164 |Sen>itk 



his practised eye would always, silently perhaps, but surely, detect 

 where he was wanting, and where he could improve. So at these 

 meetings, farmers are stimulated to visit each other's farms, to view 

 the various processes going on, to take examples from the superior 

 neatness and cleanliness in the barns, fences, tools, &c. &c. 



And there is certamly nothing which so much advances a man in 

 the estimation of all around him as order, cleanliness and system in 

 practical farming, nor is there anything in the whole routine of agri- 

 culture, more important or finally more productive than attention to 

 these points, emulation in which these meetings are eminently calcu- 

 lated to produce. Permit me, therefore, to impress on your attention 

 the great value of these agricultural associations, and to call on every 

 individual to afford to them his most hearty countenance and supportj 

 for there is no pursuit in which every member of the community has 

 so direct an interest as agriculture. The quantity, and what to many 

 in civilized life is of as much consequence, the quality of our daily 

 food is entirely dependent on the successful efforts of the farmer. 

 Within the last ten years there has been certainly considerable im- 

 provement in ihe quality of beef and mutton, and particularly of 

 butter, and not only this but the quantity of these good articles has 

 materially increased, so as to bring them within reach of moderate 

 incomes. In the neighborhood of Boston, for instance, I have ob- 

 served even within the last two years a manifest improvement in the 

 quality of veal, owing, 1 believe, to introduction of superior breeds. 

 Almost all these may, I think, be referred to the influence of agri- 

 cultural meetings and associations; therefore those who are not farm- 

 ers, in subscribing to and in countenancing them do but increase their 

 own personal and domestic comforts, while at the same time they are 

 benefiting the whole country. 



In an address which I had the hon«>r of delivering before the Mas- 

 sachusetts Horticultural Society last year, I detailed a few experiments 

 made by myself with the new manure from the coast of Peru, called 

 guano, which is unquestionably the dung of sea birds that has accu- 

 mulated there in almost incredible masses, and which o\'"ing to its 

 never having been washed by rain, not only retains for ages its 

 wonderful fertilizing powers, but possibly posseses them in a concen- 

 trated state. 



I think this is a fit opportunity to give the results of a continuation 

 of some of these and other experiments, premising that every operation 

 has been carried on by my own hands; but I would previously remark 

 that about four or five years ago two cargoes of this manure were 

 imported into England, the following season this number was increased 

 to six, and in the twelve months of 1S42 and '43, this importation 

 was increased to 40,000 tons, and that the sales in London alone, 

 since last January, have been from 250 to 500 tons weekly ; those 

 in Liverpool probably exceeding this amount. I should be quite 

 willing to rest my belief of its immense importance to agriculture on 

 these facts alone, even if I had not my own experience to confirm it, 

 although I am aware that several experiments have been made which 

 have failed. In all those which I have heard of, the failure could 



