10 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



tain accustomed crops, he rotates, and liiids those which will 

 yield remuneratively. His tools and implements are the best, 

 and therefore the most economical. If the stock upon the farm 

 is poor, he learns by inquiry and research what breeds are most 

 prolific and hardy, best fitted for labor and for market. He 

 eagerly avails himself of the practical experience of those 

 around him, but at the same time he studies books and seeks 

 the aid of science. From geology he learns the origin, nature 

 and composition of soils, — from chemistry to analyze and im- 

 prove them, the condition requisite for the most perfect growth 

 and maturity of vegetation, and the mode of joreparing the best 

 fertilizers, — from botany the structure and habits of plants, and 

 what soils and modes of treatment they demand, — from zoology 

 those laws by which the re-production of animals is regulated 

 and their highest, perfection attained, and so, from all the 

 natural sciences he gathers knowledge and applies it in his daily 

 tasks, till complete success crowns his efforts, till the former 

 waste becomes a garden, until what was once a wilderness is 

 made to bud and blossom like the rose. This is the scienlific 

 farmer. 



We have such in tliis county. AVe have them in this 

 town. They are efficient officers and members of this society. 

 They have striven hard to promote its welfare and extend its 

 usefulness. They are in our midst here to-day — men whose 

 talents, and wealth, and social position might give them public 

 eminence and honor, but who, as exemplars of progressive 

 agriculture, are doing more good than though they were con- 

 spicuous in public councils, or were ruling the storm of debate 

 in legislative halls. Let the young farmer emulate such exam- 

 ples. Let him understand that to keep up with the times, he 

 must read and study ; that to becom t ^ntircly successful, he 

 must add to industry and economy anfLvtoil, science and skilL 

 Li no other way can he excel, in no other way can he improve 

 his art and benefit his fellows. Our soil is not only compara- 

 tively poor, it is impoverished and worn out. Science and skill, 

 and they alone, can restore its exhausted powers, and they 

 can. They can make it as productive as western prairies or 

 southern valleys. There is no reason why the agriculture of 

 New England should not rival that of Old England. There 

 is no reason why Massachusetts should not feed her whole 



