124 



Zn X. U' iiJS Li i^ AJS D JL- Ai v->iA:.xi- 



Ar.-.-^ 



in abundance, but preferred sand in the stable. ; 

 There are so many theories about manures that 

 he did not think much is known about its appli- 

 cation. He recommended Mr. Chase, of Haver- 

 hill, to try sand. He recommended the use of : 

 salt in growing mangel wuitzels. Plaster is good 

 for some lands. He did not agree that a crop 

 could be doubled by putting a little compost in 

 the hill. 



Mr. HrBEARD, of Brimfield, thought that ben- 

 efits would be derived from the differences of 

 opinion expressed here. He deemed plaster as 

 Taluable as guano. Plaster, 200 lbs. per acre, 

 greatly improves pasture land. Some lands are 

 not benefited by it. He recommended muck as a 

 fertilizer. The use of sand was indorsed by Mr. , 

 Habbard. j 



Mr. HrBB.4JRD, of Sunderland, spoke of a farm- 

 er that said be got a bushel of com from the ap- j 

 plication of a bushel of ashes. i 



Dr. LoRrsG. of Salem, indorsed barnyard ma- 

 nure, saying it is the basis of all manures. Ma- 

 nure for root crops must be decomposed. He 

 had abandoned muck and preferred sand to it. i 



Mr. Feaking, of Boston, who farms in Hing- 

 ham. indorsed sand. Plaster and lime is of no 

 value on land. He deemed rockweed very valu- , 

 able. Kelp is valuable but less so than rockweed. 

 Commercial manures he did not Hke. Bone ma- 

 nure he recommended as a fertilizer for pasture 

 land and for growing roots. Salt muck he did • 

 not like, — deemed it detrimental to the soil. He : 

 would ditch salt meadows two feet deep and 30 

 feet apart. He deemed barnyard manure the best 

 and cheapest of all fertilizers. Bone manure, 

 night soil and compost were tried for com, and 

 the first kind did best. He grew corn for 50 cents 

 a busheL i 



! 



The eighth meeting of this series took place at ' 

 the State House, Monday, March Gth. The Rev. ! 

 Dr. Ha VEX, editor of Zion's Herald, and an hon- ' 

 orable member of the State Senate, presided, and , 

 acknowledged his indebtedness to farmers and 

 farming for what he is physically ; but for his 

 early exposure to the furrow and the air of rural 

 life, he said he should hardly have been raised. j 



Dr. George B. Emerson, the talented author ; 

 of "TAe Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts,'' — in 

 itself a monument to our country, — the profound 

 scholar and finished gentleman, introduced the , 

 discussion by inquiring, "Wliat shall he done icifk : 

 iJie appropriation made by Confjress for Afjricvl'u- j 

 ral Education '?- He hoped an institution could 

 be estabhshed and so organized as to do the great- 

 est good to the greatest number. He would not | 

 have anything taught in such a college that can , 

 be taught elsewhere. He thought a professor of 

 forest trees would be desirable ; also one on fish j 

 culture, entomology, tree culture, gardening, kc. > 

 He gave reasons £is he proceeded why these pro- | 

 fessorships would be important and would result 

 in decided advantages to the Commonwealth. 



Dr. LORIXG, of Salem, said he could add noth- 

 ing to the elaborate plan presented by Mr. Em- 

 erson. There are 30,100 farms in the State, not 

 one of which is carried on in the most economi- 

 cal manner. He had never heard of a graduate : 

 of one of the English agricultural colleges taking , 

 a premium for short horns, or anything else. He 



wanted a man who could tell us how to improve 

 our soil ; who could tell the Secretary of the Board 

 of Agriculture, even, what to do with a piece of 

 hopeless pasture land he has in Byfield. 



Mr. Brotvx, of the Xeic England Farmer, said 

 he was not opposed to the establishment of col- 

 leges, professorships, or any institutions of learn- 

 ing that were useful to the people. He read the 

 act of Congress, in relation to agricultural colleg- 

 es, with care, soon after its passage, and he felt 

 obhged to say that it did not strike him favorably ; 

 but he would not enter upon reasons for that 

 opinion then. He found that this great, over- 

 shadowing object, looming up in the distant fu- 

 ture, would lure away the attenrion of the people 

 from the matters of interest and advantage that 

 were in their every day paths. It seemed to him 

 that the cart had got before the horse. We do 

 not need the locomotive until we have a track for 

 it to run upon. Let us lay this frst, then place 

 the steam upon it, touch the "critter" under the 

 flank and "go-ahead I" All, then, will be right. 



Every farmers son and daughter, he said, has 

 the means of commencing an agricultural educa- 

 cation now, this moment, if they will but improve 

 the means already before them. They know how 

 to read and write — let them put these attainments 

 into practice, by studying some of the excellent 

 works on the great art in which they are engaged, 

 and v^hich are full of sound truths and poetic 

 beauty. Such works are numerous and cheap, 

 and will afford all the instruction that any college 

 can afford, — and it may be gathered before the 

 evening fire, or in the refreshing shade of a tree 

 planted by one's own hands. A little help may 

 occasionally be needed, but that may always be 

 found by the earnest seeker after truth, in some 

 educated person at hand, who would be glad to 

 contribute his aid. 



Some two or three good books will present all 

 the principles that underlie the art, and as the 

 farmer is usually a close thinker, he would ponder 

 in the fields upon the chapter he read the preced- 

 ing day or evening, compare the teachings with 

 his experience on the farm, and so fix the facts of 

 both upon his mind as never to be forgotten. A 

 reading and reflecting farmer is a hard man to 

 argTie with, if you wish to controvert his opinions. 

 "Beware of the man of one book," is the old 

 Spanish proverb, and it will hold good with the 

 farmer who reads but little. Reading, then, is 

 the first step towards an agricultural education, 

 — and the next is 



Observation. The farmer should be keen-eyed 

 and quick-eared, seeing and hearing everything 

 that is going on around him. Once or twice a 

 month he should visit others and learn whatever 

 he can glean from them by eye or ear. Thp next 

 is, Fanners' Clubs and Farmers' Talks. Mr. Brown 

 extended his remarks upon these points, giving 

 facts to sustain them. 



Mr. Flower, of Agawam, endorsed farmers' 

 clubs. 



Mr. Wetherell, of Boston, said the mind 

 must be prepared for the reception of scientific 

 knowledge, as the soil is for seed. He thought 

 the remark of the speaker who said the best farm- 

 ing is seen in that countrj- where agricultural col- 

 leges receive the least patronage, should be re- 

 membered by all. Much was said by all the 

 speakers which we have not space for. 



