VO'.. (CVf. V >. 13 



AND G A K D 



'J R N A L 



LEGSLM'IVE RKPORT ON THE AGRI 

 CULKJIIAL SURVEY OF I'HE STATE. 



We have great ple.isiire in laving I)en.re tli.. 

 pnl.lic tMi-...if,r|i the coliunns of thu Neu England 

 Funner, the Rcpnit ..f the Snlf.-t Corniiiitt™ on 

 the suliji'ct otMi^ooiilinninir ihe Afiricuhural Siir- 

 vey. We had not the privih-ge of hting present 

 either «t the hearin;,' in the Coniuiittee or in the 

 House; hut we have heen favorcil hy a highly es- 

 tceme-l friend with a sketch of the reinarUs of 

 John I'rinee, Esq. Chairman of tlie Committee.— 

 As we have heard from various ipiarters they 

 were listened to with the most respectful attention 

 and ronvietion. Col. Dunran likewise proveil 

 lilinsell to the Hoti,=:e, as he has heen long known 

 in Essex, the inlelligeiit and determined friend of 

 agneuli.n-al improvement. We shall likewise 

 have the pleasure of showing on some (uriire oc- 

 casion that ev -u the public spirited njcnil.er from 

 Braintree, who has so often di.stingiiished him,<elf 

 as the opimser of all Surveys on former occasions ; 

 and who stands as a watchful sentinel to hohl tight' 

 the inirse strings of the State, unles? it should 

 happen to he a case in which the pay of the mem- 

 bers is to be increased, has distinguished him.self 

 for some agricultural improvement.s, which he is 

 patriotic enough to wi^h to .lisseminate among his 

 brother farmers ; su'h for example as raising calves 

 at half the usual e.xpense. This is a great iin- 

 proveiiient and shall hereafter he given to the 

 public. This geiitletnan and a few others came 

 against the ,>-.urvey with the force of one of the an- 

 Cient battering rams ; and certainly thought that 

 Ibey came very near knocking over not only the 

 Survey Init the poor Surveyor likewise, if he had 

 not stood out of the way. |{,ii the House which 

 IS rather a difficult animal on some occasions to 

 manage, voted to accept the report and sustain the 

 Survey by a majority of twenty to one. Victory 

 IS not always to the brave. These gentlemen 

 mist console themselves with the reflection that if 

 hey did not get the fish on hoard they certainly 

 bought they had a bite. They may also remeni- 

 ler that sometimes when the charge is too heavy 

 nstead ol killing the bird, the gun kicks the' 

 hooter over. They may go against the cause of 

 gricultur.i! education and improvement as much 

 s they think fit; b'lt they may he sure that the 

 trmers of Massachusetts have made up their minds 

 rinly and dispassionately to sustain their own 

 rt; to enlarge iis powers ; to extend its benefits; 

 nd to elevate its respectability. They need not 

 ave a doubt therefore that the Agricultural Siir- 

 ey will go on ; that agricultural societies will 

 Jntinue to receive the bounties of the State ; that 

 le agricultural statistics of the Commonwealth 

 ill presently be obtained ; an.l that a Board of 

 griculture will be established in the State to give 

 JW spirit and energy to agricultural inquiry and 

 iterpri.se ; to extend the improvements and bles- 

 Igs of this great art, and to place its profession 

 nong the most intelligent and respectable as it 

 IS always been foremost among the most moral 

 id useful occupations of life. We should not 

 surprised to find some of tiiese very gentlemen 

 ^o now, under mistaken views, are casting their 

 flueiice into the opposite scale, among the most 

 live members of such a lioaid. Nor have we 

 J doubt should we have the pleasure of meeting 

 Jtn at the Cattle Shows of their res|:ective coun- 

 sthe next autumn, that we shall rind them with 

 Hr hats off under the premium tree when it is 

 »ken, among the most eager competitors for the 



841 



honorary prizes. We hope they will deserve and 

 receive them. 



Report of the Committee on the Asriculturnl Survey, 

 of Ihe Slate in the House of Representatives of 

 Massachusetts, April 2(1, 1838. 

 Ihe select committee to whom was referred 

 the order " to conshler the . xpedienry of repeal- 

 ing the resolve pa.ss.d April 12, 1837, providin.. 

 for an Agricultural Survey of the State, and that 

 said Committee be required to report thereon, as 

 soon as may be convenient," have attende.l to 

 Ihe duty assigned them and beg leave to report:— 

 That in their opinion the object of the i-urvey is 

 a highly desirable one. They are also of opinion 

 that It has progressed as rapidly as could have 

 been expecte.l considering the lateness of the sea- 

 son when it commenced; much information is 

 Kiven in the report now published of Essex county, 

 and it is understood great progress has been made 

 in Ihe report of Berkshire county— and it is be- 

 lieved the whole will be completed quite as soon 

 as by many was originally expected. 



Agricultural Surveys of such extensive tracts of 

 country are new in America, an<l therefore are 

 not properly appreciated ; hut it is well known, 

 that every county in England and Scotland lies 

 been surveyed by different scientific individuals 

 and large volumes published of each, containing 

 liighly valuable and interesting matter; and we 

 have no doubt when the whole survey of this 

 State is finished the result will be satisfactory t. 

