NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



119 



ing operations, who had made Agriculture a prom- 

 inent business of his life, and lias tact and judg- 

 ment to be the responsible head of the school. lie 

 should have the general charge of all the plans of 

 labor, be accountable for all receipts and expen- 

 ditures, and under the direction of a Board of Ag- 

 riculture, to be constituted by the State, conduct 

 all the affairs of the school. 



He should lie a man of education, the more the 

 better, capable of communicating instruction, and 

 preserving discipline, and with as many other high 

 qualifications as can conveniently be found com- 

 bined witli the qualities enumerated ! 



2. An Assistant, competent to teach all branch- 

 es pursued in the best academies. These two 



rs should be capable of instructing in most 

 of the branches to be taught. Occasional courses 

 of lectures might be obtained from scientific men 

 not connected with the school. 



3. The studies would be in general education, a 

 continuation of such as are pursued in High 

 Schools, so that young men of sixteen or eighteen, 

 could, after finishing their High School course, at 

 the public expense, still advance in their literary 

 and scientific pursuits. 



But the leading feature would be instruction in 

 practical and scientific Agriculture. And this in- 

 volves Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Natural 

 History, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, &c. 



The Mathematics of Agriculture, such as farm 

 accounts, surveying, draining, levelling, construct- 

 ing luads and bridges, the mechanical powers, the 

 uses and forces of water, steam, &c. &c, would of 

 course be prominent studies. 



PUPILS. 



No pupil should be received, for less than one 

 year, or under fifteen years of age* 



They should be subjected to an examination for 

 admission, by a board, independent of the teach- 

 ers, and admitted only at stated periods, perhaps 

 twice a year. 



They would pay a tuition fee, of twenty or for- 

 ty dollars a year, and pay also for their board. 

 They should be required to labor on the farm three 

 or four hours a day, in all kinds of farm work — to 

 plow, hoe, sow, reap, mow, ditch, build wall and 

 fence, tend horses, cattle, pigs and poultry. No 

 hired laborer should be kept on the farm, (except 

 females in the house) and the labor should be so 

 apportioned, that each should take his turn in every 

 deparfinent. 



Any student who should labor more than the re- 

 quired time, should be credited liberally for the 

 excess, so that he might defray his expenses there- 

 by, wholly or in part. 



These are the general features which seem best 

 adapted to the wants and the views of the public. 

 A far more extensive system is really desirable, 

 and it is hoped will ultimately grow out of suc- 

 cessful experiments such as are above suggested. 

 A diffidence among farmers, about taking what be- 

 longs to them, alone prevents a rapid advancement 

 in Agricultural knowledge. 



The funds necessary to institute one experiment, 

 should be appropriated by the State, to be expend- 

 ed under the charge of a Board of Agriculture. 

 How this Board should be constituted may be left 

 for consideration. 



The Report of Dr. Hitchcock to the "Commis- 

 sioners concerning an AgriculturalSchool," appoint- 

 ed by the Legislature of Mass. in 1850, furnishes 



the best information on this whole subject, and I 

 have drawn largely from it in this plan. I have 

 endeavored, however, so to modify the various 

 schemes there suggested, as to render them more 

 simple, less expensive, and so, more practicable. 

 It is hoped that the subject will attract the atten- 

 tion of all interested in this, our leading interest, 

 and that it may be discussed fairly, fully, and with 

 a single view to the public good. 



H. F. French. 

 Exeter, N. H., Jan. 28, 1852. 



REASONS FOR PLANTING AN OR- 

 CHARD. 



BY EDSOJ1 HARKNESS. 



1. Would you leave an inheritance to your chil- 

 dren? Plant an orchard. No other investment of 

 money and labor will, in the long run, pay sftwell. 



2. Would you make home pleasant — the abode 

 of the social virtues 1 Plant an orchard. Nothing 

 better promotes among neighbors a feeling of kind- 

 ness and good-will than a treat of good fruit, often 

 repeated. 



3. Would you remove from your children the 

 strongest temptations to steal? Plant an orchard. 

 If children cannot obtain fruit at home, they are 

 very apt to steal it ; and when they have learned 

 to steal fruit, they are in a fair way to learn to 

 steal horses. 



4. Would you cultivate a constant feeling of 

 thankfulness toward the great Giver of all good ! 

 Plant an orchard. By having constantly before 

 you one of the greatest blessings given to man, 

 you must be hardened indeed if you are not influ- 

 enced by a spirit of humanity and thankfulness. 



5. Would you have your children love their 

 home, respect then parents while living, and ven- 

 erate their memory when dead — in all their wan- 

 derings look back upon the home of their youth as 

 a sacred spot — an oasis in the great wilderness of 

 the world ? Then plant an orchard. 



6. In short, if you wish to avail yourself of the 

 blessings of a bountiful Providence which are with- 

 in your reach, you must plant an orchard. And, 

 when you do it, see that you plant good fruit. 

 Don't plant crab-apple trees, nor wild plums, nor 

 Indian peaches. The best are the cheapest. 



BRITISH AGRICULTURE. 



The following interesting summary of British 

 Agriculture is prepared by the Boston Post, from 

 a series of letters of the "commissioner" in the em- 

 ployment of the London Times. 



He divides the area of England in 27 millions of 

 acres of cultivated land, including meadow and ar- 

 able pasture grounds, at 27s. 2d. per acre of rent, 

 producing £36,675,000 ; two millions of acres un- 

 cultivated, at 5s. per acre, £500,000 ; three mil- 

 lions one hundred and sixty thousand acres of moor 

 and mountain, at Is. 6d., £237,000 ; making a to- 

 tal of 32,160,000 acres, and of £37,412,000 rent. 

 The area and rent of the metropolitan county, Mid- 

 dlesex, are not included in this estimate. 



Of the 27 millions of acres of cultivated lands, 

 13,332,000 acres are in grass and 13,667,000 acres 

 are in tillage. Of the tillage land, one-fourth is 

 in wheat ; producing net (deducting seed) 10,244,- 

 700 quarters ; one-fourth in barley, oats and rye, 

 producing 15,771,825 quarters ; one-fourth is in 



