REPORT OF THE DELEGATE TO THE STATE BOARD 

 OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE YEAR 1909. 



The annual expenditure of S50,000 by the State Board of Agri- 

 culture for the promotion of agriculture in ^Massachusetts at first 

 seems large for a state like INIassachusetts, but when we consider 

 that our state produces annually more than $65,000,000.00 worth 

 of the products of the soil the first named sum seems small in 

 comparison with this result. 



^Massachusetts is not a great agricultural state in comparison 

 with Illinois, Iowa, or Kansas, where vast tracts of land are devoted 

 to such crops as corn, wheat, or oats, but our agriculture is of the 

 more intensive type, often yielding SI 000. 00 per acre while in the 

 case of the states above mentioned S2o.00 per acre is considered a 

 good return. 



The expenditure of the money appropriated for the use of the 

 Board is along these general lines: Bounties to Horticultural and 

 Agricultural Societies, Printing Reports and Crop Records, Pub- 

 lishing of Bulletins and Pamphlets on subjects of interest to farmers, 

 Furnishing to organized societies speakers for institutes. Public 

 meetings held by the board, and Office Expenses. 



That some changes in the expenditure of this money would 

 greatly benefit agriculture in ^Massachusetts there can be no doubt. 

 We need here a series of demonstration farms distributed in such a 

 way that crops common to a district can be shown on at least one 

 farm in that district grown with the benefit of all the latest scientific 

 knowledge. Then also actual demonstration work carried on by 

 capable demonstrators should be part of the work of the Board, as 

 should also experiments in the growing of certain crops such as 

 alfalfa, corn, and fruit. It is true that the Agricultural College and 

 Experiment Station do conduct experiments along these lines but 

 their conditions do not fit all parts of the state so that their success 

 or failure is not a fair test of the final result. Then again, the 

 Agricultural College is so situated that the farmers from all over 

 the state cannot reach it easily, nor can they generally afford the 

 time for such visits. 



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