38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



so that several farmers can afford to hire a shepherd, and by 

 pooling their pasturage graze their sheep over a large area. 

 There is undoubtedly feed enough going to waste each year in 

 this State to grow nearly all of the mutton we consume. 



What is true of sheep is also true of swine, although different 

 practices in the production of pork will have to be tried. In 

 cleaning up new land swine should be used as are beef cattle in 

 Maine and other places. There is a steady demand for prime 

 hogs raised in the east, and an ever-increasing demand for pure- 

 bred animals. 



The Agricultural College. 

 The opening of the new agricultural building at Amherst has 

 this year placed at the disposal of the faculty and students a 

 great opportunity for expansion and study. This building with 

 its splendid auditorium, laboratories, classroom and museums 

 is one of which the people of the State may well feel proud. 

 There has been a slight increase in the student body this year. 

 The same cordial relations between the Board and the college 

 have prevailed, and while many of us do not agree with some 

 of the projects carried on by the college, believing that the 

 money could be much better spent on more practical subjects, 

 we believe in the college and its purposes of educating our 

 young men for better agriculture and in consequence better 

 living. The demand on the part of many of the farmers of the 

 State is for some practical work in experimental lines, for 

 courses which will admit boys for a shorter period and at the 

 same time admit the boy from the country, whose preliminary 

 education may not be as thorough as that of the city boy. 

 The fact that over 150 Massachusetts boys are taking courses in 

 other State agricultural colleges forcibly reminds us that these 

 boys are not getting what they should in Massachusetts. . 



Nursery Inspection. 

 The inspection work has followed the usual lines, viz., in- 

 spection of growing stock, of imports, of interstate shipments, 

 the licensing of agents, examination of supposedly menacing 

 places, upon request, and the location of suspected cases of 

 white pine blister rust. 



