20 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the Commonwealth also has considerable work on his shoul- 

 ders. I would not dare to tell you in detail how much that 

 work is ; it is enough for me now to say that it takes me 

 away, and with great regret, at this early hour, from your 

 meeting. I shall, I hope, be with you at some of your 

 meetings during your three days' session. I will call to the 

 chair, to preside in my absence, Mr. E. W. Wood of West 

 Newton. 



Mr. Wood took the chair. 



The Chairman. The subject selected for this forenoon 

 meeting is "The Crossing of Plants." To this we are 

 indebted for the improvements made in our fruits, our flowers 

 and our vegetables, to a very large extent. Formerly we 

 were dependent almost entirely upon the work of bees and 

 other insects. They were not particular about selecting the 

 pollen from any special plant for fertilizing, and in recent 

 years more attention has been paid to this particular subject. 

 We have been fortunate in securing to speak upon this ques- 

 tion one who has made a specialty of this department of 

 science. I have the pleasure of introducing to the audience 

 Professor Bailey of Cornell University. 



