Parmers' Institutes. 41 



as good as sweet, provided they are ripe. Flat turnips increase the milk some, 

 but should be fed just after milking or they will tamt the milk. He has fed 

 squashes to advantage. Wheat bran is the best thing for increasing the flow of 

 milk. Cotton seed is good if fed not over one quart a day, and it is well to mix 

 with one quart of cob meal and one of corn meal. But fine hay is of the greatest 

 importance, and if used, root crops may be omitted. 



The morning session then adjourned. 



In the afternoon the attendance was quite large, and they listened to the 

 reading by James S. Grinnell, of Greenfield, of a very able and instructive paper 

 he had prepared on " Agriculture in Massachusetts." As this valuable article has 

 already been published in several of the agricultural newspapers, a brief summary 

 of it is given below as reported hj " The Beekshlre Courier." 



Mr. Grinnell took the ground that there has been no decline in agriculture 

 during the past forty years. It is fashionable to decry agriculture in our own 

 state and to represent it to be not a paying, although an honorable pursuit. Men 

 are leaving Massachusetts farms to engage in uncertain employment in cities or 

 to till the new lands of the West, overlooking the moral, social and intellectual 

 advantages they leave behind. Farmers are largely to blame for the dissatisfac- 

 tion with farming manifested by many of their children. The latter should be 

 given more privileges and be put in the way of earning from the farm money for 

 their own use. 



One reason farmers think their pursuit is on the decHne is that they are con- 

 tinually belittling it. They have to work too hard, can't make money, yet they 

 have comfortable homes and many simple enjoyments, although they don't be- 

 come rich. They do not perceive the loss of health suffered by those whose 

 lives are passed behind the counter or on the wharf. It is estimated that only 

 one farmer who is industrious, becomes bankrupt to ninety-nine men who engage 

 in trade. By speculation, by improvident management, etc., farmers may, of 

 course, be ruined, but such cases cannot be cited as proof that farming is un- 

 profitable. The rewards of agricultural labor in Massachusetts are ample. The 

 farmers of the state can make a comfortable living, marry, raise a family of chil- 

 dren and lay up a competence. Independence of thought and self-respect can 

 better be maintained on farms than in cities. 



Since 1796 the population of the State has increased 1,367,239. There has 

 been an increase in all of the counties but three. Some of the towns, however, 

 have lost more than half of their population. The decrease has been most marked 

 in the hill towns, while towns on the line of the railroads have experienced a gain. 

 It is said that there are fewer animals and smaller crops raised than formerly, and 

 that this is evidence of decline in farming, while at the same time no account is 

 taken of the great improvement that has taken place in all farm products. Mr. 

 Grinnell then showed by a telhng array of figures that there has been a surprising 

 gain in the quahty of every individual farm product, and that the aggregate value 

 of all the farm products has been continually and greatly on the increase. There 

 has been more progress made in agriculture during the last fifty years than dur- 

 ing the last two centuries. 



Among the crops that have faUen off in quantity raised is com, because it can 

 be brought so cheaply from the West. But it can be shown that if the corn crop 

 is rightly managed it can be raised at less cost in this State than in the West. 

 With less cows than formerly, a greater show is made in dairy products. The 



