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Persons receiving this report by mail are requested
to return the postage.

T. S. GOLD, Secretary,
West Cornwall, Conn.

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State of Connecticut.

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

Sree eel ein.

OF THE

o% oy,
Brae Boar of A aviculines,

1883-84.

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BREW YORK
BOTANIC &

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Pa A iy a2 te *

Brinted by Order of the Aegislature.

HARTFORD, CONN.:
Tae Case, Lockwoop & BRAINARD Co., PRINTERS.
1884.

LIBRARY
STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. p40 \O8*

1883-84. GARDEN i

_ His ExceLnEncy THOMAS M. WALLER, ex officio.

APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR AND SENATE.

TERM EXPIRES.

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Mega EO LOW tari tc. eset! NOLWICH, fiir we vealed icy until ycr | hOOOs
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Seber ie ee), ewe. scab ate “COMM DIA. hs teh eet he a OBES
ELECTED BY THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
Hartford County, J. S. Kirxwam, Newington, 1884.
New Haven County, Levi E. Con, Meriden, 1885.
New London County, James A. Brit, Lyme, 1885.
Fairfield County, E. R. WHITTLESEY, Danbury, 1884.
Windham County, ALEX. WARNER, Pomfret, 1884,
Litchfield County, J. LERoy Buck, New Milford, 1884.
Middlesex County, J. M. Huspsarp, Middletown, 1885.
Tolland County, E. H. Hype, Stafford, 1885.

ELECTED BY THE BOARD.
T. 8. Gop, West Cornwall, Secretary.

OFFICIAL LIST:

Governor THomas M. WALLER, President.

J. P. Barstow, Norwich, Vice-President.
T. S. Goxp, West Cornwall, Secretary.
NatHan Hart, West Cornwall, Treasurer.
Prof. §. I. Smrru, New Haven, Entomologist.
Dr. E. H. JENKINS, New Haven, Botanist.

Prof. S. W. Jounson, New Haven, Chemist.

P. M. Aucur, Middlefield, Pomologist.

EH. H. Hype, T. 8. Gop, J. W. ALSOP,

Commissioners on Diseases of Domestic Animals.

JAMES A. BILL, J. M. Hupparp, ALEX, WARNER,
Auditors.

"ey
iy.

Uy

To the General Assembly of Connecticut :

In accordance with the provisions of the Act creating a
State Boarp OF AGRICULTURE, I have the honor to present
the Report for 1883-84.

T. S. GOLD, Secretary.

West CorNwWALL, January 9, 1884.

nee: @ vy

The Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Board
of Agriculture was held at Room No. 50, Capitol, Hartford,
Wednesday, January 10, 1883, at 10 a. m., Vice-President, J.
P. Barstow chairman.

The report of the Treasurer was read and accepted.

Messrs. Alsop, Day, and West were appointed a committee’
on credentials, and reported KE. H. Hyde as member elect for
Tolland County, J. M. Wulbard for Middlesex County, J. A.
Bill for New London County.

No certificate was presented of the reported election of a
successor to Mr. Webb from New Haven County, and on
motion of E. H. Hyde, the Secretary was directed to corres-
pond with the New Haven County Agricultural Society to
obtain certificate of member from that County.

Messrs. Alsop and Hubbard were appointed a committee to
wait on Governor Waller and invite his attendance.

The committee reported that Governor Waller had not
arrived in the city.

Officers were then chosen as follows, the Governor being
ex officio President:

Gov. Thomas M. Waller, President.

J. P. Barstow, Norwich, Vice-President.

T. S. Gold, West Cornwall, Secretary.

The report of the Treasurer was then read, referred to the
auditors, and on their approval-it was accepted.

N. Hart, West Cornwall, Treasurer.

Prof. 8. W. Johnson, New Haven, Chemist.

Dr. E. H. Jenkins, New Haven, Botanist.

Prof. S. I. Smith, New Haven, Entomologist.

P. M. Augur, Middlefield, Pomologist.

8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Commissioners on Diseases of Domestic Animals, E. H.
Hyde, T. S. Gold, J. W. Alsop.

Auditors, J. M. Hubbard, J. A. Bill, Alex. Warner.

E. H. Hyde, Trustee Storrs Agricultural School 1 year, T.
S. Gold, Member of Board of Control of Experiment Station
for 8 years from July, 1883.

Messrs. Gold and West were appointed a committee to
arrange time, place, and subject for winter meeting.

On motion of Mr. Day,

Resolved, That the Vice-President and Secretary arrange for visiting
Fairs by Delegates.

Resolved, That the Cattle Commissioners be authorized to employ
such veterinary assistance as may be necessary.

Resolved, That an appropriation of fifty dollars be paid to P. M.
Augur, Pomologist. ~

James R. Bill presented to the Board, from the editor, J.
Buckingham, volumes 1 and 2 of the Devon Herd Book.

On motion of E. H. Hyde, the Secretary was directed to
return the thanks of the Board to Mr. J. Buckingham for his
valuable present.

The Board then adjourned sine die.

T. S. GOLD, Secretary.

West CornwaL., Jan. 11, 1883.

A special meeting of the Board was held at the Scovill
House, Waterbury, December 18, 1883, at 8 p. m. Hon.
Albert Day, chairman.

The Secretary reported the death of the Treasurer, Mr.
Nathan Hart.

On motion of Mr. Kirkham, the Secretary was directed to
prepare appropriate resolutions to the memory of the late
Treasurer.

On motion of Mr. Bill,

Resolved, That the sum of one hundred dollars be paid to the widow
of the late Treasurer.

Resolved, That the sum of twenty-five dollars be paid to the Treasurer
of the Board, beginning at the annual meeting in January.

1884. ] SECRETARY’S REPORT. 9

Resolved, That the Secretary be Treasurer pro tem, till the annual
meeting.

The following resolutions reported by the Secretary were
passed by the Board.

Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Hart, the Board recognize their
serious loss in being deprived of the services of a faithful and efficient
officer.

Resolved, That we desire to present to the family of the deceased this
testimonial of our esteem, and the high consideration in which his ser-
vices have been held by us, as an expression of our sympathy with
them.

Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to furnish a copy of these
resolutions to the family of the deceased, and that they be entered on
the Records.

The meeting then adjourned to the call of the Secretary.

At a special meeting of the Board held at Waterbury,
December 21st, at 2 P. M.,

Resolved, That the annual meeting be held in Hartford, the second
Wednesday of the session of the General Assembly. -

Adjourned sine die.
T. S. GOLD, Secretary.

WINTER MEETING.

The Annual Farmers’ Convention, under the auspices of the
Board, was held at Waterbury, December 19, 20, and 21, 1883.
The attendance, even on the first day, notwithstanding the
inclement weather which prevailed, was quite large, and
increased at each session, and a very gratifying degree of
attention and interest was manifested in all the proceedings.

The opening meeting was called to order in the City Hall
at eleven o’clock on Wednesday, December 19th, by Mr. J. P.
Barstow of Norwich, Vice-President of the Board, who said:

GENTLEMEN :-—The hour having arrived at which this meet-
ing was called, the opening prayer will be offered by the Rev.
Dr. ANDERSON, of Waterbury.

PRAYER.

O God, who hast created all things, and dost uphold all things
by the word of thy power, we come before thee with rever-
ence, with thanksgivings, desiring to recognize *thy presence,
and to bow before thee as humble suppliants. We recognize
thy presence in the world around us, in the revolving seasons,
in the laws by which all things are governed. While paying
homage to those laws, we would think of thee, who art behind
them, and to whom they are the expression of thy purpose,
of thy goodness, of thy loving kindness. May they be to us
the expression of the divine goodness, of the divine wisdom,
and may we reverence thee in all the experiences of our
lives. We pray, O God, that we may yield ourselves to thy
guidance, and in all the affairs of life may we learn to ask
what wilt thou have us todo? We thank thee for the chang-
ing seasons, for summer and winter, for sunshine and storm.
We thank thee for the-fruits of the earth, for we know that

(1884. ] WINTER MEETING. 1i

all these things come of thy great plan, which embraces us
all. We recognize thy goodness, we look up to thee as our
father, and we pray, O God, that thy fatherly love may be
continually recognized by us, and that we may learn to live
as thy children

We pray, heavenly Father, that thy blessing may be upon
the Board of Agriculture of this State, and that thou wilt be
in the midst of this Convention which they have called
together, so that every word that is spoken may be spoken in
the right spirit ; that we may have wisdom, that we may have
the spirit of peace; that we may have the spirit of the
learner, desiring to know more and more of those great laws
by which all things are governed, and desiring to bless the
society in which thou hast placed us. While we prize these
gifts of the earth, may we consider that the thing to be prized
above all is human life, human society, human progress, and
erant that we may so codperate as to secure the progress of
this Commonwealth, and especially progress in the farm life
of this Commonwealth; so that the old foundations may
remain unmoved; so that the people of the country as well
as the cities may flourish like the grass of the earth; so that
if there be ‘“‘a handful of corn in the earth on the tops of the
mountains, the fruit thereof may shake like Lebanon.”

Our heavenly Father, wilt thou bless all those to whom are
intrusted the interests of this organization ; be with them in
all that they do; filltheir hearts with thy love and peace ; and
may this Convention be a blessing to this city, to those friends
who have come together, to our Commonwealth, and to this
land which we love.

Hear us, O God; forgive all our sins, and accept us as thy
children, for the Redeemer’s sake. Amen.

12 BOARD OF AGRICULTUREs [Jan.,

OPENING ADDRESS.
By J. P. Barstow.

Gentlemen of the Connecticut Farmers Institute:—I had hoped we
should have His Excellency Governor Waller here to open this
Institute, as I know he would have spoken words to you that
would have given you much pleasure to listen to, but I hope he
will be here at some of our meetings, that we may hear his eloquent
voice.

Gentlemen, we meet in this thriving manufacturing city to con-
sider the interests of Agriculture, and it is appropriate that we do
meet here, for Agriculture and Manufactures must go hand in
hand. Each is dependent upon the other, as without the products
of the farm the manufacturer could not live, and without the manu-
facturer and mechanic the farmer could not sell his products. So
each is dependent upon the other; the great law of dependence
runs through all the affairs of this life.

What can elevate or in any way benefit the farmer, will also
benefit all other avocations.

These farmers’ meetings have been the means of great good in
the past, and I doubt not this will be quite as profitable as any of its
predecessors, as we have those to speak to us who will tell us much
that will be profitable to hear, and we hope in the discussions
that follow the lectures we shall have a free expression of opinion
from all who can add to the interest of the meeting.

When we consider that agriculture is not only the corner-stone,
but the whole broadside of the country’s financial foundation,
when we estimate the army of men engaged in tilling the soil, and
the millions of money its products represent, surely it is entitled to
the aid of both the National and State Governments.

The men who are trying to elevate to a higher standard the
farming interests of this country, are doing a good work, and
should be hailed as the benefactors of their race.

Let us have a free interchange of ideas. Let each one, if he hasa
better way of conducting his farming operation than others, make
it known, so by thus comparing experiences we shall make this
meeting a source of mutual benefit.

Connecticut farmers cannot expect to compete with the West in
raising wheat, corn, and beef for the world, but they can raise that

1884. ] WINTER MEETING. 13

which will return them a fair compensation for their labor, if they
will only learn what they can best cultivate, and by intelligently
improving their farms, be quite as independent as their western
brethren, and enjoy the pleasures of a New England home.

I suppose that it is one great object of these meetings to learn how
to do this successfully. Let us all try to do all in our power to
help the agricultural interests of Connecticut.

When we think of the wonderful progress and development of
agricultural and mechanic arts the past fifty years, we can hardly
realize that as much may be done in the years to come.

There is one great problem to be solved, that will be as wide-
spread in its beneficial results, as anything of the past, and one
that must be solved if we are to become a great and populous
nation, and that is, the utilizing of the sewerage of our cities
and all populous communities.

When some one discovers an inexpensive and thorough way for
taking back to the soil all the vast waste of fertilizers now pollut-
ing all our streams, not only destroying all animal life in them, bat
spreading disease and death to all who inhabit their shores, who-
ever does this will supply the great need of this age,—and it must
be done soon, or disease and death will depopulate faster than we
can increase. I hope this subject will receive the consideration its
importance demands. It is a vital question, and must be met, and
I do not doubt but a way will be found to remedy the evil. Its
importance cannot be over-estimated.

The experiment at Pullman, near Chicago, is reported to be a
great success. The results of using the sewerage as a fertilizer
paying a good dividend on the cost of carrying it to the land.

It has always been our good fortune, that each great need of our
country has found an inventor standing ready to meet it, and I
doubt not this will.

Congratulating the Institute on the auspicious opening, I will
not detain you longer.

Mr. P. M. Aucur, our Pomologist, will now address you,
giving his ideas as to the proper manner of growing peaches,
under the title of ‘‘ Peach Experiences.”

14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

PEACH EXPERIENCHS.
By P. M. Aveur.

While different climes have their delicious fruits which are
eagerly sought for and abundantly used, none surpass and few
equal in beauty, fragrance, and luscious flavor the choice peach.

In its original type, as in the case of the wild pear of Europe, it
had little to attract a refined taste, but like the pear, the peach and
its fruit were comparatively hardy and free from disease.

Through the modifying effect of ages of cultivation and selec-
tion the present century opened with many choice varieties. It
also opened with a dire disease which, from the peculiar effect upon
the leaf, was called the yellows; not a scientific name but a de-
scriptive one; and yet not a very definite one.

Probably not one in a thousand of our octogenarians know the
time when this disease has not affected the peach in some parts of

the country. And yet we find many even now that say there is no
" such disease; happy for our country were their assertions true.

However, if the disease exists and works ruin to the amount of
millions annually it is folly to ignore it, or to fail to investigate it.

My earliest memories include the peach, so abundant as to be
fed to hogs, the idea so often dwelt upon byelderly people. 1 also
recall the ideal peach of childhood—and the fact that distance
lends enchantment furnishes a key to the fanciful exaggeration of
peaches of the olden time.

An old friend, years ago, called on me in peach time. He told
of his boyhood peaches, but said he, ‘‘ we can’t raise peaches now.”
After a little we sauntered through our back yard where a tree of
Hale’s Early was loaded with a specially fine crop; the old gentle-
man walked around the tree twice, looking at it from all sides and
said, ‘Phineas, I am astonished; I never expected to see such a
sight again.” ‘Did you ever see it surpassed?” said I. ‘“ Never,”
said he honestly. And never after that did I hear him boast of
old time peaches. And yet we have this year had an orchard of
some two hundred trecs on an eastern hill slope that had hardly a
tree less fully and beautifully loaded than that.

But to take up experience. In boyhood I delighted to get very
choice buds and bud young seedling peaches, and when they gave
their first fruit what delight and satisfaction. For a boy or girl

1884. | PEACH EXPERIENCES. 15

who achieves success with fruits or flowers, there is an ecstacy of
delight amply repaying all the cost either of time or money. In
all, since the period of early manhood I have pianted ten orchards
of peaches.

My first orchard had the elements of a grand success, and it was
a success, but by no means a great one, for the reason that I had
numerous varieties, whereas, I should have had only the best suc-
cession, such as Mountain Rose, Oldmixon Free, Stump the World,
Crawford’s Harly and Crawford’s Late, in which case I should have
realized one hundred per cent. more’ profit than I actually did.

My second orchard followed close on the first and was similar in
results.

My third orchard wasa grand and complete failure. With a wiser
choice of varieties, better trees, planted on my best land, highly
manured, I secured an enormous growth, succulent, full of crude
sap, and not stopping growth till hard frosts. The following severe
winter effected entire ruin. Branches were killed back, bark
turned brown and the orchard looked as if a devastating fire had
run through it. The only redeeming feature about it was that the
apple trees planted between peach have made a fine successful
orchard.

My fourth orchard was small, a family orchard, just for ourselves
and friends, planted on poor land, manured moderately. It was
a quarter acre, the land worth three dollars, planted with fifty trees
worth five dollars, manure eight dollars, and the whole investment
did not exceed sixteen dollars. It was cultivated three years and
then mulched with coarse hay enough to smother weeds and grass.

This orchard was successful in all respects; it gave good fruit
continuously for several successive years and paid a large percent-
age on the investment.

My fifth orchard was a new experiment: it was an orchard of
seedlings from select seed, every alternate row being pear trees.
The trees were vigorous, reasonably healthy, and produced several
very heavy crops, but with one exception the fruit was only fair to
good, one however of the Melocoton type was very good, The
fruit mainly sold for fifty to seventy cents a basket, while the
Stump the World ripeninf about the same time, were worth one,
dollar and twenty-five to one dollar and fifty cents, or more than
double on the average.

My sixth orchard closely followed the last described with seed

16 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

more select, planted as follows: In a field planted to corn, every
fourth hill in every fourth row instead of corn was planted with
peach seed, leaving as they grew the best in each place. The
Snow peach, the Anderson Melocoton, the Hale’s Melocoton, the
Yellow Spanish Melocoton, all came as true to seed as so many
beans, but the yellows struck the orchard and those seedlings
have all passed away, while a row of Mountain Rose transplanted
in the same orchard at the same time is still standing and has
borne this year very fine peaches. This experiment materially
dampened my ardor for seedling orchards. A wild Tennessee
seedling, budded with healthy Oldmixon buds, has the advantage
of an equal degree of health, great productiveness, and is so well
known in market as always to be salable at good prices.

My seventh orchard was planted to blackberries. William Parry
and J. H. Hale visited my orchard, and Mr. Parry said it equaled
any peach orchard he had ever seen, in appearance. But with the
first crop the orchard failed utterly, and I learned that blackberries
and peaches are not compatible on the same ground.

Our eighth and ninth orchards are now in their prime. They
missed a crop last year, on account of the peculiar extremes of
heat and cold in the winter of 1882-3; this year of 1883 has
yielded us about eleven hundred baskets of choice peaches, with
good promise for the future. Our ninth orchard of two hundred
trees has this year yielded a full crop of beautiful perfect peaches
without an exception of a single tree.

Our observations and experience leads us to the following con-
clusions:

That failures in peach growing are to a great extent preventable.

That we should plant only trees of the best health.

That we should adopt a sensible and uniform course of clean
culture, stopping at midsummer each year.

That we should prune and shorten back so as to secure a renewal
of strong young wood each year.

That we should fertilize so as to meet the fruit demands, and
prevent exhaustion, increasing the amount with the age of the
tree.

That we should take nocrops from the land after the trees com-
mence bearing, and allow no tree to over-bear.

T desire to allude to the Yellows again, and ask what are we to
do about it? It matters little to peach growers whether it be

.

1884. ] PEACH EXPERIENCES. 17

caused by fungi-bacteria, peach aphis, or whatsoever other cause,
so long as we fail to manage and control it. Like the potato fun-
gus it often first shows itself in a single spot, ofttimes a single
branch of a mature tree, and in due time the entire orchard is
involved in ruin.

But shall we abandon growing the peach? By no means.
While the pear blight, the yellows in the peach, cranberry worm,
and curculio, are to be regarded as calamities, yet there are com-
pensations in the better prices of the perfect fruit. Therefore
wisdom dictates to avoid, to compass, to overcome the difficulties,
and secure the consequent reward.

Our conclusions are these:

Ist. Avoid any diseased or contaminated stock in propagation,
either by seed or bud, as promptly as you would avoid the virus
of scarlet fever or small pox.

2d. Seek an orchard location apart from all these contaminat-
ing influences.

3d. Fertilize by either well fined stable manures, or special
mineral fertilizers, in which sulphate of ammonia supplies nitrogen,
high grade mtriate the potash—with a good superphosphate.

4th. Lest the land should contain acidity prejudicial to healthy
growth apply twenty bushels of lime, more or less, per acre, in
direct proportion to the humus in the soil, to sweeten and fine the
soil.

Finally, secure uniform growth and uniform fruitage by judi-
cious, systematic management, never allowing an excessive late
autumn growth, or a breaking crop of fruit, or the intrusion of
the peach borer.

Here let me call your attention to a tree which I bought many
years ago from the nursery of Mr. Alfred Whiting of West Hart-
ford. Here is a section of it, a Crawford’s Late peach tree, twenty-
one years old—old enough to vote. It was on the farm of my
father-in-law, in Guilford. I procured the tree for him at the
time I purchased some for myself, and when I saw the log
at his wood pile, after a great many years of fruitage, I
said to him, “How old do you suppose that tree is?” He
said, “Well, it may be a dozen years old.” We are apt to
forget how fast time flies. I° sawed off a section of the trunk,
and upon counting the rings, I found it to be twenty-one years

2

18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

pld. It is a beautiful illustration of steady, uniform growth.
That tree gave many crops of choice fruit. It was not a seedling.
And, by-the-way, the Crawford’s Late has a uniform habit of bear-
ing, where it is properly treated, that makes it very desirable on that
account. There was, as you see, a fault in the management of that
tree. There was a branch that grew too near the ground, it received
some injury, and had to be sawed off, and that side of the tree is
considerably affected. I have no doubt that materially shortened
the life of the tree. The other side is entirely sound, and up to
ten years of age, the annual growth was very uniform, and from
that up to twenty, or until nearly the last of its life, there was a
steady, uniform growth, and, as a rule, uniform fruitage. If we
could always be sure of as good results as that tree gave, it would
be very encouraging to plant the peach.

A few words in regard to varieties:

The early varieties of peaches, while quite beautiful, are less
profitable than medium and later ones. The Early York is fairly
superseded by the Mountain Rose, which is just as good, more free

-at the stone, and more productive. The Oldmixon Free is a grand
peach in every respect; so is the Stump the World. Crawford’s
Karly is a fine peach; beautiful, large, productive, excellent, is quite
apt to overbear, and fail in consequence. The Richmond and
Foster are much of the same type. Crawford’s Late may almost
be called the king of peaches for our latitude. It brings high
prices, and has a good habit of bearing about right in good sea-
sons. The Steadley, Salway, and Smock, are too late to be sure
of ripening in our climate, though we have found they may be
picked while hard, and if well grown they ripen up better than
might be expected. When we find our Salways likely to be frozen
it is better to pick even while hard, and keep in close boxes in a
moderate temperature till they mellow than to risk freezing.

Again, if very late varieties are planted give a southern expos-
ure, as you would the Catawba grape, for, on a northern slope,
when we have cool nights, the ripening process goes on very slowly
indeed, temperature having much to do with tardy or rapid ripen-
ing.

No fruit responds so quickly to either good or bad management
as the peach; hence the importance of giving just the right man-
agement, and to neither overdo nor neglect.

1884.] PEACH EXPERIENCES. 19

Mr. Gotp. I would ask Mr. Augur to be a little more
explicit in describing the location of his last peach orchard.

Mr. Aucur. Iwill doso. Our eighth orchard, which con-
tains about 1,800 trees, is on the summit of one of the high-
est hills in the State, except some of the hills in Litchfield
County. Perhaps I would make an exception of Cream Hill
and some others, but we are three miles from the Connecti-
cut River, and 625 feet above the river. From the location
of that orchard, we see the cupola of the State House in
Hartiord ; we see Mt. Tom and Mt. Holyoke in Massachu-
setts; we have the full blast of the air from the Adirondacks.
The orchard has a northern exposure, a portion of it a little
to the northwest and another portion a little to the northeast.
But our reason for planting on this high land was to escape
the late frosts in spring and the early frosts in autumn, and
also to secure a more uniform temperature winters—in such as
this,—when we have warm weather in December or January.
The last orchard which we planted, which is a year younger
than the last mentioned, is on a hill not quite as high, which
has an eastern slope. There we have about 225 trees. That
land is better. The other orchard is on land worth about $34
an acre. It cost us that; in some parts of the State it would
not have cost more than $10 an acre. In fact, I have seen
land which has been bought for planting peach trees, and
which probably will be planted next spring, at $10 an acre,
which is really better than ours ; but as we are nearer to the
markets, the land is proportionally higher. But it is not
remarkably good land. It is land that, on the whole, is a lit-
tle below the average, and still we find it answers a very nice
purpose for peaches. ‘The land upon which the other orchard
is situated is worth, I presume, a hundred dollars an acre. I
would not by any means object to pretty good land for
peaches, if it lay right. I am having a little more of that
feeling than I did. I don’t believe we can raise fruit, or any-
thing else, out of nothing. If the land is naturally poor we
make it good enough to produce what we want.

Mr. D. K. Crorrut of Derby. I would like to knowif Mr.

20 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Augur ever examined the roots of his trees, to see if there
was any trouble about them ?

Mr. Aucur. Not particularly. I did suggest to a gentle-
man who went with me to the Hudson taking a glass and
making an examination to see if the peach aphis had any-
thing to do with it. I feel pretty sure that we have not been
troubled in that way; but I have not examined otherwise
than with the naked eye.

Mr. E. E. Dayton. Mr. Augur says his peach orchard is
on one of the highest hills of the State, 625 feet above the
river. I have a peach orchard that is 1,440 feet above tide
water. JI would like to ask him if he thinks that is high
enough for a peach orchard ?

Mr. Aucur. I should say that would do. I will give in.

Mr. Crorrut. Mr. Augur referred to the time when
peaches were grown so largely in this State that they were
fed to the pigs. I have picked up a great many bushels and
fed them to the pigs. I set out an orchard of a few trees
when I was quite a young man, as people generally do at that
time, and they grew very nicely indeed. At last they were
attacked by what we call the yellows, I suppose ; the leaves
began to curl up. I knew there must be some cause. I went
to work and dug around the roots of the trees, and the next
day, when I examined between the trunk of the tree and the
fork of the root, I discovered a gum exuding. On making a
close examination, I found that. in that gum there was a worm,
and he was a pretty lively one, too, for that situation. It was —
perhaps three-eights or half an inch long; a little white, wiry
looking worm. I discovered that these worms worked into
the bark and partly girdled the trees. I continued to watch,
and | found that when a tree was completely girdled by these
worms, it was used up. I then took a composition of lime,
red lead, and potash and put it around the tree, in order to eat
this gum and destroy it, and those trees did very well for sey-
eral years, and grew, some of them, to be at least six inches
through, until they got to be too old to be of any use and
passed away. Since that time, I have been differently situa-

1384.] PEACH EXPERIENCES. ain

ted, so that I have not gone into peach culture very exten-
sively. I think the time is coming when, if we can get hold
of the right thing, we shall raise peaches in this State as well
as they are raised in other sections of the country. I think
if some gentleman will examine this matter, and discover
something that will destroy these insects, and keep them from
girdling the trees, it will be of great service.

Mr. Aucur. The gentleman has described the work of the
peach-borer, which is very common, to which, perhaps, I did
not sufficiently allude; I was thinking of another matter.
The borer works just at the surface of the ground, and when
we find the gum exuding from the tree, we always know that
the borers are there. It is the custom in Delaware, I think,
universally, for people who have peach orchards to go through
their orchards once or twice a year—better twice—and exam-
ine every tree, and, if they find a tree affected by the borers,
they make sure that they are exterminated. It will not do to
trust to any wash to exterminate them. When the borer is
actually entrenched under the bark we must make very thor-
ough work of it; but if there are no borers in the tree in
May, we may take a wash made of lime and soap, say, for
instance, a pail of whitewash may have a little soap mixed
with it, and apply it to the trunk of the tree, a foot or more
from the ground, or from just below the ground, removing the
earth a little, if you choose, and, during the season, that will
protect the tree from the moth which lays the eggs of the
borer. We can always keep clear of them if we only do our
duty and are sufficiently vigilant; but I have no doubt that
one-third of the peach trees throughout the State fail from
that cause.

Mr. A. C. Bior of Watertown. What is your experience
in regard to heading back peach trees? Which is the best
season? Last year I cut back fifteen, in an orchard which I
have, that I have given three different styles of culture to,
and I believe that I might as well have pulled them all up. I
headed them in between the 20th and last of September.

Mr. Aucur. That is too early. There is a gentleman in

22 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Ayer, Mass., Mr. Fletcher, who has published a treatise
recommending that method. It is not safe. We tried that a
little one year and we found it provoked a second growth. It
is too early. The peach is pretty active in its growth at that
time, and a vigorous shortening in of the tree as early as that
is dangerous. We think it is better not to do it until the
trees have stopped growing, or, better yet, perhaps, to wait
until after they have shed their leaves, and then, in the early
part of November, they may be shortened back with safety.

Question. Is it not better to wait until they are in bloom?

Mr. Aucur. There is one advantage in waiting until they
begin to show their bloom, and that is, that if a portion of the
peach buds are killed during the winter, you will very nat-
urally cut back lessin order to save the crop. Otherwise, it
will not make any particular difference, I think.

Mr. Crorrut. I wish you would try corrosive sublimate
around the base of your trees. It wants something pretty
savage there. I have tried it on some trees, and it has bene-
fited them very much, with no apparent injury.

Mr. Aucur. We did, at one time, put into our wash a
very little London purple, and saw no harm from it; neither
did we see any good. The soap and lime answers the pur-
pose, and this addition of anything more would be simply
like putting two cartridges in a gun, where one will answer
just as well. Prof. Penhallow, of Houghton Farm Experi-
ment Station, has been studying the subject of the yellows in
the peach, and has prepared a formula for diseased peach
trees, as follows: For one acre, 100 to 160 trees bearing age,
kieserite 25 pounds, muriate potash 150 pounds, dissolved
bone black, 450 pounds; a total of 625 pounds, or four to
six pounds of mixture to each tree. I would add 100 pounds
sulphate of ammonia, as it certainly changes plants from a
yellowish look to a dark green very quickly, and while a large
amount of nitrogen is not needed a little is excellent.

Mr. J. H. Hane. We have used this wash of which Mr.
Augur speaks, with the addition of carbolic acid. We washed

1884.] PEACH EXPERIENCES. 23

a few trees, leaving out the carbolic acid, and the borers were
in 25 per cent. of those trees this year; but where the car-
bolic acid was added to the soft soap and lime, there was not
a borer in one tree out of a hundred, and we have 6,000 trees.
It seems to me the carbolic acid is essential.

Mr. Van Deusen. We set out a peach orchard seven years
ago, but something that we could not prevent has hindered
the trees from bearing up to our expectations. Nevertheless,
we have felt well paid. I was thinking of it while sitting
here, and looking back over the past seven years, I calculated
that we had sold from one acre and a quarter, besides supply-
ing a family of eighty people (it is free plunder), $2,000
worth of peaches. The land on which the trees were set is a
sort of ledge; underneath is red rock, and it faces the west
and southwest. Itis notrich land, by any means. One year
we had corn on it,—the year before the trees were set out,—
with oats afterwards. The corn was not very good, also the
oats. It is just such land as I would select to-day were I to
set out a peach orchard. Some of those present may have
heard me say, that if a horse had had too many oats, and
was likely to run away, and I had to hold him too hard, I
would take away his oats. Now, if we set out trees on land
which we call rather poor, we can give it something to ferti-
lize it, but if it is too rich, we cannot hold in the horse. I
would rather stimulate the land than have it too rich, and
attempt to hold in the horse. A portion of our orchard is on
rich garden ground, and the trees there have not turned out
as well as the others that are on poorer soil. I would say
that any land which will grow good corn, where you can
make a growth of about fifteen inches every year, is suitable
for a peach orchard. Put on Bradley’s fertilizer, or any other
of these commercial fertilizers that you think well of. I
-have used that. I put on this acre and a quarter, a ton of
Bradley’s fertilizer when I set out the trees. 1 raised a hun-
dred dollars worth of something—I think it was early pota-
toes—the first year after setting out, and the next year I
raised a hundred dollars worth of cucumbers. After that, it

24 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

became so shady that we raised only a partial crop of squashes.
But about the fourth year, the trees Should bear well, and
the land will not bear much else but peaches. With all the
ailments and drawbacks that we encounter in the peach cul-
ture, there is nothing to-day that I consider so quick and sure
of paying a profit. If you can get two or three good crops
from your trees, they will pay three or four times the expense.
And let us all hail the day when we shall again have peaches
so abundant that we can afford to feed them to the pigs.
(Applause. )

One very important feature in the cultivation of the peach
is the thinning of the fruit. This year our orchard set
extremely full. Unfortunately for the orchard I had left and
gone to another Shaker family. J urged the necessity of
thinning the peaches. They said, “ Those trees are strong ;
they have been headed in, and they have made large and
strong branches, and they will bear a heavy weight of fruit.”
It is true, the branches are large. I could hang my whole
weight on them, and I weigh pretty near 200 pounds. There
was not a branch of those trees broken this season. But
that is not the whole of it. If you do not thin your peaches,
where they set very thick, the fruit will be small, and the crop
will draw too heavily on the vitality of the tree, and every
one that we take off that we do not need is a relief to the
tree. Year before last we did not get more than a hundred
bushels from this orchard, but the price we got for them paid
us quite well for the acre and a quarter. I sold some of them
for $8 a bushel, and the whole product averaged $4 a bushel.
- I think that paid very well for an acre and a quarter of corn
land.

One of our Springfield men told me that when he was a
boy, he went to his uncle’s on a visit, and his uncle told him
to go into the orchard and get as many peaches as he wanted,
but to bring the peach-stones back with him. “I didn’t
know,” he said, “but he wanted to plant them, and after-
wards I thought he wanted to see how many I ate.” Hesaid
he took in fifty-two peach-stones. I said, ‘‘ Do you mean to

1884.] PEACH EXPERIENCES. 25

say you ate fifty-two peaches as large as I have growing out
here?’ Tasked him to step out to the orchard, and he said,
“Yes, they were as big as those.’ Said I, “If you can eat
fifty-two peaches as large as those, I don’t know what you
can’t eat.” Said he, “‘ I can eat those just the same.” When
the peaches were ripe I took six of them and carried them to
this man. One of them weighed nine ounces, and they all
averaged half a pound apiece. While I was talking to this
same man, a restaurant keeper came along, and he said,
“ Richard, what are you going to do with those peaches ?”’
Said I, “I have brought them up to see if a man can eat fifty
of them.” “ What are you going to do with them if he don’t
eat them?” Said I, “ I will give them to some good friend ?”’
“‘ Don’t do that,” said he, “‘ I will give you a dollar for them.”
I let him have them, and he carried them to his restaurant.
I thought I would like to know what his object was in buying
them at that price ; so I asked him one day, and he said, ‘“‘ To
make money. I wanted them to show in the Boston & Albany
depot.” ‘ Well,” I said, “‘you didn’t make much.” He
said, “I made a little. I got twenty cents apiece for them.”
This I say to show the importance of thinning the peach, and
almost all our other fruit. We make a less draft upon the
strength of the tree, and get more in value. When I tell
you that I counted the peaches in a bushel of those that I
sold for $8, and it took only 140 to make a bushel, I tell you
the truth. Now, it takes 200 good Bartlett pears to make a
bushel ; 140 of those peaches made a bushel, and they were
worth growing. ‘Go and do likewise.’ (Applause.)

Mr. Sepewicx. In relation to the profits of peach grow-
ing: a week before Thanksgiving, I met a peach grower in
New York from Marlboro’, on the Hudson River, who told
me that he had brought down that morning from his place
ten baskets of peaches, for which he was paid $100—$10 a
basket. This same gentleman, who is one of the most suc-
cessful fruit growers in that section, has for some time tried the
formula which Mr. Augur has mentioned, which Prof. Pen-
hallow has recommended for the yellows. He is acquainted

26 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. . [Jan.,

with Prof. Penhallow, has been at his place, and seen his
experiments. He says that in his orcMards, since he has
applied the formula, he has not a case of the yellows, and has
never had a more vigorous and thrifty growth of trees in his
experience of several years in peach growing. He says it is
undoubtedly a good thing.

Mr. Rocers of New Jersey. In relation to the experiments
of Prof. Penhallow, I should say that last spring, when I vis-
ited the New Jersey Experimental Station, I was there
informed that two or three thousand trees had been grown
under his directions, with every evidence of great success,
and that they were going to follow up the cultivation of
peaches with the use of other chemicals, other forms of pot-
ash, for the purpose of seeing how they would affect the yel-
lows, and after a short time I heard that they were meeting
with great success in their efforts, but it was too early as yet
to make a report upon the action of the various chemicals.

Mr. Norton. I understand that the Messrs. Hoyt, of New
Canaan, recommend the practice of heading in peach trees in
October, with the view, among other things, of hardening up
the remaining wood, so as to stand the coming winter better.
I would ask Mr. Augur if there is anything wrong in that
idea ?

Mr. Aucer. Ido not believe it will do that, sir, for this
reason. I think the leaf is needed as long as it remains
green. Our sugar-maple, as long as the leaf holds green, is
making sugar for the next season, and the peach leaf, so long
as its activity continues, is elaborating the sap of the tree for
the next year. Mr. Fletcher in his treatise recommends cut-
ting off, or shortening back, in order to throw the strength of
the tree into the remaining buds. Well, I found that the
great trouble with me was, that it started the buds into active
growth. The dextrine, in the case of the peach, the sugar in
the maple, all those compounds that are wanted, are being
finished up. ‘The tree is finishing up the operations of the
year. I believe every leaf on the tree is needed to do that
work, so long as it is in active force. When the leaves fall,.

1884. ] PEACH EXPERIENCES. 2h

then I think we can shorten back. It is the returning sap,
not the crude sap, but the returning sap, that comes from the
leaf, which we are cutting off; so that I think, just as far as
we cut off the growing branches, while they are maturing the
sap for the next year, just so far we are injuring the tree. It
seems so to me.

Mr. Dayton. I see that Mr. Hoyt isin the room. I will
ask him if they practice cutting back at that time ?

Mr. Hoyt. A gentleman near Ayer; Mass., one of the
best and most successful growers of the peach, recommends
cutting back in the fall, so that the wood will harden up and
make the buds stronger and more vigorous. His experience
has been that trees cut back at that time endure the winter
better in that northern region. He has written a work which
it is worth while for any one to read. He is a man who has
had a great deal of experience, and has studied the subject
of peach culture as much, probably, as any man in New Eng-
land. Mr. Augur is well acquainted with him.

Mr. Aucur. I would say, in answer to that, that we cut
back three rows of trees in our orchard in September, at -the
time Mr. Fletcher recommends, and we found that a good
many of them started a second growth, and some of the wood
died two or three inches back of where it was cut. It did not
injure the tree very greatly, but we were not pleased with the
result. .

Mr. Crorrut. Respecting this cutting back, I will give a
little experience I have had with other fruit, the chestnut, for
instance, which may help solve this case. I had a chestnut
tree which bore very small chestnuts. I left it until the
next spring, and then I cut off a good-sized branch, and I
never saw nicer, larger chestnuts in my life than that tree
bore that fall. If a tree is allowed to mature in the proper
manner during the fall, and then in the spring some of those
buds are taken off, you will find it, according to my experi-
ence, just the thing. ;

Mr. J. H. Hate. We have some 6,000 peach trees growing
for the fruit, and we have had to study this question of culture

28 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

and pruning considerable, and have experimented with prun-
ing and shortening in from the 1st of September or until the
time they bloom in the spring, and we are fully convinced, as
Mr. Augur says, that it is not safe to prune peach trees until
after the leaves are off. Oftentimes, if a tree is pruned
almost any time in September, it will start a second growth.
If pruned later, perhaps some time in October, if it does not
start a second growth, the wood is apt to die back from two
to six inches from where it was cut off, and of course, when
you cut off just where you wanted to shorten it, you get just
so much less. Ido not think it is safe to recommend prun-
ing peach trees until after the leaves are off.

I think Mr. Van Dusen struck the key-note of successful
peach culture when he said, ‘‘ Plant on poor land.” If we
plant on rich land, the tree, he says, like the horse fed with
too many oats, will grow and get away from us; but if we
plant it on poor land, we can make the tree just what we
want. We know a great deal more about fertilizers to-day
than we did a few years ago, and are learning every day. I
think we can make a peach tree almost anything we want.
We can keep it well in hand if we have it on rather poor soil.
We have grown ours well on chemical fertilizers. While we
have not followed out the experiments of Prof. Penhallow, we
have always depended on bone and potash for our main stock
of plant food. On one plot of about 200 trees, we have not
used potash, as an experiment, to see what the result would
be. A good percentage of those 200 trees, which are four
years’ old, show traces of the yellows, while of the other five
thousand and seven or eight hundred, there is only one tree
that shows any trace of the yellows whatever, and those have
all been liberally treated with muriate of potash. This past
year we sold in Hartford (and Hartford is not a market that
is willing to pay for the very finest fruit) forty dozen peaches
for $1.75 a dozen at wholesale, and a number of them retailed
at twenty-five cents apiece. This was in July.

Mr. Hoyt. I would like to ask what fertilizers you use for
your peaches ?

1884.] PEACH EXPERIENCES. 29

Mr. Hate. We use Bradley’s superphosphate. We have
only used one load of horse manure for seven years. We
depend wholly on Bradley’s fertilizer. One word in regard to
heading in. To avoid all danger, we head our trees in after
the 20th of March, after the very cold weather is over. When
I was a little boy, like all other boys, I used to stub my toe
and cut my fingers, and I noticed that in the fall of the year
my finger ached worse when it was cut than it did in warm
weather. Therefore, I thought it was not a good plan to cut
my finger in the fall, nor to cut my peach trees, because they
would feel it more in cold weather. Prune them any time
after the 20th of March, before the sap starts. But by all
means, if you are going to have an orchard, be sure and head
it in when it has made a growth of more than sixteen inches.
I live on alluvial hills, over 400 feet above tide water. I
never trim any kind of a tree in the fall. If I trim a pear
tree in the fall, the limbs will surely die back, and that is a
hardy tree. If I trim it in the spring, it does not hurt it any.
It is just so with peach trees. I would recommend, in our
climate, at any rate, the trimming of trees in the spring, by
all means.

Question. How much would you head back a vigorous
peach tree ?

Mr. Aucur. I think that depends a little upon the tree
itself. If atree has been headed in repeatedly, I think there
is such a thing as overdoing it, making it too compact. It
seems to me that the right way is not only to shorten back,
but to thin out, so as to leave the tree reasonably open.
Where the tree is in good shape, and about what we want,
our practice has been to cut back those branches which
extended out farthest, those which are most rampant in growth,
not cutting off every individual twig, but pruning as you see
they want it. If we cut off everything, we make too bushy a
tree ; that is my idea of it. I have seen trees that had
been s@ headed back that they looked like a sheared hemlock
—all a mass of green.

30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Question. Would you recommend cutting out branches
inside ?

Mr. Aucur. Yes, sir. ‘

Question. Mr. Augur says, ‘Cease cultivation about the
middle of summer.” I suppose a majority of growers, in
cultivating a peach orchard, would be apt to plant potatoes.
We cannot very well avoid cultivation of the ground when
we dig potatoes.

Mr. Aucur. Yes; that is one thing to be deprecated. As you
say, the digging of potatoes does cultivate the ground a good deal,
—mellowsit up. In planting potatoes in our peach orchards, I
would advise the planting of the Early Rose, or some very
early ripening potato. Do not dig over the ground the last
of August or Ist of September; dig in July or early in
August.

There is one matter with which I have had a little experi-
ence this year, and perhaps it may be interesting to you. A
few years ago I was in Waterbury, and Mr. Johnson, one of
the citizens here, told me they could not raise peaches in
Waterbury ; the climate was not adapted tothem. In riding
to the Fair Ground, I passed a beautiful peach tree, that was
loaded with handsome fruit. 1 was so much interested that I
called at the house to ask the lady about it, and remarked
that Mr. Johnson had told me they could not raise peaches in
Waterbury. ‘* Well,” said. she; “‘.wecan’t.” “ Whyeg
‘*The boys steal them.” We had a little difficulty of that
sort; we had to watch our orchards during the ripening
season ; and we found that it was a very convenient thing to
have a little alarm, because, when friends visited us in the
night, we liked to know it. Here is an article that was
invented by a gentleman in Middletown, of which we had the
first one that was made,—the model, in fact. It is ona
swivel, and can be loaded with powder or powder and shot,
and invariably, an intruder, in striking this line, which is
invisible, will draw the muzzle right towards himself, and it
operates so that if a person catches his toe, it gives the alarm.
One Sunday morning, we had one of these set in our orchard,

1884.] ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 31

and my son, who was about a quarter of a mile distant, heard
it go off. We went right up to the orchard, and saw no one
there ; but the neighbors said they saw a man running as
long as they could see him.

Rev. Dr. ANperson. Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: It
seems to me that such a Convention as this ought to receive
some sort of welcome from the citizens of Waterbury ; at
any rate, a welcome expressed in words. I wish I had
thought of it before I came here, so that I might have selected
my words with a little more care, because it seems to me that
the occasion is one that calls for careful as well as warm-
hearted expression. There have been Waterbury gentlemen
here this morning,—most of them have now disappeared,—
who could have extended to you a welcome more properly
than I can, but I want to say a word or two to those friends
who are gathered here, expressive of my own interest in the
matters which you are to discuss and have been discussing,
and to say that I believe my interest is shared by a great
many of the citizens of Waterbury, notwithstanding they
have not yet come into your Convention.

I have had for several years past a farm of two and a half
acres on the seashore. That farm has contained an orchard
of about twenty-four peach trees, which, notwithstanding the
poorness of the soil (laughter), has dwindled to two or three,
and which has never yet furnished a peach fit to eat; an
orchard of several pear trees, of which three remain, which
are like the fig tree that we read of in the Scriptures, cov-
ered with abundance of leaves, but with no fruit. For the
rest, I have indulged in the cultivation of shrubs and flowers
and grass. But itis curious what kind of education a piece
of ground like that gives toa man. It is curious what prob-
lems it starts. J have had to discuss in my own mind a good
many problems which I suppose are before your minds from
day to day. First, how to contend with inclement weather,—
cold in winter and winds in summer; for we are on the sea-
shore, as I said. Secondly, how to enrich a very poor and
porous soil. Thirdly, how to cultivate, and particularly how

32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

to prune, the shrubs and plants which are in my care.
Fourthly, how to carry on the contest with weeds. And,
fifthly, how to carry on the contest with innumerable insect
pests. It seems to me that, on my two and a half acres, 1am
called upon to solve about all the problems which concern
you, judging from what I have heard here and what I have
read in regard to agricultural matters. And I must say, that
the very attempt at a practical solution of these great ques-
tions have given me a growing and a real interest in horticul-
ture, in agriculture, and in this whole class of questions
which interest the agricultural world to-day ; and I suppose
that no man who has not been through some such experience,
could sit here to-day and listen with anything like the inter-
est with which a man listens who has touched upon this great
subject on the edges, as I have done during the past eight or
ten years.

But, my friends, it seems to me that, apart from any spe-
cial interest of this kind in agriculture, horticulture, and the
like, the citizens of Waterbury ought to be glad to have an
Agricultural Convention meet in the midst of them. As you
know, we are one of the most enterprising and prosperous of
the little cities of New England. We are extremely busy,
and that is, perhaps, the reason why there are not more of
our citizens here this morning. We go by machinery here ;
every man has to listen to a gong, and has to arrange his life-
work with reference to that engine, doing its work day after
day and year after year, which you will appreciate in your
homes. We send to you clocks, we send to you pins, and we
send to you watches, and we are going to send more and more
of them. They are things of utility rather than ornament
which are made in Waterbury and in such cities, and which
are sent out into the rural districts of Connecticut, of New Eng-
land at large, of the Great West, and into lands beyond the
sea. We are so busy, my friends, that we are apt to think
that the whole world is a manufacturing world, and are apt to
lose sight of the foundation upon which you and I must alike
build. We are apt to forget that the producer is the man

1884. ] ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 33

who stands back of all this, and that, with all our prosperity,
our capital, and our skill, we should be as nothing whatever,
were it not for these men in the fields and in the woods whom
you represent to-day. We are dependent in our grandest
results upon the work which the men of New England, the
men of the Far West, the men of the great wheat-growing
region, of the grain-growing region, as well as the men who
do a similar work in the fruit orchards and gardens of New
England, New York, and New Jersey, are doing ; and it seems
to me if we were wise in our little cities, we should open our
hearts to the men of agriculture, and should say to them
“‘God speed!” when they come among us to discuss these
important subjects.

But there is another phase -of it. The Waterbury of to-day
is in strange contrast with the Waterbury of the year 1800,
and that is true of a great many New England towns. We
are now a manufacturing city ; we were then a rural district.
Many of the manufacturing cities and villages in the Nauga-
tuck Valley and in other valleys of Connecticut were, in the
beginning of this century, simply rural districts. I do not
know of any more interesting, and I do not know of any
more important transformation which has taken place on any
piece of territory of the size of Connecticut, than that which
has taken place in this State during the present century,—
the change from an agricultural to a manufacturing condi-
tion. You know on how large a scale that transformation
has been going on in Connecticut, in Massachusetts, and, to
a certain extent, in other States of New England; going on,
also, in other parts of the world, and here in Connecticut, I
suppose, more than in any other part of the world in the
same length of time. Well, obviously, it has put the agricul-
tural communities of Connecticut at a disadvantage, to a cer-
tain extent, just as it has put the religious parishes of
Connecticut at a disadvantage. These hillside parishes are
not what they were once, in comparison with the city par-
ishes, although they may treasure up and hand down to

future generations qualities which are worth just as much
3

34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

to-day as they were then. And the same is true of our agri-
cultural interests ; they are not what they were once in com-
parson with the hum and stir of city life; but they are
important, nevertheless, and they require all the more care,
all the more thought, and all the more applied science,
because of this transformation which has taken place. If it
is more difficult to secure a living from the rocky fields and
hillsides of Connecticut than it used to be, it is because the
standard is different. You want to have just as good a living
as we do; your daughters want to be as well dressed as ours,
and your sons want to be as well educated. And it is highly
important, it seems to me, that you agriculturists of Connect-
icut learn to apply the science, the experience, the knowledge
of all kinds which can be gathered from the literary and
scientific world, in order to bring up the level of your home
life, your social life, and your religious life, to the highest
level, if possible, which is reached in our most favored cities.

Now, as I said before, it has seemed to me that nothing
better could be desired for securing such results than a Con-
vention of this kind. I have been peculiarly interested in
the combination of common sense and scientific knowledge
which I have heard in the remarks that have been made
to-day. I can see how science is coming to mean something
else than talk. I can see how you are applying it at the very
roots of your trees. It is not science running wild; it is
science controlled by experience, by good judgment ; by judi-
cious utterance. The benefit of these annual conventions
will be felt in their good effects in your homes; and we shall
feel it in our turnips,—for it seems that Waterbury rejoices
in turnips ; and we shall feel the good effects of your moral
influence, also, in raising up boys who do not steal peaches.
(Applause. 3

Adjourned to 2 o’clock.

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 35

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The meeting was called to order at 2 o’clock, Mr. Barstow
in the chair.

THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN.
BY J. H. HALE.

A little four-year-old darling in our family, when afflicted with
some slight pain or ache, used often to amuse us, when asked what
the trouble was, by saying “I feel bad, but I don’t feel bad.”
Now I mean small-fruit garden, not small fruit-garden, for as a
rule farmers’ fruit-gardens, or orchards rather, are usually large
enough, giving an abundant supply of the larger fruits, such as
the common varieties of apples and pears, but are deficient in the
small fruits; and it is my purpose here to speak in behalf of these
choicest of God’s gifts to man, possessing as they do the following
advantages over the large fruits : They are more easily propagated,
hence are less expensive to start with; bear much sooner after
planting. Many of them ripen at a time when there are no other
fresh fruits to be had, and as a rule may be depended on to
produce a crop every year. They are not only delicious luxuries,
but substantial and healthful articles of food. While the plants
of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries,
and grapes, either in bloom or in fruit, are often very beautiful,
many of them may be trained in forms that will greatly enhance
their beauty while not in the least injuring their fruiting qualities.
Raspberries or blackberries thickly planted and closely pruned can
be made to do good service asa trusty hedge, and no better
highway or division fence can be had than a four-strand barbed-
wire fence covered with grapevines. We intend to do this about
our whole farm within the next year or two.

Complaint is often made through the agricultural press that
farmers as a rule have less fresh fruits than city people. And to
a certain extent this is true ; it is not, however, as many seem to
suppose, that the farmer sells all his fruit for the sake of the
money it will bring, but from the fact that being busy from one
week’s end to the other with the general affairs of the farm and
often being at his wits’ end to make both ends meet, having to be

36 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

farm superintendent, day-laborer, marketman, cow-boy, and all-
hands. The poet’s dream of fresh berries and cream to be eaten
under the vine-clad veranda, does not often come to the overworked
and tired farmer, And while his home may be barren of the
choice varieties of small fruits well and judiciously cultivated, it
is not that he would deprive the loved ones dependent on him of
these choice luxuries, but rather from the fact that he has always
thought it impossible for any but the most experienced to cultivate
them with any hope of success. And as soon as he becomes
acquainted with the better varieties and learns how easily they can
be grown, when by proper cultivation a bushel of strawberries,
raspberries, blackberries, or grapes can be grown almost as cheaply
as a bushel of potatoes, the farmer’s small-fruit garden will become
as much a fixture as the kitchen garden.

Small fruits have been grown for centuries, but it is within the
last thirty years that special attention has been given to their
culture and the producing of new and improved varieties; and
since the introduction of Wilson’s Albany strawberry, Doolittle’s
improved black-cap, Philadelphia raspberry, Lawton blackberry,
and Concord grape, these and their seedlings, combined with a
number of chance seedlings, have given us a hardy and productive
race of small fruits that may be grown on almost any soil and
cultivated by the most inexperienced, and yet give fair return for
money and labor expended; while with a little extra care and
attention enormous crops may be obtained. And as the plants
may be had at any nursery at such low prices, any one owning a
spare rod of ground has no excuse for denying his family these
delicious and nutritious fruits.

It is not necessary for me to go back two or three hundred
years and trace the history of small-fruit culture down to the
present time, but rather begin at once to show you as best I can
how and what to do to obtain the most and best fruit at the least
expense. Being neither a chemist nor botanist I could not, if I
would, explain to you the chemical effects of the different fertilizers
used upon the roots, wood, leaves, and general structure. My
observations at previous meetings of this Board have taught me
that our Connecticut farmers want plain practical statements and
experience that will show them how the thing is done in the
fewest possible words, and this I will endeavor to do as briefly
and plainly as possible, not that I can hope to make all points clear

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 37

or show you the best way to do everything in the small-fruit
garden, but simply open the way and give you such hints as will
help you to work out your own small-fruit salvation, for work it
out you surely must.

Their importance as an article of diet is at last beginning to be
appreciated, and the sooner we all understand it the better, that
every dollar expended on the fruit-garden will save at least two
dollars in butchers’ and doctors’ bills. Three times a day the
whole year round our tables could and should be supplied with
these refreshing and health-giving fruits of our own growing.
How much better for the boys and girls at school to have a dish
of fresh berries, a cluster of grapes, or a cup of raspberry jam,
and good nutritious bread and butter for their dinner, than to
have the mother slave herself to death from day to day in prepar-
ing some health-destroying compound of grease and spices in the
shape of loaf-cake, doughnuts, or mince pie, to tempt the appetite
and destroy the stomach, as well as a lot of good flour, eggs, and
butter, that might be used to give health and strength rather than
destroy 1t. I note with pleasure in my travels about, that fruit-
growers and such farmers as have plenty of fruit very seldom
have pastry of any kind upon their tables, its place being supplied
by fruit, either fresh or canned; and since the improved methods
of canning that have been adopted in the past four years, it is
possible to have fruit at any season of the year, approaching in
flavor that fresh from the vines—red raspberries retaining their
flavor the best of all.

The taste for fresh fruit is growing fast, and while many of our
farmers know that they ought to supply it to their families, they
still fight shy of planting, and say they can buy what berries they
want cheaper than they can grow them ; yet they will not buy one-
hundredth part of what their families would use if it could be had
for the picking. My own family is not a large one, yet we man-
age to dispose of from six to ten quarts of strawberries, raspber-
ries, currants, and blackberries, per day through June, July, and
August, and the next three months we worry along on peaches,
pears, and the product of 116 grape vines. Another excuse for
not planting is, that they have not suitable soil. Now, as a matter
of fact, any soil that will produce the ordinary farm crops can be
made to produce small fruits in perfection if liberally manured
and well cultivated—the more liberal the culture the better will be

38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

the crop. And in the preparation for planting, I would recom-
mend the use of a subsoil plow, whenever the nature of the soil
will admit of its use, for in my own experience I have always
noticed a marked improvement in the growth of plants wherever
it has been used, affecting as it does a more perfect drainage in a
wet soil or season, and allowing the plants to root much deeper,
and thus be able to withstand drouth should it occur. One-fourth
of an acre is little enough ground to devote to the small-fruit gar-
den, say ten rods of strawberries, eight of raspberries, five of
blackberries, four of currants, one of gooseberries, and twelve of
grapes, This will give say ten quarts of fresh berries per day for
nearly three months, besides a surplus for canning, and the grapes
would supply ten to fifteen pounds a day for at least three months
more.

STRAWBERRIES.—Strawberries being the first fresh fruit of the
season, are usually eaten rather more freely, hence should have -
more space devoted to their culture than any of the others, unless
it is the grape. So many strawberries have been grown in the
past under a careless, slipshod method, or rather no method at all,
that the mistake is made in supposing that profitable crops can be
thus grown, hence a failure is often made by planting on land that
has not been well prepared. To start with, the land should be
well plowed, subsoiled, and harrowed, two or three, yes, a dozen
times over, if need be to make it soft and mellow, so that the
plants may get a good start from the very first. Well-rotted sta-
ble manure is usually at hand on most farms, and if applied lib-
erally will give good returns. But from a somewhat careful study
of the manure question in the cultivation of large fields of straw-
berries for market, I think a better crop of fruit can usually be
had from the use of commercial manures, having but a small
amount of nitrogen, and the fruit be of better texture and flavor
than when stable manure or nitrogenous commercial fertilizers are
used. I may not be able to explain it to the satisfaction of the
scientific gentlemen here present, but the strawberry is a gross
feeder, and whenever well-rotted manure or fertilizer containing a
large amount of readily available plant food, of a nitrogenous
character, such as blood and bone, Peruvian guano or fish scraps,
is used, it will take it up greedily, and a very rank foliage
growth is the result the first year, and the plant seems to make its

1884.] . THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUJIT GARDEN. 39

plans for an enormous crop the next season; but somehow it never
quite keeps its promise, making a much greater show of foliage
than fruit, and what fruit there is, is watery and insipid in flavor,
and will keep but a short time after being picked. While, on the
other hand, I have found that a manure of raw ground bone and
wood ashes, or muriate of potash, encourages a much less rapid
plant growth early the first season, but that it is steady and even
the whole season through, and by fall we have a fine stand of well
developed, but not rank, foliaged plants that will always at frut-
ing season the next year give a heavy crop of firmer, brighter col-
ored, and better flavored berries than can be grown on the same
soil by the aid of manure containing a large percentage of nitro-
gen. Whatever manure is used, it should be applied broadcast
after plowing, and harrowed in thoroughly, not by going over
once or twice, but a dozen times, or till the whole field is as mel-
low as the best of our old onion gardens.

While the strawberry may be planted with fair prospects of suc-
cess any month in the year that the ground is free from frost, the
best time is early in the spring, while the plants are in a dormant con-
dition. For asmall family garden, they are often planted in beds,
with plants fifteen to eighteen inches apart. However, as they can
be grown more cheaply by the aid of horse cultivation, they should
be planted in rows sufficiently far apart toadmit of it. In fact, I
often wonder why it is that all garden vegetables are. not so
planted, instead of, as at present, in small beds or narrow rows,
where all of the labor of cultivation must be done by hand in the
most expensive way.

We are improving greatly in all of our methods of culture and
in the implements used, yet it is safe to say that the right instru-
ment to cultivate berries with, to the best advantage, is yet to be
invented. Many that are effectual in destroying weeds are also
very destructive to the roots of the plants. Rows, three and
one-half to four feet apart, and plants ten to twelve inches, with all
runners cut, will, in my opinion, give the most and best fruit at
the least expense, although it must be admitted that many of our
most successful growers still practice growing them in thick matted
rows one and one-half to two feet wide. The great bugbear of
narrow row or hill culture is cutting the runners; but this is a
mere nothing to the labor of picking out the weeds from a matted
row during the last three growing months of the season. And

40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

while strawberries can be grown more cheaply in the narrow rows,
the fruit will be larger and of better quality, and in case of drouth
will suffer less than in matted rows.

By the selection of varieties and the soil on which to plant them
the strawberry season may be prolonged to six weeks or more, if
the earlier varieties are planted on warm early soil, or that having
a southern exposure, and the later ones on the heavier moist soil,
or that with a northern or western exposure. If you already have
a taste for fruit culture, and have a fair start with the family gar-
den, in making a selection of varieties choose first in regard to
eating qualities, placing productiveness second; but to a beginner
I would recommend planting first those most hardy and pro-
ductive, regardless of quality, and when you and your family get
well filled with these will be time enough to plant the better sorts.

Pistillate or imperfect flowering varieties are as a rule the most
productive, and can be made to produce even more than they gen-
erally do, if care is taken to plant them sufficiently close to perfect
flowering sorts, that an abundance of pollen may be supplied to
every blossom and every berry be perfectly developed. While in
most plantations there are usually five to eight rows of pistillates
to every one of perfect flowering, I have noticed that the very
best results were obtained by planting them in adjoining rows, or
not more than five to six feet away.

Being continually asked what is the best perfect flowering
variety to plant with this or that pistillate, 1 have been compelled
to study the matter to some extent, and while it may be too fine a
point to discuss here, experiments made some years ago convinced
me that the size, form, color, texture, and flavor of the pistillate
strawberry is greatly affected by the perfect flowering sort that
furnishes the pollen to fertilize its blossoms.

Take the Crescent, a pistillate sort you are all acquainted with,
fertilized by the small, sour, but firm Wilson, and most of them
will be small and sour, yet much firmer than the Crescent when fer-
tilized by such varieties as Pioneer or Charles Downing. I have
never seen a coxcomb-shaped Crescent in my life, except when
grown with the President Lincoln, a variety that has a majority of
misshapen berries. Usually poor in flavor, the Crescent is passably
good when grown with the Charles Downing. Ever since its first
introduction, Mr. Olcott has furnished uniformly the best-flavored

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 41

Crescents that have come to the Hartford market, and if I mistake
not, the most of them have always been fertilized by the Downing.
There is room for further experiments in this direction, but
enough is already known to show me, that to get the best-flavored
Crescents we must fertilize them with the best-flavored variety we
can get, and the same rule applies to all other pistillate varieties. »

If planting is done in spring, all blossoms should be cut off as
fast as they appear, and no fruiting be allowed the first season, as
it so exhausts the plants as to greatly enfeeble their growth,
and in many cases kill them entirely, especially should dry weather
follow the fruiting season. As soon as plants become well estab-
lished, commence running the cultivator between the rows, and
continue it once in,a week or ten days all through the season.

Hoeing around the plants as often as necessary to keep the soil
loose and free from weeds, if the ground is not too stony, and a
sharp keen-edged hoe is used, most of the runners can be cut with
that as fast as they appear, leaving little to be done with shears or
knife; but when this is necessary, it can be done very rapidly, as
most of the runners start out from one side of the plant and can
all be gathered up by the hand when one good clip of knife or
shears will do the business; and the whole tield can be gone over
very rapidly at little expense.

At the approach of winter, as soon as the ground is frozen, cover
the whole field with a mulch of some sort, salt-marsh hay, pine
needles, or tobacco stems are the best materials, although straw,
coarse stable-manure, cornstalks, or forest leaves may be used to
good advantage. Whatever is used, care should be taken not to
get it too thick directly over the plants, one and a half to two
inches being sufficient, as much more would be likely to smother
them, especially if the winter follows with a great amount
of snow. Do not remove any of this in the spring, as the plants
can easily grow up through it, and it is of great assistance in
retaining moisture during the fruiting season as well as keeping
the fruit clean. After fruiting, if the strawberry patch is alone by
itself, so that there is no danger of injuring other plants, mow off
the top and loosen up the mutch, and set fire to it some day when
there is wind enough to cause it to burn quickly without injury to
the crown of the plant, which will soon after throw up a new
growth, when cultivation should begin and continue through the
season. In this way narrow rows may be continued in bearing

42 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

for several years quite successfully. If the matted row system is
followed it is easier to renew by setting out new beds each spring
and plowing under the old ones directly after fruiting. -

Rasprerries.—Following strawberries, or rather coming with
the last picking of them, are the raspberries, red, black, yellow,
and purple. Good crops may be grown on any soil, but the best
is a deep moist loam. October is the best time to plant, but
it can be done successfully any time in the fall, or very early in
the spring, and green sucker plants of the red varieties may be
transplanted much the same as cabbage or tomato any time during
May, June, or July, and if shaded for a few days, will make a fine
growth and produce a crop the next season. Some years ago,
when good plants of the Cuthbert were scarce, we put out one-half
acre of these green plants in June, and the next year sold $360
worth of fruit. Soil properly prepared for strawberries will be in
good condition for raspberries; open furrows with a light plow in
rows five to eight feet apart, the distance depending somewhat on
the varieties to be planted and the system of culture to be fol-
lowed. If to be grown in hedges, mark out rows seven to eight
feet apart and drop plants two feet apart in the rows, in soil that is
not too rough and stony. They may be set quickly and well by
taking the top of the plant in one hand, holding it in the furrow
so that the roots will be about as deep as they had originally been
grown, then with the feet crowd in the earth, from each side of
the furrow, and tread it down firmly about the roots. In this way
one man can plant three hundred or four hundred plants in an
hour. After all are planted cut off the top level with the ground,
and fill ufthe furrow with a plow.

If planting is done early in the fall they will get well rooted
before winter, and will be ready to make a very early growth the
following spring; late fall planting should be protected through
the winter by a shovelfull of coarse manure, or a mound of earth
over each plant. Spring plantings should be made early, as the
young sprouts that come from the roots start as soon as the frost
begins to come out, and are liable to get broken in handling. If
planting has been done in the fall, and tops cut close to ground, the
first spring cultivation can be best and most cheaply done with a
common drag tooth-harrow going over the whole field. This will
kill all young weeds just started, and so loosen up the ground over

.

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN, 48

the plants, that the spring growth can easily break through and at
once get a good start, and so show the rows plainly, to be followed
by the horse and cultivator a week or two later, and this should be
kept up early and often, until the 1st of September, when all cul-
tivation should cease, that the growth of plants may be checked,
and the wood ripen up well before the hard frosts come, which
would be likely to kill many of the plants if cultivation was con-
tinued late in the season, for while we have a number of almost
hardy varieties, we have none that are entirely so, and must manage
their cultivation so as to ripen the wood as early in the season as
possible.

With a fair start in the spring, the plants will make a growth
of from four to six feet the first season if allowed to do so, but it
is best to pinch off the tops when two and a half or three feet
high, which they should be-by the middle of July. This will cause
them to send out lateral shoots, so that nearly double the crop
can be obtained. Many of these laterals, reaching a foot or more in
length early in summer, may be pinched off, causing them in turn
to throw out laterals, so that by fall we have a strong stocky bush
capable of withstanding the winter winds, and carrying its crop
of fruit the next season without the use of stakes or trellis of any
sort.

After the first year canes will make a much stronger growth
and should be pinched when not more than eighteen inches high.
The two or three topmost laterals growing nearly upright will be
three feet or more in height by July, and by pinching these off an
enormous amount of fruiting wood may be obtained. For hill
culture three, or at the most four, canes are sufficient. Hedge-
rows should not be more than a foot wide at the ground, with
canes eight to ten inches apart. By close pruning, and the spread-
ing of the laterals, we will have a solid, compact hedge, two and
one-half to three feet wide at the top, and if rows can be arranged
running north and south, plants will be less likely to winter kill
than they would in hills or in rows running east or west, the
solid, compact hedge, with three or four feet of open space be-
tween the rows, furnishing a sort of race-way for the currents of
cold air. Some cultivation should be given early in the season
each year before the plants are in bloom; but it should be shallow,
so as not to break the roots. In fact, after the first season, there
should be no deep plowing or cultivating between them at any

/
44 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

time, especially among those that are propagated by a division of
the roots, for the more they are broken the more abundant will be
the suckers, and except what few are wanted for making new
plantations, or for fruiting canes directly in the row, these are use-
less as weeds, and should be treated as such as soon as they appear
above ground. Cutting them off just at the surface will soon*
destroy them.

Most cultivators advise cutting out and removing all old wood
directly after fruiting, to make room for the new canes; but as it
soon dies, it does not take any nourishment from them, and being
hard and dry it furnishes an excellent support for the young, green
wood until such time as it is fully ripened and matured, and able
to sustain itself. We very rarely remove any of the old wood
from our raspberry plantation, not disturbing it at all till the fol-
lowing spring, when it is dry and brittle, and is trodden down and
broken up and left around the plants by the men as they pass
along pruning and thinning out the bearing canes.

After fruiting, cultivate same as first year up to about the first
of September, and with such cultivation give an annual dressing of
manure of some sort. The black-cap varieties may be kept in
full fruiting from four to six years, and’the red varieties twice as
long.

BLACKBERRIES.—Blackberries require much the same general
care and culture as raspberries, except, perhaps, it is not neces-
sary to manure quite so liberally to get good crops, and they can
often be grown successfully on soil that is too light and dry for
raspberries. The earlier varieties will ripen here by the middle or
last of July, with the late raspberries, while the later sorts, espe-
cially if on heavy, moist soil, will continue in fruiting through
August, and often into September.

