1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



241 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUBE. 



The members of the Board met at the State 

 Farm at Westboro' on Wednesday, 7th inst. Of 

 the new members present were Messrs. G. M. At- 

 WATEU, of the Hampden Society, Simon Brown, 

 of the Middlesex Society, Richard S. Fay, of 

 the Massachusetts Society, Cyrus Knox, of the 

 Hampden East Society, and Charles K. Tracy, 

 of the Berkshire Society. 



In the absence of His Excellency, Gov. Banks 

 Col. Wilder was invited to preside, and took the 

 chair and called attention to the recent death of 

 Col. Moses Newell, and to the propriety of 

 noticing it before proceeding further with the 

 business of the meeting. After paying a noble 

 and generous tribute to his memory, he offered 

 the following resolutions : — 



Resolved, That we learn with the deepest sor- 

 row the death of our fellow-associate, the Hon. 

 Moses Newell, of West Newbury, in the full 

 matin-ity of his powers, and at a time when his 

 services were so highly regarded and generally 

 recognized. 



Besolved, That we fully appreciate the obliga- 

 tions which rest upon us and upon the commu- 

 nity to cherish his memory, for the interest which 

 he always manifested in the cause of Agriculture 

 in this Commonwealth, and for the uniform kind 

 ness, courtesy and benevolence of heart which 

 endeared him to all who knew him. 



Resolved, That we sympathize most deeply 

 with the family relatives of the deceased in their 

 severe affliction, and that the Secretary be, and 

 he is hereby requested to furnish to them a copy 

 of these resolutions, and to enter them upon the 

 records of the Board. 



Messrs. Fay, Brooks and others followed 

 •with appropriate remarks, when the resolutions 

 •were unanimously adopted. 



The report of the Superintending Committee 

 of the Farm was then read to the Board. It ap- 

 pears from this that the immediate care of the 

 farm for the present year is in the hands of a 

 Superintending Committee consisting of eight 

 persons. At this meeting they reported a gen- 

 eral plan of operations to the Board, which was 

 adopted. This plan had evidently been prepared 

 ■with care, after a critical examination of all the 

 resources of the farm to furnish manure, and 

 then the amount of land to be cultivated -was 

 designated and also the kind of crop to be grown 

 upon it. As an illustration of the plan we will 

 take a single item, that of 



"Indian Corn. — Four acres to be manured 

 with 7A cords per acre of barn-manure, Avorked 

 in with cultivator; ten bushels of ashes and 100 

 lbs. of plaster to be added at first hoeing. Al- 

 ternate rows throughout the whole field planted 

 in hills, and drill three feet apart. Hills three 

 feet apart in the row, four plants to be left in the 

 hill, and the plants left nine inches apart in the 

 drills. The seeds to be at exact distances in the 



drills, and leave the same number of plants in a 

 row of drills as a row of hills." 



This will give the reader an idea of the syste- 

 matic plan which is laid down for the present 

 management of the crops. The arrangements 

 seem to us well considered and judicious, and if 

 faithfully carried out, will result in rich harvests, 

 and many valuable facts which must be of im- 

 portance to farmers in every part of the State. 



After the reading of the report and some dis- 

 cussion upon its details, the Board proceeded to 

 elect two members of the Superintending Com- 

 mittee to fill the vacancies occasioned by the 

 death of ('ol. Newell, and the absence of Mr. 

 Tower, of Berkshire county, when Simon Brown, 

 of Middlesex, and JosiAil White, of Worcester, 

 were chosen. 



Voted, To award to J. B. Hull, of Stockbridge, 

 a first premium of $10, for the best acre of car- 

 rots, a sample of which ■was presented at the 

 State Fair. 



Voted, That it is expedient to hold the second 

 State Fair in the city of Springfield, in 1860, 

 provided a satisfactory guarantee fund is secured. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EECLAMATION OP LIGHT LANDS. 



Thank you, Mr. Editor, for your practical sug- 

 gestions on this subject. They strike me as pat 

 to the purpose. The renovating power gi'ows up- 

 on the land itself; this is as it should be. If the 

 straw, strewed in the furrows, can be made to de- 

 cay before the coming season, so that the land 

 can be thoroughly pulverized, and the decayed 

 vegetable matter intermingled, this meets my no- 

 tions. But your experience is better than all 

 theories. A continued course of like culture for 

 h(df a dozen years will thus place barren plains 

 in creditable condition. This is what is wanted, 

 a self-renovating power upon our fields. Such a 

 power, rightly understood and properly used, 

 would do more towards restoring the fertility of 

 our farms than all the deposits of all the fishes 

 and birds on the Pacific. What is wanted in 

 farming to advantage is the power to use the re- 

 sources at command in the best manner. Never 

 borrow of a neighbor ■when you can get along 

 tolerably without borrowing. Never bring fer- 

 tilizers from afar when they can be had near by. 

 There is nothing like trying. Many a game has 

 been lost for want of eflbrt. We have a fine op- 

 portunity to apply your recommendation on our 

 county farm, and I hope you will ere long allow 

 us the privilege of your personal inspection of it. 



April 12, 1858. Inquirer. 



Sheep and Dogs. — An exchange paper says, 

 that "fourteen farmers of Stockbridge, Mass., 

 within the past five years, have suffered the loss, 

 by dogs, of 290 sheep, valued at $1025. One far- 

 mer alone computes his killed and injured ani- 

 mals at 177, and their value at $450. Some of 

 the sheep were of choice varieties, and valued at 

 from $5 to $20 per head." We doubt not that 

 of many another town in this State and Massa- 

 chusetts, a worse story may be told. 



