UMASS/AMHERST 91 3iaDbbD]ibt,D770fi ;,! it ■i ^ i ii 1 PUBLIC DOCUMENT .... .... No. 4. FORTY-SEYE^^TH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY MASSACHUSETTS State Board of Agriculture, TOGETHER WITH THE TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HATCH EXPERI- MENT STATION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 1899 BOSTON : ^\TirGnT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 18 Post Office Square. 1900. TABLE OF COIS^TE^TS. State Board of Agriculture, 1900, y Report of the Secretary, vii Minutes of Executive Committee Meetings, 3 Minutes of Special Meetings of the Board, 11 Public Winter Meeting of the Board at Westfield, . . . .25 Lecture : The Gypsy Moth in the Legislature. By Merrick A. Morse, 37 Lecture : Dairying. By Hon. Wm. R. Sessions, .... 45 Lecture : Holland and its People. By Prof William H. Niles, . 74 Lecti;re : Market Gardening. By H. R. Kinney, .... 86 Lecture : Country Life. By Rev. Dr. Russell H. Conwell, . .114 Lecture : The Composition and Economical Use of Commercial Fertilizers. By Dr. H. J. Wheeler, 131 Lecture : Trusts and their Relation to the Farmers. By Prof C. S. Walker, . . .* 185 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Board, 209 Report of Committee on Agricultural Societies, . . . .221 Report of Committee on Domestic Animals and Sanitation, . . 223 Repoi't of Examining Committee of the Agricultural College, . 224 Report of Committee on Forestry, Roads and Roadside Improve- ments, 231 Report of Special Committee on Farmers' Institutes, . . . 234 RejDort of the Librarian, 236 Essay : The Evolution of Agriculture. By O. P. Allen, . . .238 Essay : The Evolution of Farm Machines. By Geo. P. Smith, . 246 Essay : Spraying of Crops for Profit. By Prof. S. T. Maynard, . 261 Essay : Practical Hints for the Dairyman. By Prof F. S. Cooley, . 273 Essay : The Elm-leaf Beetle in Massachusetts. By A. H. Kirkland, 289 Essay : Suggestions for the Use of Barn-yard Manure. By Prof Chas. Wellington, ........ Essay : Birds as Destroyers of Hairy Caterpillars. By E. H bush, Report on Extermination of the Gypsy Moth, . Ninth Annual Report of the State Dairy Bureau, Report of Board of Cattle Commissioners, Report on Farmers' National Congress at Boston, Mass., Returns of the Societies, Agricultural Directory, Index, For- 301 316 341 389 419 517 529 559 575 State Boaed of Agriculture, 1900. Members ex OflBcio. His Excellency W. MURRAY CRANE. His Honor JOHN L. BATES. Hon. "WM. M. OLIN, Secretary of the Commonwealth. H. H. GOODELL, M.A., LL.C, President Massachusetts Agricultural College. C. A. GOESSMANN, PH.D., LL.D., Chemist of the Board. JAMES W. STOCKWELL, Secretary. Members appointed by the Governor and Council. Term Eipirea DWIGHT a. HORTON of Northampton, 1901 WILLIAM R. SESSIONS of Springfield, 1902 FRANCIS H. APPLETON of Manchester, ' - HI ^^^^ Members chosen by the Incorporated Societies. ^llorVl) ""'^ '^"^"^"''^ (^^'■'^ "'^'^ \ F. W. SARGENT of Aniesbury, . . 1903 Barnstable County, .... JOHN BURSLEY of West Barnstable, . 1901 Berkshire, WESLEY B. BARTON of Dalton, . . 1903 BlacJcstone Valley SAMUEL B. TAFT of Uxbridge, . . 1903 „ . ^ , „ , ( EDWARD M. THURSTON of Swansea Bristol Comity j (P. O. South Swansea) 1902 Deerfield Valley, HENRY A. HOWARD of Colrain, . . 1902 Eastern Hampden O. E. BRADWAY of Monson, . . . 1903 _, ( JOHN M. DANFORTH of Lynnflelrt (P.O. ^**^^' I Lynnfleld Centre), 1902 Franklin County, . . , . F. L. WHITMORE of Sunderland, . . 1901 Hampshire GEO. P. SMITH of Sunderland, . . . 1901 Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden, H. C. COMINS of Hadley, .... 1903 Highland C. K. BREWSTER of Worthington, . . 1902 Hillside ALV AN BARRUS of Goshen (P.O. Lithia), 1902 Hingham (Agr'land Hort'l), . . EDMUND HERSEY of Hingham, . . 1903 „ rr n„ S GEO. P. CARPENTER of Willlamstown Hoosac Valley, I (P. O. Blackinton), 1903 Housatonic CHARLES B. BENEDICT of Egremont, . 1903 Mati'f'trs' Agr'l (No.Attleborough), OSCAR S. THAYER of Attleborough, . 1903 Mar shfleld {Agr'land Hort'l),. . HENRY A. TURNER of Norwell, . . 1903 Martha's Vineyard EVERETT A. DAVIS of West Tisbury, . 1901 Massachusetts Horticultural, . . WM. H. SPOONER of Jamaica Plain, . 1903 ^in'^fVi^uliufT'^*''' '^°'' ^'**""'''" j N. I. BOWDITCH of Framingham, . . 1903 ,T ,7^7 T.T 11 S JOSHUA CLARK of Tewksbury (P. O. Middlesex North, . . . .j lqwcU), .1901 ,r-^^7 c tj, S ISAAC DAMON of Wayland (P. O. Co- Mtddlesex South | chituate), . . . ... . .1902 Nantucket J. S. APPLETON of Nantucket, . . 1903 Oxford H. H. SIGOURNEY of Oxford, . . .1901 „, ^, r. 1 S AUGUSTUS PRATT of North Middle- Plymouth County | borough, 1902 Spencer {Far' sand Mech's Assoc' n), JOHN G. AVERY of Spencer, . . . 1901 Union {Agr'land Hort'l),. . . ALMON W. LLOYD of Blandford, . . 1901 Weymouth {Agr'land Ind'l), . . QUINCY L. REED of South Wej^mouth, . 1903 Worcester, J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH of Worcester, . 1902 Worcester East W. A. KILBOURN of South Lancaster, . 1903 Worcester North-ivest {Agr'l and ( T. H. GOODSPEED of Athol (P. O. Athol Mech'l), ( Centre), 1901 Worcester South, CD. RICHARDSON of West Brookfleld, 1901 Worcester County West, . . . CHAS. A. GLEASON of New Braintree, . 1902 THE FORTY-SEYENTH ANNUAL REPORT SECEETAKY Board of Agriculture To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commomoealth of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, at the close of another year of counsel and work, has met in annual session to review and gather up the lessons of the past, and to devise means and study methods for greater usefulness to agriculture in the year to come. The position this Board now holds in the farmers' esteem, the confidence reposed in it by the Legislature of the State, and the appre- ciation of our labors, as recorded in our annual report, — which is sought for throughout our own country and from many of the nations of the old world, — should incite us to do our best work, that the record shall be honorable, instructive and valuable. The secretary would only suggest that the several reports which by law are included in the report of the Board of Agriculture, be as condensed and as concise as consistent with a fair presentation of the topic, that they may be more generally read by the people. The farmer who does not study carefully these several reports, will lose a thorough understanding of the present methods, conditions and results in agricultural work and investigation, and will not appreciate or understand the work of this Board of Ao-riculture. Tiii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Gift to the Board. In response to its request, the Board has received a large and richly framed portrait of its second secretary, — Hon. John E. Russell of Leicester. It is a crayon drawing, executed by Miss Emeline Wing of Boston, and is a faithful portrait of Mr. Russell as he appeared when secretary of the Board, 1880-87. It was well hung by Mr. Noyes of Boston, in good position and good light. All who have seen it praise it highly as a portrait and as a work of art. The formal thanks of the Board were duly forwarded to Mr. Russell in his distant sojourn ; Init the brightening eye and the glad expression of pleasure from the members who were associated with Mr. Russell when he was its secretary are more eloquent of the pleasant remembrances of past association than words can portray. Mr. Russell can be well assured that no place is so distant that it is not reached by the kindest thoughts of the members of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. Changes in the Board. The loved and efficient secretary of the Board, Hon. Wm. R. Sessions, declined further service, and his . resignation was reluctantly accepted at the last annual meeting, and Hon. J. W. Stockwell was elected as secretary of the Board, his term to begin July 1, 1899. The office was vacated by Mr. Sessions June 30, 1899, and all valuables placed in the hands of his successor. The correspondence that follows is self-explanatory of the courtesies of the exchange : — Hon. J. W. Stockwell. Boston, Mass., June 30, 1899. My Dear Sir : — The time has arrived for me to lay down the responsibilities of the office of secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, after twelve years of the best service I have been able to render. I am glad to be succeeded by au experienced and loyal friend of agriculture and of the men and women who pursue that most honorable calling. It is also most agreeable to me to be succeeded by a personal friend, — one who has for many years been associated with me in the work of the Board of Agriculture and the Dairy Bureau, as well as in grange and institute work. I am sure you will be successful in the No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. ix earnest efforts I know you will put forth for the good of the farmers of Massachusetts and for our grand old Commonwealth, and that the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture will, under your guidance, grow in usefulness and in the estimation of the people of the State. Yours very truly, (Signed) Wm. R. Sessions, Secretary. Boston, July 1, 1899. Hon. Wm. R. Sessions, Secretary, State Board of Agriculture. My Dear Secretary : — I thank you for your kind words and more for the friendship that prompts them. I take up the work you have laid down with greater courage because I know your interest will still be with the old Board you have so faithfully served these twelve years, and that I can call on you for informa- tion and counsel in all the work that centres here. I can go back with you to the simpler conditions when you assumed the position. I realize its gradual unfolding and growth to its present proportions, and it has all come about so quietly that the farmers of the State do not fully know its magnitude nor the value of the work done for them and for the broader field of agriculture. You have had a united Board to sustain you from the first year to the last, when we so reluctantly accepted your resignation, and the work you have done praises you and reflects credit on the Board of Agriculture. How much pleasure you can take with you as you look back on the work you have accomplished and see its far-reaching results ! If I may carry on this task, nor let the good work of the Board fail nor its influence decline, I shall be satisfied. The lines in which we have walked for the past twelve years with such good results are safe to follow. New avenues will open before us ; new duties will come to us ; these we will try and meet faithfully. And now, good friend, may rest and health come to you and yours and abide with you many years. You go with the heartfelt blessing of every member of this good old Board ; for them and in their behalf I say, God bless you. Yours most truly, (Signed) J. W. Stockwell. On January 12 Mr. S. S. Stetson of Lakeville, a member of the Board by appointment of the Governor, died of pneu- monia. Mr. Stetson had l)een very devoted in his work for the Board and cordial in all his relations with the members, X BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. and his loss was keenly felt. His work on the gypsy moth committee was painstaking and valuable, and he gave of his time and strength freely in this work. Gen. Francis H. Appleton of ^Manchester was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Board, and Mr. John M. Danforth of Lynnfiekl was elected by the Essex Agricultural Society to fill the unexpired term made vacant by the appointment of Gen- eral Appleton. Mr. H. H. Sigourney of Oxford was elected by the Ox- ford Agricultural Society to fill the unexpired term of Mr. J. W. Stock well, resigned. Mr. J. Elton Green of Spencer, member of the Board from the Spencer Farmers' and Mechanics' Association, re- signed from the Board, and Mr. John G. Avery of Spencer was elected to fill out his unexpired tetm. The other changes in the Board will be noted by the report of the committee on credentials. Delegates to the Board. The Massachusetts Board of Agriculture has large and important trusts and duties placed upon it by the wisdom of the State, and this Board has never failed, but has held its high position with increased favor with each session of the Legislature, and added responsibilities have followed. We may well be proud of this confidence, and labor even more diligently for the good of the agriculture of the State ; and to do this it becomes more and more incumbent on the agricultural societies to select their best men for service on this Board, and, when selected, to retain them here for the l)enefit it will brinsf to the Board and for the greater influence and resultant good to the State. Meetings of the Board. A special business meeting of the Board was held at Bos- ton, March 28, 1899, an account of which will be found on pages 11-14. A special meeting was held at Boston, Octo- ber 4 and 5, during the session of the Farmers' National Congress, the members being, by appointment of the Gov- ernor, associate delegates to the said Congress. The pub- lic winter meeting for lectures and discussions was held at No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. xi Westiield, December 5, 6 and 7. The meeting was consid- ered a very successful one in all respects, the officers of the Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society and the people of Westfield cordially contributing to the pleasure and profit of the meeting. The lectures and discussions will be found printed on pages 25-205 of this volume. A special business meeting was held at Westfield, December 5, an account of which will be found printed on pages 14-21. The annual business meeting was held at the office of the secretary, Jan. 9 and 10, 1900, and the minutes thereof, etc., will be found printed on pages 209-257 of this volume. Agkicultural Societies. The returns of the societies will be found printed on pages 529-555 of this volume. A summary, contrasting the totals of 1897, 1898 and 1899, is printed on page 556 of this volume. During the past year, three societies have sold a part or all of their real estate, and two societies have found it advis- able to place mortgages on their real estate. These several transactions have been with the approval of the Board of Agriculture, in conformity to the provisions of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890, and will be found recorded in the min- utes of the Board and of the executive committee of the Board, in this volume. The Worcester Agricultural Society has purchased new grounds, pleasantly and conveniently located, well laid out and adapted for the several uses for which they have been prepared. This society, having a large interest-bearing reserve fund, and located in the heart of the Commonwealth, should be able and doubtless will do advanced work for the benefit of agriculture, or take up experimental lines in con- nection with its annual fairs and exhibitions that poorer societies could not with prudence risk. We believe this old society will be true to its opportunities, and give the State its best efforts. Farmers' Institutes. During the year 1899, 123 farmers' institutes were held. These meetings were addressed by 76 different speakers, selected for the most part from the list of available lecturers xii BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. prepared under the direction of this Board. Seven socie- ties held more than the 3 institutes required by rule of the Board. The attendance at the institutes was most gratifying, returns from 109 showing an average attendance of 94. Some few societies still continue to hold institutes with from 5 to 30 persons in attendance. During the year 8 institutes were held under the auspices of other than incorporated agricultural societies. It is but fair to say that the attendance and interest at these meetings were satisfactory, the attendance averaging 148. Lecturers were furnished by this office for 97 institutes, at a total cost of $1,510.11 for services and expenses, — an average of $15.57 per institute. Scales of Points or Score Cards. Rule 8 of the Board is as follows : "Each society draw- ing bounty shall adopt the scale of points established by the Board of Agriculture, in awarding the premiums on live stock, vegetables and fruits, to the end that there shall be uniform modes throughout the State." Ver}^ few of these cards have been called for the past year, the principal requests being from agricultural colleges for use in class work. It is believed that these score cards should be placed in the hands of all the judges at our fairs, that points of excellence according to a correct standard may receive deserved commendation, and that exhibitors may l)e encouraged to bring only the best types in the several classes. Farmers' National Congress. The nineteenth annual session of the Farmers' National Congress of the United States was held in Boston, at Faneuil and Horticultural halls, October 3-10. The Board of Agriculture at its last annual meeting appointed Gen. Francis H. Appleton, J. W. Stockwell, W. A. Kilbourn, John G. Avery and R. G. F. Candage as a committee of arrangements for the session of the Congress. This Congress was well attended by the agriculturists of New England, and the broader exchange of ideas and the op- portunity of personal acquaintance with the prominent and No. 4.] KEPORT OF SECRETARY xui progressive farmers from every part of the country must result in great good to our people. Two thousand copies of the official proceedings of the Congress were printed under the direction of the committee and have been par- tially distributed. A fuller report of the committee of arrangements will be found on pages 517-525 of this volume. Publications. The following publications were issued by this office in 1899, and may be obtained on application : — Pages. Xumber. Date of Issue. Agriculture of Massachusetts, 1898, 819* 15,000 May 12. Crop Bulletin No. 1, May, 32 2,700 Jime 6. Crop Bulletin No. 2, June, 40 2,500 July 3. Crop Bulletin No. 3, July, . 40 2,700 Aug. 3. Crop Bulletin No. 4, August, 40 2,500 Sept. 8. Crop Bulletin No. 5, September, . 40 2,500 Oct. 5. Crop Bulletin No. 6, October, 38 2,500 Nov. 3. Catalogue of office libraiy, . 128 500 Aug. 4. Farmers' institute pamphlet, . 14 700 Dec. 16. Proceedings Farmers' National Con- 191 2,000 Dec. 18. gress. 1 There were also issued in pamphlet form the following excerpts from the "Agriculture of Massachusetts," 1898: " What the experiment stations have learned about raising and curing tobacco," by Dr. E. H. Jenkins ; " The mission of the agricultural colleges," by Dr. W. H. Jordan ; " The love and study of nature : a part of education," by Dr. G. Stanley Hall. Also, the following excerpts from the " Pro- ceedings of the Farmers' National Congress:" "Decline of farm lands in the east : cause and remedy," by Hon. J. * Including eleventh annual report of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massa- chusetts Agricultural College, 172 pages. xiv BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. W. Stock well; "Teaching of the elements of agriculture in the common schools," by Hon. C. C. James; "Good roads : advantages of State aid to farmers," by Hon. Wm. W. Armstrong; "The necessity of pure food legislation," by Hon. H. C. Adams. Also "Obligations of wealth," by Ex-President Benjamin Harrison. Gypsy and Brown-tail Moths. The sum of $200,000 was appropriated by the Legislat- ure of 1899 for continuing the work against these insect pests. Of this amount, $190,000 was for gypsy moth work and $10,000 for brown-tail moth work. The report of the committee in charge will be found printed on pages 341- 3SS of this volume. This report is vastly important to the people of this State. It is not a question of farmers or of farming, but affecting every town and city, — the beauty of parks, reservations, streets and homes. We earnestly ask that this report be carefully studied, that we may deal wisely with this dangerous pest. Forestry and Roadside Improvement. The appropriation for the purchase of M spikes and washers was the usual $200, which was expended. Spikes and washers were supplied during the year to the towns of Andover, Bedford, Bolton, Brookfield, Leicester, New Braintree, Northbridge, Rutland, Sandwich, Shirley, Spen- cer, Ware and Warwick. Since the work of supplying these spikes was begun, Dec. 26, 1891, five cities and seventy-seven towns in the Commonwealth have requested and received varying quantities of the spikes. It is esti- mated that there have been furnished 190,000 spikes, with accompanying washers, during the period named. This office will, if you approve, bring to the notice of all towns that have not accepted the law, which now becomes imperative, the importance of this method of roadside im- provement. It costs nothing comparatively, and its results will be an increasing shade and an added beauty to the streets and highways of the State. "No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. XV o o o o o o o o o o o o O ■o o o o o o o o o o o o o O e e ■s o o o o o o o o o o o o o *c o o ooo o o o o o o o o o 00 o^ lo 00 o 00 o^ O O "jO . r-i —I O ooo O Co 1 OOO rH CO ■a rH O ooo O l^ 00 tH lO C^ lO t-" rH ^^ • T-l 'sH a «&■ ^ •a o o ooo O ooo o -^ ooo o -rh o 00 Cft "O 00 o 00, TfH, O lO r lo *t- ^ lO" p. 1—1 ^ ^ t^ t^ ooo O 05 lO o o 00 1—1 cq ooo o «o cooo '^ V. CO 1-1 ooo O 00 I 1 (M o 50 C?i ooo O -rt< >oo o o CO & 01_ o *o c^ C^l 1—1 P. i-T rH lO f o" !>.' rH CO X C^ -* m ^ -^ o o ooo O CO OO O O ^ CO o o ooo O 1-1 o oo o o rH _2 2 "=■ ooo o o t^o o o o t^ p. o o ooo o o - m a bX fl ;h H secretai-y, Salaries of secretary and clerks. Dissemination of useful information in culture by means of lectures or other Printing 15,000 copies of the " Agricn of Massachusetts," . . . . Collecting and circulating information tive to abandoned farms. Carrying forward work of Dairy Bureau Salary of executive officer of Dairy Bu Salary of assistant in work of Dairy Bu Nails or spikes for marking shade tree a" o 1 > CO p. co" be xvi BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Also the Legislature of 1899 made the following regular annual appropriations : for maintaining an agricultural ex- periment station at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, $10,000 ; for the said college, for free scholarships, $10,000 ; for the said college, for labor fund and extra instruction, $10,000 ; for travelling and other necessary expenses of the trustees of the said college, $800 ; to defray expenses of col- lecting and analyzing samples of concentrated commercial feed stuffs, $1,200; and for maintenance of the veterinary laboratory at the said college, $1,000. The Legislature also appropriated for the said college the sum of $10,000 to pro- vide the theoretical and practical education required by its charter and the law of the United States relating thereto ; also $200,000 for carrying forward the work against the gypsy and brown-tail moths. Legislation. The legislation of 1899 having reference to the Board of Agriculture or to the agricultural societies was "An act making appropriations for sundry agricultural expenses " (Acts of 1899, chapter 46) ; "An act making an appropria- tion for continuing the work of exterminating the gypsy moth and the brown-tail moth " (Acts of 1899, chapters 80 and 268) ; and "An act relative to the inspection of milk" (Acts of 1899, chapter 169). Would it not be well there should be a special committee appointed to have charge of rules and laws, to recommend or advocate such changes as the Board desires ? Abandoned Farms. Very little work along this line has been done the past year, and the last edition of the catalogue, issued two years ago, is exhausted. Frequent requests for catalogues and information are received both in person and by letter ; and, while the value -of this kind of work may be questioned, the fact that there is a demand for. this information cannot be overlooked or ignored. One hundred and six requests for the catalogue were received by mail between Aug. 20, 1899, and Jan. 10, 1900, while a large number of applications were made in person at the office. No. 4.] KEPORT OF SECRETARY. xvii The work already done has directed attention to this office as a source of help and information to those desiring to sell such farms as may properly come under the title "partially abandoned," and to those desiring information concerning such properties. A small annual appropriation for the carrying on of this line of work, with authority granted this office to serve as a bureau of information, would be of great assistance to those desiring to purchase or sell farms within our borders, with a large resultant benefit to the State. Dairy Bureau. The annual report of the Dairy Bureau to the Legislature will be found printed on pages 389-415 of this volume. There has been no change in the personnel of the Bureau, except that of the executive officer, caused by the change in the secretaryship of the Board of Agriculture. Agricultural College. The report of the examining committee of the Agricult- ural College will be found printed on pages 224-230 of this volume. The twelfth annual report of the Hatch Experi- ment Station of the college is by law bound with the report of the secretary of the Board of Agriculture in this volume. Those desiring further details of the college are respectfully referred to the president, Dr. Henry H. Goodell, Amherst, Mass. Board of Cattle Commissioners. The annual report of the Board of Cattle Commissioners is by law printed in the annual report of the secretary of the Board of Agriculture , and the report for 1899 will be found printed on pages 419-514 of this volume. Massachusetts Crop Reports. The publication of monthly crop reports or bulletins was continued in 1899, and six in all were issued (May— Octo- ber), aggregating 230 pages of printed matter. The edition was 2,500 copies, excepting Nos. 1 and 3, of which 2,700 copies were printed. The special articles printed were : Bulletin No. 1, •' Spray- ing of crops for profit," by Prof. S. T. Maynard ; Bulletin xviii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. No. 2, " Suggestions for the use of barnyard manure," by Prof. Chas. Wellington; Bulletin No. 3, "The elm-leaf beetle in Massachusetts," by A. H. Kirkland, M.S. ; Bul- letin No. 4, "Practical hints for the dairyman," by Prof. F. S. Cooley ; Bulletin No. 5, " Birds as destroyers of hairy caterpillars," by E. H. Forbush ; and Bulletin No. 6, " Nur- sery inspection," printed by request of the Hatch Experi- ment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, and " Farmers, prepare for the twelfth census," printed by request of the United States census office. In this last issue was included an "index," covering the crop reports issued in the years 1896-99, inclusive, prepared for the benefit of those desiring to preserve a file of the reports. Some of these special articles will be found printed on pages 261-337 of this volume. Agricultural Directory. A directory of the agricultural organizations in the Com- monwealth, with oflScers for 1900, will be found printed on pages 559-574 of this volume. Library. The past year has witnessed the completion and publica- tion of the catalogue of the library of the Board, as author- ized at the last annual meeting. Five hundred copies were printed, but, as the appropriation was limited, but one hundred copies were bound. It is suggested that the remaining four hundred copies be bound for distribution. Attention is called to the report of the librarian, which will be found printed on pages 236 and 237 of this volume. A summary of Massachusetts crop conditions and weather for 1899 is here appended. J. W. STOCKWELL, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. Boston, January, 1900. No. 4.] MASSACHUSETTS CROPS. xix Summary of Crop Conditions. 1899. The spring of 1899 opened later than usual. Cold nights and dry weather held vegetation in check and interfered with the germination of seeds. Mowings suffered from lack of rain, and feed in pastures was thin and backward. Fall seeding was somewhat winter-killed. The fruit bloom was much below the normal, and many peach trees were killed by the severe winter. Very little damage from insects was reported. Spraying was reported as increasing, but not rapidly. A considerable portion of farm help was classed as good. Wages averaged about $18 per month with board, and about $1.25 per day without. No marked changes were reported in the acreage of farm crops. In June there was little or no injury from insects. In- dian corn generally grew very well considering the drought, with acreage about as usual. Hayinsf was commencinof, with a very light crop in all sections. Of early potatoes there was an increased acreage, and a fair prospect for the crop. Early market-garden crops were much shortened in yield by drought, with generally increased prices. The supply of dairy products ran about as usual, with prices the same. Pastures had suffered severely from drought and were in poor shape. Strawberries were not over half a crop, with prices much better than last year. Apples did not set well and were dropping badly. Cherries did well. July showed a minimum amount of damage from insects. Indian corn made rapid growth and generally promised a good crop. Silos continuing to gain in use. Haying w^as practically completed, with from one-half to two-thirds of a crop ; quality and condition generally first class. The short- age of the hay crop induced a considerable increase in the acreage devoted to forage crops, and they were generally in good condition. Market-garden crops were nearly up to the normal, with prices a little above recent years. Early XX BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. potatoes were dug in many sections, with only a fair crop. Prices niled high. Rye, oats and barley were below the normal, particularly as to straw. At the end of August Indian corn was generally in fine condition, though somewhat backward. Rowen was a light crop in all sections, and nearly a failure in the eastern part of the State. Late potatoes looked well and promised a good crop. Very little potato rot was reported, and blight was not general. Barring a little unevenness, tobacco was generally in good condition, and cutting was practically completed at the end of the month. Pasturage was quite short in all except extreme western sections. Oats and barley were considerably below the normal, both as to grain and straw. Poultry keeping was generally considered prof- itable, but is a side issue save in the south-eastern coun- ties. September showed Indian corn to be a full average crop. The rowen crop was much below the average, and in many sections was an entire failure. Fall feed was also sadly ofl* in condition. Less than the usual amount of fall seeding had been done, owing to dry weather, and that put in was generally below average in condition. Onions were consid- erably above an average crop on the whole, particularly in the Connecticut valley. Late potatoes were an exceptional crop in almost all sections, both in yield and quality. Root crops somewhat in need of rain. Celery was ap- parently a good average crop. Other late market-garden crops were doing fairly well. Apples were a very poor crop, except in a few localities. Pears not half a crop, plums even le^s, and peaches a failure. Cranberries were rather more than an average crop, of good quality. Grapes were generally abundant, and mostly secured without injury from frost. Correspondents the last of October reported root crops in good condition, and potatoes an unusually heavy crop of excellent quality. Celery was a good average crop. There was considerable complaint that farm stock was poor in flesh, because of poor pastures, but otherwise it was gen- erally in good condition. Many farmers had been obliged to feed at the barn for a month or more. Considerably No. 4.] MASSACHUSETTS WEATHER. xxi less than the usual amount of fall seeding done, because of dry weather, and that done was below average in condition. Prices received for farm crops, taken as a whole, appeared to show quite a general improvement over former years, due in part perhaps to shortage in particular crops. Out of 147 answers to the question as to prices, 84 correspond- ents spoke of prices as average, 48 as higher than usual and 15 as lower. There was the usual diversity of opinion among corre- spondents as to which crops had proved most profitable. Sixty-nine considered potatoes to have been among the most profitable crops ; 42, corn; 36, hay; 16, apples; 12, tobacco; 9, cranberries ; 8, sweet corn; etc. Twenty-five correspondents spoke of hay as among the least profitable crops ; 22, apples ; 22, potatoes ; 13, onions ; 12, squashes ; 9, corn; 8, fruit; 6, oats; 6, milk; 6, tomatoes; 6, peas; etc. Taking into consideration both the results obtained from a classification of the returns and the general tone of the returns themselves, it is considered that the past year was a more than usually prosperous one for our farmers. Almost all crops made at least good average yields, and where there was any shortage it w^as usually compensated for by increased price received. Most farmers had a sur- plusage of hay on hand at the beginning of the season, so that the light hay crop will not be as severely felt as would otherwise have been the case. Of 138 correspondents answering the question as to the profits of the season, 91 regarded the season as profitable, 29 as an average one for profit and 23 as fairly profitable, w^hile 29 thought that it had not been a profitable one. Massachusetts Weather, 1899. [Compiled from data furnished by the New England Weather Service.] January was a month without marked departures from normal conditions, the small amount of snowfall being the chief abnormal condition. The temperature for the month was very slightly in excess of the normal. The monthly average of precipitation was only slightly below the normal, the loss of moisture from the small amount of snow being counterbalanced by an excess of rainfall. xxii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The first half of February was uninterruptedly cold and the second half uniformly mild, the mean monthly tem- perature being about 2° below the normal. The precipita- tion of the month was practically normal. A typical " coast storm," with violent gales, occurred on the 12th and 14th. Railroad traffic was considerably interfered with, but the loss of life at sea was comparatively small. March was conspicuous for much unpleasant weather, cloudiness and precipitation being almost constant. An ice storm of wide-spread area occurred on the 19th, doing considerable damage to trees and telegraph poles. The tem- perature for the month averaged about 1° below the normal, and at its close the season was backward in all sections. April was remarkable for the large number of clear and fair days, there being but six stormy days during the month. The early part of the month averaged cool and the closing days were unusually warm. The average temperature of the month was very near the normal, but there was a marked deficiency in precipitation. Preliminary spring work made excellent progress. May was remarkably deficient in precipitation ; for, while the number of days with a measurable amount of precipita- tion averaged about as usual, there was no good, soaking rain. As the result, the precipitation was the smallest since the establishment of the Weather Service in 1870. The temperature averaged about 1° per day above the normal. The coolest period of the month was from the 17th to the 23d, Avhen frosts were prevalent in exposed localities. An abundance of sunshine was a feature of the month. Crop prospects were much impaired by the continued drought of April and May. The first part of June gave extreme heat and absence of precipitation, less than .9 inch falling at Boston, as against a normal of about 1.75 inches. The temperature of the month was decidedly above the normal, the average daily departure being about 5° plus. The drought was broken during the latter part of the month by severe thunder storms with excessive precipitation, but any damage to fruit and " washing " of fields was more than compensated for by their beneficial eflfects. Much damase was done to fruit and glass No. 4.] MASSACHUSETTS WEATHER. xxiii in the western part of the State by a severe hail storm on the 24th. General showers occurred in the first week in July, which effectually broke the drought that existed through May and June. These conditions continued until the 18th of the month, but from the 18th to the 25th the showery weather w^as confined to the western sections of the State. At the end of this period a second drought was complained of in eastern sections, which was, however, relieved by copious showers on the 25th and 26th. The temperature averaged somewhat above the normal, but was generally devoid of extremes. July did much to repair the damage resulting from the dry weather of the two preceding months. August opened with several days of generally fair weather in all sections, and seasonable temperatures. By the close of the first week the dry weather was seriously felt in the eastern counties, but copious showers occurred in these sec- tions on the 10th and 11th. During the third week of the month there was little or no precipitation, and that of the 22d was principally in the eastern counties, where the drought was most severe. A notable feature of the month was an absence of the usual muggy, oppressive conditions. The weather was somewhat cool from the 7tli to the 14th, and unseasonably so at coast stations during the closing week of the month. September opened with showers on the 1st and 2d, which were of general occurrence and great benefit. The second week of the month was fair, with much sunshine, but with a sharp falling off of temperature, which had ranged al)out normal the preceding week. The temperature of the third week was several decrees cooler than the normal of the season. General rains fell on the 20th and 21st of the month; these rains were copious, and of great benefit to pastures and meadows. With the rain came warmer weather, and nearly average temperature conditions prevailed in the last week of the month. As a whole, the month was exceptionally fine and pleasant. The month of October opened with a cold wave of un- usual severity for the season, with snow flurries in many sections. The temperature ranged below normal from the xxiv BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 1st to the 9th inclusive, excepting the 5th, which was some- what warmer than the average. The minimum range of the mercury at Boston on the 2d and 3d, 34° and 35° respectively, broke the official record, being the lowest for those days of the month of October in twenty-seven years. A "warm spell" prevailed from the 10th to the 19th inclusive. There was a general deficiency in the pre- cipitation for the month, the rainfall being little more than half the customary amount for October. Owing to the prevalence of dry weather, there was much haze, smoke and dust in the atmosphere, giving conditions usually de- scriptive of the period commonly known by the name of Indian summer. November was marked by a preponderance of fair weather, precipitation occurring in measurable amounts on an aver- age of but six days. The precipitation was deficient at all stations where official observations were taken. As gauged by popular opinion, the month was unusually warm, which conclusion was doubtless due to the equable distrilmtion of the temperature throughout the period. An examina- tion of the temperature data, however, disproves the opin- ion, and shows that the monthly mean Avas less than half of a de2:ree in excess of the normal for November. As a result of the dry weather and small rainfall, wells, springs, streams, ponds and lakes were low. The weather during December deviated greatly from the types usually experienced during this month in New Eng- land. It Avas unusually warm from the 1st to the 25th, Christmas Day inclusive, during which time plowing and grading progressed almost uninterruptedly in many sections of the State. In many localities of the eastern counties grass remained green till near the close of the month, wild and cultivated flowers were in bloom in the open air, and there was little if any frost in the ground. The closing days were cold, being marked by a well-defined cold wave. This month, like November, was also very dry. The pre- cipitation was 1.80 inches less than the normal, and w^as chiefly in the form of rain, and in some localities there was an entire absence of snow. The drought caused a continua- tion of inconveniences to farms and to manufactures. No. 4.] ^lASSACHUSETTS WEATHEK. XXV Meteorological Observatory of the Hatch Experi- ment Station (Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege), A]VIHERST. Annual Summary for 1899. Pressure {in Inches). Maximum reduced to freezing, 30.57, Jan- uary 2, 9 A.M. Minimum reduced to freezing, 28.79, De- cember 24, 8 P.M. Maximum reduced to freezing and sea level, 30.92, January 2, 9 a.m. Minimum reduced to freezing and eea level, 29.10, December 2-t, 8 P.M. Mean reduced to freezing and sea level, 30.011. Annual range, 1.82. Air Temperature (in Degrees F.).* Highest, 93.0, June 5, 3 p.m. Lowest, — 21.5, January 2, 6 a.m. Mean, 46.8. Mean of means of max. and min., 47.2. Mean sensible (wet bulb), 43.7. Annual range, 114.5. Higbest mean daily, 81.5, June 6. Lowest mean daily, — 0.5, February 11. Mean maximum, 57.8. Mean minimum, 36.6. Mean daily range, 21.2. Greatest daily range, 47.0, April 29. Least daily range, 4.5, IMarch 15, Novem- ber 15, December 5. JTumiditi/. Mean dew point, 40.1. Mean force of vapor, .420. Mean relative humidity, 75.6. Wind. — Prevailing Direction West, Soztth- tvest. Summary {Per Cent). North, 18. North-west, 15. South-south-west, 12. South-west, 11. South, 10. West, 10. Other directions, 24. Total movement, 47,110 miles. Greatest daily movement, 449 miles, Feb- ruary 13. Least daily movement, 4 miles, December 18. Mean daily movement, 129 miles. Mean hourly velocity, 5.2 miles. Maximum pressure, per square foot, 22 pounds = 66 miles per hour, March 7, 12 m., N.E. Precipitation {in Inches). Total precipitation, rain or melted snow, 41.49. Number of days on which .01 or more rain or melted snow fell, 110. Snow total, in inches, .52. Weather. Mean cloudiness observed, 54 per cent. Total cloudiness recorded by sun ther- mometer, 2,210 hours ^.50 per cent. Number of clear days, 81. Number of fair days, 139. Number of cloudy days, 135. Bright Sunshine. Number of hours recorded, 2,245 = 50 per cent. Dates of Frosts. Last, May 4. First, September 14. Dates of Snow. Last, April 16. First, November 12. Total days of sleighing, 51. Gales of SO or More Miles per Hour. January 7, 52 miles, N.W. ; January 15, 60 miles, N.W. ; January 27, 64 miles, N.W.; February 10, 51 miles, W.; February 13, 55 miles, N. ; March 7, 66 miles, N.E.; March 20, 62 miles, N.; March 29, 61 miles, N.W. ; March 30, 53 miles, W. ; December 12, 56 miles, S.W. J. E. OSTRANDER, Meteorologist. A. A. :Monahan, Observer. Temperature in ground shelter. MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE Board of Agriculture, 1899. MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, ACTING FOR THE BOARD. Boston, Feb. 14, 1899. The executive committee was called to meet this day, but, on account of the unusual blockade of roads and railroads by snow, a quorum of the committee was not present. Messrs. Appleton and Sessions, being present, adjourned the meeting to February 21. Boston, Feb. 21, 1899. The adjourned meeting was held in part to consider the request of the Weymouth Agricultural and Industrial Society for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of the vote passed at a special meeting of the said society, on Jan. 9, 1899, "That the treasurer of the Weymouth Agricultural and Industrial Society be, and he hereby is, authorized to negotiate, execute and acknowledo:e a mortaaoje and mort- *_? " ceo gage note, in the name of said society, and transact any other conditions necessary for placing a mortgage on the real estate of said society ; said mortgage to be for a sum not exceeding $3,000, to run not less than three years or more than five years, at a rate of interest not to exceed 6 per cent." There was presented a statement of the secretary of the society, giving a copy of the vote above quoted ; a statement that the special meeting was legally called for the purpose of voting on this matter ; that the affirmative vote was unanimous ; and that there was a quorum present. It was also showii that the hearing on the matter was advertised as required by the notice of the secretary of the Board of Agriculture. No person appearing in opposition, it was Voled, To approve for the Board of Agriculture the above- quoted vote of the Weymouth Agricultural and Industrial 4 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Society, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890. Voted, That the secretary be instructed to notify the sec- retary of the Weymouth Agricultural and Industrial Society of the action of the Board. There was also presented the request of the Worcester North-west Agricultural and Mechanical Society for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of the vote of the said society, passed at a special meeting of the society, Jan. 27, 1899, " That the treasurer of the Worcester North- west Agricultural and Mechanical Society be and hereby is authorized and instructed to borrow the sum of $3,500, and give the note of the society therefor, and secure payment of the same by a good and sufficient mortgage of all the real estate owned by the society, and is hereby empowered to execute said mortgage in the name of, and for, said society, and with the mone}' thus borrowed to immediately pay that amount of the present indebtedness of said society." There was presented a statement of the secretary of the society, giving a certified copy of the vote above quoted ; a statement that the special meeting was legally called for the purpose of voting on this matter ; that the affirmative vote was unanimous ; and that a quorum was present. It was also shown that the hearing on the matter was advertised as required by the notice of the secretary of the Board of Agriculture. No person appearing in opposition, it was Voted, To approve for the Board of Agriculture the above- quoted vote of the Worcester North-west Agricultural and Mechanical Society, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890. Voted, That the secretary be instructed to notify the secretary of the Worcester North-west Agricultural and Mechanical Society of the action of the Board. The credential of Mr. Francis H. Appleton of Manchester, appointed by His Excellency, February 1, to fill the vacancy on the Board of Agriculture occasioned by the death of Mr. S. S. Stetson of Lakeville, was presented and approved. No. 4.] MEETINGS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 5 The credential of Mr. J. M. Danforth of Lynnfield, as delegate to the Board of Agriculture, elected by the Essex Agricultural Society to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna- tion of Mr. Francis H. Appleton, was presented. A protest by one of the trustees of the said society against the accept- ance of the said credential, on the ground that the meeting at which Mr. Danforth was elected was not a legal meeting, being received, it was Voted, In view of said protest, that the matter of the acceptance of the said credential and the protest lie on the table to await further information, and that the secretary be instructed to communicate the facts in the case to the secre- tary of the Essex Agricultural Society, the member-elect, with a copy of the protest, and to the protestor, with request to each for further information on the matter. The matter of delinquencies of several agricultural socie- ties, in furnishing financial returns, premium returns and transactions, as required by law and the rules of the Board, referred to the executive committee at the annual meeting, with power to excuse such delinquencies if in the judgment of the committee it seemed best to do so after investigation, being in order, the several cases were investigated, and, the excuses ofiered being considered sufiicient, it was Voted, To excuse the Berkshire and Housatonic societies for delay in sending financial returns ; also the Amesbury and Salisbury, Berkshire and Housatonic societies for delay in sending premium returns ; also the Barnstable County, Franklin County, Highland and Spencer societies for delay in sending copies of the transactions. Voted, That the secretary be instructed to notify the societies interested of the action of the executive committee. BosTOX, April 3, 1899. This day the executive committee authorized the Hoosac Valley Agricultural Society to begin its fair this year on the third Tuesday after the first Monday in September, instead of on the third Wednesday, as heretofore. 6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. BosTox, Sept. 5, 1899. The meeting was called in part to consider the request of the AVorcester Agricultural Society for change of date for the holding of its 1899 fair. Voted, That the request of the Worcester Agricultural Society for a change of date of its annual fair from Sept. 5, 6 and 7 to Sept. 21, 1899, be approved. Vbled, That the secretary be instructed to inform the secretary of the Worcester Agricultural Society of the action of the Board. The credential of Mr. Alfred C. Stoddard, elected by the Spencer Farmers' and Mechanics' Association as a member of the Board of Agriculture, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. J. Elton Green, was presented. The question of the legality of the election being raised, and it appearing that Mr. Stoddard was elected at a meeting of the trustees of the society, and it not appearing that this was their customary manner of electing the delegate to the Board of Agriculture, it was Voted, That the secretary be instructed to inform the Spencer Farmers' and Mechanics' Association of the apparent legal difficulties that have arisen, and inform it that, if it will send a credential certifying that Alfred C. Stoddard has been elected deles^ate to the State Board of Agriculture in the usual manner, the committee will receive and consider the credential, and that in the mean time the original credential be laid on the table. The matter of the request to His Excellency of the man- ager of the Mid-Continental Agricultural Exhibition and Harvest Festival, to be held in Cincinnati September 25- October 7, to appoint delegates to the national agricultural congress, to be held in connection with the exhibition, being in order, it was Voted, That the matter be referred to the secretary, with full power to act. The question whether the members of the Board are enti- tled to compensation for their travelling and necessary No. 4.] MEETINGS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 7 expenses in attending the Farmers' National Congress, they being, by appointment of His Excellency, associate delegates to the said Congress, being brought up, it was Voted, That there be a special meeting of the Board of Agriculture at Boston on Oct. 4 and 5, 1899, in connec- tion with the Farmers' National Congress. Voted, That the thanks of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture be extended to the Hon. John E. Russell for the excellent portrait of himself which he has so kindly donated to said Board, and which now hangs on the walls of the private office of the secretary ; and that the secretary be instructed to inform him of this action. SPECIAL MEETI]S[GS OF THE Board of agriculture, 1899. SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OE AGRICULTURE. Boston, March 28, 1899. The Board of Agriculture met in the office of the Board, in Boston, this day, at 1 p.m., for business. Present : Second Vice-President E. W. Wood, who pre- sided, and Messrs. F. H. Appleton, Baker, Barrus, Bar- ton, Bowditch, Burslej, Clark, Damon, Ellsworth, Gleasou, Goodell, Hersey, Horton, Howard, Kilbourn, Pratt, Reed, Richardson, Sargent, Sessions, Stockwell, Thayer, Thurston and E. E. Wood. The executive committee, as committee on credentials, re- ported that Mr. John M. Danforth of Lynnfield had been elected by the Essex Agricultural Society, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Francis H. Appleton. The report of the committee was accepted, and Mr. Danforth was duly received as a member of the Board of Agriculture. The request of the Worcester Agricultural Society for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of the vote of the said society, passed at a special meeting of the society, on March 10, 1899, that a special committee be " authorized to sell the real estate belonging to the Worcester Agricultural Society for the sum of $185,000 or as much more as can be obtained, etc.," being in order, the matter was considered. The secretary of the society presented the records, showing that the special meeting on March 10 was legally called for the purpose of authorizing the sale of the real estate of the society ; that a quorum of members was present ; and that the vote authorizing the sale was carried by afiirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting. It was also shown that the hearing had been advertised according to the directions given by the secretary of the Board of Agri- culture. After remarks by the president and delegate of the 12 BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. society, and discussion, and no person appearing to object to the sale of the real estate, it was Voted, That, whereas the officers of the "V\'orcester Agri- cultural Society have expressed their intention to use the proceeds of the sale of the society's grounds for the purposes for which the society was incorporated, the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture hereby approves the vote of the Worcester Agricultural Society, passed at a special meeting, on March 10, 1899, "That Henry S. Pratt, William A. Gile, Edwin P. Curtis, Cahnn L. Hartshorn, Francis A. Har- rington and Frederick H. Chamberlain, all of Worcester, and Ledyard Bill of Paxton, or a majority of them, be author- ized to sell all the real estate belonging to the Worcester Agricultural Society for the sum of $185,000, or for as much more as can be obtained. A majority of said persons are hereby given fiill and complete authority to determine the terms, conditions and manner of sale, conveyance and pay- ment of and for said real estate, and to do any and all things necessary to carry out and complete said sale, conveyance and payment, including executing, acknowledging and de- livering all necessary deeds, written instruments and papers in the name of said society. The said agents of the society may take as part payment for said real estate a mortgage of the same to the society, for such an amount, in such form and on such terms as a majority of them may deem ex- pedient," in accordance with the requirements of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890. Fb^ec?, That the secretary be instructed to notify the sec- retary of the Worcester Agricultural Society of the action of the Board. On motion of General Appleton, it was Voted, That the Board of Agriculture assembled in special meeting expresses to the Worcester Agricultural Society its appreciation of all that said society has done in the past to promote the cause of Massachusetts agriculture and the in- terest of our agriculturists, and extends to it all encourage- ment for the society's future efforts in that direction. The request of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of the vote of Xo. 4.] SPECIAL MEETINGS. 13 the said society, passed at its last annual meeting, on Dec. 20, 1898, " That a committee of three be chosen to sell the real estate of the society, subject to the approval of the trus- tees," being in order, the matter was considered. The secretary of the society presented the records, show- ing.that the annual meeting was legally called for the pur- pose of authorizing the sale of the real estate of the society, and that the vote authorizing the sale was passed unani- mously. It was also shown that the hearing had been adver- tised according to directions given by the secretary of the Board of Agriculture. After remarks by the delegate of the society, and discussion, and no person appearing to object to the sale of the real estate, it was Voted, That, whereas the officers of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society have expressed their intention to devote the proceeds of the sale of the society's grounds for the pur- poses for which the society was incorporated, the Massachu- setts State Board of Agriculture hereby approves the vote of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society, passed at the annual meeting, held Dec. 20, 1898, " That a committee of three be chosen to sell the real estate of the society, subject to the approval of the trustees," in accordance with the re- quirements of chapter 271 ot the Acts of 1890. Voted, That the secretary be instructed to notify the sec- retary of the Plymouth Count}' Agricultural Society of the action of the Board. There being a vacancy in the committee on gj^isy moth, insects and birds, the Chair appointed Mr. John ^1. Dan- forth of Lynntield to fill the vacancy, which appointment was approved by vote of the Board. On motion of Mr. Barton, it was Voted, That the gypsy moth committee of this Board in- vite the members of Congress from Massachusetts to visit the infested district, and witness the work of the committee in the extermination of the g\i:>sy moth. On motion of Mr. Barrus, it was Voted, That it be left to the gypsy moth committee to press the necessity of an appropriation from the United 14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. States Congress, and that the members of the Board per- sonally exert themselves to interest their Congressmen to visit the infested territory. Adjourned. Boston, Oct. 4, 1899. By vote of the executive committee, a special meeting of the Board of Agriculture was called at Boston, October 4 and 5, in order that the members might receive compensa- tion for their travelling and necessary expenses in attending the meeting of the Farmers' National Congress, they being by ap[)ointment of His Excellency associate delegates to the said Congress. "VVestfield, Dec. 5, 1899. The Board of Agriculture met in Columbia Hall, West- field, this day, at 10.30 a.m., for business. Present : Second Vice-President E. W. Wood, who pre- sided, and Messrs. Allen, F. H. Appleton, J. S. Appleton, Baker, Barrus, Barton, Benedict, Bowditch, Bursley, Clark, Damon, Danforth, Ellsworth, Hall, Hersey, Horton, How- ard, Kilbourn, Lloyd, Pratt, Reed, Richardson, Sargent, Smith, Stockwell, Thayer, Thurston and Whitmore. The secretary presented and read the report of the gypsy moth committee to the Legislature. The Chairman. You have heard the report of your com- mittee. It is now in the hands of the Board. What will you do with it ? Mr. W. B. Barton (of Dalton). I move that it be accepted and adopted. Prof. C. H. Fernald (of Amherst). Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen : I firmly believe, if the money the committee has asked for from year to year had been promptly granted, the gypsy moth would to-day be entirely exterminated. That is not a guess ; it is the result of a careful examination and study of the whole question. Since it has not been done, we have to meet the problem where No. 4.] SPECIAL MEETINGS. 15 we find it. Allusion has been made to the estimate I made several years ago about the time and amount of money required to exterminate the moth. For two years past we have received the sum indicated in that estimate, lacking $10,000. Such substantial progress has been made that it seems to confirm the opinion that I have expressed. So strongly does it seem to confirm that, that I feel like pre- senting it again, — that, if the Legislature will appropriate the money for the time indicated, it will bring about the desired result, if managed as it has been by your committee in the past. I made the estimate after a careful study of the territory and of the work for a number of years, and of the insect, and have asked for the opinion of another man, Dr. L. O. Howard, who has been referred to. I wrote him last winter, during the session of the Legislature, to find out what he thought of that estimate. He wrote me in reply a letter which has not been published, and which I think will appear in my report. I was very glad to have an outside man, a man who stands as high in entomology as be does, and who has no personal interest in the matter other than the wish that extermination might be accomplished, give that opinion, agreeing with mine. Dr. Howard, as many of you well know, has been sent here from year to year by the general government to inspect this work. No entomologist has spent so much time in the territory, going over the entire work, as Dr. Howard has ; and he has given his opinion from year to year, first in the form of a bulletin published by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, and this fall he visited the work, and has written me in reply to my question as to his impressions of the work this fall. We have in these letters the opinion of the man who stands highest in economic entomology in this country, and when we say that, we can say of the whole world. There is nothing touches a man any more closely than dollars and cents. The question comes in here. Will it pay? How much will it cost a farmer in the extreme western part of the State, who is least of all likely to be afiected by the moth, it will be so long before it reaches him? An appro- priation of $200,000 is less than J^ of a mill on a dollar. If a man is taxed for $5,000 worth of property, his portion 16 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. of that 1200,000 will be 41 cents and 6 mills. Suppose a young man should take a farm when twenty-one years of age, and stay until he is sixty-one. If that tax went on during that time, the sum total for the forty years would be about $16. You cannot clear a single tall elm, miaided, for that sum of money; if you can, you can do better than I. You cannot go through a row of ordinary apple trees and clear the gypsy moth from it for $16, and clear it thoroughly. You are simply paying a premium to the State to protect you from this insect. You pay some insurance company a larger premium than that to protect your buildings from fire. Are you willing to allow this insect to come over into this beautiful territory and devastate this valley, and you have to fight it yourselves, when the State can do it so much better and cheaper than you can do it? If, on the other hand, the State will exterminate the insect, as the Board of Agri- culture is working to have it do, how much better that will be. I believe this is a matter that you should consider your- selves, individually. Is it cheaper for you to pay a tax and have the insect exterminated, or let it go and you fight it yourselves ? Mr. N. B. Baker (of Savoy). When I came on the Board there was no one more skeptical in regard to the gypsy moth. I live in a town in the north-western part of the State, in a place where we have never been troubled with the gypsy moth. I went onto the infested grounds with the committee and some of the members of the Board three years ago this coming winter, and I saw the men at work. I became much interested, because I knew when I went back home the people would question me in regard to the gypsy moth. I saw what the men were doing. I thought they ought to cut the woods down and burn them up. It seemed to me that that would wind up the whole business. They told me that the owners did not want the trees cut, and they had to use other methods. I tell you I have become con- verted in regard to this gypsy moth matter. I know that pest as I have seen it in Maiden. No better class of men ever worked for the State than the men employed by the Board of Agriculture. There wasn't any " funn}'' " work. The roll was called in the morning, and they went to work No. 4.] SPECIAL MEETINGS. 17 and worked for business. Some of the men are not chop- pers, but they are a good class of men. Mr. Augustus Pratt (of North Middleborough) . It was suggested to the gypsy moth committee last evening, and it met my views, that more information in regard to this pest 1)6 sent out throughout our Commonwealth at our farmers' institutes. Probably many of the agricultural societies rep- resented here will hold institutes early in the season. It seems to me there is a great lack of information throughout the Commonwealth in regard to the work, and in regard to this dangerous pest if it is allowed to escape. The sugges- tion is made that, at these farmers' institutes, held early in the season, speakers provided by the Board present this sub- ject. I suggest that it would be advisable for the Board of Ao-riculture to recommend that this matter be brought before the societies early in the season. Mr. C. E. Parker (of Holden). I would like to empha- size one point in this report that says that Congress should take hold and do this work. We need not only to have information distributed throughout the Commonwealth, but that ever}' member of this Board should make a personal application to the Senators of Massachusetts and the Repre- sentatives in Congress to take hold of this work with Massa- chusetts. What is everybody's business is no one's. It seems to me the matter should be brought to the attention of Congress. Now that the Spanish war is off our hands, it seems to me that something can be done. I believe Massa- chusetts ought not to go on with this work alone. When I was in the Legislature, my opinion was that Massachusetts would not always go on paying $200,000 a year. I believe Congress should take hold of the matter. I think some measures to bring that about otiffht to be taken. Secretary Stockwell. Measures have been taken, and the Cono;ressmen have been on the g-rounds. We have not time to discuss this now, without taking the time belonging to the lecturer of the morning. Voted, unanimously, to accept and adopt the report of the committee. Voted, That the Board of Agriculture recommends to each of the agricultural societies that at their next farmers' insti- 18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. tute they engage a speaker to present the subject of the gypsy moth to the people. Voted, To adjourn the business meeting to 9 a.m., Thursday. Westfield, Dec. 7, 1899. The adjourned meeting was called to order by Chairman Wood. The secretary presented the credential of Mr. H. H. Sigourney of Oxford, elected by the Oxford Agricultural Society to fill out the unexpired term of Mr. J. W. Stock- well, resigned. Voted, That the credential of Mr, Sigourney be accepted, and that he be admitted as a member of the Board. The secretary presented the credential of Mr. John G. Avery of Spencer, elected by the Spencer Farmers' and Mechanics' Association to fill out the unexpired term of Mr. J. Elton Green, resigned. Voted, That the credential of Mr. Avery be accepted, and that he be admitted as a member of the Board. The hearing on the request of the Oxford Agricultural Society for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of the unanimous vote of the society, passed at its annual meeting, to sell a part of its real estate, being in order, the matter was heard. It appearing that the action of the society was accord- ing to law and properly advertised, and no person appearing in opposition to the request of the society, it was Voted, That the Board of Agriculture approves of the vote of the Oxford Agricultural Society, passed at its annual meet- ing, Nov. 3, 1899, to sell a joortion of its real estate, in accordance with the requirements of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890. The secretary presented the request of the Berkshire Agri- cultural Society for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of its vote at a special meeting, duly called for the purpose, No. 4.] SPECIAL MEETINGS. 19 on Nov. 29, 1899, " That the president and treasurer be and hereby are authorized and empowered to borrow the sum of $2,000, or such lesser sum as may seem to them necessary, to be used in meeting the indebtedness of the society, and to sign, execute and deliver, to secure the payment of said sum, a deed of mortgage of the real estate of the society, subject to the mortgages now existing on said real estate." It appear- ing that the action of the society was according to law and properly advertised, and no person appearing in opposition to the request of the society, it was Voted, That the Board of Agriculture approves of the vote of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, passed at its special meeting, as above quoted, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890. Secretary Stockwell. The matter of the gypsy moth that was brought up at the last meeting is now in order, and I move that the consideration of the matter of its extermi- nation before Cons^ress be deferred to the annual meeting of the Board, at Boston, January 9. The motion was seconded, and it was so voted. Secretary Stockwell. I have received from the Massa- chusetts Fish and Game Protective Association a letter, re- questing that we appoint one or more delegates to meet their members and representatives of other sportsmen's and farmers' clubs in convention at the Copley Square Hotel, Boston, on Thursday, Dec. 14, 1899. I move that Messrs. Ellsworth of Worcester and Thurston of Swansea be th© delegates to this convention. The motion was seconded, and it was so voted. The Chair. The time for our regular meetinsr has arrived. Mr. A. M. Lyman of Montague, representing the Massachu- setts Forestry Association, has made application, and we have granted his request, to make a short statement in regard to its work. Mr. Lyman. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, and people of western Massachusetts especially : I have been re- quested by the executive officers of the Massachusetts For- 20 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. estiy Association, which is more familiarly known in the eastern part of the State because of the services it has ren- dered in connection with the gypsy moth work and in other ways, to bring this matter before you. Laws have been passed that provide that tree wardens shall be elected in every town at the annual meeting. We want you to see that the right kind of men are elected to that office. They are to pro- tect especially the shade trees. I am very much interested in this work, myself. I have looked after it for many years. We ought to co-operate with this association. I think it would be a benefit to us to do so. Mr. Lyman then read the following : The Massachusetts Forestry Association is an institution for our benefit in pro- moting and protecting our interests in that which is consid- ered so valuable and beautiful in adorning the highways of the whole State. And especially to-day we wdsh to interest many in western Massachusetts, who hardly realize how near we have come, and may yet, to having our ornamental shade trees destroyed. Mr. J. G. Avery (of Spencer). As I understand it, these laws are for the protection of shade trees by the roadside. We had a very fine oak tree by the watering trough, and the man who owned it cut it. In hot days people used to rest their horses under the tree. I understand that the preven- tion of the destruction of trees like that is what is to be looked after. Mr. M. A. Morse (of Belchertown). I would like to say that, as I understand it, the Forestry Association has nothing to do with woodlands. You have a right to cut your wood- lands, outside of the limits of the highway ; but you have not, under the new law, a right to cut shade trees within the limits of the highway, without getting permission of the tree warden, if tagged. Mr. Lyman. Where the woodland comes down to the highway, the trees within the limits of the highway are under the protection of the tree warden, and can be tagged or nailed. Mr. Smith (of West Springfield). It seems to me that the vital matter has not been touched. If a tree is tagged. No. 4.] SPECIAL MEETINGS. 21 and is attacked by the elm-leaf beetle, for instance, is the tree warden responsible for the damage done by the beetle ? Must he protect the trees ? Mr. Morse. I should say no, but I do not like to make a statement when I am not positive.* Adjourned. * The Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, under the provisions of chapter 196 ot the Acts of 1890, as amended by chapter 49 of the Acts of 1891 and chapter 147 of the Acts of 1892, has furnished from the office of the secretary of the Board approximately 220,000 M spikes, with accompanying washers, to the cities and towns within the Commonwealth, since December, 1891. During 1899 M spikes and washers were furnished on request to thirteen towns. The law designates that these spikes shall be procured and furnished by the secretary of the Board of Agriculture to the mayor and aldermen of the cities and the selectmen of the towns, and that the trees so designated shall be " trees within the limits of the highways for the purposes of ornament and shade." It is further stated that " This act shall not apply to orna- mental or £hade trees whose preservation is now provided for by chapter fifty-four of the Public Statutes and the acts amendatory thereof." PUBLIC WII^TER MEETING Board of Agricultube, WESTFIELD. December 5, 6 and 7, 1899 PUBLIC WINTER MEETING OF THE BOAED, AT WESTFIELD. The annual public winter meeting of the Board was held in Columbia Hall, Westfield, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, December 5, 6 and 7. The weather conditions were extremely favorable, and the meeting was a successful one. The opening session was called to order by Secretary Stockwell, who said : It is fitting and proper and according to our usual custom that we look to the Divine Master for guidance and aid in the work and discussions of this meeting. I will call upon the Eev. R. B. Esten to offer prayer. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Esten. Secretary Stockwell. We come to this beautiful town at the request of its people, to hold this our annual winter meeting. We will first listen to an address of greeting by the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Mr. Chas. H. Beals. Mr. Beals. It is with a great deal of pleasure that Ave welcome you to our town. We trust that your visit with us will be pleasant and beneficial. Like all towns in this northern latitude, our town is not at its best. Our lawns and streets are our pride in the summer. Our factories are all busy ; our people are well employed. We invite you to go through our mills and factories. This town is the centre for whip manufacturing. More whips are made here than in any other town in the world. We manufacture three-fourths of the whips used in this country, most of them being sold and used in this country. We feel very proud of our schools, and we invite you to visit them. We have in our town the State Normal School. We think there is none better in the State. If you have daughters who wish to fit themselves for teachers, they cannot do better than to come to our normal school. 26 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. We hope your visit will be so pleasant that you will want to come again. We hope that you will have a good time, and that it will be beneficial to all. Secretary Stockwell. Mr. E. W. Wood, second vice- president of this Board, will respond to the address of wel- come by Mr. Beals, and will hereafter have charge of these meetings as the presiding officer. Mr. Wood. I desire to express, in behalf of the members of the Board, our thanks to the gentleman who has preceded me for this cordial welcome. It has been the practice of the State Board of Agriculture, since 1863, to hold, in some part of the Commonwealth, what we term a " winter meeting." The management of these meetings and the place of holding them are decided at the annual meeting held in January, After the decision of the location, a committee consisting of the delegates living nearest the location is appointed to make the arrangements for the meeting. These meetings have been held in this form since 1863. The work of the committee has been to make all preparations for the meeting, l)y selecting the topics, and these have been selected with a view to the loca- tion where the meeting is to be held. Such topics as will interest the majority of farmers in the vicinity are selected. The committee also procures the speakers to address the meeting. The object in securing speakers has been to get men who, either from practical experience or scientific knowledge or both combined, are competent to give instruc- tion on the themes they discuss, which Avill be of practical value to the farmers throughout the State. In coming to W^estfield, our farmers understand that they come to a part of the State most favorably located for agri- cultural interests. - Our farmers who come from the eastern part of the State, where portions of the soil are so encum- bered with rocks and boulders as to be cultivated with great difficulty, and where other portions of the soil are so shallow and light that a crop almost entirely depends on the fertilizer applied, — when they come to look into the Connecticut valley, where they see the wide, level fields, where the plough is not disturbed by a stone, where you need to use but a small quantity of fertilizer, it is rather discouraging to No. 4.] ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 27 them. They look upon you as having your fields laid in pleasant places. The husbandman who looks over this western portion of the State can hardly refrain from a feeling of envy as he sees the ideal places for orchards, especially for that most important Kew England fruit, the apple, which is every year coming to hold a more and more important place in the balance sheet of the farmer at the close of the year. The interests in and benefits from this meeting depend very largely upon the local farmers and others interested in agriculture ; and, from our experience in this immediate vicinity, where some of the largest meetings of the Board have been held, we have every reason to believe that this meeting will be no exception, — that there will be a good attendance, and that the speakers who have been requested to give lectures during the meeting will be able to interest the farmers and others who may attend, and that the meeting will not only prove interesting but beneficial to the agricult- ure of the State. We will now listen to an address of welcome by Mr. H. K. Herrick, president of the Union Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society of Blandford. Mr. Herrick. I am very happy to meet with you and welcome you here. It gives me pleasure to do so as a rep- resentative of the Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society. And yet I have regrets, because I am trying to fill a position assigned to another, as you will see by the pro- gramme. Mr. C. M. Blair looked forward to this meeting with pleasure, but on account of illness he is unable to be here. You may rest assured his mind and heart are with you. The Union Society which I represent is a thrifty one. It has a membership of over twelve hundred. Its fair grounds are situated upon the hill-top, from which views can be had for miles in any direction. Its light cannot be hid, if it would. The soil of that section is adapted mainly to hay and grass, corn, potatoes and fruit. From the hay and grass are raised some of the finest steers and oxen, with nearly all of the leading breeds of cows. An inspection of the secretary's entry books would have shown a list for premiums of over five hundred head of neat stock at the last annual fair. 28 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Twenty-five years ago the State Board of Agriculture had its public winter meeting at Westfield. It was my first ex- perience at these meetings, and I verily believe it was a source of some good to me. I hope this meeting may be an influ- ence for good to the farmers of this section of the State. We believe the present plan of annual State aid and the representation by one delegate from each thrifty society to be the correct one. It is with pleasure that I am permitted, in behalf of the Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society, to offer to the Hon. William R. Sessions, late secretary of the Board, our great esteem and respect. We feel he has been a friend in deed. We trust that the present incumbent will be to the farmers of Massachusetts an avenue for benefits financially. Farmers of this and adjoining towns, this meeting is yours. It is for you to avail yourselves of this oppor- tunity of participating in discussions and submitting ques- tions. I trust the deliberations of this meeting will be fruitful in results. And now again I desire, in behalf of the Union Society, to extend to you, members of the State Board, a cordial welcome. The Chair. We will listen to a response l)y General Appleton, a member of the Board by appointment of the Governor. General Appleton. I take pleasure in saying only a few words in response to the welcome hy the president of the Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society. It was my pleasure to exchange with the delegate from this society, Mr. Blair, who came to the Essex Society when I had the honor of being its president, and I, as delegate, had the honor and pleasure of going to their society as inspector some years ago. I think the spirit shown by Mr. Blair is indicative of the feeling of the Board and of the societies. I know we both in our reports endeavored to say those words and give that advice that would be helpful and critical but not severely critical. It gives me pleasure to speak to you as an appointee of the Governor, and to come to this town of AVestfield and see it, as I have never had the opportunity before, except as I rushed No. 4.] EESPONSE BY GEN. APPLETON. 29 through on a train. It impresses me as having beautiful and attractive grounds and streets. As to the Board of Agriculture, I am sure the responsi- bilities are very great upon us. When I started to write down a few words, I thought of my knowledge of the Board through the local society since 1870, and my connection with it, and if I could not say something without notes I had better sit down and leave the Board and everything else. To-day the responsibilities of the Board are great, and the first thought that came to me as I sat down was the first lines of a hymn that Mr. Esten will recall, " A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify." That is the position of the Board of Agriculture. The spirit with which that charge should be executed is in the last words. Those connected with the Board know that the Board executes the laws of the Com- monwealth that are put into its hands to carry out. It also works for legislation in ways which it thinks will be for the interests of the Commonwealth. It has been my privilege to travel about this Common- wealth a great deal, and over the country and in other coun- tries, and I know the beauties of this good old State by comparison. I know of its natural beauties in comparison with other parts of the country. We look up the history of Westfield, and we find that the diversity of surface is as great as that in any other part of the Commonwealth. How difierent are the conditions to-day from what they were when this Board was started. What have we to draw upon ? What have we to help us in our agricultural efforts ? In the early days we did not have the Department of Agri- culture at Washington, with all its details and with all the expenditures there for our good that we have to-day. It is for us to draw upon, and they are ready to come and help us. We have our agricultural college for our young men to go to, to get an education on an agricultural basis that will train their minds for any course they may adopt. They get knowledge that will help them to advance and ennoble them. You w ill agree with me that our schools are best if taught on the same plane of instruction. Is it not true that the early training of the mind to cultivate the powers of observation, which is a great basis, cannot be brought about by widely 30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. different courses of instruction ? If the parties did not leave the home district, could they not by some course be better suited to remain in these districts to their best financial good? It seems to me that the study of entomology and botany and such subjects will best promote the powers of observation. I assure you, on behalf of the State, that we are delighted to come to AVestfield, and believe the meeting will be pro- motive of great good. During the past year we have had in the Commonwealth a meeting in Boston called the Farmers' National Congress ; and I think the proceedings of that meeting, soon to be issued and paid for by an appropriation made by the Legislature, and printed in an easily readable form, will command yo\ir approval as to usefulness, and I advise you to seek them. The Chair. An address of welcome by Mr. J. D. Cadle, president of the Westfield Board of Trade. Mr. Cadle. It would seem utterly unnecessary for me, after the cordial greeting you have received from the chair- man of the selectmen, to welcome you. Yet it is a pleasant duty, in behalf of our Board of Trade, to welcome you here. The man with the hoe, with the plough, as is the case with some of you ; but as I look into some of your faces you savor more of the study, or the library, or the platform. I rather think some of you may be situated as I am. I have the honor of being a member of the most noted fox club in New England ; I have the honor of being one of its chief officers. I never saw a fox in my life except in a cage, and I have never shot a gun since I came to years of discretion. I think some of you agriculturists are of that type. But whether you are theoretical or practical farmers I do not care, — I welcome you heartily to thia our beautiful town. When it was created, God saw it and said it was good. I regret that you cannot see our chief beauties. At this season our town is not at its best. We welcome you with whole soul. Years ago we tilled our soil and raised cattle that brought us into prominence throughout the country. To-day I regret to say that, of the eight million valuation of this county, less than one million is in the farms. Our factories for manufacturing bicycles, church organs and many other lines of manufacture have No. 4.] RESPONSE BY WALTON HALL. 31 usurped our agricultural products. Go with me less than five miles from here and I will show you a so-called abandoned farm. It has not been cultivated for twenty-five years. 1 believe it can be made productive if properly conducted. We are proud of our industries, and of those I speak. Others may tell you of our agricultural interests. We are proud of our schools, we are proud of our State institutions. Years and years ago, generations ago, those farmers, those strong, vigorous, whole-souled men, builded better than they knew when they laid the foundations of our institu- tions. They saw there should be of the town's income a large amount given to educational institutions. As the town expanded, our educational institutions expanded. We have nothing to which we point with more pride than to these educational institutions. We are proud of our industries ; we are proud of our farmers ; we are proud that they remain to till the soil, that they have not left the farms. And so we welcome you, and believe there is a work for you to perform in this community to-day, to aid in the interests of our agricultural products. I understand from one of the speakers that you met here twenty-five years ago. Westfield to-day is very different from what it was then. Twenty-five years ago the fields that were cultivated are to-day covered with factories employing five hundred to six hundred hands. But to-day we have farms to be cultivated and improved ; and I welcome you, and I trust this meeting- will be productive of good. Again, in behalf of the Board of Trade, in behalf of our industries, I welcome 3^ou. The latch-string of each factory, each store and school and each farm hangs out for your pull- ing, and we invite you to enjoy them. The Chair. The response will be by Mr. Walton Hall, member of the Board from the Marshfield Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Mr. Hall. It is one of the pleasant things in a farmer's life to know that, go where he will, he will find a warm spot for him in the hearts of the people ; and the warmth of your welcome, Mr. President, and the warmth of the welcome of the good people of your thriving town were not unexpected by the members of the Board of Agriculture. 32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. I might take your time to tell you of the beauties of West- field as I have seen them, of your people, well clothed and intelligent looking, whom I have met on your streets, and tell you of the names of the men who have given so freely of their time for the best interests of the people, and have done so much to make Westfield the model New England town she is, but I am sure you would not care to listen to me while I read a list of the members of the Westfield Board of Trade. It will be one of the sorrows of my life that my children are boys, and that I have no girls to send to Westfield to educate in your girls' normal school, especially since I have been told that the members of the Board of Trade are bachelors. But I have not come here to praise Westfield or her people, l)ut to tell you of the many beautiful things in the farmer's life, and of the advantages the farmers have over the rest of mankind. Whittier, the favorite poet of the American farmer, the one who lies the closest to their hearts, tells us — Give fools their gold, and knaves theii- jjower ; Let fortunes' bubbles rise and fall ; Who sows a field, or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is more than all. You tired business men and manufacturers of Westfield, you whose business cares have made old before your time, you who have grown nervous, irritable, unreasonable, hard to please, whose wives and children hear wath pleasure the street door slam behind you as you go to your work, let me beg of you to cease existing, even in a good town like West- field, and come to the country and live. You will find in the ownership of land, and in watching the grass as it starts in the spring-time, — the mantle that nature puts on when she arrays herself in all her beauty, with which she hides the scars that man makes on her bosom, and hides in his hay field, where he leaves them, the scythe and the rake, the mowing machine and the hay tedder of the careless farmer of the west, — that which the possession of no other property will give you. And creeping everywhere through our valleys and over our hills the grass will preserve the shape and keep No. 4.] RESPONSE BY WALTON HALL. 33 sacred the graves of the children of the farmer, when the monuments of marble and of granite that mark the resting places of the city's rich shall have crumbled into dust. You will find no place better to live in than among the farming people. There contentment makes her home, and the laws of God and man are respected and obeyed. Richer lands there are than those in New England. Richer are the lands of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines, but fertile as is the soil of these islands, there is one crop, worth more than all others, that they never will grow there, and that crop is the boys and girls that in the years that have gone have made the men and women of New England and this country what it is. You will find no pleasanter home to which to return than to the farmer's, where not only the wife and children, but the dogs, the horses and the cattle have a welcome for you. And it is for our children as much as for our own sake that we should be farmers ; these children who are the cords that have bound to- gether many a husband and wife who would have fallen apart but for them, and have kept the feet of many a man and many a woman in the straight and narrow path that would have strayed from it. For his children the farmer labors as do the men of no other calling ; for them he denies himself until he is often called niggardly, determined that they shall have educational advantages that were denied him, caring not if he never becomes known beyond the limits of his own town if his children can only become famous as great men, or, better, as good men, as good fiirmers. Our cities spend millions of dollars for parks, because they know that their children will be better men and women for being brought in contact with nature and the purity of her works. We want our children to have the same love that we have for this old mother earth that has soothed so many of us in our childish troubles as sobbing we have clung to her, — this old mother that holds in her embrace so many who were once so near and dear to us, and that is to provide a resting place for all, when, tired of care and trouble, weary from pain and the weight of years, we go to the rest, to the peace, that a well-spent farmer's life and a place in her bosom will give us. 34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The Chair. Grood Fellowship of the Grange, by C. M. Gardner, lecturer Westfield Grange. Mr. Gardner. After the triple welcome that has been given you, it is needless for me to say that you are welcome to Westfield. You have heard from our chief officer, who has offered you greeting ; the president of the Board of Trade has offered you the same word of greeting in behalf of the mercantile interests of Westfield ; while from Blandford has come to you the assurance that this welcome is not only from Westfield, but from all western Massachusetts. And so it remains for me as a deep privilege to bring to you the good fellowship of the grange. I speak to many who are members of the grange or the order of Patrons of Husbandry, and to some who are not members, but who ought to be. An organization like ours is worthy the support of every man and every woman who believes in the true things of life. Westfield is very much a grange centre. It has No. 20, with two hundred members, representing as good people as there are in Westfield. But I speak to you for a large circle of granges that surround us on every hand, — Southampton, West Springfield, Huntington, Montgomery and others, for which Westfield is the centre. What is the reason the grange has grown? Because of that for which it stands and for which its energies are devoted, — for a broader education of its members, for a better standard of public life, for a better and a purer home life. In our grange the literature used is one of the most important features. Topics of large im- portance are treated there, matters of history of the highest interest to our members. It is an important factor for a higher standard of public life. The grange stands, and always will, I l^elieve, for the greatest good to the greatest number. But it is not in this that the gfran^e is strono-est. It is strongest in that it makes for a better and a purer home life. In what other place will you find the father and the mother, the sons and the daughters, all combinins^ to transact business of a fraternal organization ? There they discuss their common interests. Westfield is a great fraternal town. There is a branch of almost every secret society known, and each new one suc- ceeds. In a year the societies paid out nearly $13,000 of No. 4.] RESPONSE BY F. W. SARGENT. 35 hard money. We can only imagine what that has meant in the midst of suffering and distress. This spirit prevails in Westfield to a very exceptional degree. I greet you in be- half of the fraternal spirit of Westfield. May your stay be so pleasant that you may go away with light hearts, rejoicing in the time spent here in a town not only with good streets and good schools and large manufactories and prosperous stores, but also a pleasant little city, by the softly falling river, where friendship and fraternity abound and hospitality to an unbounded degree. The Chair. Response by F. W. Sargent, member of the Board from the Amesbury and Salisbury Agricultural and Horticultural Society, Mr. Sargent. It gives me great pleasure to respond to the sentiment of good fellowship of the grange, so beauti- fully presented by the brother. The order of Patrons of Husbandry is one that takes a place in the agriculture of our State, and of our country, that cannot be filled by any other organization. It has become a power in our land. The meetings of the grange do much toward bringing the farmer and his family into close touch and close connection with his neighbors and his friends, and they are the means of educating them in a social and intellectual way. We meet to discuss not only the agricultural interests, but those of the countrj^ and of the nation in general. Our meetings are interesting, they are instructive, and to those w^ho are in the order they are a great benefit. As the brother has said, there are not enough of the farmers of Massachusetts members of the grange. I wish the order might be larger than it is. The home grange with which I am connected is located in the extreme north-eastern corner of the State. The grange there was indirectly started by a member of the Board of Agriculture. This member came to the western part of the State, and became so interested in the grange work that he went back home and organized the first grange in that section of the State in 1886. We now have eleven strong granges, with a membership of about fourteen hundred people. The work of the grange and the local agricultural society is always carried on in a most friendly manner. 36 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. One would hardly know how to get along without the other. The poem that Mr. Hall recited here was written by Mr. Whittier especially for our Amesbury Agricultural Society. I see in comino- to Westfield that we come to a strono; grange territory. It seems to me that the work of the agri- cultural societies and of the grange should be more largely carried on together. We are working for the same cause, — the promotion of agriculture and the education of the farmer, — though on slightly different lines. We are gathered here to-day from all or nearly all sec- tions of our State ; and I know I am expressing the feeling of the grangers in the section of the State where I live, when I bring a cordial greeting to those in this part of the State. Good fellowship in the grange will always be well recognized and supported. The Chair. We will now listen to an essay by Repre- sentative Merrick A. Morse of Belchertown, on " The gypsy moth in the Legislature." No. 4.J GYPSY MOTH IN THE LEGISLATURE. 37 THE GYPSY MOTH IN THE LEGISLATURE. BY MERRICK A. MORSE, BELCHE.RTOWN. The most undesirable and destructive emigrant ever brought to our shores is the gypsy moth. It is a complete counter- part of at least one of the plagues of Egypt, for did not the Lord say, " I will bring the locusts into thy coast ; and they shall cover the face of tiie earth that one cannot be able to see the earth ; and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field ; and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians." And we read that the locusts were so destructive that not a green thing was left in the trees, nor an herb in all the land of Egypt. Many of the best citizens of the district infested by the gypsy moth came before the committee on agriculture to testify that this insect had invaded their homes, that their houses and fences were literally covered, that door steps had to be swept before callers could enter, that it was impossible to walk the street without crushing these nauseating insects, and that real estate was depreciating in value. One man testified that he killed them morning, noon and night, without per- ceptibly lessening the number ; and if perchance one fell into a pail of water and remained only a few hours, horses refused to drink from that pail for several days. In riding through forests that are infested, they can be distinctly heard while eating, and the stench is anything but pleasant. From a sanitary stand-point, if from no other, the State should do all in its power to exterminate this pest. As the locusts of Egypt left no green thing in the tree nor an herl) in the field, so the gypsy moth in Europe has 38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. eaten every green thing in tracts of land larger than New England ; and, because they could not move to new fields, they actually died of starvation in such quantities that their dead bodies caused such a stench that the government had to come to the rescue, for fear it would breed a pestilence. In France, Germany and Russia, authorities are a unit in telling how orchards are bereft of every leaf and bud, and that forests are as bare in June as January. They also tell us how the gypsy moth is a veritable plague to agriculture, how the hopes of orchardists and agriculturists are destroyed and how people are actually driven from their homes. A distinguished German authority says, "Of destructive cater- pillars the gypsy moth may be mentioned first, as being the largest and most ravenous." I have mentioned a few things to show what this pest is doing in his native land. Now, the question is. Will he be as destructive in the United States? We were told last winter by scientific men that an insect transported to another country, if he thrives at all, thrives better in the new than in the old ; and our experience with the gypsy moth proves the assertion. What shall the State of Massachusetts do with this enemy of the tiller of the soil? Three propositions cover the whole ground : first, do nothing ; second, keep him where he is ; third, exterminate him. There were three dis- tinct classes of persons that came before our committee, the most of whom advocated the first proposition, — that is, do nothing ; let every individual care for his own premises, A few advised a small appropriation, — "just enough to hold them in check," was the way they expressed themselves. But the end aimed at by all these was the same, namely, to throw the burden onto the farmer. Some of these were persons of such a peculiar make-up, whose reasoning was so defective, whose conclusions were so erroneous and whose statements were so near misstatements, that they helped the cause they came to destroy. Let me give you two samples of their statements. One accused the employees of transplanting the moths, and, when pressed for a reason said: "A gang of men came to my orchard, and one of the men marched to a certain tree on which were moths, therefore he must have put them there." The fact No. 4.] GYPSY MOTH IN THE LEGISLATURE. 39 was that the trees on which moths were found were marked, and he also had a map of the whole orchard, showing these markings, and by looking on this map he could point to every tree on which a moth had ever been found. Another said a gang of men working near his house had a picnic. He admitted he did not see them, but heard them talking loud, therefore he thought they must be having a picnic. The men were moving brush, and it was shown to the com- mittee that they had anything but a picnic on that day. I mention these two cases, which are very mild ones, to show the kind of opposition the committee of the Board of Agri- culture has to meet. The second class of persons that came before us to oppose an appropriation were the discharged employees, and they were discharged for cause. From the very nature of the case very little need be said about their testimony, for I think it had very little weight with either the agricultural committee or the ways and means committee. Their effective work was done in the halls, where any kind of a story could be put in circulation ; and to the writer's knowledge such stories were used very wisely by the opposition to poison the minds of those who had not made an investigation of the work of the gypsy moth committee. The third class that came before us to oppose the ap- propriation was the Boston Market Gardeners' Association. These men seemed to look at this question from no broader stand-point than their own garden. They seemed to think that because they, with several hired men and a few acres of land that were under cultivation all the time, could keep the gypsy moth fairly well suppressed, the farmer, with one hired man and a hundred acres of land, could do the same. These men also thought each individual should look after his own premises. This is the German plan, and if a farmer fails to comply with the law, the government does the work and adds the cost to his taxes. While one of these gardeners was telling how easy it was to spray his trees (and, by the way, he had only a few), he was asked how he would spray woodland, where it was impossible to carry the spraying apparatus by team. His reply was, ♦' Two men can carry a barrel of water through such places." 40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Just imagine yourself going through swamps, climbing hill- sides, and crawling over ledges with a barrel of water, spraying every tree and bush, and when your supply of water is exhausted, going a mile, more or less, to refill your thirsty barrel. This same opposer of an appropriation said this work could be done for five dollars per acre. Even if it could be, just think what the cost to western Massachusetts would be each year. Just think of the hundreds of acres that would never be treated, and in a few years the dead trunks of the trees would be pointing heavenward like so many monuments, to remind us of our folly. And this mode of treatment would not destroy a single nest, and, as each nest will produce from three hundred to twelve hundred moths, it must be apparent to any fair-minded man that a second and sometimes a third application would be neces- sary. Such talk is as foolish as it would be burdensome. The advocates of such measures can only be likened to King Solomon's son, when he said, " My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." Reports were put in circulation that the management w^as influenced by politics. It was even said that one employee, and he an old soldier, was discharged because his Senator voted against an appropriation. The truth w^as, that the man was in such a condition that he was unfit for business, and one hundred employees knew it, and to preserve discipline he had to be discharged. I am sorry to say that some Repre- sentatives, from agricultural districts even, would listen to such stories, instead of searching for the truth. Any one who has any interest in shade trees, parks, forests, orchards or vegetation of any kind, should do what he can to influence his Senator and Representative to vote right in this important matter. Knowing the ins and outs of gypsy moth legislation in the House of 1899, I am convinced that some of the oppo- sition to an appropriation was aimed at the Board of Agri- culture. The suppression policj^, even if successful, would entail a tax upon future generations. This policy is simply the subterfuge of an enemy. By team and by rail the moth would be carried to other parts of the State, and in a few years w'ould become a national insect. We may as w^ell give up the work entirely, or exterminate this pest. No. 4.] GYPSY MOTH IN THE LEGISLATURE. 41 Can the gypsy moth be exterminated? The committee having charge of the work, after making it a study for sev- eral years, says it can be. Leading entomologists of the United States and Canada, some of wliom have made thorough investigations, commend the work of the committee, say the moth can be exterminated and advise the appropriation. In fact, entomologists have been employed by the opposition to inspect the work incognito, and, contrary to expectations, have made favorable reports and advised the appropriation. I learned that in 1894 there was a very thorough investigation made, by those unfriendly to the work, of all books and accounts, and the investigators became supporters of the committee and its work. In 1896 the Boston Scientific Society made an investigation, and recommended the full appropriation asked by the committee. In 1897 the Society for the Promotion of Agriculture made an investigation, and employed Professor Smith of New Jersey to inspect the work ; and his report sustained the committee's belief in the extermination of the moth, and recommended the full appro- priation. In 1898 the Massachusetts Forestry Association made a thorough investigation, and its secretary came before the committee on agriculture not only to commend the work of the Board, but to urge the appropriation asked for by the committee. He further testified that experts from Germany think that the work of the committee is correct and wisely carried on. He also said that marked progress had been made the past year, and the methods now being used would exterminate the moth. In 1893, the committee having charo^e of the work asked for $165,000; $100,000 was appropri- ated. In 1894, $165,000 was asked for; $100,000 was ap- propriated. In 1895, $200,000 was asked for; $150,000 was appropriated. In 1896, $200,000 was asked for ; $100,- 000 was appropriated. In 1897, $200,000 was asked for; $150,000 was appropriated. In 1898, $200,000 was asked for; $200,000 was appropriated. In 1899, $200,000 was asked for ; $200,000 was appropriated. I have no doubt but what there would be very few gypsy moths in Massachusetts to-day if the full amount asked for had been received during the years 1893 to 1897 inclusive. The last two years the full amount asked for has been received, 42 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. and such progress has been made toward extermination that in eight towns that have been infested not a moth was found last year, and in as many more only a very few were found, and in the otlier towns in the infested district tlie people say you can't find one moth where formerly hundreds could be found. All this progress has been made, notwithstanding the fact that the appropriations were made so late in the ses- sion that the egg-killing season had partly or wholly passed. One application of a mixture used for the purpose, applied to a nest by one stroke of a brush, will destroy several hundred eggs ; but, if allowed to hatch, it takes a long time to find the individual moths. Considering the disadvantages under which the Board of Agriculture has worked, it is surprising that so much has been accomplished ; and not one of these disadvantages would ever have existed, had it not been for ignorance or spite. The question was asked many times last winter, " Why don't you exterminate the potato bug?" When this bug first came from the mountains and began to prey upon the labors of man, an entomologist of Illinois asked Congress to appropriate $15,000, saying it could be exterminated with that amount. Congress laughed, and the potato bug multi- plied until he fills the land, costing this State alone nearly or quite $75,000 per year. The potato beetle is no more to be compared to the gypsy moth than the light of a tallow candle is to be compared to the brightest electric light. There were a few in the House of 1899 that talked economy when agricultural interests were being considered ; but, when some other matters that required larger appropriations were being discussed, were as quiet as a corpse. When $200,000 are appropriated for gypsy moth purposes, it costs the farmer 8 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property. An attempt to eradicate the gypsy moth from his place cost General Law- rence of Medford $3,000 in one year, and he met with such poor success that he came to the committee for help. If General Lawrence could not cope with the gypsy moth, how can the average farmer? Such epithets as " fraud," "humbug," were often applied to this important work ; and we occasionally read articles in newspapers published in western Massachusetts in which these terms occur. After listening to testimony for more No. 4.] GYPSY MOTH IN THE LEGISLATURE. 43 than two weeks, two committees, composed of some of the ablest men in the House and Senate, reported in favor of the appropriation. They saw nothing that looked like fraud, and they saw no liumbugs, unless it were some of those who appeared in opposition. Others said, send to Europe for parasites. There are parasites that feed on parasites, and it would require the careful experiments of an entomologist for several years to be at all sure of a parasite that would feed on the gypsy moth. Parasitical experience in Europe is very far from being successful. One other method resorted to by tne opposition to catch votes was the introduction of the following amendment : "The sum of $100,000 is hereby appropriated, to be ex- pended in exterminating the gypsy moth and the brown-tail moth. This sum shall be apportioned by the State Board of Agriculture among the cities and towns which are infested by the said moths, or either of them, in such proportions as they shall deem just; but, no city or town shall receive its part of this appropriation until it has raised for the same purpose a sum equal to one-third of that apportioned to it as aforesaid. The said sums, both those apportioned as afore- said and those raised by the said cities and towns, shall be expended by and under the direction of the said cities and towns for the said purpose." Under this amendment, if any city or town failed to make an appropriation, the whole plan of extermination, or even suppression, would fail. If one section of a city or a town was cleared and a contiguous section of another was neglected, nothins; would be accom- plished. The gypsy moth has no respect for boundary lines. No city or town has the facilities or the knowledge to suc- cessfully cope with so formidable an adversary as the gypsy moth. I became convinced last winter that no business of the State received better thought, closer attention or more economical management than the matter under discussion. It is your duty and mine to stay up the hands of the Board of Agriculture and its secretary in the tremendous efibrts they are putting forth in behalf of the agricultural interests of the grand old Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Adjourned to 2 p.m. U BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Afternoon Session. The meeting was called togeth'er by Chairman Wood, who said : The time has arrived for the meeting to come to ordero Mr. W A. Kilbourn of Lancaster will preside this afternoon. Mr. Kilbourn. No department is more important than that which claims our attention this afternoon. Dairying stands at the head, and no man is better informed or better able to give you instruction than the gentleman to whom we have the pleasure of asking you to listen this afternoon, — Ex-Secretary Sessions. Mr. Sessions. You are well aware that my connection with agriculture for the last dozen years has been more theoretical than practical. In previous years I did some- thing at farming, and did the best I could. Since then there have been a great many changes, and a great deal of new light has appeared ; a great deal of investigation has been carried on since the time of my active dairying. What I have to present to you, you must receive remembering those conditions. No. 4.] DAIRYING. 45 DAIRYING. BY HON. WM. R. SESSIONS, SPRINGFIELD. It was with great reluctance that I accepted the urgent invitation of your secretary and committee to address you on this subject. It was not because the subject lacked importance, or was untimely, for dairying is easily the most important branch of agriculture in Massachusetts, if not in the United States. It was because, from my limited experience in days gone by, I feared I would be able to throw no new light upon a subject that has been treated before this august Board, within the last few years, by the foremost experts of this country and Canada. I have, as you know, in the past had some- thing to do with making up programmes and securing speakers for your annual public meetings ; and I accept the invitation as a compliment from you on my success in providing you with speakers, from time to time, who have interested and instructed you and the dairy farmers of the State in matters pertaining to the various phases of the dairy question. This subject has been treated, by one and another, on almost all points ; and I may be pardoned for saying that in the annual volumes of "Agriculture of Massachusetts," for the last twelve years, may be found a library of instruction on dairy- ing that will well repay the careful study of every man who keeps a cow. Importance of the Industry. As I have said, dairying is much the most important branch of agriculture in this State. By the last State census the value of the agricultural products of Massachusetts for the census year was $52,880,431. Of this total value, one-third, or $16,234,049, was that of dairy products. More than one- third of the remainder, or $12,491,090, were hay, straw and 46 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. fodder, which were largely produced for and used in our dairies. Massachusetts is a State of cities and large towns. Its population is almost entirel;f made up of consumers of agricultural products. Less than nine percent of its inhabi- tants are engaged in agriculture, while the other ninety-one per cent depend entirely upon the market for their food, of course including milk, butter and cheese. The sale of milk for consumption as milk is the most important branch of Massachusetts dairying, and it must in the nature of things so continue. The demand for milk is constantly increasing. But there are many farms on the hills of western Massa- chusetts so remote from markets or railroad trains that the sale of milk is impracticable, and it must be used for butter making. The demand for prime butter increases with the increase of population. Therefore dairying must continue to be the main dependence of a large majority of Massa- chusetts farmers. Where and how to get the Cows. It is the universal complaint that profits are small, and that many producers hardly get a new dollar for an old one. It is well known to all dairymen that a good cow, or one giving a large yearly yield, will profit her owner, while the average cow will hardly pay for her keep. This truth has been demonstrated by lecturers and essayists before this Board, and figures given to illustrate the fact. I wdll not take your time to again argue the case, but will assume that you all accept it as an axiom in the dairy business. We must have good cows. It is possible to purchase them, and a good judge with a long purse may in time get together a paying herd ; but he will meet with many disappointments, and will be obliged to tr}^ and try again. Those who sell are loath to sell their best. The cow that kicks over the milk pail, gores the peaceable members of the herd, jumps the pasture fence, has had an attack of garget, has a slight cough or has some other trick or imperfection, is always for sale. Still, with the able and minute directions of Hoard, Twitchell and others in mind, a good trader should have courage to try the market for cows that will pay a profit. In fact, that is the only source of immediate relief. No. 4.] DAIRYING. 47 But, remembering that "like begets like," it is the part of wisdom to endeavor to perpetuate the qualities of the satisfactory cow by raising her female progeny. With this course in mind, the dairyman should be most critical in the choice of a bull ; only thoroughbreds should be considered, and the one selected should be from an ancestry that has the milking qualities desired to be perpetuated in the herd. To decide whether a cow is in all respects satisfactory, a record of daily yield should be kept through the entire year, and the quality should be ascertained. The Babcock test fur- nishes a simple, inexpensive and reliable method for testing the quality of milk. By regularly testing the product of his dairy, and eliminating the cows that give poor milk, the milk farmer may be saved from anxiety about the visits of the agents of the Dairy Bureau and State Board of Health, and also enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that he is furnish- ing his customers with what they pay for. The raising of calves goes naturally with butter dairying, as the skim-milk is a waste product that can be profitably utilized in feeding the young animals. With the present demand for cows and the prices that good ones command, this incidental to butter dairying may become a large factor on the credit side of the business. A regular system with careful attention to all details may easily provide a yearly income from the sale of cows, and not the least advantage will come from the opportunity to retain the best in the home herd after trial shall have proved which are superior. My experience has proved that skim-milk, with suitable additions of flaxseed, either in the form of seed or meal, wheat middlings and bran, oat and corn meal, will grow calves creditably, and produce better cows for dairy pur- poses than new milk nursed from the mother cow. The young heifers will not be as fine show animals, but will be all right for a working dairy. The milk-selling dairyman is at a disadvantage in raising calves, because the skim-milk is lacking. In most cases he could not profitably raise cows for market ; but I believe he would find it to his lasting advantage to raise nearly or quite a sufficient number to keep his herd at the maximum, and thus escape the disappointment and loss he must meet in 48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. purchasing cows in market. Calves can ])e raised without milk after the first two weeks ; and, with close attention and good judgment, very little milk is absolutely necessary after the first week. The above-named grain feeds must be the main dependence. For the first few weeks they must be fed in the form of porridge, but it is surprising how quickly a young thing will learn to eat these feeds dry. When they have accomplished that, the field is won. A leaf from the experience of Hon. Thomas P. Root, a Barre milk farmer, may be of value as an illustration. In the summer of 1886 I saw in his barn fifteen heifer calves growing finely, while he was sending all his milk to Boston daily. In reply to my inquiry, "How do you do it?" he said: "I teach them to drink with new milk. As soon as they begin to drink, I sprinkle a little old-process oil meal into the milk, in order to have them acquire a taste for it. As soon as they have learned to love it, which will be in a very few days, they will drink almost anything that has the taste of oil meal. For a regular diet for the calf after it has passed that point, I take one part of oats and one of wheat bran by weight, have them ground together, then add one part oil meal, mix well together, and cook by putting it into cold or lukewarm water and stirring as it is heating, to pre- vent lumping. I watch the condition of the bowels, as the danger in raising calves without milk is almost entirely in this direction. Careful variation of the amount of feed will almost always control this trouble." These fifteen calves were shown at the fair of the Worcester County West Agricultural Society in 1886, and again in 1887 as yearlings. They were a fine lot in 1886, and in 1887 were remarkably good, and as even a lot as I ever saw together. They were all added to Mr. Root's herd of milkers at two and a half to three years of age. He assured me that nearly every one proved a fine milker, and that the experiment was eminently satisfactory and profitable. He knew them and they knew him, and they were at home when they began their life work. The owner was saved the disappointments that always come with a lot of purchased cows, and the young cows escaped the excitement, nervous strain and other evil eflTects that come with change of owner and home and the exposure in going No. 4.] DAIKYING. 49 to and from market. If we believe Governor Hoard's teach- ings on " the dairy temperament of cows," we shall be ready to ascribe very great importance to the last-mentioned factor in the matter. I am not giving a recipe for raising calves, but only indicating a course that has been successfully fol- lowed. In leaving this part of my subject, I must call your atten- tion to the fact that calves being raised in this way are in an artificial condition, and must have the best of care and closest attention. To succeed in this, as in any other business, one must have a taste for it. If a man can get no pleasure from his work, he will not be likely to make a marked success ; while, if he loves his work, the study, care and attention he will bestow upon it will insure success. This is as true in the care of the dairy herd as in the rearing of calves, and suc- cess in feeding the dairy cow is often quite as much dependent on the care and watchfulness of the interested owner as upon the system pursued. To keep a herd economically is a most important part of successful dairying. Economy is not par- simony, but judicious expenditure ; and a liberal but judicious system of feeding must be followed, if financial success is to be attained. Most Massachusetts dairymen follow the busi- ness because the cows furnish a home market for much of the produce of the farm. I believe that many dairymen neglect the opportunities that the farm afibrds for the production of cow feed. A fairly balanced ration must be fed, to insure a satisfactory yield of milk ; and it is easier to bring the nec- essary materials from the feed store than to grow them upon the farm. All that can be grown economically should be thus provided. Good pasture feed is the cheapest and best supply, in its season, if it can be always abundant. But this is impossible on the hill farms of Massachusetts, and arrangements should be made to supplement the pasture feed at any and all times when the supply is lacking in the least degree. The cow must always have sufficient food, without excessive labor in securing it ; but, to make the most of our pastures, the feed must be cropped when fresh and succulent, and they must be stocked with a sufficient number of animals to keep the feed closely cropped all over them. Our hill pastures have many spots where the feed is not the sweetest ; 50 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. and, if the cows can satisfy themselves on the part that grows the most palatable herbage, they will leave the less desirable untouched. If these places are not fed off in the beginning of the season, they will be entirely neglected, and left to grow up to ferns and brush. To get the most from the average Massachusetts pasture, a sufficient number of cows to feed it closely should be turned on it quite early in the season. The cows should always have a feed of hay at night for the first few days they are in the pasture ; then, to insure sufficient feed in all exigencies of weather and season, a supply of green or soiling feed should be planned for. A regular system of feeding is best in summer, as well as in winter; and the cows should have a daily feed in the stable, larger or smaller, as the supply of pasture feed varies in abundance. Sometimes a small feed of grain is all that is necessary ; but abundant provision for green feed should be made, for New England droughts have no settled habits, and may put in an appearance at any time from May to November. If the pasture feed is luxuriant, any surplus of green feed can be dried or ensilaged for winter use. The green feed should be fed at night, so that the cows may go to the pasture hungry ; otherwise they will lie down and spend the early morning in chewing the cud, and when they are ready to go to feeding the sun may be so hot on warm days that they will prefer lying in the shade to feeding short pastures, and so get little good from them. A grain ration in the morning would not have this effect. Those who have had experience in the dairying business know that, when the cows once drop off in yield, it is im- possible to bring them back again. It makes no diflerence how carefully you attend to them, you can never get them back again. If you keep them at their best, they will go through a season and furnish a very much larger yield than they will when a hap-hazard plan is followed. If there is plenty of food in the pasture, I would bring the cows into the stable every night, and feed them something, if not more than a pint of bran. If you are in the habit of leaving the cows in the yard and food becomes short in the pasture, you keep putting off feeding them, and the evil is accomplished before you know it. My point is to have a regular method No. 4. J DAIRYING. 51 of feeding, and pursue it in the summer just as well as in the winter. I believe this is the only way to get the most from a dairy cow. Eye sown in August or early September will furnish green feed as early as it is needed. Another sowing late in the season will provide sufficient to last until spring crops are ready. As soon as the soil can be worked in the spring, a patch of spring rye, another of barley and peas, or oats and peas, should be put in. Two or three weeks later, a second sowing of oats and peas will provide the necessary green feed, until corn from a patch of an early variety, planted as early as possible, is ready. The dependence for late summer and autumn should be corn, and an abundant supply should always be provided. The ground from which the early cuttings of rye and oats are made can be planted to corn, and that from which later cuttings are made may be sown to barley, which will make excellent feed after frost comes. All these crops should be grown on fertile or well- manured land, so as to insure an abundant yield. Cows much prefer sweet corn, and evergreen sweet corn will yield as much feed as any other variety. Many successful milk producers consider it preferable to any other sort for the main dependence. Rye should be cut before the head is grown. Corn should be planted thin enough to insure an ear on each stalk, and it is most valuable for feed after the ears are grown. To make a balanced ration, some concentrated feed rich in protein should be fed with the rank-grown soiling feed. Wheat bran, gluten meal, oil meal and cotton-seed meal are always in the market, and all are rich in protein. There are numerous other by-products of manufactures on the market, many of which are economical sources of protein. These articles vary in price from time to time, and the bulletins and reports of the experiment stations furnish the informa- tion that will enable the dairyman to select the feed that will furnish the needed protein at the cheapest rate. Much labor and thought have been expended by the experiment stations in efforts to discover crops that will be good substitutes for purchased feed stuffs rich in protein, and that can be economically raised on the farm. Such crops have been 52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. discussed in the station reports and in lectures and essays by professors ; and doubtless under favorable conditions something can be saved by raising and feeding soja beans, vetch, cow peas, Canada peas and clover. Clover should always be sown with grass seed on a dairy farm, and where it does well may be profitably raised for green fodder or ensilage. In this latitude the corn crop is God's best gift to the dairyman. It is a native of the country, and will always give a crop with the minimum amount of labor. As a feed it is suited to our climate, and is relished by the cows as grain, green feed, ensilage or dried fodder. The cows always find more in it than the chemist does. It can be preserved in the silo throughout the year in a succulent con- dition. It will furnish a greater amount of feed per acre under ordinary circumstances than any other crop. It will grow on all kinds of soil. It will respond to high manuring with a profitable yield. It will furnish the carbohydrates or heat-forming elements of cattle food in the very cheapest form. High authority has advocated that the dairyman's farm should produce all needed carbohydrates, and that the market should only be resorted to for the purchase of pro- tein. Professor Hills, in his admirable paper delivered before this Board last year, said that carbohydrates were grown upon the farm with relative ease ; but it was difiicult and usually impossible to grow enough protein upon the farm to provide a large number of dairy cows with a bal- anced ration ; that, since the bj^-products of several indus- tries are notably rich in protein and are sold at fairly reasonable prices, it is sometimes cheaper to buy this mate- rial than to raise it ; that, while the farm-growing of protein was to be encouraged, yet it was usually in the line of econ- omy to grow carbohydrates in as large amounts as possible, and to buy protein in order to supplement this growth, thus properly balancing the ration. I cannot leave the subject of providing feed for the dairy without urging the economy of storing more corn ensilage than is needed for winter feed. If properly put up, it can be kept indefinitely ; and in this way provision can be made against next season's drought, short pasture and short hay No. 4. J DAIRYING. 53 crop. Ensilage will do very well in place of green feeda, and in many cases can be more economically provided. This is the case when the land for green crops is at considerable distance from the barn. I have had very little experience myself with ensilage, but I can see no reason why a man would not be safe in putting up double the amount he needs for winter, and use it in case of a sunmier drought or short hay crop. If he does not happen to need it, he can use it the next year. Of course you understand me to say, "if properly put up, in a per- fectly constructed silo." If farmers and dairymen would act in that way, they would fortify themselves against such an unfavorable season as we have had the past summer. Some have said to me that it has been the worst year they have ever experienced. If every farmer had carried over a silo full of ensilage, it seems to me they would have been pre- pared to meet this season. The Pastuke Problem. Much has been said and written about the decadence of our hill pastures. It has been argued that the dairy cow has robbed the pasture ; and that the farmer, instead of return- ing the elements of fertility removed by the cow, has left the pastures to run out and grow up to wild growth and wood. If the pastures are stocked with a sufficient number of cows to consume the luxuriant growth of June feed and keep all parts of the pasture fed close throughout the season, and if these cows are fed in the stable to make up for what the pastures fail to provide in late summer and autumn, the cows will leave as much fertilizing material on the pastures as they remove in feed. The concentrated feeds recommended to balance up the green feed and ensilage are rich in fertiliz- ing elements. My own experience is that pastures treated in this manner improve year by year. Only a small annual outlay to prevent the brush from gaining possession and for reasonable care of the pastures is necessary to insure as good pastures as our fathers had in the early days. A few days ago I rode in sight of the old pasture where my father used to pasture ten cows. When we had a dry season they shrunk half the yield, and it affected the product 54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. for the rest of the year. When I began to run the busi- ness, I wanted to keep twenty cows; and so, after reading and studying other people's experiences, I decided to use grain feed somewhat in the way I have indicated here. I put twenty cows into the same pasture where my father kept ten. After liaying the first year, I went at the bushes. It was a tremendous task, — it was a mountain pasture. The next year there was better feed, notwithstanding there were twenty cows instead of ten. We cut the brush every year and the feed increased. I think if the fiithers could see the pasture to-day, they wouki say it was just as good as it was a hun- dred years ago. It certainly produces more feed than it did fifty years ago. The expense of cutting the brush was pretty severe the first year, but the annual expense grew less and less, and now we have to just clip here and there a bush. The point is, in feeding a cow in the stable, if the food is rich in fertilizing material, she leaves as much of the fertil- izing element on the pasture as she takes from it. Dairy cows also furnish fertilizing material to keep all parts of the farm productive, and this should be set to the credit side of the business. This point might be elaborated at length, and my subject would seem to justify such a course, but time will not allow it. Care of Cows. Cows should always be kept comfortable and happy. The best cows have a fine-strung, nervous organization, and are much more susceptible to bad influences than stolid beef or work animals. All the energies of such cows may be engaged in milk production ; and how foolish to allow them to be in part expended in long tramps in search of food or drink, in resisting cold, in warming ice water, in working up an extra amount of poor or unbalanced food, in counter- acting the effects of fright, abuse or discomfort of any kind. The moment a good cow is uncomfortable or unhappy from any cause, her product begins to diminish in quantity and quality. Cows are creatures of habit, and will accustom themselves to any reasonable conditions and surroundings. It is folly to assert that any single plan of management is in all respects the best Keep a prime cow in a state of No. 4.] DAIRYING. 55 perfect complacency, and with sufficient suitable food she will devote all her energies to the production of milk. Governor Hoard has told us that each cow has her own limit of production in quantity and quality, but we need not expect her to approach that limit unless all the circum- stances are favorable. Care or Dairy Products. Dealers in milk and consumers also often make bitter complaints about the uncleanly condition of their milk, and that it fails to keep well. This is a serious matter to pro- ducers, for, if the consumption of an article is to increase, it must give satisfaction to those that use it. All cows in a working dairy should be in perfect health, and be always kept in a placid state ; should be provided with clean, wholesome food and pure water ; should have pure air to breathe ; be kept clean and be milked regularly. The milk should be sacredly guarded from contamination by filth and foul air, and should be cooled as soon as possible. It should also be kept at an even, cool temperature, until it appears on the consumer's table. So much of this as is the part of the producer to attend to should be most scrupulously per- formed. The producer of milk that is to be made into butter at the creamery is in honor bound to take most scru- pulous care that the product of his dairy shall always leave his possession in perfect condition. If he does not take such care, he is defrauding his careful neighbor of a part of his rightful income. Every batch of poor or contaminated cream reduces the quality of the whole of which it forms a part. The great complaint of creamery managers is that the cream is not received in perfect condition, and that the consequence is reduction of quality and price of the butter. The private dairyman injures only himself in matter of price by his neglect ; but is it not an imposition upon the con- sumer to put upon the market an article that is inferior by reason of neglect to guard the milk and cream from contam- ination by filth and foul air? It is well known that milk is more easily injured by standing in impure air and in contact with foreign odors than any other article of food. Milkers are often neglectful. If scrupulous care is not taken to keep 56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the cows clean, dirt will get into the milk pail. If the milker is unclean in hand or clothing, there is danger that the milk will be contaminated. If the stable is ill-smelling and unventilated, the milk will absorb foul odors. If the milk is allowed to remain in contact with the atmosphere and subject to its changes of temperature, it will receive the seeds of decay, which quickly multiply and spoil it. In years gone by consumers were satisfied with tub butter in winter ; and the farmer could make his yearly product during the pasture season, and the market would take it at remunerative prices. That day is past. The market now demands new, sweet butter in winter, as well as in summer. The milkman must have a constant supply throughout the year. The day of profitable summer dairying has gone by. The progressive dairyman must provide an even supply for all seasons. The task is no holiday one. Papers on Dairying. In the beginning of this paper allusion was made to the value of papers on dairying contained in the last few volumes of "Agriculture of Massachusetts." In lookino- over the papers that have been presented at these meetings, I was surprised to find how much attention has been paid to this subject in the last dozen years ; and I was suri)rised to find how thoroughly all points at issue had been gone over, and also the valuable authority we had. Some of the gentlemen have come from long distances ; some have given their whole lives to dairy investigation ; others were practical men, who had made a success themselves in dairying. It occurred to me that perhaps a list of these papers might attract the attention of young men who had not attended the meetings and had not seen all the volumes of the reports of the Board of Agriculture. The list may be useful, as these volumes may be obtained by applying to secretary of the Board of Agriculture : — Ensilage in New England, 1887. Creameries, 1887. Milk farming, 1887. Co-operative dairying, 1888. Economical disposition of the wastes of the dairy, 1889. Grading up dairy stock, 1889. Economic disposition of milk, 1889. No. 4.] DAIRYING. 57 Care and management of milch cows, 1890. Dairy temj^erament of cows, 1890. The agricultural situation, 1891. The Channel Islands and their agriculture, 1892. Home-grown or purchased cattle feeds, 1892. The handling and feeding of dairy cattle, 1893. Summer and winter feeding of dairy cows, 1894. The milk supply of Massachusetts cities, 1895. The necessities and demands of modern dairying, 1895. Rational stable management, 1895. The dairy interests of the United States, 1896. The food value of dairy products, 1896. Private dairying, 1896. Creamery experience, 1896. Making milk for private trade, 1896. The Babcock milk tester, 1896. Concentrated feed stuffs, 1896. Milch cows, — structure as related to production, 1897. The milk supply and the public health, 1897. Why milk sours, and how souring can be prevented, 1897. How can New England compete with the west in dairying ? 1898. Grasses and other forage crops, 1898. Catch-crops, 1898. Milk and cream, 1898. Stable management, 1898. Tuberculosis and the milk supply, 1898. Most of these papers were presented by experts or eminent students of the dairy problem. To succeed as a dairyman in this day of critical consumers, a man must be alert, industrious, painstaking; and a student. He must love his cows and his business. Dairying should be dignified as a profession ; and he who achieves a marked success in it is worthy of as much honor as the successful lawyer, merchant, manufacturer, soldier or statesman. In this paper I have endeavored to give an outline of some nec- essary things in successful dairying, in the hope that some of the points may provoke discussion. The most valuable instruction often comes from the audience, when it is allowed to criticise, discuss and ask questions. If you will now do your part, the hour will not have been wasted, though this paper may have only re-stated well-known truths. The Chair. I think it is quite clear that the experience of ten or twelve years ago is still fruitful in aivino- to us practical points of instruction, to which almost all of us will do well to take heed. We will be glad to hear from any one who has questions to ask or statements to make. We will be fflad to hear from Dr. Twitchell. 