Currants.—Currants, for the best results, require a deep, rich,
rather moist soil, yet can be grown on any, even on land that is
very dry and sandy, they can be grown to perfection if heavily
mulched during the summer. Four feet apart each way, or in
rows five feet apart, and plants three to three and one-half feet in
the row, is about the right distance. arly in the fall, or as soon
as the leaves drop, is the best time to plant; or it may be done
successfully at any time before the ground freezes, or, again, very
early in the spring. But, like raspberries and blackberries, while

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 45

spring plantings will usually live and grow well, the fall set plants
will make a much better growth the first season. However, it is
better to plant this coming spring than to put it off till next fall.
Prune closely at time of planting, and each year following thin
out all crowding branches and shorten in the new growth one-half,
and they may be continued in bearing for years if manured
annually.

GoosEBERRIES.—Gooseberries should be treated much the same
as currants, and if they can be planted where they will be par-
tially shaded during the middle of the day, they will be much less
likely to mildew.

GraPEs.—Grapes are so easily grown, that plant a vine almost
anywhere you will, you can depend upon abundant annual crops
after the third year, if clean culture and close pruning are strictly
attended to. Trained to a single stake six feet high, or to a trellis
not over five feet, and the vine not allowed to spread more than
the same distance each way, allows of all the room any vine wants
to produce the best results. Many systems of pruning and train-
ing are pictured out in the books; but any that results in close
annual pruning will give an abundance of fruit at small cost.
Enclosing the cluster in small bags made of manilla paper as soon
as the berries begin to form, is strongly to be recommended, for
after some years’ trial it is found to prevent rotting and to greatly
increase the size and beauty of the fruit, while not injuring the
flavor in the least.

In mentioning the different small fruits, the distances at which
they should be planted are recommended with the supposition that
each are to be grown alone, or at least independent of any of the
others. But where land is plenty, and there is enough uncul-
tivated on most farms, I would recommend that not less than one-
half acre be devoted to the small-fruit garden, planting all together
and at greater distances, which will be of great advantage in case
of drouth. The best plan that I know of would be to mark off
the field in straight rows six feet apart each way, which is none too
far for raspberries, blackberries, and grapes, while currants and
gooseberries will bear enough larger and finer fruit if given such
an amount of room. And by planting four or five strawberry
plants in each hill, and allowing them to form a large matted hill
one and one-half to two feet across, an amount of fruit may be

46 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

obtained that will astonish any one who has not tested the matted
hill system. By planting six feet apart we would get about six
hundred hills on one-half acre; say fifty each, early and medium,
and one hundred late ripening strawberries; fifty early and twenty-
five late black-caps; twenty-five early and fifty late red raspberries;
twenty-five yellow raspberries; twenty-five early and fifty late
blackberries; thirty red, fifteen white, and five black currants;
fifteen gooseberries; and eighty-five grape vines of early, medium,
and late ripening varieties.

A field planted in this way could be cultivated at one-half the
cost of that of one in rows, where it would be impossible to use
the horse and cultivator as freely as this would admit of; for in the
fruit garden, as in all of our farm operations, our aim should be
to produce the best crops at the least expense of hand labor; the
horse and cultivator being made use of whenever possible.

Enemies.—There are a number of enemies more or less destruct-
ive in the small-fruit garden; none, however, that I know need be
feared to any extent here in Connecticut, if simple precautions are
taken to prevent in season.

The common white grub is often quite destructive to the roots
of strawberry plants; but.as it is seldom found except in land that
has recently been in sod, it is best to plant on land that has been
cultivated for some years previously; but if grubs are known to
be in the ground, they can be prevented from doing any harm by
sprinkling a little flour of sulphur in and around the roots at time
of planting.

The rust or leaf blight, so destructive to many strawberry plan-
tations in recent years, seems to affect some varieties much more
than others, and to a certain extent can be prevented by planting
only those varieties the least liable to its attacks. It usually shows
itself first during warm, wet weather, the last of May or early
part of June; first a few brownish red spots, not much larger than
the head of a pin, are seen, but these soon spread rapidly over the
whole leaf, and often in a week or ten days three-fourths of all
the foliage will be brown and dry, about ruining the whole crop
of fruit. Following the lead of friend Olcott, I have found that
a very light dusting of lime will entirely prevent this, if taken in
time; knowing just the weather that will breed this fungus, keep
a stock of lime on hand and you will be able to prevent it to a
great extent.

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 4T

The raspberry cane borer, and the blackberry rust, have thus
far done very little damage in this part of the country. When-
ever they appear it is best to cut out the canes and burn them, and
thus prevent spreading.

The green currant worm, both on currant and gooseberry bushes,
is easily destroyed by dusting with white hellebore or air-slacked
lime. Mildew on the grape is held in check to a great extent by
the use of sulphur blown on with a bellows.

V ARIETIES.

In selecting varieties to plant there are now so
many good ones to choose from that little fear need be had of get-
ting any that will not give good'results; but as the best cost no
more than the poorest, it is well to use some care in the selection.
Choose varieties that are known to do well in your own immediate
locality, rather than highly praised novelties. The following list
comprises, so far as I know, the best of the old and new varieties
that are well adapted to the family garden. Some few of the new
ones of course are not fully tested, yet having fruited them all on
our own grounds by the side of many of the standard sorts, I
am convinced that the ones named are well worthy of trial. And
from the older varieties I have left off many that are quite valua-
ble yet lacking in some essential quantities found in the newer
sorts. Crescent Seedling, Miner’s Prolific, Kentucky and Sharp-
less, of the older ones, and Manchester, Mt. Vernon, Piper, Mrs.
Garfield, Daniel Boone, and James Vick of the new varieties of
Strawberries. Souhegan for early and Gregg for late black caps,

“Hansell for early and Cuthbert for late red, and Caroline for
yellow make up the raspberry list. Early Harvest and Snyder for
blackberries. Red Dutch, Fay’s Prolific, and Victoria for red;
White Grape for white and Lee’s Prolific for black, give a grand.
list of currants. Downing and Smith’s improved for Gooseberries.
Early Victor, Worden, Concord, and Herbert for black; Brighton,
Delaware, Jefferson, and Vergennes for red, and Lady, and Pock-
lington for white grapes, will give a succession of fresh fruits from
June till mid-winter.

Thus far I have said very little as to the uses of the different
species of small fruits, and while I have no doubt that it would
only be doing the proper thing to spend some little time in explain-
ing the many different ways in which they may be served, either
in their fresh or preserved state, I think we can safely trust it to

48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

the Yankee ingenuity of our ladies to find some way to use all the
fruits we will be likely to supply them.

I can think of nothing better to close this paper with than the
following from Leisure Hours for Feb., 1884. ‘Home without a
mother is a familiar phrase, as is also home without a baby, but a
home without a fruit garden seems, to us, to be no home at all.”

Mr. Biot. I would like to ask Mr. Hale what time he
has found to be the best season for pruning grape-vines ?

Mr. Hate. Ours are usually pruned in November.

Mr. Biot. Does it make any difference what time you
prune them, between November and March ?

Mr. Hate. We have a lady in our family about seventy-
eight years old who takes care of those 116 grape-vines. She
could tell you a great deal more about it thanI can. We
furnish the vines and set them out and she takes the entire
charge of them.

Mr. Bior. She is not here ; I am interested in grapes and
want to know whether it makes any difference what time they
are pruned.

Mr. Hate. Mr. Williams of New Jersey can answer that
question a great deal better than I can.

Mr. Biot. We would like to hear from Mr. Williams, then.

Mr. Wiuuiams. I think it makes no difference if the wood
is thoroughly matured. It used to be the received opinion
that the vines should be pruned in the spring, but I think
fall pruning is about right. I have just finished mine—about
a week ago.

Mr. Van Deusen. Mr. Hale spoke about close pruning. I
would like to know what he calls *‘ close pruning ?’’ Whether
to one bud, two buds, or more ?

Mr. Hate. Keep it down to the stake, not over six feet
high. That is not supposed to be very close.

Mr. Van Deusen. Suppose it to be on a trellis, fan-shaped,
and spread out, do you prune to one or two buds ?

Mr. Hate. She usually prunes to two buds, where we get
the best grapes.

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 49

Mr. Van Deusen. Such a vine would bear about how
many ?

Mr. Hate. From one four-year-old vine of the Early
Victor variety, we picked this year about seventeen pounds.

Mr. Van Deusen. We have some forty vines. A year ago
we had a grape-vine on the side of our house where they
picked two bushels of Concord grapes. We have an arbor
about 330 feet long. I stood one day looking at that vine on
the side of the house, and I said, ‘‘ There are more grapes
on the side of the house than there are on 660 feet of arbor.”
I took it into my head to see if there could not be something
done. I had trimmed to two buds heretofore and rubbed off
the first one, leaving only one that fruited. This vine is ten
years old and it has borne every year since it was three years
old. This year I have no doubt it had six bushels ; the year
before I think they told me it bore ten bushels. I think that
when you cut a vine down to one bud or two buds it is a great
shock to the system. A grape-vine, and especially a Con-
cord vine which is a very rapid grower, should have plenty of
room, and if you set your vines further apart, you would get
better grapes and more of them, and we should not have to
pay the nursery man so much for vines. (Laughter and
applause. )

Mr. Bior. I would like to ask Mr. Hale if, in this climate,
we do not have a stronger vine and better fruit if we trim
the Concord to six or seven feet ?

Mr. Hatz. The best fruit I have seen grown here has
been grown on a stalk not more than five or six feet high.

Mr. Biot. In Europe, along the Rhine, and through
France and Germany, they cut the vines down to four feet;
but does not the Concord require a little higher trellis than
other grapes in this country ?

Mr. Hate. It is a little freer grower than others. I should
not think you would get any better fruit.

Mr. Hinman. I would like to inquire if the Rogers No. 4

does not want more wood than the Concord—a great deal ?
ie

50 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. { Jan.

I have no luck at all in trimming that. If I let the vines
run by themselves, they give me good crops; but whenever I
have pruned, it has been at a loss of fruit. I was through
Mr. Dickerman’s vineyard this fall, and he told me that he
had found precisely the same result. He said he was obliged °
to let some vines take care of themselves; they had a little
of the wild Indian in them, and it was necessary to allow
them to take to brush occasionally, in order to produce good
fruit.

Mr. Hane. The only Rogers No. 4 we have runs over the
broadside of the house, and bears well. It goes without any
pruning whatever.

Mr. Gotp. When in California this past summer, I
noticed, on some of the best fruit farms, that the foreign
grapes were trimmed to a single stump, two or three feet
high, and bore their fruit close to the ground. On those
same farms American grapes were also cultivated, on trellises,
and a pretty liberal growth of vine allowed. They said they did
not admit of the same short pruning as the foreign grapes;
that their system was entirely different with regard to the
Isabella, Catawba, Concord, and others, than with the foreign
varieties that they were growing upon those same fruit farms.

Mr. Biot. That is the information I would like to get. I
know of foreign fruit farms where they raise grapes, and they
cut some of them as low as two feet and a half. That is the
Chasselas; and they hold themselves, without any support.
But in this climate, is it not better to let them grow seven or
eight feet? Would we not have more and better grapes, and
would not the vines last longer, and be more thrifty ?

Mr. Gop. Our New Jersey friends ought to answer this
question for us.

Mr. Buor. I have seen grape-vines trimmed here by for-
eigners, who had just come over from the old country, and
they trimmed them down to four or five feet, and invariably
the fruit has been poor. I would like to know from some one
who has had more experience than I have had, if our Ameri
can grapes do not require a little longer trimming ?

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. au

Mr. JrEssE P. Rogers, of New Jersey. I believe one of
the great points in trimming grapes is to get very fine fruit—
large, heavy clusters. To do that, with most vines, short
trimming is required; say, of the Concord, from four to six
feet. Rogers’ Hybrid has been spoken of here. Almost all
of the Rogers’ Hybrids, the Diana, and several others of that
style of grape, need very long arms—twenty, thirty, or forty
feet; and, with arms of that length, as a general rule, the
grapes are a great deal better. No arbitrary rule can be laid
down for trimming grape-vines; but they must be trimmed
according to the nature of the vine itself. But I should think
that a vine not trimmed at all would run all over creation,
and get away from us. The very gentleman who said, this
morning, that he would keep oats from his horses if they ran
away from him, now says: ‘Trim your grapes very long.”
Iam sure his horse would get away from him there.

Mr. Fenn. I have made a practice of taking the laterals,
such as I wanted to fruit next season, and cutting away the
old wood, retaining the new, and from those branches which
put out, | have obtained not only the ‘best fruit, but the
largest, and finest bunches. I have a Diana vine, which I set
out more for shade than anything else. I would not under-
take to say how many grapes that vine has borne; but I know
it has borne a great many. It is in a locality where the
grapes do not ripen very well; they do not get sun enough,
and some seasons I get a poor crop; but a majority of the
seasons they ripen well. A-great many claim that I am
severe in cutting; but I always cut away the old wood, retain-
ing the new, and I have the best results from that system of
pruning. I only give it as my experience. I don’t know
whether it is best for others to follow it or not.

Mr. Biot. I have always done that way myself. I had a
three-year-old grape-vine this year that gave me thirty pounds
of grapes. What I want to know is, as between cutting to
four or five feet, as they do in Europe, and seven or eight
feet—which would be the most profitable ?

Mr. Avcur. I have listened with very much interest to

52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

the paper which we have had this afternoon, and I think it is
to be very highly commended; and especially, I would say,
Mr. Hale’s selection of varieties is capital.

This matter of pruning grapes has been alluded to, and it
is a matter of very great importance; I think more than
almost anything else, except the cultivation. The Concord
grape has been spoken of; and that is the grape of the coun-
try. Probably nine-tenths of all the grapes that go to the
New York market are Concords. I wish they were better;
but they are fairly good, and the people are satisfied with
them. The question is—How to raise the Concord grape, and
how to prune it? I was pleased with the remark of our
friend, Mr. Rogers, of New Jersey, in regard to different
varieties requiring different management. I think that is
eminently so. Indeed, I know it. is so. What is necessary
for the Concord will not do at all for the Delaware.

In regard to the Concord, I spent most of last week up the
Hudson, visiting the vineyards there, and enjoyed it exceed-
ingly. I saw a great many extensive vineyards. They have
a way of raising the Concord grape there which is perhaps a
little peculiar to their locality, but they are very successful.
I saw vineyards there from which over ninety tons had been
shipped. ‘Their method is what is known as the Kniffen sys-
tem, and it consists of posts, with a trellis of two wires, one
three feet from the ground and the other about six or six and
a half. The vine is trained so as to form, you might call it,
a double T. . There are two arms that run on the first wire
and two on the upper wire. The vines are planted about
eight or nine feet apart, and occasionally a man plants them
as‘far apart as ten feet,—but I think that is the exception,—
and, as Mr. Fenn has very well remarked, they manage to
raise their fruit on young wood., This is a peculiarity, and
they feel that it is a necessity ; and I find that old arms and
short spurs are what they detest. But, on the other hand,
they calculate to get a new arm on a wire, each way, each
year, and limit the fruit production to those new arms.

If any one should happen to be at the railroad station in

1884. ] THE FARMER'S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 53

Marlboro’ or Newburgh, in the shipping season, he would be
simply astonished. He will find twenty tons, and more, going
to New York in a single night.

Well, as I remarked, they use the Kniffen system exclu-
sively for growing the Concord. I think all of them adopt
that. On the other hand, for the Delaware, they adopt an
entirely different plan. Mr. Holmes, at Little Hope, near
Newburgh, who has probably the best Delaware vineyard on
the Hudson,—at all events, the best I have seen,—cuts away
everything to within six inches of the ground, except one new
cane, and that up six feet high. The laterals of that new
cane are trained off each way, perhaps two feet and a half.
He sold his Delaware grapes this year, in New York, at from
eighteen to twenty-five cents a pound, wholesale, where the
Concords were bringing from two and a half to three. cents.
But he only raised about half the amount per vine that he got
from his Concords. He calculated to get from his Concord
vines about twenty pounds of choice fruit to a vine, and
from his Delawares about ten pounds. But they were won-
derfully choice, and, as I remarked before, for a considerable
portion of his Delaware grapes he got twenty-five cents a
pound. He feels greatly encouraged in raising Delaware
grapes at that price.

The yield from some of their best vineyards on the Hudson
river has been reported as being six tons to the acre, on land
upon some of which you would hardly venture to plant corn.
I found that Mr. Holmes’s (and several others have imitated
him) had but one arm, about six feet long, and that is trained
up vertically.

Mr. Biot. What time do they pinch back the laterals ?

Mr. Aucur. That is done in summer, after the fruit is
set. .

Mr. Buor. For the Delawares, as well as the others ?

Mr. Avcur. Yes.

Mr. Buot. How far do they allow the laterals to grow
before they pinch them ?

.

54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Mr. Aucur. I was not there in the fruit season ; the fruit
was all gathered. I only saw the naked vines ; but I should
judge, from two and a half to three feet each way from the
main stem. Weall understand that the fruit is produced on
the present season’s wood, and from each of those eyes on this
vertical stem there is a branch which has from three to four
clusters, and where the wood is tolerably short-jointed there
are a good many branches and a good many clusters; those
are thinned out and the wood shortened back a little, accord-
ing to the growth. :

Mr. WHEELER. I would like to ask Mr. Augur or Mr. Hale
if the practice of girdling vines during the fruiting season is
recommended now, as it was some few years since ?

Mr. Aucur. I believe it is a practice that is very generally
condemned. It is occasionally done in order to secure larger
fruit; but, in a great many of the horticultural societies, it is
against the rule to accept fruit from girdled vines.

Question. I would like to ask if they take a new cane for
the next year ?

Mr. Aucur. They do, invariably, from near the ground.

Mr. Wiuuiams. The locality that my friend speaks about
is noted throughout the land as being one of the finest grape-
growing regions in this country. It is a paradise, compara-
tively speaking. They know nothing of mildew or rot, the
two great difficulties with which we Jerseymen have to con-
tend. The climate in this respect has a great deal to do with
the success of grape culture. What the climate is here in
Connecticut I cannot say, and it would be unwise and pre-
sumptuous for me to advise you how to prune your vines.

Perhaps the idea that this gentleman on my left has advanced
may have something to do with it. Itis a question whether
we do not get better crops if we give our grape-vines light and
air than we do if we adopt the system which Mr. Augur has
described as practiced on the Hudson. I have long been of
the impression that mildew is largely developed and fostered
where the air is' confined near the ground. I have always

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 55

found mildew near the surface on my vines. Of course, if we
trim our vines any considerable distance from the ground, we
will get less radiation from the surface; but if we can avoid
mildew, that will be an important element in the raising of
good crops.

Mr. Buor. That was the reason I asked the question.
Through Burgundy, the middle and south of France, Italy,
the Rhenish provinces, and Germany, there is comparatively
no dew at the time the grape commences to turn; but in this
climate we generally have very heavy dews at that season. It
is my impression that dew has something to do with mildew,
and, by trimming our grape-vines up higher, I think we should
avoid the effect of mildew, to some extent at least.

Mr. Wituiams. That is the advantage of California. They
ean pick their grapes from the vines and throw them upon
the ground, and remove them when they please. Apropos of
this subject, I had a letter from a friend in Burlington county,
N. J., who practiced the European method of short pruning,
who has always been successful in taking the prizes at the
exhibitions. I don’t think we can do it. This last season
has been the worst that I have ever experienced in my life,
for grape-growing. So that it will not do to lay down general
rules. We have had heavy dews and we have had very cold
nights—the thermometer down to 50 or 56 every night.

Mr. Aucur. I would like to ask Mr. Williams, from New
Jersey, if he has noticed any difference in regard to the rot
and mildew between those vines which were partially shel-
tered and those which stood in the open ground.

Mr. WituiAms. My vines are all in the same condition, as
near as maybe. I have adopted the Kniffen system of prun-
ing, because it is the simplest I have known of, and I cannot
say that I have found any difference with the rot. I think it
has appeared more on the lower arms, as a general thing,
than on the others. I know that when I was a boy I could
grow Isabella grapes as good as anybody ever wished to put
in his mouth, but I have not been able to do it of late years.

*

56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

QuesTIon. Will the gentleman give us the method by
which Isabella grapes can be grown to perfection ?

Mr. Wiuiams. . I cannot tell you how to doit. I know I
used to do it. In fact, they grew themselves. We put them
on a trellis and let them run. We merely pruned them to
one or two buds, and we could get as fine clusters of Isabellas
and as fine berries as you can get from Rogers’ Hybrids;
but we cannot do it now.

Question. Will the gentleman explain whether pruning
has ever been a success with any of the Scuppernong varie-
ties of grapes ?

Mr. Witutams. I should not expect to grow the Isabella,
or any of that class, if I did not prune pretty severely, because
any grape-vine that will produce fruit will kill itself by over-
bearing if you do not prune it. The great trouble is, that we
expect the vines to do too much. You might as well expect
a five or ten-year-old child to do the work of an adult. Up
the Hudson, the section Mr. Augur speaks about, the best
growers estimate on fifteen pounds per vine. If they can get
fifteen pounds from a vine they are satisfied.

Mr. Aucur. Speaking of the Isabella grape, we have one
vine of the Isabella which is on an arbor between the main
part of the house and’ the L, and I think we have not missed
a crop of well-ripened fruit for the last eight or ten years.
This fall we have enjoyed them exceedingly. But this vine
is partially sheltered. We avoid cold currents, and perhaps
dew, to some extent, and we always expect a well-ripened
crop from that vine.

Mr. I have no theory, but I have a bit of experience
that may be useful. I have a Diana vine which was set out
twenty years ago, and it soon covered the side of the house,
embracing about 1,800 square feet. I have not failed of a
crop but one year, and that was when I took it down and
trimmed it. I have had from four to six bushels of well-
formed clusters every year.

Mr.

My experience has been directly the reverse of

1884. ] THE FARMER’S SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 57

that of the gentleman from New Jersey. Wherever I have
trimmed an Isabella vine, 1 have not got so good fruit. I
have seen it, in the southern country, from forty to sixty feet
high, and I do not believe the Scuppernong grape can be
pruned to any advantage.

Mr. I will tell you my experience. I have culti-
vated one vine for nearly twenty years. It is protected on
the southeast. I let it grow until it gets as big round as a
quarter, or a little larger. Then, when a sucker comes up
from the bottom, and gets about the size of my thumb, I cut
up the old stock and let it run. I have not failed for twenty
years in getting a crop of nice, large, splendid Isabellas. I
wilt guarantee that any man who will try that method will
succeed. I have had them’ entirely ripe the thirteenth of
September.

Mr. Ropcers. I think that the difficulty is this: that if
vines are not summer pruned, as a general thing, the fruit-
eye will not form a vigorous growth, and, if the vine is
trimmed, the eyes will not develop and produce fruit, and a
great deal of the crop is lost in that way.

Mr. Biot. I would like to know of those gentlemen who
do not prune grape-vines how many they can set out to the
acre, and how far apart they would set them?

Mr. Hate. One will cover an acre, I guess, if you give it
a chance.

Mr. Biot. There is such a thing as cultivating grapes on
an outbuilding and around the house, but my question relates
to profitable field-culture.

Mr. H. L. Jerrrizes, of Washington Depot. I would like to
inquire of Mr. Hale and Mr. Augur if they have noticed, dur-
ing the past season, a louse, very much like the green aphis,
at work on the under side of the grape-leaves, and also a hole
punctured in the green wood, about a foot from where the
shoot starts? After several of those holes have been punc-
tured the stem dies. I have been called on by quite a num-

58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

ber in New Milford and Kent to look at vines that were
troubled in that way this fall. My attention was not called
to it early enough so that I could find any insect that troubled
the vine; but I have seen whole vineyards of Rogers’ Hyb-
rids, some Isabellas, and even some wild vines in the woods,
troubled with this insect. If any gentleman has had any
experience in this matter I should like to hear it.
Mr. Hate. I have not known of it.

Mr. Aucur. It has not troubled me. I would like to ask
what time in the season it showed itself ?

Mr. Jerrries. My attention was called to it just as the
leaves were falling, this fall. The way I came to go and
examine the vines, a gentleman asked me if I would go and
see what was the matter with his vine; it looked as if it
were being eaten up. The leaves had very much the appear-
ance as if they had been dipped in hot water. If this plague
gets well started, it will not take a great while for it to spread
all over the State. I will take pains to send specimens of
the wood and the insect to any entomologist who will exam-
ine it. I have the insect, whatever it is,in a bottle, and
shall keep it during the winter, and let it hatch out next
spring, to see what it is.

Mr. Aucur. I have a branch that Mr. Jeffries handed me
that is affected in that way ; but it is something that I am
not familiar with. I have not experienced that difficulty
myself. I should suppose that some insecticide would be a
remedy, if you knew just when to apply it.

The CHairMAN. If there is no more to be said on this sub-
ject of fruit-culture, we have some gentlemen here who would
like to discuss the subject of bees. We would be glad to
hear from Mr. Jeffries.

Mr. JEFrries. Jam not going to say a great deal in regard
to handling bees, but there are a few plagues that affect them
as well as other things. My attention was called particu-
larly to an insect that infests hives this summer by a letter
from Mrs. Squires, of Reading, Conn. She wrote to me to

1884.] BEES. 59

make inquiries in regard to a species of red mite, very much
like the small hen-louse, and informed me that within three
miles of her there was an apiary of twenty colonies that had
been very profitable, which was destroyed by that mite last
winter. She noticed them herself this spring, and. they appar-
ently disappeared about the middle of June. On the 20th of
October they again made their appearance, and to such an
extent that some ten days before she wrote to me the hives
were literally covered with them, as thick as ever the inside
of a hen-house was covered with hen-lice. She sent speci-
mens of these insects to Prof. Sherlock, of Lansing, Mich.,
and after a pretty thorough examination he sent word that
he should advise the use of fresh meat, or something similar,
that would entice any carnivorous insect from acting upon
the bees. After he had tried several experiments himself, he
wrote to her again, and advertised in the publications relating
to bees for information on the subject. I find that this insect.
is causing trouble in two or three other places, and threatens
to sweep away, in part at any rate, the honey-gatherers from
this State.

We have not only that pest to trouble us, but we have a
disease called *‘foul brood.” This is a disease of the imper-
fect form of bees—what is called by entomologists the pupa—
while it is in its chrysalis state. Should that sweep through
this State, as there is a fair prospect that it will, not only our
friend Mr. Hale, but all who are engaged in the business of
raising small fruits, will have to suffer. Our honey-bee is
the strongest fertilizer that I know of, and I guess nobody
else watches them more closely than Ido. There is no other
insect that works on the raspberry-blossom as thoroughly as
does the honey-bee. You will find that the honey-bee is the
main fertilizer of the raspberry-bloom.

After hearing from Mrs. Squires on this subject, I wrote to
Mr. Gold to know if he would make a call on the bee-keepers
of the State to investigate the trouble. The parasite can be
carried from apiary to apiary by bees visiting the flowers and
coming in contact with each other. Twenty of these small

60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

insects can lie on the thorax or central part of the honey-bee.
There is only a space about as large as a very small pea for
them to cluster on. They are not noticed by the naked eye,
and, being of the louse family, will deposit their eggs on the
hairs of the body. They are traveling through several parts
of the State, and I have found, by talking with gentlemen
this afternoon, that there is evidence of their presence a short
distance below us here.in the Naugatuck valley. It will take
but a short time, with the distance that bees travel on the
wing, to carry these parasites through the State, and the
rapidity with which they breed will in a short time scatter
them through all the apiaries. There are quite a number of
people in this State who are making a business of apiculture,
and it stands to reason that they should make some move to
find out to what extent these parasites are now working.
That was the reason why I called on Mr. Gold to see if there
could not be a discussion at this meeting in regard to the
parasites and foul brood. I brought some of the specimens
with me, and a sample of foul brood, and if anybody is inter-
ested in the subject, or wants any information on it, I will
try to answer what questions I can, and will give them what
information I can; and I would like to have those who are
possessed of any information to give me some in return.

Mr. Gotp. Let us hear something about foul brood.
Explain the points in connection with that.

Mr. Jerrries. There are two kinds of foul brood with
which I am acquainted. One of them is a malignant type.
That type can be carried from apiary to apiary by the honey-
bee. It is a fungoid growth onthe bee. When the egg is laid it
hatches into larve in three days; it is from five to seven days
a grub, and then is sealed over and remains ina chrysalis state
from eight to about fourteen days, according to the weather,
somewhat. While it is in that chrysalis state it decays and
can be noticed readily by a very offensive smell. Disinfectants
like carbolic acid and soda are used for it. The extent to which
malignant foul brood is detrimental to bees was shown in the
State of Michigan a year ago by five thousand hives being

1884. ] BEES. 61

destroyed by it in one season. The other type, before it gets
free from the chrysalis state, begins to turn yellow. When
they get their full growth in the grub state, before capping,
they will look plump, like any ordinary larve, and then they
will turn a yellowish brown, and finally dry up. It takes
about seventy-two hours from the time the first evidence is
shown of the second type of foul brood before it becomes
developed. Both of them are claimed-by entomologists to be
the results of fungus.

Question. I would like to inquire what the indications are
of the presence of foul brood ?

Mr. Jerrries. In the first stages, you will detect it by
there being a few cells in the comb that are capped over.
On picking them open they will be found to contain the bee in
its most perfect form, but it is a viscid, rotten mass. It holds
its shape, but, at the same time, it is putrified, and the scent
from it is very disagreeable. You could not pass within ten
feet of the hive without smelling it. It leaves the cell ina
dirty-looking state. I dare not carry the malignant type with
me, because it is something that scatters easily.

QUESTION. Can you give any reason why the bees do not
clear that out themselves ?

Mr. Jerrries. They cannot; the cells are capped over,
and they know that there is not a perfect bee there. But they
never have been known to clean it out. If you uncapped the
cells with a knife and put the comb back again, they would -
not remove the putrified corpse, but would desert the hive.

QuESTION. Are we to understand that this is a recent
development ?

Mr. Jerrries. It is something that has been known ever
since the year 1796, but it is spreading, through carelessness,
I think, through several parts of the State.

Mr. Avcur. Do I understand that it is worse now than it
has been for a period of years ?

Mr. Jerrries. It is worse than I have been able to find
out that it has ever been previously. In Woodbury, it has

62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

destroyed over one hundred stocks, within three or four years,
in one neighborhood.

Mr. Aucur. Can you ‘suggest any sanitary conditions by
which it can be avoided ?

Mr. Jerrrics. No; I cannot. The original cause of its
appearing is not known. The scientists are now at work
upon it to find out, if possible, where it first shows itself.

Question. Can you tell whether bees work by moonlight
or not ?

Mr. Jerrries. Yes, sir; they do during the bass-wood
season. I will relate an instance that will answer the ques-
tion exactly. In 1876, I was at Mr. Stone’s, in Woodbury,
when he came up from the river about half-past seven o’clock
at night, and he said there was a swarm of bees in a bass-
wood tree down by the river. I doubted it, and went down
there to look for myself, and found they were at work very
busily. I then went to where I had two hives on a knoll, and
I found the bees were going back and forth quite rapidly.
Since then quite a number have noticed the same thing, so
we know that, during the bass-wood season, they will work,
where those trees are close by, by moonlight.

Question. How far was this bass-wood tree from the
hives ?

Mr. Jerrries. The farthest hive that I know of might
have been an eighth of a mile distant.

Question. How far do you think a bee goes in the day-
time from his own hive ?

Mr. Jerrries. The only way that I can answer that ques-
tion is by saying that, in 1878, I had a hive of Italians in
Woodbury, and there not being any other Italians nearer than
Bridgeport or Meriden, they were found over in Roxbury
Centre, which was some six and a half miles from where I
had the hives standing.

Question. Do you think that the Italian bee will go further
from the hive than the common bee ?

1884. BEES. 63

Mr. Jerretes. Yes, sir; I cannot positively prove that,
because I have no way of tracing the black bee. We can
take the Italians into a locality where there is nothing but the
black bee, but we cannot take black bees into a locality where
there are only Italians.

Qurstion. Does Mr. Jeffries recommend crossing the
Italian with the common bee ?

Mr. Jerrries. No, sir; Idonot. +

Question. Would you prefer the Italian over the common
bee ?

Mr. JEFFRIES. Yes, sir.

Question. Why?

Mr. Jerrertes. Because I am convinced, from what I have
seen of them since 1872, that they are far stronger honey
gatherers and more gentle to handle. They are more prolific
and stronger of flight. On an average, three good, strong
Italian hives will give as large a yield as five hives of the ordi
nary bee. That is about where they have stood ina great
many trials.

QuesTIon. Is the result of a cross between the Italian and
the native more good natured than the Italian itself ?

Mr. Jerrries. No, sir; they are more vicious, as a rule.

Question. Are they more vicious than the common bee ?

Mr. Jerrrigs. Yes, sir.

Question. Can you tell, in one word, how to prevent the
moth miller—that is the greatest foe that we experience ?

Mr. Jerrries. Yes; keep good, strong stocks, use a
moveable comb hive, and what harm the moth miller does you
will never know.

Question. Can you get an Italian stock of bees by putting
Italians into a hive of common bees ?

Mr. Jerrries. Yes, sir; every time.
Question. How long will it take ?

Mr. Jerrriss. About forty-five days in the height of the
honey season. |

64 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Question. The next brood will be perfect Italians ?

Mr. Jerrries. If the queen is pure, and purely mated.

Mr. Van Hoosear of Wilton. Would Mr. Jeffries put his
bees in a cellar in winter to keep them ?

Mr. JErrries. In regard to putting stocks in a cellar to
winter, if I had a cellar properly situated, and from fifty to
one hundred and fifty or more stocks, I should winter them
in the cellar; otherwise, I should not. Unless there are
stocks enough to maintain a degree of heat from forty-two to
forty-eight, it is more detrimental to put them in a cellar
than to keep them out; that is, as far as I have known of its
being tried. Keeping them in the cellar during the winter
does not have much to do with it, but when you bring them
out in the spring they are apt to die off very quick.

Question. I would like to ask Mr. Jeffries if he ever knew
a hive buried during the winter in the ground?

Mr. Jerrrigs. Yes, sir; I have. There are a great many
hives buried, and they are buried very successfully, too. If
there are two or three benches, I consider that is one of the
best ways you can keep them, and the safest way, for two
reasons. The great enemy that bees have during the winter
time is man himself. They are in a partially dormant state,
and when they have once clustered and got into their own
quarters, they want a severe letting alone until they come out
of themselves. To disturb a hive of bees in winter, when
they are once clustered, is as sure death to them as taking a
good dose of arsenic is to a man.

Mr. Van Hoosear. Would you ever bank a hive with
snow ?

Mr. Jerrrics. I have banked hives with snow very success-
fully, but how much banking is necessary is not positively
known. I have seen them four feet under the snow, where
they have wintered safely; I could not ask them to winter
any better. But to go and stamp the snow around the hive
for the sake of getting it there, I should say would jar the
bees so much that it would do more harm than the snow

1884. ] BEES. 65

would do good; the one would counteract the good effect of
the other.

Question. Can that degree of heat which you speak of be
maintained outside of a cellar ?

Mr. Jerrries. Not without a house. Whenever packed
out of doors, the main object is to keep them as cool as possi-
ble, keep them quiet, and prevent their consuming more honey
than is in stock; and that same packing that keeps them cool
and quiet during the winter time, when they warm up'in the
spring, prevents their feeling the changes of weather which
keeps them at such an even temperature that brooding is .
carried on steadily. Where they commence to breed pretty
freely and there comes a cool spell to such an extent as to
cause them to contract their cluster, there are two things
lost; one is the loss of the extra amount of honey consumed,
and the other is the loss of the young bees that should replace
the old ones. It takes one old bee to raise one young one
early in the season.

Question. What is the general age of bees?

Mr. Jerrries. During the hcight of the honey season, the
age of the workers is from forty to forty-five days. When
they are not gathering honey, they live from five to six
months. A young working bee that is hatched in September,
October, or November, will live through until March and
April, perhaps into May, according to the winter; but one
that is hatched the middle of June will not live to exceed
forty-five days; at least, I cannot find that they live longer
than that.

Mr. Van Hoosear. Will you tell us about how many
queens are hatched in a hive at a single breeding ?

Mr. Jerrries. The number of queens hatched in a hive is
according to the age of the cells when started. If the eggs
are all laid in one day, and there should be fifty eggs laid in
queen’s cells, and they hatch simultaneously, we should find

that number of queens in the hive; but, invariably, the queen
5

66 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [ Jan.,

that hatches first will destroy the rest, unless the stock is
strong. :

Question. Does the queen ever feed herself, or is she fed
by the workers ?

Mr. Jerrries. Both ways. Sometimes she feeds herself,
and sometimes they feed her. During the height of the honey
season, when they are gathering honey freely and she is laying
rapidly, any bee that happens to come in with a lot of honey
and passes her will offer her food. I have noticed that by
watching them in a hive with but one comb and glass on both
sides.

QuEsTION. When you send a queen through the mail, why
do you put workers with her? Is it to feed her?

Mr. Jerrries. More for company than anything else. A
queen alone does not carry well.

QuestIon. About how many do you ship with her?

Mr. Jerrrtes. The distance that the queen is to be trans-
ported makes a difference in the number of workers that
should be shipped with her. If she was not going more than
a mile or two, I should put her into the same cage I was going
to introduce into the hive; but if I was going to‘send her five
hundred miles, I should put from a dozen to twenty-five or
thirty workers with her, according to the season of the year.
Early in the spring and late in the fall she would need more
than she would in the height of the summer season.

Question. How many eggs does a bee lay, usually, for one
brood ? vad

Mr. JEFFRIES. They are continually laying from the time
they begin in the spring until they shut off in the fall.

QUESTION. Can you give an estimate of the aggregate °
number ?

Mr. JEFFRIES. I cannot give you an estimate without
figuring, because the number varies considerably. Hxperience
this summer has proved that they will lay twenty-four hundred
eggs in twenty-four hours. The way we verify that is by

1884. ] BEES. 67

putting a new piece of comb into the center of the brood-
comb, taking it out after a certain length of time, and meas-
uring a given number of cells that have eggs in them.

Mr. Bru. If a working bee lives but the short period of
time of which the speaker has told us, I would like to make
the inquiry where he “shuffles off his mortal coil,’ whether
in the field gathering honey or around the hive ?

Mr. Jerrries. I never have been able to find out yet, and
I doubt if anybody else has decidedly found out, that bees stay
in the hive to die, unless it is in the winter time. I have
noticed a great many bees that appeared as though they were
troubled with some disease, or were going to die, that would
crawl out of the hive to the ground, perhaps but a few feet from
the hive, and there die. A great many bees that come out
in the morning never get home; and not only in the morning,
but all through the day. If a bee dies in the hive he is
immediately carried out.

Question. I would like to ask the gentleman if he ever
finds a stock that is dead in the spring, with plenty of honey
in the hive, and if he can give any cause for it?

Mr. JEFFRIES. Yes, sir. One reason assigned for a stock
of bees dying out during the winter, leaving a hive full of
honey, is that the stock is weak in the fall, and another
is that they become queenless. When a stock of bees casts a
swarm, the old queen leaves that hive, and, after leaving the
hive, there are no queens for the hive except in the embryo
state. These chew their way out of the cells after the old
stock leaves, and when they are from three to five, or perhaps
eight days old, they fly out of the hive to seek mates. That
mating time is a critical period with the old stock. If the
queen is caught by a bird or insect or fails to arrive safely at
her own hive, that swarm is queenless, unless the apiarist
replaces the queen or furnishes the means to raise another.
A stock in a box hive in that condition will very often con-
tinue to work as though they had a queen, and, there being
no queen to replace the old bees with young oues, and the old

68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

bees not being worn out by raising a brood, they will, perhaps,
continue until late in the fall, and the next thing the bee-
keeper knows, he finds in the spring that his hive is without
bees, but with plenty of honey.

Question. Is the queen a bee that very often goes out
from the hive?

Mr. JEFFRIES. A queen goes out en two occasions from the
hive; once for the purpose of mating, and after that for the
purpose of leading a swarm. Under no other circumstances
are queen bees, as a rule, known to leave the hive, except
when they are taken out.

Mr. Van Hoosear. What do people mean when they say
“the king bee?”’ Do they mean they do not know anything
about it?

Mr. Jerrries. That is it, exactly. They show that they
are ignorant of what they are talking about. There were
works written years and years ago in which the chief one of
the hive was spoken of as “the king bee;”’ but Francis Huber,
in 1796, gave to the world a positive elucidation of the fact
that the chief bee in a hive was a female, consequently, a
queen. But she is not a queen, so far as any royal power is
concerned. |

QursTION. When a colony leaves their home with more
than one queen, what is the cause and the result ?

Mr. Jerrries. If a stock of bees issues with more than
one queen, it is from one of two causes. First, if the stock
contains an old queen in the spring, and they feel disposed to
supersede her and raise another one, they are going to ‘“‘ make
assurance doubly sure”’ by trying to raise several. If three
or four, more or less, of those hatch at the same time, the
bees, if the stock is very strong, will protect those young
queens, and, not being disposed to have more than one, or not
allowing more than one to stay in the hive, they will attempt
to swarm, and very often all the queens there are in the hive
will issue with that swarm; consequently, when they are
hived, they haye a fight, and one remains. Then the result

1884. ] BEES. 69

is either queenlessness in the original stock, or more than one
in the swarm that issues.

Dr. Bowrn. The gentleman has spoken of a hive being
deprived of its queen; is there not such a thing as taking a
cell intended for a common bee, nourishing the larva, and
having it grow into a queen ?

Mr. Jerrries. Yes, sir, the bees will do that. In order
to obtain that result, you take a stock of bees that has the
larvee in all stages, from one day up to capping, and deprive
them of their queen, in the space of two or three hours, they
will go to work and enlarge the cells of grubs that would
otherwise be workers or imperfect females, and by nourishing
those larve and feeding them with a richer pabulum, they will
produce a queen. The difference between the queen and the
worker is, that in the queen the ovarian organs are developed
and in the worker they are suppressed.

Dr. Bowen. Is a queen bee hatched as soon as the others ?

Mr. Jerrries. Exactly the same. From fifteen days and
eighteen hours from the time the egg is laid up to sixteen
days and ahalf. That is the longest time that we can find.
It makes no difference whether you take a grub that would
be a worker or whether you take an egg laid purposely for a
queen, in a queen’s cell.

Mr. Van HoosEar. Can you tell us why honey will not
run out of a cell that is not full ?

Mr. Jerrries. Because of atmospheric pressure. That is
the only answer that I can give you. When a cell is filled
with honey by the bee, it is not filled perpendicularly full, as
it is where you cut the capping off. They fill the cell with an
oblique dip, by pressing over the back of it, and when they
cap it, they commence to cap it on the lower side, capping
until they reach nearly the upper edge of the cell. The way
the expert in handling honey determines whether a box of
honey was put up by the Italian or by the common black bee
(and he does not have to be a very great expert, either, to be
able to tell) is by the way the capping is put on. The black

¢

70 - - BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.}

bee does not put the cap directly on top of the honey, while
the Italians will fill the cell as full as they can get it.

Question. Is there any covering put on that honey as the
bee passes along ?

Mr. Jerreies. Nothing but wax as it falls from the bee as
it comes from the mouth of the cell. We cannot find any
other covering by looking at it closely with a strong magnify-
ing glass. |

Mr. Crorrut. Do you think if bees are well cared for
there is food enough in Connecticut to support any number of
them ?

Mr. Jerrries. As near as I can find out, there are between
fifty and seventy-five thousand stocks in the State of Con-
necticut to-day. In places where we have been showing people
how to change from the old-fashioned box hive to the movable
hive plan, I find that they are just about trebling, and in some
cases increasing four times, the number of stocks that were
originally in the locality. Those stocks, under the improved
care, and by saving the best, seem to give four times the
amount of honey that they did before in the box hives. I
think that the number of stocks that there are in the State
can be increased six or eight times, and, with proper care,
make a very good paying investment. Where they are prop-
ly taken care of, I believe that the people are satisfied that
they pay as well as anything else they can do. I know two
or three men, within a few miles of where we now are, who
have obtained from four to six hundred dollars this year as
the result of taking care of twenty or thirty stocks in movable
comb hives. You may think that everybody can do that. I
do not think so, because you have got to understand bees in
order to take advantage of them, and if you don’t take ad-
vantage of them, you will not get the benefit. It is a math-
ematical problem in regard to handling them clear through,
because you have got to increase your stocks in the spring
at such time as to have the strongest of your working force
in the harvest, or as one of our best bee keepers says: ‘‘ You
must manage to have your bowl right side up when it rains

1884.] BEES. ene

porridge.”” If you allow them to increase without regard to
when your honey harvest is coming, you will not have workers
enough to take the whole of it. It will be just like mowing
your hay field before a shower or cutting down all your hay
at once. Unless you have help enough to get it all up, you
will lose part of your crop. Our honey crop lasts but about
six weeks, and by having our stocks in proper strength in
time, it can be gathered very profitably.

Mr. Van Hoosear. Do bees secrete or extract honey ?

Mr. Jerrries. They extract it from the flower.

Mr. Van Hoosear. Is it perfect honey then ?

Mr. Jerrries. No, sir, itis evaporated afterwards. You
can take almost any of our prolific honey plants and obtain
the liquid from the blossom. Last year, our sumach was so
full of honey, that I could turn a blossom over on a sheet of
white paper and it would be covered with the dilute honey in
its crude form. That would need evaporating about three-
fourths. The honey from flowers does not need so much
evaporation.

Mr. Aveur. I would like to ask Mr. Jeffries if he will
name in their order some of the best honey-producing plants ?

Mr. JEFFRIES. Our best honey-producing plant, early in
the spring, is the yellow willow. It has a spike of flowers
about as long as your finger and about as large round. The
first blossom the bees work on is that of the skunk cabbage,
and, after that, the others that follow are not of much account
other than to start the early breeding. But the first plant
that yields honey in abundance is the yellow willow. Then
come our fruit blossoms, and, when the hard maple blossoms,
that is another. Soft maple is a good honey tree, but it gen-
erally blossoms in a season when the bees cannot get the
advantage of it; they cannot get the honey that it secretes,
and for that reason it does not amount to a great deal. After
the fruit blossoms are gone, and the blossoms from the trees,
there is a little scarcity until we get the white clover blossoms
and the blossoms of small fruits. After the small fruits and

12 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

white clover, we have basswood and whitewood. After bass-
wood, or as itis winding up, come sumach, and our boxing
season is over. That brings us to about the 15th of August,
asarule. In the fall, we have the golden-rod, the asters, and
a species of Spanish needle, as it is known to the bee keepers,
which grows in the swamps and gives a great deal of honey,
and so do heartsease and smart-weed.

Qusstion. I would like to ask a question in regard to the
willow: Whether it is the staminate or pistilate plant that.
bees feed upon ?

Mr. Jerrries. Both of them; because from one they gather
the wax which is absolutely necessary for the brood-comb,
and from the other they gather only honey. The yellow
willow has the most honey in it.

Question. My question had reference to what is sometimes
called ‘‘ pussy willow.”’

Mr. Jerrries. The pussy willow does not amount to much;
it is the yellow willow. The pussy willow has a reddish
flower. The early pussy willow gives us no good results at all.

Mr. Van Hoosgzar. Can the common bee work on the
red clover and get any honey from it ?

Mr. Jerrries. Not much.

Mr. Van Hoosrar. Can the Italian ?

Mr. Jmurrries. They do. The Italian bee works the red
clover quite persistently.

Mr. Hoyt. Are you able to detect any difference in the
fragrance of honey gathered from buckwheat—l have often -
heard it said that it is not as good as other honey ?

Mr. Jerrries. Of course I can; where honey is gathered
entirely from a buckwheat field, you can taste it as strongly
as you can taste the flower when you take it up in your hand.

Mr. Day. At what season of the year do you get the best
kind of honey ?

Mr. Jerrries. If I answer that question, I shall have to
answer it with reference to the kind of honey which I like

1884. ] BEES. te

best. I suppose that the golden-rod gives the finest flavored
honey.

Question. Is there any artificial food that can be fed to
bees profitably to be converted into honey ¢

Mr. Jerrrizs, No, sir; itcannot be done. -You may feed
them anything you have a mind to, and itis just exactly as
you fed it to them when you take it from the comb. Bees
change nothing that they take into the honey sack at all.
Sugar and water fed to them and stored in the comb remains
sugar and water after they have put it there. Itisa good
plan to sow a little salt around the hive; they will work on
it some. I never could notice that there was any honey taste
to sugar and water, and I never have seen anybody else who
could, although it has been fed to bees for the sake of finding
out if the bees, when they stored it in the comb, gave it the
taste of honey to a person who did not know what it was.

QuEsTION. Do bees work on locust trees ?

Mr. Jrrrries. Yes, sir; it is one of the best honey trees.
The flowering locust they do not work much on; the black
locust is the one they work on most. If a person has a stock
of bees it will pay him to plant a black locust tree, and when
it gets to be about eight or ten inches through cut it down for
posts and use it in the fence, and let the stump sprout. You
will get honey enough out of the black locust to pay for the
occupation of your soil. The blossom of the one I mean is
rather pinkish, and the honey is in the lower part of the flower
to such an extent that you can see it plainly with the naked
eye.

Mr. Perhaps I can describe the locust so that the
assembly will know what I mean. It bears a long cluster of
blossoms, and each blossom is like a pea-blossom, somewhat.
The leaves are divided into a great number of segments. It
is classed as a timber tree, and, as Mr. Jeffries says, when it
is cut down it makes first-rate posts and lasts forever.

Mr. JeFrRiEs. There is a little yellow in all of the locust
blossoms.

74 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

QUESTION. Does the bee bite the grape or other fruit ?

Mr. Jerreies. I answered that question last winter at
Rockville. I can satisfy any reasonable man, by an exami-
nation of the mouth of a bee, through a powerful microscope,
that it is impossible for a bee to bite through the skin of
the grape or any other fruit. After the skin has been punc-
tured they will suck the fruit dry of its saccharine substance, |
but they cannot puncture it.

QuEsTION. Does the king bird do much injury to bees ?

Mr. Jerreies. Yes, sir; it is very disastrous round an
apiary.

Question. Whether the queen bee ever stings ?

Mr. JEFFRIES. The queen bee stings her own sisters, but
does not sting people. I have never known of but one
instance where a queen bee stung the person who handled
her.

Prof. J. W. Clark of the Amherst Agricultural College
was called upon to speak on the subject of fruit.

Prof. CLarK. 1 was not here this morning when the paper
was read, and do not know what was said, and if there is any-
thing you want to ask me about, I think it will be best for
you to ask questions.

Question. I would like to know if there is any hope of
peach-trees being cured of the yellows ?

Prof. CuarK. I think the yellows may be a disease and
may not; I don’t think there is anything known certainly
about it. The trouble seems to be that the circulation of the
sap in the tree is clogged; that is, it does not circulate as
freely as it should, and in that way the cells of the wood
become clogged, and what is wanted is to clear the cell and
let the sap circulate freely again. That Prof. Goessmann has
done by fertilizing the tree; that is, by giving it muriate of
potash, bone, and phosphates, and then heading the tree back
severely. I have seen a tree, the leaves of which were not
more than an inch and a half long, very narrow, yellow, and
all rolled up, so that you would think the tree could not live,

1884. | FRUIT. T5

so improved by fertilizing it and then cutting back, that the
leaves were six inches long, an inch and a half wide, and as
dark-green as you ever saw on a peach-tree. By cutting the
tree back you leave only a few buds to start, those start vigor-
ously, the circulation goes on freely, and the tree becomes
healthy. The experiment so far has been successful, but I do
not think it has gone far enough to enable us to say that you
can take any tree which shows signs of yellows and save it.

Mr. A dozen years ago I commenced the cultiva-
tion of peach-trees, and I have had more or less peaches
every year. Until this last season I had a pretty good supply;
but the season was very dry, and I saw certain signs which
indicated a return of the yellows; that is, little diseased
shoots came out of the tree, close down to the root and grew
a few inches with a diseased, pale look. It is the same appear-
ance that we had years ago, when it was so difficult to raise
peaches in this State. The question has been started in one
of our agricultural papers whether there is any hope of saving
our peach-trees, and some person who has had experience
suggested that the best remedy was the axe.

Prof. CLARK. In regard to the growing of peaches, I think
it depends as much on freedom from borers as anything else.
That is something that I think the peach grower has to con-
tend with more than with what you call the “yellows.” I
think a good many say that the yellows have injured their
trees, when the real trouble was the borer. I think that more
young trees die inside of three or four years from the time of
planting on account of the borer than from any other cause.
I had charge of the nursery at the College, and wanted to
sella man some peach trees. He said no; he wasn’t going to
set them out, because the yellows were killing his trees. I
asked him if he had looked for the borer. He said “ yes.”
“ Did you find him?” “No. I went out and looked at his
trees, and from the first one I took out eight or ten borers.
So he went through his whole orchard and found a great
many borers. The year after the trees grew well and looked
healthy. We have found that the borers bother us more

*

76 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

than anything else. We have cut eight or ten trees that
looked as if they had the yellows, because we thought it was
better to remove them rather than run any risk.

Question. What quantity of muriate of potash do you use ?

Prof. Cuarxk. We put on about a pound of muriate of pot-
ash and two pounds of ground bone, and the next spring we
put on as much more—from a pound to two pounds of muri-
ate of potash to a tree.

Question. Do you scatter that around broadcast ?

Prof. Cuarx. Yes, sir; simply putting your fertilizer ‘up
close to the body of the tree does not amount to anything.
Throw it out as far as the limbs go, so that it will cover the
whole ground. ‘The roots will find it, except right up close to
the trunk. Ithink growing trees in grass is a poor plan. I
don’t think grass and fruit trees grow well together.

Mr. Rocers. In regard to the amount of bone-black to be
applied, it is put down in the Massachusetts State Report at
150 pounds per acre; at the Houghton Experiment Farm, it
is put down at 450 pounds, which is the true quantity ?

Prof. CLarx. The more you put on, of course, the better.
You want to give the tree plenty of food to start it vigorously,
so that the food will be at hand and it can get all it needs.
Give a good, liberal dressing. I don’t suppose you will weigh
it out; you can vary a pound one way or the other, and it
will not matter much; but give the tree a good supply of food
and it will look after it itself. If you do not head the tree
back 1 think you will not get so good a result as you will by
heading back, because when you do not head back you have
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of buds to start ; whereas, if you
cut off four-fifths you have enly one-fifth left, and they have
all the roots to grow from and will make a vigorous growth,
when, if you do not head the tree back, it makes only a very
slow growth.

Mr. Hate. Is it not cheaper to prevent them by the use
of a wash than to dig them out? ;

Prof. Cuarx. I doubt it. The insect will lay its eg eg in

1884. ] FRUIT. 17

all parts of the tree. I have dug out grubs in the branches
of a tree that were some distance from the ground. They do
not do the damage there that they do when they are in the
trunk near the ground. When they are in the trunk they
injure the whole tree.

Mr. Hate. We wash the whole of our trees; put the
swab in the crotches of the tree as well as over the branches
and trunk.

Prof. Cuark. Hither way would do, just as you think
advisable.

QueEsTION. What time in the year do you dig them out ?

Prof. CLarK. We dig them outin August and September.
The insect begins to lay about June. Youcan begin the last of
July or first of August. You will find them anywhere from a
sixteenth of an inch long up to an inch and a quarter or
more. I know! dug eut of one tree over thirty very small
ones; they were not as large round asa pin, and not more
than an eighth of an inch long. They had simply got through
the outside skin of the bark.

Mr. Hoyt. Have you ever heard of the use of brimstone
to renew the vigor of peach-trees? I met a gentleman a short
time ago who used to bore a half or three-quarter inch augur
hole into the heart of his peach-trees and fill the hole with
brimstone.

Prof. CLarKk. I think that would be about the same as
hanging old iron or anything else up in the limbs. I think
you want to go below and fight the insect at the roots.

QursTI0onN. Do these borers generally work at the surface
of the earth, around the bottom of the tree?

Prof. CLarKx. The borers generally work near the surface ;
the egg is laid in the body of the tree, generally within a foot
of the ground or lower. Then the borers usually work down.
I have dug down three inches below the surface and found
the borers there.

Question. Would you cut back peach-trees now ?

Prof. Cuarx. Yes, sir; if you cut back your trees now

78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

you would not want to cut off many large limbs without giv-
ing them a wash; that is, something to keep the air out.
They may be trimmed any time from the time they drop their
leaves until spring.

QursTIoN. What wash do you use ?

Prof. Cuark. I use principally metallic paint. It is an
iron paint and is very cheap—about five cents a pound.

Mr. Wiuuiams. If the wash prevents the moth laying her
egos near the surface of the ground, will she not lay them
elsewhere just as well?

Prof. Cxarx. I think the moth will lay her egg in one
place just as readily as another. Of course, when they get
under the bark it is soft, and they have got to go through the
bark above the ground, because the eggs are a little above the
ground.

Mr. WiuuiAms. My impression is that they are more apt
to enter the bark at the ground, where it is soft, than above.

Prof. Cuarx. I think that two-thirds of the thirty I dug

out were eight inches from the ground. They seldom run up ;
more often run in a slanting direction downward, but some
will run straight down.

QuesTION. What cultivation do you give the ground where
you set out your trees ?

Prof. Cuark. We plant the ground with corn, potatoes,
squashes, or anything to keep it under cultivation ; that is, to
keep the soil stirred. I should not want to sow it with grain.

Question. Don’t you think itis advantageous to have the
land rich ?

Prof. CLarK. No, sir; not very rich, because if you have
the land very rich it will induce a rank growth of wood,
which will not ripen. For instance, the fall of 1880, I think
it was, was a damp fall. Our first frost came the 5th of
October, and the trees were growing. That frost was a freeze,
the thermometer went down to 20. It killed the young peach
trees, and apples, pears, quinces, and plums quite to the

a -

1884. ] FRUIT. 79

eround. You want to make your growth slow and have it
firm and well-ripened. Then .your tree will stand a good
degree of cold, when if the wood is soft and full of sap, it
will winter-kill. Do your cultivation the first of the season,
and let it go the last. One difficulty in heading back trees in
the summer is that if you head them back very severely, it
will start a fresh growth, and the wood will be soft. I
think heading a tree back checks the growth and tends to
develop fruit buds; but if you head it back too severely, it
will induce a new growth, and you will get the opposite of
what you are after.

Mr. Ayer. When starting an orchard is it safe to plant
peach stones ?

Prof. CuarK. Yes, sir. I think that if anyone will plant
peach stones and will see to the trees and bud them, he will
get better trees than he will to set them. That is what
we planted. We have set our orchards all over with apples,
and in between we have planted peaches. Where we planted
nine hundred apples, we planted three peach stones for every
apple tree. The stones were not very good, and all of them
did not grow, but we are going to finish it this spring, when
we think we shall have good seed. I think if anyone who
knows how to bud will adopt this method and see to the trees
(they will require a little better care), he will get fruit just
as soon as he will if he sets out trees, and the roots will run
deeper in the soil than where they are cut back in trans-
planting. I do not think the dry weather will affect such
trees as much as it does where they have been reset, for the
deep-feeding roots simply give moisture.

Question. How much wood ashes would it. alge to equal
a pound of muriate of potash ?

Prof. CuarK. A bushel of wood ashes does not contain
over four pounds of potash; probably only about two or three
pounds. It will be cheaper to buy muriate of potash than to
buy ashes, although in ashes you would get some other things
besides potash.

”

80 _ BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Question. In case a peach tree is covered with fruit, and
it comes on dry, as it did in-some portions of our State, this
year, what is the best thing to do?

Prof. Cuarx. If you keep the surface of the soil stirred
the trees will not be affected by drought as much as they
would otherwise, because the breaking up of the surface acts
the same asa mulch. Just stir up the surface, digging down
but an inch or two, and it will form a mulch and stop the
moisture from evaporating as quickly as it does when the soil
is left untouched.

Question. Would you do that at any particular hour ?

Prof. Cuarx. The moisture evaporates most rapidly in the
middle of the day, when the sun shines.

Question. What kinds would you set?

Prof. CLarx. I should set Crawford’s Early. I put that
first. Next, the Old Mixon. You do not get as much per
basket for it, but it is a more vigorous tree than the Craw-
ford’s Late, or the Crawford’s Early, either, and it produces
more fruit. I think the Crawford’s Early is more profitable
than the Late because it is a better bearer. Although the
Crawford’s Late is a little larger, it is sour, it is not of as
good flavor, and the time for peaches begins to go by when
the Crawford’s Late comes in. I should set the Crawford’s
Early, the Old Mixon, and perhaps the Crawford’s Late.

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 81

EVENING SESSION.

The meeting re-assembled at seven o’clock. Mr. Barstow
presided, and introduced as the lecturer, Mr. J. M. Hupparp.

“CONCERNING THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS.”
By J. M. Hussarp.

The ideal utterance upon an occasion of this kind should be
practical and instructive. Some one who has the ability and
the opportunity to master in whole or in part some subject of
interest to us, and who has made good use of both, should tell us
what he has found out, and how the knowledge he has acquired
may be of use to us. It is because I am not able to do this that I
come before you with some embarrassment. But I take refuge in
the thought that suggestion as well as instruction has a value, and
the man responsible for my appearance before you at this time and
with this theme knew that it would be all that I could offer. Ii,
therefore, you fail to receive benefit from what I shall have to say,
the responsibility for your disappointment must be partly his.

The subject which I bring to your attention ‘upon this occasion
has none of the attractions of novelty. Whatever of interest it
excites, or benefit it brings, must be drawn from other sources.

With worthless things, or things which seem worthless, we are
all familiar, and there come to most of us times and seasons when
they seem far too familiar with us. There isn’t any strife for their
possession, nor contest over their ownership. Like the poor, we
have them always with us. Indeed, it seems sometimes as if we
were shut in, imprisoned almost, by them; as if they limited
sharply our achievements and acquisitions and formed an unwel-
come escort, attending us everywhere, and by their constant
presence keeping away the things of worth which are the objects
of our ardent desires. The farmer may think—I know of one
farmer who has sometimes so thought—that he has more than his
share of this most unwelcome escort. The farms are few, if,
indeed, there are any, which do not contain plats of worthless land.
The sandy plain, the rocky ledge, or the saturated bog—how often
the farmer thinks, if I could but sink out of sight that worthless
tract, how gladly I would do it. And if he turn for consolation to

6

82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

the contemplation of his best acres, he-will be pretty apt to find

their value discounted by the presence of worthless material. Of.
his most valuable productions he finds that the value is limited to

a portion, and sometimes a small portion, while the large remain-

der is, or seems, worthless. Meantime, growths which possess no

value whatever, strive with a vigilance which never ceases and a

perseverance which never wearies, to rob his crops of the fertility

lodged in his soil, and of the kindly influences of the sunshine and

the rain. The implements he uses, through wear and exposure,

are constantly and rapidly losing value and becoming worthless.

And as to his living machines, for such may all his domestic
animals be considered, for them time is doing the same work that
wear and exposure do for the others. After maturity, time runs
away with value very rapidly, and the old horse, ox, or cow is
always traveling towards the point of apparent worthlessness.

I said the farmer might think his case exceptional in the extent
to which worthless things surround him, and crowd in upon him,
and obstruct his path, and cause him trouble and worry; but I
have to confess to an underlying conviction that if he so thinks, he
is, after all, mistaken, and that the truth is rather that all vocations
are beset with the same or similar difficulties, and all lives are
attended with the same unwelcome presences. We must remember
that we see distinctly and realize vividly the difficulties in our own
paths, and the trouble in our own lives, while the obstacles which
lie in the way of our neighbor, and the troubles with which he has
to do battle, make but slight impression upon us. I presume there
are those who regard the farmer’s life as a peaceful idyl, free from
care, and with only so much of labor in it as is needful for exercise
and good digestion. They picture his situation much as Milton
did that of our first parents in the garden of Eden, with little to do
but to reach out their hands and gather the bounty which lavish
nature, with a hint or two in the way of preparation and seeding
and culture, makes ready for their use. We smile at such a
picture, but we are liable to fall into a similar error in judging of
work with which we are wholly unfamiliar, and lives of which we
see only the outside. It may be that our estimates of the ease
with which success is won in other vocations, are in some cases
wide of the mark.

So while my subject has its application to the farmer’s business,
and is pertinent in a farmers’ meeting, its application and perti-

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 83

nency are by no means thus limited. It takes hold of considera-
tions which are of interest to the farmer, not so much because he
is a farmer as because he isa man. And I think it well, even in a
farmers’ meeting, to remember that our interests are not limited to
or by, our business, but that we have a share in everything which
affects the welfare of humanity. Whatever difficulties we contend
with, whatever troubles assail us, find their counterparts and com.
rades in other lives—yes, I think, in every other life. Farmers as
well as others—others as well as farmers, hold in their hands
material possessions with value fleeting or flown, and besides these
we all have such a long list of immaterial property that belongs
in the same category. Our plans which promised so much, our
hopes that we rated so high, our purposes which assuredly had
good material in them; how many, many of them all, must go at
length into the seemingly worthless class. The plans, fair as they
seemed, wouldn’t work. Some obstacle there was—some difficulty
which we did not anticipate, and found no way to overcome, and it
left our plan worthless, and all our expenditure upon it of time
and thought and labor was lost. Our hopes, too, how valuable
they seemed to us. <A prince’s ransom could not have purchased
them. They gilded for us all the future, and filled the atmosphere
of our thought with rosy light. How could it be that they should
turn out worthless? But that is just what they did, or seemed to
do. We never realized what they promised us. They never ren-
dered the service we expected of them. Where, then, shall we
place them but in the worthless class? Our purposes were closely
allied to our plans, and they shared the same fate. Occasionally a
plan succeeded, occasionally a purpose was fulfilled, but of the
long, long procession that went the other way, what shall we say ?
Were they worthless? At least they seemed so.

Well, if they were worthless, what use to spend time or thought
upon them? Isn’t it better to dismiss them from our minds, and
give our attention wholly to the things which are obviously valua-
ble? If we could do this it might be wise, but we cannot. The
two qualities of worth and worthlessness are so associated and the
things which they distinguish so intermingled that we cannot limit
our study and our scrutiny to either class. We must give attention
to both. The constant effort to separate them, and the wide uncer-
tainty as to where to place so many things compels this. You
cannot even sort a potato crop, without giving attention to the little

84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

ones as well as the big ones. It requires some scrutiny to determine
that a thing seems worthless. If a deeper study should reveal the
fact that this worthlessness was only seeming, the time and atten-
tion expended upon it might be well repaid. Or, failing in this,
our study may disclose to us a philosophy which shall reconcile us
to the existence of things for which we are unable to find use or
value, and this may be our compensation.

We cannot ignore these things, and we need to study them in
order to learn how to feel toward them, what to think of them,
what to do with them. Quite early in the course of this study
one will be apt to make the discovery that worthlessness is not an
inherent quality. No thing can be named of which I would dare
to say that it is always and everywhere worthless. I do not think
any two persons would agree entirely upon a list of things which
seemed worthless. One would be sure to include things to which
the other would assign some value. A slight difference in circum-
stances might lead to this difference in judgment. I know a man
who is annoyed by a worthless sand bank in the immediate vicinity
of his dwelling. His neighbor, living two miles away, would gladly
pay one hundred dollars for that sand bank. It is worthless, not
because of what it is, but because of where it is. Two other
persons might differ in their judgment of an article towards which
they stood in precisely the same relation, by reason of difference
in themselves, and the same person might, at different times, give
opposing judgments concerning the same thing, all outward condi-
tions remaining the same, because of change of feeling or increase
of knowledge within himself. These assertions need neither illus-
tration nor proof. I confidently appeal to the consciousness and
observation of every one of you for the evidence to sustain them.
They show that worthlessness, instead of being an inherent quality,
is ever the child of circumstances. It is very often a creature of
time or place. A thing is, or seems, worthless because it is in the
wrong place, or because the time for it to be valuable lies either
in the past or future. This quality may attach to an article because
it is in the possession of the wrong person. Our own limitations are
perhaps the most fruitful cause of the worthlessness of things
We are ignorant of values, and it is therefore to us as if they did
not exist. If we only knew enough, there might be nothing in
the wide world but would have a value for us. I think that there
is scarcely anything of which we can say even that it seems worth-

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 85

less until we have fixed its place in locality, in time, and in relation
to human knowledge and human need.

Worthlessness is a thing of degree as well as a creature of cir-
cumstance. Our ordinary thought may not recognize this fact, yet
some underlying consciousness of it would seem to be shown by the
structure of the word we use to express it. Our thought may be
that the thing is worth nothing, but what we say is that it is worth-
less; that is, worth not so much. It is as if we had a zero mark
like that upon our thermometers, and all degrees below that mark
must be distinguished by the minus sign. But as the heat of the
low degree is just as truly heat as that of the high degree, may it
not also be true that the worth of the worthless thing is as genuine
as any? If this be true—and I am going forward fora space, any
way, in the presumption that it is—the real subject of our study s
“worth.” Value, much or little; worth, more or less; what is its
nature, and upon what does it depend? How is it produced, and
how destroyed? Why is it so apt to elude our grasp? How can
we capture it, and how retain it after it is captured? It is easy to
ask these questions, but you do not need me to tell you that it is
not easy to answer them. Indeed, you know as well as I that any
full and complete answer to them is impossible. If we can even
approach an understanding of them, and get a partial answer to
them, our study of them will be well repaid.

