108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



little corner in spinach: it was selling for $1.50. They 

 brought it in from some other State, and it is pretty hard to 

 get forty cents for it to-day. 



When I came in, there was a gentleman talking about fer- 

 tilizers. I have not had any great experience with fertili- 

 zers. I never have received any benefit, that I know of, 

 from anything but sulphate of ammonia. I buy some of 

 that in the spring and apply it to spinach land, and I think 

 it makes a return. I don't know any other fertilizer that I 

 have ever seen any benefit from. 



Mr. Pierce. A good many years ago, I took to market 

 gardening, and, like the other Mr. Pierce that was here, I 

 tried to do it scientifically. I thought that young men ought 

 not to be old fog^nsh, and many is the evening I have sat, 

 after a hard day's work, with Sir Humphry Davy's " Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry " in my lap, fast asleep : it was not inter- 

 esting enough to keep me awake. I was trying to get some 

 points in farming, but I could never find out anything about 

 farming excbpt hard work. Later, I thought the farmers 

 ouo;ht to be intellectual. I was the man who su2f2:ested to 

 the Waltham Farmers' Club to divide their time, — 16 hours 

 for work, 6 hours for sleep, 45 minutes for meals, and 15 

 minutes for mental improvement and feeding the hogs. 

 (Laughter.) I have got past that: I have advanced, and 

 the stand I take to-day for the farmer is, that he ought to 

 have some other kind of business. (Laughter and applause.) 

 Now, the successful farmer ought to have a pork-packing es- 

 tablishment, or some large leather business, or some office 

 in court, or something where he can spend the money that 

 he makes farming. (Laughter.) In coming here to ad- 

 dress the meeting without any time to prepare themselves, 

 men tell of some little experience that they have had, which 

 perhaps is not a fact, although it may seem to be a fact to 

 them. Mr. Rawson just spoke about the success which he 

 had in raising radishes from slaughter-house manure. Well, 

 I don't think Mr. Rawson would want folks to believe that 

 that was the best stuff to raise radishes on every year, would 

 you ? Is not that an exception ? 



Mr. Rawson. I did not say so, did I? 



Mr. Pierce. No. When an Arlington farmer gets up, 