58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Dr. G. M. TwiTCiiELL (of Augusta, Me.). I did not need a hint from your worthy secretary yesterday to turn my attention to this winter meeting. For the past ten years it has been my good fortune to be able to be present with you at all but one or two of your annual sessions. As I read the programme over, and saw in the list of valuable papers to be presented, one by the well-known expert, a desire sprung within to go back and meet again the old friends who have been engaged in this work for so many years. Chance favored, and I was able, by riding last night, to spend this afternoon with you, and to listen to the honorable ex-secretary, who always spoke by the book and always gave us something to remember. There are two or three points in his admirable paper which I want to touch upon. He says you determine the value of a dairy cow during the first six months, or early in its life. I would say, during the first six months of her existence. I firmly believe that the time has come when we must realize that the mental influence of the man is the chief power in the control and development of the herd, and I believe we should feel that that must be exerted from the first. We have been living through the objective mind of the owner and the subjective mind of the cow, until she has reached a point in dairy development where it seems to me a forward step must be taken by the man at the helm. "We must enter into a clearer comprehension of the essentials which enter into a successful dairy cow of to-day, because it is of to-day and with to-da}^ we have to deal. I think if you will read some of the papers presented ten or twelve years ago you will see that the standard of production that was set at that time has already been passed. We should measure the quality of our herds to-day by the highest standard reached by any individual member of that herd, and not by the poorest. If it is possible for us to open the wa}'- in the breeding of to-morrow by raising the calves, we will surely raise the standard of production of the dairy cow of the next generation. In order for this to be possible, it seems to me that we must all of us have a larger proportion of cow-intelligence. She is something more than a simple machine, to take food that we give her and transform it into No. 4.] DAIRYING. 59 a given product. Men are like trees ; you can change the size, but not the sort. We must enter into a closer sym- pathy with our dairy cows. As I study this question, it grows on me more and more. In order that we may succeed to-day, it is necessary for us to come into closer sympathy with the animals under our care, and that we have a larger conception of what the animals are and what they can do for us. We should realize the fact that the milk and butter fats are the products of nerve force, and are developed by the brain of the animal. Does it not fall upon the owner with heavier force to-day than ten or fifteen years ago that he led the cow out into larger fields of usefulness by the develop- ment of that animal? If this is true, during the early stages of the animal's life we are to fix the standards which deter- mine the quantity of the product, and prevent turning atten- tion toward the formation of fats. So, by our methods of treatment and the thought of what the future work is to be, when the calf comes to maturity it will be ready to do all that is possible. I say this because it seems to me that the competition of the future and the necessity of to-day compel us to study this question from every stand-point by which we may increase the product of our cows. We cannot be content with one hundred and twenty-five pounds of butter; we must have two hundred and fifty, two hun- dred and seventy-five or three hundred pounds, — all the while reach after a little more in each animal and in the next generation. So, to be a successful dairyman to-day, there must be a mind with large conceptions. I do not know of any chance in agriculture for a man to succeed who has anything else. We have been passing through a stage of depression. I believe one of the great causes for the depression of our farm property is that we have been looking on the dark side of life. We have not started out with a positive will and determination to seek to do the largest and the best of which we were capable. As the outcome, we have been doubting the question as to whether there was a future for agriculture, whether there was ever goini; to be a chance for the New England farmer to succeed. The press has been adding its weight. 60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. To-day the man who is in love with dairy cows realizes that he must go to them with a large thought ; not only with khidness and sympathy and a positive will and purpose, but with large conceptions. Gentlemen, what are we dealing with? An animal who is ready to yield up five, six, eight, ten times its gross weight every year for our profit ; who will waste its body to preserve its individuality. We are talking about intensified motherhood. If there is any spot in the world where a dairyman should feel reverent, it is when he sits down by his cow. If he allows his thoughts to reach beyond the milk pail, he will think of the mysteries, he will be questioning as to the how and why, and touch some of the greatest mysteries of life, — mysteries that over- whelm the man. Yet the solving of these mysteries is one of the duties and the responsibilities that fall upon the shoulders of a successful dairyman to-day. No man can succeed in leading out the possibilities of a good dairy cow unless he can enter into sympathy with that cow and into close fellowship with that cow. Sometimes we laugh at these things. Behind it all there is a great question for us. When we realize its magnitude, we will see what there is involved in it. It seems to me as though this thought should make us all reverent. We are realizing so much and we can comprehend so little of what is involved in it. It is along the lines of the temperament that a man enters into fellowship with his cow. No man can succeed as a breeder of dairy stock to-day unless he has an ideal. There must be in his mind a point to which he is striving, and he will direct all his efforts to the perfecting of the temperament along that line ; and in doing that, as he enters into fellowship with his cow he will lind that he has fixed these characteristics. It seems to me that the lesson is this : we must discrimi- nate between the animals, for one man will succeed with an animal, and another man will fail with the same animal. Some of you have laughed when you sold a cow because you had gotten rid of a poor cow, and the other man makes her a remarkable producer. That is simply an illustration of the thought I have expressed. No man can succeed with all animals. One should gather around him those in sympathy No. 4.] DAIRYING. 61 with him. If you have a dairy cow that will turn around and lap you, — thinks you are her calf, — she will give the largest amount of milk possible. That is what I mean by sympathy. If you have a cow that is nervous, begins to move and is uneasy as soon as you come near her, you better let some one else milk her. All these factors enter into the successful dairying of to- day and to-morrow. We must be positive in our work. We must have ideals, and work for a positive purpose. When we do that, our doubts and fears will pass away. When we get hold of a great problem, we should seek to bend our energies to the solving of all the mystery, and reach out to-morrow for a little more than we are getting, then we are being fitted to succeed. In the State of Maine there have never been so many calls for farms as during the past five or six months. We are passing out of the shadows which have been placed upon agriculture daring the past eight or ten years. I believe a better and brighter day is coming. And it has come out of our convictions, out of our faith in ourselves and our belief in the future, in return for earnest, consecrated work; because we are beginning to realize the science is reverent ; we are coming to feel that it is leading us out to a larger comprehension of the great mysteries surrounding us, and feel that over and above us there is a Providence working- through us for the development of all that is bright and beautiful in life. Keep on looking for all that is bright. Mr. Joshua Clark (of Tewksbury). The remarks of the speaker reminded me of the history of a cow, and I thought I would tell it to you. I have been a farmer, and have earned all I have by farming. I have always been fond of cows. My chief business has been raising milk for the market. The thought that the speaker gave me was this. I never raised but a very few cows. The mother of the first cow I raised was a grade Durham, and a very large milker. The father was a thoroughbred Jersey, and one of the first brought into Massachusetts by E. M. Reed. I brought the calf up by hand. I loved the calf, and the calf loved me. As she grew older, when I went down into the woods to chop, as we used to, that heifer would follow me to the 62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. woods and stay all the afternoon and come home with me at night. I never had to break her into milking, and any time I went into the pasture where she was with the other cows, I would say "Bonnie, come," and she would always leave the cows and come to me. I kept her until she was eighteen years old. I never caught her doing a wrong thing in my life. She was the only perfect being I ever met in this world. She never kicked over a pail of milk ; she was never sick, and after I had disposed of her I almost wished I had kept her another eighteen years. That is a little in the line of Dr. Twitchell's remarks. I would not say exactly as Mr. Sessions does in regard to disposing of a cow if she has a fault. I remember a man in Lowell who wanted to get a perfect horse. Some one said, " You cannot find a perfect man, and a man is a fool if he expects to find a perfect horse." I have one cow in my barn to-day that will jump any fence. I put her in a good pasture and she fed all she wanted to, and then jumped over into a poor pasture. She will jump any wall. I have kept her in the barn two years, and she averages twelve quarts a day. She is worth keeping, if she will jump. Another thing, in regard to the cleanliness of the milk and the care of the cattle in the barn. They should be fed reg- ularly and given good air. I have carried milk into the market for nearly twenty j^ears. At one time the milkman complained that the milk soured. I marked the cans, and when he brought back what had soured I found that it had been gone nearly a week. I found I must stop making milk or stop selling it at the door. Now I run it into the Lowell market. I did not buy a milk route. I tried to put up milk that would be satisfactory. We could have three times the route we now have. We always get six cents the year around, while most of the milkmen sell for four and five, and get six only in the winter. It is very important to keep the milk clean. We always wash the cow's udder every time we milk. We put the milk into a large strainer pail with a wire strainer, and run the milk through that and two or three thicknesses of cloth. In that way you will hardly ever find settlings in the milk. I feed gluten and wheat shorts, and I think with this food No. 4.] DAIRYING. G3 the cows have less garget, and will give more milk than with any other food for the same money. As I stated to-day to a member of the Board, you cannot lay down any conditions for every farm. If I had some farms I would have a silo, and if I had some others I would not. On my farm I have not built a silo, because I thought I could get food for the cattle cheaper. I do not suppose many of you know how much food can be got from a load of cabbage. Some of you will say it will not make good milk. You may feed green rye to a cow, and when you begin, if you feed all she will eat, the milk w^ill taste. When you first give it to them, any feed will affect the milk. I have not raised any fodder corn for a long time, because I could not afford to, on my form. I raise sweet corn to feed the cows. I am near the market, and sell all the ears I can ; then I do not care how many are left on the corn to feed the cows. It is the best food you can give them. In this way I can make it pay. The feed one can get from an acre of cabbage is wonder- ful. I take the cabbage to market, and feed the trimmings to the cows. I begin by giving a very small feeding after milking. Alw^ays feed the cabbage after and never before milking, and it will make very rich milk. There is no ques- tion about it, and the milk will be sweet, too. This has been my experience. In farming, each one has to use his own brains and his own way, and then he will make a success. I have heard of men trying to talk like somebody else, but they make failures. When I was seventy-two I let my son take the farm, and kept only three or four acres, — just enough to keep me out of mischief. The last three or four years that I sold milk I kept an average of sixteen cows. I did not raise cows, and very seldom let them have a calf. In looking back, I found the gross sales of milk for the last three or four years were one year a little over $2,700, the next year a little over $2,800, and the last year a little over $2,900. I do not know as that is a large average. I sometimes think a little practical talk is a help to us. I have had a great deal of help from farmers' meetings, and especially from our ex-sec- retary. He always gave us something worth hearing. 64 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The Chair. I was struck with one 2:>oint Mr. Sessions made in reference to the tifteen calves. He left out one point, — out of the fifteen, some must have been failures. One other point to which he did not refer. The herd must be replaced every few years, and if a farmer raises his cows, he is likely to get those free from disease. This is an advantage from raising calves. I think that is an important point to be considered. Mr. Sessions. You may have read the statement made by the Cattle Commission some years ago about two gentle- men, both well-to-do men. About the same time they con- ceived the idea of having a herd of cattle, and they both decided on the same breed. The farms wxre near together. They each built buildings of the same size and style of archi- tecture, and bought their herds from the same parties. One of them raised all his own calves, and bought none from the outside. The other one, having abundant means, and desir- ing to outstrip others and to be able to tell a bigger story than anybody else, bought the best cows he could find, regardless of cost, bringing in foreign blood all the time. Four or five years ago one of the men found his herd in trouble, and sent for an expert to examine the cattle. Nearly every one was condemned and killed ; they had tuberculosis. The other man thought he would have his herd examined by the same men. He did so, and every animal was free from tuberculosis. The man who purchased cows brought the disease into his herd. The man who raised his own cows escaped it. Mr. A. M. Lyman (of Montague). A dozen years ago, when I was a young farmer, I listened to our ex-secretary and to Dr. Twitchell at the institutes and at the State Board meetings, and have tried to carry out the ideas I learned from them. They have been very helpful. Years ago we invited Dr. Twitchell to speak to us on the subject of scoring a horse. ^Ve secured as good a horse as we could find, and had him on the platform. He did not score the horse as high as we expected. We did not think it was a perfect horse. We talked with Dr. Twitchell about it, and he said in conversation that he would score no horse over eiglity-tive. I think that was the number of points. No. 4.] DAIRYING. 65 We say there are no perfect horses. No, we have not attained to perfect horses or animals yet. My disposition was to try and see if we could not better that, so that the horse could be scored higher. I hope we will all profit by these criticisms. In regard to what Mr. Sessions has just said about raising our stock, I have raised nearly all the stock I ever had, and I have no disease among the cattle, and it is stock that other people want and are willing to pay me for. Mr. N. I. BowDiTCH (of Framingham). There is one point Mr. Sessions touched on, and said he had not had ex- perience in, and that Avas, in feeding ensilage in summer, — having enouo:h left over to feed in the summer. I have done that for the last two or three years, and especially this last summer, and it was a great advantage. It was very surpris- ing to me to see how the cattle would come in from the pasture and enjoy a feeding of ensilage. Another point that I think is of great importance to farmers making milk, and that is, warming the water for the cattle. It saves grain. There are a number of tank heaters that can be bought for a small sum, and a fire can be built in them twice a day when the cattle are watered. The cows go out and drink and go in and chew their cud, instead of standing round shivering and letting their hair grow towards their horns. Mr. W. B. Barton (of Dalton). Ensilage made of Can- ada peas and Japanese millet gives a food which, in my ex- perience, is superior to the green crop. My experience with cabbage is similar to Mr. Clark's. I raise them for the cows, and sell very few of them. In regard to growing cows for the dairy ; it has been my good fortune to grow what cows we have used for the last few years. I fear a good many of those who attempt to grow their dairies make the error of not continuing in one line of breed. They select a sire and use it one season, and when they breed another time they are very often apt to in- troduce a sire of another breed. I think that is a cause of a great many of our failures in breeding, — not continuing in the same line of breeding. Gen. F. H. Appleton ( of Manchester) . There is a phase 66 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. in dairying that brings in cattle breeding. I think it is best for the farmers to raise their own cows. If we in Massa- chusetts could all do that, we would be well protected, and our markets would be clear of disease. But that is not so to-day. We are largely dependent upon the milk-yielding animals bred by others, and we run a certain risk, that has been referred to, in buying cattle bred by others. This brings me to the thought of the value of our agricult- ural fairs and educational institutions in the line of live- stock breeding. I think we should make sure of having typical, first-class, A 1 animals, of the breeds that are apparently the most useful in the locality where the fairs are held. I have heard of cases where the management has selected animals to be shown, and guaranteed the owners certain sums of money, being sure that they were first-class in quality and educational in that respect. It does not shut out others. It seems to me there is a great deal to commend in that plan of selecting first-class animals as object lessons at fairs. Mr. C. D. Sage (of North Brookfield). I believe what our worthy ex-secretary has said in regard to raising calves. I believe we should always try to breed to some purpose. The breed depends on the line of dair} ing we intend to fol- low. I want to repeat the advice I gave to a young man who has just been married, and l)ought a farm and started out to stock it. He asked me about buying the stock. I told him to buy a few good thoroughbreds. Get some good ones when you start, and raise the calves. It costs no more to raise the calves from a good thoroughbred cow, and you will be sure of getting a worthy animal ; and you will be sure, if you make a good selection, to get a better price for your product. I find that, while it is always well to give the calves a good start if you can, it is not always advisal^le to attempt to force. I have had more disappointments in expecting a fine cow from an animal that had been pushed than I have from calves that have been neglected and sometimes bad been even stunted ; they have often turned out better than cows that have been forced. If we keep them thrifty and grow- ing, avoid all attempts to put on fat, Ave get a better dairy animal than when overfed. I think we get a better dairy No. 4.] DAIRYING. 67 animal l)y raising them as farmers are apt to raise them than by forcing them. Mr. F. L. Whitmore (of Sunderland). I have been reminded of what happened when I was in school. Our teacher said she had seen cows stand on an eminence and admire the landscape. She was asked if she did not think they would appreciate poetry. My cows do not lap me, but they do occasionally offer to shake hands with me. I realize that no one man can do everything in this world. While it is good policy for some of you to raise your dairy cows, in the locality from which I come that theory would not meet with my approval. Our dairying is all winter dairying. We have no pastures. In the fall there are auction sales of cows twice a week, and I suppose a thousand cows are sold in Sunderland every fall to farmers who keep them through the winter and sell them in the spring ; and to go to Sunderland and advocate raising calves would be like carrying coals to Newcastle. We have something else to do. We think we can devote our energies to something else, and our sympathies to raising boys and girls rather than to raising calves. Dr. TwiTCHELL. A successful dairyman will always sing a song to his cows when milking ; but be careful you do not sing " Old Hundred " to a " Hallelujah " cow. One thought, while speaking of breeding stock. I do not know what the custom may be here, but in my own State the fad of fancy markings still governs in the selection of males. They do not consider as they should what he repre- sents. We should study the individual as an individual in selecting a male for breeding, and find what that individual represents in his ancestry. We should know the milk and butter production of his dam and grandam. Mr. Whitmore. Returning home from a trip last week, I found a card bearing the name of A. W. Morse, inspector. One hundred is perfect ; my score was ninety-eight. I be- lieve Mr. Morse is here, and can explain. I concluded that any man who did not think my dairy was perfect must be lacking somewhere. Mr. Lyman. We can hire our cattle pastured cheaper than we can own the abandoned farms. Speaking about one 68 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. hundred ; perfection has never been attained. A fond grandmother, speaking enthusiastically of her grandson a few years ago, calling him byname, said, "He is over a hundred in most of his studies." Mr. Sage. My friend Whitmore has raised five thou- sand dollars' worth of tobacco on ten acres. We know why he cannot afford to raise calves. Mr. Burt (of Easthampton). There is one point I would like to bring out. I understand Mr. Sessions to say that if a heifer does not show up well the first six months, to throw her away. Is that right ? Mr. Sessions. As a rule, a good heifer will do well the first year. Mr. Burt. A heifer that does well one year is apt not to do so well the next. We have been told to get rid of the cows that do not do well. In the course of nine or ten years there will be a year when a cow will not do well. Do not throw her away. I would not throw her away if she did not do well the first year. Mr. Sessions. I might give a little leaf from the experi- ence of my son, who raised cattle in Dakota. They ran on a ranch in the summer, and fed at the stack in winter. He brought twenty-five to Massachusetts ; among them were eight or ten yearlings. The quarantine laws of the State re- quired that they be tested. They had never been tied up. My son loves a cow as well as ever I did, and he used to go out once a week and call his cattle to him, salt them, and keep up their acquaintance. The cattle commissioner came to test the cattle. He had just been having a severe trial with some cattle from Dakota, and he expected a terrible time with these. He asked my son how he was going to get along with them, and he told him if he would let him have his own way there would be no trouble. The com- missioner gave the permission, and my son went to the yard where the cattle were, and put his arm around the neck of one, talking to it and patting it while the commissioner in- jected the tuberculin. The same course was repeated with each one in turn, and the commissioner said he had never dealt with a herd of cattle with so little difiiculty. They had every confidence in their owner, and would submit to No. 4.] DAIRYING. 69 the work of a stranger without any difficulty when he was present. We should go to the pastures often, keep up the acquaintance, and thus retain the confidence of our cattle. Mr. Isaac Damon (of Wayland). I would like to say a few words in regard to summer feeding of ensilage. I find it very helpful in some cases. In feeding summer ensilage, the best way is to have a silo built especially for that pur- pose. The custom now is to build round silos. One of my silos is a large cemented one. It is all right in cold weather. To have good ensilage in the summer, you need a silo for that purpose, and the cows will eat a good big feeding of the ensilage. In regard to Holsteins, I might tell a little story about a cow I had, on which I made a milk record. I first com- menced to milk the cow three days after she calved, and she gave fifty pounds of milk. We tried to see what we could do with the cow. I told my boy if he would take care of the cow he could see what he could do with her. He com- menced to take care of her, and she gradually increased the quantity of milk for a few days, until she gave sixty- seven or sixty-eight pounds of milk. She seemed to hang there. As I had a neighbor whose cows had made large records, I oflered the boy a premium if he would beat the neighbor. He took charge of the cow. We milked her three times a day, and gave her all she would eat. Among other things, we gave her milk to drink. When the boy would get almost through milking, the cow would turn, as much as to ask if she was going to have the milk to drink. Once a day we gave her the milk she gave. She gave ninety-three pounds and one ounce of milk in twenty-four hours. If the boy went anywhere on the farm, the cow would follow him. I think there is a great deal in the con- ditions surrounding them and in the way they are used. Mr. C. E. Parker (of Holden) . I would like to empha- size one point in the paper, and that is, in reference to having a supply of ensilage to piece out the poor summer pasture. It has been the most trying season I have known for many years. It so happened that a year ago I grew about ten acres of ensilage. My silo would hold only about seven. I filled that, and made a smaller one. I used the 70 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. ensilage from the smaller one first and emptied that, and in the larger one I had about ten or twelve feet, forty or fifty tons or more, left in the bottom. The first of the season, when the food was plentiful, the cows did not care for the ensilage ; but when the feed became short and the dry weather stopped the growth of the grass, I took ofi" four or five inches from the top of the ensilage, and commenced feeding that underneath. The gentleman says you need a separate silo. Mine was all right after removing the top. It was as good as ever it was. I fed from that all through the dry part of the summer, and it was a great help to me. I do not know how my cattle would have lived through with- out that feed that I had in my silo. This year I am in the same condition. I said I would not raise as much; but the grain was luxuriant and tall, and I had to remove the hay that I had put in the smaller silo and till it with ensilage. I believe I shall do it next season. We can grow no food so cheap as we can grow corn. We can raise thirty to forty tons to the acre. It is the only way we can piece out our pastures, in my opinion. There has been a great stress laid on raising calves. I do not believe a farmer who lives close to a city can afford to raise calves, unless he has extraordinary stock. Those who have abandoned farms and large pastures, where land is cheap, can raise stock. It is as good a business, perhaps, as they can go into. But the farmers who live close to the city do not practise it much. They want their feed for cows that are producing milk. They cannot afford to fool with calves. Prof, F. S. CooLEY (of Amherst). I did not come in here this afternoon expecting to say anything ; but the thoughts of the meeting have suggested to my mind one or two things. The first is in connection with raising calves ; replacing your stock by home-bred and home-grown dairy animals. To my mind, that is the proper way to go at this sort of thing. But to my mind, also, there is a much greater chance for selection than is at present exercised. In Germany and Holland, the home of one of the finest breeds of dairy stock that we have, there is a rigid system of triple selection in operation. In the first place, practi- cally or nearly all the male animals are destroyed, — that is, No. 4.] DAIRYING. 71 they are fattened and sold as veal. Only a few of the most promising from the very best cows are preserved. Among the heifers, more than half of them are sold as veal. Perhaps about one-third, as I have been told, are reared and bred, brought around to milk. Another selection takes place after the first milking period, and only those that have, besides being well bred and well developed, given good account of themselves in the dairy, are kept and allowed to keep up the breed. In this way one of the finest breeds of dairy animals that we have has been produced. So, in the United States, if we would select the best, and the best only, after a little while we would have good stock and plenty of it. I believe you do not realize what an enormous chance for selection there is. I have figured out repeatedly, for my class, the possibilities in difierent families of animals along this line. For instance, take a single pair of cattle ; if each female produces three other females, in the course of one hundred and twenty-six 3'ears there would be animals enough born the one hundred and twenty-sixth year to occupy every foot of land in the United States, including Alaska. Pigs multi- ply so rapidly that in twenty-five years you would have about sixteen pigs to the square foot over the entire country. Take the rate of increase ascribed to bacteria. Dr. Conn states that they multiply once in twenty minutes. In four days the entire ocean would l)e filled with these organisms. Now, we ought to remember this and take advantage of it, and not keep anything and everything, but only the best. Another thing that occurs to me is, that very few of you know what your cows are doing. You do not keep records. If you weighed carefully night and morning the milk your cows produced, and took occasional tests, so as to judge of the quality of the milk, — if you keep account for a year, I think you would have some surprises at the end of the year. Some of the cows that started in so big would disappoint you when you got the average, and would, perhaps, fall behind some of the steady ones. Perhaps some of those that gave an enormous amount of milk would disappoint you when you came to the test, and you would find that some of the ordinary, moderate plodders were some of the best money-makers. I think it will pay you to take the weights 72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. of the milk your cows give night and morning, and make at least six or seven tests annually from each cow ; select those that bring in the most money, breed from those that are the most profitable, and build up your herd in that way. Mr. Burt. Mr. Parker feeds ensilage in summer. We can raise all the feed we want green, and it seems to me it is expensive to put it in the silo. Mr. L. C. Dresser (of Gardner). I have kept cattle for the last seven years and made milk for the market, and while perhaps I have not learned very much, what I have learned has been of value to me in the last few years. We have a large silo, and a year ago we raised a large crop of corn, more than we could get into the silo. I cut it and fed it out until about the middle of January, then I began to feed the ensilage. I fed the last the second day of Septem- ber last, and I do not think I threw away half a cart load of ensilage. So far as feeding it green, it would be a great expense to me to do so ; it would take a great deal of help to handle it every day. In regard to raising calves, I have to manufacture between seven and eight hundred quarts of milk every day in the three hundred and sixty-five. If I undertook to raise all the calves, or all those I would like to, I would have so big a herd on the farm that I would not know how to handle it. I raise from twelve to twenty every year, from some of the best cows I have. As a rule, they are very much more satisfactory than those I buy. I bought some cattle in Brighton, and I got one of the best cows I ever had ; others were not as good. With some we have taken a great deal of pains, and bought the male of Mr. Hood and paid a good big price, and raised heifers from the best cows I have, and the results have not been satisfactory. On the other hand, I got some cheaper animals by trading a horse for them, and among the rest was a yearling male. We raised a heifer from them, and we are milking her to-day. She is one of the best heifers we have raised. I have one cow that stands at the farther end of the row, and every one who comes in says she is an old, homely cow. She has very long, large horns. That cow has been there for two years, and she has not been dry but two weeks in No. 4.] DAIRYING. 73 the time. She came in last March. She gives twenty-two pounds of milk to-day, and is due to calve in two months. That cow was very poor at first. I paid $22.50 for her in Yerraont. After I got her home, she looked so bad that I wanted to sell her for $30. I kept her three weeks, and she gave sixteen quarts of milk a day ; and I have kept her ever since, and as long as she does as well as she is doing now I shall continue to keep her. She is not thin, but is coarse, and a plain-looking cow. You cannot always be sure what you are going to get when you raise animals, and not always when you buy. Mr. Damon. I sell all my milk. I think heifers two years old will produce as much milk as the cows I can buy on the market. I think you can raise cows that will give better satisfaction than those you buy. The Chair. I wish to announce that the lecture to-mor- row afternoon by Dr. Con well will be in the Methodist church. This meeting stands adjourned to 7.30 this even- ing, when the lecture will be delivered by Prof. William H. Niles, on "Holland and its people." Adjourned. 74 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE.* BY PROF. WILLIAM H. NILES, MASS. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON. In the selection of a subject appropriate for presentation here this evening, I have considered myself somewhat for- tunate in having a familiarity with a country like Holland. You are all aware that Holland possesses many features of general interest and attractiveness. You are also aware that some of its characteristics are of special interest to those who are associated with agricultural industries. It will be my purpose this evening to address my remarks to all who are here, — guests, citizens of the town and agri- culturists. Will you now please allow your thoughts to wander with mine across the Atlantic, past the British Islands, and over the North Sea to its eastern shore. There we find a low, watery plain, which is known as "the Netherlands," that is, the " low countries." When this was first known, which was before the Christian era, it was a vast forest, thickly interspersed with waters and often widely sub- merged. History tells us that the ancient Romans doubted whether they should consider their possessions here as being land, or water. But the winds and the floods gradual Iv de- stroyed the forests, and in time the country became a treach- erous and almost deforested marsh. It was nearly two thousand years ago when a portion of a singular Germanic people sought a home upon one of the long, spongy islands, where they built some rude huts, and began a life that con- tained only the elements of civilization. The island itself was called Batavia, and the people were known as Batavians. Northward from them there lived a tribe with w hom they were upon terms of friendly intimacy, linown as the Friesians. * Illustrated by sixty stereopticon views. No. 4.] HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 75 These two peoples have since been united into one race, the Dutch race, which has occupied the soil until the present time, but only by a constant and stubborn conflict with both nature and man. At times it has seemed as if the forces of nature were as deadly intent upon driving the people from the region as they had been upon the destruction of the ancient forests, while at other times it has appeared as if they had conspired with all that was cruel and tyrannical in their hu- man foes to crush them out of existence. The resistance of the people, however, has been a noble one. Leaving their savage habits, they sought the advancing arts and culture of a civilized life. They kept back the waters of the tyrant sea b}^ massive walls, they tixed boundaries to their vaga- bond rivers, dried up their interior seas, and thus they trans- formed that which by nature was only a worthless quagmire into one of the most fertile and productive countries of Europe. It is in Holland, the northern part of that Nether- land plain, that we may to-day meet with the same peculiar Dutch people at home, and there it is that we may see the best evidence of their conquering industry. I therefore take pleasure in presenting to you this evening Holland and its people as the world's best example of the conquest of man over territory. We will begin our more detailed study by examining a map which represents Holland with the North Sea upon the west, Prussia on the east and Belgium on the south. This country is situated in a latitude which is as far north as the eastern angle of Labrador. The entire kingdom is farther north than the northernmost extremity of the island of New- foundland. In form it is extremely irregular. It is about one hundred and fifty miles across from north to south, and it is about one hundred and twenty miles between its most eastern and most western extremities of land. It contains an area of about thirteen thousand square miles, and it supports a population of about five millions of people. Its surface is that of a })lain. There are no mountains in Holland, and but few hills, and these are mostly sand-hills, scattered along its coast, while there are a few in the south-eastern corner. Upon a physical map the features which most attract our attention are the rivers. First there is the classic river of 76 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the Rhine, the waters of which upon entering this plain seem as if they are in doubt as to which way they should wander. Soon after entering the country the river divides into two parts, one channel known as the Waal, while the other, flowing not far away, is known as the Leek. These branches make the two-horned Rhine of which Virgil wrote, and enclose the long, narrow island of Batavia, — the island upon which the early Batavians first made their settlement. Another branch turns northward to the Zuider Zee, while there is a channel now known as the Old Rhine, through which at an early time a considerable amount of water found its way to the sea. Coming from the south is the Meuse, or Maas, which, after meandering through the south-western portion of the country, discharges its waters westward through one of the mouths of the Rhine. While the Schelde is chiefly a Belgian river, its branching estuary and the asso- ciated islands constitute a considerable portion in the south- west of the kingdom. If, now, 3^ou ask why I call j^our attention to these streams in detail, my answer must be that it is because from them we are to learn an early part of the physical history of the land. Had it not been for these streams, Holland would not have existed. In very early days a shallow sea occupied a very large part of the area now constituting the central and west- ern portions of Holland. At that time there were dense and extensive forests about the upper waters of these rivers. The decay of the fallen leaves, portions of bark, limbs, and sometimes of the prostrated trees, produced a rich vegetable loam which was light and easily acted upon by the tempo- rary and permanent rivulets, and transported as sediment to the larger streams. The rivers brought this material to the shallow sea of that early time, where it became deposited after the manner of a delta formation, which was built to the seaward. Thus the soils of the forests which had been trans- ported and deposited by the streams were here converted into the early lands. All who are familiar with agriculture know full well that when streams brine: such material as this and deposit it on low ground it becomes a very fertile soil. The progress which the Hollanders have made and the suc- cesses which they have attained in agriculture have had an No. 4.] HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 77 essential dependence upon the marked fertility of the soil, — a quality which it attained through the action of the streams, brincrino; a larsre amount of oro^anic material. When rivers overflow and deposit the sediments which they have brought, they often build the surface which lies immediately along the edge of the stream to a somewhat higher level than the surfaces which are farther away from the channel. For a time these natural embankments may serve to keep the current of the river in place, but when floods occur the rivers often burst through these and widely inundate the surrounding country. Thus it was with these rivers in Holland, for, while they were the agents in the production of the land, they also at times became the cause of inundating and sometimes of destroying considerable areas which had been brought under cultivation. It was there- fore quite natural that the Hollanders should regard these streams as their natural enemies, attacking their farms and homes from the south and the south-east. It also appears that they took possession of the country before nature had half completed it, and in their struggle and conquest they have finished off* the work to their own likino;. The conse- quence of this is, that the visitor to Holland sees as many geographical features which are artificial as those which are natural. But they likewise had another and a more stubborn enemy in the North Sea, which was attacking their territory from the west and the north-west. In this sea, with its frequent storms and conflicting tides, they found an enemy on the Netherland shores which was rarely quiet. At one time the lands had been built out, as I have described, beyond their present limits. Some portions which are now islands along the shore were then part of the mainland, and where there are now interior waters there were in many instances con- tinuous lands. During a great storm in the early part of the thirteenth century the waters were cast upon one part of the northern shore with so much force that they broke through and washed out so much of the loose land that the Gulf of the Dollart was formed in the north-eastern part of the country. Some- what later another storm of great violence piled the waters 78 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. upon the north-western coast with such energy that they de- stroj^ed a very large tract of the country, and formed the Zuider Zee, where farms and villages had previously existed. At a still later date a terrific storm raged for many days, and then rushed into the laud along the south-western coast with such disastrous results that lives were lost by the hundreds, cattle by the thousands and property destroyed by the mil- lions. Previous to this time Dordrecht had been an interior city, but it now became a seaport, in consequence of the in- roads which the sea had made upon the land. The Hollanders were thus forced to suffer from the attacks of two great natural enemies, appearing upon opposite por- tions of their country, — the rivers from the .south and south- east, and the North Sea with its storms upon the north and west. There was still another and perhaps a greater danger which threatened them in the occupation of the territory. The land was sinking beneath them. We well understand that some portions of our present coasts are slowly rising, while others are gradually sinking. But the movement is so very slow that when the shore is firm and rock-bound it makes but little difference during the period of a generation. This, however, was not so in the case of Holland. With a surface that was already too low, and with a soil that was very soft and easily disturbed, the subsidence of a very few inches was enough to involve the resources of a nation. Under these adverse circumstances, it might seem as if the country and its people were doomed to destruction. We may well ask. Is there any power which can rescue such a land? The answer is. Yes ; for there was a power that did save it, and that was human industry ; and Holland stands as she does upon the map to-day, the best geographical monument to human effort the world can anywhere show. The accomplishment of this result has been obtained by three processes. They first constructed and proceeded to maintain substantial embankments along the rivers, to keep them in their proper places. They also built strong and ex- tensive dykes along those portions of the coast most threat- ened by the action of the sea. Finally, they pumped out the waters of the interior lakes and seas, and thus reclaimed the lands for agricultural purposes. The extent to which No. 4.] HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 79 the surface of the country has been transformed by these three processes is really surprising. A map showing the dis- tribution of land and water as it was in one province, North Holland, in 1575, when compared with another map of that province as it was in 1875, shows that a great transformation of the surface was produced by the turning out of the water and the reclaiming of land in that part of Holland during the three hundred j^ears. Since 1875 another large body of water has disappeared, with the exception of the portion used as a ship canal from Amsterdam to the sea. In the prosecution of these enterprises the people have labored under peculiar difficulties. In many places the land is so soft that any weighty construction placed upon it, without securing a foundation of long and closely driven piles, would soon disappear or become worthless, in consequence of the sinking. It has often been quite as expensive to secure the foundations as it has been to complete the rest of the struct- ures. On the coast of Haarlam there is a dyke of granite which is five miles long and forty feet high, which extends two hundred feet into the waves, and there is not a stone quarry in all Holland. The stone of which this dyke was constructed was all brought over the sea from Norway. In approaching Holland, from England, for example, the boat sails up some winding channel with the land on each side often lower than the water, and sometimes even lower than the keel of the ship. It is reported that in the province of Zeeland alone there are ninety thousand acres which are seventeen feet below sea level. Sailing onward towards some port which may be first indicated by spires of churches, we observe a marked increase in the number of boats until we enter the city by a harbor crowded with vessels of various descriptions. A map of the city of Amsterdam shows us that the location and the system of the larger canals is of fundamental importance in the general plan of the city. These canals are so arranged that domestic or foreign boats may not only sail into the city, but even through it, along the lines of the semi-circular canals which constitute the most important business thoroughfares of the place. Of course, such an alternation of wide canals and narrow roads is possible only in a country where the land is so low and 80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. marsh-like that the canals may be constructed in any desired direction that will best accomplish the purposes of com- merce. The several views show us what a busy aspect these canals of the city present. Other views in the suburban region and in park reservations show us that canals, when lined by trees, may constitute one of the attractive features of the country. Other views of canals in villages show us still more picturesque eifects, especially where they consti- tute the principal lines of passage among streets of cottages, which, although simple in construction, are often attractive in form and neat in appearance. Some scenes as they may be witnessed upon these canals in winter show that skating in Holland is something more than a pastime, it is a common and popular means for going from place to place. The canals are so numerous and they so intersect each other and run in such various directions that they furnish an oppor- tunity for visiting not only towns and villages but even the farms of the most rural districts by the use of boats or upon the ice. What has been said of the multiplicity of canals will apply equally well to windmills. No Holland scene is complete without one or more of these. We sometimes see those which were of early construction still remaining in use and they constitute one of the most striking features in the land- scape. Two views of windmills used for grinding grain, two of mills used for sawing lumber and two more used for pumping water give us some idea of the general appearance of many of these structures. While these mills are used for nearly all kinds of manufacturing purposes in towns and vil- lages, it is to be particularly noticed that in the rural districts an exceedingly large number of them are used for pumping water. As used in that country, they constitute one of the most essential agencies for the drainage of the land. Six photographic views may illustrate for us how such mills are located, and how they may be employed in connection with the drainage of an old lake basin. In the middle of such an area one windmill pumps the water up to a slight elevation at the end of a canal which leads toward the edge of the basin ; not far away another mill pumps it to a little higher level ; and this process is sometimes repeated four times be- No. 4.] HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 81 fore the waters taken from the centre of the basin are placed in the larger canal surrounding it, which leads eventually toward the sea. Some people have been inclined to ridicule the Hollanders for spending so much of their time in digging ditches, erect- ing dykes and constructing windmills ; but we must remem- ber there is no water power in Holland, unless it be what has been facetiously called "back-action power." Let us not forget that the Hollander never hears the sound of a running- brook in his own country. Furthermore, in a land w'here there is little wooded territory and but small amount of coal, the chief article of fuel is the peat. When this is taken from the lower ground wdiere it occurs, the water immedi- ately gathers, and the owner has reduced the level of the surface of that part of his land which was already too low. We should be aware that on a plain over which the winds may blow with few obstructions, a windmill once set at its work will continue its action day and night, with very little attention except to lubricate it. It was the winds which were very largely instrumental in driving the waters over the land, but the sagacious Hollander has caught these winds upon the wrings of his windmills and has made them pump out those waters, and enable him to reclaim the land for agricultural purposes. A map shows us the position and form of the Sea of Haarlam. In 1840 it had a total length of thirteen miles, and in places it was nearly six miles in width. The winds were dashinsj the waves ao;ainst its shores and sfraduallv enlarging its area, while the health and safety of Haarlam, Ley den and Amsterdam were threatened. It took these determined people eight years to enclose this with a substan- tial dyke, and it required four years more to pump the water into the sea. In that twelve years they conquered an inter- nal foe, and when all was completed the}^ had added more than forty-four thousand acres to what is now one of the most fertile portions of their country. It has been said that whole flocks of birds which had made this lake their summer home came from their winter quarters and went screaming backward and forward, seeming to wonder whether they had lost their own heads, or the lake had gone mad. I assure 82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. you that it is impressive to go through the ])asin of this old sea to-day, and find one hundred and thirty-three and one- half miles of hard, smooth roadway, and seven hundred and fifty miles of canals and ditches, large and small ; and to think that only a few years ago this was the dwelling-place of crabs and eels, where we now behold eight hundred productive farms, each with its superb cattle and its com- fortable home. Another map shows us how the bottom of the lake was divided, according to the usual custom, by larger canals and sub-divided by smaller ones, until each farm is completely surrounded by a canal. A view shows us how the lauds of the farm are divided by small canals into lots, and we see by the photographs used how the dairy men and dairy maids go to the pasture grounds, milk the cows, place the cans with their milk in the boat and return to the house. No fences are required around these lots, for the creatures cannot cross the canals except when they are assisted by temporary' bridges. The Hollanders, therefore, are not so accustomed as our farmers are to go for their cows and drive them home ; nevertheless they take good care of them. If the nights are cool and stormy, they may go out with blankets which they put over the cows after they have laid down upon the ground ; and it is interesting to look out upon those broad, level lands upon a frosty morning, and see the bunches of cloth with cows underneath them. The Hollanders are now entering upon a still more stu- pendous project of drainage. They are proposing to utilize a large portion of the area which is now covered by the waters of the Zuider Zee. The plan involves the construc- tion of an immense dyke crossing the sea at its narrower por- tion, which may serve the purpose of holding the waters on the north in place, and also furnish a good foundation for a highway and a railroad which shall connect the western with the eastern portion of the country. It will be necessary not only to surround the southern part by a large canal, but also to establish and maintain channels of considerable propor- tion for the streams which must necessarily run through the district. It is estimated that the execution of this great undertaking will require thirty-three years for its completion, No. 4.] HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 83 that it will cost over one hundred and thirty-one million dollars, and that it will redeem seven hundred and fifty square miles from the sea. To the actual cost of construc- tion there must be added damages which must necessarily affect some people, particularly the fishermen, who now ob- tain their living from the sea which it is proposed thus to drain. If this scheme shall be carried out, it will be the most gigantic work of its kind that has ever been attained. [Views were shown of the curious milk cans and the placing of them in dog carts, taking a portion of the milk to a local market ; and of a maid who had perhaps been en- ffaged in the milkino- and who was goino; with her dog and cart, with measure in hand, to market the product. Views were used showing the sea-l)each, both as a fashionable re- sort in summer time and as a landing-place for the fishing boats from the North Sea. Views were shown of the fish women, showing their curious attire and their laborious way of carrying fish in baskets, either upon their backs or on their heads. There were also views illustrative of the farmers' wives and their daughters ; and it was claimed that these were the women of high respectability, and often of enviable position in the society of Holland. Photographs of the present young queen and her mother also appeared upon the screen. Photographs of the noted works of some of the famous Dutch artists who have illustrated the scenes which they witnessed upon the streets and in the homes of the earlier people were shown by the stereopticon. While these were appearing upon the screen, with portraits of the people of olden type who were the early conquerors, the speaker re- marked upon their love for home and their families, upon their quiet and often phlegmatic temperament, while at the same time they were highly industrious, coolly courageous, and especially distinguished by their indomitable persever- ance.] The ability which the Hollanders have shown not only to subdue the adverse forces of nature but even to so control them as to turn them to their own advantage in their strug- gle with their human enemies, was impressively exhibited at the time of the noted siege of Ley den. During a long and disastrous warfare, waged against them by the Spanish army Si BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. in the height of its military power, there came a time when the most important town which they had not captured was the old cit}^ of Ley den. This the army completely sur- rounded, and after planting their guns upon many forts, they waited to starve the people within Leyden's walls, for they well knew that they could not conquer them in an open fight. It was then that the people contributed their most dearly bought treasures, the women their heirlooms and the articles to which they were most deeply attached, for capital with which to open the dykes on the shores of the North Sea, and to equip a small fleet of boats to bring them food by sailing on the invading flood which they hoped might drown their enemies. When the people within the city had reached starvation point, the wind most unfortunately shifted and so drove the waters back to the sea that their friends who had started to sail on them over the land were left stranded in the mud. It was then that the people watched and prayed for what they had always before dreaded, — an equinoctial gale. It was this time a blessing to them, when it came with such great force as to set the fleet in motion toward the beleaguered city. Finally they were before the last great fortress, a citadel of strength regarded as impregnable. A dark and stormy night came on, during which there were many strange sounds. When the morning came, it was found that their enemy had departed during the night, in consequence of the invading sea. Thus Leyden stood and Holland was saved because those people which had reclaimed the land and cultivated the soil knew how to turn a raging sea into the line of warfare to fight a desperate battle for them. Such, my good hearers, are some of the characteristics of Holland and her people. No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 85 SECOND DAY. The meeting was called together at 10.40 a.m., by Chair- man Wood, who said : Mr. J. Lewis Ellsworth, delegate from the "Worcester Agricultural Society, will preside at the meeting this forenoon. Mr. Ellsworth. The subject presented for discussion this forenoon is "Market gardening." The importance of this branch of farming is increasing every year. The de- mand for the product of the market garden is increasing, to keep pace with the large increase in population in our cities. It is my pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce to you a fellow townsman, one with whom I have been closely con- nected for a number of years, as our business is similar, and also in the society of which he is secretary, the Worcester County Market Gardeners' Association. He thoroughly understands the gardening business, taking the great major- ity of prizes of the Worcester Horticultural Society, and occasionally running down to Boston and taking the prizes from the horticultural society there. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. H. R. Kinney of Worcester. Mr. KixNEY. I do not come before you as a^ lecturer or as a college graduate, neither have I had the advantages of apprenticeship. What I have learned about vegetables I have learned at meetings of this kind, and from practice and from a practical application of all the knowledge which came within my reach. 86 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. MARKET GARDENING. BY H. R. KINNEY, WORCESTER. Before commencing to write on this sul^ject, I looked over the reports of this Board, and found that market gardening and vegetable growing had been considered at length by sev- eral of the foremost growers and writers ; and, while the conditions are continually changing, I think it would be time well spent for those interested in market gardening, to look over the reports for the last thirty years, at least, and I would call special attention to lectures and discussions as follows : — Report for 1876-77, lecture by B. P. Ware. This lecture is very full of useful suggestions in preparing ground and in growint; the more common farm vegetables. Report for 1877-78, essay by W. D. Philbrick, on " Mar- ket gardening." Tliis is accompanied by several drawings of interest to those who have never spent nmch time about the large market gardens ; it also gives many details of particular interest to the smaller gardeners. Report for 1888 contains considerable very interesting reading for the gardener. There is a lecture by A. H. Smith, who considers gardening in the Connecticut valley ; and a paper by W. W. Rawson, who considers the subject from the point of the "Market gardener" proper. j\Ir. Rawson also has a lecture in this report on irrigation. Report for 1889 contains a lecture by the late Peter Hen- derson, on " Market gardening as a business," and also many things of interest not only to the market gardener but to all who cultivate a garden. It is much easier to speak on general lines, and look at our successes, and that would probably be acceptable to the majority of those present ; but there may be some here who would like to get a new idea to carry home with them. No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 87 Market jrardeninof iu oeneral is confined to localities near cities or large towns, and in the immediate vicinity of the large cities of the State it is carried on quite extensively, in fact, to such an extent that large quantities of vegetables have to be sent to the smaller cities and towns. We have now reached what I consider the most im|)ortant point for consideration at this meeting; that is, the supply- ing of the towns and villages in Massachusetts with veg;- O o o etables. It is true that we cannot expect to build up large market gardens in the country, but has not the time come for the towns to supply themselves with vegetables? We w^ould not suggest that every farmer go to raising- vegetables ; but it always seemed as though there was something wrong about raising; vegetables around Boston, on land worth enough per acre to buy a good farm in the country, and then take them to the city, and ship them, often by express, to the country towns. We will admit that this is business for the railroads and commission men ; but is it for the farmer, es- pecially the small farmer? We are compelled to meet, in our local markets, produce from practically the whole world, and on what we can supply we save freights and commissions, which are no small items in handling perishable produce, and the markets would be supplied with better produce. I am always glad to see the necessities of life cheap, and the more the luxuries are brought within the means of the people, the better. But to do that the agriculturist should not labor for less, but should raise such crops as his soil and locality will produce, as cheaply as those Avho are supplying his markets. Market gardening, as it is generally understood, requires considerable capital, and to make money in any business re- quires capital of some sort. It may be in the shape of money, knowledge or energy, — and a combination of them all, is all the better ; but there is, perhaps, no occupation in the farming line where a man can get a better living, on a small area, than from the production of vegetables, and when you consider the expense as compared with that of dairying, it is probably no greater. I cannot recommend green-houses for the small gardener, especially if he is located some distance from a large city 5 88 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. and I have yet to see the small gieen-house that was really a success in the production of vegetables. In connection with sash, a small house may be all right. The number of sash that the gardener can use to advantage depends as much on the amount of fresh manure that he can get at a reasonable price — which we should consider about four dollars per cord, delivered — as anything. The cost of starting a hot- bed may be considered about jRve dollars per sash. While this would have put up a very good run a year ago, it is doubtful whether at the present time it could be done for that price. It would include fence, plank, sash, mats and shut- ters. The sash and shutters should be well painted. Small gardeners are very apt to place a frame for their hot-beds on the south side of some building or wall, and leave it there for a permanent bed ; but this is not practised by the larger users of sash, and has many disadvantages. The gardener generally sets his hot-beds in the open field. He first puts up a board fence, six or seven feet high, facing the south, and slanting back some eighteen or twenty inches at the top. The posts should be five or six inches through at the top, and set a good three feet in the ground. We hold the boards to the posts by two coach screws to each post. These screws pass through narrow cleats with a large washer between the cleat and the screw-head. The boards are taken down in summer and used to blanch early celery. We mark every board before it is taken down, and then, by using each fence by itself, there is very little trouble in put- ting it up again. We leave the cleats screwed to the posts, and seldom have to bore a new hole. We set our plank farther from the fence than many, as we wish to have plenty of room to walk between the bed and our mats, when they are rolled. We set a line three feet or a little more from the bottom of the fence, and from twelve to fifteen inches above the ground, and, if possible, draw it tight, so as to give the bed as nearly an even fall as possible, if the land is not level, — and it is not well to have it exactly level, as the water does not work off so well, but we do not like to have it fall too much. If this line is drawn tight, and stakes put in often enough to prevent it from sagging, all that it is necessary to do is to set a line of plank the No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 89 leno:th you wish the bed, — twelve inches wide and two inches thick are none too heavy. These are Iield in place by stakes about three feet long and three or more inches wide, sharpened and driven, two to the plank. The end ones should be nailed to both planks, and come to the top of the plank to break the joint. It is not so particular about the centre ones. Pieces of rough boards are all right for these stakes. Nine-penny nails are the best size to use for nailing the stakes to the planks, if you use stakes one inch thick ; and by nailing through the stake into the plank it does not tear the plank to pieces much when taken down, as they are every summer. Five inches seems to be about the right amount of fall on a six-foot sash ; and the way we get it is to take a piece of board five inches wide and tack a cleat on one edge at the end, letting it stick out two inches or more beyond the board. By resting this cleat on the plank you have set, and letting the board drop its whole width, five inches, below the plank already set, and setting the edge on the south plank, all you have to do is to put the level on this board and bring it up to a level, and you have the fall with very little trouble. Eight or ten inch plank are all right for this side, and narrower will do. We have a mark on this board that we have to level with, so as to know just how wide to set the plank. The next thing is to put in one end plank, and it should be put in as near square with the plank as possible ; if it is not, the sash will run badly. We generally let it come above the other planks a little, thinking that it makes a tighter joint. We now want half as many spreaders — that is, sticks to go between the planks, to keep them from shutting up — as there are sash ; and it does not make much difl^erence what they are, provided they are fairly straight and still'. We find two by three inch spruce the most satisfactory. The planks now are to be banked nearly to the top with loam, and the ground should be smooth, so that all surface water will run off immediately. The ground in the bed should be forked up as fine as pos- sible, and left soft and loose. Forest leaves are perhaps the 90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. best thing to put iu to keep the frost out, and if there is danger of mice, it might be well to let the ground freeze a little before putting the leaves in, and it would be a good thing to put in a little corn and smaller seeds, that had been sprinkled with poison while wet, so that the mice, should they find their way in, would not flouri.sh. The bed is now ready to close up with the sash and shutters, and when the sash are all on, put in the last end piece. This work should be done before winter, and the bed can be filled at any time. During the early winter there is little danger of getting in too much heat ; we often use eighteen or twenty inches deep and six or eight inches of loam on top. During December and January the beds want to be filled within a few inches of the top of the planks, as the plants grow very slowly and the heat will settle considerably ; but as the days grow longer, plants will grow much faster, and do not need so much heat, and must be set a little farther from the glass. Lettuce is the one great crop that is grown under glass in winter and early spring ; and to grow this to perfection, it is very desirable — and it seems to be almost necessary — to have a loose, sandy soil. My soil is too heavy, and I have tried a great many things to put it in good condition for this crop, but have never been able to get perfectly satisfactory results. Heavy manuring and stirring the soil help con- siderably. Turnip radishes will grow on almost any soil, but long ones need a loose, mellow soil, and do not need so much bottom heat as lettuce or turnip radishes. During March and April many of the sash are used for starting plants. Cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce and early celery should be sown by the first of March for the first early crop ; some sow much earlier, and if the plants are handled enough and given lots of room, it ma}^ be all right to put them in early, but to reset two or three times and have only one or two hundred to the sash when they are ready to put out of doors makes nice plants, but they cost high, as glass and labor should both bring money at this season. It is possible to raise ftdrly good plants by sowing thinly, we prefer iu drills, and giving the young plants plenty of No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 91 air, and when they have three or four true leaves, set them in a bed about two hundred to the sash. Tomatoes, egg-plant and peppers may be sown from the first of March to the first of April, and need more heat than the lettuce and cabbage ; and the earlier planted, providing they are well cared for, the stronger the plant. I am plant- ing my tomatoes later every year, and am usually better satisfied with those planted after March 20 than earlier. While we usually keep most of our plants of this class in the beds until after the middle of May, it is not necessary to have the glass over them so long, as it is better to have them uncovered during the day, and the shutters are all right to cover them at night. Gardeners usually want to get most of their glass over cucumbers, as the weather becomes warm ; and to do this, beds are planted in March and April with beets, carrots, radishes and plants that do not need glass as the days be- come warmer, and after they get well started, the sash are taken oft* and the beds covered, cold nights, with shutters. The cucumber beds are set up the same as the bed for winter, without the fence ; but it is not necessary to be quite so particular, as the weather is mild now. After the planks are set, before the ends are put in, plough through the centre, throwing the loam against the plank ; then throw out a trench about eighteen inches wide and some two and a half feet deep, — that is, from the glass. Throw the best of the loam against the plank, in the bed, and the poorer on the outside to bank it with. Put twelve or fifteen inches of hot manure in this trench, and cover with about six inches of loam, then rake the bed down so that the loam vfiW come nearly to the top of the planks, and some ten or twelve inches below in the centre. This gives room to set quite large plants, and they can nearly fill the bed be- fore they strike the glass much. By setting two or more runs near together, it is easier to water than where they are scattered ; they should l)e four to six feet apart with me. I have heard of places Avhere cucumber vines grew ten feet or longer, and under such conditions the beds would have to be farther apart. When the vines fill the sash, if the weather is warm enough, take the sash oft" and then take 92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. down the plank. We often set the plank for a second run of cucumbers the same season. It is quite important to have good cucumber plants, and we have had the best success by planting the seed in the bed or green-house, and transplanting very soon after the plants come up, before they get too tall, as they are apt to, soon, if the bed is warm enough to bring them up good. Then, when they have made two or three true leaves, reset and leave until they have started again, when we set them in four or five inch pots, one plant to the pot. The advantage of transplanting is to make the plant more stocky. They may not give so many cucumbers as plants that have been handled less. The heaviest crop of cucumbers that I ever grew, the plants were set one foot apart, three to the sash ; but we do not set so thickly as that, as a rule, thinking we get better results, usually, by setting them two feet apart. They want to be set in the centre of the bed. We have not considered the water supply as yet, as I take it for granted that no one would think of using glass to any extent without some supply that could be depended on at any time. It makes very little difference where it comes from, but it should be clean, so as not to clog the sprinklers, and have head enough to make a spray, to be all right to use on beds and in green-houses. It is not usually necessary to water beds very much before March, when they are run all winter ; but after this time they will need consideral)le water ; and I think they often suffer at this season, as they must have a great deal of air, and the beds have not much water in them even when they feel moist, if the heat is dry under them. Early in the season it is well to water on a bright, warm morning, so that the sash can be off and let the leaves dry ; but as the weather becomes warmer, we usually water in the afternoon. There is another subject of importance to consider before we think seriously about crops, and that is, in regard to our storage capacity. It is not that crops bring so much more during the winter and spring than they do in the fall, but during the fall the farmers many of them have a surplus, and they supply the No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 93 market to such an extent that the market gardener is not needed. In fact, he should be at home, and taking to mar- ket only such of his crops as are needed, while the larger parts should be put away in pits or cellars for winter sales. With the large gardener the pit is perhaps the best, but for the smaller it is not so convenient, either to fill or to take out of, as the vegetable cellar. The cellar costs more at first, but I think that a cellar twenty-five by thirty feet square, and costing probably three hundred or four hundred dollars, if it were well arranged, would be a cheaper place to store vegetables than a pit, everything considered. If one were to be used for several varieties of vegetables, it should be divided into several smaller cellars, so that each kind could be put by itself. They all want to be cool, but some want much more air than others. Such cellars should have pointed walls and cement floors, so as to be proof against rats and mice, and should be so constructed as to be easy to get crops into and out of. If they adjoin the wash room all the better. I have used such cellars for the past few years, and have put some vegetables in pits ; and, while we do not find the vegetables keep so well in the cellar as they do in the pit, under the best possible conditions, we consider them more satisfactory for us. Beets, carrots and potatoes keep all right in bins ; onions keep well in shallow boxes or on shelves ; in small quantities they are handled nicely in bushel boxes not filled very full, can be handled very rapidly and do not take up much room. We find that parsnips and horse radish keep best in shallow pits ; they do not have to be covered to keep out frost, — six or eight inches deep is all right. We usually store them in barrels, packed close, and a fresh sod on top. They will come out better late in the season than any other way I ever stored them, and are apt to keep longer than those left in the ground over winter. Our cellars are eight feet deep, and the ones we use for celery have shelves four feet from the floor, so that we get in two stands over most of the space. The walks between the shelves are filled in solid full of celery when we harvest, to be used first. As soon as these walks are cleared out, 94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. which is usually before Thanksgiving, we can get at any celery we want, or that needs to come out. To give you my idea of a cellar of this kind, it may be well to describe one we made two years ago. It was made in quite a steep bank, and is twenty by forty feet. The cel- lar proper is only twenty by thirty feet, and a room ten by twenty feet, separated from the cellar proper by a double board partition. The walls for the cellar are ten feet high, laid with some mortar and then pointed. Two feet from the top the wall sets back a few inches, and the floor sleepers rest on this. The floor is of matched spruce boards, and has four scuttles in it, about two by three feet, the frames for which are raised six inches from the floor. We keep the floor covered with meadow hay, and cover the scuttles if need be. The wall extends eighteen inches above this floor, and the plate sets on the wall. There is a double-pitch shingled roof over it. The floor is below the surface of the ground, and the dirt comes nearly to the plate. There are no win- dows in the cellar proper, but there is a large window in one end of the room overhead, and a door in the other, and there is a window in the outside cellar. The floor of the cellar is on a level with the driveway in front, and we drive to the back door, which is in the room over the cellar. There is no lugging up and down stairs. It is also possible to venti- late quite thoroughly, even in very cold weather. This is not a cold cellar in winter, but it is easier to keep at an even temperature than any cellar I have ever had before. It may seem strange to consider storage before giving any consideration to growing a crop ; but of this whole market- garden l)usiness there is nothing, perhaps, as well understood or as well written up as the growing of vegetables, especially the more common varieties, and I shall not spend much time on that part of the occupation ; and it may be well to say a few words about soil and manure, before we consider it. While there is no one soil that is good for all varieties of vegetables, most varieties will do fairly well on any good land; but having land that vegetables will grow well on is not the most important thing to consider in the ideal market garden, but rather a soil that will work easy, is deep, lays No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 95 so that the water will not stand on it, and is practically level. These are some of the most important points to consider in this connection. All crops that are to be worked by hand shonld have the rows run with the grade preferably north and south. Mine we have to run east and west, and there is a considerable tendency to grow to the south. If you have plenty of water at your disposal, a light, loose soil will grow vegetables of most varieties to perfec- tion ; and while the general belief is that such soils require much more manure than those that are heavier, it is very doubtful whether that is so in the average market garden, where the land is kept constantly under cultivation. The light soil is always in condition, mechanically, to grow a crop ; all it needs is the fertilizing elements ; whereas the heavy soil, in a few years of continual cropping, becomes so fine that it will pack together so hard as to choke root growth, and to obviate this the market gardener puts on very heavy dressings of manure, — not that the crop uses up so much, but on such ground the waste is so great. This loss is similar to that found by the Minnesota experi- ment station, of which Voorhees says : — "By the system of continuous cropping which is univer- sally observed in the great wheat fields in the north-west, there were but 24.5 pounds of nitrogen removed in the crop harvested, while the total loss per acre was 171 pounds, or an excess of 146 pounds, a large part of which loss was cer- tainly due to the rapid using up of the vegetable matter by this improvident method of practice. Whereas, on the other hand, when wheat was grown in a rotation with clover, the gain in soil nitrogen far exceeded that lost or carried away by the crop." In this connection I quote from a lecture by Peter Hender- son before this Board in 1889 : — "Twenty-five years ago the market gardeners of New Jersey, mainly located in Hudson County, grew better vege- tables than the Long Island men ; but their limited area of land, getting less and less annually, in consequence of the inroads made by buildings, does not allow them to give their lands the needed relief of laying a portion yearly down to 96 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. grass, so that their ground has become actually surfeited with manure ; and for this reason vegetables such as cabbage, let- tuce and celery do not now average as good as those grown on Long Island or other districts adjacent to New York, where the land is cheap enough to allow one-third to be put down annually with some grass or clover crop. I believe that, in a garden of fifteen acres, if one-third is laid down to grass each year, and the balance kept under the plough, the gross receipts will be greater and the profits more than if the whole fifteen acres were under tillage ; for less labor would be required, and manure tells better on sod land than on land under tillage." While we believe this to be true, there is a belief, in the country at least, that the garden should be in the same place every year; and that the reason the gardeners can grow better crops of vegetables than the formers is that they con- tinue growing on the same ground year after yiear. Ordinarily speaking, manure in the market garden should be ploughed in, and for such crops as cabbage, celery, beets and spinach we do not consider it any advantage to have it rotted down ; but, if it is necessary to use manure for grow- ing such roots as carrots and parsnips, it should be fine and rotten, and any manure to be used on the surface should be fine. Generally speaking, w^e consider the deeper ground is worked the more manure it will stand ; and I think it re- quires more manure to grow a crop on land that is worked very deep, ten inches or more, than on land not worked so deep. Where land is good and plenty, many varieties of vegetables can be grown to perfection on commercial fertil- izer, and should be grown much cheaper and better than on the heavily manured market-garden lands ; but to use fertilizer largely in growing crops it is very desirable to have land enough, so as not to be obliged to have more than one-half of it under cultivation. There may be some very loose soils where you can use fertilizers year after year, economically, and keep the land under cultivation. To my mind, while fertilizer manufacturers may sell what they advertise, they give the man who does not know what he ought to have the best possible chance to cheat himself. If it is a fact that the best grades of fertilizer are made up as No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 97 they should be, then the lower grades are all wrong. If we consider that a good, general vegetable fertilizer should con- tain ammonia, 4 to 5 per cent ; available phosphoric acid, 7 to 8 per cent; potash, K.,0, 7 to 8 per cent, — what are we to think of the low-grade fertilizer that is guaranteed to con- tain ammonia, 1 to 2 per cent ; available phosphoric acid, 9 to 10 per cent; potash, K2O, 1 to 2 per cent? Neither of the analyses are the extremes of most of the large fertilizer manufacturers, and one or the other is very much out of proportion. The first of these we consider a safe fertilizer to invest in for use in the vegetable garden, while we think that the latter would be very expensive. It seems to be almost a universal practice with fertilizer manufacturers to reduce the amount of ammonia and potash and increase the amount of phosphoric acid as they reduce the price. It would seem as though the phosphoric acid were the body of the fertilizers, and the ammonia and potash the soul. If that is so, there is not usually much soul in fertilizers that sell below twenty-five dollars per ton. Phosphoric acid is prob- ably needed on most soils, and if we know to what extent, very w^ell ; if not, it is safer to use a more evenly balanced fertilizer. We will consider the vegetaljle garden in a general way. Land that is to be used for the very early crops of spinach, beets and the more hardy vegetables, if ploughed in narrow ridges in the late fall, can often be planted in the spring, be- fore the frost is all out. It will not work so well during the summer as land left until in good condition before working it, but will, sometimes, give an earlier crop. It is well to use a good fertilizer liberally, on these beds, even when ten or more cords of good manure were ploughed in, per acre, in the fall. We sow celery seed at this season, often with our beets, and sometimes get a good stand. When sowing- celery in the open field we mix a little lettuce seed with it, so as to ])e able to see the rows as soon as possible. The celery comes slowly. We find the Crosby Improved Egyptian beet the best extra early, but it is difficult to get true seed. We fail to get any that is satisfactory for less than one dollar per pound. The Detroit Dark Red, while not so early as the Egyptian, and making a much heavier top, is a good second early. 98 BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. I cannot, as a rule, recommend new varieties of vegetables ; but it would seem as though the Gradus, or Prosperity pea, had merits that would make it the early pea as soon as the seed came within the reach of the public, and I trust that it will not be mixed and spoiled as the Stratagem pea was. The peas are as large as the Stratagem, the pods are larger, and the quality is nearly equal to Nott's Excelsior. The vines grow about as tall as the Alaska, and, while they are frail, have yielded well with me. While we are considering new vegetables, I wish to call your attention to the Golden Hubbard squash, — it seems to be of better quality, more productive, and earlier than the Green Hubbard. It is handsome, and grows to a nice size, — six to ten pounds. To have a continuous supply of lettuce, it is necessary to sow the seed often. The first sowing should be at the time of the early beets. The Black-seeded Tennisball and Sala- mander are good, smooth-leaved, heading varieties. The Wonderful makes a very large, solid head that stands well. It has curly leaves. Parsnips and horse-radish require the whole season to make their growth, and we do not put any other crop with them. Early carrots are sown with celery and the late crop after spinach. There seem to be but three varieties of celery that we need consider. The Paris Golden is the fall celery, and is mostly used until the middle of November. After that time there is a call for something better, and the Giant Pascal is the most popular celery with us until Christmas, when the call is for Boston Market. This variety was largely given up by the Worcester gardeners a few years ago, but has done better of late and is planted quite extensively now. It is of the best quality, a fine keeper, and, as it does not grow so tall as the Pascal, it can be planted closer. Four to five feet between the rows gives plenty of room if the land is good, while six feet is none too far for the Pascal. We set very little celery before the middle of June, and we expect good celery set as late as July 20. We intend to set the plants about six inches apart in the rows, and arc perfectly satisfied if three heads make a bunch, — in fact we consider that the ideal size. No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 99 In regard to cultivation, do not wait for the weeds, but begin as soon after the crops are planted as possible, and keep at it. On good land it is but little trouble to go over it if there are no weeds, — and there will not be many if you begin early and go often. If they get a start we gen- erally pull them and take them from the field. For working such crops as beets and carrots, we find nothing better when the plants are small than the Arlington slide hoe. But this will not work well unless the ground is in the best condi- tion. Later, we use the Buckley wheel hoe. This has a large wheel and does good work, but is not made well enough, which is a very general fault with agricultural im- plements. For a hand weeder, we consider Lang's the best. The Planet, Jr., cultivator is an excellent one, and, with the pulverizer on, leaves the ground in ideal shape. We con- sider the landside plough the best in the market garden, " Let them sing who may of the battle fray, And the deeds that have long since passed ; Let them chant in praise of the tar whose days Are spent on the ocean vast. I would render to these all the worship you please, I would honor them even now ; But I'd give far more from my heart's full store To the cause of the good old plough. Full many there be that daily we see With a selfish and hollow pride, "Who the ploughman's lot, in his humble cot, With a scoi-nf ul look deride ; But I'd rather take, aye, a hearty shake From his hand than to wealth I'd bow ; For the honest grasp of his hand's rough clasp Has stood by the good old plough. All honor be, then, to these gray old men, When at last they are bowed with toil; Their warfare then o'er, they battle no more, For they've conquered the stubborn soil. And the chaplet each wears in his silvery hairs. And ne'er shall the victor's brow With a laurel crown to the grave go down Like the sons of the good old plough." Mr. A. M. Lyman (of Montague). I have been very much interested in this very instructive paper, and I am rising here to say a good word for this market gardener, the 100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. champion of Worcester County in that line. I was at his place at a])out the time he began on that rugged land, and have seen the possibilities to which he has attained. I have seen the persistency and eflbrt he has put into his work. When you hear the lecture, you think how easy and nice that work has been. When you see him working on that rugged soil, as I have seen him, you will decide that it was not easy. We have with us to-day parties who are very successful market gardeners in our Connecticut valley garden, as we call it. I refer to the Smith Brothers of West Springfield. The Chair. We would be glad to hear from Mr. Smith of West Springfield. Mr. Addison H. Smith (of West Springfield) . Nothing was farther from my thoughts than saying anything to this company. We have done something at market gardening. We have done it along different lines from those pursued by my friend Kinney, and yet, as our friend has said, Mr. Kinney has worked hard and achieved success. Any of us who have been to the horticultural exhibits at Worcester have found that his fruits show what his works have been. We who are interested in agriculture, and particularly in market gardening, must have a definite line of work. Mr. Kinney has attained success and he has told us how he did it. We have worked hard, 1)ut perhaps not quite so hard as he has, for our land was somewhat easier to till ; we have worked hard and built up our business. It has been a mat- ter of a great deal of trouble and thought, and yet it seems to me that results such as Mr. Kinney has had prove that the work is worthy the doing. With us this has been a trying year. We had difficulty on account of the dry weather in the spring, in getting our seed to germinate ; but by a little replanting we succeeded in getting a good crop of everything save celery. Owing to the poor celery seed that was put out last spring, we had to buy seventy-five or a hundred thousand plants. The plants we bought were mostly hollow, and not worth anything except to suck cider through ; and we do not believe in that kind of business. It has been a very serious thing, and it seems to me there is a problem for us to see that seedsmen are not allowed to send out seed that is worse than worthless. People come to me almost every No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 101 day as they ride pass, and ask me if I am not going to get in my celery. I say " No." The stalk is not good. Out of twenty thousand plants I bought I do not suppose there were fifty healthy plants. It seems to me the farmer is entitled to some protection from seedsmen. With the exception of celery, our crops have been very good this season. We have in store now perhaps fifteen hundred barrels of cabbage. We have parsnips, onions and turnips and most all vegetables of that kind to carry us through the winter. We have some green-houses. That brinos me to another thinff. We have with us a sue- cessful cucumber grower. He is a neighbor of mine, Mr. Brown. He raises cucumbers under glass and ships them to New York, and knows how to get twenty -five or thirty dol- lars a bushel for them. I think you would like to know how he does it. Mr. Brown. We get the cucumbers and send them dowm there, and they bring the money. That is all there is to it. Dr. H. T. Fernald (of Amherst). There are some points in connection with the very interesting paper which we have heard this morning that I would like permission to touch upon for a few moments. A recent map published in one of our papers was an in- teresting study to me, giving, as it did, the so-called cen- tres for different subjects, — the centre of population of the United States, the geographical centre, the centre of crime, of illiteracy. One of these centres, located not far from Erie, Pa., was the manufacturing centre. Far to the east- ward of the geographical centre is the manufacturing centre. The editor, commenting on that point, said that this is but an indication of the concentration of manufacturing interests in and near the New England States. To my mind, how- ever, it meant far more. Manufacturing means manufact- urers,— not only owners, but workers. It means what we have all listened to for years, — the concentration of life in the towns and cities, which has led to the industry of mar- ket gardening ; and the tendency to this concentration ap- pears to be increasing with every decade, which increase means a continual development of this already large occu- pation. 102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Under such circumstances as these, we must recognize that the future of market gardening is a most important one. And as it grows we meet another problem, one already met in other lines, viz., a direct continuation of crop acreage. If I might illustrate my thought, it would be something like this : if an insect desires a particular food plant to attack (let it be the strawberry plant, for example), after the food supply for it and its descendants on one patch becomes ex- hausted, it will have to hunt to find the next area to supply it with that food. We have a record of wheat fields running up to over twenty-five thousand acres in one strip. Allow an insect to start at one corner of that field, and it wall need no time to hunt for the next wheat field. Such a field will allow the insect an abundance of food on which to grow and multiply and spread. In the same way the increased acreage of market gardens has provided a condition for a rapid increase in num- bers of our injurious insect pests. We wish to increase our acreage of these crops without directly increasing thereby the rapid multiplication of insect pests, so that in time they will overwhelm these particular crops. This question needs careful consideration and study. I have been very much interested yesterday and to-day to hear remarks such as this : " Now, this is the practical side of it. We will leave the theoretical side for the experiment stations and the college men." This is a pretty severe criti- cism, and, unfortunately, there is altogether too much truth in it, and I speak as a college man. There is too much the- oretical work in the colleges and experiment stations of this country which has not yet been presented in a practical way for the people to use. Now, I would like to say that the day has not come when theoretical work can be avoided. If we follow the life his- tory of an insect, as has no doul)t been frequently done before you, from the egg through the various changes until the adult is developed and has laid its eggs for another cycle of life, we must do that with scientific care ; for the insect is continualh" struggling with its own enemies, which will seize any opportunity to attack and kill it. In just the same way No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 103 we must seize the opportunity in that life cycle where the insect is least protected to pounce upon it and crush it out of existence. This scientific work must precede the practical work. We must find the salient point at which it can be best attacked. While I yield to the justice of the criticism that I have heard more than five times in the last twenty-four hours, that too often this scientific work is stopped without being carried on to find the corresponding treatment for prac- tical application, the salient point must be discovered first. A practical treatment is what is needed at the present time. Look over the directions that have been given for the treatment of the cabbage maggot. I have read page after page on this subject. One method given is to take tarred paper and have a block made with three sharp edges and stamp out hexagonal pieces from that paper, and go through the fields of cabbage and carefully place these papers around the stems. That is an excellent remedy for the cabbage maggot, but I am ready to say that the man who discovered that remedy never attempted to cover tea acres of cabbages with it, or he would have given it up. We want facts and methods that can be applied to twenty acre fields. The problem of finding remedies that are inex- pensive enough to make it pay to use them is the problem of the future, in my opinion. Question. What would you use to destroy the cabbage worm? Dr. Fernald. Paris green. Question. Would it not be dangerous ? Dr. Fernald. I have never learned that it has been found so. I am giving the experience of the larger cabbage growers of the Middle States, where they grow for the New York and Philadelphia markets. They do not say anything about it, but they use Paris green right along. There is a repetition of broods during the year ; the later broods coming from the earlier broods. If you reduce the broods to a few individuals the first of the season, you have practically nothing to deal with the last of the season. The first of the season you can use Paris green safely. You can use it even after the cabbage begins to head, because it 104 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. does not head in, it heads out. You can sprinkle the outer leaves and even the outermost leaves of the little head, for these leaves never become a part of the cabbage as cut for market. The leaves inside have never been exposed to the treatment with the poison. Arsenical poisons are not as dangerous as they seem to be at first thought, because the cabbage grows out and not in. Question. Did you ever feed the leaves to your cows? Dr. Fernald. No, sir ; I do not keep cows to try it on. These leaves, after a few rains, have been analyzed, and even after a summer shower, and they could not get a chemical trace of any arsenical poison. Mr. Smith. I rise in all seriousness, because it is not a problem solved by us. Two or three years ago there were great quantities of grapes dumped in New York simply because they had been sprayed with something that was poisonous. The color of the grapes had spoiled the market for them. If it went abroad that we were using arsenicals on our cabbage, would it not, in the long run, very greatly cut down the sale of cabbage? I think people would use some other vegetable. I notice that the lower leaves of the cabbage are cup shaped, and you may go through a field of cabbage after a rain, and even several days after a rain, if the weather is cloudy, and you will find that these leaves are full of water. I do not know what is to hinder the arsenic remaining in these leaves, and thus making them dangerous for cattle, if not for people. Ex-Secretary Sessions. This fear of Paris green for cattle is all moonshine and nonsense. In the gypsy moth work we had endless trouble at first from the fears of the people that the extensive spraying we carried on would in- jure cattle, injure hens and even children. People were very much afraid of it, and we had a great deal of trouble to convince them that there was no danger. We tried many experiments. Among the experiments, the director was accustomed, when he went about looking after the work, to allow his horse to feed under the trees where the spraying had been done, so the people might see that there was no danger from the Paris green. His horse did not show any evil effects from eating this grass. No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 105 Since I rose to my feet, it occurs to me that a gentleman is here who tried the most convincing experiments on that point. Mr. Kirkland made an experiment mider our di- rection that I think will settle the matter in your minds. Mr. A. H. KiKKLAND (of Maiden). I will only say that under the direction of the gypsy moth committee I made a test in this matter of arsenate of lead, which adheres to the foli- age in a much more marked degree than Paris green. Arse- nate of lead contains arsenic. We sprayed a pear tree very heavily with arsenate of lead, used, I believe, at the rate of twelve and a half pounds to one hundred and fifty gallons of water, — ten times as strong as you would use Paris green. The spray ran down on the grass so that it was fairly white. We had hired an old horse at the MuUer Brothers' tannery in Cambridge, where they kill horses for their hides. We cut the grass and fed it to the horse. We gave him two feed- ings a day, and kept him about a week. The people at the tannery said the horse was more frisky and felt better after eating the grass than before. One word in regard to grapes. Dr. Goessmanu analyzed some grapes under the conditions referred to. He found that a man, to eat sufficient grapes to poison himself, would have to take, if I remember rightly, several bushels at a sitting. Mr. Kinney. There are two things to be considered in this connection. Where j^ou have good apparatus and know your business, there probably is not the slightest danger in using the arsenicals. But the farmer who has nothing more than a pail and a whisk broom frequently gets the poison on in bunches. With the best apparatus I would not be afraid to eat anything that had been sprayed, because the particles are so fine. I know, if the poison is not put on with good apparatus, it is liable to be put on in bunches. With good apparatus it is practically harmless. Dr. Fernald. One point raised by Mr. Smith deserves mention. He spoke of the feeling of the buyers of cab- bage ao:ainst the use of arsenicals. I would like to sav that I am acquainted with gentlemen who are supplying New York and Philadelphia markets with thousands of heads of cabbage each year. They told me that they are continually 106 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. using Paris green or one of the arsenicals for this purpose, and they also told me that they did not say anything about it. That may in a measure explain why excitement has not already developed. The treatment has been in use for nearly ten years in the Middle States. Another point 1 want to mention is this. I said, if you destroy the early broods of the cabbage worm, you do not need to use the later treatments. In other words, if the first treatment or the first two treatments are successful, you can stop using the arsenicals before the cabbage begins to head. Question. Would it be practical to apply Paris green to the cabbage with the same implements we use. in applying it to the potato ? Put it on dry ? Dr. Fernald. I always like to mix it with lime. The fact is that the arsenic in Paris green is part combined and part uncombined. It is the uncombined arsenic that does the l)urning. It seems to be generally the case that where you can combine all the arsenic with lime, you reduce or en- tirely prevent the danger of burning. You do not get as certain results when using it dry as you do when using it in a liquid form. Still, I have seen it used in just that way on the cabbage on a small scale. Question. Isn't air-slaked lime a remedy for the cabbage worm ? Dr. Fernald. I wish I could say yes. It is successful, perhaps, in some cases, but you cannot rel}^ upon it entirely. Mr. E. "VV. Boise (of Blandford). Wouldn't 3'ou place more weight on the arsenate of lead for destroying the potato beetle than on Paris green ? I have used it the past year with marked results. Dr. Fernald. The only reason I did not speak of arse- nate of lead in reference to the cabbage was because of having in mind an extra precaution to avoid danger. Arse- nate of lead has remarkable staying qualities ; it will adhere to the foliage much longer than Paris green. Where you are dealing with potato tops, I should say it was very desir- able to use arsenate of lead ; whereas, with the cabbage, if the poison will stay on long enough to kill the first brood, that is all that is really needed. We do not want the poison No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 107 to stay on the cabbage, but want it washed off before the head comes to maturity. We have different ends in view with the two different plants. Mr. Boise. Isn't arsenate of lead better for the potato, because it will not burn the top at all ? Dr. Fernald. I am a thorough convert to the use of arsenate of lead everywhere it can be used. I regard it as a better and more effectual substance to use, because it stays on the foliage longer, and because there is no danger of burning the foliage. The case of the cabbage is rather an exception, because of the peculiar conditions surrounding it. I would unhesitatingly recommend arsenate of lead in most cases. Mr. Smith. I understood the essayist to say he recom- mended the landside plough for preparing a market garden. Wouldn't you recommend the use of the swivel plough? Mr. Kinney. I have yet to see a swivel plough that would turn market garden land in good shape. Our land is worked twenty inches deep, and it is worked soft. There may be places where the swivel plough can be used to the best advantage, and I would recommend that every market gardener have a swivel plough. There may be one made that will work well. On all garden land that I know about the land has been turned largely in ridges. In Arlington on very large fields the crops are raised in ridges. In the Connecti- cut valley it is worked differently. I have not yet found a swivel plough that would do satisfactory work for me. The best landside plough I know is the National, whicli is made the same as the sulky. The sulky would do just as good work. Where you plough in ridges, the landside plough is preferable. Mr. Smith. We have a swivel plough, but we have not ploughed ten acres with it. We think there is nothing bet- ter than a good chilled plough . Mr. Kinney. I do not find many men who know how to plough a big piece with a landside plough. You should be- gin in the centre and plough around the centre. This gives you a furrow turned in from the edge all around. ^Ir. Smith. How much income do you expect from each sash each season? 108 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. Mr. Kinney. I think five dollars a fair amount ; some years it will be more, and some less. We run our sash all winter. Mr. Smith. Is it the custom to run the sash all winter in Worcester ? Mr. Kinney. No. The Chair. I see Mr. O. B. Hadwen in the audience, one of the pioneer market gardeners of Worcester, and we would like to hear from him. Mr. Hadwen. I do not feel competent to instruct the market gardeners at this time. It is true that fifty years ago I indulged a little in market gardening, but the conditions existing then are so different from those of to-day that I feel as if I were a back number. I have been exceedingly gratified with the paper that has been read. I feel that the market gardeners have been in- structed and will know better what to do in their operations in the future than they have in the past. I feel also that the market gardening of the twentieth century will be entirely difierent from the market gardening of the nineteenth cen- tury. We are in an age of progress. I am gratified that these gentlemen have been successful in market gardening, because I have known them from boy- hood, and have known the difiiculties with which they have had to contend. Our friend Kinney grows carrots that look as if they were all run in the same mould, and when put on exhibition at the agricultural and horticultural exhibits they invariably bring the prize. I was at an exhibition of a society once when Mr. Kinney came in to take his premiums. I noticed that they amounted to quite a large sum. I often ask impertinent questions, and I asked him what he was going to do with the money. He said he was going to use the money for a sinking fund to pay a part of the indebtedness on his estate. I could not have had a more satisfactory answer, because I knew he had com- menced as a comparatively poor man, and he has proved a success in his vocation. Years ago, when I was a market gardener, all I grew were peas and beans and corn and potatoes and beets and cabbage and a few of the common vegetables. I took these veg- No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 109 ■etables on my milk wagon, and supplied my customers. Of course I had them fresh and they brought a good price. I felt well satisfied with my vocation at that time. The change that has taken place in the way market garden- ing is done is most remarkable. A great variety of things have been rejected. It is wonderful, and still there is in store for us a still greater change. I believe that each fruit and each vegetable is endowed with a natural period of life, and after it has had its day and generation it becomes un- worthy of further cultivation, and new kinds must take its place. Mr. Ethan Brooks (of West Springfield) . Brother Smith said we ought to be protected in the matter of seeds from the seed dealers. There has been nothing said about gardeners raising their own seed, so far as it may be practicable. Years ago, when I was raising vegetables, I raised the seed of the lettuce, for instance, and almost every plant I had would head perfectly. I selected the best possible plants and saved the seed from them, and year after year the crop improved. Just so with the cabbage crop. Thirty years ago I secured good seed of the flat Dutch variety. I have preserved that seed until now, I go through the cabbage field and select the heads that appear to be the most desira- ble, and pull them up. If the root is satisfactory, if there is nothing objectionable, I save the seed. In that way I am confident that I have improved that variety of cabbage. My neighbors have come to me to buy seed, and I have had calls from abroad for seed, and people from Westfield have come to me for plants. One of my seed beds did not do well, and I found I was going to be short of plants, so I l)ought some from my neighbor. At the time my own plants looked inferior. About three out of four of the plants I bought proved worthless, — they had no head, — and three out of four of my own plants headed beautifully. They were raised side by side. I would like to ask Mr. Kinney if he raises his own seed. Mr. Kinney. We do not, as a general thing. I intend to save my own cucumber seed, and, as far as possible, sweet corn, and I prefer home-grown potatoes, which is against the 110 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. general belief. From an experience extending over many years, I have yet to see the day when the results were as good from seed potatoes that were purchased as from those we could raise ourselves. The results cannot be the same with all growers. My ideal way of saving seed potatoes is to select them when they are dug, when you can throw out the poor hills. In regard to other vegetables, I believe we get the best seed from California. Our climate is so liable to be wet, I do not think we can get the maturity or the germinant qual- ity that they can in a climate where the seed can grow to perfection and then have six months to ripen. In the east, where we are continually cultivating the same ground, if there is any disease it is very liable to be in the seed. I am certainly a believer that very many of the plant diseases are carried in the seed. I think that is a thing that we shall find very much more general than we are at present ready to admit. Mr. Edmund Hersey (of Hingham). I hardly agree with the speaker in regard to the potato. The potato is not a seed, it is a tuber. Whenever you get a seed that grows to full perfection, whether it be north or south, there you will get the best seed, because it is the strongest lived. With any seed that we can ripen on our own land, I believe it is best to do that thing. When you come to a tuber, the northern people evidently are able to grow a potato with a stronger life than we can generally do. They are able to keep it in their climate, and when we take their potatoes in the spring and plant them, they start oif with a stronger life. I have no doubt that we can learn to keep our potatoes a great deal better than we do. We do not put our potatoes in a cool enough place. They lose a portion of their vigor before we plant them. After many experiments which I have tried, I find that potatoes raised in the northern portion of Maine will, as a rule, produce nearly one-third more when planted side by side with home-grown seed, or when every other hill is planted with potatoes kept as well as I can pos- sibly keep them on my place. That has been my experience. Therefore, I take exception to Mr. Kinney's idea of keeping his own potatoes for seed, unless he has some peculiar place No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. Ill where he can keep them, so that the sprouts will not start, and also a soil where he can grow them with e^^es as large as they are grown in the northern part of Maine. You want a potato with a large, strong eye. You want also a strong lite and a healthy potato. It is not the shape and the size so much as it is the life, simply because it is only a continu- ation of the old life. It is not the production of new life or of a seed. It is similar to the scion you take from one tree to another. If you have a scion that has a strong life, that is healthy and vigorous, you get a better tree from it than you will from a scion that has picked up a disease somewhere and is weak in constitution. You would propagate that weakness, and it is the same with the potato. A potato with a constitutional weakness will not produce more than two-thirds, if it does more than half, as much as a potato which has a good, strong life, and has no disease. It con- tinues along in the same life. It is not the creation of new life. I think the farmers in general do not pay attention to this point in growing potatoes. They do not recognize that it is not seed they are planting. I have tried carefully for many years, and have not been able to change in the least the form of a potato by selection. Mr. Joshua Clakk (of Tewksbury). Those of us who attended the Farmers' Congress in Boston, and heard the very interesting paper on market gardening by a gentleman from Kentucky, will remember that he dwelt on raising potatoes. In Kentucky he said they could raise two crops of potatoes. He also said that from the second crop, from the potatoes not fully matured, they would get potatoes two weeks earlier. It would seem to contradict what Mr. Her- sey has said. Mr. Hersey. It is not a contradiction. If you take a round potato and do not cut it, you get potatoes about ten days earlier. You get potatoes from eight to ten days earlier by planting uncut potatoes. Why? Simply because by cutting the potato, unless you cover it with something, you are weakening its life. I tried an experiment for ten years in succession, using the same seed, keeping it separate and carrying it along, and the tenth year there was quite a difference in the product 112 BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. from the potatoes that had been cut year after year and those that were whole at the beginning and carried along. They had given up that vigorous life. They had weakened year after year, until the difference in the product was very marked. I presume in that climate it was much better to have this second crop of unripe potatoes. They were probably small and uncut. If so, they would get better potatoes than from those that were cut and kept longer. The longer you keep a potato, the weaker it becomes. It loses its power to start new growth. Mr. Kinney. Mr. Hersey and I exactly agree that the potato is a tuber and not a seed. But I claim if I grow the potato, dig it and sort it, I can get a more perfect tuber and a more perfect plant than I can by buying out of a car shipped here from Maine or elsewhere. I do not mean that a farmer should put his potatoes in a cellar and let them sprout all they want to. We have potatoes in as good shape as the men who buy from the car. My own experience is, if we take a perfect potato, grown from a perfect plant, and put it in the cellar and keep it in perfect shape, we think it will yield better than the potato we can buy. We have it more under our control. Adjourned at 12.35. Afternoon Session. Chairman Wood called the meeting to order, in the Meth- odist Church, at 2.10 p.m., and said: I will introduce Mr. C. K. Brewster, the delegate from the Highland Agricultural Society, who will preside this afternoon. Mr. Brewster. Ladies and gentlemen : A great deal has been said and written in the past few years in regard to the conditions of country life and the decadence of the hill towns of Massachusetts and of New England. At the meet- ing at Amherst, a year ago, a professor said it was one object of the agricultural college to infuse new blood into these hill towns. A magazine writer in the "Atlantic Monthly " of last April said that the hill towns were evolving a race of "poor whites." You have listened this week to No. 4.] « COUNTEY LIFE. 113 one of the representatives of these " whites," in the person of Professor Mies of Cambridge. You are soon to listen to another, in the person of Dr. Conwell of Philadelphia. The names of these distinguished gentlemen are above and be- yond the reach of any magazine writer or of myself on the scale of learning, philanthropy and religion. It may be in- teresting to you to know that these two gentlemen were born and reared in the little town of Worthinsrton, about twenty miles to the north of this town. It is an interest- ing fact also that at the commencement exercises at the Agricultural College last June the two Grinnell prizes were awarded to two Middlefield boys, a little town to the east of this, with four hundred and eighty-six inhabitants. It seems to me that in this the problem of evolution is being at least partially solved. I can suggest no better thing for the hill towns to do than to keep on evolving. Many of you probably know that Dr. Conwell is at the head of the largest institution of its kind in this country, if not in the world. I thank God that, with all the cares that fall upon him in his great work, he forgets not the home of his father and mother, he forgets not the teaching-s of his boyhood and early life, he forgets not the hills from whence Cometh his strength, and he forgets not the influence of the State Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts. Ladies and gentlemen. Dr. Russell H. Conwell hardly needs an introduction to a western Massachusetts audience. I have the pleasure of presenting him to you as the speaker of the afternoon, upon the subject of " Country life." 114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. COUNTRY LIFE. BY REV. DR. RUSSELL H. CONWELL OF PHILADELPHIA. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen : I have seldom in my life felt more conscience-stricken than at this moment, — when I began to appreciate the importance of this ques- tion and the magnitude of this subject, and thought how little time I had to put upon it, — no time until to-day, — and that I was obliged to drive here from Springfield since one o'clock, arriving five minutes ago, and must speak without my dinner. To come so suddenly upon so impor- tant a theme and to speak in the presence of so large an audience, with so little meditation, seems an almost un- pardonable error. I never had my attention especially called to this theme before, but, as I have meditated upon it in my ride from Springfield, it has grown to such a size that I shrink from contact with the boulder as it clino^s to the overhamjing hills. I supposed that I was invited to talk to the Board of Agriculture, and I do not like to leave that idea. I think there are some thino;s that mio-ht be said to the Board of Agriculture with profit also to the laymen who are not on the Board of Agriculture, — and the ladies who have not had that honor. Those of us who are farmers here in Mas- sachusetts feel a great interest in our Board of Agriculture, and we have some things to suggest as to their proceedings, and some of these thoughts shall come from this farmer this afternoon. The State Board of Agriculture I suppose was organized for the purpose of making the farms of Massachusetts pay. That is an important thing, but by no means the most im- portant work of the Board of Agriculture. To make a farm in the interior of Massachusetts, with its barren hills, No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 115 pay vso as to enable a man to support a family, send his children to college and give his wife a seal-skin coat, is a problem not yet fully solved. I shall not, however, take time to discuss farming or farmers. Yet, I start in with the very important conviction that the farms in the interior of Massachusetts can be made to pay, and in many cases they are made to pay. The only reason why any farmer on the hills of Massachusetts fails to make a profit upon his farm is because he does not adapt himself to the conditions of the farm and to the demands of the people at this time. I was out in Indiana a little while ago, and was again introduced to a man whom I met there several years ago. He had been farming there. He was a Massachusetts man. That gentleman went to Indiana and undertook to carry on a farm, but could make nothing at it. Wheat was selling; at seventy cents a bushel. Corn would not pay. Hogs would not pay. He concluded he was not fitted to be a farmer. He said he could not make the farm pay because of the close competition in all the staples raised on the prairies of the west. He went to Boston on a visit and there in Quincy market he saw what the farmers of Massa- chusetts ought long ago to have seen, — little cans of pre- served gooseberries selling for sixty cents a pint. Sixty cents a pint ! Said he, "That is all I get for a bushel of wheat. There must be somethino; wrong: about the goose- berries or about me ! " The marketman assured him that there was nothing wrong about the gooseberries. He said to his wife, "Let's get back to Indiana as quickly as we can. Gooseberries grow wild on our farm. We have been grubbing them out. Let's permit them to grow." He went back to his farm in Indiana, planted not another grain of corn, raised no more hogs or wheat, but allowed the gooseberries to grow and cultivated them. Then he put in raspberries and strawberries and the small fruits, and to-day that man is the richest taxpayer in the whole State of Indiana. He raises no wheat, rye or corn. He has raised something native to the soil and cultivated it, and he sold his preserved gooseberries at seventy-five cents a pint. He canned them in the field within five minutes of the time they were picked. In the canned condition they 116 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. contained the freshness, odor and lusciousness of the native fields. In the markets of Philadelphia and Boston and Xew York there is nothing that brings a higher price than pre- served New England blackberries of the large, long native kind. People cannot get them at any price in some cities. Two years ago this summer a man came from New York to Middlefield to get blackberries. He selected carefully the largest black ones and canned them in the field without breaking them, and took them to New York. He sold the entire lot to one hotel at forty cents a quart. This is only a hint to the farmers of Massachusetts as to what wealth lies in the woods if they would cultivate the things that grow there naturally. When I undertook to raise black- berries on my farm in Massachusetts, I sent to New York State and bought bushes of large-sized blackberries. They were large the first year, and the next year they were small. I do not know as they are of any use at all now, except to shelter hens. If I had gone to the fields and cul- tivated the natural varieties until they reached a large size, I might have been a rich man by this time. The farmers of New England are not now raising what the people specially need. I know of a single farm that I used to own, which for twenty-five years, above all expenses and cares, paid four- teen per cent interest. You cannot find city investments that will pay anything like that. I am simply hinting at what it is not now my purpose to discuss. The farms of New England can pay. I start out with that proposition. Farms, wherever they may be, if put in the right position and farmed on a large but economical scale, can be made to pay. A few weeks ago I was in New York to deliver an address, and a friend invited me to his home, and he put maple crystals on the table for me to enjoy. Maple crys- tals ; I inquired about them, and I found that maple sap makes a larger amount of maple crystals than of old-fash- ioned sugar, and they bring from seventy-five cents to a dollar a pound at the confectioners. "When that man's patent runs out and you can make maple crystals, you will No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 117 get seventy-five cents instead of four or five cents. Why haven't you been doing it all these years ? You have been saying, "The farms are running down, and nothing more can be done." There is certainly not as much done as mio;ht be done. But the chief purpose, after all, of the Board of Agri- culture of the State of Massachusetts is not to raise cab- bages, or potatoes, or apples, or peaches, or pears, or to kill ofi" the gypsy moths. All that is initiatory. While all these are included in their duties, and while it is cer- tainly of great consequence to know how to raise cattle and to make butter and get it to market, yet there is an end beyond all these things for which the State appointed this Board of Agriculture. The people of the State do not care how many potatoes can be raised, if they are not eaten ; they do not care how many berries can be picked, if no man needs them. They do not care how many cows can be raised, if the butter is not wanted. The great end of all these things is manhood, — the making of men. That old saying is as mighty now as it was when that New Hamp- shire man was asked what he could raise among those rocks, and he replied, " We raise men ! We raise men ! " That is the fundamental purpose of the Board of Agri- culture, after all, to raise men ! The raising of vegetables is simply a means toward a definite end. After all, the great purpose is to raise men. One Daniel Webster is worth more than all the potatoes you can raise in Hamp- shire County. One William CuUen Bryant is more valua- ble than all the corn you can raise in Hampden County. One great man whom the people rise up and call blessed is of more account than all the wheat combined in the graneries of Chicago. When you can raise a man like Senator AYilson in a little country town, and send him out to make nations free, then has the agricultural society which enabled him to live on that stony farm done a great duty. I say, then, the chief purpose is to raise men. If that be the purpose, let us see what kind of men are raised in Massachusetts in the country districts. If I had only had the time, in the midst of the great multiplicity of my 118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. duties, to have grappled with this subject, I would have enjoyed this hour because on the verge of it now I get hints of magnificent things I should love to utter on an occasion like this. What kind of men have been made in New England? New Ens^land has in the United States Senate now sixteen Senators, while one State twice as large as the whole of New England has only two. The proportion of her in- fluence in all the aft'airs of the United States is equally great. If 3'ou look back to the history of 1856-74, you will find that New England has sent out its men into all the great enterprises in the northern, middle and western States. The migration from the country towns has also come to Westfield, Springfield, Worcester, Boston and Salem. I have only time to hint at these points. There are sitting here people of Westfield, who were born here, who can count by the score men all around them now in the manufacturing business, and men who are now control- lino; the affairs of Westfield, who were born in some interior country town not far away. Their influence on Massachu- setts is only a hint of their value made to the Board of Agriculture. The Board should see that the right kind of men are raised in the country. But these boundaries are too small between Connecticut and New Hampshire, be- tween the Atlantic Ocean and the Hudson River. They are too small for the real Massachusetts. Massachusetts reaches out to the Pacific and way across the ocean, and has her men now fighting in the Philippines, where New England is lead- ing our armies and navies. There are in the Senate of the United States fourteen men who were born on Massachu- setts soil, and twenty-seven men born in Massachusetts are in the National House of Representatives representing other States. There are forty-one members of the United States Legislature who were born on Massachusetts soil or are sons of men born on her soil. When we think how wide is her influence, how great is her power and how national her force, we cannot over-estimate the importance of raising the right kind of men. Westfield was a country town a while ago. You would be ashamed to say it is a country town now. Yet I hope No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 119 it will remain a country town for a good many years to come. That distinguished son of Massachusetts now at the head of the statistical bureau was sent out to find out how many governors and representatives and senators had been born in New England. You will remember he found twenty- nine governors of States born in New England ; thirty-two senators ; eighty-four editors of daily papers ; while of the generals in the army, five out of seven were born in New Enijland. He found in the State Legislatures or holding some official position in the States, in one year two hundred and twenty born in New England, or sons of men born here. He found, holding the most important positions as ministers to other countries, five men born in Massachusetts. In the city of Boston there are one hundred and eighty-four manu- fiicturers carrying on the largest business, and out of the one-hundred and eighty-four, one hundred and eight were born in the interior of the State of Massachusetts. When you come to glance at what the sons of Massachu- setts, bred on her farms, have done and are doing for the world, the importance of cultivating them becomes at once apparent. I have just returned from a visit to Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. I told those southern people that they ought to know better than to give the ownership of their new factories to Massachusetts men. They are, however, glad to get capital from Massachusetts. I told them they ought to be like Massachusetts men ; building their own factories and keeping their money at home, and not send so much to Massachusetts to pay interest. When you think of the masses of people contributing their money from Kansas, Texas and South Carolina as a tribute to the man- hood of Massachusetts, and think how rich you are and how the world looks to your capitol city as to a great financial centre, then its financial importance will become at once clear. Two years ago I went into the west, lecturing. In Iowa I visited five colleges. Three out of the five had presidents from Massachusetts, and the other two were sons of Massa- chusetts men. At the head of the greatest institution in 120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Wisconsin was a Massachusetts man. The minister to Turkey in the same year was a descendant of a Massachu- setts man. When I went to China, I found a Massachusetts man representing our nation there. In all the countries I have visited in my life there have come up Massachusetts men managing all sorts of affairs, from the taking the cus- toms at the ports to the regency of a national university, as was the case in Japan. As philosophers, poets, states- men, founders of new nations and new governments, that larger Massachusetts is so great that it is impossible for us to estimate it. I went to the city of Grand Rapids, where I had occasion to visit their great factories. I found that one was owned by a man in Boston, one in Worcester, another in Spring- field, one in Holyoke, another in Pittsfield. The great city, with all its enterprise, was very largely owned by Massa- chusetts men, and they are sending their interest money in a great tide this way. Grand Rapids is but a representa- tive of a great many of the great cities of the United States. A very amusing thing, to me, happened at Charlotte, N. C, two weeks ago. I was sitting in a hotel, and two southern men came in. Their southern accent was so broad that it was very interesting to hear them talk. After listening a little while, I was surprised to hear one say, " Well, we are carrying out our plans over in the Philip- pines, and this nation is getting to be a great nation." Then he took a paper out of his pocket which told what "the Yankees" were doing. I wondered how he would like that name. You know it is not many years since the southerners did not like that. I asked, " What Yankees are they?" And he answered cheerfully, "We are all Yankees now ; the whole^ country is Yankee now." The northerner has gone to the south and the west, and we are all proud to say we are all Yankees now. All through the south they are Yankees now ; you cannot tell any difference between them. For this I am very thankful. You look back to the source from which these men come. How are great men made? They are made by the air. You cannot make great men in a smoky atmosphere, where contagion dwells. You must make them in the pure air, No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 121 where every breath serves as a disinfectant, and brings viijor and life to the blood and calmness to the nerves and activity to the brain. Where will you find any air so bright and sweet as the air in the country towns in Massachusetts ? Will you who live on the hills go to the city for a week ? You will be so' stifled that you cannot think clearly, you cannot eat comfortably, and you will have the dyspepsia and you will then begin to think that " all the country towns are going to the bad ! " Food makes men. It is vastly important what we eat, and the country towns of Massachusetts raise the most nutritious and healthy food raised on earth. Experience has shown that. You wives, didn't you ever hear your husbands tell about their mothers' cooking? A scientific illustration shows the importance of good food. I think it was Professor Virchow of Berlin who took two kittens as an experiment in 1878. He fed them on dif- ferent foods, and after feeding them for many weeks he approached one kitten and put out his hand to stroke it. It stuck up its back, spit and scratched. He went to the other one, kept in the same room ; it stuck up its tail and rubbed against his finger with all the sweetness of domestic joy. They belonged to the same litter, were brought up in the same place, but they had been fed on diflerent food. I have often said I can understand now why some men swear and some women scratch ! You cannot make great men on mis- erable food. The kind of food to make imbeciles you get at the restaurants, at the stations, at many of our hotels, and in some of our fashionable homes, where, instead of having good food, the really good cook plays the piano, while a person Avho knows nothing at all about the chemis- try of cooking is in the kitchen. Such food will not make great men. In the country, the wives and the daughters go directly into the kitchens and come directly in contact with the food, and know how to prepare the food which will make you happy and strong, building up muscle, brain and con- science together. The water of the hill towns is clear and bright, like diamonds. It cometh from the fountains of the earth, with all the pressure of God upon it. It is filtered through God's 122 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. filter. That water purifies men. In our city hospital the greater part of the diseases are kidney diseases. Hundreds of men who apply to be taken at the hospital have kidney disease, and the consensus of medical opinion is that the disease is most largely due to the water they drink. We spend thousands and thousands of dollars in trying to patch up the miserable, down-hearted, sorrowful men, affiicted with this terrible scourge, kidney disease. In the moun- tains, where the water is purified by the light and winds, where it is preserved by the rocks, how little of the kidney disease you find ! In Pennsylvania a comparison was made of the number of cases found in the country with the num- ber found in Philadelphia, and it was as one to eighty-nine. There are eighty-nine cases of kidney disease in the city where there is one in the hill country. Men are made by toil. As I rode into the town this after- noon I saw a young dude on the corner of a street smoking a cigarette. He was smoking up more capital in five min- utes than he would honestly earn in five years. I wondered what sort of a man he would be. Will he be rugged and strong, clear in mind, with a deep and strong conscience? He will be the weakest of the weak ; a contemptible dude all his life. Reared, perhaps, in some great city, he has come to visit your town. He sees the farmers coming to sell their wood, and he exclaims, " I am glad I am not as humble as these farmers who come from these country towns. I am glad I do not have to pile wood and chop it and drive those horses. I am very glad I need not expose myself to the winter season, to bring my lunch, go home late at night and have my supper at nine o'clock. I am so deucedly fortunate, don't yer know, to be able to have a cigarette at all." If he had brains enough to comprehend his position at all, he would understand that such work as he was doing would not make men. Meeting the hillside and grappling with a plough makes men. How many young men there are who want to have an easy time ! They are going into law or the ministry, — • probably the latter, because they want an easy time, — where it will be so easy to get along. Of the thousands of students who come to me, more than two-thirds want No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 123 to take a short course in something that " will be easy." They want to take some middle ground that does not deepen or broaden the ideas. They want to get a soft place. And the young man who wants an easy place always has it, — usually in prison, where he ought to be. Easy places do not make men and women. A victory easily won is no victory at all. It is only a mighty victory, like the one at Gettysburg, where the cannon cracked, shots were fired and blood was shed. There are no victories in easy places, where men run before you shoot at them. I have always thought myself very unfortunate in my war experi- ence. I was most always in a safe place. I see my com- rades with scars on their faces, with the marks of war, limping still, and I was unfortunate in not getting into any such battles and winning victories as they had the privilege of doing. Let the man who wants an easy time go to New York and keep a saloon. I do not know of anything that would be easier done, until he is killed in some of the riots. The man who means to be a true man grapples with things for the sake of grappling with them. The man on the hills in the country towns contends with the hard soil, removes the stones and puts in the seeds. The man is worth more than the potatoes. You had better stay here and be a man, than go west and have the malaria. Sleep makes great men. Some of you remember the old cottage in the hills ; you remember the old attic into which the snow drifted at night ; and how after you slept there you arose in the morning, picked up your toes very care- fully and soon found yourself down on the first floor beside the fire, with half your clothes in your hands. How sweet that sleep was ! How delightful those dreams, when the rain was pattering on the roof ! What would you give now for a night's rest like that? You made a mistake if you left that home and went to the city or to the plain. Oh, foolish poor farmer, who would give the health and man- hood of the hills for the dollars of the city ! Great men are made in the country towns of Massachu- setts. Great leaders of the nations, and especially the great men of the United States, were largely made by their 124 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. environment. The Swiss people practically rule Germany and France still. If you look at the history of the ancient days, you will find that when Babylon was taken the men of the rude country were the conquerors. The high peaks make thoughts that are heavenly and meditation that is sublime. A man raised amidst a variety of scenery may enjoy a thousand things that other men cannot. I find that men are often made by the scenery amidst which they are reared. If you want your boy to feel ennobled, take him to the mountains and the hills, and then look down to some depth more terrible than those into which you intend him to descend. Men were made intellectually in our district school sys- tems. It is an important advance to have grammar schools, and high schools, and academies, and colleges, and uni- versities ; I think it is. But there are a great many dis- advantages. The old-fashioned, liberty-teaching common school was the salvation of the State, and through the State the salvation of the whole country. The common school system began in Massachusetts, and it has been preserved through the country towns. It is the only place where you find children actually on an even democratic equality. There the rich and the poor meet together. The boys and the girls play together, and they learn the great American principle, that every man has the right to be the equal of every other man, if he can. When the common school system goes out of the towns of Massa- chusetts, I shall wait for the change in the whole govern- ment into some tyrannical form. In the common schools they learn liberty and equality ; and a great deal more than even the children learn in the city schools, in some very necessary directions. You cannot judge a man's education by wdiat he has read. Some men never went to school more than two years, and they know more in a minute than you and I with our college education will know in a week, I have not time to do more than hint upon this. The common school is at the base of all political liberty. Pre- sei-ve 3^our common schools. You cannot preserve them anywhere except in the country district. Out in the sub- urbs of Westfield you will find some common schools still. No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 125 Keep them just as long as you can. The boys from those schools will come in and rule Westfield, in spite of the graduates from the high schools. They learn something besides their books, — something wider and far deeper. In the country we used to have and have now in some places the old-fashioned country lyceum. You may talk about the modern school of oratory, you will never get a more perfect training school in public speech than the meeting in the little red school-house to debate living questions. That is the real school of oratory. If you do away with the country lyceum, you will have few orators left. You cannot make them in the city schools of hot- house elocution. Then there is the town meeting. In all forms of govern- ment there is none so well adapted to the greatest liberty to the greatest number as the old-fashioned town meeting. It gives each individual a direct vote upon every question that interests him, and is the most democratic form of gov- ernment. As soon as you adopt the city government, you elect representatives. If you had a city government in "Westfield, and elected six men to the city council, six hun- dred thousand dollars might buy them all. But you cannot buy all the citizens of Westfield for that sum. It will be a dangerous condition when the old-fashioned town meeting ceases to be. The world is indebted to the town meeting for the best form of freedom which it now enjoys. I look back through the years, and remember going to the old attic window at night and looking out into the front yard I saw a lantern flashing around there, and I saw a col- ored man. I had never seen but one before. My brother came and stuck his head up to the window beside me as we looked out. I could see my father hurrying about with a lantern. I saw another colored man whose name I after- ward learned was Fred Douglass. He seemed to be very lively and very jolly. They put their horses in the barn. We understood what that meant. We got back into bed. We knew father would not be there the next day, and we would have to do the chores ourselves. Father would take the man as far as Conway, and some one there would take him and go to Canada. The first time I ever saw Fred 126 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Douglass was when he was urging my father to go on to the next station of the " Underground Railway." Many of you have seen your fathers do the same thing. Slavery was done away with by the lyceum in the country school-house, where the evils of slavery were first openly discussed. In the country towns the old-fashioned mills are preserved still, — the mills that our fathers used to put up on the little streams in the mountains, and in which they began to make some utensil not found in any other place. The people of the country towns have a wide experience in an untold variety of duties. If a girl goes to the theatre in the city and is stage struck, foolish people will say to her, "You ought to go on the stage." But the people in the country, with their good common-sense, suppress the foolish, and encourage the solid and practical. There you get the straight-forward, square, moral, horse-sense of the world. An illustration flashes into my mind. I wanted to l)e an actor myself. Ofi' in our country town we had a theatre in the church. They called it a " school exhibition," but we had a platform and curtains, and everything of that sort. I remember that I was very anxious to be an actor. I thought I would like to " strut and fret upon the stage, and then be heard no more." In this theatre I was to be the insane man. I was to rush in just as the man was proposing to the lady, and frighten them out of popping the question. I had to practice my piece when I went after the cows, and whenever I could get a chance. One day my father sent me to Huntington village with a load of maple sugar. The load was so high that I could not take the wagon seat, so I left it behind. When I went back I had to stand in the wagon. The good horse jogged along and when I came to the woods I thought I would practice my piece, the first line of which was " Woe unto ye, daughters and sons of men." So I began as the horse was trotting along, " Woe," and that was as far as I went. No, that is not as far as I went, but as far as the horse went. When I said " Woe," the horse stopped and I went right over and landed on the shaft of the wagon, and the scar is on my forehead now where it brought the blood as I landed on the step and rolled over No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 127 into the mud. I went home and my father was frightened when he saw me, Init when he found that I was not hurt he commenced to laugh and called one of the neighbors to look at me. He wanted him to see " a star actor." When the drama came off in the church I was not there. I knew the audience would all laugh at me. After that I never had any ambition to be an actor, — it was all knocked out of me as I fell over on my head. In the country towns such foolish ambitions are knocked out. The interlinkino; of desires and hopes, the open free acquaintanceship keeps men within the lines of common-sense. There are just as grand men in the country towns to-day as ever lived there in all the centuries of the past. They are living there now. It is natural for us to say that everything is running down. In 1702, two hundred years ago, Increase Mather, writing about New England, said, "New England, look to it that the glory be not removed from thee, for it begins to go. The glory of the world seems to be on the wing." That was two hundred years ago. Some of you have said the same thing within a week, but it means no more now than it did then. A healthy farmer goes out and hoes on a row of corn, and while he hoes there comes to him feelino^s and thoughts sublime, high as Heaven, an inner experience as wide as the earth ; and many a farmer has had more enjoyment in hoeing a row of corn than a city man has in a life time of sidewalk experience. The city laborer longs for an oppor- tunity to be once alone in silent meditation. No man becomes great who does not take time for separate medita- tion. The city people have learned its necessity. They are going back to the country and buying land and raising the value of the property. They now spend their sum- mers there. The country people will soon be mingling closely with the city people. In the country the people have religious liberty. Half of them do not go to church, because persons in authority think that it does not matter what kind of a man they send there for a minister. The country churches are in many places in a state of decadence seemingly now. But they 128 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. will return. God has not forgotten His people, and has not changed His providence or His laws. We shall return to the religion and liberty taught in the country in the days gone by. Religion must be taught, and must be taught to these country people, because when they enter the city such a strong tide of influence emanates from them. A man can- not be true to himself or his fellowmen until he has relio;- ion enough to do what is right in the fear of God and for the respect of his fellowmen. The hardy, hearty religion taught in the country towns must be preserved by the members of this Board of Agriculture, and I should have higher hope if all the members had been preachers in some country church. Gentlemen of the Board of Agriculture, a voice comes from a great city, and it calls to you to-day in behalf of the people bleeding and dying in the slums of the cities. Gentlemen of Massachusetts and members of the Board, remember the slums of New York ; remember the slums of Philadelphia ! Go any night through those slums and see, lying in the darkness and rags, girls and young women. Hear the men swearing. Listen to the voice of the little child that reaches out his arms to Massachusetts and says, " Come to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, and help us." Listen to the young men and the degraded, as they call, " O men of Massachusetts ! Come to us, and give us an opportunity to live purely and righteously." Listen to the voice of the people who are suffering for food in the great cities. Listen to those calling from their contagion of the small-pox and yellow fever, and help them. Listen to the call of ignorant men, who are asking for instruction. Listen to the people of the United States who have received their liberty from New England, and who expect you to preserve it. That voice pleads with you : " Gentlemen of the Board of Agriculture, if you love the poor, if you have a human feeling for your fellowmen, if you care for the enrichment of the lowly, if you seek for liberty for the people and for the progress of the nation, preserve in his integrity and in his intellectual superiority the man in the country town of Massachusetts now. Preserve him, help No. 4.] COUNTRY LIFE. 129 him, inspire him, speak well of him. Let the country town in its smallness feel that it has nevertheless a great duty to perform in sending out hardy men to accomplish great good." Think of Manila, of those in command at Santiago ; think of that man reforming the whole country of Japan, and of the man who led Egypt into the path where it is to-day, — all from Massachusetts, or of Massachusetts parentage. Think of the universities, churches, charities, agriculture, commerce, manufactures, paintings, and all the diversified agencies of our civilization in which those country boys will be so potent, and, pressed on by the force of an awful responsibility, do what you can for them. Study potatoes, if you will ; give your attention to beans, if you choose ; but study them for their efiect upon the men of the country towns who will be needed by the city and by the State and by the nation, yea, will always be needed by the developing world. Vice-President Wood. I know that we all feel that this is no time or occasion to talk. What we have heard gives us food for thought. Therefore, I do not propose to bur- den you with a speech, but I want to make a motion in which I know you will be unanimous, and that is that we extend, Mr. Chairman, a vote of thanks to the speaker for this most extraordinary and interesting address. It was voted unanimously to extend a vote of thanks to Dr. Conwell. Adjourned at 3.15 p.m. 130 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. TfflRD DAY. Chairman Wood. Mr. Augustus Pratt, the delegate from the Plymouth County Agricultural Society, will preside this morning. Mr. Pratt. