HISTOEY AND PROGRESS OF THE BOAED. 



BY MARSHALL P. WILDER. 



Gentlemen, — With the close of this session, the first 

 quarter of a century in the history of the Massachusetts 

 Board of Agriculture will have terminated. In view of this 

 fact, and also that only one member of the original Board, 

 and Secretary Flint, are present with us on this occasion, 

 and that he who now addresses j^ou will soon be numbered 

 among those who will have passed beyond the river, to work 

 with you no more, I have thought it proper to submit a few 

 thoughts in regard to the history and progress of the Board, 

 although at the risk of repeating some things I may have 

 stated before. The results of our labors are so fully set 

 fortii in the beginning of the secretary's report, and in former 

 reports, as scarcely to need an additional remark, except by 

 way of confirmation. And what I shall say, I beg may not 

 be considered as valedictory for myself or for the Board : 

 God only knows when the time shall arrive for the utterance 

 of these. As for the Board, we believe it will speak for 

 itself for many years to come. 



Anterior to its establishment, very little united action had 

 taken place between the agricultural societies of our own or 

 other States of the Union for the purpose of creating State 

 Boards of Agriculture. But the example of Massachusetts 

 and a few other Stales produced a change in public sentiment, 

 which has resulted in great improvement. True, there were 

 agricultural societies in many of our States, some of which 

 still live in a green old age, and are actively at work with us ; 

 but there were no State Boards of Agriculture, with repi-esen- 

 tatives, constituting, as they now do, departments for great 

 agricultural influence and importance. It is also true that 

 there were many illustrious examples of men, who, as pio- 

 neers, were endeavoring to establish the importance of sci- 

 ence as especially applicable to agriculture ; but it was not 