One response, in the nature of an answer to these questions, .
comes from commerce. The test and measure of value it fur-
nishes is the market. Anything is worth what it will bring in
the market, and if it will bring nothing there, it is worth nothing.
This response helps some, but it does not satisfy. Commerce
renders an immense service to humanity, but its powers are con-
fined within narrow bounds, and limited by sharply-drawn lines.
Within those lines it has proved one of the most efficient agents of
civilization. It has created the markets of the world, mighty res-
ervoirs, into which each producer pours his surplus production of
one thing, or class of things, and from which he draws as he is
able, of many things to satisfy his varied wants. It is hardly pos-
sible to over-estimate the broadening of life which has come to us
through the operations of commerce.

But there are some things which commerce cannot do for us,
and while we recognize the importance of its function and service,
we inust not expect of it that service which it is not qualified to

86 -BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

render. As a gatherer and distributor, its work has been enor-
mous in extent, and generally beneficent in character. But, in the
determination of value its work is very imperfect. Markets can
only measure the value of what goes to market, and that is only
each producer’s surplus. That portion which he can use for him-
self he need ask no market to fix the worth of. In the case of
some classes of producers this is but trifling in amount; but the
farmer—the New England farmer especially—is generally so cir-
cumstanced that he can use largely of his own productions. Need
he go to market to learn the worth of luscious fruits, and fresh,
crisp vegetables from his own orchard and garden, or flesh-food
and milk products from his own floeks and herds? I tell you nay.
These things have for him a value in no way related to that which
might be placed upon them in the market. Indeed, to some of
them, the touch of commerce is a defiling touch. Their highest
value is for him, and him alone, who produces them.

I have on other occasions emphasized this feature of the farmer’s
life, and it is worthy of emphasis. Some of her choicest bounties,
some of her richest treasures, nature reserves for him, and him
alone, who will come near to her and take them, with no interven-
tion, from her hand. Of the value which the market fixes for the
things which go there to be tested and appraised, it may be said
further that it bears but a loose and vague relation to real value.
This is what is done in the market. Twomen meet, each of whom
has of some one thing a surplus above what he can use, and for
which he desires to procure in exchange as much as possible of
something he can use. Their agreement of exchange, the ever-
fluctuating balance of their desires and necessities, is what fixes
market value. It is well enough in its place, but it is not that test
and measure of value for which we are seeking. The true founda-
tion of worth is use or service. Whatever we can use, whatever
serves us, is worth something to us. Of these two words 1 like
“service” the best. It is the broader term, and takes in elements
of worth which could hardly be included in the word “use.” Use
implies co-operation on our own part, but service may be rendered,
not only without our co-operation, but without our consciousness,
even. Indeed, service, and that of exceeding value, may be ren-
dered us in opposition to our desires and efforts. We do not
always know when, or by whom, or by what we are served, and

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. - Se

yet it must be true that all real service is valuable, and that which
renders it is worth something.

I think we shall find this measure of value a very comprehen-
sive one. It is not only good for those things which may or may
not go to market, but it will also measure those intangible treasures
which we have agreed to include within the scope of our inquiry.

If we ask, What is health worth, or relief from pain, or escape
from danger, or deliverance from fear, or sympathy in trouble, or
the society of friends, this measure will give us the answer for
which we should turn in vain to the reports of any market. They
are worth the value of the service they render, but it is only indi-
rectly that money, which measures market values, has any power
to command them, and it is utterly incompetent to indicate their
value. It may be said further, as in the line of accurate defini-
tion, that the real value of a thing is in its capacity to render ser-
vice rather than in the service actually received from it. The

‘service received is controlled by limitations that belong to our-
selves. We may be unconsciously served, and served even
against our will, but we can never be served beyond the limits of
our capacity to receive and appropriate service. Food, beyond
what a man can eat and digest, has for him only the commercial
value.

Clothing, except for comfort and adornment, belongs in the
same category. So much of each as he needs, and only that, he
gets the real value of. If he have no appreciation of the beauti-
ful; all the wealth of nature and art in this direction can have no
value to him. Limitations of value such as these, partial in regard
to some things, total as to others, plainly attach to the person
rather than the thing.

It may be said further in the same line, that the value which is
based on service is not of necessity conditional upon, or limited
by, ownership. A rich man’s money may create and maintain a
beautiful garden, where everything combines to please the eye and
satisfy that hunger for beauty of form and color, the germ of
which must, it would seem, be the common property of humanity;
but the rich man’s money, thus expended, may render a larger
service, and so be actually worth more to his poorer neighbor than
to himself. It should, I think, be a great source of satisfaction to
those who hunger for beauty, but have not the means to purchase
largely of beautiful things, that so much of this element is abroad

88 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

in the world, and that so far as the simple enjoyment of it is con-
cerned, whatever one’s eye can command and his soul can appro-
priate is his. In taking it he robs no one, but simply comes into
possession of his own.

Wealth of thought, like wealth of beauty, is his who can appro-
priate it rather than his who can purchase it. Nor does that fully
express the truth of the matter. These things cannot be acquired
by purchase. One may buy the casket which contains them, the
mould in which they were formed; but, to possess the jeweled
treasure itself, he must earn it, he must conquer it, he must
deserve it. A man may buy a book which contains an overflowing
fountain of wisdom and of wit—which fairly bubbles over with
mirth’ and sympathy and right feeling; but does he thereby pos-
sess these treasures? Not at all. He must acquire them, if they
are to be his, by a different procedure, and it may be that he can-
not acquire them at all.

In the light of these considerations, what should be our feeling
and thought, and what our action relative to those things which
seem worthless? The emphasis, if you please, is upon the word
“seem,” for this discussion is to go forward upon my part on the
assumption that there is nothing absolutely worthless; nothing but
what may be of use in some way; nothing but what is capable of
service if we could but learn when and how. If we cannot prove
this, we may adopt it as the scientists do some of their theories, as
a working hypothesis, to the truth of which many things point,
and the fallacy of which, if it be fallacious, will best be shown by
assuming its truth and seeing whether or no the things we know
to be true will fit it.

Now, it is very possible that every person in this audience has
in mind something that seems to them worthless. It may be that
no two of you are thinking of the same thing. Ido not care for
that. It is enough that for whatever is in your thought you can
find no use; from it you can command no service. Our inquiry
must be directed to find out, if we can, the reason and the remedy
for its seeming worthlessness. We will not admit that it is incapa-
ble of use or service, for to do that would be to block the wheels
of investigation, and to stifle the spirit of inquiry.

One very common reason why a thing cannot be of service is
because it is not in the right place. Take, for illustration, a beef
animal. Place him upon some remote portion of the South Amer-

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 89

ican plains. His hide is worth a trifling sum, ,but that is the only
portion of him which has any value. Bring him where facilities
for transportation are a little better, and his tallow is worth some-
thing. Another remove puts value upon some of the choicest por-
tions of the carcass, and so by successive removals you extend the
range of values, until you find the place where flesh, and blood, and
bone, and horn, and hair, and hoof, and even intestinal contents,
have all a value. Throughout all this course, extending use runs
evenly harnessed with increasing value. It is because these por-
tions can be carried where they all find use that they become of
value. Illustrations upon this point might be multiplied a thou-
sand-fold, but we neither have need of them nor space for them.

Our one illustration suggests the remedy for worthlessness aris-
ing from this cause. It lies in a perfected system of transporta-
tion. Hither the serviceable things must be carried to the persons
who need them, or the persons themselves must be transported to
the locality where the things they need are to be found. We call
one movement “transportation,” the other “migration.” Both are
finding, in this busy age of eurs, an astonishing development.
Though accompanied by much of incidental suffering and waste,
beth are, in the main, grandly beneficent. They bring need and
its supply together. They furnish the opportunity for service to
the things formed for service. They supply the lack of service to
those whose lives for want of it were narrowed and darkened and
shortened. It may be that you will not readily perceive just how
to apply this remedy to the case that troubles you. I cannot prom-
ise that you can so apply it, and yet you may be able to do it.

Problems of this kind are now occupying men’s minds as never
before, and some most astonishing results have been attained.
The surplus grass upon the Kansas prairies, worthless a short time
ago, is now carried a thousand miles into the mountains to feed
the miners’ mules. It is a movement which gives the Kansas
farmer an additional source of income, the miner cheaper and
more plentiful food for his beasts of burden, and the railroad com-
pany employment for both labor and capital in the business of
transportation. It is beneficent in every direction.

Now, considering what has been accomplished, in recent years, in
the extension and improvement of the means of transportation, it
is absurd to suppose that the movement is to be stopped just at the
present point. No doubt but it is to go on. Things are to be

90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

carried for us; they are to be brought to us; we are to be taken to
them, far more expeditiously, safely, and cheaply than at present.
And the thing whose worthlessness annoys and afflicts you may
yet be brought or sent where it may render its service and find its
value.

When we speak of a system of transportation our thought is
apt to range over a wide extent of territory. We think of a state,
or nation, or a continent. Wesee long lines of railway with their
swiftly moving trains. We see canals, and rivers, and broader
waters, with all the varied transports which float upon their
bosom. It requires some effort to bring our thought down even to
the common neighborhood roads in this connection. It will per-
haps excite a smile if I speak of a system of transportation within
the limits of the farm. Yet, this is what every farm should have,
and to some extent must have. That this system be a good one,
well devised, and well maintained, and liberally used, is of more
consequence to the individual farmer than all the railroad problems
outside the farm. The farmer as well as the railroad engineer
needs to study questions of lay-out, and grade, and road-bed, of
rolling stock, and motive power. Rapid movement, easy move-
ment, along its lines of transportation, is as essential to the suc-
cessful prosecution of the business of a farm as it is to the com-
merce of a nation. That class of things which seem worthless or.
worth but little, because out of place, is numerously represented
upon the farm. Three out of four of them do not need to be
carried beyond its boundaries to find their place and use. Many
times this is impracticable, because of the wretched system of
farm transportation, framed without thought and maintained with-
out care, which is a good deal more common than it should be.

Surely in regard to all things worthless because misplaced, the
general nature of the remedy is obvious, and our age is rapidly
working out the complex problem of its application. We shall
not see its complete triumph, but it is given us to see that it is
coming, and to have some share in its fruits.

A thing may seem worthless because misplaced in point of time.
Our point of time is the present, and the thing we hold may belong
to the past or the future. If it belongs to the near and clearly
anticipated future, we easily reconcile ourselves to the situation,
and even rejoice-in it. If you can see clearly that the city lot you
hold is going to double its value in five years, you are well content

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 91

to hold it, even though you can make no present use of it. And
on the farm the thrifty young orchard which represents a consid-
erable investment, and for the fruit of which you must wait ten
years, is precious to your thought. If it promises well you are
satisfied. Hven in case of the forest growth, where a much longer
period must elapse before its worth can be realized, you are con-
tent. The fact is, we live very largely in the future, and if its
promises are distinct, even though distant, they satisfy us.

- But we contemplate with very different feelings those things
whose time of use and worth lies behind us. There is no going
backward for us, and the thought, If I had only had this thing
last year it would have been of so much service to me, is very dif-
ferent from the thought with which we look forward to the future
use of things.

There is, however, one class of things in regard to which we
ought to reconcile ourselves to the loss of value through the lapse
of time. I refer to those which have accomplished the service
they were fitted to render. The farm gives us many examples of
this class. Whatever has life grows old, and that which is subject
to use, wears out. The enfeebled old horse, the moss-grown and
decaying fruit tree, the worn-out mowing machine, once valuable,
but from which all value has passed away; what should be our
thought, and what our action toward these? Our thought must
‘ be one of respect for the good work done, the service rendered,
and the value transmuted into other forms. Our action may not
violate this respectful thought. And I hold it to be no such viola-
tion, as to machine or animal frame, which has accomplished its
work, to remand its substance back to the great store of unwrought
material whence all works of skill and strength, as well as all
forms of life have come, and to which they must all, soon or late,
return. The old mowing machine is properly no longer a machine;
it is simply a quantity of material. Its iron may go again into
the furnace and be recast into other forms for other uses. Its
wood may cook our food or warm our bodies, and after that its
ashes may fertilize our fields. We feel differently in the presence
of the higher forms of animal life, and may hesitate to cut that
life short. Yet the time is sure to.come when the kindest feeling
and the wisest thought unite in saying, that for these worn-out ser-
vants of ours a painless death is better than the life that remains
to them.

92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

While the farm furnishes many instances of this class of worth-
less things, the farm beyond any other place, gives opportunity to
utilize raw material of this sort. No work-shop in the world can
compare with soil in its power to work up all forms of material.
Nothing that will burn or decay is worthless upon the farm. Our
New England soil is like a factory with abundant power, and
plenty of willing workers, asking at our hands the material to
work up into articles of value for our use. These workers help
themselves as far as they can. They tear the solid rock to pieces
and wrench from the inert material all that their power will ena-
ble them to get. They gather from the atmosphere all that their
outstretched hands can grasp. But it is not enough for them, and
anything whieh has once before been made up is in the best possi-
ble shape for them to use, and is very welcome. Pity, isn’t it, that
anything of this kind should be withheld, when they are so willing
and able to use it?

That class of things which owe their seeming worthlessness to
our own ignorance must be a large one. We can form some idea
of it from the things whose uses have been discovered within a
brief period. The elastic gum of a tropical tree formed, not long
since, a sort of toy, handy to erase a pencil mark with, but of value
so slight that its loss would hardly have been felt at all. Imagine
if you can the consequences if now rubber goods were stricken out
of existence. It would occasion a catastrophe of large proportions
in trade and manufacturing, and bring a sense of privation to well
nigh every household in the civilized world. The varied uses of
electricity recently discovered, and by no means fully known as
yet, have changed its position in the thought of men, from a mere
curiosity, to one of the most efficient agents whose services are at
our command. ‘The discovery of new uses for things already in
some degree serviceable, is in the same line of worth-giving, and
points the direction in which we must look for a remedy in many
cases of apparent worthlessness.

We must extend the field of our knowledge. It must cover
more ground and be more thoroughly cultivated. The function
of the human element in the world is to discover and develop
value in things. And this is work which may give employment
to the noblest powers. To study the nature of things, and learn
their uses and the service which they can render, and then so to
adjust surrounding conditions that the beneficent action may take

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 93

place ; this is a work which ought to satisfy the best aspirations of
our natures. You may think that this work, important and attract-
ive as it is, must be confined to that favored few, who, with special
mental equipment for the task, and ample means for its prosecu-
tion, are able to devote all their time and energy to it.

No doubt this class will be the leaders’ of the movement, but all
men may be their partners and co-workers. The first thing to be
done, and the thing of most importance, is to acquire knowledge,
to collect facts, and there are few men whose equipment for ser-
vice is so deficient, and whose opportunities for work of this kind
are so limited, that they cannot help effectively. Sometimes the
fact that a man is shut up to one opportunity is a great advantage
to him. :

If he can do but one thing, that thing may at least be done
thoroughly, and one thing thoroughly done is better than many
things half done, Let any farmer undertake to learn all that his
eyes can tell him of the nature and action of the things which
come under his observation as he goes about his daily labors, and
if he succeeds, he will have information of value for the most
learned scientist he may meet. We need to cultivate habits of
close and accurate observation. These alone would solve for us
many mysteries, disclose to us many hidden values, and make us
partners in labor and in reward, with those whose work is making its
mark upon human life in lings that can never be effaced. Every
one may not be able to determine the real value of the facts he
has discovered, or to build a system of philosophy upon them, but
there is no better way to acquire that ability than to come into
familiar relations with the facts themselves. The order of work is
this: First discover and gain possession of the facts, then weigh
and measure them, then build with them, Every one may help in
the first task, and then, and not till then, must it be determined
who of them shall go forward and perform the others.

We must not, however, be too sanguine in our expectations of
immediate pecuniary advantage from this work. It may some-
times seem to us, and it may be true, that others derive more
advantage from our work than do ourselves. We can make no
monopoly of our acquisitions. At best, we can but share them
with every comer; and after we have done our best, there will
still remain many things, and perhaps the very things which most
annoy and perplex us, which we cannot use or understand.

94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Concerning these things, I know of nothing better than to exer-
cise faith and patience. And to aid us in this somewhat difficult
exercise, I offer a few suggestions of a general nature, with
which this paper will close. One of these has been already alluded
to. We desire gratification, and the best service is sometimes any-
thing but gratifying. Service has reference to our needs rather
than to our desires. The sharp rebuke of a friend may be the
most valuable service he can render us, but it will cut like a knife,
and it may be a long time before we can appreciate its service or
see its worth.

Keeping ever in mind the idea of service as the test of worth,
we may come to see that the failures and disappointments of life
do not prove the worthlessness of the hopes and purposes that
never reached fruition. It may be that they rendered us a better
service than if they had been fully realized. One who should see
a large building in process of construction, if unfamiliar with the
work, might think the scaffolding a very important part of the
structure, and look with dismay to see it torn down. The scaffold-
ing does play an important part in the building of the house, but
the house once finished, the scaffolding is a deformity, to be re-
moved. Our characters, into which all service received and all
worth acquired, are finally gathered, are built as houses are, and
much that is of service while the building is going up, is cast aside
as worthless when the structure is finished. And the higher we
build with house or life the more of scaffold we need. Doubtless
we often fail to perceive the distinction between that which is
temporary in its use, and that which is permanent.

No man can cherish a pure hope without being served thereby.
It may fade away until he sees clearly that it can never be real-
ized, but if he has drawn from it strength and patience, and
elevation and insight, how shall he say that it has been worth-
less? So, too, of our purposes and plans. They may, or may not
be realized, but their worth or worthlessness does not depend wholly
upon that. A life is made noble by a noble purpose. A life is made
broad by an ample plan. Plan may failand purpose be defeated, but
if they have done good service in building character, it matters little
what their fate may be. Hopes, feelings, thoughts, plans, pur-
poses,—all these creatures of the mind begin to work for us the
moment they are born, and if good in themselves no matter how
short-lived they may be, they cannot be without value. It is well

1884. ] THINGS WHICH SEEM WORTHLESS. 95

to bestow a thought upon the difference between what may be
called latent value, which turns upon capacity for service, and real-
ized value, which depends upon service actually performed. It is
not enough to know that athing can serve us, we must actually
enforce that service. That product which is intended for market
must be sold, and that designed for use must be used, if they are
to be worth anything to us. And with many things the period of
service is so brief that we must act promptly if we would secure it.
‘Delays are dangerous,” the proverb says. In practice, I believe
very much of value is lost through delay. Where one man sells
his product prematurely, ten men delay toolong. And we many
times lose the value of things by neglecting to use them at the
right time.

Something like this is true also of what we are, as well as of
what we possess. What are we worth, isa question of importance
to each one of us. We must point to the service we actually ren-
der for an answer. Dormant power, and facilities unemployed
will count for nothing, and none of us has any capital of this
nature that he can afford to have uncounted. I think, and so
thinking prefer to say it outright, that the full value of things can
be realized, only when a religious element enters into life and
work. Ido not mean adhesion to any particular creed, or observ-
ance of any particular routine of religious exercise, but rather a
recognition of the obligations of life and an honest effort to dis-
charge them. Religion means right relations everywhere. Look-
ing inward, it manifests itself in self‘knowledge and self-mastery.
Looking abroad, it works out in recognition of all rights, and per-
formance of all duties. Looking upward, it flowers and fruits in
glad obedience to the Good Power which formed us and fixed our
place, and ordered al] our surroundings, Looking forward, it finds
courage to face the mystery in front, with faith and hope, drawn
from trust in an all-controlling power which works in love, and
sees the end from the beginning.

To one thus furnished, and thus qualified, all values come. The
title deeds to large estates may not be his. Stocks and bonds he
may not possess, but he has a hold upon the real use and service
of things, which can be acquired in no other way. He has begun
at the right point to remove the unharmony and correct the mal-
adjustment which are the main sources of worthlessness.

The one thing of most inherent worth, in all the universe, is

96 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

man. When once his value is developed by bringing him into
right adjustment, the rest will follow freely and easily. If I give
any advice in this connection it must be that every one begins the
great work of overcoming and eradicating worthlessness with him-
self. This part of the work no one else can do, and this, after all,
is the principal part. Now I have to confess that these last few
pages seem a good deal like preaching. Ought I to apologize for
introducing them in this place? JI don’t like apologies very well
anyway, and prefer, on the whole, to let them remain just as they
are, a part of what I offer for you to consider, and to accept or
reject as may seem to you wisest and best.

THIRD DAY.

The Convention met at 10.30 a.m., Vice-President BArstow
in the chair.

The CHatrman. Ladies and gentlemen, we have at Meri-
den an Industrial School for Boys, and at that Institution is
a model farm, made so by its model superintendent. I have
the pleasure of introducing to you this morning, Mr. L. P.
CHAMBERLAIN of Meriden, its Superintendent, who will ad-
dress us on Farm Labor.

FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND.

By L. P. CHAMBERLAIN OF MERIDEN.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :

That was a very kind suggestion of your secretary which came
to me one day in October last, by which this paper upon Farm
Labor in New England has been prepared, and though, in the
selection of one to discuss so large a subject, he may seem to you
to have for once discounted his own discretion, in one respect, at
least, he has acted in accord with that wisdom for which he long
ago became proverbial. The suggestion came to me full fledged,
for it included the topic, broad enough to employ the best thought _
and pen at his command, but in its essential features, simple
enough to be intelligently understood by us all, and so practical
that it touches the personal interest of every one who tills the soil,
whether he is an employer of others’ labor or sows and reaps his
own fields.

1884.] FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 97

It not only relates to muscle as a force upon the farm, and a
prime factor in its cultivation, but it includes also the force which
precedes this, and counts the work of the brain of equal import-
ance. It treats also of some of the problems, new and old, with
which the farmer has to contend, and attempts their solution, and
of the principles which underlie both theory and practice in agri-
culture. And not only this. It lies at the basis of all men’s
interests who dwell in these New England homes, because upon
the success or failure of our work depends, to a great extent, the
reward of labor. Toil binds men together in a common brother-
hood, for from the beginning of human history till now the com.
mon lot of man has been that of a laborer.

Mankind as a whole toil in obedience to that great law which
we call necessity; or to state the same fact in terms which I think
more honorable to man and more just to his Creator, labor has
been made one of the prime conditions of human happiness.
Idleness is a foe to humanity in every stage of its existence, and
in every condition. ase is a crown to be won by toil, and he
who refuses to labor has no right to call himself a man; so I shall
assume that, since labor of some kind is indispensable to human
enjoyment, it is therefore honorable, and that somewhere there is a
work for every man to do. Fortunately under our form of civili-
zation every one is free to choose his own occupation, subject to
the single condition that it shall contribute to the welfare of soci-
ety. In all this latitude of choice he may easily find that employ-
ment which is best adapted to his capacity and his taste, and no
man may undertake to interfere with his choice. Nor has any
one a right to disparage the service which he performs, if it be
such as society is in need of, no matter whether it be by the pen,
the sword, or the plow, in the coal-mine, the manufactory, the
counting-house, or the pulpit, at the anvil, or the bar. Muscle and
brain are of equal importance in the affairs of men, and the work
they do should be equally honorable. But, tell me, are they?
Has not public opinion placed the one under its ban, and exalted
the other to the chief seats in its synagogue? Is fidelity as sure
of recognition in the garb of the coal-heaver, or the hod-carrier,
as when attired in broadcloth? To ask such questions is to sug-
- gest their true answers.

Agriculture has been in the long past one of those employments

7

98 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

which, though it supplies to the world the greater part of the food
on which its life depends, and absorbs the thought and muscle of
the majority of men, has yet been regarded as menial, and almost
degrading. Men have turned away from it, in choosing their life-
work, with a feeling of commiseration for all those who could be
satisfied with such drudgery. But on the other hand where in
the wide range of human labor is the occupation which so stimu-
lates thought and investigation, drives men to study the relation
of cause to efféct, and suggests so constantly the presence and
power of natural forces and laws, as that of agriculture? It
arouses and sharpens all the mental and physical faculties, and
urnishes ample room for their highest development. It is also
imperious in its demands upon the hand and brain, and puts a
prce upon success which only the diligent, the devoted, and the
persevering can pay. It is a science, and to-day employs much of
the best thought of the world, and to all who seek to know its
laws, and to explore its hidden processes, it presents the broadest
fields, and discloses the profoundest depths. It is, too, an art.
Genius and skill nowhere else find such opportunities for their full
employment as when they direct the culture of the soil.

Every farmer in New England should be an enthusiast, for he
holds the right of sovereignty over a part of this solid earth, and
is commissioned to make it bud and bring forth fruit, not thirty
or sixty, but a hundred fold. He is a co-worker with nature in
her most charming and most wonderful realm, and if he has ears
’ to hear may learn from her own lips the secrets of her economy.
Chemistry has already unlocked for him many of the mysterious
and hidden truths of a generation ago, and wins from this field
her grandest triumphs. And yet that within half a century there
has been a growing distaste for the cultivation of the soil, and a
steady depreciation in the quality of New England farm labor,
cannot be denied.

There are some here to-day who remember the time, running
back from the opening of the war through a quarter of a century,
at least, when these hills and valleys were cultivated by those who
were to the manor born, and who thought it no dishonor to enter
the service of others for wages. Who left the family hive, reluct-
antly it may be, as fledglings are sometimes pushed from their
nests, when their service was no longer needed there, or would
command fair wages elsewhere; whose arms were strong and

1884. ] FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 99

whose hearts were brave, and whose chief purpose it was to render
to their employers a full equivalent for tlfat which they were to
receive. Heroes, in that they shirked no duty imposed upon them,
and were faithful in every trust. They were content to labor from
sun to sun, and never dreamed of our modern day’s work of ten
hours, and with muscle tough and trained to long endurance, could
swing the scythe, the axe, or the flail with wonderful dexterity,
and for their term of service identified themselves with their
employers’ interests with conscientious fidelity, thus adding new
dignity to that labor which their fathers had made honorable, and
left to them as their chief inheritance. That was the heroic age
of muscle. Farm implements were few and rude, a single plow or
harrow, and these such as would be denied storage room in our
day, being required to do the work of our more complete and
varied implements, each designed for some special use. And the
rough work of these imperfect aids in farming were supplemented
by hand labor to an extent quite impracticable now. Many of us
can remember the annual tussle with the half turned turf of the
potato and corn field, or with the newly seeded fields of clover so
lodged and tangled as to have almost defied the mowing machine
itself.

But this golden age of farm labor was suddenly terminated by
the war. The young men of New England left their plows in
their furrows, and sprang to the defence of the nation’s life with
the same devotion to duty which I have called heroic. Then began
a marked decadence in farm labor, and a new era in New England
agriculture. The demands of war were imperative, and recognized
no claim upon the service of those who were able to perform its
duties, but itsown. The tide of human life poured forth from
every city, town, neighborhood, and almost every family, to return
only with decimated ranks to the various employments which they
had left. Such a loss of labor could only result in a universal
adoption of new methods by which human force could be made
more efficient or dispensed with. And to the supply of this new
demand human ingenuity addressed itself with surprising readiness
and success. And in no department of labor was there a more
complete revolution in methods than in that of agriculture. The
ingenuity of man knows no limitations, excepting perhaps his
necessities, and new forces and new applications of old ones
quickly came to the farmer’s rescue. Labor-saving machinery and

100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

improved implements of every sort found a market waiting for
them, and almost before the iron had cooled were in use every-
where. Muscle as the prime factor of success in farming began to
lose its supremacy and brain became the leading force, so that
intelligence, more than physical strength, is now the chief require-
ment upon the farm.

There is no danger, however, that the hand will not be needed,
as before, though it is being relieved of much of its severest labor.
The danger lies in just the opposite direction. There is, I think,
a growing tendency to depend too much upon the improved
machinery upon the farm as a complete substitute for hand labor.
Divorce muscle and brain, and we must pay the penalty of con-
troverting a great law of nature which binds the two together.
Both our own labor and that which we employ should be gener-
ously supplemented with improved farm implements, but there is
a limit to the profitable employment of labor-saving machinery.»
I have seen men riding over their fields who could much better
afford to walk, for the simple reason that their ijuxurious farm
carriages were too expensive for their means. I do not forget
that the quality of farm labor has depreciated to such an extent as
to make such extravagances somewhat more excusable, for it is as
marked as the diminution of skilled laborers. The farm labor
market is now mainly supplied from foreign lands. This class of
laborers are generally unskilled, and yet we have no recourse but
to employ them and do the best we can with such labor. In very
many instances their inefficiency is owing wholly to our different
methods, but to teach them to do our work in our way is often dis-
couragingly difficult.

This, then, is the dilemma in which the New England farmer
finds himself. With unskilled labor alone available to him, and
even this demanding a high rate of wages, with the rich and
boundless West as his competitor in all markets, and with a soil
now so worn as to require almost ruinous expenditures for fertiliz-
ing material, he is to manage so as to make both ends meet. The
result is, he is on the alert to try almost anything which holds out
a fair promise of relief from such a case, whether it be tobacco,
or beet sugar, or (if it were not for the presence here of some for
whose opinions upon most subjects I entertain the most profound
respect, I would say) ensilage. The problem before him is not an

1884.] FARM. LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 101

easy one, but that it is capable of solution, I believe so fully that
it is my firm conviction.

It must not be supposed that, with all our improved methods
and our skillfully adapted implements, farming, at least in New
England, can ever become a holiday affair. That ‘‘He who by the
plow would thrive, himself must either hold or drive,” is a truism
I am not afraid anyone here will deny. What the labor which he
employs lacks in skill and efficiency he must make up by a more
intelligent application of that labor. He is not to adopt new
methods, or to discard old ones, simply because they are new or
old. He must avail himself of all possible helps, and be as willing
to be taught as he is toteach. And among these helps let me sug-
gest that the experience of others is one of the most valuable and
most easily obtained. There has been in the past too little frater-
nity among farmers for the general good, but now, by means of
the various agricultural publications, one of the very best of which
is published in our own State, whose columns are devoted to the
discussion of every important topic that relates to farming, by
those who are, by common consent, qualified to instruct others out
of their own practice, by the local farmers’ clubs, organized for the
special purpose of telling each others’ experience in the common
affairs of the farm, by the annual exhibits of the products of well
directed cultivation, at our State, county, and town fairs, and by
these annual meetings under the auspices of our Boards of Agri-
culture, where the most practical subjects are treated in the most
practicable way by experts in each department, with now and then
a notable exception, in every New England State, he may learn
much that will help to avoid mistakes and to achieve success.

Let me mention, also, that new and perhaps most important
help of all, as it is now directed, in our own State, by one whose
conclusions have come to be regarded as almost oracular, and who
has in his profession few if any peers—the Experiment Station. -
Here is where all combinations called fertilizers may be tested as
by a touchstone, and their true value determined; thus guarding
the farmer against imposition and fraud. This has already done
much to rid the market of spurious compounds, and watches with
vigilant eye over the farmers’ interests. Many of you will remem-
ber how suddenly a fraudulent mixture—labeled “Special Fertil-
izer,” and made in New Haven, I think—disappeared from the
market after Professor Johnson’s analysis of it revealed the fact

102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

that there was only ninety cents of value in a ton, which had been
selling at fifty dollars. I venture the prediction that the Connecti-
cut Experiment Station will soon become to us what the German
Experiment Station is to Germany, the desideratum in all our
purchases of fertilizers and feed.

But all these are only helps, and we must still depend much
upon ourselves for the successful management of our farms. Let
me not be misunderstood in my use of the term “success,” for it
has a broader significance in agriculture than the mere converting
of labor and the elements of the soil into cash. There is a true
and a false success, and sometimes the one is mistaken for the
other. He who denies himself and his family the fullest enjoy-
ment of the comforts, and, so far as a prudent use of his means
will allow, of the luxuries of New England farm life, that he may
amass wealth in bonds and stocks, may be, after all, the veriest
spendthrift; for he has wasted time, and labor, and home delights
to gain the poorest and meanest reward of human ambition. I
count no man truly successful who has nothing better than bags of
gold to show for his life of toil. He wins true success who makes
human happiness spring up about him like the grass in his
meadows, and converts his labor and skill into education for his
children, refinement for his home, and joy for all about him, and
has still a surplus capital for future days of need. And no ideal
which falls below this is worthy of the New England farmer. He
may and must emulate the sturdy but healthful economy of our
fathers, which decreed that there must be no expenditures beyond
the real necessities of the household, and asked for credit only
when some sure: source of equal income was distinctly in view.
He must plan his farming with a keen eye to profit, both in his
outlay of labor and material and in his selection of crops to be
grown. He must act independently, not rejecting this because it
is old, or adopting that because it is new.

There is a good deal of conservatism in agriculture that is blind
ard unreasoning, and there is also a radicalism which runs into all
sorts of extravagance, both in theory and practice. I confess to
very little veneration for anything simply because it is hoary, but
I believe that in agriculture we may well take counsel of the past
in many things. With respect to methods of culture, we cannot
afford to adopt the old ones, but with reference to means to be
employed we cannot afford to discard them as a whole. Let me

1884. ] FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 103

instance one or two of the ways in which we can succeed best by
following the good old way.

There is, or there seems to me to be; a prevalent error in respect
to the production of material for fertilizing our farms, It is only
a few years since the introduction of commercial manures, and
many of us can remember the time when gypsum and lime were
about the only manures used upon the farm which it did not pro-
duce. Since that time many different fertilizers have been put in
the market, and now there are so many that are superior to all
others that an enumeration of them all would filla volume as large
as the old family Bible. These all find a ready market, and hardly
a farmer can be found who does not use them. That many of
them are of great value to us there can be no question, and they
are, I believe, essential to our highest success. But that they can
profitably supersede our home-made manures I do not believe.
The readiness with which they can be obtained, and the facility
with which they can be applied, have led very many into their use
as a substitute for the compost heap, which is becoming quite
unfashionable. The question of labor in handling the heavy,
bulky farm fertilizers has been decided against them, and the more
convenient article has, on this merit mainly, come into common
use. Now, the mistake is not in their use, but in the neglect of
the supply which every farm can easily and profitably be made to
produce. I submit that it is false economy to expend large sums
of hard-earned money in this way, when an equally valuable article
may be obtained at a much less cost, and even without feeling the
expense at all. It has been said, and so often repeated, that “time
is money,” that it may seem like presumption to assert that on the
farm this is not always true, but there are ‘‘odd spells” of time
upon most farms which are not easily converted into cash, but
may be utilized in shutting this floodgate of expense by making
even the refuse of the farm a source of fertility and profit. The
excuse for not doing this is, often, want of time; but if it is the
true reason, then there is not sufficient labor employed. It is a
poor policy which seeks to employ the least possible amount of
labor to keep the farm running. Labor is, or should be made, the
farmer’s capital, and a stingy investment is sure to result in small
dividends, or, more likely, in none at all.

Let me suggest another serious error, as I think, into which
many have fallen in their desire to employ only the minimum

104 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

amount of labor. It has been their practice for many years to
depend upon the West for some of their supplies, especially for
their corn, beef, and to some extent for their pork, and this upon
the theory that they could not compete successfully in their pro-
duetion. In this, labor has been made a scapegoat, and sent forth
with, not the sins, but the mistakes of our farming community.

That it is the better policy for the majority to produce all that
is needed for home consumption of such crops as are adapted to
our soil and climate, 1 am convinced, though I know there is a
wide difference upon this question in the opinions of intelligent
and practical men. ‘Take, for instance, tobacco, as a special crop,
to be exchanged for such as are needful, but which, it is claimed,
cannot be grown at a profit. Time and material and skill have
been lavished upon it; but what has been the average result of all
this expenditure, but to impoverish both the pocket and the farm?

Or, if it is objected to this, that tobacco is not a safe crop, and
therefore not a fair one to represent the theory of special farming,
let us take the potato, which is perhaps one of the most reliable,
so far as climatic influences can affect it. And what would the
result have been if any considerable proportion of the farmers of
Connecticut had for this year depended upon it for their income ?
At the present low prices how would they have been able to
exchange their surplus so as to leave a balance at the end of the
year on the credit side? The fact is, no crop that can be grown
with fair success when the conditions are favorable, is safe as a
specialty, for the reason that the exceptional years are too fre-
quent, when from apparent or hidden causes the producer realizes
little or no profit. So, then, it seems to me fair to repeat the propo’
sition that the average farmer should practice mixed farming, and
by this I mean that he should produce a full supply for his own
necessities of such crops as are adapted to his soil, wisely select-
ing for the market those which in a series of years, have been
proven to be most reliable and profitable. I well remember a
remark once made by a skillful farmer with, whose practices I had
opportunity to become quite familiar. When expostulated with
for planting a small part of the field with beans instead of corn,
“My son, if you raise your own beans you have them,” thus clos-
ing the argument, and stating in a nut-shell the true New England
policy.

But not only with respect to these matters which I have con-

1884.] FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 105

sidered, but in the entire farm economy, the question of labor
comes in to dictate our theories and direct our practices. Why
then the laborer himself should receive so little true consideration
from those who employ him upon the farm, I am at a loss to
explain. It would seem, in numerous instances, as though he was
from the beginning to the end of his service nothing more than a
free slave, a drudge, to be fed and lodged, and worked to the limit
of his ability. As though the idea that he could or would appre-
ciate kindness, and requite it with more willing and efficient ser-
vice, was cnly an impracticable theory, at least for those who
would employ his labor at a profit. I have known farmers who
would subject themselves to any amount of discomfort, rather than
have those in their employ enjoy an hour of leisure, who always
planned an amount of labor wholly disproportioned to the num-
ber of men employed, and thought it shrewd management. But
the wisdom of such a policy was absolute folly, and resulted in
loss instead of their fancied gain.

There ought to be between the employer and the employed the
most cordial sympathy, and the most complete community of
interests, and there must be in order that the largest profit may
result from the relation, Fortunately there are many employers
who understand this, and treat those in their employ with true con-
sidezation, sometimes from the motive which is spanned by dollars
_and cents perhaps, but often from genuine impulses of sympathy
with those who are by necessity their servants. I hope you will
pardon me for introducing, just here, a bit of my own experience,
for as a hired man I became intimately acquainted with represent-
atives of both classes which I have described, though I wish to
speak of only one, and would gladly forget the other. It was
my good fortune once to be employed by a farmer who was, to my
mind, an ideal employer, agriculturist, and gentleman. He carried
on a large business and by his skillful management won the
admiration of his employees, and by his kind regard for their com-
fort won their devotion. His keen judgment of men’s labor
enabled him to adjust the matter of labor and help with great
accuracy, so that everything moved on from spring to autumn with
systematic regularity and finish, such as I have never seen else-
where. And the service required for this was almost as much a
pleasure as a task. There was no grumbling about overwork,
though now and then there was occasion for all hands to crowd

106 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

into one day the labor of two, for rainy days were often days of
absolute leisure. I remember we were told one morning in April,
‘Well, boys, as it rains too much to work out of doors, I think
we will sow a little plaster,” and though it rained steadily and fast
‘several tons of plaster were sown in the forenoon, while nothing
was required in the afternoon, and both the service and the leisure
were enjoyed. Now if such treatment of farm help, and such a
skillful adjustment of it to the needs of the farm, could become
the rule rather than the exception, there would be less aversion to
farming as an occupation. Let the example which I have given
be copied by the farming community, and farm labor would soon
become attractive, and farming at least more profitable.

I readily see that some of you may think me too censorious in
my treatment of this subject, but I hope all such will allow me to
mention one more defect in our system of farming, which seems
to me more radical and universal than any of which I have spoken.
It is our want of thoroughness in cultivating these New England
hills and valleys, which, at the best, are difficult to coax into that
fruitfulness which makes farming a profitable business. The
blame for this is oftenest laid at labor’s door, but really the trouble
lies in a mistaken policy, which, instead of concentrating our labor
and material upon an area that is wisely adapted to both, broad-
casts them over so wide an acreage that thoroughness is out of the
question. Now, it is true upon the farm as everywhere else, that
what should be done at all should be done well. No more land
should be cultivated than can be made to yield a full crop, what-
ever it may be. Here is a specialty which all may safely adopt.
There are many farmers in Connecticut, to-day, who own so much
territory that they can give only a small fraction of it any care at
all, and who would be enriched if they would give up their titles
to a large portion, though the consideration be a very small one.
I verily believe there is no poverty so harrassing as that which
overtakes him who, by the possession of more land than he can
occupy, is made land-poor. Fortunately, the number of such
unwieldy farms is decreasing. The census of 1850 shows that the
number of farms in Connecticut was 22,445, while in 1870, using
the same authority, the number was 25,508, The average size of
these farms at these two periods shows that the increase in number
- was due mainly to the division of the larger ones, and while I can-
not quote, definite figures for 1880, I am sure that the work of

1884. ] FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 107

disintegration has been even more rapid during the last decade,
This is hopeful, for it asserts the fact that the ,unprofitable
ambition to own large farms is giving place to a true and more
intelligent ambition to test the productive capacity of smaller ones.
In conversation with one of the most successful gardeners whom I
know, not long ago, I asked him how many acres he cultivated.
He answered, about fifteen, and, as I said to him, that is enough
for one man to care for, his reply, as significant as unique, was,
“My dear sir, you can raise more upon fifteen acres than you will
upon twenty-five.” He understood the secret of success. Quite a
number of years ago, there appeared from the pen of one of
Connecticut’s most charming authors, himself an amateur in farm-
ing, a little book, entitled, “Ten Acres Enough,” and though, like
Noah’s dove, it found no resting place in the convictions of the
farming community, it still was the herald of a better, because
more thorough, system of culture for these half-starved fields of
ours, and, no doubt, awakened inquiry upon this vital subject.

I know a mechanic in a city of New England, who, having lost
his health, thought he might regain it by outside employment, and
purchased two and a half acres of land in a rich farming district,
just outside the city, for that purpose. It was a rough and
unpromising little farm at first, but, having erected some cheap
buildings, purchased a team, and hired a man, he went to work
with a will. His capital was small and his first outlay soon
exhausted it, but he invested his own labor and that of others
until the rocks and bushes were removed and the soil ready to
return dollar for dollar in wisely-selected products. In a short
time he was free from debt, and after paying expenses, was able
to count his profits in large sums, so that his neighbors who
owned large and well-appointed farms admitted the fact that his
profits exceeded theirs. Imagine, if you can, the time when a
system as thorough and intelligent as his has become the rule,
rather than the exception, all over New England.

And why not, instead of thus taxing our imagination to sketch
such a millennium, begin to realize it at once? Instead of forty
bushels of corn per acre, which is about the usual amount grown,
we should double the average; and instead of one hundred bushels
of potatoes as an average, there might be two or three hundred
grown. The cash prize offered by the Massachusetts Agricultural

Society, a few years ago, for the best acre of potatoes, was awarded
e

108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

to a man who reported a yield of more than five hundred bushels,
of marketable quality.

A farmers’ club, not long ago, applied to me for some improved
varieties of corn, as a wealthy gentleman had offered a large cash
premium for the best acre grown by any member of the club. I
sent them half a dozen varieties from which to select, and the trial
began. There were several competitors, and the result was a
surprise to all. The minimum yield reported to the committee of
award was ninety bushels, while the maximum was one hundred
and seventeen and a half bushels, and the next below, one hundred
and thirteen and a half bushels. But better than the profit and
satisfaction which resulted from this new departure, was the
influence of such an example upon that entire farming community,
which will never again be satisfied with their former methods. I
am so fully convinced of the importance of a more thorough
system of cultivation upon nearly all our farms, that I am inclined
to believe it is to become the chief agency in lifting New England
agriculture to a higher plane, both of honor and profit.

Mr. President, I have spoken of a few, and only a few, of the
topics which have presented themselves to my mind while consider-
ing the broad and vital subject of farm labor in New England, and
trying to treat it in a practical and common-sense way. Perhaps
I have already said enough, but there is one phase of farm labor
on which I will venture to add a few words. I mean farming as
an art. The word art, I am aware, is not often associated with
farming, but it is surely worth inquiry whether farming may not
and ought not to be made an art, and whether the farmer ought
not to work in the spirit of an artist. We are perhaps apt to
think that art is reserved for only merely ornamental and xsthetic
purposes. But if this be so, has the farmer no need of the soft-
ening, cultivating influences which art can give? If any one is
disposed to doubt the propriety of connecting the idea of farming
with the idea of art, let me remind him that Max Miller, the
great philologist, has derived the very word art, from the Latin
word which means to plow. He says: ‘As plowing was not only
one of the earliest kinds of labor, but also one of the most primi-
tive arts, I have no doubt that the Latin word ars, and our own
word art meant, originally, the art of all arts, first taught by the
goddess of all wisdom, the art of cultivating the land.”

The farmer, then, has an original right to regard his occupation

1884. ] FARM LABOR IN NEW ENGLAND. 109

as am. art, and, if it be an art, it deserves the treatment of an art.
By this, I mean that the farmer and the farm laborer is bound, if
he honors and respects his occupation, to conduct all its operations
with a due regard to the great artistic rules of proportion, har-
mony, and finish. Shakespeare says, ‘There is an art which doth
mend nature,” and this is the art which I would commend to far-
mers and farm laborers. It applies to all farm labor, the lowest as
well as the highest, to the building of a stone wall, the setting of
a wooden fence, the running of a boundary line; the digging of a
ditch, the planting of an orchard,—in a word, to all the items of
labor which make up the work-day life of a farmer. It costs no
more to do all these things well, with proper regard to symmetry
and correct design, than to do them hap-hazard, in the slovenly,
careless manner we so often see. And while it costs no more, it
adds directly to the value, the money value, of a farm, if all these
things are done artistically.

But I will not put this duty on the sole ground of pecuniary
advantage. I would have the farm laborer work in the spirit of
an artist, because the eye and heart of man were made to delight
in the fitness and harmony of all outward objects. The simplest
farm labor, that most primitive art of plowing, as we all know,
may be done so as teach all our own youth valuable lessons in the
duty of doing all things in the best possible manner. The lot and
life of that farmer who has felt no sense of taste in farming is
needlessly hard and uninteresting. No man need be so rude and
untaught as not to take pleasure in a smooth and well-laid field of
grain or grass, in a trim, well-kept yard or garden, in preference
to the shabby, neglected, forlorn fields and enclosures which pre-
sent no sign of cultivation in the great art of agriculture.

But the life of the farmer is not wholly in the field. The sense
of art, of which I now speak, will find expression in the home of
his family, and hired laborers, and in the buildings which shelter
his stock and his crops. Here art will concern itself to secure
health, comfort, and entertainment for man and beast. Here art
and true economy go hand in hand. The “stitch in time” that
“saves nine’ is the dictate of art as well as economy. How
much of sheer waste to the farmer comes every year from the
want of that taste which is offended at the sight of a fallen fence-
post, an unhinged gate, or a loose clapboard. To be artistic is to
be truly economical. The cultivation of such a sense of art not

110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

only dignifies and exalts labor; it leads to all the forms of cultiva-
tion in household ways of living, and in literary tastes and enjoy-
ments. The newness of our country, the struggles with nature
which are incident to the life of new countries, have doubtless
kept our farmers hitherto from giving due attention to this phase

of farm labor, but I think the time is come when American far- .

mers, New England farmers, Connecticut farmers, can no longer
use this excuse for unkempt, untidy, wasteful, careless, and inar-
tistic modes of farming.

I am told that the best farming countries of Europe present a
great contrast in all these particulars to the greater portion of our
own. ‘Travelers tell us of the enchanting views which burst upon
them as they descended into Italy from Switzerland or France.
One who has recently witnessed the scenes which he so graphically
describes says: ‘The vast fertile plains of Lombardy le at the
foot of the Alps like one vast, well-kept, well-ordered garden—
not one foot of waste land—the wide fields of wheat intersected
at regular distances by rows of mulberry trees, which in turn are
connected by grape-vines, the whole forming a scene, not only of
matchless beauty, but presenting a specimen of skillful husbandry
and the closest economy of agriculture, such as almost no other
land can equal, where art and utility join hands, and where beauty
of landscape vies with richness and value of production.”

And all this is the work of a peasantry, the like of which
America nowhere presents. The farm laborers of New England,
Heaven be praised, are not peasants, but proprietors, tilling, in a
majority of cases, their own acres. Surely it is, then, our duty to
maintain in the highest degree, not only all the great virtues of
industry, honesty, frugality, and temperance, but to adorn and
beautify our work and our lives by the art which lightens labor,
adds to our wealth, and lifts our lives to higher and more spiritual
regions of thought and action. f

The CHarrmMan. If any gentleman has any question he
would like to ask, Mr. Chamberlain would be very happy to
answer it.

Question. I would like to ask if the report which the
gentleman has given us of the crop of potatoes is the highest
yield he has seen stated ?

a

1884. ] QUESTIONS. Tit

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. No, sir. I have simply instanced that
as one case. I have seen instances of higher production
reported since that time. I have seen as high as 700 bushels
reported. There is one point which I would like to bring
before you in regard to this trial, and it bears directly upon
this question of labor. In conversation with this gentleman,
who lives in a town adjoining the city of Worcester, I asked
him his method of cultivation, and in describing it he said:
‘Those potatoes were hoed only once;” and he gave me a
little advice upon that point. He says: ‘It is not only a
saving of labor to hoe but once, but it is by all means the
best method to secure a large crop of marketable potatoes.”
He says the ground needs constant stirring and cultivation
with horse-power ; that you need not expend any more hand-
labor than is required to simply hoe the potatoes once. He
says, if you hoe more than once, you are causing every plant
to form a new set of roots every time you hoe it, and the
result is, you get a large quantity of small potatoes at harvest-
time.

Mr. Jennincs. What was the method of cultivation of the
corn that yielded 117 bushels per acre ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. Iam very sorry that I cannot state the
method of cultivation in detail. I have it at home and
intended to bring it with me, thinking it might be of service
here. I will state it as near as I can. The variety of corn
was the White Vermont, as it is known with us in Meriden.
It is a kind of corn that has been recently re-introduced here,
having been originally produced in Connecticut. The method
of cultivation was about this: The autumn previous, the land,
which was turf, was turned over and sown with buckwheat.
In the spring, there was put upon this acre of ground twenty
horse-loads of stable-manure. The ground was then cross-
plowed, and ten loads of composted night-soil spread upon the
surface, which was all the manure that was used upon the acre.
I would say here that the same treatment was given three
acres in the field. At the time of the award, the committee
were asked by the grower to measure off from one end of the

112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

field an acre, and they did so. The requirement of the test
was this: On the first day of January, 70 pounds of ears were
to make a bushel of shelled corn. This was the basis of the
award which gave the grower 1174 bushels. I myself shelled
70 pounds of ears, which gave me a bushel and four quarts of
corn. Now,if you will take a pencil, you will see in a
moment that the actual product of that acre was 1314 bush-
els. This bushel that I shelled I took from the crib, and it
was no more than an average bushel.

Mr. JENNINGS. I am a good deal interested in this ques-
tion of corn. You will see on the table, on the other side of
the hall, a variety of corn called the Chester County Mam-
moth, and, according to the best measurement we have been
able to make, it yields 1174 bushels of shelled corn per acre.
That has been produced this past season, and with no refer-
‘ence whatever to a premium, with common cultivation, as
corn is cultivated by the best cultivators in that part of the
State from which I come, the town of Westport. There are
other varieties of corn on the table, and some yield nearly as
high as that; but that is the highest. There are some varie-
ties there that I think are marked between 80 and 90 bushels
to the acre, and it is raised, as I remarked, under the com-
mon method of cultivation, with, of course, a good deal of
manure. I cannot give the details, but this corn that I speak
of as yielding 1174 bushels to the acre was manured heavily
with stable-manure, turned over in the spring (perhaps a
week before planting time), the land marked out in rows four
feet apart each way, and then a small portion of phosphate
put in each hill, and a little sprinkled around, say three or
four inches from where the corn was planted; then the seed
was covered, and received flat cultivation all through the
season.

Mr. Scovitte. At what stage did the cultivation of those
potatoes cease ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. Mr. Warren told me that, previous to
hoeing, he probably cultivated his potatoes four times with
an ordinary cultivator. When the potatoes were about ten

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 118

inches high, he hoed them, which enabled him to make quite
a hill about the potato; then they were left. There were
very few weeds to trouble him after the hoeing, and what few
there were’ he said were easily eradicated by hand.

Mr. WETHERELL. What would be the difference whether
the soil was stirred with a hoe or a cultivator? You say he
hoed but once, to prevent small potatoes, and yet kept on stir-
ring the soil with the cultivator. What would be the dif-
ference ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. In level culture, it would be about the
same. ‘These potatoes were grown upon the system of hill
culture.

Mr. WHEELER. I would like to ask Mr. Chamberlain if
hoeing once even was essential to the production of a good
crop, or if hilling up the ground around the plant at all was
necessary to produce a good yield of potatoes ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I would not insist upon it. I am not
experienced in the plan of level culture of potatoes. I have
not any fault to find with it, or any criticism to make upon it.
I think very much depends upon the character of the soil
which you cultivate. I do not think, as a rule, that it will
answer for me to-adopt a practice simply because another
man has adopted it, but I must judge for myself what my soil
is and what it requires in fertilizing and in cultivation; and
it seems to me that my soil is better adapted to hill culture ;
whereas, in some other soils, I have no doubt that level cul-
ture is the best.

Mr. Sepewick. In this connection I would like to say that
I saw this fall, in Monmouth county, N. J.,a field of forty
acres of potatoes that never had a hoe put into it. A new
variety of potato was planted, and a square rod in the center
of the acre was measured off and the potatoes dug, and the
yield of that rod was at the rate of 720 bushels per acre. The
potatoes took the first premium at the New Jersey State

Agricultural Society’s exhibition.
8

114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Mr. West. Is it not an exception to the rule that hired
men are made drudges ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I think perhaps my description of the
treatment which hired men receive is a little strong for the
average farmer, and yet I think it is true, in the majority of
cases, that there is not that effort to identify the farm laborer
and hired man with the interests of his employer that there
ought to be, and which might profitably be made. I think
there is more or less of the feeling that they are not members
of the family,and that they are not to be treated as such. If
they are absent from the farm a day, or even an hour Gin
some instances), it is taken out of their wages. Now, I think
that is very poor polic I think there should be everything
done to bring about an identity of interest between the farmer
and the men whom he employs. 1 think it will be responded
to, in a great majority of cases. Of course, there are excep-
tions; but I think that simply as a matter, not of humanity,
but of profit, this should be done in all cases. I have felt the
force of the other course in my own experience, and very
keenly too. I could not feel that interest in my employer’s
work that I could in the case which I have instanced, because
it was not possible for me to do so.

Mr. West. I have had a great deal of experience with
hired help; I have had good help and poor help. I make my
help a part of my family, but I have had men who took no
interest whatever in my work. I think the gentlemen will agree
with me that they have to work harder than any help that
they hire, and, when the day is done, the hired man feels that.
his time is his own. In my experience, I have had but very
few conscientious hired men. Good hired help in the section
where | am, is an exception.

Mr. WETHERELL. With regard to labor on the farm, I
think one of the difficulties, and one of the most serious, is
the number of hours that men hired on a farm have to labor
as compared with the hours which mechanics work. I have
heard a good many young men say that they would not
engage to work on a farm, where they would be obliged to

1884.] QUESTIONS. 115

work twelve or fifteen hours a day, if they could find any-
thing else todo. On the other hand, the farmer says he does
not want any ten-hour help about his premises. A farmer on
one of the best farms in Worcester county said to me, “ It is
exceedingly difficult for us to get labor on our farms such as
we want.”’ IJ think I may allude to one point that the lec-
turer made. He asks us, “ Why does this want of sympathy
exist between farmers and farm laborers?’ He told us at
the outset (which I think is true), that a large proportion,
at least, of farm laborers, is made up of foreigners, unskilled
laborers, and some of them speaking so that the farmer him-
self can hardly understand a word that they say. “But,”
said this farmer of Worcester county, ‘‘we are obliged to
hire such laborers, in the market offering themselves to serve
as can find employment nowhere else. When they have
tried in all the factories and all the shops everywhere else
where the ten-hour system prevails, and they can get nothing
to do, as a dernier resort, they come and hire out to the
farmer.”’ Perhaps in a few weeks or months: after the farmer
has hired him, there is an opening for him to go where he
desired to go in the first place; he leaves the farm the first
opportunity he has, and hence, this farmer said, “‘we have to
take our help from those who can get nothing else to do, and
just as soon as they can, they will leave us.’ .I think there
is a good deal of truth in that remark. Iam of the opinion
that the ten-hour system is at the bottom of this whole diffi-
culty which we meet on our farms. But you know we cannot
introduce the ten-hour system upon the farm. We cannot
milk our cows twice inside of ten hours to advantage. We
have other work that we cannot do to advantage in that time.
How this difficulty is to be overcome I do not undertake to
say, but that it exists, | know. I think every farmer here
has realized it; if he has not, he will.

Then with regard to the feeling existing between the
laborer and the employer. I have had experience similar to
that of the lecturer. I was brought up on a farm by a well-
to-do farmer, and when the boys got big enough, so that they

116 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

were not all wanted on the farm, some of us went out to
work. J was the oldest boy, and of course my services were
worth more than that of the younger ones, and it was my lot
to labor with other farmers who wanted to hire help, and I
remember two distinct instances in my experience. There
were two men, both of them large farmers, who had the rep-
utation of being very hard men to work for. In both of
those instances I found them the best places where I ever
worked while I worked out on a farm. One of them was the
most particular man about his work that I ever saw. He
would not have a man mow in his field unless he could mow
to suit him. He would put him in the bush pasture to cut
bushes, before he would have him mow in his hay field,
because, as he said, he would “ poison the grass.” This man
displeased a great many men who worked for him. The
other man was said to be a very hard driver of his help. I
found no more difficulty in the latter case than the former. I
found them to be excellent men and as sociable as any man
could desire in the position I occupied. I had no fault to
find with either of those men.

There is one other point to which I ah to refer, to which
the speaker alluded, and that is the subject of growing
tobaceo. I suppose nee are tobacco growers in this town.
I might perhaps differ from our friend’s statement in regard
to that matter. I believe it is the farmer’s duty and priv-
ilege to find out what crops he can grow on his farm where-
by he can realize the best returns in money, as every farmer
must have a money crop to pay his bills, or something that
he can depend upon as a specialty in farming. I agree that
mixed farming, to a certain extent, is desirable, but I say
with regard to tobacco, that if a man finds that he can raise
on a piece of land a crop that will sell for two or three, or
five or six times as much as any other crop that he can raise
on the same land, I should think it a very strange thing, if
he is a smart man, if he does not raise tobacco. It is said
that tobacco exhausts the land. I have heard that so many
times that I want to refer to it. I neither chew it nor smoke

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 117

it, so | am not speaking in that connection, but simply refer
to it as an economical question. When it is said that tobacco
exhausts the land, the south is quoted to substantiate that
statement. I have taken some pains to investigate this mat-
ter, and I know what I am saying, and I say that the farmers
in Massachusetts who have grown tobacco for many years,
have not found that it exhausts their land. One man in
Hadley, told me that since he had grown tobacco as.a staple
crop on his farm he had been able to keep nearly double the
number of neat stock that he did before he raised tobacco.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. Will the gentleman allow me a moment.
He certainly misunderstood me if he understood me to say
that tobacco was an exhaustive crop upon the land on which
itis grown. I did not intend to state that. The impression
I meant to convey was that the farmer was apt to devote his
attention exclusively to the tobacco crop, to the neglect of
other portions of the farm. I do not believe that the tobacco
crop ordinarily exhausts more of the elements of growth than
the corn crop.

Mr. WETHERELL. What I was coming to was this, that the
farmer who grows tobacco can grow better crops of any other
kind that he produces than those farmers about him who do
not pursue this method of cultivation.

Mr. Wess. Will the gentleman answer one question ?
How much experience has he had in raising tobacco, and is
he talking from experience ?

Mr. WETHERELL. I have had no experience in raising
tobacco. (Laughter.) I will ask the gentleman the ques-
tion: If he should tell me that a sewer was a muddy hole,
what would he think of me if I should ask him if he had
ever crawled through one to know it? (Laughter and ap-
plause.) If a man does not know anything except from his
own experience, his knowledge must be very limited. (Ap-
plause. Now, you understand clearly, I am not a tobacco
grower. My farmer attempted it in one instance and it was
an utter failure, for the reason that the frost destroyed the

118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

crop, and for no other reason; but he did not dare take the
risk again. But, as I was remarking, I think the gentleman
will not deny that he said it exhausted the pocket.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I said it exhausted the pocket. I
would not be understood as saying it exhausted the farm
itself.

Mr. Wess. And he is right.

Mr. WETHERELL. I should expect that from the gentle-
man who endorses it. I want to say in answer to that, that
I do not know of any business in which a man was ever
engaged, whether mercantile or farming, where the pocket
has not been, at times, exhausted. Tobacco is not the only
crop that does it. I think that isa false issue. Therefore I
believe in leaving the farmer alone to select that crop which
he thinks best for his farm. I think a farmer who selects
that crop because it is best, if he uses the same economy in
growing that crop, that he would if carrying on other branches
of farming, will be successful. I do not know how it is in
your State, but I have known a good many men, who, finding
the growing of tobacco an exceedingly profitable business,
bought horses and carriages, and indulged in all sorts of
extravagances, and failed because of that, not because tobacco
raising was unprofitable; tobacco was simply the incident
that led to it. I was employed by a gentlemen a few years
ago to go through the Connecticut valley in Massachusetts to
ascertain the best and most successful methods of growing
this crop. I visited the best and most experienced farmers in
that section, and I prepared a manual that was published on
that subject; I will relate one fact in connection with that
matter, and that will end what I have to say now. The
manual was considered a success. Well, at a meeting at
Northampton of the Hampshire and Hampden Agricultural
Society, one of the Northampton farmers took occasion to say,
wanting to hit some of the agricultural writers whom he saw
at the reporter’s table, that agricultural writers wrote a great
deal that they did not know anything about. I replied to this
gentleman by saying, “‘ You have just remarked that such and

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 119

such a hook was the best manual you ever saw on the subject
of tobacco growing. ‘That manual, sir, was written by one of
the agricultural editors whom you have just been denouncing
as men who write on what they do not know anything about.”
The result was, the gentleman came to me, took me by the
hand, took me away from the hotel where I was stopping, and
took me home with him. He thought that was a good retort
on me for what I had said with reference to him. I will
only say, in conclusion, that I think the lecture was an
exceedingly able one ; it was full of points that can be dis-
cussed here. I have alluded to two subjects, and would like
to allude to others if I had not already occupied so much time.
I hope that if a man has not had any experience, his mouth
will not be necessarily shut; because, if a man can relate
only his own experience, we shall get tired of personal experi-
ence pretty soon.

Mr. Wess. I will not go far out of my way to go through
a mud hole, but I have traveled in one journey eight thou-
sand miles without going across a bridge, and of course have
crossed some mud holes. The thought never suggested itself.
to my mind to crawl through a sewer, but I have had some
experience in raising tobacco for several years. I do not con-
demn the raising of tobacco if the farmer finds it profitable.
I think that the only way for a farmer to raise it and to raise
it profitably is to make it a specialty, and not own too much
land. The suggestion I would make to my friend is, if he
wants to know how it is himself, to buy 200 acres and raise
this curse, tobacco, and it will not take but a few years for
him to find out all about it. After I had been raising tobacco
for several years, there came a high wind and blew my
tobacco-house down, and I have had thanksgiving ever since,
for the reason that the tobacco crop, unless the farmer will
draw manure from other sources except from the farm, will
invariably exhaust the other products of the farm. If he has
a large farm, it will take him too long to get around in rota-
tion to keep it up in a proper condition. A man who has but
three or four acres can make a specialty of it, and can make

120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

money by raising tobacco, and use all his manure for it, with
the exception of the small quantity which may be necessary
around the house. Under such circumstances, it will do very
well for a man to raise tobacco, but a man who has a large
farm cannot do it unless he neglects a large portion of his
land, or obtains manure from other sources than the farm.

Mr. Hoyt. I would like to inquire of Mr. Chamberlain or
any other gentleman if he has had any experience in culti-
vating corn or potatoes with a smoothing harrow after plant-
ing ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I have had no experience with that,
although we have a smoothing harrew. I know there are gen-
tlemen here who are well qualified to answer that question,
for, in conversation with them last evening, they told me that
was their method.

Mr. I cultivate my potatoes and corn. both with a
smoothing harrow. I cultivated last year my potatoes when
they were up four or five inches high with a smoothing har-
row, and with advantage. But let me say one thing. I cut
my potatoes, and plant but one eye in a place, so that there
are not four or five eyes together to send up sprouts, and if
the smoothing harrow strikes a sprout it does not do much
damage.

Mr. WeETHERELL. Then that method does break them off
sometimes ?

Mr.

Mr. Hoyt. I cultivated my corn this year twice in that
way, it was not affected by the drought, and I had a good
crop.

It will break off some.

Mr. Hypr. I have had no experience in raising tobacco, ©
but most of us have had some experience in raising potatoes.
I want simply to say, that the best crops of potatoes that I
have ever obtained have been raised by plowing grecnsward
about three furrows, then manuring in the hill, dropping my
potatoes, and turning a furrow again upon the potatoes. This
turns all the manure underneath. I then never have occa-

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 121

sion to hoe or cultivate but once, and I have never found it
inconvenient or destructive to the crop. The weeds that
remain will be very few, if any. I have raised as high as 600
bushels of potatoes to the acre in this way, without any ferti-
lizers. JI plant my potatoes in drills rather than in hills,
because we turn over the furrow.

The labor question has been spoken of. That is a problem,
and I hardly know how it can be settled. Farm help is not,
as every gentleman knows, what it was twenty years ago. It
is constantly changing, and our work is now mostly done by
foreign laborers. The question of making this class of labor-
ers a part of our familie is a difficult problem to solve.
Whom does the farmer employ for his help to-day? Is it the
class of men whom he would employ twenty years ago—men
whom he wants to take into his family? Why, it has been
said, and I think very justly, the farm laborer is often a for-
eigner, perfectly ignorant of the business which we entrust to
him, and probably of the domestic relations. It is a very
grave question whether a man wants to hug one of them to
his bosom as a companion.

The CHatrman. I have some figures which I would like to
give to this meeting at this time, showing what can be done
by thorough cultivation. Learning some three weeks ago
that a gentleman in New London had been very successful in
raising celery, 1 wrote him asking him to send me the figures
so that I could use them at this meeting. He had not time to
give me the figures back of year before last, but he has done
the same thing for some six or seven years. In 1882, he
raised on an acre and a quarter of land 150 bushels of pota-
toes, which he sold for $112.50, and 5,000 bunches of celery,
which he sold for $1,800, making $1,912.50. He paid out
for labor $50, and for fertilizers $70, making $120; leaving
for his own labor $1,792.50. In 1883, he raised 200 bushels
of potatoes, which he sold for 70 cents a bushel, making $140,
and 60,000 celery plants, which he put up in bunches, making
12,000 bunches, and sold at 18 cents a bunch, which he sold
for $2,160, making $2,300 as the result of the products from

122 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

that acre and a quarter of land. He laid out the same sum
for labor and fertilizers, leaving him this year as pay for his
own labor $2,170.

Mr. Hype. I move that this little body of agriculturists
all unite in raising celery !

The CuairMAN. I did not refer to this to show that every-
body should go into the business of raising celery, but merely
to show what thorough cultivation will do ona small piece of
ground.

Mr. Hype. Pardon me; I understood it precisely.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I would like to make a single state-
ment with regard to the production of the two acres and a
half of which I spoke by the mechanic in the city of Worces-
ter. One of those acres was devoted to the cultivation of
strawberries. The variety chosen was the Jucunda. This
was a few years ago, and the product of that acre was 1,800
quarts. This shows what can be done with a little land as
well as the figures which the Chairman has just read. Now
I want to ask every farmer here if there is not, aside from
the profit of such cultivation, a satisfaction in achieving such
results that it is well worth while we should all enjoy? Are
these results such as are easily attainable by us? I tell you
nay, but every man can double or treble the product of his
farm in this way, and this is a step which we must take if we
would bring up the agriculture of New England to the position
which belongs to it by right. (Applause.)

Mr. Scovitur. I would like to ask the gentleman if every
farmer should appropriate two acres, or even one acre, to the
production of such enormous crops as he has stated, where he
would find a market for them? Waterbury is not a very
large market.

Mr. CoamBeERLAIN. I think Mr. Scoville has made one very
good argument against special farming, which I do not advo-
cate.

Mr. Fenn. The speaker commenced to give in detail the
method of culture of the crop of corn which had produced

a

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 123

1174 bushels to the acre; he did not finish it. Being inter-
ested in corn culture, and desiring to obtain the best results
for the labor expended, I wish he would finish it. I should
like to know whether the method adopted was hill cultivation
or flat cultivation, or how it was done.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. The method of cultivation in that
respect I should think was about an average between the two
extremes of level culture and ordinary hill culture. The soil
was a strong black loam, and I think that perhaps the grower
adopted a very wise method in the treatment of his own crop;
not that it will apply to all cases. 1 think you will see by the
statement which I have already made that this corn crop was
not excessively fertilized; twenty loads of barn-yard manure
being used and plowed under, and ten loads of composted
night soil being used upon the surface— no fertilizer in the
hill. J remember that in his statement he said this, ‘‘ I culti-
vated this corn a number of times and hoed it only twice.”
Beyond this I do not know that I can make any further ex-
planation.

