viii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



centage of the permanent agricultural population of Massa- 

 chusetts will be drawn from the old countries of Europe, 

 the methods of thrift and economy of whose peasantry are 

 more suited to the development of our kinds of land than 

 are the habits of the native stock, who are more impatient 

 of results, and are not willing to work so long hours nor to 

 live under the hard conditions which seem necessary while 

 developing a new country, — for many of our agricultural 

 problems are really those of a new country. Large parts 

 of our lands available for agriculture must still be cleared 

 of trees and stones, and need to be drained or irrigated ; and 

 in many other respects, the same sorts of preparatory work 

 are needed that were done by the first settlers of Xew Eng- 

 land. 



This resettling is already taking place on a large scale. 

 We have seen the Polish people take possession of the Con- 

 necticut Valley within the past few years, and in certain of 

 our hill towns Jews and French Canadians are taking up 

 the land and making a living where our older settlers have 

 failed. The Portuguese are rapidly acquiring land in Bris- 

 tol and Barnstable counties ; and in the not far distant future 

 we may expect to see large settlements of still other nation- 

 alities in our State. The one thing that may still save the 

 day for the native Americans on our farms is the use of 

 more and better machinery and of better methods discovered 

 by scientific study, for certainly no nation in the world has 

 ever made such use of chemistry and mechanics in agricul- 

 ture as has ours. 



The whole question of repopulating our rural districts and 

 of using our now unproductive land is an economic one. 

 The great plains of the west would never have been populated 

 if people had not seen how they could make money from 

 the soil. ISTeither will Massachusetts agriculture advance in 

 any considerable degree unless a sure profit can be obtained 

 from the soil. Three initial steps must be taken, and taken at 

 once, if we are to establish any definite and sane agricultural 

 development in our State. 



First. — The agricultural lands of the State must be put 



