2O BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



There is not an acre of that sort of land on the Atlantic coast 

 to-day. 



Now, the matter of cultivating chestnuts has been referred 

 to. We have had a remarkable illustration of what can be 

 done in that line. Down in the neighborhood of Harrisburg 

 a gentleman by the name of Engle went out into the hillsides 

 and took up some rough, rocky ground and began raising a 

 crop. He cut off the chestnut trees and allowed them to 

 sprout up, and then at first grafted chestnuts into them. 

 There are only a few acres of it, but he has had, considering 

 the short time, remarkable success. Unfortunately the last 

 year the whole thing was killed by a forest fire. Now, you 

 go into southern Europe, into Germany, and you will be sur- 

 prised to find how largely the chestnut enters into the diet of 

 the people. We call to mind the statement of Malthus and 

 his prediction relative to the over-population of the world, 

 and that it could not support its population. That prediction 

 was made years ago, but even now, though .the population 

 has largely increased, we are only on the edge of our re- 

 sources that can be used for the support of the people. We 

 have been living on the best ground and have been dependent, 

 to a large extent on the spontaneous bounty of nature. By 

 the close care and cultivation that is given in some populous 

 countries there are men who are getting more income, I 

 should say, from half an acre of ground, or that are getting a 

 bigger financial return, than a larger number of the farmers 

 in our State get from their farms, and are doing it at almost 

 no expense. There is a market for all the good chestnuts 

 that can be raised. There are dealers in New York who are 

 glad to get them. There is a dealer in New York who takes 

 almost all of these chestnuts which this man I referred to has 

 for sale. So far as I am aware, you might just as well raise 

 them here. 



A MEMBER. I would like to ask the doctor a question. 

 He said Mr. Engle had his trees destroyed by a fire. It seems 