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen : In the very able address we listened to yesterday afternoon we were pleased to learn from the orator what our State has done for the other United States and also for the world. We were proud to listen to him, and to think of our public schools, our colleges, and especially are we proud of the institution not a great distance from here, — the Massa- chusetts Agricultural College, — for the work it has done for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other sections of the United States, and I may say for other countries. Instructors and farmers have graduated and gone from the school to instruct and teach others, not only in this State but in the whole country. And to-day we are fortunate in having with us a gentleman from a sister State, and that State has had the benefit of our Massachusetts college in having a large number of instructors at present as well as in the past who have been educated and sent out from our Massachusetts college. Doctor Wheeler is among the number. I think certainly that the farmers of the Com- monwealth, as well as the people, may feel proud of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. I take pleasure in introducing to you Dr. Homer J. Wheeler of Kingston, R. I., chemist, Rhode Island Agri- cultural Experiment Station, a gentleman who pursued his studies at your college, and comes here to give you instruc- tion this morning. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 131 THE COMPOSITION AND ECONOMICAL USE OF COM- MERCIAL FERTILIZERS. BY DR. H. J. WHEELER, KINGSTON, R. I. In these days of returning commercial and industrial prosperity, when the bulls and bears in the world's markets are wholly absorbed in their own mad rush for financial supremacy, and when the revival of business causes the commercial and manufacturing classes, glorying in the re- newed independence arising from continual and remunera- tive employment, to forget that even their very existence is dependent upon the soil, and that the farmer is the back- bone of the nation, it is more than ever fitting and necessary that far-sighted guardians of the nation's interests should foster agriculture, since it rests as the foundation of every other calling and profession of man. Yours is then a noble work, and whatever you do as a Board toward furthering agricultural education, whether through your Agricultural College, 3^our experiment station or through your public meetings and farmers' institutes, must prove eventually a blessing to every resident, not only of your Commonwealth but of the nation. We must not forget that branch of agri- culture represented by our great dairy and other animal industries ; but underlying this is the primary question of the economical production of plants, involving as its funda- mental feature the inseparable study of soils and manures. It is therefore a particular pleasure and with an appreciation of the high honor, borne out by the importance of the sub- ject, to agriculture and to mankind, that I come before you to-day to speak upon the question under consideration. In treating of the economical use of commercial fertilizers in the light of our present knowledge, one can hardly limit the discussion to potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen, the 132 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. three so-called essential elements, but is forced to consider the subject from that broader point of view which recog- nizes as a fertilizer anything which tends to make the soil more fertile and capable of producing better and larger crops. Too many farmers are to-day buying fertilizers be- yond their absolute needs, for the reason that proper atten- tion is not paid to caring for their stable manure. Too frequently this is the result of carelessness and shiftlessness. He who has not learned that the chief value of stable manure lies in the liquid portion, and has not taken steps to avoid its undue waste is not, to-day, worthy of the title farmer. Again, the lazy man, who, to borrow a phrase from Professor Roberts, has not learned to "tickle the land" by tillage, but tries to compensate for it by buying commercial fertilizers, is no honor to the noble calling of agriculture. There are men of another class, who recognize that agricultural plants cannot be produced without drawing certain kinds of plant food from the soil ; they forget, how- ever, that weeds are made from the same sort of stuff, and must therefore be eradicated, to leave food for useful plants. Since Rhode Island is free from this class of farmers, pre- sumably, they must all have moved over the line into Massachusetts ! As a result of the vindication of the much-abused Ville and the annihilation by Atwater, Hellriegel and Wilfarth of the experimental evidence which had been brought forward by Boussingault, Lawes and Gilbert, and Pugh, to prove that plants are unable to assimilate atmospheric nitrogen, there is now placed before the agriculturist the manner in which, through the aid of the legumes and certain other plants, he can unlock and draw at least a portion of the nitrogen sup- ply for the farm from nature's vast aerial storehouse. The wide-awake farmer of to-day who would not be outstripped by his competitors should learn to know and utilize well the clovers, peas, cow-peas, soy or soja beans, vetches, serra- della and other plants which may be profitably employed in gathering stores of nitrogen. He who has not already learned to husband his farm manure, to "tickle" his soil, destroy weeds at the right time and make use of leguminous crops, is not yet sufiicicntly out of the dark to be looking No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 133 about for commercial fertilizers. It may be thought that these remarks are not pertinent to the subject ; yet it must be admitted that it is not an economical use of fertilizers to indulge in their purchase while still permitting direct and indirect manurial wastes to occur on every hand. The question now arises, whether, by husbanding all of the natural manurial resources of the farm, commercial fertil- izers may not be discarded and permanent fertility main- tained. Unfortunately, the experience of Europe proves the contrary ; and, unless new and startling discoveries are made, the future of agriculture in the United States, as is to-day the situation in Europe, will be determined to a marked extent by the supply and economical use of com- mercial manures. To be sure, many a man who is fortu- nately situated near a large city, where stable manure may be had at a low price or for the hauling, will say that he has no use for and cannot afford to buy other manurial sub- stances. Admitting that such may ])e practically the case, it cannot be denied that the great mass of farmers of a growing number of States are dependent to a large degree upon the use of commercial manures, and that these con- ditions are becoming exaggerated every year. We are thus brought face to face with the practical question of what to buy, in order to most cheaply and satisfactorily meet the peculiar needs of a vast number of plants and a multitude of soils, possessed of varying physical and chemical characteristics. Confronted with a question of such great magnitude, beset with difficulties most of which are as yet unsolved, it is only possible, especially in the brief period at disposal, to touch upon a few of the more essential features. Potash. Unleached wood ashes, which formerly constituted our chief supply of potash, are now not to be had in sufficient quantity to supply the demand for this substance. Such ashes constitute one of the safest and best sources of potash for the major portion of our crops and soils. Aside from an average of from 5 to 6 per cent of potash, they also contain approximately 11 per cent of phosphoric acid, 3 to 134 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Pub. Doc. 4 per cent of magnesia, and about 35 per cent of lime in the form of calcium carbonate. In regard to the phos- phoric acid of wood ashes, there seems to be a lack of definite knowledge as to its assimilability, and it is possibly much inferior to soluble phosphoric acid (mono-calcic phos- phate) and perhaps also to even other less valuable forms. While upon some farms and for certain crops the lime of the wood ashes may have little or no value, and with a few plants work positive injury, yet on many of our New England farms and for many of our important crops it imparts, frequently, more benefit to the lands than the potash which they contain. This great value of the lime has been abundantly demonstrated during the last three or four years in all parts of Rhode Island. Similar results have just been obtained, particularly in connection with the use of sulfate of ammonia, by Professor Phelps at Storrs, Conn., and by the New Hampshire station at Durham. Director Voorhees of the New Jersey Experiment Station bears testimony to similar experience in certain sections of his own State, and wonderful benefit is also reported to have been observed at Wellesley, Bolton and Westminster, Mass. In recent experiments conducted at the Rhode Island Experiment Station a gain of al)out 7 per cent in the crop has resulted from the use of magnesia ; and it is not improbable that its use, particularly in connection with certain crops, may yet be found to result in more general benefit than is customarily supposed. Let us therefore divorce our minds at once from the unfortunate and fiilla- cious idea that we must apply to our soils only the three so-called " essentials," — potash, phosphoric acid and nitro- gen. Having done this, and then having examined the soil as to its probable need of lime and magnesia, and con- sidered the crops to be grown, we are in position to know with some definiteness whether it is better economy to use wood ashes to supply our potash, or to depend upon the German potash salts, supplemented, as may be required, by lime or magnesian lime. Another excellent though limited source of potash is the ash of cotton-seed hulls. These contain on an average about 22 per cent of potash, 8 to 9 per cent of phosphoric acid and from 9 to 10 per cent each of lime and miignesia. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 135 Two other sources of potash should be mentioned in this category, namely, the nitrate of potash and the carbonate of potash and magnesia. The former, known as saltpetre and employed in the manufacture of gunpowder, contains about 14 per cent of nitrogen and 44 per cent of potash. Its cost is usually so great as to preclude its general use for agri- cultural purposes. The carbonate of potash and magnesia, containing about 21 per cent of potash and 19 per cent of magnesia, may be used as a substitute for muriate of potash wherever plants are grown whose quality is susceptible to injury by the chlorine of the muriate. It has not jQi been generally introduced into this country, and has commanded too high a price to bring about its extensive employment. All of these sources of potash may be safely drawn upon for the growing of hops, sugar beets, a fine quality of pota- toes, and other plants which may be injured by the use of muriate of potash or kainite ; but for tobacco nitrate of potash would be objectionable. High-grade sulfate of potash, containing about 48 per cent of potash, has been quite generally recommended in Europe and the United States for growing the crops just enumerated, since it is practically free from chlorine, though for tobacco it has not given as good results in the experiments conducted by the Connecticut station at New Haven, as certain of the sources of potash already discussed. Where potatoes are grown for the production of starch, the high-grade sulfate of potash is usually employed, since, un- less applied the previous season, the chlorine contained in kainite and muriate of potash depresses the starch content. In the potato-growing sections of Rhode Island the farmers generally consider that a mixture of about equal parts of high-grade sulfate and of muriate of potash gives upon an average better yields than either one alone ; and experiments at the Rhode Island station this season indicated that, so far as concerns yield, a mixture of the two or the muriate alone was slightly superior to the sulfate alone. Probably in a dry season the muriate of potash would have the advantage over the sulfate by virtue of its greater solubility. For orchards, meadows and most garden crops the tnuri- ate of potash , containing about 50 per cent of actual potash or 80 to 85 per cent of muriate of potash, is considered the 136 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. most economical, since potash from this source costs from one-fourth to half a cent less per pound than in high-grade sulfate. The only advantage which the double sulfate of jpotask and magnesia (containing about twenty-seven per cent of potash) may have over the high-grade sulfate rests in the magnesia which it contains, and, since potash is usually cheaper in the high-grade goods, the latter are more fre- quently employed. Kainite contains about 11 per cent of potash, some of which is present in the form of sulfate of potash. This fact is unfortunately frequently made use of to convey the impression that it can be used in the place of the high- grade sulfate of potash, for crops where the chlorine of the muriate of potash would be objectionable. Such a pro- ceeding is, however, wholly unwarranted, since this ma- terial contains, associated with the sulfate of potash, large quantities of chlorine in the form of muriate of potash, common salt and magnesium chloride. Before proceeding, attention should be called to the im- portance of determinations of chlorine in connection with the analysis of commercial fertilizers. This is particularly desirable wherever the tobacco, hop or sugar beet industry is developed ; and even in Rhode Island, where the potato industry is the chief one affected, the farmers who are look- ing for quality consider the matter of much importance. The necessity of this is particularly apparent in view of the deceptive way in which many manufacturers of fertilizers guarantee their goods. A large portion of the commercial manures on the market to-day bear the statement " sulfate of potash" or "equal to sulfate of potash," evidently for the purpose of making farmers believe that they contain more potash than is actually the case, or that the goods are practically free from chlorine. It is, nevertheless, a fact that the major portion of them contain as much chlorine as would have been the case had the muriate been the only form of potash employed in their manufacture. The sooner this vicious practice is dropped by the trade, the more quickly will the confidence of the consumer be gained and the consequent volume of sales increased. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 137 Phosphoric Acid. Phosphoric acid for agricultural and other purposes is now derived from various materials, though formerly the supply was practically drawn from bone. Bone phosphate is a combination of one equivalent of phosphoric acid with three of lime. A similar combination of phosphoric acid and lime is found in the pebble and nod- ular phosphates of South Carolina and Florida, the phos- phates of Tennessee and Pennsylvania, as well as those of Belgium, Algiers and many of those of other countries. Apatite diflers somewhat from those just mentioned, and is generally considered as less assimilable. Until of late bone has been almost universally considered as being infinitely superior as a phosphatic manure to any of the materials just enumerated. Recently however, pot experiments conducted by P. Wagner,* and others by SteiFeck and Maercker,| have given indications that the phosphoric acid of bone meal, either steamed or raw, is practically no more assimilable by plants than that of certain finely ground mineral phosphates ; and they conclude that the high value heretofore usually attributed to bone has been due as much, or more, to the nitrogen which it contains as to the phosphoric acid. In the earlier field experiments by Marek } a striking advantage of bone meal over certain forms of mineral phosphate was but infrequently noticed. In a recent contribution to the subject by the veteran agri- cultural chemist, Julius Kuehn§ of Halle, the ground is taken that upon light, sandy soils bone meal may be used even more efiectively than superphosphates (bone, bone- black or mineral phosphate treated with sulfuric acid) ; while upon heavier, clayey soils, he places but small value upon bone as a source of phosphoric acid, as compared with superphosphate . In Kiihn's experiments with the sandy soil he employed potash as kainite and nitrogen in the form of sulfate of * Die rationelle Dongung der landw. Kulturpflanzen. Darmstadt, 1891. t TJeber die Phosphorsaurewirlcung der Knochenmehle. Berlin, 1895. X Ueber den relativen Diingerwerth der Phosphate. Dresden, 1889. § Berichtaus dem physiologischen Laboratorium v. d. Versuchsanstalt des Landw. Instituts der Universitat Halle. Dreizehntes Heft. Dresden, 1898. 138 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. ammonia, supplemented by applications of nitrate of soda made after growth had begun. A moderate application of lime as carbonate was also made in each case, in conse- quence of the fact that the soil was so deficient in this sub- stance as to fail to produce peas, potatoes and oats, though still yielding rye and lupines. Considering the character of the soil, the moderate application of lime and the use of kainite and sulfate of ammonia, which would tend to aggra- vate the existing conditions, it is not improbable that the lime of the phosphate itself may have been as important a factor in helping the soil as the phosphoric acid. Deherain, speaking of acid soils, calls attention to the fact that the acids may combine with the lime of phosphates, thus re- ducing their acidity, and rendering the phosphates more assimilable. The reduction in the acidity would be a potent factor in favoring the growth of many cultivated plants, — a fact abundantly demonstrated in the experi- ments at the Rhode Island station. It is probable, then, in Kiihn's experiments, that some of the benefit attributed by him to the phosphoric acid may have l)een due to the lime of the phosphate. It must at all events be evident that the benefit to be expected from bone, even upon light ^nd sandy soils, will vary with the chemical character of the soil itself. The greater the acidity, the greater will probably be the benefit observed from the phosphate applied. Experiments with diff*erent phosphates which have been in progress at the Rhode Island station since 1894 bear upon this question. The plots are all manured alike, so far as concerns potash and nitrogen. One series was treated with air-slacked lime in 1894 at the rate of one ton per acre, none having been applied since. The total amount of phosphoric acid applied in the period has l)een the same upon each plot in both series. In the unlimed series the total yield per acre for the four years' hay crop (1896 to 1899 inclusive) was 1,295 pounds greater, where fine-ground steamed bone was used, than where floats (finely ground unacidulated rock) were employed. In the limed series the difference amounted to 1,488 pounds. A large application of nitrogen in the form of nitrate of soda No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 139 was made, annually, with the expectation that it would probably be sufficient to supply the needs of the plants. It is possible, however, that the nitrogen of the bone never- theless exerted some effect ; but, even if this were the case, the gain of the bone over the floats was small, amounting to only 372 pounds of hay per acre, annually, in the highest instance. The total net gain from the use of the floats, determined by deducting the yield upon the plots receiving no phosphates, amounted, in the case of the unlimed plot, to 8,012 pounds of hay, and in the case of the limed one, to 4,787 pounds. From this the effectiveness of the floats is strongly evident. The after-effect of the one ton of lime per acre in connection with the floats resulted in nearly doubling the yield of hay, while upon the plots receiving no phosphoric acid for the entire period the lime increased the crop of hay from 2,548 to 15,738 pounds. That the gain from the use of floats was so much less where the lime was employed was due, probably, to the absence of carbon- ate of lime in the soil, whereby the lime of the floats was directly helpful to the plants ; and, furthermore, in the absence of the lime the solvent action of the soil upon the phosphate was materially increased. Another factor, how- ever, probably exerted more influence than both of these combined, namely, the setting free by the lime of a large amount of phosphoric acid from the soil itself, which would of course reduce the apparent effect of that supplied artifi- cially. In support of this, it may be cited that in a soil test by means of chemicals and Indian corn, conducted at the Rhode Island station, a most marked deficiency of phosphoric acid seemed to exist, potassic and nitrogenous manures proving of but limited value for several years. The plots were then limed at the rate of two and one-half tons to the acre, with the result that where only nitroge- nous and potassic manures were applied the crops have since been excellent, due apparently to the liberation of phosphoric acid from the soil, notwithstanding the fact that but little if any phosphoric acid had been applied to the land for from fifteen to twenty years. SuflScient has been said above to show the cumulative efiect of applications of bone and of floats ; but attention 140 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. should be called distinctly to the fact that, in taking up worn-out land, it would not be wise to depend entirely at the outstart upon these forms of phosphoric acid. In such instances, particularly if crops are grown which mature early, superphosphate should be used. Upon land leased for two or three years, if one considers the question only from the stand-point of the one hiring the farm, the same advice would apply. It seems probable, however, that, in renovating land upon one's own farm, the soil may be profit- ably stocked to a certain extent, preferably before seeding to grass, with bone or floats, depending upon their relative prices. As has already been stated, in the Rhode Island experiments a given amount of bone gave a greater yield of hay in a series of years than the same quantity of phos- phoric acid as floats, this being due perhaps to some extent to the nitrogen of the bone. This is not enough, however, to warrant the use of bone instead of floats without first taking a look at the financial side of the question. Let us assume that fine-ground steamed bone costs $23 per ton, and that it contains 23 per cent of phosphoric acid and 3 per cent of nitrogen. If we reckon the value of the 60 pounds of nitrogen in a ton of bone at 12|- cents per pound, the price of nitrogen in nitrate of soda, it would amount to $7.50, leaving $15.50 as the cost of 460 pounds of phosphoric acid. Assuming, again, that floats may be bought at $10 per ton, and that they contain 28 per cent of phosphoric acid, we find that in this case 560 pounds of phosphoric acid costs but $10, or at the rate of 1.78 cents per pound. At this rate, the $15.50 spent in buying the 460 pounds of phosphoric acid as bone would have bought 870.8 pounds of phosphoric acid in the form of floats, or 311 pounds more. The question cannot be dismissed here. At the Connecticut station Johnson and Jenkins find that the immediate assimilability of the nitrogen of finely ground bone is less than 20, calling that of nitrate of soda 100. This is certainly a poor showing for the nitrogen of bone, and without doubt the cumulative action of a series of years would make a far better record, time being thus given for the bone to more completely decompose. In fact, other experimenters give it a value not far from 50, placing the No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 141 crop-producing ability of the .same amount of nitrate ni- trogen at 100. At the best, however, no form of organic nitrogen is equal in assimilability to nitrate nitrogen, even dried blood standing at from 76 to 90, as determined by various experimenters, in comparison with nitrate nitrogen at 100. Under the most favorable circumstances, then, it will be seen that in the financial comparison made above the bone was valued too high. It seems probable then from what has preceded that, at $10 per ton for floats and $23 per ton for bone of the assumed composition, in a series of years the use of the floats supplemented by nitrate of soda would often prove more generally economical than the bone. Basic slag contains from 17 to 20 per cent of phosphoric acid. It is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of steel from phosphate of iron. Instead of one equivalent of phosphoric acid being combined with three of lime, as in bone, it is in combination in the slag meal with four equiv- alents of lime. In this form, when finely ground, the phosphoric acid is generally considered to be more assimi- lable than that of floats or bone, approaching more closely that of superphosphate. Upon gravelly or sandy soils it would be expected to give even better results than super- phosphates. Wherever the soil is acid it acts exceptionally well, because of its containing one-fourth more lime in com- bination with the phosphoric acid than is the case with bone and floats ; and, furthermore, it contains even a further ex- cess of lime uncombined with phosphoric acid, amounting at present in the best European products to from 8 to 9 per cent. Next to superphosphate, therefore, this can be classed as one of the best forms of phosphoric acid usually ofiered for sale. The price of this product has been not far from $19 per ton, though it should be sold, if manufactured here to any extent, at from $10 to $12. At $19 per ton, one would seldom use basic slag meal as long as acid phosphate is obtainable at from $13 to $14 per ton. In the experiments at Kingston, R. I., already referred to, the yields of hay from the use of basic slag upon the uu- limed soil amounted to 13,193 pounds, while with super- phosphates they were as follows : dissolved bone-black, 10,017 pounds; dissolved bone, 10,717 pounds; and dis- 142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. solved phosphate rock (acid phosphate), 11,254 pounds. The great superiority of the basic slag was unquestionably due in this instance to the favorable action of the lime upon the crop, — a function which the lime of the superphosphate, which is largely changed to land plaster (gypsum) in the process of manufacture, cannot effectually perform. In fact, the Kingston experiments bear out this conclusion most fully, as shown by the close proximity of the results secured with superphosphate to those with basic slag upon the limed soil, where of course the additional lime contained in the slag meal could not prove as effective in its influence upon the crop as upon the unlimed land. The basic slag pro- duced 20,400 pounds of hay, while the results with super- phosphate were as follows: dissolved bone-black, 19,838 pounds ; dissolved bone, 19,281 pounds ; and dissolved phos- phate rock, 20,205 pounds. From this it will be seen that there was a total difierence of crop, as compared with the dissolved phosphate rock, amounting on the limed land, in four years, to but 195 pounds of hay per acre in favor of the basic slag, while on the unlimed soil it amounted to 4,242 pounds, or over 2 tons, of hay. This not only illus- trates in the most striking manner the point aimed at, but shows that upon acid soils where lime is deficient the lime of basic slag in its corrective influence upon the soil is a source of great material value to the farmer, amounting in this in- stance to over 2 tons of hay to the acre in the course of the four years. Iron and alumina phosphate is probably but little known to the farming community, though, if the truth were known, there are many who use it as a constituent of certain brands of commercial fertilizer. This is the material known in Europe as redonda phosphate, where it is considered by many, even when treated so as to show by analysis much reverted phosphoric acid, as practically worthless, and a most dangerous adulterant of other phosphates. It is sometimes referred to as redondite. This phosphate is usually subjected in this country to a patented process, which renders a large portion of it soluble in ammonium citrate solution, as a result of which it is determined and classed chemically as reverted acid. After subjection to No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 143 this treatment it is usually designated as "ignited" or " roasted" iron and alumina phosphate, " roasted" redonda phosphate or redondite. It is also met with under the name of '< concentrated phosphate." The raw or untreated material has been found in large quantities in certain fertil- izers that have been sold in Rhode Island, and the treated material is doubtless employed quite extensively. This phosphate in its untreated state is generally considered as of no value, though recent reports from the New Hamp- shire station * would tend to show that it proved superior to the ignited product and to basic slag. Sufficient details are not given, however, to enable one to decide as to the probable correctness of these quite unusual conclusions. In the Rhode Island experiments there was little difference upon unlimed soil between the ignited and raw phosphate, the former yielding 4,930 pounds and the latter 5,043 pounds of hay. Where phosphoric acid was not employed, the yield was only 2,548 pounds, indicating some effect from the applications of both of these materials. In the limed series the raw or unignited iron and alumina phos- phate appears not only to have been of no benefit but pos- sibly to have worked injury. In the case of the " ignited" product,! o^ the other hand, it ranked slightly above dis- solved bone, and very close to dissolved bone-black, the weights of the hay having been as follows : — Pounds of Hay. Ignited alumina phosphate, 19,481 Dissolved bone, 19,281 Dissolved bone-black, 19,838 Without phosphoric acid, 15,738 The various results show, then, most strikingly, that the raw phosphate may be of a little service on a soil deficient in lime, and that liming such a soil does not increase the efficiency of this phosphate. On the other hand, while it is shown that the ignited iron and aluminum phosphate may be of some value on unlimed acid soil, its effectiveness, at * Bulletin 59, pp. 189, 190. t Merrill in experiments at the Maine station (fourteenth annual report Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, 1898, p. 72), calls attention to results secured by him, showing a similar value of the ignited product in connection with grasses, while with other plants its action was not so satisfactory. 144 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. least in connection with grasses, may be wonderfully in- creased by liming, so that it ranks close behind, if not quite equal to, the superphosphates.* It is probable that this experiment will throw some light upon some of the con- flicting data and opinions now on record regarding this phosphate. Superphosphates. — A superphosphate is essentially bone or mineral phosphate, treated with sufficient acid to com- bine with about two-thirds of the lime, leaving the other third in combination with phosphoric acid in a condition so that it is soluble in water. In this form it is customarily called soluble phosphoric acid. So far as concerns all of these dissolved phosphates, the data at hand indicate that, when properly manufactured, the phosphoric acid dissolved from the superphosphate by water is equally valuable, no matter from what it is derived. In case an excess of sul- furic acid is used in the manufacture, the acidity may be so great as to injure plants to some extent for a time, at least, and hence the phosphoric acid would be prevented from per- forming its function normally. Such a result should be laid at the door of the sulfuric acid, and not to the inefficiency of the soluble phosphoric acid (monocalcic phosphate). Barring sandy and gravelly soils, particularly when they lack carbonate of lime and exert an acid reaction upon blue litmus paper, and barring soils of even other character which may be acid, superphosphates may be considered as being the quickest-acting and surest form of phosphoric acid to employ, wherever crops must be pushed to maturity rapidly ; or where the natural period of growth is limited, and the soil has not been well stocked for several years previously with dressings of floats, basic slag undissolved bone or min- eral phosphate of similar character. Enough must have been said in this discussion to bring out in the strongest light the influence of the physical and particularly of the chemical character of soils upon the action of various phosphates. It must be obvious, in view of the probability that large quantities of ignited alumina * Andouard (Annales Agron. 21 (1895), pp. 171-181), who experimented with a soil containing carbonates of lime and magnesia, obtained good results with this phosphate in the case of several liinds of plants. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 145 phosphate find their way into the goods of certain fertilizer companies, that it is no unimportant matter to the farmer whether or not his land is acid and lacks carbonate of lime, and is, therefore, in condition to make the best use of the fertilizer which is applied. Before leaving this question, attention should be called to the fact that all plants are not alike in their ability to utilize mineral phosphates,* certain of the leguminosffi, according to Prianichnikow, possessing this power in a much greater degree than the cereals. Interesting and valuable data in this connection have been obtained by Dietrich, in his study of the action of various plants upon pulverized rock. That various soils act differently as solvents of phosphates is a matter of common scientific knowledge, though it has been strikingly brought out by that veteran French chemist Deherain, and by Prianichnikow. Realizing that it is the custom of some to present every- thing to the farmer as settled fact, it may be a question if it is not better to occasionally remove the screen, particularly before a body of men like those in our audience to-day, and show that those who have studied the question of phosphates most deeply still have manifold problems to solve. It w^ould seem to be important to call attention, also, to the necessity of investigating not only the action of all kinds of plants upon the difierent phosphates, but also the chemical character and solvent action of soils themselves. Random compara- tive trials of phosphates, reported without special reference to the plants employed nor to the chemical reaction and character of the soil, as is too frequently the case with those who do not understand or appreciate the full significance and bearing of these factors, are not calculated to result in much of permanent value. It would seem important, there- fore, that our progressive farmers should understand some- thing of the intricacy and far-reaching import of such inquiries, in order that they may have patience to wait for results. So long as the community expects experiment * Compare Merrill, fourteenth Annual Report Maine Agricultural Experiment Station (1888), p. 74 ; also Sclireiber, Revue General Agronomique, 1897, abstract in Biedermann's Centralblatt 26, pp. 802-805; and Prianichnikow An. Agronomique 25, No. 4 (1899), pp. 177-187. 146 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. station workers to reel off investigations, which farmers stand ready to measure with the yardstick rather than by weight, much of our so-callod agricultural investigation will continue to be sneered at by the scientists of Europe, because of a vain attempt to satisfy an immediate popular demand by the appearance of doing something quickly, with the unavoidable result that the deeper problems that must be solved to insure the permanent progress and elevation of agriculture remain practically untouched. Nitrogen. Of all the sources of nitrogen that are employed in agri- culture, the nitrates, such as nitrale of soda and nitrate of jiotasJi, are considered as the most readily assimilable, and with but few exceptions the most efficient. Nitrogen in this form can be immediately appropriated by plants. Next in order stands ammoniacal nitrogen, familiar to all as sulfate of ammonia. While there is considerable evidence at hand to show that plants may appropriate some nitrogen, as ammonia, without its first being transformed into nitrates, yet practically most of it is thus changed before it enters the plant. This transformation involves two stages. The first is that known as the nitrous fermentation, by which, through the activity of certain micro-organisms, the ammo- nia is changed into nitrous acid. The second, it has been claimed, may l)e the result of purely chemical processes, but is pro]:>a])ly usually brought about by another kind of micro-organisms known generally as the nitric ferment. Though these changes are induced by the aid of organisms so small that they are only visible by the aid of the most powerful microscopes, yet they are so numerous that they can, under the most favorable circumstances, readily change ammojiia into nitric acid much more rapidly than plants can take it up. During the })rogres8 of these changes some nitrogen is said to be lost and probably a small portion is transformed into organic matter, forming a constituent part of the organisms by whose activity the transformations are efiected. These, in turn, prol)ably change into what is classed as humus, in which condition the nitrogen is only slowly changed back again into a readily assimilable state. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 147 Owing to these losses and transformations, it is now gener- ally considered that the efficiency of nitrogen in the form of sulfate of ammonia is only about nine-tenths as great as that in the form of nitrates ; so that, for all purposes where the nitrate suits the peculiar needs, sulfate of ammonia would not be substituted for it until the price of nitrogen in that substance has dropped to a point somewhat l^elow the price of nitrate of soda. In using the two compounds, it should be borne in mind that commercial nitrate of soda con- tains about 15.5 pounds of nitrogen per 100 pounds, while sulfate of ammonia contains 20.5 pounds. For this reason, 76 pounds of sulfate of ammonia may be used in the place of 100 pounds of nitrate of soda, or 132 pounds of nitrate of soda may take the place of 100 pounds of the sulfate of ammonia, without materially changing the quantities of nitrogen employed. In choosing between sulfate of ammonia and nitrate of soda as a source of nitrogen for our crops, there are still other factors to be considered. If one employs sulfate of ammonia, continuously, on soils which are somewhat acid and consequently deficient in carbonate (jf lime, the condi- tions become more and more aggravated, until the material, instead of serving as a valuable manure, becomes a veritable poison. An instance of this kind was recorded by Professor Sanborn in the early history of the New Hampshire station, then at Hanover. At Abbott Run, R. I., upon the third annual application of sulfate of ammonia the crop began to fall off noticeably. At Hope Valley, R. I., the crop fell off materially the second year, while a positive poisonous action was noticed the third year. At Kingston, R. I., the sulfate of ammonia exerted a poisonous action the first season. Certain European experience points also to a marked inef- ficienc}'^ of sulfate of ammonia upon certain soils, and an instance of this kind is also on record near at home, the same having been observed at North Hadley, in your own State. The value of lime as a corrector of such conditions was brought out simultaneously by Wagner and Dorsch in Germany, and at the Rhode Island station in the former instance in a trial of a single variety of plants, and at Rhode Island with thirty-eight different varieties. Professor 148 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Phelps has now met with a similar experience at the Storrs station in Connecticut, the corrective influence of the lime applied being most marked, in the test of the past season. Should the price of sulfate of ammonia drop at any time much below the price of nitrate of soda, this material will in all likelihood find its way extensively into our commercial fertilizers, as it does into certain mixtures so widely used in Europe at the present time. If such should be the case, it will behoove the farmers of certain parts of New England to pay more attention to the lime requirement of their soils than would otherwise be the case. Having spoken of the tendency of sulfate of ammonia to seriously aggravate the condition of acid soils or those defi- cient in carbonate of lime, it should be stated that nitrate of soda has the opposite tendency, the residual soda left in the soil after the removal of the nitric acid by the plant tending to counteract, though in a limited degree, the pre- vailing acidity of the soil. For this reason, nitrate of soda is a particularly safe source of nitrogen for use in most of our soils where carbonate of lime is deficient. Upon very compact, clayey soil, which tends to bake, nitrate of soda, if used consecutively without carbonate of lime, may so increase this tendency as to work great injury to the soil, as was well illustrated at Poppelsdorf, near Bonn on the Rhine, Germany, in experiments being conducted by AYolt- mann in the summer of 1898. Aside from the influence of nitrate of soda and sulfate of ammonia upon the chemical reaction of the soils so far as concerns their alkalinity or acidity (which is a potent factor in the growth of many plants even in the case of upland soils), there is another point that must not be omitted. Reference is now made to the possible action of the soda as a direct or indirect manure. If the soda is of agricultural value in either or both of these ways, then we have a still stronger reason for using nitrate of soda as a source of nitro- gen in preference to sulfate of ammonia, unless the cost of nitrogen in the latter substance drops materially below its price as nitrate. Atterberg * conducted experiments in ' ' quartz sand " in * Deut. landw. Presse 18 (1891), No. 102, p. 1035. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FAKM MANURES. 149 1891, and showed that where soda replaced potash in var3nng amounts the crops sufiered far less than when the potash was replaced by lime. From this he concluded, quite con- trary to the then prevalent opinion, that soda can act as a direct plant food, and replace potash to some extent. Pasf- noul * also obtained results pointing in the same direction, and Wagner and Dorsch f a little later expressed their own conclusions as follows: "The soda is able to exert a de- cided influence upon the development of plants, and that cul- tivated plants are able to produce almost half as much more yield out of one and the same amount of potash when they are manured with sodium chlorid" (common salt). Stahl Schroder I now comes forward with data and arguments which to his mind overthrow the conclusions and results just mentioned, and he states plainly that he believes he has proved "that soda cannot take the place of the pot- ash which is necessary to the building up of the organic substance." Experiments upon the soda question, embracing fiftj'-eight plots in the field and more than as many pots, have now been in progress at the Khode Island station for several years, and, as a result of these, it may be definitely stated that, when the supply of readily assimilable potash is limited, soda is of some use, though whether as a direct or indirect manure cannot be determined until the analysis of the crops can be completed. The question whether plants can utilize soda as direct plant food savors perhaps too much of pure science to appeal to all practical farmers. Yet the question whether or not soda may be substituted for potash to some extent in the manwes a2')plied to the land will doubtless be considered practical by all. If the potash in our manures can be sufficiently reduced so as to make the soda which may be substituted for it effective, without lowering the yield or quality of the crop enough to more than offset the lesser price of the soda, it becomes important that it should be known. No benefit from soda appears, in the Rhode Island experiments, when a generous amount of potash is * Annales Agronomique 17 (1891), pp. 538-544. t Die Stickstoffdungung, Berlin, 1892, pp. 227-242. + Jour, fiir Landwirthschaft 47 (1899), pp. 49-84. 150 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. used, 80 that the only way to make it effective is to limit the potash, supplied in the manure, to such an extent that the plant does not find in the soil in assimilahle form sufficient for its immediate needs. It is possible that this practice ma}' be permissible upon certain soils and with certain kinds of plants, but not with others, the indications thus far obtained at Rhode Island pointing strongly in that direction. Until it is learned more definitely with what plants and upon what soils soda may be considered as capable of replacing potash in our manure, one is not safe in allowing the soda question to influence him materially in the choice between nitrate of soda and other sources of nitrogen. So much can be stated, however, viz., upon soils which are acid, nitrate of soda has for several years invariably given better results with beets, spinach, lettuce, asparagus and several other plants than the same quantity of nitrogen as sulfate of ammonia, oven when lime was applied in each case at the same rate.* Organic Nitrogen. — Under the general term organic nitrogen is classed the nitrogen of animal and vesretable sub- stances. Among those most frequently met with in our markets may be mentioned dried blood, finely ground fish, tankage, bone, horn meal, hoof meal, cotton-seed meal, lin- seed meal and castor pomace. The agricultural value of the nitrogen in these different materials varies widely, dependent upon the chemical and physical character of the soil, the temperature, moisture and other factors which determine how rapidly decomposition is brought about, ammonia pro- duced, and this in turn transformed into nitric acid. P. Wagner and Dorsch f give the following as the rela- tive degrees of assimi lability of the nitrogen of a number of diflerent organic substances, determined in a three-years successive trial, in pots, and with the same soil, whereby the cumulative as well as the immediate eflect could be observed. The assimilability of nitrate nitrogen is placed at 100 for purposes of comparison. * Compare the results secured in experiments upon the effect of lime upon the growth of plants. Reports Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, 1893- 1899 inclusive. t Die Stickstoflfdiingung, Berlin, p. 247. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 151 Nitrogen in nitrates, 100 Nitrogen in sulfate of ammonia and raw Peruvian guano, 83 Nitrogen in dried blood, horn meal, castor pomace and green plants, ....... 65 Nitrogen in horn meal, dried fish and meat,* . , 53 Nitrogen in wool dust and stable manure, ... 25 Nitrogen in leather meal, 15 These are only approximate figures ; they are neverthe- less of much value as indicators of the variation in the possible eflectiveness of such manures. Experiments by Lindsey have shown that treatment of leather with sulfuric acid increases greatly its assimilability. This treatment tends to break up the structure of the leather, and, if continued long; enouffh under favorable circumstances would chano'e the nitrogen to sulfate of ammonia, when its efficiency would of course correspond with that material. Th. Pfeifier has recently obtained much higher results for dried blood than those given by Wagner, and finds that it approaches more nearly sulfate of ammonia as a source of nitrogen. In fact, his results accord much more closely than Wagner's with those secured in Rhode Island in pots sunk in the ground, filled with natural soil and subjected to approximately nor- mal conditions of temperature and moisture. In these Rhode Island experiments, letting 100 represent the assimi- lability of the nitrogen of nitrate of soda, the following data were obtained : — Upon Limed Soil. Upon Unlimed Soil. Nitrogen in nitrate of soda, 100 100 Nitrogen in sulfate of ammonia, .... 92 -t Nitrogen in dried blood, 90 46 Nitrogen in ground steamed leather, . 14 1 * Tankage contains on an average about 6 to 7 per cent of nitrogen, which is often present to a considerable extent as meat associated with tendons, etc., and with bone. t Upon this soil it poisoned the plants. 152 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. That the soil conditions were favorable for nitrification upon the limed soil is evident from the high assimilability of the sulfate of ammonia and of the dried blood, but where no lime was applied the nitrogen of the dried blood proved only half as effective as it should have been. The nitrogen of steamed leather proved but about one-sixth as effective as the nitrogen of blood, even where the conditions for its transformation to nitric acid were excellent, and upon the acid soil it was almost utterly worthless. Credible information is aff"orded by those familiar with the trade that many of the less assimilable forms of organic nitrogen are emplo^'ed in the manufacture of commercial fertilizers, even including steamed or roasted leather. Under such circumstances only those who can have confidence in the manufacturer of their goods, and receive an assurance as to the nature of the nitrogen put into them, are in position to buy ready-mixed commercial fertilizers without the chance of being defrauded. In States where the quantities of nitro- gen present in such goods in the form of nitrates and am- monium salts are determined, one can be thoroughly assured in regard to the agricultural value of at least a portion of the nitrogen. This is practised in New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, and there seems no good reason why Massa- chusetts should be behind her sister States in reaching out to the farmer a helping hand in this respect. If the fees paid to the State of Massachusetts are not sufficient to cover the cost of this additional w^ork, many of the manufacturers would doubtless gladly assist in having the fee raised in order that the true merit of their goods might be shown by analysis. Attempts have been, and are now being made by chemists, to determine by chemical means the relative value of even the organic nitrogen in ditiTerent brands of commer- cial fertilizers ; and just as soon as a satisfactory method can be found, the character of this nitrogen should also be deter- mined and reported. The importance of this matter is not measured by the value of the nitrogen purchased, but by the loss in the crop, due to inferior crop-producing power of the fertilizer, and may therefore amount to an enormous item annually even in the State of Massachusetts. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 153 After what has been said iu relation to the various forms of nitrogen, several points may be concisely stated : — 1. Nitrogen in nitrates* acts more quickly than in other substances, and is therefore particularly recommended where supplementary applications are desirable during the period of growth. 2. Nitrate nitrogen is particularly adapted to vegetable growing, greenhouse work or for the spring top-dressing of. grass or grains; but, owing to its tendency to leach, it should rarely be applied in the autumn, and if at all only on very exhausted land, and in a quantity only sufficient to give the crops a start before winter. If applied early and in large quantities to grain before it is well started, there is a tendency to excessive straw pro- duction at the expense of the grain. 3. Upon acid soil, where there may be some delay or difficulty in the transformation of other forms of nitrogen into nitric acid, nitrates are particularly applicable, and will give most tavoralile results with spinach, lettuce, beets, asparagus. Kohl rabi, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes and many other garden crops. 4. On very light soils, or where the crop grows for a long period, nitrates wdll generally prove more efficacious if applied in two or three successive portions than when applied at once. 5. Owing to the danger of its being destroyed by deni- tritication and the loss of the nitrogen as gas, but little nitrate of soda should be applied at a time, either in the greenhouses or in fields, in case excessive amounts of only partially rotted manure have been employed. 6. Sulfate of ammonia is less liable to loss by leaching than nitrate of soda, and it is not quite so rapid in its action. 7. Upon grass and cereals where, and at times when, the conditions are favorable for its being carried into the soil and quickly changed into nitrates, sulfate of ammonia is apt to prove nearly as effective as nitrates. * Nitrate of potash, though an excellent source of nitrogen, is seldom used in agricultural operations, for the reason that nitrogen and potash can usually be bought in other materials for less money. 154 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 8. Upon acid or light sandy and gravelly soils, sulfate of ammonia is liable not only to give inferior results, but to act as a poison unless slacked lime or wood ashes is first applied to the soil. 9. Dried blood is generally considered to be the most effective form of organic nitrogen obtainable. In its pur- chase, however, the high grade, containing from 12 to 13 per cent of nitrogen, is less likely to be found adulterated than the lower grades. The assimilability of the nitrogen of blood is eventually, under the most favorable soil condi- tions, not far l^ehind that of sulfate of ammonia, though, owing to the necessity of its first being changed to ammonia, it does not usually act so quickly. 10. The nitrogen of cotton-seed meal, linseed meal, castor pomace, fish, tankage and horn meal is not so quick in its action as that of blood, for which reason it is not so well adapted to greenhouse work. For tobacco, or whatever crops enjoy a long period of growth and in seeding land to grass, these materials are particularly applicable, provided they can be had at a reasonable price. Unless the price is very low, top-dressing with nitrate of soda just as the grass is starting will prove much more economical. 11. Organic nitrogen is particularly applicable upon very light soils, where loss of nitrogen by leaching is to be feared, for the reason that it is continually l)ecoming assimilable, and is always present to some extent to meet the demands of plants. 12. A given amount of organic nitrogen, if quite readily assimilable, as, for example, in blood, may, under certain circumstances, produce a greater ^deld than the same amount of nitrogen in the form of ammonium salts or nitrates, pro- vided the latter materials are all applied in large quantities at once, when the plants are very young or before growth has commenced. The reason for this is that excessive amounts of those salts may act injuriously upon young and tender plants. When applied properly and in limited amounts, a given amount of nitrogen as nitrate of soda or as sulfate of ammonia may, as already stated, be expected to give a considerably greater yield than as organic matter. ^o. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 155 Stable Manure, its Treatment and Application. Probably during no period of the century has so much attention been paid to the investigation of stable manure with special reference to the conservation of its nitrogen as during the past two or three years. This has been largely due to a prize offered by the German Agricultural Society for the best investigation in this line. Owing to some of the striking conclusions arrived at by certain German investi- gators, Deherain in France and a large number of bacteriol- ogists in various countries have also lent their aid to the solution of this problem. The limits of several papers •would be required to give the successive steps and details of these investigations, so that only the briefest reference can be made here to some of the main features and to the practical outcome of the investigations. The losses of nitrogen from stable manure are essentially due to two causes : — 1. To the formation of ammonium carbonate in the proc- ess of decomposition, and, finally, the escape of this ammo- nia into the air in gaseous form. 2. To a reduction of the nitrates and nitrites formed as a result of the more or less complete nitrification of the ammo- nia, by which nitrogen is evolved into the atmosphere in a gaseous state. Early in the investigation of this question evidence was brought forward indicating that the chief loss actually occurs in the form of nitrogen gas as a result of the so-called proc- ess of denitrification. Subsequent discussion and observa- tion indicate however, that the losses as ammonia are more serious. The losses in the first category were especially studied by Professor Wagner and others, who found that when manure was applied to the soil but little effect was produced l)y the nitrogen, and, furthermore, it was found that it even caused the denitrification and loss of the nitrogen applied in connection with it as nitrates. It was quite gen- erally supposed at that time that this was due to the presence of unusual numbers of the denitrifying organisms in the manure. Straw was subsequently found to cause the same destruction, and was also looked upon as a bearer of these 156 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. oriranisins. Subsequent investigations by Deherain and others have shown that the facts noticed were to be explained upon the ground that the straw and manure contained suit- able food for the organisms, for instance, starch, sugar, xylan, araban, etc., and not to any practical extent on account of organisms which they themselves carried to the soil. Deherain, with his characteristic insight and grasp of experi- mental inquiries, soon showed that in the German experi- ments excessive amounts of manure were mixed with the soil, and that where such moderate quantities are applied as is usually customary, outside of special gardening opera- tions, such serious losses would not occur as had been claimed by the Germans, who had worked under abnormal conditions. He has further shown that manure spread upon the fields or distributed in small heaps suffers a rapid loss of ammonia. The first step is shown by him to be an escape of carbon dioxid (carbonic acid gas), which renders pos- sible the escape of the ammonia, such losses not occurring so long as an excess of this compound is present. Less loss would result, then, when manure is firmly compacted than when it is easily permeable by the air. Serious losses of ammonia from liquid manure, when it is kept separate from the solid portions, do not so readily occur. Deherain states that the ideal way to apply the manure is to take it to the field and to spread it at once, then follow with a plough, turning a shallow layer of soil over the manure at once. Little or no loss of ammonia will occur through a thin layer of soil. It seems probable that Deherain has struck the key-note of the problem, though there is much in the way of carrying out, practically, his last suggestion. If one could always have a rain descend upon the manure as soon as it is spread, provided the surface of the ground is in a state to absorb the liquid, the losses of which he speaks would be reduced to a minimum, even if the manure were left on the surface, since the liquid portion held by the solid would be largely washed into the soil, where, as is well known, it is practically safe. The nitrogen of the solid portion cannot so quickly and readily escape. These various investigations have shown that one reason for the superiority of rotted over fresh manure lies in the No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 157 fact that in the process of decomposition much of the bac- terial food is destroyed, and in consequence the subsequent tendency to decompose nitrates is reduced. In recent green- house experiments at the Rhode Island station, where stable manure only partially rotted was applied at the rate of seventy-five tons per acre, it ceased to support the growth of plants after the removal of two crops of radishes and one of lettuce, and experiments revealed the fact that it was due to the absence of nitrates. Where chopped hay was mixed with the soil, nitrate nitrogen practically disappeared in a comparatively short time, which was not the case where organic matter was not applied. It is recorded that Lawes and Gilbert found a marked lack of durability in the nitro- gen of stable manure when large quantities were applied to the land annually for several years, which is unquestionably explainable upon the same ground. The more perfectly herbivorous animals digest their food, the less is the tendency of the manure to cause the reduction of nitrates. The ground for this is that, with the more thorough digestion, less food suitable for the growth of the denitrifying organisms remains in the ffBces. This may ex- plain why, for certain purposes, sheep manure is preferred by many in greenhouse work (where much manure is incor- porated into a small body of soil) to cow manure, and par- ticularly to horse manure. Magnesia. Magnesia, though essential to plant growth, is not usually looked upon as sufficiently lacking in soils to render its ap- plication to them necessary. In all probability, sulfate and perhaps other salts of magnesia may act like gypsum (land plaster) in setting free potash and other manurial substances for the use of plants. It is possible, also, that magnesia may be lacking in certain soils to a greater extent than is usually supposed. Larbaletrier and Malpeaux * report sev- eral trials in which marked benefit from its use in France was observed ; and recent unpublished experiments, con- ducted at the Rhode Island station in natural soil liberally supplied with the customary manurial substances have given * Annales Agronomique 22 (1896), pp. 20-32. 158 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. evidence of marked benefit from the presence of magnesium, even when a[)plied as a chlorid, which by many writers is said, without qualification, to act as a plant poison. If fur- ther investio-ations indicate a more g-eneral need of mao;nesia than has been supposed, it can be bought at a low price as ground Ivieserite and as a constituent of Kainit and of double sulfate of potash and magnesia. Magnesiau lime * could also be employed, particularly wherever soils stand in need of carbonate of lime. Where considerable magnesia is present and lime is lacking it has been shown by Loew to act very poisonously upon plants ; it is therefore important to see that the soil is sufficiently supplied with lime wherever mag- nesia is to be employed. Wood ashes usually contain from about three to four per cent of magnesia, associated with about thirty-five per cent of lime, thus making them a splendid source of magnesia. It is not improbable that this ingredient is often responsible in some degree for the bene- ficial efl'ect which such ashes exert. Lime. Lime, like magnesia, is essential to plant growth, though it has been generally considered in the United States as being present in soils to a sufiicient extent to supply the demands. As notable exceptions to this, it may be men- tioned that it has long been applied to certain soils in Xew York and Pennsylvania with marked benefit. Early in the present century it was employed in Virginia by Ruffin and others with great success. Its use upon the acid soils of Limmousin and other portions of France has utterly revo- lutionized their agriculture, and made prosperous, regions where formerly only a miserable existence was possible. It is to-day the key to successful agriculture in certain sections of Germany, and upon some of the moorlands (peat and muck soils) successful agriculture is impossible without it, — a fact most vividly brought out by the experiments in prog- ress by the Moor Experiment Station of Bremen. Prob- ably no single ingredient of soils fulfils so many functions and exerts so marked an influence upon the character of soils and the growth of plants as lime. * Buraed lime, coataiaing much magnesia. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 159 1. It serves as a direct plant food. 2. It is a potent factor in binding sand and in rendering clay soils more friable. 3. It promotes the decay of organic matter and the for- mation of humus. 4. It increases the nitrogen content of humus, l)y which its efficiency as a source of nitrogen is increased. 5. It is indirectly an active agent in promoting the change of ammonia and inert forms of nitrogen into immediately assimilable forms. 6. It hinders denitrification, or the loss of nitrosfen in the gaseous form. 7. It is an important agent, when applied to soils, in com])ating the club foot of the cabbage, turnip, etc. 8. Upon quite acid soils, while not increasing greatly the total yield of potatoes, it has a marked favorable influence upon the percentage of large potatoes produced. 9. It overcomes the acidity of upland and other soils, which, though resulting injuriously to cranberries, black- berries, lupine, azaleas and perhaps a few other agricultural and ornamental plants, and favoring potato scab, neverthe- less aids in the extermination of common sorrel, and favors in a wonderful manner the growth of most agricultural plants, among which may be mentioned, by way of illus- tration, wheat, barley, onions, beets, spinach, lettuce and asparagus. 10. It sets free potash, within the soil, and where phos- phoric acid exists in large quantities, in certain forms which are but slightly assimilable, its application may liberate suffi- cient phosphoric acid to wholly supply the needs of plants for several years. 11. These are not all of the beneficial influences that might be briefly summarized ; but, to abbreviate, further allusion will on\y be made to a recent observation, an account of which has just been published in Belgium, to the eft'ect that in malarial regions the fever disappears after the land is limed. Should this be established, it would but verify the claims brought forward by Ruffin, in Virginia, early in this century, and prove a boon in this way not only to the farmers but to others as well. 160 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. This subject of lime is too important to be passed over without further general comment. Upland and naturally well-drained soils have not been usually considered, in this country, as sufficiently acid to prove injurious to plants ; and the occurrence of such a degree of acidity in such soils in New England has been, if not publicly, yet pi'ivately and by way of personal correspondence, questioned by several of the leading agricultural chemists and professors of agri- culture in New England. Notwithstanding this, carbonate of lime has been shown to ])e so deficient in many sections of Rhode Island that the ])rofitable production of beets, clover, timothy and many other crops is impossible until the acidity of the soil has been reduced by the use of alka- line applications, such as stable manure, wood ashes and lime. Even upon precipitous hillsides, with a fall of one foot in every six to ten feet descent, similar observations have been made. As a result of this, farmers in other States have taken to testing their soils and using lime, records of wonderful successes from its employment having come to hand from New Jersey, sections of New York, where it was not supposed to be lacking, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and also from Wellesley, Westminster and Bol- ton in the State of Massachusetts. These statements are made with the full knowledo:e of the fact that the professor of agriculture at your Agricultural College conducted many experiments with lime in Massa- chusetts, and found it of little or no use. The applications made were, however, too small to show marked results, and the experiments were conducted with Indian corn, a plant which thrives well on acid soil, and which seldom shows, superficially, a marked benefit from liming, provided it is supplied wnth a liberal amount of the three usual elements with the nitrogen as nitrates. Personal observations and chemical tests of soils lead to the belief that many sections of Massachusetts may be greatly benefited by a further study of this question, if conducted in the proper way ; and to the further conviction that, though still apparently almost ignored so far as concerns the State at large, it is a most promising field for investigation by your experiment station. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 161 All* slacked or water-slacked lime may be applied to soils at a rate of from one half to two and one-half tons per acre. Upon light, sandy or gravelly soils small applications should be made, while heavier clayey soils, particularly if rich in humus, may be dressed at a greater rate. Lime should be spread upon the surface of the ground, and thoroughly harrowed in, preferably shortly before seed- ing or before some crop especially helped by it. Full details regarding lime and its use may be obtained by sending to the United States Department of Agriculture for Farmer's Bulletin No. 77, on " Lime and its use." It is possible for the practical farmer to obtain a good idea as to whether his land stands in need of lime. If clover fails to thrive, if beet leaves turn red and many of the plants die or remain small, if onions cannot be successfully grown, if timothy runs out too quickly and if the soil is infested with sorrel, there is good reason to suspect a lack of lime. To determine more definitely, the following suggestions will be of service : — Soils which contain any considerable amount of carbonate of lime are either neutral in their action upon litmus paper, or, as is usually the case, they are alkaline. A neutral soil does not change the color of either a blue or red litmus paper. An acid soil will turn a blue paper red and an alka- line soil will turn a red litmus paper blue. To learn if a soil is acid (sour), take a tablespoonful or more of soil and place it in a glass or cup, moisten with sufiicient water to make it about like a very thick paste. If possible, allow it to stand fifteen minutes to an hour, though in very acid soils the test will readily show at once. With a knife blade part the soil and introduce one end of a piece of blue litmus paper, one-fourth to one-half an inch wide and two inches long, taking care not to touch the fingers to the end intro- duced. Press the soil against the paper. After from five to fifteen minutes, remove the paper, rinse the soil from it as hastily as possible, taking care not to wash the blue color from above into the portion of the paper that was in the soil, and if it has turned distinctly red, there is evidence that lime is needed. If the soil has a strong reddish tint, as is sometimes the case, and tends to cling to the paper, bring 162 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the soil only in contact with one side of the paper, and observe if the bhie color of the exposed side changes to red, if so, the soil is acid. In case a soil contains any considerable excess of carbon- ate of lime or magnesia, the humus will be mostly held in combination, insoluble in ammonia water; while on many soils, if ammonia water dissolves large quantities of humus, there is a probable lack of lime. This test, which cannot take the place of the litmus paper test, but which may well supplement it, is made as follows : Take two glasses, add to each about two level teaspoonfuls of soil, fill the glasses about half full of water, and add to one a teaspoonful of ammonia water. Stir each thoroughly, using in each a dif- ferent stirrer. If, after two or three hours, the liquid in the one without the ammonia water is practically clear and col- orless, and that in the other is quite dark brown or black, it may be concluded, provided the same soil reddened blue litmus paper, that it needs lime. Before purchasing large quantities of lime it is well to make a small test in a practical way. Lay out two plots of land, twelve by fifteen feet, separated from each other by a space six feet wide. Apply a like weighed amount of any complete commercial fertilizer to each plot. Apply to one plot from ten to twenty pounds of lime, according to the lightness or heaviness of the soil. Work it in most thor- oughly with a cultivator or rake. Plant a like weight of red table or mangel-wurzel beet seed on each plot. Note the growth and weigh the crop from each plot. If lime proves serviceable, use it judiciously for other crops liable to be helped by it. Chlorine, Soda, Sulfur, Iron, etc. The question of soda has been discussed in connection with nitrate of soda. Chlorine, like soda, has been much in dispute as to its being essential to plant growth, but it seems probable that it performs useful functions. Pfeifter has recently recorded an appreciable benefit from its use upon potatoes. It is, however, a constituent of muriate of potash and to some extent of most fertilizers, so that its special application is supposed to be practically unnecessary. No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 163 Iron, though usually ignored as a necessary application for soils, is nevertheless as essential to plant growth as any other ingredient. Fortunately, soils are practically always suflSciently supplied with it. It has been applied, however, in many cases as proto-sulfate of iron (green vitriol) with most marked advantage. However, its usefulness in such cases has been usually by virtue of its liberating potash and possibly other plant food, and sometimes owing to its prov- ing a remedy for certain diseases affecting the roots of plants. Sulfur is also an essential element in the growth of plants, though usually soils receive enough of it in the various ma- nures ; many of the German potash salts, as well as super- phosphates, containing large quantities of it in the form of sulfate. After what has been said in relation to the special action of different forms of plant food and the influence of the character of the soil upon their assimilability and relative adaptabilities, it must be evident that no general rules for manuring, applicable to all crops, can be laid down for a given soil, nor can specific rules be laid down for a given plant applicable upon soils of all classes. It must be equally manifest that the purchase and use of complete commercial fertilizers without a knowledge of their chlorine content and of the nature of the nitrogenous materials which they con- tain can be classed as neither scientific nor practical ; and yet this is what farmers are forced to do who employ such goods, so long as the analytical data are not sufiicient to tell them what they are actually buying. That the statements of certain manufacturers are and will continue to be misleading there can be no question, unless the consumers ask for what protection they should have. As previously explained, chem- istry has not as ^et been able to tell with satisfactory exact- ness the relative values of the organic nitrogen, though most hopeful progress has already been made. "While waiting for the further perfection of methods to be used in the protection of the interests of the farmer, there should be no neglect of the opportunity to ascertain for him everything that can be determined in relation to the character of the commercial manures. With trusts and combinations to control the price KU BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. of everything lie buys and most that he sells, and with petty jealousies and a thousand difficulties in the Avay of organiz- ing and working for common interests, there never was a time in the history of this country when it was more imper- ative that our agricultural interests should have all the pro- tection from fraud which law can afford. Soil Tests by Means of Plants and Fertilizers. Soil tests by means of chemical manures and plants have been widely advocated for ascertaining the deficiencies of special soils, in order that farmers may not continue to use large amounts of certain fertilizer ingredients unnecessarily, these tests having proved more satisfactory as a means of ascertaining their needs than resort to chemical analysis alone. In such tests, the use of potash, phosphoric acid and nitro- gen in suitable combinations has usually been considered sufficient to determine the relative lack of any one of these thr«e soil ingredients. Recent experience at the Rhode Island Experiment Station prompts the belief that even tests conducted in this way may occasionally lead one to draw totall}^ false conclusions as to what applications may i)rove most economical for a given soil, and that satisfactory con- clusions cannot be drawn as to the relative deficiencies of these three ingredients until the soil is first put in proper condition by the application of everything else which it may need for correcting any unsatisfactory chemical or physical condition which may exist. Even at their best, certain of these tests may answer the question for this field and not for that ; they may give one indication the first year and a dif- ferent one later. They may, however, prove highly useful in showing great deficiencies which were not suspected, and, if continued long enough upon the same location, they may indicate about how much of certain soil ingredients is liable to be liberated annually for the support of plants, so that the artificial application may be based thereon. System in its Relation to Manuring. What seems to be needed is more system in our agricult- ure, the employment of more definite rotations, and then systematic and long-continued study on the part of our No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 165 experiment stations of soils most truly representative of dif- ferent sections, to ascertain, taking into account losses by drainage and the ingredients removed by crops, what quan- tities of the various manurial ingredients must be applied annually or at other intervals to most economically maintain maximum crops and normal soil conditions. Such work on the part of the stations requires, as previously stated, con- tinuity of efibrt, and involves some reasonable assurance of tenure of office ; for otherwise we shall continue to have the lamentable picture of station workers undertaking only ex- periments which they can reasonably hope to complete in a short time, — a policy to w^hich there are now too few excep- tions, particularly in those States where the advancement of science and the promotion of public interests are subserved to seeking party spoils. He who has been an observing student of the fertilizer problem from the birth of the Stockbridge formulas until the present day cannot deny that the fertilizer manufacturer has rendered an important service to agriculture in calling attention to the beneficial action of chemical manures, since, had he not sent his commercial missionary, the travelling salesman, to practically every farmer in the laud, the knowl- edge and use of fertilizers would probably have become far less general. Admitting that many farmers through lazi- ness and lack of business enterprise have bought fertilizers recklessly, yet much good seed has been sown. The question that comes home to the Massachusetts farmer to-day is this : Is it the best economy to employ ready- mixed fertilizers without more definite knowledge of the materials employed in compounding them, particularly in view of the difference in the specific action of the various ingredients upon special soils and crops? In Germany, thanks to the use of the facilities for agricultural education, the progressive agriculturist does not doctor his land by the employment of universal panaceas containing a mixture of all of the medicines given in the agricultural pharmacopoeia, but employs the materials and doses to suit the individual requirements of the particular case in hand. To be sure, mixtures of superj^hosphate and sulfate of ammonia, as well as nitrate of soda with superphosphate in definitely stated 166 BOAED OF AGEICTLTURE. [Vuh. Doc. proportions are sold in large qnantities : but these are sup- plemented judiciously by the use of potash salts, hasie slag, bone meal or other materials. aecoDiing to the special requirements. Occasionally also so-called complete ma- nures are sold even in Germany, in certain instances a large proportion of sand and nitrogen in the form of steamed and roasted leather being mixed with mineral phosphate, in order to meet the demand of the ignorant peasant who thinks of the amount of the ingredients or weight of ma- terials ol>tained r^ardless of the assimilability, and who pays freight on smd under the delusive influence of the too common idea that that which is offered at a low price is nec- essarily most economical. If such a system of purchasing fertilizers is to prerail to so great an extent in this country as at present, if the brand name and the cost or commercial value of the goods is to be the crucial criterion used in buy- ing, and if greater attention and study are not given to this subject, the future of agriculture must remain more or less dark, and the time spent by our stations in solving the important problems bearing upon plant production will have been spent in vain. There is not to-day one young man in Toar Agricoltnral Collie where there should be fifty, and many fermers are still plodding. The future of the Ameri- can &rmer will be determined by whether he goes into fann- ing with ready capital, or with an overwhelming mortgage, bearing from thirty to fifty per cent greater interest than the capital invested in other oc-cupations : by his business enter- prise : and by his education and consequent ability to meet and cope with other business c-ombinations. Shall the Amer- ican former become a peasant, or a business man ? For the benefit of the masses, and to the end that the oldest and most honorable occopation of mankind may be ennobled instead c:' . " ' ^nd that the work of agricultural inves- tigation L,_ _ . : - ard and its teachings be economically applied, let your Agricultural College, as such, be strength- ened in certain departments: carry, then, repeatedly, by special emissaries ; - - - -,- ^ knowledge of what it offers to every farm in : .wealth and the future of your agriculture and of the ^lassachosetts farmer will be assured- So. 4.] CHE:\nCAL AND FARM MANURES. 167 ApPEN"T)IX. Fadtors for Use in comparing Guaranties. Frequently, in securing quotations on agricultural chemi- cals and fertilizer stock, one party will guarantee ammonia and another niirogen, some guarantee bone phosphate and others phosphoric acid, and again one may guarantee either sulfate or muriate of potash, while others state the amount of actual potash. In order to compare prices quoted in this manner, the following will be found useful : — Multiplying the per cent of ammonia by .82 gives the nitrogen. Multiplying the percent of nitrogen by 1.21 gives the ammonia. Multiplying the per cent of pure* muriate of potash by .63 gives the actual potash. Multiplying the per cent of actual potash by 1..58 gives the pure muriate of potash. Multiplying the per cent of pure* sulfate of potash by .54 gives the actual potash. Multiplying the per cent of actual potash by 1.85 gives the pure sulfate of potash. Multiplying the per cent of bone phosphate by .46 gives the phosphoric acid. Multiplying the per cent of phosphoric acid by 2.18 gives the bone phosphate. The kinds of chemicals or fertilizer stock that should be used depend upon the character of the soil, the relative cost of the materials and the particular crop to be grown. To assist those who may wish to substitute one kind of material for another without materially affecting the amount of the par- ticular manurial ingredient employed, it is hoped that the following will be found serviceable. Any of the following substitutions may l'>e made without materially changinir the amounts of nitrogen, available phosphoric acid and potash : — For 100 pounds of nitrate of soda, either 76 j.x»unds of sul- fate of ammonia. 141 pounds of dried blood or 235 pounds of cotton-seed meal. * Ordinary muriate of potash as commonlT sold contains 'but aboni SO ponnds of muriate of potash per hundred, the balance consisting chiefly of common salt; while ordinary high-grade sulfate contains about 90 pounds of sulfate of potash per hundred. 168 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. For 100 pounds of sulfate of ammonia, either 132 pounds of nitrate of soda, 186 pounds of dried blood or 311 pounds of cot- ton-seed meal. For 100 pounds of dried blood, either 71 pounds of nitrate of soda, 54 pounds of sulfate of ammonia or 167 pounds of cotton- seed meal. For 100 pounds of cotton-seed meal, either 43 pounds of nitrate of soda, 32 pounds of sulfate of ammonia or 60 pounds of dried blood. For 100 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, either 76 pounds of dissolved bone-black or 33 pounds of double superphosphate. For 100 pounds of dissolved bone-black, either 131 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock or 43 pounds of double superphosphate. For 100 pounds of double superphosphate, either 308 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock or 235 pounds of dissolved bone-black. For 100 pounds of tankage, either 39 pounds of nitrate of soda and 38 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 29 pounds of sulfate of ammonia and 38 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 55 pounds of dried blood and 38 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 91 pounds of cotton-seed meal and 38 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 80 pounds of dry ground fish and 14 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, or 45 pounds of fine-ground bone and 33 pounds of nitrate of soda. For 100 pounds of dry ground fish, either 48 pounds of nitrate of soda and 31 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 37 pounds of sulfate of ammonia and 31 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 68 pounds of dried blood and 31 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 113 pounds of cotton-seed meal and 31 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 80 pounds of tankage and 17 pounds of nitrate of soda, or 36 pounds of fine-ground bone and 44 pounds of nitrate of soda. For 100 pounds of fine-ground bone, either 13 pounds of nitrate of soda and 85 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 10 pounds of sulfate of ammonia and 85 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 18 pounds of dried blood and 85 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 30 pounds of dissolved cotton-seed meal and 85 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, 33 pounds of tankage and 72 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock, or 27 pounds of dry ground fish and 76 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock. For practical purposes, muriate and high-grade (48 to 50 per cent) sulfate of potash may be substituted, each for the other, in equal quantities ; in replacing either of these by low-grade sulfate (double sulfate of potash and magnesia), double the quantity should be used ; or in replacing either by kaiuit, four times the amount should be used. No 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 169 In the above calculations the l)a8is of composition used was, for dried blood, 11 per cent of nitrogen ; for tankage, 6 per cent of nitrogen and 5 per cent of available phosphoric acid; for fish, 7.5 per cent of nitrogen and 4 per cent of available phosphoric acid; and for fine-ground bone, 2 per cent of nitrogen and 11 per cent of available phosphoric acid. As a general rule, if dissolved phosphate rock containing between 12 and 13 per cent of soluble phosphoric acid can be bought at $15 per ton, that is about the same from the farmer's stand-point as dissolved bone-black at $19.50 per ton ; or, for a rule that will fit all cases, multiply the price of dissolved phosphate roch hy 1.3, and, if the result is above ihejjrice at which dissolved bone-black is offered, then buy the latter; if the result falls below the quotation for dissolved bone-black, then take the fonner. If double superphosphate can be bought at three thnes, or less than three times, the cost of dissolved phosphate rock, then it is usually more economical than the latter. Prof. W. P. Brooks (of Amherst). In rising to speak, I wish in the first place to express my most hearty apprecia- tion of the very able paper to which we have listened. It was full of good things, so full that I fear very few of us will be able to carry them all away with us I want to say that in my opinion this paper is one which, to a very unusual degree, will repay careful reading and careful study. It will become available to all of you, and I sincerely hope that you will not conclude that, having heard it, you do not need to pay further attention to it. You will find by reading it with care that there are many hints that will pay you many times over to act upon. There are just a few of the points referred to by the essayist to which I wish to refer. You will remember, in the first place, the paper discussed the question of potash, the sources of potash, — wood ashes, cotton-seed hull ashes, nitrate of potash, carbonate of potash and magnesia, were all spoken of. Wood ashes, as you are well aware, are used in the Connecticut valley, where tobacco is grown, more largely, probably, than in almost any other part of our country, and I am convinced, as a result of observation, that they con- 170 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. stitute a splendid manure at the price at which they are gen- erally sold. We have one field of about six or seven acres on the college farm which illustrates this pretty well. This field has been kept in grass for about twelve years. It is divided into three nearly equal parts, and for some time has liecn manured in this way : one year one of the three parts into which it is divided receives a small, rather moderate dressing of manure, — about four cords ; the second part re- ceives an application of wood ashes, — a ton to the acre ; the third receives an application of muriate of potash, — about two hundred pounds, and bone meal, — about four hundred pounds. The next year the manuring is rotated ; the part that this year got the barn-yard manure, next year gets wood ashes ; the part that this year got the wood ashes, next year gets the bone and potash ; and so on from year to year. The results upon this field go very far to show that such a system of manuring is an excellent one. We have obtained for the last ten years an average of rather more than three and a half tons to the acre of good hay in two crops, by this system of manuring. So much for wood ashes. Of course the benefits in this case are not to be ascribed wholly to the wood ashes, but I believe that rotation of manuring is an excellent thing. I am not at all sure but that still better results might be obtained by using a little nitrate of soda in connection with the ashes in the spring, put on separately ; and possibly also in connection with the bone and potash. The essayist discussed the relative merits of muriate of potash and sulfate of potash, and Avith his conclusions I entirely agree on most points. AVe have, however, at Am- herst with a single exception always found that sulfate of potash not only gave potatoes of better quality but also more bushels than the muriate. AVe have fields upon the college farm where for about sixteen years we have had these two forms of potash under comparison. The system of manur- ing has been this : on one part, muriate of potash at the rate of four hundred pounds to the acre ; the next, sulfate of pot- ash, the same quantity ; the next, the muriate ; the fourth, the sulfate. There are eleven plots in all, alternating in this regular way. In connection with these potash salts we have No. 4 ] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 171 used every year bone meal in the same amount on all plots. We have been testing the relative value of these two forms of potash, and are now able to give you some hints which I believe you will find of great value. We find for many crops there docs not appear to be any material difference in the value of the two salts. This is true of corn, and under this manuring, — four hundred pounds of one or the other and six hundred pounds of bone meal — we this year got one of the largest crops of corn for the silo that we have ever raised, — it amounted to something over thirty tons to the acre. It was a large variety of corn and the growth was enormous, and we got something over thirty tons to the acre where the land has for this long period (since 1884) been every year manured in this way, — one with muriate, the other with sulfate, and both with six hundred pounds of bone meal. The crop of corn this year was a little larger on the muriate of potash than on the sulfate. But in all our experience we have not found much difierence in the value of these two salts for this crop. The same is true for grass. For cabbage there is a decided difference in favor of the sul- fate ; for beans, in favor of the sulfate ; for sugar beets, in favor of the sulfate. But I will not go further in the details concerning that point. That is not the most important fact I wanted to bring to your attention in connection with the use of these two salts. The fact is this : We have found that where we continue to use muriate of potash year after year the soil gradually gets into an unproductive condition. This con- dition appears to be connected with the loss of lime. Chlo- ride or any kind of muriate of potash is the one we usually employ, unless we use kainit. The continued use of the chloride seems to result in the washing out of a considerable share of the lime in the soil. We have found that, where we have used muriate of pot- ash in moderate amounts — not exceeding two hundred pounds to the acre — for a series of years, the only way to bring the soil back was to give it a dressing of lime ; and in my most recent publication on this subject of manuring I have called attention to this fact, and have there joointed out the fact that the apparent saving which you make by employ- 172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. ing muriate instead of sulfate may be simply apparent and not actual ; because, if you depend on muriate, you will find that it will be necessary to buy lime to make up for that which washes out of the soil as a result of the use of the muriate. The sulfate does not have this effect to anywhere near the same extent. It seems to be possible to use this year after year, for a long series of years ; I cannot say how long. It seems to be possible to continue to use this for a long series of years without its being necessary to lime the land. In connection with the series of plots I have just spoken of, where muriate and sulfate were used alternately for a long series of years, we had clover a few years ago. Clover occupied six different plots. We had three different kinds of clover, two plots of each kind ; on one plot of each kind we used muriate and on the other sulfate. The difference in the clover was remarkable. The clover was sown in the latter part of July, in the summer of 1897. You will remember that this was a very wet summer. The clover came up well and grew apparently equally well on all plots during the late summer and fall. But in the spring there was a most astonishing difference in the condition of the clover on the muriate and on the sulfate. On the sulfate the plants were all alive and vigorous and the crop was magnificent, but on the muriate a large share of the plants were dead. This was true with all three kinds of clover. It was so many times repeated that we could not doubt that it was some peculiar influence of the muriate of potash that produced this result. We have since shown by another field that that influence appeared to be that to which I have called attention. The lime had been washed out of the soil, as a result of the con- tinued use of the muriate. By liming the land we brought it into condition to raise clover again. If you have not had good results from the continued use of muriate of potash, it probably is because your land needs more lime. Many of you buy mixed fertilizers. You should inquire, when you })urchase, what is the source of potash. If the juanufacturcr or seller says nothing about it, you may con- clude it is muriate, because he will naturally take the cheap- est form, No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 173 The paper had something to say in regard to the avail- ability of phosphoric acid in bone meal, as compared with basic slag and other materials. You will remember that I said each plot in this series received bone meal at the rate of six hundred pounds to the acre continually since 1884. That is a long time, and in all that time this field has not had one particle of manure of any other kind than bone meal and the two potash salts. I claim that on that soil the results show that bone meal is apparently a useful form of phosphoric acid as well as of nitrogen. I told you what the crop of corn was this year ; over thirty tons to the acre of corn for the silo. Other crops this year and in recent years have been entirely satisfactor3^ We got on these plots yields of clover hay at the rate of three tons and more to the acre ; yields of potatoes at the rate of two hundred and fifty to three hundred bushels per acre ; we got satisfactory ^delds of beets, and, indeed, of all the common farm crops, — and that while we have depended wholly for this long series of years upon bone meal as the source of phosphoric acid and as a source of nitrogen. In general, however, I would agree entirely with the position of the paper concerning the relative availability of the different materials which the farmer can purchase for supplying phosphoric acid. One other phase of the subject : the materials which fur- nish nitrogen. Our experiments at Amherst have continually been carried out on such systems as to render the hints very suggestive and valuable. AVe have one set of plots where we have for a long series of years, about sixteen years, been using barn-yard manure on one plot as a source of nitro- gen, sulfate of ammonia on several plots, nitrate of soda on others, dry blood on others, and we have in our results in general entirely confirmed the position of the speaker of the morning. ^Ye find the nitrate of soda the best for all crops. We generally find the dry blood next, rather than the sul- fate of ammonia. We find if we use lime in connection with sulfate of ammonia it acts better ; but used in connection with lime it hardly equals the dry blood on our soil, as a rule. Doctor AVheeler. Are you sure the dry blood did not contain large quantities of phosphoric acid? 174 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Professor Brooks. I suppose all dry blood contains some phosphoric acid, but I think this has been allowed for in determining the amount to be used. I want to emphasize one other point ; the possibility of making use of atmospheric nitrogen by the growth of clover. There are in this series of a dozen or so of plots three plots which for sixteen years have never received an ounce of nitrogen in any form. It is a long time to go without this which generally is so important in determining the amount of the crop. The crop on that land this year was clover, — common red clover, sown in July. A year ago this past summer we cut two good crops on these plots which now for sixteen years have not had an ounce of nitrogen supplied to them in any way, shape or form. On these plots this year we got a clover crop practically the same as on those plots that have every year been manured heavily with barn-yard manure, or sulfate of am- monia, or dry blood, or nitrate of soda. On all the plots we have every year supplied potash and phosphate. They were comparisons of the sources of nitrogen. On the plots where we used no nitrogen we have this year got as good a crop of clover as on those where we used nitrogen every year. It is a fact of tremendous importance. You do not make as much use of these recent discoveries of modern science as you shovild. You ought to grow more clover, and you ought to make it work for a living. If you put it on land where there is plenty of nitrogen in the soil, it will not work for a living. It will not take two steps to get what it can get by taking one. If it can find nitrogen by taking one step, it will use it and not take the second step ; but if it takes the first step and does not find it, then it is capable of taking another great long step into the air and getting the nitrogen there. You ought to act upon that dis- covery of modern science more than you do. Question. Would you buy no nitrogen whatever? Professor Brooks. Not absolutely that. There are con- ditions where the farmer cannot aftbrd to depend on this method of getting nitrogen. The gardener cannot always atibrd to depend on it. I am not an unconditional advocate No. 4.J CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 175 of greeu crops. I do not plough in a crop that has a food value. I have o-rown clover to a orreat advantage over what it is commonly grown. Mr. Sessions. Your experience has proved that the pot- ash helps out the clover ? Professor Brooks. Always. We have been putting pot- ash on four out of fifteen plots. On different plots we have various combinations of fertilizers and ingredients, — lime, phosphate, nitrate of soda, barn-yard manure, etc. We have kept it up year after year, similar manures on similar plots, then planted with clover and sowed back and forth and across the field, so that we would have the same amount of seed on all plots. Where we put the potash there is the clover every time ; where there is no potash there will be no clover. Potash is not the only thing essential. You must make sure that every one of the constituents of plant food is present in abundance. Something was said by the speaker this morning concern- ing the relative value of diflerent materials. I want to add one other point. Generalizations, I admit, are dangerous ; conditions alter cases, alter results ; but this generalization I believe is safe. For all those crops that must make most of their growth in the early part of the season you will probably without exception find that nitrate of soda is alto- gether the best source of nitrogen that you can use. The reason is clear to most of you, and that is, that the plants feed upon nitrate nitrogen to the best advantage. It is in the best form in the nitrate. Give nature time, and she will make nitrates out of sulfate of ammonia, out of dry blood and out of barn-yard manure, but it takes time. If we want to get spinach or roots or a crop of asparagus early in the spring, nitrate of soda is very much superior to sulfate of ammonia or dry blood. We have found in our experience, when it comes to tomatoes or corn or second crops of spinach or beets, the sulfate of ammonia gives as good and sometimes better results than nitrate of soda. You see the reason. The nitrate of soda is ready to feed the crop you put it on, hence it is important for the crops that make their growth in the early part of the season. The dry blood 176 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. may answer for the later ones, because nature will have time before they need to feed upon it to w^ork it over and convert it into the form of nitrates. I am tempted to say one thing more about corn. I want to call your attention to a set of photographs that I showed to a few of you this morning. I am more and more amazed, the longer I continue experiments with the corn crop, to note the very close dependence of this crop on all soils, not simply on the Amherst soils but on all soils, upon a liberal supply of available potash. I am further more and more amazed, the longer I experiment with corn, to note the extent to which it can make an excellent crop, although you do not apply to the soil much nitrogen in any form. I have a series of photographs showing this in a marked degree. One illus- trates the growth of a crop on one-twentieth of an acre. On one of the plots in this field, during eleven years we had applied only muriate of potash and dissolved bone-black in moderate amounts, one hundred and sixty pounds of the former and three hundred and twenty pounds of the latter to the acre. We had a magnificent crop of corn on that plot. It amounted to about sixty bushels of shelled corn to the acre ; it was almost as good a crop as was produced on an- other plot in the same field where every year for the eleven years we have applied five cords of barn-yard manure. Why is this? It is another generalization. Corn is a crop that does not make very heavy demands on the nitrogen suppl}' until hot weather. It does not grow very fast until into July. Previous to that time, nature has worked over the organic stores of nitrogen in the soil and made it into nitrates, and the corn can depend on that to a great extent. Some have wondered if corn is not able to take that second step into the air and get nitrogen. Perhaps it can. I do not know. The crops that make their chief growth in the latter part of the season do not need to have as much nitro- gen supplied to them as others. Corn grown under the right conditions is one of the most splendid crops we can grow in this country. I heartily agree with the sentiment that corn is the very best gift of God to the American people. I sometimes wonder if there is not considerable room for improvement in the way in which you No. 4.] CHExMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 177 manage il. I think there is. Acting upon the few hints which I have given you to-day and other hints which have been put in writing, I feel confident that you can save largely in the cost of raising corn. One other point. Some nine years ago I took an acre of fair soil, medium loam, and divided it into four equal parts, and began manuring the first quarter with six cords of ma- nure ; the second with three cords and one hundred and twenty-five pounds of muriate of potash ; the third like the first ; and the fourth like the second. The same experiment w^as twice repeated. I have kept it up, growing corn all except two jears out of the nine. Those two years the laud was in grass, sown the previous summer with the corn. Now for the results. We have obtained almost exactly iden- tical crops from the two kinds of manure, but the full amount of manure costs about seven dollars an acre more than the lesser amount and the potash. This year we got a little more corn on the lesser amount of manure and the potash than wdiere every year we had been putting six cords. After about three years I found that half the amount of manure and the potash was not keeping up, and I raised the amount of manure to two-thirds, so that for the last five years two quarters have had six cords of manure and the others four cords and the potash. Question. What value do you place on the manure? Professor Brooks. Five dollars a cord on the land. I believe this is an important point to you farmers who have to study the economies of farming closely. The lesser amount of manure with potash will give you in the first place a good crop of corn, and then when you seed to grass or clover j'ou get a -better crop than when you use manure alone. That was so in the two years in this experiment, when the land was in grass and clover. And it is to that fact largely that I now attribute the fact that this year we have more corn on the lesser amount of manure and potash than on the manure alone. The corn this year has been feeding on the rotted stubble of the clover. Question. Have you used nitrate of soda on wet land, — mucky land? Professor Brooks. No, because we have no mucky land. 178 BOARD OF AGRICULTUliE. [Pub. Doc. We have a laro^e flat field that is rich in leo;umes and vea:- etable matter, almost clay-like, and we used nitrate of soda there with satisfactory results. I will tell you something about the soil where the bone meal gave good results. It is a kind of a medium loam : a good fair amount of clay, — between what you might pick out as the best of corn land and the best of grass land ; a good soil for average crops. It is well drained. That soil with bone meal applied since 1884 gave us a crop of corn amounting to over thirty tons to the acre. Mr. Andrew H. Ward (of Boston). I concur with the speaker fully in what he said in his able address. It covered the ground fully so far as the use of commercial fertilizers is concerned. But there is one point to which the professor has not referred ; that is, the cost of fertilization, and that is an all-important point to the farmer. Manure to the farmer is what capital is to the merchant. A farmer can no more carry on farming operations profitably without manure than a merchant can carry on business without capital. The mer- chant may go into the market with borrowed capital to do his business, but, if he has to pay an exorbitant rate of interest, it is only a question of time when he will fail. The farmer may go into the market and buy fertilizers, and, if he paj^s an exorbitant price for them, he does not get value received, and is running deeper and deeper into poverty as lono; as he goes on. I will refer to the report of our former secretary. He said in one of his reports that at the price farmers were paying for commercial fertilizers in the market, the manure from one well-fed cow for twelve months was worth more than forty-five dollars. It was no mean addition to the milk and butter product of the cow, and should be counted as a part of the income. The farmers can see from this that they are paying three times the amount of money for fertilizers that they should pay. Take our experiment stations that our farmers so thoroughly rely upon, and that have done so much good in various lines and in other lines have done so much harm. The experiment stations add twenty per cent to the market values of fertilizers. Do the farmers get twenty per cent added to the market quotations of their No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 179 potatoes, corn and other things? Do you expect the papers or anybody to raise these quotations twenty per cent ? It is all folly. But your experiment stations, instead of adding twenty per cent to the market value, raise the price one hundred per cent. Think of it, gentlemen ! It is a con- spiracy against the farmers. It takes only three to make a conspiracy, and there are five of these stations in it. Gentlemen, you may think w hat I say is extravagant, but if you will call upon me I will substantiate what I have said by proof that you cannot doubt. The fertilizer manufacturers are in the market to sell their fertilizers. The values are raised for them one hundred per cent. They are not satisfied. They want a trust. They are not satisfied with the one hundred per cent that the ex- periment stations add for them. They add in addition all the way from thirty-seven and a half per cent in New Jersey to fifty per cent in New York. Then, where does the farmer stand? If anybody doubts my word, I wish them to raise a question. Professor Brooks. 1 understand there is an opportunity for questions. What value is it that the experiment stations start and then raise twenty per cent ? Mr. Ward. If you will let that question go for a few moments, I have a list of ten questions that I want to pro- pound to you. Our friend from Rhode Island stated some time ago that tlie stations have called the attention of the farmer to the fact that the only absolutely safe way in general to buy fertilizers with a surety of the quality of the materials they are buying is to buy the individual ingredients and mix their own goods. Now, that is all true. When the experiment stations give analyses to the dealers in fertilizers, the farmers give full faith and credit to them. But we are told by the essayist that when they give the analyses of the nitrogen in the fer- tilizers, it may be worth fourteen cents or it may be worth three cents ; they cannot tell, but they assume — people do not assume when they know — they assume it is of the high- est quality. The Connecticut station says : "These valuations, it must be remembered, are based on the assumption that the nitro- 180 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. gen, phosphoric acid and potash in each fertilizer are readily available to farm crops." They assume that. "Chemical examination can show pretty conclusively whether this is true in regard to potash. There is less certainty in regard to phosphoric acid, while chemical examinations, as they are usually made, give little or no clue as to the availability of the organic nitroffen in mixed goods." Why don't these stations say, "There is so much we know and so much we do not know ? " Why do they assume anything ? Let the farmer assume for himself. Now, I will not take your time, but I want to read these questions, to bring the thing to a head : — 1. Is nitrogen of more value per pound in barn-yard ma- nure than in fine or coarse ground fish scraps, cotton-seed meal or castor pomace ? 2. Is nitrogen of more value per pound in fine than in coarse ground fish scrap ? 3. Is soluble phosphoric acid of more value when made from bones than that made from phosphate rock ? 4. Why is it assumed by the experiment stations, in their valuation of mixed fertilizers, that they are composed of the best and highest cost ingredients ? 5. Who does the assumption benefit, the farmer, or the manufacturer? 6. For what reason does the experiment station fix the trade value of fertilizers and fertilizing material or ingre- dients one hundred per cent above the wholesale market price of these articles? 7. Why do not the stations give the quotations from the trade journals of the market prices of fertilizer ingredients ? 8. Under whose directions are these fictitious valuations made? 9. On what basis are the prices fixed? 10. By whose authority and under what law are these fictions published? Does acid or superphosphate of lime, soluble in distilled water, become insoluble within twenty-four hours on its ap- plication to the soil ? I will give you one thing more, and then I will give an opportunity for reply. No. 4.] CHExMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 181 When I make such charges as I have made to-day, I am too old and not yet foolish enough to make these statements unless I have the stations themselves to back me up. I quote from the Connecticut report for 1879, page 55 : " The first wholesale cost of organic nitrogen is but a little more than one-half what the station valuation allows as the fair retail price. . . . During the past summer the unit of am- monia in fish, blood, etc., has been worth, in New York, but from $2.30 to $2.60. At $2.50 per unit of ammonia, the wholesale price of nitrogen would be 10 J cents per pound, with, in general, several per cent of phosphoric acid thrown in. Now, what justifies the station in valuing this same nitrogen when it comes into our retail markets at 20 cents per pound, and at the same time allowing several cents per pound for the accompanying phosphoric acid ? The station only can answer that the retail market justifies the trade values it employs, and would, so far as many of the super- phosphates and all the guanos other than Peruvian are con- cerned, justify trade values higher than it has employed." Professor Brooks. In order not to take more of the time of the audience than is necessary, it is desirable that some one who is thoroughly competent at all points to answer these questions should assume the task. As Mr. Ward has called upon me, I will say that in my work in connection with the experiment station I have nothing to do with fixing the trade values of fertilizers. Professor Wheeler can give you short, pointed answers to these ques- tions, which I feel sure will be satisfactory ; and in the in- terest of the audience, because of the lack of time, I am going to ask him to do it. Doctor Wheeler. I am ready to answer any legitimate questions, if desired. In regard to the value of fertilizers ; ten or fifteen years ago the farmers were paying a good deal more a ton for their fertilizers than they needed to pay if they would buy the ingredients at the lowest price in the open market and mix the goods themselves. They have been taught a lesson, and to-day they are buying the ingredients and mixing them in large quantities. Some are making contracts to have them mixed at the factories, and sending men to the fac- 182 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. tories to see that they are properly mixed. They buy where the goods are offered to them at the lowest prices. I will say that at the present time the experiment stations and the agricultural colleges in this country have taken the ground that the farmers are so much better informed than they used to be in regard to fertilizers that the commercial values may be al)olished. We have pointed it out repeat- edly in our bulletins. Attention has been called to phosphoric acid. Had the gentleman read the bulletins, he would have known that the stations have taken the position that they could not tell ever^'thing about it ; that they would tell what they could, and wished they could tell more. We cannot tell many things that we would like to. I think the gentleman's argument has entirely' dropped out. We want the laws changed as quickly as we can get them changed. They have been of great good in the past, but are outgrown, and now is the time to take a farther step in advance. In reply to the questions : — 1. The question is not explicit. We have two values for everything. One is the commercial value, — the price in the market ; the other is the agricultural value, — what it is worth to the farmer. You cannot say any particular thing has a definite value. It has a value for one man, and for his neighbor it may have twice the value. That is the agri- cultural value, and no one can fix it. The commercial value is the price offered in the market, and I cannot say as to that value, because they are so variable in composition. I do not think any man can answer that directly. It depends upon the food consumed by the animal. 2. Grinding increases their value. 3. No, and the experiment stations have repeatedly pointed that out. 4. The only thing to do is to give a valuation on the supposition that they are composed of proper materials. The farmers cannot be sure of not beinij defrauded unless they have confidence in the manufacturers. If they have not, let them buy the ingredients at the lowest price and mix No. 4.] CHEMICAL AND FARM MANURES. 183 them themselves. That has been the advice of nearly all the stations, — a fact that the gentleman cannot dispute. 5. That assumption benefits the honest manufacturer. Any other assumption would benefit the dishonest manu- facturer. I am in favor of the honest manufacturer. 6. The question sounds very well. It is practically out of the question, because the stations and colleges are in favor of abolishing the commercial valuations. We are going to have the law changed as soon as we can. Adjourned at 12.20 p.m. Afternoon Session. The meeting was called together at 1.30 p.m., Mr. John G. Avery, delegate from the Spencer Farmers' and Mechan- ics' Association, being in the chair. Secretary Stockwell. Before the address of the after- noon, I would like to read a vote of thanks which has been adopted by the Board of Agriculture. It is as follows : — That the thanks of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture be tendered to the Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society, to the Westfield Board of Trade, to the Westfield Grange, to the trustees and officers of the Methodist Church for so kindly open- ing their spacious audience room for our overflow meeting yester- day, and to the people of Westfield and vicinity for their cordial co-operation and aid in making this ' ' country meeting " of the State Board of Agriculture one of the most delightful and profit- able meetings in its history. We shall carry away the remem- brance of these kindnesses in grateful hearts, and we hope our session in this lovely town has brought something worthy and profitable to be remembered by each and all who have contributed to its success. The Chair. At the close of this winter meeting, that has been so admirably attended and that has been so success- ful, Providence has smiled upon us and given us pleasant weather for the occasion, and every one feels delighted wath their trip to Westfield. We have a speaker this afternoon who is to speak to you on a matter that is exciting a great 184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. deal of interest throughout the whole country, and I have no doubt that you will be greatly interested in it. We farmers in the past have felt as though the subject of ' ' getting trusted " was of great importance to us ; but this subject is "Trusts and their relation to the farmers." I take pleasure in introducing to you Dr. C. S. Walker, professor of political economy, Massachusetts Agricultural College. No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 185 TRUSTS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FARMERS. BY PROF. C. S. WALKEK OF AMHERST. A thorough discussion of our subject, ' ' The trusts and the farmer," makes it necessary to consider the origin and devel- opment of the trust ; its advantages and disadvantages ; and then remedies for its evils, and means of utilizing its advan- tages. I. During the civil war there was a great demand for manufactures, greater than our home industries could fill ; hence men and capital were withdrawn from agriculture and employed in manufactures. A high tariff, rendered neces- sary for revenue, raised prices and protected American man- ufacturers from foreign competition. An inconvertible paper currency also increased prices. Manufacturing became very profitable, and many manufacturers grew rich. But at the close of the war the home markets were supj)lied, and fierce competition among American manufacturers set in. The first to succumb were individual manufacturers. A partnership composed of several men could beat the individ- ual, commanding more skill and more money. Then part- nerships succumbed to corporations. In case of bankruptcy the partner may lose all, but the stockholder loses only his stock. Besides this advantage, the corporation has many other advantages over a partnership. No individual, no mere partnership can long hold out in a struggle for existence with a corporation. Then came fierce competition between dif- ferent corporations for the control of the market for their products. Every means was tried to get the custom of rival corporations. Advertising, the employment of drummers, the presentation of chromos and other gifts to the buyers, other shrewd contrivances, were constantly employed. Vari- ous methods of cheapening the cost of production were used, 186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. — the invention of new machinery, the most minute division of labor, secret processes, reduction of wages, the importation of cheap labor and of skilled labor. In this way Mr. Have- meyer testified that he, between 1875 and 1880, succeeded in driving twenty-five refiners of sugar out of business, and secured for his corporation the business of refining fifty-five per cent of the sugar used in the country. The plan of each corporation was to create a demand for its product, and then keep the control of the market for it against all com- petitors. Soon it was discovered that the railroad was a powerful ally in this contest. The corporation that could secure an advantage over competitors in the transportation of its raw material on one hand, and of its finished product on the other, was supreme. So the fight went on. The railroads soon found out their advantage, and sold themselves to the highest bidder. The corporation that owned or controlled a railroad could of course drive less fortunate competitors out of busi- ness. Then the fight became a contest between railroads, or over railroads. The small corporations were destroyed, the larjre ones remained. The fio-ht between these became so fierce as to threaten mutual destruction. At this stage a new idea was discovered, — the idea of the trust. An illustration will make some things plain. Three cor- porations, A, B, C, supply the demand for 3,000 barrels of sugar within a certain period, each producing 1,000 barrels; but in course of time it happens that A makes a profit of |1 on each barrel, B, 66| cents, C, only 33^ cents. A's profit, therefore, on 1,000 barrels, is $1,000; B's, $666.66; C's, $333.33. But if A could secure the custom of B and C, and supply the whole demand, A's profit would be $3,000 instead of $1,000, — an end greatly to be desired. How shall A secure the custom of B and C ? The only way of competi- tion was to drive B and C out of business. But to drive is to fight, and to fight is expensive and very unpleasant. Prof- its wrested from B and C must be paid to drummers, to newspapers for advertising, to customers in prizes or in re- duced prices. Suppose, now, that A should pay C $333.33 for its business, so that C should turn over to A its order for 1,000 barrels of sugar ; A will then make 2,000 barrels, and, No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 187 after paying C, will have $1,666.66 profit. Let A then take the $666.66 increased profit and with it buy the business of B. Then A will produce 3,000 barrels, and, after paying B and C $1,000, will have $2,000 left, thereby doubling its own profits. By this means C is satisfied, B is happy, and A is making twice what it did before, and, having now the whole business to itself, is in a position to extend and im- prove it to a marvellous degree. Such possibilities, when once clearly seen, led men to sub- stitute combination for competition, and the trust came into existence. Fierce competition ])rought corporations to the brink of bankruptcy. A few of the leading corporations sent their managers to confer. The question discussed was, "How can prices be kept from falling, and how can profits be once more secured?" The answer was, "Let us form a trust." The best managers were chosen trustees. In their hands was placed the stock of the several corporations combining, and to the stockholders were given in exchange trust cer- tificates in amount of sufiicient value to amply pay for the stock surrendered. The trustees then have the whole busi- ness in their hands, to manage it as they please. They are industrial dictators. Under their management competition ceases ; the business prospers ; the cost of production is smaller ; prices increase ; profits are large ; on each share of the trust large dividends are paid. This is the trust in its original form. A corporation is a body made and recognized by the law, capable of suing and being sued, but the trust had no legal status. It could have no standing in the courts ; it could not make or enforce con- tracts ; it was a conspiracy to create a monopoly. At the first real attack in the courts this form of organization fell to pieces ; hence reorganization was necessary. The individual corporations were dissolved. The stockholders formed them- selves into a new corporation, to which the property and business of the old corporations were transferred. This huge monopolistic corporation, organized according to law, is what is now meant by the trust. The name remains as a convenient word to designate the old organization in a new form, seeking the same ends. 188 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. II. What are the advantages of the trust ? 1. The sugar trust refines as much as eighty per cent of the sugar used in the United States ; the Standard Oil Com- pany supplies the most of the oil in use ; and so with all the other trusts, — the aim is to produce the greater part of their particular commodity, and so control the market. 2. The trust commands the services of the best entrepre- neurs, or captains of industry. By closing many establish- ments, the trust can select the best talent for all parts of its business. It has ample funds at its command to reward the best men in proportion to the responsibility assumed. When the great corporation is fully established, it becomes itself a first-rate training school for the education of the highest ex- ecutive ability. When the president of the great Pennsyl- vania Railroad suddenly dies, there is another all ready to step into the vacancy, and the affairs move on smoothly without a break. "The King is dead," — "Long live the King." These are sayings applicable to the industrial world as well as to the political realm. 3. The trust commands the services of the very best workmen. Out of the hundreds of men thrown out of em- ployment by the closing of rival or inferior establishments the trusts may select the best laborers for its purposes. 4. The trust can fix wages as it deems best. The great advantage of the trust is, that by its superior organization it saves labor, producing its product with fewer men. This causes the supply of labor to be greater than the demand. Under such circumstances strikes on the part of laboring men have little probability of success. Thus the trust se- cures the best labor, in such quantity as it needs, at the lowest cost. It is never obliged to pay a skilled laborer high wages to do common work, for division of labor is so complete, that all simple and easy tasks may be done by cheap labor. 