334 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL 35, 1^38. 



AND gardener's JOURNAL. 



BoBTOW, Wednesday, Apbil 25, 1838. 



MASSACHUSE rrs AGRICULTURAL SOCIKTY. 



ThH Premium List for llie Massachiisplts Agiic\iUural 

 Society lor Ihe ymr 1838, has just bepi, issued from the 

 press; and demands the particular attention ofihe Far 

 mers of Massachusetts. Wo have before expressed our 

 regret at the decision of this Board, in omitiing their 

 customary Cattle Show and Fair at Brighton ; but we 

 accord to others the same right of judgment which we 

 claim for ourselves ; and wo kn..w that their decision 

 was formed eiitircly on views of public expediency. If 

 there had not been a single superior animal exhibited 

 at the Show, yet very great good always comes in such 

 cases liom bringing Ibe farmers together ; frou) present- 

 ing the subjeot of agriculture frequently and strongly 

 before the public attention ; and from the opportunity, 

 which such occasions always have afforded, of evincing 

 the interest taken in it by n.any gentlemen among us of 

 the highest distinction in the professional walks of life. 

 To such persons Massachusetts is deeply indebted for 

 the aid, which they have given to her agriculture. They 

 have be.-n lavish of their time and money. Tliey have 

 introduced into the state many of the most valuable im- 

 plements, plants, fruits, grains, and animals ; and they 

 have cheerfully done this, in a most disinterested man- 

 ner ; and for a class in the community, who, taken as a 

 body, are proverbially slow to perceive and acknowl- 

 edge the value of such public spirited improvements.— 

 Th^eir reward in such cases will be found in the con- 

 scious satisfaction of having tendered an immense bene- 

 6t to the State arid to the country at large 



and the premiums offered in this- case amount to ,«i260- 

 being for butter one of $100— one of $50— one of $30— 

 and for cheese, one of $50— and one of $30. These 

 premiume are offered to the competition of the farmers 

 in any of the States. We honor this liberality; hut we 

 hope for the credit of ihe <.ld Bay State, that however 

 extended the coinpetilion may be, and we should be 

 glad if it were practicable to see samples from every 

 state in the Union, that ihe Massachusells farmers will 

 at least deserve the highest. 



The oiher subjects t.f premium, on which too the offers 

 are highly liberal, are 

 Rotation of Cropa. 



Growing and Plouohing in Green Crops. 

 Mixed or Compo.st Manure. 

 Vegetable and Grain Crops. 

 Expi^riinents, Discoveries and Inventions. 

 Trees and Live Hedges. 



All of these are im.ortant subjects of inquiry and ex- 

 periment ; and we hope the competition will be as in. 

 telligent and spirited as possible. We shall do all we 

 can to circulate the prospectus ; and we hope every in- 

 tellio-ent fanner, who gets the notice will exert himself 

 and wake up hi.s neighbors. 



THE LEGISLATURE. 



The Legislature ol Massachusetts, it is understood, 

 will adjoin n this day alter tue longest session on record. 

 It is too much a habit ol some people to find fault with 

 those whom we employ, and to feel that they have not 

 done enough. This is not however always just ; and 

 our expectalions, as to what should be done, are as often 

 extravagant, as what is done falls short of what it ought 

 to be. ''riiere has been no ca«e during the session, when 

 a quorum has not been found ; and we believe the mem- 

 bers have been in session the usual number of h.iurs. 

 The committees have been worked unusually hard. But 

 whether what I as been done has been what ought lo 

 have been done ; and has corresponded \> ith the expense 



a measure of caution and ambition, which in any im- 

 poriant matter or enterprise are the great elements of i 

 success. 



