538 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



followed, topics for written articles or future 

 discussion were as^*i{Tned, and delegates were 

 appointed from the Board to attend the county 

 fairs in the State. 



At the second meeting of the Board, the 

 delegates reported, arrangements were made 

 for holding a series of public gatherings, and 

 an excellent address to the farmers of New 

 Uampsliire was adopted, and afterwards sent 

 all over the State. 



The first pubHc meeting under the auspices 

 of the Board, took place at Concord, on the 

 29th and 30th of Nov., 1870. Farmers from 

 all portions of the State, and from other 

 States, were present, and were welcomed to 

 the city of Concord, and the hospitalities of 

 its citizens, by the mayor, Hon. A. G. Joxks. 

 The President then read the act establishing 

 the Board of Agriculture, and stated the 

 plans which the Board had in view for pro- 

 moting this important industrial art, promi- 

 nent among which was the proposition to hold 

 public meetings in every section of the State, 

 and draw out the cultivators of the soil, them- 

 selves, to take an active part in the discus- 

 sions. This meeting, he said, was the "initia- 

 tory movement, and the programme admits of 

 a wide range of agricultural topics." 



The subjects discus.-<ed were, "Indian corn ; 

 the profit from its cultivation, and its exhaust- 

 ing effects on the soil, compared with other 

 crops." "Manures ; the comparative value of 

 commercial, composted and stable manures, 

 and the economy of purchasing fertih"zers to 

 compensate for the loss by selling hay and 

 other farm products." "The agricultural ad- 

 vantages of the West and the East compared." 



On the second day there was an earnest 

 discussion on "Farmers' Clubs." An essay 

 on "the Drought and the Means of preventing 

 its usual efiects," on "Blood Stock," and "on 

 Horses." Discusssions on all these topics 

 were full and earnest, and proved that there 

 are plenty of New Hampshire farmers who 

 can intelligently lead public opinion in agri- 

 cultural matters, whenever opportunity is pre- 

 sented to them. 



Other public meetings were held at Milford, 

 Dec. 22; Winchester, Jan. 18; Keene, 

 Jan. 19; Lebanon, Feb. 6; Deny, Feb. 

 23 ; Chester, Feb. 24 ; Meredith, Jlarch, 24 ; 

 Exeter. March 29. Large numbers attended 

 these meetings, and many individuals, for the 



1 first time, took an active part in the discws- 

 [ sions. 



[ The report then occupies some sixty-seven 

 ' pages in returns from towns, replying to a 

 series of questions sent out by the Secretary. 

 These returns show the condition of agricul- 

 ture in the State, better, perhaps, than any- 

 thing else. Some of them are quite full; 

 those from Chester, Eaton, and Webster, for 

 I instance, are good examples. The report 

 then speaks of "Co-operative organizations," 

 — the New England Society, New Hampsliire 

 State Agricultural Society, the several County 

 Societies and the Agricultural College. 



Some of the important papers which have 

 been read, are "The Crops and Di-ought of 

 1870," by James O. Adams. "Selling Hay 

 and Buying Manures," by J. F. Lawrence. 

 "Phosphates and their Application," by S. C. 

 Pattee. "Sheep Breeding," by Dr. W. H. 

 H. Mason. "Breeds of Cattle," by O. F. R. 

 Waite. "Neat Stock of New ILampshire," 

 by H. R. Roberts. "Points in .Short Horns," 

 by S. M. BulFum. "Underdraining," by 

 Joseph B. Walker. "Draining Hampton 

 Marshes," by J. P. Welch. "Grasses and 

 Forage Plants," by George F. Beede. "Plant 

 Life," by William H. Hills. "Lidian Corn," 

 by Simon Brown. "Winter Duties," by 

 James O. Adams. "New Hampshire in com- 

 I^arison with other States," by J. F. Lawrence, 

 and "Farming in New Hampshire," by Levi 

 Bartlett. 



A paper upon the "Statistics of Produc- 

 tion," throughout the State, one upon "The 

 New Cattle Disease," one upon "Noxious In- 

 sects and their Destroyers," one upon "The 

 Birds, the Farmer''s Friends," and extracts 

 from letters received, close the vohmie. 



Having attended several meetings of the 

 Board, witnessed the numbers attendant upon 

 them, and the decided interest manifested in 

 their transactions, — we cannot doubt that the 

 triHing cost to the State, as stated by the Sec- 

 retary, for this report, will be repaid many 

 times over by an increased value of crops the 

 present year. And this increase will spring 

 from better knowledge of improved modes of 

 farming, and the new life and interest infused 

 into the masses by the influence of these meet- 

 ings. Their doings were published in the 

 papers, repeated everywhere by tlie persons 

 attending them, and became household words. 