QuesTION. How was it planted ?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. It was planted three feet and a half
each way. He left four stalks in a hill. This, of course, was
in competition, and he adopted one little plan that was not
made public. In order to secure every hill, he went over this
field one night with a,solution of Paris green in order to pre-
vent the cutting of any of this corn by the worm. I presume
that his competitors had no knowledge of this, and did not
try the same experiment.

Mr. Fenn. My reason for asking the question was this:
Many of those present will remember that Dr. Sturtevant has
advanced the theory of root-pruning. The old-fashioned
method was to plow deep and make a large, square hill at the
last hoeing, which was, in effect, a system of root-pruning.
That system I used to follow, the same as my forefathers, but
for the last three or four years I have adopted flat cultivation,
and little or no hilling, and I have had better results; and

124 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

for the past two years my corn has stood the droughts (which
we all know have been very severe) very much better than
with hill cultivation.

Mr. Aucur. There is one point in regard to this labor
question, which has been so happily handled this morning, to
which I would like to refer, and which, perhaps, has not been
fully developed ; that is, the hours of labor on the farm. In
my earlier years, | was accustomed to extended hours of
labor, almost from sun to sun, but more recently we have
fallen back on the system of ten hours, and when we hear
the whistles of the factories in the neighborhood, we by com-
mon consent stop. The question is, whether it is not better
for farmers generally to adopt systematic hours of labor, and
when we do labor, have our men work continuously, and feel
that it must be continuous, well-directed labor? I really
believe, that on the whole, it will lead farmers to be more
systematic, to have their plans better laid, and that we shall
accomplish quite as much, and perhaps with more satisfaction
to our help and to ourselves.

QUESTION. Can you quit work at six o'clock in haying
time, every day ?

Mr. Aucur. Of course, there may be some times when it
is impossible.

QuesTIon. Do you keep up the ten hours in winter ?

Mr. Aucur. In winter, we should hardly make that.

Mr. WeETHERELL. I would like to ask Mr. Augur a ques
tion: Suppose a man has a dairy of forty or fifty cows, can
he milk them twice inside of ten hours ?

Mr. Aveur. I will admit that there would be a difficulty
there. :

Question. I wished merely to ask the question if, at this
season of the year, when the days are short, he kept his men
at work until the whistle sounded?

Mr. Aucur. I suppose not, but I think we can approach
nearly the system of regular hours by beginning work earlier
than farmers sometimes do, and continuing it later.

1884.] QUESTIONS. 125

Mr. Hype. I should be very glad, as a farmer, to secure
men from whom I could get ten hours of work every day
throughout the year. I fail to get eight in the winter. I find
the men who go to the mill go two hours before I get my nien
started even to do the chores and the milking; and it is so
at night. Our hours of labor in the factories are longer,
perhaps, than they are in some districts. Our mills have
been successful, and they are running twelve hours. I should
like to see the farmer who is going to get up at four o’clock,
get his breakfast, and be out at his work by six o’clock, and
have but thirty minutes from. that time until he comes back to
the house at seven o’clock at night.

Mr. Sepewicx. I would suggest to the last speaker, that
if we paid our hired help as well as the manufacturers pay
them, we could get as good a class of help. In a nut-shell,
the whole thing is this: We cannot get good men to work for
us on our farms, or we do not get good men to work for us,
because we do not pay them as much as they can earn else-
where. If you will pay a man just as much as he can get in
a hot and stifling factory, he would be glad to work for you
on the farm. There is no difficulty about it; it is only a
question of wages. That being so, is it not more profitable
for the farmer to pay his men as much as the men are paid
who work in the factories, and have his work done in a sys-
tematic way—so many hours a day? I know that when I
work on the farm, I can get as tired in ten hours as I want
to get; and I can do as much work in ten hours, steady
work, as I ought to be expected to do in fifteen or sixteen
hours; and if my men will give me ten, good, square hours
as a day’s work—as they will do if I pay them as much as
they can get elsewhere, it is enough for any man todo. Iam
aware of the fact, that in harvest time and haying time, we
may have to make longer days, but if we pay our men by the
month, so that they will get good wages, or, if you like, pay
them by the hour for extra work, and they will be glad to
stay and help you. We hire by the day in harvest time ; why
not, when you have to make a long day, pay according to the

126 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

number of hours? I have done it, and it worked well. Pay
your man well for every hour he works, and he will be glad
to stay until nine o’clock, if necessary. Give him twenty
cents an hour, and if it is a rainy morning when he comes
on, tell him to wait till the shower passes by. If you don’t
want his services, when a shower comes on in the afternoon,
take out your watch and put down histime. Pay him twenty
or twenty-five cents an hour, and he will be glad to do it.

One other point. What do you want to board your men in
your family for? A hired man can board himself cheaper
than you can do it, and you have all the trouble and annoy-
ance of having a sweaty, perspiring man at your table, when
you don’t want him. If you have company, you can’t have
such a man as that at the table with them, and you feel sort
of disagreeable about it. If he is not one of the kind of
men you want around all the time, you can pay him eight or
ten dollars a month more, and he can board himself, as I say,
cheaper than youcan board him. I think that can be demon-
strated without any trouble.

Mr. WETHERELL. I want to ask one question with regard
to the laborer boarding himself. Take the isolated farms of
New England, with only one hired man, perhaps half a mile
or a mile from any other house, where are such laborers going
to board, or how is a bachelor going to board himself ?

Mr. Sepewicx. I admit that there are circumstances which
may alter the rule, but for the ordinary farmer who employs
three or four men, it is cheaper by far to have tenement-
houses, and let his men live in those tenement-houses.

Mr. WETHERELL. Such are not ordinary farmers.

Mr. Sepewicx. I think a majority of the farmers in these
towns are men who hire from two to three men in the course
of the year, and a good many of them have tenement-houses
on their farms; if not they ought to have.

Mr. Wess. This question is a very important one. It is
one which has given me a great deal of trouble. I have .
traveled a great many miles a good many times, and

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 127

taken more risks in going about the purlieus of New York
and around Castle Garden to hunt up men, than I ever can
among the Indians. Therefore, I feel a deep interest in this
question. It is suggested that we pay our men two dollars a
day. We may doit ashort time in the haying season, but
we are speaking of general farm labor. If we agree to. pay
too high wages, how are we going to pay them? Where is
the money coming from? I go to the store with a load of
potatoes, and say, “Do you want any potatoes to-day?”
“Yes.” “What are you paying?” “Sixty cents,” or “ fifty
cents a bushel,” whatever it may be. ‘Well, I can’t do any
better; you can have them.” “I want to buy some sugar
and coffee; how much do you ask for your sugar and coffee ?”’
He tells me, and I have to pay whatever he asks. We are
working for our masters. You cannot put it in any other
shape, when you come down to it, for we cannot put a price
upon our goods, nor can we make the price of the goods we
have to buy. Therefore we must do the best we can, and
each individual must be governed by his own circumstances,
and by his own business. How is the dairyman, who has a
large amount of milk to deliver every day, which involves a
great many chores, and a great deal of work, going to make
his hours of labor the same as those of the farmer who pays
no attention to the dairy? Therefore, the only way for us to
do is to do the best we can, and let each and every individual
study out the best way to treat his hired help, and get the
best help he can. And I guess about as good a rule as you
can find would be to “do as you would be done -by.”
(Applause. )

Mr. Hype. I have a single remark to make in regard to
the criticism of my friend over on the right (Mr.,Sedgwick),
that if we paid higher prices we could obtain better men.
That is true. But my friend, also on the right (Mr. Webb),
asks who is to pay them? It is just as pertinent inside the
house as it is out. If we will pay men and pay women
enough, we can get such help as we want. I had the pleasure
of receiving a little order from the better-half of this gentle-

128 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

man, and I sent that little order to a manufacturer of ours,
who is employing help who make from $1.00 to $1.75 a day.
They are a nice lot of girls. Any gentleman or lady here
would be very glad to get such help inside their house to do
the work. But where is the farmer who could pay $1.00 or
$1.75 a day for domestic help? The best operatives in our
mills get from $1.25 to $2.50 a day right along. What class
.of help are you going to hire from them? Any of them seek
shelter in the mills, heated with steam, rather than take out-
of-door exercise.

Mr. Gotp. What does this mill help have, at the end of a
week or month to show, after they have paid their board and
expenses ¢

Mr. Hypr. Many of the girls and women who work in the
mills will have from $12 to $20 at the end of the month.

Mr. Sepewick. Mr. Webb struck the key-note in this
thing. The question of farm wages here in New England is
really determined by the law of supply and demand. He
says he goes to market and says, “‘ What will you give for
potatoes?” ‘* Fifty cents a bushel.” “I will take it.” He
takes it because he cannot get any more. The man looking
for work comes to the farmer and says, ‘“‘ What will you give
me amonth? “TI will give you $18.00 a month and board.”
“T can’t take it; I can go right down to Waterbury and earn
my $1.75 and $2.00 a day. I can do better; I will go to
Waterbury.” That is what is draining our farms of the best
men we have. It is because the manufacturer can afford to
pay more than we can; and until the farmer can step up and
pay as much as the manufacturer, he has got to have a poorer
class of help.

Mr. Bitu. This matter of help had better be left to us farm-
ers to make just such arrangements as we can. One year, a
number of my men, who were living in my houses, and in
small places around me, who were dependent on their daily
labor for the maintenance of their families, said to me: ‘ In
future, we shall work in no other way than upon the ten-hour

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 129

system.” J submitted to it that year, and they came up in
the morning, pulled out their old Bungtown watches, and
sat around on the logs until they were ready to go to work.
They ran my farm that year, but | made up my mind that it
was the last time they would ever run it, and it was. (Ap-
plause.) I said to them, open and above board, during that
season, that I should never submit to the ten-hour or the eight-
hour system upon my farm again. They said to me the next
spring, when they found I had got new help, that they were
all going to change their politics, and they were going to
change their religion. I cared not for that; [run my own
farm. Isaid to the men whom I hired, “* What do you want
for six, eight, or twelve months, beginning at a reasonable
time in the morning, and leaving off at a reasonable time at
night?” They told me; I hired them, and from that day to
this I have run my own farm. There has been no hour time
upon it. If I hada quantity of hay down in the mowing
season that it was necessary to secure, I never heard a grum-
ble from those men. If I worked them beyond the time that
farm laborers should be worked, I always paid them. If they
did not work more than an hour beyond the usual time, they
always got their pay for it, and I have never had any trouble
in keeping from six to thirty-five men right through the
season, just according to the requirements of my business.
They leave me to regulate the work, and I try to regulate it
for the interest of the farm and the interest of the farm-
laborer. (Applause.)

Mr. Gop. When the question comes up with regard to
ten hours upon the farm, comparing it with ten hours in the
‘factory, and the farmer says he cannot get time enough in ten
hours, let us bear in mind the varied character of farm labor;
that it enables a man to bear the strain during a certain por-
tion of the year, of more than ten hours a day. It is varied
in its character. It carries him into the field. There is an
open-air excitement about it. Heis not in that worn-out
physical condition of men pent up in shops, and he can stand

fairly more hours of work than those men. The farmer does
9

130 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

not show that he has been exhausted by this extraordinary
labor that you call upon him to perform in the harvest season,

and the average time of labor upon the farm during the year |

is not greater than the average in the shop; and men who
are fairly treated in the inclement season of the year, and in
bad weather, with regard to short hours and getting things all
snug before night, never complain, according to my experi-
ence, when, in the harvest field, in the busy season, more is
expected of them.

Mr. Sepewick. Most of your work is done in summer
time, and you hire your men for four, six, or eight months.
Taking the year through, I admit that there are no more
hours of labor upon the farm than in the factory; but taking
the average time in which the farm labor has to be done, how
will it compare then ?

Mr. Goup. They receive more wages, if they are hired for
the busy season of the year.

Mr. Scovitte. Times are very much altered in regard to
labor. Idid not raise roots years ago, because I could not
afford to hire men to do it. Now, since we have got mowing
machines, there is nothing for the men to do in the morning.
My men have an abundance of time to attend to it, having
little to do in the hayfield until ten o’clock, and some-
times not until noon. I have been in the habit of paying
more than the manufacturers could. I pay my men seventy-
five cents a day, for the year, and board, which is equivalent
to fifty centsa day. That is $1.25 a day.

Adjourned to two o’clock.

1884.] HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 131

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The meeting was called to order at two o’clock by Mr.
Barstow, who said :

This afternoon we are to have a lecturer who has had large
experience in city and country life, who can tell us much that
it will be useful for us to know. I have the pleasure of intro-
ducing to you Dr. Bowen.

THE HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY.
By Dr. G. A. Bowen.

At the very top of .one of the heavy undulating hills that
abound in the northeastern portion of the State, is my little farm.
From near the door of the house the observer can behold a land-
scape almost startling in its beauty. Cultivated farms, with their
neat white dwellings embowered with trees, stretch away on either
side. A heavy wooded slope, miles in length, forms a dark back-
ground to the Senexet meadows which lie below, through which
winds a silvery stream expanding into a beautiful lake, which
mirrors upon its surface the sky and surrounding objects. Should
another observer on Round Hill at the north, look down the valley,
his eye would behold the same landscape, its sand dunes and
meadows, its wooded slopes, the winding river, and picturesque
lake; so would another observer located on my friend Bartholo-
mew’s hill in Pomfret, and looking upwards from the south; but
should the three come together to compare what they had seen,
their descriptions would vary so greatly as to cause one to think
that they had viewed totally different scenery, but the only differ-
ence would be in the stand-point of the observer.

These series of winter meetings have long been held, at which I
have heard the lawyer define the legal points of farming as a call-
ing, the business man has given his views as seen through his
mercantile eyes, and various scholars have presented the scientific
aspect of its numerous details. Now, by invitation of the secretary
of this Board, I will present the views that I take of it, judging it
from my particular stand-point of observation, which is a medical
one, and I know that it will differ as greatly from much that has
been presented, as would the descriptions of those who might view
the landscape that I have described.

182 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Physiology and hygiene teach us that perfect health, robust and
vigorous, can only be obtained, and maintained, through the
instrumentality of nourishing foods, pure air, bright sunlight, and
long periods of undisturbed and refreshing sleep, together with
suitable mental and physical exercise, living in accordance with
nature, and not with the dictates of fashion, for an artificial
existence. Where and in what avocation can these conditions be
so completely carried out as upon the farm? for heve is raised the
major portion of the foods that support human race, and the
production of them compels the tiller of the soil to pass the work-
ing hours of the day in the pure air and invigorating sunshine,
exercising his muscles by carrying out the dictates of a previously
exercised mind.« The work of the farm compels no labor during
the hours of the night, hence sleep, ‘‘nature’s sweet restorer,” need
not be interfered with. The farm, then, possessing all the
requisites for health, should give us the strongest, soundest, and
most vigorous and long-lived class in the community; and, judging
by conditions, by a priorz reasoning, the farmer should be a model
of manly health, and beauty, tall, and sinewy by reason of air,
food, and exercise, deep-chested, and full-blooded. His frame
should be an illustration of physical perfection, disclaiming all
knowledge of disease, and his face a fitting crown therefor, made
perfect by thoughtful and intelligent observation, study, and
reasoning. ‘To this class should the artist look for his example of
a Hercules, or an Adonis, and not to the prize ring and circus.
To repeat; the conditions for this physical perfection, the means
that lead to it, are in greater perfection on the farm than in the
office, store, or work-shop. But, we ask the question, is the dweller
on the farm the most healthy of the race? Alas, no. The
doctor’s gig and tired horse are too often seen at the farm-house
door, The patent-medicine man makes his regular rounds, and
the agricultural journals have every available space occupied with
advertisements of a multituce of nostrums, showing that. there is
a demand for them, while a glance at the farmer’s face tells the
story of his sufferings from disease.

J entertain the belief that the conditions of health or illness are
mainly within the control of every individual, if he has the
knowledge necessary to so govern it, excepting some few heredi-
tary taints for which he may thank some ignorant ancestor. But
even these he can greatly modify, and that farm life should give a

1884. ] HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. ioe

greater freedom from ills than any other business or calling, but
that the farmer is not as free from disease as the possibilities of
his life will allow of. This controlling of disease is particularly
practicable here in Connecticut. The soil is generally well drained,
and the climate, though fitful and severe in its changes, is on the
whole salubrious, and there are no obstacles beyond his reach to
which he must submit, as there are in some sections of our own
land and abroad, excepting the one instance of malaria, which has
appeared in some localities, but happily that is now on the decline.
Neither are there any special diseases to which farmers are lable
by reason of their calling, as are shoe-makers, painters, chemical
manufactures, hatters, etc., who constantly run the risk of receiving
lead, mercurial, arsenical, or other poisonings, but the manner of
their living does induce a long list of diseases possible and common
to all who disregard nature’s laws, which, in retaliation, inflicts
upon them diseases which it should be a disgrace for any one to
have who controls his time, his premises, and the composition of
his diet, as does the farmer.

Ido not propose to trouble you with along list of hygienic
laws, neither to descant upon the origin of disease, unless it may
be to discredit the argument by which I have been often met when
speaking of man’s power in restraining ailments. That it came
hand in hand into the world with death when Esq. Adam and his
wife ate the Baldwin apple in Eden’s orchard, and that con-
sequently mankind must be ill at times as a punishment for that
sin, and hence the physician a necessary evil, to this I will only
say that theology, which is a theory of man, does not agree with
physiology, which is a fact of God. I have a higher idea of God’s
beneficent nature than to think that he delights to inflict the
tortures of bilious colic or rheumatism on a fairly good man, or an
angel of a woman, simply because of that little pomological
incident. I prefer to believe that the afflicted persons took a bite
at the apple themselves when presented by the serpent of lust or
pleasure.

Let us go to the matter at once, and take up the objectionable
features of the farm. And now put aside for awhile your views
of a farmer’s life, and look upon it with me and from my stand-
point. We shall find that the average farm-house is far from
perfect in its sanitary conditions. Living as I do in a house con-
structed more than a century ago, has caused me to notice and

134 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [ Jan.,

change many glaring defects, and perhaps for this reason I may
have observed others more closely. And these are the principal
faults that I have found to influence the health of the occupant.
First, viewing it from the exterior, we notice the entire absence of
shade, or its superabundance. No home is quite complete without
the aid of trees and shrubbery, which serve to cool the fervid
heats of summer, and screen as well from the wintry blasts,
besides lending a cheerful cosiness to the place, which makes it
truly a home. But how often are all of these purposes changed
by a want of thought regarding their positions. They are
frequently placed so as to completely shade the house, rendering
its air damp and unwholesome from the mould and decay silently
going on, which as silently but as surely extends to the minds and
bodies of the inmates; for in a decaying house there will be decay-
ing bodies, and in such how can there be any thing, so to speak,
but mouldy and decaying minds? Put trees near the house, but
not so near but that the sun will shine upon it sometime during
the day, giving it the benefit of its chemistry. Let its light in
through the windows, and not obstruct it by shrubs. They are
for ornamenting your grounds, and not for burying the dwelling
in seclusion and gloom. Besides their appearance is greatly
enhanced by standing by themselves, or artistically grouped in
positions away from the house, and not immediately under the
eaves. If it is desired that a bare wall should be covered, or a
doorway porch made shady and attractive, vines can be used to far
better advantage. The sun can penetrate their light foliage
enough to dry it, and their numerous rootlets, by which they cling
to their support, will absorb moisture rather than harbor it, giving
the full object desired by shade—a cool, dry atmosphere.

We may also notice that a desire for convenience—having
things handy as it is termed—has in many instances been made
an excuse for laziness, or shows gross ignorance on the part of the
owner—and one is fully as reprehensible as the other—in the
grouping and arrangement of the out-buildings. The barn with
its cattle-yard, the pig-pen and poultry-house, the privy and the
well—all seem to be striving to show the most sociability for the
kitchen door, filling the air with ill odors, and the soil with filth
and fever germs, to be carried into the well with every permeat-
ing rain. In this day of general reading it is scarcely necessary
for me to call attention to the fact that typhoid fever in the

1884.] HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 135

country can, in nine cases out of ten, be traced to the use of im-
pure well water, made so by the proximity of sink-drains, cess-
pools, privy-vaults, or the leachings of manure-heaps. Boards of
Health all over the land are calling attention to these facts, medi-
cal journals are filled with such instances, while every physician
can recall the memory of hearths made sad and desolate by
disease, which he knows entered in at this unnoticed door. Mind
you, farmers, I do not tell you that your wells are all contami-
nated, for I know that nothing will raise one’s resentment quicker
than to be told that their premises are unclean, but I would advise
you to have an eye to them all the same when you get home, and
if you can then view them from the stand-point that we are now
occupying, sweep them away as you would a murderer or seducer
who was trying to rob you of the fair members of your family :
for pure water is as necessary to good health as morality is to
godliness.

In speaking of the out-buildings let me call attention to the quite
general fault on New England farms, at least those outside of the
immediate precincts of villages, and if I use the English language
without clothing my ideas in obscure and general terms, know
that it is because I desire to be plainly understood. I allude to
the situation so frequently selected for the privy, oftentimes in the
corner of the yard or garden, in full view of passers-by on the
highway, and the ‘“men-folks” at the barn, thus completely pro-
hibiting its use by every modest-minded person, who necessarily
waits for the mantle of darkness to screen them as they pass
thither, and thus by postponement laying the foundation for an
habitual state of constipation, which in its turn undermines the
digestive organs, and brings permanent ill health. For obvious
reasons this is different in towns and cities; therefore this diseased
condition, which is so fearfully prevalent in the women of the
country, is scarcely known by their sisters in the city. For
charity’s sake, for decency’s sake, let this state of things no longer
exist.

The interior of the farm house as a general thing has about as
many objections, when considered as aids to disease as the exterior.
New England houses, as a rule, I have found to be well ventilated,
excepting perhaps certain portions. This is not due so much,
however, to the ingenuity of the builder, as it is to the force of
the wind, which will not be kept out. A principal exception is

186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

regarding the cellar, and oh, farmer, if you are not guilty of the
other omissions that I have pointed out, I am afraid that you are
here, for it does seem to me that the accumulations of the produce
of the farm that are stored therein must make miniature Wash-
ington markets of them all, and you know that the odors of that
have gone reeking towards heaven for years past.

Cellars as a rule are not well drained, and are consequently
damp, are all more or less dark, thus precluding cleanliness, giv-
ing rise to the very conditions best adapted to the propagation of
disease germs. If one will have a cellar under the house, have it
thoroughly draimed, and its walls and floors cemented; with an
outside drain around the house to prevent the saturation of the
soil, it may in that way be kept dry. The cellar should be partly
above ground to allow of windows to admit of air and light. To
one who contemplates building a new house, I should say have no
cellar at all, but drain the spot selected, which should be, if possi-
ble, on a rise of land. Sink the trenches for. the foundation,
throwing the earth to the interior; carry the foundation well up;
ventilate the space between the ground and the floor, and arrange
the store room in some convenient extension or ell of the build-
ing, where, with double walls and windows, as much warmth can
be secured as in a cellar, and a saving of fifty per cent. of the
construction bill, to say nothing of the ease of storing productions
in such a place,

The most important room in a house is not, as the first thought
might suggest, the parlor, the kitchen, or the sitting-room, where
the leisure time of the family is spent, but it is the room occupied
for sleeping, where at least one-third of the twenty-four hours
should be passed in the non-resistant condition of sleep, the time
the system is most prone to receive disease; for we know that
when awake every function is on the alert against it and labors to
throw it off,. A healthy sleeping-room is an airy one, where sun-
light can be admitted during the day, lending its healthful influen-
ces in purifying its walls and furniture, which become contaminated
by the breath and exhalations of the occupants. It should be a
room free from noxious exhalations from the ground, and that
can be well ventilated with pure external air. For these reasons
it should be located on an upper floor of the house, where the
necessities are more easily realized. This is a teaching of sanitary
science that is much more honored in the breach than in the ob-

1884.] | HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 187

servance. It is safe to say that two-thirds of the Connecticut
farmers, when they retire to-night, will do so to a room on the
ground floor, on the north side of the house, and immediately
over the cellar. One window is closely screened, the bed placed
against it, precluding its use, the other opens upon an almost
grassless corner of ground, made rank and noisome by the shade
of an apple or other tree, intensified by the addition of a rampant
growing grape-vine, making in summer a capital place for the
boys to dig their bait when they go fishing, and in winter a reser-
voir for ice cold air, conducive to pneumonia and rheumatism.
Why not use the best and most cheerful room in the house, in-
stead of stealing away to such a place resembling the penance cell
of the criminal. The best room in the house is not too good for
the farmer. He owns it, and by his day of toil has earned a
further right to its comforts and benefits; and I firmly believe
that he would not only feel happier, brighter, and stronger for it,
but also that his “doctor’s bill” at the end of the year would be
far smaller.

There are but few farm-houses constructed so as to be heated
by a furnace, which is perhaps as well, for the stove dealer has not
yet given us one adapted to general use, that will supply a health-
ful atmosphere. A cheap air-tight stove is too frequently de-
pended upon to warm the sitting-room; it has thé advantage of
warming the room quickly, but at the expense of every particle of
moisture that the room contains, similar in this respect to the
furnace. The long winter evening is passed in this baked and
drying atmosphere till the brain feels dead and inert as a conse-
quence. The inventor of the air-tight stove has a colossal sin to
answer for. There is a large variety of stoves that will give a
cosy, attractive appearance to a room, and at the same time fill it
with a moist, agreeable heat, more akin to the air of summer, and
why the air-tight, with its baneful properties, should have become
so popular, is more than I can understand. Allow me here to: say
that warming an upper room with the heated and vitiated air of
the room below it by means of a register, is a false economy;
better bring the stove pipe through the ceiling, and into a drum
which will utilize the heat which otherwise escapes into the chim-
ney, and which will give a temperature sufficient for all purposes
for which such an upper room is used.

These healthful arrangements for the lighting, heating, and

188 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

drainage of the house should never be objected to on the score of
expense, as I have repeatedly heard them. No argument from me
is necessary to show that vigorous health is of more importance
than dollars and cents. But really these sanitary measures are far
less expensive than the old way of living. The saving of the
items of expense of one illness alone would be enough to re-ar-
range the whole place for a complete sanitarium. All that is
required is a little thoughtful consideration, a little brain-work, all
of which is within the power of him who successfully tills Con-
necticut soil.

Thus we see that we can plan for the better arrangement and
healthfulness of the home. Will not the same discriminating
thought show that there are weaknesses in the list of the farmer’s
food supply, and its method of preparation? Is his diet a perfect
one for the labor required of him? and is the boasted New Eng-
land cooking the best method of rendering available the nutritive
properties of that food ? Without attempting to show the scien-
tific classification of food, and all its details, which is an exten-
sive study in itself, we will pass at once to the character of the
food supply of the farm, and we find that nowhere else is there
such a variety presented for the selection of any one man, or class
of men. The beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, poultry, and egg
supply of the whole country is produced of course upon the farm;
it belongs to the farmer, and he can make his selection from it
before it leaves him. So also with regard to grains, and vegeta-
bles which render the city markets so attractive. The long list of
meats, vegetables, and fruits, and the products of the dairy that
are shown by some farms is simply astonishing. Lists that will
show a complete food, possessing all necessary elements required
by the demands of the system. In addition to the articles men-
tioned, some of the more modern farms can show their carp and
trout ponds, still further augmenting the list. So then we see
that the farmer can: have the best food of the land. Does he
make use of it for his table? No, he sells it. I know that he
must have cash to meet his obligations, and that it must come
from the products of the farm, which is business-like and right.
But would it not be well to divide things a little, instead of selling
all the meat products except pork, would it not be better to dis-
pose of a portion of that, and retain some of the others, thus giv-
ing a variety to the diet? The cash returns for an average of

1884.] | HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 139

years would be the same, and the satisfaction and welfare of the
family greater. But some one says, my farm does not show such
an array as has been enumerated, so I am counted out. But can
it not be made to produce more of a variety than it does? A
little systematic planning here will tell. Sell less hay, or better
yet, none at all; put in more cattle and sheep, and consume it at
home, thus maintaining the fertility of the land, the plethora of
the pocket, and having the satisfaction of ‘‘a good square meal ”
at reguiar intervals. Cannot the garden also be made to yield
more of a variety and support? Perhaps I had better not speak
of a farmer’s garden. You will accuse me of being too personal.
I have noticed that some farmers appear reticent on the subject
of their garden, which has led me sometimes to think that they
did not have any. The farmer does not eat vegetables enough;
potatoes are the only ones that he habitually indulges in; if he
raises others he markets them, and confines himself to the unvary-
ing round of pork, potatoes, bread and pastry.

Comparing the farmer’s table with that of European countries
we must admit that he lives even far better than they do; but
comparing New Hngland cooking with that of many other coun-
tries, and sections of our own not necessarily agricultural, we can
see wherein the housewife could practice better economy, present
a greater variety of food more suitable to the wants of the system,
and served in a manner more agreeable to the palate. The French
and German housewives could teach their Yankee sisters many
culinary arts and devices that would improve the healthfulness of
the prevalent methods. Cannot the latter be taught that pork to
garnish or season a dish is sufficient, and not so portion it as to
make it one of the leading articles of the meal? That the frying
of all articles of food, either meats, vegetables, or pastries in lard,
not only spoils them, but supplies to the system an inordinate
quantity of one element which will arouse in it an abnormal action
to expel it? And that fruits are much more wholesome eaten
naturally with their appetizing acids, than when presented swathed
in a tough or soggy crust of pastry, the acids neutralized or changed
by sweetening and heat? And finally, why will she present her
family with pie for breakfast, pie for dinner, pie for supper, and
pie between meals whenever any of them are hungry? The ever-
lasting diet of pie has become a leading characteristic of this
people, so that the Yankee away from home can be detected by

140 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

his devotion to it, as is the German by his to beer. The endless
variety of pies that an ordinarily endowed farmer’s wife can make
is a matter of wonderment to one foreign to the section, while the
list of a really talented pie maker would compare favorably in
numbers, I believe, with the stars of heaven. The mysteries of
the New England pie would severely puzzle the united talents of
a New York detective, the chemists of our experiment station, and
the best investigating lawyers of the star-route trial. The com-
bination of lard, sugar, and spice is enough to ruin the digestion
of a more than ordinarily active ostrich; therefore, it is no sur-
prise to us to find that it has this effect upon our farmer, and that
he is frequently found to be a confirmed dyspeptic, showing it in
his form, his face, and most of all in his disposition.

One of the chief drawbacks to healthfulness on the farm, far
greater than the environment or dietetic arrangement, is the
unceasing and laborious toil to which the occupant subjects him-
self; labor that is too heavy for human muscles to be employed in,
and devoting to it so many hours of the day that it effectually
deprives him of all recreation and amusement, up early in the
morning, laboring for an hour or perhaps two before he partakes
of food, treating in this respect his brute beasts better than him-
self. The breakfast is eaten in haste, washed down with hot
coffee, and the rush of work commences again. The bright hours
of the morning have no beauty for him for he has no time for
their enjoyment. A short halt at noon enables him to catch a
hasty dinner, and while the team more leisurely enjoy theirs he
performs the midday chores, putting the muscles of his limbs in
active motion before those of the stomach can grasp their load.
The weary hours of the afternoon pass slowly away, but still the toil
is not over, chores again demand attention, and it is far into the
evening before the day’s work is done. Is the sleep that follows
such a day of toilarestful one? It is heavy and lethargic, and
brings no elasticity back to the muscles or buoyancy to the mind.
I know full well the strain and tension that human muscles are
capable of, their endurance is wonderful, and with proper food and
suitable intervals of rest and relaxation with quiet sleep, it can be
kept up for long periods of time, and the subject of it improve in
health and strength, usually accomplishing more in the end than
he who devotes himself to incessant toil. But prolonged muscu-

lar labor will wear out the body, which is like a machine; it must ©

1884.] | HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 141

stop for repairs, for cleaning and oiling. A machine properly run
will last for years, and so will the human body, but the engineer
will tell us that if a machine is run at the highest rate of power
that it is capable of, it will go to pieces almost at once. We can
easily see now why the farmer is so often a confirmed dyspeptic;
food received by a tired body cannot digest, it becomes an irritant,
and the various organs of the body rebel, and the same treatment
long continued makes in time a chronic rebellion—like a Spanish
republic. Wesoon find that the system is failing, because not
properly nourished. It cannot act on the defensive against
disease; the door is open and it is sure to come in some form,
breaking the man down both physically and mentally. Insanity
is one of the frequent results of this course of life. You have
something more than my word for it, for statistics of insane
asylums, life insurance companies, and like associations show it
the country over. Think of it, insanity produced upon the farm,
the place of all others supposed to be and capable of being the
most conducive to good mental health. Yes, itis even so. Let
me quote from an authority* appearing in the last report of the
Board of Health of this State, who says:

‘““As a prolific source of insanity, and results injurious to health
and constitution, next to alcoholic intemperance comes ‘intemper-
ance of work;’ that intense, unremitting application which leads
to mental and physical strain, directly conducing to insanity or
systematic defects which may appear in succeeding generations.”
And again the same authority says: +

“There is much corporeal overwork, particularly in the agricul-
tural districts. Severe and constant manual labor leaves little
time for cultivating the cheerful and better sentiments, or that
education which contributes power and stability to mind and
character. Years of constant drudgery combined, as is quite
commonly the case, with innutritious food, improperly selected or
poorly cooked, are so destructive of vital economy that exciting
causes, harmless under other circumstances, are sufficient in these
to derange the mind. The frequency with which insanity breaks
out in farmers’ families best illustrates this.”

Now Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I am the last person in this
State to raise my voice against labor. I recognize the dignity and

***How can we escape insanity,” by Chas. W. Page, M. D. of Hartford Retreat. Page
192. t Page 196.

142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

importance of it both in theory and in my daily life. But I do
protest against this prostitution of his vital forces by the farmer
to so low an object as the mere accomplishment of work; it is both
unnecessary and unreasonable, and beneath the manhood of one
who is created in the image of God.

It is not the health of the farmer alone that claims our attention
to-day, but also that of his family. First the farmer’s wife, what
is her status as regards health? She does not take as high a
stand as her husband does; faets carry out what the natural
supposition would be. Her labor is as incessant and of a far
more vexatious character, is performed within doors, free from the
exhilarating effects of air and sunshine, and she receives less
stimulus from her surroundings; add to this the bearing and rear-
ing of children, and labors that she is obliged to perform when
the functions of her system require rest, and one can readily see
that it must rank lower.

It has always been an enigma to me why any woman would
marry a farmer. You may in turn express surprise why they will
a physician, but they do both, inserutable as it may seem. I have
known the farmer to select his wife as he would a mate for his
horse, for the amount of labor that she can perform, freely
questioning with his neighbors if she were able to keep her
whiffletree even with his, as they drew the burden of labor, tender
regard and love having a subordinate place. Think what the
farmer’s wife does for him when he brings her to his dwelling and
she commences the fulfillment of her duties. From that time on
she does for him and the hired men, the cooking, the washing and
mending, makes many of her husband’s garments and all of her
own, and those of the children as they successively appear, attends
to the dairy, and on some few farms feeds the pigs and poultry,
and lugs in wood and water for the household purposes. Is it any
surprise that nature soon exhausts herself and the woman dies?
Did you ever think how many among your own acquaintances are
living with their second or third wife? Compare it with the
converse and you will be surprised at the different results. What
killed the woman? The certificate of her death filed with the
town clerk will give the scientific name of the disease that was the
immediate cause, and at the funeral the minister doubtless said
that it was one of the mysterious dispensations of Providence.
But I tell you that back of it was the toil of years, cheered with

1884.] HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 143

but few comforting words and sympathies; broken down before
her time that the mortgage might be paid, or the little fund in the
bank increased. Where was the comfort of her life? Did she go
anywhere? Did she see friends? Did she have books and
opportunities to read them? Was her mental capacity increased,
_ and her life made progressive and better fitted for an eternal here-
after, by the years that she spent as that man’s wife? Forbid
that it should ever be repeated, and yet it is to-day, at this very
hour, thoughtlessly, perhaps, in many instances, but nevertheless as
effectually. Life’s early dreams and hopes, the accomplishments
learned in maidenhood, even ambition itself is swallowed up by
the mighty maelstrom of work that ruins their health, inflicts keen
suffering, and finally demands life itseli—work that should have
been, much of it, performed by men. There is a ray of comfort
here in the fact that the American farmer is far ahead of the
European in his ideas of woman’s work, for there, in addition to
her household and family cares, she is expected to labor much in
the fields, take the entire charge of the herds and flocks, even to
the shearing of the sheep. But there she is better fitted for it, for
her brain is smaller and her muscles larger. The time is soon
coming, I trust, when woman’s work on our farms will be lightened.
The churn and the cheese press will be banished from the house
as the spinning wheel has been, and thus a heavy burden lifted.
I see no reason why so much of the farm work should be brought
into the dwelling, as is now the case; it is as unreasonable as it
would be for the blacksmith to bring his work into the family
circle.

There is a bright picture in the children of the farm. They are
the robust and vigorous little specimens that one would wish to
see. Strong and well developed, possessed of inquiring minds and
happy dispositions, with good digestive powers, assimilating their
food well, and consequently laying the foundation for future men-
tal and physical strength, presenting in the sum total quite a con-
trast to the children reared within the limits of the cities. This is
just what we should expect from the premises that we have
assumed for free exercise. within the limits of their strength, per-
formed in the open air and sunshine. The food largely composed
of milk and fruit, and the long periods devoted to sleep, are just
the conditions for perfect health. The city-reared child shows
more refinement in form, features, and manners, but that of

144 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

course comes from its different associations. That the physique
and nerve power of the country child is greater is proved by the
death-rate, which is so much larger in towns than in the open
country. I have often been surprised at the contrast of the
physique of the two children in my journeys to and from the
cities. The young people of the country are larger in frame and
muscle than those of the city, but at this period of life the city-
reared have gained in nerve power, and the energy and endurance
that comes therefrom, while the country-reared seldom gain much
beyond the age of sixteen years. This I attribute almost wholly
to the difference of food, a trifle to the mental training they
receive, and somewhat to the fact that they represent the survival
of the fittest, the deficient ones having died in childhood. It was
this nerve power that enabled the city-reared soldiers to eclipse in
courage, hardihood, and vigor, those reared in the country, as was
repeatedly witnessed during the late war.

There are two advantages that town residents have over the
dwellers on the farm. First, the ease with which personal cleanli-
ness is attained, the introduction of hot and cold water to all parts
of the house, and the general bath-room, presenting mighty factors
that the farm cannot; and on this I need not enlarge, for you
must all recognize its importance. And second, in the stimulus
and animation that comes from contact with fellowbeings, which
gives more keenness and vigor of mind, and life to the individual,
qualities that are always appreciated by the physician. I do not
mean the strain that comes from the turmoil of business, for that
is overwork of the mind—worse than overwork of the body—but
the social inter-communion that can only be had where there is an
aggregation of numbers. The amusements that are offered have
a tonic effect upon the mind as powerful as that of iron upon the
body. They not only amuse, but they are educational, and all that
tends towards that end tends towards a better condition for health.
As a class, in city or country, our own land or abroad, the educated
ranks are the most free from disease—a fact that speaks volumes,
The isolation of farm life prevents a deal of this neighborly
interchange, this polishing of the elbows, as it is termed. Amuse-
ments are of rare occurrence, and the meeting of neighborhoods
infrequent, and thus a habit of non-sociability is formed, which is
apt to degenerate by degrees into a condition of melancholy with

1884.] HEALTH OF THE FARMER AND HIS FAMILY. 145

all its unpleasant effects, not only on the subjects, but on their
associates as well.

We see but little of intemperance on the farm—not nearly as
much as in former years; hence the farmer does not in his illness
have to contend against its baneful influences, and from wounds
and surgical operations he promptly recovers. Cider-drinking,
which many do not class with intemperance, has been an unmiti-
gated nuisance and acurse to the whole of New England; but now
that apples are considered to be worth, at the lowest estimate,
twenty cents a bushel to feed to stock, the temptation to make the
surplus fruit into cider is much less. The excuse for making it
for vinegar no longer exists, for a blear-eyed, suspicious-looking
individual, having a little manufactory in a side-street in the city,
will make more so-called pure cider vinegar in one night than a
large farm can produce in a year, and can sell at double the profit.
Therefore we think that dollars and cents will help to solve the
temperance question. as much as the reformer. ‘ Whisky vinegar”
has certainly been the means of improving healthfulness on our
farms, if it has taken away a source of revenue.

In a careful survey we find that the farmer and his family are
afflicted only with ills common to all humanity, and not special to
the calling. As it is at present even, the farm is the most health-
ful place for living, but not nearly as much so as it can and should
be made. Did you expect to hear from me complicated formulas
and remedies for these diseases? I know of but four, simple,
efficacious, and within the reach of all, and, moreover, specifics for
most complaints. They are as stated at the commencement of
this paper: pure air, proper food, suitable exercise, and rest.
Should you need to go beyond them for aid, do not try to be your
own physician, and dose yourself with unknown nostrums, and
remedies advertised to cure all diseases. Neither accept in that
capacity your neighbor across the road, or the woman whose only
recommendation is her industry in gathering stores of roots and
herbs during the summer, and now seeks a use for them. Go to
one who is qualified by nature, education, and experience; if he is
a skillful physician he will guide you to health again with but
little medicine, but with much of that which is harder for many
to take, good advice. ‘He will tell you of nature’s laws, and show
you wherein you have violated them; go back to them, and follow

10

146 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

them, study them well, and you will agree with me that she is the
best physician. ‘

I have made but brief mention of the various causes for illness
that are recognized as pertaining to our subject. The planning of
grounds and buildings, ventilation of rooms, the selection of food
considered from a scientific standpoint, the art of cooking it, the
physiological effects of labor, growth, and development, the pre-
vention of disease, etc., etc.; are each subjects for volumes, rather
than a short dissertation of this character, which can only be con-
sidered as an incentive to practical self-examination and reflection,
and not as a finished treatise. From early associations which have
become dearer with mature years, I have learned to appreciate the
blessings of farm life. I would gladly see them increased, as I
believe they can be, till the farm will be looked upon as a complete
sanitarium, and the farmer and his family as examples of that
physical perfection which alone can bafile disease.

QusxstTION. Is there a cellar under the house in which you
live?

Dr. Bowen. Yes, sir; built there more than a hundred
years ago. I would gladly fill it up if I could.

Mr. Scovitie. . Will you tell us of the advantages of open
fire places?

Dr. Bowen. They are excellent methods of heating a
room early in the fall, or in the spring; they are excellent
for ventilation ; but I do not regard them as giving complete
heat, nor uniform heat. They are very pleasant to look at.
1 keep three open in my own house yet, but as for heating,
they certainly do not meet the requirements of the case. I
think there are other forms of heating apparatus that, upon
the whole, are better.

Mr. I do not want to advertise any stove dealer, but I
would like to know what description of stove will give a sum-
mer heat and not dry the atmosphere in the room. I would like
to buy such a stove, if I can find one. I use a common gas
burner, and always puta tea-kettle upon the back of it dur-
ing the evening, and night, and that furnishes considerable

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 147

moisture in the room. There are plants in the room, and I
think it is an advantage to them.

Dr. Bowrn. There are a number of stoves that give good
-heat, and that are cosy and attractive in appearance. If you
use coal, there are numbers of ‘those that are exceedingly
attractive, and almost as pleasant as the old-fashioned fire-
place. Have you ever noticed how pleasant it is to go into a
room where plants are growing? It is the moist atmosphere
from which the oxygen is not entirely burned out, that ren-
ders them so attractive, and makes them so luxuriant.
Whenever plants will grow luxuriantly in winter, there you
will find a pleasant atmosphere to breathe. You will notice
that the atmosphere of the kitchen is almost always more
pleasant than that of the sitting room. That is because there
is water on thé stove; the kettles are boiling almost continu-
ally, which renders the air soft and mild.

QUESTION. Tell us about grates in a sitting room.

Dr. Bowsen. They are something like the old-fashioned fire-
place—after the same pattern; perform the same office.

Question. Are plants growing in a room conducive to
health, or otherwise?

Dr. Bowen. There is a general opinion, that as soon as a
person becomes ill, you must take out every plant that is
growing in the room—banish it as you would the disease
itself, if you could. I have often wondered a little that this
should be so. When you consider that in summer our win-
dows are open, the air is laden with the perfume of flowers,
leaves are all budding and performing their functions,—we
never move away from the climate and go north when the
leaves appear,—I do not see why we should banish plants
from the sick room. Any plant, however, which has a heavy
perfume is perhaps objectionable ; but there is no objection to
a growing plant; on the contrary, 1 should say that it would
be a benefit. If you consider that the office of the leaves of
plants is to absorb carbonic acid gas, which is exhaled from
the lungs, you will see that a plant is rather a purifier than
otherwise. (Applause. )

148 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Question. Is it hurtful to eat just before retiring?

Dr. Bowen. Yes, sir, and no, sir. (Laughter.) That
depends a great deal upon the patient, if you will allow me
to use the word. I have very often recommended persons to
take a light repast before retiring, the idea being to give the
stomach a little excitement to start its peristaltic action ; get
the nerves started, so to speak, in that direction, and thus
relieve the brain. I think, as a general thing, it is better for
an ordinarily healthy person to retire on an empty stomach.

QuEsTION. Would you prescribe food to excite peristaltic
action ?

Dr. Bowen. I don’t know how it can be brought about in
any other way. There must be food there to start it.

Question. Is not peristaltic action going on in the intes-
tines constantly, in a state of health ?

Dr. Bowen. To a certain, limited degree. It is greatly
increased soon after the stomach receives its burden.

QuEsTION. Does it not take from two to four hours for
digestion to take place in the stomach ?

Dr. Bowen. As soon as the stomach receives its load,
there commences a grasping of it, and very soon peristaltic
action commences, which is communicated to the intestines
almost at once. It is for this reason (you will excuse me for
speaking so plainly), that the call of nature should be attended
to soon after breakfast. It is more prone to take place at
that time.

Mr. Husparp. I wish simply to direct attention to the
question of ventilation of cellars, for, as a matter of fact, we
have to use them, more or less. I hardly think many of us,
even if we should happen to build a new house, would follow
the advice of the speaker, and dispense entirely with a cellar.
It is a fixed institution, I think, in the New England farm-
house. What I wished to ask was, if it was not entirely
practical so to ventilate those cellars, and care for them, that
they should not be sources of disease? I live in an old house
myself, which has a chimney stack in the center, starting

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 149

from the ground; it is quite a walk to go around it. In the
cellar there are two fireplaces, with flues extending into the
chimney. Originally, there were seven fireplaces in the dif-
ferent stories of the house, communicating with that one
chimney-stack ; a number of them are closed up now, but the
two in the cellar remain open, and my impression is, that
those fire-places so ventilate that cellar that it is not a source
of disease. My opinion is, if you should build a new house,
and have the chimney start from the cellar, with an open fire-
place there, connected by a flue with the chimney, it would
afford such perfect means of ventilation that the cellar could
be kept pure, sweet, and clean, and would not be a source of
disease to the family above it.

Dr. Bowren. Beyond a doubt, any cellar could be made so
perfect in all its sanitary arrangements by proper ventilation,
either externally, or by means of a chimney, as to prevent
the evil of which I have spoken. It matters not which method
is adopted, but perhaps ventilation by reasons of the chimney
would be as easily carried out as external ventilation. But
there will be certain exhalations from the vegetables that are
stored in the cellar, and from the ferment that is going on in
your cider and vinegar barrels. In this dark place, there are
accumulations of filth without your being aware of it, a few
vegetables are left at the close of the season which have
escaped your observation, and in various ways there comes a
taint in the air which I have perceived, and doubtless Mr.
Hubbard has, very often, of which it is very hard to get rid.

Mr. Hussarp. Still, I think this open flue carries it off
very thoroughly. ,

Dr. Bowen. I-have never visited your house, and do not
know how that is. It is hard work to get rid of it in mine.
I think if a man was going to build a new house, and he
would construct a store room in some hill, where he could
back his team up and load or unload, as the case might be,
he could make that as warm asa cellar, and his produce
would be much more easily handled; he could shut it away
from his living rooms entirely, and I think his health and

150 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

that of his family would be better for it. Iam sure it would
not cost half so much as it would to dig out and stone up a
cellar.

Mr. EK. L. Jounson of Newtown. I understood the doctor
to say that he thought people living in cities and villages had
an advantage over the farmer’s family in conveniences for
cleanliness, in the way of bath-rooms, hot and cold water,
and the like. I should beg to disagree with him there. I
think there is not.a farmer in Connecticut who cannot obtain
all those conveniences in his own home about as well as they
are had in the cities, either by bringing water into his house
from a spring that he may find properly located, or, if he can-
not find that, by taking the water from the roof of his house
into a tank on the second floor, or in the attic, and by
means of pipes convey the water to different parts of his
house—I speak from experience. A few years ago, I over-
hauled my house, and I asked my wife which she would
rather have, a parlor well-furnished or conveniences for bath-
ing, etc., for I had not the money to spare to furnish both.
She said she would rather have the water.

Dr. BowrENn. A very sensible woman, sir. (Applause.)

Mr. Jounson. I think she is, I thought so before I mar-
ried her. (Laughter and applause.) 1 looked about in the
vicinity, and on a neighboring farm I found a spring that was
so located that I could take the water into the second story of
my house. The spring was sixty rods away from me. I
bought the spring of the farmer, paying him thirty dollars for
it,and he gave me a deed of it, the same as he would of any
piece of property. Tlaid my pipe and brought the water to
the house. We started the water running on Thanksgiving
Day, 1874, and there has not been a moment, from that hour
to this, when that half-inch pipe has not run full of water,
and we have a tank on the second floor that is always full.
Pipes from that tank run to the kitchen stove, where we have
a boiler, and the hot water goes to the sink. We have a bath-
room, so that when I come in from hoeing corn, plowing for
rye, or any other dirty work, instead of going to a pond, a

1884.] QUESTIONS. 151

quarter of a mile away, as I used to do, or taking a wash-tub
into an out-house, I go into the bath-room and have all the
conveniences and comforts for a good bath. Of course these
things cannot be done without some expense, but I consider
it the best investment I ever made. It ‘cost me about $600.
I would not have that bath-room taken out of the house to-
day for three thousand dollars. (Applause.) Now, there is
not a farmer here who cannot do that thing; and, if there is
any one here who has not the ready money to use in that way,
my advice to him is (perhaps it is not worth much) if he
cannot raise the money in any other way, and does not feel
that he can run in debt for it, to look over his farm and see
what piece of ground he can best spare from it, find a pur-
chaser and sell it, and use the money to bring water into his
house, and see how much comfort it will add to his own life,
and how much it will help the wife in her work; but, as a
matter of economy, there will come times when you can see
that it will pay. You can sometimes dispense with the ser-
vices of a hired girl in the house if you have these conveni-
ences—I know that from experience. My wife, with the
assistance of a little girl of fourteen, has done our family work
through the summer. We have a family of from six to eight
and ten through the year, and she has done all the ordinary
housework of the family, my boys and myself helping about
the washing Monday mornings with the washing machine—
which I consider very proper. Having water so convenient,
she has been able to do her own work, and do it with a great
deal more comfort than she could if she had a hired girl and
was without these conveniences. If you cannot find a spring
in or near your farm have a tank put on the second floor or
in the attic, and have the conductors on your roof arranged
so that the water can be carried to that tank, and then you
can have a bath-room of your own, with hot and cold water,
just as you find in the Scovill House, or any other well regu-
lated house in the country.

Mr. Rocers. I think that very few farmers give atten-
tion enough to the matter of small fruits in relation to health.

152 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

I come from a part of the country in which small fruits are
abundant. Mr. Hale, in his paper yesterday, said that one-
quarter of an acre was sufficient for a farmer’s fruit garden.
If you have a very large family you will find, very soon, that
half an acre will not furnish you fruit enough. It is said by
the doctor that. malaria prevails in some portions of Connecti-
cut. Now, the acid of fruits is one of the preventives of
malaria. I think that if fruits were more eaten, and the acids
of fruits, there would be less sickness. As I came up from
Bridgeport to this place, I was struck with the absence of fruit
gardens, and knowing, from experience in my own family, that
our doctor’s bills are very much less when we have fruit—l
think the eating of fruit is conducive to health. A great
many are apt to think that there may be less acid in some
fruit because it is sweet or because sugar is used on it; but
the fact is, that all fruits contain more acid than many real-
ize. For instance, the currant is said to be a very acid fruit ;
the blackberry, in reality, contains more acid than the currant.
And so sugar does not do away with the acid, it simply dis-
guises the flavor.

The doctor also said that many men married their second
and third wives. Well, if you had larger fruit gardens, you,
probably, would not have to have but the one wife! (Laugh-
ter and applause.) My wife will not cook a pie or the least
pastry in the summer. She has fresh fruit enough on the
table three times a day. In my own family, we use from six-
teen to twenty quarts of strawberries a day, and my children,
five and six years old, will eat from three to five pounds of
grapes every day during the grape season, and the healthiest
period of their lives is when they take the most fruit. So, if
you do not wish to have second and third wives, and do want
healthy children and reduced doctor’s bills, plant more small
fruits. (Applause.)

Mr. Buor. It takes a great deal of time and labor to cul-
tivate fruit. It is very well for the man who means to devote
his time and money to the raising of fruit, but every farmer
can raise vegetables. We know that all the Arctic expedi-

1884. | QUESTIONS. 153

tions that have been sent out of late years have been saved
from scurvy by vegetables, and it is easier and cheaper to raise
vegetables than fruit. The great trouble with farmers is not
that they do not raise fruit enough, for they can find plenty of
wild fruit, but I think if they would raise a greater variety of
. vegetables, they would profit by it more than by raising a
greater variety or a greater quantity of fruit.

Something has been said about eating in the evening. Far-
mers, in the Eastern States especially, eat as if they were
natives of Kamschatka or the northern part of Siberia. If
you were to tell them to take a tallow candle for supper they
would laugh at you. What else do they do? They eat pie-
crust made of a mixture of grease and a little flour; the less
flour the better they like it. If they were to take fruit and
vegetables, and good, wholesome bread and butter, or meat,
they would consider that very heavy and hearty food. Itisa
great deal easier to digest a beefsteak, well-cooked, than it is
a piece of pie-crust. That the doctor will admit, I have no
doubt. I was not brought up on a farm, but I have been a
farmer seven years. . 1 take my breakfast in summer at half-
past five or six o’clock, dinner at twelve, supper at seven, and
tea at midnight. (Laughter and applause.)

Mr. Wess. I should not think the gentleman would have
any time to take anything else!

Mr. Avueur. I would like to ask Dr. Bowen whether he
considers it allowable to have water, which is used for drink-
ing purposes, brought in lead pipes, and, if not, what he
would advise ?

Dr. Bowen. I suppose there is no objection to bringing
water in lead pipes if there is a continuous flow of water.
But if the pipe is partially emptied at times, or wholly emp-
tied, so that the interior of the pipe becomes oxidized, then
you will get lead poison. Block-tin pipes, I suppose, are bet-
ter.

Mr. I would like your opinion in regard to the
privies which are now located in all our public houses; whether
they do not cause a great deal of malaria?

154 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Dr. Bowren. They cause a great deal of disease from sewer
gas, as itis termed. It is a thing against which the city phy-
sician has to contend more than any other one source of dis-
ease, probably. All our hotels are subject to the same condi-
tions.

Mr. WETHERELL. Is that a necessity, or is it owing to the '
want of good plumbing and care ?

Dr. Bowen. Generally it is owing to the want of sanitary
plumbing.

Mr. Norton. I would like to say a word in regard to lead
pipes, with which I have had some experience. I was gone
from here for ten years, living at the west, and before I had
been here a year, after my return, I was attacked with dread-
ful distress in the pit of my stomach. The doctors did not
seem to know what it was, but I had those spells every little
while for two years, until my hands were paralyzed, so that I
could not hold a cup to my lips or cut up my own food. I
had been drinking water from a lead pipe, and I attributed
my trouble to that. I have given up the use of it entirely,
and driven a well for my water.

Mr. Will you allow a practical plumber to say a
few words on that subject? I have worked at the business
for twelve years, and have had considerable experience. I
have worked at both city and country plumbing, and have
given the subject a good deal of attention and thought. I
have never known or heard of a case of lead poisoning occur-
ring inacity. I find that some of the healthiest cities in
the world, that have the lowest rate of mortality, are sup-
plied entirely by lead pipes, and the water is used for cooking
and drinking purposes. Those cases that occur in the coun-
try are almost invariably cases where the water was con-
ducted from springs, and the pipe had been disused for some
time before the lead poisoning occurred. Lead pipe will cer-
tainly oxidize, and, after the pipe has been disused for some
time, this oxidation dries on the inside, and when the water
comes’ through again, it is liable to carry along some pieces

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 155

of it, which occasion lead poisoning. I never knew a case to
occur under any other circumstances.

Mr. Jounson. The matter to which Mr. Augur alludes is
a very important one. I will say that we should be very care-
ful not to use water which has remained undisturbed in a
tank ; that is, where the flow is stopped in the pipe. There
is a constant flow of water from the spring, to which I have
referred, to my house, and a pipe from the tank takes the
overflow to my barn-yard and waters my stock. There is
sufficient overflow from my tank every day in the year to
water fifty or seventy-five head of cattle.

Mr. Wess. I wish thé question box might be opened.

QUESTION BOX.

Question. Can the raising of sheep be again made profit-
able by farmers clubbing together, whose farms join, and em-
ploying a sheep-tender or shepherd, with a shepherd’s dog?
In such case it would not make much difference if the fences
were poor, or if there were not any, as the sheep would be
led or driven about by the tender. A pen or shelter for the
sheep at night, and a cabin beside it for the tender and his
dog, would be needed. In Scotland, a shepherd will easily
take care of five hundred sheep. Is it not possible that in
this way many of our worn-out farms in Connecticut can be
restored ?

Mr. Wess. I would like to say one word. That question
has been discussed, I believe, at every meeting for several
years past, and the only way I can suggest or think of, is to
shut up the tramps and kill the,dogs. I believe then we can
keep sheep.

Mr. Crorurr. I do not agree with our friend at all. 1
believe there is a way by which our sheep can be protected.
Our lands are well calculated for sheep, and here they are
spread out before us in Connecticut. What is the trouble ?
Dogs! Why not stop them? Some say, “kill them.” No,
don’t kill them. I have a dog that I would not want to

156 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

spare ; a little Scotch Skye, that picks up the paper and
brings it home to my breakfast table. There are a good
many more like him. What is to be done then? I can look
back sixty years, when sheep were kept in the woods, and
they would run all summer, and in the fall they were brought
in and put under shelter. Why cannot the same thing be
done now just as well as then? Oh, the dogs! What is to
be done? I gan tell you. Dogs now are allowed to run at
large. They are taxed; they are property,—which is per-
fectly right. I have no more right to kill my neighbor’s dog
than I have to kill his horse, if I understand the matter
right. Those dogs must be cared for in some way or other.
Make a law, then, that those dogs shall be broken. I have
broken a good many dogs. I will tell you how I did it. Take
a dog six months old; let him go into a field, and he will
always chase the first thing that he sees run. If he attacks
a sheep, whip him severely. I never saw one that molested
a Sheep a second time.

Mr. ScovitteE. The plan of breaking dogs did not work
with me. I have kept a flock of sheep for sixty years, and
never had more than one or two killed during that time. A
year ago I put a young dog into a stable about ten feet
square, and put in three large bucks and they went at him
and pounded him until he wasn’t anything but jelly; I
thought they were going to kill him, and I flung him out into
a field where there was a flock of sheep, and the first thing
he did was to put for them! (Laughter.)

Mr. Bitu. I want to say a word in favor of sheep culture.
I believe that mixed farming pays the Connecticut farmer to-
day better than special farming. In my opinion, it is best
for the farmer to keep stock, to keep sheep, to keep anything
and everything upon his farm that he may think will pay.
To-day, or this year, perhaps raising lambs and selling them
will pay better than anything else. Next year, it may be
that raising Devons will pay better than anything else. The
way in which I have managed since | have been carrying on

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 15T

my farm has been to keep a little of everything. In that way
I manage to hit it somewhere ; and that is my advice to you.

Now, sir, in relation to farmers clubbing together and
keeping a shepherd to watch their flocks, it will not pay in
this stirring section of New England ; but it will pay the
farmer to fence his out pastures and pasture them with sheep.
That will bring back our old pastures to the condition in
which they were when I and many others of these gentlemen
present were boys. ‘To-day, those pastures have run up to
brush in many sections of our State; they are running ©
down; the tax that is paid is small for such land, but if
farmers would rise early in the morning, if they have no
other time, and fence their land, and keep sheep, they would
find it would pay, and it would materially enhance the value
of those pastures. They would be worth a hundred per cent.
more and produce that amount beyond what they are now
producing.

Then with regard to the dog. I come here as an advocate
for the dog as well as the sheep. A few years ago, when
the legislature passed the law that is now on the Statute book
in relation to dogs, I remember a question put to me by our
secretary when we were before that committee, while I was
testifying. He asked me if I was there in the interest of dogs
or of sheep. I told him I was there in the interest of both. I
keep my shepherd dogs and they pay me as well, comparatively
as my sheep. Only day before yesterday I gathered my sheep
from the hills in separate flocks, and worked from early morn-
ing up to the time I left for this convention with my shepherd
dogs, and I did more than half a dozen men could have
done. I set them to gathering the sheep together to bring
them home, and it only required myself with them to gather
them in. Now, we have a law to-day to, protect our farmers
who are raising sheep, by which the towns are compelled to
pay every dollar of damage that is done by dogs. And who
pays this money into the treasury ? We pay it ourselves. I
pay it on my dogs. If I have any damage done to my sheep
by dogs, I do not go to the owner and say, “ You must give

158 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

me 25 or 50 per cent. of the damage done ;”’ I go to the town,
and get every cent of it from this fund that we have created
throughout the State for this purpose. [Applause.] Now, I
say that there is not a man in this room who cannot go into
sheep culture and make it pay, and every cent of damage
he sustains by dogs will be handed back to him; there is no
loss. You build up your land, you make it profitable, and it
is the best business you can go into separately on your land or
in connection with other farm interests and stock raising.
[ Applause. |
Mr. JoHN WesstTER. IJ ama keeper of a few sheep. I am
probably not as conversant with the culture of sheep as my
efriend Mr. Bill, but this season there have been dogs among my
sheep three different times. Last June I had five killed. One of
them was a full-blooded Cotswold buck, and the others were
ewes. Subsequently to that, dogs got among my sheep again
and broke the leg of one of them; they did not do a great
deal of damage that time; but lately, they got among them
again, killed two and maimed some four or five others. I
claim that if we farmers could go into the culture of sheep, it
is the most profitable animal we have in Connecticut. I am
not so friendly to dogs as Mr. Bill. You get a flock of full-
blooded sheep that you admire and think a good deal of, dogs
get among them and chase them about and perhaps kill some
of them; suppose those that survive are not injured at all,
are they as valuable as they were before they had this excite-
ment? I tell you, gentlemen, no. Suppose I go to the treas-:
urer of the town in which I live and carry my bill for that
Cotswold buck that 1 owned — you could not buy one to-day
for twenty dollars. They do not feel disposed to pay twenty
dollars for a sheep. They will say many times, ‘“‘ we will go
to raising sheep if. we can get twenty dollars a piece for
them.’? Jam perfectly disgusted with our legislation on the
subject of dogs. If we could go into the raising of sheep,
the State of Connecticut would be worth thousands of dollars
more than itis. I was up in Vermont last June, and looking
out of the car windows, I saw the hills alive with sheep ; som

1884. | QUESTION BOX. 159

of them were so steep, that it seemed to me if the sheep
should make a misstep they would roll down; no cow could
gef a living there. Sheep can live in the State of Connecticut.
We have a great deal of pasture land which is not worth a
row of pins for cows or cattle, but sheep will live there and
flourish. I wish we could have in our legislature representa-
tive farmers who would take more interest in sheep, and let
the dogs go to Tophet.

Me. Brit. My friend Webster speaks of sheep being wor-
ried. The present law not only covers cases where sheep are
killed or maimed, but also provides for the payment of dam-
ages where they are worried; so we are secure in that direc-
tion. Wecan recover from the Treasurer of the town fom
worrying.

Mr. —— Why cannot we have a law that will com-
pel every one who owns a dog to keep him upon his own
premises, the same as any stock? It seems to me that would
be a reasonable kind of law.

Mr. Gotp. The beauty of the question-box is, that if you
are not interested in one question, perhaps you will be in the
next. What is the cause of water-core in apples? Is there
any known preventive ?

SEVERAL Voices. No.

Question. What is the best thoroughbred breed of cows
for the dairy farmer to keep ?

Mr. WETHERELL. If for butter I should say the Jersey; if
for cheese, I should say the Shorthorn, or the Ayrshire.

Mr. Scovitte. For profit on the farm and to raise nice
cattle and sell them, I should say the Devon.

Mr. For the last twenty-five years, I have owned
from six to twenty-six cows, and I find just as good cows
among Devons as any other breed.

Question. Which is the best stock for a dairy farmer to
keep, thoroughbred or crossbred cows ?

Mr. Scovitte. If I wanted to obtain the greatest quan-
tity of milk, I would take the crossbred.

160 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan-,

Mr. WetTHERELL. When they ask from $300 to $500 for a
Jersey, if you have profit in your eye, I think you better stick
to the crossbred. ;

Question. What is the best method of reclaiming a bog
meadow ?

SEVERAL Vorces. Ditch it.

Mr. Hupparp. There is not, of course, any definite or
explicit answer to be given to that question. It may take a
man several years to study out the best way, but I do not
think there is a bog meadow in the State of Connecticut that
ought to be let alone. You may not see at once, you may
not see ina year, you may not see in four or five years, just

*what to do, but the fact is this, that these bog meadows con-
tain elements of fertility that have washed down from the
hills, gathered there, and been preserved there by being satu-
rated with water for generations, centuries—no one knows
how long. There isa great deal of fertility stored up in bog
meadows, and they ought not to be passed over without con-
sideration. If aman has a bog meadow on his farm, let him
go to work and study it until he finds out what is best for it,
and then go to work and do it.

Mr. WeTHERELL. The shortest way is to take the water
from it, without any reflection, and when you have got the
water out of it, plow it and raise a crop of oats or potatoes,
and then seed it down to herds-grass and get your crop. I
have tried it, and the first crop of potatoes after draining the
swamp paid me for all the labor that it cost to drain it.

Mr. Hype. I would suggest sending our boys down to the
Storrs School to study this subject.

Mr. Scovitte. I have six acres of bog meadow, and my
plan has been to dig the ditches about thirty feet apart, three
feet deep, eighteen inches at the top and sixteen at the bot-
tom, and lay two round stones, the size of a small loaf of
bread, and cover it with stone—I would rather have round
stone than flat—and then pack around it, filling it with earth
from my hill land within eight inches of the top. I have got

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 161

miles of such ditches on my place. I get two tons to the
acre, and from my best hill meadows I get less than a ton.
In one case, I ridged a piece in the old-fashioned way of rais-
ing corn, pulled out the bogs, and planted with corn the very
first year ; when the corn came up it looked well, but the first
time we undertook to hoe it, we could hardly break the soil.
I told my hired man that he might have half the corn that
erew there for half a month’s work. In June there came
slight rains, the field was nothing but muck, but I got a large
crop of corn. In the fall, as soon as the crop was off, I
smoothed off the ridges and sowed it to oats and grass; the
oats came up as high as that chair and fell down flat, so I
got hardly any; but the grass seed took very well, and that
piece produced over three tons to the acre.

Mr. Bitu. I don’t believe I can tell this company what it
is best for them to do if they have got bog meadows, but I
can tell them what is best to do with them if they have got
$30,000—make cranberry meadows of them.

Mr. West. My idea of a bog meadow is something that is
saturated with water. I have in mind a piece of swamp or
bog meadow near me that was drained by open ditches, which
was worthless for agricultural purposes up to that time, but
which now produces large crops. Two years ago the owner
raised large quantities of squashes upon that piece of ground,
while upon upland his’crop of squashes was an utter failure.
Last season, a portion of it was planted with onions and other
crops, with good results.

Mr. Hate. Three years ago, we commenced on a small
portion (perhaps an eighth of an acre) of a piece of land that
we had drained and made so dry that it was almost useless
for purposes of cultivation, and carted on sand from a hill
only a few rods away and dumped it a little in a place; in
the spring, we plowed it in, and the benefit was so manifest
that first year that, last season, we laid tiles all through those
open ditches, and filled them up with sand, and put sand all

over the field. We spent all our leisure time, last winter,
11

162 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. {Jan.,

on about a quarter of an acre of land, and put on nearly four
thousand one-horse cart loads of sand. The draining of the
lot, putting on the sand, and everything, has cost us between
four and five hundred dollars; but the land is worth to us,
and will pay us interest on, more than a thousand dollars.
It is the most valuable piece of land we own for growing
crops of any kind. We have had several crops on it this
season, in small patches, but, of course, its special value to
us is in the plant business, for it grows a mass of fibrous
roots on our plants, which are really very valuable. I say, if
you are going to drain a swamp, don’t get it too dry, but if
you do, put on sand, which will make it damp.

