station, and that the annual appropriation be increased 

 to eight thousand dollars. 



Certainly, Mr. Chairman, twenty-five thousand dollars is a 

 very small amount for the State of Connecticut to give to an 

 object which has already saved the farmers of this State thou- 



