142 



and sarcasm in answer to the solid arguments and very 

 valuable information of the other side. They had none 

 that were real. He supported Mr. Ware in many of his 

 points. 



J). W. Low of Gloucester, gave a few facts, showing 

 the difference that the times of protection and the times 

 of reciprocity, or free trade, has had on the fishing inter- 

 ests uf the county, which largely interest the farmers, as 

 they are large consumers of their products. He showed 

 that with free trade the American fishing fleet decreased 

 and the foreign fleet increased, and with protection the 

 opposite was the case. 



Charles W. Mann, one of the speakers of the day, in- 

 troduced the following resolutions, which were adopted: 



Resolved, That we favor the removal of the tariff upon sugar and 

 favor a bounty to Southern Planters, to cover their loss. 



Resolved, That we consider it advisable that a tariff of 40 per cent, 

 be laid upon all vegetables possible of production in this country, 

 and on poultry, eggs.and bed feathers. 



The 55th Institute was held at Memorial Hall, Methuen, 

 Jan. 24th, 1888, to consider, in the forenoon, " The Im- 

 provement of Waste Land." Opened by James C. Poor, 

 of Morth Andover, manager of the Stock Farm of Hon. 

 Wm. A. Russell, who said the term " Reclaiming of 

 Waste Lands," may be applied to the bringing back to 

 fertility of a worn out field, pasture, or land overgrown 

 with bushes or brush, so that cultivated crops may be 

 raised thereon, or more commonly applied to the clearing 

 and draining of meadows and swamps to make them pro- 

 duce two heavy crops of English hay yearly ; that land 

 where alders grow abundantly will make splendid grass 

 land and will pay a man to hire money to reclaim it and 

 let his rocky fields go to pasture. 



Fields from which certain kinds of crops have been 

 taken yearly, are said to be worn out, and they are, for 

 that kind of crop, but not for others. The farmer should 

 find out what can be grown, and what fertilizer is needed. 

 This he can do by sending a sample of his soil to the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, for analysis, or by 



