1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
37 5 
of the organization of the Society, which took place 
at a meeting of a few public spirited individuals the 
past winter. Application was made to the Legisla¬ 
ture for aid, and a bill making a suitable appropria¬ 
tion passed the House of Assembly unanimously, but 
was lost by a tie vote in the Senate. He thought, 
and justly too, that the present fair, undertaken and 
carried into successful operation by the farmers them¬ 
selves, would have a favorable effect upon the next 
Legislature. In conclusion the President said, 
that in looking for a model institution, from which to 
pattern theirs, they had fixed upon that of New 
York, and that they had selected and invited one of 
its members, the Hon. J. P. Beekman of Kinder- 
hook, to address them on this occasion. 
After the applause which this announcement 
elicited, Dr. Beekman commenced his address, in 
which he gave a history of the rise and progress 
of the N. Y. State Ag. Society, and the effect it 
has had on the prosperity of her citizens. He 
pointed out the small beginning of this now pow¬ 
erful institution,—paid a deserved tribute to the 
memory and labors of the lamented Buel, and 
to the influence of the Agricultural press—stated 
the discouragements under which the Society la¬ 
bored for years, but which were finally overcome 
by the determined perseverance of the few who 
looked forward with confidence to the success which 
has now crowned their labors. He described the 
progress which had been made in Agricultural im¬ 
provements during the existence of the Society, 
and thus encouraged his audience to press forward 
in the laudable efforts which they had now so aus¬ 
piciously commenced, until the influence of their 
Society should be extended, as was that of New- 
York, over the whole state. 
On motion of Ex-Governor Steele, the thanks 
of the Society were voted to Dr. Beekman for his 
Address, and a copy asked for publication. 
In the evening, the hall was again crowded, to 
hear remarks from all who chose to address them. 
The meeting was opened by the President, who re¬ 
minded the Society that there were present a great 
number of practical farmers, whom they wished to 
hear, and expressed the hope that the brief time 
that they could devote together to the interests of 
the great cause of agriculture, would be every mo¬ 
ment improved. 
The meeting was successively addressed by Gov. 
Steele, Judge Woodbury, Gov. Colby, Mr. Cooke 
of Keene, Mr. Briggs of Ohio, Gen. Pierce of 
Concord, Mr. Sawyer of Piermont, Dr. Martin 
of Dover, Col. Berry of Hebron, and several 
others. The remarks of several of these gentle¬ 
men, proved that as farmers they would compare 
well with the best farmers in the country, and that 
their lands, as they should do, were, by an intelli¬ 
gent practice, growing more productive each suc¬ 
ceeding year. This is the true course. No man 
can be justly called a good farmer who permits 
his land to deteriorate. The meeting was alto¬ 
gether, a very interesting one, and we doubt 
whether there was one farmer present, who had 
not, before it broke up, formed the determination, 
so necessary to useful progress in any branch of 
industry, hereafter to improve the advantages with¬ 
in his reach, better than he had ever done before. 
We would gladly copy largely from a report of 
the speeches, furnished by a correspondent of the 
Boston Traveller, did our limits permit; but we 
must close with a few brief examples of what has 
been done, by way of encouragement to those who 
are disposed to see what they can accomplish. 
Gov. Steele said he had been but five years a 
farmer, and commenced upon land which had been 
reduced to the lowest degree. As he was altogether 
unlearned in the art, he resorted to agricultural 
books for practical knowledge. He attributed his 
success in bringing his land from almost barrenness, 
to a highly productive state, to deep plowing and 
liberal manuring. My practice, said Gov. S., has 
been to plow deep, and when time will admit of it, 
to subsoil, and always with good success. 
Gov. Colby said he was a farmer by profession, 
and was happy to meet with his brother farmers to 
receive and impart instruction. He had raised 
this year forty tons of hay from twenty acres, and 
thirty tons from twenty acres more. This is pretty 
good, but his land could do better, and he wanted 
to know how it could be made to do it at the least 
cost. He had raised wheat for six years upon 
plowed green-sward, and never failed of having a 
good crop and good wheat. He lived in a hilly re¬ 
gion, where the wind blows, and no insects affected 
his wheat. The weevil can’t live there, and this 
was an axiom with him, if you would succeed in 
wheat, raise it where the wind blows. His carrots 
this year yielded 800 bushels to the acre; and he 
considered them the best roots to raise for stock— 
better by far than potatoes. 
Mr. Sawyer of Piermont, explained the mode by 
which he was enabled to raise his own wheat, which 
was to top dress his land in the fall with lime 
compost, and he never failed, his crops averaging 
from 15 to 25 bushels per acre. He thought that 
the great amount of money paid for flour brought 
into the state, should be retained at home, and all 
that they had to do, was just to turn about and 
raise it for themselves. “ Out of the abundance of 
our land,” said Mr. S., u we want and should have, 
for agricultural prosperity, more small farms. Let 
every young man have one. Farms of 200 or 300 
acres may profitably be divided into 4 or 5 farms, 
and each acre could then be made to produce three 
times its present yield. This is the true policy for 
New England, and by it we shall excel in agri¬ 
culture, as we now excel in industry and energy. 
Let us resolve that everything we touch shall bear 
the mark of improvement, and we can double our 
wealth, and sustain double the population upon our 
soil.” 
Col. Berry of Hebron, related his experience with 
a “ field that he bought some years ago. When 
purchased, it was entirely reduced, and the whole 
value of the crop upon it was not worth $15. In 
the spring of the year, I drew out of the field one 
hundred and twenty loads of stumps. I then run 
the plow through it in every direction, driving it 
to the beam. I manured two acres, and planted it 
with corn and potatoes. My crop was decent. I 
plowed and manured again, and sowed to grass 
and oats, or wheat. I have this year gathered large 
and profitable crops, but like Gov. Colby, I want 
to know how I can make that field produce more.” 
As we left Concord on Thursday morning, we 
cannot speak of the transactions of the last day; 
but we learn that the attendance was large—esti¬ 
mated at from eight to ten thousand ; and that the 
exhibition was closed up in a manner most gratify¬ 
ing, both to the public and to the officers of the So¬ 
ciety, who,—especially Mr. Nesmith the President, 
Mr. Walker, the Secretary, and Mr. Baker the 
Treasurer,—deserve great credit for the success 
which has crowned this first exhibition of the New- 
Hampshire State Agricultural Society. May still 
greater success attend their future labors. 