D. B. Horcuxiss, of Prospect. David M. Hotchkiss had,
about fifty years ago, three acres of peat swamp which lay
adjacent to a gravel knoll, and lay so that it could be drained.
It was ditched by one ditch laterally and three the other way,
about, I should say, eighty feet apart. The ditches were
about three feet deep, three feet broad on top and sixteen
inches at the bottom—broad enough for a man‘to stand in
and shovel. The soil was so soft that you could stick a rake
tail down its full length in any part of it. This land lay
nearly level, and after the ditching was done, they went on
with a bog cutter which cuts the bog, most of them, and the
balance were cut by hand. The bogs were gathered into
piles and, after drying, burned. The surface of the ground
was plowed, ashes spread on, and then a crop of oats raised.
The next year a crop of potatoes was raised, and then the
field was sowed with herds-grass. The land before ditching
was worth, perhaps, fifteen dollars an acre. It paid in six
years the whole cost of ditching and labor, besides interest.
That land for thirty years was in good condition. Now it has
gone back, because the neighbor below us did not want us to
dig into his land deep enough to drain it.

Question. What is the best kind of grass seed to sow on
a reclaimed bog meadow ?

Mr. Scovitue. Timothy, red-top, and orchard grass.

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 163

QuesTION. What is the best method of irrigating or
lessening the effects of drought?

Mr. Hate. Thorough cultivation.

Mr. Aver. My friend Mr. Bill talks about his losses in
cranberry culture. Go with me across the Connecticut river
to the towns of Saybrook and Essex, and you will find people
who will tell another story in regard to cranberries. Some of
them have made good profits, and will make them year by
year. So has our friend from Bristol, Mr. Norton. So I do
not think that because the locality of our friend Bill is so
marked a failure in cranberries, every locality-would fail.

Mr. Britt. I did not suppose that this convention would
hear from me again to-night; I hoped that I might have
something to say to-morrow, but when my friend there, who
came from the town of Saybrook, just opposite from where I
reside, but who has gone into the northern part of the State,
and who knows no more about the town of Saybrook that he
was born in, or about the way the cranberry was cultivated,
than the man in the moon, undertakes to talk about cranber-
ries, | want to say that there is not a man there who has got
back a dollar of what he has invested. The only cranberry
bog in that town is D. C. Stevenson’s. He has got $30,000
invested, but he does not get $30.00 worth of cranberries a
year from that bog. When he talks of cranberries down
about the mouth of the Connecticut river, I will say that I
know more about that than he does; I have put my money
into it, and he has not. You go into the town of Essex;
there was a cranberry bog west of the village that at one
time paid a dividend, but to-day it is nothing but an open
common. I would not reach down upon this floor and pick
up a crushed peanut and give it to the owners for that bog,
or take it as a gift. I have been delegated here by a higher
power than this convention to stand up in the presence of the
farmers of the State of Connecticut and say to them, “ Never
be fools like myself and put your money into worthless bogs
expecting ever to get back a dollar of it again in cranberry
culture!’ I have heard about that little bog of Mr. Norton’s

164 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

up in his vicinity. I have understood that it did pay a divi-
dend, but it did not pay but one. Dikes are not put around
the mouth of the river, as Solon Robinson said they could be,
and the bogs utilized, and every acre made to pay the interest
on $1,000 or $1,500 a year. Itis agreat mistake. We read
of these things in the papers and take them in; we think
they are so; but I tell you it is all moonshine. I don’t care
where you invest your money, you can put it into any other
kind of property, and although it may not be worth a dollar,
it will be worth as much as a cranberry bog.

Mr. Ayer. “My friend was talking in the same line that I
was. Perhaps I was not understood. When we talk about
draining marshes next to salt water, as his were, I say it is
impossible. I say D. C. Stevenson failed for the same reason
there in Essex, next to the river; but when we talk about
land back from the river, where there is a proper chance, as
Mr. Norton has, if anybody says that cranberries cannot be
raised there at a profit, 1 know to the contrary. My friend
Bill is right, and so am I.

QuESTION. How about ensilage.

Mr. WeTHERELL. The secretary of the Vermont Dairy
men’s Association came to Boston a few days ago, after
attending the meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Agri-
culture at Lowell, and inquired of the leading butter dealers
in Boston, who sell the best commodity of that kind that is
sold in that market, and every one of those butter-dealers told
him they did not want any ensilage butter ; they had tried it,
and they did not wish to have any more brought into their
stores. I wish to add, simply, that some of the condensed
milk factories, as I understand, refuse to use milk for con-
densing purposes that is made from cows that are fed on
ensilage. The preparation of ensilage is nothing new. It
was known to the ancients, as it is known to us. If they
found it a good thing, how is it that it dropped out of use
until recently ? I do not believe that ensilage, for making
butter or dairy products, is at all to be desired.

Mr. RussE.L, of Orange. I have a silo that I filled, and I

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 165

am feeding from it now. There is no odor from the ensilage
that is objectionable. -My stock are eating well, and are
doing well upon it. I think I could convince any one of that
fact if they should see them.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. This question of ensilage is a very
important one. There are gentlemen all over this State who
have invested large sums in building silos and in growing
material to putin them. Iam not an advocate of ensilage ;
I cannot speak from experience ; I believe, however, that it is
easily demonstrable that it is not the best way of producing
animal food. I think it can be shown by figures (which do
not lie, it is said) that the same amount of material for food
may be obtained by allowing this corn to mature. Ordinarily,
especially for a crop of corn for ensilage, the land is prepared
as well as is necessary for a matured crop of corn, and | think
I could demonstrate at any time, with a little time to pre-
pare figures, that it is not a profitable investment; and yet
there are gentlemen here who would disagree with me entirely.
I wish that this question of ensilage might have a fair dis-
cussion in this convention.. Facts are facts, with regard to
ensilage as with regard to everything else. Men have carried
their stock through the winter season with apparent success
upon ensilage, and notwithstanding the extravagant state-
ments that have been made by some pioneers in this sort of
work, I believe there is something in it. Other men’s opinions
are better on the subject than mine. If they will give their
experience, I, for one, should very much like to listen to them.

Mr. Aucur. I have had no experience whatever with
ensilage, but very recently I heard Dr. A. M. Shew, of the
Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane, make this state-
ment in regard to their silos,and the way in which they filled
them. If I mistake not, they put in some twelve or fourteen
hundred tons—for their silos are very large, and they have a
large stock of cattle. He said they had two steam-engines
running at the same time cutting the corn. It was filled in
very rapidly, and the silo was closed and weighted very per-
fectly, so that when the ensilage was cut there was no dis-

166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

agreeable odor whatever. It was very like opening a can of
fresh fruit. In regard to the effect on the cows, he said that
after feeding their cows with ensilage for three weeks they
found, by actual weight, that the quantity of milk had in-
creased forty per cent. (Applause. )

Mr. Skitton. I remember reading some account of the
analysis of ensilage by Professor Johnson, and he remarked
that his analysis of a certain amount of ensilage and the same
amount of dried corn showed that there was as much good
feed to be obtained from the dried corn as from the ensilage.
It was his opinion that there. was no benefit in this ensilage ;
that farmers might as well dry the corn and feeditdry. That
1s my opinion also.

Mr. RunvEL, Superintendent of the Industrial School. The
gentleman who last spoke is right in one respect. I do not
think we gain by any change in the nutritive qualities of
ensilage, but we do gain in this respect,—that itis a hard
matter to cure a heavy crop of corn fodder well, but we can
put it into a silo and be sure of saving it all. My experience
has been that ensilage makes good feed and produces good
butter.

Mr. Myrick. Mr. G. M. Washburn, of Lancaster, Mass.,
who has had nearly forty-five years experience, makes the
point, that putting green corn or green clover into a silo,
when it was wet, is the cause of a great deal of the foul odor
in ensilage, and Mr. Hoyt (whose ensilage smelled so badly)
stated to me before he went away, that his clover was put in
on a wet day.

Mr. STEELE, of the Philadelphia “ Press.” It may be
worth while to state, as against the remarks of the gentleman
from Boston with reference to,the opinion of Boston butter
dealers, that some of the butter which sells in the New York °
market at the highest price, alongside the Darlington butter,
is made from the milk of a herd of Jerseys that is fed exclu-
sively on ensilage, with a little grain, of course, but no hay
whatever. And, more than that, they have been fed on ensil-'
age during the summer as well as the winter.

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 167

Mr. I heard the question of ensilage discussed
at the meeting two years ago. It is well known that large
quantities of sowed corn are raised in Litchfield county. It
is very difficult to cure that and have it come out in good con-
dition, it is apt to be mouldy. But it can, if put into a silo
and cured properly, be made good feed for stock. I have fed
some of it this winter, and my cattle are doing well on4t, and
the milk I get from the cows is sweet and good.

Dr. Foote. I would like to ask if any gentlemen in this
room who has a silo has found any trouble with his butter ?
Before building my silo, I went around and examined various
silos, and I found that, universally, those who had silos liked
the result which they obtained from feeding the ensilage.
The difficulty all comes from those who give hearsay state-
ments. I was told by a friend connected with the New York
press that Mr. Miles had lost two horses from feeding ensilage.
I saw Mr. Miles and asked him about it, and he said, “ It is
true I lost two horses, but they had not eaten a particle of
ensilage. I was feeding it to my other horses, with my other
stock, and they all did well upon it. I took a pair of horses
and drove them very rapidly, left them standing out in the
cold, they took cold and died. They had never eaten any
ensilage.”’

Mr. Scovitiz. I would like to inquire why fodder is any
more nutritious after being put into a silo? What is it that
adds to its fattening qualities, or to its value in any way as
food for stock ? It goes through the process of fermentation
in the animal just as well without the silo as with it. The
breath of the animal will show that.

Gentlemen speak about its being very difficult to cure
sowed corn. It is the easiest thing in the world. Drive a
stake into the ground every third row, put your corn around
it, tie it there, and it will stand perfectly straight, and will be
just as bright next March, except a little on the outside, as it
is when you put it up there. I know it to beso. I have
raised enough in one year to keep twenty-five head of cattle

168 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

clear through to April. I think that is less trouble than it is
to make ensilage.

Mr. RunpEut. You get no additional nutritive quality, but
your cattle will eat stalks and everything where it is ensilaged.
I have not been able to cure any where it matured so that my
cattle would eat everything.

Mr. Bruu. Will it pay? That is the point that should
come before this meeting. Look at the first investment in
building a silo; then look at the great expense of cutting up
that corn, or clover, or whatever you cut up to pack in that
silo. Look at the machinery which you are obliged to have
after you have built your silo. It costs a great deal to trans-
port that material. Now take the other side of the question.
In the fall of the year, when your corn has become ripe and
ready to cut up, what does it cost the farmer to put his men
at work to shock that corn? It remains in those shocks a
reasonable length of time, and the weather cures it ready for
husking, and the stalks to be deposited in the stacks. My
stock are subsisting to-day more than one-half upon that corn-
fodder. Now take the meal that will come from the corn
from each one of those bundles of stalks, feed that to your
animals, and how sleek and fat they will come out in the
spring! And how much more profitable it must be, taking
the expense into account, to cut that corn up, give them the
well-cured stalks, and the poor hay that is cut on those bogs
in cranberry meadows! How much better it will be for the
stock, héw much cheaper for the farmer, and in how much
better shape would his stock come out in the spring !

Mr. Myrick. In confirmation of Mr. Bill’s remarks, and
in reply to our friend who inquired if there was any one who
had had experience with ensilage who was dissatisfied with it,
I would state that there is in this paper (‘Zhe Mew England
Homestead”) a short article giving an unfavorable view of
ensilage ; the first one, I think the record will show, that we
have received. With the Chairman’s permission, I will read
it. The article was written by Frederick Conant, of Middle-
sex County, Mass. :

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 169

“7 have filled a silo twice with corn and rowen, but do not
propose to fill it again. The rowen I consider good, but the
corn I consider not as good as meadow hay, and I stand ready
to risk any money that cattle fed on corn ensilage alone will
grow poor and dry up on it. I fed it to dry cows with two
quarts of bran one month, and then gave them five quarts.
They lost flesh, never looked plump, and went without drink-
ing for days at a time. Folks come to my barn now (I am a
cattle trader) and make the remark that my cattle look better
than they used to, and I know it without being told. I built
a double silo, costing me about $700 in time and money. I
consider it about so much money thrown away. ‘Talk about
its making a farm richer! It will make the land poorer, for
the reason that it makes poor manure, and if 100 tons of
ensilage are raised it takes all of that manure and more to
raise the next 100 tons. Farmers in this town have not aver-
aged 15 tons of ensilage corn per acre. It takes the best of
land and the highest of manuring to raise 25 tons. Those
who don’t believe it had better try it. A small silo that
would give the cattle one feed a day would be good—just
about as good as the same amount of apple pomace, and I
think no better, if the pomace is sweet. It is all heavy, hard
work putting the corn in the silo and getting it out, costing
me nearly $1.50 per ton for the getting in. I have’sold cows
the past two winters that gave after leaving me from one to
four quarts more milk, which I suppose is a credit to me, but
rather expensive. One cattle trader told me last winter that
I had lost more than 200 on the sale of my cattle by feeding
ensilage, as my cattle never were full and plump. I think
there are but four silos in this town—two of them are empty,
never again to be filled. It is my candid opinion that in less
_ than 15 years silos in this country will be no more. There
are a few men who have made money by getting the farmers
to build and selling them cutters for $75 or $100 apiece, and
corn seed for $3 to $4 per bushel. They have made their last
dollar out of me, and | am still able to pay my debts, but feel
mighty sore to be fooled so. I have said nothing about the

170 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

manner of building silos, for if a man is silly enough to build,
let him do it as he thinks best.”

Mr. Scovitte. We put twenty-five hills of corn in a stack.
Those stacks yield a bushel of ears of corn. When we come
to husk it, it makes three good bundles. Now, if you should
feed, as Mr. Bill has said, one of these bundles of stalks to
each animal, and then divide the bushel of corn among three,
your oxen would be too fat to work, and your cows would be
far too fat to give milk.

Mr. Runpeu. I asked a gentleman who resides in one of
the largest milk-producing sections of our State in regard to
silos, and he said that while he thought they were good
things, those who bought milk had refused to take it if it
came from those who fed ensilage ; consequently, he said,
they had no more use around there for silos. It seems to me
that the question resolves itself largely into this: If they do
not want our butter, if they do not want our milk, that is
produced from ensilage, what is the use of it forus? It
resolves itself right into the question proposed by Mr. Bill,
“ Toes it pay ?’’ You may talk about it, and around it, but
it will come right back to that question—Does it pay? If we
have a good market for our butter and milk, if people will
buy them and give a good price for them, then it may be all
right. But if they do not want our butter or milk made from
ensilage, then we have no occasion to fill our silos.

Mr. Sepewicx. In conversation with Maj. Alvord ‘of
Houghton Farm, this last spring, he told me that they had
tried a series of experiments at that place in relation to ensi-
lage. They took ten cows, all of them giving about the same
quantity of milk, and fed five of them on ensilage, and five
on good meadow hay—giving the cows that had ensilage all
they would eat. The milk was carefully weighed and tested,
and the product churned separately. It was found that while
the ensilage increased the product of milk, the longer it was
fed, there was a decrease of fatty matter in the milk, until
there came a time when the cream from that milk would not
make butter. He says that the experiment which they made

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. yal

satisfied them that ensilage alone was not a profitable food,
although, to be fed in conjunction with something else, it
might be.

What is there in ensilage to make it a valuable food? If
you look at the analysis of it, you will see that it is worth less
than brewers’ grains, and the Board of Health have prohib-
ited the sale of milk made from brewers’ grains. We know
that it has the same alcoholic smell and taste. And when the
question of labor, the value of land, and the cost of handling
this mass of stuff, are taken into consideration, I think it
may well be doubted whether it is a paying thing.

Mr. J. Bronson of Ohio. I have listened to the discussion
this afternoon with a great deal of satisfaction. J am nota
resident of this State, but I am a native of this town. Ihave
fed sowed corn for thirty or forty years, and I never have
heard any one say that the milk that came from sowed corn
was not good; on the contrary, it was considered the best
milk that was ever sold to any factory ; and I certainly think,
from my own experience, that cattle fed on sowed corn will
thrive and look better in the spring than if fed upon any
other feed that you can give them. I use a horse-power and
cutter, and cut up my sowed corn and corn-fodder fine. In
an hour, I can cut a ton of stalks, and cut them not over half
an inch long. Sift on a little wheat bran, and your cattle will
thrive, and when you let them out, they will kick up their
heels and do well. :;

C. H. Casies of Thomaston. We cure our sowed corn by
cutting it and allowing it to lie on the ground a week or
more. If it is a dry time, and we have no rain, we bind it
up in large bundles, larger than ordinary rye-straw bundles,
and stack it in stacks of from thirty to fifty bundles, binding
it in the center and on top, and allow it to stand until we
want it. In the winter, we haul it on a sled to the barn as
we need it, and the inside is apparently as good as when it
was cut. We never have any mouldy corn. Some parties
have said that stalks make very poor milk. So they do, if
fed alone, but if we give our cows a quart of meal a day, we

172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

find they will give more milk, and give a good quality of
milk.

Among other things, we have fed cabbage to our cows, and
we have found that we can make more milk on cabbage than
anything else we have ever fed. It does not flavor the milk,
but we are pretty careful not to feed any decayed leaves. I
will not say that we can make good butter on cabbage, but we
can make good-tasting milk, and have not heard any com-
plaint from our customers.

We cut our corn by the use of a Jersey bull, who works
nicely in summer or in winter. We use him in a horse-
power.

Mr. Britt. I remember when this matter of ensilage was
first started. It was like fire, and it seemed to me it was
going to sweep the land,—and it has partially—before we
could get a reaction. I saw into it the first time that it came
up in the meeting, and battled it. I believed it was my duty
to do it. I regarded it as another cranberry operation, or
morus multicaulis operation, or sorghum operation. I see
that only a portion of the farmers of Connecticut have gone
into it, and expended $300, $500, or $800, and it may deter
others from doing it, until they investigate the case further.
It has been an interesting subject to bring before the meeting,
and information has come out that will be beneficial to the
farmers of the State.

Question. What is the proper treatment of an animal
that has a weeping eye, or a film growing over the eye?
What will remove the film?

Dr. Bowen. It is quite a general practice to blow a little
powdered burnt alum into the eye. A better practice, and one
not quite so harsh, is to sponge the eye with a solution of
borax—about four grains to an ounce of water. Before one
attempts any remedy, he had better investigate the cause of
the film, and ascertain whether it comes from a wound that
the animal has received, or from some injurious feeding. It
is very apt to come from the latter cause. I think farmers
are apt to overlook that very important consideration in the

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 1738

health of their animals. They do not look sufficiently to the
feed. We see it more often in dogs that are getting too high
feed. Ihave seen a film over their eyes to such an extent
that they would be almost totally blind; and yet, by a little
simple starvation, they brightened up in a few days. The
same thing may occur in our cattle.

Question. What would you do if an animal got some-
thing in its eye?

Dr. Bowen. You will have to look very carefully into it.

Mr. I had a horse, some three years ago, one of
whose eyes would be closed for a day or two and would weep.
I bathed it with lukewarm water, that was the only thing I
could think of, and the best thing that I could do. I sup-
posed something had got into it. It got well, apparently, but
in about a month it came on again, | consulted a veterinary
surgeon about it, and he said it was ophthalmia. He gave me
a lotion of sugar of lead and sulphate of zinc, I suppose, and
I used this lotion whenever the trouble came on. The horse
is now blind. I know of several horses that are apparently
going through the same difficulty. I would like to know
what will cure in such cases.

Mr. Gruman, of New Hartford. I hada horse one of whose
eyes became blind. I called in a veterinary surgeon, who
recommended blistering. I applied the blisters, and the
horse has been perfectly sound for two years. I blistered
Six or seven times, the thin film came off, and the eye dis-
charged. The same man told me that before two years the
horse would be perfectly blind, but there is no appearance of
it. The blisters were applied in the hollow right by the side
of the eye.

The Secretary read an invitation from Booth & Co. to visit
their works at nine o’clock to-morrow morning, which the
Convention very cordially accepted.

Adjourned to evening.

174 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

EVENING SESSION.

The evening meeting was called to order at seven and
a-half o’clock, by Mr. Barstow.

Mr. Goup. Col. Wilder, the venerable President of the
American Pomological Society, at the last meeting of that
society, presented in his address the importance of a revised
system of nomenclature of American fruits. The confusion
that has arisen, and the discredit that some varieties labor
under from the absurd names by which they are designated
is such that he thought it worth while to make it a particular
point in his address, and that subject was taken up by the
convention. Committees were appointed, and resolutions
prepared, which were adopted by that convention, recom-
mending a uniform style of nomenclature, and the rejection
of synonyms. They recommended rules for the exhibition
of fruit before that association, and exhibitions generally.

In answer to that appeal from Col. Wilder, that Association
has published a circular containing those recommendations,
and an extract from that address, copies of which hive been
sent to associations like ours and kindred societies throughout
the country, with a request that we would take such action as
we deem expedient towards endorsing that movement.

It is desirable that we should take some action in accord-
ance with the request of this honorable Society, and in support
of its venerable president on this subject, and I here present
the circular.

AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

At the recent meeting of the American Pomological Society
held in Philadelphia, Mr. J. B. Rogers of New Jersey, made the
following motion, which was unamimously adopted: “That the
Secretary of this Society be instructed, at an early day, to send
copies of our rules and the portion of the President’s address
referring to the names of fruits, to all kindred societies in
America.”

W. J. Beat, Secretary, MarsHaLu P. Wiper, President,

Lansing, Mich. Bosten, Mass.

1884. ] AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. £75

“The rules adopted, and the portion of the President’s address
referred to in the vote, are as follows:

RuLeEs oF THE AMERICAN PoMOLOGICAL SocIETy.

Section I. Naming anp Descrising New Frutts.

Rule 1.—The originator or introducer (in the order named) has the
prior right to bestow a name upon a new or unnamed fruit.

Rule 2.—The Society reserves the right, in case of long, inappropriate,
or otherwise objectionable names, to shorten, modify, or wholly change
the same, when they shall occur in its discussions or reports; and also
to recommend such changes for general adoption.

Rule 3.—The names of fruits should, preferably, express, as far as
practicable by a single word, the characteristics of the variety, the name
of the originator, or the place of its origin. Under no ordinary circum-
stances should more than a single word be employed.

Rule 4.—Should the question of priority arise between different names
for the same variety of fruit, other circumstances being equal, the name
first publicly bestowed will be given precedence.

Rule 5.—To entitle a new fruit to the award or commendation of the
Society, it must possess (at least for the locality for which it is recom-
mended) some valuable or desirable quality or combination of qualities,
in a higher degree than any previously known variety of its class and
season.

Rule 6.—A variety of fruit, having been once exhibited, examined,
and reported upon, as a new fruit, by a committee of the Society, will
not, thereafter, be recognized as such, so far as subsequent reports are
concerned.

SEcTION II. CoMPETITIVE EXHIBITS OF FRUITS.

Rule 1.—A plate of fruit must contain six specimens, no more, no less,
except in the case of single varieties, not included in collections.

Rule 2.—To insure examination by the proper committees, all fruits
must be correctly and distinctly labeled, and placed upon the tables
during the first day of the exhibition.

Rule 3.—The duplication of varieties in a collection will not be
permitted.

Rule 4.-—In all cases of fruits intended to be examined and reported
by committees, the name of the exhibitor, together with a complete list
of the varieties exhibited by him, must be delixered to the Secretary of
the Society on or before the first day of the exhibition.

Rule 5.—The exhibitor will receive from the Secretary an entry card,
which must be placed with the exhibit, when arranged for exhibition,
for the guidance of committees.

176 . BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [ Jan.,

Rule 6.—All articles placed upon the tables for exhibition must
remain in charge of the Society till the close of the exhibition, to be
removed sooner only upon express permission of the person or persons
in charge.

Rule 7.—Fruits or other articles intended for testing, or to be given
away to visitors, spectators, or others, will be assigned a separate hall,
room, or tent, in which they may be dispensed at the pleasure of the
exhibitor, who will not, however, be permitted to sell and deliver
articles therein, nor to call attention to them in a boisterous or dis-
orderly manner.

Section III. ComMirtEE on NOMENCLATURE.

Rule 1.—It shall be the duty of the President, at the first session of
the Society, on the first day of an exhibition of fruits, to appoint a
committee of five expert pomologists, whose duty it shall be to supervise
the nomenclature of the fruits on exhibition, and in case of error to
correct the same.

Rule 2.—In making the necessary corrections they shall, for the con-
venience of examining and awarding committees, do the same at as
early a period as practicable, and in making such corrections they shall
use cards readily distinguishable from those used as labels by exhibitors
appending a mark of doubtfulness in case of uncertainty.

SecTion IV. EXAMINING AND AWARDING COMMITTEES.

Rule 1.—In estimating the comparative values of collections of fruits,
committees are instructed to base such estimates strictly upon the
varieties in such collection which shall have been correctly named by
the exhibitor, prior to action thereon by the committee on nomenclature.

Rule 2.—In instituting such comparison of values, committees are
instructed to consider: 1st, the values of the varieties for the purposes
to which they may be adapted; 2d, the color, size, and evenness of the
specimens; 8d, their freedom from the marks of insects and other
blemishes; 4th, the apparent carefulness in handling, and the taste
displayed in the arrangement of the exhibit.

T. T. Lyon, South Haven, Mich.
Joun A. WarpeEr, North Bend, Ohio
J. J. THomas, Union Springs, N. Y.

}
- |
f
C. M. Hovey, Cambridge, Mass.
P. J. Berckmans, Augusta, Ga.

Committee.

EXTRACT FROM THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS.

In former addresses, I have spoken to you of the importance of
the establishment of short, plain, and proper rules. to govern the
nomenclature and description of our fruits, and of our duty in

1884. ] AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. LUG

regard to it; and I desire once more to enforce these opinions on
a subject which I deem of imperative importance. Our Society
has been foremost in the field of reform in this work, but there is
much yet to be done. We should havea system of rules con-
sistent with our science, regulated by common sense, and which
shall avoid ostentatious, indecorous, inappropriate, and superfluous
names. Such a code your Committee have in hand, and I com-
mend its adoption. Let us have no more Generals, Colonels, or
Captains attached to the names of our fruits; no more Presidents,
Governors, or titled dignitaries; no more Monarchs, Kings, .or
Princes; no more Mammoths, Giants, or Tom Thumbs; no more
Nonesuches, Seek-no-furthers, Ne plus ultras, Hog-pens, Sheep-
noses, Big Bobs, Iron Clads, Legal Tenders, Sucker States, or
Stump-the World. Let us have no more long, unpronounceable,
irrelevant, high-flown, bombastic names to our fruits, and, if
possible, let us dispense with the now confused terms of Belle,
Beurre, Calebasse, Doyenne, Pearmain, Pippin, Seedling, Beauty,
Favorite, and other like useless and improper titles to our fruits.
The cases are very few where a single word will not form a better
name for a fruit than two or more. Thus shall we establish a
standard worthy of imitation by other nations, and I suggest that
we ask the co-operation of all pomological and _ horticultural
societies, in this and foreign countries, in carrying out this
important reform.

As the first great national Pomological Society in origin, the
representative of the most extensive and promising territory for
fruit culture, of which we have any knowledge, it became our duty
to lead in this good work. Let us continue it, and give to the
world a system of nomenclature for our fruits which shall be
worthy of the Society and the country,—a system pure and plain
in its diction, pertinent and proper in its application, and which
shall be an example, not only for fruits, but for other products of
the earth, and save our Society and the nation from the disgrace
of unmeaning, pretentious, and nonsensical names, to the most
perfect, useful, and beautiful productions of the soil the world
has ever known.

Mr. Rogers. A committee was appointed by the American
Pomological Society, at their meeting at Philadelphia, to re-

vise their rules concerning the nomenclature of the fruits.
12

. 178 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

After discussion, the rules proposed by that committee were
adopted. Those rules give the society the right to revise and
change the names in their catalogue, where they are improper,
and provide for naming fruits and the rules for the exhibi-
tions of the American Pomological Society, in order to see if
sister societies, agricultural societies, State fairs, and County
fairs will adopt the same rules; the intention being, if possi-
ble, to assist judges and exhibitors in giving the right names
to fruits. As an illustration, the new white grape just intro-
duced to the public by Mr. Moore, called the “ Francis B.
Hayes,” is under that rule, styled the “ Hayes Grape ;”’ the
synonym, “ Francis B. Hayes;” the intent being to shorten
names where too long. I think if any one in this room has
ever been called to the unpleasant duty of a judge at a flower
or fruit exhibition, he will appreciate the need of some such
regulations. Take, for instance, some of our apples which
have forty, fifty, and sixty names, and some of them purely
local. The intent of the rules with regard to exhibitions is
three-fold. First, to have the fruit exhibited under the right
name; secondly, to educate the exhibitor in the right name ;
and thirdly, that persons wishing to use the name may know
that the name is rightly placed upon the fruit.

With these few remarks, I will leave the matter to the
Convention. I hope that Mr. Augur, the Secretary of the
‘Board, and other gentlemen here, will give their views con-
~eerning the matter. ;

Mr. WrTHERELL. Being a member of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society, as well as of the American Pomologi-
eal Society, I was conversing with Col. Wilder on this subject
only a few days ago. He said he hoped it would come up at
this Convention, and hoped that action would be taken
thereon. I will simply add to what has been said, that on the
first Monday of December, the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society adopted these rules. I understand that the Michigan
Pomological Society has done the same, and | think Col.
Wilder told me of several other societies that had also adopted
them. ‘The movement secms to be one in the right direction,

1884. ] AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 179

and I hope the pomologists here will cooperate as far as they
can.

Mr. Hyper. I fully accord with what has been said with
regard to the difficulties encountered at the exhibitions of our
societies and agricultural fairs in having so many different
names applied to one kind of fruit, and I trust that this Con-
vention will endorse the rules which have been suggested by
the Pomological Society.

Mr. Aucur. Iwas present at the meeting of the Ameri-
can Pomological Society where these rules were very thor-
oughly discussed, and it was unanimously felt that they were
wise. There are a great many names that are long, contain-
ing two or three words, which are difficult to write, and it
makes trouble for nurserymen, and the whole matter would
be greatly simplified by adopting these rules. I think the
pomologists throughout the country were of one opinion, that
it was a wise thing todo. We here could not do a better
. thing than to endorse what President Wilder, Mr. Lyon of
Michigan, and the leading pomologists of the country so
strongly urge. I should very heartily favor a resolution
endorsing the action of the American Pomological Society.

Mr. Hyper. I move that this Convention approve the sug-
gestion of Colonel Wilder, the President of the American
Pomological Society, in his address at Philadelphia, and that
the rules of the American Pomological Society upon the sub-
ject of nomenclature, and the exhibition of fruits be approved
by the Convention and commended to all the Pomological and
Horticltural exhibitions in this State.

This motion was adopted unanimously.

The CuairMAN. The lecture this evening is on the Educa-
tional Influences of the Farm, and I am very happy to intro-
duce to you Prof. W. H. Brewer of New Haven, who will
now address us on that subject. (Applause.)

180 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM.
BY WM. H. BREWER, PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE IN YALE COLLEGE.

The hope of a nation is in its vouth, and therefore the most
important business of a nation is the education of the young.
This is particularly so in a republic like ours, where not only the
wealth and prosperity of the country, but the stability and very
existence of the government is in the hands of the masses of the
people, rather than in the care of a special ruling class.

In the growth of this nation, the four chief factors in the pro-
duction of its greatness have been, respectively; first, the race or
stock of its early founders;—second, their sentiments and tradi-
tions regarding religion, morality, and education;—third, our sys-
tem of land tenure with its facility of acquisition and transfer and
simplicity of title, which makes it as possible for any one to own
real estate as to own personal property ;—and, fourth, the social,
political, and intellectual status of the farmers.

The last of these four factors has not been the least. My belief -
is that without it, the progress of this country would have been
but little better than has been that of Mexico, the Central Ameri-
can countries, or those of South America.

Throughout all our previous history, by far the most of our
capital has been invested in farming, the most of our labor has
been expended on farms, the most of our population has lived
on farms, and a great majority of our more eminent men have
spent their childhood and youth, wholly or in part on farms,
getting there an essential part of their education.

It is not too much to say that up to the present time, the men
educated in childhood or youth on farms have had the leading part
in making this nation what it is, in shaping its political destinies,
giving it its intellectual stand, and in developing its material
wealth.

During the whole Colonial period, and during the first century
of the republic, the great majority of statesmen in our legislative
halls, came from farms, the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution of the United States were written by a farmer, who,
when he had finished his official work for the nation, returned to
his farm where he spent his declining years, where he died and is

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 181

buried. Washington too, went from his farm to lead the armies
of the struggling colonies, he was recalled from his farm to be our
President, and set the example of retiring, not to a pensioned
palace, but back to his own farm where he lived and died, and
where his bones rest.

I once took much pains and labor to look up the history of the
childhood of all the presidents of this republic. Of a few I could
get no information, but at least fifteen out of the twenty-one presi-
dents of the United States have either been farmers (or planters)
themselves, or the sons of such, ten of this fifteen were the sons of
farmers on small farms, and four of them, indeed, I might say five,
were on new or “pioneer ” farms in their boyhood, actually help-
ing in the arduous and toilsome work of subduing the wilderness.

In all that relates to the intellectual, political, and social condi-
tion of farmers, the history of this country has been exceptionable;
nowhere else has actual farm-work been so respectable.

This is not the place to enter into the causes which brought so
large a proportion of our population on farms, and made farming
more respectable than in other countries; the fact will not be dis-
puted, and I have elsewhere* discussed the causes.

But a profound change in our population, both as to stock and
occupation, has lately been going on very rapidly. Immigra-
tion is diluting the nations’ blood, the industries are rapidly chang-
ing, and the numerical proportions of people living in the country,
and in the cities are also rapidly changing.

The applications of science and the fertility of invention have revo-
lutionized the industrial arts and changed the methods of com-
merce and trade, wealth is produced much faster than ever before
and is being invested in other directions than in land and agricul-
ture. War does not destroy so much, nor pestilence waste so
much, so the world is rapidly growing richer. Along with this,
cities and villages are growing in population much more rapidly
than the agricultural towns, and a relatively smaller and smaller
proportion of the population is being occupied on farms.

I need not here discuss the why and wherefore of all this; it is
a great social movement wider than our own land, it extends to
all countries with a civilization like ours, and it is inevitable that
it must go on. It is a part of the progress of the age. Until
lately, pestilences and the difficulties of transporting food pre-

* Tenth Census,of the U. S., Vol. III, Agriculture, Cereal Report, p. 134 (514).

182 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

vented the rapid growth of cities and limited their size. Now,
sanitary science makes it possible to check pestilence, and steam
transportation makes it possible to carry food half way round the
earth. Famines are always local, and formerly each nation, indeed
each section, lived more independently of others than now. ‘Tele-
graphs and steam have made distant countries neighbors, and all
the world kin in a way our fathers little dreamed of, and a fruitful
year in America may prevent a famine in Europe; while war, that
other great curse, is becoming less and less a destroyer. So, cities
and towns will continue to grow, and will breed a larger and larger
proportion of our population; they have their own special facilities
for the education of youth, which facilities have been enormously
increased and improved within our time, and the relative import-
ance to the nation of town and country population is rapidly chang-
ing, both in a political and social sense.

Heretofore the vast majority of our youth, I may say very nearly
all, had at least some country education, and by far the largest
class, as a class, had some experience on a farm. Hereafter that
may not and probably will not be true. It is no longer true in
New England, and the educational influences of the farm have
therefore a new importance, to both those who are interested in
agriculture and who are interested in education.

But then, anything relating to the education of youth is ever
fresh and ever new, because it ever has to do with a new genera-
tion of men and women.

The subject of my lecture is not a new one to me. I was born
and reared on a farm; all the associations of my childhood and
all the traditions of my ancestors for several generations related
to the farm; so I speak from experience in that direction. Iam
now a teacher, and have spent more than twenty-seven years teach-
ing; first in academies, then in colleges, which have had among their
pupils both country and city youth; so I can speak from experi-
ence derived from that source of observation. As an American
citizen, interested in the history of our beloved country, I have
studied the influences which have shaped its progress and which .
have moulded the lives of our most eminent men; so this part of
the subject has long been a subject of study. As Professor of
Agriculture for many years, the influence of farm life on the
intellectual status of the people has naturally and necessarily come
within the province of my professional study. Lastly, but by no

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 183

means the least item, as the father of a family of children now
growing up in a city, the subject comes very closely home to me.

Whence come the men now most prominent in the affairs of
state, or in the business of the country, or in the realm of litera-
ture and science? What has been their education? This is a
never-finished subject of discussion, and when any man comes
prominently in front of his fellow men for any quality that makes
men great, questions as to the influences which moulded his early
life are immediately asked. The newspapers tell us about him;
teachers and writers tell us what schools he attended. Prominent
men die and their biographies are written, or at least, a sketch of
their lives is given in the current newspapers, so there is an
abundant literature from which to draw our conclusions.

Moreover, numerous special investigations have been made, as
to the origin of the leading men in particular cities or in special
vocations. I need not repeat statistics here, because all point to
the fact I have already asserted, that thus far the great
majority of our most successful men have come from the farms,
or had at least a part of their education there. The successful
business men of our large cities, successful engineers, statesmen,
professional men, have come largely from farms. As a student
of science, I have long noticed that a large proportion of our
more eminent scientific men: had a country experience in their
childhood. Here a religious paper compiles statistics of successful
men in one city; there a secular paper gives notes of the successful
men of another city, and all point to the same fact.

Now, all this seems to me only the natural result of the laws. of
education. The more’we study the facts, the more striking they
appear, and the more vividly we see why they are; the facts are
but the result of natural laws pertaining to the development
and growth of the race.

I have stated elsewhere and in another connection the underly-
ing facts, but I may repeat some of them, in substance at least,
for our use in this special connection.

The progressive element in a country like ours, and indeed in
any country, is in that portion of its population which is neither
very poor nor very rich. This is the social stratum in which orig-
inates the most of that quality of mind by which mankind has
made its greatest achievements, all that kind of intellectual power
which manifests itself in literature, art, discovery, invention, in

184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

business sagacity and social reform; and our agricultural system
has been eminently adapted to breed and develop this class.

For the conservation of political institutions and the creation
and preservation of material wealth, it is best that as large a
proportion of the whole population as is possible own real estate,
particularly their own homes, and this our system of land tenure
and land’ownership encourages. For peace and the suppression
of warlike impulses, as well as for thrift, it is best that as large a
proportion of the population as is possible be at work for them-
selves rather than for hire, and for this our system of farming
furnishes the opportunity. It is also best for the race that as
large a proportion of the population as is possible have facilities
in their vocation for the education and rearing of families in
virtue, intelligence, industry, and thrift.

For such education, no other industrial occupation is so emin-
ently adapted as farming, as this vocation is carried on in the
most of this country. In no other vocation is there exercise
for so great a variety of faculty and so varied exercise for the
judgment as on a farm growing a variety of crops, producing
domestic animals, and using the latest machinery and labor-saving
devices. Here the child has a greater variety of object-teaching
than can possibly occur in any other common form of home life.
Here there is so much he must see that interests him—crops grow,
animals are reared, so many natural laws and natural phenomena
are related to the daily work; the seasons have more significance
than merely heat and cold, and the weather more than merely
pleasant skies or gloomy days. In no other vocation can the child
be so trained to habits of industry without detriment to his health
or intelligence, no other place so well adapted to sound education
for intelligent citizenship.

The great advance in human knowledge during the past hun-
dred years has been in the direction of the natural and physical
sciences, and the utilization of this scientific knowledge has led
to the wonderful growth of the industrial arts and all kinds of
manufactures, and is the real source of the recent enormous
increase in the material wealth of the world. Because of the
beneficent applications of science, human wants are better sup-
plied, human life lengthened, comforts increased, and happiness
promoted.

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 185

Now, this great advance in knowledge, this revolution in meth-
ods by which ends are gained, has been largely brought about by
the use of what is sometimes called the “laboratory method” in
education; or, as others are pleased to call the simpler phases of
the same thing, ‘object teaching.” To illustrate what I mean: no

‘instruction in the science of chemistry reaches its full value with-

out a laboratory for practice, where the student must do as well
as think while he is trying to unravel the mysteries of nature.
Actual experiment has been an essential factor in solving the
problems of nature. Before the use of the telescope and instru-
ments for accurate measurement, astronomy remained merely
astrology, and was the handmaid of superstition. Then, too,
chemistry was but alchemy, and experiment was more in the direc-
tion of magic than a search for truth. Physics remained where
the old Greeks left it, a collection of so-called philosophical deduc-
tions, until the experiments of Galileo began a new era in that
science. Medicine and the healing art were mostly empyricism
and quackery. Modern science has bettered all this, science based
on experiment as well as observation, where doing as well as
thinking is an essential part in the method of education. Experi-
ment, suggested and directed by intelligence ; experiment, often
laboriously performed. In this way science has grown, and with
it all its beneficent. works, increasing man’s comforts, aiding his
arts, lengthening his life; robbing pestilence and famine of most
of their terrors; adding to the wealth of the world; and spreading
civilization and Christianity. Hence we have chemical labora-
tories, physical laboratories, biological laboratories, physiological
laboratories, botanical laboratories, etc., where youth can be taught
and knowledge advanced, experiment and study going on to-
gether, reading along with observation, doing something while we
are thinking of the why. This is “the laboratory method,” now
such a feature in modern education, so rapidly growing, and main-
tained at such enormous expense. The world is just seeing that
this is the great modern idea in education.

But this is only a phase of what every farmer’s boy enjoys.
This in a sense has been the regular way in which the American
farmer’s boy has been educated.

The farm is a stupendous laboratory. Here the learner is
brought in contact with the things as well as the words of the
world; he sees the processes and phenomena of nature, and the

186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

vocation is a continuous succession of experiments directed to
some end. The child on the farm learns how to work, how to do,
how to question nature by experiment, how to adapt means to
ends, how to plan work in order to reach desired results. Before
the farmer’s child bas learned his A BC he has begun to experi-
ment with nature in directions the city child reaches only in later
years, if indeed he ever does; and these actual experiments go
along with opportunities for observation such as the ordinary city
child rarely has, and usually never has. )

I was grown to manhood, yes, older than that, before it even
occurred to me that many children in our great cities became
large enough and old enough to be found in the schools who
had never seen the sun rise, nor set; who had never seen the
moon except when high in the sky, had never seen it creep up from
the distant horizon, large and bright and round; indeed, whose
only idea of the horizon was the houses that shut out the view
from every side. Children in the schools that did not know that
potatoes grow in the ground and apples on trees, that butter was
made from milk and milk came from cows, and so on through that
curious list of facts which have been brought out by investigation
in late years as to the actual knowledge possessed by young chil-
dren in the great city schools. My attention was turned to this
some years ago, and I picked up some most suggestive information,
but I never made any systematic investigation; in fact, I never had
achance to. But that has lately been done with great ingenuity
and labor, and with most instructive results. To those of you
who may be interested in this part of our subject, I commend an
article by Prof. G. Stanley Hall, on ‘“‘The Contents of Children’s
Minds” (Princeton Review, May, 1883, p. 249). However interest-
ing this subject may be in this connection, I have not time to
follow it further, suffice it to say, that it is the opinion of scientists
that many of the fancies and sentiments which go with us through
life are the composite impressions stamped on the brain in very
early childhood, shaping our thoughts and influencing our beliefs
and doings all through adult life. f

In this, country life and country scenes play a part greater than
has heretofore been thought of. It is found by teachers in city
schools, that with the children of cities, a few days in the country
often has an eduational value beyond aterm in the best of schools.
Even asa basis for a literary career, it is an experience, if not

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 187

essential to success, is nearly so. I question if a great poet or
vivid writer could develop entirely in a great city, and without
some country experience, no matter how great his native genius.
I know of none who has not had some country experience in child-
hood. Many, like Burns and Whittier, were born and reared upon
the farm. Others have either been in small towns, or so situated
that they had abundant country experience. Thoreau was born
on a farm, his parents soon after moved into a village, but it is said
of him, that he drove his mother’s cows to pasture, and like Hmer-
son, he did it barefooted. Longfellow, and Holmes, and Bryant,
and Irving, and Cooper, and the host of our best known writers,
either spent a part of their childhood on farms, or where they had
abundant opportunity for observation and experience in country
life.

I have already said that at least fifteen of our presidents have
been farmers, or the sons of farmers, and had spent all or a part
of their childhood on farms. Of the childhood of some of the
remaining six, 1 have no information whatever. But all of them
of which J have any data respecting their childhood, if not actually
on farms, were amid rural surroundings; some lived in small
towns, with farms almost to their very doors; others were the sons
of country professional men (as is the present president), and thus
they had the advantage of a country education in childhood.

The same fact holds good of most of our most eminent states-
men who have not become presidents. ‘To enumerate them would
be to make along list. Daniel Webster, the son of a small farmer,
spending his childhood days on a little farm, and the nights of his
boyhood studying by the firelight, seems to us a wonderful picture;
it would be vastly more wonderful to picture him as the son of a
man living on a small salary, or with moderate wages as a workman,
in a great city, the boy by day in some crowded city school, and
his evenings in the street attracted by the lights and the sights of
the city. No! great men do not come in that way, and this is not
a mere accident, it has its foundations deep down in the laws which
govern the development of human intellect.

It has long been noticed that the greatest business men in our
cities come from the farms, or get a part at least of their early
education there. The two names now most often seen in the news-
papers because of the great wealth associated with them, are of
men who originated on farms, and small ones at that.

188 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

That so many prominent and successful business men begin
their career as farmers, is often remarked, and is a well recognized
fact. It seems to me but natural, and to be the legitimate result
of the early farm education, and it also seems to me natural
that so large a proportion of the town and city-bred should never
accumulate much property.

Did you ever reflect on the great difference between the experi-
ence of country and city children in all that educates them in
forethought and preparing for the future? in self-sacrifice to-day
for some future good?—I question if you have. so let us contrast
the early education of the child on the farm and the one in a city,
in this matter.

The child on the farm sees the business of the father go on
from day to day, as he of the city does not. He sees what it is,
and why it is; it is very varied in character, and much of it of a
kind that awakens his interest, and at a very early age he begins
to take part in it, and becomes, as it were, a member of the firm.
He feeds the chickens, and feels big to see them come at his call;
he drives the cows; he watches the bars when grain or hay is being
hauled, and so on; he has a sense of responsibility in the manage-
ment of affairs, and he feels that the success of the establishment
depends in part upon him; his own importance is correspondingly
magnified, and along with it his sense of worth. THe is not a nuis-
ance, and made to feel it by his adult companions who wish he
could be abolished along with other nuisances,—no,—he is a
person of importance, a member of the firm, and helps run the
business. As the chickens come at his call, or the cattle flee before
his shout, as perhaps he brandishes a great whip when he drives
them, he feels in his heart some of the satisfaction of command,
like the centurion of old, ‘“‘I say to this one go and he goeth, and
to another come and he cometh, and to my servant, do this and he
doeth it.” He has an importance and a-use and place in his home
that the city child has not. The city boy is made to feel that he is
at the bottom of the little social kingdom of the household, sub-
ject to all the grades above it. The country child is not; the do-
mestic animals are below him, and serve and obey and fear him.

But more than this; all, or very nearly all the work of the
farm he sees going on or takes part in, 1s for future and unseen
results rather than for immediate and obvious ones. Every step is

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 189

education in forethought, in making some provision for the
future.

The ground is plowed, that it may be sown to grain, but even
this is not an end; the seed is sown for a crop to be harvested long
months ahead. It is a provision for a future want. The crop is care-
fully tended, not for to-day’s dinner, nor to-night’s supper, but fora
distant harvest. The wood is cut and hauled, no matter if the
weather be warm and fair, it is needed for the winters storms some
months ahead. Even harvest is not the end; the grain must still
be threshed. , Potatoes are dug and stored for future use; secured
with toil to-day, housed, where, perhaps in the way, and all submit-
ted to as a provision for a future want. There is even much look-
ing ahead still further. Fields are cleared of stone, fences made,
drains dug, sheds built whose use is to be for long years to come.
He sees animals anxiously reared which will require years of care
before they have value for use. Orchards are set out which will
not bear fruit for years; and so on through all the varied work of
the farm, scarcely anything is for to-day, all the operations are for
the future. All the toil, and exposure, and care, are for results
that are not immediate and sure; they must be waited for, and even
then are uncertain. Moreover, for much of this, it not only requires
preparation long before for a successful result, but it also requires
anxious and often laborious care continually during the interval;
one continual looking ahead and providing for the future.

Perhaps the most prominent feature in this experience of the
child is that this care and forethought is essential to success in all
the details of the business, the farmer must toil to-day for a dis-
tant result, work now to supply a distant want not yet felt, present
self-sacrifice for some future good, the actual value of which can-
not be predicted until realized.

Nearly everything we enjoy he has seen thus provided for long
before. The green corn at to-day’s dinner, he knows where it comes
from; he may remember that he was kept home from school a day
to drop the seed in the spring, long ago to him. The butter on
winter’s buckwheat cakes, he saw it churned and laid down in the
fall, he remembers when the hogs were killed and the pork
salted down, when the apples were put in the cellar, and so on of
much that is used. Operations indoors, and out, are all an educa-
tion in prudent forethought, work to-day to provide for the future,

190 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

to-day’s wants supplied from labor long ago performed. He learned
“to labor and to wait,” long before the poet said it.

Now, contrast all this with the experience of the children in
city families. What do they see or know of the business of their
fathers, except in the most general way? They see absolutely
none of the forethought required in the business, nor of the pro-
visions for the future wants of the household.

The table is supplied by men who come daily, or at least, weekly.
Milk is daily left at the door, while the child is yet in bed; the
butcher and grocer come for “orders,” and the day’s meal is duly
deposited in the kitchen. So far as the child sees, it comes daily
without any serious forethought; to him it comes without either
labor or previous care. He sees absolutely no provision for this
lovg ahead; his father is at work at something else; the food
comes to the door, and so far as he sees, it comes as easily and as
certainly as the manna which fell from heaven.

The city cellar is no storehouse, filled months before by the toil
of the family; what stores may be there are brought by some one
else in a wagon and it is put into the cellar when father is away at
the store, office, -or shop. He is quite a large child before he
knows the source or origin of the most common and essential
things on the table, perhaps he gets his first idea of these in some
short visit to the country. He gives no thought to the matter
because there is nothing to suggest the origin or source; it makes
no difference to him, and is no more strange that the sausages like
the fish should be caught in the river or sea, or are made, in either
case some one brings them to him ready made. The city child
knows absolutely nothing of the toil through which all these
necessities come, he sees nothing of the self-sacrifice by which
these blessings have been bought. He hears often enough that
everything is dear, but this falls on callous ears because he sees
so much forbidden fruit which is denied him, he hardly knows
why.

That the daily meal should come is to him as much a matter of
course as if it came miraculously, like manna; he sees no more
forethought required than if he were fed by the ravens. He sees
nothing fail for lack of labor long months before. When he is
stinted it is merely because his father or mother says they cannot
afford it, a very unsatisfactory reason to him. Is it any wonder

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 191

that he so often grows up without the instincts of economy and
thrift?

Then too, if he gets money, all the surrounding temptations are
for spending it for present and immediate gratification; no waiting
for larger harvest by and by. ‘The very toys in the shop windows
are regulated by the season. Skates and sleds are everywhere in
sight in winter when the temptation is to buy them. As a boy I
saved eggs in the spring, and bought a nice sled in the summer
for the next winter's coasting; it seemed the only natural way. In
the city the sled would have been out of sight and out of mind,
and some other temptation for immediate use been displayed in
the enticing shop window.

Again, the incentives to saving and thrift are entirely unlike in
the two homes. ;

The farmer’s boy’s first property is usually something of com-
paratively small value to begin with, but which grows and increases
with his care, and he sees 7t grow. It may be some crop he plants
and sees spring up and mature. More often it is some young ani-
mal which he sees increase under his care. If a calf, he watches
its growing strength and size; the young, budding horns have a
strange interest to him; he sees the beast waxing greater and more *
valuable under his eyes, and each evidence of growth is an incen-
tive to renewed care and attention; and with its growth there is a
personal interest in the possession, stronger than mere property
interest.

How is it with the city child? He puts his pennies into a
so-called “bank” where they accumulate, but do not grow. He
must not even see the growing pile in the-little tight box, because
the temptations to spend are so many and so strong. He may
shake the box and hear them rattle; that is all. So he keeps them
—until Christmas. If he puts the money in a savings bank, he is
told that the interest accumulates, but he does not see tt grow;
he merely knows it, as an intellectual conception; there is no
personal interest in it other than that of mere property, and it
requires much outside encouragement, and perhaps restraint, to pre-
vent him from withdrawing it and spending it for some of the
luxuries that tempt on every side. The country boy has a very
different feeling towards his growing calf, or colt, or lamb. He
does not want to sell it. It is endeared to him more than as mere
property possession, he sees it still growing under his care, and is

192 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

loth to part with it. There can be no such personal interest in any
savings bank account as in the calf or colt the child cares for and
feeds and sees grow.

I cannot follow this contrast further, but 1 have by no means
exhausted this line of thought, each of you can call to mind other
phases, and the more you stucy it, the more marked it seems, and
the more you will see that the natural tendencies of a farm educa-
tion is towards thrift, is to self-sacrifice to-day for a reward in
the future.

Again, there is the education in habits of industry, which has
been incidentally alluded to several times before. Success in life
depends upon overcoming difficulties rather than in the avoidance
of them, on industry rather than on genius, and the education of
the farm is towards habits of industry. Even the small child can
do something useful on the farm, not work made for him to keep
him out of mischief, but something that needs to be done. And
the most of this is not like the routine work in factories and shops
—it is varied, interesting, useful, and healthful. In no other voca-
tion can the child be so trained to habits of industry without detri-
ment to his health and intelligence. This very work educates his
sense of worth and importance, it educates him in accepting respon-
sibilities, he learns early that the mere pursuit of pleasure is not
the great aim of life, but that each person has responsibilities laid
upon him and duties to perform.

In contrast with this, what can a city chia find todo? I speak
feelingly on this point-—with house on a populous street, neighbors
close on every side, a yard but a few feet wide, the only other range
is the street, —what is there useful that our children cando’? ‘They
cannot share with us our labors; there is no such round of useful,
light, healthful labor they can do; what things we find for them to
do are few ayd so painfully evident that the work has been contrived
to make them do something, that its educational value is lost. Then,
too, there is so much to distract; boys all around to entice away.
There is so little that the child can do to help along the home work,
he feels that he is in the way, that he is an expense, he is noisy, he
is not wanted about—indeed, in these times, the country seems the
only place where children are really wanted. There is no demand
for children in the city; there is in the country. Only a few days
ago I picked up a paper containing a long report of the operations
of the Children’s Aid Society of New York. I need quote but a

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 193

single line, ‘over 60,000 homeless children have been placed in
good homes in-the country ” —good homes in the country—could you
find such ‘‘ good homes” in the cities for 60,000 homeless and often
vagrant children? No, unfortunately, the ‘good homes” in the city
mostly, don’t want any more children, they find it too hard to train
up in industry and viriue those they already have. I speak with
some experience and authority on this matter. I have spent part
of this very week in the work of getting ready the temporary
home for neglected children being provided for this county, under
the recent law; I have before had to do with the dependent
classes. In this State hundreds of poor, and vicious, and neglected-
eiateron from cities have already been taken by small farmers in
the country and reared to useful men and women; we don’t expect to
keep many of the neglected and pauper children in our new home;
there is a demand for them, and that demand, luckily, is all in the
country. I see farmers all the time taking children from the
“poor-house” to bring up; very poor stock. They would not take
as a gift a young cow or horse of such poor stock and low breeding.

This naturally leads us to the moral side of the question. The
report I quoted, of the 60,000 homeless children sent into country
homes, follows with the statement that “the fruits [of this work]
are seen in the dimimished number of petty thieves, child vagrants,
and youthful criminals,” etc. This is not the merely removing of
city temptations to vice. We cannot make a saint of a sinner by
merely removing the obvious temptations, the work is deeper than
that. These children were placed where they had something use.
ful to do, as well as good to learn; industry and education in thrift
are the first elements in moral education. We have all heard who
finds mischief for ¢d/e hands to do. Working in the shops and
manufactories of great cities does not serve the same end. The
routine life of such places is not so healthful either ona, intel-
lectually, or physically.

And this brings us to the matter of health. How to check the
child-mortality of large cities has been one of the great problems
of civilization. As President of the Board of Health of a great
city, I am continually brought face to face with this. I cannot
follow up this subject here, but the country child has exemption
from a host of physical dangers which beset the city child, and the
education in matters pertaining to health are correspondingly
unlike. This is an old question, and goes along with that of

13

194 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,
*

morals and of patriotism. An eminent authority has said: “The
strength of the great armies of the world has never been made
up of the inhabitants of large cities; in fact, except in a few rare
instances, city people will not even defend their own homes when
besieged by hostile forces; with them selfishness becomes stronger
than patriotism.”

And this opens up a new line of country education. It is here
that patriotism is strongest, because a country home is so much
more than a city house, and there is more loving self-sacrifice in
the family relations. When we hear of some wealthy man doing
great deeds of charity and benevolence we may assume that he is
country bred. When we hear of a Cornell funding an university, °
or a Sheffield endowing a great school, we almost know that their
boyhood must have been spent in the country. City-bred men
rarely do such things. The immense sums contributed to charity,
to the forming and endowment, of schools and colleges, to the
cause of missions, and the spread of Christianity and civilization,
has been because so large a proportion of our population has
had some farm education, and because our farmers have not been
peasants.

This last item is a most important one in this connection. We
have no peasant class to till the land, at least in the northern
States. What “might have been,” had a peasant class been
established in the colonies, we can imagine from the condition
of Mexico, where the peasant system of the old world was intro-
duced, and where, consequently, we find the middle ages still
perpetuated on the farms, middle-age tools, and middle-age intel-
ligence. Because of this, too, our republic is politically what
it is. We were not the only people who established a republic in
the last part of the last century. France started one about the
same time that we got our new constitution inrunning order. We
know that it was a miserable failure. This is usually attributed to
being founded on an unsound religious basis; but it was, too, on an
unsound land and agricultural basis. The people must be fed
from the soil, and the tillers of the soil of France were peasants at
the bottom of the social scale, and at the bottom of the intellectual
life of the people. No wonder the republic failed there. I am dis-
cussing the educational influences of the American farm, under
the American farmer, not that of other lands where the fields are
tilled by a socially inferior class. The relation of this to the

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 195

permanency of our institutions is too obvious to need expansion
here.

Again, the infinite variety in the methods and details of farm
work educates the individuality of the child, and calls out and
trains a greater variety of talent than any other one vocation can.
The methods of the farm may be so varied, and yet successful,
that there is a constant training of the judgment. In manufactures
and trade, the larger establishments have great advantages over
the smaller, and eventually crush them out. Not so in farming.
Here all the principles of production are very different, and in no
other vocation is the large and small operator on so nearly the
‘same level. In mixed farming, the small operator has certain
advantages ; the large operator cannot crush him out. As a mat-
ter of fact, wherever the laws permit free and cheap transfers
of land, the tendency is towards smaller and smaller farms. Not
only is this true in this country, it is so everywhere. Where we
see small farms diminishing in number and the ownership of agri-
cultural land increasing in average amount, it is where laws inter-
fere with the free and cheap sale and transfer of lands, or else,
where land has a social or political value, in addition to its agricul-
tural value.

So, in this country, it is the small or moderately-sized farm,
where mixed farming is carried on, that has the highest educa-
tional value. Farming on this scale (and, indeed, on any other)
does not hold out the highest inducement to those whose ambition
is for great wealth. Men do not become millionaires by farming,
or so rarely that you could count all such in this country on the fin-
gers of your haad—and it might be a mutilated hand at that. But
it is a good vocation, one of independence ; and if the farmer
rarely gets very rich, on the other’ hand, he rarely becomes very
poor ; he may not gain a million, but you never hear of his failing
and not paying his hundred cents on the dollar, unless he goes
into some other business than farming.

Now, a word more on the intellectual phases of farm education.
As a teacher, I have long marked the differences between city and
country boys in the higher studies. The conditions of city child-
hood are those of excitement and distraction. The city boy is
often sharp, quick ; he has a social polish the country lad often
lacks, but he is usually not so diligent nor persistent. Coun-
try boys are greater readers; they have formed reading habits in

196 BOARD OF: AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

the quiet of country homes; they have more knowledge of that
which relates to nature; are keener observers of nature, and take
more kindly to the study of the sciences.

The boy of the country does not live in excitement, particu-
larly the excitement of “acrowd.” He learns to enjoy the quiet
pleasures of home. He is more alone, and learns to find sources
of entertainment in himself. He is not so dependent on others.
With the city boy, without “the crowd” and noise, the world is
tame. ‘The crowd,” “we boys,” the dependence on others for
pleasure, is a most marked feature. In winter his sled and his
skates are useless unless as an element in “the crowd” or with
other boys. No torture like that of being quiet or alone.

Now, we know what must be the necessary and inevitable effect
of all this. Study is an affair of the individual, not of the crowd.
The very “crowd” stimulates to idleness, incites to acts of mis-
chief, drives study from the head and love of home from the
heart.

The country boy may sit down and read undisturbed for the
evening with the other members of the family. The city boy, if
he tries, has scarcely got his book in hand before he hears a well-
known signal from the street, from “the other boys.” It may not
be noticed by the parents from the other noises of the street, but
to him it is a loud call to “come out with us.” Is it any wonder
that the book loses much of its interest, and that the education of
the street more than supplements that of home? Consequently,
the country boy, as a student, is as a rule more diligent, more
studious; has a certain kind of persistence often lacking in the city
boy; is greener in his ways, but has more general knowledge,
because he is a greater reader. I have known a boy old enough
to think himself a young man and sufficiently schooled to be in
college who confessed that never in his life had he read a book
before he entered college.

Then, too, the sports of childhood in country and city are suffi-
ciently unlike to be an important element in education. The
boy of the city is earlier and ahead of him in the country. The
country boy learns to fly kites after he has learned to make them.
He of the city buys his kites when much younger, and gets
through with that sport before he learns to make one; and so of a
host of things; and he calls the country boy “green” who enjoys
sports at an age when he has passed that sport by. The city boy

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 197

is ever discounting the future, to his disadvantage. He is attempt-
ing things before he is capacitated for their best enjoyment, or
fitted for their best influence. :

Again, the ample space and room of the country for the sports
of childhood, as contrasted with the city streets, affects the grow-
ing mind in a great variety of ways. There is one that has inter-
ested me much, which I have never seen alluded to, but which I
have thought much of. I will merely hint it briefly.

The child is the undeveloped man, and there is an element of
savagery in him, certain of the savage instincts of the race that
come out strongly. The country boy has ways of gratifying these
in a healthy way, and grows out of them intellectually and
morally better. He traps and hunts the small game of the farm.
With the dog he digs out the woodchucks, or hunts the squirrels,
and traps the rabbits, etc., and in a thousand and one ways grati-
fies that instinct which is left as a legacy from our savage ances-
try. The boy of the city has the same instinct, and it is more
liable to lead him into the direction of rowdyism, drinking,
and violence for its gratification. We all know that there is a
period in the boy’s life when there is a fascination about rowdy-
ism, about acts of violence towards society, and in violent pleas-
ures, which it is hard to be patient with in our riper years. In the
city it more often results in deeds of violence, breaking windows,
unhanging gates, night disturbances, ete., etc. With the country
boy this instinct is worked off in a more harmless way, in ways that
are less liable to bea blight and regret in his after life and which at
the same time were as really the gratifying of the old savage instinct
which gives such a pleasure to hunting, fishing, and roaming free
over the fields and through the forests. Every successful system
of education must take into account these savage instincts of child-
hood and youth, bear with them, have patience with them, and try
to direct them into those channels where they do the least harm to
the man. ~

Many good people think that the chief reason why the country
is better, morally, to bring up children in (and particularly way-
ward children) than the city, is because that there are fewer tempt-.
ations. This view has but a small basis of truth. It is true that
many of the temptations of the city are absent from the country;
but every place has its own temptations, and the country has many
which the city has not. No; this theory is a relic of that old

198 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

monkish idea that the way to make a saint of a sinner is to remove
him from temptation and shut him up in a monastery, where the
allurements and sins of the world cannot reach him.

Great men are not made in that way. The formation of charac-
ter is a positive, not a negative process; it is what the country
child does, the industry he learns and the strength he acquires
and develops that makes him; it is not what he avoids and shuns,
but what he meets and overcomes, that gives him his strength for
the battle of life. He conquers in great’ things in later life,
because he had the practice on lesser things in his childhood and
youth.

But I must hasten on. I have said that a great change is going
on, and that hereafter a relatively smaller and smaller proportion
of our youth will have any experience on farms. All over chris-
tendom this is going on; the city and town populations are
increasing, railroads, steam, modern methods of travel, trade and
manufacture, and modern sanitary administration in cities, make
possible what before was impossible. Here in Connecticut, at the
last census, only 7.2 per cent. of the population belongs to the
class of “persons engaged in agriculture,” and in Massachusetts
only 3.6 per cent. Within the memory of persons still alive agri-
culture was in both of these States the leading industry. But this
same change is going on in other countries. Even in old England
in 1851 the “agricultural class” constituted 11.2 per cent. of the total
population; in 1861, 9.6 per cent.; in 1871, 6.9 per cent.; in 1881,
but 4.9 per cent. Similar facts have been reperted of France and
Germany; and our recent census shows how rapidly the change is .
going on with us.

In New England a. change of sentiment towards agriculture is
going on along with this change in relative numbers engaged,
and with a larger class agriculture is not held to be quite so
respectable as some other vocations. Several causes have con-
duced to this. One is, that in a part of New England, notably in
Massachusetts, many have always held this, as a part of the tradi-
tions of the old world. Travelers have noticed more than once
the difference of sentiment in this matter in. Massachusetts, and in
the States west of the Hudson River.

Another reason is, that agriculture is not the leading business
that it is farther west. Another, and perhaps more powerful than
either, is the large recent foreign immigration of people who bring

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 199

with them the Old World sentiments that the man who tills the soil
is socially and intellectually below the man in trade. We have
many foreigners in our newspaper offices, and we see more flings
at the farmers here than we do in the western States. Of this
very meeting I have seen notices of the “bucolic” gathering in
one of our city papers, and the “ bucolic mind” is a not infrequent
subject of patronizing comment in papers whose editors and
writers came from other lands. Even in the great New York
dailies we see indications the same way, and within the last two
years I have noticed in the paper ‘‘ founded by Horace Greeley,”
editorials that would never have appeared in his life time. It is
but fair to say, however, that they do not go into the weekly
edition, which goes so widely among farmers. Even the New
England Journal of Education has, within a few months, had its
say about the “narrow country farmers” who are powerful in the
Legislature, but who “represent the least progressive element in
society.”

All of this has an essential’ interest in this connection. With
the increase of wealth in cities there is an increase of snobs, and a
tendency to class the farmers of this country with the peasant
class of the Old World. Each of these things has an influence in
the problem of education, and makes it the more important that
the old-time value of the farm as a place for the training of
youths be maintained. The various forces at work, the effects of
recent immigration, the snobbishness ef the newly-made-rich, the
relatively decreasing numbers of farmers, are all modifying those
influences which heretofore have wrought such glorious results for
our nation.

City populations are relatively increasing, but in the cities origi-
nate and flourish the more dangerous social theories which now
begin to alarm so many people. Socialism in all its worst forms
has its great development in cities, where great numbers of
men work together for wages. It is curious to see how in all
these so-called labor movements and labor theories by so-called
‘working men,” the tiller of the soil is left out as a worker. In
this matter the farmer is in a curious position. To the snob he is
a plodding, narrow, ignorant drudge; to the socialist and city
trades-union-men he is an aristocrat and land-holder, one of the
oppressors of the race because he owns oe and land ought to be
free, like air and water.

200 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

I know of no better cure for these wild views as to land than to
set a man to work on it. Land is not like air and water, as some
would have us believe ; it has value only as man’s labor gives it
value. There is an abundance of cheap land yet on the earth.
Land, of itself, is worth little or nothing; only as work is done on
it has it any agricultural value, and only as it has work done on
it, or near it, has it any value at all, other than as a free hunting
ground for savages ; and there is no better way for the people to
learn this fact in political economy than for them to have some
experience in working on the land.

Of late, the subject of city schools has attracted much attention.
In the cities there have been great advances, and we see great
buildings and graded schools, and the feelings of many are that
for purposes of the education of youth, they are vastly superior to
the smaller country schools. J doubt this in toto. There is a gain
in some things, but there is an enormous loss in others. The
teacher in the city school has vastly less personal influence; he or
she is not Mr. A, or Miss B, it is the teacher in Number 6, or the
teacher of Number 9; and the child loses its individuality even
more than the teacher. Moreover, the parent is often shut out
from any aid to his children; he can neither direct their studies
nor aid them in them; he can merely have a sympathy with the
methods.

