292 ANNUAL REPORT 



poses to load the manure on the cars free of charge, so the cost to 

 the shipper would be the cost of transportation only, and this 

 would be affected largely by the amount to be transported to any 

 given point. 



Your committee suggested the fact that the members of our 

 Society are scattered more or less over the whole state, conse- 

 quently but a limited number could be directly interested in the 

 subject. 



We realize the dificulties in the way of an organized plan to 

 have this manure utilized on the outlying farms. All must 

 agree that it is a great, and almost a criminal waste, to have so 

 much valuable material destroyed. 



Therefore your committee would recommend that a permanent 

 committee be appointed to canvas among the interested neighbor- 

 hoods to the end that some arrangement may be made while 



there is an opportunity. 



J. S. Gray, 



F. G. Gould, 



William Lyons, 



Committee. 



President Elliot. We are having dumped into the river from 

 three hundred to 1,000 loads of material every day that 

 should go back to the farms, and it is a great waste. Our gar- 

 dens will sooner or later show the necessity of saving this mater- 

 ial, and there ought to be some way devised whereby it might 

 be utilized. 



Mr. Brand. Can't your local society look after it? ^ 



President Elliot. It is a nonentity; it has a name, but doesn't 

 have an existence; it hasn't had any vitality for some time, or 

 has run down to a very low ebb. 



Mr. Gray. This matter was discussed by the local society last 

 winter, but the railroads wanted so much for carrying off the 

 manure a few miles that it would not pay. When it comes to 

 paying a dollar a mile to the railroads to take a load to the farm- 

 ers, they couldn't stand it. The farmers need it, but it is 

 simply a matter of transportation at the present time. Some of 

 the city officers are conferring with the railroad companies and 

 I hope will be able to make some arrangements that will prove 

 satisfactory. Of course the railroads would be benefited in two 

 ways, every load that is carried out contains so much plant food, 

 and will be returned again in the form of produce; it will be a 

 source of wealth to the men who use it, an income to the rail- 