5. The trust commands an unlimited amount of money. Last year the Pullman Car Company paid its regular divi- dends of two per cent quarterly, August 15 an extra divi- dend of twenty per cent in cash, and in October another dividend of fifty per cent in stock. Rumors having trans- pired that the Pullman and Wagner companies were to com- No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 189 bine, Pullman stock rose in the course of a few weeks from 165|^ to 205. Such facts make the public anxious to take all the trust stocks they can get. In one day, when the sugar trust put its stock upon the market, 70,000 shares were sold, the price going to 120. During this past year new corporations have issued stock and bonds to the amount of more than 3,000 millions. 6. The trust commands the necessary raw material at the lowest prices. Being almost the sole buyer, it can dictate prices. If it thinks best to produce its raw material, it can do so. Spreckels owns great sugar plantations in Hawaii, and the Standard Oil Company owns oil wells. 7. The trust commands the best means of transportation. The Carnegie Steel Company, having an annual output of 4,500,000 tons, can aflbrd to secure the service of the best cars, of immense engines, of huge whaleback steamers, and can procure very low rates for transportation of ore and of steel. In the transfer of intelligence by mail and telegraph and telephone it possesses peculiar advantages, hy which it keeps informed as to the conditions of the markets of the world, so as to take advantage of every favorable change and to prepare for every adverse condition. 8. Tiie trust commands the best localities for its business, whether it be manufacturing or trade or transportation. The great railroad combination controlling many lines may carry its freight over the easiest grades and its passengers over the shortest routes. The great department store syndicate may locate its store, or stores, in the very best place. The fac- tories may be located where all things are most favorable : steel works at Pittsburg ; paper mills at Holyoke ; coarse cotton mills in the south, near the cotton fields, where day- light is plenty, climate warm, fuel cheap, and labor docile and to be procured in abundance and at little cost. 9. The trust commands the best machines. A small company whose output is little cannot afford the best ma- chinery, which is costly. The first cost of the plant would not be made good before it would be necessary to procure new machinery. But, where the value of the products amounts to millions of dollars annually, the very best ma- chinery is found to be the most profitable. A man, a part- 190 BOARD OF AGKICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. nership, a small corporation is short-lived, — it cannot therefore invest capital except for immediate returns ; but the gigantic monopolistic corporation makes contracts for ninety-nine or nine hundred and ninety-nine years. Such a railroad combination is not required to build temporary structures, but may build with steel and stone that which shall last a thousand years. 10. Thus and in other ways does the trust prevent waste, which small concerns cannot accomplish. The utilization of the waste products of gas companies, of oil companies, of meat packers, sugar refineries and of other large establish- ments has become the great source of marvellous profit. It secures also a great saving of time, and time is money. The time of the working man is saved, and the time during which machinery lies idle is shortened. Recent contracts for bridges and for locomotives were secured in England by American companies, because the American company required only days instead of the months asked by the Eng- lish. If a machine can be run sixteen hours a day, instead of eight, the interest on the capital is lessened nearly fifty per cent, as counted in the cost of production ; or we may say that in the given time the machine will earn twice as much. The larger the product of a factory, the less must be the cost of each particular article. One can make ten thousand hats much more cheaply per hat than it would be possible to make a single hundred. 11. But, great as is the saving in the cost of production, there is a much greater saving in the cost of selling the prod- uct when once made. Heretofore, to sell an article cost much more than to make it. Sewing machines that sold for $75 might be made in quantities for $15. The $60 went to the jobbers and wholesale dealers and retail merchants and agents, for freight and advertising, for credits granted and for debts lost. The trust reduces the cost of selling to a minimum. Mr. Bradley, of the distilling company, testified that the trust saved $1,000,000 by dispensing with the services of three hundred travelling salesmen. 12. Producing its special commodities in large quantities, and possessing virtually a monopoly, the trust may fix its own price. This, from its own point of view, is a very great No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 191 advantage. It enables the company to prevent the price from falling so low as to bankrupt the producer, and from rising so high as to check the demand by impoverishing the buyers. We must conclude, then, that the trust is master of the situation, and is therefore able to produce its commodity under the most favorable circumstances, as cheaply as it can possibly be made and yet of the very best quality ; and thus to sell it at the least expense for the highest price that the demand will justify. As against the individual, or the part- nership, or the small corporation, the trust has the greatest advantage. In its line it is autocratic. Left to itself, it eliminates competition and enjoys a monopoly. In its par- ticular line of business the trust is the perfection of the com- bination of capital and of the organization of industry. It is the most complete instrument for the production of wealth the world has yet discovered. Properly administered and justly conducted, as it might be, the trust is a great boon to humanity. The Standard Oil Company, jprojDerly administered and justlj conducted, must produce the greatest possible amount of illuminating and lubricating oil, of the best quality, at the least cost of money, time and effort, and sell it to the greatest possible number of consumers at the lowest possible price. But what is this? Is it not to turn darkness into light, coldness to warmth, death to life, and to make friction less in all the turning points of progress? The sugar trust, j;rq/;e>"?_y administered and justlt/ conducted, must produce the greatest possible amount of sugar of the best quality, at the least cost of labor, time and money, and sell it to the largest number of consumers at the lowest possible price. But what is this? Is it not to sweeten and warm humanity ? Sugar, you know, is mostly carbon, and that warms the human heart and sweetens life. Suppose the salt trust, the steel trust, the coal combination and all of the other monopolistic corporations, properly ad- ministered and justly conducted, should do their best, — what must follow ? Then should we have an abundance of all the best commodities, necessaries, comforts and luxuries of life, produced at the least cost of time, labor and money, distributed to the masses of the people for the least price. 192 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. We cannot therefore but believe that trusts have come to stay, and that the wise thing for the people to do is to multi- ply them more and more, and push the productive capacity of each to the full extent, until we have a surplus of every commodity' that can minister to human need. The people should do all this. The people, in the sovereign capacity of the State, should create the trust and control it, keeping it from doing harm, and compelling it in all things to seek the gen- eral welfare, never becoming the instrument of private greed. III. Such are the advantages of the trust, and its possi- bilities. But, on the other hand, there are great disadvan- tages and serious evils connected with the trust, especially in the early stage of its development, before the people have learned how to control it. If the trust's power for good is great, its power for evil is tremendous. 1. The necessary tendency of the trust is to throw both manual laborers and brain workers out of employment. In this respect it is like new machinery and improved processes. Hence it follows that in the nation there is a great army of the unemployed and in the world a host of idle men. The department store shuts up many retail and wholesale stores in city and country, in all lines of business whose products are sold by the syndicate. So it is with all the trusts. This evil, though serious for the time, yet in the end will be rem- edied by the fact that the increased product of the trust will create new wants which in turn must create a demand for more labor. This remedy must be thoroughly applied ; the laboring man, manual or brain worker, skilled or unskilled, must be taught the value of leisure and how to utilize it, in- stead of abusing it to the injury of the man. The man whose daily work is to perform some minute operation assigned him in the remarkable division of labor must use his leisure so that his manhood shall not be dwarfed and his versatility destroyed. He who knows only how to make the hundredth part of a watch is at the mercy of circumstances ; so also is the man who is a mere adding machine. The man must be more than his occupation, — he must be above his employ- ment; then, when one thing fails to afford him a living, he can turn to something else. The mobility of labor must take the place of immobility. No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 193 2. The power of the trust is so great as to l)ecome dan- gerous. Its legitimate profits are so immense that the wealth already acquired tempts the managers to adopt illegal and unjust means to accomplish their purposes and add to their wealth. The temptation is to charge the consumer an extor- tionate price for the commodity ; or to limit production, hoping thereby with less work to make an equal or greater profit from the sale of a less quantity of goods at an enhanced price ; or to continue the use of inferior machinery or proc- esses, when new inventions and methods would make the service better or the product cheaper; or to unjustly use its working men, paying them low wages, neglecting their safety, using up one lot of men and then turning them ofi" to take a new lot of citizens or aliens in their places ; or to take illegal advantage of competitors to drive them out of busi- ness ; or to use unjust discrimination between difierent cus- tomers or patrons, promoting the interests of one at the expense of another, developing one community at the cost of another, always of course for a consideration ; or to de- fraud the public by watering the stock and selling it at a high price to innocent buyers, only to manage the corporation so that the price of the stock shall fall greatly, so that the ofii- cers of the trust may buy it back again to repeat the process over and over ; or to sell out the trust to alien capitalists, whose only interest is to run the enterprise so as to make the largest dividends, regardless of whatever untold evils may come to employees, to the minority of the stockholders, to the consumers, to the citizens of this or of following gen- erations ; or to corrupt municipal councils. State legislatures, the national government, political parties, or even the people themselves, by bribery and sundry other devices known to the shrewd manager ; or to endanger the State by evading its just burden of taxation. These ten evils are by no means mere phantoms of the imagination, but are very real. A careful student of the origin and development and management of trusts, as re- vealed in the history of the last twenty-five years, set forth by the sworn testimony of promoters, managers, stockhold- ers and others directly concerned, given in courts and before various investigating committees, finds that each of the evils 194 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. mentioned has been perpetrated again and again, and all taken together constitute a serious menace to the welfare of all classes of the people, to the safety of the State and to the salvation of society. The extent of the evils and the danger of the crisis have not been exaggerated ; both demand the serious consideration and determined action not only of the farmers but also of all good citizens. IV. What, then, must be done, and done speedily and thoroughly, to save for mankind the advantages of the great monopolistic corporation, and at the same time save society from the terrible evils which the tyranny of the trust may inflict? 1. The attempt to destroy the trust is both futile and foolish. It is too late now to destroy the trust, — it can- not be done. If it could be done, the result would be to deprive society of the most efficient instrument for the pro- duction of wealth that the world has yet produced, — a con- summation that would be a calamity equal surely to the evil the trust, if left alone, would inflict. The one thing which can be done and must be done is that the people shall demand, and enforce the demand, that the trust shall be wisely administered and properly con- trolled for the promotion of the best interests of all parties concerned. The parties concerned are the managers of the trust, the stockholders, the employees, the consumers, the community and the State. Each of these parties has rights and has duties, the one commensurate with the other. Much of our trouble with trusts has arisen out of the neglect of certain fundamental truths. Let us here emphasize a few of these. First, we must never forget that the corporation, great or small, is the creature of the State. The State gives the cor- poration its being and preserves its existence ; without the constant support and protection of the State the corporation could not do business, could not exist. All natural monopo- lies, such as are enjoyed by railroad, telephone, telegraph, gas, electric light and power companies, involve the right of eminent domain, the power to seize private property for pub- lic uses ; which power inheres alone in the State, and by the State is granted to corporations on the condition that, and No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 195 so long only as, the corporation shall promote the public good. All corporations are created by the State to promote the public good. What the creator has created it can, if it will, destroy. When the creature ceases to fulfil the end of its creation, it should be destroyed. It follows, then, very surely that the corporation which persists in evading taxation, in breaking the law, in corrupting municipal. State and national governments, in substituting private greed for public policy, is its own worst enemy; it is fast rushing on to self-destruction. One thing the farmers of Massachusetts may do, in the assurance that they will be supported by the farmers of the whole country and by all good citizens and that they cannot but succeed, is to demand that no trust shall defy or evade or disobey the law of the State, but shall be strictly held to the performance of its duty, on the penalty of forfeiture of its charter and dissolution, all its franchises reverting to the State. 2. Secondly, we must not lose sight, nor allow corpo- rations to lose sight, of the truth that the community in which the corporation does business is the factor to which is due a large share of the profits of the corporation. The value of the franchise, as of land, depends largely upon the character of the community. If population is increasing, if intelligence is universal, if morals are good, if the people are thrifty, if public opinion and sentiment and will are in favor of law and order, then land values increase and fran- chises become more and more profitable, the stock doubles its dividend-paying power ; but, if the contrary conditions are prevalent, then no skill on the part of the trust, no com- binations of capital, can prevent loss and bankruptcy. The community, therefore, is a legitimate partner in every cor- poration, and its rights must be respected. The sentiment so forcibly expressed in the words, " The public be damned," if tolerated, must prove the total destruction of the corpora- tion permitting it. The good-will of the public, so zealously sought by advertising and valued so highly when involved in trade-marks and reputation, is at once ruthlessly anni- hilated. 3. Thirdly, all should never lose sight of the fact that a corporation exists for the supply of the demand of the con- 196 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. sumers of the product, or for the service of those whose money supports the corporation. A raih'oad exists not for the benefit of its stockholders and managers, but for the service of the persons vrho ride upon it and who ship their freight over it ; the stockholders and managers are paid for serving the patrons of the road. The sugar trust does not exist for the sole benefit of its president and directors and stockholders, but for the benefit especially of the consumers of the product. A bank does not receive its charter that its officers and stockholders may grow rich, but that the deposi- tors and business men who borrow of it and lend to it may be faithfully served. The corporation that serves its cus- tomers, patrons, consumers of the product, promoting their best interest, thrives ; the corporation that advances its own selfish interests, at the expense of the consumer, is digging a pitfall for its own destruction. At what price must a monopoly sell its commodity, — what shall it charo^e for its service? Concerning those trusts whose product is such that the demand falls off rapidly as the price is increased, the answer is plain. The trust can fix what price it will. If the price is too low, it loses money. If the price is too high, it will lose more than it can gain. Experience shows that immense sales at a small profit on each article are vastly more profitable than a large profit on each commodity but with small sales. By a great economic law in such cases the interests of the trust and of the con- sumer are identical. Hence the prices of oil and sugar and such commodities have been greatly reduced. But there are other commodities and services of such a nature that the demand does not change greatly when prices are decreased or increased. Sugar is something everybody wants, but a telephone is wanted only by comparatively a few. Hence the telephone company in New York City finds it more profitable for the time being to charge the few who must have a telephone 1 240 a year, than to charge a greater number $100 a year. In this instance the Board of Trade appealed to the Legislature for relief, on the ground that the company had received its patents and right of eminent domain and charter from the State, not for the purpose of extortion, but to promote the public good, — a ground per- No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 197 fectly good in law and equity, but of no avail as yet, because of political reasons. But the end is not yet. If the trust is obstinate, its large profits will inevitably lead to the creation of a rival corporation strong enough to compel it by com- petition to reduce its prices. If it buy up its rival, another and another rival will arise to vex it, until the prices are reduced within such limits as to make it no longer worth the while for capital to compete. Moreover, there is a limit to which the patience of the people can be provoked and public opinion can be ignored. 4. Fourthly, it will not do to forget that the employees of the trust are parties in interest. Though they receive wages instead of dividends, their hearty co-operation and their efEciency are essential to the success of the corpora- tion. If the best machinery is necessary, the best workman to run the machine is required. If the organization of the various departments of the trust is more complex and deli- cate than the huge engine, the faithful and able manager must be found who can be trusted to do his part. A hungry, sleepy, exhausted motorman wrecks his car,' an overworked locomotive engineer wrecks his train, a neglected captain of a steamship may wreck his vessel. If the trust itself cannot be trusted, it must soon come to pass that its most trusted employees will prove faithless or incompetent. Strikes are detrimental to the corporation, as well as to the working men. One great strike teaches the corporation that pre- vention is cheaper than victories, industrial peace is more profitable than war. It is possible for a trust to employ ignorant immigrants in unskilled labor, at starvation wages, and then, when used up, turn them loose as paupers or vagrants upon society, and take on a new gang to repeat the process ; but in the end it has not been found profitable. Such a policy sets social, moral, political and economic forces into action which soon cause the corporation to consider its conduct and reform its action. 5. Fifthly, the interests of the State, the public, the con- sumers and the laboring; men are one in the matter of demand- ing that the trust shall be wisely administered and properly controlled ; but these parties are many, and it takes time to 198 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. move them to action. Public opinion must be enlightened, public sentiment stirred and public will evoked before the State will act resolutely, the public insist upon its rights, consumers co-operate for mutual protection, and Avorking men and salaried employees and small business men join together in wise and efficient effort. In the mean time, the abuses of the trusts continue, and dangers threaten. One great cause of the delay in the movement towards reform is the placing of thousands of shares of the stock of great monopolistic corporations among the people, where they will do the most good in strengthening the power of the trusts. The stockholders who get large dividends are slow to see abuses on the part of managers, and loth to protest when evils are shown them ; the multitudes who have in- vested their savings in stocks and have lost heavily keep still, lest their shame be made public and they lose the little values that may yet remain to them ; while other people who speculate in stocks on margins are prevented from joining any movement to check the audacity of corporations. But the time has now come when the rights and duties of all stockholders should be made plain. The stockholders are the owners of the corporation, and should be held respon- sible for the deeds of directors and officers. But the number of stockholders of a large corporation is so large, and they are often so widely scattered, that any efficient action on their part for the reform of abuses against themselves or others is difficult to secure. They are for the most part kept in ignorance of the policy and management of the corpora- tion. The minority can do little or nothing when the ma- jority of the stock is in the hands of a few\ The directors are elected by the stockholders, and are nominally their servants ; but, once elected, their power is supreme. The directors elect the officers, and are supposed to direct and control their actions ; but not infrequently it happens that the directors are mere figure-heads, while a few officers man- age affairs and run the business, — not for the l)enefit of the stockholders, but for their own. The inner ring makes fort- unes for its members, while the average stockholder may congratulate himself if he does not lose a large portion of his capital invested. Stockholders have been defrauded time No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 199 and again by numerous schemes and diverse devices. If any particular part of the business becomes specially lucrative, it is considered too good for its stockholders, and must be given to a company created for the purpose of diverting the profits into the pockets of a favored few. G. Sixthly, while the rights of the directors and officers are to be secured and ample power and remuneration granted them, they should be made to realize their responsibility, and never allowed to forget that they are the servants, not the masters, of the stockholders, whose wealth is entrusted to their care ; of the employees, whose labor they direct ; of the consumers, whose demands they seek to supply; of the com- munity, whose good-will is essential to their success ; of the State, whose power is the creator and preserver of the cor- poration of which they are the head. Here we should learn a lesson from England, where directors are not figureheads to delude the public, but men who are held strictly to the performance of their responsible duties, on the penalty of severe punishment for any negligence or misdemeanor. The one question of vital importance before the country to-day is. Shall this be a government of the people, by the people and for the people, or shall it be a government of the trust, for the trust and by the trust? If the latter gains the victory, then shall we see plutocracy established on the ruins of democracy. If plutocracy is to be avoided, then one of these alternatives must be chosen : — 1. All capital shall be held by the State, so that the State shall be the sole landlord and the sole employer of labor. This is socialism. 2. All natural monopolies, railroads, transmission of intelligence by telegraph and telephone as well as by post- ofiice, gas and electric light and water supply, shall be owned and operated by the government. 3. All monopolistic corporations shall not be owned or operated by the government, but shall be controlled by the government under law, enforced by dominant public opinion, and compelled to subserve the best interests of all parties concerned, — the State, the community, the consumers, the employees, as well as the stockholders, the bondholders, the directors and officers. 200 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Of these three alternatives, the last is by all odds the most likely to prevail. It is the best of all three, and the most practical. The trust is a good thing for those in the ring; the remedy for the incidental evils is not to smash the trust, but to extend the circumference of the ring farther and far- ther, until it takes in all the stockholders as well as the favored few, all the producers whose labor creates the wealth, all the customers whose money makes the business successful and whose patronage it is desired to monopolize, the whole community, to whose growth the unearned increment of land values and franchises is due, of the State, the silent partner, whose co-operation is the source of untold profits. It is very clear that the State must control the trust, or else the trust will control the State. If the trust control the State, we have plutocracy, the worst of all forms of govern- ment. If the State cannot control the trust, then it will de- stroy the trust and itself become the landlord and capitalist, and we shall have socialism with all of its doubtful blessings and assured evils. The American people are not j^et ready for socialism. Surely they will have no plutocracy. Only one thing, therefore, remains for the State, — it must con- trol the trust. How shall it control the trust? If it be necessary, it will not hesitate to follow the examples of Euro- pean countries, and seize all natural monopolies and operate them as it now does the post-office. But it is loth to do this. It will not, unless the audacity and greed of such cor- porations force it to take this alternative. Can the State control monopolistic corporations, and yet leave them in the hands of stockholders, directors and officers? This is the problem. If the stockholders, direc- tors and officers can be made to see their own best interests, and shall heartily co-operate with the State to this end, the problem will be easily solved. President Hadley of Yale, than whom I know no better authority in this sphere, says that it is the duty of the uni- versities to train men to manage corporations. He surely is right. To manage a great corporation so as to subserve the best interests of all concerned is a task that demands an honest, able, far-sighted and great-hearted man, — a kingly man in the best sense of the word. With such men as rail- No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 201 road kings, coal barons, captains of industry and merchant princes consecrating their genius to the best service of stock- holders, laboring men, consumers, community, the State, the glory of the twentieth century must surpass that of all the past, and industrial freedom and prosperity of the people, by the people and for the people become an assured fact. Here, then, is the farmers' opportunity. In the crisis the farmers of America have never been wanting;. Their voice and deeds overthrew slavery and saved the Union. Their voice and deeds to-day should make plutocracy forever im- possible, and the trust in reality what it is in name, — a trust reposed in stockholders and directors, to the end that the abundant resources of our great empire and the might of our people's labor shall not be prostituted to private greed, but developed for the people's wealth. Specifically what measures need to be developed and en- forced ? 1. The corporation, being a body corporate, created by the law of the State, shall, like any other body, respect and obey the law of the State in which it does business. 2. Each corporation shall report its accounts and its doings to its stockholders, to the State and to the public. Publicity is a great corrector of abuses. The corporation, being a public institution, created and supported by public law for the public service, has no business with dark lanterns and officers who are know-nothino-s or blessed with foro-etful memories. Railroads and banks must report to the State; so should the sugar trust and all other corporations. 3. All stock watering should be strictly prohibited. The laws of Massachusetts are admirable reg-ardinof stock water- ing. Improved as best they may be, they should become the laws of every State. Every share of stock should represent dollar for dollar paid in by the stockholders and expended for legitimate purposes. If the business prospers, and pays 10, 20 or 50 per cent dividends, so be it. Let the value of a share of $25 par rise to whatever it will bring in the market, — to $765, like the Calumet and Hecla Copper Company; let a share of $100 par rise to $4,000, like the Chemical Bank ; but never allow a company, because it can pay a large dividend, to double its stock, and, selling the stock, thus 202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. secure the uncertain profits of the future for itself before they are actually earned. This one prohibition would remedy a multitude of evils. It would do much to check stock manip- ulation and speculation and to protect honest investments. 4. No public franchise should be given or sold to a cor- poration. The use of the franchise should be allowed the corporation on condition that it pay to the State its fair value, to be determined every ten years by appraisement. 5. Each corporation shall pay its full share of taxation to each State in which it does business, its share to be deter- mined by the amount of property and value of the business done within the State. 6. Each corporation shall be independent of every other corporation, and to this end no corporation shall lease itself to another and no corporation shall own the stock of another. If combination is necessary, one corporation may dissolve, and its property and franchises and obligations be trans- ferred to the other corporation. If one corporation may own or control other corporations, responsibility cannot be fixed, many irregularities may be covered up and evils follow which cannot be remedied. But if each corporation has its special functions defined in its charter, and it be held strictly to the performance of these, the problem of controlling it will be greatly simplified, its rights secured and the discharge of its duties enforced. 7 . Uniformity of corporation laws throughout the country is very desirable. Chartering corporations in one State, where the laws are loose, and dictated to please the corpo- rations, and then allowing them to do business in any State or Territory contrary to the spirit of the laws of these, com- peting unfairly with home companies, has been and is prolific of great evil. A remedy for this state of affairs and a means of securing uniformity of the organization of trusts and of maintaining ample control over them may be provided. Our experience with national banks alibrds us a clue to the solution of the problem. Let Congress pass a law, — there is no constitutional bar- rier in the way of such legislation, — providing, first, that all common carriers of freight, intelligence or persons from No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 203 one State to another must receive their charters from the national government ; providing, secondly, that a corpora- tion whose product equals fifty per cent of any product produced in the country may receive a charter from the national government permitting it to do business anywhere in the country under certain proper conditions ; providing, thirdly, that a tax, sufficiently high to prohibit their forma- tion, be levied upon all corporations whose product equals fifty per cent of the total of any product produced in the country, if, refusing to get a national charter, they should organize under a State law and receive a State charter. Such a law would put all trusts directly under the super- vision of the general government, and subject them to a power capable of controlling them. It would put an end to New Jersey's lucrative business of furnishing charters to corporations. A company doing business wholly within a State could still get a State charter ; if such corporations should abuse their powers, the State could easily discipline them. Experience has shown that a gigantic monopolistic cor- poration may acquire such power as to defy a town, a county, a city, — such power as to control a State, even, throuach means at its own command. But to control Con- necticut, or New Jersey, or some single State, is much more simple than to control the United States. It is very probable that seventy millions of j)eople, rep- resented in Congress, supreme court and the executive de- partment, supported by an army and navy, can control a sugar trust, a Standard Oil Company and any and all the other corporations. It is well within their power to pass and enforce laws compelling corporations to respect and obey the State ; to look well after the interests of all the stockholders, of their employees, of their customers and of the community ; to make public their doings ; to abstain from stock watering ; to pay for the use of franchises ; to maintain their own independence of any and all other cor- porations ; to pay their fair and full share of taxation. This problem of the trusts is a new one. The people are just beginning to arouse themselves to a serious attempt to solve it. Public opinion and sentiment are shaping them- 204 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. selves. Presently the public will must assert itself and compel obedience, demanding not that trusts shall be de- stroyed, but that all trusts shall be wisely administered and properly controlled, so that the best interests of all con- cerned— officers, directors, employees, stockholders, con- sumers, the community and the State — shall be promoted. The real interest of one of these parties is the interest of all, and the interest of all is the interest of each. Already capable managers of corporations, such as Chauncey Depew and the late Cornelius Vand^rbilt, are persuaded of this, and welcome legislation tending to this end. The farmer's duty, then, is very clear; it is coincident with his interest and his profit to throw all of his influence into the movement for wise administration and proper con- trol of all the trusts. But, besides this, the farmer must adjust himself and his business to this new industrial instrument, the trust ; he must protect himself against its evils and be quick to util- ize its wonderful advantages. Wide-awake farmers are already moving in the right direc- tion. The principles involved in the trust should be applied to agriculture just as far as possible and as quickly as pos- sible, as well as to manufactures, trade and transportation. A milk trust, a fruit trust, a cattle trust, a butter and cheese trust, a grain trust, are among the possibilities. A begin- ning has already been made in some lines. Combination rather than competition should be the farmers' principle of action. Capitalistic agriculture must win the day against autonomous agriculture. A single farmer, who is his own landlord, his own capi- talist, his own captain of industry, his own laborer, attempt- ing to produce all sorts of crops, one year after another, that his farm may yield, cannot possibly hold his own against a corporation of stockholders Avith ample capital, cultivat- ing the best land for the special crop, using the best tools, directed by experts, employing the best labor, buying all it needs at the lowest price and selling its product in the best market at the highest price, after securing the best means of transportation at the lowest rates. Heretofore capital and captains of industry have neglected No. 4.] TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS. 205 agriculture for manufactures, trade, mining and transporta- tion. But these fields of enterprise have for the most part now been filled. Capital and captains of industry must seek new opportunities ; they will find none better than American agriculture. The culture of cereals, of tobacco, of cotton, of fibre, of fruits, of flowers, of garden products ; the mul- tiplication of flocks and herds ; the production of butter, cheese, milk and cream, to say nothing of sugar cane, coflTee, tea, valuable woods, rubber, which may be produced in our new possessions in the islands of the tropic seas, under the stars and stripes, ofier munificent rewards for the man of brains and brawn, who shall organize corporations and di- rect them wisely in the work. Let the farmers of Massachusetts combine their capital, organize themselves into corporations, secure the best direc- tors and managers, and so multiply their wealth thereby, for the benefit not only of themselves, but also of all con- cerned,— stockholders, managers, employees, consumers, the community, the State. The world moves on. The agri- culture of the twentieth century will be a great improve- ment on that of the nineteenth, and the farmer of the new era will surpass his brother of the olden time. Secretary Stockwell. I had hoped there would be an opportunity to speak on the paper of the afternoon, but the time has gone by. I hope, as you read it and as you think upon it and as you study it when it comes out in the report, it will have an influence to bring farmers together to realize the importance to them of the trusts of the country as con- ducted at the present time. Any of the farmers here in Westfield who desire a copy of the report, if they will give us their names we will be very glad to send them a copy. Adjourned at 4 p.m. ANNUAL MEETING Board of Agriculture, BOSTON. January 9 and 10, 1900. A]SrNTJAL MEETING. In accordance with the provisions of chapter IV. of the by-laws, the Board met at the office of the secretary, in Bos- ton, on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 1900, at 11 o'clock a.m., it being the Tuesday preceding the second Wednesday of January. The meeting was called to order by Secretary Stockwell. In the absence of the president and first vice-president, the second vice-president, Mr. E. W. Wood, was called to the chair. Present: Messrs. Allen, F. H. Appleton, J. S. Appleton, Avery, Baker, Barrus, Barton, Brewster, Bursley, Clark, Crane, Damon, Danforth, Davis, Ellsworth, Goodell, Good- speed, Hall, Hersey, Horton, Howard, Kilbourn, Lloyd, Pratt, Eeed, Richardson, Sargent, Smith, Stockwell, Thayer, Thurston, Whitmore, E. E. Wood and E. W. Wood. The records of the public winter meeting and of the special meeting of the Board at Westfield were read and approved. The records of the executive committee, acting for the Board, were read by the secretary and approved, and the acts of the committee were adopted as the actions of the Board. The executive committee, as committee on credentials, by Mr. W. A. Kilbourn, reported the list of qualified members of the Board for 1900. The newly elected members are as follows : — Amesbury and Salisbury Society, F. W. Sargent of Amesbury. Berkshire Society, Wesley B. Barton of Dalton. Blackstone Valley Society, Samuel B. Taft of Uxbridge. 210 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Eastern Hampden Society, O. E. Bradway of Monson. Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Society, Henry C. Comins of Hadley. Hingham Society, Edmund Hersey of Hiugham. Hoosac Valley Society, Geo. P. Carpenter of Williamstown. Housatonic Society, Charles B. Benedict of Egremont. Manufacturers' Society, Oscar S. Thayer of Attleborough. Marshfield Society, Henry A. Turner of Norwell. Massachusetts Horticultural Society, William H. Spooner of Jamaica Plain. Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, Nathaniel I. Bowditch of Framingham. Nantucket Society, John S. Appleton of Nantucket. Weymouth Society, Quincy L. Reed of South AVeymouth. Worcester East Society, William A. Kilbourn of South Lan- caster. The report of the committee was accepted and adopted. An abstract of the annual report of the secretary was pre- sented, read and accepted. The committee on agricultural societies, by Mr. Kilbourn, chairman, presented a written report, which was accepted and adopted. The report of the committee on gypsy moth, insects and birds was presented at the special meeting of the Board at Westfield, Dec. 6, 1899, and was accepted and adopted at that time. The report of the Dairy Bureau was read by the assistant of the executive officer of the Bureau, Mr. Geo. M. Whitaker, and was accepted by vote of the Board. At 12.25 the Board adjourned to 2 p.m. The Board was called to order at 2.05 p.m. The report of the committee on Agricultural College and education was read by the secretary of the committee, Mr. W. B. Barton, and by vote of the Board was accepted and adopted as the report of the Board to the Legislature. No. 4.] ANNUAL MEETING. 211 The report of the committee on experiments and station work was presented orally by Mr. Edmund Hersey, chair- man. The committee on forestry, roads and roadside improve- ments, by Gen. F. H. Appleton, chairman, presented a written report, which was accepted and adopted. The committee on domestic animals and sanitation, by Mr. F. L. Whitmore, presented a written report, which was accepted and adopted. His Excellency Governor Crane coming in, a recess was taken, that he might meet the members of the Board. Mr. Brewster offered the following resolution on the death of Mr. Sprague S. Stetson of Lakeville : — Whereas, In the events of Providence one of our number has been removed by death, who was an esteemed member of this Board, and one who was regarded as a valuable representative of the agricultural interests of the State of Massachusetts ; Be it resolved, That we, the members of the Board of Agricult- ure, deplore his loss and regret his departure, and, while bowing to the inevitable decree that closed his relations to this organ- ization, we yet desire, in tribute to his memory, to bear heartfelt testimony to his worth as a citizen, to his integrity and upright character, to bis superior intelligence and his public spirit and enterprise, which endeared him to all who knew him in public station or in private intercourse. Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to his family, and placed upon the records of this meeting. After brief remarks upon the resolution by Messrs. Brew- ster, Kilbourn, Pratt and E. W. Wood, it was adopted by a rising vote, all present voting in favor. The secretary notified the Board of the resignation of Hon. James S. Grinnell, and moved that a committee be appointed to draft tribute to his long and faithful service on this Board. The Chair appointed Messrs. Goodell, Kilbourn and Hersey as the committee. 212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. General Appleton moved that the office of first vice-presi- dent emeritus be created, to be filled by the Hon. James S. Grinnell, if, in the opinion of the executive committee, such is possible, and can be done without inconsistency. General Appleton further moved that his motion be referred to the executive committee, and by vote of the Board the matter was so referred. The report of the librarian was read, accepted and adopted. An abstract of the reports of inspectors of the several fairs, prepared by direction of the committee on agricultural societies, was read by the secretary. Voted ^ To accept the reports of inspectors. On motion of Mr. F. W. Sargent, it was Voted, That, considering the long and valuable services to the Board and the esteem in which he is held by the mem- bers, it is our desire that Mr. Wm. R. Sessions, our late secretary, furnish this office with a portrait of himself. The matter of government aid in gypsy moth work, re- ferred to the annual meeting at the special business meeting at Westfield, was brought up by Mr. Pratt. After remarks by Messrs. F. H. Appleton, Avery, E. W. Wood and the secretary, it was voted to refer the matter to the committee on gypsy moth, insects and birds, with instructions to report a committee to have this matter in charge. The gypsy moth committee reported Messrs. E. W. Wood, Francis H. Appleton and William R. Sessions as a committee to draft and send resolutions to the Legislature to take action in regard to memorializing Congress, which report was ac- cepted, and the gentlemen named were made the committee by vote of the Board. Voted, To complete the binding of the catalogues of the library of the Board, authorized at the last annual meeting, at an expense not to exceed fifty dollars. The secretary reported for the committee having in charge the arrangements for the session of the Farmers' National Conirress held in Boston in October last. No. 4.] ANNUAL MEETING. 213 Voted, That the thanks of the Board be extended to the committee for their labors. Voted, That the two members over the number necessary to fill the committees be assigned one to the committee on domestic animals and sanitation and one to the committee on Agricultural College and education. Mr. Walton Hall extended an invitation to the Board to hold a field meeting at his place in Marshfield, the Daniel Webster farm, some time during the coming summer. General Appleton moved the acceptance of Mr. Hall's invitation, with thanks, and that the secretary and Mr. Hall be a committee of arrangements for the meeting, and it was so voted. Adjourned to 10 a.m. Wednesday. 2U BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. SECOND DAY. The Board was called to order by the secretary at 10.20 A.M. Mr. W. A. KiLBOURN was chosen temporary chair- man by acclamation. Present: Messrs. F. H. Appleton, J. S. Appleton, Avery, Barrus, Barton, Bradway, Brewster, Bursley, Carpenter, Clark, Comins, Damon, Danforth, Davis, Ellsworth, Gleason, Goodell, Goodspeed, Hersey, Horton, Howard, Kilbourn, Lloyd, Pratt, Reed, Richardson, Sargent, Smith, Spooner, Stockwell, Thayer, Thurston, Turner and Whitmore and retiring members Allen, Baker and E. E. Wood. The records of the first day were read and approved. Voted, That the Board proceed to the election of officers, with the exception of first vice-president, that office to be filled later by the executive committee. Election of officers being in order, the chairman declared His Excellency W. Murray Crane president of the Board (by a by-law of the Board the Governor of the Common- wealth is ex officio president) . By an election by ballot Mr. Augustus Pratt of North Middleborough was elected second vice-president and Hon. J. W. Stockwell of Sutton was elected secretary. Election of specialists being in order, the secretary was instructed to cast one ballot, and the election resulted as follows : — Chemist, Dr. C. A. Goessmann of Amherst. Entomologist, Prof. C. H. Fernald of Amherst. Botanist and pomologist, Prof. S. T. Maynard of Amherst. Veterinariau, Prof. James B. Paige of Amherst. Eugiueer, Wm. Wheeler of Concord. Oruithologist, E. H. Forbush of Maiden. The committee on resolutions on resignation of the Hon. James S. Grinnell reported, l)y President Goodell, in the form of the following letter : — No. 4.] ANNUAL MEETING. 215 Boston-, Jan. 9, 1900. Hon. James S. Grinnell, Greenfield, Mass. Dear Sir : — The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, iu session assembled at their annual meeting, have learned with sincere regret of your resignation from its membership. They desire to express their deep sympathy in the illness which has led to the taking of this step, knowing that only the strongest necessity would have forced you into severing that bond of mutual affection which has so long united us. For nearly fifty years you have been our friend, our counsellor, our leader, and now, as we bid you farewell, we can only cry, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof." May peace and happiness attend you, and the sunset of your life be even as bright and beautiful as its morn. God bless and keep you always is the prayer of your friends. In behalf of the Board, (Signed) Hekry H. Goodell. Edmund Herset. William A. Kilbourk. On motion of Secretary Stock well, it was Voted, To elect a standing committee on institutes, rules and legislation, said committee to act conjointly with the executive committee, and these two committees to have power to appoint sub-committees or advise or help forward legislation or adopt rules, when such action is approved by a majority of this joint committee present and voting. Voted, To amend article 1 of chapter I. of the by-laws, by substituting the word " nine" for the word " eight," in the third line; the word "eight" for the word "seven," in the fifth line ; the word "eight" for the word "seven," in the sixth line; the word "nine" for the word "eight," in the seventh line ; and adding to the list of committees the following: "9. A committee on institutes, rules and legislation." Mr. F. H. Appleton gave notice that at the next meeting of the Board he should move an amendment to article 1 of chapter VII. of the by-laws by dividing the article into two sentences after the word " Board" in the third line. The hearing on the request of the Eastern Hampden Agri- cultural Society for the approval by the Board of Agricult- 216 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. ure of its vote, passed at a special meeting of the society, on Dec. 11, 1899, "That the president and treasurer be authorized to place a second mortgage on the society's prop- erty, in accordance witli the rule and with the consent of the State Board of Agriculture, for an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars," being in order, the matter was heard. It appearing that the action of the society was according to law and properly advertised, and no person appearing in opposition to the request of the society, it was Voted, That the Board of Agriculture approves of the vote of the Eastern Hampden Agricultural Society, passed at a special meeting, Dec. 11, 1899, as above quoted, in accord- ance with the provisions of chapter 274 of the Acts of 1890. Adjourned at 12.15 to 1.30 p.m. The Board reassembled at 1.30 o'clock. Voted, That a place on the committee on gypsy moth, in- sects and birds be left vacant, to be filled later by the execu- tive committee. The Chair announced the standing committees as follows (the secretary is, by rule of the Board, a member ex officio of each of the standing committees) : — Executive committee : Messrs. W. A. Kilbourn of South Lan- caster, Isaac Damon of Wayland, D. A. Horton of Northampton, John Bursley of West Barnstable, Edmund Hersey of Hingham, Francis H. Appleton of Manchester, Augustus Pratt of North Middleborough, F. "W. Sargent of Amesbury. Committee on agricultural societies : W. A. Kilbourn of South Lancaster, Q. L. Reed of South Weymouth, Chas. A. Gleason of Springfield, Henry A. Howard of Colrain, Geo. P. Carpenter of Williamstown. Committee on domestic animals and sanitation : Messrs. Isaac Damon of Wayland, Oscar S. Thayer of Attleborough, Joshua Clark of Lowell, F. L. Whitmore of Sunderland, Almon W. Lloyd of Blandford. Committee on gypsy moth, insects and birds : Messrs. Augus- tus Pratt of North Middleborough, F. W. Sargent of Amesbury, John M. Danforth of Lynnfield, John G. Avery of Spencer. No. 4.] ANNUAL MEETING. 217 Committee on Dairy Bureau and agricultural products : Messrs. D. A. Horton of Northamptou, J. L. Ellsworth of Worcester, C. D. Richardson of West Brookfield, C. B. Benedict of Egremout, H. H. Sigourney of Oxford. Committee on Agricultural College and education : Messrs. John Bursley of West Barnstable, C. K. Brewster of Worthing- ton, Wesley B. Barton of Dalton, Geo. P. Smith of Sunderland, Alvan Barrus of Goshen. Committee on experiments and station work : Messrs. Edmund Hersey of Hingham, T. H. Goodspeed of Athol, N. I. Bowditch of Framingham, S. B. Taft of Uxbridge, Wm. H. Spooner of Boston. Committee on forestry, roads and roadside improvements : Messrs. Francis H. Appleton of Manchester, J. S. Appleton of Nantucket, E. A. Davis of West Tisbury, O. E. Bradway of Mon- son, H. A. Turner of Norwell. Committee on institutes, rules and legislation : Messrs. F. W. Sargent of Amesbury, Edmund Hersey of Hingham, Edward M. Thurston of Swansea, W. B. Barton of Dalton, Henry C. Comins of Hadley. Which appointments were approved by the Board. Mr. Hersey, for the special committee on farmers' insti- tutes, appointed at the last annual meeting, reported in writ- ing, which report was accepted. On motion of Mr. Sargent, it was Voted, That, in the opinion of the Board, the time of holding the annual meetings of the several agricultural socie- ties should be as near the same date as possible ; and to this end this resolution be referred to the committee on agricult- ural societies, for their consideration and recommendations. Mr. O. P. Allen presented and read an essay on "The evolution of agriculture," which was accepted, and will be found printed in this volume. The committee on Agricultural College and education, by Mr. Bursley, chairman, reported recommending that the next public winter meeting be held at Worcester, on invitation of the Worcester agricultural and horticultural societies. 218 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Voted, To accept the report, and that the next public winter meeting be held at Worcester, Dec. 4-6, 1900. Voted, That the Chair appoint a local committee of five, to act with the secretary and the committee on Agricultural College and education, as a committee of arrangements. The Chair appointed Messrs. J. L. Ellsworth, J. G. Avery, W. A Kilbourn, C. A. Gleason and Isaac Damon. The committee on Agricultural College and education, by Mr. Bursley, chairman, reported recommending the appoint- ment of Oscar S. Thayer and Henry C. Comins to read essays at the next annual meeting of the Board, on subjects to be selected by the essayists. Voted, To accept the report, and appoint the essayists as recommended by the committee. The committee on agricultural societies, by Mr. Kilbourn, chairman, reported recommending that the date for the com- mencement of the fair of the Hoosac Valley Agricultural Society be changed to the first Tuesday after the first INIon- day in September ; that of the Manufacturers' Agricultural Society to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September ; that of the Marshfield Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society to the third Wednesday after the first J\Ion- day in September ; that of the Worcester East Agricultural Society to the second Wednesday after the first Monday in September ; that of the Worcester North-west Agricultural and Mechanical Society to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September. Voted, To accept and adopt the report of the committee, and to change the dates as recommended. Mr. Kilbourn, for the same committee, reported recom- mending the assignment of inspectors, as follows : — Ameslmry and Salisbury, at Amesbur}^, Sei^tem- ber 25, 26 and 27, E. A. Davis. Barnstable County, at Barnstable, August 28, 29 and 30, Alvan Barrus. Berkshire, at Pittsfield, September 11, 12 and 13, . H. C. Comins. No. 4.] ANNUAL MEETING. 219 Blackstone Valley, at Uxbridge, September 11 and 12, John Bueslet. Bristol County, at Taunton, September 18, 19 and 20, . . , C. B. Benedict. Deerlield Valley, at Charlemont, September 13 and 14, Q. L. Reed. Eastern Hampden, at Palmer, September 18 and 19, G. P. Smith. Essex, at Peabody, September 18, 19 and 20, . , W. A. Kilbourn. Franklin County, at Greenfield, September 19 and 20, W.B.Barton. Hampshire, at Amherst, September 25 and 26, . H. H. Sigourney. Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden, at Northamp- ton, October 3 and 4, E. M. Thurston. Highland, at Middlefield, Sejitember 5 and 6, . C. A. Gleason. Hillside, at Cummington, September 25 and 26, . Augustus Pratt. Hingham, at Hingham, September 25 and 26, . C. K. Brewster. Hoosac Valley, at North Adams, September 4, 5 and 6, J. S. Appleton. Housatonic, at Great Barrington, September 26 and 27, O. S. Thayer. Manul'acturers' Agricultural, at North Attlebor- ough, September, 11, 12 and 13, . . . .0. E. Bradway. Marshfield, at Marshfield, September 19, 20 and 21, CD. Richardson. Martha's Vineyard, at West Tisbury, September 18 and 19, J. G. Avery. Massachusetts Horticultural, at Boston, October 2 and 3, N. I. Bowditch. Middlesex North, at Lowell, September 13, 14 and 15, H. A. Turner. Middlesex South, at Framingham, September 18 and 19, A. W. Lloyd. Nantucket, at Nantucket, August 29 and 30, . . J. L. Ellsworth. Oxford, at Oxford, September 6 and 7, . . . F. W. Sargent. Plymouth County, at Bridgewater, September 12, 13 and 14, J. M. Danforth. Spencer, at Spencer, September 20 and 21, . . Isaac Damon. Union, at Blandford, September 12, 13 and 14, . G. P. Carpenter. Weymouth, at South Weymouth, September 27, 28 and 29, Joshua Clark. Worcester, at Worcester, September 4, 5 and 6, . T. H. Goodspeed. Worcester East, at Clinton, September 12, 13 and 14, F. H. Appleton. Worcester North-west, at Athol, September 11 and 12, W. H. Spooner. Worcester South, at Sturbridge, September 13 and 14, H. A. Howard. Worcester County West, at Barre, September 27 and 28, F. L. Whitmore. 220 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The report of the committee was accepted and adopted. The secretary reported the delinquencies of certain socie- ties in making required returns. Voted, That the matter of delinquencies be referred to the executive committee, with power to excuse the societies if they present reasonable excuses. Mr. Geo. P. Smith presented and read an essay on " Evolution of farm machinery," which was accepted, and will be found printed in this volume. Voted, That the matter of asking the Legislature for an appropriation to continue abandoned farm work be recom- mended by the Board, and referred to the committee on institutes, rules and legislation. Voted, That all unfinished business or new business aris- ing before the next regular meeting of the Board be left with the executive committee, with power to act. The records of the second day's meeting were read and approved. Adjourned. JAMES W. STOCKWELL, Secreiari/. No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 221 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. [Adopted at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 9, 1900.] Conditions which influence agricultural societies from Berk- shire to Nantucket vary widely. Tliese societies, established in all the counties with the same general purpose, work under conditions which vary so much that criticisms which may be justly made upon one are unjust when applied to another. The law allows considerable freedom in the manner in which they shall carry out their duties, yet holding all to an ex- penditure of the money granted by the State for the certain definite purpose of improving the methods and stimulating the efforts of the communities around the difierent societies. We believe that the law is generally and commendably car- ried out, notwithstanding a considerable amount of outside criticism, a part of which is deserved. The first condition for drawing bounty from the State to the amount of six hundred dollars is the holding of property invested to the amount of three thousand dollars. Your committee believe that this condition requires the holding of this amount over and above all indebtedness of the society ; and then, when this amount is not so held, the bounty should be reduced ; and when the sum falls below one thousand dol- lars, the bounty should cease, — and, in fact, the bounty has ceased and societies have lost their existence from this cause. The second condition, holding institutes, seems to be fairly well carried out, though the institutes are not so popular or so well attended as they should be. Subjects are well chosen and addresses are given by able men ; but one or two hundred will cover the attendance in most instances, and in many cases the attendance is much smaller. We commend more efibrt to secure a fuller attendance upon these meetings. The inspectors of the several fairs report, with only one exception, fairs well conducted, attractive and instructive, 222 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. and, with some criticism on sanitary arrangements in some cases, but few objectionable features are mentioned. AVliile many societies have found some outside attractions desirable, most if not all have commendably carried out the purposes of the law in holding their exhibitions and awarding their premiums. We hold that in all cases the amount of the bounty re- ceived is to be awarded to purposes strictly agricultural, or including, besides these, only horticultural exhibits and domestic manufactures, such as are covered by the reports annually required. With few exceptions, the premiums awarded to these departments have been in excess of the re- quirements of the law. We ag-ain caution all societies of the dano-ers of incurring large expenses, and the risk of impairing their invested funds. W. A. KILBOURN, Chairman. No. 4.] DOMESTIC ANIMALS, — SANITATION. 223 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND SANITATION. [Adopted at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 9, 1900.] The Massachusetts State Board of Affriculture has ever been a power in its influence for the better care and the kinder treatment of all our domestic animals. In the ap- pointment of the committees of this Board, this work was given special place because of its importance. This Board, through its institutes and lectures, has brought the farmers of the State to realize that the sympathy which should exist between the animal and the one who has the care of it has a money value in increasing its work or its product. This is more particularly noticed in the dairy herd, but extends to each and all the animals in our charge. The need and value of sanitation for the health and best returns from our stock has been very fully demonstrated, and the Cattle Commission is now charged by the law of the State with investigations in this important feature of dairy work. Your committee give their approval and aid to this work, and realize that the position of the Board of Agricult- ure is strongly in favor of kindness, good care and cleanli- ness in every department of farm stock. ISAAC DAMON. JOSHUA CLARK. OSCAR S. THAYER. F. L. WHITMORE. A. W. LLOYD. H. A. HOWARD. 224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Report to the Legislature oe the State Board of Agriculture, acting as Over- seers OF THE Massachusetts Agricult- ural College. [P. S., Chap. 20, Sect. 5, adopted by the Board, Jan. 9, 1900.] To the State Board of Agricicltiire, Overseers of the Massachusetts Agri- cultural College. Your committee have completed the duties assigned to them. The members have visited the college frequently, attended the commencement exercises, and awarded the Grin- nell prizes in agriculture. The Grinnell Prizes. The Grinnell prizes were awarded as follows : first prize, to Bernard H. Smith of Middlefield ; second prize, to Samuel Smith of Middlefield, — both prizes going to students from one of the hill towns of the western part of the Common- wealth. The awarding of these prizes is one of the most difficult duties of the committee. The contestants, four in number, showed excellent knowledge of the topics assigned to them ; their essays were well written, and the oral exam- ination showed their understanding of principles and also their familiarity with the subjects before them. The Farm. The usual farm crops were grown this season, and the yields were in keeping with the care and culture given to them, the hay crop showing the result of careful and sys- tematic manuring, the drought not showing as bad effects as where the soil had not been so carefully cared for. No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 225 There seems to be no special criticism to apply to the horses, sheep, swine amd poultry of the farm. There is as yet considerable conflict of opinion as to the cattle, but, as fair discussion is the education of the people, this is well. Among the more than one hundred cows and heifers there appear to be some excellent milking stock, some well calculated for beef, some not easily defined as belonging to either class, and others still giving good evidence of the all-purpose cow. In these days of keen competition, are these the cattle to hold up to Massachusetts dairymen as models to breed toward ? There are several good specimen bulls in the barns, but not a steer or working ox on the premises, the raising and driv- ing of which is fast becoming a lost art, not only here but also on nine-tenths of the farms of New England. Our people are quite as particular concerning their beef supply as their milk supply, and, with the stock of cattle falling off* one-third in two years, a beef famine in the Old World, and our mountain pastures not one-third stocked and many of them not stocked at all, we are led to ask, Whither are we tending? Would it not be profitable to Massachusetts agriculture if the energies and acres of the college farm were devoted to showing our farmers typical herds for milk, butter and beef? The Hatch Experiment Station. New buildings, trucks, railway, etc., for carrying on the pot experiments have been added this season. Many of these same experiments are carried on upon a larger scale in the field, and the results of both tests carefully compared. By these tests information relative to providing well-balanced food rations for our plants is gained. In the horticultural department tests of seeds and fruits are carried on, diflerent fertilizing material tried and various forms of spraying practised. The entomological department is constantly experimenting to find economic methods of destroying the various forms of insect life destructive to the crops of the farm and garden. In this connection it may not be out of place to state that arrangements have been made to allow those in charge to go about the Commonwealth, to better study the habits and depredations of insects in their homes. 226 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. We would urge all farmers to avail themselves of the information published in the experiment station bulletins, which are free to all who desire them. The Zoological Department. It is the purpose to make the department of zoology in this college first class in every sense. Insects are of vastly greater importance to the farmer than all other organisms put together. It is for this reason that special attention has been given to the development and equipment of the division of entomology, and we feel that in this respect this institu- tion is fully equal to any other in the country. The purpose is to educate the young men who elect the study of ento- mology so that they may not only fully understand the principles of economic entomology, but that they may be able, should an unknown insect appear, to investigate the new pest in a thoroughly practical and scientific manner, and discover the means of dealing with it. Realizing that a first-class farmer needs this education, they are striving to cultivate a spirit of investigation in all the students taking this course of study. The Veterinary Department. The buildings have been completed at an expense of about $24,700 of the $25,000 appropriated, about $300 being left after paying for construction. This amount has been used for the purchase of equipment. Early in the fall an order was placed for sufiicieut apparatus to equip the laboratory building to the extent of rendering it available for purposes of instruction. To put it into condition for experiment work a few pieces of special apparatus are required. The aim of the work in this department is threefold : first, education of the students ; second, experimental research, the investi- gation of obscure diseases, etc. ; third, to render assistance to all farmers by the examination of the organs of diseased animals, or by correspondence relative to disease amongst live stock. They are always glad to have specimens sent in for examination, and in case of an outbreak of an obscure disease among animals the department stands ready to inves- tigate the cause, nature and danger from the same, in so far as it is able to do so. No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 227 When both laboratory and hospital stable are fully equipped, they will contain every facility for the study of animal diseases. The facilities for work in bacteriology and pathol- ogy will then be exceptionally good. This main building and the hospital barn place this important branch of learn- ing on a footing equal or superior to that of any other department at the college. This should be welcome to owners of live stock and to students who intend to follow agriculture or to become veterinarians. We would suirffest that all who can, call and see for themselves. In the main building there is an office, lecture room, dissecting room, a large laboratory with tables for students to work with the microscope, two rooms that may be used as living rooms by students, a room for advanced students in which to do ex- periment work, and also a carpenter's workshop. In the barn are stalls where different animals can be kept and isolated in case of danger of infection. These stalls are so arranged as to be easily cleansed and disinfected. The building is heated and ventilated in the most approved manner, and supplied with hot and cold water at all seasons of the year. At the time of your committee's visit the doctor had under his care some diseased chickens. Experiments were in proc- ess to learn the nature of the disease known as roup, by an attempt to develop culture. This is simply an indication of what may be done in the future in all lines of germ or other diseases of farm animals. The Horticultural Department. The work in this department has been carried on in the usual efficient manner. Testing of numerous varieties of strawberries, raspberries and other small fruits is continually going on. The instruction here in propagating by grafting, budding, etc., is given in a practical way, the student doing the work, the hand thus being trained as well as the mind. The manner of combating the many insects injurious to our fruits and flowers is illustrated by the practical way in which these foes of the farmer are met. The old peach orchard has finished its work and been removed, but a large new orchard has been planted on the 228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. highest ground of the Clark property, which is in a very thrifty and growing condition. The old and well-established vineyard produced a large crop of fine fruit of excellent quality. In the small vineyard and near the plant house experiments in spraying and girdling have been carried on. The Class Room. There have been no changes in the arrangement of the course for candidates for the degree of B.S., the students being required for the first three years to follow one regular course of study. In the senior year several elective courses are laid out, with co-related branches grouped. Students are allowed to elect which courses to pursue, but all are required to take English and military. The method of giving instruction is largely by lectures, illustrated by charts, models and specimens of objects under consideration. The idea that governs the professor in the class room is that practical application of truths, whether in agriculture, industry or the arts, is equally important with absolute knowledge. Well-equipped and commodious labo- ratories are provided for the students in each branch of the sciences, to work out the ideas for themselves. A few students have taken the short winter course, mostly in the dairy school, where a great variety of machinery is in operation. Butter made under difterent methods of cream ripening was scored by experts and the results published. This work should l)e of interest to dairymen and butter makers. Prizes were given to students for the best work, and this course of study is of special value to Massachusetts agriculture, as a large proportion of our farmers are engaged in the production of milk and its products, and the oppor- tunity offered by this short winter course, at a time when perhaps the boys can best be spared and when many older men can come here and spend a few weeks, may be of great advantage. The studies are not confined simply to milk and its care, but also include the care of the dairy and the pro- duction of food products associated with it. No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 229 Military Instruction. Since the outbreak of the Spanish war the college has been without a military instructor. This we feel to be a great disadvantage, and we trust that soon there will be an army officer assigned to the college, so that the students may re- ceive the same military training as heretofore. The strict discipline and order enforced will be of decided benefit to many of them in after life. Advantages and Needs. As your committee have year after year visited this col- lege, we are more and more forcibly impressed with the great value of this institution ; and the question is constantly presenting itself. What can be done to show the advantages of the Massachusetts Agricultural College as a place to edu- cate the boys and girls of the Old Bay State? How can they be induced to become interested in the college, — for we feel that, as surely as they are, the agricultural college will not lack for students. Is it advisable to place a paid lecturer in the field, as is being done for other institutions? Or perhaps a person to visit the high schools of the State, and present to the pupils themselves the opportunities offered by our college ? Would it be desirable that each society receiving bounty from the State should have for its topic at one of its institutes the coming year the subject of the college and its advantages? Would this bring it to the attention of the class whom we desire to reach ? Your committee feel that there is need of further endow- ments or permanent funds. Of course as the alumni of the college grow older there will be less lack of these than at the present time. We call the attention of the Board to this fact, feeling that perhaps some of us might be enabled to call the attention of some person to this college who would see the necessity and come to the aid of a worthy cause. In closing, we desire to call the attention of the Board to the fact that nearly one-half a century of its work is com- pleted ; and, knowing and realizing that great good has been accomplished by the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, we 230 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. believe that this anniversary is worthy of more than passing attention, and that the memory of these distinguished work- ers in the cause of agriculture should be recalled, and the work of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture be remembered as its best encomium. Suitable preparations should be made for the proper observance of this occasion in 1902. JOHN BURSLEY. C. K. BREWSTER. GEO. P. SMITH. ALVAN BARRUS. WESLEY B. BARTON. No. 4.] FORESTRY AND ROADS. 231 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON FORESTRY, ROADS AND ROADSIDE IMPROVEMENTS. [Adopted at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 9, 1900.] The duties of this committee are defined in article 11 of chapter III. of the by-laws of the Board ; and your committee are there charged with the duties of the Board of Forestry, under chapter 255 of the Acts of 1882, with all matters relat- ing to forest fires (the greatest curse to forestry), the pro- motion of forests and the reforestation and reservation of public lands for the culture of forest trees. Also all matters relating to roads and roadside improvements, shall be referred to this committee, who shall consider the same from time to time and report to this Board. Said chapter 255 is com- posed of five sections. Section 1 is upon the preservation and culture of forest trees by cities and towns, and gives them the right to appropriate money to take and purchase land, to receive donations of money or land for the purpose, and to make public domains of such land. The right to make rules and regulations to control it is included in this section. Section 2 requires early descriptions of the land taken to be recorded in the registry of deeds. Section 3 states that the Board of Agriculture shall act as a Board of Forestry, to serve without pay, and shall appoint keepers. Section 4 provides for sale of products to be paid to the Board and applied to the management. Section 5 gives power to erect buildings for instruction and recreation. But other plans have been advanced and other acts have been passed and associations have been formed, which have taken the place substantially, if not wholly, of the act which I have quoted from our by-laws. Your committee have not been unmindful of the charge placed upon them, and, while the members have severally, I 232 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. am sure, done what they have been able to do to advance the interests of the State in such lines, by their chairman they have been represented before committees of the last Legis- lature to promote activity and thought on such lines ; and he has been cognizant of the workings of the Massachusetts Forestry Association, the conmiittee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and with the efforts of the many park boards with inclinations to improve tree culture rather than the forest territory. But a better knowledge of pure fores- try is coming about, although, until lumber and pulp shall become scarce, such forestry will be little attempted except as "fancy forestry." The metropolitan parks about the city of Boston afford fields for a nearer approach to pure forestry than most other public lands with which I am familiar. Before the real need for pure forestry comes, let us do all we can to implant, in the minds of our people who are able to carry on its opera- tions, a knowledge of how forestry is conducted. If what is called " fancy forestry," or, as I understand it, pure forestry, conducted for healthful occupation, can be a forerunner of that time of need, let us encourage all attempts at such for- estry, and strive to urge the right people to study such work and become familiar with its principles. Some of those details can be read of in a little " beginner" by Des Cars, but that beginner has much depth to it. I mention it because it can be easily read, and its story is plainly told. The penalties for forest destruction by fire must also be more positive than is yet the case before forestry can become an industry. In older countries, ownership in forest land is reported to be as safe an investment as government bonds ; and, if so, it is because the government protection is as good for one as for the other. I feel that we shall all appreciate, among other things, the wise advice of Governor Crane in his inaugural as to the highway planning for the State, — that a comprehensive plan be formulated, and worked up to by all whose responsibil- ities tend that way. Without appropriations your committee can accomplish little, and, while others are working out our problems with No. 4.] FORESTRY AND ROADS. 233 corps of workers, we can feel satisfied that good is being done on our lines, even if under other acts than are entrusted to us. Dr. C. A. Schenck, forester to the Biltmore estate, Bilt- more, N. C, and principal of the Biltmore School of For- estry, mentions the following drawbacks to forestry as an investment in the United States, and they seem to be well worth including in this report : — 1. It is more difficult to dispose of forest realties, if the owner is compelled or desirous to sell, than of any other property. Conservative forestry is a clumsy investment, and does not allow of gains by quick-minded speculation. 2. It is not easy for the owner to watch the faithfulness of those in charge of his forestry interests, which necessarily extend over a large area. 3. There are no foresters available in America to have charge of the work in the forests. 4. An annual revenue cannot be derived, unless forestry has been practised on a large scale for a long time. 5 It is difficult to separate " net revenue " from " capital with- drawn from the forest," unless stock is taken frequently and care- fully. Stock taking iu the forest is very expensive. 6. Forestry requires steady management, and yields returns on the same spot only in long intervals, — intervals often longer than human life ; in other words, foresti'y requires a long-lived owner. In the old country this drawback does not weigh heavily, as towns, villages and families holding the property entailed are the chief owners of well-managed forests (aside from State for- ests), and as the population is not so shifting as in the United States. FRANCIS H. APPLETON, Chairman. 234 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FARMERS' INSTITUTES. [Adopted at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 10, 1900.] In considering what, if any, improvement can be made in institute work, your committee recognize the fact that the farmers' institutes, as conducted in the past, have been of great benefit to the farmers in every county in the State, and believe tliey should be continued until something better is found to take their place ; therefore our efforts for improve- ment are in the direction of introducing such additional work as will eventually lift the farmers up to a position which will enable them to do better and more thorough work in the future than they ever have in the past. Since the farmers' institutes were inaugurated a great change has taken place in the methods of producing farm crops ; and the farmer is becoming more fully convinced that, to be a successful farmer, his labor in the future must be directed by higher intelligence than has been necessary in the past. The time has come when the successful farmer needs to have some knowledge of how plants grow, and how best to feed them with materials that can be used with the largest profit ; and he also needs to know more about the care of farm animals, how to feed them in the best manner at the least cost. While a single lecture on either of these subjects may help the farmer to do better work, it is not sufficient to cover all of the important points and make them fully under- stood by the farmer who has not made himself familiar with the underlying principles of plant and animal growth. Your committee are of the opinion that to fully cover either of these two subjects, and many others that could be named, would require three lectures from one who has a thoroughly practical knowledge of his subject. No. 4.] FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 235 We therefore recommend that whenever any farmers' organization in the State shall desire to have a course of not more than three lectures on any farm subject, they may apply to the secretary of the Board of Agriculture for a lecturer, and the secretary, if he thinks the subject a proper one, shall furnish a lecturer, providing he can secure a competent per- son to attend on the dates named, and also providing that he has not already been called on during the year to provide lectures for more than thirteen courses. The lecturers shall be paid out of the money appropriated for lectures. And we further recommend that the Board inauo-urate the o system of holding one summer institute meeting each year, at such time and place as shall be decided upon by the Board ; and that the secretary shall provide subjects and speakers for the occasion. EDMUND HERSEY. F. W. SARGENT. C. D. RICHARDSON. CHARLES A. GLEASON. J. W. STOCKWELL. 236 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN. [Adopted at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 9, 1900.] To the Secrelarij of the Stale Board of Ayriculttire. Sir: — The third report of the librarian is herewith pre- sented. The past year has witnessed the completion and publication of the catalogue of the library authorized by the Board at its last annual meeting. Five hundred copies were printed, of which one hundred copies have been bound and distributed. It is suggested that provision be made for bind- ing and distributing the remaining copies. It is believed that the catalogue will do good and will be found useful in a variety of ways and by various classes of people. The head of the agricultural department of a neighboring State, acknowledging the receipt of a copy, wrote: "It is a val- uable publication, and I hope to make use of it in arranging the library which I am endeavoring to start in this State. There has been no efibrt made here to provide an agricult- ural library, although the department has been in existence for many years." Library work for agriculture is to be discussed in an ar- ticle iu the Year Book of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1899, and it has been the privilege and pleas- ure of this oflSce to assist in supplying material for this article. The "Agriculture of Massachusetts" still continues to make friends, and as agricultural knowledge is spread abroad by means of and through agricultural organizations and in- terests of various kinds and character, these volumes are more and more appreciated by progressive agriculturists. On the one subject of " dairying" the late secretary of this Board has recently and truly said : "In the annual volumes * Agriculture of Massachusetts ' for the last twelve years may No. 4.] REPORT OF LIBRARIAN. 237 be found a library of instruction on dairying that will repay the careful study of every man who keeps a cow." The demand for back volumes to fill sets continues. Amono- the recipients the past year have been the St. Louis Public Library, the New Haven Free Library, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the University of California and the Belgian Department of the Interior and of Public In- struction. The expenses incurred on account of the library the past year were as follows: printing catalogue, $199.79; books and pamphlets purchased, $73.21 ; current publications sub- scribed for, $28.82 ; binding, $20.15 ; supplies, $13.72 ; total, $335. G9. These expenses were paid from the appropriation for " incidental expenses in the office of the secretary." The number of bound volumes in the library Jan, 1, 1900, was 3,215. It is suo-gested that the followins: rejjulation ooverning: the loaning of books from the library be adopted : " Books bor- rowed from the library of the Board must be receipted for and returned within one month." Respectfully submitted, F. H. FOWLER, Librarian. 238 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. THE EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE. BY O. P. ALLEN, PALMER, MASS. All things connected with human energy have had a beginning and a period of development. Some things surprise us by the magnitude of their early fruition, and often amaze us by their premature decadence and splendid ruins. Painting, sculpture and architecture reached the acme of perfection ages ago in Grecian thought and activity, because those arts fell under the fostering care of a people every way fitted for perfecting them, leaving all future peoples unable to surpass their grace and divine beauty. Agriculture had the earliest genesis of all human effort, and has occupied a longer period for the developing of its usefulness than any other industry which has claimed man's attention, and it still lingers far behind the goal of perfection. It was stamped with the insignia of Heaven's approval at the very dawn of man's existence ; for, when he was sent forth from the felicity of Eden into the world's broader domain, he was commanded to subdue it and hold lordship over all its unlimited possibilities. The men of pre-historic times seem to have been divided in their pursuits ; some developed a taste for domesticating the animals suited for their needs, and became absorbed in their care and increase, to the exclusion of other occupations, which propensity survives among many nomadic tribes of the present day ; while others combined the tilling of the soil and the care of flocks and herds, thus laying the foundation of the grandest industry that has ever blessed the world. The early man had everything to learn, and it is no wonder he made slow progress in constructing utensils con- nected with his labor and in selecting suitable grain-bearing herbs adapted to his wants ; but, once selected and proven, he made better progress than we might suppose in dissemi- No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE. 239 nating them wherever he went, and handing them down to us as evidence of his wisdom. We sometimes express wonder because agriculture has been so devious and irregular in its course ; we must bear in mind that it has followed the fortunes of nations, rising in their prosperity and declining in their decay. Hindered often by the devastations of war and the disorganization of communities, it has risen phoenix- like from the ashes of its funeral pyre, to begin over again its work of necessity. Agriculture was held in the highest estimation by the early peoples, among whom a divine patron was always allotted to preside over its affairs, whose favor was constantly appealed to by oflerings and oblations. Agriculture is supposed to have had its early home in the valley of the Euphrates, where it was fostered with the greatest care ; the great river was made tributary to its needs, being conducted into a system of canals for the purpose of irrigating the adjacent plains, which became very gardens of luxuriance, where wheat yielded a hundredfold, and other products w^ere cultivated in abundance for maintaining the great city of Babylon. Thus early did mankind begin to utilize the resources of nature for the benefit of farminsr. Egypt was the next early home of agriculture, where father Nile took kindly care of his devoted valley, annually enriching the fields with his overflowing flood. There the early kings were patrons of husbandry, and provided spacious reservoirs to conserve the river's overflow for future use in needed irrigation. In process of time this country became the granary of Rome in her imperial days, and now, after thousands of years, is as productive as when Abraham went there to succor his family because of famine in his own land. The early kings of Assyria and Persia took a paternal in- terest in agriculture, not only because it contributed to their own income, but because its prosperity added to the happi- ness and contentment of their subjects. To this end the governors of the provinces were rewarded or punished ac- cording as their provinces were successful or neglectful in their agricultural management. In China, that land of unicjue customs, agriculture has always been held in high repute from the most ancient period. 240 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. From time immemorial they have ushered in the agricultural year by a festival in which the emperor performs the opera- tion of ploughing and sowing seed, and thus honors and stimulates the husbandman in the pursuit of his calling. Thus singularly honored, the farmer in China holds a rank higher than the soldier or merchant. In India the great mass of the people have from the earliest times been devoted to husbandry. Palestine, as we well know, was for ages one of the most luxuriant of agricultural countries ; by divine appointment its lands were divided into small holdings, which could not be permanently alienated from the line of its original possessors. It was so well cul- tivated that it supplied a dense population, so that in the time of Christ, according to Josephus, there were three millions of people in Galilee alone. There, too, as in most oriental countries, irrigation had much to do with the pro- ductiveness of the soil. Its present desolation is due rather to the lack of a paternal government than to the natural fault of the soil, which is still as capable as of yore of supporting a large population. The kings of ancient Rome fully realized the importance of agriculture. They took a personal interest in the affairs of the husbandmen, inquired into their success on the farm and their methocTs. They praised or admonished, as the case seemed to require, thus stimulating them to put forth their utmost efforts in the application of manures to produce the greatest quantity of crops. Numa, one of those early kings, is said to have exacted a minute account from the husband- man, how he carried on his farming; and when we consider that the primal wealth of a nation comes from the cultivation of the soil, the early rulers of the ancient nations gave evi- dence of great wisdom in thus exerting their influence in encouraging the agriculturist to carefully plan and prosecute his work. The great men among the ancient Romans delighted in husbandry, and toiled along with their servants on their farms. Cincinnatus went from the plough to serve and save his country ; many senators and generals who had been hon- ored by triumphs lived in the country and labored on their farms, though blessed with fortunes. Cato, the censor, often No. 4. J EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE. 241 returned from pleading the cases of his clients to till his be- loved acres. But these were in the days before Rome became depraved. Pliny says: "In those happy times, the earth, glorious in seeing herself cultivated by the hands of trium- phant victors, seemed to make new efforts to produce her fruits with greater abundance ; that is, no doubt, because those great men, equally capable of handling the plough and their arms, of sowing and conquering lands, applied themselves Avith more attention to their labor, and were of course more successful in it. And, indeed, when a person of condition, with a superior genius, applies himself to arts, experience shows us, that he does it with greater ability, force of mind, industry, taste and with more inventions, new discoveries and various experiments ; whereas an ordinary man confines himself within the common road and to his ancient customs ; nothing opens his eyes, nothing raises him above the old habitudes, and after many years of labor he continues still the same, without making any progress in the profession he follows." It is also interesting to note the fact that numerous great men of ancient times not only wrought on the farm, but they gave the world the benefit of their experience in voluminous treatises on agriculture. It is surprising that Mago, the great Carthaginian general, wrote twenty-eight volumes on agriculture, which were deemed of such importance that they were translated into Greek and Latin. There were fifty Greek authors who wrote upon agricultural subjects, accord- ing to Yarro. Among the Latin authors, the most noted were Cato, Varro and Columella, who treat with much detail the various departments of agriculture. The foregoing account covers the palmy days of the re- public, when the proudest claim a man could make was that he was a Roman citizen. Then followed the empire which became burdened with the evils of luxury, effeminacy and vice, when all that was noblest under stern republican rule faded from the minds of men, who scorned to be known as farmers, who relegated such menial service to slaves ; and, as a result, husbandry declined, while Rome hastened to its final disruption by the barbarian hordes, and into the gloom of the mediaeval night, which blasted Europe with its miasma 242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. of feudalism for a thousand years, when wars and crusades and superstition flourished, and arts and science and letters, religion and husbandry languished. The turmoil of ten centuries went on, till out of the crucible of tierce unrest Europe came, disenthralled at last, in the awakening of the sixteenth century. Then husbandry as well as all other laudable callings began to feel the invigorating influence of the new era, and, as the new forces came into line, govern- ments and people came more and more to feel they existed for each other. Since then governments have been learning some useful lessons from painful experience, and have found paternalism to l)e a paying factor. There is France, for in- stance, which has exchanged nine-tenths of her population, which were held in practical slavery during a long period of the feudal ages, for the contented and prosperous peas- antry of to-day, who constitute more than half of her pop- ulation, and are directly supported by the various pursuits of agriculture. The government directly looks after their best interests, and endeavors to encourage their advance- ment by every worthy means. What a contrast, when sec- tion preyed upon section, and all existed in abject terror of the over-lord ! Germany, grown powerful by unifying her interests, has also learned wisdom from the past, and is devoting much attention to the advancement of her increasing agricultural aflfairs. Her scientific men are patiently delving into the mysteries of the vegetable kingdom, and are constantly solv- ing problems which will be of the greatest value to the farm- ers of the world. Little Holland has shown us how to tame old ocean and wrest grand trophies from his grasp, and transform bogs and fens and sea-washed inlets into smiling fields and gardens of wealth and beauty. And England is not forgetful of her toiling sons, who subsist upon the productions of the soil ; there the fawning retainer of feudal days has been replaced by the prosperous and contented tenant of to-day, whose well-tilled acres bring him comfort and plenty. Our own country, the youngest of the nations, has made rapid strides in all departments of agriculture ; our methods No. 4.] EVOLUTIO>f OF AGRICULTURE. 243 of farming are being improved, thanks to the knowledge furnished by the experiment stations in nearly every State of the Union ; and our agricultural colleges are proving large factors in raising agriculture to the dignified position where of right it belongs, and rendering popular and practical the knowledge which should go with such an important, world- wide industry. Much is also due our central government for its increasing interest in agriculture and for its dissemi- nation of knowledge among the people. To-day our nation stands in the front rank of the great food -producing countries of the world. When shortage of crops occurs in other lands they look to us for a supply, which we are always ready to meet for their benefit and our enrichment. But, with all our wealth of land, our farmers are not quite contented, Avhich fact no doubt arises from the reason that wealth on the farm is not produced as rapidly as in mer- cantile or commercial pursuits ; and yet we hear of far less failures among the farming community than among those of any other calling. This fact alone ought to reconcile the farmer to his slower but surer method of acquiring wealth. The evolution of agriculture in the oriental world has been slow, where the antiquated methods of the ages still prevail, but for the western world nothing but progress will satisfy the requirements of the present or the future. Science, ever alert to meet the demands of changed conditions, has come to the farmer's aid as never before, and will continue to be a mighty factor in the future methods of farming. This fact moves us to remark that before the next century has far advanced every farmer worthy of the name will come to know the composition of his own soil in every detail and its adapt- ability for producing crops. He will see the wisdom of care- fully studying the best method of producing home-made fertilizers, and their proper application. He will be alert and meet the first approach of new pests, and be ready to destroy them before they are allowed to gain a foothold ; he will study the nature and causes of crop blights, and be ready to apply the needed remedy ; he will also learn the wisdom of protecting insect-destroying birds, and encourage their increase in every practical way. In the coming future there 244 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. will of necessity be a great increase of farms with smaller acreage, to the great advantage of the farmer, who, with his increased knowledge and the adaptation of means to a desired end, will be able to produce more on fifty acres than his ancestor obtained on double that amount of land, which will mean for him less labor and more profit. The twentieth century has mighty possibilities in store, whose achievements will astonish the world, but not the least will be the progress in agriculture ; the most approved sys- tems now in vogue will then become obsolete, and the world will awake to the knowledge that successful farming will require more intelligence and skill than was ever dreamed of in the past. The needs of increasing population, the stimulus of keen competition will serve to accelerate progress along all lines of agriculture in the coming years. Then there will be little or no waste lands. Our abandoned farms will be reclaimed ; some will be devoted to sheep husbandry, some to the growth of forests, and others brought back to tillage, as their merits deserve. Let there be no pessimists among the young farmers, but let them all buckle on the armor of diligence, prepare their minds by well-directed study and observation, and be ready to reap the fruit of intelligent labor. The promises for the coming years are greater than the past has ever held out ; for, as has been remarked, science will solve problems which will reveal a new world for the farmer to revel in, if he will accept the l)oon and profit by it. The time will also come, if the farmer is true to himself, when he will occupy the enviable position in the State, — enviable because of his independent position, because of his intelligence and being able to dictate terms to the politician ; for then he may, if he will, be the determining factor in the State, capable of wielding his power for the best good of the body politic. This optimistic view is based on the thought that the coming farmers will conserve and unify their power for self- preservation, and as a bulwark for the State ; and in this may not the future historian record the crowning glory in the closing cycle of agricultural evolution ? No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE. 245 But, after all, the great story of agriculture has never yet been written, and the world is waiting for it ; it is due the myriads of farm-born men to have their story told by one imbued with a lofty love for the theme. When written, it will be found to be a story of the ages ; a story of heroism, a story that will surpass in interest and importance the vic- tories of the plumed knights of the ages of chivalry ; for it will recount man's triumphs over nature, over heat and cold, over storm and blast, over arid wastes and dismal fens, over river floods and ocean encroachment. It will contain the secret inspiration of the poet's dream, the essence of man's richest thought, the scientist's deepest research, the secret of supplying the world's mighty armies, the source for the re- lief of famine-stricken lands and of the daily supplying of great cities with food. It will reveal the secret how States were founded and nations sustained. Why commerce has flourished and merchants have grown rich. In fine, it will furnish the grand background of all history with details too long ignored by the superficial student. It will remove the veil which too long has hidden from view the great mass of the world's middle class of toilers, and tell us how they have prospered when they could and sufiered when they must ; how they have thought and planned and made progress as they could, and forever delved that the world might live. In the evolution of the future such a work wall needs be written, in order to supply the demand for a deeper study into the hidden forces of the past ; then the eyes of the urlian resident will be opened as never before to the importance of an industry which, perchance, he has affected to despise because he had failed to comprehend it. Then, too, the world will learn to appreciate the farmer and applaud his success, carried to fruition by continued patience and forti- fied by the demonstrations of science. 246 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. THE EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES, WITH SOME SUGGESTIONS AS TO THEIR USE. BT GEO. P. SMITH OF SUNDERLAND. This paper will not attempt to discuss primitive forms of the plow and other implements of husbandry, but Avill begin by inquiring into Avhat means the American farmer had at the beginning of the nineteenth century of preparing the soil for his crop and for cultivating and harvesting it. He had a kind of plow, made mostly of wood, perhaps with the natural twist found in the trunk of some tree for a mold-board. The local wheelwright was called upon to help him out with the wood-work, and the blacksmith furnished a steel point and more or less armor plate for the land side and mold-board. The earliest form of the plow used in the prairie soils of the west was made of old saw blades. The farmer also had a harrow, probably a V-shaped frame with straight teeth ; a cultivator of wood frame, of about the same shape, with teeth something like a duck's foot. For har- vesting there was the scythe, sickle, hand rake, and possibly a large rake, sometimes called a bull rake, for gathering after the cart. The Plow. The plow might be considered on slight thought to be a very simple implement, but on further consideration it will be seen to be quite complicated. Extremely elaborate calcu- lations have been employed by inventors to determine the correct form of the mold-board, which may be considered as two wedges at nearly right angles to each other, joined by a curved surface. The problem has engaged the minds of some of the most able men known in American history, — such men as Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Webster and Frederick Holbrook. No. 4.j EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 247 Evolution means unfolding. We may consider, then, that modern farm machinery has been unfolded from the minds of the inventors, and we shall often find, as in the case of the development of living organisms, that the old is often retained in a modified form with something added. Previous to the beginning of the nineteenth century the improvement of the plow had begun in England, probably on lines taken from a plow introduced from Holland. The first patent was obtained by Joseph Foljambe in 1730. Jethro TuU may be considered the father of modern farm machinery. His inventions included a plow, drill, cultivator and thresh- ing machine. This plow, known as the Berkshire plow, was attached to high wheels and gallows by means of beam and chain. It was provided with four coulters to thoroughly pulverize the soil. In 1730 Tull's work, "Horse-hoeing husbandry," was published, in which it was claimed that with thorough tillage no manure was needed. For this extreme position he might be called a crank ; but recent experiments have proved that considerable increase in the crop may be obtained by more thorough work, for the reason that cultivation liberates plant food in the soil and prevents too rapid evaporation of moisture, — a condition so essential to plant growth. We must admit that it is unwise to expend a large sum for fertilizers unless careful attention is given to preparation of the soil. In this particular we often fail for want of time and perhaps for lack of the best implements. The farmer of to-day must know something of science as applied to his business, and he needs to know something of machines, — at least enough to adjust his machinery so as to get the best results, and at times make slight repairs. In 1763 James Small, in England, invented a bridle and clevis, to adjust the point of draft to the beam, similar to the ones in use at the present day. This inventor claimed that he had rules for projecting the lines of the mold-l)oard to the plow so as to place the furrow in any position desired. In writing upon the subject in 1802 he says : "If all farmers were agreed as to the place and position in which the earth nmst be left, all plows would be made alike. The mold- board should have equal degrees of rise and twist for each inch the plow advances." 248 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Thomas Jefferson, in 1793, was the first one in this country to use a cast-iron mold-board. He advocated the doctrine that the mold-board should have straight lines at right angles. His plow did not have suflicient twist to turn the furrow properly. It may be said that since Jefferson American inventors of the plow have embodied TuU's idea, — that pulverizing the soil is the main thing to be sought in plow- ins:. The British seem to regard a smooth furrow with uniform crest across the field as more essential, consequently they use more straight lines in the mold-board. Robert Ransome in England, in 1803, and Edwin A. Stevens in America, in 1817, independent of each other, invented a process of chilling or case-hardening the bottom of the share, as a means of keeping the cutting edge sharp when the plow becomes worn away. The first letters patent on a cast-iron plow in this country were granted to Charles Newbold, a farmer of Burlington, N. J., in 1797. This plow had sheath, land side, mold-board and share cast in one piece. Mr. Newbold spent a large sum of money in trying to introduce his improved method of plowing, but it did not meet the approval of farmers to any great extent. It was looked upon with suspicion by many, who said the iron poisoned the land and caused weeds to grow. As late as 1820 a writer in the " Rhode Island American " says that "in most parts of Massachusetts, the Old Colony plows, with ten-foot beam and four-foot laud side, were still in use ; and the Sutton plows, ' which are not fit to plow any land that has sod on it ; your furrows stand up like the ribs of a lean horse in the month of March. A lazy plowman may sit on the beam and count every bout in his day's work.'" One famous Old Colony plow was the one made by Daniel Webster, and used by him in breaking up sod and new land on his farm in Marshfield. In 1819 Jethro Wood of Scipio, N. Y., obtained a patent on a plow made of iron, with the different parts cast separate. This ushers in a new era in the history of the plow, — the era of manufacturing as distinguished from the era of build- ing in small quantities by blacksmiths or plowrights, by making it possible for the farmer to replace a broken or worn-out casting with a new one from the factory. By the No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 249 law of the survival of the fittest, this invention prevailed and gradually replaced the old wooden plows. Mr. Joel Nourse, in 1842, improved upon the plow and brought out his famous Eagle plows, that became very popular and reached a sale of twenty-five to thirty thousand in one year. He made his mold-board larger, with more abrupt curve in the rear part, thoroughly inverting and breaking up the furrow. Hon. Frederick Holbrook, afterwards war governor of Vermont and professor of agriculture at Cornell University, invented improvements on the plow during the period from 1850 to 1860. He constructed plows with difierent mold- boards for difierent conditions of soil, brought out the sod and subsoil and swivel plow. The sod and subsoil plow of Holbrook's, as in the Michigan plow of Aaron Smith, was a small plow with a fin share in front of the main plow, and was designed to accomplish what is now better and more easily done by the jointer, introduced by James Oliver of South Bend, Ind., who, after many years of experiment, perfected a process of chilling and toughening iron to make it suitable for the mold-board. This invention, and that by John Lane of Chicago of what is known as soft-centre steel, has revolutionized plow making, and almost wholly driven cast iron out of the field. Swivel Plows. The first plow to turn all furrows one way was called the turn and rest plow. It was nothing more than a simple wedge, made to turn on a pivot and governed by an arc in the back part, passing through a slot in the handles for changing. In this form each side became alternately land side and mold-board. The form invented by Governor Holbrook, with one mold-board, and sole and land side alter- nating, and, as modified and improved by later inventors, is the prevailing form now in use, and is so well liked that its use in preference to the right-hand plow is increasing. Line of Draft. It is evident that the plow in passing through the soil en- counters resistance from three directions, — from the bottom of the furrow, from the land side and from the furrow slice. 250 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Experiments have shown that it requires about ninety per cent of power to move the weight of the plow and to cut the furrow, and only about ten per cent to turn it over. If we consider that there must be a centre of resistance, it would be found near the land side and not far from the sole. To prevent the plow being thrown out of the land by the greater pressure on the land side, early inventors placed the beam at an angle to the plane of the land side. John Mears im- proved upon this method by inclining the standard to the right, and placing the beam directly over the centre of resist- ance and in a plane parallel to the plane of the land side. The inventions of James Oliver improved somewhat on Mears' construction. If, when the team is attached to a plow otherwise properly adjusted, it is found that a line drawn from the centre of resistance to the point of draft at the horses' shoulders passes through the point of attachment at the beam, the greatest economy of power and ease of holding will be obtained. It can be seen at once that this is true, for, if the attachment were above, the plow would be in- clined deeper in the ground, and if below, it would be easily thrown out. Use or Wheels. The plow is not a perfect implement, because the pressure of its three sides tends to make the soil more compact, when it is desired to make it mellow. This is especially true of the bottom of the furrow. An effort has been made to reduce the friction on the sole by placing a wheel at the back part, between the land side and the mold-board, but it was found that the wheel soon clogged and made the running of the plow unsteady, so that its use was soon abandoned. Another experiment placed two wheels at the end of the beam, one in the furrow and one on the land. This arrangement made the plow run steadily, but the larger wheel in the furrow raised the beam and forced it out too soon at the ends. It is be- lieved that Zadock Harris was the first to use one wheel to travel on the land, — an arrangement almost universally adopted in walking plows. This wheel is merely to give a uniform depth of furrow and steadiness in running. If it is found that it presses hard on the land, the team is not prop- No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 251 erly adjusted and there is loss of power. The sulky plow has this advantage ; the wheels support the plow, causing less pressure on the bottom of the furrow, uniform depth and width of furrow, and the plowman can ride. The most advanced form now in use in Massachusetts is the double sulky, of which the National and Syracuse are types. The most popular plow in the west is the tricycle, a plow sup- ported by three wheels, of which the Flying Dutchman and Canton Clipper are types. Points of a Good Plow. Every plow is constructed to take a furrow of definite dimensions, and can do good work only within narrow^ limits. To select a plow wisely, the kind of work desired must be had in mind. Some modern plows are made too narrow between the land side and back part of the mold-board, and in sod the first furrow taken out is too narrow to admit of receiving the second furrow slice. If the furrow slice is of one- third greater width than depth, it will be placed at an angle of 45°. This arrangement exposes the largest possible sur- face to the action of sun and air, and is considered most advantageous for future cultivation. Harrows. The earliest form of the harrow used in this country was undoubtedly the spike tooth fastened in an A-shaped or square wooden frame. This form of harrow appears in the modern smoothing harrows with teeth set at an angle to the frame and turned back, or teeth that may be adjusted to any desired position. The first step in advance was what was known as the shares harrow, — share-shaped teeth, bolted to an A-shaped frame, or a straight plank to be drawn at an angle. This style of harrow may still be found in use, and is being manufactured. A modified and improved form appears in the Acme. A crude form of disc harrow has been used by the Japanese from very early times. The disc harrow, now so commonly used in this countrj^ has been evolved from harrows patented by H. M. Johnson and S. G. Randall, from 1854 to 1859. 252 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. In the earliest forms each disc turned on an independent axle. A later form, now become universal, shows two gangs of discs fastened on an arbor, and made to turn in such a manner as to work the soil in opposite directions from or towards a centre. In the most advanced form of this harrow the two gangs of discs are made to overlap at the centre, thus avoiding the untouched ridge and the necessity of over- lapping the harrow half way to cover all the land. The different forms of spring-tooth harrows are the result of the invention of David L. Garver, and improved by D. C. Reed of Michigan, from 1869 to 1877. It would be impossible to tell which is the best kind of harrow, — two or three kinds are required to properly tit the land to receive the crop. Drills and Planters. Drills and planters place the seed at a more uniform depth than can be the case by hand planting ; they also place the soil in a more favorable condition for the germination of seeds. Charles W. Billings of South Deerfield, Mass., in- vented a corn planter about 1850, and a little later S. E. Harrington of North Amherst, Mass., invented a drill for sowing onions and other small seeds. These machines were largely used in Franklin and Hampshire counties a genera- tion ago, and their ideas are embodied in planters still being manufactured. The Billings machine was operated by the covering wheel in the back part of the machine acting upon sliding rods, which opened and closed cups that measured and dropped the seed in hills. Another machine for planting corn in drills appeared about the same time, known as the Wood- ward. It was operated from the covering wheel turning a cylinder underneath the seed box by means of a cog-wheel gear. In the cylinder were openings that could be adjusted by screws to regulate the quantity and distribution of seeds. Modified forms of this machine are the Eureka and Eclipse ; but it is doubtful if the endless chain gear, which appears in these machines, will prove superior to the old cog-wheel action. The attachment to plant in check rows operated by hand does not appear to me to be practical. If it is desired to plant in check row^s, the double-row machine with knotted chain and automatic trip must be superior. Mr. Harrington No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 253 made his first machine about 1864, for a friend, who was the pioneer onion grower of Sunderland, and a former member of this Board. It was a combination drill and cultivator. The distribution of seeds was regulated by a dial plate, with different-sized openings for different varieties of seeds, placed under the seed box, in which was placed an agitator kept in motion by a rod acted upon by the forward wheel. A later machine of this type is the Mathews drill. Their chief fault is found in the fact that they offer little chance of ad- justment for different-sized seed of the same variety. Supe- rior in this respect are some of the later drills, with an adjustable opening, for all varieties of seeds. Another im- provement is a forced feed gear. The Southport double row drill, with adjustable revolving cups, is a popular onion sower. Weeders and Cultivators. The weeder is of very recent introduction, and I have yet to see any marked good resulting from its use. I believe that more efficient work can be done with the two-horse, spring-tooth cultivator, or any of the best single cultivators, by starting work as soon as possible after planting, and con- tinuing the operation as often as possible until the crop is well advanced. The cultivator is a simple implement, and admits of very little change of the principle on which it is operated^ The cultivators we have at present penetrate the soil and take hold of tough pieces of witch grass better than the ones used a few years ago, on account of the better con- struction of the teeth. Improvement has also been made in regard to convenient means of adjustment. Mowers and Reapers. In a recent article in the New York " Herald" in regard to progress made in the century relating to agriculture, it is said the most important invention of the century is the har- vester. In a recent article in " McClure's Magazine" Mr. Ray Stannard Baker says : ' ' With June the wheat harvest in the United States begins in earnest, and from that time until the first of September there is not an hour of daylight when the click of the harvester is not heard." The credit for the invention of the harvester belongs to two farmer boys 254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. of De Kalb County, Illinois, in 1858, though many others have contributed something to its present form. The first harvester was an attachment to a reaper, carrying the cut grain to a table, where it was bound by hand. The efibrts of S. D. Lock and John F. Appleby, from 1861 to 1876, were largely instrumental in working out the problem of an automatic wire or twine binder. The cutting of grass and grain by machinery was being thought of in England a century ago. In 1822 Henry Ogle, a schoolmaster of Rennington, England, with the aid of the Brown Brothers, who were founders, built a machine which shows many features of the modern reaper, and was prob- ably the first successful machine of the kind. The cutting arrangement employed in the first attempt at reaping and mowing machine manufacture in this country was in the form of a revolving scythe. The machine of Jeremiah Bailey, in 1822, and improved by E. Copes and J. Hoopes, in 1825, was of this type. Mr. Copes's son, writing of this machine in 1854, says : " This was a very efficient machine, but used chiefly for cutting grass ; and it would cut an acre in thirty minutes better than it possibly could be done by hand." It would seem that in this case the fittest did not survive. The inventions of Obed Hussey, in 1833, and of Cyrus H. McCor- mick, in 1834, first introduced the form of cutting bar with vibrating sections passing through guards or fingers, as is common with all subsequent harvesting machines. In Mr. Hussey's first machine the guards were closed on top and brought back to the finger bar, leaving no opportunity to clear, and causing the machine to clog quickly. This fault was remedied by cutting off" the back i^art of the upper side of the guard. Many of the earlier machines were combined reapers and mowers. The first machine which I recollect was the one used by my father. This was a combined machine, known as the William A. Kirby, bought in 1859. It had one driving wheel, with ri^id bar. The frame of the machine was balanced on the driving wheel in such a man- ner that the driver could by changing his position raise or depress the bar. By this means, and by means of a lever operating a wheel at the outside of the bar, it could be raised five or six inches from the ground. My father says of this No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 255 machine : " It would do good work while going ahead, but was difficult to turn and almost impossible to back, it not being provided with ratchet and pawl gear." For reaping there was a reel and table attachment to receive the grain, and an additional seat for a man, who raked off the bundles. The modern reaper is an improved form of this machine, with automatic raking device. The invention of the two- wheeled hinge bar mower has proved more convenient for cutting grass. R. T. Osgood of Maine, in 1852, invented a machine with two driving wheels on a common axle, with ratchet and pawl gear, so that each wheel would be in gear when turned back. This machine was provided with hinged bar and lever, so that the driver could raise and depress the bar while the machine was in motion. Lewis Miller of Canton, O., invented the plan of taking power from the main axle instead of from cogs on the driving Avheel, a plan generally adopted in the best mowers of to-day. He also, from 1856 to 1858, improved upon the hinged bar arrangement, and invented the peculiar folding bar and adjustable pawls known in the Buckeye type of mowers. The hinged bar proved an advantage in point of convenience in operating, but lost in economy of power as compared with single-wheel machines ; and, while the latter often cut five or six feet, it was found that only four or four and one -half feet with the hinged bar that dragged heavily on the ground was practical. By supporting the bar on the driving wheels and on a small wheel at each end, and l)y careful adjustment of the pitman so that it will be in line at all positions of the bar and not bind on the crank pin at any time, what is known as the floating bar has been introduced by leading manufacturers, so that now a mower cutting five or six feet is easily handled by an ordinary farm team. A farmer who has fifteen or more acres of grass to mow in a season is no longer justified in using a four-foot cutting bar. The addition of first cost is of trifling consideration , as compared to the saving of one to one and one-half hours for a man and team in the forenoon during the busy season of haying. I have used a six-foot bar for several years, and figure it has cost about twenty- five cents an acre for use of the machine. 256 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. In the best machines the bar is hung at right angles to the frame, and the pitman and bar should always be in line. It should have the most advanced devices for overcoming fric- tion, and taking up wear, and convenience of handling. Probably no machine is superior to all others in every particular ; and the different points of superiority of a mower or any machine can be determined only by carefully conducted field trials, in which the relative amount of draft is determined by actual test with an instrument. There were held, during the early days of the history of the mowing machine and the improvement of the plow, some famous field trials, — one at Geneva, N. Y., in 1852, one at Syracuse, N. Y., in 1857, and one at Utica, N. Y., in 1867. Nearly all the machines then made contested. A copy of the report of the judges, who were many of them men of eminent ability, is in the library of this Board, and is well worth a careful study, especially the parts relating to their method of awarding the prizes. I would suggest that an improvement might be made by the use of a score card, arranged to give the different points of excellence a relative value. Every modern machine represents a number of inventions which may be traced back to their origin. Here has been truly an evolution. It is difficult to imagine what would be our condition if we had only the machines in use at the beginning of the century. It is safe to say that the pro- duction and harvesting of six hundred million bushels of wheat and eight hundred million bushels of corn would be out of the question. The men whose efibrts contributed to this progress should be regarded as benefactors and pro- moters of the cause of liberty and the mastery of man over the forces of nature. These men should be held in honor, and their memory cherished by every friend of American agriculture. Oftentimes the introduction of improved ma- chines has been resisted for fear laljorers would be thrown out of employment, and a large number of inventors have failed to receive any adequate material reward. The Hon. William H. Seward says, of Jethro Wood : "No citizen of the United States has conferred greater benefits on his coun- try ; no one of her benefactors has been more inadequately No. 4.] EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 257 rewarded. Others who combined large business ability with inventive "genius have succeeded in buildino- a monument to themselves in the great manufacturing industry which bears their name." What of the Future? The problem of the application of steam to the heavier operations of the farm has been studied for the past fifty years, but nothing practical is at hand that is within the reach of any but the bonanza wheat growers. If we may judge by what is taking place in other industries, we may confidently expect that the improv^ement of steam power, electricity or some other form of motor will be adapted to the farm during the early part of the twentieth century. The old traction engines were too cumbersome, and wasted too much power. The arrangement of fields in many New England farms is not as favorable to the use of machinery as might be desired. One continuous field of considerable size can be cultivated much more cheaply than two fields of the same area. In this respect farmers of the west have en- joyed an advantage greater than the superior fertility of the soil warrants ; and the natural conformation of the land there is adapted to the use of all labor-saving machinery on the broader lines of future development. Nevertheless, the farmers of New England may often find it convenient to co-operate in the ownership and use of the more expensive machinery. BULLETINS Massachusetts Board of Agricultuee, PUBLISHED IN Massachusetts Crop Reports, 1899. SPRAYING OF CROPS FOR PROFIT. BY PROF. S. T. MAYNARD, POMOLOGIST TO THE BOARD. The longer any crop is grown in one locality, or the greater the extent to which it is grown, the more will it be subject to injury by insect and fungous pests. It is often remarked that the number of insects and fungous pests is rapidly increasing, and this is too often true ; so rapidly do they sometimes increase that our crops would be total fail- ures did we not promptly apply remedial or preventive measures. One season, under conditions favorable to their increase, insects and fungi are abundant, doing serious harm ; while in another season the conditions are such that these pests are destroyed by cold, by too much moisture, by scant food supply, by parasites or other enemies, and little or no damage is done. We sometimes have a series of years when insect and fungous pests are abundant, and also those when no injury is done. In the first case we are liable to become discour- aged, while in the second we are led to think that it is all a matter of chance, and not worth while to make an attempt to protect our crops. This is, however, an unthrifty method of doing business. Our crops may escape injury this season, and possibly for one or two years longer ; but there is scarcely a crop we grow that is not at one time or another injured by one or both of the above-named pests, and there are few, if any, crops that we grow upon which there is so much profit in growing that we can afibrd to lose even one crop. There is but one safe business principle for the farmer, fruit grower or gardener to follow, and that is, to be prepared with and apply preventive measures whenever the condi- tions are favorable for the development of insects and fungous pests. 262 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Most Farm and Garden Crops can be saved by Spraying. There is hardly a farm or garden crop that cannot be saved from serious injury from insects or fungi, and that at a cost which will leave more margin for profit one year with another than if no spraying is done. The work of spray- ing will, of course, add something to the cost of any crop ; but when one's crop is injured, the same crop of other growers is in danger, and, the majority of growers not being active and prompt in the work of prevention, the total crop of a section is likely to be small, which will ensure higher prices for those who do produce a perfect crop. The Apple. The apple crop can be saved from injury by the canker worm, a pest too well known to need description, the cod- ling moth, the insect that causes the wormy apples, the tent caterpillar, the bud moth and many other insect pests, by spraying with Paris green ; while the apple scab, a fungous growth that causes the olive-colored spots on the fruit and often causes the leaves to turn yellow and fall off, the cedar- apple fungus and other fungous pests may be destroyed by the use of the Bordeaux mixture, the two substances being combined and used at one application.* This has been proved by numerous careful experiments made at several of the experiment stations and by many progressive orchard- ists in various parts of the country. The Pear. The pear tree psj^lla can be kept under control by the use of kerosene properly applied, as has been shown by the experiments made by Dr. Jabez Fisher of Fitchburg, and by the experiments made at the Cornell University and Massachusetts experiment stations. The wormy fruit is * In Bulletin No. 60 of the Hatch Experiment Station, Amherst, Mass., maybe found a full explanation of the different insecticides and fungicides, together with the routine for spraying all fruits, farm and garden crops. These bulletins are sent free to any one living in the State who requests them. This number should be pre- served for future reference, if it has already been received. Plate I.— Plum tree sprayed. % €^ mpn. Plate II. — Plum tree unsprayed. No. 4.] SPRAYING OF CROPS FOR PROFIT. 263 prevented by the use of Paris green, and the leaf blight and cracking of the fruit by the use of the Bordeaux mixture and copper sulphate solution. The Plum. The fruit of the plum may be largely saved from injury by the plum curculio by the use of Paris green, and the injury to the tree by the black knot and the leaf blight and to the fruit by the monilia or brown rot may be prevented by the use of the Bordeaux mixture and the copper sul- phate solution. Plate I. illus- trates a plum tree sprayed, and Plate II. one of the same va- riety unsprayed. The large crops of plums that are borne on the trees in the Hatch Ex- p e r i m e n t Station orchards, some trees of which are over thirty years old, and their free- dom from the black knot are proofs of this assertion. The aphides that have been so de- structive to the plum in the past two seasons can be destroyed by the use of the kerosene emulsion or kerosene and water. A pump for the use of kerosene and water is shown in fig. 1. The Japanese plum trees cannot be sprayed with Paris green after the foliage has opened, and, as an arsenate is necessary for the destruction of chew- ing insects, arsenate of lead must be used. The Peach. This fruit, while not so much benefited by spraying as some of the other fruits, may be sprayed with the Bordeaux mixture to prevent the leaf curl, the shot-hole fungus and the rottino; of the fruit. Paris o-reen cannot be used on the peach, but the arsenate of lead may be used for the destruc- tion of the plum curculio. The peach aphis, which causes Fig. 1. 264 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the leaves to curl up during the summer, may be destroyed by the use of kerosene emulsion or kerosene and water, which must be applied with as much force as is possible, that it may penetrate under the curled leaves. The Cherry. The cherry aphis, the minute black insect which causes the leaves to curl and stops growth, can be kept from doing serious injury by the use of the kerosene emulsion or kero- sene and water, or by cutting oif a few leaves on the ends of the growing branches. The rotting of the fruit just as it begins to ripen may be prevented by spraying after every rain for a week or two about the time the fruit is ripening with the copper sulphate solution, four ounces to fifty gal- lons. The cost of this work at first would seem to be more than an ordinary crop would be worth ; but the liquid is inexpensive, costing only from one to two cents per barrel besides the labor of application, and with proper appliances and economy of labor the spraying can be done for a very small sum per tree for the short time when it is necessary to spray. Mr. Geo. S. Powell of Ghent, N. Y., writes that he saved a large crop of cherries during the summer of 1898, a season of unusual rainfalls, by the above treatment. Paris green cannot be safely used on the cherry foliage, but arse- nate of lead should be used for the plum curculio and cherry masffot. The Quince. The leaf blight and rust on the branches and fruit can be prevented by the use of the Bordeaux mixture. This should not be applied, however, after the fruit is more than one- half grown. The Grape. Most of the insects attacking the grape, except the phyl- loxera, wliich seldom injures the American grape, can be destroyed by the use of Paris green, and the black rot, the downy and powdery mildew and the anthracnose are all prevented from doing harm by the use of the Bordeaux mixture and the copper sulphate solution. The former should never be used after the berries are one-half grown. One of the greatest difficulties in growing the grape in New hj P3 No. 4.] SPRAYING OF CROPS FOR PROFIT. 265 England is the weakening of the vines by the fungous pests ; and vines regularly sprayed to prevent this injury gain in strength from year to year, and large and satisfactory crops are the result. We have to compete with fruit from the large vineyards of more favorable grape-growing sections than New England ; but the native fruit, when well grown and ripened, can be put upon our local market in so much better condition than that coming from a long distance that it is sure to bring a much higher price. Plate III. illus- trates a sprayed and Plate IV. an unsprayed vine. The Raspberry and Blackberry. The orange rust and leaf blight, the two most serious obstacles to the growth of these crops, are easily kept un- der control by spraying with the Bordeaux mixture. The Currant and Gooseberry. The currant worm is destroyed by the use of hellebore powder applied in water, or in a dust form when the leaves are wet with dew or rain. Attention should be given to the bushes very soon after the leaves open, and spraying be done upon the first appearance of the worms. The leaf blight, a fungus that causes the leaves to fall ofi" in August, may be prevented from doing injury by the use of the Bor- deaux mixture. The Strawberry. While spraying for the destruction of insects and fungous pests attacking this fruit does not give so marked results as with many other crops, it has been conclusively shown in many experiments that the rust is largely reduced by the use of the Bordeaux mixture ; and the two insects, the black paria and the crown borer, may be largely prevented from doing serious harm if Paris green is used in the mixture. The Potato. Numerous experiments and general practice go to show that this crop cannot be grown with the best results without the use of insecticides and fungicides. The Colorado beetle and the flea beetle are destroyed by the use of the Bordeaux mixture and Paris green, and at the same time the leaf 26G BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. blight and the potato rot fungus may be hirgely, if not entirely, prevented. The growth of the potato scab on the tuber can be largely prevented by the use of corrosive sub- limate or sulphur. The Tomato. The injury to the tomato crop from the rotting of the fruit and the blight of the leaves can be largely prevented by the use of the Bordeaux mixture. Celery. While the success of this crop depends largely upon an exceedingly rich soil and an abundance of moisture, the numerous fungous pests that often injure the crop under many conditions may be kept down by the frequent use of the Bordeaux mixture. The plants should be sprayed in the seed bed as well as in the field in order to insure the best results. Other Crops. The onion rust, grain rust and smut, asparagus rust and many blights, rusts, mildews, smuts, etc., that attack other crops, and the many insect pests may also be kept under control by spraying ; and no thrifty cultivator can afford not to insure his crops at least to the extent of equipping himself with apparatus for the application of insecticides and fungicides, and to have on hand the materials necessary for their use and also one or more of the numerous spraying calendars issued by some experiment station or printed in the agricultural papers. Equipment for Spraying. Perhaps the reason why so few are making use of insec- ticides and fungicides to protect their crops is from the idea that it requires especial skill and expensive apparatus to properly spray their crops. Spraying is one of those opera- tions, however, that is simple enough in itself, materials are generally easily obtained, and directions for the work are spread broadcast throughout the land ; but the work looks larger, perhaps, than it really is. With a good pump, o;ood nozzles and a fair desfree of intelli<::ence and median- ical skill, the operation is neither diiiicult nor expensive. No. 4.] SPEAYING OF CROPS FOE PEOFIT. 267 There are many good pumps and nozzles to be had at rea- sonable prices, any one of which will be a good investment to the farmer, fruit grower or gardener. We cannot advo- cate any one pump as superior to all others. All pumps of whatever kinds in which copper sulphate is used must be made of brass, as iron would be soon so corroded as to be worthless. Kinds of Pumps. The pumps in most general use may be put in four groups : ( 1 ) the hand pump, either the syringe or pail pump or atomizer (figs. 1 and 2) ; (2) the knapsack (fig. 3) ; (3) the barrel pump (figs. 4 and 5) ; and (4) the machine pump.* The Hand Pump. — For garden work, where only a few plants, shrubs or small trees are to be protected, the com- mon hand pump represented by fig. 1 (without the kerosene attachment) will be found suflScient. The atomizer (fig. 2), of which there are many forms that are practicall}^ the same in construction and utility, is very useful and inexpensive. For the use of the Bordeaux mix- ture or copper sulphate solution it must be made of brass or copper. The knapsack (fig. 3) is useful when a larger amount of shrubs or small trees are to be treated, and when they are too closely planted to allow the barrel pump to be driven through on wheels or on a stone boat. These pumps hold about five gallons, and can be easily carried on the back. The main objection to them is the cost, which is from twelve to eighteen dollars, complete, with hose and nozzles. * Editor's Note. — Attention is called to the article "Improvements in spray- ing machinery," inclnded in the report of tlie gypsy moth committee of this Board, and to be found on pages 469-474 of " Agriculture of Massachusetts " for 1898. 