676 MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ledges abounded in feldspar or hornblende ; perhaps I ought to 

 add mica slate regions ; and here, too, in the mica we have 

 from eight to ten per cent, of potash. May there not be some 

 connection between the occurrence of alkalies in the subjacent 

 rocks and success in these departments of culture ? 



Let me add another suggestion. If any such connection 

 should be made out, (or even if it is not,) may not farmers, 

 whose farms abound in feldspar and hornblende, find it for 

 their interest to seek those spots where the rocks are decaying, 

 and by collecting the disintegrating matter spread it over their 

 land as they would bone dust or ashes ? Or is it not possible 

 that it wiU be found to pay the expense in such a State as 

 Massachusetts, where feldspar is so abundant, to resort to a 

 method that has been proposed, and to some extent adopted, 

 in other countries, for decomposing this mineral, viz.: by 

 burning it with lime ? 



But I will add no more on a subject that seems hardly ap- 

 propriate for this report. 



Respectfully submitted, 



EDWARD HITCHCOCK. 

 Amherst, Jan. 1, 1853. 



P. S. — I have also attended the Agricultural Fair of Nor- 

 folk County, in Dedham, on the 29th of September, and had 

 some opportunity of glancing at farming operations in that 

 county. It is not for me to report upon the Fair, which will 

 be done by a colleague. But I feel constrained to advert to 

 the admirable arrangements which were made at the exhibi- 

 tion, superior to any which I have ever witnessed on similar 

 occasions, and which seem to me to be greatly needed in aU 

 our societies. At Dedham everything seemed to be in place, 

 and every man knew what he w^as expecte'd to do. It seemed 

 to me an interesting example of the manner in which military 

 rules may be applied to regulate large gatherings of citizens. 



It was gratifying also to see what progress has been made 

 in the cultivation of farms, both in Norfolk and Essex Coun- 

 ties, since the time, more than twenty years ago, when, in tra- 

 versing the State, I had an eye upon these things. I did not 



