No. 4.] FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. 39 



action, the Legislature incorporated the Massachusetts 

 School of Agriculture, but no institution was established. 



At a meeting of the Board of Agriculture, Oct. 15, 1856, 

 Messrs. John C. Bartlett, Benjamin V. French and Secretary 

 Flint were appointed a committee to take into consideration 

 the propriety of having a text-book on agriculture, prepared 

 under the sanction of the Board. 



At the annual meeting, Jan. 5, 18G0, Mr. Richard S. Fay 

 oflered the following resolution, which was adopted : — 



Resolved, as the opiniou of this Board, that a system of agricul-; 

 tural education should be adopted and form a part of the educa- 

 tional sj'stem of the State. 



Following the adoption of this resolution, the Board 

 chose by ballot Messrs. Simon Brown, Richard S. Fay and 

 Marshall P. Wilder a committee to i)repare a plan for 

 carrying it into eft'ect, and to report the same to the Board 

 for further action. 



At a later meeting, held Feb. 2, 1860, Dr. George B. Lor- 

 ing offered the following resolutions, which were adopted : — 



Resolved, That the committee on agricultural education be and 

 hereby are authorized to prepare an elementary manual of agricul- 

 ture for the use of our common schools, to be submitted to this 

 Board for approval. 



Resolved, That the said committee be requested to cause to be 

 introduced the aforesaid manual, when approved by this Board, 

 into the common schools of Massachusetts, in the manner pro- 

 vided for the introduction of school books by the laws of the 

 Commonwealth ; and that said committee be authorized to apply 

 to the Legislature for the passage of an act for the accomplish- 

 ment of this object. 



At a meeting held Jan. 10, 1861, on motion of Mr. Fay, 

 it was 



Voted, That the committee on the manual be authorized to 

 accept a proposition from Mr. Emerson and Mr. Flint, securing 

 to them the copyright of the manual as a compensation for their 

 services in preparing the book, upon such terms as to price of the 

 work to be furnished to public schools, farmers' clubs and 



