74 



VIII. 



POSSIBLE LOCATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS OR 

 DEPARTMENTS. 



Where should the schools and departments in a system of agri- 

 cultural education for Massachusetts be established? 



Previously in this report it has been stated that the establish- 

 ment of five, or possibly six, separate agricultural schools might 

 be warranted in Massachusetts. These might well be located at 

 the most easily accessible points in each of six, readily sep- 

 arable, divisions of the State which furnish the home markets 

 for Massachusetts agricultural products. 



That there are six such divisions has been shown by Secre- 

 tary Ellsworth in his forthcoming pamphlet, entitled " Massa- 

 chusetts, her Agricultural Resources, Advantages and Oppor- 

 tunities," to which reference has been made in chapter II. His 

 preliminary statement concerning these divisions is as fol- 

 lows : 



The home markets for Massachusetts farm products are confined prin- 

 cipally to the 33 cities. These cities, all containing more than 13,000 

 people, represent almost two-thirds of the total population of the State. 

 The inhabitants thereof are wholly dependent upon the farmer for sus- 

 tenance. The cities of the State lie in six groups, the locations of 

 which, as previously intimated, were determined largely by the existence 

 of special industrial and commercial facilities. 



1. Desirable Locations for Agricultural Schools. If the six 

 agricultural market divisions of the State were to be followed, 

 schools might be located in the divisions described by Secretary 

 Ellsworth, as below shown, and for reasons based on the investi- 

 gations leading to this report below given. 



(1) " The most western group/' says Secretary Ellsworth, " is 

 that comprising the cities of Pittsfield and North Adams, hav- 

 ing a combined population of 45,000. These markets get all 

 their dairy products and fruits and vegetables in season from 

 producers of northern Berkshire." 



Pittsfield promises to be an excellent center, and the time 

 seems opportune for the establishment there of a separate 