An atlempt was made, under cover of inquiring into ■ 

 its expediency, to put a stop to the agricultural survey I 

 of the state ; and to strangle the bantling whin it was ' 

 .scarcely nine months old. Now so long .is they did ' 

 not alteiupl to strangle the surveyor himself, the meas- 

 ure was of little personal concern to any one ; not cer- ■ 

 tainly to the citizens of the commcmwcalth, in a pecu- 

 niaiy point of view ; for if the survey should require 

 three years from its commencement for iis completion, 

 and this is the time assigned by the cimimittee, and in 

 this t.me it will in all humiiU probability, be completed, j 

 and perhaps sooner, the whole expense lo the slate will 

 not exceed six mills to a head. But ot the importance 

 of the survey to the state, our convictions are strong,; 

 and daily growinL' stronger The report of the com- i 

 mittee on this subject, was full and decided in favor of ] 

 its continuance; and approbatory of what wa^ doing 

 and what had been done This was highly gratifying 

 to the friends of the survey ; and cheering to ihe com- m 

 missioiier in his labors His success must materially 

 depend on the aid and co-operation of the farmer! ' 

 themselves; and we confidently hope that this aid will 

 be cordially rendered Too much ought not to be ex- 

 pected. In any valuable enterprise or improvement al 

 that human skill and effort can accomplish is only ar |' 

 approach to perfeclion. The two great objections w( 

 have heard made to the first Report "f ihe Commiasionei 

 are first that his statements of producis are exaggerate^ 

 and second that though he has stated large results,^ 

 has not staled how they were obtained. Inicgardliji 

 the first objection, let men believe as they will, thi |i 

 statements made aie all capable of being substantiatei 

 by testimimy, which, in amount and kind, would b 

 deemed ample before any court or jury in the Common , 



The Massachusetts Society with the same views have j nf tj^e and money which has been lavished, are mquir- 



issued their Premium List, much or all of which will 

 appear at convenient times in the columns of the Far- 

 mer. 



The premiums offered (or the best cultivated Farms 

 are four in number, amounting in the whole to six hun- 

 dred dolla.s-one of $200-of $175-<)f $150-of $75. 

 These premiums are ceitainly magnificent; and it is 

 hoped will call out the ambition of the Farmers through- 

 out the State. The conditions on which the claims 



les which we shall not undertake to answer in behall ot 

 Ihe people. 



We regret that the Legislature refused to do some 

 things, which were asked of them ; among others llial 

 ihey rejected, the act to procure statistical returns of 

 agricultural producis. The bill as leported attempted 

 perhaps a little too much; and proposed a minuteness 

 in the returns, which, though it would have been highly 

 nseful, was with the general careless habits of our far- 

 mers scarcely practicable. But it would have been as 

 ea.sy to amend tln^ form of the bill as to have rejected 

 it ; and the result of such inquiiies as were proposed, so 



out tne Biaie. i iie iwuu... - - ij . anj the result ol sucii inquiiies as were piopwotu. ^i, 



must rest are fully and with groat judgment drawn up f^^ g^ exactness was attainable, wouhl have been equally 



, . ..._ 'Pl.„ „l.;o..fo r.< lire. ...... I ;r<.in.r !i = t lio rel 11 ms of lIlO lua O U fac I U r 1 02 1 ud ustr V 



and detailed in their prospectus. The objects of pre 

 niiums arc oftentimes much misunderstood. It is not 

 the mere reward of extraordinary industry or skill ; but 

 the besiowment of a premium has in view mainly and 

 indeed exclusively the general benefit. A man is hon- 

 ored with a premium for raising a fine animal; but it is 

 that others may be stimulated to similar efforts ; that the 

 breed of animals of the same description may be gener- 

 crally in the same manner improved ; and that the mode 

 by which such improvements have been effected may 

 be undei stood 



So likewise in regard to the produce of a farmer's 

 dairy. He receives a pn inium not merely for the ex- 

 hibition of the best butter and cheese ; but for furnishing 

 the public with that practical knowledge of the dairy 

 art, which shall put it in the power of other farmers to 

 compete wiili him for the palm of excellence in the 

 market. It is the same with all other agricultural im 

 provement", which are honore.l with premiums ; and 

 thus knowledge is every where dillused ; improvement 

 stimulated and accelerated ; and these premiums arc 

 like good seed sown in good ground and produce their 

 sixty and their hundred fold. 



