156 THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY 



were sold, from time to time, for $100 each. In 1875 

 the fame of the cattle being established throughout 

 the State, and the adaptibility of the breed to the 

 climate being assured, the herd was sold by auction, 

 and a good distribution was made. The prices thus 

 obtained, in general, were low as compared with the 

 cost; but one cow was sold for $300, and a six months 

 calf for $100. 



In 1876 an importation of Berkshire and Essex 

 swine was made. One of the trustees, Mr. E. F. 

 Bowditch, visited Europe that season and made the 

 purchases. The animals were placed at his celebrated 

 farm in South Framingham. The enterprise proved 

 very successful, and another importation was made in 

 1877, so that the collection aggregated at one time a 

 hundred or more. In the year 1880 the sales from this 

 stock amounted to $1,169. 



In 1877 premiums were offered for the most success- 

 ful experiments in converting salt marsh into arable 

 land, by dyking and draining. A considerable degree 

 of success attended, during certain years, the experi- 

 ments made at Thompson's island and at Edgartown; 

 but neither was judged to be so continuously prosper- 

 ous as to warrant an award at the end of the term. 



In 1878 the trustees authorized the reprinting of a 

 book originally issued by the society in 1866, entitled, 

 "High farming without manure." It was a translation 

 of a French work written by M. George Viele, profes- 

 sor of vegetable physiology in the Museum of Natural 

 History in Paris. In it he explains at length a series 

 of experiments begun by him in 1860 with artificial 

 manures, now commonly called "fertilizers." The 

 experiments were based upon principles of chemistry; 

 the tests were made upon adequate areas of farming 

 land, and the results he obtained vindicated the scien- 