 Ibe public and of very great importance to the 

 agricultural interest. And as it will contain noti- 

 ces of the best crops of ,dl kinds that have been 

 cultivated, it will also contain the methods and 

 means whereby they have been obtained, so that 

 others by adopting the same course may obtain 

 the like results. 



The whole expense of the survey when com- 

 pleted we are satisfied, will be amply repaid by 

 the valuable information obtained and this will be 

 di>seriiinated over the whide State. 



Under the circumstances of the case, the Com. 

 inittee consider it inexpedient at the present latt 

 period of the session to act upon the subject. 

 JOHN PRINCE, 

 C.ADAMS, |. Committee. 



H. IJUBBARD, 



DEBATE 



ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE REPORT OF THE 

 COMMITTEE O.N CONTI.NUI.NG THE AGRICDLTURAL 

 SURVEV. 



We have received from a friend the following brief 

 account of the debate, which occurred on the oc- 

 casion of introducing the above report, and from 

 the many valuable statements made in the address 

 of the Chairman of the Committee, we know it 

 must be read with great interest. 



'I'he Report of the Committee as given above, 

 on the order introiluced by .Mr Allen of Alendon 

 to put a stop to the Agricultural Survey, was 

 strongly opposed by Mr Allen and Mr Thayer of 

 Braintree. They inaiiitaineil that the Survey was 

 expensive ; that it was not 1 kely to end for many 

 years ; and tliat the statements in the Report of 

 Essex County were highly incorrect ; that no per- 

 son believed theaccounts of the large crops therein 

 given ; and that it was likely to do more barm 

 than good. They then urged the recommitment 

 of the Report of the Committee with instructions 



to bring in a Ri'solve that the Survey should be 

 finished within one year fro'ii this time. 



Col. Duncan of Haverhill opposed the recom- 

 mitment ; and approved tiie Report of the Com- 

 mitlce. He thought that much good had already 

 and more good would come fVom the survey ; and 

 that the expense would lie a very small mailer. 



Mr Prince of. Roxbiiry, Chairman of the Com- 

 mittee said he felt called on to support Ibe opiii- 

 ions expressed in the report ; and in so doing be 

 asked the indulgence of the House. He went on 

 to Slate that ficun the year 1809 he was ;>iany 

 years a Trustee, and for 17 or 18 year.s, he was 

 Treasurer of the Massachusetts Society for pro- 

 moting Agricn ture. During that time all the 

 Premiums had fiassed through his bands; he 

 could therefore slate to the House, that from min- 

 utes taken from the books of the Society for a Ion" 

 series of years, lie could in the fullest manner sus- 

 tain the statements made by the Commissioner of 

 Agriciilliire in the survey of Essex county. Mr 

 Prince then proce('ded to read a detailed state, 

 ment of premium crops and others, which he bail 

 procured from the records of the Society ; and 

 which were given in under the solemnity of an 

 oath ; and under circumstances adapted, as far as 

 possible, to secure the most unquestionable exact- 

 ness. This valuable statement will be given next 

 week. 



Mr Prince proceeded to relate the commence- 

 ment of Ploughing Matches in America ; the first 

 match having taken place in 1817 under the pat- 

 ronage of the Massachusetts Agriciiliuial Society 

 at Brighton, at which was iniroduced the first iron 

 plough ever seen- here. This was Freeborn's 

 plough made niuler Wood's patent. This com- 

 menced the improvements in this most important 

 implement of husbandry. These improvements 

 have advanced so nspidly, the construction of the 

 lilough becoming aiv object of the greatest atten- 

 tion and study among the mechanics and farmers 

 that at the last Brighton Show in 1836, there were' 

 twenty-two ploughs in the competition every one 

 of which was made of iron. He therefore, fear- 

 less of conlrailiction, and without hesitatiin, gave 

 it as bis decided opinion that although the Legis- 

 latiire of the State had for about twenty years 

 given to the diflerent agriculiiiral societies to be 

 bestowed in premiums about four thousand dol- 

 lars annually, amounting perhaps in all to .f 80,000, 

 yet the bare introduction of this iron plough, with 

 the improvements to which it has given rise, has 

 been of inuch nujre benefit to the State than tliis, 

 or even three times this amount. He also men- 

 tioned ihe introduction of several other valuable 

 implements thn ugh the agency and encourage- 

 ment of the Mas.sachusetts Agricultural Society, 

 such as the Potato hoe; the Cultivator; Seed 

 lAlachines for sowing grass and vegetables ; Hay 

 and manure forks ; and many other tools, all of 

 great utility in the saving of labor. All these im- 

 provements were in the main the fruit of the pub- 

 lic, spirited and disinterested labors of individuals 

 coiinecte<l with the Agricultural Society wlio were 

 sometimes sneered at as book farmers, by persons 

 less enterprising, and whose highest ambition it is 

 to tread in the footsteps of their forefathers. 



He also mentioned the first introduction into 

 the Stale in 1808 or 1809 of the Merino Sheep by 

 the President of the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Society at a cost of $30 per bead. The society 

 was likewise mainly instrumental in iDtrudiicing 

 and diffusing through the State and country a 



