122 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



that the blows of the axe -which felled them_ were 

 like blows upon the hearts of the grand-children 

 of that distinguished soldier and patriot. The ex- 

 cuse or pretence for this, was an alleged necessi- 

 ty of widening or straightening the road ! What 

 can be the meaning of all this? The people of 

 Hingham are rather remarkable for cultivation and 

 intelligence, and in behalf of all who remember 

 those fine trees with pleasure, I would ask why 

 they have allowed the government of their town 

 to pass into the hands of men who have so little 

 sense of beauty and so little reverence for the past 1 

 For my part, were I resident of that pleasant town, 

 I would rather see the road as crooked as a ram's- 

 horn, than to have had one venerable limb shorn 

 off from those green patriarchs. In my judgment, 

 the causeless destruction of a fine tree is a sort of 

 murder. 



Arboricide is a crime, as well as homicide. The 

 name of Gastrell, who cut down Shakspeare's mul- 

 berry tree, is justly followed by the execrations of 

 posterity ,and hangs forever on a gibbet of reproach, 

 vainly craving the boon of oblivion. It is good to 

 suspend judgment, till both sides have been heard, 

 and now I call upon the men who cut down Gen. 

 Lincoln's elm to say why sentence should not be 

 passed upon them. — Transcript. 



LBGI3LATIVS AGRIOULTURAIi IvIEBT- 

 INGS. 



TmnD Meetin-o— TuESDAV Evening, Fee. 1, 1853. 



The third meeting of the series was held in Rep- 

 resentatives' Hall, at the State House, on Tuesday 

 evening, Feb. 1st. The meeting was called to or- 

 der at quarter past 7 o'clock by Hon. J. W. Proc- 

 tor, of Danvers, and His Honor, Lieut. Govern- 

 or Huntington was invited to preside for the eve- 

 ning. 



Upon taking the chair, Mr. Huntington returned 

 his thanks for the honor which he conceived had 

 been done him, and briefly expressed his high ap- 

 preciation of the importance of agriculture, which 

 might truly be said to be the greatest interest in 

 the Commonweath or even in the country. He 

 then announced the meeting as open for business. 



Mr. Proctor submitted the report of the Exec- 

 utive Committee appointed at the last meeting, 

 embracing rules and regulations, and subjects for 

 discussion, as follows : — 



The committee, who were instructed to prepare 

 regulations for these meetings, &c., have attended 

 to the duty assigned them, and report — 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 



1. The Executive Committee shall propose sub 

 jects for discussion, and give notice of the same, 

 one week previous to the meeting. They shall 

 nominate at each meeting a chairman to preside. 



2. No speaker will be allowed to occupy more 

 thiin fifteen tninutcs'' time, unless by special per 

 mission of the meeting. 



3. Meetings shall be opened at 1-4 past 7, and 

 closed at 9 o'clock ; unless otlierwise specially or 

 dered. 



4. The chairman will l)e expected to state the 

 suVject for discussion ; with such remarks thereon, 

 as he may deem pertinent. 



5. All members of the government, and otli«afi 

 interested in agriculture, espeeially operative far- 

 mers, are invited to be present, and participate in 

 the discussions. 



G. Editors of agricultural and other papers are 

 invited to take notes of what is said and done, and 

 publish the same in their respective journals. 



7. The number of meetings for the season shall 

 not exceed twelve. 



SUBJECTS FOR DISCUSSION. 



1 . The relative importance of the agricultural 

 interest, in sustaining the well being of the State ; 

 as compared with any and all other interests. 



2. The best mode of breaking up and pulverizing 

 soils ; and the depth of this process best adapted 

 to ordinary cultivation. 



3. The comparative value and profit, in the cul- 

 tivation of grass, grain and vegetables, as farm 

 products. 



4. The cultivation and preservation of fx'uits. 



5. Preparation and application of manures. 



C. Subdivision and fencing of the lands of a 

 farm. 



7. Structure and position of farm buildings. 



8. The breeds of neat stock best suited to the 

 farms of Massachusetts ; including the manner of 

 feeding and improving the same. 



9. The expediency of autumnal plowing of land 

 intended fur culture the ensuing season. 



On motion of Hon. Seth Sprague, of Duxbury, the 

 report was adopted. 



Mr. Proctor was then called upon to express 

 his views upon the subject for the evening's dis- 

 cussion, viz., "The relative importance of the ag- 

 ricultural interest, in sustaining the well-being of 

 the State, as compared with any and all other in- 

 terests." 



Mr. Proctor remarked that we hear a great deal 

 said about the interests of the farmer, but do we 

 find those interests sustained in proportion to what 

 is said respecting them ? More than one-half of 

 the laboring community ai"e engaged in cultivating 

 the soil, but does the State protect farmers in any- 

 thing like the same ratio that other classes of the 

 community are fostered and sustained 1 Does the 

 compensation received by the farmer for his labor, 

 compare with that which accrues to other em- 

 ployments ? In looking over the accounts of farm- 

 ing operations, he had found that even the best 

 of farmers get a very limited income from their 

 farms. In looking over the records of the returns 

 from Worcester the present year, he found that 

 the income of the farm which received the highest 

 premium was only $242 above the expenses. In 

 Essex, the committee state that very few farmers 

 realize more than $200 or $300 over and above 

 the expenses of their farms. He thought this 

 disproportionate to the labor and respectability of 

 the profession, and the question is, can the State 

 do anything to advance the interests of agricul- 

 ture 1 Propositions have been made for the edu- 

 cation of the farmer, but how shall it be brought 

 about ■? 



Mr. Sprague, of Duxbury, was not aware of any- 



