1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



117 



not at all disposed to make this inference. It 

 is aiding the good cause, by means, which, though 

 quiet and unostentatious, are yet powerful, and 

 ■will be felt for good, long after the more noisy 

 displays of those who are good farmers period- 

 ically, have been forgotten. 



The present volume is highly creditable to the 

 Recording Secretary, and suggests the value and 

 interest of a more extended selection from the 

 records of the Society. A history of the agri- 

 culture of the State would show who have ever 

 been the true friends of the farmer, and if pre- 

 pared as it would be by the Secretary, would be 

 a noble monument to the memory of the noble 

 men who founded this Societj'. 



A brief statement of what the Society Jias done, 

 scattered among the people, would not only be a 

 matter of justice to the Society itself, but would 

 correct that spirit of complaint which has been 

 manifested within two or three years past. Those 

 who conduct its affairs are men of the world, of 

 integrity, and of sound judgment, and are un- 

 questionably desirous of promoting the agricul- 

 tural interests of the State in every way, so far 

 as their personal labors and the funds placed in 

 their control will permit. 



For our part, the Society has our respect and 

 gratitude, and we wish it a long life of useful- 

 ness and high character, such as it has always 

 sustained. 



We were honored with an election to this So- 

 ciety several years ago, but have never attended 

 any of its meetings, or known of one having ta- 

 ken place. While there is probably no rule of 

 exclusion to any, we cannot doubt but its affairs 

 are better managed by a few than they would be 

 by a large number. It has done well in the past, 

 and we have entire confidence in it for the fu- 

 ture. 



I^'or the New England Farmer. 



THE GOVBENOR'S NOTIONS OF AGBI- 

 CULTURE. 



Very properly, (as I think.) does the Governor 

 place the interests of agriculture in the front 

 rank in his message, not to be cut down by the 

 enemy, but to be greeted by friends ; for credit 

 is given to the exertions of those who have so 

 disinterestedly and effectively sustained our ag- 

 ricultural associations. All praise be to him, who 

 by precept and example does justice to the in- 

 dustrious tiller of the soil, by whose efforts (next 

 to the smiles of Heaven,) we "live, move and 

 have our being." No complaint is made of the 

 annual appropriation of $12,000 for the sustain- 

 ing of these institutions — a mere pittance com- 

 pared with the benefits to accrue. 



His Excellency appears to have a just sense of 

 the irregularities, in the present distribution of 

 this bounty, but doubts whether the present or- 

 ganizations should be disturbed, at the same 

 time clearly indicating that these inequalities 



should not be increased. What he means in 

 speaking of town societies is not readily seen ; 

 but I presume he would not recommend an ap- 

 propriation by the State, for the support of 

 such societies. That they can be advantageously 

 organized, we have no doubt ; that they may be 

 made useful auxiliaries to county societies, I be- 

 lieve is equally clear ; but that it is not expedi- 

 ent to increase the number of societies (favored 

 by bounty) beyond the number of counties, has 

 ever been my deliberate opinion. Essex. 



Ja7i. 12, 1859. 



For the New England Farmer. 



FLOWAGE OF Lfl.ND ON CONCORD 

 RIVER. 



The injuries sustained by meadow-owners on 

 Concord River and its tributaries, together with 

 the gross outrages perpetrated on them under 

 forms of law in seeking redress, is a subject once 

 more before the public mind. The report of the 

 mass meeting of meadow-owners in Concord, De- 

 cember 27th, in the Boston Journal, also copied in 

 the Farmer, presents something of a view of the 

 nature of the case. 



These meadow-owners have too patiently born 

 their wrongs, as honest farmers not accustomed 

 to litigation, and allowed one or two individuals 

 to pursue the subject alone. But their growing 

 injuries are awakening them to the necessity of 

 action, and they are now banding together for a 

 thorough investigation in view of an ultimate 

 remedy. It is not a question of trifling moment. 

 Not even an uninterested mind with a knowledge 

 of the facts can call it such. It has sufficient lo- 

 cal interest to entitle it to public consideration, 

 regardless of the general principles involved, and 

 the welfare of a large community. It is even 

 connected with matters concerning every inhab- 

 itant of the State. Thousands of acres, much of 

 which is more valuable than upland, rendered 

 worthless to swell the coffers of a very few. This 

 meadow land, owned by farmers, from five to 

 thirty and forty acres each, is the main depen- 

 dence of their profit in farming. It demands no 

 expenses for cultivating or fertilizing, but yields 

 its annual crop with only the cost of harvesting. 

 And farmers have depended on it for their win- 

 ter's supply of hay; its loss subjecting them to 

 the necessity of buying hay, or keeping a less 

 number of cattle ; either of which methods de- 

 tracts from their income. 



But aside from pecuniary loss to farmers thus 

 interested, another important and more general 

 view of the subject regards it as the cause of de- 

 terioration of health. The miasma from stand- 

 ing water on the meadows, and the decomposi- 

 tion of so much vegetable matter, is a fruitfu. 

 source of disease. It has been given to the 

 world as grave advice, and I think through the 

 Farmer, not to suffer vpgetable matter to lie 

 about, exposed to the atmosphere, to absorb its 

 noxious qualities, because injurious to health. 

 But if this advice should be deemed necessary on 

 account of a few small quantities, how much 

 more so when the air is tainted by thousands of 

 tons of decaying matter lying on the banks of a 

 river for miles, with dwellings within a short 

 distance. 



But it is argued by some in opposition that 