The next great subject of Premium is dairy produce; 



lai aa ^ahlliu ^o »>iioui 1.1 •■■■ — ■ — ? 1 ^ 



gratifying, as the returns of the manufacluring industry 

 of the Commonwealth. A Massachusetts man may lay 

 his hand upon that document with an honest pride ; he 

 perceives at once in these returns the immense value of 

 manual labor in Us influence upon wealih, morals, so 

 cial comfort and aeneral improvement ; and with a lolly 

 consciousness of power he elands under her granite 

 cliffs, like the Heljrew leader before the rocks of the 

 desert, knowing that he has but to touch them with the 

 wand of labor to cause the waters to gush forth. The 

 agricuhural products of Massachusells ate far fiom be- 

 itTg what ihey should he, and tliis is a factequally impor- 

 tant to be knoivn ; al the same time, it is believed, they 

 are much greater than many person-, who are accustom- 

 ed lo look with complaint and disdain upon her unge- 

 nial climale and her rocky and broken soil apprcliend. 

 The ascertaining of them would have done much lo 

 stimulate and encourage agricultural industry. 



We retrict likewise that the proposition to establish a 

 Board ol" Agriculture was rejected. Wo have already 

 slated explicitly and fully our views in favor of this 

 measure ; and f'aillier reflection has served only to con- 

 firm these impres.sions. We believe that such a Board 

 would exert a most salutary influence over the agricul- 

 tural interests of the Stale; and so strong are our con- 

 viciions of its utility, that we will not doubt, that the 

 unflincliing fiends of this great interest will ultimately 

 c.irry it by a large vote. Petfect unanimity in any case 

 IS almost as seldom to be desired as it is to be expected. 

 Opposition quickens inquiry and exertion; and induces 



philosophei ; and may set up 



self No such man will ever think of tradiu); upon boi 

 rowed capital or of harning any thing from others, - 

 Such philosophers disdain all science; and will prov 

 to you by itrelragable evidence, that the N'ewlonia 

 theory is a childish romance; that this earth does ni 

 turn lound as the philosophers say, because we slioul 

 all drop off if it did, and we find ourselves in the morl 

 ing lying flat on our backs in the bed, jusl in the po 

 ture we got in at night inslead of being on our face- 

 with the bed a top of us. 



Another objection to the Report is. that the Commit 

 sioner does not lell us how these things w hich he state 

 are done. This is not quite true. In many cases ma 

 ters are fully explained; and the various sleps in tl 

 progress are clearly detailed. In others it was deeini 

 sufficient at first lo state the lesults in as concise a for 

 as possible, ll' too much had been attempted, there 

 some reason to feir that the length of the derails mig 

 have been objected to. Besides this it is not undeistoi 

 from the resolve and letter of instructions that the Su 

 vey was to comprise a complete system of agricullur 

 Least of all was it to be expected that a cause should ! 

 decided before a quarter part of the leslimony is in ; al 

 that we should proceed to general conclusions in rega 

 to the agriculture of the State from the survey of a sing 

 county Such premature sysleinalizing, sucli deducingi 

 general rules from single facts has already been high 

 prejudicial lo agricultural improvement; and has led I 

 unwary to many and expensive disappointmeiils. T 

 Commissioner, if we know him, has no passion wliateii 

 for theorizing ; and is above all things anxious so to ci 

 lect and arrange important and well ascertained fac 

 that intelligent farmers, having the whole testimony I 

 lore them, must make up their own verdict, and det 

 mine the law as well as the fact. 



New Tobk Appropriations — Among the appropi 

 tions made by the New York Legislature for inter 

 improvements, are $4,000,000 for the more speedy i 

 largemenl of the Erie Canal— $3,000,000 in aid of ' 

 construction of the New York and Erie Railroat 

 $300,000 to aid in the construction of the Catskill i 

 Can-ajoharie Railroad— say $275,000 to the Owego I 

 Ithaca Railroad— and $200,000 lo the Auburn and I 

 racuse Railroad — being an aggregate of $7,750,OOOi 



