12 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



PLYMOUTH. 



From the Report of the Committee. . 



The first question with every thoughtful farmer, in attempting 

 any experiment for the improvement of his land, his buildings 

 or his stock, generally is, and certainly always ought to be, 

 " Will it pay ?" It is doubtless the object of the society, in 

 offering premiums for the best cultivated farms, to induce their 

 owners to obtain a solution of this question. The only way to 

 accomplish this, is the constant practice of keeping accurate 

 account of all the work of the farm. In all other departments 

 of industry, the cost of every product must be known ; in agri- 

 culture only is this all-important consideration neglected. This 

 negligence is not confined to a few ; it is the almost universal 

 habit of the farmers of our county, so that those who know the 

 cost of their crops are the very rare exceptions in their class. 



If a wealthy man wishes to invest his money in a farm as a 

 source of profit, and prudently desires the statistics necessary to 

 determine whether he may expect six per cent, or ten per cent, 

 profit on his outlay, where can he obtain the information ? 

 Certainly, he would hardly find such facts as would satisfy a 

 man of experience in any common business. This could not 

 have been the case, if the farmers, in large numbers, had con- 

 ducted their labors on common business principles for the last 

 fifty years. Instead of the agriculture which now prevails, we 

 should have had, if not a science, at least a trustworthy art 

 whose results might have been cc^culated with certainty. But 

 it is gratifying to know that we are improving ; that the number 

 of those who pay attention to their farm accounts is slowly 

 increasing, and that this progress is mainly due to the premiums 

 of various kinds offered by the society. 



There is another indication of improvement observable 

 throughout our county, in the very general desire to possess, so 

 far as practical, all the labor-saving implements offered in the 

 market. If any new article makes its appearance, there is no 

 difficulty in obtaining for it a fair trial, and its reception will 

 depend upon its excellence. If the same freedom from prejudice 

 prevailed in every department of agriculture, our progress would 

 be as rapid as could be desired. 