268 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The Barrel Pump. — This is by far the most economical and satisfactory kind of a pump for general use. The pumps are mounted either on the side or end of the barrel (figs. 4 and 5) ; we prefer the former, because the barrel can be more easily kept in place on the stone boat or in the cart. It is carried about in a cart or wagon, on a stone boat or on a single pair of wheels, and with a piece of half-inch iron or brass pipe ten feet long the tops of the highest fruit trees may be reached with the spray. If tall, ornamental trees ^■- \ J Fig. 3. are to be sprayed, the hose must be carried up into the branches and the spraying be done from them. A kerosene attachment is provided on many of the barrel pumps, by which kerosene and water are forced into the hose at the same time, and distributed from the nozzle in a fine mist or spray. As far as has been tested, this seems the best method of applying kerosene. In fig. 1 is shown a kerosene attachment to the pail pump. When but a small amount of spraying with kerosene is to be done and only on low shrubs or plants, the atomizer (fig. 2) will do the work as effectually as the more expensive appliances. No. 4.] SPRAYING OF CROPS FOR PROFIT. 269 Machine Pumps. — For the varied work of the average New England farmer or horticulturist, these pumps cannot be used as economically as the barrel pump ; but where large areas of potatoes, vineyards and young orchards are to be sprayed, their use may be made profitable. The same may be said to a greater degree of the steam sprayers. Nozzles. — Much of the success in spraying depends upon the kind of nozzle that is used. Fig. 6 illustrates the Ver- morel nozzle, and fig. 7 the Bordeaux nozzle, both of which throw the liquid out in a very fine spray. In using these nozzles all coarse particles of lime or other substances must be strained out of the liquid. Insecticides. Insecticides or insect de- stroyers may be divided into two groups, i.e., (1) those for killing chewing insects, like the potato beetle and its larvae, the larvae of the canker worm, etc., and (2) those for killing sucking insects, like the aphides (plant lice), the pear psylla, the black squash bug, etc. In the first group are Paris green, London purple, arse- nate of lead and hellebore. Paris Green. — This is the most generally known and one of the most efiective insec- ticides. It is used in a solution of one pound to one hun- dred and fifty gallons of water, or in a dry powdered form with bellows or guns, and in the latter form it must be applied when the foliage is more or less wet with dew or rain. If used too abundantly, and the weather following is very wet, serious injury often follows. Numerous substitutes for this insecticide have been offered in the market under various names, but none of them have proved of sufficient value to be recommended. Fig. 4. 270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. London Purple, — Owing to the variable nature of this substance, it has not come into such general use as has Paris green. Upon crops that are not injured by the soluble arsenious acid it contains it may be safely used. Arsenate of Lead. — The peach, Japanese plum and the cherry foliage are injured by the use of Paris green ; but the arsenate of lead is said to be equally as effective as the latter, and not injurious to the foliage, even when used in large quantities. Kerosene. — Up to within a year or two this insecticide has been used in the form of kerosene emulsion, and with Fig. 5. good results ; but some difficulty seems to have been ex- perienced in making a reliable emulsion under various con- ditions, and injury has often resulted. It has been found, however, that clear kerosene or kerosene and water, applied in a fine spray or mist, and on hrigJil, airy days, is safe, more effectual and not more expensive, when the labor of making the emulsion is considered. Neither the emulsion nor the kerosene and water should be applied in moist, cloudy weather. Pyrethrum. — This powder, called also Persian or Dal- mation insect powder, is an insecticide that acts very quickly upon the breathing organs, killing delicate insects like the No. 4.] SPRAYING OF CROPS FOR PROFIT. 271 lU^VER MOREL Fig. 6. cabbage worui, currant worm, etc. If applied just at night it is mucli more effective than when applied in the morning, especially if the weather be bright and airy. Fungicides. Fungicides or fungi destroyers are substances that prevent the growth of the spores or seeds of the various lower plants, the rusts, blights, smuts, mildews, etc., called fungi, that feed upon and destroy our farm and garden crops. The most important of these is copper sulphate or blue vitriol, sometimes called blue stone. A fungous plant growing within an- other plant and taking its nourish- ment from that plant, as most of the fungi do grow, cannot be de- stroyed without destroying the host plant ; but its spores or seeds will be destroyed if they come in contact with even a very small amount of soluble copper. The main object, therefore, in the use of copper solutions, is to have the substance spread over the surface of the foliage or branches, so that the spores which are floating in the air may be destroyed when they fall upon a tree or plant that is in condition to allow of their growth. Copper sulphate is used in two forms, i.e., the Bordeaux mixture and copper sulphate solution. Bordeaux Mixhire. — Full directions for making and using all insecticides and fungicides are given in Bulletin No. 60 of the Hatch Experiment Station, already referred to, and need not be repeated here. Should any reader of this paper not have received this bulletin, it can be obtained by sending a postal to H. H. Goodell, director, Amherst, Mass. The Bordeaux mixture is the fungicide most universally employed upon all crops when the disfig- urement of the foliage or fruit is of no consequence, and is especially valuable because of the long time that it will adhere to the foliage, and gradually give out enough Fig. 272 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. of the copper solution with each rain to kill all ordinary- spores. Copper Sulphate Solution. — This is used while the trees are dormant, one pound to twenty-five gallons of water, and when the foliage is upon the trees or plants at one- quarter pound to fifty gallons of water. In this form the copper is very soluble, quickly washed off by heavy rains, and it is therefore necessary to spray after every heavy rain. Conditions of Success. The secrets of success in this work are : (1) in the ability of the operator to fully understand his machines or })umps, and keep them in good working order at all times ; (2) to understand the preparation of the insecticides and fungi- cides, and the economy of time in getting them ready for use; and (3) in the thorough and rapid application at just the rio-ht time. No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 273 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR THE DAIRYMAN. BY PROF. F. S. COOLEY, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, AMHERST. We have just passed one of the very trying seasons of the year for dairymen. The drj'ing up of pastures, falling off of feed, August heat and flies make an adverse combination hard for the average feeder to meet. But improved manage- ment has not entirely ignored the needs of the past months, and we are becominoj better and better able to overcome these difficulties. The successful dairyman finds it very im- portant to prevent the shrinkage in milk, for it is apt to be permanent. Cows that fall off seriously in milk, owing to short feed, rarely regain their former product during the season, even if food is given later in abundance. Partial Summer Soiling. While the writer is not an enthusiast over the soiling sys- tem, having experienced some of its difficulties, he is fully convinced of the necessity of providing some supplementary fodder for milch cows during July and August. Against those who advocate green feed throughout the season as more profitable than pasturage, I have no argument to make. I venture the opinion, however, that the novice will often enviously look at his neighbors' pastures during his first attempt at summer soiling. A good pasture is a great con- venience on a dairy farm. Pastures do not, however, pro- duce evenly throughout the season. There is always a surfeit in May and June and a shortage afterward. It is good husbandry to stock pastures heavily, so that the early flush of feed may be utilized, as it checks a tendency to "grow wild" that has spoiled so many good pastures. Good husbandry also demands the provision of feed of some sort to eke out the pasture feed in late summer. The best 274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. feeders and most successful dairymen feed some grain throughout the season. Some practice feeding silage in summer very successfully, and certainly at a less expense than soiling entails. It is believed, however, that, in order to be successful, silage feeding in summer must be practised on at least a moderately large scale, and so is not practicable for the small or average feeder. Hay may be fed successfully, and should be fed rather than let milch cows go hungry. On arable farms hay forms an expensive feed, as a rule, and economy dictates only a sparing use of it at any season. More than this, cows do not do so well on hay in summer as on a more succulent diet. The average dairyman, whose farm may be tilled without great labor, will find it good practice to grow green crops as an adjunct to his summer feed. SoiLiNCx Crops. Hye. — One of the earliest soiling crops is rye. It may be grown so as to become available as a feed by the 10th of May. A succession may be secured by sowing at intervals from September 10 to the middle of October. Feeding should commence before the heads are in sight, as rye rapidly deteriorates as a fodder and becomes unpalatable after it gets headed out. At its best rye is a very watery feed, not especially nutritious, and requires supplementary fodders of a dryer and more concentrated nature. Its principal value as a feed lies in its early appearance, hence it should be left out of a partial soiling system for late summer. Clover. — Few forage plants surpass the medium red clover in practical utility. It possesses a value not likely to be over-estimated, being palatable and nutritious to the animal, and beneficial in its effect upon the land. Red clover easily follows rye, makes a heavier growth of forage, and may be cut two or three times during the season. I would advise feedins; clover with a certain degree of moderation, and preferably in conjunction with other fod- ders, e.g., millet or corn. Being very rich in protein, clover requires less of concentrates to complete the ration than most coarse fodders, hence the supplementary feed may be of a more starchy nature. Corn meal goes very well No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 275 with clover, and the two make a ration well suited to milk production. On account of the difficulty of securing a really good clover hay, and the waste and loss so often experi- enced, it seems to be good practice to feed clover green to as great an extent as can be advantageously done. The first cutting of clover comes at a time when pasturage is in full flush and extra forage not so much needed, but the after- cuttings are very acceptable additions to the milch cow's bill of fare. A word on the treatment of clover may not be out of place. Belonging to that group of plants that possess the quality of bringing down valuable nitrogen to the soil, clover does not require so much nitrogenous manure as many crops. On the other hand, the mineral elements, phosphoric acid and especially potash, are particularly ben- eficial to clovers. I have observed repeatedly that the ap- plication of wood ashes or muriate of potash to grass lands serves to increase the proportion of clover. This fact should be borne in mind when seeding down, and manures containing a preponderance of potash used when clover is desired. The oft-repeated statement that this crop benefits the land will bear repeating and emphasizing. Both directly by the nitrogen it leaves in the soil and indirectly by what it adds after being fed to farm animals, clover serves to increase the fertility of the farm. Dairymen should grow and feed as much clover as possible. Grass. — As a convenience, grass may be fed to cows during haying time, either green, half dry or as new hay. It is at this season, and from seed time up to this season, that labor is in demand on the farm and that the greatest difficulties to the soiling system present themselves. If the pastures will take care of the dairy cows until haying is done, there is usually leisure to provide for them after- wards. While haying is in progress, a ration from the newly cut grass may be fed with little extra labor, and it will be relished and well paid for by cows coming in from pastures already beginning to produce less bountifully. Oats. — Following the hay crop, and the first crop of the season's sowing, oats form a valuable supplement to pastur- age during the early part of July. They are relished by all 276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. classes of stock, are nutritious, succulent, ana nave a very beneficial effect on milk production. If peas or vetch are sown with the oats, an increased value is obtained by reason of the larger percentage of pro- tein in the crop and the enrichment of the land in nitrogen, peas and vetch having the same effect as clover. I would recommend for forage purposes the sowing of three pecks to a bushel of vetch per acre on moist land with oats, and a bushel or a bushel and a half of peas on dryer land. The oat crop requires liberal manuring and likes nitroge- nous manures particularly ; but, owing to its growth habits, fresh application of green manure is not likely to prove as beneficial to it as to succeeding crops. Manure should be well rotted for oats, or perhaps, better yet, applied the preceding autumn. This method allows the nitrogen to become available, which is not the case to so great an extent if green manure is used when the seed is sown. Fresh manure should rather be used with crops making a later growth, as, for example, corn. While the latter crop is making its heaviest growth during the last part of sum- mer, nitrification is going on most rapidly, and the greatest possible benefit from the application of stable manure is obtained. Something of a succession may be secured by sowing oats at intervals, but it is not practicable to pro- long the season of feeding this crop very greatly, as other heavier yielding crops may now be secured. Millet. — Among the newer and less familiar forage plants, millet is already recognized as one of growing importance. Of the varieties of millet, the German and Hungarian are perhaps most familiar in this country, although the Japanese varieties are rapidly coming to the front. Through the efforts of Prof. Wm. P. Brooks of the Massachusetts Agri- cultural College, the introducer of the Japanese millets, Massachusetts farmers have already learned much of their value and are proving their merits. While other of these Japanese varieties may be of greater value for special pur- poses, the one that has thus far proved superior as a forage plant is the barn-yard millet (Pamciwi crus-galli). This millet, sown the middle of May in strong, well-drained land, and given liberal treatment, makes a rapid and heavy No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 277 growth, and is ready to feed the latter part of July and the^ early part of August, — three or four weeks earlier than corn can be fed to advantage. At maturity the stalks stand five to seven feet high, and should cut from twelve to eighteen tons per acre of green forage. The stems are not woody as are those of some of the other varieties, but are succulent, tender, and eaten with great relish by cows. As millet is somewhat watery , it may be fed to advantage in conjunction with green clover or hay and a moderate ration of grain. If pastures are large, there is likely to be an abundance of dried June grass, so that the cows will regulate their ration themselves by supplementing their millet feed with what the pasture affords. The treatment for millet is between that for oats and Indian corn. The land should be mellow, in fine tilth, and manured in the fall, or with well-rotted manure in the spring. After harrowing in two pecks to a bushel of seed per acre, it is well to roll the land after seeding, so as to give a hard surface for cutting. The quantity of seed depends somewhat on whether the land is free from weeds or not, land very free from weeds requiring less seed than weedy land. Supplementary manures rich in nitrogen and potash may be substituted for barn-yard manure in part. Cutting should commence as soon as the heads appear and continue so long as the plants are green. Haying this kind of millet is attended with much difficulty, and is to be avoided, if pos- sible. I would not grow more than could be fed green to advantage, unless it is convenient to ensile it, in which case it is entirely satisfactory, though slower and more expensive to handle than corn. Indian Corn. — No forage plant in the corn belt of America can equal Indian corn. Every dairyman is largely dependent upon it for his supply of both coarse forage and concentrates. Not only are the gluten and various corn feeds the cheapest concentrated fodders the milk producer can obtain, but the value of corn fodder fresh, dried or ensiled becomes yearly more apparent. The " cow to the acre " problem comes nearer its solution in corn than in 278 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. -any other crop. The adaptability of soil and climate, the certainty of a crop, the usual heavy production and the ease and economy of culture, all dictate the general cultivation of a good acreage of corn, while the animals fed are all partial to it in nearly every form. Whatever the crop system pursued, whether soiling, pasture, or any hybrid of the two, a liberal provision of corn fodder for the month of its maturity is the best possible practice. The problem for the dairyman to consider is, not whether to grow corn or not, but How much corn can my cows get away with? for, the more corn the farmer grows and feeds the more independent is he of feed markets, and the fuller .his pocket-book at the end of the season. Always calculate to have a full su})ply of corn fodder, from the tirst variety that forms an ear till a week or more after frost has stopped its growth. A succession should be })lanned, so that corn may form the staple fodder as long as possible. Select the earliest varieties that make a passable growth, follow with medium early varieties making a larger growth, and finally finish the season with the largest sort that comes to maturity. The cow's taste is not to be over- looked in the selection, and a decided preference may be observed for the sweet varieties over the flint corns, and especially over dent varieties which have too coarse, woody stalks to feed to the best advantage. Some fallacies in corn culture are prevalent. One of the common ones is that of too thick planting. The maximum feeding value is obtained in corn making a full ear. The ideal planting secures just as many stalks as will produce fully developed ears. If corn is sown so thickly that no ears form, neither the quantity nor quality of forage are increased, and there is a loss of seed. Another common notion that corn in blossom is in its best feeding condition is an error. Corn never improves in feeding value faster than from the silk to the glazing stage. Cows fed upon im- mature fodder do not milk so deeply as when fed upon fod- der with ears fully developed, although they consume much more of the former. Immature fodder has so much water that a cow can hardly eat as much as she needs. The rule No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 279 should be to get corn ripe as fast as possible for feeding, and feed from the ripest to be had. Some interesting facts in corn manuring have lately been developed, among the more important of which is the espe- cial benefit of independent application of potash (muriate of potash) to the crop. The stover and grain both are mate- rially increased in central and western Massachusetts by adding potash to the farm-yard manure applied. Corn, as has been previously observed, is well suited in its growth habits to receive full benefit from fresh manure. The heavi- est growth comes at the season of rapid nitrification. On the one hand, liberal supply of plant food is received ; on the other, waste of fertility is prevented by manuring corn with farm-yard manure. Ensilage is the cheapest winter feed produced upon our farms, and, while advocating a large provision of corn for that purpose, we insist upon its liberal use as a supple- mentary feed in the advanced pasture season. Barley and Peas. — Another trying season for the dairy- man is after the frosts have cut the corn and before cows are put upon winter feed. Pastures are short and feed grows very slowly. The resort of many is to feed oft* mow- ings,— a practice that does not find favor with the most successful. The cost of haying is greatly increased when a large area must be gone over in securing the crop. Fall feeding does not compensate the shrinkage of the succeeding hay crop. Hence at this season a crop not affected by early frosts, growing well in cool weather and palatable to cows, has a peculiar value. Barley and peas, or barley alone, may be sown about the first of August, after haying is done, on old land or land newly plowed, manured with the stable accumulations during the summer, and put in fine tilth so that a good crop of forage may be cut after frost has killed corn. About two bushels of barley and a bushel or a bushel and a half of peas per acre is recommended. This forage, though it does not make a particularly heavy growth, is clear gain. Cows eat it with great relish. It is splendid feed for milk production, and bridges over one of the most difficult seasons. One of the strongest advantages of the 280 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. crop lies in its immunity from frost. I have had barley and peas continue to grow and keep green after hard frosts were of nightly occurrence, and even until the ground froze stiff. Sumtner Silage. — The very decided advantages of sum- mer silage have been lately strongly impressed upon my mind. Unquestionably corn silage is the most economical roughage that the dairyman can feed. Its desirability as a winter fodder has been thoroughly demonstrated, and must be acknowledged by all but the wilfully ignorant. It is only within the last two or three years that the practica- bility of feeding summer silage has been made apparent. The writer is lacking in personal experience with summer silage, although he confesses to having caught the fever, and proposes to build a silo for summer feeding in the near future. The unexceptional testimony of dairymen who have fed silaije during; the summer months is that of great advantage over any other plan. Summer droughts and death and taxes are about equally certain. As Governor Hoard says, we can't escape the last two, " but with good wit we may dodge some of the effects of the former." The soiling system outlined is in compari- son with silage feeding both cumbersome and expensive. More than that, it is the testimony of those who have tried silao^e feedino- durins; the summer months that their cows keep up a uniform flow of milk in spite of trying conditions, and always relish their silage. A western creamery owner gathered som*e facts concern- ing the shrinkage of milk among his dairies during the drought of 1899. He found that in some dairies, where no supplement to the pasture feed was provided, there was a falling oft' of (30 per cent in the milk at the time of the drought ; in dairies where soiling crops had been provided to tide over the season there was a shrinkage of 15 to 40 per cent, but still a shrinkage in every case ; in two or three dairies where an adequate supply of silage was provided and fed during the dry months there was actually no shrink- age at all. Who does not realize that, if there is anything that will keep up the flow of milk during August and September, the dairymen ought to have it? Just the season when milk is No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 281 most valuable, it comes in lightest supply. Yet this diffi- culty seems about to bo overcome by the provision of silage for summer feeding. Forty pounds of silage per day, from July 15 to November 1, means only about 2 tons per cow. A 25-ton silo would be ample for a 10-cow dairy, or a 50-ton for twice the number of cows. What a saving of labor and expense would result from substituting the silo plan for soiling. What a profit from preventing the 60 per cent shrinkage resulting from no such provision. Even 40 per cent of the product of 10 cows for one-third of a year is 400 pounds of butter or 4,000 quarts of milk, reckoned on the basis of 300 pounds of butter per cow per year. Four thou- sand quarts of milk, at 3 cents, to pay for 25 tons of silage, is almost $5 per ton. What better business does the farm aftbrd than silage at $5 per ton ? Fermentations go on very much more rapidly in summer than in cold weather, so that a summer silo must be some- what modified from a winter silo. In order to feed fast enough to prevent deterioration of the product, the surface area must be reduced in summer. About 1 vertical foot a week should be fed, or 2 inches per day. It is the experi- ence of those who have tried it that by feeding as fast as that the silage sufiers no damage from fermentation. That means that the surface area of a silo for summer feedino; should be only about 5 to 7 square feet for each cow fed. Dairymen, consider the question seriously. Can you afibrd to sufier a 40 to 60 per cent shrinkage every summer, or struggle with soiling crops, to only partially prevent this loss ? Can you afibrd to be without a summer silo ? Cow Stables. While perchance this presentation of feeding may com- mend itself at a season when we realize our needs, the time is past for us to remedy present conditions of feed this sum- mer, and it is still early to lay definite plans for next season. The need of preparing winter quarters for dairy stock will soon be felt, and in the course of the next few weeks neces- sary improvements and alterations should be made. We see the necessity of good stable sanitation more clearly than formerly. The past few years have taught Massachusetts 282 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. dairymen an expensive lesson, and one, therefore, not soon to be forgotten. I do not propose to determine whether the State has dealt wisely or not with its cattle. It may have done both, since it has gone from one extreme of cattle inspection to another in a very short time. Those in charge of the cattle interests in Massachusetts have doubtless learned much in the matter. The least that the State can do is to try and teach farmers the needs of the times with regard to maintaining the health of cattle. We often hear of the good health of the cattle in our grandfathers' times. Tuberculosis was not then invented. Ill health among cows was almost unknown, etc. Perhaps the immunity of that generation is partly in imagination and in the forgetting of many hardships during the years that have intervened. Certain it is, in the human family disease was not then less prevalent than now. The non-existence of tuberculosis in cattle fifty years ago seems rather improbable, if we can credit the statements of Oolumella, made nearly two thou- sand years ago. This old Roman describes a disease among cattle called "ulceration of the lungs," and says "that they die not, you must bore a hole in the left ear and insert a root of the lung wort." But, granting that bovine tuberculosis is not "a new thing under the sun," there can be little doubt that our gen- eration has seen far greater loss as a result than has formerly been recorded. This is not because of any radical change in the character of the malady, but rather in a change of the conditions in which cattle are kept. That our cattle are subjected to different conditions from those which formerly obtained no candid observer will deny. The forcing of dairy stock to abnormal production under high pressure has been productive of serious results. Of these conditions, that of feed, which has been charged with so much influence, we will pass over, merely observ- ing that within reasonable limits the feed, provided it is wholesome and palatable, does not have so adverse an effect upon the health as is sometimes supposed. True, over- crowding the cow with rich feed does often seriously impair her health, but far more often this is in conjunction with too close confinement. No. 4. J HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 283 Dairy Cattle need Pure Air. — I have been in stables where in winter weather the air was so warm that a coat was supertliious. The cows were standing huddled together in stalls so low that my head bumped the joists above. The mangers were tightly closed in front, and there were only a few feet between the cows' tails and the side of the building. I computed the air space in one of these stables, and found only 240 cubic feet per cow. If a cow requires only four times as much as a person, this is equiva- lent to shutting a person in a room 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 5 feet high. One must not only sleep in such a room, but spend the entire winter there, eating, drinking and never leaving it. To complete the comparison, we must add to such confinement the drain to the system due to maternal functions, which are very severe in the good dairy cow. Is it any wonder that cows kept in this condition arc alarmingly subject to tuberculosis ? Is it any Avonder that the trouble has rapidly increased ? The wonder is that we have gotten off so easily for so transgressing nature's laws. The remedy for this evil lies in rational stable management. We must give our cows more fresh air and sunlight. We must clean up the filth, disinfect the old stables, provide proper ventilation and put windows into dark stables. The State has learned a lesson from the wholesale slaugh- ter of tuberculous cattle, but there is still need of a carefully planned system of inspection which aims at the improve- ment of stables and seeks to make the conditions in which cattle are kept favorable to overcoming the encroachments of disease. Three things are necessary for a healthy stable : — 1. Cleanliness (filth is the harbor of disease). 2. Pure air (foul air is a menace to health). 3. Sunshine (the best germicide). Care of Milk One of the most important points in successful dairying is neatness and care in the handling of milk. During my study of the creameries in the State I have been struck by the degree of interest which individuals are manifesting in the crusade against slovenliness in the care of milk. The 284 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. management of nearly every creamery is considering some means of securing increased care of the cream brought in by the gatherers. Some of these, by dint of constant hammer- ing away and repeated visits to dairies, have accomplished much in securing a better order of things. Others are dis- couraged by the difficulties offered to the manufacture of good butter from cream carelessly produced. No dairyman who sells his product individually can achieve the highest success if he does not pay great attention to cleanliness in every detail of the handling of milk. The creamery patron must realize that he is serving his own interest as well as that of all members of the association by similar attention to details. Not only do experience and good practice dic- tate especial attention to cleanliness, but recent scientific discoveries have drawn out the strongest reasons for it in the fact that filth is the harbor of all manner of injurious and destructive bacteria. The keeping quality and commer- cial value of nearly all dairy products is to a certain extent determined by the cleanly methods in which they are pro- duced. The need of pasteurization was much emphasized by filthy methods of production, and was at best only a partial remedy for the evil. Good milk, produced in a thoroughly clean manner from healthy cows and kept in a cool and wholesome place, is rarely improved by pasteurization. Quality or Cows. While all dairymen recognize the fact that some cows are better than others, and that good cows are more profitable in the dairy than poor ones, few realize the difference in value between the different grades. Much has been said and written in general terms upon the importance of keeping better cows, but few have at- tempted an estimate of the amount of this advantage. Alvord estimates the value of a cow as equal to that of her annual ])roduct. On this basis, the average value of cows in the United States is set at $30. The average annual product for dairy cows is 3,000 pounds of milk, or about 1,400 quarts; or, stated in another way, 130 pounds of butter and 1,100 quarts of skim-milk. No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 285 At 2 J cents per quart, 1,400 quarts of milk are worth, . . $31 50 At 20 cents per pound, 130 pounds of butter are worth, |26 00 Adding to the above the value of 1,10U quarts skim- milk at ^ cent per quart, 5 50 We get • . . $31 50 On the same basis, a good cow is worth The cost of keeping the average cow in the United States is not far from $30 a year. In Massachusetts both the value of the product and the cost of l^eeping are somewhat in- creased, but the net profits remain about the same. In other words, take the country through, the average cow just about pays her keeping. This state of things reduces the profits of dairying to a very small sum on the average, and finds its defence mainly in the fact that the dairyman has found a home market for his crops at a fair price, when without his cows it might be difficult to dispose of them. It is thus seen that the average cow, producing 1,400 quarts of milk, or 130 pounds of butter per year, will not figure prominently in lifting mortgages from our Massachu- setts farms. It is generally believed, however, that keeping a better grade of cows yields a larger profit. Accepting this as a fact, let us briefly consider the extent to which the value of cows is enhanced by their increased productiveness. Without gainsaying the close relation between the value of a cow and her annual product, as stated by Alvord, I would like to submit another scheme of valuation, based on the net profit which she earns her owner. This basis of value is as follows : a cow must pay for the feed she con- sumes and 6 per cent interest, and 2 per cent taxes on her beef value. Whatever is left to her credit, after paying maintenance, interest and taxes, is profit. This profit in- creases her beef value by the amount on which it will pay interest and depreciation. Six per cent interest is ample, but the depreciation is great in good cows. To prevent loss, sufficient allowance should be made to cover her value in from two to four years. While the average usefulness is more than four years, the risk is so great that it is wise to err on the side of conservatism in estimatino^ values. If we 286 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. take the moderate factor of three years' usefulness, then a cow must pay 331 per cent depreciation on her cost an- nually. Adding this to the interest, we have 40 per cent, in round numbers. Upon this basis a cow is worth the sum above her beef value on which the profits over her keeping will pay 40 per cent. In other words, the value of a cow is two and a half times her annual profit, added to what she is worth for beef. To illustrate the working of this method : An average cow costs $30 for annual maintenance, interest and taxes. Her product is worth $30. She earns no profit, and is worth her beef value, say $25. A better cow costs $35 for annual maintenance, interest and taxes. Her prod- uct is worth $41, of which $6 is profit. Two and one-half times this profit, added to $25, her beef value, is $40, which is the value in this case. No one doubts but that the cow which earns her owner $6 a year profit is worth $40 to him as quickly as the cow which earns no profit is worth $25. This is, however, a very conservative statement. If we apply our basis of valuation to some of the better and rarer cows, we shall be more strongly impressed with the desira- bility of keeping that kind of stock. While the average cow produces only 1,400 quarts of milk a year, or 130 pounds of butter, herds are occasionally met with in which the annual product is 3,000 quarts of milk, or 300 pounds of butter. The cost of feeding in such herds is somewhat more, and very accurate accounts place it at about $50 per cow. Three thousand quarts of milk at 2\ cents is worth $67.50, making a profit of $17.50. Adding two and one- half times this profit to the l)eef value, we shall get $68.75 as the dairy value of such cows. The writer has found even better herds than this, — herds that would average 4,000 quarts of milk, in which the best individual gave 5,000 quarts or more. A 5,000 quart cow yields a product worth $112.50. If her keeping costs $75, the profit amounts to $37.50, and on the foregoing l)asis her value is $118.75. There is no doubt but that these high values for the best cows are real values. The profits re- ceived easily justify the payment of such sums for such cows. More than that, if such cows continue their produc- tion for more than three years, there is a very handsome No. 4.] HINTS FOR DAIRYMEN. 287 surplus made which is utterly impossible with ordinary animals. Knoiv what your Cows are doing. — The difficulty of selecting and maintaining a herd of the best dairy cows lies in the farmers' imperfect knowledge of what each cow is doing. In a general way farmers think they know which is their best cow or which is their poorest, and they have per- haps a fairly accurate idea of the relative excellence of indi- viduals in the herd. Very rarely, however, is a dairyman well informed on the profit and loss phase of his business. I would strongly urge the recording of each cow's product, by weighing daily, or at regular intervals, the milk, supplementing this informa- tion by occasional Babcock tests, and from this data com- puting the annual product both in pounds of milk and in pounds of fat. Many surprises would come to the dairyman if such records were kept. The cow that started in so big and then went dry four months could be justly compared with the one that maintained a moderate flow throughout the season. It might often be found that neither the big-gest milker nor the richest cow gave the largest yield of fat in a year. Some favorites might be found lacking, while some plain, common, everyday cows might prove pillars of their owners' credit. Accurate records of product and cost for each cow are valuable and profitable in many wa^^s. 1. They enable us to weed out the herd, selling the un- profitable members, retaining those that pay dividends and replacing those sold with money-makers. In the absence of such records it is impossible to do this with certainty. 2. They serve as a tab on the milkers. Where daily weighings are recorded, any variation is noticed and traced to its cause. If a cow is not milked clean the fact is dis- covered. Poor work is in this way discouraged. A larger product will be secured, and the danger of drying ofl* from imperfect milking will be lessened. 3. Disorders in cows are more quickly discovered and checked. If a cow goes oft' her feed, her daily record gives the first indication, and at that time serious loss can gener- ally be averted ; while, if knowledge is delayed until ob- tained in other ways, serious results are often experienced. 288 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 4. It stimulates both owner and help to increase the product to its limit, to do better this year than was done last year, and it educates both alike in matters of dairy economy. 5. It induces business methods in dealing with farms and dairies, — places where business methods have been so much ignored. This is the rock over which many farmers break. One might almost say that the greatest drawback to success in all branches of farming is lack of business methods, i.e., regular balancing of accounts with various farm operations. If commercial houses or manufacturers or builders were as negligent about the record of receipts and expenses or profit and loss in their various transactions as are farmers, their better-informed competitors would soon drive them to the wall. Even the very small leaks in fuel, postage and other items of expense are most carefully studied and guarded against. Co-operation. Another great drawback to successful dairying is the lack of confidence between producers. I have not the time or space to discuss its wherefore, but must content myself with the bold statement of facts. Farmers will not work together. In all other lines of business co-operation is the rule of the hour, and in it do men find promise of profit. Railroads are fast consolidating, and manufacturers of every sort of product are forming trusts. All lines of business are securing new combines almost daily, and in them do men find relief from the heat of competition. Farmers alone combat each other and play into the hands of their opponents. I have known creamery after creamery ruined because its patrons would not support it. Farmers on every hand sign ironclad contracts with powerful combines, but with each other the most tentative agreements fail to be effective. The proverbial independence of the farmer ap- pears to be his own worst enemy. No. 4.] THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 289 THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE IN MASSACHUSETTS. BY A. H. KIKKLAND, M.S. In many localities in Massachusetts the imported elm-leaf beetle* has proved a pest of the first rank, and, while but a recent accession to our insect fauna, apparently has come to stay. Since 1895 its depredations in the Connecticut valley have given it considerable local notoriety, and last year at Groton it duplicated the damage caused at Springfield and Northampton. That this insect will prove a serious pest in the near future in many of our larger cities seems the only conclusion to be drawn from the experience of other States, notably New York and Connecticut. It attacks, and, if neglected, kills, our most valuable species of shade tree, and is slowly but surely spreading over the State. In the present paper the writer aims to set forth the essential facts concerning the in- sect, in order to aid citizens, and more especially park ofii- cials, in detecting and combating it wherever it may occur. A European Insect. Like many of our most dangerous insect pests, the elm- leaf beetle is an importation from Europe. Dr. E. P. Felt, State entomologist of New York, who has made quite an ex- tensive study of the literature on this insect, is authority for the statement that it is chiefly injurious in the southern por- tions of France and Germany and in Austria and Italy, al- though it is generally distributed over a large part of Europe. The first record of damage by this insect in America is that given by Harris, who states that in 1838 and 1839 it stri[)ped the elms in Baltimore, Md., and vicinity. It is generally conceded that the beetle was introduced in that locality some * Galerucella luteola Muller. 290 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. years previous through the importation of European elms. Since that date the beetle has gradually spread southward to North Carolina, westward over the Alleghany Mountains into West Virginia, and northward to the New England States, causing severe damage, particularly to city elms. Occurrence in Massachusetts. The elm-leaf beetle appears to have entered Massachusetts from the south several years ago, and has gradually spread northward along the Connecticut and Housatonic rivers. A lateral diffusion of the insect is now taking place in the val- leys of the streams contributing to these rivers, and probably along the main lines of our railroads. In Berkshire County severe injury has been caused by the insect at Sheffield and Great Barrinoton. Mr. H. L. Frost informs me that the beetles are fewer in number and the damage much less in extent at Stockbridge and Lenox, although these towns are •more or less infested. The damage to the elms at Spring- field has been previously mentioned. Here the insects were injuriously abundant in 1895, their depredations continuing to the present time. In the same year Dr. L. O. Howard found the beetle abundant at Holyoke and Northampton, and in smaller numbers at Miller's Falls. Prof. C. H. Fernald found it at Amherst in 1895. At the present writing the beetle has spread westward along the Westfield River to West Springfield and Westfield, and along the Mill River to Williamsburg, in each of which towns it was locally injurious in 1898. In the present year outbreaks of the insect have developed at Longmeadow and at Chicopee. Previous to 1898 eastern Massachusetts escaped damage by the elm-leaf beetle. So far as known to the writer, the only specimens of the insect taken in this region before 1898 were the ones found by Prof. F. M. Webster "north of Salem" in 1895, by Frank A. Bates at Winthrop in 1896, and by the writer at Plymouth in the latter year. That the insect has not been seriously injurious in Boston and its older suburbs has been a matter hard to understand, for the many compact plantings of English elms in this region offer ideal conditions for the insect's development, while the numerous No. 4.] THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 291 railroads terminating here afford ready means for its trans- portation. It seems, however, that we are not always to remain free from injury by this pest, for in 1898 a severe outbreak occurred at Groton, only thirty miles to the north- west of Boston ; while the insect was also abundant, though in less numbers, at Ayer, on the main line of the Fitchburg Railroad. During the present season the writer has taken the beetles at Maiden, while Mr. A. F. Burgess found a number of the larvae at Newton, near Brookline, on trees bordering the Newton boulevard. It will be surprising, indeed, if the insect does not appear in injurious numbers in Boston and vicinity in the course of a few years.* Life History. The mature beetles pass the winter in various sheltered places, under clapboards, in buildings, etc., in some cases crawling into houses in such great numbers as to cause much annoyance. In this region they emerge from the first to the middle of May, and feed greedily upon the elm, eating in- numerable shot-holes in unfolding leaves. Egg-laying com- mences in a few days and extends over several weeks. Of two female beetles observed by Dr. Felt, one deposited four hundred and thirty-one eggs in twenty-seven days, the other six hundred and twenty-three eggs in twenty-eight days. The eggs are spindle-shaped, orange-yellow in color, and are laid in irregular rows on the under side of the leaves, in much the same manner as the eggs of the potato beetle, an allied insect. The young larvae emerge in about one week (from late in May to the middle of June), and attack tha under surface of the leaves, gnawing away the epidermis and causing the leaves to turn brown. From two to three weeks are required for the completion of the larval stage, at the end of which period they are about one-half an inch in length, of a yellowish color, with a dark-brown or black stripe on either side. They then descend to the rough bark of the tree or to the ground and transform to pupse. From five to ten days are spent in the pupal stage, varying according to the tem- perature, when the mature beetles emerge, feed, pair and lay * Since the above was written the elm-leaf beetle has caused serious damage at Worcester, Hudson, Auburndale, Framingham, Lawrence, Salem and Quincy. 292 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. eggs for a second brood, which matures in the late summer. The beetle is from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch in length, pale yellow, with a black stripe on the outer part of each wing-cover. I have not been able to observe the trans- formations of the second brood, but there can be no doubt that there is such a brood in this State, since on July 1 of the present year pupfe were found at Springfield, and at the present writing, July 8, many beetles are emerging. Fig. 1. Different stages of tbe elm-leaf beetle: cr, eggs; h, larvae; c, adult; c, eggs enlarged; /, sculpture of eggs; g^, larva enlarged; A, side view of greatly en- larged segment of larva; ?, dorsal view of same; ,;, pupa enlarged; /-, beetle enlarged; ;, portion of wing-cover of beetle greatly enlargea. From Rilej', report United States Department Agriculture, 1883. Food Plants. This insect feeds upon both the European and the Ameri- can elm, naturally preferring the former. In many cases, notably at Northampton, where European elms stand in close proximity to American elms, the former are badly in- jured, while the latter arc practically unharmed. Where the European elm is not available, however, the American species No. 4.] THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 293 is readily attacked and severely injured. At Groton, last summer, num])ers of large American elms were so severely injured that they were as brown as if scorched by fire. At Springfield several American elms that were stripped three years in succession are now in a dying condition. Dr. Felt states that the Scotch elm also suffers seriously from the attacks of this insect. Nature of the Dainage. — The first injury to the tree is caused by the attack of beetles on the leaves. Later the larvse destroy the epidermis, the leaves turn brown, die and fall, and the tree is left bare until a second crop of leaves is thrown out. Frequently these leaves are in turn destroyed by the later brood of larvae. The effect upon the tree is shown ])y the gradual death of the smaller branches, and of the entire tree in cases of severe and continued stripping. City trees, through ignorant or careless treatment, commonly suffer from lack of food and water supply, due to the cut- ting off of roots to make room for curbinos and water and gas mains. Such trees have but little reserve vitality, and are easy victims to damage by the beetle. The weakened condition of trees defoliated by the elm-leaf beetle invites or favors attack by other insects, notably borers, bark beetles and the elm-bark louse. Natural Enemies. Several species of predaceous beetles are known to attack this insect. In Massachusetts two species of soldier bugs {Podisus serieventins and P. placidus) are its most common enemies. These beneficial little bugs frequent the infested trees and prey upon the larva3 and pupse.* Remedies. In combating the elm-leaf beetle the chief reliance should be placed upon the use of arsenical insecticides, and of these the most satisfactory is arsenate of lead, which should be used at the rate of five to ten pounds (actual arsenate of lead) to one hundred and fifty gallons of water. Its prepa- ration and application are discussed on another page. * At Squantum, July 12, a third species of predaceous bug (Siiretrus a7ichorago) was found feeding upon the larvae of the elra-leaf beetle. 294 BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The first spraying should be in May or early in June, while the beetles are feeding. This treatment, as has been shown by Mr. C. L. Marlatt, is very efficacious, since, by destroy- ing the mature beetles, egg-laying and the consequent de- velopment of larva3 are prevented. Later, when the larvae have appeared and the main body of the foliage has de- veloped, a second application should be made. This, if thorough, may suffice for the season, although in some cases a third spraying may be necessary for the second brood. In all cases the insecticide should be used in liberal quantities. With rough-barked trees many of the larvae pupate in the crevices on the trunk and even far up in the tree, hence scraping the bark is advisable. This will cause the larva? to descend to the ground to pupate, where they will be found massed in great numbers at the base of the trees, under or along the bottom rails of fences near by, and in other con- venient spots. In this stage they may be destroyed by kerosene emulsion applied to the trunks and to the ground beneath the trees. Spraying Outfits. — For use in parks or cities, where large numbers of trees are to be sprayed, a power spraying outfit will be found the most satisfactory. This consists of a small engine with suitable pump, mounted on a substantial one-horse truck, which also carries the spraying tank and supplies. There are several styles of small engines suitable for this purpose, but the writer is of the opinion that gaso- line engines are the most economical, as well as being cleaner and more easily attended. City Forester Gale of Spring- field informs me that the gasoline engine used by him in spraying is operated at a cost for fuel of one cent per hour. The pump should supply at least two lines of hose, and should have a release valve or " blow-off" to save strain on lines of hose temporarily out of use. The tank should be cylindrical with adjustable hoops, so that shrinking of the staves may be taken up. Square or rectangular tanks are much less durable than cylindrical ones. Several large hand outfits may be substituted for a power sprayer, and when this is desirable an outfit similar to those used by the gypsy moth committee is recommended. This is composed of a one-hundred-gallon tank, mounted on a No. 4. J THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 295 two-wheeled truck aud containing a powerful pump placed within the tank (fig. 2). A smaller spraying outfit may he prepared by mounting a suitable pump on a barrel or cask, the whole being fastened in a wagon or cart. Among other pumps used for this pur- pose the " Deming" pump is perhaps as satisfactory as any. For use in spraying there is nothing better than the one- quarter-inch hose with improved couplings (fig. 3), in- FiG. 2. Spraying outfit used in operations against the gypsy moth. From Forbush, report Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, 1898. vented by Mr. E. C. Ware of the gypsy moth force. It is light, strong, and the couplings cannot be forced off. No feature of spraying operations is more exasperating or ex- pensive than the frequent delays caused by the loosening and leaking of couplings. With the small hose and coup- lings figured herewith these factors are eliminated. For spray-poles use a one-quarter-inch gas pipe, ten feet long, encased in wood, with a coupling at one end for the hose and at the other for the nozzle. 296 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. In spraying operations against the elm-leaf beetle the end to be desired is the thorough covering of the foliage, particu- larly the under surface, with a mist-like spray. For this reason nozzles that throw a stream are undesirable, as well as being wasteful of the spraying mixture. In our work against the g3'psy moth we have found the four-way modified cyclone nozzle (fig. 4) to give the most satisfactory spray. Other good nozzles are the vermorel and cyclone. Fig. 3. One-quarter-inch hose with improved couplings. From Forbush, report Massa- chusetts Board of Agriculture, 1898. It is not necessary to use glucose to cause arsenate of lead to adhere to the foliage. Experiments made under the direction of the gypsy moth committee have shown that no substantial gain is made by the use of glucose, a result that has been confirmed by the independent investigations of City Forester Gale at Springfield. Fig. 4. Improved four-vcay nozzle. From Forbush, report Massachusetts Board of Agri- culture, 1898. Arsenate of Lead. — This insecticide is now generally used against the elm-leaf beetle, and possesses the merits of being harmless to the foliage and of adhering to it in an effective condition for a long period. It is prepared by mix- ing a solution of arsenate of soda with a solution of acetate or nitrate of lead, when arsenate of lead is formed as a curdy white precipitate. The following table, adapted from Smith,* * For an excellent and comprehensive treatise on the preparation of arsenate of lead, see article by F. J. Smith in report of Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, 1897, pages 357-369. No. 4„] THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 297 shows the necessary amounts of the ingredients where acetate of lead is used : — Arsenate of Lead desired. Arsenate of Soda (65 Per Cent). White Acetate of Lead. Lbs. Lbs. Oz. Lbs. Oz. 1 - 9^ 1 5 3 1 IH 3 15 5 1 13i 6 9 10 6 10| 13 2 Using nitrate of lead, the following amounts of ingredients are necessary : — Arsenate of Lead desired. Arsenate of Soda (65 Per Cent). Nitrate of Lead. Lbs. Lbs. Oz. Lbs. Oz 1 - 10| 1 4^ 3 2 - 3 13^ 5 3 H 6 6^ 10 6 m 12 13 The use of fifty per cent arsenate of soda is not recom- mended when the sixty-five per cent can be purchased at a fair price, since the former product is generally adulterated with common salt. Where large quantities of arsenate of lead are to he prepared it will be advisable to buy as high grade commercial arsenate of soda as possible, and to have a chemist determine the amount of acetate or nitrate of lead required for use with it. The quantity of arsenate of lead to be used as a standard charge for the spraying tank having been decided upon, the ingredients necessary to make this quantity are determined. It will be desirable to make two ballasts, equal in weight respectively to that of the arsenate of soda and the acetate or nitrate of lead, in each case plus the weight of the scoop on the balance scales used. These ballasts may be made of 298 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. glass jars filled with shot, and by their use the ingredients may be accurately weighed, when they should be placed in stout paper bags, each package of arsenate of soda being tied inside of the corresponding package of the lead salt. In this way compact, convenient packages of the insecticide may be rapidly prepared. When desired for use, the arsenate of soda should be dissolved in a wooden tub, the acetate of lead being dissolved in a separate tub. The two solutions are then poured into the spraying tank, and the arsenate of lead is ready for use. The ingredients should never be dissolved in metallic vessels. It is a good plan to first test the formula used by mixing a trial lot of arsenate of lead and allowing it to settle in the mixing tub. A few drops of chromate of potash solution added to the clear liquid which separates above the arsenate of lead should cause the formation of a yellow precipitate. This indicates that an excess of soluble lead is present, and consequently that all the soluble arsenic has been neutralized. A firm of manufacturing chemists, located at Boston, has this year placed upon the market an excellent brand of ar- senate of lead in paste form, thus saving the delay incident to the preparation of the insecticide. Kerosene Emulsion. — This insecticide is prepared by dis- solving one-fourth pound hard soap in two quarts hot water, and adding to the soapsuds thus formed one gallon kerosene oil. The whole is stirred or churned until cool, when a white, creamy emulsion is formed. This emulsion should be diluted with nine parts of water. Kerosene emulsion kills by contact, and is a valuable agent for killing the larva3 and pupai of the elm-leaf beetle clustered in the bark or in masses on the ground under the infested trees. Useless Measures. In cases of extensive injury by the elm-leaf beetle, indi- viduals often spend in useless channels a large amount of energy which intelligently applied would be productive of good results. Among the more common mistakes arc : — Tar Bands. — These serve to prevent damage by the canker worm by intercepting the wingless female moth on her way up the tree to deposit eggs. The female elm-leaf No. 4.] THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 299 beetle flies iuto the tree, hence these bands are valueless against this insect. Cotton Bands. — The considerations mentioned above apply to cotton bands. Sulphur Plugs. — Nothing better illustrates the credulity of mankind than that sons of Belial still find victims who are willing to pay for the plugging of trees with sulphur to ward off insect damage. It is needless to say that this treatment is a swindle pure and simple, and that money spent for this purpose is but charity given to unworthy objects. Kerosene. — Valuable elms are frequently killed by the use of pure kerosene on the trunks as a means of destroying the pupae. The oil accumulates at the base of the tree, and, where used in quantities, kills the roots. By substituting kerosene emulsion for kerosene all danger will be avoided. Street Sweepings. — The sweeping up and carting away of the masses of pupae and larvae along with the other rub- bish of the streets is not an uncommon sight in infested cities. Li a case observed by the writer in July, 1898, quarts of the pupae were carefully swept up in a public square and carted to the city dump. In all such cases the sweepings should be burned, or treated with crude petroleum or kerosene emulsion. General Considerations. Outbreaks of the elm-leaf beetle are best dealt with by municipalities through the city forester, the park or the street department. When feeding upon park and street trees, the pest attacks the common property of the citizens, and all may properly share in the expense of combating it. With suitable apparatus and insecticides, and competent men to make use of them, the elm-leaf beetle can be kept under control and the infested trees preserved from serious injury. The general plan adopted by the city of Springfield is a most excellent one. Liberal appropriations are made by the city, to be expended under the direction of the city forester, a man of exceptional fitness for the place. Two power and a number of smaller hand spraying outfits have been provided, also a large stock of ingredients for making arsenate of lead. A suitable force of men is engaged, and spraying operations 300 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. are begun as soon as the beetles bepfin to feed and lay in the spring. Spraying is continued until into July, or as long as injury by the larvae continues. Infested trees on private estates are sprayed by the city's employees, and the expense charged to the owner. By this method the damage by the beetle is reduced to a minimum and the preservation of the elms secured. A similar method on a somewhat smaller scale is followed at Northampton, with most excellent results. Damage by the elm-leaf beetle emphasizes the desirability of planting a variety of trees in parks and along streets, in order to escape those insects which are confined to a few food plants. Large numbers of a single species of tree, planted thickly, give the insects attacking that species an excellent opportunity to multiply. By planting a great variety of trees, taking care that only small numbers of a single species are placed near together, a large amount of future damage by insects may be prevented. In every case the European elm should be planted sparingly, if at all. No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 301 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF BARNYARD MANURE. BY CHAS. WELLINGTON, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, MASSACHU- SETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. In these latter days of human progress every department of activity has become complex, and is with every day be- coming more so. That most important and fundamental of all callings, /arm/n^, offers no exception here. Of all the factors that enter into his business, over which he has control, barnyard manure is at once the most valuable and the most abused by the farmer. It is the most valuable, because, although a waste product of all general and stock farming, it nevertheless contains the three most costly elements of plant food (nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid), and, what is more important, it is the only entire all-round fertil- izer known. It is the most abused, because, the farmer, either knowingly or unknowingly, handles it wastefully, and largely allows it to become valueless before reaching the growing crop. Professor Roberts allows $250, at least, as the value of the manure for seven months on a small farm with four horses, twenty cows, fifty sheep and ten pigs. By the pres- ent wasteful management, one-third of this, $83.33, is on the average lost to the farmer. The annual value of this material for the United States is placed at $2,071,400,000. One-third, or $690,466,666, is lost annually to the farmers of this country. Could any other national business be car- ried on with such a loss and be made to pay ? This is only one of the much-talked-of " ivastes of the fanji," and yet this alone furnishes abundant proof that farming does pay. For that large number of so-called "farmers" ivho knowingly waste their barnyard manure there is positively no help. They also waste at every point ; they are not business men, and therefore they are not farmers. For true farmersrwho 302 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub Doc. are at their business for what there is in it, and for all that hard, persistent thinking and careful practice can make it, who unknowingly waste barnyard manure, here is an oppor- tunity to make a saving equal to the difference between success and failure ; for that, frequently, equals the value of the manure wasted. This is to be secured by following the practice approved by the results of hundreds of experi- ments made by careful workers. In the succeeding pages these results are summarized. We will consider, briefly : — I. What barnyard manure is made of. II. How it compares with other manures. III. How to make it. IV. How to use it. I. — What Barnyard Manure is made of. Barnyard manure consists of the dung and urine of horses, cows, pigs, sheep and winged animals, sometimes of human beings, and "litter" mixed in all imaginable proportions with more or less of "fixers "and preservatives. The do- mestic animals feed chiefly on vegetable material. This is taken partly from the field direct, in the form of grain, hay, straw, roots, etc., and partly as by-products from various factories, like bran, gluten meal, oil cakes, brewers' grains, pomace, etc. When any of this material is fed, about one- half of its organic portion, containing the nitrogen, is di- gested, and serves as food for the animal. It is eventually either dissipated into the air through the breath, in the form of carbonic acid gas and water, or is deposited as muscle and fat, hair, wool or milk, or is transformed into work in the case of draught animals. The other half, the undigested portion, goes through the organism, and, while most of it falls as dung, a considerable portion of the nitrogen passes through the kidneys into the urine. The mineral or ash con- stituents of the food, including potash and j^hosjjhoric acid, also go partly into the digested portion, partly into the dung and partly into the urine. The dung and urine of work animals contains all of the nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid taken in the food ; while in young, fattening or milk animals, portions of these go into bone, flesh and milk. No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 303 This mixture of dung and urine is collected in tanks for several months in some countries, as, for example, in Hol- land and Switzerland, without further admixture. It is then called Guile. It undergoes a peculiar fermentation, and is spread as a liquid over the fields. In most countries, how- ever, as with us, the better way is followed of using litter, for the double purpose of making confined animals clean and comfortable and of absorbing the liquid portion. This litter consists of almost any light, dry, waste material, such as straw, leaves, sawdust, land plaster or dry earth. Dung and Urine. — The value of these depends on the food, age, breed, condition and work of the animal. The richer the food, the richer the excreta ; the older the animal, the richer the excreta. A working animal will yield more value in excreta than one which is fattening. Dung. — This consists of the undigested and undissolved portion of the food. It is much poorer in plant food than the U7'i7ie, which has more manurial value, and should be most carefully saved and used. It consists of substances which have been digested, and which are therefore very quickly assimilated by plants. The following table (from Wolff") shows the percentages of nitrogen in the original food which go into the dung and urine of the respective animals : — Horse. Sheep. Ox. Cow. Average. Dung (per cent), . Urine (per cent) , . 32.4 60.7 46.7 42.3 33.9 64.8 47.5 31.0 40.1 47.2 Phosphoric acid is practically w^anting in horse and cow urine ; sheep urine has somewhat more. The largest amount is in pig urine, but even there it is present only in traces. Sheep urine is the most valuable, next comes horse urine, then cow urine, and last of all pig urine, counting all the elements together. Litter. — The qualities which should be looked for in a good litter are : — 304 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 1. A conservative action on the fermentino: dung: and urine. 2. Rapidity of disintegration. 8. A high water absorbing and retaining power. 4. Cleanliness. 5. Relatively high contents of nitrogen, potash and phos- phoric acid. 6. Low market value. The following list contains most of the materials commonly used, and, as to the above qualities 1, 2, 3 and 5, it gives them in the order of their values, beginning with peat moss, the highest in value : — Peat moss. Peat. Di"y loam. Dry muck. Summer rye straw, Oat straw. Winter rye straw. Barley straw. Wheat straw. Sawdust. Dry leaves. The reason for giving preference to peat moss and the three following materials is because they possess the first quality in the highest degree. This will be considered fur- ther under the head of "How to make Ijarnyard manure." But when cleanliness is considered, the straws rank first, and peat, muck and loam come last. Sawdust and leaves decompose very slowly, and leaves especially have but little nitrogen, potash or phosphoric acid left in them. Unfortu- nately, all the good qualities are not possessed by any one material. Peat, etc., have the highest conservative power, but they are not cleanly. The clean straws, however, are the poorest in conservative power, because they support the bacteria which do harm. (See " How to make barnyard manure.") Although high percentages of nitrogen, potash and phos- phoric acid are valuable in litter, the best of these materials contain only small amounts, and this quality is outranked by those placed before it in the above list in giving value to barnyard manure. '■'■ Fixers J' — When manure is stored at any depth over a few inches, it ferments, and large quantities of the most No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 305 valuable nitrogen become soluble and volatile in the form of ammonia, which is a gas. This gas is well known as "harts- horn," and is easily recognized by its strong odor. It forms very rapidly in the presence of a limited amount of moisture and a somewhat elevated temperature. Urine is its principal source, and next to that comes horse dung. It is very important that all this gaseous form of nitrogen be saved, and whenever its odor is detected, means should immediately be taken to "fix" or absorb it. No space con- taining manure should be allowed to smell of ammonia. Substances used for this purpose are : — Hydrochloric acid, which fumes strongly. Sulphuric acid, which does not fume, but corrodes every- thing it touches, e.g., the hoofs of horses and cattle. Neither of the above should be employed. Green copperas is good, but it is also slightly corrosive, and often injurious to crops. Gypsum or land plaster is excellent. Sulfate of magnesia is the same. It sometimes combines with and holds the soluble phosphoric acid. These materials are sprinkled daily over the floor and manure. Preservatives. — While the foregoing substances retain the ammonia, they do not prevent fermentation. Sometimes a farmer wishes to accomplish both of these ends. The fol- lowing substances, when mixed with the manure, act in this double way : — Sulfate of magnesia, or kieserite. Double sulfate of potash and magnesia. Carnallite and kainite, containing chloride of potash, salt, sulfate of magnesia and chloride of magnesia. When these are used, account is taken of the addition of potash to the manure. Charcoal and peat are also good fixers, and to an extent preservatives. The finished manure from difierent animals shows very different qualities : — Horse maiiure is the most uniform of all, because the horse's food is the most uniform, and generally of the same kind. It is a rich manure, and ferments quickly, producing 306 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. much heat. It is known as a hot manure. There are 9.9 pounds of dry excrement, with .26 pound of nitrogen, pro- duced daily by each animal. From 4 to 6 pounds of straw are used daily. 8heep manure is, weight for weight, the most valuable of all. It contains more nitrogen and phosphoric acid, but less potash, than horse manure. It does not decompose so read- ily, and is next to horse manure as a heater. There is .97 pound of dry matter, having .04 pound of nitrogen, pro- duced daily per animal. Three-fifths of a pound of litter is used daily. Pig 7nanure is generally rich, does not develop much heat, and is called cold. It should always be mixed with other manure. There are 1.5 pounds of dry matter, with .05 pound of nitrogen, produced daily per animal. From 4 to 8 pounds of straw daily per animal are recommended. Cow manure is very much less constant in composition than that of the horse. It decomposes slowly, with the evolution of little heat. It is the poorest in plant food of any farm manure. There are 9.92 pounds of dry matter, having .26 pound of nitrogen, produced daily per animal. From 6 to 10 pounds of straw daily per animal are used. Poultry manure resembles guano in composition, but is less valuable. Its nitrogen is in a very assimilable form. It ferments rapidly. Night soil is of high value, if immediately and regularly composted, otherwise it loses its good qualities. The shaded lines on the plate opposite show the relative amounts of the elements of plant food in several of these products. II. — How Barnyard Manure compares with Other Manures. In judging the value of any manure or " fertilizer," * six points must be borne in mind, namely : the percentages of nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid and lime; fifth, the avail- abilities of each ; and, sixth, the mechanical effect which the manure has on the soil. With reference to these, let us * In this paper, " manure " and " fertilizer " mean the same thing. No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 307 examine the following table, which classifies the principal kinds of manures : — Entire, Barnyard manure Other wastes, Composts, r Manures, . < Partial, Mixed, Concentrated, . Nitrogen, Potash, Phosphoric acid, Lime, Oil cake. Malt germs. Wash waters. Sewage, etc. Various. Human excrements. Guano. Various ashes. Nitrate of soda. Sulfate of ammonia. Ground meat. Ground tish, etc. Muriate of potash. Sulfate of potash, etc. Raw phosphates. Superphosphates. Various lime wastes. While many valuable manurial substances are mentioned in the column at the right, ouly the first, barnyard manure, contains all the elements of fertility, and at the same time the power to improve the soil mechanically. This is why it is called the " entire " manure. Barnyard manure deserves such a name more than any other manure, but farmers are often sadlj^ misled by such a designation ; for it is supposed that, if this " entire" manure is applied to the fields, no other manuring can be necessary. This designation means simply that every one of the require- ments of a manure is found in barnyard manure, to a certain degree. But this degree is unfortunately very small except in one particular. It ])rings into the soil a large quantity of organic matter, which forms humus. This increases the power of the soil to attract and retain moisture, makes it more porous, promoting aeration and fermentation and the bringing of all plant food into forms available for the crops. For clayey or heavy soils it is of greatest value, and of least on light and porous soils. Herein lies the chief value of barnyard manure. The analysis of a good half-rotted barnyard manure gives : — ao8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Per Cent. Pounds per Ton. Nitrogen, Potash, Phosphoric acid, .... .606 .672 .315 12.12 13.44 6.30 That is to say, an application of 2,000 pounds of barnyard manure brings into the soil practically only 12 pounds of nitrogen, 13.40 of potash and 6.3 phosphoric acid, — very small amounts. An average cropping is found to remove from one acre of land, in one year, 50.5 pounds nitrogen, 41.6 pounds potash, 19.1 pounds phosphoric acid. To return these amounts to the land would require 8,333 pounds of barnyard manure for the nitrogen, 6,332 pounds of barnyard manure for the potash, 6,064 pounds of barnyard manure for the phosphoric acid. These figures show that barnyard manure contains too little nitrogen in proportion to its potash and phosphoric acid, and this has been proven over and over again. Of all plant food, the soil lacks and needs most nitrogen. As to the proportion of potash and phosphoric acid, they are shown by the last two weights given to be replaced in the soil by nearly the same weight of barnyard manure. This might suit in some soils, but in very many it would not. In England they find this proportional amount of phosphoric acid too little, while in Massachusetts the pro- portion of potash is too little. Barnyard manure excels, therefore : — 1. Because it brings into the land a large amount of the much-needed humus. 2. Because it contains some of every kind of plant food. Nothing can take the place of barnyard manure. It is dejicient : — 1. In all the three costly elements of plant food. 2. Especially in nitrogen. 3. For Massachusetts, in potash. It must therefore be re-enforced by all three elements, especially by nitrogen and potash. No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 309 III, — How TO MAKE Barnyard Manure. Barnyard manure should be made with reference to the preceding and the following statements. It should be made under cover, to prevent the addition of an excess of rain water. It should be made in a room with water-tiffht floor and sides, in order to prevent drainage, the drainings being the most valuable part. It should not be stored under or over stock, because of its unhealthy gases. Apparently the most economical arrangement which meets these conditions is a room placed in the rear of a horse or cow stable, running parallel to the latter and separated from it by a tight wall provided with slide windows, through which the manure may be thrown from the manure trough behind the animals. This room would then probably be long enough, and just wide enough to hold the accumulations of the season. A better, though more expensive way, is to pro- vide a square or round room, to which the barnyard manure may be carried in a wheel-barrow or cart. One of the litters before mentioned should be provided daily, the amount to be used being calculated according to the amount of liquid present. With horses, allowing 61 pounds of dry dung and 22| pounds (about 3 gallons) of urine per day and per animal, the proper amount of straw would be from 4 to 6 pounds daily. This would give from b\ to 5^ tons per horse, annually. With cows, the Germans calculate the dry substance in the food, and take litter equal to one-third of that weight. A somewhat extended practice is to shake out the clean straw from the horse manure in the morning, allow it t6 dry in the open air and then use it over again. This allows of making a more comfortable bed for the animals without admixing an excess of litter. If prop- erly done, the method is not a bad one, but if it increases the evaporation of fermented urine, it should not be followed. The floor should be sprinkled daily with a very thin coat of one of the fixers, land plaster being one of the best. If it is desired to hinder fermentation, a preservative may be sprinkled on the manure pile daily. As has been seen, the manures from difierent animals difier considerably in their qualities. For special purposes 310 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. it is often advisable to keep these apart. If a "hot" ma- nure for forcing is desired, then horse manure should be made alone, or, at the most, mixed only with sheep manure. Poultry manure acts quickly, its constituents, especially the nitrogen, being in a very assimilable form. Fixers should be spread in the poultry yard, and the material mixed with peat or muck. This gives a very valuable product for track. Manure for general purposes is best when made of an in- timate mixture of the dung and the urine from all the ani- mals. Careful mixing when the manure is thrown onto the pile is of great importance. It aids in preventing ' ' tire-fang " in the hot horse dung, and promotes fermentation in the cold varieties. Leaching should be prevented as much as pos- sible. If it occurs, and it generally does, the leached liquor should be thrown onto the heap as evenly as possible, by means of a scoop or a pump with a long adjustable spout. This precaution is not merely to save the liquor, but also to promote proper fermentation. In case of a large proportion of hot horse manure, this liquor may not be sufficient to maintain a regular fermenta- tion. The manure may *' tire-fang" and smoke. In that case it will be necessary to sprinkle with water from day to day until such action ceases. This wetting, whether with the teachings or with water, should be done with the most possible regularity. After the manure is placed on the pile, it should not be disturbed, but it should be stamped and packed away from the air. These steps are necessary to prevent the loss of potash and phosphoric acid, and espe- cially of nitrogen, both by the formation and evaporation of ammonia and the separation and escape of nitrogen gas itself. As the making of barnyard manure is principally a matter of fermentation, special study should be given to this com- bination of changes. When a pile of manure lies for months without disturbance, it grows smaller and smaller; it is comparatively dry ; the straw^ has disappeared and become " humus; " the whole mixture is more uniform in color and character, — it is half rotted. Then, after a few more months, the bulk has grown very much smaller, and a black, moist, slimy, homogenous mass results ; the manure is well rotted. Chemists have long known in a general way what changes No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 311 take place during this process, but not until recently has anything like a satisfactory explanation of them been made. This explanation depends upon the discovery of existence and actions, in the manure, of three classes of very small microscopic organisms called bacteria. They are responsi- ble, not wholly, but chiefly, for the changes mentioned. Let us note here just what chemical materials are in the manure at the beginning, and what they are changed into. The fresh manure contains mineral substances like potash and phosphates, and also organic material of two kinds, namely : the nitrogenous, found in the liquid manure and to some extent in the solid ; and the non-nitrogenous, which largely makes up the straw, leaves, sawdust and solid excre- ment. It is just these two kinds of organic constituents, and what they become, which concern us now. In those portions of the manure which are accessible to the air one class of bacteria live and breed in enormous numbers. They feed on the oxygen of the air and the nitro- genous portions of the manure, and in their excrements give ofi" large quantities of nitrates, the latter being the direct products of the oxidation of nitrogenous organic matter anywhere, whether in the bodies of these bacteria or not. These nitrates, being very soluble in water, drain down into the interior of the manure heap, just as they drain through the soil ; but, instead of all going off in the drainage water and becoming lost, as they often do in the soil, they are chiefly lost by an entirely difierent process. In the interior of the heap, shut away from the air, these nitrates fall prey to another class of bacteria, known as " nitrate destroyers." They completely undo the work of the other bacteria, or "nitrate formers." The "nitrate destroyers" live on the non-nitrogenous constituents of the straw and leaves and the oxygen of the nitrates. This lib- erates the nitrogen in the form of gas, which escapes into the air and is lost to the farmer. The process also consumes the non-nitrogenous portion, which is chiefly the remainder of the litter. It is formed into water and carbonic acid gas, which escape into the air and thus diminish the bulk of the pile. While the " nitrate formers" live near the surface of the manure and require air for their work, the " nitrate de- 312 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. stroyers " live away from the air and do not need it. Tiiey are dependent, however, on food of a certain kind, and must have plenty of it, otherwise they become inactive and can do no damage, though millions of them may exist in the interior of the manure pile. One of their principal foods, the non-nitrogenous material of the litter, they cannot use as food until it has been made soluble by a third class of bacteria, which causes the rotting of the litter. Nitrates are also indispensable for their nourishment. If, therefore, they are deprived of either one of these constituents of their diet, they either die or at least become harmless. The work of the ' ' nitrate formers " is beneficial ; it con- verts organic nitrogen into nitrate, a most available form of plant food. Half-rotted manure contains nitrogen largely in this form. The work of " nitrate destroyers" is destruc- tive ; it removes the soluble nitrates from the manure ; it converts half-rotted manure into well- rotted manure. In this way the diflerent efiects produced by manure in the three different conditions are explained. The nitrogen in fresh manure is largely organic, and not immediately avail- able ; it therefore has a slower and less effect than half-rotted manure. The nitrogen in half-rotted manure is largely in the form of nitrates, and this is available. The nitrogen in well-rotted manure has all been converted into nitrates also, and was once available, but has subsequently been lost in the air. This is why the well-rotted condition is the least valuable of the three. Of the three common conditions of barnyard manure, half-rotted manure is the most valuable and well-rotted manure the least, because of their relative amounts of nitrates. Manure should be kept packed away from the air as tightly as possible, and, if rotted, should be plowed under just be- fore planting, otherwise, several months before that time. The more litter used in the manure, the greater liability to loss of nitrogen. The use of bedding material free from decomposable or- ganic matter is a means of protection against loss of nitrogen. No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 313 IV. — How TO USE Barnyard Manure. We have now reached the difficult part of the matter. The most economical use of barnyard manure is seldom made, largely because of our ignorance of the exact needs of the plant in the particular soil used ; some general rules, how- ever, may be laid down. The farmer should strive to place the manure at the dispo- sition of the growing crop just at that moment when the most nitrate has been formed and before any has been de- stroyed. The most favorable conditions are obtained when fresh manure is packed as tightly as possible away from the air, kept in that condition until half-rotted, and then plowed under just before planting or sowing. Under these circum- stances, although the third class of bacteria have in the rotting of the litter made soluble food of one kind for the " nitrate destroyers," the latter have been deprived of their necessary food, the nitrates, for none could be formed in the tightly packed mass, and they have remained harmless. But the heap has become half rotted, even without them. After the manure is plowed in, the " nitrogen formers," now having plenty of air, rapidly produce nitrates which are beyond the reach of the destroyers ; for by this time all their soluble non-nitrogenous food has been decomposed and has gone into the air, leaving them to die. The growing plants in the meantime absorb the nitrates. If fresh manure is plowed in directly before seeding, a poor result is obtained, for the nitrates are not formed until after the plants have passed their growing period, and they consequently starve. As might be supposed, winter crops fare better with this procedure than spring crops. By plow- ins^ in fresh manure several months before seeding: a much better result is obtained, because the nitrates are on hand and are being formed at the growing period of the crops. Experience has abundantly proven that it is better to plow manure into the soil and allow it to lie there rather than in the pile. Whether it is better to leave manure spread on the surface of the land rather than to plow it in or leave in pile, depends chiefly on the amount of loss caused by surface drainage. This may be small, but, if the ground is frozen. 314 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the surface inclined and the manure half rotted or more, the loss will be considerable. The nitrate-destroying bacteria are of several species, and have thus far been found in straw and various other litter, in soils and in the dung of herbivo- rous animals. They have not been found in human excre- ment or that of the carnivora or birds. When barnyard manures are made with bedding devoid of much decomposable organic matter, the nitrate-destroying bacteria cannot work in them, for they cannot obtain the soluble organic food necessary for their sustenance. Any- thing like sand, loam or turf, therefore, may be used for bedding without incurring the disadvantage due to straw litters. Wherever much nitrate of soda is applied to crops, there is produced a relatively large yield of straw, which in turn leads to a large use of this material as litter. This excessive quantity of straw in the manure materially lessens its value in the manner described. Manure is brought from the storage to its place in the field by four diflferent methods : — 1. It is unloaded in the field into large heaps, and, after remaining there a convenient time, is spread over the land and plowed in. 2. It is distributed in small heaps, and then treated as before. 3. It is spread evenly over the land, and allowed to lie a long time. 4. It is evenly spread and immediately plowed under. Unquestionably the last method is the best of all, the first is the second best and the third is the poorest way of all. The reasons for this are very apparent, when it is remem- bered that the half rotted manure should be placed at the disposition of the growing plant at the earliest moment, with the least possible opportunity of loss by evaporation or drainage. It should be evenly distributed over the land. This is impossible to attain, when it is first deposited in heaps and allowed to drain into the patches of soil under the heaps before being spread. As to the amount of barnyard manure to be applied to the land for various purposes, a general rule may be mentioned No. 4.] BARNYARD MANURE. 315 here which should apply in all manuring, — only apply as much as seems to be necessary for present purposes. The old method of stocking land with barnyard manure for future use is a waste. Special formulas for various crops, either alone or with other manures, may be found in the bulletins of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege. These can be easily obtained by application to the director at Amherst. 316 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. BIRDS AS DESTROYERS OF HAIRY CATERPILLARS. BY E. H. F0RBU8H, ORNITHOLOGIST TO THE BOARD. One spring day, long years ago, a vireo sang in a sunny, swampy thicket. Suddenly the bird ceased its song, leaned forward, ran along the limb, picked a large caterpillar from a twig, pecked it a little, swallowed it and resumed its song. A small boy, a witness of the act, followed the bird closely, and saw that during each intermission of the song it was occupied either in catching caterpillars or other insects on the twigs and leaves, or in pursuing flying insects through the air. Previous to that day birds had interested the writer princi- pally because of their beauty and song, but this incident opened a new field for study, the pursuit of which has since convinced him that birds as a class excel all other animals as destroyers of those insects which feed upon vegetation, and that the species of plant-feeding insects which escape deci- mation by birds, at one time or another, are very few as com- pared to the total number of such species in existence. In such research as the writer has been able to make in agricultural, ornithological and entomological literature it has become noticeable that certain insects are supposed by many writers to be protected by prickly hairs or spines from the attacks of birds. This astonishing error, for which there is really very little excuse, has been repeated, in one form or another, by writer after writer during the present century, and is still persisted in. No less an authority than the late Prof. C. V. Rile}^ for many years entomologist to the United States Department of Agriculture, has assisted in the promul- gation of this belief. The most positive statements have been made to the efiect that birds do not eat hairy cater- pillars, although here and there an exception to the rule is named. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 317 Among the earliest of these statements now at hand is one from a writer in the " Annales de I'lnstitut Horticole de Fro- mont," vol. 5, p. 311, published in Paris in 1833. In dis- cussing the opinion promulgated by the Natural History Society of Gorlitz, that the diminution of fruits is on account of the diminution of birds, he places the caterpillar of the gj'^psy moth at the head of the list of injurious caterpillars, saying that ' ' above all it is very essential that it be de- stroyed." He says further that, as these caterpillars are armed with long hairs, the birds guard well against bringing them to their young, and that in twenty years of observation he has not seen a single example. He also states that these insects when in the chrysalis are not sought by birds. Statements like the above have been received without question, and the inferences and conclusions drawn by the earlier writers appear to have been accepted and promulgated by others. In recent years, however, more accurate knowl- edge seems to have been gained by a few observers at home and abroad in regard to this matter. The ornithologists of our national Department of Agriculture have added much to our knowledge of the subject. The purpose of the present article is to furnish conclusive evidence that the hairs with which some caterpillars are armed are not a sufficient protection to guard them from the attacks of birds, many of which eat quantities of them and some also feed them to their young. It is also intended to show that many birds feed upon these insects later in the chrysalis or in the imago. Those species of birds which feed upon hairy caterpillars are among the best friends of the farmer and horticulturist, in so far as they prove destructive to these insects, many of which are among the worst enemies of farmers and fruit growers. When one attempts to disprove a theory which has been widely accepted for many years his readers are naturally in- clined to be skeptical as to his conclusions, and to question the accuracy of the observations on which such conclusions are based. Therefore, a brief description of the methods used and a statement of some of the results obtained will be necessary here. 318 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. During the progress of the work on the gypsy moth by the State Board of Agriculture in Massachusetts more than a thousand men have been employed, among whom there are, or have been, many who know the common birds. Some of these men are keen-eyed observers. In the early history of the work, when it was seen that birds were feeding on the gypsy moth caterpillars, all those men employed who knew birds were requested to watch the birds and report the re- sults of their observations. There were eleven such ob- servers on the force at that time. Others have joined the force from time to time, until the number whose experiences have been recorded has been increased to thirty-eight. Some of these observers have seen birds feeding on the cat- erpillars of the gypsy moth for only one season, others have been in the employ of the Board for six, seven or eight years, and have made observations during each year. The condi- tions have been such that most of the birds could be observed within a few feet or a few yards. Those which could not be so readily approached were watched with the aid of good field or opera glasses, and where there appeared to be doubt birds were shot and the contents of their stomachs carefully analyzed. Much was learned by experience in the earlier observa- tions which has been turned to good account in conducting those made during the last three years. The value of such observations may be questioned by those who rely solely upon the examination of the stomach contents to determine the food of birds. But for the purpose for which these ob- servations are made they are, if skilfully conducted, quite as serviceable as stomach examinations. In fact, one must supplement the other. Were one to follow the birds about through the fields and woods no doubt some interesting facts might be learned in regard to their food, but it is not in this way that a series of accurate observations can be made. Birds are attracted to localities where insects are plentiful, preferring often to go some distance to such localities, where food is abundant and readily obtained, rather than to search for less abundant species near their nesting places. For our purpose, then, the method pursued is to find an outbreak of hairy cater- No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 319 pillars situated in a locality where many species of birds are likely to find it. The observer first makes sure as to the kind of insects to be found upon the trees or plants to be watched. He then conceals himself near the insects whose destruction he wishes to observe and watches the birds which come there to feed. When this method is followed methodically by trustworthy, painstaking observers, and when results obtained by different observers, working independently, agree in the main, there can be no reasonable doubt as to the value of such obser- vations. When the caterpillars are small, certain marked branches are chosen for observation, or certain nests, webs or tents are marked and watched at close range. One ob- server has even counted the number of caterpillars on a branch, watched the birds feed upon them and then counted the number left alive. The results of the earlier observations were published in the report on the gypsy moth issued by the State Board of Agriculture in 1896.* It w^as then proved conclusively that thirtj'-eight species of birds were destroying the gypsy moth in one or more of its forms, and thirty-one of these were feeding on the caterpillars. Since that time several birds have been added to the list, and much more has been learned as to the comparative usefulness in this respect of several species. The discovery of another introduced pest, the brown-tail moth (^Euproctis chrysorrhoea), in Massachusetts in 1897, has stimulated further observation, and incidentally the feed- ing of birds on other hairy caterpillars has been noticed. It is not the intention of the writer now to republish the result of the observations given in the report on the gypsy moth in 1896, but to place before the reader some facts observed that year and since. From the mass of observa- tions on the food of birds a part has been selected of those M^hich refer to the two introduced European species — the gypsy moth {Portlietria dUpar) and the brown-tail moth (^Euproctis chrysorrhoea) — and two common American pests, — the tent caterpillar (Clisiocampa americana) and the forest tent caterpillar (C. sylvaiica). In these four species we * " The Gypsy Moth," Forbush-Fernald, 1896. 320 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. have typical examples of genera the larvae of which have been considered especially distasteful to birds on account of the hairs with which they are covered. The caterpillars of the brown-tail moth would appear to be a particularly disagree- able morsel to swallow. They are not only furnished with long, bristly hairs, but the hinder segments of their bodies are also supplied with minute, shorter hairs, which are barbed, somewhat like the quills of the porcupine. These hairs pro- duce very disagreeable consequences when brought in contact with the human skin, into which they work their way and there become the source of a serious and long-continued irri- tation.* Many people in the district infested by the brown- tail moth have been seriously inconvenienced by this cause, and the services of physicians in the region infested have been widely sought for a remedy. The irritation resembles that caused by poison ivy, and no infallible cure has yet been found. One would think that a bird which had inadvertently swallowed one of these creatures would not care to repeat the experiment ; but the observations of Mr. F. H. Mosher, a very careful observer, show that as many species- of birds feed on the brown-tail caterpillar as upon the gypsy cater- pillar, and some species eat quantities of the former. Some of the hairs of the gypsy caterpillar possess an irritating property, so that the sensation produced by them, when pressed against any tender portion of the human skin, is similar to that produced by nettles. The hairs on the tent caterpillar do not seem to possess either of these properties. But even these larvae do not appear a tempting morsel, thickly covered as they are with long hairs. The forest tent cater- pillar also is supplied with hairs sufficient to secure it immu- nity from the attacks of birds, if, indeed, such hairs constitute any protection whatever. The Number or Hairy Caterpillars destroyed by Birds. In order to get a definite idea of the comparative useful- ness of the different species of birds in destroying hairy cat- erpillars, I have asked Mr. Mosher to count the number of caterpillars each bird was actually seen to eat during the time occupied in some of its visits to trees infested by cater- * Proc. 10th Ann. Meeting Assn. of Ec. Ents., Bui. 17, p. 27, Prof. C. H. Fernald. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 321 pillars. As examples showing the capacity of birds' stomachs for this kind of food, a few of his notes are given in brief below. In most cases it was impossible to count all the cater- pillars eaten by a bird during its visit, for it was likely to be partially hidden from the observer a part of the time by twigs or leaves. The results given show only the number of caterpillars each bird was actually seen to eat. The ob- server in many instances notes that the bird must have eaten many more, as it was almost continually eating during its visit. To prepare the reader for the somewhat startling facts which follow, it is necessary to consider some of the physio- logical characteristics of the bird. Birds as a class are among the most highly organized of vertebrate animals. In this class we find the extreme of activity and the highest temperature of the blood. Their remarkable activity, especially in flight, causes a tremendous waste of tissue. To supply the waste caused by this great expenditure of nervous energy a large quantity of food is required. Nature has made ample pro- vision for the digestion and assimilation of this great quan- tity of food, supplying the bird with a remarkably perfect digestive apparatus, the action of which is very rapid. The writer has recorded elsewhere the results of experiments with two crows, which show that the food passes through the entire digestive tract in about one and one-half hours, and it is known that digestion is much more rapid in some of the smaller insect-eating birds. The amount of food required by the crow is given by Mr. E. A. Samuels as eight ounces per day. In readins: what follows one should take into consideration not only the enormous amount of food required daily by the birds, but also note the dates on which the observations were made. It would seem impossible for some of the smaller birds mentioned to stow away in their small stomachs so many caterpillars in so short a space of time. But the dates alone will indicate to those familiar with the life histories of the insects that where the greater numbers were eaten the caterpillars were quite small, and such is the fact. The facts given below were ascertained by Messrs. Mosher and Kirkland : — 322 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Birds feeding on the Gypsy Moth Caterpillars. May 12. — A yellow warbler ate 15 caterpillars in less than five minutes. May 12. — A Nashville warbler ate 42 caterpillars in one-half hour, in the mean time taking many more. May 18. — A scarlet tanager ate upwards of 30 caterpillars within five minutes. May 18. — Two scarlet tanagers together ate small caterpillars at the rate of 35 a minute for eighteen minutes. May 20. — A crow blackbird ate 40 caterpillars in a little over three minutes. May 26. — A Maryland yellow throat ate 52 caterpillars Avhile moving in and out among trees ; time could not be taken. May 26. — A redstart ate 31 caterpillars while moving abovit ; time could not be acciorately taken. - - A red- eyed vireo ate, in four brief visits to an infested tree, 37 caterpillars. July 13. — A yellow-billed cuckoo ate 1 every two minutes for thirty-six minutes. July 13. — A red-eyed vireo ate 73 in forty minutes. July 14. — A yellow-billed cuckoo ate 81 in forty-eight minutes. July 15. — A towhee ate 7 pupae and 2 caterpillars in a very short time ; exact time not noted. Birds feeding on the Brown-tail Moth Caterpillars, May 2. — A robin pecked into a mass of caterpillars five times, taking a number each time ; they could not be counted. May 11. — A pair of blue jays ate 47 caterpillars in eighteen minutes. May 11. — A black-and-white warbler ate 15 caterpillars in ten minutes. May 12. — A rose-breasted grosbeak ate 57 caterpillars in twenty minutes. May 15. — A chestnut-sided warbler ate 28 caterpillars in about twelve minutes. May 16. — A scarlet tanager ate 44 caterpillars in seventeen minutes. May 19. — A redstart ate 11 caterpillars within five minutes. May 19. — Two scarlet tanagers ate, one 9 and the other 16 caterpillars in four minutes. May 22. — A pair of chickadees ate, one 15 and the other 21 caterpillars in seven minutes. May 23. — A red-eyed vireo ate 43 caterpillars in ten minutes. May 23. — A blue jay ate 30 caterpillars in a very brief stay ; no time given. May 24. — A Baltimore oriole ate 34 caterpillars in six minutes. May 24. — A red-eyed vireo ate 29 caterpillars in six minutes. May 25. — A scarlet tanager ate 43 caterpillars in twelve minutes. May 26. — A yellow-throated vireo ate 14 caterpillars in less than five minutes. May 26. — An indigo bird ate 16 caterpillars ; time could not be accu- rately taken. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 323 Birds feeding on the Tent Caterpillars. May 9. — A golden-winged warbler ate 14 caterpillars very rapidly. May 10. — A red-winged blackbird ate 22 caterpillars in twenty-five minutes. May 10. — A Baltimore oriole ate 14 caterpillars in six minutes, 27 in eight minutes and 10 in three minutes. May 10. — A robin ate 30 caterpillars in a trifle over four minutes. May 10. — A black-and-white warbler ate 12 caterpillars in a very short time, and fed for nine minutes, though not in plain view. May 11. — A Nashville warbler ate 8 caterpillars in three minutes. May 15. — A Baltimore oriole ate 15 caterpillars from a web in a very short time, and 9 more twenty minutes later. Birds feeding on the Forest Tent Caterpillars. Although the forest tent caterpillars have appeared recently in enormous hordes in many sections of New England and some adjacent States, they have not been numerous in eastern Massachusetts, and there have been no such opportunities to observe birds feeding upon them as have been presented with the other three species. Incidentally, however, the ob- servers have noted that birds were searchino; out and eatins; the forest tent caterpillars, not merely taking them as they came in their way, but where one was found they searched for others, and ate them as they found them, carrying some away, presumably to their young. From what has been seen there seems little doubt that all those birds which eat the other hairy caterpillars would also take those of the forest tent caterpillars if they were numerous. Birds feeding their Young. During the observations made on the enemies of the gypsy moth it was noted that many birds were carrying caterpillars to their young, and birds were often seen to feed their young with caterpillars, which in most instances were readily taken by the young, although occasionally they were rejected. The observations made on the tent caterpillar were mainly made before there were young in the bird nests, but birds feeding on the brown-tail moth caterpillars frequently took them away.' Few detailed observations have been made as yet at the nests. The following birds have been seen carrying hairy 324 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. caterpillars to their young, or feeding them, or both : black- and-white warbler, blue jay, scarlet tanager, wood thrush, chickadee, yellow-throated vireo, red-eyed vireo, crow, cat- bird, black-billed cuckoo, yellow-billed cuckoo, yellow war- bler and chestnut-sided warbler. Those birds which not only eat hairy caterpillars but also feed them to their young are doubly useful, because of the enormous amount of insect food required by young birds. Our experiment shows that young crows weighing fifteen and one-half to sixteen ounces require at least ten ounces of food each day for their growth and development. Professor Treadwell fed a young robin in twelve hours forty-one per cent more than its own weight in worms. The same bird consumed nearly half its own weight of beef in a day. Young birds must have animal food in order to grow and develop rapidly, and this food consists mainly of insects. An idea of the constant feeding required by the young may be gained from the followino; brief account of the work of two pairs of birds during the greater part of the day. On June 13, 1899, Mr. Mosher watched a pair of red- eyed vireos feeding their young. There were three young about a day old in the nest. It was near the ground and the birds could readily be observed. The observer did not reach the nest until nearly 7 a.m. (when the birds had already been feeding their young probably for at least two and one-half hours) and left at 5 p.m., at which time the day's work was not finished, so that this cannot be consid- ered a complete record of the day. Visits were made by one or other parent, — Between 7 and 8, 14 times. Between 8 and 9, 9 times. Between 9 and 10, 12 times. Between 10 and 11, 7 times. Between 11 and 12, 16 times. Between 12 and 1, 9 times. Between 1 and 2, 12 times. Between 2 and 3, 15 times. Between 3 and 4, 13 times. Between 4 and 5, 18 times. making altogether 125 visits in ten hours. As these young birds were very small, only a few insects were brought each time, and most of those brought were so small that they could not be positively identified ; but caterpillars form a considerable part of the food of these birds at this season. No 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 325 On June 12, 1899, Mr. Mosher watched the nest of a pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks from early morning till 5 p.m. The nest was about fifteen feet from the ground, in a slender white birch. The ground was covered with hazelnut bushes, in which he found partial concealment ; but for the first half hour the old birds were so excited by his presence that the feeding of the young birds was interrupted, so that no notes were taken until 6 a.m., and none were taken after 5 P.M. The old birds visited the nest, — Between 6 and 7, 52 times. Between 7 and 8, 47 times. Between 8 and 9, 43 times. Between 9 and 10, 30 times. Between 10 and 11, 36 times. Between 11 and 12, 27 times. Between 12 and 1, 32 times. Between 1 and 2, 38 times. Between 2 and 3, 41 times. Between 3 and 4, 22 times. Between 4 and 5, 58 times. making altogether 426 visits during the portion of the day that they were watched. The food was mainly caterpillars of one kind or another, and there were only four visits made by a parent bird when but one insect was fed to the young ; they usually brought three or more. A bird often carries in this way from three to eleven or twelve small caterpillars in its mouth and beak at one time Owing to the height of the nest above the ground, it was impossible to determine accurately the species of caterpillars brought to the young. A considerable proportion of them were certainly leaf rollers from the oak trees. It seems probable, then, that these two birds must have fed their young on that day at least one thousand insects, mostly caterpillars. This cer- tainly is a very moderate estimate of the number of insects destroyed in one day by the family, when we take into consideration the food required by the old birds. It is im- possible to estimate how many of these insects were hairy caterpillars. It will be noted that the grosbeaks made many more visits to the nest and carried much more food than the vireos. This is accounted for by the age of the young, the vireos being just from the egg and the grosbeaks being nearly ready to fly and very much larger. 326 BOARD OF AGKICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Dr. CM. Weed, in a paper entitled " The feeding habits of the chipping sparrow," published by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, has given a very accurate record of the feeding of the young of two chipping sparrows during the entire day, beginning at 3.40 a.m. and ending at 7.49 P.M. The nest contained three young sparrows nearly fledged. His observations show that the birds feed their young during the long days of June from fifteen to sixteen hours, and that there was no long interval during the day when they were not at work. The birds visited the nest one hundred and eighty-two times. Food (mainly insects, in- cluding many caterpillars) was brought nearly every time, though some of the trips of the birds seemed to be made to furnish sand for grinding the food for the young birds. Comparative Usefulness of Certain Families of Birds. In going over the lists of birds which have been seen to destroy diflerent species of hairy and spiny caterpillars, it is interesting to note that nearly the same families are represented in each list. The Cuckoos (CucuUdce). It is generally acknowledged that the cuckoo is an excep- tion to the generally accepted rule that the birds do not eat hairy caterpillars. There is no question as to the value of the cuckoos in this respect, but they feed mainly on the medium-sized and larger caterpillars. The two common American species seem even to prefer hairy caterpillars to the smooth ones, and their diet of these insects sometimes results in their stomachs becoming lined with the prickly hairs, which become embedded in the stomach coating. This, however, does not appear to inconvenience the birds. Whether there is any other family that is as useful in this respect as the cuckoos is still an open question. Our ob- servations show that great numbers are eaten by other birds. The Woodpeckers {Picidce). Woodpeckers certainly do not destro}' as many hairy caterpillars as the cuckoos. They appear to take them only when they come in their way. They have been observed to maim and kill without eatin":. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 327 The Flycatchers (^Tyrannidce) . The flycatchers eat very few hairy caterpillars, but destroy a great many of the imagoes of the diurnal species, two king- birds having been observed to kill about two hundred and fiity male moths of the Porthetria dispar in less than three hours, and many female moths as well. Many flying moths are destroyed by the flycatchers. The Grows, Jays, etc. (^Oorvidce). This family is represented by the blue jay and crow, both species being among the most useful in the destruction of medium-sized and full-grown hairy caterpillars. The obser- vations on these birds made within the last three years prove them to be more useful in this respect than was even sus- pected. They are continually feeding where outbreaks of hairy caterpillars occur, eating both the caterpillars and pupte, and feeding them to their young. These birds, because of their size and voracity, destroy enormous num- bers of these larvse. It is a question whether the crows do not destroy many more than the cuckoos, because of their larger size and greater numbers. Crows destroy fully as many pupse as larvse. The Orioles (^Icteridce) . The Baltimore oriole and crow blackbird are exceedingly useful. As the feeding habits of these birds have become better known, their usefulness as feeders on hairy cater- pillars has been recognized. They eat mainly the medium- sized and larger larvse. The Finch and Sparrow Family (Fringillidce) . The finch and sparrow family is represented in Massachu- setts by many species, several of which do not appear in the list of those attacking hairy caterpillars ; but probably most sparrows eat such caterpillars to some extent. The chipping sparrow, song sparrow, towhee and rose-breasted grosbeak feed persistently upon them. Several observers have seen the indigo bunting attacking them. The sparrows eat both large and small caterpillars. 328 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The Tanagers; (^Tanagridoe) . The tanagers are potent enemies of the hairy caterpillars wherever they appear in numbers in the woods, feeding quite constantly upon them. Our later observations indicate that no bird is more useful in woodlands. The Vireos ( Vi7'eomdcB) . The vireos or w^arbling flycatchers are persistent cater- pillar hunters, and destroy many of these creatures. They do not feed so readily on the full-grown caterpillars as on the smaller, but none are safe from their attacks. The Warblers {Mniotillidm) . It was not until 1899 that the value of the warblers as caterpillar eaters w^as fully established. As they are small birds and feed mainly on the smaller larvae, it is very diffi- cult to determine by observation exactly what they are feed- ing on. A special effort was made during 1899 to secure accurate data in regard to the destruction of the smaller hairy cater- pillars by warblers. The result has demonstrated that warblers certainly are among the most useful birds in this respect, especially during the early part of the season, when most larvae are small. They appear so fond of these larvse that they will even cling and climb about on the trunks of the trees to get them. This is noted as a contrast to their usual habit of searchins; on twias and branches. The Mocking Thrushes (Mimince) (^ Subfamily^. Represented by the catbird and brown thrasher, they are certainly among the most useful birds. The catbird eats hairy caterpillars greedily, destroying even those covered with spines, like the TJuvanessa antiopa, and feeds many caterpillars to its young. It eats full-grown caterpillars about as readily as do the cuckoos, taking mainly those that have perhaps escaped more arboreal birds by remaining in the shrubbery near the ground. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 329 The Wrens {Troglodytidoi) . The house wren is the only species that has been seen by our observers to eat hairy caterpillars. It can hardly be called a common bird, and it has only occasionally been seen to eat these caterpillars. The JSTuthatches and Titmice (J^aridce). The chickadee, the common representative of the titmouse family, and one of the most useful of all birds, is a great destroyer of hairy caterpillars. Not only does it eat cater- pillars of all sizes, feeding them to its young, but it destroys all forms of these insects, except perhaps the eggs of some species. Too much cannot be said in favor of this most useful and harmless bird. Both species of the nuthatch take these larvffi only as they come in their way on the trunks of the trees, and not always even then. The Thrushes (Turdidm). While the thrushes -eat hairy caterpillars when they come in their way, they do not, with the exception of the robin, appear to search them out. The robin seems to be in this way the most useful of all the thrushes. The wood thrush and Wilson's thrush occasionally visit localities infested by the caterpillars and eat a few, but the robin visits them fre- quently and eats many. The thrushes eat mainly the larger caterpillars. The bluebird is useful in destroying most forms of these insects; but as bluebirds are not plentiful in the infested region, the opportunity for observation has not been so good as in the case of some other species. Birds observed feeding on Hairy Caterpillars. Yellow-billed cuckoo, Black-billed cuckoo, Hairy woodpecker, . Downy woodiDecker, Yellow-bellied sapsucker. Flicker, .... Kingbird, Great-crested flycatcher Coccyzus americanus (Linn.). Coccyziis erythrophthalmus (Wils.). Dryobates villosus (Linn.). Dryobates pubescejis (Linn.). Sphyrapicus varius (Linn.). Colaptes auratus (Linn.). Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.). Myiarchus crinitus (Linn.). 330 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Phoebe, . Wood pewee, . . Least flycatcher, Blue jay, . Crow, Red-winged blackbird, Baltimore oriole, . Purple grackle or crow blackbird, Chipping sparrow, . Field sparrow, Song sparrow, Towhee, . Rose-breasted grosbeak. Indigo bunting, English siDarrow, . Scarlet tanager. Red-eyed vireo. Yellow-throated vireo, Warbling vireo, White-eyed vireo, . Black-and-white warl)ler, Parula warbler. Yellow warbler. Chestnut-sided warbler, Maryland yellow-throat, Black-throated green warbler, Oven-bird, American redstart, Catbird, . Brown thrasher. House wren, . White-breasted nuthatch, Red-breasted nuthatch, Chickadee, . . Wood thrush, . Wilson's thrush, American robin, Bluebird, Cedar wax wing, Sayornis phoebe (Lath.). Contopus virens (Linn.). Emjndonax minimus (Baird). Cyanocitta cristata (Linn.). Corviis americanus (And.). Agelaius ph(jenicens (Linn ) . Icterus galbula (Linn.). Quiscalus quiscula (Linn.). Spizella socialis (Wils.). Spizella pusilla (Wils.). Melospiza fasciata (Gmel.). Pip>ilo eryth7'opJilhalmus (Linn.). Habia ludoviciana (Linn.). Passerina cyanea (Linn.). Passer domesticus (Linn.) . Pira7iga eryihromelas (VieilL). Vireo olivaceus (Linn.). Vireo flavifrons (VieilL). Vireo gilvus (VieilL). Vireo noveboracensis (GnieL). Mniotilta varia (Linn.). Compsothlypis americana (Linn.). Dendroica cestiva (Gmel.). Dendroica pensylvanica (Linn.). Oeothlypis trichas (Linn.). Dendroica vireiis (Gmel.). Seiurus aurocapiillus (Linn.). Setophaga ruticilla (Linn.). Oaleoscoptes carolinensis (Linn.). Rarporhynclms rufus (Linn.). Troglodytes mdon (VieilL). Sitta caroliiiensis (Lath.). Sitta canadensis (Linn.) . Parus atricapillus (Linn.). Turdus mustelifius (Gmel.). Turdus fuscescetis (Steph.). Merula migratoria (Linn.). Sialia sialis (Linn.). Ampelis cedrorum (VieilL). Birds feeding on the Pupa' or Imagoes. Yellow-billed cuckoo. Black-billed cuckoo. Hairy woodpecker. Downy woodpecker. Yellow-bellied sapsueker. Kingbird. Great-crested flycatcher. Towhee. Phoebe. Wood pewee. Least flycatcher. Blue jay. Crow. Baltimore oriole. Chipping sparrow. Black-and-white warbler. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 331 Rose-breasted grosbeak. Yellow warbler. Indigo bunting. American redstart. English sparrow. Catbird. Scarlet tanager. Brown thrasher. Red-eyed vireo. Chickadee. Yellow-throated vireo. Robin. Bluebird. Assuming that our observations have proved that birds eat hairy caterpillars, it may be interesting to inquire why this fact has not been previously noticed. It will be seen at once, by one who makes a study of the subject, that the error which has been so long persisted in arises, first, from a lack of careful observation. It is not strange that the cuckoos should have been known for years to feed on hairy caterpillars. The cuckoos are sizable birds ; they are not shy, and as they feed on the larger caterpillars when those insects are full grown, and as both cuckoos and caterpillars are common in the vicinity of dwellings, their habits in this respect could not escape the most casual observer. But to observe the habits of shy birds, such as the crows and jays, which feed on the larger caterpillars, is much more difficult ; and to learn the feeding habits of the smaller birds, which feed mainly on the minute larvae soon after these larvae have hatched from the esfET, is still more difficult. Reliable observations of this class can be made only by trustworthy and skilled observers, who can devote time to the task. But it may be asked, Why have not those who have dis- sected the stomachs of the birds discovered that they were eating hairy caterpillars to a considerable extent ? To this it may be answered that up to the present time most of the knowledge that has been gained in regard to the destruction of hairy caterpillars by birds has been gained from stomach examinations, and it is by stomach examinations mainly that light has been thrown on this question. Yet he who examines the stomachs of small birds labors under many difiiculties in determining the specific character and quantity of food of this class. Minute caterpillars are speedily re- duced to a pulpy mass in the bird's stomach. While the field observer may readily identify the small tent caterpillars, for instance, on which the birds are feeding, and even count 332 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the number eaten, it might be impossible for the man in the laboratory, working without exact knowledge of the con- ditions under which the bird was shot, to do either. Many of the larger caterpillars eaten by the smaller birds are not swallowed whole, but picked to pieces, therefore the portion of the caterpillar swallowed would be entirely unrecognizable when found in the bird's stomach. Other caterpillars are dissected, as it were, by the bird, and only the internal parts chosen as food ; these cannot be identified in the bird's stomach. Orioles, vireos, warblers, titmice and tanagers are among the birds which commonly dissect caterpillars in this way. This is not a rare or exceptional habit, nor is it difficult to observe. It seems to be a device adopted by the smaller birds mainly when feeding on the larger caterpillars. These caterpillars are probably too large to be swallowed whole by small birds without causing some inconvenience, so they choose the parts which can readily be digested, and reject the others. Wilson Flagg says that he saw an oriole in a black cherry tree kill in one minute seventeen caterpillars, and noticed that the oriole did not swallow the insect, but set his foot upon it, tore it asunder and swallowed an atom taken from the inside. "Had he eaten the whole caterpillar," says Flagg, "three or four would probably have satisfied his appetite. But the general practice of birds that devour hairy caterpillars is to eat only a morsel, hence they require greater numbers to satisfy their wants." Mr. Mosher records an instance where a red-eyed vireo came into a tree, taking brown-tail moth larvae, swallowing the smaller ones and pulling the larger ones to pieces, after- wards swallowing some of the pieces. He saw it eat fifteen in the eight minutes it was in sight. The warbling and yellow-throated vireo have often been observed to do this, though the habit is not constant even with individual birds. A red-eyed vireo was seen to take a forest tent caterpillar, beat it with his bill, pull it to pieces and eat all the pieces. The next one was treated in the same way, except that he ate the inside only, dropping the skin and head to the ground. Another red-eyed vireo was seen to eat seventy-three gypsy moth larvae in forty minutes. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 333 The caterpillars were large, and he held them with his foot, pulled out certain inner parts and ate them, discarding the rest. This is a common practice with the chickadees. They hold the larvae with their feet mainly, tearing them open and devouring a portion or all of the internal parts, leaving the head and skin untouched. From personal observation and corroborative facts obtained from other observers I am led to believe that this is a habit with many birds. The crows, jays, chickadees and some of the woodpeckers also have the habit of killing caterpillars which they do not eat. Whether the caterpillars are dropped accidentally or wantonly destroyed in mere sport is not known, but many are certainly killed in this way. The blue jays' habit of pecking caterpillars and dropping them to the ground has been previously noted by Dr. C. M. Weed in the ninth annual report of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, in quoting from the obser- vations of Mr. E. V. Wilcox. Different species of warblers have also been seen to eat portions of the larger caterpillars, leaving the external parts. A black-and-white warbler was seen to beat a forest tent caterpillar on the ground until she had torn it in pieces, when she took the inside parts and flew away to her nest, leaving the remainder on the ground. She did not return for the parts left. These things can be learned only by observation, and it will be readily seen that when birds feed in this way it is im})0ssible for one examining the stomach contents to get, by this method alone, an accurate or even an approximate idea of the value of the bird as a destroyer of hairy cater- pillars. Birds cannot feed to any extent on hairy caterpillars where such larvae are few, and unless the dissector knows whether such caterpillars were obtainable where his birds were taken he cannot form an accurate idea of the value of the bird in this respect. Birds materially restrict the Increase of Hairy Caterpillars. The writer has earnestly endeavored to determine to what extent birds control the increase of hairy caterpillars. The result of the investigation is not as yet conclusive, but much can be deduced from the array of facts presented. 334 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. It is certain that many birds prefer smooth-skinned cater- pillars. Many species have not been observed to eat hairy caterpillars at all, while i;t is safe to say that most land birds feed readily upon smocfth-skinned caterpillars. Take, for example, the larvie of the canker-worm moths, Paleacrita vernata and Anisopteryx pometaria. Nearly all species of birds in eastern Massachusetts, from the titmouse to the crow, have been observed to feed upon these larvse, and when these are abundant most birds seem to prefer them to the hairy caterpillars. The tent caterpillars, hatching as they do very early in the season, form when small a staple food for a great number of birds. Later, as the canker worms appear and the tent caterpillars grow larger and pre- sumably more disagreeable to some birds, they are neglected to some degree, while most birds feed on the canker worms. When the canker worms disappear many birds again resume feeding on hairy caterpillars. The presence of a quantity of smooth-skinned caterpillars, therefore, indirectly benefits the hairy caterpillars. Every one who has studied carefully the life history of moths has been struck with the great mortality among the young larvae. In a study of the natural increase of the gypsy moth it was found that where a single egg-cluster hatched isolated from its kind most of the caterpillars dis- appeared while they were quite small ; in some cases the entire brood was destroyed. It is well known that the gypsy moth in Massachusetts has few effective natural enemies except the birds. Birds fre- quently have been observed feeding upon the young cater- pillars, and careful observation indicates that many of them are destroyed by birds before they are half grown. Two instances have been reported where small but flourishing colonies of gypsy caterpillars appear to have been exter- minated by birds. Limited outbreaks of the brown-tail moth that have Ijeen watched have been so reduced that at the end of the season few or none could be found. Just what proportion of this destruction is due to the parasites and other enemies of the l)rown-tail moth it is difficult to determine, but the observers are agreed that most of it is due to birds. In some cases the webs of the tent caterpillar No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 335 are torn open by birds and all or nearly all of the caterpillars in the webs destroyed. The most striking instance observed of the cheek exerted by birds on the increase of hairy caterpillars was in George- town, Mass., in July, 1899. Here a colony of the gypsy moth had grown and flourished in the woods unknown to any one until it was discovered in midsummer. The moths had been increasing there without any check excepting their natural enemies, and they had defoliated the trees and shrub- bery on at least two acres of land, stripping both pine and hard-wood trees. A vast swarm of caterpillars had been at work there. It was noticeable, however, that the cater- pillars were not nearly so numerous at the time of their dis- covery as they had been in other localities where they had not done so much injury ; in other words, there were not enough caterpillars to account for the destruction of the foli- age. The colony was near the edge of the woods, with a field and meadow on one side and an orchard near by. Birds abounded in the vicinity. So soon as one came within hear- ing distance of the place cries of crows and blue jays were heard in and about the edges of the stripped tract. Many chickadees, tanagers, thrushes, warblers, sparrows, flycatch- ers and cuckoos were about. At the foot of some of the large trees hundreds of dead and dying caterpillars were found which evidently had been injured by the beaks of birds. Mr. Mosher watched the locality for a few days and found many species of birds feeding on the caterpillars. He noticed that whenever he left the locality many crows came in and fed. There were very few parasites and other enemies of the gypsy moth in the vicinity, and the conclusion natur- ally arrived at was that enormous numbers of caterpillars had been destroyed by birds. Thus only could the evident great reduction in the numbers of the caterpillars be accounted for. Many birds were destroying the moth in all its forms, and, while they had not succeeded in suppressing the outbreak, it was plain that they were exerting a strong restrictive influ- ence upon the increase and spread of this injurious insect. 336 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Recapitulation and Conclusion. It is to be regretted that it is impossible, because of lack of space, to present in this brief paper more than a few of the carefully recorded facts, through a comparison of which the following conclusions have been reached, and it is hoped that another opportunity for publishing at least a part of these recorded observations may offer. To recapitulate : — 1 . The widely accepted belief that hairy caterpillars have immunity from the attacks of birds (excepting only the cuckoo) is erroneous. 2. This error has arisen partly from a lack of painstaking observation, partly from the inadequacy of stomach exami- nations alone to determine the full value of many birds in this respect, and partly from the well-known partiality evinced by many birds for smooth-skinned caterpillars. 3. During most of the time when the young birds receive their food from the parents they require a great quantity of animal food, which consists mainly of caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects. 4. The parent birds, being overworked at that season in defending their young from many enemies and in providing sufficient food both for themselves and ^^oung, take such cat- erpillars as are most plentiful and readily obtained. 5. The most destructive hairy caterpillars are gregarious, and many of them reach their maximum of destructiveness usually when many of the young birds are in the nests. The presence of these caterpillars is marked by the evidence of their destructiveness. Their presence is readily detected at a distance by birds, which visit places where such food can be readily obtained in quantities. About forty species are known to visit such places, feeding largely on the cater- pillars, while many of them take them to their young. When the young are fledged they are led by the old birds to such localities and taught to feed themselves. 6. An abundance of smooth-skinned caterpillars, which many birds prefer, tends to limit the destruction of hairy caterpillars by birds. No. 4.] BIRDS AND CATERPILLARS. 337 7. Birds as a class must be considered as a potent factor in regulating the increase of those moths whose caterpillars are covered with hairs or spines. Many outbreaks of such species are "nipped in the bud" by birds, and they have a large share in the repression of the greater outbreaks. 8. As certain hairy caterpillars are among the worst pests known to the farmers and fruit growers, those birds which destroy such caterpillars, and which are also in other ways to be considered among our most useful species, should be protected, even if some of them take small wages of fruit to pay for their services. REPORT State Board of Agriculture ON THE ■WORK OP EXTERMINATING THE GYPSY MOTH. C0mm0ittotaItb ai Utassarl^us^tts* To the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. Your committee in charge of the work to prevent the spreading and secure the extermination of the g^T^J i^oth in this Commonwealth presents herewith a report of expen- ditures made and work performed during the year 1899. The balance of the appropriation for 1898 on hand Jan. 1, 1899, was $5,862.74. This balance was apparent rather than actual, since it was practically exhausted for bills incurred for labor and supplies during the preceding December. The law empowers your committee, in common with other State departments, to continue expenditures during the month of January, " until the pleasure of the General Court is made known, at the rate of expenditure authorized by the appro- priations for the preceding year." By this arrangement, ac- tive operations against the moth were carried on throughout the month. At this time the examination of the woodland in the in- fested district was continued when the weather permitted. During storms and after heavy snow falls the work was con- fined to the woodland colonies, where the eggs of the moth were destroyed, the dead and sickly trees cut and the re- maining trees put in condition for burlapping. Owing to the rigorous weather of the season, the force, numbering some four hundred men January 1 , gradually diminished by resignations and sickness to about three hundred and fifty men at the close of the month. The Legislature having failed to make provision for continuing the work, active field operations were discontinued February 1, the tools were recalled from the field and the force suspended indefi- nitely. 