1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



189 



paring this for rooting cuttings of plants in pots, 

 it should be first thoroughly dried and then pul- 

 verized. After filling the pot they should re- 

 ceive a good watering before inserting the cut- 

 tings. 



CONSERVATOKY OP ABT AND SCI- 

 JSNCE. 



A meeting of about forty gentlemen represent- 

 ing the association of Agriculture, Art and Sci- 

 ence, and various industrial, educational and mor- 

 al interests of the city, was held February 18, at 

 the Library of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History. The meeting was organized by the 

 choice of Hon. Maksiiall P, Wilder, as Chair- 

 man, and Dr. S. Kneeland, Jr. as Secretarj'. 



The Chairman stated that the object of the 

 meeting was to take steps for memorializing the 

 present Legislature for a grant of land belonging 

 to the Commonwealth, in aid of a plan for a con- 

 servatory of art and science, and he invited the 

 representatives of the diff'erent interests to state 

 their views. A reading of the portion of the 

 Governor's message, in which he refers to the 

 value of the public land, and advises a certain 

 disposition to be made of a portion of it, brought 

 the subject fairly before the meeting. 



Hon. A. H. Rice gave a sketch of the rise and 

 progress of education in this community, and 

 traced the connection between education and sci- 

 ence, and the mechanical and fine arts ; the high- 

 est development of knowledge among us was on- 

 ly an expansion of the common school system. 

 He considered that some such plan as the one 

 presented, for the enlargement and practical ap- 

 plication of science in its various branches to the 

 useful and ornamental arts of life, was impera- 

 tively demanded as an educational measure. 



Prof. Agassiz spoke in favor of the plan, which 

 he thought of great importance, as occupying the 

 middle ground between abstract science and its! 

 practical application. Science, in the abstract, | 

 must go alone, not hampered with any consider- 1 

 ations of practical application, assisting, but not 

 interfering with each other ; the moment they 

 are combined in the same association, science 

 must languish. Hence the importance of some! 

 institution occupying the ground of an interpre- 

 ter between the two, which he thought the plan 

 proposed would do. 



Mr. M. 1). Ross said that the cause of the 

 present movement was the fact that this unoccu- 

 pied Back Bay laud was in the vicinity of the 

 city ; in order to make valuable what now is 

 mere water, it must be developed by the citizens, 

 must be used for some purposes of public im- 

 provement. 



Prof. Agassiz, in relation to the Polytechnic 

 School, said that such an institution, intermedi- 

 ate between trade and science, was vitally impor- 

 tant ; they could not be combined in the same 

 association — this he likened to the high schools, 

 which are the necessary medium between the pri- 

 mary school and the university. 



Rev. Dr. Blagden expressed his approval of 

 any plan which promises to develop the rela- 

 tions between science and art; such an institu- 

 tion as the one proposed, he thought, would ele- 

 vate the intellectual standard of the community, 

 and meet a great public want. 



Dr. A. A. Gould alluded to the frequency of 

 such institutions in Europe, and thought they 

 were imperatively demanded here. 



J. D. PniLBKiCK, Esq., President of the Amer- 

 ican Institute of Instruction, Gen. B. F. Ed- 

 MANDs, Mr. George Snelling, Zelotes Hos- 

 mer, Esq., Mr. Alfred Ordway, Rev. Dr. 

 Miles, W. E. Baker, Esq., Amos Binney, Esq., 

 all spoke favorably and earnestly of the plan pro- 

 posed. 



The Chairman remarked that a large space 

 would be required for the exhibitions of the ag- 

 ricultural products. He alluded to the land bill 

 now before Congress, which, if passed, would 

 give the income of 220,000 acres of government 

 land to Massachusetts to be devoted to an agri- 

 cultural college, if the State would erect the 

 building. Perhaps this income might be devot- 

 ed to the furtherance of the agricultural depart- 

 ment of this plan. 



A committee, consisting of Messrs. Edmands, 

 Ross, Baker, Wilder, G. M. Pratt, Samuel A. 

 Gookin and A. Ordway, was appointed to pre- 

 pare memorials to the Legislature in aid of the 

 Natural History Society. 



We regret tha-t the crowded state of our col- 

 umns prevents us from giving in full the remarks 

 of all the gentlemen who spoke. The movement 

 is an excellent one, and we shall be glad to aid 

 it in any way in our power. 



Por the New England Farmer. 

 TURNIPS— ARE THEY WORTH RAISING? 



The same land, with equal culture and manure, 

 that will yield 500 bushels of turnips, will yield 

 sixty bushels of Indian corn. What is the com- 

 parative value of these two products for the feed 

 of stock? Neither of them will do well without 

 some other feed — but when a proper quantity of 

 hay is fed with them, either will do very well. 

 My impression is that the corn will do the best, 

 especially when the corn fodder is properly 

 ly used in connection with the grain — and when 

 properly cured and dealt out, it will be found to 

 be worth half as much as so much hay. I am 

 pleased to see the inquiries of Mr. Brigham, of 

 W., on this subject. He writes as though he 

 knew a thing or two. There are many farmers 

 who could answer these inquiries in a satisfacto- 

 ry manner, if they would. Might it not be well 

 to ascertain these things before another season 

 of planting — and not go along entirely on the 

 hap-hazard principle? Essex. 



Fth. 13, 1859. 



Forcing Melons, &c. — One of the best meth- 

 ods we have found to raise early plants of the 

 melon and cucumber under glass, is to take sods 

 from three to five inches thick, soak them some 

 twelve hours or more in liquid manure, and then 

 plunge them grass down, into the bed, then in- 

 sert three or four seeds in each sod, where they 

 can afterwards be transplanted with the sod, 

 without disturbing the roots. 



