34 
Wisconsin state Agricultural society . 
streams and lakes, and in a short period of time greatly increase 
the food producing power of the state, as it is now well under¬ 
stood by intelligent observers that the fertility of the same area of 
water of the usual depth of our large lakes and streams is much 
greater than that of the land. 
The last legislature passed a law vesting in the governor the ap¬ 
pointment of fish commissioners for the state, and his excellency 
has appointed the following named gentlemen : William Welch, 
Madison; T. C. Douseman, Waterville; and Alfred Palmer, 
Boscobel. 
The appropriation made to carry out the object was very small, 
yet it will enable the commissioners to commence and lay a founda¬ 
tion for beneficial and profitable results in the future. If success 
should attend the efforts heretofore made? and which will be made 
by these commissioners the present year, I doubt not a liberal and 
fostering hand will be extended by the state to this branch of 
industry. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
a» 
THE SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. 
It is often asked, can agriculture be reduced to a science? Can 
results be carefully collected and recorded so as to be of practi¬ 
cal value to the farmers. Facts are being established by repeated 
experiments which already reply to this question in the affirma¬ 
tive. The Journal of the Koval Agricultural Society of England 
for 1873, gives a summary of conclusions touching the results of 
twenty years’ successive experiments in the growth of barley 
upon the same land. Also, experiments have been made for a 
great number of years in succession on the same land with wheat, 
in England, and with similar results. These results have showm 
a very little increase of crop by u mineral manures alone. Much 
more by ammonia-salts and mineral manure together, and that in 
the use of artificial manures for many years, in 99 out of 100 
cases in which wheat is grown in the ordinary course of agricul¬ 
ture, the supply of immediately available mineral constituents is 
in excess relatively to the immediately available supply of nitro- 
