ESSEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 21 



side the Merino sheep mania in the limbo of exploded 

 fancies. A few silk purses and several pairs of silk stock- 

 ings seem to have been the only visible fruits of the 

 experiment. 



The most remarkable story that has been preserved 

 is the tale of the silk gown, which was exhibited in the 

 Cattle Show of 1840. Mrs. Burbank of Bradford, then 

 ninety-five years old, stated that she had made it twenty- 

 three years before. She had obtained some eggs in 1815, 

 which had been brought from India, and secured some 

 mulberry leaves from trees planted on her land by a 

 former tenant. In two years she raised the silk, carded 

 it, spun it on a linen wheel, wove the fabric in a common 

 loom and made the dress. 



1840—1850. 



The decade opened with a Prospectus of an Agricul- 

 tural Seminary at Andover. Twenty years had elapsed 

 since Dr. Andrew Nichols had voiced his hope that such 

 an institution might be established. Some years later an 

 attempt had been made to introduce an agricultural course 

 at Dummer Academy, but it failed. Prof. Alonzo Gray, 

 of the Teachers' Seminary in the South Parish of An- 

 dover, now presented a course of study contemplated in 

 that school. It was planned to introduce Scientific Agri- 

 culture as a regular department. Botany, Physiology, 

 Mineralogy, Geology and Chemistry were included, and 

 the opportunity of witnessing practical farming under 

 the direction of a teacher. No labor would be required, 

 but if any chose to work a fair remuneration was prom- 

 ised. Nothing came of this scheme, though the Prospectus 

 was accompanied by a strong essay on Scientific Agri- 

 culture by Dr. Nichols. 



John W. Proctor, the Secretary, and later President, 

 in his address in 1844 alluded to these frequent demands, 

 and made an eloquent appeal for a course of instruction 