I trudged a mile to acountry school in my childhood. It lacked
the appliances of the modern great city schools; we had a few
maps and a small library, but I had the aid of my parents in my
studies. My own children go to a great city school that boasts of
several hundreds of pupils. (I speak feelingly on this matter.) I
am allowed no voice in what they shall study, nor when they shall
study it; I am not even allowed to aid them in their studies out of
school hours. To me the doctrine seems monstrous, and as a
teacher, as well as a parent, I deplore the results and effects every
day. I went to a country school such as it is fashionable now to
make fun of, but it is a subject of daily sorrow and regret, that my
own children, in a great city school, have not the educational
advantages that I had in that smaller country school. I am not
overpainting this matter. I know what I am talking about, and
weigh my words well in this special matter before speaking them.
I have given this subject much thought for the past few years, as
some of you personally know, but the great organization, which

1884.] THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF THE FARM. 201

has more than ten thousand children under its rule, which sup-
ports between two hundred and fifty and three hundred employees,
and expends a quarter of a million dollars annually, is too strong
an interest to give up any power it has.

This new city education is becoming more imperious year by
year, and tries more and more to rule the country schools, or at
least to govern their methods. I have no sympathy with this.

Have you noticed the change wrought in the school books within
the last thirty years? Once the few books we had were satu-
rated with country life and country ways. How many of us remem-
ber the stories and works of Peter Parley, who lived near this very
spot! Do you remember the pictures in the schoool books of
those days? They. were of country life. Now all is changed;
even the pictures, if they are of the country at all, are of the visit
of some city child in fine clothes to the ruder country.

This changed way of looking at life, from the country to the city
standpoint, is affecting society in a multitude of ways. A popular
writer has recently shown the relation between this and modern
strikes in the trades, but time utterly forbids following up the
many suggestions that come up. The subject has been so long in
my mind, and there is so much that I want to say, that I have
overrun my hour.

But I still feel that the hope of the country lis largely in its
farm population, just as the ownership of real estate in the country
is the most conservative material influence we have; so I also feel
that farm education will continue to be the great moral influence
to keep the nation in sound ways, and “level-headed,” as business
men say.

The farmer’s home is an influence too vast to be any more than
alluded to in closing. We live in the favored zone, where we have
true homes and firesides. This is the zone of highest civilization,
because it is the zone of firesides. A high civilization has never
developed in the tropics; it could not. It needs a home and a
winter’s fire for quiet and thought, and to cement the family. A
half-civilization grew in Egypt, and India, and Mexico, but it
stopped short of a high level; it needs a fireside and hearth to
ripen civilization, and nowhere else do we find the typical home
better exemplified than on an American farm.

So, in conclusion, I will say that, while I think that a relatively
smaller and smaller portion of our population will have the advan-

202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

tages directly of an education on a farm, yet I believe that in the
future, as in the past, this education of the farm will be the salt to
preserve our national character and our national institutions.

Mr. Goup.. I find a question in the Question Box which is
very pertinent to the case in hand, and fortunately is not dif-
ficult to answer. ‘* How can the farmers of Connecticut help
to build up the Storrs Agricultural School ?”’

The CHarrMAN. I would like to have Mr. Hubbard speak
upon that for a few moments.

Mr. Hussarp. I respond to the call of the Chairman, not
because I think I have anything new or particularly valuable
to present. Everyone must know, I think, how such an insti-
tution as that is to be helped. I wish that I could say some-
thing to impress the farmers of Connecticut, as they are pres-
ent here before me, with something of my own feeling of the
importance of that institution. I believe that it does afford
an opportunity for the farmers to honor their own vocation,
and one which they ought toimprove. It gives them an opportu-
nity to give to their sons whom they may select, and who may
for themselves elect to follow their vocation, something equiva-
lent to the opportunity that they give to their other sons
who may choose to go into some other vocation. Suppose
a farmer has three or four sons. One of them may choose to
adopt a professional life. I desire to say for myself that I
do not entirely agree with much that I hear in regard to the
importance of interesting children in and keeping them upon
the farm. All the children that grow up on a farm ought not
to remain upon it. <A family of half a dozen boys brought
up ona farm must scatter. From the necessity of things,
from the necessity of their own natures, each one of them
must select the vocation which suits him best, in which he
thinks he can do best, and it is rarely that all of a large
family of boys are properly fitted for one vocation.

No farmer would want his boy to go into the legal profes-
sion or the ministerial profession without preparation for it.
He would send him to school, to college, and after he had got

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 203

through his studies at. school and college, he would send him
to some professional school, so that when he entered the pro-
fession which he had chosen, he would be prepared to take as
good a position as any other young man in it. If he has
another son who elects to remain upon the farm, he should
stand on .the same footing; he should be fitted for the voca-
tion he has chosen, and he should have the advantages of a
thorough practical education given to him. That is just the
place which this Storrs Agricultural School is designed to
fill, and it is just that place which it does fill. I only want to
say a few words to the farmers here to arouse them, if I can,
to a realization of that fact. If you have any doubt of it, go
and investigate for yourselves; examine the school itself.
You will be welcomed there, nothing will be hidden from you,
and we shall be glad to show you the results that have been
already attained. No one has visited that institution with
the purpose of making an honest inquiry who has not come
away impressed with its importance. What we want from
the farms is the bright, active boys; boys of bright minds and
rural tastes. In making the selection of the boys to remain
on the farm, it should not be on the line of lack of intelli-
gence, by any means, because the farmer should be as intelli-
gent as any one, but the selection sheuld run on the line of a
taste for rural affairs, a taste for rural life, for the influences
and interests and capabilities of rural life. You see the indi-
cations of that very early in life, and that boy should have,
as I said before, all the advantages that would be given to
one who should select a professional career.

I might go on and elaborate this thought considerably, but
what the farmers can do, in very brief terms, is this: In
the first place, inform themselves fully in regard to this insti-
tution; and, in the second place, use it to honor their own
profession and to give the boys who are to succeed them on
the farm an equal chance with those who go into any other
vocation. (Applause.)

The Cuairman. Mr. Terrell of Middlefield, visited the
school last winter and can give us some of the impressions
that he received from his visit.

204 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Mr. TrrrELL. I do not feel competent to say very much
upon this subject. It is true I visited the school last winter,
and I will say I was greatly pleased with what it is doing,
with the use made of its facilities, with the interest that the
boys there manifested in the school; and I am glad to say
that I am told that some of the boys who graduated at the
end of the two years’ term that is provided for them, express
a desire to return and learn something more. Their enthusi-
asm, their interest in farming and in all rural occupations
has been stimulated a good deal. This is encouraging. It
ought to incite the farmers of this State, I think, to patronize
that school. As Mr. Hubbard said, the first thing is for
farmers to inform themselves of the objects of the school,
what it is doing, what it can do, and is likely to do, and to
become acquainted with the teachers and with the facilities of
the school for imparting instruction, and for doing the work
which it was etablished todo. That can best be done, I think,
by men going there and examining for themselves.

It is an experiment station to instruct the young men, not
only in the ordinary course of farm work, but to instruct
them in the more intelligent use of the means of drawing
wealth from the soil. We have come to that stage in agri-
culture in this State, and in this country, where we have got
to use more fertilizers than we can manufacture on our farms.
The experiments made there in the use of fertilizers make an
impression upon them, and seed is planted in their minds
that is destined to grow in the future. It must grow in the
minds of the youth that are ambitious and enthusiastic, and
many of the youth of our farmers have enthusiasm and ambi-
tion. ‘This is, I believe, the place to stir up this enthusiasm,
to impart information, to stimulate them to inquiry; and that
is part of the work there—to stimulate their minds to investi-
gation, to inform themselves early in their lives how to begin
operations, how to study the best methods, and how to apply
them, the study of books, and the study of sciences, is all
used in connection with the efforts made to practically demon-
strate the results. Now, while this is being done, the farm

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 205

is being improved. Experiments are made on lands that are
run out; methods are adopted, work is done, results accom-
plished, and these boys see them. And while they are doing
it, the scientific side of agriculture is shown them. Now, if
we farmers will investigate that more, and learn more what
the object of it is, I think it will be a benefit to us, to our
children, and to the State.

I merely wish to urge upon the farmers of this State to
investigate this school and see if it is not a place where they
can put such of their sons who have selected, or who feel as
if they would select farming as their occupation in life. I
believe the more you examine into this matter the more you
will feel that this is an institution that is to be a credit to the
State anda benefit to your children, and the more you will
feel disposed to patronize it.

Prof. Brewer. I will only say a word. I want to endorse
what the preceding speakers have said, and just add a
word to emphasize it. As our population grows denser, as
railroads throw New England. in sharper and sharper compe-
tition with the West, the farmer here must bring to his aid all
the knowledge he can get, from whatever source. Now, it
has been pretty well proved, I think, that a college is not the
best place for the education of farmers, although some farm-
ers are educated there. The young men drift away, or are
apt to, from rural tastes. That has been the experience.
There is a place for an agricultural school. It is the place
for the large number of men and boys who wish to learn
something of the principles which are to be used in their
future vocation of agriculture. But there is something a
little more than that. I do not know but there are some city
men here whose boys would not be harmed by going there.
I do not know that it is by any means certain that you are
going to keep all the boys on the farm after they have been
there. When some agricultural schools were started in the:
West, the boys that had worked on the farms went to the
new schools; they learned what they did not know before,
and when they went out, they did not all go upon farms.

206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

People said, “ Well, it is a failure.” Not a bit of it! Ifa
bright man sees a boy who has been to an agricultural school
and says, ‘‘I want to get a boy that knows something,” it is
nothing against the school, I assure you. If he has been
there and learned something, and got habits that he did not
have before that make him a desirable man in any vocation,
it is nothing against the school. I should like to see that
school well patronized, well supported. I am interested in
its welfare. I have no doubt that it will be of very great
benefit to this State in promoting its intellectual and material
prosperity.

The CHarRMAN. I will say that our Secretary, Mr. Gold,
has two young men at work for him who graduated from this
school, last fall. I would like to hear from him whether
they are any better for having been there two years.

Mr. Gotp. I can say that they are very satisfactory helpers
upon the farm. How-much better they are in comparison
with other young men that I have who have been more con-
tinuously upon the farm, I am not prepared to say. But one
point I wish to enlarge upon a little, which Prof. Brewer just
touched, and that is, that the education of this so-called
agricultural school is not wasted by the State of Connecticut,
or any other State that furnishes such facilities, because all
the boys who may be educated there do not remain upon the
farm. This practical knowledge of the principles of agricul-
ture is as much needed by our professional men, by our
lawyers, our clergymen, and our doctors, and our manufac-
turers, also—I was going to say as much needed by them as
by the farmers themselves, and, really, it does amount very
much to that, in all the business relations of life. These
simple principles and the practice of agriculture, which Prof.
Brewer has shown us comes so naturally to the boy through
his training on the farm, are exemplified, enlarged, and built
up as best it can be done during the two years of semi-profes-
sional study which we give the boys there on the farm of the
institution; and if it is good for them to be brought up for
the business of life on a farm, it is good for them, also, in

1884. ] QUESTION BOX. 207

many cases, to fit themselves for the business of a professional
life, to spend two years in the discipline and drill, in learning
how to learn things from nature, in the Storrs Agricultural
School. [Applause. ]

Mr. Hussarp. I want to say one word more in regard to
this matter. I want farmers to remember that this school
was established for their benefit. They have boys enough to
fill it, and they are not to be crowded out by anybody.

Mr. Avcur Our friend, Mr. Hubbard, has suggested the
idea that farmers’ boys probably will not all remain on the
farm, and that those who have rural tastes should be selected
and sent to the agricultural school. Well, I have sometimes
noticed, and I suppose you all have who have visited the sea-
shore, a wave sometimes coming away up on the shore, and
then there is a revulsion back again. The thought occurred
to me that there are city boys, and probably there is a differ-
ence in tastes among city boys as well as country boys, and
while some country boys will necessarily drift into the city,
the question is whether some city boys may not very naturally
revert back to the country. ‘It #s a poor rule that will not
work both ways,” and I think there will be no possible
objection to a good, smart city boy going to the Mansfield
school.

Mr. Hinman. It is very rarely that I have occasion to
differ from my friend Hubbard, but I want to enter my pro-
test against the idea that the Storrs School is a school for
farmers’ boys alone. It is for the State of Connecticut. I
should be sorry to have it understood that that school was
only for the benefit of farmers; that it is something estab-
lished for their particular gratification and benefit, as a sop
given to them to make them satisfied that everything is going
on well in this State. Ido not think the General Assembly
had any such idea in providing it. I think that certainly no
such idea should go abroad. I am confident that Mr. Hub-
bard, on second thought, will agree with me in that matter.

The CHarrman. It has been said that the tendency of agri-
cultural schools has been to lead the boys away from the

208 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

farm. We have one young man who is attending our school
for the second year, who says that he disliked the farm very
much, but his father was anxious for him to go there and get
an education, and now he says that what he has learned there
has made him well satisfied with the farm, and he wishes to
make farming his life work.

Mr. Jonnson. If I understand the question which the Sec-
retary read, it is about this—‘* How can the farmers of Con-
necticut best encourage the Storrs Agricultural School?” It
seems to me that there are two ways in which it can be done.
One way has been spoken of by our friend Mr. Hubbard and
others. That is, for the farmers, the mechanics, and the
merchants, if they will, to send their boys to the school. That
is one very important thing. Another way is for the people
in the State to take what pains they can to inform themselves
in regard to the practical working of the school by visiting it
at their convenience. We represent a good many different
towns here to-night. Let each one, if he happens to hear the
person who represents his town in our next Legislature ask
any question about the Storrs School, suggest to that mem-
ber, that if the subject of an appropriation for the Storrs
School should come up in the Legislature, to by all means
encourage every reasonable appropriation that is asked for. I
do not understand that the school is self-supporting. There
is a farm there, a farm superintendent, a corps of teachers,
and a good board of managers; but they need fuel for the
engine in the way of proper appropriations from our State,
and I hope that our State Legislature will be liberal and ready
to make all necessary appropriations which the board of man-
agers of the institution may ask for. It certainly will be a
safe investment. The argument, that all the graduates of that
institution will not go back to the farm, is just as unsound as
it would be in regard to our State Normal School. We do not
think that, because there is a possibility that. some of the
teachers who graduate from that school will not continue to.
teach all their lives, it is not worth while to encourage the
School. We know that many who graduate from there will

1884. ] ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR WALLER. 209

soon leave the profession of teaching, but it is a good institu
tion nevertheless, and all who graduate from that school will
make better business men, or better wives and mothers, than
if they had not had the advantages of the State Normal
School. So the boys who attend the Storrs School, if they
should, after graduating there, for any reason, choose not to
continue in the business of farming, they will make better
men in whatever occupation they may choose for themselves
by reason of the education that they have received there. By
all means let us encourage the Storrs Agricultural School.
Adjourned to Friday, at 10.30.

THIRD DAY.

The meeting was called to order at 10.30, His Excellency
Governor Waller, President of the Board, e2-officto, in the
chair. :
ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR WALLER.

Gentlemen of the Convention :

As ex-officio President of this Convention, it is my duty, I
am told, to preside at this meeting, and I shall undertake to
perform that duty to the best of my agricultural ability. Itis
certainly a very great pleasure to have the opportunity to
introduce, as the first lecturer on this occasion, Mr. Cheever,
the editor of the New England Farmer, of Boston; a gentle-
man who, I am sure, is known by reputation to all the agri-
culturists of New England.

Before doing that, I take the opportunity of expressing my
respects for the Convention and for the element which com-
poses it.. I know, of course, but very little about agricultural
subjects. I suppose if I were to make frank confession it
would astonish you to see how very little 1 do know; but Iam
satisfied, from the education I have received during the year
by pleasant association with the men connected with the dif-
ferent agricultural departments of the State, that all the aid .

the Commonwealth has given to your enterprises has been
14

210 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

given with judiciousness and given with a fair prospect and
promise of profit in the future.

There can be no question to the thoughtful mind that the
competition with the cheap lands in the west, now confront-
ing the agriculturists of New England, compels the farmers in
the eastern sections to devote their time and intelligence to
a line of occupation that requires peculiar knowledge and skill
to successfully follow ; and with this view, and to maintain
this policy, Connecticut has wisely given bounties to agricul-
tural societies, established an experiment station, I think the
first in the country, and supported by annual appropriations
a school for the education of farmers. All of these things, it
is pleasant to contemplate, work together for the same end—
to cultivate the intellect as well as the land of Connecticut. I
am sure it must be as pleasant an occupation to obtain a sub-
sistence and a comfortable living out of intelligent, skillful
labor, as it is to take it from the fields in larger States where
there is nothing required but to sow the seed with careless-
ness, and in the fall to reap the crop simply with labor. And
besides that, all this culture and education that are given to
the agricultural element of Connecticut and New England
show themselves not only in the farm labor, but in the farm-
house ; in the faces of the women, in the intelligence and cul-
ture of the young ladies ; of every pleasant-way that goes to
make New England farm life comfortable and charming.

I will not delay you another moment from the pleasure
which you are to receive from the lecture of the gentleman
whose name I have had the honor to mention. (Applause.)

VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING.
BY A. W. CHEEVER. ’

Every successful business man does, and every farmer should,
as often at least as once a year, look over his books, take an
account of stock, and make out some sort of a balance sheet, in
order that he may, as far as possible, be able to know the exact
condition of his financial affairs ; for a man who is struggling as
men must struggle who succeed in this world, ought to -know
which way he is moving, or if he indeed is moving at all,

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 211

A State board of agriculture is but an organization of men asso-
ciated together for the purpose of doing certain kinds of work,
and such organizations, as well as individuals, may very properly
take a little time as often as once a year to look ever the records,
and so far as may be, learn the general condition of the affairs
over which they are supposed to have an interest or control.

The topic assigned by your secretary for this hour, it has seemed
to me, suggests the taking of a general view of the present condi-
tion and future prospects of the New England farmer. But as the
best part of these winter meetings sometimes is the discussions
which follow the reading of ‘papers, it will not be my aim to
exhaust the subject, but to suggest thought, to encourage investi-
gation, and to present my view of the situation, with its balance
sheet, subject, however, to personal revision by: each and all.

It is sometimes claimed that what farmers most stand in need
of is not opinions but facts, but I fear that a sufficient number of
facts, classified and arranged, are yet wanting in many depart-
ments of agriculture, to raise us to that high level where opinions
will become wholly worthless.

So the first opinion I shall give you is, that farming in New Eng-
land to-day is a much better business than many of us have come
to believe. [

Riding recently in the cars with a gentleman whose business has
brought him more or less into acquaintanceship with nearly every
State and Territory in the Union, he expressed it as his belief that
New England is, and always must be, the poorest section of the
whole country for carrying on agricultural operations. He would
like a farm if he could afford to own one, but if he were going to
purchase he would surely make his selection at the West or South,
where the land will produce crops simply by putting the seed in
the ground.

Now, if the mere sowing of seed upon virgin soil and gathering
and selling the harvest without making the first effort towards
leaving that soil as fertile as we found it is agriculture, then I
admit that New England is no place for farming, nor for farmers,
and the sooner we go West or South, or take up some other form
of industry, the better it will be for us.

Many, far too many, if judged by their works, have no higher
ideas concerning the occupation of the farmer than this, and it is
from taking such a view that so large a portion of this country has

212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

been overrun and despoiled of its fertility, as a drove of village
children often overrun and strip a huckleberry pasture of its fruit,
running and racing hither and thither to find the thickest spots
and the largest berries, and not even having a thought to preserve
the bushes, which, if broken down to be stripped in the shade,
must most effectually prevent the growth of another crop the fol-
lowing year.

When I look through the back country towns of New England
and see the land formerly cultivated, and laboriously fenced with
its heavy stone walls, but now growing up to birches and white
pines; when I see vacant farm buildings put into the hands of
real estate brokers for sale ; when I see the young men and young
women who were born and reared on these deserted farms wearily
wending their way westward, first to New York, then to Ohio,
next to the prairies of Indiana and Illinois, then further on across
the Mississippi to the rich plains and valleys of the more distant
states and territories, at each halt tarrying only to sow, reap, and
skin the soil till it will pay for sowing and skinning no longer, I
am not surprised that visitors from older countries ask : ‘‘ Where
are your good farms, and where your good farming ?”

As I understand the meaning of the term Agriculture, it is some-
thing more than the mere scattering of seeds and the harvesting
of crops. A good farmer will no more think of letting his land be-
come exhausted of its fertility than would a good engineer think of
using up ali his steam and then letting his fire go out because it
requires an effort and an expense to keep fuel on his grate; no
more than would a good manufacturer think of using up all his
stock of raw material and then closing his factory. Good farming
everywhere means good husbandry, and good husbandry means
thrift and economy in the use of raw material, but here in the
United States we have been using up our raw material in the
shape of the natural fertility of the soil.

Robbery is an unpleasant term to apply to our American agri-
culture, but it is a term that is far from inappropriate, as the
history of our tobacco fields, cotton plantations, wheat farms, and
even our forests, but too plainly attests. Like the youthful pick-
ers of huckleberries, we have been scampering and scrambling
over this great country in search of the best picking, and while
stripping the earth of its spontaneous products, and enjoying its

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. ots

fruits in the cool shade, have been almost criminally negligent of
the duties we owe to posterity.

And yet I would not look wholly upon the dark side of the
picture. Nature erects no fences for the purpose of keeping men
forever on the same spot where they were born. On the contrary,
Nature’s methods rather invite exploration and the occupation by
her children of new territory, whether these children be weeds,
fruits, animals, or man; and it is in violation of no natural law
that each seeks for the most desirable location within his knowl-
edge or power of attainment.

It is true, I was once inclined to criticise the method by which
this country has been peopled and its resources developed. I
thought I would have had the land along the Atlantic coast,
which was first settled by our forefathers, all made perfect in its
way, like the new town of Pullman—the swamps all drained, the
rocks all crushed, or buried, or put where they would have been
of the most use, and every acre and every rod run by a’ “garden
of Eden” model—every acre being as good as the best, clear to
the border-line of civilization; which line should have been pushed
back only so fast and so far as an increasing population of good
citizens might require.

You must see that this would have been very nice, to have had
every acre of land, every rod of public road, and every grove of
trees, between the coast line and the most distant back lot, as per-
fect in its way as are the public grounds and streets around your
State capitol at Hartford, I would have had, too, every man tem-
perate, healthy, industrious, and self-supporting. I would have
had no fences bordering the highway, maintained at public expense
for the convenience of the few; for I would have had every ani-
mal-owner take care of his own, and I would have provided for no
army of soldiers, nor any policemen, except a few to guard the
line along the frontier to keep Indians and woodchucks from our
homes and gardens.

But I have come to suspect later that the power which brought
this world and all the beings upon it into existence can be trusted
to manage its development after nature’s own methods, and taking
this view I am forced to admit that every step in the world’s
progress has been taken in conformity to law, and that every
apparent obstacle or loss has its use, and that every influence has
been in the line of public good.

214 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

I think you will agree with me that it is usually the young
teachers, the young ministers, and perhaps the young newspaper-
men who are the most enthusiastic and the most hopeful regard-
ing their ability to quickly educate and reform the world. Older
men have learned that great results are only attained after great
and long-continued effort.

So, on coming together at these winter meetings, if we some-
times discover a great diversity of opinion concerning the best
farm methods, and find it not always easy to convince our associ-
ates that they are wrong and we right, or if, after the week’s dis-
cussion, we are each able to carry away but a single new idea of
value, we should not be discouraged.

COMPULSORY FARMING.

A very large proportion of the men who are now at the head of
our New England farms have become farmers by a sort of fate or
chance, rather than from personal choice. Circumstances over
which they have apparently had but little control have influenced
them. In many cases, the strong desires of the old father or
mother to have the homestead continue in the family name has
exerted a controlling influence over the action of the son; for the
old-world love of paternal acres has not all been exterminated
from the blood of the new world’s people. A part ownership in
an inherited farm has tempted many to try their hand at the busi-
ness who have little real love for it and less of that training neces-
sary to the highest success in any business. Some of the least
enterprising farmers in the country are found among this class.
They are generally kind-hearted, accommodating neighbors, and
useful citizens. They have been kind to their parents in their old
age, and are working as well as they know how for the comfort
and benefit of their wives and children; but, having neither love
for nor much skill in their business, the comforts are not always
as abundant as might be desired. Many among this class would
have made excellent mechanics had they been early encouraged
and trained in that direction, and it seems a pity that good mechan-
ics should have been thus spoiled to make such indifferent farmers.
I suspect that a very large proportion of the grumbling and
depreciatory expressions concerning farming in general, and New
England farming in particular, have emanated from this class of
farmers who were made farmers against their will or against their

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. O15

choice; for a man engaged in a business for which he has no love,
whatever that business may be, will rarely speak well of it when
discussing its pros and its cons.

But the farmer who occupies the lowest position among the
several classes of earth-tillers is the really

SHIFTLESS FARMER,

he who would be too lazy to earn his own living in any business
so long as wife, or children, or creditors can be induced to support
him. The shiftless farmer takes no pride in his farm, and very
little interest in its management. He plants little, because he
wants little to take care of. He makes little effort at killing
weeds, because he has found out that his land is “natural” to
weeds, and if he kills all there are to-day another crop will come
right up in their places. He keeps but a small dairy, because he
has no good accommodations for taking care of the milk; and
besides, he knows that dairy farming doesn’t pay. He wouldn’t
keep hens, only those he has kept have stolen their nests, and

_ being too lazy to hunt for the eggs, the old hens sit, and so the
stock is annually kept from running out. He never plants trees,
because he knows he will never live to see them bear fruit; it
takes so long for a tree to grow. He does not put out the small
fruits because he prefers more hearty food, and if his wife or
children want berries they can pick them in the pasture or woods.
He doesn’t keep a good carriage, because he doesn’t care to ride
much, and besides, he has no time. His best company is some
neighbor of congenial tastes and aspirations who, in hoeing or

, Haying time, comes and sits on the fence with him and discusses
bad weather and worse politics, and when, after an hour or two,
the neighbor shows signs of departing, he is asked ‘“ What’s your
hurry ?”

The shiftless farmer never has money to lend, nor much to
spend, but he contrives to live, often to an advanced age; and
although he may have little to show of the luxuries of life outside
of a period of prolonged leisure, he gets, I really believe, more of
the ordinary comforts than the same amount of labor and energy
would bring him in any other business; for his crops, though not
large, are growing while he is eating and sleeping; but if the
mechanic stops work his pay stops too.

216 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

THE INTEMPERATE FARMER,

he who spends his substance for intoxicating drinks need not be
more than mentioned in this connection, for he can never succeed,
whatever vocation he may choose.

BOOK-FARMERS.

Some years ago much was said and written about a class of soil-
tillers styled ‘“‘book-farmers,” the term being frequently used in a
spirit of derision. The book-farmer came into existence at that
period in New England’s history, when the natural fertility of the
soil began to show indications of exhaustion. Previous to that
time the art of farming had consisted in scratching the surface just
enough to enable the seed to germinate and to keep weeds from
smothering the crop. The demand for agricultural products was
confined chiefly to the farmer’s own wants, and there was little in-
ducement on the part of the farmers to raise agriculture to a very
high level as a business. But when the soil began to show signs
of failure, a few of the better educated men of the country, par-

ticularly those whose business or reading had given them some -

knowledge of what was being done in other parts of the world,
began to look into agriculture from the stand-point of the educated
men who had lived before them. So books treating upon farm
matters were purchased and read, and some of the readers, though
without much practical experience in the routine of farm tillage,
attempted either by speech or example to teach a better way of
conducting farm operations. At that time books treating upon
agriculture were chiefly written in the old country, and some of the
rules laid down as guides to the farmer were but poorly adapted
to our soil and climate, and so reading men without any practical
farm experience to fall back upon in forming judgment were not
unlikely to be led astray, and also to mislead those who might be
induced to follow their advice. So “book-farming” came into
disgrace for a time, but only for a very limited time. The con-
stantly diminishing fertility of the soil made a most imperative
demand for a better knowledge of the laws of plant and animal
growth than the routine farmer of those days was able to com-
mand.

“ Book-farming,” as the term was formerly used, is one that the
present generation of farm boys rarely hear, And there was another

*

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 217

cause for the too general antipathy against book-learning. By
not a small class in those severely Puritanic days, all learning was
held to be unfavorable to personal piety. Persons are now living
whose parents argued against bringing books into the house be-
cause as they said they had observed that much reading had a
tendency to prevent young persons from “experiencing religion,”
something in their minds far more to be deplored than the pro-
foundest ignorance. The book-farmer has been succeeded by the

FANCY FARMER,

usually a man who has acquired a competence in trade or manufac-
tures, but retaining a degree of love for the art that feeds all, either
retires from business or settles down on a farm for the amusement
he may be able to get out of it, or else he divides his time between
business and farming, making the latter a study from a business
man’s stand-point. With plenty of money to invest he aims to
jump at one bound from the low level of the ordinary farmer to that
of the model farmer. He purchases the best stock from foreign
lands, and experiments with the most approved implements; he
introduces new varieties of grains, vegetables, fruits, and even
flowers; his business calling him abroad he studies the improved
methods of other nations, and takes note of the weak points in our
domestic systems, and, possessing true patriotism as well as business
ability, he naturally strives to inculcate his new ideas into the minds
of friends and associates.

To the so-called fancy farmer, we are indebted in large degree
for the farmers’ club, the agricultural society and the cattle show,
the agricultural college, the experiment station, and, indirectly, for
‘the dissemination of all our new breeds of domestic animals, and
the endless variety of valuable labor saving implements of tillage
now deemed so indispensable in all the more advanced systems of
modern agriculture.

The fancy farmer has made many mistakes but they have been
made chiefly at his own expense. Those who claim to be practical
farmers have much to thank the fancy farmer for and very little
to charge against him.

SCIENTIFIC FARMING

is comparatively a modern term variously applied by different per-
sons to styles of farming supposed to be a little better than their

218 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

own, but often deemed unattainable except by those who can com-
bine learning with wealth. The term “scientific” rather scares
common farmers as though there were some deep mystery involved
in it, but if we would remember that the sole office of science is
to unfold and explain things, to deal with causes and effects, and
that science is only “classified knowledge,” or as some one has
expressed it, ‘the sum of known truths pertaining to different sub-
jects,” we need to have no hesitation about grasping all the agri-
cultural science possible. That farmer who has learned enough
about the habits of the insects which attack his grains and. his
fruits so that he can forestall them in their mischief, is to that
extent a scientific farmer. If he understands enough about the
laws of health to be able to keep his animals thrifty, or to treat
them properly in sickness, he is still more a scientific farmer. If
he understands the theory of plant growth, how the roots get their
food from the soil, and knows how to economically enrich that soil
so that it shall continue productive, that knowledge is scientific
knowledge.

If too, he can clearly explain the exact connection between the
“signs” in the almanac, and the weaning of pigs, or the precise
relation the position of the moon has to the planting of beans on
the earth, I think no one will dispute his claim to be classed among
the scientific.

Scientific farming is only another name for intelligent farming,
and no one at this late day will have a single word to utter against
intelligence as a necessity in profitable farming. We have heard
much said of late about

SPECIAL FARMING,

as opposed to general or mixed farming. Special farming accepts
the modern ideas concerning the division of labor. He who does
one kind of work only all his life may be expected to acquire a
degree of skill in that one direction that would be unattainable in
one who attempts to do a dozen or fifty kinds. Special farming
has its advantages. Our best stock-breeders, butter-makers, fruit-
growers, vegetable-gardeners, poultry and bee-keepers, are men
who each give their best thoughts and efforts to some one of these
branches, all of which are but divisions of agriculture, and may
be carried on by the same person, but to just that extent, which
one becomes thoroughly master of either branch may he expect

.
4
f

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 219

superior results, and as it would be next to impossible for any one
man to know as much about ten different trades as each of ten
might know about some one, it is doubtless the part of wisdom to
lean towards some specialty or a division of labor in agriculture
as well as in manufactures and trade. It will not, however, be
advisable to confine one’s self exclusively to a single crop, for a
style of farming that is somewhat diversified, is far more secure
against loss from unfavorable seasons and variable markets.

I know a specialist who gives his attention to three crops—pears,
grapes, and cucumbers, the latter being grown under glass in win-
ter, giving employment at a time when his trees and vines need
little or no attention.

A toocommon mistake of farmers is to start out in some branch
of agriculture without sufficiently preparing for the end. A grass
farmer sets out a large field of strawberries or plants, a wide area
of early peas for market, without making a proper effort to secure
pickers, and when harvest-time arrives he finds that either berries,
peas, or hay must bring him a loss for want of more hands than
he can command. Such men are continually changing from one
thing to another, and rarely stick long enough to any one kind of
business to half learn it, or to acquire even a fair degree of suc-
cess. There is one kind of

MIXED FARMING 4

which I am in favor of, always. I refer to that carried on by
mechanics and mill-operatives during the morning and evening
before and after mill hours, and also during any forced vacations
on account of dull times, or other causes.

I would like, too, to see a good many who are classed as farmers,
but who can find little to do in winter but to sit by the chimney-
corner consuming in idleness all the increase from their summer’s
work, find some sort of mechanical work to do in winter, by
which they could at least earn their daily bread. A good many farm-
ers do find winter work to do in boot-shops, bonnet-shops, furniture-
shops, jewelry factories, lumber-mills, and in cutting and hauling
wood and lumber and storing ice. Dairy farmers, too, find plenty
of work without leaving the farm, if they keep a winter dairy;
but idleness in winter is the cause of big leaks on a great many
New England farms. .

220 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

The question, however, of special or mixed farming is one that
will be decided by each, somewhat according to his own ambition
for accumulation. A specialist in the extreme may sacrifice the
best part of a generous farm life in the pursuit of his specialty, be
it hens, hogs, hops, or tobacco, and may hardly be able to talk or
think of anything outside of the specialty he is pursuing. How-
ever much wealth may contribute towards one’s success, the high-
est success is not to be measured by money alone.

The farmer who lives for his farm is in danger of living an
unprofitable life. He is in danger of becoming one of those whom
Thoreau alluded to when he said: “I am wont to think that men
are not so much the keepers of herds as herds are the keepers of
men, the former are so much the freer. I see young men, my
townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses,
barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired
than got rid of. They have got to live a man’s life pushing’ all
these things before them, and get on as well as they can. How
many a poor immortal soul I have met well-nigh crushed and
smothered under its load, creeping down the road of life, pushing
before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty, its Augean stables never
cleansed, and one hundred acres of land, tillage, mowing, pasture,
and wood-lot.”

If that is the condition of a man who lives for his farm, what
must be the condition of the wives and children of such farmers?

It is from such homes that the largest draft is being continually
made for keeping up the supply of young men and young women
in our villages and cities.

Now, if carrying on a farm means carrying it as a burden upon
one’s shoulders, then the sooner we all quit and move to the city the
better it may be for us. But I am not yet quite ready to believe it a
part of the plan of creation to make man secondary to the land he
tills. And so, while I am in favor of giving special attention to
one or more branches as leading industries on the farm, and to
pushing them to a profitable degree, I am also in favor of making
the farm, which usually must be the farmer’s home, just as good
and just as pleasant a home as it is possible to make it. We should
endeavor to make our homes such homes as thousands of mechan-
ics and business men are daily dreaming about and hoping for,
and such a home calls for a good deal of mixed farming. It can
not be asking too much of a farmer to ask him to have a good

1884.] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 221

garden, filled with a generous assortment of such fruits and vege-
tables as the several members of his family are fond of. It will
require less skill and business ability to grow early peas, early let-
tuce, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, asparagus, grapes,
apples, pears, plums, and the other fruits and vegetables found in
a good garden, in sufficient quantity for family use, than to grow
a single one of these good things in such perfection as to be. able
to excel everybody else, and so make one’s own price in the mar-
ket, as a specialist must do if he makes his specialty a great suc-
cess. Every farmer should have a good garden, whatever his
principal crops’may be.
My criticism on that class of farmers often styled

WELL-TO-DO FARMERS,

is, that in their eagerness to increase the sum of their possessions
they too often overlook some of the prime objects in living. They
“plant more corn that they may sell more hogs, to get more
money, to buy more land, to raise more corn, to keep more hogs,
to buy more land,” and so on. A great many, too, have put their
surplus gains into the village savings banks, when they should
have been expended for home comforts, fruit trees and shrubs,
better carriages, better furniture, greater conveniences for the
kitchen, running water at the sink and at the stables, ice in an ice-
house, stoves in the chambers for the comfort of children, guests,
and hired help, more books and magazines of a refining and ele-
vating tendency, and a hundred other things that wives and chil-
dren have asked for, but without getting.

New England farmers who hurry off to the savings bank with
every spare dollar should remember that their dollars are largely
loaned to parties who use them for building up the cities and large
towns; thus giving these increased power over the country from
which those dollars have been drawn; or it is sent directly West,
to aid the pioneer farmers and railroad stockholders in increasing
that competition of which many of us here so bitterly complain.
Let the well-to-do farmer, then, who has a little surplus to invest
from his annual savings, consider well whether he had better
entrust it to strangers to be used in building up cities and improv-
ing distant lands, or whether he shall invest it in his own farm, and
in his own neighborhood for making better roads, building more

222 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

comfortable dwellings, school-houses, lyceum halls, and for public
libraries, and thus making the difference between city and country
life less unfavorable to the latter.

Had a reasonable proportion of the wealth that has been accu-
mulated from the cultivation of New England soils, during the
past two hundred years, been re-invested in New England soils
and New England homes, instead of being sent away, New Eng-
land might to day have been a garden, from Long Island Sound
to the Canada line.

Had New England farmers expended their surplus upon their
own land, I should have had no occasion now to allude to that
large and most pitiable of all the agricultural classes—the heavily

MORTGAGED FARMER.

‘For, a man who is struggling at fearful odds in the vain attempt
to make farming pleasant and profitable without maintaining a
due proportion between land and working capital is indeed him-
self mortgaged. He is like the wild animal of the woods that has
allowed himself to be drawn into the hunter’s snare. Heisaslave
and a prisoner while bearing the name of freeman.

Mr. Russell, secretary of our Massachusetts Board of Agricul-
ture, when I asked him the other day what I should say to the
Connecticut farmers, said: “Tell them that the greatest fallacy of
the age is the belief, entertained by so many people everywhere in
America, that farming is a business which can be successfully
carried on without capital.”

If it is a mistake that well-to-do farmers make in not investing
more of their surplus savings in their own farms and homes for
the purpose of making their farms more profitable and their homes
more homelike, it is a still greater mistake for one with limited
means to invest it all in land and have nothing left with which to
stock it and work it.

On one of the days I had set apart for writing this paper my
eyes fell upon a letter from the wife of a large farmer in one of our ‘
best New England States. She has been married ten years,—
was formerly a teacher. The farm is her husband’s old home, his
birth-place; but it is heavily mortgaged. It is so large that a half
dozen men are required for doing the work, and more in the
busiest seasons. The cultivated fields are some of them so far
from the buildings that to haul four loads of manure from the

1884.] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 228

stable and spread it requires nearly a whole day for man and
team. The help are all boarded in the house. Two barrels of
flour are kneaded into bread dough every four weeks; a peck of
beans, all carefully picked over by hand, is just enough for a
baking. The barns are large, and are annually crowded with hay,
and the grain bins are equally full. There is a dairy, and there
are little children growing up to be leved and educated, and the
strength of this mother’s hands has been divided between the
duties of the nursery, the kitchen, the dairy, and the parlor, some-
times with assistance, often without. Butter and cheese have been
made by the ton, but thus far nearly every dollar gathered from
the annual sales from the farm, above what has been required for
paying help and clothing the family, has gone,not to diminish the
debt, but to pay the interest on the mortgage which covers it.
That discouraged wife and mother believes that all this trouble
comes to them from having too large a farm. I believe the diffi-
culty is largely due to paying high rates of interest on land that
is not worked up to its highest capacity. It is possible that the
farm is too large for the man. It is surely too large for the
manure, for I never knew manure to be spread very bountifully
where the stable and field were a mile apart. There are too many
acres plowed, planted, and mowed over for filling those hay-mows
and grain bins, and too much time is spent in traveling, at from
one dollar to two dollars per day. The men are too far apart to
be kept sufficiently under the eye of the master. But this woman
writes me, “‘My husband and his old father love every inch of
this old homestead farm, and it would be a hard wrench to let a
single rod of it pass into other hands.”

Was Thoreau very far wrong when he said, “I am wont to
think that men are not so much the keeper of herds as herds are
the keepers of men, the former are so much the freer”? And
was Mr. Russell wrong when he said that the greatest fallacy about
New England farming is the idea that it can be Pepatebly carried
on without capital ?

I recently visited a farmer in my own county, who owns two
large farms, but who gets nearly all his profit from four acres set
to cranberry vines, and which cost him at least $500 per acre for
preparation before picking a single berry. The original value of
the land was not over $10 per acre.

I visited another, who, a year ago, applied fertilizer for potatoes

224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

at the rate of a ton and a half per acre, and by comparing the
yield with that of other fields manured a little more sparingly, he
found that all the profit of the crop came from the last half ton
applied. This year he put on two tons per acre.

Another farmer in my State has the past summer expended
some two thousand dollars in wells, pumps, wind-mills, and steam-
engines for watering his cultivated fields, and has made money by
it. Now, do not understand me as advocating the indiscriminate
use of large quantities of dearly purchased fertilizer, nor the erec-
tion of steam pumps upon all our farms for guarding against
drought; but you may understand that I am utterly opposed to
paying interest and taxes on idle and unproductive lands. But it
seems to me that this is what three-quarters of our farmers are
doing on three-quarters of their land.

A man wanting to borrow a hundred dollars, and who could
use only that amount profitably in his business, would never be so
foolish as to borrow a thousand dollars and give his note for it,
letting the nine hundred lie idle in his pocket; and yet that is
about what many farmers are doing who run in debt for large
farms, of which not more than one acre in ten is made full use of.

My own farm, some years ago, contained fifty acres of tillage
and pasture land, and kept about seven animals, including a horse
and a pair of steers. It required two men and a boy to do the
work among the rocks and stumps, and the profits were exceed-
ingly small.

After a while one-half the area was given over to forest growth,
the only crop that such land can profitably be devoted to with
present values. The remaining twenty-five acres was so improved
by clearing and draining, that it soon carried double the stock the
fifty acres had previously supported. Still later greater improve-
ments were made, particularly by heavier manuring and double
cropping, and the stock was again doubled, the twenty-five acres
supporting four times the number that could be kept on the fifty
acres by the old system, while the net profits were many times
doubled, and, by the introduction of labor-saving implements and
horse power in place of hand labor, the number of hands employed
remained about the same as when the fifty acres were cultivated.
By the early management, the hired man, who received ten dollars
a month and his board, was enabled to lay up more from his wages
at the end of the season than could his employer from the profits

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 225

on the labor of both and the income on the capital all put together.
By the later methods, the working capital employed amounted to
three-fourths the entire value of the real estate, including farm
buildings. The gross income from each acre annually exceeded
the market value of the land itself, and the net income, after pay-
ing all expenses, left a liberal salary to the owners, and twice the
rate of interest, in addition, that the best savings banks pay.
These statements are based on farm accounts that have been care-
fully kept and balanced annually for nearly fifty years.

I could point you to other farms where equal or even better
profits have been realized.’ I could name a small farm, managed
chiefly by members of a small family, from which more value has
been sold within the past three years, above the cost of hired
labor, than the amount it would take to buy the farm, were it in
market, with all its buildings, including the owner's residence,
which is really no part of a farm, and should never be carried in
a farm account, more than should the private residences of stock-
holders in banking corporations be carried in the banking account.

One reason why farming everywhere is credited with such
small rates of profit is because farmers fail to keep correct accounts,
and oftener to keep any at all. They spend all they make, and
then because there is nothing left, claim they have made nothing.

New England has thousands of farms stocked with animals and
farm implements, which would not bring, in market, exclusive of
the dwelling-house, over two thousand dollars, for land, stock. and
tools, the interest on which, at present ruling rates for property
well secured, would not exceed one hundred dollars. Now what
kind of a living would an annuity of one hundred dollars afford a
man? It costs more than that to support the poor in our alms-
houses; and yet, on a capital of two thousand dollars or less,
in a New England farm, whole families obtain good livings, keep
the principal secure, educate the children, ride to church, and
have their own way about things generally, more than is possible
among any other classes using the same amount of capital in their
business. And yet the majority of these small farms,—or rather
low-priced farms, for many of them contain from fifty to one hun-
dred acres each,—are not half worked; no, not a quarter. And
here we would ask, Does any one know of a farm anywhere, that
is worked up to its full capacity? Has any one yet found the
limit to the profitable working of a single farm acre? I once

15

226 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

began such an experiment, but failed to complete it. I sowed an
orchard to winter rye in autumn. LEarly in May of the following
year a heavy crop of fodder was cut and fed green. Then the
land was plowed and manured, and sowed to oats. These were as
heavy as could stand; and the crop was in bloom and fit to cut
early in July. Again the ground was turned over, again manured,
and sown with barley. The barley also made a full crop, and was
cut about the middle of September, and in season to be out of the
way of picking a fine yield of winter apples. I had then the whole
of October and November in which to start the round again by
sowing rye, but as I failed to do so I suppose I must admit that
my farm was a little too large.

TI told you in the outset, that in my opinion, farming in New
England is a much better business than many have been inclined
to believe. Except in the single product of milk, sold direct from
the stable, we seem to have less competition among ourselves than
is found in any other business that is unguarded by combinations
for mutual protection. We have the best markets in the world
almost at our very doors; and it has been shown, over and over
again, that an acre of good well-tilled land here, will produce as
bountifully as will an acre of good land at the West, or anywhere
else, while the crop, when grown, will sell for a good deal more
money.

The average yield of wheat in all the States of the Union is less
than fourteen bushels per acre. In the thirty principal wheat-
growing States and Territories it is but thirteen bushels; yet your
own State of Connecticut stands only second on the list with her
nineteen bushels per acre, while the other New England States
raise on the average from fifteen to sixteen bushels. I have
myself grown thirty-nine bushels of the choicest wheat per acre,
weighing up to the standard of sixty pounds per bushel, and as
Professor Brewer has already told you, the waste product, in the
form of straw from such a crop, is worth more in the nearest vil-
lage than the western farmer can get for his whole crop, including
both straw and grain. I know it may be said that the western
farmer has richer land and larger fields; but we have plenty of
room for larger fields here, and our best farmers are clearing away
their fences, and are fitting their land and adapting it to the same
kind of tools the prairie farmers are using; and we have the facil

1884. ] VARIOUS VIEWS OF FARMING. 227

ities, if we will only use them, for making our lands as rich as the
richest.

It is true that the eastern farmer has been closely pushed by his
western competitor, but, from various causes, that competition is
becoming less severe, and we are slowly learning to adapt our-
selves to the changed conditions brought about by the skinning
process, which has passed over this country like a great devastating
wave. The gradual loss of fertility in the western soil, the grow-
ing home markets there, and the improved methods of farming
here, are every year placing the farmers of the two sections more
nearly upon the same level.

American farmers, and I believe Americans generally, have been
called a race of grumblers, except when making or listening to
Fourth of July orations; but it must be remembered that grum-
bling ina free country is only the first step towards setting wrong
things right. Our progress as a thoroughly self-supporting and
self-governing people may at times seem slow, but when we bear
in mind the crude condition of the mass of material there was and
still is in this country, both human and earthy, and that in making
this great experiment the world had given us no model to work
from; when we look about over our hill-sides and compare even
our poorer homes with the homes of the average laborer in almost
any other part of the world; and again when we find the leading
men of other nations, as well as those from other portions of our
own country, coming to New England for patterns by which to
improve the eondition of their own people, and to reform their
own methods of government and of education,—when we bear in
mind all this, I say, if we can only be sure that our progress,
though slow, is real and in the right direction, we may congrat-
ulate ourselves that the gain is not ours alone, but that an influence
is being exerted that is reaching out towards the farthest corners
of the earth; and that instead of the little paradise of a garden
and republic which our Puritan fathers in their imagination and
exclusiveness might have seen developing on the shores of this
New World, the farmers of New England and their descendants
are rearing a structure which must hasten the time when every
honest and industrious worker can, if he chooses, own a house and
land, and own himself, and this not only in New England and in
America, but wherever the names New England and America are
known.

228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Mr. Cuampuruain. As the speaker has just alluded to his
succession of crops upon the piece of land which he attempted
to bring up to its full capacity of production, I would like to
ask him what is the comparative value of the crops that he
cultivated there? I would like to know the comparative value
of the rye—whether he used it in a dry state or a green state
—and also of the other crops which followed that rye. It is
a very important question with us what we shall cultivate for
fodder, and if the gentleman will inform us of his valuation
of Hungarian grass and millet, if he has had any experience
or personal knowledge in regard to that matter, I should be
very happy to hear it.

Mr. Cueever. In reply-1 will say that my land is rather
light, and much of it is not well adapted to grass. It does
not bear two or three crops of grass a year without any
fertilizer. I can raise crops of much greater value, as well as
very much larger in quantity, by devoting the land to rye,
oats, barley, millet,and corn, to be grown as forage crops, to
be cut and fed green, than I can by devoting my land to grass.
Comparing a ton of the best English hay with a ton of any-
thing else, 1 think the advantage will be in favor of the hay;
but a ton or a little more fo the acre is all the best farmers
average oyer their farms, while by growing two crops a year,
one of rye and the other of corn, or one of rye and the other
of oats,and growing the second year any of the large, rank-
growing crops,a farmer can certainly get much more value
than from grass alone. Rye has come to be grown by milk
farmers and by dairy farmers to a large extent, much more
‘than a few years since, and whoever tries it once I think tries
it twice. Sometimes the mistake is made of allowing it to stand
too long, it gets too tough, and cattle do not like it. For an
early crop it is valuable; it grows when nothing else will grow,
and occupies the land at a time when it would otherwise be
idle. The growing of barley is also increasing with us consid-
erably. Sown in midsummer or any time during warm
weather, it makes a late crop that stands the frost and affords
good feed when your corn fodder and millet will be killed by

1884.] QUESTIONS. 229

freezing. I have cut barley when the ground was frozen and
it was good feed. There are little things to learn in growing
these crops and feeding them as in everything else. I have
done some injury to milk on one or two occasions by chang-
ing too suddenly from one kind of feed to rank green barley,
cut in cloudy weather, and I have found a rank taste in the
milk. But that is nothing seriously against such crops. The
change should be made gradually from one feed to another.

Mr. Wess. Is rye as a soiling crop for cows apt to give a
bad taste to the milk ?

Mr. CHEEVER. No, not if properly fed.

Mr. Wess. I have tried it several times and it never failed
to give a bad taste to the milk. |

Mr. Cuerever. I begin to cut my rye very early in the
spring, before it shows any heads, and feed it lightly. It will
not do to turn cows from hay out into rank June grass
immediately, and expect to get as good milk as if they had
been brought to that feed gradually; and the same is true
with respect to any other green feed. —

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. We want to get all the benefit of the
gentleman’s experience that we possibly can on these subjects,
and I would like to ask him at what point in the maturity of
these various crops he thinks they are the most valuable?

Mr. CHEEvER. Chemistry and practice may seem to con-
flict a little, but we must feed crops when cattle will eat them.
Chemists tell us that grass is worth the most when it is in
full bloom or a little past. Rye in full bloom will not be
eaten greedily by cattle the first time it is offered to them;
but when cut before it blooms, while it is still so tender that
you can chew it yourself and swallow it without choking, it
will be eaten readily. I would say that it should never stand
until it comes into bloom. I have put a great many tons of
it into the barn,and I never intend that the blossom shall
show before it is cut, and only very rarely is that the case. I
do not know why the same rule does not hold for all the forage
crops. Barley and oats I think should be cut before they are

230 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

in full bloom, because they will be so much more tender and
will be eaten with so much better relish; yet I do not believe
in feeding wholly upon them, especially immediately after
changing from other feed.

QuxstTIoN. Should you apply the same rule to grass ?

Mr. CHEEVER. I suppose the questioner has read the dis-
cussion on this subject as to when grass is worth the most.
Every farmer knows that his cattle like hay best that is cut
early enough to be tender, a little before it is in full bloom; ;
but hay is the most expensive food that I can grow on my
farm for stock.

Qurstion. I would like to know if you make winter fod-
der of these green crops that you raise ?

Mr. CHEEVER. I always aim to have enough and some more
than will be wanted in summer, and then cure the surplus,
cutting it at the right time. There is a little advantage in
letting it get in full bloom when it is to be cut for winter use.
It dries quicker and cures faster.

Mr. Myricx. Would you let rye blossom in full?

Mr. Cueever. I would never let rye blossom at all, neither
for curing nor green feeding. My own practice is to cut it
before it comes in bloom. If I should have some that una-
voidably stood too late on account of the weather, I would
feed it to horses or cattle, instead of cows that I was urging
for milk.

Question. Do you apply the same rule to the cutting of
corn ?

Mr. CHEEveER. No, sir.

Question. I would like to inquire of Mr. Cheever if he has
ever tried sowing rye upon a pasture ?

Mr. CurEEver. I never have. I have only five acres of
pasture, which has never had anything done to it since the
farm was originally divided. It is simply used as play ground
and exercise ground for cattle; they get what they can. My
pastures are rocky, and I cannot afford to plow them. Rye

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 231

is sown for pasture with more or less success, but I do not
believe much in pasturing on poor land.

Question. Does this system of raising two or three crops
a year exhaust the soil ?

Mr. Cueever. I should say not. Whether the soil is
exhausted more by growing a crop of seed than by growing
a crop all ready to form seed, with all the material in the
stalk, I suppose chemists must answer.

Question. Has Mr. Cheever had any experience with mil-
let and Hungarian grass ?

Mr. CHEEVER. Large experience.

QuesT1I0on. How will they grow as compared with rye?

Mr. Cueever. Rye has considerable value because it will
grow when nothing else will,in late fall and early spring.
Millet will not grow then ; it grows only in hot weather. My
rule has been to sow rye early; then sow oats that come
early, then spring barley and spring wheat; and, after the
weather comes warm, put in millet, and corn a little later, so
that 1 know it will mature, and then put in barley. Millet is
excellent food. My cows seemed to want me to think it
wasn’t worth anything,—advised me not to raise any more; I
thought it wasn’t worth much the first year. Cows, like
human beings, do not like new food. Many of us did not
like tomatoes when we first tried them, but we may be exces-
sively fond of them now. I have found, in later years, that
millet was fully equal to the best English hay. In feeding
forage crops, | feed whatever I happen to have all summer
long.

Question. Have you had any experience with lucerne ?

Mr. CHEEver. Very little, and very unsatisfactory. I
have sown a patch of lucerne, or alfalfa, which is a kind of
clover which does well in certain soils, but I think we are too
far north. It does well in some climates, but I cannot recom-
mend it from my experience.

Mr. Gotp. The first question I took from the question
box was the one which has just been asked of Mr. Cheever

232 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

with regard to alfalfa: “Has any one in Connecticut had
experience with alfalfa, and with what result ?”’

Prof. Brewer. I would like to say a word about that. I
have made a good many inquiries and I cannot find that it
has ever been grown successfully in any cold country. Many
years ago, when I was on the geological survey, I sent com-
munications to Australia, Syria, the Mediterranean, Egypt,
and northern Africa, inquiring in regard to the best forage
plant in hot climates, and the answer came back from many
places, ‘“‘ lucerne,” or alfalfa, which is the Spanish name for
lucerne. I cannot find that it has been grown successfully in
any country that has cold winters. It is not as good as
clover. Now and then you will find a place where it will
last a few years, but it goes out.

Mr. Aucur. I tried a very little at one time, but it was
not a success.

Prof. Brewer. I ought to say that alfalfa, under the name
of lucerne, has been tried over and over in New England, for
more than 150 years. You may find any number of accounts
of its being introduced from the old world, particularly from
Germany. Here in New England, in Colonial times, before the
days of agricultural papers and agricultural societies, by
means of which men come together and compare notes with
each other, one would try it here, another would try it there,
but they all failed, for the reason that it is a plant that
belongs to a warmer climate, or, at least, a climate with
warmer winters than ours.

In the third Hssay on Husbandry, by Jared Eliot, 1749, p.
59, he tells about trying lucerne and sainfoin as forage
plants on his farm (at Killingworth, near Clinton). He says
“they will flourish a while, but others have found as well as
I that it will not bear the Rigours of our Climate.” He says
that he has procured seed from England, and from Philadel-
phia.

QuesTION. Is not potash most economically supplied to
the soil by using a high grade of muriate of potash? Are not

1884. | QUESTIONS. 933

phosphates most economically supplied to the soil by using
pure ground, raw bone? Is it not economy for farmers to
buy the ingredients and mix their own fertilizers ?

Mr. Cases. Last winter we bought a piece of land about
two miles and ahalf from home. It had been kept in grass
for twenty years, perhaps, the grass mowed and sold, and, in
the fall, the land pastured. When we bought it, it grew only
weeds and low moss, and looked as though it was very
sterile. The question with me was, “‘ Can I buy barn-yard
manure and fertilize this land? As it is now, it is no use to
me or any one else.”” I made up my mind that, as it was on
the top of a high ‘hill, it was no use for me to entertain the
idea of carting barn-yard manure there, and to get posted in
regard to what I should use, I bought “ Harris on Fertilizers,”
and read up during the winter. He gave me an index to buy
fertilizers by, and it has worked very satisfactorily this sum-
mer. The index was this: Buy the fertilizer you can buy the
cheapest. He says: “‘ Figure nitrogen at 174 cents a pound ;
figure phosphoric acid at 124 cents; figure potash at four
cents. Send to the different dealers in fertilizers and get
their guaranteed analyses, and upon that basis figure them
up, and if you can get them at these figures (that is, if the
fertilizer does not figure above that, or perhaps five dollars
more a ton), you can safely buy it; but you can buy the
chemicals and put the fertilizers together yourself cheaper
than you can afford to pay more than five dollars profit for
putting it together.” He says, “I have the impression that
you can buy Peruvian guano more economically than any
other fertilizer, and know from personal use, that Peruvian
guano is more easily assimilated by plants than any other fer-
tilizer.” He started me on that idea, and I wrote to the
Mapes Formula and Peruvian Guano Company of New York,
and asked them to send me their circular giving the guaran-
teed analysis of all their fertilizers, and of Peruvian guano.
They sent me a circular and also a letter. In the letter they
gave me an analysis of Peruvian guano, but said, “‘ We do
not guarantee this analysis.” But as I understood it was an

234 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

analysis made by the New York State chemist, it was very
satisfactory to me. I looked up the matter and after figuring
upon this basis, I found that Peruvian guano was worth some
$70 aton. Their corn manure figured $51 a ton and they asked
$50. Their potato fertilizer, as near as 1 remember, figured
about $33 or $34 a ton and they asked $50 for it. Some of
their fertilizers ran above and some below. The value of none
of the fertilizers that were figured in the list ran much
above the cost, while Peruvian guano ran very much above.
I wrote to six other firms, and four gave guaranteed analyses;
the other two sent me no guaranteed analysis, but said, “ You
will find it in our books.” I said, ‘‘ If you cannot give me a
guaranteed analysis in your circular, I don’t believe you want
to have me figure on it very much during the winter, but
would rather I would buy your fertilizers when I am in a
hurry about it.” I went down to New York intending to buy
Peruvian guano, but the gentleman whom I saw at the Mapes
company’s office rather discouraged me by saying, “ You
know it is an imperfect fertilizer ; there is too much phospho-
ric acid and too much nitrogen for the potash ; you will run
your land like fury.” ‘“ Well,’ I said, “I want to run my
land like fury ; if I can get a big crop the first year I am sat-
isfied.”’ ‘‘ You can do it,’ said he, ‘“‘ but you will take the
potash all out of your soil. Don’t you see that you have got
22 per cent. of phosphoric acid here, nearly six per cent. of
nitrogen, and only four of potash; whereas, if you take our
complete fertilizer, it has four per cent. of potash, from eight
to ten of phosphoric acid, instead of 22, and from two and a
half to three of nitrogen instead of six; and that excess of
phosphoric acid and nitrogen in Peruvian guano will so force
the crop that it will take all the potash out of the soil, and
in time you cannot raise a thing with your Peruvian guano.”
“‘ Yes,” I said, ‘‘ but you have offered me potash at four cents
a pound, in the form of muriate of potash, and why can I not,
after I have got one crop by the use of Peruvian guano, buy
your potash, sow it on broadcast,.and so give a sufficient supply
of potash to the soil right along.” He said, “I don’t

1884.] QUESTIONS. 235

know any reason why that would not be all right.”’ I said to
him, “‘ You ask me $50 a ton for a fertilizer the analysis of
which shows there is only about ten per cent. of phosphoric
acid, three or three and a half of nitrogen, and four per cent.
of potash, while I can buy your Peruvian guano for $55 a ton,
which contains more than double the amount of phosphoric
acid, and nearly double the amount of nitrogen. I will risk
the running of my land too hard. Besides that,’ I said,
“T consider Peruvian guano more valuable than anything else
I can find in the market; I consider that plants assimilate
Peruvian guano more readily than any other fertilizer.” He
admitted it.

I tried experiments with different fertilizers on cabbage
and potatoes, using the perfect fertilizer, containing nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, and potash, special fertilizers containing
phosphoric acid and potash, leaving out the nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and nitrogen, phosphoric acid alone, nitrogen alone,
potash alone, plaster (sulphate of lime), and also Peruvian
guano, the Stockbridge fertilizer, and Bradley’s fertilizer.
The Peruvian guano costs us $54.60, delivered on the ground.
The State of Connecticut experiment station said that it was
worth about $64.90 a ton, figuring on their basis. The Stock-
bridge cost us $50 a ton, delivered on the ground. As we
figured it, its value was about $33 a ton. Bradley’s was worth
about $38.30 a ton; it cost $42.50.

Now for the result with the potatoes: We weighed ten
hills. The first row gave us 26 pounds for Peruvian guano.
The next row had nothing; it gave us 7} pounds; an increase
of 192 pounds for the Peruvian guano. The perfect fertilizer,
containing nitrogen, phosphoric, and potash, gave us 20 pounds
—Jjust 6 pounds less than the Peruvian guano. Phosphoric
acid and potash gave us 14 pounds. Nitrogen and potash
gave us 9} pounds. Nitrogen and phosphoric acid gave us 12
pounds. Phosphoric acid alone gave us 113. Common plas-
ter gave us 11}. Nitrogen gave us 7 pounds and 10 oz.
Potash gave us 5. The next row had nothing, and gave us
6 pounds. The Stockbridge fertilizer gave us 13 pounds, and

236 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Bradley’s 18. The experiment has shown us that the land is
deficient in phosphoric acid. I think the result that we got
from Peruvian guano has shown us also that in Peruvian
guano we had just what was wanted.

Mr. West. What is the nature of your soil?

Mr. Casues. The soil is not hard clay, but of a clayey
nature. It had not been plowed for years, and is wet during
the spring. We did not get the water out until quite late. I
consider that it was because it had not been plowed and mel-
lowed up, and the water could not get down through.

We used Peruvian guano and these other fertilizers on eight
acres of cabbage, putting the guano in the row. The land
was plowed in the fall and harrowed thoroughly in the spring.
Then we had a machine that we got up in the winter to fur-
row it, with two shovel plates in front, and it furrowed out
two rows at a time. We furrowed it very shallow—we
cquldn’t furrow it deep because there was so much sod.
After we had furrowed it, we set the men to work scattering
the Peruvian guano in the furrows—a very fine sprinkling.
We did not dare to put much in, for we knew it was very
strong. We also tried Bradley’s fertilizer, putting on just
double the quantity of that that we did of Peruvian guano,
because, according to the analysis, Peruvian guano was worth
double. Where we put on a double quantity of Bradley’s
fertilizer, it burnt the cabbage so badly that I suppose there
were four plants gone to one that was left, in some places;
in other places, two left and another open space, and so on.
It spoiled the patch. The few that did grow and mature
were very large, but soft. I never saw a soft head in the
eight acres where we used the Peruvian guano. We tried
this experiment to show what the land needed. Where we
used the perfect fertilizer, we got good cabbage. Where we
used nitrogen and phosphoric acid, leaving out the potash, we
got larger cabbages and solid heads. Where we used phos-
phates alone, we got nearly as large cabbage as where we
used the perfect manure—very fine cabbage and very well
matured in every way. During the growth of the plants, we

1884. | CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. Oa

could see a perceptible difference between these three fertili-
zers and Peruvian guano. But where we put on potash alone
or nitrogen alone, or potash and nitrogen together, there was
no perceptible growth for some time; in fact, the cabbages
never grew to be anything. The difference was not percepti-
ble between the growth where we put nothing and where we
put potash and nitrogen alone or potash and nitrogen together.
Adjourned to 2 o’clock.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Barstow at 2
o’clock, and Mr. J. B. Oucorr introduced as the lecturer of
the afternoon.

THE CONFLICT OF CIVILIZATION WITH ITS OWN
WASTES.

BY MR. J. B. OLCOTT, OF SOUTH MANCHESTER.

If theology is a theory of the nature, science, and arts of good-
ness, then it will be likely to affect men according as they know
what is good, and the theory corresponds with their knowledge.

Regarding theology as comprehending all goodness, it appears
a matter not for one, but every day in the week; a subject, not for
the few alone, but a great popular study, interesting all who love a
good thing.

As we increase in positive knowledge of what is good by com-
parison with evil, we find as many and various conditions of good-
ness as there are varieties and conditions of men. Hence, in a
world of changes, the constant need for revising, averaging, and
correcting our theological views and opinions.

A theory of goodness, for instance, which nimble commerce
would grab at in flush times, might not be good for slow agricul-
ture at any time; and the farmer who carefully spreads his sav-
ings upon the land can scarcely hold identical theological opinions
or theories of goodness with the man who touches the soil—vicari-
ously or otherwise—only to make it worse.

We say a thing is good if we never saw anything better adapted
to its purpose. Absolute gaodness ever depends upon its relations

238 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [ Jan.,

to things. The abstract goodness of a stopple becomes locally
precious only when it happens to fit the jug.

A lecture or paper to be read is never remarkably good unless
it suits the occasion. The weather may be good or bad when
either wet or dry, hot or cold, as it hits our necessities.

This present matter which I am reading may seem irrelevant,
but if it is only a little to windward of our present purpose and
gives us a chance to get well seated, and draw in a long, restful
breath, it will have its temporary good uses.

Goodness is progressive. It grows to a harvest here, and is
frosted and set back for a period there—like corn. Heaven for
the tadpole would be misery and perhaps death for the completely
amphibious frog. The belief of the old appears like a straight-
jacket to the young until they have grown into a strict faith them-
selves with the knowledge of the old. Although the young world
was pronounced ‘‘ good” by its creator, we read of trouble soon
after, and perfect goodness has remained ever since, even among
the most hopeful, a pursuit rather than a possession. Would it be
ill-natured to suggest that some of our theories of genetic good-
ness have led us too far from the idea of tending garden?

In considering the conflict, or muddle, of civilization with its
own waste, we cannot climb the inaccessible heights of goodness.
We will not attempt to say what the Saviour meant when he
declared “There is none good but God,” except to guess that a
part of his meaning was to provide for continual hope by opening
infinite distance before the eternal progress of the human race.

Our subject calls us to the very beginning of goodness, such as
tadpoles may feel, if not understand—to that “cleanliness ” which
“is next to godliness” (next before godliness, I believe it is, as
purity comes before peace).

When the world was new we may suppose it was clean, and
that its fresh purity was a vast element lying at the foundation of
its goodness.

But purity, like goodness, has its degrees, its relations to things,
and its progressive order, differing widely’in the minds of differ-
ent people. Our feeding and evacuating ducts may be pure
enough for a variety of parasitic lives, while altogether too foul
for our own.

The rude, small boy, struggling with a soapy rag in his face, has
different views of cleanliness from those entertained a few years

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 239

later, when observing maidens begin to cast critical eyes upon
him, and an elder sister, or the next above him in the shop or
store, explains the neglect of his back hair and the conspicuous
lodging for dirt behind his ears.

To his barber no man is a hero, and our neighbors are our
severest though silent critics in the matter of cleanliness and
impurity. By their cleanliness shall ye know them.

A cat may look at a king, and the humblest member of society
may scrutinize social purity or dirt. The rot of the papal church
touched thousands of starving peasants in Europe before Luther
saw it, and the draft of New England civilization was felt by
sheep on a thousand barren hillsides, and by fish in hundreds of
polluted streams, before any one was called upon to speak about it.

The Indian, when game and fish were plenty in our new world,
found it clean enough and good enough for him. He strode the
grassy glades and leaf-carpeted aisles of his native wild garden
with a righteous ancestral pride not surpassed in its way by that of
his civilized brethren, in easy times, pacing beneath their noblest
architectural devices. The exceeding purity and cleanliness of
Indian society got itself recorded, by the way, in the historic effort
to identify its origin with the lost tribes of Israel.

The aborigine held a place in New England nature regulated by
nicely-balanced adjustments, through centuries of undisturbed
existence. Under those conditions—before the introduction of
any conflicting elements—it may be believed that a perfect equilib-
rium of opposing forces in savage society had been reached. The
Indian meddled less with the surface of the earth than the free
waters and pure airs of his native climate did. Only beavers built
dams. Only rafts of dead flood-wood checked the flow of clean
rivers into the sea.