342 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. An emergency appropriation of $30,000 became available February 15, but the remarkably heavy snow storm of Feb- ruary 12 and 13 prevented the resumption of field opera- tions until February 22, when the force was again put at work completing the cutting and thinning of infested wood- lands. Since the expenditure authorized by law for the month of January was deducted from this appropriation, only $13,333.33 remained for prosecuting the work. This balance sufficed to carry on operations with a force num- bering about three hundred men until about jSIarch 9, when the field work was again discontinued, The history of pre- vious years was repeated, and the main appropriation of $170,000 did not become available until April 15. Thus over a month of valuable working time was lost, at a season when operations against the moth can be carried on with especial advantage. The unfortunate interruptions of the work in the spring months had two equally undesirable results: (1.) The clearing up of large areas of infested woodlands, a prepara- tory measure absolutely essential to the effective treatment of those regions, was perforce neglected until nearly the hatching time of the eggs, after which this measure was im- practicable. (2.) With the spring demand for labor, a number of our skilled emploj^ees, men whose experience made them especially valuable to the work, had sought and obtained other and more permanent situations, and their services were thus lost to the Board. Where woodlands are infested, it is of prime importance to destroy the egg-clusters in the fall and winter. The economy of this practice will be understood, when it is re- called that the destruction of a sinjjle eo-g-cluster saves the labor that otherwise would be required the following sum- mer for searching out and killing l)y hand the five hundred or more caterpillars that would hatch from the cluster. Further, the winter work of cutting underbrush and dead and worthless trees does away with the hiding-places of the insect, and drives the caterpillars to the remaining trees for food and to the burlaps for shelter, where they are readily found and killed. Another economy is effected by the re- duction in the number of trees on a given infested area, No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 343 which correspondingly reduces the number of burlaps re- quired and the labor necessary in attending them. The loss each spring of experienced help deserves more than a passing mention. The work against the gypsy moth is unique, and for its successful prosecution demands the services of trained and expert employees. The problem of exterminating the gypsy moth is in its essentials simply one of the continuous application of skilled labor in the methods shown by experience to be effective. Where skilled and unskilled labor can be obtained in the market at an equal price, good business policy dictates the employment and retention of experienced men only, as is illustrated by the common practice of large corporations and other similar bodies. This has been the policy of your committee, but its eflbrts have been thwarted in part by the annual loss of a considerable number of its most capable and expert em- ployees. Thus the delayed appropriations and the con- sequent suspensions of the work have annually produced conditions which are undesirable, illogical and expensive. As soon as the main appropriation was available, the force was reorganized by the recall of its former members, the reinstatement of many employees of previous years and the hiring of new men. In this manner the number of em- ployees was gradually increased to its maximum of five hundred and forty-three on July 1. During the latter part of April the general inspection of the territory and the killing of egg-clusters were continued, and the work necessary before putting on the burlaps was completed as far as possible. A large supply of burlap and insecticides was purchased and prepared for use. It had been decided to concentrate the efforts of the year on the work of destroying larv» under the burlaps, and to this end over two million three hundred thousand trees were bur- lapped. On about one million other trees the burlaps of the previous year were in a serviceable condition. In the latter part of May spraying operations were commenced. While the dry season favored the rapid development of the cater- pillars, it was also exceedingly favorable for the work of spraying, which was continued into June with most excel- lent results. The examination of the burlaps occupied the 344 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. entire force during the latter part of June and July, and to the constant attention at that time to this method of fio^hting the moth is due the extermination of several colonies and the notable reduction of many others. Later in July, and during the first two weeks in August, while the insects were in the pupal stage, considerable areas of infested brush land were burned over. During the fall months a large number of infested towns were scouted, infested stone walls were sprayed with oil, and the work of treating the egg-clusters in infested woodlands was prosecuted with the utmost vigor. The burlap season having passed, the force was gradually reduced to about two hundred men, by the discharge of those employees who could be spared with the least det- riment to the work. The details of the year's work and a statement of the condition of the several cities and towns in the infested district are given in the report of the acting director. A phase of the work against the gypsy moth that has not received the attention it would seem to deserve is the matter of securing the co-operation and aid of the national govern- ment. The existence of the gypsy moth in this Common- wealth is a constant menace to the agricultural and forestry interests of the country ; and, in protecting the property of her own citizens from damage by the moth, Massachusetts has also protected the property of those living in the adjoin- ing States ; in fact, parts of all the New England States are nearer the infested district than the more remote towns in Berkshire County. The direct routes of travel leading from the metropolitan district would facilitate the distribution of the moth over the eastern United States, and should the work of combating the insect be suspended, this undesirable result would follow as a natural sequence. While the prob- able size of the area through which the moth would become established should it be allowed to increase and spread un- restricted furnishes an interesting field for speculation, the problem also has a practical bearing, the importance of which can hardly be over-estimated. The distribution of leaf-eating insects is generally gov- erned by the distribution of their chosen food plants. Un- fortunately, the gypsy moth caterpillar exhibits no marked Pines, oaks and other trees stripped by the omnivorous eater- pillars of the gypsy moth. Georgetown, July 11, 1899. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 345 preferences, but feeds as readily on the oak, chestnut and pine as upon the apple, peach and pear. Careful experi- ments have also shown that even the cotton plant may be included in its menu. In fact, the moth has been known to feed upon not less than four hundred and fifty-eight species of trees and plants. Were the existing restrictions removed, it would seem possible that the moth would become estab- lished, and prove a formidable pest in all those regions of our country where the apple, peach, pine and cotton flourish ; and this conclusion finds support in the well-known habits and distribution of the insect in its native home. The chief factor that w^ould prevent such a condition of affairs would be the occurrence and multiplication of parasites and other natural enemies in numbers sufficient to check the develop- ment of the moth. The assumption that this would actually occur seems hardly warranted in view of the moth's gradual but continuous increase in Massachusetts throughout the twenty years preceding the inception of the attempt to secure its extermination. In spite of the many birds and parasites that are known to prey upon it here, the moth where neglected soon increases to formidable numbers. While it is of vital importance to our own agricultural interests that the pest should be eradicated in our State, it is apparent that the problem has a significance not limited by State bounds. The State of Massachusetts has courage- ously attempted to deal with this pest. To secure the desired end, her tax-payers have supported the work with liberal appropriations. Having demonstrated the possibility of exterminating the insect, and having for years protected other States from damage from this pest, it would seem that the Commonwealth might now with justice request and receive national assistance in bringing this important under- taking to a successful issue. If steps are taken to secure the co-operation of the national government, it would seem to be even more incumbent upon the State to provide liber- ally at the present time for the vigorous prosecution of this work. One of the most unfortunate conditions existing in the area over which the gypsy moth is distributed is the general infestation of woodlands which have been set apart for 346 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. parks. The magnificent Lynn woods reservation, a park area which possesses in a remarkable degree the natural features so desirable in a woodland park, has been in the past so thoroughly infested with the moth that many trees in restricted areas have been defoliated. The same un- fortunate conditions have prevailed to a much greater degree in the beautiful Fells reservation of the metropolitan park system. Since the existence of large colonies of the moth in these areas was a constant menace to the surrounding woodlands, and would result in the devastation and death of many of the trees, your committee has taken vigorous measures, so far as funds would permit, to stamp out these infestations. Wherever such work has been necessary in the Fells reser- vation your committee has freely sought and as freely received the co-operation of the Metropolitan Park Com- mission. The respective ol)jects of the two bodies are in entire harmony. The Park Commission has endeavored to secure and maintain woodlands and other areas suitable for park purposes, thus contributing to the enjoyment, comfort and health of the inhabitants of the metropolitan district. The object of your committee has been to preserve trees and other vegetation from devastation and destruction by the moth. The heroic measures which are practicable and economical in the case of ordinary woodlands have not been adopted in treating the colonies in the park system ; but, in order that the integrity and beauty of the parks might be maintained, many modifications in methods, involving a greater amount of hand labor, have been made even at a material increase in the cost of the work. At Pine Hill, Medford, for example, it seemed desirable from the stand-point of the Park Com- mission to preserve as many as possible of the young pines springing up in the underbrush. To eradicate the moths from this colony, it was practically a necessity to cut and burn the underbrush, thus driving the insects to the trees where they might be taken under the burlap. By modifica- tion of this method of work, the young pines were pre- served, although the expense of the necessary operations was greatly increased. In this and many other instances Seedling pines defoliated and killed by the gypsy moth. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 347 your committee has gladly co-operated with the Park Commission, in order that the objects of both bodies might be successfully attained. It is perhaps well to indicate, however, that the work against the moth in all woodland parks must be performed at an increased expense over that on similar infested areas held by individuals, where it is not always necessary to preserve the shrubbery and underbrush. Notwithstanding the fact that the work against the gypsy moth was begun under a misconception of the size of the infested area, and has been handicapped and imperilled by reduced and delayed appropriations, constant progress, on the whole, has been made toward the desired end. It is, however, but just to say that, supported by the liberal ap- propriations of the past two years, nearly as much progress has been made toward the extermination of the moth as in the entire seven years previous to 1898. These appropria- tions have enabled your committee to carry out in nearly all their details the plans for dealing with the entire infested area, and the results now apparent fully justify the liberal financial policy of the Legislatures of 1898-99. Had there ever been any doubt as to the complete possibility of exter- minating the gypsy moth, it would have been dispelled by the results obtained during the past two years. Under the former system of reduced and delayed appro- priations, it was practically impossible to prevent the in- crease of the moth in certain parts of the infested district while the work of reducing its numbers was going on in other parts. When special attention was paid to the reduc- tion of the moth in the outer towns, the inner towns were necessarily neglected, thus affording centres of infestation from which the insects could again spread into the outer areas which had been cleared ; in fact the rapid multiplica- tion of the numbers of the moth in the central woodlands in the years 1895-97 resulted in serious devastation of these wooded areas, and menaced the success of the entire work. In 1896-97 there were in the infested district woodland areas containing gypsy moth egg-clusters best numbered by mil- lions. In the woodland colonies of Saugus alone, for exam- ple, in the winter of 1896-97 approximately one million egg-clusters were killed by hand, while perhaps as many 348 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. more were destroyed by fire. During the past fall a careful search of these colonies by skilled employees resulted in the findino^ of less than one hundred eo-fy-clusters. The only unfortunate developments of the past year are the finding of colonies of the moth in Newton and Georgetown. The discovery of these colonies is not sur- prising, in view of the large number of gypsy moths that were necessarily allowed to increase in the woodlands of the infested district in the years of restricted appro- priations. In fact, the finding of outside colonies has been repeatedly predicted in past reports. It would not be surprising if similar colonies should be found in the near future near the border of the infested district. Such colonies being usually restricted in their area, and well isolated, their extermination presents no unsurmountable difficulty. From the results of the past two years, it is evident that the work against the gypsy moth in Massachusetts is already approaching its final stages. The large colonies have been practically wiped out ; many of the smaller col- onies have been exterminated or are thoroughly under con- trol, and need but two or three seasons' work to secure their absolute extermination. Three years ago there were many localities in the infested district where there were large masses of egg-clusters. To-day the infestation of the region consists of the scattered remains of former colonies and their ofishoots, which must be subjected to careful and continual examination and treatment for a series of years. Since there are no longer large colonies to demand atten- tion, a greater amount of labor will be available for this work of inspection and the treatment of the smaller colonies. During the ensuing year, should suitable funds be made available early in the year, all localities where egg-clusters were found during the fall inspection should be cleared up and made ready for burlapping. The work of examining the towns not yet inspected should be prosecuted with the utmost rapidity consistent with thorough work, and any findings of the moth promptly stamped out and the infested areas cleared up. If this work can be prosecuted without unncessary delays during the year 1900, the entire territory will be in better condition for the summer's work than ever No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 349 before. It is believed that the season's work under these conditions will yield better results than have heretofore been attained. Your committee has found in the results obtained during the past two years an ample justification of the estimate of the probable annual needs of the work as given by Pro- fessor Fernald in his report to this committee, January, 1897. To carry out its plans for the ensuing year, the committee, therefore, recommends that the sum of $200,000 be spent along the lines indicated. It is unnecessary at this time for the committee to reafBrm its belief that the entire extermination of the moth is a possibility. The re- sults of the past two years' work are sufficient to dispel any doubt on this point, and to make it plain to the most skeptical that if sufficient funds can be provided for a few years longer the accomplishment of the desired end will be an assured fact. The well-known position which your committee has con- sistently maintained during the past years has been re- peatedly endorsed by the country's most prominent eco- nomic entomologists. No less an authority than Dr. L. O. Howard, entomologist to the United States Department of Agriculture, has frequently examined the work of the com- mittee's employees in the infested district, and as frequently expressed confidence in the ultimate extermination of the moth should sufficient funds be provided. The following resolution was passed at the meeting of the Association of Economic Entomologists at Columbus, O., Aug. 19, 20, 1899: — Resolved, That the Association as a body endorses and com- mends the work of the gypsy moth committee of the State of Massachusetts in continuing the extermination of this pest. The resolutions adopted at the annual Farmers' National Cono-ress are o;iven below : — Whereas, The Farmers' National Congress is familiar with the efiforts made by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to extermi- nate the gypsy moth ; and Whereas, On former occasions it has endorsed this undertaking by resohUions ; and 350 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Whereas, The existence of the gypsy moth in Massachusetts is believed to be a standing menace, not only to the agricultural and forestry interests of that State, but to all sections of our country ; it being further believed that its spread into other States would in a very short time become a national misfortune and an ever- increasing source of financial loss and annoyance to our people : — Resolved, That this Congress heartily appreciates and applauds the great work already done by the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts, and we believe that she is entitled to the gratitude of all our people in appropriating a million dollars in the attempt to ex- terminate this pest from our land ; and be it further Resolved, That, recognizing the certainty of the gypsy moth becoming a great national pest, should the efforts of Massachu- setts fail at a time when complete extermination seems more than a mere possibility, we earnestly appeal to the Congress of the United States to come to the aid of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts, and, by the appropriation of moneys and in other ways, secure to our people absolute freedom from this dread insect pest. The length of time required to secure the absolute exter- mination of the gypsy moth depends wholly upon the action of the Legislature. Should the work be delayed or handi- capped by an insufficient appropriation, much of the ground gained during the past two years will be lost ; the insects will increase in the woodland colonies and eventually spread into the outer towns, from which they can only be exter- minated by large outlays of money. If, on the other hand, this work receives the timely financial support it deserves, there is every reason to believe that it can be prosecuted to a favorable conclusion. Owing to continued ill health, the director of field work, Mr. E. H. Forbush, was granted leave of absence for three months, dating from October 19. During the eight years in which Mr. Forbush has had charge of the work against the gypsy moth he has given to the State services whose importance and value can hardly be over-estimated. It is but a pleasant duty for your committee to record its high appreciation of the worth of a most faithful official. During the director's temporary absence his duties have been discharged by Mr. A. H. Kirkland, formerly assistant entomoloofist to the committee. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 351 As in previous years, the advice and assistance of Prof. C. H. Fernald, entomologist to the committee, has been freely asked and as freely given. The accurate fulfilment of the results predicted by Professor Fernald sufficiently indicates the high value of the advice which long experience and well-ripened judgment enable him to give. The following is the financial report of the gypsy moth committee to the State Board of Agriculture for the year 1899: — Financial Statement for 1899 — Gtpsy Moth. Balance on hand Jan. 1, 1899, Appropriation for the year 1899, $200,000, from which $10,000 was set aside for preventing the spread of the brown-tail moth, leaving, for the gypsy moth. Wni. R. Sessions, expenses, E. W. Wood, expenses, Augustus Pratt, expenses, F. W. Sargent, expenses, J. W. Stockwell, expenses, N. I. Bowditch, Ijill not presented, John M. Danforth, exj^enses, C. H. Fernald, expenses and remuneration E. H. Forbush, director, salary, . Travelling expenses of director and men, Teaming, livery and board of horses, . Wages of employees, .... Rent of office, storehouse and land. Supplies, tools, insecticides, printing, etc.. Balance on hand Jan. 1, 1900, j,862 74 moth. 190,000 00 $195,862 74 $10 65 21 91 76 93 32 48 8 89 30 55 561 08 2,400 00 1,927 88 5,295 18 167,278 31 484 00 17,662 43 $195,790 29 72 45 $195,862 74 E. W. WOOD, AUGUSTUS PRATT, F. W. SARGENT, N. I. BOWDITCH, JOHN M. DANFORTH, J. W. STOCKWELL, Committee on the Oypsy Moth, Insects and Birds. 352 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Report of the Entomologist. To the Committee on the Oypsy Moth. Gentlemen: — The work of exterminating the gypsy moth has been carried on during the present season with marked success, and the insect has been reduced to such an extent over almost the entire territory that one who has kept in close touch with the work for several years past cannot fail to be impressed by the great gain that has been made towards the extermination of this pest. Extermination by the State Possible. There is no longer any question in the minds of those who have made a careful personal investigation of the work throughout the infested territory that the gypsy moth can be exterminated. Nearly all of the prominent economic entomologists of this country have inspected the work with great care and thoroughness, and have become fully con- vinced that extermination is possible, if the Legislature each year makes the full appropriation called for by the gypsy moth committee. Their conclusions on this subject, published in previous reports of this committee, show that all expert testimony is in favor of continuing this work till extermination is accomplished. The most extended investigations have been made by Dr. L. O. Howard, entomologist to the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, who has made exceedingly thorough examinations of the work during the last three years, and has repeatedly expressed the opinion that it is possible to exterminate the gypsy moth, if the full appropriations asked for are made by the Legislature. In a letter from Dr. Howard, dated Oct. 23, 1899, he writes as follows : " The condition of the entire territory is admirable ; it surpasses my expectations of two years ago, Oak woodland defoliated by gypsy moth caterpillars. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 353 and far surpasses my expectations of the past midsummer, when I learned of the two new outside colonies. The fact is, that the field force, under such experienced field super- intendents as you now have, is now able without hesitation to do exactly the right thing in such emergencies as those of the past summer, and to do it promptly and without waste of efibrt. It has taken all these past years to arrive at such a condition of affairs." Cost of Extermination. In my report of January, 1897, to this committee, I gave an estimate of the time and money that would be required to exterminate this insect, which was an appropriation of not less than $200,000 a year for a term of not less than five years, and then an appropriation of not less than $100,000 a year for a term of not less than five years, after which an appropriation of perhaps $15,000 a year for a period of five years would be required. Wishing to obtain the opinion of Dr. Howard on this estimate, I wrote him, and, in a letter dated Feb. 20, 1899, he writes as follows: "I think your estimate of the time it will take to exterminate the gypsy moth, as published in the reports and bulletins of the gypsy moth committee, is reasonable, and I think that, if the money is appropriated and made promptly available, exter- mination will be accomplished, as you prophesy." The Legislature has not given the required appropriations until the last two years. Even then $10,000 each year of the necessary appropriation was required to be spent on the brown-tail moth, and there have also been unfortunate delays in granting these appropriations. Yet, from the results of the last two years, I am more than ever convinced that the insect can be exterminated in the time indicated, if the full amount asked for each year be promptly appropriated. Who should be interested in this Work. There can be no doubt that each taxpayer in the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts should be interested in this work, and, in justice to himself, consider whether it is pos- sible for the State to exterminate this insect ; and, in this case, whether it will cost him more in taxes than it would 354 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Pub. Doc. to fight the insect liimself when it reaches his premises. To determine this question, we have only to consider that the vakie of the taxable property in this State is $2,429,832,- 966, and an appropriation of $200,000 is a tax of less than one-twelfth of a mill on a dollar. A man having taxable property to the amount of $5,000 will have to pay a tax of only 41 cents and 6 mills for this purpose. If we suppose a man on a $5,000 farm should have to pay this tax annually as long as he carries on the farm, say, forty years, the sum total of his tax during all those years would amount to $16.64, which is far less than it would cost him to clear the gypsy moth from his premises in a single year. Such a farmer in the western part of the State can look upon this tax as a premium paid to the State to protect him from damage by the gypsy moth, in the same w^ay as a premium paid an insurance company protects him from loss by fire. If, however, the Legislature continues to adopt the rec- ommendations of the gypsy moth committee till the pest is exterminated, this tax will continue but a comparatively few years. The Action of the Legislature. The only uncertainty at the present time about extermi- nation is the action of the Legislature. There are members of this body who have taken time to investigate the gypsy moth work thoroughly. They have gone over the infested territory and studied the problem very carefully from every point of view, with the result that they realize the full gravity of the situation ; the great destruction that this in- sect would cause if allowed to spread over the State ; the impossibility of extermination or of successfully dealing with the pest by individuals or even municipalities ; and they are also convinced that the State can and ought to furnish the means necessary for the absolute extermination of this insect. There are others wdio, unfortunately, have had neither time nor opportunity to investigate this work, and they may not be familiar with such problems. I am not surprised that such persons should think it impossible to exterminate the moth, for several noted economic ento- mologists held the same opinion before visiting the infested No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 355 territory ; but after making a careful inspection, they in- variably became convinced not only that extermination was possible, but that it was the manifest duty of the State to carry on the work to completion. The experience of the past nine years has proven con- clusively that when the appropriations are reduced one- third or one-half, as was the case for several years, little or no gain is made towards extermination, and therefore this policy results in an absolute waste of public money. If, therefore, the Legislature will not appropriate the full amount required for the successful prosecution of this work, it would be better to make no appropriation whatever. The best interest of every tax-payer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts demands that the Legislature shall promptly grant the full appropriation asked for by the gypsy moth committee. Respectfully submitted, C. H. FERNALD. 356 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Report of Acting Field Director To the Committee on the Gypsy Moth. In presenting a report on the field operations against the gypsy moth during 1899, the acting director aims to give a brief history of the year's work, a detailed statement of the infestation of each town, a summary of the condition of the entire infested district, and a few general considera- tions which may be of interest to the tax-payer. History of the Year's Work. During January experienced employees were kept at work scouting for the moth in the woodlands of Lynn, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott, and in the residential portions of Chelsea and Wakefield. A part of the force was engaged in chopping, and at times when the snow was deep the entire force was utilized in cutting over infested woodlands in Arlington, Lincoln, Lynn, Maiden, Medford, Salem, Winchester and Woburn. In this manner large areas of infested scrub growth were cleared up, while infested timber lands were thinned and made ready for burlapping. This work was prosecuted as rapidly as possible until the close of the month. With the resumption of the work on February 22, scout- ing was continued in Belmont, Maiden, Saugus and Wake- field, when the weather favored, while a considerable amount of cutting and burning was done in Arlington, Lexington, Maiden, Medford, Saugus and AVoburn. These operations were interrupted on March 9, when the emergency appro- priation became exhausted. The late date on which the main appropriation became available, April 15, made it imperative that all possible kill- ing of eggs should be done before the hatching period. Accordingly, this work was prosecuted vigorously over the No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 357 entire district, but particularly in Maiden and Medford, where large numbers of egg-clusters still remained. Early in May, as the eggs began to hatch and the young larvaa to spread, infested brush lands were burned over with oil, thus destroying many infestations of considerable size, and pre- venting a farther spread of the insect. The large amount of preparatory work, such as egg killing, cutting and burn- ing, etc., which had been done in the months which had elapsed since the laying of the eggs in midsummer, 1898, had placed the entire district in a condition where the bur- lap could be better attended than ever before. Fifty-three tons of burlap were purchased and made ready for applica- tion to the trees. A large number of employees was added to the force, and the work of burlapping was carried on as rapidly as possible. The work was continued without delay during the early part of June, and, as a result, over 2,300,000 trees were banded with the burlap, while on over 1,000,000 others the bands of last year were still serviceable. The foliage was now developed to such an extent that spraying operations could be prosecuted with advantage, and twenty gangs with the improved tank outfits were kept at work applying the poison to the leaves. Spraying is an expensive oper- ation under the best conditions, and in previous years the efiectiveness of this work has been often nullified in part by frequent rains. From our stand-point, however, the cli- matic conditions in the season of 1899 were all that could be desired. Under the influence of clear, dry weather the poison was applied easily, and as readily dried on the foli- age. The effectiveness of this treatment was soon apparent in the thousands of dead caterpillars that covered the ground beneath the infested trees. This method was particularly satisfactory in dealing with colonies in the metropolitan park system, where it seemed undesirable to use more radi- cal measures. Later in the month when the larvse began to cluster, spraying operations were gradually discontinued, and special attention was given to the destruction of the insects under the burlaps. Tliroughout Jul}^ the inspection of the burlaps was carried on diligently. In the worst colonies, daily or even semi- 358 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. daily inspections were the rule ; in other colonies, the burlaps were examined every second or third day. In residential districts, where small colonies were widely scattered, bicy- cle gangs were organized among the employees, and by this system the colonies received constant and thorough atten- tion. As the insects approached the pupal stage, infested walls were burned out with oil, and areas of brush land in which the larvae had appeared were also burned with the oil spray. The beginning of August marked the termination of the larval and pupal seasons. The burlaps were given a final inspection, and all places where the treatment could be used with advantage were thoroughly burned with oil spray. The burlap season having passed, the field work was dis- continued from August 18 to September 5. The work of removing the burlap was begun early in September, a search for eggs being made at the same time. As the process of hunting for egg-clusters is necessarily a slow one, the removal of the burlaps was not completed until near the end of the month. In woodland colonies all serviceable burlaps were left on the trees for the next year. The fall inspection was prosecuted rapidly in the outer towns. In the inner towns, egg killing, burning of brush and tinning of cavities in infested trees received the atten- tion of a large number of employees. The numbers of the force were gradually reduced by suspension and dis- charge, the most experienced men being retained for the fall inspection. In October the work of scouting and egg destruction was continued. Towns which had not been examined for two or three years were given a thorough search, and all find- ings of the moth promptly stamped out. Considerable attention was given to tinning cavities in infested fruit and shade trees, thereby destroying many hiding-places of the moth. Infested walls noted during the fell inspection were sprayed with oil in order to destroy the egg-clusters, — a method which is both cheap and efiective. A large amount of eflbrt was directed towards clearing up the newly found colonies in Newton and Georgetown. These localities were scouted by trained men, Avho were followed by gangs of No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 359 choppers. In this way the scattered infestations were located, cleared up, and the territory put in excellent condition for burlapping. During the early part of November the work of scouting and clearing woodland colonies received the attention of the major part of the force. Later, an examination was made for the brown-tail moth in several of the more northern towns, and, as the leaves had fallen from the trees, the work of destroying this insect was commenced. Nearly the entire force was engaged in this work from November 9 to 23, when, as the appropriation had become nearly exhausted, field operations were discontinued. The field superintendents and their assistants were retained during December, and their services utilized in examining impor- tant outlying colonies, — a work requiring the greatest possible skill, and for which they are exceptionally well fitted. Summary of the Year's Work. In the following summary there are given only such data as can be accurately compiled. In the reports issued pre- vious to January, 1898, there were recorded the numbers of each form of the moth killed. These figures were com- piled at a considerable expense, and in the past three years we have transferred this expenditure to field labor, believ- ing that the field work should have all possible financial support. The records of the daily work of our employees are on file and may be examined at the oflSce of the com- mittee. Wo7-k Bone. Trees inspected, .... 17,487,105 Trees banded with insect-lime, 301 Trees burlapped, .... 2,304,552 Trees sprayed, .... 10,752 Trees cut, 468,790 Trees trimmed, .... 99,597 Trees scraped, .... 3,794 Trees in which cavities were covered. 8,896 Buildings inspected, 9,554 Buildings infested, .... 571 Fences inspected (rods) , 49,854 Fences infested, .... 561 Stone walls inspected (rods) , 16,321 360 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Stone walls infested, Stone walls burned (rods) , . Stone walls sprayed (rods), . Brush cut and burned (acres) , Ground burned over with oil (acres) , Ground burned over without oil (acres), Ground sprayed with oil (acres), . 363 2,053 3,495 2,559 151 155 11 Nmnber of Employees in 1899- Jan. 2 -Jan. 7, . . 403 July 3-July 8, . . 531 Jan. 9-Jan. 14, . 390 July 10- July 15, . 531 Jan. 16- Jan. 21, . 395 July 17-July 22, • . 527 Jan. 23 -Jan. 28, . 359 July 24-July 29, . 520 Jan. 30- Jan. 31, . 85 July 31-Aug. 5, . 515 Feb. 1-Feb. 4, . . 27 Aug. 7-Aug. 12, . 501 Feb. 6 -Feb. 11, . 30 Aug. 14-Aug. 18, . . 498 Feb. 13-Feb. 18, . . 39 Aug. 19-Aug. 26, . . 29 Feb. 20-Feb. 25, . . 282 Aug. 28-Sept. 4, . . 29 Feb. 27-March 4, . . 319 Sept. 5-Sept. 9, . 315 March 6-March 9, . . 336 Sept. 11-Sept. 16, . . 316 March 10-March 11, . 68 Sept. 18-Sept. 23, • . 306 March 13-March 18, . 28 Sept. 25-Sept. 30, . . 297 March 20-March 25, . 22 Oct. 2-Oct. 7, . . 253 March 27 -April 1, . . 26 Oct. 9-Oct. 14, . . 231 April 3-April 8, . 26 Oct. 16-Oct. 21, . 224 April 10-April 15, . . 185 Oct. 23-Oct. 28, . 214 April 17-April 22, . . 289 Oct. 30-Nov. 4, . 213 April 24-April 29, . . 363 Nov. 6^Nov. 11, . 209 May 1-May 6, . . 414 Nov. 13-Nov. 18, . . 201 May 8-May 13, . 461 Nov. 20 -Nov. 23, . . 189 May 15-May 20, . 473 Nov. 23 -Nov. 25, • . 36 May 22-May 27, . . 520 Nov. 25-Dec. 2, . 32 May 29-June 3, . 516 Dec. 4-Dec. 9, . . 33 June 5 -June 10, . 512 Dec. 11-Dec. 16, . 32 June 12-June 17, . 513 Dec. 18-Dec. 23, . 32 June 19-June 24, . . 529 Dec. 25-Dec. 31, . . 32 June 26-July 1, . 543 False Alarms. As stated in another place in this report, the distribution of the bulletin on the gypsy moth has stimulated attention on the part of the public toward insect depredations. As was expected, this has led to the sending to this office of an unusually large number of false complaints of damage by No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 361 the gypsy moth. This is as it should be. Our attitude in this matter has been that it is better to investigate hundreds of cases of supposed damage rather than to overlook a single case of actual injury by the gypsy moth. To this end it is hoped that property owners will continue their activity in noting unusual insect injury, and report all suspicious cases promptly to this office. A list of non-infested towns which have been visited be- cause of complaints received is given below : — Acton. Dedham. Lowell. Andover. Essex. Newburyport. Barnstable. Framingham. Norwood. Billerica. Gloucester. Quincy. Boxfoi-d. Greenfield. Rockport. Bradford. Hamilton. Topsfield. Braintree. Haverhill. Wellesley. Brookfield. Holliston. Wenham. Canton. Hull. Westford. Chelmsford. Hyde Park. Westwood. Concord. Ipswich. Wilmington. Outside Colonies. As in past years, infestations have appeared in the regions lying outside the boundary line established in 1891. Since this line was determined by a hasty search by untrained men, and not by a careful tree-to-tree examination by skilled inspectors, it has often seemed remarkable to those most familiar with the work that so few outside colonies of the moth have developed. In most of these colonies there is not lacking abundant internal evidence to show that they date back to the years of the moth's greatest abundance, 1889-91, a time when the caterpillars were swarming forth in laro;e numbers from the centres of infestation. Of the two outside colonies found the past year, the one in Newton is the most extensive, while the trees in the Georgetown colony suffered the most severe injury. With- out doubt the Newton colony is a result of traffic between the residences of citizens of the locality and certain estates in a town known to be infested. A careful invcvstigation 362 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. shows that certain families living in the infested district in Newton have been accustomed in the past nine years to visit and receive visits from other families living in generally infested localities in Arlington. The colony in Georgetown centres on the site of an aban- doned farm, where for several years a Melrose poultry dealer was accustomed to make stays of considerable length. His home place at Melrose was for years overrun with the moth, and it was his practice to leave his wagon and poultry crates standing near infested trees for considerable periods of time. Having disposed of a load of poultry, he would return to Georgetown and collect another stock of fowls in that vicinity, calling frequently at the farm mentioned. There can be but little doubt that this continued traffic was the means of transporting the moth to Georgetown. The condition at Newton well illustrates one evil of re- duced appropriations. With the pressure of work else- where, the Board has never been able to do more, since the hurried, preliminary survey of 1891, than to inspect the northern strip of Newton contiguous to the infested towns of Brighton, Waltham and Watertown ; to examine a few localities elsewhere in the city most liable to infestation ; and to inspect the adjoining West Roxbury district of Boston and the town of Brookline, and the main routes of travel and localities most exposed to infestation in Weston, Wellesley, Needham and Dedham. Since we have never been able to obtain sufficient funds to permit a thorough examination of all the outlying towns, we have early appreciated and adopted the suggestion made by Dr. L. O. Howard, entomologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, in his comprehensive report on the work against the gypsy moth.* A bulletin describing the habits and appearance of the moth was prepared, as suggested by Dr. Howard, and dis- tributed throughout the towns adjacent to the infested dis- trict. In this way public attention has been called to all unusual insect damages. The value of this procedure has been shown in the finding of the Newton colony, which was * " The Gypsy Moth in America," Bulletin No. 11, new series, Division of Ento- mology, United States Department of Agriculture, 1897. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 363 located as a result of the perusal of the bulletin by one of the owners of the infested estates. The bulletin has been distributed in the following cities and towns : — Acton. Gloucester. Quincy. Andover. Groveland. Randolph. Bedford. Hamilton. Rockport. Billerica. Haverhill. Rowley. Braintree. Hyde Park. Sudbury. Boxlbrd. Ipswich. Tewksbury. Burlington. Lincoln. Topsfield. Canton. Middleton. Way land. Carlisle. Milton. Wellesley. Chelmsford. Natick. Wenham. Concord. Needham. Weston. Danvers. Newbury. Westwood. Dedham. Newton. West Newbury. Dover. North Andover. Wilmington. Essex. North Reading. Framingham. Norwood. Two factors have been of importance in the development of outside colonies. The spreading of the moth from the woodland colonies in the years of restricted appropriations has been accompanied with grave dangers. More important, however, has been the great dissemination of the insect in the early years, when its activities were practically uncon- trolled. Since so few infestations, comparatively, have developed, it is probable that now, in the eleventh year since the moth outbreak (and consequently greatest spread) of 1889, suffi- cient time has elapsed for the development and discovery of any colonies started six to ten years ago. From the be^innius: of the work the efforts of the Board have been directed to keeping the main avenues of travel and public places in infested towns free from the moth, thus guarding against this very danger of distribution. For years past the moth has been reduced to a minimum in the very places where the chance of distribution was the greatest. But even if outside colonies should develop in the future, their occurrence, unless they are larger, more numerous or farther 364 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. removed from the centre of infestation than those heretofore found, — conditions which hardly seem probable, — is not so serious a menace to the success of the work as the en- forced neglect, necessary in the years of diminished appro- priations, of large infested woodland colonies in the central district. The acreage of the outside colonies is seldom large ; that of the inside woodland colonies is numbered by hundreds. Outlying colonies are generally well isolated, and their extermination, where sufficient funds are provided, is not a matter of great difficulty. Condition of the Infested Region. The detailed description of the condition of the infested towns will afford a proper basis for a summary of the con- dition of the entire district. Under "outer towns" are included those towns lying between the central infested region and its border. The ' ' central towns " are those lying nearest the centre of infestation and are most gen- erally infested. Outer Towns. Arlingto7i. — The condition of Arlington shows a grati- fying improvement. But few places have been found infested in the residential part, and in the majority of these only scattered caterpillars were taken. The wood- land colonies were thoroughly worked with good results. They still need thorough and repeated examinations, and, if these can be given them, their extermination is assured. In the fall of 1899 the entire burlapped area was carefully inspected, and but few nests were found. A considerable amount of territory beyond the burlaps was also inspected, and three small colonies were located. These colonies are restricted in area, and their extermination is not a difficult problem. There yet remain a few colonies where the cavi- ties in the trees should be closed and the loose bark removed, and in others dead trees and brush should be cut, after which all the infestations in the town will be in the best possible condition for rapid extermination. Belmont. — There are probably more worthless, hollow fruit trees and brush infested stone walls in Belmont than No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 365 in any of the towns in eastern Massachusetts, and these two factors have been of grave importance in preventing the extermination of the moth here. In spite of these obstacles notable progress towards extermination has been made in the residential district. In the northern part of the town limited infestations have been found in the brush and woodland areas. The whole town should be carefully inspected before the hatching period, and all infestations put in shape for exterminative measures. If this cannot be done, extensive colonies may develop here ; if it can be done, and these measures applied, the extermination of the moth from Bel- mont will not be difficult of accomplishment. Boston. — In Dorchester and Roxbury but 5 caterpillars were taken under the burlaps. In South Boston three times the area was burlapped the past season that was covered in 1898. The burlaps were carefully attended, and no trace of the moth was discovered throughout the entire season. Three former colonies in East Boston have been apparently exterminated. At Orient Heights the infested vacant lots have been cleared up, the fruit and shade trees trimmed, and exterminative work is now well in hand. Boston proper, Roxbury and Dorchester should now be thoroughly inspected by experienced men to guard against the repeti- tion of such an outbreak as occurred several years ago at Sargent Street, Dorchester. This work should be done early in the season, so that if an infested spot is located, it can be cleared up at once before the hatching time. Brookline. — Since the finding of the colonies in this town in 1896 sufficient time had elapsed to allow any straggling moths from these colonies to increase to a point where their presence could be easily detected. A thorough inspection of the residential district was made last spring. As a result of this examination, it seems proba])le that the infestations in Brookline have now been located. A small number of larvse were taken at different points in the town during the past summer. At the Schlesinger colony, where a formida- ble outbreak of the moth occurred in 1896, only 2 larvte were found in 1899. At the Crafts colony there has been no trace of the moth found in 1898 or 1899, and the insect has been probably exterminated there. 366 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Burlington. — Two of the formerly large colonies appear to be exterminated, as no form of the moth was found in them during 1899. During the past fall it became possible for the first time in years to inspect a part of the woodland areas. Two colonies of considerable importance were found near places formerly infested, and in another locality a single egg-cluster was found. All of the colonies have been thor- oughly worked over and put in excellent condition for the operations of next year, when, if they receive proper atten- tion, their extermination should be accomplished. Cambridge. — Scattered larvje have been taken in Cam- bridge during the past season. Two small infestations in the vicinity of Fresh Pond demand thorough attention. Because of the large amount of valuable trees and shrubbery in this city, the more heroic methods of fighting the moth cannot be followed; hence, to secure extermination there will be needed in the future an increased amount of hand labor at an increased expense. Cambridge is in a condi- tion for thorough exterminative measures, and as soon as there are no badly infested centres from which the city may become reinfested, such measures should yield most satisfactory results. Chelsea. — All the trees in this city were burlapped in 1899, and repeatedly examined. Less than one-fourth as many larvas and only about one-sixth as many egg-clusters were found as in the previous year, the larger number having been found near the old infested centres adjacent to Everett. To exterminate the moth in Chelsea it will be necessary first to suppress the general infestations in Everett and Maiden, and then to pay constant attention to the burlaps for a few years. Georgetoum. — If evidence were needed that the gypsy moth has lost none of its notorious capacity for harm, the scenes presented in July last at the Long Hill colony in Georgetown afibrded alarming proof of the fact. The gypsy moth caterpillars swarmed over three acres of woodland, on two acres of which the trees stood as bare as in midwinter. Pines, oaks, elms, maples, birches and hickories, together with the underbrush and herbage, were alike stripped. Reliable local observers, who watched the colony during No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 367 the days preceding the beginning of operations by the employees of the Board, report that the rapid progress of the hungry caterpillars from the colony into the unscathed surroundings was astonishing. The spreading of the cater- pillars in their search for food was likened to the fire from a carelessly dropped match eating its rapid way outward over the dry forest floor. On July 10, when this woodland colony was first visited by the agents of the Board, the sight presented beggars description. The great majority of the caterpillars, having deserted the stripped tract in their search for food, were massed in wriggling bunches up and down the trunks and along the under sides of limbs of the trees standing on the borders of the newly invaded woodland. The continual dropping of excrement from the masses of caterpillars produced a sound resembling the pattering of rain. But in spite of this exodus, the bare, stripped centre of the colony was by no means deserted by the insects. The comparatively small minority of the caterpillars remain- ing crawled by thousands in all directions in their search for food. Over the bare, unshaded forest floor, and up and down the sun-scorched trunks, even out to the very tips of the branches, the larvas were hurrying; but the pupae outnumbered the larvae, and their brown bunches hung on every hand. The spectacle vividly recalled the almost incredible tales told of the now historic moth-out- break of a decade ago in Medford. The condition of affairs called for drastic measures, especially as the female moths were beginning to emerge and lay their eggs. Fire and the axe were applied, as the most economical and speedy method of dealing with the colony. The trees were felled, and thrown with their festoons of pupfe and clusters of eggs, into bonfires ; the flame of the cyclone burner was applied to ground, ledges and walls, and all remains of the moth were done away with. The Long Hill colony, which was of considerable size at its height, is situated in the eastern part of Georgetown, at the Rowley line. Since the obliteration of the heart of the colony, the work of the latter part of the year has been chiefly confined to thinning out woodland, by felling a large 368 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. portion of the trees and clearing away the underbrush in a wide circle around the original centre of infestation. Ninety acres of woodland have been thus put into condition for burlapping work in the larval season of 1900. Trees left standing in this partially cleared space will average upward of one hundred and twenty-five to the acre. They are large, sound and smooth-barked, and can be quickly in- spected. Probably it will be necessary to continue some thinning in January over about forty acres more of wood- land. Some portions of the ground should be burned over with oil in the spring to destroy larvaa which may arise from broken egg-clusters. The fall inspection of the woods sur- rounding the colony has been extended on the north, south and east for about half a mile, and for a shorter distance on the west. Only 9 egg-clusters were found, all being near the original infested tract. The finding and stamping out of this rather compact colony before the larvte had scattered very far or many eggs had been laid was most fortunate. While it is to be presumed that some local dis- tribution of the insect has taken place, from all indications not many caterpillars will be found under the burlaps in the summer of 1900. Lexington. — For the first time since 1895 a thorough in- spection of the entire town was made during the winter and spring of 1898-99. A few small colonies were found, all of which are natural off-shoots of the woodland colonies in Arlington and Winchester, which perforce were badly neglected in the j-ears of diminished appropriations. These small colonies have been put in good condition, and the bur- laps inspected almost every day during the larval season. It is apparent that the moth has been exterminated from many of these colonies. The woodland colonies of the south-eastern part of the town, once as badly infested as any in the entire district, are now in excellent condition. In one colony, in which 1,962 larvae were destroyed in 1897 and 353 in 1898, only 1 was found in 1899. In an- other colony, where 57,444 larvae were destroyed in 1897 and 8,386 in 1898, but 626 were found in 1899. As the entire town was inspected during the year, the conditions B •d I—' o a m o a »— ' o o cr pi o U iiy :i © o No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 369 are now accurately known, and, if means are provided, ex- terminative measures can be vigorously prosecuted. Lincoln. — The condition of this town in its infested sec- tion is much improved since the year 1898. In the larval season there were in use 108,000 burlaps ; in 1899 there were taken 190 larvje, as against 22,840 in 1898. Only two new nests were found in the past year. In the old colony of 1897 more brush and wood cutting is required. The present infestation, while slight, is widely scattered, and the entire town of Lincoln should be inspected at the earliest possible moment. As pointed out in the last annual report, a few moths were found just over the Lincoln border in the town of Weston. In this region 24 larvae were taken in 1898, nothing being found here in 1899. Lynn. — During the spring of 1899 an inspection was made of the whole city, including the greater portion of the terri- tory known as Lynn woods, a part of the park system lying contiguous to the Saugus colonies. As was expected, this inspection revealed slight infestations scattered through the woods. These areas were burlapped and attended during the summer, and at the close of the season very few larvae had been found. The whole tract of woods should be given another inspection before the leaves appear in the spring. In the residential portion of the city a few infested places were found. Nearly all of these infestations can be ascribed to traffic from the central towns or woodland colonies. All of the infested places were burlapped and carefully attended during the summer. As yet it has been impossible to do the work of searching for eggs. Should this be accomplished before the hatching time, the entire city of Lynn will be in excellent condition and ready for exterminative measures. Lynnfield. — No trace of the gypsy moth has been found in the northern and central parts of the town for a number of years. The small colonies in South Lynnfield known to be infested in 1898 were burlapped and attended during the summer of 1899. A few larvte were taken under burlaps in one locality in that part of the town contiguous to the Saugus territory, which has been so badly infested in the past. So nearly has the gypsy moth been exterminated in 370 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Lynnfield that little more can be done until the entire town has had, as a precautionary measure, a tree-to-tree inspec- tion. This should be made without fail during the winter of 1899-1900, or before the leaves appear in the spring. Manchester. — Special attention has been given to Man- chester during the past season by as many men as could be spared for this work. More than 50,000 trees were bur- lapped at the beginning of the larval season, and inspected as often as possible during the summer. During the past fall the greater portion of the town, including the woodland, has received a careful inspection, and all of the infested localities have been cleared of eggs. Only 16 egg-clusters were found in the entire area examined, and these were in the worst-infested localities of the previous year. It will thus be seen that practically a years work has reduced the moth from hundreds of thousands to the small number men- tioned above. The town is now brought to a condition where the amount of labor and expense can be greatly reduced. After another year of carefully conducted work in a few localities there should be no form of the moth left in the town. Marhlehead. — No form of the moth was found during the year in any of the old colonies. In October an opportunity presented for a thorough inspection of the entire town. This inspection resulted in the finding of a few egg-clusters in three localities, — two of them near the railroad station, a centre of travel, and the other in the eastern part of the town, on an estate whose occupants have had frequent communica- tion with the Hawkes farm in Saugus, which has been nearly overrun in the past with gypsy moths. This thorough in- spection and the slight infestation found shows clearly that the gypsy moth has once been entirely exterminated from the town. It also shows that the town has become reinfested since the inspection of three years ago, and well illustrates the folly of allowing the moth to swarm in the large central colonies, as was necessarily the case in the years of reduced appropriations. JVahant — A thorough inspection of this town was made in October, 1899. This inspection being concluded, on each of three estates there had been found one old nest and its No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 371 progeny. Nothing was found at or near the previously known places of infestation. This shows that the town had once been cleared of the gypsy moth and become reinfested since the last inspection, probably from the woodland colonies in neighboring towns, which were badly neglected because of reduced appropriations in 1895-97. All the infested places should be inspected and watched carefully next year. Newton. — The finding of a colony of the gypsy moth in the Oak Hill district of Newton was directly due to the distribution of the danger bulletin, to which reference has been made in another part of this report. The owners of the infested estates, noticing unusual insect damage, became convinced, by the reading of the bulletin, that the pest in question was the gypsy moth, and at once notified this oflSce. Work was begun in this colony the following day, June 22, by employees of the Board. A brush-infested pasture was burned over with oil, and over 40,000 trees were burlapped in the vicinity of the colony. Following the stamping out of the dangerous portion of the colony, the work of inspect- ing, cutting and burning was continued through the remainder of the year, with a view to preparing for exterminative work in 1900. A large tract has now been put in the best possible condition for burlapping next season. This work of thinning trees and cutting underbrush should be continued until the hatching time. In the mean time, the city should be thor- oughly inspected. At the present time there are no exten- sive infested spots, but a few larvae have been found scattered over a large area. Thorough work here another year should practically exterminate this colony. Peahody. — Owing to the inspection given the town in the winter of 1898-99, and the results of constant work during the past summer, Peabody is in better condition as regards the gypsy moth than for some time past. The entire resi- dential portion of the town was burlapped, and special atten- tion was given to the work of inspection. During the larval season about 9,000 larvas were taken under the burlaps. After the leaves had fallen, the woodland colonies and the residential part of the town were given a thorough inspec- tion and cleaning. As a result of this work, only four local- ities were found infested, and in these but 16 egg-clusters 372 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. were taken. Next year burlaps should be used in and around these places, and watched carefully. There still remains a portion of West Peabody that should be inspected before the foliage appears in the spring. If this is done, and nothing found, the expense otherwise required for the work of next year in this town can be greatly reduced. Reading. — Previous to the fall of 1899, our finances have never permitted a thorough inspection of Reading. In 1898 nothing was found in the places formerly infested. A close inspection of the entire town, made in October and Novem- ber, 1899, by some of our most experienced men, resulted in the finding of a small colony in the western part of the town. In all, ten egg-clusters were destroyed there. This appears to be the extent of infestation west of Main Street ; on the east side of Main Street are located several infested estates, and an infested area about one-eighth of a mile square lies south-east of the centre of the town in the residential portion. To exterminate the moth from Reading it will be necessary to clear up all the infested areas and put them in condition for burlapping. A large part of the town should then be burlapped, and the burlaps attended thoroughly. If these conditions can be fulfilled, the work of exterminating the moth from Reading is not a difficult problem. Revere. — The condition of Revere now shows marked improvement. The underbrush in the Franklin Park section was cut and burned and the trees thinned previous to bur- lapping. Several vacant lots near the centre of the town were cleared, and the burlaps were well attended during the entire season, which resulted in the destruction of about three times the number of larva? found in 1898. A close inspection of the whole town in the fall of 1899 developed less than one-third the number of egg-clusters taken in 1898. Revere will need attention so long as Maiden and Everett remain infested ; and before extermination can be accomplished in this town, a considerable amount of prelim- inary work, such as trimming, scraping, and closing cavities in infested trees, will be necessary. Salem. — During the burlap season only two places were found infested, six larvae being taken in the residential district. One of these places was near the Peabody line, No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 373 and the other in the southern part of the city, adjoining the Great Pastures. All of the infested localities found in the pastures during the hist inspection were cleared of under- brush, and where necessary the ground was burned over during the past spring. The remaining trees were then burlapped, and attended closely during the season. All of the known infested places in the Pastures were given a careful inspection after the leaves had fallen, and a few egg-clusters were found in three different localities, in or near rock heaps or stone Avails, favorite hiding-places of the moth. Should any form of the moth appear here another season, tire will quickly dispose of the insects. The work of the past two years has put this city in better condition than ever before. The ultimate extermination of the moth here depends entirely on frequent and careful inspections. Somerville. — Only scattered larvfe have been found in Somerville the past year. None of the existing infestations are of especial importance. The city should be burlapped thoroughly next year, in order that any straggling larvse may be found and destroyed. At the present time the con- ditions here are very favorable. Thorough work should exterminate the moth from Somerville as soon as the large Medford colonies near by are so reduced as to prevent rein- festation. 8toneham. — But few caterpillars were found in the resi- dential part of Stoneham during the summer of 1899, and in but two of the infested places were there more than a dozen caterpillars killed. Only two egg-clusters were found in the burlapped area when it was carefully inspected last fall. Only two or three small colonies were found last fall in territory that had not been inspected for five years. The southern part of the town contains woodland areas which have been generally infested, and which in former years con- tained several formidable colonies. Some of these colonies have been exterminated, while the others are in much better condition than last year. A considerable amount of under- growth in this woodland should be cut before all the colonies can be put in condition for exterminative work. The entire town should now receive a thorough inspection. Siomnpscolt. — The entire town of Swampscott, including 374 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the woodland, has been inspected during tlie year. A few larva} were found during the burlap season in three of the most recent colonies. A careful fall inspection of the town was made, especially in the region where the moth has been the worst in years past, — particularly at Cedar Hill. Nothing was found in or near the old colonies. Outside of this region three small infested places were discovered, one of them situated near Phillips beach, the others in close proximity to the State road which has been built recently. Much traffic and travel passes near these points, and it is probable that they have thus become reiufested since the in- spection of three years ago. All eggs have been treated, but there still remains a small amount of brush to be cut before the localities are placed in proper condition for burlapping next year. This should be done before the hatching time. Thorough and constant attention to the burlaps should then practically free Swampscott from the gypsy moth. Wakefield. — The general inspection of this town, made in the winter of 1898-99, showed scattered infestations. The entire residential district and the infested woodland areas were burlapped and carefully attended during 1899. A larger amount of work was done in AVakefield than in any single previous year, and the results are manifest in a marked degree in the total number of moths found. Preliminary work — the clearing of underbrush, trimming out all dead wood, etc. — is being prosecuted in all infested localities. Thus all pos- sible preparations are being made for exterminative measures ; and, since the town is now but slightly exposed to the danger of reinfestation, it should receive constant and thorough atten- tion for a few years. Waltham. — Near an old colony in Waltham 8 larvae were taken early in July, 1899. Because of the importance of this outlying infestation, more than an acre of ground in this vicinity was burned over, and 3,G47 additional trees were burlapped. It seems probable that this colony has been exterminated. The entire city should now be inspected, in order that any reinfestation s, should they be found, may be promptly stamped out. Waterloivn. — While the condition of Watertown was excel- lent in 1898, it has been further improved during the past year. The only larvte found were taken in Mt. Auburn ceme- No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 375 tery, which, from the immense amount of travel centring there, will probably remain slightly infested so long as the moth is abundant in the inner towns. No egg-clusters were found in the fall inspection. As the danger of reinfestation decreases, faithful attention to the burlaps, with an occa- sional search for eggs, will be the only work necessary in Watertown. Wintlirop. — During the season of 1899 all the trees in this town were burlapped, and received close attention. A few scattered larvae were found. A careful examination at the end of the burlap season disclosed but a single egg-cluster. The town is now practically cleared of the gypsy moth. In common with other similarly located towns, Winthrop is somewhat exposed to the danger of reinfestation from the central district so long as the moth remains there in numbers. Wohurn. — The greater part of the residential district was burlapped and carefully attended during the summer. In one colony, where caterpillars were so numerous in 1897 as to necessitate burning with oil, no form of the moth was found this year. All told, a smaller number of caterpillars were destroyed this year than last, and but few egg-clusters were found in this section during the fall inspection. The northern portion of the city has not been scouted since 1895 until this fall, when a few small colonies were found. With but little effort these colonies can be put in shape for exterminative work. All the known woodland colonies are either entirely or nearly exterminated. In one woodland colony in 1898 392 caterpillars were destroyed ; and in the same colony in 1899 only 3 were found. In another, 70 caterpillars were destroyed in 1898, and no form of the moth was found in 1899. There still remains an area in the northern portion of the city wdiich should be inspected again. Central Towns. Everett. — Limitations of funds at critical periods have at times prevented the employment of active measures in this city, and, as a result, the condition is but slightly improved over that of former years. The infested areas are well known, and if circumstances enable us to make a thorough search for eggs before the hatching period, a large part of the city will be in condition for exterminative work in 1900. 376 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Maiden, — The present condition of Maiden shows a sub- stantial improvement over that of 1898. There were 256,691 burlaps in use ; large areas of the worst infested centres were cut over and burned ; extensive spraying yielded satisfactory results. Only about one-third as many larvoe and egg-clusters and half as many pupse were found in 1899 as in 1898. There still remain in the eastern and northern parts of the city areas of infested woodlands, which should be thinned and put in condition for burlapping. Before exterminative meas- ures are used, it will be necessary to cover the cavities in a large number of infested trees. The condition of the whole area being now accurately known, it is safe to assert that if continuous suppressive work can be carried on here for two successive years, exterminative measures may then be em- ployed to good advantage. Medford. — Since this city was the one in which the moth was originally introduced, its general infestation doubtless took place at an early date. The woodland colonies of Med- ford have for years been a most serious menace to the success of our work. Here the caterpillars have repeatedly swarmed in the years of restricted appropriations, and, being dissemi- nated outward from the colonies, have reinfested the sur- rounding cities and towns. Hence the condition of Arlington, Cambridge ,'Somerville, Stoneham and Winchester, as regards the gypsy moth, has been largely dependent on that of Med- ford. In 1897 we were obliged — although it entailed the serious neglect of outer infested territory — to use most vigorous measures in these woodland colonies. Favored by more liberal financial support during the past two years, the work thus commenced in 1897 has been prosecuted vigor- ously, with the result that the woodland colonies are now well under control. The residential portion of the city is generally infested, and will probably remain so until the scattering of the moth from the woodland colonies has been prevented. The most regrettable condition in Medford is the general infestation of the wooded areas lying in the met- ropolitan park reservation. Drastic measures for dealing with the moth here are out of the question, and a vast amount of expensive and continued hand-labor will be necessary before the moth is exterminated from these woodlands. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 377 Melrose. — The residential portion of Melrose contains scattered infestations, which are less numerous and extensive, however, than those in the corresponding part of Maiden. Because of the large numbers of the moth in Maiden in 1898, but little attention could be given to Melrose in that year, and, as a consequence, the insect increased to a considerable extent in the woodland colonies in the southern part of the town. It has been necessary to combat this increase during the past summer. Before substantial progress can be made, a con- siderable amount of preliminary work must be done. Under- brush and dead trees should l)e removed in the southern woodland colonies, and the cavities closed in a large number of infested trees. Vigorous suppressive measures will be necessary in Meh'ose for at least two 3'ears. Saugus. — The notable reduction of the numbers of the gypsy moth in Saugus, made in 1897-98, has been more than maintained the past season. The large centres of in- festation have been kept in good condition through the destruction of sprouts and underbrush and the clearing of ground still farther outward from these centres. Not only has the woodland section been much improved, but more work than ever before has been done in the farming and vil- lage districts of the town. Before exterminative work can be done in Saugus it will be necessary to trim a large number of infested trees, fill cavities in which the caterpillars might hide, and make general use of other well-known preliminary measures. More than 305,000 trees were burlapped and inspected during the past summer. A greater number of burlaps distributed over a larger portion of the town than ever before were attended, and yet a smaller number of larvae was taken in the entire town than has been found in the past on twenty square rods of infested woodland. A comparison of the num- ber of caterpillars killed by hand during the past three years may be interesting : — In 1897, over 3,522,000 larvae in a small area of woodland. In 1898, about 300,000 larva? in a larger area, including both woodlands and residential districts. In 1899, about 148,000 larvaJ over nearly the whole town, and of this number 42,546 were taken outside the woodland. 378 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. No fall inspecting and cleaning for eggs has as yet been done, owing to pressure of work in outer towns. However, the whole town is now in a most excellent condition. To maintain this condition it is of the greatest importance that a thorough inspection and destruction of all the remaining egg-clusters be made before the hatching period in 1900. Winchester. — This town has been generally infested by the moth, but the present condition of the colonies as com- pared with that of previous years is very satisfactory. Only about one-third as many caterpillars were found in the town this year as in 1898. The greater number of these were found in the south-eastern part, in or near the Middlesex Fells reservation. Repeated examinations of a large number of formerly infested estates failed to reveal the presence of the moth. Several of the woodland colonies are extermi- nated, while in others but a few caterpillars were found. In each of two colonies in which there were found respectively 1.941 and 2,988 caterpillars in 1898, no form of the moth was found in 1899. This town has been entirely inspected or burlapped during the past year, and is now in excellent condition for exterminative work. Summary. The statement of the condition of the infested cities and towns is based upon data obtained from a personal exam- ination of all the important colonies, supplemented by a considerable amount of inspection (and in many cases re- inspection) by expert employees, working independently of the general force. That the entire infested district was never so free from the gypsy moth since the beginning of the State work as at present is evident from facts which all may obtain. It is fortunate that the evidence showing the relative scarcity or abundance of the gypsy moth is of a physical nature, and may be apprehended by a reasonable exercise of the senses. Serious devastation by the caterpillars cannot pass unnoticed, neither can the masses of effof-clusters — the natural result of the insect's increase — remain concealed. Should critics of this work pay more attention to this simple principle, much misinformation and misrepresentation would be avoided. The condition of the infested region in past years is well No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 379 known to the residents of the district. The swarmiuo; hordes of caterpillars, the widespread devastation, the trees felted with thousands of egg-clusters, have not been forgotten. To-day we invite the most critical examination of the region occupied by the gypsy moth, feeling confident that the result of our work, as shown by the present scarcity of egg-clusters, is the best evidence of its success. Of the cities and towns in the preceding list, twelve are now in a condition where exterminative measures can be at once prosecuted to advantage. Of the remaining, at least thirteen should be inspected before the hatching period. If this can be done, doubtless several of these will be found so free from the moth that they may be added to the list of those ready for exterminative work. In Beverly, Dan vers, Brighton and Charlestown, places formerly infested, no form of the moth has been found during 1899. -In a number of towns there is necessary a large amount of preliminary work, such as cutting; of trees and brush and the closing of cavities in infested trees. This can be done from time to time, as opportunities present. Should suitable funds be made availa- ble early in the year, the work of inspection will be carried on when the weather permits. At other times the force will be utilized in cutting brush, thinning infested woodlands, putting trees in condition for burlapping, and treating egg- clusters in residential and woodland colonies. The work against the gypsy moth is now at a point where the vigorous prosecution of exterminative measures is a necessity, if the desired end is to be gained. The infes- tations in the majority of the thirty-four cities and towns are small, but somewhat numerous and widely scattered. When they are stamped out, the moth will be exterminated. If they are neglected, the moth will increase and spread. The danger of reinfestation of cleared areas is not an unimportant matter. When the Salem and Saugus colonies were neglected, Marblehead and Xahant became reinfested. There is also the greater danger of the increase of the known colonies. When the infested woodland district in Maiden, Medford and Win- chester was neglected, the infested area in these towns was soon enlarged ten-fold, and the expense of the necessary work in this district proportionately increased. 380 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Reduced and delayed appropriations result only in the neglect of a part of the necessary work, the loss of ground gained, and the undesirable and dangerous prolongation of the whole undertaking. While the writer's opinion is entitled to such weight only as his entomological training and experi- ence in the work warrant, he firmly believes that, if the final stages of the attempt to exterminate the gypsy moth cannot receive the prompt and liberal support of the Legislature, the whole undertaking should be abandoned. For the Consideration of Tax Payers. The establishment of the imported gypsy moth in Massa- chusetts involves an important question of public policy. While there are doubtless individuals w^ho do not believe that the moth is a serious pest, such are not to be found among those who have seen or suflered from the unrestricted ravages of the insect. The limitations of inexperience, popular ignorance or indiflTerence are conspicuously evident in those most skeptical of the insect's power for harm ; on the other hand, hundreds of intelligent citizens in eastern Massachusetts have a knowledge born of disastrous expe- rience with the uncontrolled increase of the gypsy moth. That the pressure of public opinion was strong enough to induce the State to begfin the work of extermination is sufficient evidence of the insect's ability to cause severe and widespread devastation. Granting, then, that the gypsy moth is a serious foe to our agricultural interests, as well as to our forests, parks and shade trees, and that it exists in a restricted area, it is evident that its control and ex- termination are at once desirable and necessary. Theo- retically, this end may be obtained in two ways; (1) by the co-operation of all owners of infested estates ; (2) by action on the part of the State. The abstract proposition, w^iether the moth can be controlled by individuals, is not difficult of solution in the light of comparatively recent history. This system of fighting the moth was thoroughly tested by property owners in Medford during the years 1888-90. In the time which had elapsed since the unfortu- nate introduction of the insect in 1869 the moth had become acclimatized and disseminated over an area many miles iu Gypsy moth caterpillars clustered on a defoliated pine. No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 381 diameter. In the period mentioned its ravages assumed a most formidable character, and fruit and shade trees were devastated by millions of hungry insects. The control of the insect was practically delegated, by common consent, to the efforts of the individual property owners. Each energetic sufferer attempted, by the outlay of time and money, to destroy the caterpillars which swarmed over his property ; each shiftless neighbor allowed the insects to multiply and run riot over his place, thus setting at naught the efforts of the more enterprising members of the community. This state of affairs continued to grow worse, until in midsummer, 1889, the town, and later, in 1890, the State was called upon for aid. What warrant have we to believe that similar con- ditions would not in a few years follow the abandonment of the work against the gypsy moth? We know that the moth has lost none of its prolificacy or voracity, — witness the recent colony at Georgetown, illustrations from which appear in this report. Has human nature so changed that all members of an afflicted community would now work together to control this pest? That they would not is evident from past experience. As a matter of fact, they could not if they would, because of the great expense involved in such an undertaking. The test of a method is the result obtained. Individual efforts under the prevailing conditions of society were not successful in coping with the moth. Has the work against the gypsy moth under State auspices been a success ? The answer to this question may be fairly sought in a contrast of the conditions prevailing at the inception of the work and those that obtain at the present time. When the State work against the moth began, the foliage of the trees in a large part of Medford and in parts of Arlington and Maiden had been destroyed, and, as a result of the devastation in previous years, hundreds of trees were dying or dead. Serious outbreaks soon appeared at Swampscott and other places along the north shore. Large colonies of the moth developed in the woodlands near the infested district, while the pest was known to be disseminated in varying numbers through at least thirty cities and towns. At the present time damage by the moth has been brought down to a minimum, 382 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. defoliation of trees is of rare occurrence, the large colonies have been reduced, hundreds of smaller colonies exter- minated, and the increase of the pest controlled and checked. It is true that during the years 1894-96 a large and formidable multiplication in the numbers of the moth took place in the woodland colonies ; but this, as has been repeatedly pointed out in previous reports, was due to the diminished appropriations of those years, which prevented the destruction of the moth in such localities. During the past two years, however, with more liberal appropriations, the lost ground has l^een regained, and a noticeable and gratifying reduction of the moth throughout the entire infested district has been secured. Thus the success of the work of the State against the moth finds a complete demon- stration in the conditions which exist to-day in the infested territory. This brings us to the counting of the cost. If the sum needed for the operations of 1900 be made available promptly, it can be well expended in persistent, thorough-going work over the entire infested district, — an effort whose effective- ness and importance will be at once apparent. The infes- tation now consists of many small, scattered colonies, for whose extermination a large amount of skilled labor will be required. Trained labor commands a somewhat higher price than the untrained ; and thus in the final stages of the work the relative expense for the number of moths destroyed will be somewhat larger than in the earlier years, where the greater proportion of labor was utilized in the wholesale killing of the moths. Concernino; the damao:e the moth would cause should it become disseminated over the State, the estimate of Professor Fernald, $1,000,000 per annum, seems to the writer to be sufficiently conservative. This loss will fall with the greatest force upon the farming class. It will affect the owners of shade and ornamental trees and shrubs. Municipalities will suffer through the devastation of the trees in parks and along the streets. The burden will also be felt locally in the in- creased price of agricultural products in those regions where damage by the moth is greatest. The problem of the relation of the gypsy moth to the prop- No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 383 erty interests of the citizens of the State is, then, not difficult of a logical solution. We are menaced by a dangerous, im- ported pest. Where individuals and municipalities have failed, the State has succeeded in controlling the spread and ravages of the moth. To finish the work, liberal appropria- tions will be necessary for the next few years. On the other hand, should the work cease, the spread of the moth over the State will follow, resulting in annual damage to the amount of at least a million dollars. Reason and good busi- ness judgment alike would seem to indicate the desirability of continuing the State work against the insect, without unnecessary delays and with the most vigorous measures possible. A. H. KIRKLAND. 384 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. EEPORT OK THE BROWISr-TAIL MOTH. To the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. While the same employees that are engaged in combating the gypsy moth carry on the work against the brown-tail moth, the wide difference in the habits of the insects and in the methods of destroying them renders it advisable to make a separate report on this part of our work, in order that there may be no confusion of the subjects treated. By the action of the Legislature in 1898 the work of com- bating the brown-tail moth was placed in charge of the Board of Agriculture, and |10,000 of the sum previously appropri- ated for work against the gypsy moth was set aside for use asrainst the brown-tail moth. Similar action in regard to the appropriation was taken by the Legislature of 1899. An examination of the region occupied by this insect, com- pleted in December, 1898, showed that the brown-tail moth was then disseminated throughout an area extending at least from Gloucester to Scituate, and westward as far as \Valtham. This area has greatly enlarged during the past year. The rapidly increasing distribution of this insect is well shown by the accompanying map. As the female moth flies vigorously and is often carried long distances by the wind, there is every reason to expect that notwithstanding the efforts now made to control it, in a short time this insect will become widely disseminated. While your committee is willing to accept the responsibility placed upon it by the Legislature, it holds that expenditures of pul)lic funds in combating insect pests are scarcely justifi- able in those cases where the extermination or control of the pest is an obvious impossibility. The possibility of exter- minating the gypsy moth has been repeatedly and convinc- ingly demonstrated by the complete eradication of hundreds of colonies under the most difficult conditions. On the other EXPLANATION W On cj/ndl C olony <7/M.A-rzd inf ested inl89& ^^ „ If "/897 ^^^X BILLERICA SBEDFORIV CONCORD >^i?J^ ^-^-llNCOLN ^ ^ / r-WAYLANDl fl^ ^^ f/Z / \W£LLE5LEr -^ \ ^ L \ /NEEOHAM-v SHERBORI^' DOVER /wesVHAMVIil L *- ^ L ^ooD^-/^ili J^ILLISS ^ujjwwu, \(,„NDOLPH> -MOUTHE:;^^ ^ . y IWALPOLE/ V--"^ / v p^«"^'«»\ V \ I \-NOKroLK/ /SHARON VsTOuCHTOnf A.ow >T-/(BIAICT0W'\ \hANOVER ^WARSHFiaP^ Map showing the i-apidly increasing spread of the brown-tail moth. No. 4.] THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH. 385 hand, no colony of the brown-tail moth since the insect be- came well established has yet been exterminated. Cities like Cambridge and Somerville, cleared of this pest in 1898, have been reinfested through the actively flying female moths. In the three years in which the brown-tail moth has been known as a pest in this country it has become distributed over nearly four times the area occupied by the gypsy moth in thirty years. If a part of the funds requested and needed for work against the gypsy moth are to be annually set apart for the destruction of the brown-tail moth, neither undertaking can. be brought to a successful conclusion. Your committee is willing to continue the direction of the work against the brown-tail moth if the Legislature so indicates its desire by making a separate appropriation for the purpose. In justice to itself, however, it feels obliged to register a protest against continued expenditures in a work whose impossi- bility is patent, while the extermination of the gypsy moth, whose entire possibility has been thoroughly demonstrated, sufifers from inadequate financial support. The following is the statement of expenditures made in combating the brown-tail moth : — Financial Statement for 1899, — Broum-tail Moth. Balance on hand Jan. 1, 1899, $1 04 Appropriation for the year 1899, 10,000 00 Wages of employees, Balance on hand Jan. 1, 1900, $10,001 04 . $9,999 81 1 23 $10,001 04 E. W. WOOD. AUGUSTUS PRATT. F. W. SARGENT. N. I. BOWDITCH. JOHN M. DANFORTH. J. W. STOCKWELL. 386 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Report of Acting Field Director. To the Committee on the Oypsy Moth. The act making an appropriation of $170,000 for the gypsy moth work in 1899 set aside a sum not to exceed $10,000 for use in the destruction of the brown-tail moth. This sum was expended as follows : in April the webs in the worst- infested localities in Maiden were cut off and destroyed ; in June several localities in Medford and Maiden, where the caterpillars were destructively abundant, were sprayed with arsenate of lead with good results. These outbreaks were sufficiently severe to cause much annoyance and considerable damage. Late in November the larger part of the webs in Medford, Maiden and Everett was destroyed. Since it was useless to attempt to exterminate this insect from any one of the cities with the sum at that time available (about $6,000), it was deemed wiser to destroy the large masses of larvae, and in this way, so far as possible, prevent serious damage by the insect in 1900. It did not seem wise to spend time and money in removing the scattered webs from the tops of tall elms, for example, while near at hand on infested pear and apple trees there were thousands of webs from which the following year the insects would develop in great swarms. It thus follows that the work against the brown-tail moth has been merely an attempt at local control, rather than at extermination. Work Done. Trees inspected, 413,758 Trees sprayed, 2,517 Trees cut, 4 Trees trimmed, 4 Winter webs destroyed (old ) , 13,519 Winter webs destroyed (new) , 884,480 In order to work intelligently in the matter, it seemed important to determine the area over which the moth had No. 4.] THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH. 387 become distributed. To this end, late in December, 1898, several employees were sent on trips of inspection through towns bordering on the known infested region. As a result, the infested area was found to be nearly double that which had been known. In brief, the moth was found to be dis"- seminated from Gloucester on the north to Scituate on the south, and as far west as Waltham. In November and December, 1899, an examination of the towns lying outside of the region known to be infested in 1898 gave even more discouragino- results. The moth is now known to be dis- seminated throughout the north shore district, above Cape Ann, and even over the State line in New Hampshire. A tabulation by years of the towns infested is given below : — 1896. Gloucester. Groveland. Cambridge. Hingham. Hamilton. Everett. Hull. Haverhill. Maiden. Lexington. Ipswich. Medford. Lynnfield. Lawrence. Somerville. Manchester. Marblehead. 1897. Newton. Merrimac. Arlington. Peabody. Methuen. Belmont. Quincy. Middleton. Boston. Reading. Milton. Burlington. Salem. Newbury. Lynn. Scituate. Newbury port. Melrose. Swampscott. North Andover. Revere. "\Vakefield North Reading. Saugns. Waltham. Rockport. Stoneham. Watertown. Rowley. Winchester. Weymouth. Salisbury. Woburn. Topsfield. 1899. Wenham. 1898. Amesbury. West Newbury. Beverly. Andover. Wilmington. Braintree. Boxford Winthrop. Brookline. Danvers. Chelsea. Georgetown. Seabrook, N. H. The map given in another part of this report makes clearer than words the exact situation. Should the brown-tail moth continue its present rate of spread, its dissemination over the 388 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. No. 4. State will be a matter of only a few decades. The figures given below are significant : — Sq. Miles. Area infested, fall of 1896, 29 Area Infested, fall of 1897, 158 Area infested, fall of 1898, .448 Area infested, fall of 1899, 928 The areas given in the above table are those of the cities and towns in which the winter webs of the moth for the respective years w^ere found. When the moth was first noticed in May, 1897, the winter webs of 1896 were still visible, and indicated the area occupied by the insect that year. The figures given in the above table make evident the hopelessness of attempting to exterminate the brown-tail moth. In fact, the co-operation of Massachusetts and New Hampshire would now be necessary as the first step in an attempt toward extermination. The destruction of large masses of the insect tends to check its spread, and it is pos- sible that the attempt to secure its control may be carried on as at present under State auspices more economically than by miscellaneous undirected individual efforts. It cannot be doubted that we are soon to see the general distribution of this insect over the Commonwealth ; and in view of the approach of this unfortunate condition, it would seem wise to provide for the publication and distribution among the citizens of the State of a carefully prepared report, which shall set forth the habits of the insect and the various remedies best suited to insure its destruction. A. H. KIRKLAND. NINTH ANNUAL KEPOET DAIRY BUREAU Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, Under Chapter 412, Acts of 1891. January 15, 1900. Daihy Bureau— 1899-1900. D. A. HORTON, Northampton, Chairman. J. L. ELLSWORTH, Worcester. C. D. RICHARDSON, West Brookfield. Executive Officer. J. W. STOCKWELL, Secretary of the State Board of AgriciiUiire. Assistant to the Secretary and Acting Executive Officer, appointed by the Governor. GEO. M. WHITAKER, Boston. EEPORT OF THE DAIRY BUREAU. The Dairy Bureau is charged with the enforcement of the dairy laws of the Commonwealth, and also with educational work. In enforcing these laws the Bureau has co-ordinate jurisdiction with the State Board of Health and with milk inspectors, and at first glance it would seem as if there were an unnecessary complexity of machinery ; but this is ap- parent rather than real. So far as the State Board of Health concerns itself with dairy products, it makes a specialty of looking for violations of the milk laws ; consequently, the Dairy Bureau makes a specialty of enforcing the counterfeit butter laws. In most cities and towns havino; milk in- spectors the salaries paid these officers are very small, hence no great amount of work is performed by them, and there is need of inspection by State officers ; in these places we are welcomed, sometimes very heartily, as an important ally of the local authorities. Boston, however, has liberal appro- priations, and in Dr. Harrington an excellent officer to enforce the law ; therefore the work is well done, and we attempt nothing in the city of Boston. From the above it will be seen that, in enforcing the laws relative to counter- feit butter outside of Boston, with incidental attention to other dairy laws, and in carrying out the injunction of the statute "to disseminate such information as shall be of ser- vice in producing a more uniform dairy product of higher grade and better quality," the Dairy Bureau has a distinctive field of action difierent from that of any other department, and one in which there is an abundance of important work. During the past year we have been exceptionally busy, and have accomplished more — at least, so far as v^isible and statistical results show — than in any previous year of the Bureau's existence. This is largely due to increased activity of dealers in oleomargarine, and the addition to our work 392 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. by the passage of the renovated butter law last winter. We have made more than the average number of inspections, taken more samples than in previous years, had more than the average number of cases in court, secured more convic- tions than ever before, and have done an unusual amount of educational work. This has necessarily increased our ex- penses for travel and chemist's services, but the expense for agents' salaries has been below the average. Notwithstand- ing all that has been accomplished, we have seen much more that could be done which we were obliged to leave un- touched, on account of the limited appropriation. With more money we could have shown even greater results. The membership of the Bureau has remained the same as last year. There has been a change, however, in the execu- tive officer, due to the retirement of Hon. William R. Sessions, who declined another re-election as secretary of the Board of Agriculture. Hon. J. W. Stockwell was elected in January, and in July assumed the office, which includes the position of executive officer of the Bureau. The details of the executive work have continued under the direction of George M. Whitaker, who in September was reappointed by the Governor as " assistant to the secretary of the Board of Agriculture ... to assist in the work prescribed in the eleventh section of this act." Only two regular agents for collecting samples and for in- spection service have been at work during the year. Mr. Stockwell resigned in January, and Ralph M. Horton was then employed as a regular agent. George F. Baldwin has been continued during the year. Prof. F. S. Cooley of the Agricultural College was appointed in the summer as a tem- porary agent to investigate the work of the creameries of the State. From time to time special agents have been em- ployed for short terms, as circumstances seemed to demand. The regular agents become in time so well known that their efficiency for detective work is in some instances impaired, and good results occasionally follow the temporary employ- ment of a person unknown to would-be law breakers. The chemical work during the year has been performed by Dr. B. F. Davenport and by the Hatch Experiment Station (Edward B. Holland, analyst), the former analyzing No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 393 samples taken in the eastern part of the State, and the latter samples taken in the western part of the State. In a general way and statistically the work of the Bureau during the year has been as follows : — Inspection of places in which dairy products or imitation dairy products were sold or stored, Samples taken of real or imitation butter, Samples taken of milk, .... Samples taken of condensed milk. Samples taken of cream, .... Cases in court, Meetings addressed, including a butter exhibition, Inspection of creameries. Work at fairs. 1,935 742 611 102 4 87 19 The offences charged in the court cases have been as follows : — Having milk of less than standard quality in possession with intent to sell, 19 Having imitation of yellow butter in possession with in- tent to sell, ......... 47 Serving oleomargarine in hotels and restaurants without giving notice, 13 Obstructing officers in prosecution of their work, . . 3 Condensed milk, 5 Total, . 87 This does not include all of the work done, as evidence has been secured of several violations of the law which could not be tried during the year, and necessarily went over to the next year's record. Evidence in two other cases which could not be tried on account of the absconding of the defendants was secured. Of the above 87 cases in court, the defendant was acquitted in 10 and a nol pros, entered in 7, leaving the largest num- ber of convictions secured by the Bureau in any one year. A more detailed account of the work is as follows : — Imitation Butter. Natural butter has been higher in price during the past year than for a number of previous years, which has been a temptation to crowd the sales of the spurious article. Fur- 394 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. ther than that, the number of manufacturers who have been pushing their goods in Massachusetts has increased. When the national supreme court rendered its now famous Plumley decision, sustaining the constitutionality of the anti-color law, the large Chicago manufacturers withdrew from Massa- chusetts. They said that, whatever might be their opinion of the law, they could not afford to stand before the com- munity as law breakers. As a result of this decision, all of the counterfeit butter that came into Massachusetts for several years was made in Rhode Island, by companies bear- ing the names — somewhat peculiar for the business in which they were engaged — of " Vermont " and " Oakdale." Dur- ing the past year the greed of gain has led two large Chicago manufacturers to climb sheepishly down from the pedestal of virtue on which they had been posing, and enter the scramble for dollars by defying the laws of the Common- wealth. These large manufacturers have made cities and towns in other States near the Massachusetts line the base of their operations, and in many instances have resorted to tricks that would bring a blush of envy to the average kitchen bar room proprietor. On these accounts we have had no lack of work. Our agents have travelled more miles, made more inspections and procured more evidence than in any previous year. We have had 63 cases in court. Evidence has also been secured in a number of others which it was impossible to try in time to go into the year's records. The charges were as follows : — Violating the anti-color law, 47 Violating the hotel-restaurant law, 13 Obstructing an officer, 3 Total, 63 It will l)e noticed that only two forms of complaint have been used. Some years we have brought charges for violat- ing as many as eight different laws, but in every case the anti-color law was one of the number which was violated. As courts do not like to multiply cases based on a single trans- action, and as violation of the anti-coloi' law is easily proved, we have adopted the practice of making all complaints for the No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 395 violation of that law, except when oleomargarine is served in hotels and restaurants without giving notice. In the above 60 oleomargarine cases, 2 were nol prossed and there were 5 acquittals, leaving convictions in 55 cases, as against IG in 1898 and 21 in 1897. No cases appealed to the superior court have been lost. Exceptions have been saved for the supreme court on three points. In a majority of cases where the anti-color law was violated the oleomar- garine was sold as and for butter, so that there was a com- mercial and moral fraud, as well as a violation of the statute. In one case we found the marks and brands required by the national government erased from the tub, and in place thereof the stencil " From J. D. Smith's Creamery, Sudbury, Ver- mont." An inspector was sent to Sudbury to investigate, and found no such creamery in the place. Though the sale of oleomargarine has been pushed harder than ever before in the State, the law has been enforced with such efficiency that the veteran market reporter of one of the leading daily papers of Boston, who is remarkably well informed, in summing up the situation says : " Although oleomargarine seems to be interfering considerably with the consumption of genuine butter in the west, we do not think it cuts much of a figure here." In a number of instances our agents have found shipments of oleomargarine in transit, and following it to the place of delivery have traced it to some State institution, in one case to a soldiers' home. Thus in many instances the State is holding out temptation to law breakers, and giving a coun- terfeit article to the unfortunate inmates of our eleemosynary institutions, not excepting the veterans who risked their lives in the defence of their country. Dr. Harrington, the Boston milk inspector, for several months prosecuted restaurant keepers for the sale of an imi- tation of yellow butter ; but after awhile he ran against a snag in the person of a judge who held that complaints ought not to be brought under that act, because restaurant keepers are especially mentioned in another, and discharged the defendant. Acting on what he believed to be good advice, the inspector entered more cases under slightly different pleadings, got convictions, and the defendants appealed to 396 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. the superior court. One case was called in May, and the judge, on consultation with counsel on both sides and such of his associates as could be seen, decided that furnishing yellow oleomargarine to be used on bread as a part of a meal does not constitute a sale of the oleomargarine in the same sense that furnishing milk as a part of a meal constitutes a sale of milk. The minimum fine in the restaurant cases is only $10, while in the other class of cases it is $100. We yet hear occasional criticisms of the anti-color law, especially by persons who have not had opportunity to in- vestigate it ; and the remark is sometimes made that, if butter can be colored, there is no good reason why oleomar- garine cannot be sold in imitation of butter. This is sophis- tical. Admitting, for argument's sake, that coloring butter is indefensible, it does not make right the selling of a counter- feit. As has been frequently explained in previous reports, the law is demanded in the interests of commercial honesty. Colored oleomargarine is a fraudulent article ; when sold, it is usually sold dishonestly, and not only sold dishonestly, but at an exorbitant profit. Experience has proved this. In instances where we have found it on sale, where people had taken their chances in violating the law, we have found the retailer getting a profit of 60 or 70 per cent, to say nothing of the swindle of palming off lard and tallow on persons who supposed they were getting real butter. Such cases would be multiplied enormously and indefinitely, were it not for this law. Hence the law is in the interests of con- sumer, producer and dealer in honest butter. During the year an attempt has been made in a number of States to create a sentiment in favor of increasing the national revenue tax on colored oleomargarine, in order still further to throttle a counterfeit. It has been shown that this might en- danger the constitutionality of the anti-color law by recogniz- ing colored oleomargarine as an article of commerce, should the supreme court follow the logic of the recent Pennsylvania case. In view of this fact, an effort is to be made first to secure a law in relation to food products similar to what has already been enacted in relation to intoxicating liquors, — to wit, that food products, especially dair}'^ articles, shall be subject to the laws of the States into which they are im- ported. This will clinch the question of constitutionality. No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 397 Then can follow an increase in the tax on colored oleomarga- rine, which will not jeopardize any legislation which has been already secured. There have been no court decisions during the past year of particular importance. In Michigan the anti-color law has been temporarily defeated on a technical ground, the claim being that the subject of the statute was not indicated with sufficient clearness in the title. Renovated Butter. ' The process of gathering up low grades and refuse butter, and so renovating the mass as to produce a clean, palatable article, is in the abstract a gain to humanity, as is any process that economizes wastes, utilizes by-products and perfects or increases the world's food supply ; but when avarice impels weak mankind to sell the product dishonestly, when this clarified stuff is in many cases given to the con- sumer as fresh creamery butter, law is necessary to protect consumer, honest dealer and the better class of producers. Such a state of alEFairs existed in Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota and Massachusetts last winter, to such an extent as to lead to the enactment of laws requiring that packages and wrappers used in the sale of this grade of butter should be marked with the words " Renovated Butter." This con- dition of affairs and this law has added to our work and expenses, especially for chemists' analyses ; but we cannot report any absolute statistics on this point, because the work is closely related to the enforcement of the oleomarga- rine laws. When an inspector visits a store, he is on the lookout for both oleomargarine and renovated butter. Still further, they are often so near alike in superficial character- istics that he recognizes what he finds as something that is not natural butter, and takes a sample, a chemical analysis being necessary to detect the nature of the substance. During the year we have found no wilful violations of the law. Where the goods have been found unmarked, atten- tion has been called to the fact, and in every instance so far there has seemingly been a willingness to comply with the law ; hence there have been no prosecutions. In a few instances there has appeared an attempt to evade the law by having the mark or brand less distinct than the law required. 398 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. One dealer used wrappers marked "Sterilized Renovated Butter." It goes without saying that the law is unpopular with would-be or actual dealers in this kind of butter. This unpopularity has been increased this season by the high price of butter, which has stimulated the demand for the lower grades, and, as one market reporter says, has proved ' ' a bonanza for dealers in renovated butter." Why a bonanza, unless because they were selling at abnormal profits, and inferentially dishonestly? The objection is to the word "renovated," which is said to carry a stigma, and to be a derogatory expression which injures the sale of this butter. Dealers prefer the word "sterilized;" but "renovated" is an honest appellation, while " sterilized" is not. Butter. The following table shows the extreme quotation for the best fresh creamery butter in a strictly wholesale way in the Boston market for five years : — 1S99. Cents. 1898. Cents. 1897. Cents. 1896. Cents. 1895. Cents. January, . 21 22i 22 26 26 February, 24 21h 22 24 25 March, . 22h 22 23 24 ■ 23 April, 21 22h 22 22 21 May, 19 18 18 17 19 June, 19 17i 16 16^ 20 July, 19 18d 16h 16d 19 August, . 2U 19h 19 17i 21 September, 2dh 21 22 17i 22 October, . 24 2U 22h 20 23 November, 26d 21 22 21 23 December, 28 21 23 23 28 Average, 22.4 20.6 20.6 20.4 22.5 No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 399 While the price during some months was below the aver- age for corresponding months, the average for the year 1899 was about two cents per pound more than the average of 1896, 1897 and 1898. The advance was most marked dur- ing the last five months of the year. The amount of business done in Boston for the years 1899 and 1898 was as follows : — 1899. Pounds. 1898. Pounds. On hand January 1, Receipts for year, ...... 2,829,160 49,457,606 2,474,000 50,609,552 Total supply, Exports, deduct 52,286,766 2,951,710 53,083,562 1,574,682 Net supply, Stock December 31, deduct .... 49,335,056 2,035,400 51,508,870 2,829,160 Consumption, 47,299,656 48,679,710 The average monthly consumption for three years has been as follows : — Pounds. 1899, 3,933,300 1898, 4,056,600 1897, 4,021,500 It is unfortunate that statistics for other cities are not available ; but in no other place in the State is there any organized body which looks after the statistics of business so carefully as the Boston Chamber of Commerce. If the existence of the oleomargarine laws and the way that they are enforced has driven out of the business a dishonest substitute and increased sales of genuine butter by an amount equal to one per cent of the consumption reported above for Boston alone, we have the value of the law to consumers, producers and dealers, expressed in pounds, as 470,000. This we believe to be an extremely conservative estimate. We base our opinion on the temptation there is to sell col- ored oleomargarine dishonestly, and the great amount that 400 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. would flood the market were there no laws in existence. If this 470,000 pounds is valued at the average price for the past year of 22.4 cents, we have $105,280 to the credit of the law and its execution ; but if we have exaggerated to the great extent of doubling the amount, the figures $52,000 would still show a material saving. Samples of butter have been submitted to this department during the past year w^hich have had amounts of moisture varying from 7 to 33 per cent. These are extreme, and yet the samples of butter were taken from goods in possession of dealers in the ordinary course of commerce, and show what is possible. Analyses of many samples of butter show that the usual amount of moisture is from 15 to 20 per cent. When butter contains an abnormal amount of water, it appears to us to be a case of adulteration so far as the moral aspects, of the case go, even though there is no violation of any statute. Massachusetts Creameries. It is difficult to get at the exact number of creameries in the State, as in a number of cases city milk dealers have a butter plant for working up their surplus milk, and it is a question whether such an establishment can be fairly called a creamery. Furthermore, in several cases where cream- eries have been built business has been suspended tempo- rarily, but with a possibility of revival. We estimate that there are 46 butter factories in the State. Thirty-three of these, mostly co-operative, reported to the agent of the Bureau, Professor Cooley, that in 1898 the}^ made 3,750,000 pounds of butter and sold 110,000 gallons of cream. The raw material was received from 2,700 farmers, who represented 23,000 cows. The value of the product was $842,000. Of these co-operative creameries 5 were incorporated as far back as 1886, but the average age of those now in ex- istence is only nine years. Most of these that have gone out of existence — West Dudley, Rutland, Leominster, Ipswich, Hampden and others — have been forced out from the com- petition of the sale milk business. The value of milk to sell as milk is usually in excess of its butter value ; and where creameries have been located near large towns or along the No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 401 lines of railroads where milk cars run to Boston, farmers have gradually withdrawn from the creamery and gone to selling milk, except in a few instances where the creamery has turned its attention to the production of cream rather than of butter. Generally speaking, the majority of the creameries are strong and in good condition, increasing their output. The newer creameries do not always represent new busi- ness, but a transfer of a part of the business of some older creamery. The relative rank of the first 12 creameries as to value of output is as follows : Conway, Amherst, Belcher- town, Hampton, Cummington, Chester, Egremont, Charle- mont, Northfield, Williamsburg, Greylock and Ashfield. The troubles from the surplus in the sale milk business in Boston have been emphasized and become prominent through the magnitude of the business, leading to a considerable dis- cussion of the problem in the agricultural press. But the creameries of the State are troubled in a similar way, though not so emphatically. The amount of production varies very much from month to month. Ten of the leading creameries show a maximum production in June of 177,000 pounds of butter and a minimum in September of 120,000 pounds, — a variation of 57,000 pounds in four months. This is a shrink- age from the heaviest production of 32 per cent, and presents the same problem of uneven supply that troubles the Boston milk market. Either there was a surplus of 57,000 pounds in June and nearly the same in May, or there was a shortage in the supply of that amount in August and September, and of almost that amount in November and February. Several creameries who have regular customers and keep well sold up have been obliged to buy butter from Vermont or New York to supply their customers when the home supply was short. The conditions of individual creameries are even worse than this average. The Egremont creamery produced in June 27,- 000 pounds of butter and in February 11,000, — a difierence of 60 per cent, or 16,000 pounds. Belchertown produced 29,000 pounds in June and 17,000 in December, — a differ- ence of 12,000 pounds, or 43 per cent. Ashfield's percent- age of difference is 52, though, as the creamery was doing a smaller business, the variation was only about 8,000 pounds. 402 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. An attempt was made to get at the annual butter yield per cow, in which there is an element of uncertainty on account of the varying- number of cows that supply a creamery during the year, but the result obtained may be regarded as approx- imately correct; it is an average of 175 pounds. The highest return was made by Williamstown and Egremont creameries, 204 pounds each ; and the lowest by Hinsdale, 127 pounds. Estimating the value of butter at 19 cents per pound, the income per cow varied from $24.13 in the case of Hinsdale creamery to $38.76 in the case of Williamstown and Egremont. This showing of 175 pounds of butter per cow is very creditable to Massachusetts dairymen, when looked at from the stand-point of the fact that the census of 1885 makes the estimate that 130 pounds is the average for the country. On the other hand, it should be remembered that many dairies average 300 pounds per cow, and more is not of infrequent occurrence. In the competition under the aus- pices '^of the Guernsey Cattle Club the herd of George C. Hill & Son at Rosendale, Wis., averged 455 pounds of but- ter per cow for the year; and that of L. P. Morton, Rhine- cliffe, N. Y., averaged 450 pounds. Such variations — from 455 to 127 pounds of butter per cow per year — would be hardly possible in any other kind of manufacturing. About 90 per cent of the butter produced in Massachusetts creameries is marketed in cities and towns comparatively near the creamery, and does not come into the large whole- sale markets. The balance is sent to Boston and New York, and is quite largely the surplus in seasons of largest amounts made. About 85 per cent of the butter manufactured is wrapped in prints, and about 5 per cent put into five-pound boxes, showing that 90 per cent, or approximately about the same as is sold near home, is for immediate consumption. At creamery institutes there is a general desire for some mode of inspection of dairies, because poor cream from one dairy will seriously affect the whole churning, and injure the returns to every farmer supplying that creamery with cream. But there are so many diflferent ideas among the different creameries as to the methods to be pursued, that Professor Cooley recommended that no general inspection be attempted, No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 403 but that the Dairy Bureau secure the services of an expert, who can be called upon by creameries if wanted. The Belchertown creamery scores dairies by a scale of points, and the following is suggested, which would also be a good scale in scoring dairies producing sale milk (on a scale of 100, 50 points are allowed for care of cows and 50 for the handling of milk) : — Scale of Points for inspecting Dairies. Perfect Condition of cows, health, 6 Cleanliness, .... 6 Stables, clean, 4 Light, 5 Good ventilation. 5 Disinfected twice a year, 4 Yards, dry, 5 Feed, 10 Water, 5 Care of milk : — Handling, straining, 6 Submerging, 6 Apjjaratus, thoroughly washed, 4 Scalded, .... 4 Exposed to sunlight, 4 Location of cream I'oom, dry, . 2 Free from odor. 4 Ventilation, 3 Care of tank, clean, . 3 Pure water, .... . 7 Temperature, .... . 7 100 Of the creameries investigated, 86.5 per cent use the Cooley creamer and 13.5 per cent the various separators. Nearly 60 per cent of the cream is taken by gatherers, who make a trip every other day. Almost half of the remainder is collected four times a week. Of the by-product, buttermilk, 82 per cent is used for feed- ing pigs and calves and 11 per cent is sold for domestic con- sumption. Milk. In the enforcement of the milk law we have taken 611 samples. In 19 instances the milk was so poor as to war- rant prosecution. In 3 cases the defendant was discharged 404 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. on technical grounds growing out of last winter's law, leaving 16 convictions. The result of the analyses of the milk in the 19 cases was as follows : — Solids not Fat (Per Cent). Fat (Per Cent). Total SoUds (Per Cent). No. 1 8.29 3.05 11.34 No. 2, 8.53 2.80 11.33 No. 3, 8.64 3.05 11.69 No. 4, 7.29 3.60 10.89 No. 5 10.24 .40 10.64 No. 6, 9.84 2.06 11.90 No. 7, 8.80 2.24 11.04 No. 8, 8.58 2.80 11.38 No 9, 8.62 2.80 11.42 No. 10, 8.82 2.54 11.36 No. 11, .... . 9.36 2.62 11.98 No. 12 9.50 2.50 12.00 No. 13, c7.95 ^8.24 3.40 3.40 11.35 11.64 No. 14, 7.64 3.13 10.77 No. 15, 7.83 3.33 11.16 r8.41 <* 8.79 1^8.79 3.00 11.41 No. 16, 3.03 11.82 3.23 12.02 No. 17, 8.96 2.60 11.56 No. 18, 8.44 1.28 9.72 No. 19, 8.44 2.92 11.36 Last winter's Legislature passed the following law : — "Whenever the state board of health, dairy bureau, or other state or city authority obtains a sample of milk for inspection, by taking, purchase or otherwise, the analysis of said sample shall, within ten days of the procurement thereof, be sent to the person from whom the sample was obtained. Nothing can be said against the proposition that the pro- ducer and distributor of milk should have every possible No. 4.] RP:P0RT of dairy bureau. 405 opportunity for studying the composition of the product in which he deals and of keeping informed as to its quality. Practical experience, however, shoM^s that in the majority of cases such laws are merely a weapon in the hands of those who would embarrass the enforcement of the law. The law is of no value to the better class of producers and dealers, for the reason that they get none of these notices. In some depart- ments samples taken are submitted to preliminary tests, and only the suspicious ones analyzed ; in one department it is held that the law is complied with by sending notices only to those who are to be prosecuted. If, however, the law is to remain on the statute books, the ten-day limit should be modified, as it is so short as to impede the enforcement of the law. Then, again, there is no agreement as to the meaning of the law. It does not provide, as does chapter 318, section 3, Acts of 1886, that a failure to send the required notice will invalidate proceedings in court ; and one judge has held that the law has nothing to do with court practice under the milk laws, and has fined a man when no notice was sent ; in another case another judge made an opposite ruling, and discharged the defendant because no notice was sent. Then, again, there is no agreement among authorities as to how much of an analysis shall be made. The Attorney- General advised us : " The law only requires 3'ou to report to the person from whom you took the sample the result of whatever analysis is made by authority of your Board." A few days after receiving this opinion we took a sample from a dealer, ascertained the amount of total solids, re- ported the result within ten days, and then complained of him for handling milk not of standard quality. The de- fence raised the point that merely reporting the amount of the total milk solids was not < ' reporting the result of an analysis." The judge sustained this view of the case, and discharged the defendant. This judge held that, while the law did not contemplate so complete an analysis as going to the extreme limit, and ascertaining the amount of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, etc., found in the milk, it did mean that more than one constituent or group of constituents should be ascertained and reported, 406 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Still further, what is the status of a case, if a notice is sent but not received? In most cases we have sent the notice by registered letter. In two instances, however, the letter has been returned, either because the post-office address was incorrect, or because the milkman refused to accept the letter, presuming on its contents. We can see no benefit from the law ; but, if it is to remain, its vagueness should be remedied. The Legislature of last winter added September to the months during which the statute standard for sale milk should be 12 per cent ; in other words, reduced the stand- ard from 13 to 12 per cent during the month of September. Many years ago the State started on the policy of having a statute standard for milk, and having that standard 13 per cent. Against this statute there has been a constant attack. At length April and May were excepted from its provisions, and the standard made 12 percent for those two months; Then, after a while, June, July and August were added to the 12 per cent months, and last winter, September. The argument before the committee for this change was that during September cows are fed largely on corn fodder, which produces milk of inferior quality, so far as total solids are concerned ; consequently, it was claimed that the standard should be lowered for September. If it appears that the policy of the State in establishing the 13 per cent standard was wrong, it would be much better to reverse that policy openly and squarely than to kill it by piecemeal. No one would think of slaughtering an animal by occasionally cutting a few inches oflf the end of its tail. At any rate, such an unscientific argument as that presented last winter should not be considered. It is well known by all who have studied the question of milk composition that the food of the cow has little to do with the amount of total solids in the milk ; that the amount of casein, sugar, fat, etc., in milk depends on the individualit}' of the animal. A cow born to give 10 per cent milk cannot by any process of feeding be made to give 13 per cent milk. We are not yet, however, convinced that the State was wrong in the position it took years ago in favor of a 13 per cent standard. Thirteen per cent milk is average milk, and No. 4.] KEPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 407 the majority of cows give milk of that quality. By mixing the milk of different animals, herd milk will be found very uniform in quality, and almost always up to or above the standard. We believe that a 13 per cent statute is in the interest of the consumer, and we also believe that it is in the interest of the producer, for it helps business to the extent that it keeps off" from the market all milk below the standard. It seems to us against the interests of the great majority of farmers, and of agriculture generally, that the minority who own cows producing low-grade milk should by their persistency succeed in engrafting their views upon the statute book. During two weeks of the past year we undertook an in- vestigation of the quality of milk sold for a week before and after the statute standard changed, testing the milk for fat only, by the Babcock tester. The agents of the Bureau were instructed to take samples in Springfield, Somerville, and Chelsea during the last week in September. The first week in October, when the standard had changed to 13 per cent, they were sent over the same territory, to take sam- ples from the same milkmen, so far as was possible. Three or more samples were taken the last week in September and the first week of October from each of 28 milkmen. In 14 cases the milk averaged the same amount of fat in October that it did in September; in 11 instances there was a slightly increased quantity in October, the gain ranging from .4 to .6 of fat. Three cases of adulterated milk were found in October where the milk was all right in September, caus- ing a decrease in the amount of fat. Stating the case in another way, we took in September, under this experiment, samples as follows : — CITIES. Samples. Average Per Cent of Fat. Springfield, Somerville, Chelsea, 42 30 45 3.50 3.40 3.60 Total, 117 3.50 408 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Earlier in the month 27 samples were taken in Williams- town and North Adams, which averaged 3.70 per cent of fat. The first week in October, samples were taken as fol- lows : — CITIES. Samples. Average Per Cent of Fat. Springfield, . 45 3.70 Somerville, . 30 3.60 Chelsea, 45 3.60 Total, . 120 3.63 It appears that there was no material increase in the quality of milk when the statute standard changed, on the part of these milkmen, and that both in the last week in September and the first week in October the milk was sub- stantially up to 13 per cent of total solids. So far as this experiment throws any light upon the situation, the average milk that is sold in Massachusetts has 13 per cent total solids in September as well as in October, and the milk sold in September was substantially above the statute standard of 12 per cent total solids. During the past year, the perplexing conditions of the milk business have led to the organization of the milk ped- dlers in several places, for purposes of mutual protection. In two cases the assistant executive officer of the Bureau has been called on to address them on the milk law and its operation. In one case 32 samples of milk were tested with the Babcock test before the meeting, as an object lesson on the composition of milk, showing the value of the Babcock tester to dealers in sale milk. The average of these tests was 4.14 per cent of butter fat. Among the samples were two or three which were brought in as suspicious, and brought down the average. We have made much efibrt to emphasize the point that the enforcement of the law is of advantage both to peddlers and producers. Very often the milk peddler, accosted by an inspector, particularly in the early morning hours, is No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 409 annoyed at the interference, and looks upon the inspector as his natural enemy. This should not be so. The milk laws not only insure the consumer an article of higher quality than he would get were it not for them, but, as said before, they help business by keeping a large amount of low- grade and adulterated milk off the market. The condition of the Boston milk market has been much healthier than for several years past, as supplies have decreased and consumption has increased. This has re- duced the burdensome surplus ; for three months of the year it was so small that the wholesalers paid full price for all milk received by them. The advancing price of butter has increased the butter value of milk, so that the dimin- ishing surplus has brought a better price, and this has in- creased the average return per can. The following table gives the receipts, sales and surplus of railroad milk, in 8^ quart cans, brought into the greater Boston, as reported by the contractors' association : — 1899. Received. Sold. Surplus. January,. 904,575 699,003 205,572 February, 826,972 631,762 194,210 March, . 980,093 699,796 280,297 April, 1,004,773 717,254 287,519 May, 1,160,994 750,592 410,402 June, 1,137,103 792,833 344,270 July, 1,003,661 815,095 188,566 August, . 927,433 756,842 170,591 September, 870,140 729,734 140,406 October, . 853,049 809,701 43,348 November, 767,567 746,040 21,527 December, 799,404 763,319 36,085 Totals, . 11,234,764 8,911,971 2,322,793 410 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. Receipts. Sales. Surplus. 1898, 11,317,761 8,664,682 2,763,079 1897, 11,798,191 8,738,572 3,059,619 1896, 10,772,108 8,087,378 2,684,730 1895, 9,866,500 8,040,732 1,815,768 1894, 9,705,447 7,657,421 2,048,026 1893, 9,263,487 7,619,722 1,643,765 1892, 9,212,667 7,316,135 1,897,532 The price agreed upon between producer and wholesaler is a theoretical figure, called the Boston price. There is a scale of discounts from this price, varying according to the distance from the city, so that, when the Boston price is agreed upon, each producer, knowing the belt or zone in which he lives, can get at the price that he will receive. This Boston price has been for several years as follows : — 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, Summer (Cents per Can). 30 30 32 32 32 33 33 Winter (Cents per Can). 36 36 38 38 36 37 37 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, Summer (Cents per Can). 33 33 33 33 33 32 32 Winter (Cents per Can). 37 37 37 35 35 34 34 The decline in 1898 and 1899 is only a paper one. The scale of discounts from the Boston price was decreased for those years, so that the net to the farmers Avas unchanged. No. 4.] REPOKT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 411 Condensed Milk. During the past year the agents of the Bureau happened upon some samples of condensed milk which were not labelled with the name of the manufacturer according to law. This being suspicious, samples were taken for analysis, and the chemist reported that they were materially deficient in fat ; consequently, cases were entered in court. As soon as the news reached the manufacturers, they made emphatic protestations as to the quality of the milk and the probable error in sampling or analysis. Their statements were so emphatic, and apparently so sincere, that it seemed both prudent and just to go extremely slow, and verify the chemical work of Dr. Davenport. As a result of this cau- tion, he ascertained a fact unknown to general commercial chemists and authors of text books on the subject, though in the possession of a few specialists employed by con- densed milk manufacturers, — that the addition of cane sugar to condensed milk, which is done by the majority of manufacturers, locks up the fat globules in such a peculiar way that ordinary processes of analysis fail to secure all of it ; on discovering this, and using diflerent processes, the original work was found to be in error, and the cases with- drawn. Cream. The consumption of cream is increasing very rapidly in Massachusetts. In all of the large cities cream has become a staple article in all grocery and provision stores, while large amounts are delivered by the milk peddler. Most of this cream comes from Maine, and several Maine creameries have built up an enormous business. Professor Cooley estimates that only about one-twentieth of the cream sold in Massachusetts is produced in the State. It would seem as though the production of market cream holds out great possibilities to Massachusetts creameries, especially in view of the fact that the demand for cream is the largest in the summer, when the production of butter is largest, the sur- plus most burdensome, and the price the lowest. Where there is a market for cream, butter fat is worth from 2 to 3 cents a pound more in market cream than in butter. The 412 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. production of cream at creameries on the factory plan pro- motes uniformity in quality, and enhances popular confi- dence in it. Cheese. Cheese is the only dairy product in the State which requires very little or no work on the part of those entrusted with the enforcement of the dairy laws. There seems to be no eifort to introduce adulterated or counterfeit cheese into the Massachusetts markets, largely, so far as we are informed, because most dealers are in the habit of buyino- cheese from sections where adulteration is not practised very much. The State law relative to adulterations is now reinforced by the national law against filled cheese, but we find none in the State. The quality of cheese sold in the market varies greatly, and, as Massachusetts has no provisions relative to branding cheese, or relative to the fraudulent claim of cheese being full cream when it is made from partially skimmed milk, there is possibly an imposition on the public at times. Cheese made from whole milk will vary relatively as much in per cent of fat as does the milk itself; and full cream cheese from milk having 2.5 or 3 per cent of fat cannot be readily detected from cheese made from milk containing from 5 to 6 per cent of fat which has been partially skimmed. Voluntary Assistance. It frequently happens that the appropriation limits our work rather than inability to find something to do, and that important things must therefore be left undone. To pro- mote efficiency and economy of action, the following circular was issued early in the year, and copies have been sent out from time to time to friends of the law : — COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. Dairy Bureau. Dear Sir: — Any information which you can give me relating to the illegal sale of dairy products or imitation dairy products (oleomargarine) in your town or city will be thankfully received and kept in strict confidence. George M. Whitaker, P. 0. Box 1332, Boston, Mass. No. 4.] rp:port of dairy bureau. 413 This has resulted in securing much valuable assistance and putting us in possession of information which could not otherwise have been obtained, at least not without great expense. Educational Work. In this department more than the usual amount of work has been done, and the expense has been more than twice the average of the five preceding years. In last year's report we called attention to institutes held in co-operation with the Massachusetts Creamery Association. Early in this year a buttermakers' institute was held by the Dairy Bureau and the Creamery Association at Amherst. It was a well- attended, profitable meeting, with a good program and a large exhibit of butter, — 41 entries in all. The papers read at this institute and the results of the meeting were so important that the Bureau issued a special bulletin, giving a report of the same ; it is therefore unnecessary to repeat the substance here. The Worcester South Agricultural Society has continued its offer of a prize for the cow giving the greatest amount of butter fat on the society's grounds during twenty-four hours of the society's exhibition. This prize has been awarded by the representative of the Bureau for several years, and the custom was continued this year. The following is the statistical result of the test : — Melvix Shepard, Si urbridge, Mas s\ {Grade Jersey). Weight of Milk. Per Cent of Fat. Weight of Fat. Night, .... Morning, lbs. 12.06 14.00 5.00 5.00 lbs. .603 .700 Totals, . 26.06 - 1.303 C. L. Underwood, East Brook/ield, Mass. ( Grade Gtiernsey) . Night, Morning, .... lbs. 17.75 17.01 3.80 3.20 lbs. .674 .544 Totals, .... 34.76 - 1.218 414 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. J. E. Mahan, Charlton, Mass. Weight of Milk. Per Cent of Fat. Weiglit of Fat. Night, Morning, .... lbs. 8.56 5.06 6.60 6.00 lbs. .565 .303 Totals, .... 13.62 - .868 A. L. WooDis, North Brookjield, Mass. Night, . Morning, • lbs. 8.12 11.06 3.60 3.60 lbs. .292 .398 Totals, 19.18 - .690 This system of judging milch cows is excellent, and the Worcester South Agricultural Society is entitled to credit for its pioneer educational work in this line, the more so because anything of this kind does not appeal to the crowd, and has nothing spectacular about it to draw admission fees and increase the society's income. It is purely educational, but of great value in that way. The ideal work in this line, however, is in testing cows at the barns where they are ordinarily kept, as sometimes the driving to the fair grounds and the unusual noises and conditions at the show have such an effect upon the nervous temperament of the animal that she does not do her best. The inspection of creameries, to which allusion has been previously made and from which some statistics have been quoted, was of value to the creameries from the educational stand-point, and elicited some technical information, which will be the subject of a special bulletin. The representative of the Bureau has been called upon 16 times to address farmers' meetings or to speak on dairy topics. Three meetings of this kind have been held where members of the Bureau or of the Cattle Commission have been speakers, making in all 19 meetings to the credit of No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 415 the Bureau. At several meetings addressed by Mr. Whit- aker the Babcock tester has been used, and 87 samples of milk tested. In addition to the above, he has attended a meeting of the Pure Food Congress in Washington, and meetings of the State Association of Boards of Health. The following is the manner in which the appropriation of $7,000 has been expended : — Members of the Bureau, travelling expenses and attending meetings, $371 29 Agents' salaries, 1,657 77 Agents' expenses, . . . ' 2,299 15 Chemist, 1,320 15 George M. Whitaker, travelling and office expenses, sup- plies, mileage tickets, etc., 850 48 Educational work, 421 04 Printing and supplies, 80 12 Total, $7,000 00 GEORGE M. WHITAKER. Accepted and adopted as the report of the Dairy Bureau. D. A. HORTON. J. L. ELLSWORTH. C. D. RICHARDSON. ADN^KUAL REPORT Board of Cattle Commissioners Commonwealth of Massachusetts. January 9, 1900. