THE GENESEE FARMER. 



75 



MODEL AND EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



We learn from the Southern Fanner that there 

 3 & "probability that the Model Farm will le 



■iven, «^." 



This farm is located near Petersburg, Va. It 

 .elongs to the Union Agricultural Society of Vir- 

 ginia and North Carolina, It was the first farm 

 )f the kind established in the United States. Its 

 ailure, hov,^ever much to be deplored, is nothing 

 nore than might have been expected. 



For a few years past, there has been a very gen- 

 ral and praiseworthy desire, on the part of our 

 iiost inteUigeut formers, for sclentiiic information 

 a regard t© the rationale of agricultural practices, 

 'his desire for more definite knowledge led to a 

 imultaneous movement in various parts of the 

 Inion, in favor of the establishment of " Model and 

 :xperirae.ntal Fm-ms." Attempts at establishing 

 uch institutions were made in Virginia, Pennsyl- 

 auia, Massacliusetts, Michigan, New York, Mary- 

 md, and Iowa. We hope every one of them may 

 acceed, but shall not be disappointed if they all 

 hare the fate of the one in Virginia. 

 Those who originated, or have control of these 

 istitutions, in many cases, appear to have what 

 ,-e regard as erroneous views of the objects of an 

 xperimental farm. The very name "■Model and 

 •kcperimental Farm''^ indicates a lack of definite 

 leas on the subject. No farm can be both a model 

 nd an experimental farm. You might as well ex- 

 ect to have a "model" and profitable orchard of 

 eedling apple trees, as to have a model— that is, a 

 rofi table— and experimental farm. Among the 

 eedlings you might have two or three varieties 

 at are better than any yet known ; but the great 

 lajority would be inferior to those which have 

 een previously tested and recommended by expe- 

 ienced pomologists. So on an experimental farm, 

 ome of the experiments might afford better results 

 han the ordinary practices which have been adopt- 

 d by experienced farmers; but the majority of 

 liem must, from the nature of the case, yield re- 



Iults less favorable than the best practices at pres- 

 ut adopted. 

 The worthy superintendent of the Virginia 

 Model and Experimental Farm," in his report for 

 855, wrote as follows : '• I will only again express 

 ) your Board my increased and confirmed convic- 

 on that your experimental farm will ere long le- 

 ime self-sustaining if not remunerative in its re- 

 ilts, notwithstanding the adverse and unfavorable 

 pinions of many." 

 A small portion of a farm may be devoted to 

 mking experiments, and the profits on the other 



portion may be sufiBcient to defray the expenses of 

 these experiments. But in this case the profits 

 must be larger than they usually are, and the ex- 

 periments must be such as any farmer can make — 

 experiments involving so little care, labor, and ex- 

 pense, as to be of little value. 



In instituting experiments, it is assumed that we 

 are ignorant of the lest system of tillage, ot rota- 

 tion, of manuring, and of general farm manage- 

 ment; and the object is to discover it. To obtain 

 this information, we must experiment— we must 

 try various systems, modes of tillage, manures, etc. 

 Some of these, as we have before said, may be 

 better than those now adopted — many of them 

 will be worse. These trials, too, must be made 

 with great care and accuracy ; they must be sys- 

 tematically carried on for several years, or we shall 

 draw from them hasty and erroneous conclusions. 

 Such experiments cause serious interruptions to 

 the general business of the farm, besides involving 

 much extra expense and labor. A good experi- 

 mental farm, therefore, can not be a profitable one. 

 It is vain to expect it. The agricultural papers o' 

 England and this country have commented on tiie 

 fact that the experimental farm near Dublin, Ire- 

 land, has entailed serious loss on its managers. 

 But such a result should excite no surprise. The 

 justly celebrated experiments at Rothamsted, which 

 have done so much to increase our knowledge of 

 agriculture,' have cost Mr. Lawes, for many years, 

 from $10,000 to $15,000 per annum. Boussijtg- 

 atjlt's experiments in France could only have been 

 carried out by a milHonaire. Even the small and 

 worthless experiment which Liebig made on his 

 ten-acre farm near Geissen, cost $3,200 ; and we 

 may be allowed to say that our own experiments 

 on c^-rn, notwithstanding the New York State Ag- 

 ricviltural Society were so kind as to award us their 

 first premium of $Y5, entailed considerable loss; 

 and such was also the case with the experiments 

 on potatoes, Chinese sugar cane, &c. In this we 

 were not disappointed. We never expect to see a 

 self-supporting experimental farm ; and the sooner 

 such an idea is abandoned, the better for the cause 

 of scientific agriculture. 



The experiments which have been made on the 

 Model and Experimental Farm in Virginia, were 

 such as we might expect from an experimentjil 

 farm which was designed to be " self-sustaining." 

 Not one of them was designed to throw light on 

 the principles of agriculture. They have mostly 

 been trials of this, that, or the other guano, or 

 superphosphates of different manufacturers, the 

 value of which a good analysis would determine as 

 well as the most careful experiment. 



