118 



NEW ENGLAND FAE]\IER. 



IMarch 



sion in such meetings is often the most inter- 

 esting part, and when so many men of ripe 

 experience, are assembled, there should be op- 

 portunity for them to join in it. 



But the Convention as a whole, and for a first 

 one, was a success, and there was a universal 

 desire that there might be many similar ones 

 in the old Granite State. The club, whether 

 town, county or State organization, is a pow- 

 erful means of disseminating information and 

 awakening an interest in agriculture ; and 

 winter is the best time for conducting it. 

 The efforts which have been made for intro- 

 ducing discussions at the Fairs have been feebly 

 supported. The attendants on those busy oc- 

 casions manifest no disposition to engage in 

 serious discussions ; indeed it is difficult to 

 gather a quiet and attentive audience of re- 

 spectable number to listen to the regular ad- 

 dress. The club must be supported, indepen- 

 dent of the fair, and when prominent men, 

 like the lecturers on the present occasion, or 

 at th^ recent meeting in Amherst, Mass., are 

 to take part, it does pay to drop all care and 

 work and go a long distance to hear them. 

 Newspaper reports do not always convey an 

 adequate idea of what is said and done, even 

 if the lecture is given in full. There is pleas- 

 ure in seeing the speakers, hearing the words 

 as they are uttered, and listening to the pri- 

 vate talks and discussions, and the acquaint- 

 ances one makes are often of great value. 

 Since the Lyceum and political gatherings are 

 so popular, it is difficult to see why farmers' 

 meetings are not bett-r attended. Some of 

 these addresses contain more thought and are 

 of greater practical Value than many popular 

 Lyceum lectures for which from fifty to one 

 hundred and fiftv dollars is willingly paid. 



The lecture of Col. Lang upon "Raising of 

 Horses" was a treat to all lovers of the equine 

 race. He gave the principles and rules now 

 generally received and adopted by the promi- 

 nent raisers of horses in a manner that showed 

 he felt the force of every word uttered, and 

 interspersed just enough of his personal ex- 

 perience to convince the hearer that a practi- 

 cal man, and. one who thoroughly understood 

 his subject, too, was talking. It had cost the 

 Colonel many years of study and observation 

 with a large expenditure of money to arrive 

 at these conclusious. If the horse raisers of 

 New Hampshii'e can obtain all this mature and 

 desirable experience by merely travelling the 

 length or breadth of the State and back again, 

 it is cheaply bought. The principles he ad- 

 vanced were also in the main applicable to the 

 breeding of other domestic animals. 



The remarks of Dr. Bojnton were consol- 

 ing to desponding sheep raisers, for he plainly 

 showed that sheep are an economical and 

 profitable part of farm stock, and that our 

 New England hills are particularly adapted to 

 producing a superior (juality ; that the present 

 depression of the business is owing not to the 

 sheep themselves but to the errors of men in 



not selecting the right kind for their particular 

 locality and to the crooked and perverse legis- 

 lation of our politicians. 



No one could lislien to the paper upon "Fish 

 Culture" without wishing he owned a pond or 

 brook, which he could immediately stock with 

 those desirable varieties once so abundant in 

 our waters. At present the profits in this 

 business are very large, and an acre of water 

 can be made to yield more than an acre of land. 



The discussion upon corn was very interest- 

 ing and clearly proved that with good culture 

 it can be raised here for from fifty to seventy- 

 five cents per bushel. Do the average of 

 Western fai mers find a wider marginfor profit ? 



I was surprised that the testimony in favor 

 of phosphates was so general, but while all 

 advocated their use, they admitted that the 

 greatest frauds were practiced in the manu- 

 facture and sale of this special fertilizer, and 

 it was proposed that legislatures should take 

 measures to prevent this species of cheating. 

 1 doubt, however, if in the present state of 

 society, legislation can en irely correct the 

 evils complained of. A better way is f'or far- 

 mers to manufacture the articles for them- 

 selves, either upon their own farms, or, what 

 would be more economical, form associations 

 or companies, where, under the supervision of 

 some competent and reliable person, the de- 

 mand of one or more counties may be sup- 

 plied. By a careful study of the soil of that 

 locality, just the article needed could be made. 

 A company formed near Portland, Maine, 

 upon this principle, has succeeded beyond all 

 expectation 



Much might be said in favor of every lec- 

 ture, but I hasten to notice a subject inciden- 

 tally alluded to by one speaker, — the present 

 condition of the agriculture of the State. 

 The great emigration of the native born citi- 

 zens is well known ; it has been carried to so 

 great an extent that the increase of popula- 

 tion from 1850 to 1860 was only 2.55 per cent. 

 This increase is found chiefly in villages and 

 cities. The rural districts have lost in two 

 ways ; one from the removal of whole families 

 westward, the other from young men and 

 women leaving the farm for other pursuits. 

 It can hardly be expected that agriculture 

 could advance much, if any, with such a drain 

 on the youth, energy and strength of the pop- 

 ulation, and we find that during the same de- 

 cade the increase in wheat was oi>,;J08 bushels ; 

 in barley 50,817 ; in oats, 355, 832 ; in buck- 

 wheat, 24,701 ; while in rye, there was a de- 

 crease of 54,869 ; in corn, 159,042 ; in pota- 

 toes, 167,470 bushels ; likewise there was a 

 decrease in hops of 126,946 pounds ; in 

 cheese, 964,471 ; in butter, 20,292. The re- 

 turns of stock show an increase of horses, 

 G,8G8 ; of cows only 603; adecn^ase of oxen 

 7512 ; increase of all other cattle 3469, mak- 

 ing for all neat cattle an actual loss of 3440. 

 In sheep there is a decrease of 74,222, in 

 swine 11,552. 



