74 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



of the question, how the fund accruing from the sale of this 

 land could be best applied to promote education in agriculture, 

 and thus to elevate the profession and perfect the art. 



Three distinct plans for the accomplishment of the desired 

 object were brought forward and ably advocated by their friends. 

 The first was eloquently presented by the governor in his annual 

 message, in which he advised the establishment of an agricul- 

 tural school in connection with Harvard College, and the bestow- 

 ment of at least two millions of dollars, in addition to the fund 

 derived from the sale of the land, upon that institution, so as to 

 render it a grand university worthy the name and fame of Mas- 

 sachusetts. The prime object of an agricultural school of this 

 kind is not to educate farmers, so much as to advance scientific 

 agriculture, by affording at the university the most favorable 

 opportunities for experiments and original investigations in the 

 various departments of science which are specially applied to 

 agriculture. Such an institution would, undoubtedly, under 

 good management, accomplish much for the advancement of use- 

 ful knowledge, and is now organizing as a department of the 

 university of Cambridge, which has a fund of $250,000 be- 

 queathed to it for this very purpose by Benjamin Bussey of 

 Roxbury. 



A second plan for promoting agricultural education, which 

 has been urged by some intelligent men, the most prominent of 

 whom is the Hon. George S. Boutwell, is diametrically opposed 

 to the first, and has for its main object the diffusion of knowl- 

 edge upon agricultural topics among the farmers themselves. 

 The means to be employed for this purpose are not colleges or 

 professional schools, but agricultural societies, farmers' clubs, and 

 lecturers going from town to town, and imparting such practical 

 knowledge as the farmers are competent or willing to receive. 

 Some would also introduce an elementary text-book on agricul- 

 ture into the common schools, with the same end in view. The 

 attempt to teach agriculture in the public schools, even with an 

 excellent text-book, has been tried and proved a failure from 

 lack of knowledge and interest on the part of teachers. With 

 competent instructors, it might be very profitably taught in the 

 higher schools. The objections to this second plan arc that it is 

 hard to teach old men new ways, and hence education must 

 begin in youth ; that to secure the ready adoption of improve- 



