THE HAY-FIELD AND ENGLISH HAY. 163 



So it is the liappy faculty of Avoman far and wide 



To turn a cot or palace into something else beside, 



Where brothers, sons and husband, tired, with willing footsteps come ; 



A place of rest where love abounds, a perfect kingdom — Home. 



[Loud applause.] 



The Chairman. We are now to have a lecture from Dr. 

 GoESSMAXN, of the Agricultural Collesfe. 



THE HAY-FIELD AND ENGLISH HAY. 



BY DR. C. A. GOESSMANN OF AMHERST. 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the State Board of Agri- 

 cidture, — Your committee on "Country Meeting," has as- 

 signed to me the task of opening a discussion on "The 

 Hay-field and English Hay." I have been instructed in this 

 connection to speak in particular of the best methods of 

 keeping up the annual yield of the hay-field, and to state 

 also the views at present entertained by progessive agricul- 

 turists regarding the economical value of English hay, as 

 compared with other fodder articles, for the support of farm 

 stock. 



Every one familiar with our current systems of farm man- 

 agement will concede that it would be ill-advised to at- 

 tempt, on an occasion like the present, an exhaustive pre- 

 sentation of the varied and numerous actual observations 

 relating to the topics proposed for your consideration. It 

 is for this reason that I take the liberty to invite your atten- 

 tion, first, to a brief statement of a few important lessons, 

 which more recent systematic investigation into the laws 

 which promote a successful production and growth of plants 

 and animals have taught to practical agriculture. This 

 course, I believe, will enable me to define in the outset the 

 position I take in regard to the subject under discussion. 

 A careful study of the history of agriculture down to the 

 middle of the present century cannot fail to show, as a 

 rule, that the general decline in the productiveness of farm 

 lands in all civilized countries, even in the most favored 

 localities, can be traced back, in the main, to two circum- 

 stances, — namely, to a gradual reduction in the area occupied 



