320 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



as the cattle commission committee, with the veterinarian 

 as a member of the same. This is the Connecticut plan, 

 and I understand that it works satisfactorily, being fully as 

 efficient, and more economical. 



Seventh. — Dispense with the present Board of Control of 

 the Massachusetts Experiment Station, and elect from this 

 Board a committee known as the experiment committee, of 

 which the president of the Agricultural College shall be 

 chairman, and the chemist to the Board the director, as is the 

 case at present. 



This outline of a plan may seem to many radical and un- 

 wise ; but I submit it as a basis, hoping that out of it may 

 grow a scheme that shall be acceptable to this Board as well 

 as to the State at large. The plan as I have outlined it is 

 not entirely original with me, for there are precedents in 

 other States for many features of it. 



The Plan in Detail. — Voting by Postal Cards. 



Let us discuss the plan for a moment in detail. The dis- 

 tricts can be easily arranged, when we have determined the 

 number of delegates we shall have ; and I think no one will 

 object to taking the number of farmers as the basis of 

 representation. 



As to voting by postal card, there are many advantages in 

 that, as we shall see. According to the returns, there are 

 about 30,000 members of the different societies, counting 

 men, women and everybody, including the fakirs. What 

 proportion are actually farmers no one knows, but it is safe 

 to say that not over one-third, or 10,000 out of the 36,000 

 formers in the State, are members of agricultural societies. 

 Every one knows that the annual meetings of the societies 

 are very poorly attended. Probably not over ten per cent 

 of the farmers of the State actually vote for delegates to 

 this Board. As the societies are now conducted, I dare 

 say the vote is exercised very largely by men who are not 

 farmers . 



A man entitled to a vote by postal card, under this plan, 

 should be one who gets his living by farming, or one who 

 owns a farm which is tilled under his direction ; and the 

 town clerk in each town should be required to certify to a 