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. To the no7iorable Senate and House of Reiiresentatives. The Board of Cattle CommissioDers herewith presents its annual report, as required by section 3, chapter 408, Acts of 1899, of the work it has performed during the past year. The Leo;islature of 1899 recodified the laws relating^ to the contagious diseases of animals, this recodification being chap- ter 408, Acts of 1899, which went into effect May 25 last. During the past year the commission has acted under two sets of laws : until May 25 it carried out the provisions of chapter 491, Acts of 1894, as amended by chapters 476 and 496, Acts of 1895, and further amended by chapters 454 and 486, Acts of 1896 ; since then it has had the enforcement of the new law to deal with. It seemed best to the last Legislature to codify and con- solidate the laws under which the Cattle Commission worked ; for, although the last codification of these laws was as recent as 1894, yet there had been numerous amendments to them every year since, making them bulky, beside which they re- quired a good deal of work from the commission which had more to do with local health matters than with the suppres- sion of contagious diseases among; domestic animals through- out the State. It was also the opinion of the last Legislature that a Board of three commissioners would be a more con- venient size than one of five, as it had been since 1894, and that a smaller Board could administer the law more expedi- tiously and economically. The new law also brings the in- spectors of animals in the various cities and towns into more direct business relations with the Board than formerly, thus stripping it of much of the red tape that had hampered it, and bringing the inspectors of animals more under the imme- diate control of the commission, rendering it easier to make 420 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. them act in unison with the Board and doing away with much of the delay that sometimes occurred in the manage- ment of cases of contaofious diseases among the live stock of the State. The modifications made in the law it was hoped would also result in making it possible to carry forward the work of extirpating the communicable animal diseases at a much less expense to the State than heretofore, at the same time providing for ample protection to the public health. The clause in the law under which the change was miade is section 1 of chapter 408, Acts of 1899 : — The governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall appoint a board of cattle commissioners of not more than three members, whose terms of office shall begin on the first day of June, in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and who shall hold office as follows : one of said members for the term of three years, one for the term of two years, and one for the term of one year, and thereafter one of said members shall be appointed an- nually for the term of three years. His Excellency Roger Wolcott under this provision of the law appointed Austin Peters of Boston for three years, Leander F. Herrick of Worcester for two years and Charles A. Dennen of Pepperell for one year. The appointees quali- fied June 8, and a meeting was immediately held, whereupon the Board organized by electing Austin Peters chairman and Leander F. Herrick secretary. The aim of the law is, as it has been in the past, to check and diminish the ravao;es of diseases among- domestic ani- mals that cause annually large pecuniary losses to their owners, and at the same time to protect the people from those that are in any way a danger to the health and lives of human beings. The diseases of animals that are enumer-' ated under the law as contagious are given in section 35, as follows : — Contagious diseases under the provisions of this act shall in- clude glanders, farcy, contagious pleuro-pneumonia, tuberculosis, Texas fever, foot-and-mouth disease, rinder-pest, liog cholera, rabies, anthrax or anthracoid diseases, sheep scab and actinomy- cosis. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 421 If any disease, however, not given in the act should ap- pear among the animals of the State, and seem to be of a communicable character, the Board would feel it its duty to act in such an emergency if the public good required it. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act the Legislature appropriated the sum of $75,000 ; but it has been found possible to administer the law at an expense of about half this amount. This being the case, the commis- sion has asked that a less sum, $50,000, be placed at its dis- posal another year as suflScient to meet any expenses that may be caused by the provisions of the act. It is to be hoped that the law is now placed upon a satis- factory basis, and that, if the work of controlling contagious animal diseases is to be permanent (as it should be, and has been in Massachusetts for forty years), the Cattle Commis- sion will have a sufficient annual appropriation to meet the expenses required by the law made early in the legislative session, instead of having to wait four or five months every year before any funds are available to even pay the clerks who are necessary for attending to the business of the office. While the expenses of the law are largely due to the cost of that portion of the work entailed upon it by the effort to suppress bovine tuberculosis, this Board must not be looked upon as nothing more than a tuberculosis commission ; for, while the expense is largely caused by tuberculosis, the State paying full appraised value for tuberculous cattle up to a limit not exceeding $40, and tuberculosis among cattle being the most prevalent of the contagious animal diseases which we at present have to deal with, yet, because the cost of dealing with glanders and rabies is less, these dis- eases should not be looked upon as less important or less dangerous. Every city and toAvn was formerly required to appoint one or more inspectors of "animals and provisions," who, besides examining animals for contagious diseases, had to inspect markets, and animals at the time of slaughter either at slaughter houses or on the owners' premises, the Board of Cattle Commissioners receivino; the returns of slaughtered animals from the inspectors on blanks furnished from its office. It also had to furnish blanks for applications for and 422 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. licenses of slaughter houses all over the State, and received a duplicate of each license given in every city and town. This made a great deal of extra work for the commission, and was really a local health matter, and had little to do with suppressing contagious diseases among animals. Sec- tion 20 of the new law provides that this work shall in the future be in the hands of the local boards of health. Under the act of 1899 the Board of Cattle Commissioners knows only an inspector of animals appointed as provided for in section 17 : — The mayor aud aldermen of cities, except as provided iu chap- ter two hundred and fifty of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and the selectmen of towns shall, within thirty days after the passage of this act, and thereafter annually in the month of March, appoint one or more persons to be inspectors of animals, subject to the approval of the boai'd of cattle commis- sioners. Each inspector shall be sworn faithfully to discharge the duties of his office, and shall receive a reasonable compensation, to be paid by the city or town for which he is appointed. Such city and town officers shall have the power to remove any inspector appointed by them, and in such case shall immediately appoint another in his place. Every city and town shall, within thirty days after the passage of this act, and thereafter before the first day of April in each year, send to the board of cattle commis- sioners a list of the qualified inspectors of animals appointed under this section for such city or town, which notice shall give the name and address of each such inspector and his occupation. June 12 the Board sent the following letter to the mayors of cities and selectmen of towns : — COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. Board of Cattle Commissioners, Boston, June 12, 1899. Dear Sirs : — Herewith find a copy of chapter 408 of the Acts of 1899. This act recodifies the laws relating to the contagious diseases of animals. You will see by section 17 that there shall be appointed, within thirty days after the passage of this act, aud thereafter annually in the month of March, an inspector or inspectors of animals. Will you, therefore, immediately appoint an inspector of animals, or more than one, if you think it necessary. In most cities and towns it seems to us one inspector of animals is sufficient. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 423 You will furthei' note that such appointments are subject to the approval of the Board of Cattle Commissioners. This Board pre- fers that a competent veterinary surgeon be appointed to this position, when one resides in the locality and his services can be procured. Any unfit appointees will be rejected by this Board. You will please notify the Board of Cattle Commissioners at once upon making the appointment. Section 20 provides that the licensing of slaughter houses and the inspection of animals killed for food, as provided for in chap- ter 491, Acts of 1894, and acts in amendment thereto, shall here- after be attended to by local boards of health. Austin Peters, Chairman^ Leander F. Herrick, Secretary^ Charles A. Dennen, Board of Cattle Commissiojiers. This resulted in the appointment of the following in- spectors : — Occupation. Abington, Acton, . Acuslmet, Adams, Agawam, Alford, . Amesbiiry, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Arlington, Ashburnham Ashby, . Ashfield, Ashland, Athol, . Attleborough, Attleborough, Auburn, Avon, . John N. Chamberlain, Moses A. Reed, . Philip A. Bradford, . Andrew G. Potter, Edwin Leonard, Samuel K. Williams, Edward S. Worthen, Henry E. Paige, Charles II. Newton, . Lawrence L. Pierce, . Alonzo S. Harriman, Charles W. Whitney, Charles B. Shaw, Walter 6. Lesure, Samuel D. Witt, Oscar F. Stearns, George Mackie, Charles S. Holden, Emory Stone, . Charles E. May, Retired. Farmer. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Veterinarian. Chief of police. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Veterinarian. Physician. Physician. Farmer. Physician. 424 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. TOWX. Name. Occupation. Ayer, .... James J. O'Brien, Insurance agent. Barnstable, J. J. Maloney, . Veterinarian. Barre, . Henry L. Conant, Auctioneer. Becket, . Wm. H. Snow, . - Bedford, Henry Wood, . Cattle dealer Belchertown Guy C.Allen, . Farmer. Bellingham, Carroll E. White, . Farmer. Belmont, Benj. A. Harris, Veterinarian. Berkley, Eliphalet Terry, Farmer. Berlin, . Robert B. Wheeler, . Farmer. Bernardston, Charles Bowker, Physician. Beverly, Horace D. Lambert, . Veterinarian. Billerica, Wm. H. Hutchins, . Farmer. Blackstone, Daniel H. Cooney, . Farmer. Blackstone, Elias M. Billings, Farmer. Blandford, H. K. Herrick, . Farmer. Blandford, George Cadwell, Farmer. Blandford, Frank J. Candee, Farmer. Bolton, . Henry F. Haynes, Farmer. Boston, . Alexander Burr, Veterinarian. Bourne, Noble P. Swift,. Farmer. Boxborough, Philip W. Cunningham, . Farmer. Boxford, Charles A. Andrews, Farmer. Boylston, Luther S. Hapgood, . Farmer. Braintree, PMward W. Hobart, . Farmer. Brewster, Henry E. Baker, Trader. Bridgewater Calvin Pratt, . Physician. Brimfield, Porter A. Parker, Farmer. Brockton, Waldo H. Brownell, . Veterinarian. Brockton, Isaac H. Harris, Laborer. Brookfield, George Allen, . Farmer. Brookline, Frederick H. Osgood, Veterinarian. Bnckland, Jacob G. Pfersick, Veterinarian. Burlington, James N. Stuart, Veterinarian. Cambridge, Charles E. Hadcock, . Veterinarian. Canton, Patrick J. Cronon, . Veterinarian. Carlisle, George P. Davis, Farmer. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 425 TOWK. Name. Occupation. Carver, Benj. W. Robbins, Farmer. Charlemont, Wm. B. Avery, . Farmer. Charlton, Stephen Hammond, . Butcher. Chatham, Walden F. Harding, . Butcher. Chelmsford, Walter R. Winning, . Farmer. Chelsea, William Stinson, Veterinarian. Cheshire, Wm. P. Bennett, Retired. Chester, Daniel B. Holcomb, . Retired. Chesterfield, Thomas K. Utley, . Farmer. Chicopee, Irving H. Elmer, Butcher. Chicopee, Thomas Goodwin, Veterinarian. Chilmark, Freeman Hancock, . Farmer. Clarksburg, Dexter S. Bishop, Farmer. Clinton, Eugene H. Lehnert, . Veterinarian. Cohasset, Darius W. Gilbert, . Veterinarian. Colrain, C. Webster Smith, . Farmer. Colrain, John D. Gilchrist, Farmer. Concord, Elijah D. Harris, Veterinarian. Conway, Gordon H. Johnson, . Farmer. Cottage City, Edmund G. Beetle, . Retired. Cummington, Edward F. Warner, . Farmer. Cummington, Myron D. Trow, Farmer. Dalton, . ^Wm. Miller, Farmer. Dana, . C. N. Doane, . Farmer. Dana, . Alfred W. Doane, Farmer. Danvers, Charles S. Moore, Veterinarian Dartmouth, Charles W. Howland, Farmer. Dartmouth, Charles H. Negus, . Butcher. Dartmouth, James E. Allen, Farmer. Dedham, Edward Knobel, Veterinarian. Deerfield, Dwight A. Hawks, . Farmer. Dennis, John P. Howes, Farmer. Dennis, Charles E. Baker, Painter. Dighton, Wm. H. Walker, Farmer. Douglas, Walter E. Cook, Farmer. Dover, . Edward A. James, . Farmer. Dracut, Clement A. Hamblet, Veterinarian. 426 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Occupation. Dudley, Dunstable, . Duxbury, East Bridgewater, East Longmeadow Eastham, EasthamiDton, Easton, Edgartown, Egremont, Enfield, Erving, Essex, . Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Falmouth, Falmouth, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Florida, Foxborough Foxborough Framingham Franklin, Freetown, Freetown, Gardner, Gay Head, Georgetown Georgetown Gill, . Gloucester, Goshen, Gosnold, Grafton, Granby, Monroe W. Ide, Franklin N. Tolles, John K. Parker, Isaac T. Hatch, . Edwin Indicott, . Reviben H. Horton, Fordyce Whitmarsh, Edward R. Hayward, Christopher R. Beetle Wm. F. Crippen, Joseph P. Walker, W. P. G. Huntoon, David L. Haskell, AVilliam Stinson, Ebenezer G. Grinnell Josejih E. E. Lanoie, Barzillai C. Gaboon, . Herbert H. Lawrence Lewis F. Weeks, Charles A. Keene, Nathan W. Kemp, Abijah W. Draper, Norton R. Dennis, Walter P. Mayo, Wm. F. King, . Charles H. Read, Charles E. Chace, Augustus S. Cleaves, Samuel J. Haskins, Samuel T. Poor, J. Winfred Yeaton, John L. S. Moore, Fred Corliss, Willis A. Smith, George F. Bosworth, Perley Goddard, F. A. Forward, . Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Retired. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Physician. Horse dealer. Farmer. Veterinarian. Veterinarian. Farmer. Veterinarian. Butcher. Veterinarian. Farmer. Gunsmith. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Stone mason. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 427 TOWN. Name. Occupation. Granville, . George W. Cone, Farmer. Granville, Charles D. Treat, Farmer. Great Barrington, Edwin S. Hurlburt, Veterinarian. Great Barrington, George H. Cobb, Jr., Liveryman. Greenfield, . Mark L. Miner, . Veterinarian. Greenwich, Edward M. Hunter, Farmer. Groton, Solon R. Dodge, Butcher. Groveland, Thomas E. Snell, Farmer. Hadley, Charles H. Hunt, Farmer. Hadley, Homer L. Cowles, Farmer. Halifax, Jabez P. Thompson, Farmer. Hamilton, George R. Dodge, Farmer. Hampden, Moses H. Warren, Farmer. Hancock, James S. Goold, Farmer. Hanover, Andrew T. Damon, Grocer. Hanson, Elbridge M. Perkins, Farmer. Hard wick, John N. Hillman, Farmer. Harvard, Eli W. Hosmer, Farmer. Harwich, John A. Baker, . Produce dealer. Hatfield, E. S. Warner, . Farmer. Haverhill, Grantley Bickell, A^eterinarian. Hawley, Lewis W. Temple, Farmer. Heath, . V. D. Thompson, Farmer. Hingham, R. Foster Robinson, Farmer. Hinsdale, Frank C. Phillips, Farmer. Holbrook, Charles W. Staples, Farmer. Holden, E.W.Merrick, . Deputy sheriff. Holland, A. J. Bagley, Carpenter. Holliston, Isaac A. Smith, . Veterinarian. Holyoke, John J. Moynahan, Veterinarian. Hopedale, Lewis B. Gaskill, Farmer. Hopkinton, Winslow W. Claflin, Farmer. Hubbardston , John H. Bvirtch, Farmer. Hudson, A. L. Cundall, . Veterinarian. Hull, . Fred C. Harris, . Milkman. Huntington, Allen M. Coit, . Farmer. Huntington, Frank E. Cone, . Farmer. 428 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. TOWN. Name. Occupation. Hyde Park, . Joseph M. Kiggen, . Veterinarian. Ipswich, E. Newton Brown, . Farmer. Kingston, E. Elbridge Atwood, Farmer. Lakeville, Isaac Sampson, . Farmer. Lancaster, . Albert E. Harriman, . Veterinarian. Lancaster, , Albert E. Carr, . Farmer. Lanesborough, Wm. P. Talcott, Painter. Lawrence, . John F. Winchester, . Veterinarian. Lee, .... John H. McAllister, . Veterinarian. Leicester, Henry B. Watts, Florist. Leicester, Daniel A. Craig, Farmer. Lenox, .... Charles C. Flint, Physician. Leominster, . Wm. H. Dodge, . Veterinarian. Leverett, Orman C. Mar veil, . Farmer. Lexington, . Charles M. Parker, . Farmer. Leyden, Wm. A. Barber, Farmer. Lincoln, Martin M. Welch, Farmer. Littleton, Joseph N. Murray, . Veterinarian. Longmeadow, Spencer W. Gates, . Farmer. Lowell, Walter A. Sherman, . Veterinarian. Ludlow, Adelbert L. Bennett, . Farmer. Lunenburg, . Charles E. Woods, . Physician. Lynn, .... Alexander S. Wright, Accoimtant. Lynnfield, Wm. R. Rouudy, Farmer. Maiden, Wm. Simpson, . Veterinarian. Manchester, . Charles S. Moore, Veterinarian. Mansfield, . Joseph N. Tebbetts, . Farmer. Marblehead, Benj. F. Goodwin, Building mover. Marion, George F. Richards, . Contractor. Marlborough, Patrick J. Mahoney, . Veterinarian. Marshtield, . Franklin W. Hatch, . Stable keeper. Mashpee, Nathaniel D. Bearse, Laborer. Mattapoisett, Fred L. Dexter, Stable keeper. Maynard, Willis A. White, Cattle dealer. Medfield, Herbert W. Ilutson, . Farmer. Medford, Henry F. Moore, Milk inspector. Medway, Edward Whiting, Farmer. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 429 TOWN. Name. Occupation. Melrose, Frank P. Sturges, Veterinarian. Mendon, Albert W. Gaskill, . Farmer. Merrimae, . Charles A. Wallace, . Farmer. Methuen, Edwin J. Castle, Veterinarian. ]\Iiddleboroiigh, . Chester P. Keith, Veterinarian. Middlefield, . J. T. Bryan, Farmer. Middleton, . Andrew W. Peabody, Farmer. Milford, Edward E. Cook, Livery stable. Millbiiry, Henry W. Carter, Farmer. Millis, .... Moses C. Adams, Farmer. Milton, .... James Spencer, . Veterinarian. Monroe, David H. Sherman, . Farmer. Monson, Wm. H. Bugbee, Farmer. Montague, . George H. Goddard, . Farmer. Montague, . S. H. Amidon, . Builder. Monterey, Delmer C. Tryon, Farmer. Montgomery, W. B. Cushman, Farmer. Mount Washington, Alfred I. Spurr, . Veterinarian. Nahant, Robert L. Cochran, . Health officer. Nantucket, . Herbert G. Worth, . Stable keeper. Natick, .... John W. Robinson, . Veterinarian. Needham, Samuel 0. Eowle, Veterinarian. New Ashford, Van Ness Mallery, Farmer. New Bedford, Daniel C. Ashley, Veterinarian. New Braintree, . Charles A. Felton, Farmer. New Marlborough, Ralph T. Rhoades, Farmer. New Salem, . Frederick Abbott, Farmer. Newbury, Asa Pingree, Farmer. Newbiiryport, George W. Knight, . Health officer. Newton, James R. McLaughlin, Veterinarian. Norfolk, Andrew R. Jones, Farmer. North Adams, Angus A. McDonell, . Veterinarian. North Andover, . George S. Fuller, Veterinarian. North Attleborough, . W. Henry Kling, Printer. North Brookfield, Alfred 0. Boyd, . Veterinarian. North Brookfield, Benj. F. Barnes, Veterinarian. North Reading, . F. H. Mosman, . Expressman. 430 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. TOWN. Name. Occupation. Northampton, John II. Roberts, Veterinarian. Northborough, Allyn D. Phelps, Farmer. Northbridge, George F. Nilsson, . Farmer. Northbridge, W. A. Beane, . Farmer. Northfield, . A. L. Newton, . Physician. Norton, Erastus B. Codding, . Farmer. Norwell, J. Warren Foster, Peddler. Norwood, Albert Fales, Farmer. Oakham, Sanford H. Bullard, . Farmer. Orange, Amos Blodgett, . Farmer. Orleans, Edmund Linnell, Farmer. Otis, . Edwin L. Downs, Farmer. Oxford, Fred L. Snow, . Farmer. Palmer, Charles F. Smith, Farmer. Palmer, E. W. Phinney, . Farmer. Paxton, Cleveland N. Glidden, . Farmer. Peabody, Charles Davis, . Veterinarian. Peabody, Cyrus T. Batchelder, Assessor. Peabody, John E. Herrick, Farmer. Pelham, John A. Page, . Farmer. Pembroke, Clifford I. Rogers, Farmer. Pepperell, Samuel P. Bancroft, . Farmer. Peru, . F. G. Creamer, . Merchant. Petersham, S. C. Goddard, . Farmer. Phillipston, Robt. E. McLane, Farmer. Pittsfield, George N. Kinnell, . Veterinarian. Plainfield, E. A. Atkins, . Farmer. Plainfield, D. II. Gould, . Farmer. Plymouth, Clark Finney, Jr., Milkman. Plympton, Howard 0. Bonney, . Farmer. Preseott, Henry N. Grover, Cream gatherer. Princeton, George Mason, Jr., . Farmer. Provincetowi 1, Artemus P. Hannum, Town official. Quincy, Francis Abele, Jr., . Veterinarian. Randolph, Lincoln Stetson, Cattle dealer. Raynham, Cyrus Leonard, 2d, . Cattle dealer. Reading, Calvert H. Playdon, . Veterinarian. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 431 TOWN. Name. Occupation. Rehoboth, . Joseph F. Earle, Town auditor. Revere, William Stinson, Veterinarian. Richmond, . C. H. Dorr, Farmer. Rochester, . Allen G. Ashley, Farmer. Rockland, Charles Winslow, Veterinarian. Rockport, Robert Tarr, . Farmer. Rowe, . E. M. Upton, . Farmer. Rowley, Daniel H. Hale, . Farmer. Rowley, J. Scott Todd, . Farmer. Royalston , . George E. Pierce, Farmer. Royalston, . John Davis, Farmer. Royalston, . Joseph Stewart, Farmer. Russell, Sidney S. Shurtleff, Farmer. Rutland, George S. Putnam, - Salem, . Fred J. Saunders, Veterinarian. Salisbury, . John Q. Evans, . Farmer. Sandisfield, . Henry S. Manley, Farmer. Sandwich, Joshua E. Hoi way. Farmer. Saugus, Arthur W. Sawyer, Veterinarian. Savoy, . H. C. Phelps, . Farmer. Savoy, . M. A. Bliss, Farmer. Scituate, Caleb L. Damon, Farmer. Seekonk, Robt. Woodward, Farmer. Sharon, C. Elbert Howard, Farmer. Sheffield, Henry C. Clark, Town clerk. Sheffield, Edwin L. Boardman, Farmer. Shelburne, Jacob G. Pfersick, Veterinarian. Sherborn, Jasper J. Smart, Veterinarian. Shirley, Samuel B. Scott, Farmer. Shrewsbuiy, John F. Knight, Farmer. Shutesbury, Fred H. Plympton, Farmer. Somerset, Thomas A. Francis, Marketman. Somerville, Charles M. Berry, Provision dealer. South Hadley, Horace W. Gaylord, Farmer. Southampton, Henry E. Coleman, Farmer. Southborough, Israel G. Howe, Farmer. Southbridge, J. A. Genereaux, Physician. 432 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. TOWN. Name. Occupation. Southwick, . Charles W. Talmadge, Farmer. Spencer, W. J. Meloche, . Veterinarian. Springfield, . James Kimball, Health officer. Sterling, William S. Walker, . Farmer. Stockbridge, Marshall S. Heath, . Farmer. Stockbridge, John M. Buck, . Farmer. Stoneham, . George H. Allen, Veterinarian. Stoughton, . James Murphy,. Veterinarian. Stx)w, .... Pearl W. Packard, . Farmer. Sturbridge, . William Whittemore, Farmer. Sudbury, George A. Haynes, . Farmer. Sunderland, . George P. Smith, Farmer. Sutton, .... H. Scott Stockwell, . Farmer. Swamjiscott, George Newhall, Gardener. Swanzey, Charles Gifi"ord, Farmer. Taunton, Walter H. Haskell, . Veterinarian. Tenipleton, . S. E. Greenwood, Physician. Templeton, . W. F. Robie, . Physician. Tewksbury, . George W. Trull, Farmer. Tisbury, Henry C. Norton, Farmer. Tolland, John R. Rogers, Farmer. Tolland, Luke R. Moore, Farmer. Topsfield, . Eugene L. Wildes, . Farmer. Townsend, . John N. Going, . Farmer. Truro, .... John G. Thompson, . Trader. Tyngsborough, . R. B. Sherburne, Farmer. Tyringham, . Isaac B. Tinker, Farmer. Upton, .... George D. Whitney, . Farmer. Uxbridge, . Charles E. Seagrave, Farmer. Wakefield, . Henry C. Perry, Veterinarian. Wales, .... Warren W. Eager, . Wool dealer. Walpole, Almond F. Boyden, . Farmer. Walthara, Wm. E. Peterson, Veterinarian. Ware, .... A. A. Etienne, . Vetei'inarian. Wareham, . Prince H. Swift, Farmer. Warren, William E. Patrick, . Farmer. Warwick, Gilbert Maynard, Farmer. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 433 TOWN. Occupation. Washington, Watertown, Wayland, Webster, Wellesley, Wellfleet, Wendell, Wenhani, West Boylston, West Bridgewater West Brookfield West Newbury, West Springfield, West Stockbridge West Tisbury, Westborough, Westfield, . Westford, Westford, Westhampton, Westminster, Weston, Weston, Westport, Westport, Weymouth, Whately, Whitman, Wilbraham, Williamsburg, Williamstown, Wilmington, W^inchendon, Winchester, Windsor, Windsor, Winthrop, . William A. Eames, George W. Pope, Thomas Bryant, Leon H. Paquin, Samuel O. Fowle, George W. Nickerson George A. Lewis, Henry Alley, H. J. Harlow, . David R. Simmons, Charles E. Smith, Alfred L. Moore, Thomas J. Shinkwin Ralph R. Bissell, William B. Luce, Albert B. Ward, Michael F. Hoar, George T. Day,. Albert P. Richardson A. D. Montague, M. D. Whitney, . Everett O. Clark, Gilbert A. Blood, George A. Tripp, Eli Handy, Hiram E. Raymond, Irving AUis, Owen F. Bumpus, Jesse L. Rice, . Hallock H. Nichols, Lemuel C. Torrey, H. Allen Sheldon, William A. DeLand John W. Hemingway H. W. Ford, . G. L. Miner, John McNaught, Farmer. Veterinarian. Veterinarian. Veterinarian. Veterinarian. Horse dealer. Farmer. Apiarist. Retired. Farmer. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Fisherman. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Cattle dealer. Cattle dealer. Farmer. Farmer. Janitoi'. Farmer. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Auctioneer. Milkman. Farmer. Farmer. Veterinarian. 434 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. TOWX. Name. Occupation. Wobum, Worcester, . Worthington, Wrentham, . Westwood, . Yarmouth, . Yarmouth, . Yarmouth, . James N. Stuart, Thomas Monahan, Charles F. Bates, Elisha M. Brastow, . Creighton Colburn, . James Lack, Isaiah Homer, . Isaiah Crow ell, . Veterinarian. Butcher. Farmer. Veterinarian. Veterinarian. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. It will be seen from the above list that many of the in- spectors are veterinarians, especially in the cities and larger towns. This is very desirable where the services of such men can be obtained, as they have a technical training in the diseases of animals that especially fits them for the positions, provided they are citizens of good standing in the com- munity and take an interest in the duties devolving upon them ; at the same time, an honest, painstaking inspector who is not a veterinarian is to be preferred to a veterinarian who is careless and slovenly in doing his work, and who lacks interest and integrity of purpose. In many of the smaller communities it is not possible to secure the services of a veterinary surgeon as inspector ; in such instances any conscientious cattle man makes a good inspector. Physi- cians, when interested in sanitary work, also make good inspectors. In a few places there is a tendency to allow politics to play a part in the appointment of inspectors, but in the great majority of the towns and cities of the Com- monwealth there seems to be an intention to endeavor to secure the services of the best available men for these posi- tions. The section of the present law requiring cities and towns to appoint inspectors of animals provides that they shall be appointed subject to the approval of the Board of Cattle Commissioners. This gives the Board the power to refuse to confirm unfit appointments, and thus removes them to a certain extent from the influence of local politics, and ren- No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 435 ders it possible to elevate and improve the service. The Board under the law is also empowered to remove an in- spector, if necessary, and order the appointment of another. Tuberculosis is the disease for which the greater number of animals have been killed, and it is also the one which causes the most expense in carrying out the provisions of the law, therefore it will be referred to first in this report ; but glanders and rabies must not be considered as being of very much less importance, when the dangers to human life and the losses the former causes to the horse owners of the State are taken into consideration. Other diseases of an infectious character with which this Board has to deal are Texas fever, hog cholera or swine plague, actinomycosis and symptomatic anthrax. The pathological and bacteriological work of the Board has been performed, as in the past two years, at the Harvard Medical School, by Dr. Langdon Frothingham, except that during a few months last summer while he was in Europe it was done at the laboratories at Bussey College, Forest Hills, by Dr. Arthur W. May, through the kind permission of Dr. Theobald Smith. For the laboratory facilities during the summer, and the kindly and valuable advice Dr. Smith has ever been ready to give the Massachusetts Cattle Commis- sion, the renewed thanks of this Board are here given. The Board was represented by its chairman at the annual meeting of the Interstate Association of Live Stock Sanitary Boards, held at Chicago, October 11 and 12, and was the only New England cattle commission represented. At this meeting the interests of the delegates from the south and south-west seemed to be centred in Texas fever ; but those from points north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi rivers appeared interested in diseases similar to those that we are likely to meet with in Massachusetts, as the condi- tions of agriculture in these states more nearly approach those of our own. The conference of the different cattle interests represented, together with the papers read and the discussions resulting from them, could not be otherwise than of mutual benefit to all present. 436 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Financial Statement. At the end of the year 1898, the appropriation made by the Legislature of that year being insufficient for the work of the commission, there remained unpaid bills to the amount of $4,900.42, as follows : — For salaries of commissioners, $3,060 00 For expenses of commissioners, ...... 1,132 18 For salaries and expenses of agents in the suppression of glanders, 87 42 For expenses of laboratory and experimental work in the suppression of glanders and rabies, 145 75 For expenses of killing and burial of glandered horses, . 28 00 For expenses of maintaining quarantine stations at Brighton, Watertown and Somerville, 447 07 Total, $4,900 42 The payment of these accounts was provided for by the un- expended balance of the appropriation for 1898, . . $385 63 And a deficiency appropriation made by chapter 95, Acts of 1899, approved Feb. 23, 1899, for the balance, . . . 4,514 79 Total, $4,900 42 The Legislature of 1899 made an appropriation of $75,000 for carrying on the work of the Cattle Connnission, under the provisions of chapter 408, Acts of 1899. The expenses of the work of "the extirpation, prevention and suppression of contagious diseases among domestic ani- mals "for the year 1899, including all bills rendered and claims adjusted to December 15, are as follows : — Paid for cattle condemned, killed and found tuberculous, 785 head, at an average of $22 each, . Paid for cattle condemned, killed and no lesions found, 17 head, at an average of $23.24 each, . Paid for expenses of quarantine on 4 head, . Paid for expense of killing and Ijui'ial^ . Paid for salaries of commissioners. Paid for expenses of commissioners, Paid for salaries of agents, . $17,277 69 ; found, 17 395 12 9 00 9 00 $17,690 81 .$2,890 00 . 1,151 29 . 1,852 39 No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 437 Paid for expenses of agents, $940 20 Paid for salaries of clerks and stenographers, . 2,108 50 Paid for postage, stationery, printing and other office expenses 990 36 Paid expenses of laboratory and experimental work, ........ Paid expenses of quarantine stations, Paid expenses of glanders, killing and burial. Paid for tuberculin and implements, 685 47 1,640 13 51 05 148 08 $12,357 47 $30,048 28 Total payments, ..... There has ])een received during the year from sales of hides and carcasses of condemned cattle, and paid to the State Treasurer, $771.57. It is estimated that claims on cattle that have not been settled and bills coming due January 1 amount to in the neighborhood of $12,000, making the total expenses of the year somewhat over one-half of the sum appropriated. Tuberculosis. It will be seen from the above financial statement that the principal expenses incurred by the Board are in connection with the control of bovine tuberculosis. This work may be classified under the following heads : — 1. The supervision of the traffic in live cattle brought into the State. 2. A general inspection, the examination of cattle quar- antined as diseased by the local inspectors in the various cities and towns, and the payment for those found to be infected with tuberculosis, 3. Testing entire herds for the purpose of permanently eradicating tuberculosis from the premises. Under the first head are the cattle brought into the State through the quarantine yards at Watertown, Brighton and Somerville, and those brought in on permits to other points. The first step necessary for continuing the control of the cattle business was to readopt the order of the previous Board ; therefore, at a meeting of the Board of Cattle Com- missioners, held Jime 26, the following order was adopted : — 438 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. Board of Cattle Commissioners, Commonwealth Building, 11 Mt. Vernon SSt., Boston, June 26, 1899. To All Persons whotn it may concern. By virtue of the power and authority iu us vested by law, and esjiecially under the provisions of chapter 408 of the Acts of the year 1899, you are hereby notified that tuberculosis, which is a contagious disease, and is so recognized under tlie laws of this Commonwealth, exists among cattle of the several States and Territories of the United States, the District of Columbia and Canada, and such localities are, in the opinion of this Board, in- fected districts. You are hereby further notified that, iu order to prevent tlie im- portation of diseased animals, and as a means of suppressing such diseases within this Commonwealth, this Board has passed the fol- lowing order : — First. — No neat cattle brought from any State or Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Canada or any other country without the limits of this Commonwealth, shall be brought within the limits of this Commonwealth, except for delivery directly to the Union stock yards in the town of Watertown, the Boston & Albany stock yards in Brighton, within the city of Boston, or the premises of the New Eng- land Dressed Beef and Wool Company in the city of Somerville, except upon a permit signed by the Board of Cattle Commissioners or some one of its members ; and no neat cattle so brought for delivery at any of said points shall be unloaded, except in case of accident, at any point other than the said Boston & Albany stock yards in Brighton, the Union stock yards in Watertown, or the New England Dressed Beef and Wool Company in Somerville. Second. — All neat cattle brought within the limits of this Common- wealth from any place designated in paragraph 1 hereof, excei^t for delivery as provided in the preceding paragraph, must be accompanied by a permit issued by this Board or some member thereof; and you are hereby forljidden to receive for transportation animals other than those designated in such permit. Tliird. — If, for any cause, any such neat cattle are received by any of your agents within the limits of this Commonwealth at any place other than the Union stock yards in Watertown, the Boston & Albany stock yards in Brighton or the New England Dressed Beef and Wool Com- pany in Somerville, not accompanied by a permit, as provided in para- graph 2 hereof, you will immediately notify this office, giving the place where said animals were received for shipment, the name of the con- signee and destination of said animals. You will not remove said animals or permit them to be removed from the car or vehicle in which No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 439 they are contained without a permit from this Board or some member thereof; exce})t that if, by reason of tlie crowded condition of the car or because of the long confinement of said animals within the same, or for accident or otherwise, it is deemed expedient by you or your agent to unload the same, such animal or animals may be removed by you from said car or vehicle without such permit; but in such case you will notify this office, and you will not allow said animal or animals to go out of the possession of your agent or off of your j^remises where said animals are unloaded except upon obtaining such permit. Fourth. — All neat cattle brought within the limits of the premises to Brighton, Watertown and Somerville, designated in paragraph 1 hereof, are hereby declared to be quarantined. Fifth. — Any person violating the provisions of this order will be pun- ished as provided in section 36 of chapter 408 of the Acts of the year 1899. This oi'der shall take effect upon the twenty-sixth day of June, 1899. Austin Peters, Chairman, Leander F. Herrick, Secretary, Charles A. Dennen, Board of Cattle Commissioners. The Board of Cattle Commissioners requires all persons bringing cattle into this State, except calves under six months old or beef cattle for immediate slaughter, to have them tested with tuberculin prior to shipment or after arrival in this State, unless special permission to tlie contrary is given by this Board. All persons shipping or driving cattle into Massachusetts must have a permit, unless sent by rail to one of the quarantine stations at Brighton, Watertown or Somerville. The examination of cattle coming from without the State for sale in the markets of Brighton, Watertown and Somer- ville has been continued throughout the year, and the follow- ing tables show the numbers of animals received at the several stations : — - Receipts of Stock at Watertown, from Dec. 15, 1898, to Dec. 15, 1899. Vermont cattle, 6,116 New Hampshire cattle, Massachusetts cattle, . New York cattle, Western cattle. 6,403 2,454 27 54,283 440 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Sheep, 330,419 Swine, .......... 792,781 Veal, 46,628 Horses from the west, of which 42 were exi)orted, 168 Cattle released on certificates, .... 6,715 Cattle tested, 53 Cattle released after test, ..... 52 Cattle condemned after test • 1 Beceipts of Stock at Brighton, from Dec. 15, 1898, to Dec. 15, 1899. Maine cattle, 12,833 New Hampshire cattle, 2,276 Massachusetts cattle, . 12,836 New York cattle. 712 Western cattle, . 82,301 Sheep, .... 25,746 Swine, .... 812,646 Veal, .... 38,607 Horses I'rom the west, for export. 50 Cattle released on certificates, 10,658 Cattle tested, .... 328 Cattle released after test, . 317 Cattle condemned after test. 11 Massachusetts cattle in stoc k barn. 16,724 Receipts of Stock at SomerviUe, from Dec. 15, 1898, to Dec. 15, 1899. Maine cattle, .... 1,030 New Hampshire cattle, 3,851 Vermont cattle, . 3,331 Massachusetts cattle, . 2,522 New York cattle. 674 Western cattle, . 26,166 Sheep, 331,267 Calves, .... 48,342 Swine, 18,263 Cattle released on certificates. 1,747 Cattle tested. 32 Cattle released after test, . 30 Cattle condemned after test, 2 At SomerviUe, in the year 1898, 799 cattle were released on certificates; during 1899, 1,747, — showing an increase of 948 over the previous year. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 441 Total Stock received at the Three /Stations. \_^atLit;, ...... Sheep, 687,432 Swine, . 1,623,690 Calves, 133,617 Released on certificates, 19,120 Tested at stations, 413 Released after test, 399 Condemned after test, . 14 It will be seen by this report that there have not been as many cattle released on certificates of tuberculin test as last year. In 1898, 19,386 head were released on certificates, a large number of which were young store cattle, while this year there have been but a few of this class. There have been more milch cows than in any previous year, and the demand for these animals is constantly on the increase. During the past year the Boston & Albany Railroad Com- pany has built a large barn at the Brighton stock yards, which will accommodate 586 cattle, and are now preparing to enlarge it to a capacity of 1,000. The barn accommoda- tions are a great benefit to the stock, as they are all under cover and tied up by themselves. It is the desire of the Board that this market may be one where buyers may feel when purchasing milch cows that they are reasonably sure of obtaining animals that are healthy and free from tuberculosis. Last year letters were sent to many of the veterinarians who were testing cattle for this market, and from some of the answers received and information derived from other sources it was felt that the work of testing cattle might not be properly done ; there- fore, after the Legislature had made the necessary appropri- ation, an agent was employed to investigate this work and to ascertain how it was being conducted. Upon receiving his report the commission held and tested at various times 317 cattle belonging to difierent drovers, and found 5 of them tuberculous. In regard to the admission of cattle from without the State, it is the opinion of this Board that the quarantine stations should be maintained with rules and regulations still 442 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. more stringent ; otherwise this market would be flooded with tuberculous cattle from other States, for which the purchasers would soon after look to the Commonwealth for payment. While the Board does not feel that the work of testing out- of-the-State cattle is by any means perfect, yet it does feel that there has been a great improvement over the old methods of admitting all classes of cattle within the borders of the State. Many of the buyers affirm that they have had less trouble with their cattle during the last two or three years tlian ever before ; therefore the Board believes it to be good judgment not to relax this work in the slightest degree. Besides the cattle that have come into the State through the quarantine stations, 6,143 have been brought to other points, being tested with tuberculin prior to shipment or after arrival in this State. There have been 615 permits issued since Dec. 15, 1898. The second portion of the work includes that coming under the general inspection made by the local inspectors. An order for an examination of the neat stock in the State and the premises on which they were kept was sent out in the following letter to inspectors, October 1 : — To the Inspectors of Animals. The Board of Cattle Commissioners hereby directs that you shall make a general inspection of the neat stock in your town, and in- cidentally other farm animals, to commence at once, and to be completed on or before the fifteenth day of November. The law under which you work is chapter 408 of the Acts of 1899, a copy of which will be sent you, together with the neces- sary papers for carrying it out. The portion contained in sections 19 to 32 relates especially to your duties, and you should make yourself familiar with it. You will also be provided with a book to carry out the provisions of section 23, with books to carry out the provisions of section 29, and a quarantine book for cases of tuberculosis or other contagious disease among animals. Cattle are not to be quarantined as tuberculous unless they show enough evidence of disease to make it possible to condemn them on a physical examination, except where the udder of a milch cow is tuberculous ; on no account are cattle to be quarantined simply for the purpose of testing them with tuberculin, when they show no physical signs of disease. The only exception to this rule is, that it is the duty of inspectors to quarantine all cattle No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 443 brought iuto the State without a permit from this Board, uutil the owner furnishes the Cattle Commission with satisfactory certifi- cates of a tuberculiu test. Before quarantining any cattle, you should decide upon what cows you are going to quarantine, then send the papers on a number at once, so our agent can see them all on one visit. By order, Austin Peters, Chairman, L. F. Herrick, Secretary, C. A. Dennen, Massachusetts Board of Cattle Commissioners. The following table shows the result of the work done by the inspectors in quarantining cattle. These have been ex- amined by agents of the Board, and those that were found to be diseased have been killed, while those showing no evidence of disease were released. A few animals were quarantined prior to ordering the gen- eral inspection, between June 1 and October 1, but most of those dealt with were quarantined after the 1st of October. The animals which were killed as a result of this inspec- tion were nearly all badly diseased, and were the ones most likely to be a source of danger to the public health and to other cattle. Most of them were condemned on physical examination. Included among the number of animals quarantined and released in each place are those where herds were tested at the request of the owner, with the exception of one herd in Newton. These are mentioned again in the table under the head of voluntary request work. The commission has instructed its agents this year to lay special stress upon the importance of disinfection wherever cows have been taken. 444 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub, Doc. •auiiUBJBiif) lit paid I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I T-i I I I I I I I I I I I •JOJ P!«d puB p3n!3 I I I I I I 1-1 I I I I I I I I I I I •pjBAVVou'paiiiji I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I 1 I 1 I I 1 •a;B}gjo}no}u98 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 6 5S Si ^ o I ft^ •juain -ai;}3g JO SS8D0JJ ui sjUBJJBAl 'pauniapuoo I CO I I I I 'O --H I 1 i-H I 1 rH I I I xoj piBd 'n!5i 0} ^inua j I I I I I I I 1 I I 1 I ^-i I ' I I I ■pjeMV on '11151 o; jiraaaj •piBMV ou 'aui:>u'BJBn6 nt paia •Sl]}UOH Xlg 9j«jg ui paaMO lou 'pjBMVou'paiii^ipiiB paumapnoo iaqranii •joj piBd puB paiii'si 'pauuiapuoo jaqinn^ •pasBajai jaqranx ■pauTjuBJunb jaqninij •passassB anjno l^ax |illl|i-(G^IIIIIICNi-ll I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l«0 1 |i-l|OCOtMOl«OCOCOl I I I I I l»5l ICOrHl-^lrHli-HlrHi-l | I I-+ ICOCiCOtMO |lO-*05r-.t>.»:iOCi<^oll'*<(Mllllll'-i|iiieoii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 t t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 rH 1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 tH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 <-l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r 1 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ICOOl lT-Hr-i(N| |(?q|^|t^CO| iTHTHCOCrqlTHlCOIi-HrHl 1 (M 1-1 O-COi— l(NOt>.SOiNQOt^Or-(rtHOO«OOSOC0C0Q0C0t^-^C0rHOt-^C0C0C0 OO "* rH t>. CO 0^>0 (N tJH <» CO lO Ol CO rHQO >Or- lOOD'O"*!— liO r-f^CC GO CO 00 »0 :;2r^-i;oooooos-it^s-i'rt^-i!-i^HpSc3 -alfqeqpqpqpqpqfflpqMsqwpsWfflcqpqpqmWPqmpqMWMMpqpQPPO 446 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. o j:5 O 555 (^ 1 O H § m 1 •auijuBatJuJ) lu lom 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •pasBaiaa 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 » o o •JOJ piBd puB paiiJH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •pjBAvvou'pa[[!3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ■a;B}gjo}no?uag 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 a s H m o 1 •juain -ainas JO SS800JJ ui r (M 1 1 r^ 1 1 1 1 1 th 1 1 1 1 1 r "o •jqj pred 'ni3[ o; jrau9d: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r-i •PJBAIV OU '[[151 OJ ^ITOjaj llllllllrMlr-lllllllrH •pjBMy OU 'auijuBiBti^ u[ paioc 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 tH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 tH •sqiuon xig ajwjS ut pauMo i(ou 'pjBAivon 'pa[[iTi puB paumopnoD jaqranij 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 •joj piEd puB paiwK 'pancaapuoa aaqranx liOli-HOIOI 1 ICNG^II 1 1 IrHOO 1-1 1-1 tH S<« ■pasBa[3j aaqinn^ 1 t^ 1 1-1. CO iQCOr-Hl ICCI 1 1 [--llO T— 1 tH O •pauijuBaBnt) aaqranx; l'*lc<«T^^^oco,-(l^;^l^-<^^l i ii-ii-ii-i CO tH 1-1 1—1 -^ 1—1 •passossB a[n'BO ■jBax ':OOiOiCOOiI^^H(>J^ rH^t>.tX)t>-l-l-^l— l(MiOlO_ 1— ( r-l i-T I— I 1— 1 1 Ed O Canton, Carlisle, . Carver, Charlemont, Charlton, . Chatham, . Chelmsford, Chelsea, . Cheshire, . Chester, . Chesterfield, Chicopee, . Chilmark, Clarksburg, Clinton, . Cohasset, . Colrain, . Concord, . No. 4.j CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 447 I I I I I I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I iiicoiiiiiiiir lOOi— l>Ot>. I I"* lOiCOOlCQl-Hr-l li-Hl^ I |CO I lO ICOi— I rH'*'35-*ait^lCt>OrtCOOOt-Ha>050l>-»C0050CO:005 1— ii— I'^cot^^OiGOOOai'OO-^cMeoi— iT-ico=c>'*oocoooi'^t^co(MOico ^ o3 448 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. •ainiUBJBnf) uj paja I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I I ffqlllllO^IIIOilllllll piBd pUB pSlllH •pjBAivou 'psiira •3}i!}SJo;no}u38 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I t I I I I I I I I I O Q &< s P^ •JU9UI -3TO8S JO ssaoojj; ui sjuBxiB^ 'paumapuoo •joj piBd 'n}5t o\ jinuaj •pjBM.y •pjBAiy ou 'auvjnBJBnf) ui paia •smuopi: xig ajBjg ut pauAvo ^ou 'pj1!AiVOU'p3Il!5( puu pauraapuoa jsqmnif •joj pred puB paii!^ 'pauraapuoo aaqninii ■pasBaiaj jaqranii •pauijuB.iBiib aaqinnif •passassB anjBO %V3S. (Ml I |t-i| I 1 |cl I It^i-HC^II |CO|iOlSQ0l^-*"^C0COT-i00 CD-^"*IOI>-COiO C^CO'>*CO I— iiOt>-iO'-' a o • be Q ^ y^ ^ ^ ^ u >^0'-^ o m m d a a .«DIC5aO|QOi-l|(MT-H| l^i-J aj-^^ai-^co'Ocot^;oaO'OOG^co(MG^(M5qoOQOi-HOt>-'-i'X>cO'#'Oao«o eooc^':oi-ico^i>c^i-ia5-fa<)Tficoi>.05'Oc^OrHrHi>»Oi-it>o-Ol o ■JOJ pind puB paU!3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •paBAiyou'pani^ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 »4 1 •o}B)SJO}no}uog 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 S ! H B n o to •}uam -3I»aS JO SS8D0JJ UI sjuBjjBjVi^ 'pauiuapuoo (M 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1-1 1 1 CO T-H T-H T-4 r-< T-l uqj piud '[[I51 0} junjaj 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 tH 1 1 1 1 1 .-H 1 1 •pjBAiy ou 'i[!3i o; ^imaaj 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CO 1 1 1 1 1 •pjBAiV OU 'auijuuaBnS uj paid 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 <-! 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •snjuoK xig ajBjg UI pauMO ?ou 'pjBAVY bu ' pani'il puB paumapuoa iaqranjs 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •joj piud puB paniJl 'pauiuapuoo aaquinK ItHi-ICO I ICCCOi— liOiOCOiO •pasBaiaj jaqran^ 1 1 icoi l-^lff^icol isO'^Hltxe^oq 1—1 1-1 •pauijuujBiib aaqranij (Mi-li-ICO 1 lOOC^COCC |(M'OG-1i-ieOtOOO 00 1-1 CO 1—1 T-H rH •passassB ain«0 l^^X O-^Q0«0C00ii-l'— li— lOi'OOiCOi— liOCOCOCO O^O-^i-'COOOtMCNGOtMOiiOOO^SOt^O O5C<«COCOO5i-H005OCO00>O (NO Oi -* CM (M O r-T r-T T-T o H K O O Ipswich, . Kingston, . Lakeville, . Lancaster, Lanesborough, Lawrence, Lee, . Leicester, . Lenox, Leominster, Leverett, . Lexington, Leyden, . Lincoln, . Littleton, . Longmeadow, Lowell, Ludlow, . No. 4.] CATTLE COM^OSSIONERS. 451 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ( I I I t I I I I I I I I I I I ^ rH I I I t I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I r I I I I I I I I I I I I I r I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1-1 I l-^llllllT-tT-HlllllllrHi-Hlllli-ltMllllt^l I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I I I tH I I I I I I I |i-^|5ccOi-Hl,-iaii-lT-l|'*THl -co(Mit^(Ml I jgiis§iii|iiiriiiilli^r,.§§ir 5>^^s3a3c3o3a3c33icJc3ciajQjajajaj \ Ir-Hl 1 1 1 ICOi-IIj-ItH •paseaiaj aaquitiit 1 1 1 iijqi 1 1 i,-i^i It-hIthoi •pauitjuBJBnb jaqumK T-l| 1 I'^COIrHlrHT-il |Or-lT-H'*(M rH T— ( CO •passasst! a[})BO ina^ COCOCOrHOCio-«+i<:ot^-^cocoo •^ -ti< lO W i-H CO O CO -* ^C I I I I I I I I I I I I t I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I \ ICMICO^I l.-il'4'l 1 1 I I I 1 li-ll I I 1 It-I| lt>.| I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I i-H t I I I .-H I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I r I I I I 1-H I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I t I I I I I I I rH I I I I I I I I CO CO >o eo '^ lO 1 1 CO T-i c^ 1 1 CO CO rH 1 1 CO CO 1 1 1 1 1 CO 1 1 00 1 1 O CO 1-1 ^ 1 ITS 1 1 1— 1 so T-H 1 1 >-l "O CO 1 1 1 '^ 1 1 1 1 1 r-l rH CO 1 1 03 lO oo ^ t^ ?o 1 1 iceoco 1 1— 1 1 CO t^ CO CO T-H 1 (MCO 1 1 l-H 1 1 '^ 1 rH t^ 1 1 ■^CiOSkO'OOCOCOi— l«oC0O«O>O05'#iOl>00iC)-*i;OCJ5C0t>-t>.O-^»OX)t>. r--.i-HC5?r>cccO'*co»ccocC'0'Oa3COTHcoi— icoo5cot>.i— ii— ioi>.cococ5^r^ ocooai-^cr5cococot~-cc>rHio^GO-*cocoi— ii>.'^«o->*-rtH«ocoT— i-^co co 05 be X-=3 ^ J pQ ,a O ■4^ -^^ -b^ 4J -k^ -4^ -t^ ;2;tz;;?i!2;;z;;2i!z;^;2;OOOOOP-iCLHeLiPHPHfL,PHpHPHPHpHeuPHP-(pHPHO' 454 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. C3 .9 '•*3 C3 O O ^ rii '^ fi^ H O H O O a 0 K H 6 •anijuiuBtif) ui paid 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •passaiaa llr-lllllll|T-III|(M,-H|| 0 ta y. « o •JOJ piBd puB paiuH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •pjBAivou'pai[!3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •a]B)SJo?nojuag 1 1 1 (M 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 a >-) H H < O m H s s u -onjas JO ssaDoaj ui bjub-uBjU^ 'pauraapuoo lllll|IIIIII^COIC^aOO 1—1 CITY OR TOWN. • . Randolph, Raynham, Reading, . Rehoboth, . Revere, Richmond, Rochester, Rockland, . Rock port, . Rowe, Rowley, . Royalston, Russell, . Rutland, , Salisbury, . Salem, Sandisfield, Sandwich, . No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 455 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I t I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I t I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IIIIIIO|(MIOOIllllll|rH(M||OII>.rH| I»-Ht-I(M|,-II(>^0|i-l'XlO|i-H tHI li-HI I'tll'-HICMI IC^G-^I I I I |-*r-l|lOr-l|T-IOOCO| | ■-H CM "O CO 1-H 1— ( 7-H -t0'*-^C0C0-*OO«0t~t^a0i0l:^OC0i0^^'*l>.i0>0C0C0t0Q0OT— lO COCOCZJC/2C/2C/2C/2 CO CC«3C/)c/ia}C« 03 CO!Z2a2 02 CZ2a2COa5C/2(/2CZJaj 02 0202 02 456 BOARD or AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. o 6 ft^ o H P o i H -< o i •auHUWBn?) ui paid 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •p3SBa[aa C<«IIIIOII^IIIIIIIll 1—1 S5 O •JOJ piBd puB paiiiH 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •pjBM.vou'pan!H 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •9JB}SJO;"0?"9S 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o m H H H 1 •;naui -ainag JO ssaoojj ui bjubjjBjVI 'paoraapuoo T-l|eoll<^^llllllllll«ll •aoj piBd 'ni3i o; ;!nu3j 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 (M 1 1 •pjBA^V on 'in^I o; ^irajaa 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 '-< 1 1 •pjBMV ou 'anijuBJcn^ ui paid 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •SlI}UOH[ xig ajBjg UI pauMo ^ou 'pjBAvyon'pain^ipuB pauraapuoo iaqranii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •joj piBd pnB pain^i 'pauraapuoo aaqranif i-HCMCOl 1 IO|iOi-ISCC) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Oi-H 1 1 T-^ 1 1 T-H 1 CO lO <>» rH CM 1 CO 1 tH tH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 rH 1 COCO t^-<*t^CCt^050l^(MCOt--.i005 !£lGO-*C;C<)i— lG^C0t>.»0a0<7<»a5l>.rtl 3 a>'~5 ^ bc^ ^H ^.S 53=G'C t^rg" C - bin 458 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. a o o a so ?^ -« 0^ 1 fa O H o 'i a b) i: ■< o •anijaBJonf) ui paid 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 y-t •p3S»3I8a 1 r-< 1 1 1 1 1 «Dr-4 1 OS i a o •JOJ piBd puB pan!:H 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t^ •pjBAivou'pan!:a 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T-H .-I 1 to ■ajBiSjo^no^uas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 «o >-) H H o i a D H o m 1 •jnara -ainas JO ssaDOJd ui siUBXiBjW 'panraapuoo (?q 1 1 1 1 i-H rH 1 1 1 T-H CO * •jqj piud 'ni^i o; iinuaj r-l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o T-H •pJBAlV ou '11151 (n iitnjaj 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 eo •pj^Avy ou 'aunuBJBn^ UI paia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 oo ajBIg 'pjBA pain •JOJ 'paut •8ii;uore X!f5 tn paoAio ^ou ivbu'paioTipuB napuoa jaqran^ 1 1 t 1 i-H 1 1 1 1 1 (N piBd puB pain^l napnoo aaqinnjii C<> T-l 1 r-l 1 ^ «0 1 l-H 1 •pasBaiaj jaqmn^ > r-l (M CO 1 1 oo •pauijuBJBnb aaqraii^ rH I-H •passassB aiu^o ^na^ i-lt^-^lCCOt»CCl»Ot»t^ OiGi-l'X>-*05'C 5 1 O 5 1 Wilmington, Winch endon, Winchester, Windsor, . Winthrop, Wobum, . Worcester, Worthington, Wrentham, Yarmouth, No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 459 Section 29 of chapter 408 of the Acts of the year 1899 requires the inspectors, in addition to their inspection of animals for contagious diseases, to examine the barns, stables and other enclosures in which any cattle are kept, with ref- erence to their situation, cleanliness, light, ventilation and water supply ; to make a detailed report, with names and residences of owners, to the Board of Cattle Commissioners, which shall embody the same in its annual report to the Legislature. In accordance with the above provision, the Board ordered the inspectors in the various cities and towns of the Com- monwealth to make an examination of the different premises where neat cattle are kept, and to make their return on or before November 15. A large majority of the inspectors made a very careful inspection and report ; but in some of the towns examination of many stables was omitted, and the inspectors in the following towns have sent in no returns of inspection of stables : — Billerica. Brookline. Canton. Chelmsford. Dracut. Framingham. Gardner. Haverhill. Hudson. Lawrence. Lowell. Maynard . Middlefield. Montgomery. New Braintree. Newbury. North Adams. Petersham. Richmond. Rockland. South Hadley. Waltham. Ware. From the returns of the above inspection, sent to this office, the following table has been compiled : — 460 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. saiqujs JO .taqturiN; soiq^g JO aaqmnii saiqms JO .loqranx: •^[(Idns saiqcjg JO .laqmnx •iflddiig J3JBAV pooo qjiAv saiqBJS JO .loqtnnij Si 6 •uoij -■BIIJUSA on qjiAV saiqi^lS JO asqronx I 1»3t-i| ICMICOI I ItHIcoI I ICil I •uoi; -«i!J"3A Pf a m\M. ssiqBjg JO jaqmnx •IIOIIBI -n'i8A pooo ilJiAv saiqt'jg JO jsqninx: T— li— It— I 1—1 1— IrHi— I i— I Oi r-t •jq3n on tiJiAV saiqBis JO jaqtiinx •jqSiT pug t|jiA\. S3iqB?s JO joqiniiii 8 ^ ^ ■nSn pooo m!-^^ saiqB^g JO J3qtnn>j •sjBn^O nr saiqBjg JO jaqraiiNi •sjBiiar) JOAO S3iqT!}g JO aaqiun^ •punojo 3m HO saiq«?g JO jaqratiii •pajaadsu! saiqmg JO .laqrnrijt bb No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 461 t^ 1 00 1 1 CM -rj^ 1 CO tH 1 |i-l->*Oi IO,a;rio 00 (M ?o 00 ■<*< T-H 1 i-l(MCX)CO'OCOOCMt>.t^COCO(MO (McOcOCMCO-^t^t^cot^Oi— iCMtH 1— ( 1— 1 1— 1 I— 1 1— t rH lO rH iH 1 t> ^O ■O CO 05 1 1 rH 1 rH 1 iH 1 1 1 1 1 1 liOCOCOCOl 1 It-(| r-t 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 r-l 05 CO 1 1 lO OS 1 i-H O CO I05 liOCOCO It^GOiO lOlt^CO'* 1-1 CM rH 1 00 1 1 1 CM Oi t^ ^COrHCNCO^CO»0 CO OJ 00 (M « 00 »o 1 CMCOt^O^iOSOOOiiOCOOlOSiMCOO rHt~CO-*CM^iOCOt^00OSiHCM-* tH rH 1-1 1—1 1 rH Tj< t- CM O rH 1 '^rH CO t>CO 00 1 1 C^ 1 1 1 Oi 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 icoTj4eoi 1 icoo 1—1 I CM 1 1 1 1 1 1 1— 1 T-l (?? t^ 1 1 l->. 1— 1 -* T-H 1 [ 00 t» O 1-1 lO -* lOOOOlNl^t^ CO 1-1 r-l t^ 1— 1 CO 1 O lO 1 iH 1 00 >o c<» rH l> lO t- T-H CO 00 CO 1—1 1 rHiOiOCM-^OOCMCMCOaiOOt^Ot:^ CMCOCOCMCO-^COt^t-t^-iOT-ICMO 1— 1 rH tH rH 1 t>. oi r^ rH -^ iH 1— 1 1 <» lO rH lO CO 05 1 1 O 1 C CO CM rH rH CO Tt* CO CO 1 CO »0 (M 1 CO O CO rH rH CO lO CM -^ I— 1 CO CO (M 1—1 1 oooit^oaicoooocO'*cMcoo5 GOt>-OaO 1 "0 05 »c (M ^ rH 1 O W5^ CO "O >o OtMCO'^CO-^iMrH T-i 1 lOSlCXJI 1 ICO-*Oi0 ->* 1-1 05 CO ^ CM 00 CO lO CO 1 O t^ CM CO ■* O t^ 1 lO ■* CO 00 CO rH CM (M CO C^ iH lO ^O -OCOCO-^COCO rHrHrHlM CM C0»O0 1-1 .t^'OCO»Ot^l>OOaO:;:,S^ooooooSS;5:iCs:j!:!s;ssSc«csS^ pqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqWpqeqffleqpqpqwwpqmfflpqpqpqfflQOOOU 462 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. •UBapun jdan saiqcjs JO aaqran^ -*SO I li^t^cOGOfMCri lQO-^00 ICOCO lOI I I Ir-il I I I I lOIOI I It-hI^ ■-+3 a o rii 6 •-(iddns saiqvJJS jo JaqratiK: •/ftddns J3JBAV pooo qiJAv Baiqsjs JO .isquinK •uon -BIIJU3A oil qji.vv saiqB^g JO jaqiiiiix; "O^OI l^ol I I |(:ol.-H| I I \ Q<\ \ It-h-^I •UOIJ BiuuBAPBami'^^ S9iqB)g JO aaqtuaji TtGO l>o Ic^^i-ico icoO'^ec^ot^ •UOIJBI -nii3A poof) qjiAV saiqB^g JO aDqciiiiN •}q3i7 ou mi.vi saiqBjs JO aaqiiinK •jqSiT pBg qjiAV saiqBjg JO aaqiun^i 2Q ^ ^ •jqSn pooo miAv saiqBJS JO jaqranjy[ •BJBiiao ui sajqBJS JO Jaqinii>i •SJB(I80 J3AO 83iqB;g JO .laqtuiiM •pnnojo gqj uo S8[qB}g JO .laqranK,! •pajoadsui saiqBig JO jaqraiiii 0-<* I Ol^OQ01>CNi-l(MS0'*O00C0t>.«0T-liC«Di-i 0 05 (?q t^ O TtH t^ »0 00 T-H Cq OS i-H 00 -* 05 r^ «5 =0 G T-H 1— I 1—1 I— I tH C<» .i^s . . '^'" , . . ;3 . bJD - - - - .^ ^ § s I cf i .-I 111 ,^i .'-o s%i , §g .^MrJ-lrMr^FJ-if^J-lrMrJ-li Ir— 1 W V-' W W v-- ^J^JS'"JS'jr No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 463 CO cc T-( lo lO ICOCOCJiO^COi— IOO.i— l5C0O0005CO t>.iOOcoa>cocotocoaioocot»i-iai"-*t>-»0(M 1-1 1—1 1— 1 I— 1 T-l ^H tH 1 05 CO CO 1-1 rH 1— I 1 rH ■* 1 (M 1 CO it^iMi 1 1 icqi-ii icococoicoiooi-ii i 1—1 1 CO 1 1 1 o> COCO ici CO 1—1 1— I lt>.CO-*t^rHi-l(MO'*QOi-ICOCOC<«i-l IrHlO l>0 l-( !M ""^i— 1 CNi— 1 C^ 1-1 COi-( CM 1 CO o» tH 1 1 CO 05 CO O rH IC 05 05 O CO 1 THcoooiooiOGOOcoio— ooai'*a>oico 00iOCNCOQDCOO5l>-CO«Ot^COTtli— lOSi-lCOOiOi-l I— 1 1— 1 T-( tH 1—1 1—1 1 OrH CM (M iH 1-1 1 rH 1 '^ 1 1 1 lOO^i-il 1 1 IC^i-ll 1 1 |t-i1»Oi-iOI I (M 1—1 1 CO 1 1 1 CO T-H It-t^co ICRC^ ic^cocoi-iT-Hcoi-i»o«oeot- l(M 1-1 rH (M 1-1 CO 1-1 1 CO ^ iH CO 1 1 1— 1 CO i-H CO o CO CO ^ O CO 1-H 1—1 1 OOt^COO'^C^It^OOt^'O-^OCNCOOiCOaiOl GOCOi-'I^OcO^COCOCOGOCOt^i-iQOOi-iaOOlM 1— li— (1— li— li— ( 1— ItH 1—1 1 10 05 CM CO rH 1 y-f CM CO 1—1 1-1 1 1-1 1— 1 1— 1 1 o t^ O) cq CO CO -* o CO CO -* I i c<^ o ^ t^ co ^ co I— 1 1— It— 1 I— ICOrH 1— lC- C^C<»COi— ICO C0 1-1 CO CO o a> lO 1-1 1 GOt^iooi-oi-ii-it>eoco'*o^i-i'*'0'0'H lOCOOO-*COCOi-lOi-(COC^COCOi— ICOrHOOCOOCO rH 1—1 1-1 T^ 1 »C CO O lO 1—1 1 CO rH t>, CO ^ -^ CO lt^b-O«Oa>COC■ lO ICO I'^co icicoiHco icqoocooo-^o-*oo5t^ CO coo rH 1-1 1-1 C^ (?? CO CO CO >0 CO OJ 1—1 rH 1 00 rH Ol GO 1 G^ 1-1 GO 1-1 CO »c '^ CO CO 0« 1-1 ifM'^ot^ iiO'^cM'-iaieocoijqoocooot^t^cNt^ C-l lOO ■>*OC0-*'0 -^ rtiiOO-^COCO 1-1 1 CO rH CO CO 1 o CO >0 tH »0 t^ CO o 1-1 o t>. tH 1-1 1—1 1 io,-i->#coajcoiMi-it>eoooco(>.t>-t^cncoiooirH oit^(Mt^O«3-*aotoa5cococ^i-iOi-i'Oco'0'* 1— ti— (1— IrHrH rHi— HrHi— IrH 1 r-l CO 1— 1 rH 1 rH 0) o . liilplllllllil If4l ffii 1! (U«.;i^OOfc^SSS83e3<:3eSoS'T3bJDG;Hcc>83cSc3.-Sri:^0(H^H;H^'S 464 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. s8[qB}g JO jaqtntiii saiqKjg }0 J9qranx •X[d(Ing •^iddng S3iq«?b' JO jaqranii O 6 •.^iddng saiqeig jo aaqtnnx t^C<>CJiOO(MOTHO^OCT-ia>OOT-ICOCO.G^'-HO'Ot^i-H^C>G<|iO'OGOiOG^COi-Hi-( 1—1 1— It— li— I T— IG^I I— ItHtH •UOjl -•BIijusA ou qjtAV s3[qB}g JO jaqraiiK I I I t I I I I CM I I I I I I I I I I I ^00 •uoij -tJlijuaAPuamiAv saiqBjs JO jaqtmiK •UOIJBI -IJU3A poof) qjiAV S9iqtr)g JO aaquinvj: •jqSiT OU miA\. saiqtJjg'jo jaqrans: '^ O CO C^ I r-l CO CO CO -* «0 »C CO t^ I I I I I I O 00 •lUSjT pug miM. saiqBlS JO JaqinnK s ^ •jqSiT; poof) qiiM. saiqcig JO jaqninii i0OO'*OOiC^'-ICr5C^Ot~^G0Cr5O-*00t~-.(Mt^O cocooeoi— iiocico-^coi>oo»o>oc^»oaDcOi— lOif-rH saiqcjg JO aaqmtiK lOOt^t^ loo |C0I:^'*C<>-*C<>OiOCOt^-0C0C0-'0(MT— lOJOOCJQO •^c^->*c^ coi— lo (mect>--*>oi— icoco t>-cDt^o Oil— lOGOt>-iOt^Oi— l-^CO-^tMCCeOCOCOCOtMiOC^lOO COCOOlrH tHi— (-.coioco(M-^oiccoo OOCOCOiOrHt^Cqi— I0'0t>'-*C005CO<005U:>G^C5C<«CO .s be o 1> 2 cT , ,— I .« ID T* sh -s^ac-ccrto; oo ^ o t-. c3 c^ Cw c3 o3 o3 ^ r^ C T-l c ^ »-c c rt t/. r?-* t* ij ;-( (-1 c3 OS oi iOOOOOOOffiWKKffiMWWW No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 465 «£> 1 I^TOOi i-*co |i-ico lu'^i-i 1—1 (7. (M 1 00 t^ -<*< O -* C5 rH CO rH CO -* >— 1 I— 1 1 OG0«DG^O i-lOi— l-^<[^i— lOii— 1 1— 1 1— ( I— 1 1 C^ O t^ t^ Oi rH TO t>. -^i CO 00 "0 1 G<« l-*l 1 1 1 1 1 ICC t^ rH CO ^ 1— 1 l-H 1 (Mt^O»-iCOi-l-+^OOOOi-l CSOOt^'OTOt^CNQO^COlM'ti 1— 1 1-1 1 CiiOOOi-) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 G<« lc<«iO(Mco l<^^l-llO'* icoi-i CO (M 1 tH I t^ ^ CO 1 CO 1 1 00 l^ t^ rH CO lO CO 1-1 CO «5 CO -* T-l T-H 1 T^COt^iO-r^lcOCMi— ITOOiOO OaoGOt^GO'Ocoo-^coo-^ 1—1 1—1 1—1 1—1 1 COOi-l'^l^t^O'^CM 1— li— li— l-*t^rHCOi— 1 1— 1 rH rH 1 t^ TO -rt^ TO O »0 '^ t^ ^ >0 O "O r-t rH 1 1 1 l(M(MCOC0 1t^l 1 1 II I 1 rH 1 1 OO (M lO (M 1— 1 1 lO ^ 1 1 t^ 1 lOCO CO T-l 1 «C>O(Mi-lQ0i— iC^liOC^COt^i— 1 1—1 1—1 1—1 CO 1—1 i>l 1 rH O rH Cq -rJH I t^ C5 T-< Sq 1— 1 1— 1 rH 1 rH OOCOOiO 00 CO tH CO CO CO »o O CO 1—1 T— 1 1 OitOiOi-ICOt^-t^i-iOOt^T-liO 00t^t^-*t^00i-iO-*CNi-l^ rH 1—1 1—1 1 coot^oao-*t^T-i rHCOi— ICNlCrHt-Cl 7-t 1 O rH 00 CO «0 >i-i 1— 1 -^ tH -^ QO CO T-t 1 CO t^ CO CO CO 1 rH ai O rH t^ >0 rH 1 t^ Oi O rH TO ^ 1-1 |TOCO'*(M«0 1 ICOOS^CMuO -* cq o 1-1 1^ t» 1-1 s0 lO 00 t^ CO rH lO lO -«+l lO 1—1 CO 1—1 IOt>-OCOTH 1 |i-liOCO-*<0 1 t^CO 1 00 (?q "O 05 CO t^ CO 05 1 OOi t^ OOO 1 CM rH rH lO rH 00 QO CO -* T-( 1-1 1 -*000iC0'*00C0«OOOa0«0 OOOOOt>OOGOCOO'OCOCO'* 1—1 1—1 tH 1— 1 1 05000COOC005CM rHrHi— l-^0OrHO5rH rH rH r-i 1 lO CO rH t^CO O 00 00 lO ^O TO 1— 1 T-^ a ^ be liiiiiiiiiiiJiiflijilil ^o:cjo3a).S.2ooooooo3SSSt*."?.S'rtSSSSSa3Soaj 406 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. o a. 6 sajqBjg JO .laqmnx saiQBjg JO jaqtaiiiJ •^iddng sajqujS JO jaqtntiil •iCiddng saiqt'jg jo aaqninkj; •X[ddng aajtSAi poof) qjiAV saiqBjg JO aaqranx •uoij saiqujg JO jaqranK •uoi} -BIijnaAPBaq^iAv S3iqt!4g JO jaqran^ •uon^l -UnsA pooo qjiAi s8iqBjg JO aoqriinx lt-i-H| I loql I I |iOI I I I li-il I'll llooit^l^lirilll-t0 CO C<1 CO 1 COOOij 00 l^i-(THCO^'i.04-*i— ICO I— 1 T— 1 T— ( 1 CO CO 1—1 o -^ 1—1 o O? TO lO 1-1 <>? 00 1 CM CO O 1-1 1-1 1-1 1 CM CO t^ 1 CO CM CO (M rH >0 ( 1 1 1 1 1 1 r-l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 eo "O CM 1 1 Ol CO c<» t^ 1 !?qcocq»OTHcO'#'005 1-1 1-1 iH 1 CO 1 CO '^t^ 1 c<» t^ / t^ t- 1 1 (M t^ 1 (M y-t »o o »o O -* 1 «o -* »o CO OOt^ 1—1 rH 1— I 1 O 1-1 lO O^ '^ CI CM Cq 1-1 00 lO 1-1 1— 1 oo 1 CO 00 OS O 1-1 1 O rH O 1 CO 1* »0 CO 1 ^ r-l ^ 1 1 1 1-1 CM 1 1 1 1-1 1 I 1—1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 O 1 1 rH O <» Oi CO CO 1 I-H (KJ CNCOCO ICOCOCOOt^ ^ 1-1 CM 1 T-l CM 1— 1 G- 1— 1 oi 1-1 CO C<» CO "O G^ t^ 1 (M -* O 1-1 1—1 1— I 1 rH O CO 1 CO CO CO cq CO 1 1 iM CO 1 I-H 1 »Ci 1 >0 1 CO 1 b- ^ 1 1 1 »o r 1 1 CO rH 1 1 1 1 1 t- rH 1 O CO CM o ai 1 T-l cq (M 0( CO -^OGO'^OGOOOO 1— ( 1— 1 1— ( lo CO lO 1 OO ^ O (M 'i< 1 O CM 1-1 CS 1 CO CO CO 1 rH .o ^ 1 CO CO CO Oi O CI 1 -* c^ CO — 1 CO T-< 1— 1 l-l C3iiCiOCOt>--<+l-*GOiO COOCO-rJHCOi— IOt^C<» 1-1 1-1 1 lo t^ CO 1-1 o 1— 1 CO 1-1 CO >0 1— 1 (M T-H CO T-H T-l ,— 1 1 -H t^ CO oi 1 CO CO CO -^ CO CO -rfl 1 05 ■* OS 1-1 1— ( -rH lO l-( CO '^ 1-1 CO 1 lO '^J^ rH CO 1 coo O 1 1-1 uO GO T-l 0 !>• 1 rH t^ CO 1 CO CO CO GO : II New Braintree, New Marlborough, New Salem, Newbury, . Newburyport, . Newton, . Norfolk, . North Adams, . elrose, . endon, . errimac, ethuen, . ddle borough, ddlefield, ddleton, 1 lord, . llbury, . His, Iton, Dnroe, . on son, . antague, onterey, . Montgomery, Mt. Washingtor Nahant, . Nantucket, Natick, Needham, . New Ashford, New Bedford, l^g^^^^^SS^^gg^g 468 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Puh. Doc. ■73 O) S3 ■-+3 n o 6 « H-i 2Q O' ^ saiqBjg JO aaqinnvj 1-1 CO r-i tC B3iqK(g JO jaqtaiiK (M05'0-*OCit>.COCCO'-iT-lCiOrMcOCOt^O-^CqOs t^C0'O»0C005-*TH->*0iC050'O-005 «0«0 <© -* OS (M tH i-I (M ^cor-i-icoocO'Oco-*-*oot-t^(M'-' COt>.-^>OCOCi-*OCOi— i':0-*O5(MC0'TiCD-*-*'O05?O tH i-H i-H I— I tH r-l -non -BIIJU8A ou qjIM. saiqBig JO jaqdin^ l(N|r-l|COI^I 1 1 IQOI 1 1 IC^ICO'OI 1 •uon saiqirig jo jaqraiiK IO-^-^C^JOOt-ICO luO'-HCOOCO I(M»C>0»0t-iiO'0 Oi rl T-H CO •U0!JB[ -i}aaA poof) qjiAv saiqBjg JO joqraiiK (M-*00C0C<)CTsc3iCo^<^c.C0Or>.Oi-ia5'*05^ tH 1-1 1-1 1—f I-l rH •SJBIiaO J9A0 saiqBjg JO jaqranx r>.(MT-ICOi— lOOOCOOOG^COCOi— iiOOOOCSOOi-tCO COCOOCO 0OCOCOQOCO<>1COrH lO^COCOCOr-ICOCO •pnnoao aq^ no saiqBjg JO jaquinii iooooa5G{ (McocMGO-^oooii— it^cocooot--c<>dco-^co-^co-* t>.05cO'OcoO'0'-i-#'— 'cococn-*0-^X)>oiot^o>t^ 1—1 1— (1— 11— ItH tHtH 1—1 §Tf ^:i|l||«?; -< "^ CQ 05 9 o S »ooiOtoGoeo»0"*cc-<;j< i ii-i ioocno550-*oo |oo«ocoeo»o |oO(Mi>>(M7-ii I |r-i|T-Hi I I I I I I I I I lo^ieoi CNI |co»o?OQOaoi iT-Htol li-Hl Icjicol I 1 I I icoeoloo •<+l OCO^i— ICOSOiCT-l^-^+lrHiO-^Ot ■* ■^^OiOCO'— !•* CMOXIO (jq I |C>OiH^ |OGO(MCOt-Ioot>05'*^05aocoo«o ico iocccoco-^oO'-ioqocncocm »0 t>.«0t>.C0>Ci«OOT-lt^00(J^>0'0(M t" lOCOCDCOCOiOi— IC0t-(05«0O ilrd-S:9 §^-§1 -^Sbid^ 'o'i'i'd 'I ^^' bl-S 470 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. s a o o 6 8 ^ s o ^^ "uuaiaun ids'!! S^ T-( 1— 1 ,— 1 1 c<» 1 >oi--.>ocoi-H(Maoeo rH rH i-H saiQBjg JO J3quini{ rH tH OI t-I 1—1 1 uo rH 1 COlOrHOOOOOOCOO c~-<*icocoioa>co>o rH rH rH •X[ddng J9JEAV pua miAv saiqcjg JO jaqranx GO i-f 1 >0 1— 1 to 1— 1 (X 1 1 1 (M 1 1 1 1 1 t^- 1 1 1 •^iddng saiqB^s JO jsqranij i-H tH 1 o 1 COt^05i-lt~QO>0«0 •Xjddng saiqujg JO jaqinnx ■^OrHCClOOO'*lOi-lt>- 1— 1 r-l (M 1— 1 rH '5 rH 1 t^lOt^O'OCOrHO ao^CN'*-*ao^co 1— 1 rH rH •uoi} -BIIJU3A ou HJlA saiQBjg JO jaqranu o SO 1 1 1 G^ oi c^ : 1 1 CO 1 1 I O i-H CO i-H 1 CO 1 (Mt~i-lrHrH-*t^OJ (jq CO rH rH rH •UOIJBI -ijuaA pooo 'IJJA^ saiqBig JO .laqninii OGOG^COCOOiCO-^t^^O r-lT-l|>.OOC0'005^';0l0 rH 1 rHCOuOOQOtOCO^ '^OrHCNCO'OOCO'* T-l r-t rH rH •jilSji OU H%IM. sajq^gjo jaqranx t^ ^ T}< O 1 I >0 .C0»0 rH T-t saiqBjg JO aaqran^ t^COOOCOG^Ii— 1^ |CO<>I 1— 1 CM (M 1— 1 1-1 1 ^ 1 eo-*t*cot>.Q-*i>. rH rH ^ •sJBtiao jaAO saiqBjg JO aaqmnx C5t>.-^CT5>OtO-*05G^-^CO 1—1 1 CO rH rH 1 rHiooeo^oocoas lO y-^ Oi rH GO GO ■<* rH r-i •panojo am no saiqins JO jaqranx >oooa5>OQO'Oco'*o>o 1 a5coo5»o«oo«oi> CO CO CO CO CO lO rH •pajoadsui saiqins JO jaqrarix -.^cot-cooc^icoco'ococo rH I— 1 (M tH tH 1 t^ 1 COGqrH050COCO OiUOCO^>OrH-«iia»ot^t^-l.-(||'*llll|| ^1 1 I I ICOI^G^I l(MI I I IC<)C5| IG^I I-tHI(MI I I I 1— I rH 1—1 1—1 1— I >Ci (MCOtM^COCO-^O-^COi-lOOtOt^CO-^^i-ICOaOCOO I |COt^»OC5CCi-l.t>.dia5t^(MOiO'0«oi i>.aii>.oi-ioo'*i li-l-*C<»i-l|'*I^I "CO^i-ICJ 1 1 1 1 1 op O (M rH t^ ,-H SO t^ CO as tH ^ Co CO <:o G0(»0000005<>>00 CM 1—1 CO 1-1 •UOI} -BipiiaA ou qjiAi eaiqB}g jo jaqranx: llllll^lll)|i-(lll.-t*(>>lOOT-IOi-l|>OT-IOi-^r-t^iOi-i«oiCi IcotocO'^'-icMCiCMai-no 1-1 rHi— 1 COi-ICOC<>i:O(MCOC0>OCMt^00O CO >0 CO «0 CO CO iT^ i-( O CO T-( O to O (M (M T}< o t^ >o 1— ( 1— 1 tH 1— 1 1— ( (M T-i •SJBIISO "! saiqBjg JO aaqraiijj |CO(Mi-i ICO'* |CO-*i-l l(M lO'Ot^'-ICM-TtHi-IOS T-l OtH.rH->*l 1—1 (M •putiojf) 3q:j no eajqBjg jo aaqmnN: tHtHi— IQOOOa5i-(OlOiOt^ 1 lO'-ICOGO-*i— it-G^t-C^lOiOCO 1— 1 1-H 1— 1 7-< T-^ GO CO OS, rH O O t^ CO Oi tJ< CO O 1 -* CO C t^ O GO 1 1 t^ 1-1 CM CX) CO ^ CO ^ Oi CO ^ CO CO CO 1-1 o GO CO o" rH iO(Mi-iCiaoooT-i>oo>0'*cot^ cooioicjcoi— ii-ic<«a>i— icMTtit>. T-t rH r-< 1— 1 CO rH rH CO rH O d" CO o H Wilbraham, Williamsburg, Williamstown, Wilmington, Winchendon, Winchester, Windsor, . Winthrop,. Woburn, . Worcester, Worthington, Wrentham, Yarmouth, 474 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Summary of Above Inspection. Number of stables inspected, 30,013 Number of stables on the ground, .... 10,685 Number of stables over cellars, .... 15,211 Number of stables in cellars, 4,117 Number of stables with good light, . . . 21,968 Number of stables with bad light, .... 6,345 Number of stables with no light, .... 1,700 Number of stables with good ventilation, . . 26,541 Number of stables with bad ventilation, . . 3,064 Number of stables with no ventilation, . . . 408 Number of stables with good water supply, . . 26,231 Number of stables with fair water supply, . . 3,269 Number of stables with bad water supply, . . 513 Number of stables kept clean, .... 27,077 Number of stables kept unclean, .... 2,936 The inspections of previous years have certainly had a beneficial result, as reports come from inspectors all over the State that they find the condition of the neat stock much more satisfactory than in previous years, and they are unani- mous in stating that it is, in their opinion, the result of the examinations made in former years. A few sample letters will serve to illustrate this feelino- : — Bridgewater, Mass., Dec. 4, 1899. To the Honorable Board of Cattle Coinmissioners. I have the pleasure of reporting, as inspector of animals for the town of Bridgewater, that, after viewing 128 premises, I have seen 601 animals and found only 1 to quarantine. I have 2 under observation, and they are single, — that is, not with others; I may quarantine them later. There are also over 100 head at the State Farm in a wooden stable. No stock except that raised on the farm has been added since the Board examined the whole stock. Although I have said in many cases, m answer to the question " No improvements," the general tone of care for and interest in stock which has been tested is on the increase in our town, and the marked improvement in stock and care for same is much better. The moral effect of a cattle inspector I find is good, and No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 475 lasting from year to year. I think that my town and district will make a good showing as to freedom from tuberculosis or other contagious disease. Respectfully, Calvin Pratt, Insijector. Pepperell, Ma»s., Nov. 18, 1899. Dr. Austin Peters, Chairman of the Cattle Commission. Dear Sir : — I send you in another cover my report of the in- spection for this year, and wish to say I never saw the cattle in this town looking so well and iu so healthy a condition as they are now. There has been a steady improvement in the condition of the stables, as well as the health of the animals, each year since the inspection began. The farmers and cattle owners are trying to carry out the rules and regulations laid down by your Board. The first year of the inspection, when the State paid only for such animals as were killed and found healthy, there were 46 put in quarantine, and all of them were condemned and killed by the Cattle Commission, and all were found diseased but 1 , for which the State paid $12. This year, after six or seven years' experi- ence, only 4 suspicious cattle were quarantined. One of them was released on physical examination, 1 was released on the tuberculin test, and 2 were killed and found diseased and were paid for by the State at 610 and $18. We think there has been a great improvement in six years. Yours respectfully, S. P. Bancroft. North Brookfield, Mass., Nov. 14, 1899. To the Honorable State Board of Cattle Commissioners. Dear Sirs : — I have this day finished the general inspection of cattle, sheep and swine in my territory. I have quarantined only 4 cows out of over 800 cattle. I find considerable improve- ment in the cleanliness of the barns and stables and the facility for watering stock, and the water given is much improved since my last inspection. I send you this day the returns of inspection, hoping my work for the last four years may meet with your approval. I am your obedient servant, B. F. Barnes, Inspector. Sunderland, Mass., Nov. 16. 1899. State Board of Cattle Commissioners. Gentlemen : — I enclose the final reports of inspections of ani- mals and barns. I have found no more cases of animals that could be condemned as tuberculous on physical examination. 476 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. The present condition of live stock shows good results of work done in previous years. Hope the next appropriation will be sufficient to test and dispose of suspicious cases. Yours very truly, Geo. P. Smith, Inspector. The cleaning up of herds has been done to a very limited extent, and only under the following conditions : the State furnishes tuberculin and an agent to test the cattle, and pays for reacting animals that are unlit for food, on condi- tion that the owner will take the beef value from the butcher for those that are fit for food, and will thoroughly disinfect his premises at his own expense under rules laid down by the Board, and will buy only healthy cattle to take the place of the diseased ones. These requirements bring part of the burden on the owner, and, if he is not sincere in his desire to eradicate tuberculosis from his herd and willing to co-op- erate with the Cattle Commission, he will not agree to them. It is useless to attempt to eradicate tuberculosis from a herd without the co-operation of the owner, and it is better to wait until the farmer is ready to come to the commission and ask its assistance than to force its services upon him. Herds have been tested in the following places and results obtained as below : — No. con- No. No. Disposed Date. Name. Town. tested. released. and paid for. of by Owner. June 27, s.c, . West wood, . 22 22 Dec. 20, 8. C, second test, Westwood, . 40 38 2* _ Aug. 24, F.L. W Dalton, 14 6 4 2 Oct. 27, ii'. L/. W., second test, Dalton, 15 13 2t _ Oct. 23, P. W. M Shrewsbury, 45 39 4 2 Nov. 6, P.W. M Shrewsbury, 11 2 5 4 Nov. 24, Institution, . Waltham, . 28 23 2 3 Nov. 24, C. W.8., . Leyden, 20 6 1-2 2 Dec. 15, G.H.E., . Weston, 63 62 _ 1 Dec. 20, G. H. E Concord, 102 101 _ 1 Dec. 26, G. H.E Newton, 154 151 1 _ 3 Dec. 15, W. H.R Montague, . Greenfield, . 29 8 21 - Dec. 28, L.L.F., . 11 6 5 _ Sept. 25, D. Brothers, Amherst, 11 3 6 2 565 480 63 20 ♦ These two animals were new acquisitions to the herd after June 27. t These two reacted the first test, but were not killed until retested, October 27. X Three to be retested. A word of explanation is necessary in regard to the herds of S. C. and G. H. E. No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 477 G. H. E. has been trying to eradicate tuberculosis from his herd for some time, and in the past he has had the assist- ance of the commission. In 1898, the appropriation being insufficient, he tested his cattle at his own expense, and killed those that reacted to the tuberculin test. Of the 5 animals in his three herds which reacted this winter, only 2 were in the old herd, 1 at Weston and 1 at Concord. The 3 in the herd at New^ton which reacted were animals which he had recently bought on certificates of tuberculin test at Brighton of dealers ; it is a question whether these cows were honestly tested before he bought them, or not. S. C. tested his herd at his own expense in December, 1898, and killed 7 animals. The commission tested the herd for him in June, after receiving the appropriation, and found no reacting animals ; it again tested the herd for him Dec. 20, 1899, and but 2 animals reacted. These were cows which he had taken to board for the winter, which had been tested with tuberculin, but some time ago, and had probably acquired the disease after being tested and before S. C. intro- duced them into his herd. Prior to May 25 the commission received the slaughter house returns from the inspectors of animals ; but the act passed at that time placed this work in the charge of the local boards of health, and since then they have been ex- pected to take care of the inspection of slaughter houses and of animals killed for food at the time of slaughter. Inspected at Licensed Slaughter Houses at Time of Slaughter y for Six Months ending May 31, 1S99. Cattle (including calves), 39,254 Sheep, 122,581 Swine, 737,049 Total, 898,884 Inspected at Time of Slaughter, under Section 21, Chapter 491, Acts of 1894, for Six Months ending May 31, 1899. Cattle (including calves) , 695 Sheep, 24 Swine, 2,122 Total, 2,841 Total •reported inspections at time of slaughter, . . . 901,725 478 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. Animals destroyed as Tuberculous. Cattle, 89 Sheep, - Swine, 30 Number of towns reporting licensed slaughter houses, ... 71 Number of licensed slaughter houses reported, .... 172 In addition to the cases of tuberculosis that the commis- sion has dealt with in the regular way, 50 cases have been reported by different persons since the inspection of slaugh- tered animals was placed in the charge of the boards of health. These have been found in the slaughter houses, or have been killed with the owners' consent (they waiving their right to compensation from the State), or have been reported by renderers. Bovine tuberculosis requires to be looked upon from two different stand-points : one, the possible danger to human life and health from the use of the flesh and dairy products of animals with a disease analogous to, if not identical with, tuberculosis in mankind ; the other, as a troublesome, infec- tious disease of cattle, causing large annual losses to our farmers and breeders by the deaths or diminution in value of the neat stock, as well as the shrinkage in their products, making them a less source of profit to their owners than healthy cattle. The problem of the management of bovine tuberculosis is attracting the attention of all civilized nationalities at the present time, especially in those localities where cattle are kept in a state of close cohabitation, for the purpose of utilizing their dairy products by the sale of milk or the manufacture of butter and cheese. The question is not of such vital importance in beef-producing communities, where the cattle are less closely confined and range over large areas of territory, as here it is not propagated so readily or rap- idly, and hence is a source of less danger and loss ; that is, the close confinement and sanitary (or rather unsanitary) surroundings under which dairy cattle and young animals being bred for the dairy are kept renders them peculiarly susceptible to the ravages of this scourge ; in addition to this, lactation is a constant source of depletion to vitality in the milch cow. At the Seventh International Congress of Veterinary Sur- No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 479 geons, lield in Baden-Baden, Aug. 7 to 12, 1899, to which the chairman of this Board was a delegate, although he was unable to attend, and at which Dr. Frothingham, who does the bacteriological work of this Board, was present, a num- ber of papers were presented by the leading veterinary officials of many of the European countries upon the control of bovine tuberculosis. All are agreed upon the importance of the work and the necessity of taking measures for the suppression of this disease, because of its possible danger to the public health, as well as on account of the losses it imposes upon cattle owners. It is also generally con- ceded that, because of its infectious character and wide- spread prevalence, it is a matter of veterinary, sanitary police, that should be taken charge of by the State just as much as glanders, rabies or contagious pleuro-pneumo- nia. Among those presenting reports upon the preven- tion of tuberculosis among domestic animals were Prof. B. Bang, of the Veterinary School of Copenhagen, represent- ing Denmark; Dr. O. Malm, director of the Civil Vet- erinary Department, Norway ; Mr. G. Regner, military veterinary surgeon, attached to the Board of Agriculture, Stockholm, Sweden ; Dr. R. Rudovsky, State veterinarian at Brunn, Austria; Dr. Siedamgrotsky, chief veterinary officer in Saxony ; and Dr. L. Stubbe of Brussels, veterinary inspector of the Board of Agriculture in Belgium. The prevalence of tuberculosis varies in different localities. In Austria, Rudovsky thinks that only between 1 and 2 per cent, of the cattle are diseased; in Sweden, Regner thinks 20 per cent, may l)e infected ; and in Norway, Malm gives it as his opinion that it exists on 25 per '^nt. of the farms, and that between 8 and 9 per cent, of all the cattle are infected. In eastern Massachusetts, judging from the experience of this commission with veterinarians making private tests for owners in the spring of 1897, it is not unfair to assume that a condition of affairs exists quite as bad as in the more popu- lous dairy districts of northern Europe. While less has been done towards State control of tuberculosis in England and Germany than in France and some of the smaller European countries, like Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Belgium, it is not because the importance of the trouble is not realized, but because the best means for undertaking the 480 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. eradication of bovine tuberculosis is being deliberated upon. England has had a Royal Commission on Tuberculosis investigating this malady for several years, whose work has been alluded to in a previous report of this Board. At the conclusion of the International Congress in Baden- Baden, last August, the following resolutions were adopted : — The Prevention of Tuberculosis amongst Domestic Animals. 1. The prevention of tuberculosis in cattle is urgently needed. 2. The extinction of bovine tuberculosis on the part of the owners (voluntary extinction) is practicable, and should be uni- versally aimed at. It demands the slaughter of dangerous tuber- culous beasts as soon as possible, as well as careful protection of calves and healthy animals from infection. The voluntary extinc- tion of bovine tuberculosis should be encouraged by the State, through the dissemination of con-ect views respecting the character of tuberculosis, respecting the modes of infection and the impor- tance of tuberculin inoculation, and be supported by State grants. The best means hitherto known for the prevention of tuberculosis among domestic animals is tuberculin. Tuberculin should only be supplied under State control. In any case it should be given to veterinary surgeons alone. 3. A State prevention of bovine tuberculosis is thoroughly to be recommended. If it is applied with a certain caution, it can be carried out, and will hinder the further increase of the disease and will gradually stop it. The prevention requires : — (a) The obligation of the veterinary surgeon to give the legal notice of every case of proved tuberculosis in the exercise of his practice. (&) The quickest possible slaughter of dangerously tuberculous animals (particularly those animals which are affected with mammitis, tuberculosis of the uterus and of the intestines, as well as pulmonary tuberculosis), compensation being granted by the State, and the proliibition of the return of buttermilk from the co- operative dairies until it has been sterilized. The Use of the Flesh and Milk of Tuberculous Animals. A. Of the Flesh. Granted that a general compulsory inspection of slaughter animals exists before and after slaughter, the following measures are to be prescribed, in view of dangers for the health of the people which may be connected with the consumption of the flesh of tuberculous animals : — No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 481 1. Those professional men who carry out meat inspection are expected to examine the slaughtered animals, and so to give a guarantee that every case of tuberculosis among the slaughtered animals — and in every such case the spread of the tuberculous process — will be accounted for with certainty. 2. The most important part of the meat inspection is the sure detection and the perfectly uninjurious removal of the organs that have been changed by tuberculosis, together with their appendages. 3. With regard to the flesh of tuberculous animals, the parts affected with tuberculous centres and bound by the corresponding lymphatic glands are to be treated in the same way as the tuber- culously altered organs. If the tuberculous alterations in the meat are confined to the lymphatic glands situated in it, the muscle may, after cutting out the bones, joints, vessels and lymphatic glands and adequate dissection, be handed over, in a sterilized condition, to be used for food. In the case of fat animals, the melting out of the fat tissue that has been separated, with avoid- ance of the tuberculous centres, is likewise permitted. 4. In the case of local tuberculosis and in that of general tuber- culosis healed and limited to the organs of the cavities, the meat may be dealt out raw, to be used as food. If the tuberculous process in the intestines is of considerable extent, the obligation to declare it is to be insisted upon. 5. The whole of the meat, except the melted fat, is to be with- drawn from use as human food, if there exist marked emaciation or the signs of very recent infection of the blood (tumor in the spleen, and swelling of the lungs, liver, spleen or kidneys) . 6. In cases where the local character of tuberculosis and the harmlessness of the meat are doubtful (especially when there are tuberculous caverns and incipient derangement of nutrition), the whole of the meat is to be sterilized before being handed over as fit for food. 7. The sterilized meat and the melted fat is to be sold under declaration. B. Of the Milk. 1. The cows, goats, etc., kept for dairy purposes are to be subjected to regular veterinary control. 2. The milk of tuberculous animals is not to be used for human food, if the animals are emaciated or affected with tubercles in the mammae. 3. In accordance with the mode of proceeding in the kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden, the emaciated and tuberculous dairy animals are to be immediately removed from the farms and destined for slaughter, compensation being given to owners. 482 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. It will be seen by these resolutions that a system of veter- inary sanitary police contemplates an efficient inspection of slaughter houses. This, however, applies more to the pro- tection of the public health than to the eradication of disease. The laws under which this commission acted prior to May 25, 1899, provided that it should receive the returns of in- spections of slaughtered animals from the inspectors of animals and provisions in the different cities and towns, and also that it furnish applications for licenses for slaughter houses, and that a duplicate of every license granted in the State should be on file at the office of the Board of Cattle Commissioners. This did not seem to have much to do with the eradication of disease, and the inspection was placed in the hands of the local boards of health by section 20, chapter 408, Acts of 1899, as it seemed to be more of a local sani- tary matter than one closely connected with the control of bovine tuberculosis, and it caused a good deal of extra work in the office of the commission, without any corresponding benefit. What the slaughter-house inspection by the local boards of health amounts to is a matter of conjecture. Every week old, emaciated cows, called "canners" and " bologna cows," are shipped to our markets for " beef," not only from without the limits of the Commonwealth but from towns in the dairy districts of the State. Many of these must be diseased and unfit for human food ; yet, if the slaughter-house inspection was properly carried out, this contemptible business would not be as profitable as it appears to be, and would be given up. If the Cattle Commission seized the animals which were clearly diseased coming from without the limits of the State, they could be killed without appraisal or payment, and rendered as they ought to be ; yet, if this were done, it would be unfair unless similar ani- mals coming from within the limits of Massachusetts were also seized and killed. Such animals would, however, have to be paid for, if they had been owned within the State for six months prior to condemnation, from the appropriation of the commission. As the object of the law is to kill diseased animals whose milk may ])e unhealthful or which may be a source of con- tamination to other cattle, it seems proper to allow them to No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 483 proceed to the slaughter house, if the inspection there is properly made. Theoretically, the health of the people is protected ; practically, it is a question if the inspection is anything more or less than a farce in many places. There is also a section in the law relative to meat inspec- tion requiring all calves killed for veal to be over four weeks old ; yet, as a matter of fact, half the calves killed for food are not more than one to two weeks old ; a number are only a few days old, and some are no better than living abortions. If veal from calves under four weeks old is unhealthful, the law should be enforced ; if it is proper that human beings should eat meat from any kind of a calf, the law should be repealed. If the law as it stands is too strict, it should be modified to meet the requirements of civilization, and then it should be uniformly enforced everywhere. At some abattoirs there is an inspector of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry to examine beef and pork for export to foreign countries ; he will not pass anything that the sanitary laws of those countries consider as unfit for food for their peoples, yet in some places what he will not pass as fit for food is sold to our own citizens. Surely the people of this country ought to be entitled to the same pro- tection from the State that the United States government guarantees to foreigners. The present policy of the Massachusetts Board of Cattle Commissioners follows the plan laid down in the resolutions given above, outside of the matter of slaughter-house inspec- tion. The methods formerly pursued by the State have been found too extravagant and expensive. Similar measures were tried in Belgium, and proved there to be too costly. During the past year cows that showed marked physical evidence of tuberculosis were condemned and killed ; a few have been passed as fit for beef, but most of them were only fit to be rendered. When cows can be condemned on a physical examination, the work can be done at a less cost than under the former system, when the agent tested cows with tuberculin, and then reported the results to the ofiice and received instructions which to kill and which to release. Under the present system, the agent examines, appraises and kills a diseased cow all at one visit. This system seems 484 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. to work satisfactorily, and very few complaints have arisen under it. Cows with nodulated udders have been tested with tuberculin, as have also some doubtful cases ; if they reacted, they were destroyed. Reducing the limit of value from $60 to $40 has resulted in a saving to the State. The appraisals have been very evenly made, and the average value, $22.50 per head, is much lower than it formerly was. The work of the local inspectors seems to be sufficient to protect the people from the milk of cows owned in Massachusetts which are suffi- ciently diseased to be a danger to the public health, besides which, the badly diseased cows are the greater sources of danger to others. A few herds have been tested with tuberculin and reacting animals removed, but only where the owner has shown a disposition to co-operate with the commission. The reports of the inspectors show that the inspections of previous years have resulted in a healthier condition of the cattle, and it seems as though the work previously done by them had resulted in a diminution of the disease ; it certainly has, as far as the bad cases go ; whether a tuber- culin test would show a corresponding improvement is un- certain. Many other States now require cattle brought into their limits to be kept for dairy or breeding purposes to be tested with tuberculin. Among those in New England are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island ; while, outside of New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois re- quire it, and others will undoubtedly adopt similar require- ments in time. The United States government also requires that all cattle imported shall be tested with tuberculin at the port of entry, as well as holding them in quarantine there for ninety days ; therefore it seems only proper that Massa- chusetts should maintain similar rules and regulations for the protection of her owners of live stock ; yet this Board has been hampered and impeded and imposed upon in every possible way by avaricious cattle traders and dishonest vet- erinarians, who disgrace what ought to be an honorable pro- fession by making out imaginary certificates of test upon animals that never had a drop of tuberculin under their No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 485 skins. This is one of tlie most perplexing problems con- fronting the Board at the present time. The efforts of the Cattle Commission to eradicate bovine tuberculosis should be confined to an expense not greatly exceeding the cost of an inspection each year, — that is, practically an examination of dairy herds to protect the pub- lic health, — and the cost of keeping up the quarantine work against importing any diseased cattle. It should consist of: — (a) A quarantine against diseased cattle from adjoining- States, to insure a healthy suppl}^ to take the places of those killed by the State or disposed of in other ways, remember- ing that our bovine population changes every ten or twelve years, and in milkmen's herds much more rapidly, — say every four or five years. (b) An annual inspection by the local inspectors of ani- mals, to protect the public health and improve the sanitary surroundings of- the cattle. These badly diseased creatures are of more danger to other cattle than slightly infected ones, and when removed their stalls should be thoroughly disinfected before replacing them with new purchases. (c) If any money remains from the annual inspection, it should be expended in testing entire herds for owners who will agree to accept the conditions laid down by the Board. It is useless to endeavor to free a farmer's herd from tuber- culosis unless he will promise to co-operate with the commis- sion. After a farmer's herd is thoroughly freed from tuberculosis, he should receive no more assistance from the State, but be himself compelled to maintain it in a healthy condition. It is better for the present that the farmer 'shall apply to the commission of his own volition for assistance than that the commission should urge its attentions upon him. Another important point for the protection of herds from tuberculosis on farms where the calves are raised is noted in the resolutions already quoted, and that is, the danger from skim-milk and buttermilk from creameries. In creameries, where the milk of a number of dairies is mixed, it is possible to infect the calves on farms where tuljerculosis does not exist by taking home skim-milk or 1)uttermilk to feed them, some of which comes from herds infected with tuberculosis. 486 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. It is recommended that all such food shall be sterilized before being fed to the calves. In Europe, the sediment from the centrifugal separator is considered especially dangerous, and it is advised, and in some places required, that all such material shall be burned. Working upon these lines, the Board of Cattle Commis- sioners is of the opinion that tuberculosis among cattle can in time be very materially diminished, at a cost to the State not greatly exceeding the expense of a thorough annual in- spection of the herds, including taking out and paying for the bad cases, with the added cost of keeping up a quarantine against diseased cattle from other States ; and believes with Bang, who says, " In some twenty years it will be possible to go further and take more severe measures." Glanders. During the past year glanders and farcy have prevailed to an extent that must be considered serious, if not even alarm- ing. More cases or suspected cases of this dangerous disease have been reported to the Cattle Commission than during any year in its history, and this calls for the co-operation of every lover of the horse and every veterinarian in the State in the eflbrts of the Board to eradicate this loathsome malady. From Dec. 15, 1898, to Dec. 15, 1899, 614 cases of sus- pected cases of glanders or farcy have been reported to the commission; and of these, 543 have been destroyed as being infected, and 71 have been released after a careful examina- tion, and in some cases have been continued in quarantine for some little time for further observation, if they showed suspicious symptoms, and not allowed to go free until it was certain they were not infected. The following shows the cities and towns from which cases were reported and the number in each : — Towns. •d 2 •d « Towns. •d 2 a Acton, . Andover, Arlington, 1 8 1 2 1 1 10 Ashbumham, Auburn, Barre, . 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 No, 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 487 ■d ■d Towns. ■d 1 Towns. 1 ,^•^^7 Af yj. ( JOSHUA CLARK of Tewksbury (P. O. Middlesex North, . . . .| Lowell), .1901 ,^•^^7 c fj. S ISAAC DAMON of Wayland (P. O. Co- Middlesex South | chituate), . . . ... . .1902 Nantucket, J. S. APPLETON of Nantucket, . . 1903 Oxford, H. H. SIGOURNEY of Oxford, . . . 1901 ,, „ . ( AUGUSTUS PRATT of North Middle- Plymouth County, . . . . | borough, 1902 Spencer {Far' sand Mech'sAssoc'n), JOHN G. AVERY of Spencer, . . . 1901 Union (Agr'land Hort'l),. . . ALMON W. LLOYD of Blandford, . . 1901 Weymouth (Agr'l and Ind'l), . . QUINCY L. REED of South Weymouth, . 1903 Worcester, J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH of Worcester, . 1902 Worcester East W. A. KILBOURN of South Lancaster, . 1903 Worcester North-tcest (Agr'l and ( T. H. GOODSPEED of Athol (P. O. Athol Mech'l) ) Centre), 1901 Worcester South CD. RICHARDSON of West Brookfield, 1901 Worcester County West, . . . CHAS. A. GLEASON of New Braintree, . 1902 .560 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD. OFFICERS. President, . . His Excellency W. MURRAY CRANE, ex Officio. 1st Vice-President, WILLIAM R. SESSIONS of Springfield. 2d Vice-President, . AUGUSTUS PRATT of North Middleborough. Secretary, . . JAMES W. STOCKWELL of Sutton. Office, Rooms 134-136, State House, Boston. COMMITTEES. Executive Committee. Messrs. W. A. Kilbourn of South Lan- caster. Isaac Damon of Wayland. D. A. HORTON of Northampton. John Burslet of West Barn- stable. Edmund Herset of Hingham. Francis H. Appleton of Man- chester. Augustus Pratt of North Mid- dleborough. F. W. Sargent of Amesbury. Committee on Agricultural Societies. Messrs. W. A. Kilbourn of South Lan- caster. Q. L. Reed of South Weymouth. Chas. a. Gleason of New Brain. tree. Henry A. Howard of Colrain. Geo. p. Carpenter of Williams- town. •Committee on Domestic Animals and Sanitation. Messrs. Isaac Damon of Wayland. Oscar S. Thayer of Attle- borough. Joshua Clark of Tewksbury. F. L. Whitmore of Sunderland. Almon W. Lloyd of Blandford. Committee on Gypsy Moth, In- sects and. Birds. Messrs. Augustus Pratt of North Mid- dleborough. F. W. Sargent of Amesbury. J. M. Danforth of Lynufield Centre. John G. Avery of Spencer. Wm. R. Sessions of Springfield. Committee on Dairy Bureau and Agricultural Products. Messrs. D. A. Horton of Northampton. J. L. Ellsworth of Worcester. C. D. Richardson of West Brookfleld. C. B. Benedict of Egremont. H. H. Sigoukney of Oxford. Conamittee on Agricultural Col- lege and Education. Messrs. John Bursley of West Barn- stable. C. K. Brewster of Worthington. WESLEY' B. Barton of Dalton. Geo. p. Smith of Sunderland. Alvan Barkus of Goshen. Committee on Experiments and Station Work. Messrs. Edmund Hersey' of Hingham. T. H. Goodspeed of Athol. N. I. Bowditch of Framingham. S. B. Taft of Uxbridge. Wm. H. Spooner of Boston. Committee on Forestry, Roads and Roadside Improvements. Messrs. Francis H. Appleton of Man- chester. J. S. Appleton of Nantucket. E. A. Davis of West Tisbury. K. A. Turner of Norwell. O. E. Bradway' of Monson. Committee on Institutes, Rules and Legislation. Messrs. F. W. Sargent of Amesbury. Edmund Hersey of Hingham. Edward M. Thurston of Swan- sea. W. B. Barton of Dalton. Henry C. Comins of Hadley. The secretary is a member, ex officio, of each of the above committees. No. 4.] AGEICULTURAL DIRECTORY. 561 DAIRY BUREAU. Messrs. D. A. Horton of Northampton, 1901; C. D. Richardson of West Brook- field, 1901; J. Lewis Ellsworth of Worcester, 1902. SPECIALISTS. By Election of the Board. Chemist, .... Dr. C. A. GOESSMANN, Amherst Entomologist Prof. C. H. Fernald, . Amherst Botanist and Pomologist, Prof. S. T. Maynard, . Amherst Veterinarian, . Prof. James B. Paige, Amherst Engineer, .... Wm. Wheeler, . Coucord Ornithologist, . E. H. FORBUSH, . . . . Maiden. By Appointment of the Secretary. Librarian, F. H. FowLER, B.Sc, First Clerk. 562 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. Location, Amherst, Hampshire County. Board of Trustees. Nathaniel I. Bowditch of Framingham, . William Wheeler of Concord, . Elijah W. Wood of West Newton, Chas. a. Gleason of New Braintree, Samuel C. Damon of Lancaster, . James Draper of Worcester, . Henry S. Hyde of Springfield, Merritt I. Wheeler of Great Barrin James S. Grinnell of Greenfield, Charles L. Flint of Brookline, . William H. Bowker of Boston, . J. D. W. French of North Andover, J. Howe Demond of Northamijton, Elmer D. Howe of Marlborough, Term expires 1901 1901 1902 1902 1903 1903 1904 1904 1905 1905 1906 1906 1907 1907 Members Ex Officio. His Excellency Governor W. Murray' Crane, President of the Co7-poration. Henry' H. Goodell, M.A., LL.D., President of the College. Frank A. Hill Secretary of the Boa7-d of Education. James W. Stockwell Secretary of tlie Board of Agriculture. Officers elected by the Board of Trustees. James S. Grinnell of Greenfield Vice-President of the Corporation. James W. Stockavell of Sutton, Secretary. Prof. Geo. F. Mills of Amherst, Treasurer. Charles A. Gleason of New Braintree, Auditor. Board of Overseers. The State Board of Agriculture. Examining Committee of the Board of Agriculture. Messrs. Bursley', Brewster, Barton, Smith and Barrus. Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. Henry H. Goodell, M.A., LL.D. Director. William P. Brooks, B.Sc, Agriculturist. Samuel T. Maynard, B.Sc, Horticulturist. Charles H. Fernald, Ph.D. Entomologist. Henry T. Fernald, Ph.D Associate Entomologist. Chas. A. Goessmann, Ph.D., LL.D. Chemist (Fertilizers). Joseph B. LiNDSEY', Ph.D C/temis^ (Foods and Feeding). George E. Stone, Ph.D Botanist. J. E. OSTRANDER, C.E., Meteorologist. Board of Cattle Commissioners. expires Austin Peters, M.R.C.V.S., of Boston, Chairman 1902 L. F. Herrick of Millbury, Secretary, 1901 Charles a. Dennen of Pepperell 1900 Office, Commonwealth Building, Boston. No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL DIRECTORY. 583 I w p^ w M ^ h^ ^ <1 W « t^ fH <1 h-; iyj KH o w h-1 , H Ph w p H ^ ^ K^ O H t-1 o C) w w PM p^ :n ^ ^ o M ^ ;?; « o o Ph ;4 « w O H O Iz; ^ H »-H cc C/) W (—1 H W H- 1 o o CO h-^ < « ^ 1— t ^ P D p^ tf •2 . a> a "^ ^ X -S "C W> O CJ <1 H Brierl Shern P. Wo Seagr Holt, Haski Barto Street y J. F R.Hi f4 6H g«tjd&:lQ(-; 3 o Hj- H .Q 5S S bo U 3^ a 3 P-i ^ ^ u -w h ^ cu 52; p 5 a" 2 » cs a 3 S " 9 O ?: ^ 3 C3 d W > a -^ ^ = f^ a 3 I "3 i^ §»^« S 5 if ,-<- ^=1 ii -g "C! O '^ Q M ^ Pi CO 35 -^l C.J "3 -^ a o iPl ^ a S i? S !|-^ fco S 13 >» .- a « « ! d I H O fd O iin" ^ 5 ^ 2 a S-M p O a fo K "='« o-3abc-<5fqs^>-, . '^cdS^^.ijP^ba ;2; a ' ■< a 6 I §.£f '^^ "53 o u a" I <»_ 5 o o p a ■S ^ 2 5 -3- = ^ .2 s c .g cc J3 . :;3 S rt a 3; p- PH ;*< ft -^ a ^ a> .ii u 0 0 Q a r-5 w g ^ a) £e^ to s 9 <-> o o a'fi ^ 2 So '^ Eo 5 a> a o , >> o ^ 7. h's< a-g ^g ^ a a a *^ >. g -^ ^ I 5? 2 • -i= .S »:i &^ to - • <1 m a ;?5 "S 0 §" h-l 0- ■S -s -s £ a .a) .2 t>; ^ a o _ H 0^5 'iA ^ a g i2 cS bo cS h4 d '^ S g bo o W -3, — o bo ,iS o . a o a "3 -a =2 a o 5 a !» 03 3 =^ Ph » ^ S-^d I O a O! t-5 o OD ai 'f^ ^ a - a g .;= 2 > bo 3J J3 m bo 2 ^ P? 3} ;:; 75 S5 -w .^ .p^ .r-< 9 0 ^ 7S C3 C3 a a _ o :S aaass ci ci 03 f3 .ii .i; ^ ' '^%'A 564 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. '« o CO l-I H & o l-I ow ¥ -C ° .-5 0^ OP P. 0) 03 t>> .2 o s" *^ O "A o ►-s' w o W «i o ^ 3 s a -c J ^ O M o .2 bo l-I 3" O a'M i4 s (^ 'IH ^-' (D a 1^ ►-S J ^ > ■< K r1 5 ^ o o W i^ «!^ « U p S -2 2 3 O QC CQ QQ S ^ « - " O C fl 00 O ■^ — a ■"" 1? !^ bi. C^ C"" Q^ ^-1 H " J- « -^ H 3 -= .2> 0 ,1^ . M s ^ ^ 2 •S ^ " -s _r W ^ -S > 1-; ^ 5 00 be;?; OS I? Q s fr( ^ 3 « IS ;? (Safe p4 5 -s lla J3 q . O « hJ fe fc M a .a "^ ^32 -g S 3 ^ he o ^ a ;^ a "i ^ h1 Sh^ a X 0 « 01 ^ ^ Ph' a aj 0 ?< 0 s, 02 . a 3 03 a o ss u o t; ^ g ^ i^ Wa ^ <= ^ a 9 a ^' M 2 5 c3 a bo . X *^ O '^ 03 a a o '^ 1; a P 'C a 3 2 fe -S 3 03 i-J iJ E-i >5 CO !> o 03 I; o a « o • 2 "as ^S-a-S -'3a"'S,a! "i«3,— ^<^o*ea3 ;; a a a h:^ S 12; « ^ No. 4.] AGKICULTURAL DIEECTORY. 565 11 o ,^ 1 ^ p. 2 3 r,-) o a *3 ss HH "A -c fi o " » Ph C/J be . "3 a o 5 1 o a o S '^ ^ P w -o ^d O ^ ^ 3 1-5 Q S "C S ^ S -^ ;5 o « S ^ .2 S o ai ::2 OJ °s t< li pq 1-1 ^ Iz; o Ph ?: C3 PS ''J J3 O O j= fl ^ o -5 ^ .^ o bo a o •< S <5l> § . .= .32 S a" a" £ t^ "I ^ .S ^2 S? s' ^-S ■^■ I.-1 OD fc^ O rB m S a O cc ^ .;- i; ^ SP •Sm t>> S a . o o S ^ « a 05 Q.« U) ..•« ^ 3 S ^ o 2 .. ^ „• h ^ u S h- .= oj O iH X. aKKg^a© .a a a S a« o a a 5 3 c, S a oT o fe 1-5 H ■S!^ pa ^ ■ ^ 1^^ 0) a 1^ a" s O «< 0 S M ^ i is tr a « 03 to * be . OS .s ^XOStOCEoj'iS c0O3t?cJ03S^P ^-^ V. S. '^ '^ .-«!^ S-gooaSSo a^ V? ►? ? • • • c ■£, .5 0^ o ^- i3 - ® jii 5 o „- --oS'C'S. otTSE- ^- ■= 0-r.oc --' o "g "g S a a" - -So S g ij 5 - © _-;«-. ^- ' 2 5 g J •3Sl-?5§3S.2SM^.§&2l^«|c«!^^g iEoajartoiS^3cia)a)«oo3oSrt ^ ti ti ti S No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL DIRECTORY. 567 ao oi h2°"'3 a ^ u • a*qja 5* p "j:^ n ■ ^ e,?-; -is 5 s B ■^ OS M -2 W .3 Q> H . tC ^ X oD Z3 a O d QJ a s. o pq o 1-1 " -^ "^ OQ ^ fe - "Si ja" .9 a CO a .2P o S g . , oj t- '' 'O f^. S O r W O a ® 2 5 t- S . be a . all, Harwicl mpson, Han irned, Flore , Longmead s alternately field. cott, C nburg Saugu stboro Lunen ampde pring .Wal Lune nnett, b, We gton, )in, H mulous Sm eorge F. Si r. J. B. Le W. Bemis :ie member M. Bull, S . Henry P O. Mead, ank P. Be in B. Fitc L. Harrin orge Chai O P ^ fH Hj H5 O W O P O H o ^ ■^ :aQ -a a 5 -« . .S o bo o g -g 3 a W o cB o s iSC 5pQQH«fPoWO(»OHHH^^&H^ o a o "3 !U .2 o o _ 00 aJ to O o «i •< -2 -^ t^ a 2 "-3 -2 '3*5 o "3 c;^ 02 O ^ ^H OO CC == "5 in •5 1-1 o ^ '3 .a' 0) o a ^■^•3 b -S 3 5 ^ be be ■2 « ^ § a 3£|3 bC g ^ f 2 ^ -V, a bo o o 568 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. MASSACHUSETTS PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. Master, Overseer, . Lecturer, . Steward, . Assistant Steward, Chaplain, . Treasurer, Secretary, . Gate Keeper, Pomona, . Flora, Ceres, Lady Assistant Steward, Officers of the State Grange, 1900. Warren C. Jewett of Worcester. E. A. Eruerson of Haverhill. George S. Ladd of Sturbridge. . W. B. Barton of Daltou. . J. B. Parkin of Holliston. Rev. C. S. Walker of Amherst. F. A. Harrington of Worcester. Wm. N. Howard of South Easton. . I. H. Lamb of Stoughton. Mrs. Carrie C. Sabin of Amherst. Mrs. Emma E. Eaton of Fitchburg. Mrs. Daisy Shaw Merritt of Westford. Mrs. S. Ella Southland of Athol. Executive Committee. C. A. Dennen, Pepperell. Geo. L. Clemence, Southbridge. Elmer D. Howe, Marlborough. Deputies. Marcellus Boynton, Shawinut. T. E. Flarity, Townsend. Herbert Sabin, Amherst. F. H. Stevens, West Acton. C. D. Richardson, West Brookfield. Charles G. Hinckley, Lee. Edward A. Fuller, North Andover. L N. Day, South Hadley. John E. Gilford, Sutton. C. A. Stimson, Royalston. J. E. Goodell, West Boylston. Charles H. Rice, Leominster. H. F. Maxwell, Canton. Rev. A. H. Wheeloek, Millis. Geo. E. Crosby, Tewksbury. E. E. Chapman, Indian Orchard. Special Deputies. Wm. N. Howard, South Easton. F. H. Plumb, Springfield. Geo. W. Roraback, Westfield. No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL DIRECTORY. 569 o o S 00 2 S^i >i to ^ p o a 5 -S 'f i Cj QO ^ .5 o -C _r ^ s £ '^ 3 5 a "S -d O P - C3 -^ ■" « j; a « ^ < a Si • S O 1-5 t» 2 >>T 1^ a bo a "3 . > w 5 •■So g o o P ;^ = .- M P-i ^ '^ a W —" .S '3 3 s -^ 't? t^ as . y cc cj m 02 m S S S r*" ai tc QD . b ^ ^ ■«) S S S b ^ ^ ;h a O <) CC ^ m ? 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O O t-n" ® 3 >i a n- |i -9 ai a i^ O s =: ® X :3 3 § -r- S 2 2 S^ 'C CD ^ C3 O ;?^'"- a -fa s ^ i^; ^- _ 3 53 25 OJ , IN O O 00 "-I o .^ o a 2 !^ >3 o H. o 01 ^ 0 3 •" 00-2 !H>i *bi.,:3>i*i. ^ P<-^hI ^ g' be o £ ■ U2 " 2 «o S § °! . o o o ;z; e' ^ K S .2 =^ o "S 5 570 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. S5 a ^ o W ::: fl 5 . &H S « « P^ S ■3 « 3 t: « H o pi « S £ fe W H5 9 O o « 02 "oD s5^ 2 ^ -3 1-1^'^ « W fi w M \: S 5 w S «r?:S &i ft OD ^ p; ^ o O S ii ^ 1 o a;* Ph -S _ - E= 9r: a o |« li M W >-5 ^ fe <5 U> p: 2« 5 o « ^ ■ 9 ■« "S t4 CO p5 S £ 2 2 -§ £ £ S ^ o <1 w ^ t< ^ >^ S S S <, ^ 1^ -a .2 II S 9 ^ Ph (3 CO h4 pq d ji • '^ O) t 2 .a M* o J ho .S •-0 be o ■o --P 'S S Ph P-, ® W 5 03 g g~„ ^ aoai2nJP!iit>-o o ;^ ^ a -« 2 o 11^ CK ^J g &=5 § s o a ^ S pq S S a' 5 ,2 ;> ^ g E ^ >^ l> ci S P 3 OJ !h CO o S Ph W >-; ^§ gwawi^oa t< . fl . . . . O 03 ^ EC 03 03 01 /1^ E_ '^ 1^ L-i L. e_i O ^ (< ^ ;h !h r^ S S S S h:' S < 'O w 5 > a 03 ^ /a .2 W »? S 03 PP ^ a a a 9 a S - a ^1 » h-l W P^ S O M c3 3" CO W fl - » O J= "H ^ S S - P 2 oT ^ I«H . 03 '*> o 5 ^'h4 -^ .9 = ^ fl -c h r; V, Hi ^2 o oj ^••9 §2 90 =3 J3 "S, S "" '^ PP -3 - § 2 K § <1 « ( ^^' "S tn Si a . bo H S cj P --; o ^1 t> ,0J n 03 '^ K^ fld t>- 353 ,- -s g ^ s^; >.5 g ** S3 oj t< SS >. ^ ^ O ^ ^ pp O M ^H tH - w 5 2 ^ 3 W S H ^1 la • g 6 "^ o a <= "-I i-H a S •« ^3 si ie« a a 6 ® ^ o ja a bp !. o tq SOS ^ o s !s5 !« a •2 -S g - ^- * te a ^ H aj -; W ^ O d o a s: << ~ SPhO g_Soo o Si; !2; -■ fll^l W CO tz; >J CJ O (21 t-T (^ p rH .a 2 6 '* ^ ?<; 2 ^t^ o PP g s « s No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL DIRECTORY. 571 P'^-s££^5o®'=e-S'»EmSxa)59t:ar*3oa02r^/j5P5^- •Hop ^- . ^- S £ =3 ^ 5 p § ^ a o -o . ^1^1 lilllii iJlllllllPfllli. I 3 ^ ^ S g - 2 "^ " ^ ^S «• « - S ^ ^ 1 1 i^. S ^ « I "^^ *. *" S " «• Hat^^S -O . .ffi . . -airviaJ • • 11 Zi o • • • ■ I" •'C-ti • -a t-.'S 3 =: y. n 3^ £ '=1 a 3 - . 2 H a fe . 3 ^GS55;§S|3'S|Sl§Sg^.;||||t2;SMg - i ^ I i 5 1 5 -s § '^-.a fe 1 3 II § III -I ^ ^3 g 3 § ^ o :- S « ^ 3 S I 5 I '^^^-S S ^ a S I ^ ^ .2 S II 5 ^ J: fe -2 ^ .^ £ a « "- 2 5 M § o p -5 ^ ^ a 3 a r- o = r-T O O CO '^ rH e'^gS^^'c§2!^feoi^>;-2'^.T3-^'2b5t:o^!z;.-^aaoa'<- S§|:S^-gS.SS33||g33,-„|gJ-5^aOa^M|ccn^ao 3^^O&i)gaJO(?ogocBgSXl»ftaaoc5OO(UO0iO03^Oo« 572 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. cj £ « c3 . o ►S s" fe ^ A .a a &^ cj fL( OS DO m a -a ? '3 © « « «!j B S H ai a! P P^ S S ^ a o ^ -• s S 2 g E 3 -S I 8 J- g 5 =; K g'H ^ 'c ? - S 5" s o So" S W 3 w5« >, 1^ a w to s t, rK O S ,-K OD ?J cj bo „ & S !-. O S S M O C5 W ^ cs ^ >S s o r3 W h =3 -o iJ C5 Q^ vT ■ W P^ £ " a ^ ^ •2 1^ ho .« ^1 a _3 •a ''■: t: ? 3 f^ 5p; ^ 6 i4 « 3 t- m S P 0! 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OJ r^ y " 3 he o •^ >-. ^ a ^ ^ ic ;:; '^ o s s -^ 2 OS ^-t^i ^ rt " 3 5 « f» t?->i^!^ 3 c'|'^^i? boo i^__ .^ '^l bC 3 _- '^^^ ^ ^j; o £, OS TS -c 3 § j3 ^ a"'? !0 C3 „ , a t» 5 g I I I f I gtSg-ggw^g D O tn d » ■in ^- !^ t^ .5 -^ ^ ■« « OS ° IZ 03 ^ a » B aj fe J3 3 faa??tKB;j-W3f=0: ;«; s^i o -13 ^ s ^ ■= © o 3 t^ '^ ;?; .'.a. ^ _QJ » aj 3 &: o 3 aj QQ^B^cci-;^ No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL DIRECTORY. 573 — fc. ^S-S 3 o >5 fl rt fl t-5 f^ l«=i « 1^ p g §. 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J,"\J\J U'J Cash received from State treasurer. $11,200 00 from fertilizer fees. . 3,585 00 from farm products. . 1,641 78 from miscellaneous sources, . . 1,906 71 $18,333 49 Cash jjaid for salaries, .... .$8,127 13 for labor, .... . 4,275 48 for publications, . . 204 00 for postage and stationery, . . 211 49 for freight and express. . 162 01 for heat, light and water, . 583 59 A iiiount carried forward, $13,563 70 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION [Jan. Amount brought forward. Cash paid for chemical supplies, . for seeds, plants and sundry supplies, for fertilizers, for feeding stuffs, . for library, . for tools, implements and machinery, for furniture and fixtures, for scientific apparatus, for live stock, for traveling expenses, for contingent expenses, for building and repairs, $13,563 70 . 842 90 . 752 76 . 302 21 . 443 36 33 97 32 75 . 227 68 . 108 27 87 22 . 272 70 . 180 00 . 1,486 97 — $18,333 49 I, Charles A. Gleason, duly appointed auditor of the corporation, do hereby certify that I have examined the books and accounts of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899; that I have found the books well kept and the accounts correctly classified as above ; and that the receipts for the year are shown to be $33,333.49, and the corresponding disbursements $33,333.49. All the proper vouchers are on file, and have by me been examined and found to be correct, there being no balance on accounts of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899. CHARLES A. GLEASON, Auditor. Amherst, Aug. 11, 1899. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. EEPOET OF THE AGRICULTURIST. WM. P. BROOKS; ASSISTANT, H. M. THOMSON. The work of the agricultural department of the station has been more extensive during the past year than ever before during its history. Besides the investigations selected for full discussion later in this report, we have carried on a large number of other out-door experiments, among which may be mentioned those having the following objects in view : with potatoes, to determine the best distance for planting; with oats, to determine relative value of equal money's worth of five different phosphates ; with corn, to determine relative value of ten leading phosphates when used in quan- tities furnishing equal amounts of phosphoric acid ; with orchard trees, to test the effects of five different systems of manuring ; to test the value of employing nitragin for several of the crops of the clover family ; to determine the adapta- tion and value of different grasses, forage and food crops. We have put up a glass house for use in connection with pot experiments, and have installed a very complete equip- ment of iron tracks, trucks, pots, etc., for use in such ex- periments. The house is 23 by 60 feet, and contains six tracks. The track yard adjoining, which is enclosed by fine wire netting, is 28 by 80 feet. It contains seven tracks, on which the trucks carrying the pots stand during good weather, being quickly run into the house in case of rain or storm. It has transfer track, turn-table and an iron water tank. We have partitioned off a room (12 by 30 feet) in the old barn, cemented the floor, and connected the same with the glass house by iron track about 100 feet in length. 10 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. This serves as a work room in connection with pot experi- ments. We have this year carried on experiments with potatoes, onions, soy beans, corn and millet as crops, in which we have used 286 pots. The results are of much value, having assisted toward the solution of a number of important problems ; but, as there remains much chemical work to be finished in connection therewith, these experiments cannot be reported at this time. Of the value of this method of experiment, which has so approved itself with European investigators, there can not be the slightest doubt ; it will prove a most important adjunct to field work. We have further carried out a number of experiments in cylinders 4 feet deep and 2 feet in diameter (without bot- tom), plunged to the rim in the open air and filled with equal amounts of carefully mixed earth. In these experi- ments we have employed sixty-three such cylinders, dealing with some important problems. This too proves a valuable method of work. Results are not yet sufiiciently worked out for publication. The report will touch in detail only upon experiments the results of which are sufficiently definite to permit practical deductions of value. The report on such experiments follows. Soil Tests. Two soil tests have been carried out upon our home grounds during the past season, both in continuation of previous work upon the same ground. The same kinds of fertilizers have been applied to each plot and in the same amounts as last year. In addition, each plot in the first test received an application of slaked lime, at the rate of one ton per acre ; in the second test, one-half of each plot received an applica- tion of lime at the same rate. The lime was spread evenly early this spnng, and harrowed in, both fields having been ploughed the previous fall. Soil Test with Corn. Amherst. The past is the eleventh season that the experiment on this field has been in progress. The crops in order of rotation 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 11 have been corn, corn, oats, grass and clover, grass and clover, corn followed by mustard as a catch-crop, rye, soy beans, white mustard, corn, and this year corn once more. During all this time four of the fourteen plots into which the field is divided have received neither manure nor fertilizer ; three having but a single important manurial element, nitro- gen, phosphoric acid and potash, — every year the same; three have received each year two of these elements ; one has received all three yearly ; and one each has received yearly lime, plaster and farm-yard manure. It will be seen that the greater part of the field has remained either entirely unmanured or has had but a partial manuring, and it will be readily understood that the degree of exhaustion of most of the plots is considerable. The nothing plots produced this year an average of 4.6 bushels of shelled corn per acre and 767.5 pounds stover; and even this figure is somewhat mis- representative, owing to the fact that after this long period two of the nothing plots which adjoin plots which have been yearly well manured begin to feel the effect of the high fer- tility of their neighbors, although separated from them by strips three and one-half feet wide. The Effect of the Fertilizers. The table shows clearly the marked difl'erences undoubt- edly due to the variation now eleven years continued in the fertilizer treatment. The fertilizers wherever employed are applied at the following rates per acre ; nitrate of soda, 160 pounds (furnishing nitrogen) ; dissolved bone-black, 320 pounds (furnishing phosphoric acid) ; muriate of potash, 160 pounds (furnishing potash) ; land plaster, 160 pounds ; lime, 160 pounds ; and cow manure, 5 cords. All plots, it must be remembered, received also an application of lime at the rate of 1 ton per acre, in addition to the materials named in the table. 12 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [J. 111. South Acre Soil Test, 1899* Yield per Acre. Gain or Loss compared WITH Nothing Plots, PER Acre. FERTILIZERS. Shelled Cornf (Bushels). Stover t (Pounds). Shelled Corn (Bushels). Stover (Pounds). 1 Nitrate of soda, 13.75 1,160 9.87 430 2 Dissolved bone-black, . 3.50 620 — .38 — 110 3 Nothing 3.88 730 - - 4 Muriate of potash, . 49.75 2,760 45.50 2,000 5 Lime 7.25 1,100 2.62 310 6 Nothing, .... 5.00 820 - - 7 Manure 75.88 6,350 70.88 4,530 8 9 Nitrate of soda and dissolved bone- black. Nothing, 21.38 5.88 1,220 840 15.50 380 10 11 12 Nitrate of soda and muriate of jjot- ash. Dissolved bone-black and muriate of potash. Nothing 47.88 59.88 3.63 2,360 3,160 6S0 42.75 55.50 1,573 2,427 13 Plaster 6.63 990 3.00 310 14 Nitrate of soda, dissolved bone- black and muriate of potash. 72.88 4,450 69.25 3,770 * All plots limed at rate of one ton per acre. I Both stover and ears were driest upon the plots giving the larger yields, viz., 4, 7, 10, 11 and 12, for only on these was growth sufficiently normal to allow natural ripening. The Results in 1898. [No lime had been used except on the lime plot.] For purposes of comparison I here present a statement covering the results of last year (1898), when also the crop, as has been pointed out, was corn. I quote from my last annual report : — The siugle-element plots, one receiving nitrate of soda only yearly, another phosphoric acid and the third potash, give this year practically equal crops of grain, respectively at the rate of 20.6, 18.5 and 19.8 bushels per acre. The nitrate of soda and dissolved bone-black give a crop at the rate of 32 bushels per acre, while nitrate of soda and potash give at the rate of but 10.9 bushels. The dissolved bone-black and muriate of potash do much better, yielding at the rate of 41.2 bushels. The fertilizer supplying nitro- gen, phosphoric acid and potash gives a crop of 5"). 9 bushels, while manure gives 67.7 bushels. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 13 It may be remembered that in each of the three previous 5'^ears in which this field has produced corn tlie muriate of potash has, whether singly or in combination, proved much more useful than either of the other fertilizers used. There is much evidence in the behavior of the crops this year, during the growing season, and in the results, that this salt is proving injurious in its chemical effect upon the soil. I believe this effect to be a loss of lime in the form of chloride by leaching, but cannot regard this as yet proven. I will present the facts apparently bearing upon the case, and leave full discussion to a later report. 1. During the early part of the growing season the corn upon all the plots which had received muriate of potash was distinctly behind tliat upon other plots. 2. As the season advanced, the corn upon these plots gradu- ally lost its sickly appearance, gained upon that in the other plots, eventually excelling, in the case of the plot receiving nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, that in all other plots except the manure plot. 3. This unhealthy appearance of the corn early in the season, followed by great improvement later, is analogous to effects noticed in other experiments,* where chlorides have been used, and where liming the land has remedied the faulty condition. 4. On that plot receiving dissolved bone-black as well as muri- ate of potash, the crop was in the end a good one. As is well known, the dissolved bone-black contains a large amount of sul- fate of lime. It is believed that this may take the place of the lime leached from the soil as a consequence of the use of muriate of potash, or at least that it corrects in some way the faulty con- dition consequent upon the use of this salt. It may here be pointed out that a similar corrective influence is evident in the results ob- tained both in 1897 and 1898 upon our other soil test acre, which will immediately be discussed. It is of interest, further, to point out that the crop this year upon the lime plot was not quite equal to the average of the nothing plots, while that of the plaster plot (sulfate of lime) was about double that of the lime plot. In the earlier j^ears of this soil test the yield of neither the lime nor the plaster plot ever exceeded that of the nothings, but for the past three years the plaster plot has been relatively gaining. The explanation of this difference between the effect of plaster and lime is not apparent. It will be made the subject of future study. . . . The problems suggested by the results of the year must be * For example, Plot 6, Field A. See report State Experiment Station for 1896. 14 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATI(3X. [Jan. regarded as the most valuable product of this experiment. These problems are not solved. Their solution will throw important light upon methods to be employed in compounding and selecting fer- tilizers. Conclusions (based upon Results in 1899). 1. By reference now to the table showing the yields for 1899, it will be seen that what last year was merely a sus- picion, supported, it is true, by incidental observations in connection with other experiments, is apparently confirmed by the results of this year after liming, viz. : tliat last year the aj^plication of potash failed to prove henejicial as in the earlier years when corn was grown, because its continued use in the form of muriate had resulted in depleting the soil of its lime. It should be noticed that I say " apparently confirmed." I would point out that the results of this experiment by themselves do not furnish absolute proof, for its plan is such that it does not enable us to decide that the superior results of the past season may not have been due to the fact that the lime proved beneficial through indirect efifects which might have been exerted equally well by some other alkali, such as an alkaline salt of soda or of magnesia. To deter- mine this point, two series of pot experiments wdth soil from two plots in this field have ])een carried out. In these, be- sides slaked lime, we have employed land plaster (sulfate of lime), carbonate and sulfate of magnesia, and bicarbonate and sulfate of soda. The results are not fully worked up, but they decisively indicate : («) That the benefit from the use of lime 2vas not due to the fact that it corrected soil acidity. (Sulfate of lime, a neutral salt, produced a better growth than slaked lime, while neither the carbonate of magnesia nor the carbonate of soda proved distinctly beneficial ; the latter, indeed, was highly injurious.) (b) That it was not due to indirect action of any other sort. (Substances exer- cising similar chemical and physical influence upon the soil did not prove equally beneficial with the plaster or the slaked lime.) 2. The yield of each of the plots which has been manured with muriate of potash is largely increased. Alone and in 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 15 every combination it proves highly beneficial. That this soil after eleven years' continuovs application of muriate of potash, at the rate of 160 pounds per acre annually should be capable after liming of producing corn at the rate of 49. 75 bushels of shelled grain per acre, is astonishing. 3. The crop, amounting to almost 60 bushels shelled corn per acre, on the plot which now for eleven years has yearly received only dissolved bone-black and muriate of potash (lime this year of course excepted) and which in this long period of time has received no addition of nitrogen in the form of manure or fertilizers, illustrates the remarkable ex- tent to which, in our climate, the corn plant can thrive upon the natural stores of this element in the soil and that which it accumulates as a result of the introduction of clover into the rotation. 4. It will be noticed that where the elements nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash have been yearly supplied, the crop this year, amounting to about 73 bushels per acre, is within three bushels of that produced where manure at the rate of 5 cords per acre has been annually applied. The fertilizers used (nitrate of soda, 160 pounds ; dissolved bone-black, 320 pounds ; and muriate of potash, 160 pounds per acre) cost about $10 ; while the manure, if purchased, would cost $25 at least in most parts of the State. It should be pointed out, however, that this soil has almost perfect physical characteristics. On the one hand, its perfect drain- age insures freedom from excessive moisture even in wet seasons ; and, on the other, the happy mean existing in the proportion of fine and coarse particles insures good water- conducting power (capillarity), and thus prevents injury from drought and injurious crust formation. In such a soil the organic matter furnished by manure is far less necessary than in those which are either more sandy or more clayey. For these reasons, fertilizers have doubtless made a more favorable showing as compared with manure than would usually be the case. The table shows the relative standing of the two plots, 7 (manure) and 14 (complete fertilizer), for the entire period of eleven years. It will be seen that the financial outcome where the fertilizer has been used is much better than for the plot receiving manure. 16 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Increases as compared with Plot receiving no Manure. Prochiced by Comj^lete Fertilizer, 1889-99. CROP. Number Years grown. Bushels. Pounds. Value of Increase. Cost of Fertilizers. Corn, Oats Rye, Soy beans, .... Grass Mustard, .... 5 1 1 1 2 1 198.05 15.63 15.36 Btover, 12,475 straw, 1,720 straw, 2,480 I beans, 8S0 ) ) straw, 840 ( ( hay, 3,420 \ rowen, 1,360 ( 5,100 $107 29 14 70 12 10 4 61 37 56 $48 00 9 60 9 60 9 60 19 20 19 20* $176 20 $115 20 Corn, Oats, Rye, Soy beans. Grass, . Mustard, Produced by Manure, 1889-99. 216.08 18.13 21.07 stover, 13,990 straw, 3,260 straw, beans, straw, hay, rowen. 3,200 1,520 I 3,880 I 4,860 , 3,460 ' 8,500 $117 79 22 11 31 84 77 26 64 27 $313 27 $125 00 25 00 25 00 25 00 50 00 50 00* $300 00 Double application of fertilizers and manure for mustard. Soil Test with Oiiions. Ainherst. This experiment occupied a field which has been employed in work of this kind for ten years, the several plots having been every year manured alike, as described under the " Soil test with corn." The previous crops in the order of rotation have been ; potatoes, corn, soy beans, oats, grass and clover, grass and clover, cabbages and ruta-baga turnips, potatoes and onions. The land was ploughed in the fall of 1898 and reploughed early this past spring. Fertilizers were em- ployed this year in the same quantities as last, viz., nitrate of soda at the rate of 320 pounds ; dissolved bone-black, 640 pounds ; and muriate of potash, 320 pounds, per acre. These fertilizers are each used upon one plot singly, in pairs, and upon one plot all three together. The west half of each plot was limed, as has been stated, at the rate of 1 ton per acre. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 17 The seed was sown in the customary manner, but more thickly, on April 28. Germination was prompt and per- fect. The development upon the several plots and upon the unlimed and limed sections of all the plots exhibited the most remarkable differences. 1. Many of the plants upon the nothing plots soon died, and those remaining made practically no growth. The limed halves of these plots throughout the first half of the season were even worse in these respects than the unlimed. 2. The application of no single element without lime gave a good growth ; but the plants upon the dissolved bone-black (without lime) did best. With lime the growth was more feeble than without it on the dissolved bone-black plot. On the plot on which muriate of potash was used without lime most of the plants soon died, while on this fertilizer alone and lime there was a rank growth, though few ripe bulbs were harvested. Nitrate of soda with lime gave better growth than without, but both with and without growth was very feeble. 3. On nitrate of soda and muriate of potash without lime almost all plants died ; with lime there was a rank growth ; but the bulbs did not ripen well. 4. On nitrate of soda and dissolved bone-black without lime was the best growth on the unlimed portion of the field. As last year, the development upon these two fertil- izers alone was much better than on the plot where they were employed in the same amounts with muriate of pot- ash. The growth upon the limed portion of the plot receiv- ing the nitrate and bone-black was not materially improved, while where the muriate of potash was used with these fer- tilizers liming influenced the growth most favorably. 5. Liming proved highly favorable on the plot where dissolved bone-black and muriate of potash were used, this portion of that plot ranking third in the field in appearance throughout the season, while there was little growth upon the unlimed portion. 18 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. The Effect of the Fertilizers. The tables give the results of the harvest : — North Acre Soil Test, Onions, 1899. PlotB. MANURING. Plot 1, Plot 2, Plot 3, Plot 4, Plot 5, Plot 6, Plot 7, Plot 8, Plot 9, Plot 10, Plot 11, Plot 12, Nothing, Nitrate of soda, . Dissolved bone-black, Nothing, Muriate of potash. Nitrate of soda and dissolved bone-black. Nitrate of soda and muriate of potash. Nothing, Dissolved bone-black and muri- ate of potash. Nitrate of soda, dissolved bone- black and muriate of potash. Plaster Nothing, Resuits in Pounds, including Tops. XIELD PER ACRE. Unlimed. Limed 2,950 4,470 2,950 6,440 3,270 17,410 1,440 3,800 11,090 13,770 1,550 2,240 3,180 9,700 2,570 6,520 24,740 17,380 25,030 5,530 19,510 22,730 1,610 6,190 GAIN OR LOSS COMPARED ■WITH NOTHINGS, PER ACRE. Unlimed. 356.67 — 2,323.33 —2,510 12,290 —3,020 7,680 10,750 — 1,080 Limed. 5,046.67 — 2,836.67 18,467.50 11,355 19,252.50 13,815 16,870 — 4,415 North Acre Soil Test, Onions, 1899. MANURING. Results in Bushels op 52 Pounds of FAIRLY CURED ONIONS. Plots. tibld per Acre. GAIN OR LOSS COMPARED WITH NOTHINGS, PER ACRE. Unlimed. Limed. Unlimed. Limed. Plot 1, Nothing 2.69 4.42 - - Plot 2, Nitrate of soda, .... 18.65 91.43 15.13 79.77 Plot 3, Dissolved bone-black, 6.53 12.31 2.17 — 6.60 Plot 4, Nothing 5.19 26.15 - - Plot 5, Muriate of potash, 3.07 161.75 — 1.54 137.90 Plot 6, Plot 7, Plot 8, Nitrate of soda and dissolved bone-black. Nitrate of soda and muriate of potash. Nothing 143.10 3.07 2.88 200.00 145.40 16.93 139.06 — .39 178.46 121.55 Plot 9, Dissolved bone-black and muri- ate of potash. Nitrate of soda, dissolved bone black and muriate of potash. Plaster, 40.38 183.88 37.21 163.50 Plot 10, Plot 11, 46.15 4.04 224.60 6.35 42.69 .29 200.94 — 20.68 Plot 12, Nothing, 4.04 30.39 - - 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 19 The Results and Conclusions based thereon in 1898. In 1898 also the crop upon this field was onions, and it is desirable to present the leading statements and conclusions published that year for the purpose of comparison. The manuring was the same as this year, save that no lime was used. I quote from my last annual report : — The results show that this [phosphoric acid, — dissolved bone- black] more than either the nitrogen or the potash supply controlled the product. The crop was very light, however, even upon the best plot, which was at the rate of 116.9 bushels per acre, upon the plot receiving nitrate of soda and dissolved bone-black. Upon the plots receiving these two fertilizers and muriate of potash the crop amounted to only 16.3 bushels per acre. Here is strong evidence that the muriate of potash has produced in the soil of this field conditions absolutely prejudicial to the growth of the onion. Last year this field was in potatoes under the same system of manuring, but with half the quantities employed this year. The crop of potatoes on the nitrate and bone-black was much heavier than on these two and potash, and in commenting upon this fact in my annual report I wrote : "The apparent superiority of the phosphoric acid and nitrogen is chiefly due to the fact that the plot to which these two elements alone were applied was for some reason (not believed to be the effect of the fertilizer alone) nearly twice as great as that upon any other plot. Had the crop where the potash was added to the nitrogen and phosphoric acid been better or even as good as that where the phosphoric acid and nitrogen alone were used, we should be justified in the conclusion that nitro- gen and phosphoric acid are the elements chiefly required. The crop where all three elements were combined was, however, much inferior to that where the nitrogen and phosphoric acid were used without potash. We must, therefore, conclude that some disturb- ing factor, at present unknown, influenced the results." In view of the similar relative results upon the two plots under discussion this year, I am now forced to conclude that I was mis- taken last year in supposing that the superiority of the plot receiv- ing nitrogen and phosphoric acid only was not " the effect of the fertilizer alone." I now believe that the muriate of potash has proved actually in- jurious to the last two crops, and that the explanation (the loss of lime which it causes) already suggested accounts for this effect. 20 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Conclusions (based upon Results in 1899). 1. A study of the tables giving the results of this year affords convincing presumptive evidence that the continued use of muriate of potash has so depleted this soil of lime that its use for the onion crop is a necessity. The suspicion of last year, just quoted, is apparently confirmed. The results obtained in two series of pot experiments (not yet fully worked up), in which soil from two plots in this field was used, force me, however, to look upon this conclusion as in a measure tentative ; for in the pot experiments other alkalies proved almost, if not quite, as beneficial as lime, indicating that the presence of free acid in the soil may have been the cause of the poor growth upon most of the plots of this field. Even this conclusion cannot, however, be looked upon as final, for the substitution of sulfate for the muriate of potash in the pots resulted in good growth without the addition of any alkali. A full discussion of the subject is reserved for some future article. 2. We are meanwhile justified in the statement that both field and pot experiments show that the muriate is an un- desirable form in which to apply potash for this crop, though the bad influence of the chlorine which it contains may pos- sibly be neutralized by application of lime.* 3. The remarks of last year may in conclusion be appro- priately quoted : — The Projyer Course as regards Potash Supply. What, then, iu view of our results, are we to recommend? Clearly not to cease using potash, — we have been unable to raise good crops without it. It is believed the remedy will be found in one of three directions, viz., (1) the occasional liberal use of lime where muriate of potash is employed ; (2) the use of other potash salts, such as carbonate or sulfate ; or (3) the employment of wood ashes as a source of potash. Should potash be supplied in the form of either carbonate or sulfate, lime leaches from the soil much less rapidly ; the same is true of ashes, and these, moreover, sup- * It is believed that the influence of the lime will be even more marked another year. It was applied, it will be remembered, this spring. Its action, as was antici- pated, was not sufficiently prompt to prevent much injury to the onions, because of faulty soil conditions in the early part of the season. We have accordingly failed to produce a good yield on any plot this year. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 21 ply much lime. This entire question, however, demands further experimental study, and I am not at present prepared to give definite advice upon this point. Manure Alone v. Manure and Potash. An experiment in continued corn culture for the compari- son of an average application of manure with a smaller ap- plication of manure used in connection with muriate of potash was beffun in 1890. A full account will be found in the annual reports of 1890-96, and in 1895 a general summary of the results up to that date was given. The land used in this experiment was seeded with a mix- ture of timothy, red-top and clover in the standing corn of 1896. A good stand of grass and clover was secured, al- though the latter was rather unevenly developed in different parts of the field, suggesting a possible lack of thoroughness in mixing the seeds. No manure or potash was used in 1897. The field was kept in grass two years, and was manured as usual in 1898. It includes four plots, of one-fourth an acre each. The aver- age results while in grass are shown below : — Plots 1 and 3 (manure alone, 6 cords per acre, 1890-96) : per acre, hay, 5,662 pounds; rowen, 3,218 pounds. Plots 2 and 4 (manure, 3 cords per acre, 1890-92 ; 4 cords, 1893-96 ; and potash, 160 pounds per acre) : per acre, hay, 4,540 pounds; rowen, 2,633 pounds. The sod was turned in the autumn of 1898 and was ma- nured this spring, as shown below : — Plot 1, manure, 1| cord ; weight, 8,825 pounds, -p. „ f manure, 1 cord; weight, 5,880 pounds. ' ( high-grade sulfate of potash, 40 pounds. Plot 3, manure, 1| cord ; weight, 8,840 pounds, p, , j manure, 1 cord ; weight, 5,880 pounds. ' 1 high-grade sulfate of potash, 40 pounds. The crop this year has been corn (Sibley's Pride of the North), and its development appears to have been normal in all respects. The crop was a heavy one on all plots. 22 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Yield x>er Plot. PLOTS. Ears (Pounds). Stover (Pounds). Plot 1, Plot 2, Plot 3, Plot 4, 1,331 1,331 1,341 1,355 1,260 1,160 1,170 1,110 Average Yield per Acre. PLOTS. Shelled Grain (Bushels). Stover (Pounds). Plots 1 and 3 (manure alone) , Plots 2 and 4 (manure and potash) 66.8 87.2 4,860 4,540 It will be noticed that the crops are of practically equal value, — a little more grain on the manure and potash and a little more stover on the larger quantity of manure alone. The manure and potash used cost per acre nearly $7 less than the larger amount of manure used alone. We have now grown seven corn crops on this field, and the average yields are at the rate per acre for the two manurings : — AceirKje of Seven Crops. PLOTS. Shelled Grain (Bushels). Stover (Pounds). Manure alone, Lesser manure and potash, 61.5 56.7 4,562 4,168 At prices which have prevailed during the period covered by this experiment the total manurial application where the manure and potash have been used has cost at the rate of $75 per acre less than on the other plots. The manure alone, however, has produced yields excelling the lesser manure and potash for the entire })eriod at rates per acre amounting to: shelled corn, 33. G bushels; corn stover. 