274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



of the establishment was in great demand ; the rams selling 

 from 800 to 5,000 francs, and the ewes from 200 to 1,000 francs 

 apiece, according to quality. 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM AT VAUJOURS. 



One of the points of interest which I had determined to visit, 

 during my stay in Paris, was the experimental farm at Yaujours, 

 about a dozen miles from the city and almost in the midst of 

 the old forest of Bondy, celebrated in the annals of crime, 

 murder and highway robbery. This enterprise was undertaken 

 to test the value and economy of the application of the night-soil 

 or liquid manure collected from the city, with special reference 

 to the crops to which it is naturally adapted ; the best time 

 and mode of application ; and the obstacles, changes and modi- 

 fications which seasons and climate, the markets, the supply of 

 labor and other contingencies might suggest in its application. 

 I accordingly prevailed upon my friend, Gov. Wright, to join 

 me in the excursion, which we undertook without procuring 

 references or letters of introduction ; trusting to luck in finding a 

 director who would take the trouble to put us in the way of pick- 

 ing up what suggestions the place afforded. Nor were we disap- 

 pointed. In fact, my indifferent French was sufficient to make 

 us an object of interest to any whom we might chance to meet. 

 The only way, in such cases, is to bolt in and break the ice, by 

 way of making a beginning. And so I inquired, at once, for the 

 director of the establishment ; told him who we were, the 

 interest we felt in the designs of the farm, and requested, not 

 only the privilege of looking round, but such documents as he 

 could place in my hands, explaining the origin, and history of 

 the farm and the series of experiments which had been made. 

 These he kindly gave me, in the shape of two large octavo 

 pamphlets, containing full details of each year's operations ; 

 promising to send a third, by mail, as soon as printed. This 

 latter I have not yet received. The director iiolds the position 

 of professor in the Conservatory of Arts and Trades, at Paris, 

 and as he was obliged to leave soon for the city, he furnished 

 us an intelligent guide to explain every thing on the place. 



A company was organized, in 1856, with a capital of 100,000 

 francs, or $20,000, in shares, and a farm of 225 acres, leased 

 for the purpose. Through it runs a canal, on which the night- 



