68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



few years since a bag of this yellow powder was sent to me by 

 some good people in Ohio. They stated that it fell in a thunder 

 shower, which was true — that it looked like sulphur, which was 

 also true — that it burned like sulphur and smelt like sulphur^ 

 both of which statements were utterly false. It burned like fine 

 sawdust and smelt like sawdust. But these good people, bar- 

 ing a theory to sustain, cheated themselves as to the burning 

 and odor. I suspect to this day they think I do not know sul- 

 phur ! Now a great number of so-called facts that men rely 

 upon and dispute about, have no more claim to truth than that 

 pine-tree pollen had to be called sulphur. 



But when we come to the work of those who profess to ob- 

 serve accurately, whose observations have been tabulated, and 

 from which conclusions are daily drawn, we often find most im- 

 portant mistakes. Those who have experimented with great 

 care, after a time often discover that there was some element 

 not taken into account, which entirely vitiated the result. The 

 experimenters in our agricultural colleges are finding these mis- 

 takes so common in the experiments which they are repeating, 

 and so frequently detect errors in their own experiments, and 

 so often have results that they cannot account for, — oftentimes 

 apparently contradictory results, — that they now draw their con- 

 clusions with the greatest caution, demanding a large number 

 of experiments for several successive years to establish any re- 

 sult. And then they understand that in many cases these 

 results, established with care, are of use only in a limited 

 locality. It ought to be said, without fear or favor, that the 

 isolated experiments which are reported in our papers, though 

 fairly stated, are oftentimes worthless — that they often do more 

 harm than good by inducing others to attempt the same thing, 

 while some important conditions that rendered the first experi- 

 ment a success, are wanting. 



The Agricultural College of Michigan has been in successful 

 operation longer than any other in this country, and has carried 

 on more extensive experiments than any other, under men com- 

 petent to conduct the experiments, and with every appliance 

 which could be desired for securing the best results. And 

 what is the first result of these experiments ? Why, to throw 

 distrust upon a large proportion of the experiments that have been 

 recorded and tabulated for use. Professor Miles told me that 



