422 MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



From the position in which I stand, I have had this subject 

 brought home to me. The returns have been sent to me. 

 They are all chaos. But by the assistance of a very able gen- 

 tleman, a sort of abstract has been made from the returns of 

 all the societies. They are somewhat interesting at least, but 

 they do not prove anything. And my mind has come to the 

 conclusion, very recently, that if we hope for any progress in 

 agriculture, we must have a central board ; we must have 

 everything arranged as it is in the common school board ; ^nd 

 we must have one mind devoted altogether to agriculture. 

 Out of the million we can easily spare a single mind. What 

 person in the Commonwealth is devoted entirely to agriculture, 

 I mean to the broad field of agriculture, to the theory and 

 practice of agriculture ? I do not know any such one. Is the 

 president of any of our agricultural societies, or the secretary, 

 or the treasurer, thus devoted ? No ! they do what they can, 

 and we are much obliged to them for it. But we want one 

 mind devoted to the subject. 



You have seen what the Secretary of the Board of Educa- 

 tion accomplished. It surprised us all. Yet I think far greater 

 results would be accomplished if we had a Secretary of the 

 Board of Agriculture, who should lecture, who should try to 

 ascertain facts, and to awaken a general interest in the subject 

 of agriculture. If this were the case, if such a board and sec- 

 retaryship were established and sustained, nothing could be 

 more gratifying to the farmers of the State. 



Remarks of Johnson Gardner, of Seekonk : — 



I have supposed that science was science all over the world ; 

 that so far as regards chemistry, geology, and all other sciences 

 pertaining to agriculture, what they had learned in Europe we 

 might learn ; that a chemist there, analyzing air and finding it 

 contained oxygen, hydrogen, &-c., would merely find the same 

 article essentially which a chemist analyzing air here would 

 ascertain. I suppose the same with regard to agriculture. I 

 would establish this board. I think it would be one of the 

 best things we could do. I do not precisely agree as to the 

 eff'ect of the local societies. I believe they are doing a vast 

 good. I believe every town in the county of Bristol has felt 