An occasional fire—by chance or not—is the only circumstance
we can imagine to have interfered with the annual round of abo-
riginal events.

To examine in detail, or even to name all the changes produced
by “civilized” interference, would occupy too much of our time.
Concentrated industries and accumulated filth have introduced a
new and malign force into the climate of our continent. The wind
blows where it listeth upon the modern as it did upon the aborigi-
nal American, but we have now to engage help around all sides of
a polluted stream or pond in order that prevailing winds may not

240 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

make them all sick at once. The weather has become a local and
sanitary rather than a general meteorological study within a very
few years,

Perhaps you will not agree with me that the highest type of |
humanity possible under aboriginal conditions had been established
in this northern country. The millions of happy “savages”
knocked on the head by brutal discoverers in the warm West
India islands lead us reasonably to imagine that Columbus uncoy-
ered a science of practical life there which colder northern and
equally crowded ‘civilized ”” communities have not yet learned.
That the peaceful inhabitants of those islands had already mas-
tered the problems of personal waste and nutrition, and were yet
no match in war for their more savage conquerors, does not prove
the former an inferior race in the sight of eternal goodness.

The coming man, to make his title good, must incarnate all the
good that has gone before him.

Perhaps we shall not agree in questioning whether the type of
humanity, under our own possibilities, has been established at its
highest. Did any civilization or barbarism ever have greater
cause for, or consciousness of, shame? Frequent divorces, aban-
doned children, and so forth, show how some of us are losing
faith in the coming of the children of men in all their glory, every
time. Our women have as good a right—except we have broken
the eternal laws of goodness—to the highest honors of maternity
as the mothers of Israel had. .

The aboriginal American gentleman was a lofty and crafty char-
acter. He was born away above farming for a living. Possibly
the continent is producing his natural and scientific equals, but I
am afraid not superiors, for their day. A friend writes me how
in a recent trial of ‘malaria’? in the Massachusetts courts, con-
flicting “scientific” and ‘‘expert” testimony only served to ‘“con-
fuse the jury.” Are our medical and legal experts too unskillful
to winnow mixed social science from chaff? Are our courts and
juries too unlearned and ignorant, or did they know too well
which side their bread was buttered? Hither way, the people
suffer, civilization receives a shocking check, and public confidence
chokes, all the same, whether hung by the legal or medical horn
of a scientific ‘ bull.”

Herbert Welch, one of our social agents among the Sioux, tells
us how an astute member of that tribe questions our government

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 241

policy of rich gifts to murderous chieftains who had recently been
on the war-path. ‘Perhaps, if I make trouble, and kill some-
body, the great father will send them to me?” he asks. The
logic of the plains is more than a match for the barbarous states-
manship that allows the strong to oppress the weak. Native
American tribes, it is said, number as many people as they did at
the beginning of white settlement, but it is doubtful if their quality
has improved.

Our forefathers beat the Indians from their lands by their superior
knowledge of somewhat intricate artificial things. Rum and
sugar, gun powder, and certain contagious diseases which their
women were not familiar with, were the chief conquering elements
in that fight. These weapons, it may be remarked, were about
equally injurious to the aggressive party. The axe and plow, with
the destruction of fish and game, were prominent aids upon our
side.

The changes we have made in the last half century could
scarcely be conceived greater from any convulsion of the conti-
nent. The main-spring of scciety in a strong and contented rural
people has been broken. Public health is destroyed in its aerial
and aqueous fountains. An artful and unnatural concentration of
human industry is proving itself now, as it has done so many
times before, a feverish, filthy, and wasteful experiment, Civili-
zation has no sanitary common-sense equivalent to the wholesome,
hereditary science of the uncontaminated savage, Books, unread
by the many, offer no practical substitute for righteous human law,
bred in the bone and flesh of righteous family life.

Within the easy memory of living men, we have swept available
fertility into the sea at a rate that no nation, lacking our long
railway arms, ever has or ever could approach. The Roman
Empire hurt the soil less in five hundred years’ slow hauling of
ox-teams. In the matter of land butchery, the great Yankee
nation stands pre-eminent.

You never expect any valuable statistics from me, Mr. Chairman.
You seem to be satisfied if I remind you of things which you
already know. But it happens that flying sheets of census reports
are blowing about country lanes so that anybody may know now
what they contain. Citizens, by the way, learn to value census

figures, by seeing how agents “load up” at their places.
16

242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

See the average corn crop of Tennessee and Kentucky—twenty-
one and twenty four bushels; of rye, five, or seven, or eight bush-
els; of wheat, six or seven, or eleven or twelve bushels.

My figuring is careless of fractions, because we don’t expect
accuracy from a farmer. When we talk of five bushels as the
average rye product to the acre, of a great, central American
state, we understand that it is rather small, but yet that five
bushels of rye will make a good deal of bread, and such a crop is
better than nothing. But in reflecting what an average means,
we shall perceive that some growers had more, and by so much
more as they had others must have had less—sometimes scarcely
getting their seed back throughout whole counties and sections of
these comparatively new states. The census average may be a
great comfort to the speculator, while it indicates a mighty hard
scrabble for the people.

Still, we are paying more western rye for German potash than
the German peasant can afford to, and that is what he comes over
here to see about. It makes Connecticut bushes laugh at eastern
capital to see the peasants and potash going west.

In a matter cognate with soil depletion—for in any great care-
less gathering there will be corresponding heedless waste—in the
pollution of its streams, by the stop-watch in race history, the
United States has no competitor. For speedy nastiness by whole-
sale and retail, the American people can “take the cake.”

Now, mind you, I do not stand here making these statements as
one without hope. The rapidity with which we have made changes
for the worse is one of the elements of our salvation. The mis-
chief has been done by living men before living witnesses. Every
good housekeeper knows that a young kitten or puppy, caught in
the act, can be broken of its dirty tricks, and so, please God, can a
young nation. ‘

If once we made frugality and cleanliness the fashion, and a
strict matter of national business, Columbia, now sitting forlorn in
her own poverty and filth like a bedraggled harlot, as the old
reformers would say, might arise regenerate, glorious in white
raiment, like an angel of goodness among the nations.

Convince our strong men—our working millions, the salt of the
earth—of the vital errors of our present course, and the energy of
our restoration may surpass every historical record in grandeur,
as the victories of peace surpass the triumphs of war.

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 243

Let us beware of the false prophets who treacherously beguile us
toward the old ruin by showing how older nations are worse off
than we are. Such tempters will presently revive a belief in the
devil.

A land with its rivers running filth instead of pure water, is
like a body with its veins running filth instead of pure blood.

Being a damage to life, the loss and waste cannot be estimated
in money. To compound with the impurity of society for cash
would be to set some infinitely small part of the price upon the
purity of one’s own soul.

Should Mr. Blaine’s recent proposition to divide the profits of
national grog-shops among the States, find favor in our sight, we
shall presently have some politician proposing a national scheme
for taxing stream pollution to pay our doctors’ bills, and build
hospitals for the sick.

Is this statesmanship run mad, or is it the millennial humility of
a government that would make every Lazarus of a nation live by
licking and healing its own sores?

In this dreadful matter there is a humorous element, grim or
not, as we please to take it. The old writers picture a justly in-
dignant deity laughing at our calamity. We may as well laugh
as cry over spilled milk, they say, and Captain Scott has well
quoted here the practical farm philosophy in our civilization of
“picking up the pail and starting for another cow.” But if we
are losing our grip on the milk, and can’t find another cow that
will stand our blundering drains upon her, shall we not have to
shift our practical philosophy, and alter our theories of goodness
to fit the incontrovertible facts?

The historical joke in our case, Mr. Chairman, is, that the close
descendants of the very people who drove the Indian from the
land of his forefathers by tricky bargains—the power of rum and
sugar, small-pox, etc.—are being driven out of the land in turn—
our old extensive farming class is—by the stench of polluted
streams and the power of ‘malarial waves.”

What ark of refuge can we build against this atmospheric flood
—what peak of Ararat can we land upon in safety from an over-
whelming malarial deluge?

There is more grim humor in this sorry human race wherein
What’s-his-name “takes the hindmost.” Great cities everywhere
feel the terrible pressure of an uncontrollable parasitic population

244 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

bred in their own disordered vitals. New York solemnly tells
Chicago of ‘the lower classes” that ‘will not go to any kind of
decent dwellings so long as they can resort to the dens which now
contain them.” *

There is poetic justice in this punishment of one wicked gener-
ation by another which every honest descendant of the old Indian-
fighting, rum-distilling, Puritanic race, must philosophically accept.

We die, but slowly, however, as the Indian did. Though we
shake fit to snap our boots off and burn with feverish fires, the
putrid stream device for poisoning the old, open-air people, is very
slow, uncertain, and unsatisfactory.

Before we get through I want to show you that the method is a
very old one. Chewing dirt to spit in the face of friend or foe
has been tried before and failed, utterly, over and over again,
causing a degeneration of human taste at last, intimately below
our starting-point in a savage equilibrium among healthy animals
and men.

“The cloace of Rome,” says Liebig, ‘absorbed all the well-
being of the Roman peasant.” Says Victor Hugo—“ When the
Campagna of Rome was ruined by the Roman sewer, Rome ex-
hausted Italy, and when she had put Italy into her cloacew she
poured Sicily in, then Sardinia, then Africa. The sewer of Rome
engulfed the world.”

No novelist has undertaken yet to write the order and sequence
in which our bankrupt states have gone, or are going, into the
hopper. The matter is too fresh for a market novelty. Current
history holds its discreet nose but never says anything while this
nursery of all robberies is going on.

Has not the conflict between civilization and its own waste
always been a losing game for the world, from the tower of Babel
down to the last village sewer? From the ancient rot, sweetened
by the earth of ages, we poke ont some bright relics, that’s a fact,
showing how good men and women protested, or things might
have been worse, sooner even than mouldy old evidences show
them to have been.

Not much appears among the ancients to flatter our wicked
vanity. Reformers were bought off and were driven off then as
now. But how can any one sell the right to pollute a stream—a

* See ‘‘ Dwellings for the Poor in Large Cities,” in Sanitary Engineer of Noy. 22, 1883.

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 245

right no one ever had—a wrong, proven by all history, to be the
death of men and nations?

By its ingenious modern cloace, stuffed with abominations,
society slings its contaminated dye-stuff abroad to return malarial
boomerangs upon itself. Social artists seem not to have fully
learned the sailor’s joke about throwing only certain things and
‘hot ashes to windward.”

In old times as now it seems that poor human nature was prone
to run away, like an Arab, from the pestiferous exhalations of its
own camp. We may reasonably suppose that some of our Puritan
ancestors belonged to that party. Will their descendants be con-
tent to see the chosen land of the fathers defiled in turn?

Some of our women hated the sewer by heredity I know, and
would never have a sink in the house so long as they lived. Hven
in winter time, in old age, they might be seen tottering out to
spread the contents of their wash-hand-basins on the snow of the
door-yard or garden, over some part of the ground where they
knew the land was poor. Those women had a righteous agricul-
tural spirit, and felt the everlasting justice of returning due ali-
ment to the soil.

When we leave the earth worse than we found it for man to get
a living from then comes trouble. Dishonesty and crime begin
with robbing the soil.

There, in the abused ground we have tilled and wasted, is the
birthplace and cradle of primeval disorder, increasing in sorrow,
anguish, and despair, as an overwhelming wave of accumulated
misery rolls around the world. Overdrafts upon the soil are as
disreputable in agriculture as overdrafts upon a bank are in finance.
Wrecking a farm or a garden—pilfering from the land for our
own selfish desires—educates our minds and hardens our hearts
for all villanous ways of taking more than we give—of grasping
more than our share. Having once made farms fit to run away
from, all treason and unfaithfulness comes easy to us. We are
ready, then, in any selfish pinch, to wreck the most sacred human
institutions. After blasting the land and making a desert any-
where, we may carry on murderous civil wars with all the forms
and pomp of bogus law, and break and abandon mills, villages,
cities, societies, and nations, without a scruple. Time fails to show
you the dark side of modern “business,” full of dead men’s bones

246 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

and loathsome corruption—a veritable hell upon earth—of which
all theories of goodness should teach us to beware.

Farmers or gardeners who have themselves planted, and spent
a lifetime or less in trying to repair the mischief done some minute
section of the earth’s surface, will know what I mean.

I speak to farmers, for it will be their sons and grandsons who
will have to rebuild and re-organize town and country in regard to
health and waste in times to come.

The mothers of the farm carry in their hearts the germs of
future cultures and religions. We are losing faith in the devil,
they say; but if no evil spirit outside of our forefathers sowed the
tares we are reaping, then we must now be scattering the seeds of
future social weeds, if the future is to have any.

Running away from one’s own filth has been so common in New
England that we have made a great ‘‘paying’’ business of ship-
ping invalids to and fro across the continent, wherever there was a
showing of healthy conditions, and means of access to them. Thick-
settled communities have kept their own death rates low by send-
ing invalid populations away to die. The fair repute of many
“health resorts” has been ruined by this means. The dying catch
at sanitary straws. A few winters ago every train for the Pacific
coast was loaded with what were called “condemned Yankees.”
Twice in our hunt for lodgings in Santa Barbara we were met by
the pitiful plea: ‘Don’t disturb us now, please. A man is dying
upstairs. His place will be vacant soon!”

This running away for health is about played out, however.
With our rapid communications, every corner of the land has
become infected with filth and disease.

The country is no longer, as it once used to be, healthier than
the town. The larger cities seem, indeed, the healthiest, for sev-
eral reasons: people are better fed and better paid. Good food
and regular payment of higher wages will always secure the pick
of a floating population. It may or may not be that the city is
more intelligent and intellectual than the country. Opportunities
for reading, hearing lectures, and passing a wise common-sense
from hand to hand have certainly been superior in well-ordered
cities since the decay of rural families and country churches.

Here was a young man “most dead with the shakes” in New
York, running right into a nest of ague in my district, where all

1884. | CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 247,

the women and every man but one Were flat on their backs half
the time this summer with some form of intermittent fever.

Of course I wouldn’t advertise that matter in this way if I sup-
posed other sections had any advantage. The best hope for con-
certed remedial action consists in frankly owning the notorious
facts.

In old times—as long ago as Ausop, and later, too—free discus-
sion of this “social evil” was neither possible nor safe. His little
story of the wolf and the lamb—what do you suppose he meant by
it ?—might have stuck on the way down to us had it not been dis-
guised as a pretty fable. The bones of wolfish cities, however,—
smothered at last in their own corruption,—whiten along the pages
of history. Every lamb “eaten in a trice,” for roiling the water up
stream, finds its modern counterpart in the still hunt for those who
oppose corporate impurity. Alsop, by the way, told some one
who asked, that the reason why hogs made such an outcry and
sheep took the butcher’s knife so quietly, was because the latter
were constantly used to being sheared. But the “lambs” on our
polluted streams are of an age and sex—some of them—not to be
very tender eating. Our ‘“‘ wolves” are not the beasts of Adsop’s
time, either. They know which way their filthy water runs, and
some of them are becoming convinced that universal pollution
raises the ill winds which blow good to nobody.

It may well be, however, that some in every audience can’t see
this matter as Ido. As physicians here and there appear to disa-
gree—more than they actually do, in my opinion—we may as
well go into details a little. It is reported of the flowage case, at
Lenox, Mass., where eight hundred people sickened around a new
mill pond, that seventeen doctors swore, in reference to health,
that filth did no harm and drainage no good. This is incredible.

Let us imagine, if you please, Mr, Chairman, that one of us is a
‘‘lamb,” down in the grass by a polluted stream somewhere,
and that you are a person who has recently invested in the
most approved fixtures for draining your house in town that have
ever been contrived. We meet as men continually meet—not
according to the old fable exactly—and are talking affably about
the matter. You go on and tell me how, when you first built and
married, you didn’t know or think much about house-drainage, so
you fixed your back-door conveniences as your smartest neighbors
did. The well and privy consisted, really, of two adjacent holes,

248 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

about twenty feet apart, oné was dug deeper than the other one,
which took the sink water, too, but the fluid inside of each stood
at one level, generally, except in a very dry time.

This arrangement made tombstones necessary for your first wife
and her two children, besides causing thirty-one cases of fearful
sickness, and seven funerals among the neighbors who came both-
ering around your well buckets. All this occurred, moreover,
without anybody being the wiser at the time. Not one of the
preachers of those ten funeral sermons, nor one of the doctors prac-
ticing in those sixteen families, let a word of suspicion drop against
the water in your well. At that time there was no board of health
and no cattle commission kicking up bobberies in the State.

This ‘luck” of yours was current medical, scientific and theolo-
gical salvation in spots during very recent dark ages. My story of
the “ wolf and the lamb” is condensed, we must understand, from
many true ones, as I presume Alsop’s was.

The second wife happened to be a school-ma’am, who had
boarded around and seen a great variety of back-doors. She scented
Bluebeard about yours at once. She made you clean the well and
move the privy to a fresh spot. You also fixed a nice leaching,
untrapped and unventilated cess-pool, separately, to keep the wash-
sink and chamber water out of the privy.

You were always a good provider, were making money, had
plenty of the usual kitchen help, and no pigs or chickens to keep
swill from going into the sink, where at every douse of liquid the
cess-pool returned an equivalent bulk of foul air.

More sickness and more funerals resulted, all charged to an “‘in-
scrutable Providence,” except that a “little medical whiffett,” sus-
pected of being ‘an infidel,” who attended in your family, told you
to your very head that filth from your cess-pool had been draining
into the well for a long time; and though he lost your practice, you
learned from him, after a little reflection, the sorrowful facts in the
case,

The next marriage was performed upon “business” principles.
It brought money into the family, and involved a new house upon
a new site with ‘modern improvements,” and direct sewer connec-
tions with all the filth in the town.

How many times did we change hoppers, or traps, or have the
whole drainage system of the house ripped up and renewed ?
Never mind how many. We know that plumbers, architects,

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 249

builders, experts, and medicine cost more than the house originally
did, and we are not satisfied yet.

You confess ingenuously all these struggles of yours—these con-
flicts with your own waste—without ever thinking that your list-
ener is an agricultural ‘“‘lamb” on the stream below, subject, not
only to the nuisance of your filth; but to that of 15,000 other people,
too.

You honestly demand my sympathy in your troubles, losses, sick-
ness, and death. You are so innocent of all purpose to offend me
or mine that you are surprised when I ask what the odds is to the
stream my cattle make your milk and beef of, what hoppers you
dump your sick family filth through—or what patent trap for
sewer gas you put in last ?

These particulars do not help epidemics of filth-disease in my
neighborhood any. My wife and children shake or toss in fever
all the same. Alterations in your methods of flinging your slops
into the brook have no use in sweetening the stream or the airs
blowing your way from it, either.

This story is the story of thousands. Some have spent and suf-
fered less, some have suffered and spent more, and all is of no real
practical avail, except in helping trade and doleful experiments in
climbing up some other way.

How can we expect to contrive a system of drainage and sewers
for a town while we have not yet learned to keep our own personal
pipes in order? Verily, we must be born again and again, until
a generation that can see beyond its own nose has arisen, in wiser
selfishness, to take hold of this work.

All we know at present is the ignorance of fowls who roost as
high as they can, forgetting how the baleful spirits of ordure will
rise higher than our wings can carry us.

No animal but man is so incredibly foolish—when we come to
think it over—as to set the horrid example of extending his intes-
tinal canal into the brook. If we, tailless apes, do it, will not
imitative monkeys on the stream above us do it, too? If we send
diphtheria, typhus, or the ague among our neighbors below
through our waste-pipes, must we not expect to draw “typhoid
malaria ” or cholera from our neighbors above through our supply
pipes ?

A few weeks ago Boston’s Board of Health told how an epi-
demic of typhoid fever in Natick must endanger Boston. Why?

250 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Because the peristaltic daily health of Natick is daily diluted in
Boston drinking-water.

Hartford sits nervously in the lap of what was once one of the-
fairest and sweetest, and is now one of the filthiest valleys in the
world. Hartford was comparatively far-sighted. She treated
concentrated industries coldly, at first, but has now become the
focus of surrounding streams of filth. Will raising our “rates”
as ‘‘risks” increase, save us? May God help our capital city
towards the straight and narrow path of purity and peace, is my
constant prayer.

When one who is deeply interested in a certain Theological
School was giving me a charming account of the physical and
intellectual culture of the students gathered there, I could not
avoid asking whether those young men were being taught, con-
stantly, not to soil the brook? I have no faith in any theory of
goodness for this world or the next which does not include that
doctrine. .

How the tools of reform can be wrought and tempered in schools
is a constant question. Whoever heats and hammers the metal
must never hate it—that is certain. Youth bred in loveliness
should have valiant hearts of love to warm the earth and pour oil
upon its troubled waters. *Luxury, like the moon, gives less light
and heat than it borrows. Every hive must know how to select,
feed, and develop its peculiar queen bees.

Our institutions of learning and our churches need not be afraid
to move in this matter. It will presently be popular enough.
The people are coming to understand the remedy. No city or vil-
lage has any good reason for laughing at any other village or city,
because in regard to bad air and water, we are all—town and
country—in the same boat.

I beg my temperance friends to examine the wide-spread causes
for intemperance in the light of present thought. ‘« Disinfect-
ants’’are sold, now, by the written order of physicians in every
‘‘no-license” town, ‘ Will you disinfect ?” or “ Will you fumi-
gate ?” are the frequent questions at bar.

Maybe some tool and calculating person, who sees how I am
hoeing my row here, perceives that I am missing many important
points in this conflict. Of course I shall fail to hit or even to hint
at a good many. We may remember that reforms of careless or

1884.] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. Zak

ignorant practices as old as history or human depravity are not to
be finished in one afternoon.

Some comfortable people may need to hear exactly how it is
that their stench-traps do not give security. A kink in the trap
or pipe makes a perfect water-seal, we are told by the plumber.
Well, supposing the good cook pours boiling water from a kettle
of potatoes into the sink on a rainy day, when the main drains are
full. Must not confined sewer-gas when heated belch back through
the water-seal with flatulent ease ?

Fresh inventions constantly expose the weaknesses and fallacies
of the older ones. We are pouring hot water at all hours from
our bed-rooms and kitchens, and a recent device for preventing
back-action of sewer-gas is a seal of quicksilver.

Where parties are able to pay for it there is considerable inter-
est in testing all the new contrivances as they come along. People
of smaller means may be excused for skipping some. Readers
with no money at all, may discover, cheaper than Solomon did, by
the perusal of numerous mutually neutralizing trade pamphlets,
how vain are all our combined schemes for family drainage and
family waste.

A plan for relieving any chance-pressure of gas upon the house
system carries a pipe from the family main directly up, outside of
the house, by a gable or chimney. This open vent delivers the
poison into the upper stratum of air to be diluted and spread
among neighbors as smoke is with a rising barometer, or to fall
downward and be inhaled or drawn into open windows as smoke
is whenever the pressure of the atmosphere favors a fall.

We have examples of great cost in the appointments and collat-
erals of house-drainage with no corresponding safety or benefit to,
general cleanliness. Did Mr. Vanderbilt spend $100,000 on his?
—or what was the figure? Excessive outlays by the rich always
set the conservative middle classes and the poor to thinking. A
Diogenes of these days, like Henry Thoreau, would make a break
for the woods. We have comforting evidence within a few years,
however, of a ground-swell of opinion among our best housewives
that a decent out-house or closet, kept neat and tidy, upon some
handy modifications of the earth-pan, is a thing not to be
sneezed at. |

Some are throwing out earthen pipes now for pipes of cast and
also of wrought iron. But a doubt rises whether we really do any

252 ~ BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

better with the fecal filth of cities than was done by the best of
the ancients. We are learning to hide it in deep drains, where the
temperature is cooler, and ferment less hurried, and we have
learned to our cost, as the ancients did, that this material needs
air. Frequent sewer openings accompany the streets and sidewalks
of every intelligent city, while the organic waste of humanity
moves sluggishly below. City waste goes—not to a haven of reor-
ganization in some paradisic city garden, to return, like rain, in an
eternal round of refreshment. No—but it goes from inland vil-
lages and cities to sicken their own people along the meadows and
pastures below, and multiply the chances of returning miasm and
death at our own doors.

When the city meets the country now-a-days in loving embrace,
things are so dreadfully mixed that we can’t tell who is giving the
other a distemper.

In treating this “conflict” for an hour am I too hopeless? Can
we restore our streams to purity and catch shoals of red-fins on
every ripple, and trout in every bend of the brook, as’ we used to
when we were boys, or must we give up our waters to snapping-
turtles and other case-hardened amphibia, while races of men
fitted—or “acclimated” as some doctors say—by long heredity,
and accustomed more and more to filthy conditions, shall gradu-
ally be elected to fill our places? In that degrading theory of
lasting life our short cut would be to beg the beggars from the
slums of Huropean cities, or cross our New England people with
river Chinese at once.

But I don’t see why we should build houses, villages, and cities
so cramped and helpless in this broad land as to be forced out of
existence by our own ordure; nor why we should follow headlong
the beaten track of national corruption and decay. Sometimes I
think our great theological roosters crow too long upon one metro-
politan dung-hill.

In the vast spaces between our cities there is room yet for
righteous republican states. The interest in saving and the love
of economy is as strong in the town asin the country. In this
matter of social waste and the decline of public health—resulting
in national waste and ruin—I believe the larger cities are quite as
ready to reform as our rural people are. My first reading of soil
and stream pollution came from certain hunible Philadelphia prints

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 253

nearly forty years ago. Our trouble, everywhere, proceeds from
ignorance, preoccupation of capital, and mistaken teaching.

In Paris, visitors are shown with pride an underground sewer-
city of 25,000 people. New York shakes in its miasmatic borders
for fear the Hudson will be dried by northern wood-choppers till
water fails to wash its skirts of filth. Yet an underground rail-
way is wanted to balance the duplicate system above. The older
city of Paris, to offset its subterranean glory, makes occasional
bloody exhibitions above-ground, of which mankind thinks with a
shudder.

The tiresome old remedy—is there no other?—for rich, lazy,
and filthy communities, was a course of, depleting government,
followed by fire and sword and a howling desert—the abomination
of desolation! After that every pool and stream was left clear
enough to mirror the heads of wild beasts, stooping to quench
their thirst.

To fear that society is too far along with its polluted streams
to stop its nastiness, is to offer the same reason for the abuse as
the old granny gave when her young cub, just from sea, abused
her well: “Johnny is so accustomed to using the water in that
way, you know!”

Can it be supposed, in a new and vigorous country like ours,
that the course of social affairs will be fashioned after the dirty
tricks of more than brutal boys, and the moral cowardice of old
grannies of either sex?

Whoever fancies that our ripest towns, sundered by long rail-
way distances from each other, are to be judged of as to which
way they will jump, or grow, or fall, in the same category with the
effete cities of ancient times, makes a mistake.

No doubt there are places upon this continent tolerably well
fixed to support the sewer-rats of foreign communities now being
shipped to us, and engender local human corruption of our own.
We see people every day learning to stew and ferment their
drinks. We find, by consultation with eminent savans, that there
is a “scientific” basis for dashing water, suspected of retaining
microscopic germs of danger, with alcohol. It may possibly be
that this great American people, selected by the free air of these
times from among all nations, is standing now face to face with
the road leading to death and the ruggeder path towards lasting

254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

life. Some say nations, like individuals, always occupy that spot
and are always choosing right or wrong.

New England, however, is bound to feel the influence of the
West during the next twenty-five years in another way. ‘Tariffs
and railroads, which made a difference in the East during the last
quarter of a century, are now to aid in abating that difference by
the production of finished as well as erude goods at the West.

Farmers from the West have visited their ancestral hill-side
homes in the Hast and seen how old New England farm frugality
is rendered nugatory, and manufactures have become debauching
in their tendency by the misappropriation of Western wealth float-
ing in sickening miasm. through our putrid streams into the sea.

The waste from factory villages puts even the slack ways of the
most careless Western farmers to the blush. The shelled wheat of
their heading machines may feed wild pigeons and chickens, but
it poisons nobody’s air and pollutes nobody’s water.

Hence it happens, to the intense pecuniary interest of unprofita-
ble Yankee spindles, and unsanitary water-powers, that the first
great economic combination of mechanics with agriculture since
the fetid odors of family'’dye-pots were first concentrated under
one wasteful thumb, has been made in the far West, upon the
soil of an “impoverished prairie.”

I refer to the new manufacturing city of Pullman—a city of
16,000 people. There we find the rejected raw materials of our
“social evil’? made the corner-stone of the builder. There we
read of a big outlay of capital in house-drainage, paying ten per
cent. in garden stuff upon the investment. There the husband-
man takes his place as guardian over the fundamental health and
wealth of society. There we see the distributive wash-hand-basin
of the vigilant Puritan matron of the olden time transformed, by
glorious mechanical apotheosis, into the ceaseless beating of mighty
distributive steam engines! The experiment is a ticklish one,
however, as those who know most about it will admit. Let us
pray for the city of Pullman!

Our “new theology,” when sufficiently familiar with earthly
facts and actual means of grace, will presently be making us
delightful pictures of millennial industry and peace. When houses,
built with wise hands, shall no longer be whited sepulchres.
When we shall quit taxing our incomes to produce business for
the undertaker. When the cooler airs of a summer evening shall

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 255

be, balm to the spirit instead of a constant source of dread. When
labor shall be turned from civil warfare to a winning fight with
public enemies and the manly duty of making the planet fit more
and more for the footstool of God!

Some new articles respecting the care of land and water will
have to go into our revised creeds, and the sins of robbing the soil
and fouling the brooks, scarcely noticed now, will have to be
denounced as unpardonable in our new theories of goodness and
views of religious duty.

Let us consider, for a moment, the fecal waste of our highest
civilization from a commercial point of view. We have long used
and advocated the use of commercial fertilizers. We have bought
honest ones, when we knew that only by denying ourselves lesser
luxuries could we afford to buy. The last and weightiest feeling
that has often determined me to buy was the thought that by
building up and encouraging a fertilizer business we should cer-
tainly keep a vast amount of good manure out of our streams.

Saving by the cent’s worth is not very popular, but great mills
for the manufacture and saving of waste are right in the line of
daily fashions. Looking at our pestilential waters, where thousands
—yes, tens and hundreds of thousands—of dollars float by us in
needlessly poisonous retention or exhalation every year; looking
at our invalid people, discouraged by the natural decay of hope ©
under punishment they may not deserve and do not understand, I
have often asked myself why these precious materials should be so
wretchedly thrown away? Why should not this most dangerous
waste be made salable, innocuous, and given to the poor land?

We can well afford protection and a big bounty to manufactures
of that sort.

One reason why we don’t do anything about cleansing our water
and air is because we don’t know how, or very few people do, or
have even considered the need of so doing. Ignorance as dense
as ours, in such a great matter, cannot be done away in a moment.
In regard to the use of sewage for producing food I do not sup-
pose that one in a hundred of our leading men could water a bed
of lettuce in a dry time without spoiling it. Not one in a thousand
of capitalists will risk money in farming or gardening this side of
the virgin wheat-soil line. Although every one who thinks the
matter over knows that available fertility is the next thing to

256 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

specie, yet all hands are afraid of the social waste that our sterile
earth would turn to gold.

A “Polluted Streams bill,” appropriating $10,000 for a study of
our case, was killed in the last General Assembly—voted down by
dummy legislators, put there, or allowed by their masters to go
there for similar purposes—as is often done in general assemblies.
The ruling monkey hand delights to roast its chestnuts at State
fires, and rake them out with the paws of ignorant treason. It
was whispered around that somebody was going to make $10 per
day out of that bill, and that was enough to kill it. Yet we,
grown men. sorely need schooling in the matter covered by that
bill, and are taking it in distempers right and left. Ten thousand
dollars will not pay the loss in medicine and time alone—saying
nothing about life in some of our towns—caused by general pollu-
tion since the failure of that most wise and prudent measure,

To get our rights in this matter, we may yet have to lug the
malarial germ into court. They say, by the way, that germ can-
not be found, because suspicious microscopic characters, when
arrested, can prove an ubiquitous “alibi” —so to speak. They are
found everywhere—which is precisely what we might expect.
“Healthy” people carry the germs of disease with them as a
sound horse carries the ‘ bots,” till they get the best of him at last.

Now if any listener fancies that this new ‘sum of all villanies”
on this continent—this basic “social evil,” this pollution of private
wells, springs and public waters, of streams, ponds and reservoirs;
this soiling of the whole earth and this wrapping of it in a dirty
atmosphere—finds any special reforming impulse in our leading
minds at this time, then I fear such listener is mistaken. Spasms
of sickness here and there scare us into spasms of cleanness. We
clean at the spigot and let the bung-hole go. We take out more
and more patents and manufacture more false sanitary gods while
our rivers run blacker and blacker. Medical and sanitary journals
serve up startling facts and theories for a few medical readers, but
they are growing cautious of letting the people know. Farmers
get, ence in a while, a lecture from the press about washing their
milk-dishes, while our putrid streams smell to heaven and make
every drop of milk an object of reasonable suspicion,

You may wonder what I mean by “false sanitary gods.” TI
mean the new toggles that are continually being loaded upon the
sewerage system civilization already staggers under. Here’s a

1884.] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 257

recent sample, copied in our Medical News from the London
Lancet. Titled English parties have patented a plan for tapping
adjacent gas-pipes and establishing fires with intensely heated
plates beneath the gratings of every street sewer vent. In this
way it is calculated that heat and suction will keep the sewers
ventilated and singe all the “animalcule and fungoid life” in the
sewer gases. With influence enough to get money enough, no
doubt this invention may be made to “work” until the great day
of “confusion of tongues.” Warming sewage will not help
people much on the streams below, but a city street lined with
subterranean lights would be showy in the night, anyhow, and
intestinal views would be open for the curious at all hours.
Possibly sewer gratings, constantly heated, might be rented—seeing
the sewer-gases are made innocuous—for some heating, baking,
broiling, or pot-boiling purposes. Surely there would be a remedy
for cold feet and a free fireside for the poor and destitute classes.
Gas companies would favor the idea, and a long line of trade and
“street” interests would be touched by it at once. Electric
extinguishment and lighting might easily be arranged for incendi-
ary periods. Perhaps northern cities could use the surplus heat to
keep side-walks free of ice; indeed, as we think the matter over,
long, branching vistas of possible utility open before us in the
line of false sanitary gods. >

The city mind has become so different of late from the country
mind, Mr. Chairman, in regard to what is good, that I don’t like
to make fun of any sanitary idea gentlemen may please to offer.
The scheme just now alluded to for singeing distempers out of
sewers may yet find favor with our great sanitary lights—who
knows? Iam very sensitive to city influence myself, and before
seeing this foreign idea had already spent some time in conjuring
a plan to establish a draft of fire and smoke in our own sink-drain
at home. May be we’ve got to burn these things out, abolish
them, or be abolished ourselves. But if it should appear that city
sewers need singeing in the care of public health, it will certainly
appear that the streams receiving the sewerage will need singeing
too, Ihave read, lately, that one of our principal cities has been
making accidental experiments in this direction, and has actually
had its river on fire with flaming coal-tar, in a most extraordinary
manner. Whether any sanitary patents are growing out of this
idea I have not yet learned.

17

258 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

All diseases are more prevalent and sweeping, wherever they
occur, since clean streams are the exception and filth has become
the rule. In the multitude of general and wholesale causes for
disease the people are being taught to believe themselves at the
mercy of inscrutable, malarial waves, and find little interest or
hope in local and personal reform.

So long as our leaders and masters in money-making are in good
health and getting rich, why should they lead in reform? In the
pride of their strength, these captains of industry slap their broad
chests with Louis XIV, and cry: “The State!—it is me!” In a
republic this is language for every citizen.

If work-people are sick, what are the odds to our profits so long
as afresh crowd of workmen stand ready to fill vacant places?
The teeming millions of a nasty old world hang like a cloud over
any fresh development of cleanliness in this. Old-style family
labor grew in strength by marriage, and home industry, and long
years of steady habits, tending to hereditary virtues. Slavery at
the south had to buy or raise its labor with considerable care, and
epidemics in laborers’ quarters lost the owners a rousing sum in
cash. Now, you or I can set a thousand full-grown men at work
to-morrow on credit, without risking a dollar upon their health;
and capital may discharge a disabled or unprofitable army of
scattered work-people any day, without particular odium.

In respect to stream pollution, we grow more and more careless.
The fathers of concentrated industry had a few grains of farm
economy. ‘They cast their stale bread upon the waters expecting
it would return in fish. But the fish come now in cans or salted
from streams we have yet set no mill on.

Being a law-abiding people as long as we can stand it, oughtn’t
we to quote something legal right here to show that the present
outrageous abuse of our streams has not the first legal leg to
stand on?

Says Judge Potter (xiii, R. IL, p. 611): “The right of every
owner of land bordering on a stream to the use of the water is
well settled; and the fact that he also owns a mill does not lessen
his rights. Prima facie, he owns to the center of the stream, and
if he owns on both sides, owns the whole of the land under it; and
he has the right to have the water pass his land in its natural,
pure state. ... This court can not alter the law. Nor can the

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 259

Legislature take this right from him any more than it can take
his land.”

Judge Potter, I am sorry to say, is dead, and this reminds me
to say that if we are going to be ruled by judges for a while we
must look sharp who they are. With good farm judges, wide
awake to the lasting interests of the State, our ‘malaria compa-
nies” would presently be taught by valid decisions from common
sense and common law that every land-owner or citizen, whether a
riparian owner or not, has a right to his currents*of air as well as
water, in their ‘natural pure state.”

Once we polluted streams with reluctance. My mother used to
scold my father for washing his sheep in the brook. She said her
grandfather, who had more sheep, used to wash his in a tank
below his barn, and let the rich water off upon his meadows.

In the second generation of wastefulness we throw everything
into the brook that we want to be rid of. Aside from the ques-
tion of health, we are continually destroying each other’s indus-
tries by dirty water, with much civil war to wit.

Some good people imagine that as our land grows poorer we
shall begin to keep our waste out of the brook, and so the millen-
nium will come gradually in that way. But the deplorable fact in
Connecticut is, Mr. Chairman, that as the land grows poorer the
streams become richer. In our little agricultural coteries—news-
paper or scholastic—we are prone to dream that a more frugal
science in farming is cutting a wide swath in the minds of men;
that we agricultural bankrupts are growing honest and learning to
pay our debts to the soil.

Admitted, if you please, that here and there an enthusiastic, a
vainglorious, or a conscience-stricken fellow does set a brilliant
example of enriching barren fields for his successors to skin. Such
efforts do not amount to a huckleberry, Mr. Chairman, in opposing
the grand sweep of American fertility into the sea,

I know of one or two praiseworthy cases, where individuals and
families have religiously worshiped their land and kept it as God’s
foot-stool, without robbing Peter much to pay Paul. But these
estates have not been “settled” or sold lately, and we can’t tell
what the religion of our children or successors will be.

We are shown “rich” farms dotted over the eastern states
among intervening wildernesses. But the hills from which their
richness came look rather dry. The children of wealth are too

260 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

often educated by their fathers and by society to drain Mother
Karth as dry as they can. The “cocoon” of a rich farmer too
often consists of personal property—stocks, bonds, and mortgages,
easily distributed—easily wasted in blundering New Jerusalems,
and rarely finding its way back to the soil again.

American land-butchers, the sweeping “agriculturists” of the
continent, cannot. be expected to join heartily—can they?—in
pumping city sewage against gravitation upon our dry hills and
plains, because of a lifelong training in pumping with gravitation.
The children or grandchildren of such—going by contyraries,
according to an American fashion—might perhaps do it.

The capital acquired in virgin land-butchery may help us, as
David gathered bloody stuff for the temple; but we might as well
try making a good shepherd of an Indian hunter as a sewage gar-
dener from an “extensive’”’ farmer.

This “conflict” we are speaking of began in men’s minds away
back in the pastoral age. Is that why boys, fresh from city gut-
ters, take their first lessons in agriculture so kindly from the rich
plains of the West, and why all is “Greek,” to the most of us,
betwixt—town and country—the alpha and omega of American
civilization?

Sanitary engineering—the new profession, as at present devel-
oped—deals chiefly with local traps, vents, flush-tanks and pipes
pointing into the creek, and causing— ike What’s-his-name’s
revolving gun—“ tremendous slaughter on both sides.”

Do these engineers propose to arrange their pipes judiciously, in
regard to the course of “malarial waves,” etc., etc., so that each
sewered community shall presently smother all riparian proprietors
below, and so make room for suburban sewage gardens? Or, if
that is not the game, what is the civil plan? Is there no calcula-
tion, no foresight at all? Are we simply setting up mills, villages,
and cities, like bricks, along our streams, to knock each other
down with plagues of disease and death, like rows of bricks in
childish play?

Says Victor Hugo: “ Paris throws five millions a year into the
sea. ... With what object? Without any object. With what
thought? Without thinking of it. For what return? For noth-
ing. By means of what organ? By means of its intestine. What
is its intestine? Its sewer.”

The sanitary engineer who comes into my house and gallantly

1884. | CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 261

probes the rot caused there by my own or the other fellow’s blun-
ders, and takes his wages for ensuring my family against its own
waste, must enlarge his views a little. We civilized people are
our brothers’ keepers to the extent of being already obliged by
common law and latent common sense to keep our filth out of his
waters. If our modern sanitary engineer undertakes to do that,
much of his present occupation will be gone. Capital enough has
been invested in direct illegal pollution of streams to furnish every
offending household with earth-closets and trained attendants.

Students of society discover that the classes which endure and
thrive under filthy conditions of water and air are not such as
strengthen a State.

The school of sanitary engineering, yet in its infancy, will com-
prise a righteous theory of about every kind of goodness. The
priest, doctor, lawyer, chemist, statesman, politician, and social
philosopher will have to be tried in the crueible of real life many
times and born again many times before we shall develop the
problems of social waste and cheap food for crowded communities
into a polite science and art. Yet many so-called savage races had
a fair working practice, and one at least of our domestic animals
can give lessons in this simplest of earthly duties. Is not the State
institution at Wethersfield the only one which furnishes its gradu-
ates positive daily training in this matter?

_ We must not skip the “ moral” or the “human element” in this
conflict, as insurance men say, when a touch of hard times sends
fire into the ‘‘business” camp. In our prisons and jails, how is it?
To make both ends of society meet correctively in a prison, our
wardens and jailers should be gods, almost, to cure the evil ten-
dencies of legally-selected social waste. Are they so? Do prison
contractors set a wholesome example for produce outside of prison
walls?

Does it never happen, on the,other hand, to the shame of outside
society, that the too healthy lad condemned to penal service, takes
his first experience of strictly upright management and control in
jail ?

It will scarcely do to make homes for the dishonest more attract-
ive than honest people can afford; that would manufacture the
waste we already have to deplore.

Some of us perceive a decline of independent patriotism; that
a government which patronizes whole classes, must neglect whole

262 BOARD OF .AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

classes, and that every effort of seesaw reform is apt to aggravate
the evil, by causing all hands to look for government help.

What time have we to consider the malign growth of public
farming by which feed-pipes are changed to waste-pipes, and the
golden calf we worship in the State becomes a worthless old cow
with a trick of sucking herself ?

Before we are done, and passing a hundred opportunities of
exposing my ignorance, among other and very important examples
of the conflict of civilization with its waste, I want to excite a little
thought about one of our filth diseases in particular, and one that
has recently become wofully prevalent in our beloved Common.
wealth. One also which some medical men wag their heads over
now-a-days as “‘a great mystery.” I allude to “the shakes.”

My personal knowledge of this distemper is but small. Being
the only person exempt in my district I have to refer to experience,
years ago in California, where I had a single brief ‘ shake,” but
where several of my comrades passed through the chillv crisis, at
night, much to my astonishment, in my arms.

It might be difficult to prove such a thing in court, but I have
a belief, that man—present company always excepted—is the nas-
tiest of living animals.

For instance—let me tell you what the young community of
Sacramento, composed of the “flower” of numerous States, did in
eighteen hundred and forty-nine. The river at that point runs
between high, bluff banks in the plain while the water is low. So
it was difficult of approach with buckets or teams, and water for
city use was pumped from the bridge over the narrow outlet of the
slough—pronounced slew, in the dialect of that time. It may be
interesting to know that the present speaker let himself for $8.00
per day to run the old log-pump taken out of some vessel, that,
with two or three hogsheads, fitted to wheels and shafts for as
many single horses, constituted the machinery for the city water-
works of that period.

This “slew” was Lake Sutter of the maps, an oblong cove, just
above the new city of canvas, calico, and boards, running at right
angles with the river, possibly fed by springs, and covering per-
haps an acre or two. Its steep banks were thinly wooded, and
these became at once the popular retiring-place of the town, and
completely plastered with filth.

Perhaps I should say, to the credit of the other sex, that Sacra-

a a

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 263

mento was peopled entirely by men, in August, 1849, and the first
woman appeared like a wonderful vision, some time later.

I do not recollect that the condition of our water-works was ever
the subject of much remark, although every one might have known
it. People who can’t very well help themselves, touch such topics
lightly, in self-defense. Some of us who had time went above,
toward the American Fork, for water. A little copy of Preissnitz’s
water-cure was among my choice possessions. It saved me much
pain, if not life; but sanitation was an unknown word among my
fellows.

Owing to the long, dry season of that climate, the fecal matter
around Lake Sutter would not have been washed into the waters
of the lake until the winter rains. So we were for the most part
using the leach of preceding evacuations.

The sickness prevalent was appalling, only it wasn’t to us, for
we didn’t stop to think about it—death and disease were so com-
mon. The next year was the dreadful cholera year, when we lost
fifty daily in a population of 4,000. By that time we must have
had some wells dug, and in one way or another began to get our-
selves weaned from that horrible slough-water. Of the air on its
banks I have said nothing. Buildings went up around Lake Sut-
ter, and so it became less private.

I would not have occupied your minds with this view of the first
settlement of Sacramento, if I did not believe that at the same
time you would get a glimpse of the carelessness of a pure water
supply which has attended the beginnings of all colonies in all new
countries. The reckless, enterprising fellows, who begin new set-
tlements, soil the brook the first thing they do. We can reason-
ably suppose they did it at Athens, and at Rome, as at Rugby, Ten-
nessee—or wherever heedless speculators ever went into camp.

Veteran campaigners, when they think the matter over, will
agree with me. The last camp-meeting I attended in New Eng-
land—a good while ago, 1 must confess—was no exception to the
filthy rule.

Let man go where he will, he carries the material inviting
trouble with him, and not one time in a hundred, in my observa-
tion, does he keep it out of his drinking-water—almost never out
of the air. How can we tell, in a crowd of houses, whose leaky
cess-pool stands plumb over the subterranean stream that feeds our
well? No wonder we were sick with all manner of fevers on the

264 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Sacramento, since if one man had a fever he was certain to infect
the water drank by others.

One of my neighbors recently died of typhoid fever, while drink-
ing ice cut from the dilute dejections of two populous villages, com-
bined. Such ice needs to be carefully boiled, Mr. Chairman. My
neighbor was advised not to cut that ice, but said he’d “risk it.”
His physician didn’t know what his medicine was “bucking”
against until too late.

The former generation did many nasty things to show its
“pluck.” Capt. , who killed hogs in my district, when I was
a boy, finding the cider-mug empty, scooped it among the scrapings
of the scalding-tub for a swig—looking around the crowd after-
wards for applause. We know less what we drink than he did.

From my readings within a year only, I could quote scores of
instances, showing filth as the constant attendant of disease. A
“salvation army ” encamped on the cleanest and dryest sandy
plain may soil its water between two days.

A curious story among the many, came to me between the lines
reporting a health convention in the Sanitary Engineer. That
journal has been, and let us hope, will continue to be very frank
and truthful. Newspapers have a politic way of giving important
news a very obscure place in their columns. Whoever runs fast
will not be likely to read that as he runs.

Special journals are useful studies, but being restricted in matter,
they attain but a private, class circulation. Like cases in civil
courts, nobody attends to them unless there is some special, pecun-
lary interest.

In regard to weightiest matters of vital concern the people con-
tinue in Egyptian darkness, as ignorant of secret processes against
them as in the days of popish inquisition.

I am the more willing to quote this instance from the Sanitary
Engineer, because it shows how a community, beleaguered with
filth, may help itself by means of a board of health.

The New York Board was called to Ogdensburg last summer,
for a session of several days, and had a grand hygienic time. Local
health boards, physicians, and everybody interested, came in from
the surrounding country, filling the hotels, and the newspapers,
giving every table and family something fresh or piquantly stale to
talk about, besides promoting local trade and putting business men
in good humor.

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 265

The last half-day of the convention—and I shall never believe
that this serio-comic drama was not contrived before hand—when
the excitement for public health was at its highest, some one arose
and stated that five—or was it seven ?—cemeteries were draining
into the public drinking-water! The city powers were present,
and doubtless very supple at such a time upon such a subject.

“Of course—certainly "—they stammered, and “steps would
be taken at once,” or words to that effect, ‘‘ to remedy the evil.”

We must imagine how long “ notional” local ‘ fanatics” had
been “scolding” about these cemetery leachings. The report gave
no hint. Supposing the authorities—chained to the shafts of lum-
bering city horse-carts—knew their duty well; it may be they
couldn’t do anything until the people were waked up to their duty
too.

Private grief, having no remedy, is scarcely wholesome to bear
in secret. To endure public injury in silence brings us to share in
public crime. The total of popular wrongs, long repressed, breaks
out sooner er later in dynamitic revolutions. The great stupidity
of this generation of business men lies in thinking goodness don’t
know every sin against goodness, while the least peccadillo is being
branded on some human heart. Secret injuries to popular life
stand out in letters of fire with any increase of heat or light.

To abate social evils in a republic we must “agitate—agitate |”
said Mr. Phillips. - In this matter of the waste of civilization by
polluted streams, no one need dream that we have an easier task
than he had, whose work seems not yet thoroughly done. The
price of “ purity,” as of “liberty,” is “ eternal vigilance.”

Rouse a board of health meeting if you can, or if that is impos-
sible, call the doctors to talk in sickly districts. They have ideas
fit for a healthy meeting which they do not care to speak at a pa-
tient’s bedside.

We are trying the latter remedy in my district, and I must say
our physicians respond nobly. The people may not be able to see
who tells ‘the whole truth” at first—some testimony may lie like a
witness-box—but people will see plainer aftera little. It is for their
interest to see, and the truth will make them free. Unrighteous
opposition serves to stiffen the faithful, and mistaken evidence
raises the facts sometimes, as a sliver is raised by running square
against the point.

Bear with me, if you can, while I turn your attention to a mat-

266 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

ter you know as much about as I do—that is, the occurrence of
chills and fever in our new settlements, spreading westward for
forty or fifty years in our own time, while we, remaining quiet
upon our farms in the east, didn’t have anys and couldn’t under-
stand the trouble.

Says Dr. Ezra Hunt in the Medical News of October 27, 1883:
“‘The tendency to deny the influence of any local cause for any
disease on the part of the resident community, is one as old as the
days of Hippocrates.”

Dr. Hunt might have said personal cause, too, for a search for
that is not popular. And we may observe that while shame and
self-interest prevent the exhibition of both local and personal
causes, the narrowly selfish and time-serving physician is very apt
to acquiesce in charging disease to some remote origin, as that
will be more likely to remain in obscurity.

Who went west ? Many young and inexperienced people; many
enterprising, pushing fellows; some children, some aged people;
many discontented folks not well fixed in the east, but yet with
the pluck to “dig out”; as many wise and shrewd women as you
please to nominate.

Well—how did they travel ? In the beginning—in the time we
are thinking of—they took the common road, of course—none too
good—halting at common camping places, and drinking from the
same springs and brooks. They traveled, in part at least, by long
routes, where one person, being sick, might pollute by his dejec-
tions the water and air of many following. This is pure theory,
no doubt, but is it not reasonable ? Knowing the carelessness of
men—saying nothing about filth in streams by actual purpose, for
that outrage was left to our own times to do—can we not see how
our western cousins ran the gauntlet of filth diseases in their air
and water, carried them to their new homes, and got such a pre-
judice against water—any water, and air also—that they were very
apt to boil the one before drinking, and some of them tried to shut
the air out of their houses, as some of our own frightened people
have done ?

Was it an old style Tennessee preacher who dashed his water
with spirits, “because since the flood it tastes so strong of sin-
ners ?”’

Whoever started west in the early days soon struck the trail of
strange travel, where all manner of people were journeying——refu-

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 267

gees from towns, immigrants directly from the ship, etc. The
malarial wave of those days, Mr. Chairman, was a long streak of
contagion, branching as the people spread to find their new homes,

How did our western brethren ever get over their sickness ?
Some didn’t. Others—the more prudent, careful, thoughtful, and
industrious, with fixed and steady habits—soon strengthened them-
selves in quiet, well-ordered plantations, like the best of those
among their old homes, where their water and filth were kept sep-
arate.

Why did we never have intermittent fever in New England in
old times? We did have it in spots. Several bad spells are
recorded, where new people were coming in and settlements were
crowded and nasty. President Hunt, of the National Health Asso-
ciation, says our factory people always had more or less of these
filth fevers.

Isolated farming communities among the hills and upper valleys
of Connecticut didn’t feel these modern plagues much until the dis-
order of the old rural society ran into decay. Moths don’t lay eggs
in worker cells, bee-keepers will tell you, while swarms are numer-
ous and the hives of home industry are strong. We didn’t own to
the presence of filth disease in particular—we didn’t have this ma-
larial racket—until after the great mixing of the war and subse-
quent commerce; when immigration was constant, and our streams
were becoming dreadfully polluted; when all the machinery was
complete for injecting our headwaters with fresh imported virus
—direct from the Pontine marshes, if you please.

Now, with filthy emanations ubiquitous and omnipresent, false
science or quackery—traitorous alike to the soil, to society, and the
purity of the world—is able to discover and boast of its mysterious
“waves” of bad air or malaria.

To check the waste of civilization at its fountain-head—to abolish
these malarial waves—let us check the malarial ripple of our sew-
ers, and all the fecal waste we possibly can. Teach the people to
BE CLEAN, and these waves of malaria—as the old farmer said of
the dollars, if we take care of the cents—will take care of them-
selves. ;

The CHatrman. The audience I know will be happy to
hear from Prof. Brewer, if he has any light to throw on the
subject.

268 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Prof. Brewer. I shall have but a few words to say,
although I consider this subject one of supreme importance.
There is no problem that is presented to the civilized world
to-day that is more difficult of a practical solution or of greater
importance than this one that Mr. Olcott has touched upon.
I do not know of a civilized country, except our own, that is
not trying to meet it in some way by intelligent investigation.
We have been told that this State does not want to hear
about it. The number of deaths that are caused directly by
this pollution of streams and pollution of waters every year,
in this State,is very large. Of that there is no question
whatever. Unfortunately, we cannot always put our finger
on the man and say, “This man was killed so, that man was
killed so,” as we could if they were shot or killed at a railroad
crossing, or something of that kind; but, nevertheless, they
are just as surely killed, and that people are surely killed is
just as susceptible of proof in one case as in the other. We
can only prove it, however, in the averages, and not, generally,
as to the individual. Sanitarians, as you know, study death
tables for the purpose of comparison. Those diseases and
accidents of which men die are classed in five great classes,
one of those being what are called “ accidental,’’ including
persons who die from wounds, and so on. Another class we
speak of as “developmental ;” those that are incidental to
the growth of the human race; the teething of children, old
age, the diseases incident to child-birth,and so on. But these
two only kill off a small portion of the population. The great
mass that go down to their graves before they are three score
and ten, die of the other third class of diseases, which embraces
the local diseases; all kinds of local inflammations, the con-
stitutional diseases, to which cancer, consumption, and so on,
belong. But the class of which we are speaking here to-day
we call “ zymotic diseases.” They include all the pestilences,
contagions, and all of those diseases which spread, as cholera,
as typhoid, as the plague, and so on, do through their conta-
gious nature. They are largely preventable diseases. I do
not believe the time will ever come when they will entirely

1884. | CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 269

cease, because men will never live up to the best of their
knowledge. So long as there are folly, and selfishness, and
sin in the world, everybody will not do as well as they know
how, and some will die always before the natural term of
human life; but much fewer will die of those diseases in the
future than in the past. I believe to-day we have got perfect
control over cholera, over the plague, over the typhoids, over
the small-pox, and a variety of those diseases which in pre-
vious ages have kept down population, prevented the growth
of all large cities, and constituted all of the pestilences, nearly,
to which people in our climate were subjected. But there is
a large class of diseases called “ filth diseases,” to,which these
zymotic diseases belong. Whether they are caused by the
pollution of well-water or not, some of them we know are
spread in that way. I say we know it. There is no question
of it whatever. The man isa fool who stands up in these
days and denies it, with the facts in regard to the spread of
those diseases. We cannot prove that some are caused by it,
but we know that if they are not caused by the pollution of
the water we use, it enormously increases their malignancy.
We cannot prove that diphtheria is caused by it, but anybody
who has had any experience in the matter knows that it
enormously increases the malignancy of diphtheria.

Now, to come back to the point that is directly before us,
this matter of the pollution of streams. It must be taken
hold of in this State. I say it must be, and it will be.
(Applause). It is simply a question of time. There are two
reasons to-day why it is not taken hold of, and only two.
First, a large number of people are ignorant, or at least
uncertain, as to the facts; and, secondly, there are impor-
tant money interests, vast concentrations of capital, that want
things to go on as they are. Now, as individuals suffer, they
cannot frighten great corporations; they cannot contend effect-
ually against the influences which are exerted by those who
have large property; but I tell you, as we see this matter
more clearly face to face, as we see the disease, suffering and
death that it brings, and the lives that might be saved by a

270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

more enlightened policy, it is sure ultimately to be acted
upon. The State cannot afford to go without it. If it is not
taken up on humanitarian grounds, it will be on pecuniary
grounds. That has been the experience of more than one
place. Sanitarians and philanthropists talked for a great
many years regarding the conditions of some of our south-
western and west-southern cities with respect to yellow fever.
So long as only men died and people suffered, while business
went on in the city of Memphis, these warnings were dis-
regarded. They had a cess-pool system there which seemed
incredible to us. The city lay on level ground along a bluff,
and in order that they should not have so much trouble with
the filth (they were entirely without sewers) they dug their
cess-pools deeper and deeper. I have forgotten how many
thousands there were in the city, but I have not forgotten the
depth of them. They were thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty feet
deep, and they were not cleaned out from generation to gen-
eration. They went on digging more of them and digging
them deeper, and although that matter was not stopped on
humanitarian grounds, there came a time when it had to be
stopped on other grounds; when the States around said,
‘We cannot have a single city stand as a menace to the
commercial prosperity of the great Mississippi Valley.”
When pestilence swept over them, it bankrupted the city.
The city, as a city, passed out of existence. There is no city
of Memphis to-day. They have disincorporated it, to get rid
of debts which they could not pay; for a city may be bank-
rupt by sickness as a man may be ; and they sewered the city,
not they, but others did for them, to save the Mississippi
Valley from pecuniary loss.

Now, while I do not say that the state of things here is
such that we shall be placed in quite such a bad condition as
that, I say the day has passed when any town can afford to
be sickly. There is no city that can afford to have the repu-
tation of being a sickly place. Trade will not go there,
manufacturers will not build there, and if any town gets the
reputation of being permanently unhealthy, it is the heaviest

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 271

blow that can be laid upon its prosperity. Times are not now
as they used to be, and the competition between cities is very
different. Large numbers of people are more afraid of going
to an unhealthy place than they used to be, and if the State
of Connecticut, or those who act for the State in its legislative
halls, will not consider this matter on humanitarian grounds,
for the saving of life and the saving of health, they will be
compelled to do it to save the prosperity which has heretofore
blessed the State. I am sure that something will have to be
done, that something will be done. I have no plan to suggest
by which this is to be brought about. It is a complicated
question; it is a question for engineers, it is a question for
money to work out; but that it must be brought up, that it
must be made the subject of legislation, and that it will be, I
have not the slightest doubt; and all I ask of you is, that
each and every one of you will use your influence to hasten
the adoption of some measures to put a stop to the sickness
and suffering and death, that the condition of things which
now exists entails upon the people of the State. I have seen
considerable of the pollution of streams in this State. How
much it has to do with the introduction of malaria here I
shall not discuss; that it has very much to do with its
malignancy, and with the condition in which we now find it, I
have not a shadow of a doubt.

Mr. WerHereLLt. I have heard it claimed that water
purifies itself, and that where it is polluted by a factory, by
the time it gets a mile away from the factory, it is as pure as
if the factory had not poured its filth into it. I would like
to ask Prof. Brewer if that is so.

Prof. Brewer. J can explain that in one sentence: It is
not true.

Mr. WeTHERELL. I did not suppose it was.

Prof. Brewer. It has not been proved true by an experi-
ment that ever has been made. I have samples now of water
polluted with all the ordinary forms of filth, with sewage, .
with urine, and so on. That water has been standing since
last May. There is fermentation going on. The water

272 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

works clearer in looks, but it is not pure. I ought to say
right here, that a great many persons are misled by this. I
have given special attention and study for many years to one
point connected with this, from another direction. Where
waters are inclined to be a little roily or turbid, a very little
sewage clears them of that turbidness. A very little sewage
passed into water that is roily will clear it; I mean, it will
make it clearer than it was before; but that does not make it
purer to drink; it may retain all of its virulence. Some of
the most deadly waters that have ever found their way into
wells have been of exceeding clearness, sparkling and bright.
I will only cite one case, but if you should look through the
records of sanitarian literature, you would find that it would
take more than this afternoon even to cite the others. I will
simply refer to what is known in sanitary literature as the
Broad street pump affair.

Sanitary science, as we know it, is of very modern date. It
had its start with the outbreak of cholera in London about 1848.
It was in this country in 1849. It was then discovered that
cholera was spreading in that city through its drinking-water.
Then, with the outbreak of the same disease in 1866, it was
more fully investigated, and as the result of the investigations
there, the present health laws of Great Britain were enacted,
and sanitarian science in the shape which it has now assumed
may be said to have begun with those cholera outbreaks. In
one of those outbreaks there was a sudden explosion of
cholera, as they called it. If you could imagine a steam
boiler to have blown up in acertain part of the town and
scattered its water over a crowd, and here and there,
wherever a drop fell upon any man, that man had died of the
cholera, it would illustrate what happened in London at that
time. In a small district of the city, if I recollect right,
over five hundred people died within two weeks. It was
found that they lived around a certain pump, known as the
Broad street pump. It was found that people had been in
the habit of drinking water from this pump. The water was
very popular, because it was clear, and bright, and sparkling.

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 273

Many people drank that water in preference to the water
supplied by the water companies, which came from the
Thames, which everybody knew tv be foul. Now, what
relation had that to the cholera? It was made a subject of
lengthy investigation, the reports of which may be found in
the reports made by the medical officer to the Privy Council
in one of the English Blue Books. They found that the
earliest cholera patient in that vicinity had lodged in a house
very near this well; that he had died there; that during his
sickness, the ejections had been thrown into the privy vault ;
they found that that was a leaky vault; and that all the
materials had leaked through into the well; they found the
track along which the filth had run to the well, and they
found that immediately after this occurred, that which
sanitarians call “ an explosion” took place, which killed, as
I have said, over five hundred people in two weeks. They
found that in one case an old lady, living four or five miles
away in the city, died of cholera. They could not find out
that there was any such infection in her case, but it turned
out that the old lady had formerly lived in the vicinity of this
Broad street pump; she thought the water was the purest in
the city, and she was in the habit of sending her man with a
large jug over there to get the water from that well. She
was the only person who died of cholera in the neighborhood
where she lived. I only cite that to show that we may have
water of apparently exceptional purity, which we know
contains sewage. Every experiment that has been made of
late years shows that waters do not purify themselves except
ina very long time. They must run along ways and bea
long time exposed to the air, before they will be purified ;
they do purify themselves in the end.

Mr. Wess. This is a question of which I have been think-
ing a good deal, and for a good many years. That the
emigrants polluted the springs which they passed on their
journeys, I cannot believe. Ihave crossed the plains eighteen
times and never had a chill. I have traveled with large

crowds and small. In 1849 I was on the frontier where
18

274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

people were dying by hundreds of the cholera; I passed
through and all around them and never had a chill. I have
traveled in thirty-four States of the Union and voted in four,
and came back to Connecticut to catch the ague and be made
afreeman. That all this sickness and all this malaria results
from the impurity of streams that are polluted by the filth
from cities or villages Ido not believe. I think that the
defective plumbing in our cities and towns, upon which so
much money is spent, is the cause of as much disease as
anything else. I have had a little experience in this matter.
I have within a mile of me forty acres of ground which isa
swamp, and as filthy and foul as any man in Connecticut can
find, and on that forty acres the water is at nearly all seasons
of the year‘from six inches to four feet deep, and filled with
vegetation growing up and decaying. We have six or seven
ponds on the hills surrounding ; I do not know the amount
of ground flowed, but there is a very large amount which

in the woods, and all flowing over this swamp from the sur-
face and the little streams and the falling rains. Waterbury
has the same thing, and all these villages down here have the
same kind of ponds and reservoirs filled with surface water,
and that water is brought to the villages for drinking pur-
poses. Have the exhalations from such places nothing to do
with malaria? Years ago we tried to get the New Haven
water company to do something. I was appointed on a com-
mittee by the people of the town of Hamden to appear before
the legislature and get them to compel that company to keep
that pond up to a certain stage of water, and not to drain it
down more than two feet. When they drained it down, it
would smell badly enough to kill a hog. They finally agreed
that they would do it. But when it comes to a remedy, it is
pretty difficult to find it. As I was going to find some
experts to examine the ground and to give an opinion in
regard to it, I met a member of the legislature, an old
acquaintance of mine from Litchfield County, who was a
representative. I stated the circumstances, and asked him if
he would not do something for us. He asked me, ‘ Is there

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 275

any money in it?” I said, “Not ared! There is life and
death there, but no money. We are going to make a square
appeal to the legislature, and if you have got principle enough
to help us, help us; if you haven’t, help your master, the
Devil.” (Applause.) I let that man slide. I have been
around there with Prof. Brewer, a member of the Board of
Health, and he knows it and knows how it looks. Here is a
cash capital of three or four hundred thousand dollars, and
they do not care whether a life is worth a thousand dollars
or two cents.

Prof. Brewer. They said their works were worth a mil-
lion and a half when the city was talking of buying them.

Mr. Wess. I took a census of the town of Hamden, and
I think I found but five or six of the inhabitants of that town
who had not had the fever and ague, more or less, and 4 large
number of them most of the time.

Now, what can wedo? Isay,le the Legislature pass a law
that every one of those ponds shall be cleaned. (Applause.)
There are many large places where the pond, when the terri-
tory was originally flowed, was quite deep, but the accumula-
tions of silt and the deposits of vegetable matter that has
grown up and decayed, have made the water comparatively
shallow, and it is full of pond lilies and all kinds of water
grasses, which are growing up and decaying. Let the Legis-
lature say that those ponds shall be cleaned, and let Yankee
ingenuity invent a dredge that shall clean them out and throw
the mud upon the borders of the pond and the farmers will
carry it off. It comes to the matter of dollars and cents. How
much is a life worth? But when people unite and say this
thing must be done, and make a row about it, then the capi-
talists, who are interested, will hire experts by the hundred,
and every one of them will swear just as he is paid to swear.
(Applause.) There is no use talking. That is the square
truth, exactly. Now, then, we have got to face the music to
do anything in this regard. We have got to clean the ponds,
and we may have to clean the house, to some extent.

Dr. JENKINS. I have been a little interested lately in

276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

examining the different experiments that have been made
with regard to the utilization of sewage and getting it so
that it shall not be a cause of disease in the community. In
considering the matter of the care of sewage, there are two
considerations. The first one, of course, is the sanitary con-
sideration—the damage to life and health which results from
the way in which sewage is cared for, or rather left uncared
for, at present ; the other is the actual money loss to the com-
munity. We know how carefully sewage-material is saved
and is prepared in China for use on the land. The fertility
of their lands is maintained almost entirely by the application
of this waste material—the dejections from the population.
Various experiments have been tried and are being tried with
regard to the use of sewage for irrigation. In the neighbor-
hood of Edinburgh, there are extensive fields which are irri-
gated in that way by the city’s sewage; it has also been tried
in the neighborhood of Berlin, and in other places.

I have recently read a discussion upon this same matter be-
fore a society of German investigators, and it seemed to be the *
general sense of the meeting that those experiments were not
encouraging. Hxperiments are being tried, and with appa-
rent success, in certain places, by treating sewage chemically.
‘The city sewers carry into the streams only what is called
storm-water, or water that falls in atmospheric showers, and
the water from the kitchen sink, the kitchen slops, and the
rest, is passed into cisterns which are regularly pumped out
and the contents carried to a central station, and there,
by chemical agents, they are precipitated as far as may be;
that precipitate is prepared to a certain extent and sold
as poudrette. The liquid is put into a large distilling appa-
ratus and sulphate of ammonia is prepared from that, and
then the rest of the material, the fluid, which has been ren-
dered comparatively innocuous, is run off. But in our large
cities, in the ordinary way of handling sewage, that would
not work. Jt seems:to me if we could only all of us be farm-
ers and go back on the land, returning to the old Levitical
administration, the difficulty would be remedied. ‘There has

1884. | CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. pa Gt

been no way devised of treating refuse matter better than
that, and the nearest approach to it seems to me to be the
earth-closet system, which has its draw-backs and its disad-
vantages. But,as Prof. Brewer has said, this is the great
and trying question of our times, and it is something that has
got to be settled before long, or it will settle us.

