NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



123 



tality, and proposed him as an honorary member 

 of our society. This motion was unanimously 

 carried, after the expression of gratitude by many 

 gentlemen present, to Mr. Peabody for his kind 

 attentions to them when abroad. 



Resolutions were offered by Mr. Lewis, of ^lass., 

 that a committee be appointed to report certain 

 points to be considered essential to entitle persons 

 to premiums upon animals. A long and interest- 

 ing discussion ensued, and the resolutions were 

 adopted. 



SECOND DAT. 



The committee on Nominations reported a list of 

 officers. Col. Wilder, on again occupying the office 

 of President,expressed his reluctance to fill the posi- 

 tion longer, but in a beautiful address consented once 

 more to serve, according to the unanimous wish of 

 the society. His declaration of acceptance was re- 

 ceived v/ith a burst of applause. The list of officers 

 elected will be found in the printed reports in the 

 newspapers. 



The committee to report on the location of the 

 next exhibition reported in favor of the South-West- 

 ern Agricultural Association, which pledges $30,000 

 as a guarantee fund — the fair to be held at 

 Louisville, Ky., at a time to be fixed by the Execu- 

 tive Committee. 



The committee on the Treasurer's accounts re- 

 port the same correct as stated by the Treasurer 

 yesterday. Mr. Underwood, of Ky., presented res- 

 olutions in favor of procuring Mt. Vernon for an 

 experimental Agricultural School, which were ably 

 advocated by the mover, and by Mr. LEWis,of Mass.^ 

 a gentleman who, throughout the meetings, has 

 stood up nobly for his State and for the cause of 

 agriculture.Mr. Kellog, of Mass., Major French, 

 of Washington, and others, spoke eloquent words 

 for the resolutions. 



It is manifest from all speakers, that the time is 

 near when the agricultural interests of the country 

 must receive the attention they deserve. Mr. Kel- 

 log insisted that Congress must and will establish a 

 bureau of agriculture, or a depot of agriculture. 



Mr. Bkadfoed, of California, tendered the 

 Right Hand of Fellowship of the Pacific State to 

 those of the Atlantic, in the good cause. The res- 

 olutions of Mr. llNDEinvooD were unanimously 

 adopted. Mr. Calvert ofiered a resolution which 

 was not adopted, to the effect that the members of 

 this Society pledge themselves to use their influ- 

 ence to defeat any candidate for Congress who will 

 not pledge himself to vi.te for procuring Mount 

 Vernon for agricultural purposes. 



An elegant bouquet was placed on the President's 

 desk, from Prof. Page, at this stage of proceedings, 

 with a short letter, concluding with the expressive 

 sentiment, "Without flowers, are no fruits." 



Mr. Lev/is, from a committee on the Patent Of- 

 fice Reports, reported resolutions approving the 



recommendation of the committee of Patents on 

 the subject of procuring agricultural statistics. A 

 resolution very flattering to your humble servant, 

 was introduced by Prof. Fowler commending Vice 

 President French, of N. H., who is about going 

 abroad, to the kind attention of agriculturists and 

 agricultural societies in the old world, which was 

 unanimously adopted. 



The subject of the Chinese Sugar Cane was then 

 taken up. D. Jay Browne, of the Patent Office, to 

 whom is due the honor of introducing this plant, 

 was called up. He declined to make a speech, but 

 said he was willing to answer all questions. In an- 

 swer to various interrogations, Mr. Browne made 

 many statements, which I dare not attempt to re- 

 port, because he is a gentleman of science, and 

 wants, of course, to be correctly reported. He said 

 among other things, that the best time for cutting 

 this plant for sugar, was when the seed is in the 

 milk. Then take off the leaves and crush in a mill, 

 put into kettles, add an alkali, and boil like the old 

 kind of cane. If cane is unrijie, sometimes the su- 

 gar will not granulate. Limewater is generally used 

 to neutralize the acid. This cane cut early, will 

 ferment in heaps, and spoil for fodder ; cut later it 

 will not sour. 



Mr. Olcott, of N. Y., said he had kept a pair 

 of horses on this fodder, and they throve well, 

 as did other stock, the stalks being firsl. cut in a 

 hay cutter. The plant contains its saccharine mat- 

 ter as far north as the seed will attain the milky 

 state, and so far as observed, the plant is richer in 

 saccharine matter north than sonth. It should 

 not be planted till after Indian corn, and will ma- 

 ture in one hundred days generally. Sugar can be 

 made from common corn stalks, though not with 

 profits In France they are experimenting with it, 

 but no sugar, to any amount, has been made. Some 

 gentlemen doubt whether sugar can be made at, 

 all from the Chinese Sugar Cane, though there is 

 no difficulty in making molasses. 



INIr. Lewis, of Mass., suggests that we can make 

 sugar if we can get the syrup, of any of these 

 plants. It was stated that Mr. Vilmorin, of France, 

 had said that the crystalization depends on lat- 

 itude. 



But it is useless for me to attempt to report this 

 discussion, which will much more correctly appear 

 from the ofl[icial reports of the Society. One sin- 

 gular fact was stated, that the plant depends so 

 much on soil and the water of the particular die- 

 trict, that some lands will grow the plant luxuriant- 

 ly, and yet no sugar can be produced from it. 



I have somewhere seen a slanderous statement 

 that the devil once undertook to report the conver- 

 sation of two gossiping women. They talked so fast 

 that he got to the end of his paper, and in his haste, 

 took one end of his sheet in his teeth to stretch it, 

 but lost the whole b.y tearing it in pieces. Perhaps 



