No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 333 



Society at their First Cattle Show, at Topsfield," by Andrew 

 Nichols, Esq., on Oct. 5, 1820. In this address Mr. Nichols 

 said : — 



The present enlightened governor of the state of New-York 

 has hinted, in an address on this subject, the establishment of 

 agricultural schools for the purpose of improving the art of 

 husbandry. And, is it altogether visionary to suppose, that 

 the best interests of this county would be promoted by the 

 establishment of an agricultural academy, where such studies, as 

 are best calculated to make accomplished and scientific farmers 

 might be advantageously pursued, and the students required 

 by turns to labour one or two days or half days every week, 

 with an experienced husbandman and gardener, who should 

 be selected to manage a farm connected with the institution. 

 Such a seminary, well endowed and properly managed, would 

 furnish more useful instructors for town schools in agricultural 

 districts than can now be obtained. It would answer all the 

 purposes of a pattern-farm, rapidly disseminate knowledge of 

 the greatest improvements in the art, and produce the most 

 accomplished farmers and useful citizens.^ 



This expression leads to the consideration of the subject of 

 aOTicultural instruction in academies. 



Agricultural Instruction in Academies. 

 In the autumn of 1824 Mr. Tyng brought before the trus- 

 tees of Dummer Academy (Newbury, Essex County) a plan 

 for increasing the usefulness of the school by the creation 

 of an agricultural department. A committee to whom the 

 subject was referred soon after reported that they had con- 

 ferred with the trustees of the State Agricultural Society, 

 who had expressed their willingness to undertake the estab- 

 lishment of an agricultural institution, on condition of re- 

 ceiving a long lease of the academy lands, to be used as an 

 experimental farm. No change was proposed in the exist- 

 ing school, unless to make it more strictly classical. For 

 a while everything looked favorable, and the trustees went 

 so far as to give their tenant a three-months notice to quit. 



1 Transactions Essex Agricultural Society, 1820, jj. 40. Salem, 1821. 