1900. J PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 23 2,758 pounds ; hay, 2,244 pounds ; and rowen, 1,170 pounds. These products would have been worth $46.50. In using the large amount of manure alone, then, one would in eflect, allowing the manure to cost $5 per cord on the land, have expended $75 for products worth but little more than one- half that sum. When, further, we note that at present the lesser manure and potash is producing the larger crop of grain, the superior economy of the system is evident. "Special" Corn Fertilizer v. Potash. Fertilizer richer in This experiment was begun with a view to comparing the results obtained with a fertilizer proportioned like the aver- age ^^ special" corn fertilizers found upon the markets in 1891 with those obtained with a fertilizer richer in potash, but furnishing less nitrogen and phosphoric acid. Corn was grown during each of the years from 1891 to 1896 inclusive. From 1891 to 1895 it was found that the fertilizer richer in potash gave the more profitable results. In 1896 there was no practical difference. It was decided during the season of 1896 that it might be possible to derive a greater benefit from the larger quantity of potash applied to two of the four plots, if grass and clover should be grown in rotation with the corn. Accordingly the land was seeded with a mixture of timothy, red-top and clover in the stand- ing corn in July, 1896. The field is divided into four plots, of one-fourth of an acre each. The materials supplied to the several plots are shown in the following table : — FERTILIZERS. Plots 1 and 3 (Pounds Each), Plots 2 and 4 (Pounds Each). Nitrate of soda, Dried blood, .' Dry ground fish, Plain superphosphate, . Muriate of potash, . Cost of materials per plot. 20.0 30.0 30.0 226.0 22.5 $3 23 18.0 30.0 20.0 120.0 60.0 $3 10 24 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. The field was kept in grass for two years, the average yields being at the rates per acre : " Special " fertilizer : hay, 2,730 pounds; rowen, 1,122; fertilizer richer in potash: hay, 2,557.5 pounds ; rowen, 1,149 pounds. The " special," it will be seen, gave yearly 172.5 pounds more hay but 27 pounds less rowen than the other fertilizer. The larger nitrogen application accounts for the excess in hay ; the lar- ger potash application to the other plot produces the more rowen. The stand of clover in the field was poor. It is believed that, had it been good, the differences in yield of rowen in favor of the fertilizer richer in potash would have been larger. The sod was ploughed in the autumn of last year, fertili- zers as usual applied and wheel-harrowed in this spring. The crop this year was corn, which made perfectly normal and good growth on all plots and gave a good yield. Yield of Corn, 1899. PLOTS. Ears (Pounds). Stover (Pounds). Plot 1 (lesser potash), . Plot 2 (richer in potash), Plot 3 (lesser potash) , . Plot 4 (richer in potash). 1,257.5 1,141.0 1,168.5 1,200.5 1,090 1,140 1,120 1,120 Average Rates per Acre. PLOTS. Shelled Grain (Bushels). Stover (Pounds). Plots 1 and 3 60.7 58.5 4,420 Plots 2 and 4, 4,520 The crops this year are almost equal, — the "special" giving a little more than 2 bushels more grain ; the fertilizer, richer in potash, 100 pounds more stover. The former gives somewhat the more valuable and the more profitable crop. The advantage, however, is insignificant, amounting to only 25 cents per acre. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 25 The experiment has now been in progress nine years, and during seven of these years corn has been grown ; on all plots five years and on two only of the plots two years. The averages for the seven years are given in the table : — Aver age Yield C hrn, Seven Tears. Shelled Grain (Bushels per Acre) . Stover (Pounds per Acre). "Special" fertilizer, Fertilizer richer in potash 57.95 50.41 3,760 4,033 During two years one-half this field was occupied by Japanese millet {Panicum lialicuin). The average yields per year are shown in the table : — Ave'} a^es, Millet, Tioo Years. Millet Seed (Bushels per Acre) . Straw (Pounds per Acre). " Special " fertilizer Fertilizer richer in potash, 63.15 66.55 3,522 3,735 It will be seen, then, that thus far the two systems of manuring stand nearly upon an equality. The fertilizer poorer in potash ("special") has given the more corn and the more hay. The other fertilizer, richer in potash, has given the more corn stover, rowen, millet seed and millet straw. At present the two stand practically equal, as shown by the corn crop of the past season. It is believed that by the frequent introduction of clover (of which we have not yet had a good catch) the fertilizer richer in potash will prove superior to the other. Sulfate compared with Muriate of Potash for Various Crops. (Field B.) This experiment has been in progress in its present essen- tial features since 1893. From 1884 to 1889 the odd num- bered plots, 11 to 21, were manured yearly at the rate of 200 pounds per acre of muriate of potash, while the even 26 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. numbered plots received no potash. From 1889 to 1892 all plots were manured alike. Since 1892 each plot has re- ceived yearly bone meal at the rate of 600 pounds per acre, the odd numbered plots muriate of potash at the rate of 400 pounds, and the even numbered plots high-grade sul- fate of potash at the same rate per acre. There are eleven plots, numbered 11 to 21. These plots have been used for a wide variety of croi)s during the seven years that the experiment has been continued. The crops during the past year have been sugar beets, sweet corn, cabbages, field corn and soy beans. Sugar Beets (^Sulfate v. Muriate of Potash). Sugar beets of four varieties occupied plots 15 and 16. The yield on 15 (muriate of potash) amounted to 3,815 pounds (14.3 tons) per acre; the yield on 16 (sulfate of potash) amounted to 3,708 pounds (13.9 tons) per acre. Each variety was sampled and the value of the beets for sugar manufacture determined. With one exception the beets grown on the sulfate of potash showed considerably higher percentages of sugar and a juice of a higher degree of purity than those grown on the muriate. Though the latter gave a slightly higher yield, the sulfate produced more sugar and a juice offering less difficulties in manufact- ure. In the case of the one variety where the muriate gave the richer beet, it is believed that this was due to the fact that the sulfate beets selected for analysis were consider- ably larger than the others. The differences in quality be- tween the beets grown on the two salts were not sufficiently great to materially affect their value for stock feeding. Sweet Corn {Sulfate v. Muriate of Potash). This crop (Moore's Concord) occupied plots 11 and 12. Our objects were : first, to study the effect of the two forms of potash on yield ; second, to determine whether there was any difference in quality between the product of the two plots which would att'ect its value for the table ; and, third, to determine whether there was any well-defined difference in composition of the entire plant (stalk and ear) which would affect the value for stock feeding. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 27 1. Product. — The details concerning product are shown in the table : — Sweet Corn. Muriate of potash, Sulfate of potash, Weight of Entire Crop (Pounds). 4,965 4,965 Number of Ears. Large. Small. 1,411 1,574 335 377 Total Ears (Pounds). Weight of Stover (Pounds). 929.69 1,034.36 4,035.31 3,930.64 In the judgment of the men handling the crop, the plants stood slightly thicker on plot 12 than on plot 11, and it is likely that this accounts in large measure, if not entirely, for the greater number of ears on plot 12. It will be noticed that the total product was the same on the two plots. 2. Quality for Table Use. — Chemical examination of kernels of corn from the two plots showed no difference which can be regarded as significant ; in fact, the differences are probably within the limits of error. It therefore appears that the chlorine of muriate did not exert the depressing effect on sugar formation that is often noticed with other crops. 3. The Food Vcdue of the Entire Plant. — Analyses of the product of the two plots revealed no differences in com- position which would materially affect the feeding value. Field Corn (^Eureka for the Silo) {Sulfate v. Muriate of Potash). This crop occupied plots 19 and 20, and on both made a fine growth, averaging 15 feet in height. The ears were small and in the milk when the crop was ensiled, September 28. The yields (obtained by weighing after partial wilting) were : — Muriate plot, 6,145 i^ounds, at rtite of 23 tons \)ev acre. Sulfate plot, 5,675 pounds, at rate of 21.2 tons per acre. Feeding Value. — The crop from l)oth plots was sampled for analysis. The results showed no important differences in the feeding value of the })roduct on the two salts. 28 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Maercker* has quoted Moser to the effect that corn raised on muriate of potash contains more protein, and therefore has a higher food value, than when grown on sulfate. Three experiments here, one in 1898 and the two this 3'ear, have not shown this to be the case. It would appear that the muriate of potash is equally as good for the corn crop as the sulfate. 8oy Beans {Sulfate v. Muriate of Potash). Through accident the product of the soy bean plots was mixed ; and I can only report that during the early pai-t of the season the beans on the sulfate appeared much better than the others. Later this apparent superiority was lost in large measure, as judged after careful examination. Cabbages {Sulfate v. Muriate of Potash). This crop (Warren cabbage) occupied plots 13 and 14. The growth on the sulfate of potash was from the start much better than on the muriate, and this superiority was main- tained throughout the season. The yield is shown in the table : — Number of Hard Heads, November 2. Total Weight (Pounds). Hard Heads. Soft Heads. (Pounds). Muriate of potash, Sulfate of potash, 393 502 4,105 5,475 720 255 750 1,060 It will be noticed that the sulfate of potash plot gave much the larger and more valuable crop. It should be pointed out that, on account of difference of growth due to acci- dental conditions, the above table has been made to include the yield for only about one-ninth of an acre. The product of plot 14 sold at a price (5 cents per head) which would have made the product of one acre of such cabbages worth about $250, while the product of the other plot was worth only at the rate of about $200 per acre. • Die Kalidungung, p. 252. 1900.] rUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 29 Comparison of Different Potash Salts. (Field G.) The object in this experiment is to determine the relative manurial value for our various crops of the different promi- nent potash salts. The experiment was begun in 1898, the crop that year being the soy bean. The results were inde- cisive and unsatisfactory, the crop where no potash was used in numerous instances being as great as where potash manures were applied. The potash resources of the soil were clearly too large to allow satisfactory deductions to be made. This had, however, been anticipated. From the nature of the problem it was recognized that the experiment must continue for a series of years. We must study not simply the immediate effect upon the crop, but the effect upon the soil of long-continued use of the different salts, — and as well the effect upon the crop of such continued use. In this experiment the plots are one-fortieth of an acre each, duly separated by dividing strips. There are forty plots, each manuring being five times duplicated. Every plot receives yearly materials estimated to furnish nitrogen and phosphoric acid in liberal amounts. All receive the same materials, save plots 6, 14, 22, 30 and 38, on which the potash salt used is the nitrate, so that the amount of ni- trate of soda for these is made only sufficient (.5 pounds) to furnish to these plots the same amount of nitrate nitrogen as to the others. With this exception, the materials applied as sources of nitrogen and phosphoric acid are, per plot : — Pounds. Nitrate of soda, 7.0 Tankage, 7.5 Acid phosphate, 10.0 In order to make certain that there should be no failure through deficiency of lime, the entire field received an ap- plication at the rate of one ton to the acre of lime freshly slacked, which was wheel-harrowed in early in the spring of 1898. The various potash salts where used were applied in amounts intended to furnish an equal quantity of actual potash (K2O) to each plot, as follows : — 30 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Plotl. No potash. Pounds. Plot 2. Kainite, . 27.75 Plot 3. High-grade sulfate of i^otash, . . 7.50 Plot 4. Low-grade sulfate of potash, . 15.00 Plot 5. Muriate of i)otash, . 7.50 Plot 6. Nitrate of potash, . 8.25 Plot 7. Carbonate of potash-magnesia, . . 20.00 Plot 8. Silicate of potash. . 17.00 Plots 9-16, 17-24, 25-32 and 33-40 are duplicates re- spectively of plots 1-8. The crop this year (the second of the experiment) was potatoes. Beauty of Hebron, seed from Maine. It was planted in drills, one set (2-3 eyes) in 14 inches. The tubers were subjected to the formalin treatment, to prevent scab, being soaked two hours in a solution of eight ounces to 15 gallons of water. They were budded in a light room after treatment, before being planted on May 8-9. The crop was well cared for, and sprayed repeatedly with Bor- deaux mixture, to prevent blight, of which there was little. The yield was heavy, varying from 297 to 380 bushels of merchantable potatoes per acre on the different potash salts. The results are not entirely conclusive, for the reason that in duplicate plots the yields of the different salts do not occupy the same relative rank. Thus, for example, the various salts made the following relative yields in merchant- able tubers : — Kainite stands : — 1st, once; 3d, once ; 6th, twice ; and 7th, once. High-grade sulfate of potash stands : — 1st, twice ; 2d, twice ; and 3d, once. Low-grade sulfate of potash stands : — 2d, twice ; 3d, once ; Gth, once ; and 7th, once. Muriate of potash stands : — 1st, once ; 4th, twice ; 5th, once ; and Gth, once. Nitrate of potash stands : — Once each : 3d, 4th, 5th, Gth and 7th. Carbonate of potash-magnesia stands : — 1st, twice ; 3d, twice ; and 5th, once. Silicate of potash stands : — 4th, twice ; Gth, twice ; and 7th, once. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 31 With such variations in rehitive standing, it will be agreed we must interpret results with caution. Still, it is believed that the average yield of the difl'erent salts should be pub- lished as a matter of record : — Average Yield of Plots. Pounds per Plot. Bushels per Acre. Large.* Small. Large.* Small. No potash, . 430.70 61.00 287.13 40.66 Kainite, 488.45 52.60 326.83 33.86 High-grade sulfate, 525.70 52.95 350.46 35.49 Low-grade sulfate, 508.20 55.70 338.79 37.13 Muriate, 506.30 61.40 337.53 40.93 Nitrate, 498.20 64.75 332.13 43.16 Carbonate, . 518.00 64.80 345.33 43.30 Silicate, 492.40 56.00 328.26 38.39 * Two ounces or over. Conclusions. 1. It will be noticed that the soil is potash hungry, for every one of the salts used increases the yield. 2. The high-grade sulfate of potash stands first. It has with rare exceptions been found more efiective in increasing the yield than the muriate, with which it has been frequently compared, and it gives better quality. We are justified in the conclusion that the application of potash in this form for the potato will give good results. It should be pointed out that our soil is moderately heavy and retentive. On drier sorts the muriate may compare with the sulfate more favorably. 3. The comparatively new carbonate of potash-magnesia ranks second. It is as carbonate that potash exists in wood ashes, which, however, are believed to favor some forms of scab. The fertilizer did not have that efiect. This appears to be, then, a very useful form of potash. In mechanical condition it leaves nothing to be desired, being fine and remaining dry under all conditions of weather. The price is at present too high to allow its general use. 32 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 4. The low-grade sulfate of potash ranks third ; but, as freights cost more per unit of potash for this salt than for the high grade, the latter is generally to be preferred. It is not impossible that in some localities the magnesia of the low-grade sulfate may prove useful ; but we have no evi- dence that such is the case here. 5. The kainite ranks lowest among all the salts em- ployed. Since this, containing only about 13 per cent, of actual potash, can be purchased at a much lower ton price than the purer salts, such as the high-grade sulfate and the muriate, it is sometimes selected by farmers. It should be remembered that the unit of potash on the farm usually costs more in the kainite than in the others. In view of our results, then, I can see no reason for selecting this potash fertilizer. 6. The silicate of potash gives the next lowest crop. It is apparently slowly available. The present cost is high, and it can be kept from caking only by admixture with powdered peat or similar material. It is prepared espe- cially for use on tobacco, for which crop it is under trial in Germany and in this country. I judge it will have no ap- plication for ordinary crops ; and its usefulness for tobacco is not fully demonstrated, though some favorable results have been obtained. Leguminous Crops (Clover, Pea and Bean or '.«;^ o ,r;c«!.i.^ 1^n41 «o1 ,^\t-,r^<. * The term nutritive ratio is used to designate the ratio existing between the total nitrog- enous and the non-nitrogenous constituents of the feeds used, the former being regarded as a unit, and fat multiplied by 2.5. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 53 Summer Experiment. The method of feeding during the summer experiment remained the same as in the winter, save in two particulars : (1) in place of cut clover rowen in the mash ever}^ morning, lawn clippings in such quantity as the fowls would eat before wilting were fed three times per week to the hens in all the houses the same, and (2) the feeding of cabbages was dis- continued. The yards, twelve hundred square feet in area for each house, were kept fresh by frequent use of the cul- tivator and spade. The health of all the fowls was good throughout this experiment. The tables give all details : — Foods consumed, Narrow v. Wide Ration, May 1 to Sejytember 27. KIND OF FOOD. Wheat, OatB, . Millet, . Wheat bran, Wheat middlings, Gluten feed. Meat meal, . Corn meal, . Corn, . White Wyandotte. Narrow Ration (Pounds). 273 59 10 56 66 56 56 Wide Ration (Pounds). 49 129.5 868 Barbed Plymouth Rock. Narrow Ration (Pounds). 237 52.5 8 40 40 40 40 Wide Ration (Pounds.) 42 111 300 Average Weights of the Fowls {Pounds) . DATES. White Wyandotte. Babbed Plymouth Rock. Narrow Ration. Wide Ration. Narrow Ration. Wide Ration. April 27, June 2, August 11, September 27, '.'.'.'. 4.50 4.14 — 4.28 4.53 4.30 — 4.41 + 4.68 + 4.79 4.90 — 4.86 4.88 4.70 4.90 4.80 4.83 4.91 Numher of Eggs per Month Narrow v. Wide 1 Nation, Summer Test. MONTHS. White Wyandotte. Barbed Plymouth Rock. Narrow Ration. Wide Ration. Narrow Ration. Wide Ration. May 162 140 164 158 107 181 198 213 213 110 124 166 140 112 87 177 217 215 August, September (27 days)," '. '. '. 128 76 731 915 619 813 54 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Narroio v. Wide Ration for Egg-production^ Summer Test. Total dry matter in foods (per cent.). . Number of hen days, not including males, Number of hen days, including males. Gross cost of food, Gross cost of food per egg (cents). Gross cost of food per hen day (cents), Number of eggs per hen day. Average weight per egg (ounces), Total weight of eggs (pounds), . Dry matter consumed per egg (pounds), Nutritive ratio,* White Wyandotte. Narrow Wide Ration. Bation. 510.41 2,945 3,245 $7 50 1.03 .23 .25 — 1.88 85.89 .70 1:4.20 534.22 2,913 3,213 $5 86 .64 .18 + .31 + 1.90 108.70 .68 1:6.30 Barked Plymouth Rock. Narrow Ration. 412.44 2,400 2,573 $6 14 1.00 .24 .26 — 1.82 70.40 .67 1:4.40 Wide Ration. 446.35 2,555 2,735 $4 91 .60 .18 .32- 1.77 89.94 .55 1:6.30 * The term nutritive ratio is used to designate the ratio existing between the total nitrog- enous and the total non-nitrogenous constituents of the feeds used, the former being regarded as a unit, and fat multiplied by 2.5. It will be seen that the results of this year's experiments are in every particular similar to those of the experiments carried out in 1898. The following are the most essential facts : — 1. The wide (rich in corn) ration appears to be much superior to the narrower ration. In all experiments, both summer and winter, the hens receiving corn have laid many more eofo:s than those receivino; wheat. 2. The differences this year in favor of the wide ration, upon the basis of an equal number of hen days, are as fol- lows : — White Wyandotte, winter test, White Wyandotte, summer test. Barred Plymouth Rock, winter test, . Barred Plymouth Rock, summer test. Last year the winter difference was Last year the summer difference was 41 per cent. 24 per cent. 91 per cent. 23 per cent. 25 per cent. 33 J per cent. 3. The total cost of feeds was less for the wide ration, and of course the cost per q^^ was much less. In the pro- duction of one dozen eggs the saving amounted to from 4| to 16| cents. 4. The fowls on the wide ration gained more in weight than the others. Although laying many more eggs, they averaged at the end of the summer test nearly one-quarter of a pound each more than the others, 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 55 At the close of the summer experiment the fowls were most critically examined by a number of different parties, working independently, and all were unanimous in the con- clusion that the corn-fed hens were farther advanced in the moult than the others. In my own opinion, the difference amounted to some two or three weeks in time. The corn- fed hens had shed all their old tail feathers, the others but few ; the corn-fed hens had a large share of their new body feathers, the others had not shed the old. It was evident that the corn-fed hens were sure to begin laying again before the cold weather, while it seemed that the others were un- likely to do so. This judgment has been verified, for a small number of the corn-fed hens which were purchased by the writer have already laid one litter of eggs since October 1 and are beginning to lay a second, their plumage having been perfect for many weeks (December 20). The great importance of an early moult in case hens are to be kept over is recognized by all. It makes all the dif- ference between profit and a probable loss. Our results with both breeds, both summer and winter, are thus greatly in favor of the ration richer in corn meal and corn. On its side we have: (1) lower cost of feed; (2) from 23 to 91 per cent, more eggs ; (3) a far lower cost per egg, making possible a saving of from 4| to 16 1 cents per dozen in the food cost of their production ; (4) a greater increase in weight ; and (5) a much earlier moult. It may here be remarked, using the words employed by the writer in a recent article, " that nature is generally a safe guide ; ' Biddy,' kept healthy and vigorous, will take corn always in preference to wheat. Man conceived the idea that wheat is better for large egg-production. He has been endeavoring to convince the hen that she doesn't know what is good for her ; and now it seems that, after all, her instinct and not his supposedly scientific reasoning has been right." The writer is aware that under different conditions other results might follow. It is here particularly pointed out that our fowls are given plenty of space and fresh air, and that they are made to scratch vigorously for their whole grain. 56 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. KEPORT OF THE BOTAOTSTS. G. E. STONE, R. E. SMITH. The work of this division has gone on steadily during the past year, having been almost entirely along the line of vegetable physiology and pathology. A large amount of correspondence has been carried on, along with the work of investigation. A considerable part of the work has been in connection with the growing of green-house crops, as in past years, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes receiving especial attention. The investigations outlined in our last report have been continued, and results obtained which in several cases are nearly ready for publication. The only entirely new subject of importance which has been taken up is that of aster diseases, which is referred to more fully later in this report. A bulletin on " The asparagus rust in Massachu- setts" has been issued, containing the results of the inves- tigation of this subject up to 1899. A further consideration of the same subject will be found in the present report. Aster Diseases. General complaint has been made of late years in all parts of the country of the trouble in growing asters, and at pres- ent more or less complete failure is almost universal. We have therefore commenced an investigation of this subject, with a view to ascertaining the exact nature of the trouble, and what may be done to prevent it. A large number of asters were grown during the past season, and, with the experience already gained, it is planned to grow many more next year, under various conditions which have suggested themselves as bearing on the trouble. Some valuable in- 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 57 formation has already been obtained, and it is lioped that another season's experience will atFord considerable insight into the difficulties which now bid fair to prevent the raising of this popular and valuable flower. Some Prevalent Diseases of the Year. The following are some rather uncommon diseases which have been unusually prevalent during the past season : — The Bacterial Gucutnher Wilt. In our last report we gave an account of a wilting of cucumber leaves, due to purely physiological causes. A disease of the same plant, and having a very similar effect, but caused by bacteria, is well known, and appeared in this vicinity in out-of-door cucumbers this year. In this case the bacteria which cause the trouble develop mostly in the ducts of the stem and leaf petioles, multiplying rapidly, and causing a stoppage of the flow of sap and hence a wilting of the leaves. The organisms can be readily seen, oozing out in little drops from the cut ends of affected parts. Pure cultures may be easily obtained from these drops. No remedy can be given as yet for this disease, other than the removal and burning of affected plants. A Geranium Disease. In our annual report for 1897 we described a leaf-spot disease of the cultivated geranium (Pelargonium), which was thought to be caused by bacteria. It appeared at that time in a very wet season, and seemed more a result of the abnormal conditions than a true disease. The same trouble has been abundant during the past season, however, and appears to be a dangerous enemy to the growth of this plant. It causes small yellow and dead spots in the leaves, so that they fall off, and the plant becomes nearly denuded in the worst cases. Examination showed, as before, that the dead spots are full of bacteria, and no other organisms could be found, the former appearing to be the cause of the disease. Attempts were made to isolate the organisms, but 58 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. thus far without success ; apparently it does not flourish under ordinary culture methods and conditions. Neverthe- less, we have here, to all appearances, a genuine bacterial disease. No remedy can be given for this trouble, beyond good cultivation and the production of vigorous plants. Cases have been seen where aflected plants lost most of their leaves and produced a new crop, the latter more or less diseased, but still sufficient to present a fairly good appearance. The use of fungicides has no apparent value in such a case as this. Muskmelon J^ailures. Much complaint has been heard during the past season in this and other States of trouble with muskmelons. In our last report we described a disease of this plant caused by a fungus (AUer7iaria) . The disease appeared again this year in the same and other places, and some weeks earlier than before, so that spraying experiments which we had planned were begun too late to be of value. Besides this disease, the common anthracnose (^Collelotrichumlagenarium (Pass.) E. & H.) has been abundant, and very destructive both on muskmelons and watermelons. We saw one field of water- melons of unusually fine appearance completely ruined by this disease within a week. The stems and fruit were the parts most aflfected. There is every reason to believe that the Bordeaux mixture can be used with profit in these cases ; but our experience this year has shown that if the treatment is not begun by July 1 or earlier, before any sign of disease has appeared, it will be entirely useless. The Maple Leaf Blight. {Phyllosticta acericola C & E.) This disease, which afi'ects several species of maple, has been known for some time, but has been much more abun- dant than usual during the past season. We have received it on sugar maple from several difierent parties. Large dead spots are produced in the leaves, which become curled and distorted, losing all beauty. Beyond this the actual injury to the tree is probably in most cases very slight. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 33. 59 The Chrysanthemum Rust. This disease, which we first reported in 1897, appears to be on the decline in Massachusetts. It has been quite com- mon the past season in various places, but in most cases has caused no apparent damage. Some Experiments in growing Violets in Sterilized Soil. Some experiments have been made this last year with violets, for the purpose of determining the relation be- tween the production of flowers and the occurrence of leaf spots in sterilized and unsterilized soil respectively. For this purpose cuttings were made in the spring from mature plants and put into sterilized sand, after which they were transplanted into sterilized soil and removed out of doors, where they remained during the summer. In the fall they were transferred to the house and planted in a bed divided equally into two sections, each of which consisted of garden soil of good quality. One section of the bed was sterilized and the other section was not, and, in addition to this, the latter was inoculated with the parasitic nematode Heterodera. It should be stated, however, that the nematodes were not abundant enough in the inoculated soil to do any harm, as the bed was inoculated some time previous to setting out the violet plants, and, as no host plants were present, they died, or at least they did not gain any foothold upon the violets. The experiment is therefore largely one between sterilized and unsterilized soils. Sterilizing the soil alone gives rise to beneficial results in the growth of a crop, a fact which we have already called attention to in Bulletin 55, issued from this station, and various experiments on different crops since has demon- strated the same thing. Both of the beds were under tolerably equal conditions, at least so far as light and moisture were concerned ; but a ventilator made some difference in the growth of a few plants in each section. The total number of plants employed in this experiment was fifty-four, and were of the variety known 60 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. as the Schoenbnin, which is not especially noted as a flower producer. The following table shows the results of the experi- ment : — Table showing the Monthly Production of Violets in Sterilized and Unsterilized Soil. DATE. November, . December, . January, February, . March, . April, . . Total, . Average, Number of Blossoms picked. Unsterilized Soil. 19 62 55 39 144 482 801 133 Sterilized Soil. 38 101 125 72 250 510 1,096 182 Percentage of Gain. 100 63 127 84 73 5 The results in the preceding table show a considerable increase in the production of blossoms as a result of sterili- zing the soil. The percentage of gain of the sterilized plat over that in the unsterilized was 36. It will be observed also that the gain in flower production in general was most marked during the first half of the experiment, and the flower production falls ofi* in the sterilized earths in the succeeding months, until in April, when the experiment was discontinued, the gain was only 5 per cent, over that of the unsterilized. The maximum occurred during the third month (January), although this might not occur in every instance, as a large number of experiments would probably modify these results. Observations were made in regard to the number of leaf spots in the two plats, with the result that the sterilized plats gave the smallest number, hence showing that vigor- ous plants are less susceptible to fungi. The methods employed in sterilizing the soil were the same as those described on page 54 in Bulletin 55, from this station. In regard to the practice of sterilizing soil for the purpose 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 61 of growing plants, we will state that, while there is no doubt as to the benedcial results obtained by sterilizing the same soil for two or three crops, it does not necessarily follow that soil will repeatedly stand this treatment and give good crops. Within the last year sterilized soil has been recommended for home culture purposes, and those who use it claim to have obtained superior results. The Eelationship existing between the Asparagus Rust AND the Physical Properties of the Soil. The past season has been most favorable to the outbreak of the asparagus rust, which has manifested itself in a severe manner in the same localities where it has occurred durinsr the last few years. The unusually dry spring enabled us to predict to asparagus growers the probable occurrence of the rust for last summer ; and, as the rust has usually shown itself the season following an outbreak, regardless of the weather conditions, we may expect to encounter the same next summer (1900), at least in those beds which were badly affected and weakened from the attacks of 1899. We have endeavored to point out in Bulletin 61, issued from this station, the relationship existing between dry seasons and the occurrence of the summer or injurious stage of the rust, and also the susceptibility of plants growing in locali- ties possessing soil with little water-retaining properties. Our observations and experiments during the past season have not led us to reverse any of the conclusions set forth in this bulletin, but, on the other hand, we are more strongly convinced of their validity. These conclusions are based upon an extensive study of the localities affected, and the object of the present article is to call attention to additional data relating to the distribution of the rust in Massachusetts, and the relationship existing between the outbreak of the rust and the rainfall, together with the physical properties of the soil. For the past three seasons we have paid atten- tion to the distribution of the rust in Massachusetts, although the regions infected during the past summer (1899) scarcely differ from those infected during previous years. 62 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Attention was first called to the asparagus rust in the fall of 1896. During 1897, although an extremely wet season, the damage by the rust was severe. Its occurrence during this season, however, was merely an after-effect, the primary cause being due to the injury caused by the preceding dry seasons. In 1898 the summer stage of the rust was scarcely perceptible ; while in 1899 (the past season) the rust was severe, on account of the want of soil moisture.* The fall stage of the rust (black or teleuto spore stage), which is, according to our estimation, a harmless stage, and not worth paying much attention to, has been universally distributed over the State since 1896. There has, however, been some tendency for it to become less common during the last two years. This stage usually occurs during September and October, about the time when the asparagus plants first commence to lose their green color and turn yellow, the appearance of this stage being associated with the disinte- gration and death of the plant. The summer stage of the rust (red or uredo stage), which is in every instance an in- jurious stage, occurs during July and August. It occurs about July 11, or later, on beds from which a crop has been marketed, and spreads very rapidly with the wind, as is evident by those sides of the asparagus plant being first in- fected which correspond with the prevailing direction of the wind. We have no data as to any earlier appearance of the rust on young plants which have not been cut for the mar- ket, and it would not be at all improbable that they become infected earlier than July 11. The summer stage of the rust, however, is limited in its distribution in Massachusetts, and is found only on those soils which are sandy, and pos- sess little water-retaining properties. The sand increases as we approach the sea-coast, and the soils which support asparagus plants affected with the red rust are found with some local exceptions in the eastern part of the State. The summer stage of the rust has never been observed by us, nor has it been reported (with one exception, which we will refer to later, and which is local) any further west than the towns of Berlin and Northborough, which are east of the * The amount of rainfall from April 1 to September 1 in 1899, at Amherst, was 14.09 inches; that for the same period in 1898 was 23.97 inches. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 63 meridian 71° 40'. (See map.) These towns would appear to be on the border zone of the uredo spore outbreak, and the occurrence of the rust here is by no means so universal as it is in the sandier region of Cape Cod. Some of the growers situated upon the border zones of infection may have the summer stage badly one season and the next season be free from it. The soil of this reo:ion offers suflScient dif- ferences in texture from the more sandy coast soils, so that sound, vigorous plants might be expected to be proof against the rust in any season, and the outbreak here might be largely prevented by careful cultivation and feeding of the plants. An examination of the map (fig. 1) will show those por- tions of Massachusetts in which the summer stage of aspara- gus rust has appeared up to the present time. The only region infested with this stage of the rust in Massachusetts west of the meridian 71° 40' is in the Connecticut valley, in the vicinity of Montague, where the soil is remarkably sandy and dry, while other portions of the Connecticut valley which possess more or less heavier soil have been entirely free from this stage. The affected area shown on the map is characterized by a loose sandy soil, which possesses less water-retaining properties in most instances than the soils of their immediate vicinity. In order, however, to show more definitely the differences existing between the texture of the soils of the eastern part of the State and those of the central and western parts, we have made a number of mechanical analyses of the soils of various regions, which include many from the infected asparagus fields. Any one who has paid special attention to our Massachusetts soils and their influence upon the development of plants would not require a mechanical analysis in order to become con- vinced of the differences existing between them, as a glance at the soils in the field would be sufficient. Nevertheless, a mechanical analysis will show us the exact differences ex- isting between the textures of the soil of the various regions, and we will moreover be able to demonstrate the amount of difference exhibited in their water-retaining capacity. The following table gives the data of the mechanical analysis* * The methods of analysis employed are those of Prof. Milton Whitney. 64 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. of ten typical surface soils from various parts of the State between the Cape and the New York State line : — Table I. — Shoiving the Mechanical Analyses* of Ten Massachu- setts Soils, extending from Cape Cod to Western Massachusetts. — Average Percentage of Organic Matter, Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay in 20 Grams of Soil. [Diameter of the grains in millimetres (1 millimetre equals about Vas inch) : gravel, 2-1; coarse sand, 1-.5; medium sand, .5-. 25; fine sand, .25-. 1 ; very fine sand, .1-.05; silt, .05-. 01; fine silt, .01-. 006; clay, .005-. 0001.] SAMPLE. 1 o 1 bo O "3 5 i d 0) o O •6 § a 3 '•B a a ■a p « >> > s a O Orleans, 1.82 2.20 20.97 31.03 19.70 12.26 6.26 2.77 1.46 1.37 Bridgewater, 1.86 2.10 17.92 28.80 18.85 5.80 19.15 2.85 1.34 .66 Eastham, . 1.66 2.00 9.38 27.91 25.09 21.43 8.70 1.40 .77 1.43 Concord, . 1.66 4.19 4.24 10.20 12.81 27.93 34.11 1.84 1.73 1.08 Attleborough, 8.13 7.64 9.26 11.15 7.87 11.53 29.50 10.95 2.51 1.42 Worcester, 3.00 9.40 1.65 2.80 4.25 19.85 42.95 4.50 2.95 2.75 Spencer, 3.40 9.80 2.70 4.55 7.30 22.35 29.60 6.65 2.45 3.25 Montague, . .90 1.86 .27 4.39 19.85 43.88 25.75 2.63 .36 .27 Amherst, . 2.98 7.31 .95 1.25 1.72 7.28 66.19 6.96 1.33 4.13 Pittsfield, . •• 9.50 11.25 5.50 5.95 5.02 13.87 36.15 6.45 .87 5.40 * Analyzed by A. A. Harmon and Asa 8. Kinney. The first si.x: soils represent typical samples taken from affected fields in locations where the summer stage of the rust has always been present since its occurrence in Massachusetts, and in most instances where it has been severe. The other samples are from towns which have not shown the summer stage of the rust, but in which the fall stage has occurred. All of the samples are so-called surface soils, and represent single analyses. Except in the Amherst soils they represent an average of four analyses, while in the Pittsfield there is an average of two. A careful examination of the table will show considerable diflerence in the texture of the soils of the various regions. It will be observed that the coarse elements are much more common in the coast soils than in the inland soils, and conversely that the fine elements are greatly in- creased in the inland soils. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 65 In order to obtain a better idea of the relative amounts of the various constituents found in the different soils, we can arrange them as in Table II., in which the average constitu- ents contained in the four coast soils are shown alongside of four inland soils which are characteristic of the central and western regions of Massachusetts. The four coast soils represent badly infested regions, while the four inland soils represent those in which only the fall stage has occurred. Table II. — Average Percentage of Organic Matter, Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay^ in Orleans, Eastham, Concord and Bridgewater (Coast Soils), and Worcester, Spencer, Amherst and Pittsfield {Inland Soils) . ■a "3 § SAMPLE. a CQ i § ^ 'a "3 0) 1 m fR OD 3> o 2 c5 C9 o > s © 03 3 Four coast soils, .... 2.62 13.12 24.48 19.11 16.85 16.80 2.21 1.32 1.13 Four inlaud soils, 9.44 2.70 2.63 4.57 15.83 18.72 6.14 1.90 3.88 The largest amount of gravel as shown by the table is in the Orleans soil from Cape Cod, which is 20.97 per cent. ; the average for the whole is 13.12 per cent., against 2.70 per cent, for the inland soils. What holds true in regard to the gravel is also true when we consider the coarse sand, where the proportion is 24.48 per cent, in the coast soil, to 2.63 per cent, in the inland soils ; while in the medium sand it is 19.11 per cent, to 4.57 per cent. Only slight differences are shown in the proportion of fine and very fine sand between the two regions, although the coast soils are ahead in the for- mer and the inland in the latter ; whereas in both of the silts and clay the largest amounts are found in the inland soils. If we turn to the organic matter, we find that it is also more abundant in the inland soil than it is in the coast soil. This difference is partly accounted for by the fact that some of the samples of inland soil represent highly manured soils, adapted to intensive cultivation. Even making allowances for this fact, the organic matter would seem higher in the inland soils than in the coast soils, inasmuch as various samples of soil Q6 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. taken from inland localities which were not manured gave an average of about 6 per cent., or about three times as much as that shown by the coast soils. This is not true, however, of the coast soils such as are used for general truck farming, — as in the case of Arlington, for example, — in which instance we would find the percentage of organic matter quite large. The amount of water in the soils differs also, which is caused by the analyses of some of the samples being taken at difl'er- ent times, and from not being subject to the same air-drying conditions. It will also be noticed that the Attleborough soil contains an unusually large amount of silt, — a feature which seems to be peculiar to that soil alone. As a rule, the inland soils contain a very large amount of very fine sand, and this appears to be especially characteristic of the Con- necticut valley soils. Some analyses which we have made show that this soil sometimes possesses as much as 75 per cent, of this constituent. It is the excessive amounts of this constituent of the soil which renders the Amherst soil com- pact, and which gives to it an increased water-retaining capacity. The clay, however, shows a gradual increase as we pass inward, and in a less uniform manner is this exhibited by the silt, which can be seen by examining Table HI. Table III. — Showing the Percentage of Gravel-Sand, Silt and Clay in the Soils shoivn in Table I. SAMPLE. Gravel-Sand. Silt. Clay. Orleans, Bridgewater, Eaetham, Concord, Attleborougb, Worcester, . Spencer, Montague, . Amherst, Pittsfleld, . 90.22 90.52 92.51 89.35 69.39 71.60 66.60 94.15 77.39 66.49 4.23 4.16 2.17 3.57 13.46 7.45 9.10 2.99 8.29 7.32 1.37 1.13 1.43 1.08 1.42 2.75 3.25 .27 4.13 6.40 There are inland soils which contain considerable amounts of sand, such as the Connecticut valley soils, for example, 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 67 thus offering exception in this respect to the surrounding localities. The Montague soil is one of these, and it will be noticed by examining Table III. that the percentage of sand is very high in this. It is not, however, the coarser varieties but the finer which predominate, thus differing widely from the sandy soil of Cape Cod. Notwithstanding this variation, a large number of analyses show that the clay appears to fol- low, as a rule, what might be termed a normal amount for each particular region. It is therefore interesting to note in this connection that the increase of clay as we pass inward is fully as characteristic and uniform in the Massachusetts soils as is the decrease of the sand. The differences existing be- tween the texture of the coast and inland soils are sufficient to exert considerable influence upon the growth of plants. This difference is equally perceptible, v^hether we see the soils in the field or in a table showing their analyses. Having paid some attention to the physical properties of a few of our State soils, and their effect upon plant develop- ment, we are able to ascertain approximately from a mechani- cal analysis the characteristic properties of the constituents, and what effect they exert upon the development of certain crops. As a rule, we can divide the various constituents directly in the middle ; that is, we can consider the four coarser elements and the four finer constituents by themselves. Such an arrangement of the soils is shown in Table IV. Table IV. — Shoiving Soils as in Table 7., arranged according to the Percentages of Gravel and Coarse^ 3fedium and Fine Sand, the Very Fine Sand, Silt and Clay being omitted. Orleans, . 83.96 Attleborough, 39.81 Eastham, 83.81 Spencer, . 36.90 Bridgewater, . 71.37 Pittsfield, 30.34 Montague, 68.39 Worcester, 28.55 Concord, . 65.18 Amherst, 11.20 If, for example, a soil is rather low in the constituents represented by the gravel and coarse, medium and fine sand, 68 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. and correspondingly high in the remaining constituents, then we possess a soil which is characteristic of the inland types, and will pack down very closely when wet. If, however, the reverse of this is true, we find a loose, pliable soil, such as is found on the coast, which is easily worked and espe- cially adapted for truck farming. The latter soil will not retain much water, it quickly dries out ; while the former or inland soil will retain considerable water for a long time, inasmuch as the resistance and relative amount of water maintained by different soils depends upon the volume of space in the soil for the water to enter, which in turn depends upon the number of grains of sand, silt and clay. In sandy soils the space is not divided up as much as in a clay soil ; the grains of sand being larger, the spaces between the grains are also larger, there is less friction, and the water moves downward more quickly. The order of arrangement of the soils in Table IV. (which is that relative to the coarse material they contain) follows very closely the water-retaining capacity of the soils, as we shall see when we come to Table V. These are in part the principal differences existing between the coast and inland soil, with now and then an exception ; and the outbreak of the summer or injurious stage of the asparagus rust is always characteristic of those soils which are sandy and porous, and consequently possess little water- retaining capacity, whether they are located near the coast or inland. It should, however, be borne in mind that it is not the percentage of coarse and fine material alone which is responsible for the character of a soil, but the shape and ar- rangement of its particles exert an influence upon it. Then, again, the organic matter, the depth of the soil and the nature of the sub-soil, as is well known, are important when the question of moisture and dryness is concerned. We have already pointed out that the four soils from the coast contain less organic matter than those from inland soils, and this fact holds good for the Montague sample also. If these soils were richer in organic matter, their water-retaining proper- ties would 1)6 increased, and they would become less suscep- tible to the rust. In order to test the water-retaining pro[)erties of some of these samples of soil, we subjected them to the following 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 69 treatment. Three hundred grams of the air-dried soils were taken and put into a cylinder three inches wide and six inches high, with a perforated bottom, over which there was placed a layer of tilter paper. The cans containing the soil were then weighed, after which the samples were liberally treated with water until they contained all that was possible for them to hold. The cylinders were then set aside, and after the w^ater had stopped dripping they were again weighed, and the additional weight which was due to the amount of water applied was noted. This represented the amount of water which the soils could retain. Other air-dried samples of the same soil were heated in an oven to perfect dryness, and by this means the amount of hygroscopic water was dbtained for each. This, being added to the amount of water retained, gave the total water capacity of the soil ; and, dividing this sum by the weight of water- free soil, which was obtained by subtracting the hygroscopic water from the original three hundred grams, we obtain the percentage of water which each soil is capable of retaining ; or, in other words, Water retained + Hygroscopic water ^ of water-retain- Water-free soil ing capacity. The following table gives the results of these experiments in the order of water-retaining capacity : — Table V. — Shoiving the Retentivity of Soil Moistures in Order of Retaining Capacity. SAMPLE. Water retained (Grams). Hj'groscopic Water (Grams). Weight of Water-free Boil (Grams). Percentage of Water retained. Orleans 103.0 2.10 297.90 35.28 Bridgewater, 99.5 .66 299.34 37.13 Eaetham, 115.9 .78 299.22 38.99 Montague, . 144.8 .90 299.10 48.71 Concord, 145.3 2.76 297.24 49.81 Attleborough, 168.9 4.20 295.80 58.52 Amherst, . 200.6 2.82 297.18 68.45 As might be expected, the coast soils show the smallest percentage of water-retaining capacity, and this percentage 70 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. increases as we pass inland to the heavier soils, as would naturally follow. The smallest percentage is shown by the soils from Cape Cod, where there is a considerable amount of coarse material and small amounts of fine material ; while the largest percentage is given by the Amherst soil, which contains a larger amount of fine material and a less amount of coarse material than the coast soils. The Amherst soils show 68.45 per cent, water-retaining capacity, against 35.28 per cent, for the Orleans ; or, in other words, the Amherst soil possesses nearly twice the water-retaining capacity of the Orleans soil. Only two determinations were made of the water-retaining properties of the soil west of Worcester, one being at Montague, where the summer stage of the rust is present, and the other at Amherst, where it has never oc- curred. These two determinations are, however, sufficient for our purpose ; inasmuch as the preceding table shows that the water-retaining properties of the soil decrease in loose, sandy soil, and increase in fine, compact soil ; and, as the mechanical constituents of such soils as the Worcester, Spen- cer and Pittsfield are larger in fine material and more closely resemble the Amherst soil than those of the coast, we would therefore find similar water-retaining properties. The cans containing the soils were left in a room of even temperature, and after five days had elapsed they were weigrhed a^ain, with the followins; result : — Table VI. — Percentage of Water lost hy the Following Soils after Five Days. Bridgewater, . 75.07 Attleborough, . . 46.95 Orleans, . 73.78 Montague, 40.33 Eastham, 66.17 Amherst, 23.33 Concord, . 51.75 These results follow in a general way those shown in Table V. The Bridgewater, however, lost sJightly more than the Orleans. As most of these soils were gathered within a few days of. each other, it may be of some interest to note the amount of water found in each at the time the samples reached the laboratory. Amherst gave 83.60 per cent, of 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 71 water; Montague, 11.26 percent. ; Orleans, 12.50 per cent. ; Attleborough, 15.40 per cent. ; Concord, 8.65 per cent. ; Eastham, 5.69 per cent. ; Bridgewater, 3.74 per cent. These figures do not possess any great value, but in a general way they correspond with those in the preceding table. The variation in the amount of rainfall in diflerent parts of the State of course comes into account here. We will state, however, that the Amherst soil referred to was taken from an asparagus bed which has never had the rust in any stage, — a fact which is not only due to its characteristic texture and the nature of the subsoil, but to the fact that the plants have been thoroughly cultivated and properly fed, and consequently are in a very vigorous condition. According to Professor Brooks, this bed has at times received a heavy dressing of cow manure in the fall, which has been forked in in the spring, and then fertilizer has been put on at the fol- lowing rate per acre : muriate of potash, 600 pounds ; nitrate of soda, 200 pounds ; and acid phosphate, 900 pounds. Asparagus growers have stated that there is a difi'erence as to infection in different parts of a field. Many have stated that the drier places were the most badly infested, while others could notice no difference, or in some instances those parts which they considered the least dry showed the rust the worst. This latter condition does not in any way affect our conclusions that the rust (summer stage) is peculiar alone to those regions that possess sandy soil which has little w^ater- retaining capacity, inasmuch as our conclusions are general, and refer to the State as a whole. That exceptions do occur even in a single bed is not at all strange, so long as plants are endowed with a tendency to vary. There are other fac- tors which have a bearing on the susceptibility of plants to rust other than those of soil and water conditions, among which is the general health condition or vigor of the plant. We have repeatedly observed in the same bed numerous plants that were badly infected, while directly beside them were some which were perfectly healthy. We do not main- tain, however, that, in a bed where the plants possess the same amount of vigor and where they are under exactly simi- lar conditions except in regard to moisture, those in the dry place will succumb to the rust quickest and become more 72 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. severely aflfected than those located in dry places. The prin- cipal feature which we wish to emphasize in connection with these experiments is that the summer stage of the asparagus rust is due to a weakened condition of those plants growing on dry soil during seasons of extreme drought. In other words, the plants suffer for water ; and, since this is the case, the rational method of prevention must take the amount of soil moisture into consideration. It will not be out of place here to reflect upon the present status of the rust problem, and consider the methods which should be employed in our endeavors to control it. The practice of spraying, it would seem, is not likely to give promise of any remarkable results, because the asparagus plants offer diflSculties in this respect, and all of the rusts are hard to control. Stewart found, in his experiments on spraying for the carnation rust, which attacks a host largely confined to greenhouses and therefore much better under con- trol, that the best results obtained by spraying were not very promising. Then, again, it is possible that the asparagus rust mycelium may be confined to the plant throughout the year, in which case the value of spraying would be practically useless. We have observed a fungous mycelium in the roots and stems of the asparagus plants below the ground long before any occurrence of the rust showed upon the aerial stems ; but whether the mycelium was identical with that of the rust, or of other parasitic fungi frequently found upon the asparagus, we were not able to ascertain. We must therefore turn our attention to other methods of control, — to methods which will enable us to keep the plants under more normal conditions during seasons of drought. These methods will consist, first, of securing the most vigorous plants, — a feature which is dependent upon cultivation and the proper kinds and amounts of plant food with which the plants are supplied. There is considerable difference in the plants of various growers in this respect ; the most vigorous and largest plants which we have observed were situated in a dry region, subject to uredo infection, but they have never suffered from the rust till this season. The amount of rain- fall between April 1 and September 1 of this year has been the lowest for many years, and many beds have shown the summer stage for the first time this year. It is interesting 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 73 to note, however, that cultivation and skilful plant feeding alone have enabled some beds to suppress the outbreak of the summer stage. Then, again, the question of soil moisture during dry sea- sons must be considered. There are diiferent ways of secur- ing this, such as by irrigation, by increasing the organic matter in the soil, or by mulching. In selecting a site for new beds, they should be started on soil possessing some degree of water-retaining capacity, even if such soil is not adapted quite so well for asparagus during ordinary seasons. We are convinced, however, that soils such as the Montague and Attleborough , which appear to be good asparagus soils, possess enough fine material and sufficient water-retaining capacity to prevent the summer outbreak, provided robust plants are secured. In fact, we are informed that the sum- mer stage of the rust has not appeared on the beds at Attle- borough from which this sample was taken previous to this year. It is these extremely light, sandy soils that have been selected for the largest asparagus beds, because they appear to be best adapted for its growth. Numerous inquiries from towns adjoining many of these badly infected regions have failed to show any evidence of injuries from the rust, as the texture of the soil is slightly different. If the asparagus rust continues to cause as much injury in the future as it has in the past, it may become necessary to resort to those soils of a finer texture for the cultivation of this crop. The matter of irrigation would be expensive and not readily resorted to on many beds, while others that we know of could be very easily irrigated by damming a small stream and properly diverting the course of the water. Since the asparagus rust is brought about by drought, and is there- fore not likely to cause much injury except during such sea- sons, the occurrence of the disease can be anticipated. In this respect it differs from other common plant diseases, in- asmuch as we have to spray for them every season, whether we know they are going to make their appearance or not. An annual treatment would therefore not be required. It is hoped that some preventive measures, based upon the reten- tivity or the supplying of soil moisture, will be employed by those growers who are favorably situated and who have suf- fered from the rust. 74 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. REPORT OF THE METEOROLOGIST. JOHN E. OSTRANDER. The work of this division the past year has been principally devoted to the observation of the various weather phenomena, too:etlier with the reduction of the records and their arrange- ment in form for preservation. The usual monthly bulletins, giving the more important daily records and a review of the character of the weather, have been issued, and the annual summary will be published as soon as the records for the year are complete. Throughout the year the New England section of the United States Weather Bureau has furnished us daily, except Sun- day, with the local forecasts of the weather, and the signals have been displayed from the top of the tower. Arrange- ments have been made to furnish them the weekly snow re- ports, as heretofore. The observations relating to soil temperature and moisture by the electrical method, begun two years ago, have been continued this year. Owing to the unsatisfactory results of the previous years, the temperature cells and moisture elec- trodes were tested and standardized before using them in the field. The temperature cells were placed in water and the resistances observed. After the resistances became constant for each cell, the temperature of the water was taken by a standard thermometer. The resistance of each cell was thus determined, for temperatures varying by about 10° F., for a range exceeding that which it Avould be subjected to in the field. The cells were afterward placed in soil in a box, and the resistances observed and the temperature computed by the tables in Bulletin No. 7 of the United States Department of Agriculture, Division of Soils, and checked by using a standard thermometer. The standardization of the moisture 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 75 electrodes was effected by placing them in soil in boxes so arranged as to provide for a proper diffusion throughout the soil of water as added, taking the resistances and computing the percentage of moisture from the weight. When after- ward used in the field these electrodes gave more satisfactory results than had before been attained. The results for the corn-growing season of the current year have been worked out. The observations will be continued next year, for pur- poses of comparison. The means of the various weather elements for each month and year, for the ten years from 1889 to 1898 inclusive, have been tabulated, and normal conditions for the period de- duced. These results are of especial interest for the purpose of noting departures from normal conditions. The tabula- tions, together with other data of interest, will be found on the following pages. Meteorological Observatory of the Hatch Experi- ment Station, Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst. General Summary^ 1889-98. Latitude of observatory, 42° 23' 48.5'' N. ; longitude, 72° 31' 10" W. Elevation of ground at base of observatory above mean low water, Boston harbor, 223 feet, as determined by levels connecting with those of the Boston & Maine Rail- road. The standard barometer is 50.5 feet above the ground and 273.5 feet above sea level. The Draper self-recording barometer is 51.5 feet above ground. The cup anemometer, pressure anemometer, anemoscope and sun thermometer are located on top of the tower, 72 feet above the ground. All temperatures are taken in the thermometer shelter on the campus, about 4 feet above ground and 220 feet above sea level. The standard rain gauge is on the campus, about 2 feet above the ground and 218 feet above sea level. 76 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION [Jan. 8 »— 1 o 00 eo t^ lO CO 00 -* ^ OS Pr 8 eo 1— ( 00 -* on 1^ CO 1—1 CO o o OS o o o o o o o «^ O o <-; OS o (-5 o o o o o eo CO eo (>j CO eo eo CO CO CO CO u 05 eo iH o o 00 1-1 lO CO CO o eo 1—1 00 1—1 CO ^ 'O CO CO CO 00 s tH o O o 1— ( i-H 1—1 T-( o OS o u o o o o o O o o o OS o « eo eo eo CO CO CO eo eo CO CO CO te o t^ tv oo ^ 1—1 t^ to -* o eo j= ^ o I— ( 00 cq 00 00 -* eo r-l !>. a o o I— 1 OS 1—1 o 1-1 1-1 o o O > o o o OS o o o o o o o eo eo CO CO eo eo eo eo eo eo eo . o O 00 CO CO CO CO rH 00 OS o o ^ (N OS C^l 1—1 00 1— 1 CO oo CO 1 o o o 00 1— ( o o O r-< o o o Oi o OS o o o O O o O eo c<« eo (M eo eo eo CO CO CO CO c 05 ^ -* eo »c eo t^ ^ 1—1 CO lO Ji 05 (N 1— I o CO ^^ Ol O OS t^ a s o. OS tH 1-1 1-1 o 1-1 o O o o o Ci o o o o o o O o ,3 o s, 1-H eo CO OS eo OS eo en o o CO 1—1 o CO rH 00 Tt< o OS , — , tc o o Ol o o o O OS Ol Ol OS •-> o o Oi o o o o OS OS OS OS > eo eo c^ CO CO CO eo CO CO c^ c^ T Oi o CO 00 00 CM 1-1 ^ eo r- ^ cq Ol tH t^ o «o t^ 1—1 (M >o OS t>. tH o ■* 00 05 OJ Ol Ol o OS 1— ( Ol Ol Ol OS s o 1^ 05 OS 05 OS ^ Ol o Ol OS OS OS >£5 (N (M (M c<« eo CO eo CO CO CO cq o «o Oi CO CO »o o t- tH ^ t^ -* 1—1 O 00 ^ OS o Ol 00 CO CO CO 8 & Oi Cf> OS 05 00 o o OS Ol Ol Ol a 05 OS Oi OS OS o o OS Ol OS Ol -a 33 (?< C^ . 00 >o 1—1 tJ< ^ CO rH 03 o. l> o CI OS o o 1—1 1— 1 o OS o to be OS o Oi OS o o o o o Ol o a o CO (M o o 1—1 tH 1-1 Ol oo o o o O o o o o (^ OS Ol o o o Pm eo eo eo eo CO eo o iH kO t- 00 1—1 CO t~ rH Ol lO CO »o t^ -* lO ^^ t^ lO s T-l Ol OS OS 1—1 O rH o Ol o g O O OS OS OS o o o o OS o >? eo eo . o OS c S ^P^ T— 1 1— ( G^ rH ^^ (>« (M 'O ^ CO -* r-l 1— 1 1—1 T-{ T-H rH 7-< 7-i rH rH rH « 1 ^ o iH 00 CO o CO (M t^ CO 00 »o S a CO 05 »o o rH C^ •ri< oq -* o CO CN tH a s p. 05 CO t> C5 00 rH CO 00 t> 00 00 rH OS *: «o o ■r-t iO so -* SO 03 T-t o CO 3 CO i-H CO iO Oi -<1< »o »o CO CO CO 3 1—1 • GO CO ^ l> 00 t^ rH 03 as CO O lO t> l>. 00 l> « >■> w ^ t^ 00 CO '^t^ t^ >o CO CO lO o SO s a Oi ^o >o 00 CO t^ CO 00 "O OS t>. "fo Hj ^>-^ 5~ <» »o tH 05 CO CO so ^^ »o CO CO lO • t^ t^ 00 ^ * * • 1-1 O %. ^S J «o 00 CN (M lO CO o CO o CO rH p^ tH o '^ o (M CO '^ C3 rH 00 rH >^ -< tH I-H rH rH i-t rH rH rH ji QO 00 y-t CO t^ Tt^ ^ IM '^ «> o lO o c^ rH (M o CO JS S r-( 1-1 1-^ rH rH rH rH rH rH r-t r-i ft; >. i-H lO CD O CO lO 00 t>. lO CO 00 s "O so CO CO 00 CO 00 t- rH CO "O • ' * • • ' J3 fH >. (M o CO 00 CO Oi CO t^ t^ CO SO d !0 lO 05 so O oo -* Oi •O ^ >o C rH 7—1 T—< r-i 1—1 rH T-i rH rH rH • • • • • • w !H • • • • a 05 o 7—1 (M CO '^ >o CO t^ 00 00 as Ci Oi ai 03 OS 00 00 1-1 00 00 rH 00 rH 00 rH 00 rH QO rH 00 rH 00 ir-l 78 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. H ^ ■:3s t^ '^ '^^ (M CM C5 CO 'ttH CO CO CO C5 Oi t^ t- as 00 CO 0 00 t^ 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S CO CO CO eo eo CO CO CO CO CO CO 1-^ CO T— ( 0 CO (M CO CO ^ 0 1 0 0 CO >o «o Ci >o CO 05 CO lO t^ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (^ 0 0 r.De cci CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CJ CO a t>. »o ^ •it 0 CO CO CO 0 eo CO CO CO i> -* c^ t^ t^ 00 CO 10 CO > 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ^ CO CO CO CO CO CO eo CO CO eo eo c (M 1—1 t^ CO >o o t^ t^ 0 10 T-H eo Cl eo '^ 'S. t-. CO CN CO 10 (M CO eo TtH CO , '^ eo 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CO CO CO CO CO C^i eo CO CO CO CO ^ CO CN C5 CO CO tH Go '^ Go 00 CO eo 1—1 & ^ CO '^ -* CO 'O uo ■^ CO CO -* 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CO CO CO CO eo CO CO eo eo eo CO '^ t--. CO CO 10 c^ 0 0 1—1 '^ CO kO »o •o 10 CO "O t^ CO CO eo "O D. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CO CO CO CO eo CO eo eo CO CO eo j= fO CO t^ 10 CO t^ o '^ CO lO •0 CO 00 t^ CO H 0 Q 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO >. t* CM as G^ eo 05 ^ a> 0 -* 1-1 cS a> t- CO t^ CO 00 ^ -* t^ CO t>- S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO eo CO CO >. G<1 ^ c<» b- 1-1 b- 1-1 CO t- 1—1 0 C3 00 Cft CO CO CO t- CO 0 t^ CO t- g 0 0 1^ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 i-s CO CO CO eo CO CO CO CO CO CO eo s" ?! B p2 • X ^ e3 P a • • fl «J QJ Ir^ g. ^ ^ ^ t. ^ ^ *, «« r- 1^ CJ 0 i-H (M eo '^ 10 CO t-- 00 CO C2 C^ Ci C5 en 01 Oi Oi 05 00 i-H GO T-l 00 T-H CO tH CO T-H 00 I-H 00 1—1 00 CO r-t CO 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 79 •s a o 00 Oi t^ ^ 00 CO CM CO 1—1 T*! c a CM CO o O CO o » T— 1 o Oi Oi Ci 00 C5 05 00 00 00 Oi Oi 00 CM (M CM ? 03 O K3 t^ 00 1 CO Oi (M -* CO lO 60 CO O eo 1—1 tH rH C3 Oi en Oi 03 Oi Oi Oi Oi CJi Oi G (N Q^ (M CM r . G<« C^ GO CO CO CO 1 II ^ O t— 00 ^ '* T-H CO CO cq 00 t^ CO CO 1—1 O »o CM CO T-l CO CO 0) 05 Oi > CM CM c^ (M GO CM GO GO h to CM CO o 00 CO 00 CO lO t^ CO ^ lO CO lO -* (?^ !M "O •o lO cq 'ti s Oi 05 C?5 Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi o o t^ ■o CO »o CO O^ Cl Oi Oi Oi C!i Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi g* (M (M CM CM » CO CO CO lO "O t^ 00 t^ CO CO CO 3 OS CJ 05 05 Ol Oi Oi OS Oi Oi Oi (?^ (M CM CM CM (>» CM GO CO CO (>. o crs >C Oi CO kO Oi CO o G^ lO t^ CO lO CO «o 00 >o CO -* CO 9 "-5 C5 o> Oi 03 03 Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi c^ (M Oi CM CM CM CM CO CO CO j CO 1 >o 1—1 >o t^ CO t^ T-l CO o t- CO P^ CO lO CO '^ 1—1 "O t^ «> CO lO ^ Ci 05 Ci OS Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi c^ CM CM CM c^ CM '^l^ CO CO CO »o Ttl -* o. C5 05 O o Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi (N CM (M CM (M CM CM GO GO CO 00 00 CO C35 CO CO 00 O ^ Oi CM o o -* eo CM CO "O CM r-l T-l >o CO a 05 Oi 05 Oi cri <3i Oi Oi OS Oi Oi S CM CM CM (>< CM (M <>» CO CM CO CO ^ CO t^ CO t^ O '^ CO CO "O ^ Ico 1 C3 ^ CO CO o O C^ lO t^ lO o T-l h o^ Oi Ci C5 Oi cn oo 00 CJi Oi Oi CM CM (M CM (M CM IM CO GO GO *J> o tH 05 Oi 00 00 t^ Oi o 00 l> a c 0^ tH CO (M o 00 1-1 lO GO tH Oi <3i CO 05 Oi CO Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi *^ (M CM o \>. o CN CO CM CM C-1 CO CM CM CM CM a x> 1 "^J 7—1 00 CM 00 t^ C. 00 Ti< o CM CO t^ 00 > CO CO CO CO CO -* '^ CO CO CO o •A u c^ I^ CO CO lO CO o 00 T-i CM o oo 00 00 C»1 ,_! "O t^ Oi 1-1 OJ ~t* ^ '^ »o lO -* '^ -* >o ^ O u a 41 1 "^ Cl CO 00 lO 1—1 >o 1—1 CO C5 ' d -* OS »o o -* o o CO o P< CO CO o •o CO CO >o CO CO CO CO 3 <1 I "^ o Ci c^ o t> 00 oo (M CO t^ OJ 00 Ci 00 C5 00 CO o 00 CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO 1^ CO '^ CO CO 1-1 o CO CO CO 05 CO >> 1 • 3 00 CO Oi 00 CM t^ 1—1 T— 1 d Oi l-s CO CO CO CO t^ CO t- I>- t^ CO eo <>1 CO Ci 00 1—1 o o 1— ( CO § o o Oi CO t^ C3 lO CM CO CO i-s CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO o 00 CO t^ 1—1 00 CO tH CO o CO »o t^ C5 1— I CO iC t^ lO kO ■o >o lO lO CO ^ ^ »o _4 1 "^ »o (M o t- CO CO tH TJH l>. P, lO t>. o CO CO »o 00 t>. CM o -^ '^ 'in -4< '^ -* ^ '^ ^ '^ -^ .c , ^, t> rJH '^ CO CM C 1-1 ^ 1—1 IM T-( o Ci 1—1 05 CO 05 CO 1 CO CO CO CO CO CO CM CO CO CO & o CO 1—1 o> CO lO o '^ 1-1 l-( ol 1 • • • • 3 (M t^ CO CM 1—1 Oi >o >o CO iC s CO G^ cs CM CM I— 1 !M CM CM CM Ph >. 1 '^ -* CO 1-1 -^ !M t> t^ 00 CO -03 OS CO CO CO CO CO o -:*< 1— ( CO c« GS CN 1—1 CM CM CM C<) CM CM « . • • • • . • . <1 . • • • , • a ^ * • i 05 O 1-H c<» CO -* lO CO t^ 00 00 Oi Oi 05 05 a> 05 Oi Oi 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 i-l i-H r-t 1—1 T-i ■—I 1—1 1— ( 1—1 1-1 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 81 "^ o lO o o o o lO lO o 3 to . . C C o o Tt< Oi >o >o l-H o t>. <^ o T— 1 o l-H o I— 1 o l-H 1-1 1—1 o l-H I— 1 o l-H l-H l-H o s 1 '^ •o o o o o o >o o t* a CO T— 1 t^ ■* >o 00 CM IM o t> a '^ lO '^ CO >o CO CO CO CO lO fl ^^ A , ^. o o o o o o o o ^ «o »o »o "O "0 iC lO "O uO ^ i , ^ o o o o o o kC ^ '^ ■§ (M Oi '* t^ CO l-H C5 eo o> >o "O «5 »o »o '^ «o -<1^ CO "0 »o O C s , ^ >o o o o o •o o ■o 05 Go lO ^ uo »o CO o "O •o •o » , ^ »Ci o o o o o o K5 CO be o t^ t^ -* t^ '^ CN »o eo CD Oi -* '^ '^ »o >o o "O -* ^ ^ , <= lO o >o o o o o kO o 3 Th 00 (N 05 o -* rH CO CO 00 lO TjH "O '^ o »o Tt< CO »o 'tl 2J 1 "'. o o kO iC o o lO o CM 3 t>. o -* o o >, 1 '^ o o o o »o lO o o Tt* ' o6 (N CO t^ CO CM CM 00 CO o '^ CO >o lO UO CO CO -* -* >o ^ 1 '^ »o lO o o o iC o o rj* O. t^ ^ 00 00 CO CO t^ o -:H 00 *o lO ii , o >o "O o o o o lO "O l-H S OS t^ ^ 00 CO •^ c^ o >o rH s CD ^ iC tH >o '^ ■o CO ^ o ^ 1 '^ o >o »o o o o o o CO 3 ' ^ o CO ^ CO kC t^ Oi CO o A O CO o >o CO lO CO »o t^ CO ^ ^. , <=: »o lO o o o o o U5 t^ oi t^ (M CO CO CN o CO rH >c CO c 4 lO »o CO CO kO lO lO kO CO UO « • . • • • . • • -^ • • • • • W [H * • • • • • • • • 05 O tH c^ CO 'i* lO CO t- 00 QO Oi Ci a> 05 05 05 Oi 05 05 00 00 i-l i-H GO CO 00 T-H 00 00 l-H 00 l-H 00 l-H OO T-H 82 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan, ■si o o o o o o o Wt) lO rH ai -* -* iO CO 00 t^ 1^ 1—1 CO lO <*'' Oi Oi Ol OS OS OS OS OS OS OS S^ % 1 "^ >o o o o o lO o o 1-1 a CO o CO G<« rH "O (>1 OS 00 CO o ^ CO ^ >o ■o CO »o o Tfl »o A S 1 "^ o o o o o o o o CO i (M ^ t^ CO »o s<> OS CO (M lO > «D «o CO CO CO b- CO CO CO CO & , ^ o o o o o o o iC (M € 00 Oi t^ o »o I-H (M ^ CO OS t> 00 t^ 00 !>• t^ l> 00 00 t^ o u a a 1 ^. U3 o o o o o ■o o OO T-l CO 00 s. CO 05 00 00 OS OS 00 OS OS 00 OQ ■s 1 "^ >o o o o o o o o t^ tx CO c^ -* CO ,_! o t^ kO 1—1 1—1 < CO o C5 OS OS OS OS 00 OS OS , ^ o o o o o o o »c 00 3 -t< o '^ o 00 o 1—1 rH CO c^ 05 05 Oi OS OS OS OS OS OS OS 6 o o o o o o o o »o CO c 00 TtH lO '^ CO o o kC OS 1— ( 1-5 00 05 OS OS OS OS OS 00 00 05 >, o o o o o o »o »c o CO ' 6 t^ -* t> >o (H -* OS 00 •o 00 00 00 00 00 OS OS t> t* 00 _; 1 ^• lO lO »o o o o »o o CO 5" ' Oi Ol 00 t> OS 1—1 00 o 1—1 00 -«) t^ t^ t- CO c^ 00 00 00 t^ t- X 1 ^• o »o o o o o o o 00 s ' . OS o 00 s CO lO CO lO t^ -* "O lO CO ■o 1 1 "^ o lO o o o o o o 00 t^ ^ CO o OS >c CO 00 -* o .a »c «5 '^^ >o '^ Tj< >c ^ lO >o iS fc> 1 '^ o o o o o o o o (M 1— I lO iQ o ■o -* •^ "O o o • : • • • ■ . ■ • a ^ s 3 a '^ « c3 a a , , c3 01 » ^ OS o t-( (M CO -* lO CO r^ 00 00 05 Ci Oi OS OS OS OS OS OS 00 00 00 00 1-H CO 00 00 00 1—1 00 1—1 00 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 83 to «c c^ CO I I I I I I >0 lO o 1— I CO -* O O O O 1-H "O lO kO >« o ^ o o I I 1 I 84 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. "a «o CO »-l (N Oi »o iC 05 CO CO . o o Oi Oi 1—1 o a -* -* -* CO CO -* CO CO CO -* ■<* s o «>. (M »o 05 CO CO CO a o -<1< 00 o ,_, » 1 CO 1-H ■<* t^ 1-1 01 IM Kov CO CM CO CO (N (M CO CO CO CO CO c ^ o CO o o ■o •c >C o •o oS i lO G (M G^ Ol 00 o T-l 05 'Stl o "i lO iO CO CO lO "O CO CO »o CO CO W t^ U5 »o 05 00 '^ eo T)< CO CO CO 9 (M T-l 00 O 00 (M 05 (M -* TJH T-l ?o «D lO CO >o CO o CO CO CO CO tH as O CO CO 05 CO 05 CO CO 1—1 3 1—1 t- t- (M 00 t^ Ol CO eo 05 00 CO »o »o CO »o o »o >o lO iC lO ^ oo o ^ 05 t^ CO t^ CO O 00 G^ OS (M 00 ^ -* lO (^^ 00 ^ ^ 00 Oi o iO Tj< ^ >o '^ ^ '^ „• oo CO CO o tH (M 00 Oi t- C<1 CO p. CO "O CO CO 1—1 •* >o >c »o '^ lO -< Tt* CO CO CO CO CO CO CO eo CO CO •g ^ >c CO >o o 1-1 (M CO Ol o ■o o CO CM l-H -* 1—1 CO UO CO o CO eo G<« (M (?< (M CO > t^ 05 CO Oi 1—1 o r-l 00 CO 1—1 lO l-H o c^ t^ t^ H . . • • • Oi o l-H <>< CO ^ >c CO t^ 00 00 05 05 05 Oi 05 Oi Oi OJ C5 00 1— 1 00 00 I— 1 OO 00 1-H 00 00 00 1—1 00 00 1—1 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 85 >5 « s 50 7-H 00 t^ ,-, 05 -<*l o> '"i* 00 »o a 00 tH CO t^ 1— ( ,_! -* CO CO OS CO ^ l> CO CO t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t> t> 1 « I— 1 B lO r^ 00 o o as iC 05 CO o CO u t- t>. CO t^ t^ t^ 00 00 t^ fi d s Tj^ 00 t^ o 00 00 iC CO cq -"H c^ § lO t^ 00 l— 1 00 o o CO CO CO lO >■ t> o CO t- CO t^ 00 GO 00 00 l>. ^ i t^ (M »o lO o t^ CO I— 1 t^ CO CM o o 00 »o o t^ CO Oi »c 00 CO CO ■^ r^ CO CO CO CO 00 CO 00 CO 00 t^ o h 1 50 o 1—1 t^ 00 '^ t- o CO o CO S2 o . t>. t^ t- 00 t~ 00 l>. (B s Tj< Oi CO 05 t- OS t:^ Oi CO I— 1 lO o ^ o Tt* o 05 cq OS OS • t^ t^ 00 t' ts CO 1— ( 1—1 CO 00 CO t~ 1-1 iH CO 00 3 00 o CO U3 -* 00 CO CO o OS 1—1 t^ t^ CO CO CO CO t- t> 00 t^ t^ aJ ^ CO CO OS T-i I-I >o CO CO 1—1 o 3 a> 1—1 >o 00 tH 00 00 t^ CO t^ iH 1-5 r> t^ CO CO t^ CO CO CO t- !>- t> >> 00 1—1 CO CO o 00 o US >o -* o d S CO t^ Oi o CO lO »c CO 1-1 00 t^ t> CO >o CO CO CO CO CO l> t^ CO ^ CO t- T-i >o QO >o I-I o CO 1-1 CO o, 00 '^ o ^ Ttf o oo GO CO CO lO < t- CO CO "O CO CO CO CO CO »• CO s o CO t^ tH TiH u:^ CO CO OS CO CO a lO t^ CO -* 1—1 t^ o >o 00 CO CO • 1^ !> t- CO CO t> CO 00 00 o. t- t^ 03 3 o 00 '^ 00 l> lO 05 »o t- 1—1 OS o '^ Oi CO ^ l> CO t^ >o CO 00 A Oi t- CO t^ t> o 00 GO t- 00 t> 1^ >. o c<> CO t^ GO 00 lO CO I-I GO o 3 Oi 00 c^ CO Q 00 CO CO t^ >o t^ c t^ CO t^ I> 00 t^ 00 t^ t^ 00 t^ >■» pi • • • • • • • • - . 00 00 Ol C5 Oi Oi Ci o 05 OS OS 00 00 I— 1 00 00 00 I-I 00 1—1 00 1—1 00 1—1 00 oo 86 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. o s 6 1 ^ -* >o l^ CO a> o o Oi 05 1—1 o lO »o «o ^ •o lO ^ -* o CO (^ c "0 < u 05 a l-H CO tH •o '^t^ -# "O cq CO CO <£> o o '^ "O '^ -* ^ CO CO G^ o >o 0 C s CO a a; 00 t^ o QO o^ o 1—1 05 1—1 o ^ ■* •o iCi ^^ o CO iCi l> CO (25 ^ '^ ^ o -^ -# CO o -# (rq CO OS |7■^ CO CO »o ■^ -Tfl '^ '^ CO CO CO T— 1 lO O S3 J3 CO s >o Ci o 05 CO CO (M Ol Oi 00 CO »o >o (M TjH lO ^ ■o CO ^ 00 g" ^ OJ ^ CD 3 CO t^ 00 CO ^ ^ ^ o (M o be ^ o ^ lO ^ '^ ^ -* '^ CO 00 < -* 00 ^ '^ CO '^ >o '^ o 00 o ^ CO 3 1-5 »o »o >o CO '^ lO >Ci iQ CO lO 1-1 T-l r" CO o t-- o 00 '^ 00 t- t- l~- o »o 'il "C •o ^o '^ "* -* o 1—1 i-s CO k. IM Oi ^ CO lO Ci CO ^ CO rH < »o 00 O CO CO lO lO CO o lO '* CO CO CO CO >o -* ^ »o »o •o o »o '^ S »o b t> o CO C5 "O t^ CO C5 CO 1—1 -^H 3 '^ CO lO o "O lO CO CO •o CO ^ J2 >o fM o ^ , ^ • • • • aa (H • ' a cS a; as o T-l (M CO -* uO CO t^ 00 oo 05 en as Oi o 05 Ci C5 Oi QO CO oo 00 00 CO QO 00 00 CO r-t T-H 1—1 I-l rH I— 1 T-l rH 1-1 '"• 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 87 ■5 o rH (N rH eo ^ >o C5 CN t^ s 10 I— ( OJ "* CO t^ >o CO CN •O rH a -* 0 tH (M^ CN 0 0 CO t)H_ eo__ r-H_ CN c^i ^'' ci Gf ci" cn" CN CN cT -* CO 00. r-l CO tH Tl* 0 t>. 00 CO CI r-l <^ 0 CO 5 CO 1—1 1—1 r-l r-i rH r-l rH rH C^ rH rH t^ 0 Ttl u » ^ eo 0 (O ^ ^ >o CO tH 05 r-l 00 C5 ■^ a t^ CM <£> kO 00 (N rH 05 V eo T— I T— 1 C<« G^ rH r-l CN rH (M (N rH CO o< 0 CO -M 05 '^ 05 -* rH >C t^ tH T(< TjH r-l t(< c<» 1 3 CN 05 05 0 0 (N CO lO >C t^ 0 CM ^ r-i i-H f (M t^ '^ 00 00 05 0 CO CO 00 0 CN 0 0 10 o- CO ^ rH 0 00 tH CO Tjl t> -* s '^ (M (M IM C^ (N r-l CN (N CN CN CN CO *^ 10 eo 0 iCi CO eo 00 00 eo t^ CO Q C» CO «■ >o t^ . >o t>. rH 00 (^ t> C3 CO tH I— 1 rH rH T-i rH r-l 00 eo IM CO rH CN 00 CO to CO ^ b « Oi CO T— 1 CN CN CO CN »o 10 -* eo CO 9 03 IM 1— 1 f— t rH r^ r-~{ rH r-l r-l rH rH kO '^ 1-5 , , . . . . . , . , . ^i" a , • • • • • • • • • • a> 3 1, ^ ^ ' ^ ^ I ^ ^ 'S cT 0" rH !N eo -* lO" CO t~- 00 aj 00 05 05 Oi C5 o> Oi Ci C5 C5 0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 P^ i-i rH rH 7-i rH rH rH r-l r-l rH 88 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. o ■3 3 GO 0 0 ^ >* -# CO CO "O 1 8 CO 10 00 CO OS CO tJ< CO 0 CM a Ci 00 «o 0 CO cq ^ OS t» ^ CO CO 0 CO lO 00 ^ 0 00 »o OS 00 CN CO iQ CO ■M »o 1— I th CO CO 0 t^ CM CO c % ^ «o tH iM rif (M eo 10 CO 10 »o Tj< 0 c 00 CO -* CO 00 lO t^ CO CO t^ JD ■o T-H Oi CO 00 00 t^ CN t^ CM 0 -* t^ G^ 0 Tt< ^ '^ eo 0 CO tH 0 c • •9 t> 10 CO CO (N eo tH 1-H ^ »c CO a r- ( 00 CO 1— ( 00 CO 0 -* OS CO t- CO CO iC o iC 3 t^ 00 I— 1 Tt< Th CO ■<*< 00 (M 00 0 3 < (M '^ th CO CO 0 CO CO -* CO ^ CM CO 00 1— ( OS 10 1^ CO 1-H OS -^ >. »o ?o o »o 00 OS 10 0 t^ 1: 3 1-5 0 T— 1 lO 10 tH (M '-' so ■>* 1-H ^ 0 c * 0 CO 10 CO c^ CO CO t^ 10 OS CO 2 tH xO t^ '^ CO 1-H t^ 0 CO CO t^ 3 >o T-H •t(< CO CO CO IM (M CO CO CO < * 00 Oi t^ 00 (M 0 t^ 00 00 1-H 0 ^ S T-l CO Oi CM 0 0 0 0 CO CO 1— 1 Tt< 10 1—1 CO ^ ^ (T^ CO ■^ U5 •^ * (M CO CO CO »— 1 CO CO CM CM eo CO ^ (M t^ CO t^ -* 00 lO eo ^ t^ t>. 0. <; CO 1-H (M 0 -Tt^ 1-H »o 1-H Co CO 1-H OS i-H 10 c<« (M CO •r-\ (M CO eo ^ CO b # to 0 CO 0 10 ^ 10 t^ (M 0 eo (S Th G^ c^ CI c- 0 0 CO uO 00 I-H •s T-( '^ r}< T-H 0 tH 1-H ^ CM eo CO |x< * >. 0 rH »o o fSi t^ 00 CO 1-H 00 0 0 1-H OS c 3! CO (M CO >c CO C CO * * as , , , , , o "^ ^ so "O CO 05 eo lO CO o • 00 >c eo o eo CO CO i7<« 1 tH (M rH 1 as !» 1—1 00 (N OS (N O t^ CO 1— 1 (N i-( 1-1 1 1-1 r-l 1—1 I— 1 1 1 1 1 ;zi a GO CO CO Tt< 00 >o t^ t^ t^ t^ «o T— 1 o CO 00 00 t^ t> (M CN 1 CO T-l CO 1 CO C^ O 1 1 1 u CO (N t^ t^ 1—1 o 1—1 00 Oi 00 a "O i-H o lO C5 Oi CO CO t^ o a z 1 (M 1—1 1-1 1 1—1 1-1 tH 1 a. 1 1 1 1 1 1 m CO CO CO c^ CO Tt< Oi r-l 'i* lO to CO 00 T-( '^ lO t>. lO (M (M o 3 1—1 CM 1 eo 1 1 C<1 < 1 1 1 1 1 00 1—1 CO eo lO Oi t^ 00 t^ iC t^ 1— 1 TjH CO 1-1 r-l 00 t- t^ CO 3 '^ 1 1 1—1 1 CO 1 1-1 1 1 00 1— 1 1 t-- o c^ t^ 1—1 o i>. CO CN '^ 6 «o CN o CM -* CO o T-< o> o c 3 T-H (N rH 1 1 1 1 T-l CN 1 >-» 1 1 1 1 1 1 eo ^ 00 CO r>- >o on t- eo CO O CO O ^ lO eo O -* ^ t^ -4 ^ o o CO OJ 00 ^ CO Oi o. T-( 1 CN 1—1 1 CN T-* 1 < 1 1 1 1 1 1 O iC CO ©fl '^ iC T-l o eo ^ Oi ^ ■* (M CM 1 1 1—1 1 CN T-i s 1 1 1 1 1 t^ t^ o CO CN OS 00 -* r-i t^ 03 O o 1—1 (M CO CO o o CO CO I— 1 T— 1 T— 1 1—1 CN T-l (N rH 1 b 1 1 1 1 CO (M 05 . o 00 Oi (M 1 tH (M tH 1 r-l 1 CN 1 CO § 1 1 1 i ■ ; & 05 o I— ( c^ CO '^ uo CO t->. 00 GO Oi 05 crs C3 Oi Oi OS 05 OJ 00 GO CO 00 00 GO 00 00 GO GO rH tH 1—1 1-1 1— ( tH r-l rH 90 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. CO 00 CM o 1-1 t^ 1-1 GO o o CD ^ o -* tH IN T-l uO CD Ol (>» CM CO 3 t^ CD ;. ■* "^ 00 !-<_ c^ -<*< lO C so" -* >o Tl?" (N CO CO c^ ^ OO" r-T •o lo lo "O »o CO ^ "O »o '^ »o C B >o cc »o <>» CO 00 CD o 00 o CM ^ t>. CO (M 1-1 o o OS CO CO (M '^ CO ^ o OS, •o •o. CM o 00 t^ ?? t> '*' >o" »o" '* CO CO lO »o tJh" '^f '^ « Is S OS 00 >o 1—1 OS OS CD -* 00 CD lO 00 (M tH CO c^ 1^ »o »o «5 »o c» lO (N (M c^ 1—1 1—1 1—1 CD >o 00 CO > o c;, CO o 1— ( o o_ >o OS OS, O -* ^ '* ^^ ^ co 1— 1 CD Be CO 1—1 CO CO 1-1 OS, CO OS, ^^ 1—1 CM ^ c^ ■* CO CO Th i-T CO CM CO CO CO (M CO t- lO o OS Tt< 00 t^ o OS >» CO l> o CO '^ o CO ^ o t^ CO 3 o_ Ol OS CO, CO 1— 1 OS o. o. CO ^^ l-B ^ co" co" co" CO 1—1 CM T)H '^ CO CO ?o CO CO o IM 00 o CD 00 CM o lU >o t^ 1—1 o t^ CO o CM o CD 00 n o t> t^ »o lO 00 o OS CM tH CD^ s i-s TjT CO CO '*" CO i-T CO CO -* '^ co' CO ^ o CO CO o 1—1 00 CO OS o >, »o GO 1—1 >o CO 00 I--. CO o CD CO o3 o (Jo •o" •o "0 lO' ^ ^^ ^^ lO "O" "O J3 00 o 1—1 CO o CO CO -* o o (M to 05 CO -* b o CO C3 S I> lo" co" l>^ ■o ^^ -* 00 lO CO >o" >» 00 CD OS 00 (N lO o kC CO OS o 0! (>? 1— I lO CO -* CD CN '^ OS OS CO 3 00 CO t^ ^ (M 00 OS ^ "^ CO CO a '* ""^ -:H co" »o rtT co" CO '* CO •<* fe b 1—1 xH TjH OS CO CO CD CO 1—1 ^ 1-1 o 1—1 lO lO uO OS OS Tt< o OS 1-1 p 1—1 05 OS o o T-l 00 OS "O -* o c C3 o '*" '^ »o '^ -* Go" co" '*" 1-5 ^ • • • • • • • • • • a Cj 0) klH .^ r. .^ ^ ^ ^ r. ^ r. ^ <^i OS o 1-i q 1-1 (M CO (M Tjl Co o (^ o o o (^ o o •O o o o o o o o o o o tH OS lO CO tJ4 00 CM lO o 05 CM 1 tH 1—1 1-1 1-1 1—1 CM 1— ( CM 1—1 ^ u O o o o <_, j-5 o o o o o •g C<1 o »o lO o o o o »o o o . o o »Ci •o o o o o •o o Ci »o Tt< >o '^ CO CO OS o o CO O. 1-1 r-l 1—1 -* 1—1 CM CO '^ ^ *; »o o •o »o lO o o to o o o CO CO c^ I> t^ 05 »o CM Tj< CO t^ 3 1-1 CO 1-1 tH 1-1 CO <-, lO o o o o Q o o o o >, o (N lO o o »o o »o o o o 3 o 1—1 CV ^ ;:^ CO o^ 00 00 c:^ 1— ( 1-1 1—1 o o o o ^ Q o >o <_, o o s kO o o o o o o t^ o lO kO 3 r-t o o o o: Tt< 00 t> t^ 00 o 1— 1 0-1 1—1 (M o o >o Utl to o o o o o o S o »o t^ t^ t^ "O o o o o o S Oi CO o "O '^ ^ t^ to CM 00 kC 1—1 1—1 1— ( c^ 1-1 CM (M 1-1 CM o o <_, lO o o o o o ^ o 'C lO »o o t- ^ lO o o o o kO a o ,—1 -# CO nn »o o 00 '^ o -* 1— 1 1—1 I— 1 1—1 1-C r-i 1—1 I-l T-l c^ lO o o o o o o o o o o ■g t^ ^o iO lO •o •o o o "O kC kO s to CO o o 00 1— ( o 05 CO kO o 1—1 1—1 1—1 (M T— 1 r-t CM 1-1 1—1 y-t CM >> s o lO o «o o o o to o to o ^ t^ CO ^ o CM "O ^ o >o kO J2 G^ 1—1 l— ' '—1 (M (M C<) CM 1—1 I— ( CM p^ b o lO >o o o o o J-, o o ko 3 o t^ CM »o o o o o lO ■o t^ CD t^ CD o (M o CO >o 00 (M t^ 1-5 (M c<» 1— 1 1-1 1— ( o^ 1—1 1—1 1-1 CM (M i • • • • 2 H E3 fH ' • • • • • * • Oi o 1—1 <» CO 'i* iC CO t^ 00 00 as o> Oi as 05 Ol 05 05 Oi 1—1 CO T-l 00 1—1 CO 1—1 oo 1-1 00 1—1 00 1—1 00 1-1 00 1-1 00 92 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. ^ *« s '^ -a 3 «o -# h- -* t~ t^ CO 1—1 CO 00 t^ t>. »o CO 00 CO o> t- CO «> c 1 ?o o 3? (?1 ^ iCi CT> Oi OJ o t- t^ lO CO ■o CO ^ ^ t^ 1 a ■* ^ ?o t- CO o CO lO CO !25 U M o t>. ^ o 00 lO CO 05 00 05 >o -* »o CO T*4 kO "* -* -* Cj ^ £ a '^ (M 00 CO -<*< 1-1 eo C<1 CO 00 "* CO . ^ CO o eo 1— ( CO W5 CM CO 00 CO »o lO iC -<1 9 »c eo O 00 l-H rH o T-l 05 CT> '^ ■<*< CO ^ o ■<1< ■>j< ^ ^ UO a ^ «5 «o -^ o Tj< CO eo ^ & (M t^ CO CO o tH t^ 1-1 CO o 1 -<*< iCi -* lO l> >iO CO c^ CO CO d CO 00 CO 00 o CO »c o >o ^ >c. ^ lO >o t^ »o '^ CO »o ^ jj 2 oo I>1 CO rl< iH 00 eo (N Ol CO »o >o '^ CO CO M< CO CO "0 »o & s) Oi 05 (M 00 CO «^ 1—1 o >o CO CO "d "O -* CO CO t^ tr- Tt< "O 5 \H b S Ol '^ t- CO 05 CO 1— 1 ie 1— ( 1^ 3 t^ «>. •o Tj* Tl< CO »o lO CO CO a C9 e2 • . • . • • . • • <) , , p . « , ^ „ u w • • • • • oT g rH ©4" CO TtT »o CO t>r 00 00 Ci 05 05 05 05 OS 05 Oi 00 I— ( 00 I—I 00 00 00 1— 1 00 r-l 00 1— ( 00 00 00 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 93 8 o •-.b i§^" rH eo t^ •^ flO •o t>. G ■* t- o CO l-H t^ 00 (M QO 00 05 T-H l-H o l-H o tH l-H l-H CO l-H o r-t i> u ■» B o^ o OJ 1— 1 c^ 00 CO »o Oi 00 t» >o T— * -* l-H o -* G> CN iH CO c^ Gr T-T CO t>r o c^ 1—1 1-H l-H 01 l-H IM ph >J >-, >-, ►> t*^ p>-, >% i^ fc^ 1— 1 3 03 eS OS C3 CS rt OS c3 o3 Ph S g ;^ 1^ k-H ^ ^ ^ ^ < a^ III O kO iM »o CO "O o o 00 lO CD eo •<* (M -^ l-H l-H '^ (M OS HSc C-> -ki > >• t> > • t* > > o o o o o o o o ^ o O ;z; ^ ;^ ;^ o ^ ^ ;2i ^ of CO »o o" tH ci CO t>r t^ to l-H (>» I— ( c^ a ^ . 1 J , 1 ^ ^ 1 1 , X •c ;-l >^ t-l U Ih IH u •c !-i 5 P^ p^ a, cu p. Ph Ph Ph Ph <5 ^ ^ < -< <1 <5 <5 <5 <1 K ' • -e w f« . . . ctT cT 1-H o^ CO -*" •o to r>r 00 g 05 as as OS OS OS OS CO I— 1 CO GO l-H CO l-H 00 l-H 00 I-H 00 l-H I-H 94 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Summary for the Ten Years 1889-98. Barometer {Pressure in Inches). Maximum, reduced to freezing, Feb. 26, 1889, 11 a.m Minimum, reduced to freezing, Feb. 8, 1895, 7 a.m., Maximum, reduced to freezing and sea level, Feb. 26, 11 A.M., .... Minimum, reduced to freezing and sea level, Feb. 8, 7 A.M., .... Mean, Total range. Greatest annual range, 1895, Least annual range, 1892, . Mean annual range, . Greatest monthly range, January, 1891, Least monthly range, July, 1895, Mean monthly range, .... Air Temx>cratnre {in. Degrees F, Highest, July 20, 1894, 5 p.m., Lowest, Feb. 3, 1898, 6 a.m.. Mean, Total range, Greatest annual range, 1898, Least annual range, 1891, . Mean annual range, . Greatest monthly range, February, 1898, Least monthly range, July, 1897, Mean monthly range, .... Greatest daily range, Feb. 18, 1892, . Least daily range, April 5, 1898, Mean daily range, .... 1889, 1895, 30.650 28.240 30.970 28.560 30.029 2.410 2.270 1.650 1.920 1.930 .510 1.090 98.000 -19.000 47.100 117.000 115.500 100.000 107.000 73.000 36.000 54.900 52.500 2.500 22.100 Humiditij. Mean dew point, 40.200 Mean force of vapor, .430 Mean relative humidity, 73.600 I'7-ecipiiatioti (in Tncfies) Total rain or melted snow, . Total snowfall, .... Greatest annual precipitation, 1897, Least annual precipitation, 1894, Mean annual precipitation. Greatest monthly precipitation, July, 1897, Least monthly precipitation, October, 1892, Mean monthly precipitation, 460.000 539.300 57.050 32.640 46.000 14.510 .660 3.830 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 95 Greatest in twenty-four hours, July 12-13, 1897, . . . 6.650 Greatest in one hour, July 30, 1898, 1.500 Unusual rains : 1889, June 15, 2.10 inches in four hours ; 1896, July 7, 1.10 inches in thirty minutes; 1897, June 9, 4.08 inches in twenty hours ; July 13-14, 8 inches in forty-four hours ; 1898, July 30, 2.65 inches in two hours ; September 10, .95 inch in twenty minutes. Number of days on which .01 inch or more rain or melted snow fell, . . . .1,241.000 Wind (m Miles). Total movement, .... Greatest annual movement, 1896, Least annual movement, 1894, . Mean annual movement, . ... Greatest monthly movement, March, 1896, Least monthly movement, July, 1894, Mean monthly movement, . Greatest daily movement, Nov. 27, 1898, Least daily movement, Sept. 29, 1894, and March 7, 1895 Mean daily movement, Maximum pressure per square foot, 43 pounds, =z 93 i per hour, Sept. 11, 1895, 3 p.m. 515,638 59,198 36,257 51,566 8,182 1,109 4,297 675 141 iches Weather. Mean cloudiness observed, 52.40 per cent. Total cloudiness by the sun thermometer, . 22,400 z= 50.30 per cent. Number hours bright sunshine recorded, . 22,120 =z 49.70 per cent. Number of clear days, 1,143 Number of fair days, 1,065 Number of cloudy days, 1,444 Gales of 75 or more miles per hour : 1889, Dec. 26, 76, N.W. ; 1893, Aug. 29, 87, S.W. ; 1895, Sept. 11, 93, N.E. ; 1898, Sept. 7, 78, S.W. ; Dec. 4, 75, E.S.E. 96 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. REPORT OF THE HORTICULTURIST. SAMUEL T. MATNARD. The lines of experimentation carried on by this division have been kept strictly within the limits of practical horti- culture, devoting especial attention to the growth of common fruit and garden crops, and their protection from insect and fungous pests. New varieties of fruits, vegetables, ornamental trees, shrubs and plants of promise have been obtained and tested under varying conditions, and many new seedlings produced. For the work of testing varieties a large collection of standard varieties from different sections of the country have been obtained, that, when a new variety is to be tested, careful comparison may be made under conditions where the exact value of standard varieties is known. As far as possible, new varieties are grown under many varying conditions, and very careful inquiry is made of their behavior in many localities. Previous reports have given the number of varieties of the different kinds of fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc., under ex- periment, to which have been added the following number of new varieties the past season : apples, four ; pears, five ; plums (domestic), three; plums (Japanese), seven; plums (American), seven; peaches, five; quinces, two; cherries, four ; grapes, four, besides numerous seedlings ; blackber- ries, three ; red raspberries, two, and a large collection of seedlings ; strawberries, twenty, and many seedlings ; chest- nuts (Japanese, Spanish and native varieties), eight; walnuts (species and varieties), six; several new hardy ornamental trees, shrubs and plants, and many new varieties of ornamental plants for the greenhouse and summer out- door decoration. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 97 Immediate results are constantly called for in the case of widely advertised new varieties, but such results can be ob- tained only under a series of seasons and varying conditions of growth. This work of testing varieties is begun at once upon introduction, and is hastened by all possible means. The experiments under way, in addition to the testing of varieties, are as follows : — 1. The girdling of the grape vine for profit. 2. Sprajnng fruit trees when in bloom, to change the bearing year. 3. Spraying peach trees during the winter with hme, to protect the flower buds from winter-kiUing. 4. The use of dilute copper sulfate in place of the ammoniacal carbonate of copper. 5. The testing of insecticides and fungicides. 6. The testing of spraying apparatus. 7. The use of clear kerosene and kerosene and water for the desti'uction of scale insects and aphides. 8. The protection of young fruit trees from mice. 9. Various kinds of grafting wax. 10. Various methods of grafting. 11. Whole roots and piece roots in apple root-grafting. 12. Different kinds of stocks for the pear. 13. Growing seedling fruit-tree stocks. 14. The use of hydrocyanic acid gas for the destruction of in- sects under glass. 15. Turf culture v. cultivation in growing apples. 16. Amount and kinds of fertilizers needed for best growth of fruits. 17. Green manuring for orchards. 18. Comparative hardiness of varieties of Japanese plums. 19. Growth of lettuce under glass. 20. Growth of tomatoes under glass. Assistance has been given many horticulturists by visiting their places or answering inquiries by letter, which takes a large share of the time of the head of the division. Assist- ance has also been given in many places in planning orna- mental planting of home and public grounds. 98 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. KEPOKT OF THE E:N^T0M0L0GIST. CHARLES H. FERNALD. Since my last report the entomological work of the station has proceeded along its usual lines. A large amount of cor- respondence has been carried on, and many letters of inquiry from residents of this State have been answered. Believing, however, that the opportunities afforded by this division of the experiment station were either not known of by many, or that the way in which to make use of them was not under- stood, the following note on the work was prepared : — Free Aid for the People. Prevention of Loss by Injurious Insects. The attacks of injurious insects probably cause the loss of seve- ral millions of dollars in Massachusetts alone each year. This has not always been the case, but insects are becoming more abundant and consequently more destructive. Much of this destruction, however, could be either in part or wholly prevented if the proper methods of treatment were made use of, and that this is not more frequently done is very unfortunate. It is probable that the reason for the apparent negligence in this regard is due to ignorance as to what the insect is in each particular case, and what to do to prevent its ravages. It is this very uncertainty which results in nothing being done in most cases. In order to provide this information for residents of the State, the entomological division of the Hatch Experiment Station at Amherst offers its services without charge to all who may desire them. To obtain this assistance, write to the entomologist, Hatch Experiment Station at Amherst, Mass., describing the trouble, and also, if possible, send samples of the injury and the insect causing it, and attention will at once be given to the matter. As the Hatch Experiment Station of Massachusetts is supported in part by State appropriation, such a use of its facilities by the 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 99 people of the State is not only justifiable but most desirable, for it was established for just that purpose; and no one who incurs loss by insect ravages can excuse himself for that loss except on the ground of ignorance that such assistance can be obtained. Over eight hundred of these circulars were sent out to the newspapers, granges and other organizations of the State, with the request that the facts contained therein be given the greatest publicity. As these slips were not circulated till December, 1899, it is not possible to ascertain the results, but a considerable increase in the already large correspond- ence is anticipated during the coming year. Last June my assistant, Mr. R. A. Cooley, was appointed professor of zoology and entomology at the Montana State College. Mr. Cooley is a careful and thorough investigator, and proved himself a very efficient and valuable assistant to me. The loss of his services rendered necessary the appoint- ment of some one to take his place. As it was advisable for many reasons to obtain a man of large experience, Dr. H. T. Fernald of Pennsylvania, for nine years professor of zoology and entomology at the Pennsylvania State College, and for the past two years State entomologist of Pennsylvania, was elected associate entomologist, to take the place made vacant by the resignation of Mr. Cooley. The San Jose Scale. The San Jose scale is now known to occur in injurious abundance at more than thirty different places in Massachu- setts,— in fact, it may be said to be generally distrilnited over the State. It has probably been introduced from several other States, as there is nothing except the objections of purchasers to prevent its being brought in on every plant purchased. Its presence, however, and the serious destruc- tion it causes, have led a number of States to pass laws excluding all stock from outside their borders unless accom- panied by an authorized certificate that the stock had been inspected and no scale found. This action was most incon- venient for Massachusetts nurserymen, who were often thus prevented from tilling orders to go to States having such laws. To meet this difficulty, the committee of the trustees 100 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. of the college, in charge of the experiment station, author- ized the entomological division of the station to inspect nur- series when requested to do so by their owners, and to give authorized certificates where no scale is found, charging for this work only the actual expenses incurred. This action was not a required one, and was taken solely for the purpose of accommodating nurserymen, many of whom have already shown their appreciation of the arrangement and have availed themselves of the opportunity thus afforded them. Bulletin on Chionaspis. On the 10th of August, 1899, the work of Mr. R. A. Cooley on the different species of Chionaspis and Hemi- chionaspis was published in a special bulletin of the station. This bulletin, treating of many of the important scale insects which have recently attracted so much attention because of the injury they do to fruit and other trees, was fully illus- trated, and has received high commendation not only in this country but also in Europe. The Grass Thrips. Studies on the grass thrips have been continued during the year by Mr. W. E. Hinds, one of the senior students, with most satisfactory results, and are published as an appendix to the college catalogue. As these studies are largely tech- nical, such of the facts as have an economic bearing will also be published in a bulletin for the use of the farmers of the State. The Clover-head Beetle. Work on the clover-head beetle {PJiytojiomus nigrirostris) has been continued during the year by Mr. C. M. Walker, and the results are nearly ready for publication. Its life history has been nearly completed, and the best methods of treatment are being investigated. This work will be pub- lished as soon as completed. Raupenleim. This substance, which is of such value for banding trees liable to the attacks of the canker worms, tussock moth, etc., has heretofore been manufactured by a secret process in Ger- 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 101 many. During the past year the chemist of the Gypsy Moth Commission, Mr. F. J. Smith, made experiments at the chemical laboratory of the insectary, to determine its com- position. These experiments proved very successful, and in consequence raupenleim can now be manufactured in this country at a low cost. This one discovery has been esti- mated as worth half a million of dollars to the farmers and fruit growers of the United States. The Gypsy Moth. The work of exterminating the gypsy moth, with which I have been connected since 1891, has been carried on during the past year with marked success, and the insect has been reduced to such an extent over almost the entire territory that one who has kept in close touch with the field work for several years past cannot fail to be impressed by the great gain that has been made towards the extermination of this pest. There is no longer any question, in the minds of those who have made a careful personal investigation of the work throughout the infested territory, that the gypsy moth can be exterminated. Nearly all of the prominent economic en- tomologists of this country have inspected the w'ork with great care, and have become fully convinced that extermina- tion is possible, if the Legislature each year promptly grants the full appropriation asked for this purpose by the gypsy moth committee. The entire responsibility now rests with the Legislature. The BROWi!^-TArL Moth. This insect has now become widely distributed in the east- ern part of this State, and even extends into New Hamp- shire ; it is therefore believed to be impossible to exterminate this j5est with any appropriations that the two States in which it now occurs would be likely to make. When attention was first called to this in.sect, in the spring of 1897, the matter -was laid before Governor Wolcott, who sent a message to the Legislature recommending an appropriation of $10,000 for the extermination of the pest, which then occurred only in a very limited area. It was believed that this amount 102 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. would be sufficient to stamp out the insect. The Legis- lature, however, refused to make any appropriation for this purpose, and the inevitable results foUov^ed. In consideration of the failure of the Legislature to pre- vent the spread of the brown-tail moth over the country, the gypsy moth committee have authorized me, with the assist- ance of those associated with me, to "collect such infor- mation, both in this country and Europe, in regard to the brown-tail moth, and make such experiments with the insect as may be useful to the committee in future dealing with the creature and necessary for the proper enlightenment of the public on the subject, with a view to publish the said infor- mation, if it may appear desirable." In accordance with this action of the gypsy moth commit- tee a large amount of time has already been spent on this work, but it is far from being completed, and it is impossible at present to say just when the work will be ready for pub- lication. MONOGEAPH OF THE PyRALID^. I have been engaged for many years in a critical study of the microlepidoptera of North America, and have already published several monographs on certain families of these insects. I am now at work on a monograph of the Pyralidaj, which will probably be ready for publication some time this year. The Card Catalogue. The card catalogue of insects now contains over forty thousand cards, and is continually growing in size, as con- stant additions are made to it from the new journals and other entomological publications as they are received. Only those insects occurring in North America have been catalogued in the past, but the literature of the scale insects (Coccidse) of all countries is now being added. This is rendered neces- sary, as these insects are being imported into our country from different parts of the world without restriction in any State except California, 1900,] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 103 KEPORT OF THE CHEMIST. DIVISION OF FOODS AND FEEDING. J. B. LINDSEY. Assistants : e. b. Holland, f. w. mobsman, b. k. jones, p. h. smith, jr. Part I. — Laboratory Work. Outline of Yeai^'^s WorTc. Part II. — Feeding Experiments and Dairy Studies. Part I. Extent or Chemical Work. The work of the chemical laboratory connected with this department has materially increased during the past year, notwithstanding the prolonged illness of Dr. Lindsey, which necessitated a temporary rearrangement of the staff, leaving the bulk of the analytical work to be carried on by two assistants. There have been sent in for examination 167 samples of water, 144 of milk, 193 of cream, 36 of pure and process butter, 25 of oleomargarine, 147 of feed stuffs and 52 of miscellaneous substances. In connection with experiments by this and other divisions of the station there have been analyzed 62 samples of milk, 54 of butter and 429 of fodders and feed stuffs. In addition to the above, 748 samples of commercial con- centrated feed stuffs have been collected under the provision 104 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. of the feed law, of which 736 samples have been tested, either individually or in composite. This makes a total of 2,045 substances analyzed during the year, as against 1,875 last year and 1,147 in the year previous. There have also been carried on for the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists investigations relative to the best methods for the determina- tion of starch, pentosans and galactan in agricultural products. Chaeacter of Chemical Work. Woier. — Sanitary examinations of water have been car- ried out, as in previous years, according to the Wanklyn process, to determine its general fitness for domestic pur- poses and for the use of live stock. Persons whose water supply is other than that of a city or town system should use every possible means to guard it against pollution arising from sinks, vaults and stables, or from the entrance of surface water and animal and vegetable matter. The latter, while not in itself highly injurious to health, is objectionable, as it favors the rapid propagation of bacteria and other micro-organisms. The detection of specific disease germs in water is, however, not a function of the chemist, but of the bacteriologist. Frequent cases of poisoning result from conducting drink- ing water through lead pipe, and such a practice cannot be too severely condemned, for the poison, once assimilated, is very difficult to remove from the system. At least five samples examined during the past year have shown its pres- ence. Soft w^aters as a rule have a much greater solvent action upon lead than hard waters. Wells and springs ought to be thoroughly cleaned at regular intervals. It is of great importance that the utmost care be exercised in taking the sample for analysis, otherwise the chemical ex- amination, conducted under the most careful and exacting conditions, is of little or no value. The quantity necessary is two to three quarts, collected in a thoroughly cleaned and well-rinsed glass bottle, stoppered with a new cork, over which is to be tied a clean piece of cotton cloth. An air space of about one inch should be left between cork and liquid, to allow for expansion. In case of pond water, the sample should be taken from below the surface, being care- 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 105 ful to avoid the surface scum and the sediment at the bottom. The chemist's report upon the character of the water must necessarily be a matter of judgment, based on the analysis and the information furnished by the party sending the sam- ple. Accurate replies to the following questions are neces- sary to a complete understanding of each case, and are for the interest of the person sending the water : — 1. Sources, whether from spring, stream, pond, reservoir or well. 2. Character of soil in which located. 3. Distance from any possible source of pollution, and charac- ter of the same. 4. Kind of pipe used for conducting the water. Ship samples at once by express, charges prepaid. In making the report of an analysis a printed form is used, which explains the results so as to be readily understood by any one. The examination of mineral or spring waters for which medicinal properties are claimed, or those intended for com- mercial purposes, does not fall within the scope of our duties. Milk. — The samples sent in show a wide variation both in solids and fat, a considerable number falling below the Massachusetts legal standard,* indicating a need on the part of certain milkmen and others of introducing better stock and disposing of inferior animals. In taking a sample for analysis, mix the entire milking by pouring three or four times from one vessel to another, and immediately fill a pint bottle. Mark each sample, stating kind of milk (whole, skim or buttermilk) and the tests de- sired, together with the name and address of the shipper ; the package to be marked '■^Immediate Delivery " and sent by express, prepaid. Samples sent from a considerable dis- tance should be treated with four drops of forty per cent, formaldehyde (obtained at any apothecary's), to insure the preservation of the sample. Cream. — Everything said in regard to the sampling and shipping of milk applies equally well to cream. * In the months of October, November, December, January, February and March, 13 per cent, solids and 3.7 per cent, fat are required, but during the remain- der of the year only 12 per cent, solids and 3 per cent. fat. 106 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Butter. — In connection with the feeding experiments con- ducted at the barn last season many samples of butter were analyzed, and very thorough examinations of the butter fat, both in regard to its chemical composition and physical prop- erties, were made. " Renovated " or " process " butter having become of con- siderable prominence in the market, a law was passed by the last Legislature forbidding its sale except when plainly marked, in one-half inch type, " Renovated butter." Several samples have been identified in this laboratory by means of a microscopical examination, general characteristics of the melted fat and curd, together with the Reichert number; and a much larger number of oleomargarines have been iden- tified by the same methods. Cattle Feeds. — The feed law passed by the State Legis- lature, which took effect in July, 1897, is apparently meeting with good success. The work is carried out by this depart- ment, the assistants making a semi-annual canvass of the State, taking samples of all the prominent concentrated feed stuffs. The samples so collected are carefully analyzed, and the results published in bulletins from time to time. The purpose of this work is to exclude poor and adulterated feeds, and to maintain products of a uniform grade. The effect of the law on the quality of cotton seed meal has been very marked. In the earlier collections inferior meals were common, but during the present season but few were found, and the average protein content is many per cent. hio;her. Low-o;rade wheat feeds and oat feeds of unknown manufacture still remain in the market, and probably will to some extent until a guarantee is required on all feeds and power given to enforce the same. Part II Feeding Experiments and Dairy Studies. An investigation was instituted last season to ascertain the effect produced on the quantity and quality of butter fat by feeding ground flax-seed meal containing thirty-six per cent, of oil, as compared with a normal linseed ration. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 107 Following this, a loDg series of feeding experiments was begun, tlie object being to demonstrate, if possible, the effect of each of the food components, protein, fat and carbohy- drates, as found in different feed stuffs, — linseed meal, glu- ten meal, cotton seed meal, etc., — upon the composition and physical characteristics of the resulting butter fat. In each case the experiment was compared with a standard ration supposed to be without special effect on the butter fat. It is evident that such a task involves a large amount of care- ful and long-continued work, but as soon as positive results are obtained they will be published. Digestion Experiments. Digestion experiments were conducted last winter and spring in the same careful manner as in previous years, using two or three sheep in each trial. The grains fed were oat feed. Parson's $6 feed, four lots of "Bourbon" distillers' grains (brands X., XX., XXX. and XXXX.), rye dis- tillers' grains, Cleveland flax meal and Chicago gluten meal. The digestion coefficients, together with complete data, will be reported at a later date. 108 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. KEPORT OF THE CHEMIST. DIVISION OF FERTILIZERS AND FERTILIZER MATERIALS. CHARLES A. GOESSMANN. Assistants: henri d. haskins, charles i. goessmann, samuel w. WILEY. Part I. — Report ou Official Inspection of Commercial Fertilizers. Part II. — Report on General Work in the Chemical Laboratory. Part I. — Peport on Official Inspection of Commercial Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals during the Season of 1899. CHARLES A. GOESSMANN. The total number of manufacturers, importers and dealers in commercial fertilizers and asi'icultural chemicals who have secured licenses during the past season is 67 ; of these, 38 have offices for the general distribution of their goods in Massachusetts, 10 in New York, 5 in Connecticut, 3 in Ver- mont, 3 in Rhode Island, 3 in Canada, 2 in Pennsylvania, 1 in Maine, 1 in New Jersey and 1 in Illinois, 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 109 Two hundred and ninety-one distinct brands of fertilizer, including chemicals, have been licensed in the State during the year. Three hundred and eighty-four samples of fertilizers have thus far been collected in the general markets by experienced assistants in the station. Three hundred and sixty-two samples were analyzed at the close of November, 1899, representing 289 distinct brands of fertilizer. These analyses were published in three bulle- tins of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College: No. 59, March; No. 62, July; and No. 63, November, 1899. The samples not already analyzed, together with others that may be collected before the first of May, 1900, will be examined with a view of being published in our spring bulletin. During the season the inspector has caused samples to be taken in the towns and villages distributed throughout the State, and representing each county within the Common- wealth. Wherever more than one sample of a given brand has been collected in different parts of the State, a composite sample has been made up of equal weights of the several samples, and an analysis made of the homogeneous mixt- ure. It is believed that an analysis of this nature more fairly represents the composition of the fertilizer than the analysis of any one sample. It has not always been possible to secure a complete list of the samples licensed in the State ; but as thorough a can- vass as possible is annually made, varying more or less the towns to be visited from year to year, as seems advisable to the inspector. The methods of sampling are those laid down by our State laws for the regulation of the trade in com- mercial fertilizers. For the readers' benefit the following abstract of the re- sults of our analyses are here inserted : — no HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. (a) Where three essential elements of plaut food were guaranteed :- Number with three elements equal to or above the highest guarantee, Number with two elements above the highest guarantee, . Number with one element above the highest guarantee, Number with three elements between the lowest and highest guarantee. Number with two elements between the lowest and highest guarantee, Number with one element between the lowest and highest guarantee. Number with two elements below the lowest guarantee, . . Number with one element below the lowest guarantee, . (It) Where two essential elements of plant food were guaranteed : — Number with two elements above the highest guarantee, , Number with one element above the highest guarantee. Number with two elements between the lowest and highest guarantee. Number with one element between the lowest and highest guarantee. Number with two elements below the lowest guarantee, . , Number with one element below the lowest guarantee, . . (c) Where one essential element of plant food was guaranteed : — Number above the highest guarantee Number l)etween lowest and highest guarantee Number below lowest guarantee, 7 32 20 27 2 18 10 16 10 A comparison of the above-stated results of our inspection with the results of 1898 shows, on the whole, a marked superiority in favor of the samples analyzed in 1899. Wherever a discrepancy has arisen between the results of our analyses and the manufacturer's guarantee, it has been evident that imperfect mixing has been the cause, and not a desire of the manufacturer to place inferior goods on the market. It should be remembered, when purchasing fer- tilizers, that the responsibility of the manufacturer or dealer ends with furnishing an article corresponding in its composi- tion with the lowest stated guarantee of each of the three essential elements of plant food. From a careful scrutiny of the results of analyses published in the three bulletins during the year it becomes an easy mat- ter for the farmer to intelligently select his fertilizers for the next year's consumption, always bearing in mind that the fertilizer costing the least per ton is not always the most 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. Ill economical fertilizer to buy, but rather the one that will fur- nish the greatest amount of nitrogen, potassium oxide and phosphoric acid, in a suitable and available form, for the same money. Trade Values of Fertilizing Ingredients in Raio Materials and Chemicals, 1898 and 1899 {Cents per Pound). 1898. 1899. Nitrogen in ammonia salts, Nitrogen iu nitrates, Organic nitrogen in dry and fine ground fisli, meat, blood and in high grade fertilizers. Organic nitrogen in iine bone and tankage, Organic nitrogen iu medium bone and tankage Phosphoric acid soluble in water, Phosphoric acid soluble in ammonium citrate Phosphoric acid in flne-ground fish, bone and tankage. Phosphoric acid in cotton-seed meal, castor pomace and wood ashes, Phosphoric acid in coarse fish, bone and tankage, .... Phosphoric acid insoluble (in water and in ammonium citrate) in mixed fertilizers. Potash as sulfate (free from chlorides), Potash as muriate 14.00 13.00 U.OO 13.50 10.00 4.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.50 2.00 5.00 4.25 15.00 12.50 14.00 14.00 10.00 4.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 2.00 2.00 5.00 4.25 The cost of some of the leading forms of nitrogen shows an increase, as compared with the preceding year, 1898. The above trade values are based on the market cost, during the six months preceding March, 1899, of standard raw materials which are largely used in the manufacture of compound fertilizers found in our markets is a list of such materials : — The following Sulfate of ammonia. Azotine. Cotton-seed meal. Linseed meal. Bone and tankage. Dissolved bones. Acid phosphate. High-grade sulfate of potash. Sulfate of potash and magnesia. Sylvinite. Nitrate of soda. Dried blood. Castor pomace. Dry ground fish. Dry ground meat. Ground phosphate rock. Refuse bone-black. Muriate of potash. Kainite. Crude saltpetre. 112 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. How to use the table of trade values in calculating the ap- proximate value of a fertilizer : Calculate the value of each of the three essential articles of plant food (nitrogen, phos- phoric acid and potassium oxide, including the different forms of each wherever different forms are recognized in the table) in one hundred pounds of the fertilizer, and multiply each product by twenty, to raise it to a ton basis. The sum of these values will give the total value of the fertilizer per ton at the principal places of distribution. An example will suffice to show how this calculation is made : — Analysis of Fertilizer {Pounds in One Hundred Pounds of Fertilizer) . Nitrogen, 4 Soluble phosphoric acid, 8 Reverted phosphoric acid, 4 Insoluble phosphoric acid, 2 Potassium oxide (as sulfate), 10 Value per One Hundred Pounds. Value per Two Thousand Pounds. Four pounds nitrogen, at 14 cents Eight pounds soluble phosphoric acid, at 4^ cents, . Four pounds reverted phosphoric acid, at 4 cents, Two pounds insoluble phosphoric acid, at 2 cents, . Ten pounds potassium oxide, at 5 cents $0.56x20 .36X20 .16x20 .04X20 .60X20 =$11.20 = 7.20 = 3.20 = .80 = 10.00 $32.40 The following table gives the average analysis of officially collected fertilizers for 1899 : — 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 113 1^0* t, 01 o to t- n o a. (N •p93inB.ienJC) ^ ■ra M^^ c< Og a 03 t=B ^S to ,_ ■* 00 to ?a •pano^ >o ' to ,^ ' (M ■* M ■* to o fi •paajnBjBno to to ' 1 ' 1 1 ' Q r-( -* fn •* o> o 'l' PLi <1 •pano^ »- o X5 to to P K t^ CO CO o Q t— o CO o o •paatjHBJBno 00 to ^ ' »J w » eo ^ 'O ;z; t- >o O •pano^ T)l 00 to ' ' n i-i M 00 A< •pa')j8A8y; I 1 , . , CO lO ■* e lO -* t- CO CO ■M o to a> Ol •ainisiopj - o O I-H o> o *- '-' l-H '-' CO r-( h4 • 0 « * H » H < Jl Q) ft. C3 o p. O ^ "O H £ C3 1 N .2 o /2 5 ■a "3 "a a ■a o a o □ O a a a O 0) •o 2 1 o o 1 o o _2 a •a o C3 > •a o 2 a S 2 01 so 1 •c 0 o cb H fl ^ o o g 0 CD w pi OQ 114 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. List of Manufacturers and Dealers who have secured Certificates for the Sale of Commercial Fertilizers in the State of Massachusetts during the Past Year {May 1, 1899, to May 1, 1900), and the Brands licensed by Each. The Armour Fertilizer Works, Chicago, III. : — Bone Meal. Bone and Blood. Ammoniated Bone and Potash. All Soluble. Bone, Blood and Potash. Grain Grower. Fruit and Root Crop Special. Wm. H. Abbott, Holyoke, Mass. : — Eagle Brand for Grass and Grain. Complete Tobacco Fertilizer. Animal Fertilizer. American Cotton Oil Co., New York, N. Y.: — Cotton-seed Meal. Cotton-hull Ashes. The American Jadoo Co. Pa.: — Jadoo Liquid. Philadelphia, Butchers' Rendering Co., Fall River, Mass. : — Bone and Tankage. Bartlett & Holmes, Springfield, Mass. : — Pure Ground Bone. Animal Fertilizer. Tankage. The East India Chemical Works (H. J. Baker &Bro., proprietors), New York, N. Y. : — Standard Un X Ld Fertilizer. Special Complete Strawberry Ma- nure. Special Complete Potato Manure. Special Complete Cabbage Manure. Special Complete Grass and Lawn. Complete Manure for General Use. Pure Ground Raw Bone. Castor Pomace. C. A. Bartlett, Worcester, Mass. : — Fine-ground Bone. Animal Fertilizer. Berkshire Mills Co., Bridgeport, Conn. :— Complete Fertilizer. Ammoniated Bone Phosphate. Hiram Blanchard, Eastport, Me. : — Fish, Bone and Potash, B Fish Scrap No. 2, /H^ B. Bowker Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass. : — Stockbridge Special Manures. Bowker's Hill and Drill Phosphate. Bowker's Farm and Garden Phos- phate. Bowker's Lawn and Garden Dress- ing. Bowker's Special Fertilizers. Bowker's Potatoes and Vegetables. Bowker's Fish and Potash, Square Brand. Bowker's Potato Phosphate. Bowker's Market-garden Manure. Bowker's Sure Crop Phosphate. Bowker's High-grade Fertilizer. Bowker's Bone and Wood Ash Fer- tilizer. Bowker's Essex County Fertilizer. Bowker's Ground Bone. Gloucester Fish and Potash. Nitrate of Soda. Dissolved Bone-black. Muriate of Potash. Sulfate of Potash. Dried Blood. Wood Ashes. William E. Brightman, Tiverton, R. I.: — Brightman's Potato and Root Ma- nure. Brightman's Phosphate. Brightman's Fish and Potash. Bradley Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass. : — Bradley's Dry Ground Fish. Bradley's Strawberry Manure. Bradley's English Lawn Fertilizer. Bradley's New Method Fertilizer. Bradley's Eclipse Phosphate. Bradley's Niagara Phosphate. Bradley's Columbian Fish and Pot- ash. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 115 Bradley Fertilizer Co. — Con. Bradley's Circle Brand Extra Fine- ground Bone with Potash. Bradley's X. L. Phosphate. Bradley's Potato Manure. Bradley's Potato Fertilizer. Bradle3-'s Complete Manures. Bradley's Fish and Potash. Bradley's Corn Phosphate. Bradley's Fine-ground Bone. Ammoniated Bone Phosphate. Break's Lawn and Garden Dressing. Dissolved Bone-black. Sulfate of Potash. Muriate of Potash. Nitrate of Soda. Kainite. Joseph Breck & Sons., Boston, Mass. : — Breck's Market-garden Manure. Daniel T. Church, Providence, R. I. (E. Wilcox, general agent) : — Church's B. Special Fertilizer. Church's C. Standard Fertilizer. Church's D. Fish and Potash. Clark's Cove Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass. : — Clark's Cove Bay State Fertilizer, G, G. Clark's Cove King Philip Guano. Clark's Cove White Oak Pure Ground Bone. Clark's Cove Bay State Potato Ma- nure. Clark's Cove Great Planet Manure. Clark's Cove Bay State Fertilizer. Fish and Potash. Potato Fertilizer High-grade Sulfate of Potash. Muriate of Potash. Nitrate of Soda. Cleveland Dryer Co., Boston, Mass. : — Cleveland Fertilizer Cleveland Potato Phosphate. Cleveland Superphosphate. Cleveland Grass Fertilizer. Cleveland Corn and Grain Phos- phate. E. Frank Coe Co., New York, N. Y. : — E. Frank Coe's High-grade Am- moniated Bone Superphosphate. E. Frank Coe's High-grade Potato Fertilizer. E. Frank Coe Co. — Con. E. Frank Coe's Bay State Phos- phate. E. Frank Coe's Fish Guano and Potash. E. Frank Coe's Gold Brand Excel- sior Guano. E. Frank Coe's Tobacco and Onion Fertilizer. E. Frank Coe's Vegetable and Vine Fertilizer. Crocker Fertilizer and Chemical Co., Buffalo, N.Y.: — Crocker's Vegetable Bone Super- phosphate. Crocker's Special Potato Manure. Crocker's General Crop Phosphate. Crocker's A. A. Complete Manure. Crocker's Potato, Hop and Tobacco Phosphate. Crocker's Ammoniated Wheat and Corn Phosphate. Crocker's New Rival Ammoniated Superphosphate. Crocker's New England Tobacco and Potato Grower. Cumberland Bone Phosphate Co., Bos- ton, Mass. : — Cumberland Phosphate. Cumberland Potato Fertilizer. Cumberland Concentrated Phos- phate. Cumberland Fertilizer. Chas. M. Cox & Co , Boston, Mass. : — Cotton-seed Meal. L B. Darling Fertilizer Co., Pawtucket, R.I.: — Potato and Root Crop. Animal Fertilizer. Blood, Bone and Potash. Fine Bone, Tolmcco Grower. Special Formula. Nitrate of Soda. Muriate of Potash. Farm Favorite. John C. Dow & Co., Boston, Mass. : — Pure Ground Bone. Eastern Chemical Co., Boston, Mass. : — Imperial Liquid Plant Food. Imperial Liquid Grass Fertilizer. 116 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Elbert & Gardner, New York, N. Y. : — Cotton-seed Meal. Wm. E. Fyfe & Co., Clinton, Mass. : — Canada Wood Ashes. T. H. Frowley, Brookline, Mass. : — Wood Ashes. Great Eastern Fertilizer Co., Rutland, Vt.: — Garden Special. Vegetable, Vine and Tobacco. Northern Corn Special. General Fertilizer. Grass and Oats. Thomas Hersom & Co., New Bedford, Mass. : — Bone Meal. Meat and Bone. F. E. Hancock, Walkerton, Ont., Can. : — Canada Unleached Hardwood Ashes. Thomas Kirley, South Hadley Falls, Mass. : — Pride of the Valley. Lowell Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass. : — Swift's Lowell Bone Fertilizer. Swift's Lowell Animal Brand. Swift's Lowell Potato Phosphate. Swift's Lowell Market Garden Ma- nure. Swift's Lowell Fruit and Vine. Swift's Lowell Lawn Dressing. Swift's Lowell Tobacco Manure. Swift's Lowell Ground Bone. Swift's Dissolved Bone and Potash. Lister's Agricultural Chemical Works, Newark, N. J. : — Lister's Success Fertilizer. Lister's Special Potato Fertilizer. Lister's Celebrated Onion Fertilizer. Lister's Special Tobacco Fertilizer. Lister's High-grade Special for Spring Crops. Lowe Bros. & Co., Fitchburg, Mass. : — Tankage. F. R. Lalor, Dunnville, Ontario, Can. : — Canada Hardwood Ashes. The Mapes Formula and Peruvian Guano Co.,New York, N. Y.: — Mapes Bone Manures. Mapes Superphosphates. Mapes Special Crop Manures. Economical Potato Manure. Tobacco Ash Constituents. Sulfate of Potash. Sulfate of Ammonia. Nitrate of Soda. Double Manure Salt. Geo. L. Munroe, Oswego, N. Y. : — Pure Canada Unleached Wood Ashes. McQuadeBros., West Auburn, Mass. : — Fine-ground Bone. E. McGarvey & Co., London, Ontario, Can. : — Unleached Hardwood Ashes. Niagara Fertilizer Works, Buffalo, N. Y.: — Niagara Wheat and Corn Producer. Niagara Potato, Tobacco and Hop Fertilizer. Pacific Guano Co., Boston, Mass. : — High-grade General Fertilizer. Soluble Pacific Guano. Potato Special. Nobsque Guano. Grass and Grain Fertilizer. Pacific Guano with ten per cent. Potash. Fish and Potash. Special Potato Manure. Packers Union Fertilizer Co., New York, N. Y. : — Animal Corn Fertilizer. Potato Manure. Universal Fertilizer. Wheat, Oats and Clover. Gardeners' Complete Manure. A. W. Perkins & Co., Rutland, Vt. : — Plantene. Parmenter & Polsey Fertilizer Co., Peabody, Mass. : — Special Strawberry Brand Fertil- izer. Plymouth Rock Brand. Special Potato Fertilizer. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 117 Parmenter & Polsey Fertilizer Co. — Con. P. & P. Potato Fertilizer. Star Brand Superphosphate. A. A. Brand. Ground Bone. Muriate of Potash. Nitrate of Soda. Prentiss, Brooks & Co., Holyoke, Mass. : — Complete Manures. Superphosphate. Nitrate of Soda. Muriate of Potash. Sulfate of Potash. Quinnipiac Co., Boston, Mass. : — Quinnipiac Onion Manure. Quinnipiac Havana Tobacco Fertili- zer. Quinnipiac Dry Ground Fish. Quinnipiac Phosphate. Quinnipiac Potato Manure. Quinnipiac Market-garden Manure. Quinnipiac Fish and Potash. Quinnipiac Grass Fertilizer. Quinnipiac Corn Manure. Quinnipiac Potato Phosphate. Quinnipiac Climax Phosphate. Quinnipiac Pure Bone Meal. Dissolved Bone-black. Nitrate of Soda. Muriate of Potash. Sulfate of Potash. The Rogers & Hubbard Co., Middle- town, Conn. : — Hubbard's Pure Raw Knuckle Bone Flour. Hubbard's Strictly Pure Fine Bone. Hubbard's Potato Phosphate. Hubbard's Fertilizer for All Soils and All Crops. Hubbard's Fertilizer for Oats and Top-dressing. Hubbard's Soluble Potato Manure. Hubbard's Soluble Tobacco Ma- nure. Hubbard's Fairchild's Formula for Corn and General Crops. Hubbard's Grass and Grain Fer- tilizer. N. Roy & Son, South Attleborough, Mass. : — Complete Animal Fertilizer. Russia Cement Co., Gloucester,Mass. : — Essex Fish and Potash. j;ssex Potato Fertilizer. Essex Corn Fertilizer. Essex Complete Manure for Corn, Grain and Grass. Essex Complete Manure for Potato, Roots and Vegetables. Essex Odorless Lawn Dressing. Essex Dry Ground Fish. Read Fertilizer Co., New York, N. Y. (D. H. Foster, general agent) : — Read's Standard. Practical Potato Special. Bone, Fish and Potash. Vegetable and Vine. Lucien Sanderson, New Haven, Conn. : — Sanderson's Old Reliable. Sanderson's Potato Manure. Sanderson's Formula A. Sanderson's Blood, Bone and Meat. Sanderson's Nitrate of Soda. Sanderson's Dissolved Bone-black. Sanderson's Sulfate of Potash. Sanderson's Muriate of Potash. Standard FertilizerCo., Boston, Mass. : — Standard Fertilizer. Standard Special for Potatoes. Standard Guano. Standard Complete Manure. M. L. Shoemaker & Co., Limited, Phila- delphia, Pa. : — Swift Sure Superphosphate for Gen- eral Use. F. C. Sturtevant, Hartford, Conn. : — Sturtevant's (Jranulated Tobacco and Sulphur. Edward H. Smith, Northborough, Mass. : — Smith's Ground Bone. Thomas L. Stetson, Randolph, Mass. : — Ground Bone. The South Sea Guano Co., Boston, Mass. : — South Sea Guano. E. A.Tompkins, Jamaica Plain, Mass. : — Ferti Flora. 118 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. Henry F. Tucker Co., Boston, Mass. : — Tucker's Original Bay State Bone Superphosphate. Tucker's Imperial Bone Superphos- phate. Tucker's Special Potato Fertilizer. Tucker's Bay State Special. I. S. Whittemore, Wayland, Mass. : — Complete Manure. Darius Whithed, Lowell, Mass. : — Champion Animal Fertilizer. Flour of Bone. The Wilcox Fertilizer Works, Mystic, Conn. : — Potato, Onion and Tobacco Manure. High-grade Fish and Potash. Dry Ground Fish Guano. Fish and Potash. Williams & Clark Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass.: — Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate. Prolific Crop Producer. Potato Phosphate. High-grade Special. Royal Bone Phosphate. Corn Phosphate. Williams & Clark Fertilizer Co. — Con. Potato Manure. Grass Manure. Fish and Potash. Onion Manure. Bone Meal. Dry Ground Fish. Muriate of Potash. Sulfate of Potash. ■ Nitrate of Soda. Dissolved Bone-black. M. E. Wheeler & Co., Rutland, Vt. : — Superior Truck Fertilizer. Havana Tobacco Fertilizer. Potato Manure. Corn Fertilizer. Fruit Fertilizer. Royal Wheat Grower. Grass and Oats. A. L. Warren, Northborough, Mass. : — Fine-ground Bone. Sanford Winter, Brockton, Mass. : — Fine-ground Bone. J. M. Woodard & Brother, Greenfield, Mass. : — Tankage. 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 119 Part II. — Report on General Work in the Chemical Laboratory. CHARLES A. GOESSMANN. 1. Analyses of materials sent on for examination. 2. Notes on wood ashes and condition of the trade. 1. Analyses of Materials sent on for Examination. During the past season 225 materials have been received, and the results of our examination have been published in detail in bulletins 59, 62 and 63 of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, together with the results of the official inspection of commercial fer- tilizers. The responsibility of the genuineness of the articles sent on for examination rests in all cases with the parties asking for analyses, and our publication of results merely refers to the locality they come from. It is evident, from the increase each year of the number of materials sent in for analysis, that there is a growing interest taken in this work, and individuals are realizing the value of such chemical investigations. The waste products of many industries are of such a nature that their value as manurial substances is unlimited and the current modes of manufacture are constantly undergoing changes which affect seriously their commercial manurial value. A frequent investigation of this class of materials cannot help but prove beneficial to the farmer, and hence arrangements will be made, as in previous years, to attend to the examination of these materials to the full extent of our resources. This work is carried on free of charge to the farmers of this State, the results of analysis being returned in the order of the arrival of samples at the office. Below 120 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. is given a partial list of materials received during the past season, which shows the general nature of the work : — Wood ashes. Sulfate of potash. Muriate of potash. Nitrate of soda. Sulfate of ammonia. Acid phosphates. Sulfate of potash and mag- nesia. Ground bone. Complete fertilizers. Minerals. Liquid fertilizers. Soils. Dried pig's blood. Lime-kiln ashes. Glucose sugar refuse. Damaged grain. Insecticides. Composts. Refuse from glass factory. Cotton-seed meal. Cotton-hull ashes. Tankage. Wool shoddy. Jadoo fibre. Plaster. Forage crops. Soot. Spent bone-black. Brick-yard ashes. Slu(lo;e. These, together with other manurial products common to commercial and agricultural industries, are carefully inves- tigated, and the results of our examination are free to those who may desire such information. 2. Notes on Wood Ashes. This subject has engaged our attention for past seasons and has been discussed at length in previous reports. During the past year (1899) 24.4 per cent, of the mate- rials sent on for analysis consisted of wood ashes, as against 40.1 per cent, the previous year (1898). The wood ashes sold for manurial purposes in our State are subject to official inspection, and the dealers in this com- modity must secure a license to sell before they can legally advertise their article. The goods must be sold on a guar- anteed analysis, stating their percentages of potash and of phosphoric acid present, and this analysis must be fastened to each package or car that contains them. As the dealer is obliged only to guarantee the amount of potash and of phos- phoric acid present in the ashes, no objection can be raised regarding the amount of moisture, so long as the specified amount of those two elements is present. Wood ashes 1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 121 ought to be bought and sold by weight and not by measure, for both moisture and the general character of foreign mat- ters are apt to seriously affect the weight of a given volume. Ko. OF Samples. 1898. 1899. Moisture below 1 per cent, 2 Moisture from 1 to 3 per cent., 9 6 Moisture from 3 to 6 per cent., 6 4 Moisture from 6 to 10 per cent., 20 11 Moisture from 10 to 15 per cent., 22 28 Moisture from 15 to 20 per cent.. 16 7 Moisture from 20 to 30 per cent., 6 1 Moisture above 30 per cent, . _ 1 Potassium oxide above 8 per cent., 4 4 Potassium oxide from 7 to 8 per cent., 6 9 Potassium oxide from 6 to 7 per cent., 8 13 Potassium oxide from 5 to 6 per cent., 22 7 Potassium oxide from 4 to 5 per cent.. 25 19 Potassium oxide from 3 to 4 per cent, 11 2 Potassium oxide below 3 per cent., . 3 2 Phosphoric acid above 2 per cent., . 6 4 Phosphoric acid from 1 to 2 per cent., 60 43 Phosphoric acid below 1 per cent., . 13 10 Average per cent, of calcium oxide (lime). 33.60 34.10 Per cent, mineral matter insoluble in d luted hydrochloric acid : — Below 5, 1 — 6 to 10, 16 16 10 to 15, 31 26 15 to 20, 15 7 20 to 30, 13 5 Above 30, — 2 Cotton-hull Ashes. — This waste product is receiving in- creased attention from the farmers, and is an article of great merit. The samples received this year analyze from 21 to 29 per cent, of potash, and are especially adapted to tobacco growing on account of the large proportion of carbonate of potash present, this form of potash being the most valuable one known for that purpose. Sludge. — At the present time the larger cities are col- lecting all waste debris in reservoirs, and subjecting it to chemical treatment for recovery of fertilizing ingredients. This source of plant food is often within easy reach of the farmer, and may be turned to good advantage, as is seen 122 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 1900. from the average analysis : nitrogen, 1.31 per cent. ; potash, .16 per cent. ; phosphoric acid, .86 per cent. ; lime, 1.13 per cent. Hen Manure. — In this ingredient we have a very rich fertilizer and a material that is worthy of careful treatment. To save the nitrogen that otherwise might pass into the air a "fixer" is a necessity. Two samples received at the laboratory were analyzed, as follows : — SAMPLES. Nitrogen (Percent.). Potash (Per Cent.). Phosphoric Acid (Percent.). Sample I., . . . Sample 11., .46 .42 1.12 .43 .69 .63 No. I. was treated with kainite, a material analyzing on an average 16 per cent, potash, and a substance capable of fix- ing the ammonia, thereby saving this element and at the same time supplementing the manure in potash, — the ingre- dient which it is deficient in. This application of an am- monia fixer may be applied to all animal refuse products, and, as is seen, has a twofold action, — the saving of nitrogen and the supplementing of potash. Cotton-seed Meal. — This material still holds its own and is a recoo-nized standard article, a source of nitrogen soua^ht by tobacco growers. Its high standard has been maintained as in previous seasons. INDEX. FAOB Agricultnrist, report of, 9 Alternaria, 58 Ashes, cotton hull, 121 For grass land, 48 Wood, notes on, 120 Asparagus rust, relation between it and physical properties of soil, ... 61 Aster diseases 56 Bacterial cucumber wilt 57 Beets, fertilizers for, compared, 39 Bone and potash, for grass land, 48 Botanist, report of, 56 Brown-tail moth, 101 Butter 106 Cabbages, fertilizers for, compared, 39 Sulfate V. muriate of potash for 28 Carbonate of potash for potatoes, 31 Cattle feeds 106 Celery, fertilizers for, compared, 37 Chemist (fertilizers), report of, 108 Chemist (foods and feeding) , report of, 103 Chionaspis, 100 Chrysanthemum rust, • 59 Clover-head beetle, 100 Clover, yield on different fertilizers, 34 Coccidaj, literature of 102 Colletotrichum lagenarium 68 Corn, a better grain than wheat for laying hens, 55 Average yield for seven years on different fertilizers 26 Average yield for seven years on manure alone and on manure and potash, 22 Fertilizers for, compared with manure, 15 Fertilizer rich in potash for, 24 Field, sulfate v. muriate of potash for, 27 Large crop after continued manuring with muriate of potash and dissolved bone-black, 15 Muriate of potash beneficial after liming 14 Manure alone compared with manure and potash for, 21 Results of soil test before liming, . . • 12 Soil test with 10 Unfavorable effects of chlorides on, 13 Cream, samples for analysis, 105 Cucumber (bacterial wilt), 57 Digestion experiments, • 107 Dried blood as source of nitrogen, 33 Dried blood for garden crops 36 Eggs, number on different feeds, „ ... 52 Entomologist, report of, 98 124 INDEX. PAGE Fertilizers : Cotton-hull ashes, 121 Cotton-seed meal, . 122 Hen manure, 122 Sludge, 121 Wood ashes 120 Fertilizers, for corn, 11 For garden crops, 35 For millet, 25 " Special" for corn, compared with fertilizer richer in potash, ... 23 Fertilizers, list of licensed manufacturers and dealers, 114 Foods, cost of, for one dozen eggs, 54 For laying hens, 51 Garden crops, fertilizers for, 35 Geranium disease, 57 Grass land, manuring, 48 Grass, rotation of manures for, 48 Grass thrips, 100 Gypsy moth, 101 Hemichionaspis, 100 Hen manure, 122 Hens, weights of, on different feeds, 52 Horticulturist, report of, 96 Kainite for potatoes, 31 Legumes as nitrogen gatherers, 32 Lettuce, fertilizers for, compared, 38 Lime, favorable effect on corn after muriate of potash, 14 Manure and potash more profitable for corn than manure alone, ... 23 Manure alone v. manure and potash for corn, 21 Maple leaf blight, 58 Meteorologist, report of, 74 Meteorology, 75 Means of weather elements for ten years 76 Summary of means, 94 Milk, samples for analysis, 105 Millet, average yield on different fertilizers, 25 Moult, of hens, on different feeds, 55 Muriate of potash depletes the soil of lime, 20 Muriate of potash for potatoes, 31 Muriate of potash, unfavorable effects corrected by lime, 14 Muriate of potash, unfavorable effects of continued use, 13 Muskmelon diseases, 58 Nitrate of potash for potatoes, 31 Nitrate of soda as source of nitrogen, 33 Nitrate of soda for garden crops, 36 Nitrogen, different materials furnishing, compared, 32 Nitrogen gatherers, legumes as, 32 Oats, fertilizers for, compared with manure, 16 Onions, effects of different fertilizers on, 18 Effect of fertilizers on, in 1898 19 Effects of lime on, beneficial, 17 Fertilizers for, compared, 39 Muriate of potash injurious to, without lime, 19 Nitropen, sources of, for, 39 Soil test with, 16 Sulfate better than muriate of potash for, ....... 20 INDEX. 125 PAGB Phyllosticta acericola 58 Phjtonomus nigrirostris, 100 Plaster, corrects faulty condition8 resulting from use of muriate of potash, . 14 Potash salts, comparison of, for potatoes, 29 Potash, sulfate v. muriate, 25 Sulfate V. muriate for sugar beets, 26 Sulfate r. muriate for sweet corn, 26 Potatoes, different potash salts for, 29 Variety tests, 40 Yields of best varieties 47 Pot experiments, 10 Poultry experiments, 49 Poultry experiments, general conditions in 50 Pyralidse, monograph, 102 Ration, narrow v. wide, for egg production 50 Raupenleim 100 Rye, fertilizers for, compared with manure, 16 San Jos6 scale, 99 Silicate of potash for potatoes, 31 Sludge, 121 Soil tests, 10 Soy beans, fertilizers for, compared with manure, 16 Soy beans, sulfate ?'. muriate of potash for, 28 Spinach, fertilizers for, compared, 38 Squashes, fertilizers for, compared 40 Strawberries, fertilizers for, compared, 36 Sugar beets, sulfate v. muriate of potash for, 26 Sulfate compared with muriate of potash for garden crops, .... 36 Sulfate of ammonia as source of nitrogen, 33 Sulfate of ammonia for garden crops, 36 Sulfate of potash for potatoes, 31 Sulfate V. muriate of potash for cabbages, 28 Sulfate V. muriate of potash for field corn, 27 Sweet corn, sulfate v. muriate of potash for, 26 Tile experiments, 10 Trade values of fertilizing ingredients, HI How to use table of trade values, 112 Treasurer, report of, 7 Variety tests, potatoes, 40 Vegetation house and equipment, agricultural department, .... 9 Violets grown in sterilized soil, 59 Water, sanitary examination of, 104 l'1 ii! ml m