Question. I would like to ask Dr. Jenkins one question :
Can a typhoid germ be detected by analysis in water ?

Dr. Jenkins. Not by analysis at all. It is possible that
water which by chemical analysis would be regarded as abso-
lutely pure and harmless, may contain the most virulent and
poisonous germs.

Prof. Brewer. I wish to say, in that same connection, that
there is no case on record of typhoid fever being spread by
earth-closets. Inquiries have been made in the sanitary
journals, and they have not brought to light a single case of
typhoid fever being spread in that way.

Dr. Jenkins. I know a family of four persons in the city
of New Haven, who, during one winter, used an earth-closet
and found it worked with entire success. They used the dry
ashes that were taken from the stove in the room.

Mr. WerHERELL. I would like to inquire if the dilution
of sewage matter by the large quantity of water which falls
in showers, and the large quantity which is used for domestic
purposes does not make it quite worthless as manure ?

Dr. JENKINS. That is the great trouble in handling city sew-
age for agricultural uses. It has been so diluted with enor
mous quantities of water that it cannot be profitably handled
on the land. In Berlin, acres of land have been converted
into a marsh by the deposit of this sewage upon it. Nothing
can be done with it, on account of this enormous quantity of
water with which the sewage is diluted. Not long ago I had
occasion to examine the sewage from the outlets of a number
of our New Haven sewers, and I examined also the amount
of solid matter in our drinking water in New Haven. I took
_ what is called a tolerably pure article of drinking water. It

278 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

had four grains of solid matter to the gallon. The water
from the sewers, which was rank, which had a foul smell, and
which was disgusting to the sight, did not contain over forty
grains of solid matter to the gallon. Yet the one was good
drinking water and the other was positively filthy. But you
see that ina gallon of this sewage you get only about ten
times as much solid matter as you do in the water as it comes
from the delivery pipe in the city. |

Prof. Brewrr. Let me add a word here. I think it has
been proved conclusively in the old world, that where the

‘storm-water and sewage are carried by the same sewers, that
material cannot be handled for agricultural purposes; but
where the sewage proper is carried off in one way, and the
storm-water is all carried off in another way, by what is
known as the separate system, (of which the system adopted
at Memphis is an illustration,) that makes a very different
matter. In our climate, more water runs off from the soil
than sinks in. Now, if we take into account that more than
half the rain fall, coming intermittently as it does, goes out
with the sewage, you see that the aggregate sewage is enor-
mously diluted. It was found in London that the average
was literally purer than some of the water of the wells that
was used ; that the ground had become so befouled that the
water that got into the wells absolutely contained more organic
matter, by chemical analysis, than the average sewage of
the city.

Mr. WeTHERELL. I would like to ask Prof. Brewer one
other question: What are these corporations going to do with
this filth that is incident to their places, in view of the diffi-
culty of handling it?

Prof. Brewer. That is a problem for them to settle and
not for me. If my neighbor creates a nuisance on my
premises, I tell him to get rid of it. It is his business to get
rid of it and not my business to solve that problem for him.

Mr. Jonn S. KirkHam. I want to ask Mr. Webb if there
are any fish in those ponds ?

«

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 279

Mr. Wess. Yes, sir, there are eels there, plenty, and there
may be other kinds in that swamp. There are very large
springs breaking out in that swamp, boiling: up from the
bottom.

Mr. Aucur. I want to ask Prof. Brewer or Dr. Jenkins if
there is any simple means by which the amount of impurity
in water can be determined ?

Prof. Brewer. Unfortunately not.

Mr. Kirxuam. I asked Mr. Webb that question about fish
because of his statement that he did not believe that the sick-
ness and malaria came from the cities and villages. We have
a stream in our town that used to be a good trout brook ; it
was filled with perch and suckers, and an abundance of fish
of all kinds, which were healthy and good. But now fish
cannot live there. There are no fish in six miles of that
stream which runs through our town, because it is poisoned
by the discharges from a city sewer.

Mr. Wess. Is not the destruction of the fish caused by
chemicals ?

Mr. KirkHamM. There are no chemicals of any kind that
go into it. The death rate of the city of New Britain, as I
was told by one of the oldest citizens there who had looked
into this matter, has increased from twenty-four in a thousand,
fifteen years ago, to over forty last year, since their sewage
system was introduced; and in the town that takes that
sewer, which was a noted healthy place twenty-five years ago,
and where, as old Dr. Brace said in his fiftieth aniversary
sermon, but ten perished out of a thousand in a year, of all
ages, the last'six years, the death rate has averaged nineteen
in the same number. These facts tell a story that must be
explained somehow.

Mr. Wess. I did not say that sewage running into a
stream did not make the water impure. I should not say so,
by any means.

Col. Warner. I would like to ask Prof. Brewer what he

280 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

would recommend for New England country homes as the
best method of disposing of refuse matters.

Prof. Brewer. I will tell you what I would do if I had a
country house. I would take care of my liquid slops, and
have them run into a tub, and I would have handles to it, so
that it could be carried off a few rods from the house and the
contents dumped upon the ground for manure. They oxidize
pretty rapidly in that way. As regards the other matters, I
think I should be governed by circumstances. If I used an
ordinary privy, I should disinfect it with lime. That is what
I used to do in olden time, when I lived in the country. The
disinfection is complete and the deodorizing is complete. Of
course, the vault must be kept dry; and, with all its dis-
advantages, I believe that the earth-closet is eminently
practical. I have seen within the last year, in the suburbs
of a large city that was not provided with sewers at all,
where you would think the problem was a great deal more
complicated than in an ordinary country house, (it was, I may
say, in the city of Minneapolis,) a number of families that
had transformed their old-fashioned privies into earth-closet
arrangements. Dry earth was collected in the summer and
put into barrels (it was the dust of the road), and a barrel of
this dust was set in the old-fashioned establishment that they
had back of their houses. The material was dropped into a
wooden box, and once a year that was shoveled out, and
found perfectly innocuous by the farmer who took it away.
He said it was worth to him the cost of hauling. I have
known several cases in the country where the earth-closet has
been used successfully. The only trouble is the care that is
required to have dry dirt always on hand. That is liable to
be neglected.

Mr. — I have noticed that the removal of the filth
from the vaults in cities is very disagreeable. This may be
easily avoided. At my own home, the coal ashes are thrown
daily directly into the vault. The result is that in the spring,
when the vault is cleaned out to go out on the farm, there is
no odor; the men find no difficulty about it. Whether coal

1884. ] CIVILIZATION AND ITS WASTES. 281

ashes are of any value in themselves I do not know, but they
certainly remove all odor from the vault itself, so that there
is no trouble about the house.

Prof. Brewer. As a sanitary arrangement, that is com-
plete. It is an absorbent.

Mr. Wess. That is something within the reach of every
individual. Make your vaults shallow, put in your coal ashes,
and the vault will be kept perfectly sweet; you would not
know where it was. I find that my men would a great deal
rather take the material from there than from the manure
sheds.

Mr. We know that sewers are indispensable in
cities, but where the outlets from them run into our streams,
they are made very impure. I know a stream of water that
runs through a large number of farms, where a great many
cows are kept, and in warm weather that stream is offensive
for miles off. The cows have to drink that water, and I
don’t suppose it enhances the value of the milk. I don’t
believe Prof. Brewer can tell us what to do in such cases.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I feel that it would be almost pre-
sumption in me at this point to attempt to add a word to the
very able, instructive, and entertaining lecture by Mr. Olcott,
or to the words of these gentlemen, who have given this
matter so much careful and intelligent research, from whom
we have heard; but I will cite one instance to show that men
of scientific research, upon whose intelligence we uneducated
farmers depend so much, are sometimes at fault in this very
matter. I remember that in the early history of Meriden, it
was thought necessary and indispensable at one time to
appoint a board of health who should look into this matter of
house drainage which we have been considering this after-
noon. What was the result? It was this. All over the
city, people were required to drain into cess-pools, and in
many instances, where the drainage of the house ran upon
the surface and was rendered by the air and the soil to a
great extent almost utterly harmless, people were compelled

282 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

by order of this board of health to empty it into cess-pools
within six feet of their cellar walls. Now, Mr. Chairman, I
do not believe we can over-estimate the importance to our-
selves of this question. How can we stop this rush of
fertilizers to the sea, as Mr. Olcott has put it, or this danger
to human life, as these other gentlemen have put it,as well
as he? But I see the great importance of this matter and
the importance of some expression on the part of this con-
vention upon this subject, and I want to make this simple
motion, that the chair appoint a committee of three, who
shall draft a resolution to be offered at the meeting this even-
ing, expressing the opinion of this convention upon the
importance of this question and the importance of public
action upon it. As Prof. Brewer has told us, there must be
and there will be public action upon this subject. I think it
no more than fair to Connecticut that this body of most
intelligent gentlemen should express their opinion upon this
question.

This motion was carried, and the chair appointed the com-
mittee as follows: Messrs. Chamberlain of Meriden, Prof.
Brewer of New Haven, and Dr. Bowen of Woodstock.

Qurstion. How many bushels of corn can be raised per
acre, upon land too poor to raise anything but mulleins, by
using patent fertilizers alone ?

Mr. Ayre. I have raised with commercial fertilizers, or
chemicals, one hundred and forty bushels of ears of corn to
the acre on land that was too poor to grow mulleins.

Mr. Gotp. I think Mr. Hall of Wallingford raised on
those sandy plains over one hundred bushels of ears of corn
to the acre by commercial fertilizers alone. That land is
naturally too poor to grow anything.

Question. At what expense ?

Mr. Gotp. He had a very handsome percentage of profit.

Mr. CHamBeRLAIN. Will you tell us what the fertilizers
were /

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 283

Mr. Gotp. Mr. Hall was at that time in the dried fish
business largely, and I presume that dried fish was the
material principally used.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I was on Mr. Hall’s ground at the
time, and I asked Mr. Gold to state what the fertilizers were
that he used, for my own memory failed me in the matter.
I remember this, however, that he told me he used one ton
of dried kelp to the acre, besides a generous addition of his
own fertilizer.

Mr. Wess. Let me say on the kelp business, that every-
one who bought it did not consider it worth five cents a ton.

Dr. Jenkins. That question suggests another, and that is,
the method of cultivation. I should not be at all surprised
if the ton of kelp to the acre which was put on the Walling-
ford sand would be a better application for that land, with a
proper system of tillage, than a stiff dose of Peruvian guano.

Question. Will some one give his experience in planting
chestnuts for timber ?

Mr. Sxiuton of Morris. In the town where I reside, some
fifty or fifty-five years ago, a man took it into his head to see
what he could do with chestnuts. He ploughed up a piece of
ten acres and sowed it with chestnuts. Last year, that piece
of timber was sold to a man to cut off the wood for ties. He
got some times seven ties from a tree. He cut off two
thousand from less than half of it, and took the poorer part.
There are trees now remaining, as he told me this week, that
are eighteen inches to two feet through at the butt—nice,
straight, chestnut trees.

Prof. Brewer. In what part of the State was that ?

Mr. Sxitton. That was in the town of Morris, bordering
on Bantam Lake. ;

Mr. Aucur. What was the value of that land before it
was planted ?

Mr. Sxitton. The land adjoining that, which is nearly of
the same character, is worth not to exceed twenty dollars an

284 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

acre to-day. »Probably that land adjoining, which is in pasture,
may have deterioated since that was sold.

Question. What is the best method of ice calkings for
horses ?

Mr. Oucorr. I have used for twelve years the screw calker
which you have seen on the table. I have made one pair of
shoes last four years. I have three or four horses shod in
that way. When I want them to go sharp, it does not take
a long while to get ready. Otherwise, I might have to go to
the shop and lose considerable time.

Mr. WETHERELL. Whether or not there is a tendency to
ball up ?
_ Mr. Otcotr. We have that trouble with any shoe that I
know of. I don’t know that it is any worse in that respect
than any other method of shoeing.

Question. What can we sow in spring to replace the usual
hay crop, when, owing to the drought, our meadows are not
producing as much hay as before ?

Mr. Goxtp. Sowed corn, millet, or Hungarian grass,
according to the soil and conditions, will furnish a supply of
fodder in almost any part of Connecticut. Sowed corn I
should prefer to sow in drills; millet, or Hungarian grass, I
should sow broadcast.

Mr. Wesster. What distance apart would you have the
corn in the rows?

Mr. Gop. We could spend all the rest of the evening
discussing the methods of raising sowed corn and the advant-
ages of this, that, and the other method. I prefer to put it
in rows from three to four feet apart, and not over three
pecks of seed to the acre, that small ears may grow upon the
stalks, and that there may be perfectly healthy plants to
feed, rather than plants with small and stunted leaves, that
never even send out a tassel.

Mr. WeETHERELL. Whether fodder corn is not more
valuable to raise for milch cows than Hungarian grass?

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 285

Mr. GoLtp. Under certain conditions, we can get three
tons of Hungarian grass to the acre, cure it and put it in our
barns as cheaply as we can get an acre of hay grown upon
our fields; but under other conditions, the Hungarian grass
will be an entire failure. Hungarian grass requires well-
tilled, finely-pulverized, warm soil, free from weeds and other
obstructions, and to be sown late in June, after the weather
gets warm, and then it will make a rapid and satisfactory
growth, from a ton and a half to three tons per acre, that can
be cut with a mowing machine and cured as readily as hay,
and it will make hay of the most nutritious kind for animals.

Mr. Wess. I will say one word in regard to that. If a
man finds that he is going to be short of hay and wants to
help himself out, he can do as I did last spring: turn over a
piece of ground and sow Hungarian grass. I have raised
three crops the past season on the same ground, sowing my
oats early in April, manuring thoroughly, cutting the oats
as soon as the heads commence to show; then turn the
stubble over immediately and sow it to Hungarian grass,
putting on another coat of special fertilizers; the Hungarian
grass will mature sufficiently early so that you can cut that
and sow a crop of turnips. In that way you can get a large
quantity of first-class food for your stock. With a long
season, you can get perhaps more food by a crop of sowed
corn, dried well, and which will help to fill up.

Mr. CuHampBerLain. I would like to endorse what the
Secretary has said respecting the nutritive value of Hun-
garian hay. I regard it as one of the most nutritious of the
plants that we can cultivate. I think it discounts the best
English hay that we can raise or make, and it grows very
quick. Mr. Webb told me that he harvested his Hungarian
crop in forty-two days from the time he sowed it. This can
be done at any period after the ground gets sufficiently warm
to give it a quick and luxuriant growth. I think Mr. Webb’s
suggestion in regard to sowing oats a very good one, because
we can get the oats off about the time the ground gets
sufficiently warm to put in our Hungarian grass. It is a

286 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

remarkably available crop. As Mr. Webb says, if you find
you are going to be very short, after you have taken off a
piece of early potatoes, early peas, or anything of that sort,
you can easily raise a crop of Hungarian hay afterwards. I
cultivated some three or four acres the present year. That
which I sowed early matured in forty-five days, so that I cut
it when I thought it was just right to cut. I cut it just before
it comes into seeding. I think we should be careful not to
allow it to seed, because, of all grasses, I think this is most
injured by ripening. I question whether it is altogether
healthful food for cattle or horses after the seed is formed;
but, on an acre of ground, I produced nearly four tons of
perfectly dried Hungarian hay, and the ground was not very
highly manured. After I had taken off a crop of peas, I put
Hungarian seed on that ground; the drought affected it very
seriously, but still I got a good crop. I believe Hungarian
grass to be superior to millet; it makes more palatable food,
and is not so harsh for the animal’s mouth. Millet is a little
woody after it is dried, and I think not so nutritious.

The CHatrman. I would say in this connection, that I
have found in the eastern part of the State a great mistake’
on the part of farmers. They think that because Hungarian
grass will grow in forty-two days, they can sow three or four
crops a year. As I understand it, it should not be sown until
alter the first of June, when the ground is thoroughly warm.

Mr. CHamBerLain. I have known two crops to be grown
with fair success; the first crop being an excellent one, the
second, a fair crop.

QuestTION. How much seed do you sow to the acre?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. I sowed on this acre just about three
pecks, which made it quite thick.

Quustion. What is the best variety of corn to be sowed
for fodder corn?

Mr. Gotp. White Southern corn. It is preferable to the
Western corn, and to any variety that we raise here with
which I am familiar. I have found that every kernel of

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 287

thoroughly ripened corn from Delaware, or somewhere down
there, would grow, which is very rare, in my experience, with
Western corn.

Mr. WETHERELL. Has the Secretary tried any of the large
varieties of sweet corn for that purpose?

Mr. Gop. Yes, sir, in small quantities ; but the difficulty
in growing seed of the Evergreen corn and other varieties is
such that in our section of the State we should rarely get
enough of it to make sure of a crop.

Mr. WETHERELL. My farmer finds that sweet corn gives
better results than any other kind of corn as feed for stock.

Mr. Wess. I raise but one kind of corn for sowing and
for the grain. I have what is called “the Pennsylvania
Dent.” It is a yellow corn, with a white cob.

Mr. Wessrer. In my experience, the fodder grown from
sweet corn has been the best I ever knew.

Mr. Root. Ihave heard in this Convention that gentle-
men can raise one hundred bushels of shelled corn to the
acre. Which is the more valuable, that one hundred bushels
of shelled corn with the fodder, or a crop of sowed corn, on
the same ground ?

Mr. Wess. My sowed corn is planted in rows about three
feet and six inches apart, and from four to six grains in a
hill, so that it will ear to some extent. From a little experi-
ence I had this fall, I am going to try two sowings. First, I
will set my machine so that it will plant once in four feet, about
four kernels, three feet and a half apart. Two weeks after-
wards, I will set it so it will sow between the existing rows.
In that way, by accident, I got a second crop, one above the
other, and I got a very large proportion of ears from the first
sowing; the other tasseled out and made very excellent feed.
I have never had anything that would produce so much milk,
fed green, as that. It happened accidentally, but the result
was so satisfactory, that Iam going to try it again, as an
experiment.

288 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

- Mr. Roor. My inquiry has not been answered. I want to
find out which will pay best, the shelled corn or the sowed
corn?

Mr. Wess. I can tell you—that which you need most. I
used both. I have raised about six tons and a half of dried
fodder; I have raised twenty-six tons of green ; in the dried state
it produced, I think, about six tons. Properly made and pro-
perly cared for, that is equal to hay, although perhaps it is not
generally so considered. I have a milk dairy, and sowed
corn, ton for ton, will be equally profitable with hay.

Mr. Goutp. In answer to Mr. Root’s question, I will say
that I tried, this season, this experiment. I sowed, with a
machine, two fields of about seven acres each. All the land
was prepared in the same way. The first half of each field,
we drilled in about half a bushel of corn to the acre, in rows
four feet apart. The other half of the field we made the
rows three feet apart, and drilled in about a bushel to the
acre. This was done in both fields, putting the sowed corn
upon the poorest part of each field. We cultivated both fields
almost entirely by horse power, with the cultivator and plow,
going over both parts with the hoe, very lightly, once. The
sowed corn was cut up and fed green; the small surplus
being fed dry to the cattle. Of course, the labor was very
much less upon that than upon the other. I am unable to
say which part of the field was most profitable; but, as Mr.
Webb says, the profit depends upon which kind of feed you
want most. I wanted sowed corn at that season, and I raised
it by drilling three feet apart, and with very little culture,
except by the horse. I wanted the grain, and I got that from
the part planted four feet apart, and with very little hand
culture.

QuesTION. Has any one used bone dust to any extent on
grass land, and for other crops?

Mr. Hauer. Our farm of about forty acres, devoted to
small fruits, has been manured almost wholly for the past ten
years with raw, ground bone, and muriate of potash—depend-

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 289

ing largely upon the bone. We have taken poor, worn-out
land, apparently, some of which was so poor that it did not
produce five bushels of rye to the acre, and built it up into
very productive land for a fruit garden, wholly upon raw,
ground bone and muriate of potash.

The CHarrmaN. What quantity do you use to an acre?

Mr. Hatz. We use more, perhaps, than would pay for
ordinary farm crops. We have used 1,000, 1,200, and even
1,500 pounds to the acre of bone alone, and as high as 500
pounds of potash.

Mr. A. J. Wuirttesey. I would like to ask Mr. Hale,
whether he used the dry bone or the wet ?

Mr. Hats. For a number of years we used fine-ground,
raw bone, dry, perhaps twenty per cent., as fine as flour, the
balance coarser grades. For the last three years, we have
been using very fine bone, which we obtain from Rogers &
Co., at Meriden, and which costs twenty-five dollars a ton.
This is more readily available than coarser bone, and we have
found it very satisfactory indeed.

Mr. Aucur. We have used the same article to which Mr.
Hale alludes. There is considerable moisture in it some-
times, but often it gets reasonably dry, we have used it on
our peach orchards, considerably, and we think favorably of
it. Ido not know that we have used it quite as largely as
Mr. Hale. I should say from six to eight hundred pounds to
the acre, perhaps every other year.

Mr. WessterR. Is this sowed on the surface or plowed
under?

Mr. Aucur. We have usually sowed it broadcast and
cultivated it in.

Mr. Sepewick. I would like to say, in connection with
Mr. Hale’s remark, that if farmers can buy fine-ground bone
for twenty-five dollars a ton, they better run in debt and buy
all they can get. Itis the cheapest fertilizer at that price

that I know of.
19

290 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Mr. Aucur. This is damp bone, containing something
over twenty-five per cent. of moisture.

Mr. Sepewick. Bone in New York is worth twenty-eight
dollars a ton before it is ground, and if any farmer can buy
fine-ground bone for twenty-five dollars a ton, it is a great
investment. ;

Prof. CLark of Amherst. We have used bone, potash, and
sulphate of magnesia for our peach trees, and the color they
gaye to the fruit was astonishing. We sold our peaches, in
some cases, for a dollar a basket more than we could if they
had not been so handsomely colored. We put two tons of
pone, a ton of potash, and five hundred pounds of sulphate of
magnesia, on about twelve acres.

Adjourned to evening.

EVENING SESSION.

The closing session of the Convention was called to order
at half-past seven o’clock, by Mr. Barstow, and a paper was
read by Leander Wetherell of Boston, on ‘“‘ Gardening and
Fruit Growing.”

The question box with miscellaneous questions occupied an
hour.

Mr. Hype. I do not appear here as a commercial traveler
nor an advertising agent, but a little matter was placed in my
hands last night, with an earnest request from a personal
friend that at some convenient opportunity I would present
it to this meeting. It is a tree protector, which is said to be
a protection against all the insects which infest our forest and
fruit trees, with the exception, perhaps, of the curculio, which
is a winged insect. I will leave the article upon the desk, so
that it may be examined by any gentleman who has a desire
todo so. It is simply a rubber band, filled with ordinary
pins. It is said that it is impossible for any of the insects to
pass them. I have nothing more to say in regard to the
article. Ihave been told that the Secretary has had some
experience with it.

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 291

Mr. Goup. There is one hanging up in my office, and I
believe that it will prove quite an efficient protector against
the canker worm. Ido not see why it will not, and, asa
cheap and efficient protector, it is commended.

Mr. WETHERELL. What is the cost ?

Mr. Goutp. It cannot cost much. I think about twenty-
five cents a yard. It is elastic and durable. I do not see
how the canker worm, or any other insect, can pass it, unless
it is provided with wings to fly around it.

Mr. Hypr. [would add that the gentleman who gave it
to me said he had given it a fair trial last season, and not a
tree was infested with insects that had this protector upon it,,
while all the others were.

Question. Has any one present had experience with
artesian wells?

Mr. Gotp. An artesian well was begun in New Haven;
and, after it had been bored about 2,000 feet, the augur got
stuck, and they have got to contrive some way to release it.

Mr. Sxitton. One has been driven in this city. I have
not seen it.

Question. Will it pay the farmers of Connecticut to go
to raising sorghum? How many gallons of syrup does Mr.
Gold raise per acre, and what is the cost of making it?

Mr. Gotp. Sorghum will produce according to the success
of the culture, and the quality of the land, anywhere up to
three hundred gallons per acre, upon good Connecticut soil.
If well cultivated, itis a paying crop. If not, it is a poorly
remunerative product, in my estimation and experience.

Mr. WETHERELL. What is the syrup worth by the gallon?

Mr. Gotp. Well, sir, it is worth to the farmer the price
of a good article for sweetening that he would buy in the
market. It is a more than ordinarily good article for the
manufacture of gingerbread, and for use in the common
kinds of cooking in the family. It compares favorably with
New Orleans molasses in that respect, which is a higher grade

292 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

of molasses, but its quality will depend very much upon the
quality of the cane. We have not got into the habit of
utilizing the seed, of which a fair crop produces from twenty-
five to thirty bushels to the acre, in this climate.

Mr. WETHERELL. How does the value of the seed com-
pare with oats?

Mr. Goup. It is said to be worth as much per pound as
oats as food for cattle, poultry, swine, or any other purpose.

Question. Can the Canada thistle be exterminated? If
so, how ? ‘

Mr. A. J. Haywarp. Don’t let it breathe, and that will
kill it. It breathes through its foliage. Don’t let it make
any foliage.

QuesTIoN. Mr. Hale says pistillate strawberries are the
most productive. Is this so? What is the experience of
others?

Mr. Gotp. The so-called scientific men of the country
knew nothing, for a long time, about the fact that there were
staminate and pistillate strawberries. It is said that an old
market-woman in Cincinnati was wonderfully successful in
filling the market with very fine fruit, and she had discovered
that by planting staminate and pistillate plants, she could
raise strawberries of a quality that distanced all her com-
petitors. It was asserted by fruit men that there was nothing
in the supposed whims of this old woman. I believe it is
admitted now that the theory is true.

Mr. Aucur. Just a word in regard to pistillate varieties.
At Philadelphia, one gentleman from Minnesota said he
would not plant any strawberry, except those that had perfect
flowers, but I think many will differ from him in regard to
that. Pistillate strawberries are quite productive if planted
by the side of a perfect flowering variety. Many of our
pistillate varieties are extremely desirable ; still, if a person
can have but one variety, he better have one of the perfect
flowering varieties.

1884. | QUESTIONS. 293

Question. Can the Canada thistle be exterminated by
heavy manuring ?

Mr. Day. In order to exterminate the Canada thistle
thoroughly, cut it close to the ground at the time that it is in
full bloom. They do not all flower at the same time, and you
may have to go over the field two or three times; but by
cutting it at that time, you may be certain of exterminating
it. I have done it.

Mr. Britt. That is rather an important matter, for the
Canada thistle has got a strong foothold throughout the State
of Connecticut. I have traveled in Canada, where I have
seen thousands of acres entirely ruined. I found acre upon
acre of lands that I purchased, covered with Canada thistles.
I have entirely driven them from my land by cutting them at
the time of blossoming. You may not do it the first time,
but follow it up two or three years, and you will drive them
from your lands.

Mr. WerTHERELL. I will mention a case where that plan
did not succeed. My grandfather was in the habit of cutting
a patch of thistles every year, and was very particular about
cutting them at the righttime. He practiced that all through
my boyhood, and the thistles were in the pasture when I left
the farm, right in that same spot.

Mr. Hate. I think if the gentleman will put a little hand-
ful of salt around the stump, he will get rid of them easily.

Mr. Aucur. Prof. Brewer, two or three years since, made
this statement: that if Canada thistles were cut the twenty-
fifth of June and the twenty-fifth of September, each year,
they would not need cutting but a very few times, and it
would certainly kill them.

Prof. Brewer. I said that a man sold the secret through
central New York, some years ago, for ten dollars. His rule
was to cut them the twenty-fifth of June and the twenty-fifth
of September. I believe he stated that the time to cut them
was just as they were coming into blossom.

Mr.

One season will do it, if you keep constantly

294 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

at it. Cut them off every time they show their heads, and
one summer will destroy your Canada thistles. I have had
much experience with them, and know this to be a fact.

Mr. The father of Mr. Scoville had a piece of
Canada thistles that extended into his garden from the street.
He ploughed the piece repeatedly, week after week, and
sowed corn, and let his hogs root it over, and they would eat
the thistle roots as deep as they could dig them. After
practicing this method four or five years, he thought he had
exterminated them. This must have been over seventy years
ago. If you go up the street to-day, you will find Canada
thistles on that very ground. His son has endeavored to
exterminate them, but there they are, and they will stay
there as long as this earth remains.

Mr. Hype. I believe that Canada thistles thrive on some
soils as they do not on others. I havea little patch of Canada
thistles, that I cut three times a year: I don’t know that I
have diminished them, but they do not increase.

Mr. Hunt. If you will cut them just before they blossom,
and, if possible, just before a rain, too or three cuttings will,
almost invariably kill them.

Question. Will Mr. Meech give the history of the quinces
upon the table, and tell us how they can be kept so as to
preserve the color ?

Mr. Merecu. The history of those’ quinces is involved in
some obscurity. An old gentleman, early in the settlement
of Vineland, came from Hartford to that place, and having
had a quince tree in his grounds, he brought it along, and
put out cuttings in a little corner of his yard. 1 purchased
twenty-five little trees of him, which I set out. I cultivated
them until the trees began to bear, and then I found that I
had a rare treasure in the old man’s trees. That is all I can
tell you in regard to the history. The method of preserving
them is one of great simplicity. I arrived at it after trying
a number of methods. It is nothing but salt and water, and
it preserves specimens better than anything I have been able

1884. ] QUESTIONS. 295

to find. Just dissolve as much salt as the water will hold,
put in your specimens, and keep them covered. You can
preserve any fruit you desire by covering it with brine as salt
as salt will make it.

Mr. A disease has appeared in apples in Hartford
county, consisting of specks or spots of brown, of various
sizes, spreading from the blossom end, and finally destroying
the fruit. Has any one any light to throw upon this matter?

Mr. Aucur. I have no doubt that is a disease of a fungus
nature, but what the remedy is | am unable to say.

Col. WarneR. I would like to ask Mr. Augur what his
remedy is for the maggot? All the early varieties of apples
in my section were ruined last year and this year by the
maggot.

Mr. Avcur. At the meeting of the American Pomological
Society at Philadelphia, I asked Prof. Rogers that same
question, as I did not know of any remedy myself. He said
that the only remedy he could suggest was keeping animals
in the orchard, to pick up the falling fruit. I think it possible
that, if some insecticide were applied at the right time it
might be effectual, but I do not feel sufficiently familiar with
the habits of the worm.to answer that question.

Col. Warner. I have kept hogs in my orchard for years ;
they eat every apple that falls, but the evil is not remedied.
The inside of the apples that fall is full of little yellow streaks,
where a worm or insect of some kind has run all through.
Sweet apples are especially affected by it, and early apples
are entirely ruined.

Mr. Gotp: Iconsider it the most threatening pest at pres-
ent to apple culture in the State of Connecticut. I am troubled
with it in my orchards.

Col. Warner. In the orchard where I keep hogs I have no
canker worms whatever, but the hogs have not stopped the
maggot.

Mr. Hype. My experience has been very similar to that
of Col. Warner. My entire crop of apples has been ruined by

296 "BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

the maggot. We are not troubled in our section with the
canker worm.

Mr. WessterR. Where I kept my sheep last season there is
an orchard, and not a canker worm was found in that orchard ;
but all my apple trees outside of that pasture where the sheep
were were eaten bare.

Question. What is the cause of horses gnawing boards in
the stable ?

Dr. BowEn. My idea is that it indicates a condition of the
anial analogous to that of cattle who gnaw bones, and the
same remedy will apply theré that we generally find efficacious
with our cattle—a liberal feeding of bran with their regular
rations. If the gentleman who asks the question will try that,
as I have tried it and known others to try it, he will find that
his horses will not trouble him in that way any longer.

Mr. WesstEr. I have two horses. I mean to feed them
well. I feed in the morning two quarts of wheat bran, and
two quarts of meal a day, and give each of them four quarts of
oats and a little hay—nothing in the middle of the day. But
they eat my mangers badly.

Dr. Bowen. I think they ought to if you givethem nothing
in the middle of the day.

Mr. Wesster. I have got as good a pair of horses as you
ever owned. If you have got a horse that will travel with
either one of mine, I will give you $300 for him.

Dr. Bowen. I think it is a mistake to feed a horse but
twice aday. With cattle it is different. A horse has a very
small stomach, holding but sixteen quarts, and when you con-
sider the thousand pounds that is to be sustained upon what
is put into that stomach, it would seem that feeding twice a
day was not sufficient. If you change your feed, I think it
will make a difference.

Mr. Wesster. Some people have an idea that if horses
gnaw their mangers they are cribbing horses. I never owned
a cribbing horse.

1884.] QUESTIONS. 3 297

Prof. Brewer. The Chairman of the Committee appointed
to consider what action should be taken in reference to the
pollution of streams and other waters of the State requests
me to present a resolution. I will say in explanation that a
law has been proposed, which, although not passed, is printed
with the proposed laws in the Public Acts of the State of Con-
necticut for 1882, which seems to cover the ground of what
must first be done. I will read the Act, and then read the
resolution.

This proposed Act covers the ground for an investigation.
There must be an investigation and inquiry beforehand, in
order that we may have intelligent legislation. In my opinion,
this is a growing evil. The committee therefore recommend
to this Convention the following resolution : .

Resolved, That this Convention recommend the next Legis-
lature to pass the law already proposed and printed with the
Public Acts of the State of Connecticut, passed January Ses-
sion, 1882, entitled “‘ An Act to establish a generai commis-
sion for investigating the pollution of streams and other
waters,” or a law which shall be equivalent to the above pro-
posed Act.

This resolution was passed unanimously.

Mr. Kirknam. We have asked our Legislature to pass the
bill that has been read, or something similar, but we have no
one to do the business. Legislatures are not easily moved.
Therefore, I move that C. E. Owens of Hartford, J. B. Olcott
of South Manchester, aud L. S. Wells of New Britain be a
committee to present the subject of pollution of streams to our
next Legislature.

Prof. Brewer seconded the motion, and it was passed.

se
298 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jvn.,

The following paper, by Mrs. Rose Terry Cooke, was read
by the Secretary :

THE TWO MRS. TUCKERS.
By Mrs. Rose Terry Cooke.

“You can make the fire while I put the hoss out,” said Amasa
Tucker, as he opened the back door of a gray house, set on top of
a treeless hill, tracked here and there with the paths the geese had
made in their daily journeys to the pond below, and only approached
at the back by a lane to the great red barn, and a rickety board
gate set between two posts of the rail fence.

This was Wealthy Ann Tucker’s home-coming. She had mar-
ried Amasa that morning at her father’s house in Stanton, a little
village twenty miles away from Peet’s Mills, the town within whose
wide limits lay the Tucker farm; and had come home with him this
early spring-afternoon in the old wagon, behind the bony horse
that did duty for Amasa’s family carriage.

Mrs. Tucker was a tall, thin, young woman, with a sad reticent
face, very silent and capable; these last traits had been her chief
recommendation to her husband. There was no sentiment about
the matter. Old Mrs. Tucker had died two weeks before this
marriage, but Amasa was “ forehanded,” and knowing his mother
could not live long, had improved his opportunities and been
‘“‘sparkin’” Wealthy Ann Miner all winter, in judicious provision
for the coming event of his solitude.

He had thought the thing all over, and concluded that a wife
was cheaper than a hired girl, and more permanent; so when he
found this alert, firm-jointed, handy girl living at her uncle’s,
who was a widower on a great farm on the other side of the vil-
lage, Amasa made her acquaintance as soon as possible, and pro-
ceeded to further intimacy. Wealthy liked better to work for her
uncle than for a step-father with six children, but she thought it
would be better still to have a house of her own; so she agreed to
marry Amasa Tucker, and this was her home-coming.

She opened the door into a dingy room with an open fire-place
at one end, a window on the north and one on the south side, small,
paned with old, green, and imperfect glass, and letting in but just
enough light to work by. One corner, to the north, was parti-
tioned off to make a pantry, and a door by the fire-place led out

1884.) THE TWO MRS. TUCKERS. ~ 249

into the wood-shed. The front of the house contained two rooms.
One opened into the kitchen and was a bedroom, furnished sparsely
enough; the other was a parlor, with high-backed, rush-bottomed
chairs against the wall, a round table in the middle, a fire-place
with brass-andirons, and fire-irons, a family Bible on the table, and
a ‘‘mourning-piece” painted in ground hair on the mantel. Green
paper shades and white cotton, curtains, a rag carpet, fresh as it
came from the loom—if its dinginess could ever be called fresh—
and a straight-backed sofa covered with green and yellow glazed
chintz, made as dreary an apartment as could well be imagined.
Wealthy shut the door behind her quickly, and went to the shed
for material to make her fire. It was almost sundown, and she
was hungry; but she found only the scantiest supply of wood,
and a few dry chips for kindling. However, she did her best, and
she had brought some provisions from home, so that she managed
to lay out a decent supper on the rickety table, by the time Amasa
came stamping in from the barn.

He looked disapprovingly at the pie, the biscuit, the shaved beef,
and the jelly set before him.

‘‘T hope ye ain’t a waster, Wealthy,” he growled.

“There’s vittles enough fur a township and the’ ain’t but two
of us.”

“Well, our folks sent ’em over; and you no need to eat ’em,”
she answered, cheerily.

‘“T ain’t goin’ to; don’t ye break into that jell, set it by; some-
time or nuther somebody may be a comin’ here, and you'll
want it.”

Wealthy said no more; they made their supper of biscuit and
beef, for the pie also was ordered “set by.”

She was used to economy, but not to stinginess, and she excused
this extreme thrift in her husband more easily for the reason she
had been always poor, and she knew very well that he was not rich
to say the least. But it was only the beginning.

Hard as Wealthy had worked at her uncle’s, here she found
harder burdens; she had to draw and fetch all the water she used
from an old-fashioned well with a heavy sweep; picturesque to see,
but wearisome to use; wood was scarce, fer though enough grew
on the hundred acres that Amasa owned, he grudged its use.

“T shan’t cut down no more than is reely needful,” he said, when
she urged him to fetch her a load; ‘“wood’s allers a growin’ when

300 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

ye don’t cut it, and a makin’ for lumber; and lumber’s better to sell,
a sight, than cord-wood. Ye must git along somehow with brush;
mother used to burn next to nothin’.”’

She did not remind him that his mother was bent double with
rheumatism, and died of the fifth attack of pneumonia. Wealthy
never wasted words.

Then there were eight cows to milk, the milk to strain, set, skim,
churn or make into cheese, and nothing but the simplest utensils
to do with. A cloth held over the edge of the pail served fora
strainer; the pails themselves were heavy wood, the pans old, and
some of them leaky, the holes stopped with bits of rag, often to
be renewed; the milk room was in the shed, built against the
chimney that it might not freeze there in winter, and only aired
by one slatted window; the churn was an old wooden one with a
dasher, and even the “spaddle ” with which she worked her butter
was whittled out of a maple knot by Amasa himself, and was
heavy and rough.

Then to her belonged the feeding of the pigs—gaunt, lean ani-
mals with sharp snouts, ridgy backs, long legs and thin flanks,
deep-set eyes that gleamed with intelligent malice, and never-sated
hunger. Wealthy grew almost afraid of them when they clamb-
ered up on the rails of the pen in their fury for food and flapped
their pointed ears at her, squealing and fighting for the scanty fare
that she brought. For Amasa underfed and overworked every-
thing that belonged to him.

Then there were hens to look after—the old-fashioned barn
door *‘creepers,’’ who wanted food too, and yet catered for them-
selves in great measure, and made free with barn and woodshed,
for want of their own quarters, and were decimated every season
by hawks, owls, skunks, weasels, and foxes, to say nothing of the
little chickens on which crows and cats worked their will, if they
dared to stray beyond the ruinous old coop contrived for them by
Amasa’s inventive genius out of sticks and stones.

Add to all this the cooking, washing, baking, and sewing, the
insufficient supply of pork, potatoes, and tough pies, the ‘“b’iled
dinners” whose strength lay in the vegetables, rather than the
small square of fat pork cooked with them, of which Amasa inva-
riably took the lion’s share: these accumulating and never ceasing
labors all wore day by day on the vitality of Mrs. Tucker, and

1884. ] THE TWO MRS. TUCKERS. 301

when to these were added an annual baby, life became a terror and
a burden to the poor woman.

But what did Amasa care? He too, worked from “sun to
sun.”

He farmed in the hard old fashion, with rude implements and no
knowledge but— '

‘‘ My father done it afore me so I’m a goin’ to do it now; no use
talking.” One by one the wailing puny children were laid away
in the little yard on top of a sandhill, where the old Tuckers and
their half-dozen infants lay already: a rough inclosure full of mul-
leins, burdocks, and thistles, overrun with low blackberry vines
and surrounded by a rail fence. It had been much handier for
the Tuckers to have a grave-yard close by than to travel five miles
to the Mills with every funeral: and they were not driven by pub-
lic opinion in regard to monuments; they all lay there like the
beasts that perish, with but one scant grey stone to tell where the
first occupant left his tired bones. Two children of Wealthy’s sur-
vived, Amasa and Lurana, the oldest and youngest of seven.

Amasa, a considerate, intelligent boy, who thought much and
said little, and Lurana or “Lury” as her name was generally
given, a mischievous, self-willed little imp, the delight and torment
of her worn-out mother. Young Amasa was a boy quite beyond
his father’s understanding; as soon as he was old enough he began
to help his mother in every way he could devise. And when his
term at the village school was over, to his father’s great disgust,
he trapped squirrels and gathered nuts enough to earn his own
money and subscribe for an agricultural paper, which he studied
every week till its contents were thoroughly stored in his head.
Then began that ‘noble discontent” which the philosophers
praise.

The elder man ‘had no peace in his old-world ways; the sloppy
waste of the barn-yard was an eye-sore to this ‘‘book-learned fel-
ler,” as his father derisively called him. And the ashes of the
wood-fire were saved and sheltered like precious dust, instead of
thrown into a big heap to edify the wandering hens. The deso-
late garden was plowed, fertilized and set in order at last, and the
great ragged orchard manured, the apple trees thinned and
trimmed, and ashes sown thick over the old mossy sod. Now
these things were not done in a day or a year, but as the boy grew
older and more able to cope with his father’s self-conceit more was

302 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

done annually, not without much opposition and many hard
words, but still done.

Then came a heavy blow. Lurana, a girl of fifteen, fresh and
pretty as a wild rose, and tired of the pinching economy, the
monotonous work and grinding life of the farm, ran away with a
tin peddler, and broke her mother’s heart; not in the physical sense
that hearts are sometimes broken, but the weary woman’s soul was
set on this bright, winsome child, and her life lost all its scant
savor when the blooming face and clear young voice left her
forever. .

“‘T don’t blame her none, Amasy,” she sobhed out to her boy,
now a stout fellow of twenty-two, raging at his sister’s folly.

“T can’t feel to blame her. I know ’tis more’n a girl can bear
to live this way. I’ve had to, but it’s been dreadful hard—dread-
ful hard! I’ve wished more’n once I could ha’ laid down along
with the little babies out there on the hill, so’s to rest a spell; but
there was you and Lury wanted me, and so my time hadn’t come.

‘«« Amasy, you’re a man grown now, and if you should get mar-
ried, and I s’pose you will—men folks seem to think it’s need-
ful, whether or no——-do kinder make it easy for her, poor cretur!
Don’t grind her down to skin and bone like me, dear; ‘tant just
right, I’m sure on't, never to make no more of a woman than ef
she was a horned crittur; don’t do it.”

‘‘Mother, I never will!” answered the son, as energetically and
solemnly as if he were taking his oath.

But Wealthy was nearer to her rest than she knew; the enemy
that lurks in dirt, neglect, poor food, constant drudgery, and the
want of every wholesome and pleasurable excitement to mind and
body, and when least expected swoops down and does its fatal
errand in the isolated farm-house no less than in the crowded city
slums, the scourge of New England, typhoid fever, broke out in
the Tucker homestead.

Wealthy turned away from her weekly baking one Saturday
morning just as the last pie was set on the broad pantry shelf, and
fainted on the kitchen floor, where Amasa the younger found her
an hour after, muttering, delirious, and cold.

What he could do then, or the village doctor, or an old woman,
who called herself a nurse, was all useless; but the best skill of any
kind would have been equally futile; she was never conscious again
for a week; then her eyes seemed to see what was about her once

1884. ] THE TWO MRS. TUCKERS. 308

more; she looked up at her boy, laid her wan cheek on her hand,
smiled—and died.

Hardly had her wasted shape been put away under the mulleins
and hard hack, when her husband came in from the hayfield smit-
ten with the same plague. He was harder to conquer. Three
weeks of alternate burning, sinking, raving, and chills, ended at
last in the grey and grim repose of death for him, and another
Amasa Tucker reigned alone in the old house on the hill.

It is not to be supposed that in all these years Amasa the younger
had been blind to the charms of the other sex; he had not ‘ been
with ” every girl who went to school with him, or whom he met
at singing schools or spelling matches, or who smiled at him from
her Sunday bonnet as he manfully “ held up his end” in the vil-
lage choir.

He had been faithful always to the shy, delicate, dark-eyed little
girl who was his school sweetheart, and now it was to Mary Peet
he hastened to ask her to share his ife and home. He had in-
tended to take a farm on shares the next summer, and work his
way slowly upward toa place of his own; now he had this hun-
dred acre farm, and to his great surprise he found $3,000 laid up
in the bank at Peet’s Mills, the slow savings of his father’s fifty
years. He began at once to set his house in ordet; he longed to
build a new one, but Mary’s advice restrained him, so he did his
best with this. The cellar he cleared and whitewashed with his
own hands; cleaned its one begrimed window and set two more,
so that it was sweet and light; the house was scrubbed from one
end to the other; a bonfire made of the old dirty comfortables and
quilts; the kitchen repainted a soft yellow, and new windows, with
clear, large glass, set in place of the dingy old sashes; the wood-
house was filled with dry wood and a good store of pine cones and
chopped brush for kindling. A new milk room was built, but a
little way from the back door, over a tiny brook that ran down the
hill north of the house, and under the slatted floor kept up a cool
draught of fresh air; a covered passage connected it with the
kitchen, and a door into the old milk room made of that a conven-
ient pantry, while the removal of the old one from the kitchen
corner gave to that apartment more room, air, and light. A new
stove, with a set boiler, filled up the hearth of the old fireplace;
but further improvements Amasa left for Mary.

A different home-coming from his mother’s she had indeed, on

304 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

just such a spring day as Wealthy came there. The kitchen shone
clean and bright, a bowl of pink arbutus blossoms made its atmos-
phere freshly sweet, and the fire was laid ready for her to light,
the shining teakettle filled, and the pantry held such stores as
Amasa’s masculine knowledge of household wants could suggest;
flour, butter, eggs, sugar, all were in abundance, and no feast of
royalty ever gave more pleasure to its most honored guest than the
hot biscuit Mary made and baked for their supper, the stewed dried
apples, the rich old cheese, and the fragrant tea gave Amasa this
happy evening. Next day they took their wedding trip to Peet's
Mills in the new and sensible farm wagon Amasa had just bought,
with a strong spirited horse to draw it.

«T want you should look around, Mary,” he had said the night
before, ‘‘and see what is needful here. I expect most everything
is wanting, and we can’t lay out for finery. But first of all get
what'll make your work easy. Your wedding present will come
along to-morrow; to-day we'll buy necessities.”

Mrs. Peet had not sent her only girl empty handed to the new
house. A good mattress, two pairs of blankets, fresh, light com-
fortables, and some cheap neat white spreads; a set of gay crockery,
a clock, and‘a roll of bright ingrain carpeting had all come to the
farmhouse soon after the bride’s arrival; her ample supply of
sheets and pillow-cases, strong towels, and a few tablecloths had
been sent the day before, so this sort of thing was not needed; but
there was a new churn bought, and altogether new furnishings for
the dairy, several modern inventions to make the work of a woman
easier, a set of chairs, a table, and an easy lounge for the parlor,
some cretonne covered with apple blossoms and white thorn clus-
ters, and pails, brooms, and tin-ware that would have made
Wealthy a happy woman, crowded the over-full wagon before
they turned homeward.

The old house began to smile and blossom under this new dis-
pensation, and the new mistress smiled too.

Amasa milked the cows for her, and lifted the heavy pails of
milk to strain into the bright new pans; he filled the woodbox by ~
the stove twice a day, put a patent pump into the old well, and, as
it stood above the house, ran a pipe down into a sink set in the
wood-shed, and so put an end to the drawing and carrying of
water.

1884.] THE TWO MRS. TUCKERS. 305

The fat, round, placid pigs, that now enjoyed themselves in the
new pen, he took care of himself.

«“? Tant work for women folks,” he said.

“You've got enough to do, Mary; there’s the garden you'll have
an eye on, and the chickens, if youre a mind to; I’m going to
build a hen-house and a yard to it right off, that'll be good enough
for you as well as the chickens; and I want you should promise if
any time the work gets a mite hefty and worries you, you'll speak
right out. I can afford to have everything else worn out rather
than my wife.”

Really, it paid! It does pay, my masculine friends, to give any
woman a kindly word now and then; if you had done it oftener, or
your fathers had in the past, the rights of women never would
have angered or bored you as they do now, or unsexed and made
strident and clamorous that half of creation which is and always
was unreasonable enough to have hungry hearts. ‘Try it, and see.

Amasa was wise above his generation; he had seen his mother
suffer, and learned a lesson. Mary never pined for kindly appre-
ciation of her work, or help in it. When she had a door cut
through into the parlor, the stiff chairs and sofa banished, the
flowery curtains hung at either window, the gay carpet put down,
and the new furniture set in place, with her wedding present—an
easy stuffed rocker—drawn up to the table, on which lay two
weekly papers and Harper’s Magazine, she had still sense enough
left to make this hitherto sacred apartment into a real sitting room,
where every evening she and Amasa rested, read, or talked over
the day’s doings; and when the first fat, rosy baby came, and
Mary was about again, it added another pleasure to have the old
cradle beside them all the evening with its sleeping treasure.

Can I tell in words what a sense of peace and cheer pervaded
this household, in spite of some failures and troubles? If the rye
did blast one year, the two best cows die another; if a weasel once
invaded the new and wonderful hen-house and slaughtered the
best dozen Plymouth Rocks; if sweeping storms wet the great crop
of hay on the big meadow, or an ox broke its leg in a post-hole;
still there was home to come back to, and a sensible, cheerful
woman to look on the bright side of things when Amasa was
discouraged.

But, on the whole, things prospered; and as Amasa heard the
sweet laughter of his happy children, and met the calm smile of

20 :

306 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

his wife, he could not but look back on his mother’s harassed and
sad experience, and give a heartfelt sigh to the difference between
the two Mrs. Tuckers, unaware how much it was due to his own
sense of justice and affection.

There are two morals to this simple sketch, my friends: One is,
the great use and necessity of taking an agricultural paper, and the
other is the equal use and necessity of being good to your wives.

Accept which you like or need most. In the language of the
ancient Romans: ‘“ You pays your money and you takes your
ehoice.”

Mr. Day. I propose a vote of thanks to Miss Rost Trrry
Cooke for the beautiful and entertaining paper to which we
have had the pleasure of listening this evening. (Adopted.)

Mr. Myrick. There is one thing quite remarkable about
this Convention, which I think ought to be noticed, and that
is, the large number of young men who have been in attend-
ance at these meetings. I have attended a great many agri-
cultural meetings in this State, as well as in Massachusetts
and Vermont, and I can say, truthfully, that at no meeting
of the kind have I ever seen so many young men, nor have I
felt so much at home; I have not felt lonesome here at all.
I therefore think it right to offer the suggestion that a vote
of thanks be given to all the young men who have attended
this Convention, and that they be requested to come another
year, and bring all their young friends with them.

Prof. Brewer. I want to second that motion. I do not
know but it may interfere with my modesty, because I class
myself with the young men. Nevertheless, I have npticed so
many here that are younger than myself, that I wish also to
thank them for coming.

The motion of Mr. Myrick was adopted.

Mr. Aucur. All the papers of the State have kindly no-
ticed this meeting, and especially the agricultural press in
this and other States. We are largely indebted to them for
the success of this meeting, and I desire to offer the following
resolution :

1884. ] CLOSING REMARKS. 307

Resolved, That we, as members of the Board of Agricul-
ture and farmers of Connecticut, cheerfully recognize the
influence of the agricultural press in their notices and adver-
tisements of this meeting, and that we tender them our most
hearty thanks. (Carried.)

Mr. Eppy, of Canaan. As one of the young farmers here
present, I rise to reciprocate this vote of thanks to us by
thanking the Board of Agriculture who have given us the
opportunity to be here, and to be so much interested and
pleased.

Mr. Aucur. While we recognize what the agricultural®
and the daily press have done for us, we also remember that
the railroads have offered the facility of free return tickets to
those who have attended this Convention; and also that we
owe a debt to the people of Waterbury for their courtesies to
us, and especially to the manufacturers who have so kindly
invited us to visit their works. I desire, therefore, to offer
this resolution :

Resolved, That we tender our thanks to the railroads of
the State, and to the citizens of Waterbury, for their kindly
attentions to us during this meeting. (Carried.)

Mr. WETHERELL, of Boston, handsomely responded to the
vote of thanks to the press, after which Mr. Kirkham moved
a vote of thanks to the exhibitors who had so kindly furnished
their products for exhibition, which motion was carried.

-Rey. Dr. ANDERSON. ' Having had the privilege of speaking
a word of welcome to this Convention at its first session, I
feel like claiming the right to respond in a few words to the
vote of thanks which has been passed in regard to the citi-
zens of Waterbury. I am afraid, very good friends, that the
citizens of Waterbury have not done much for you, but if
that be the case, it is for the reason that I indicated in the
remarks to which I nave just referred, made at your first ses-
sion. They have been so busy with other things that they
have hardly got it into their heads that there has been a large
Farmers’ Convention in session here through these three

308 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

days. If they appreciated these meetings as they ought, it
seems to me they would have been present here in large num-
bers. WhenI heard it suggested that the young men should
be thanked for attending this Convention, I said to myself,
““The young men certainly ought to thank the Convention for
what they have heard at its sessions,” and when I heard the
vote of thanks to the people of Waterbury, I said to myself,
“¢The people of Waterbury ought to thank them now for the
papers which have been read, for the lectures which have
been delivered, and for the presence of these men, represent-
‘ing our rural districts so well as they have represented them
here during these three days.” I have not been able to be
present at all your sessions; I have been present when I
have been able to. It is not the first Farmers’ Convention
that I have attended, but I have not attended many, and per-
haps that has been the reason why I have been somewhat sur-
prised, and I must say it has been a pleasant surprise to me,
by the conduct of this convention, the quality of the papers
that have been read, and, you will allow me to say, by the
quality of the thought, and the quality of the speech, to
which I have listened from day to day here on this floor. I
am glad we have had this Convention here. I shall be glad
to have them in the future.

But, gentlemen, it is in the hands of the State, as I under-
stand it. We have a Board of Agriculture that will look out
for all this, and, if they are wise, as I think they will be, they
will fall into line, in this age of conferences and conventions,
and insist that the convention idea shall find expression
amongst the farmers of Connecticut and gather them all in,
young as well as old. (Applause.)

Mr. Hupsarp. IfI may occupy the attention of this audi-
ence for a moment or two, I will try to relieve my mind of a
little burden that is uponit. I have no new action to propose,
but I would like to emphasize that part of Mr. Augur’s omni-
bus resolution, which thanks the manufacturing company
which invited us down there this forenoon. It was kind on
their part to take the trouble to invite us. But what I wanted

1884. ] CLOSING REMARKS. 309

to say was, that it seemed to me we learned something which
farmers need to learn, and that is the uses of brass. (Laugh-
ter and applause.) We never got into a brass-manufacturing
place before, and I think that the farmers of this State (1 am
not sure but it is true of the farmers of the whole country)
are rather ignorant on the subject of brass; they do not have
enough of it, and they do not exactly know what to do with
the little they have. I hope that every one of us who went
down and watched the processes and operations that went for-
ward under our eyes, learned something. I think I did. I
learned that brass was a good thing, rightly used, and I think
that if we rummage around among our stores, we shall find
some brass that we have got, and if we study up the matter
we can find some good use to which to put our brass. We
learned, among other things, that a little brass will go a good
way, if rightly used. I don’t think we have very much of it,
but still, I rather think we have enough. I believe it wouid
be a pretty good thing for farmers generally if they studied up
this matter of brass, and used what they have a little more
than they do. (Applause.)

Mr. Hype. I move a vote of thanks to the ladies who have
favored us with their presence on this occasion. We owe
much of the interest and pleasure of these meetings to their
presence. (Carried.)

Mr. Wituiams of New Jersey. I would like to add my tes-
timony to what has been said with regard to the interest man-
ifested here, and to express my thanks for the enjoyment I
have had in attending your sessions. I wish, as a slight re-
turn, to say to you that on the 22d and 23d of January, 1884,
the New Jersey Horticultural Society hold their ninth annual
meeting in the city of Camden, and on the 6th of February
the State Board of Agriculture will hold their annual meeting
at Trenton. I should like to extend a cordial invitation to
every lady and gentleman here present to visit us on those
occasions if they find it convenient to do so, and I pledge my-
self that we will give them the right hand of fellowship and a
cordial welcome.

310 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

The CHairmMAN. It is with great reluctance, after the pleas-
ant time we have spent in Waterbury, that I have to announce
the adjournment of thisconvention. I only regret that it has
not been in my power to make the meetings what they would
have been in other hands. For my shortcomings I ask your
pardon. The convention is now adjourned.

Nore BY THE SECRETARY.—The attention of the reader is called to reading
between the lines one central idea, which runs through the whole work of the con-
vention—the elevation of humanity, making life more worth living. Health and
strength are important factors in usefulness and happiness. Material prosperity
should be sought as a means, not an end, of existence. Consider the three days’
work as a sermon divided into its appropriate heads, and as we accept its teach-
ings, our whole State will be made richer and happier.

1884. ] REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 311

REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST.

P. M. AUGUR.

The year 1883 has been in many respects to the fruit-grower a
peculiar one.

Generally through our State, as also in the country, the apple
crop has been to a great extent a failure, and yet in almost every
State, and in parts of our own, there have been exceptional orchards,
that have yielded abundantly. Orchards in.good condition that
failed to bear in 1882, and that escaped the ravages of the canker
worm and other unfavorable influences, gave a good crop. Culti-
vated orchards, especially where dressed with a good superphos.
phate, in some instances bore a fuil crop. On the whole, the old
experience, ‘good care, good success,” has been reiterated, though
not in every instance.

Tue Prar gaye a most bountiful crop, of special excellence;
many of the free-bearing varieties, like the Bartlett, Seckel, Beurre
d’Anjou, Vicar, Duchesse, Louise Bonne de Jersey, and Lawrence
bore so marvelously as to demonstrate the. practicability of pears
being a common fruit for the masses. The blight has appeared in
here and there a locality, but not to such an extent as to offer any
material discouragement to the general planting of this noble fruit.
Still, the occasional attacks of this disease are sufficient to warn us
not to over-stimulate our trees, but to obtain only a moderate healthy
growth of well-ripened wood; and we should be warned to secure
proper drainage, where needed, and to apply to our orchards an
occasional dressing of lime broadcast, to counteract acidity in the
soil, or any fungus growth, possibly leading to blight.

Tue Pracu has given an abundant crop, of great excellence. We
believe that in no single year has our State ever produced so many
baskets of choice peaches. There has never been more to encour-
age future planting than at present. The warm days of December
last, followed by the severe cold of Dec. 23d, have spoiled a portion
of the blossom buds for the coming crop, but there are many yet
left sound, and there is a probability of a moderate crop, while
it is demonstrated that we can raise as good peaches as any to be
found.

It is true that we may suffer sometimes from disease in ou
orchards, but by securing good trees and planting on new land,

312 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

with judicious management, we hope, to a great extent, to escape
its ravages.

The peach-borer is completely under control; so there is no rear
son why we may not hopefully plant peaches.

Tur Quince AND PLum both succeed in so many instances as to
encourage future planting, both for home use and market.

THE GRAPE.

Connecticut is a land of the vine. So abundant was it found by
the early settlers that it was adopted as an emblem on our State
escutcheon, the Labrusca, the Aestivalis, and the Cordifolia all
being found within our limits. True, owing to the imperfect
flowers of many wild vines, they are often barren, but in very
many instances the yield is abundant. This also is certain, viz. :
that the grape finds a congenial home in our soil, and readily re-
sponds to good care and culture.

No fruit, except the apple, stands before it as an article of food,
or in ease of production, or in the certainty of a crop. That it has
been too much neglected on the farms of our State is very evident
to all.

No farm, village, or city garden should be without the grape;
the brick or stone building, on its sunny sides, should be covered
by the vine; even the tight board fence offers a good place for a
projecting trellis for the grape, Vines do better so sheltered than
in open culture. A cheap cold grapery can be so made as to offer
an excellent place for hens in winter and Hamburg grapes in sum-
mer, paying full interest and premium on either. Suffice it to say,
where farmers, or farmers’ sons, or farmers’ wives and daughters
desire anything of the kind, you may, without folly or extrava-
gance, adopt it; it will pay.

VINEYARD PRACTICE,

A southerly slope offers a good site for a vineyard; soil being
dry and warm. The lines of trellis should not run up and down
the slope, but longitudinally with it, to avoid washing. Vines may
be planted 8 feet by 9 or 10 feet, as desired; 8 by 9 will give about
600 vines per acre, which, with an average of 20 lbs. per vine, may
yield 12,000 lbs. per acre, or 6 tons. In the best vineyards, this
yield has been realized, which at 3 cents, wholesale, is $360 per acre.

Shallow culture only should be given. This may be mostly done

1884. | REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 318

by horse and cultivator, which, when well done, leaves very little
hand-work; but it should be often repeated during the summer.
For all the vigorous, hardy varieties, the Kniffen system of pruning
and training is probably best (see Fig. 1), which represents a line
of posts and two wires, respectively 3 feet and 5} feet from the
eround, with an arm of young wood, 4 feet long, running each
way ow each wire. Now if we have 6 shoots on each arm, and a
pound of grapes on each shoot, you see we have our 20 lbs. and to
spare; indeed, sometimes 40 lbs. are produced, but 20 are enough.

Wh
i

ek a a ks eS» VA
(1)

i

FIG. I.

After the fall of the leaf in November and December, prune out
the bearing arms, leaving 4 new arms for the bearing wood of the
coming crop.

For the Delaware, Prentiss, and similar vines, a different mode
is better, viz.: as seen in Fig. 2. Here we have our vines 6 feet
apart in the row, with only a single arm of 1 year’s growth, trained
vertically (see A), 6 feet high. The laterals from these upright
arms, A B, bear the fruit, C C, and after fruiting are cut away near
the ground at D, and renewed by young arms each year for the next
crop, asat A. By this method 10 lbs. are expected, and fruit of the
best quality. This class of vines requires better fertilization and

314 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

culture, and, doing well, yield a better profit; 800 vines per acre,
yielding 10 lbs. each, make a total of 8,000 Ibs., which, at 12 cents,

I
)

a
tere ee d

ice, Oh

equals $960. This handsome return has been exceeded in some
vineyards on the Hudson, but only by best soil and culture.

TGs:

Where grape-rot and mildew cause trouble, or where birds and
rose-bugs attack the vines or fruit, we offer the following plan :

1884. ] RERORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 315

Set posts, as elsewhere. At 54 feet from the ground, spike on a
cross-arm (B B, Fig. 3), 2 feet 9 inches long, at right angles with the
line of trellis, on the top of each post, 6 feet from ground; at A,
and at B B end of cross-arms run No. 10 galvanized wire, fastened
by staples; over these three wires pin an awning of cheap cotton
cloth, to guard against grape-rot and mildew; from B B drop side-
curtains of musquito bar and pin to the wire F, to exclude insects
and birds.

As soon as the danger is past, remove these fabrics and store for
future use.

ee ee ee a=
V2

ities 2

The plan contemplated, as represented by a cross section, as in
Fig. 3, isto have wires at C C, D, H, as preferred, to which vines
may be trained, and the whole enclosed as described. As a still
greater safeguard, all the fabric before being put on might be
dipped in sulphur-water, to keep itself and the vines beneath from
attacks of mildew.

For similar reasons avoid fermenting manures, and use sulphate
of ammonia to supply what nitrogen is needed. We believe that
in this way the finer American grapes (and perhaps Black Ham-
burgs) may be raised successfully, and by this extra protection

316 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

bring prices sufficient to warrant the experiment in a small way at
least.

The expense of all the fabrics for top and sides would, at present
factory prices, be about 12 cents per running yard. If thereby we
can escape insects, birds, grape-rot, and mildew, and at the same
time raise some of the finer grapes, it will compensate for the
trouble; remembering that the same material may, by careful
usage, be put on again and again for the same object. While the
above is not needed, and would not pay, for Concord, Ives, and
Hartfords, at 3 to 5 cents, wholesale, it might do to use it on the
Salem, Wilder, Iona, or Croton, at 12 to 15 cents, wholesale.

In city gardens, where space is very limited and close occupa-
tion is important, the plan shown in Fig. 4 may be adopted, of
planting 4 feet or 5 feet apart, and giving each vine a double spread
of 8 or 10 feet, one set on the lower arms, and the alternate set on
the middle arms, renewing all the horizontal arms each year. If
any, like the Agawam or Salem, prove a little shy of setting fruit,
give them the lower arm, and the more perfect flowering kinds, as
Concord and Worden, the upper. Then, when in bloom, jar the
upper arms, which may help fertilize the whole with pollen. With
the above described method, the ground, or border, should be good
and fed with sufficient fertilizer, as it will be closely occupied; with
abundant room, we would not advise this plan.

VARIETIES.

The Concord is the grape for the million, and can be raised al-
most anywhere and everywhere. A good list of black grapes is H.
Victor, Moore’s Early, Telegraph, Hartford, Worden, Concord,
Herbert, or Rogers No. 44, and Wilder, Rogers No. 4.

Rep Grapes.—Brighton, Wyoming, Delaware, Lindley, Salem,
Jefferson, Vergennes.

Wuitr Grapes.—Martha, Lady, Secilins Hal Prentiss, Duchesse.
There are others nearly or quite as good, but these are in the main
hardy and productive.

FERTILIZERS.

Good, unleached wood-ashes are always suitable for any kind of
fruit, especially the grape. Finely-ground bone is excellent, but
a good superphosphate is still better, and tends to early and perfect
ripening of the fruit. Thoroughly composted stable manure is

1884. ] REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 317

suitable in moderate quantities, but not too much at once. An oc-
casional dressing of lime is excellent. For ammonia or nitrogen,
we would advise 150 lbs. of unadulterated Peruvian guano, or 100
Ibs, of sulphate of ammonia.

A good grape manure would be, per acre, potash sulphate, 150
lbs.; keiserite, 25 lbs.; dissolved bone-black, 250 lbs.; sulphate of
ammonia, 100 lbs. If land had been previously dressed, use only
half. If these are mixed, the mixing should be very thorough.

Where, by experiment, the land is known to want more or less
of any of these ingredients, act accordingly.

INSECTS.

Our most damaging insects are the canker worm, apple maggot,
common apple worm, currant worm, cranberry worm, the slug of
the pear, cherry, and quince, curculio, rose-bug, and the aphides of
different families.

Many of these insects can be destroyed by Paris Green or London
Purple, used in the following manner: Mix at the rate of 3 to 6
ounces to a 40-gallon cask of water, and spray the trees or plants
affected.

An application even so weak is said, when done at the right time
(soon after the fruit is set), to be thoroughly effective.

S. D. Willard of Geneva, N. Y., last spring, with 3 ounces to 40
gallons of water, in one application was wholly successful, and had
a perfect crop of apples. For the currant worm and goosebetries,
white hellebore, one tablespoonful to a pail of water, is better; but
on the strawberry or raspberry and blackberry these poisons should
not be used at all, and for the apple, pear, quince, and plum, only
as above.

Whitman’s fountain pump is probably one of the best implements
for its application.

The application should not be made where the drippings will
come upon cabbage or early fruit, or upon grass or corn after they
have sent up the flower-stalk and the ligules of the leaves are
formed. With discreet use these insecticides have in numerous
instances proved very effectual and entirely safe.

318 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

COMMUNICATIONS CONDENSED.

From W. ¥. Touuss, Terryville, Conn. :

Apples under general neglect, poor and wormy ; pears blighted
to a small extent; grape mildew quite prevalent; canker worm on
the increase; curculio bosses the plum, which is a failure; currant
worm plenty, but kept under by hellebore; strawberry crown-borer
troubled some last year.

From ALpEN Davis, West Stafford, Conn.:

“JT helped set a pine grove in 1840-41 of five acres, at $5 per
acre ($25), of 5,000 trees, on sandy land; trees 4 feet by 6 feet, in
furrows; young trees, 6 inches to 1 foot high. At present time
trees average 50 feet high; land is valued at $65 per acre ($325).
Yellow pines we planted fifteen years since are now 20 feet to 30
feet high and 5 to 6 inches through. Land we have planted to
pine, white ash, and chestnut the assessors have doubled in valua-
tion in three years. Another piece of chestnut planted forty to
fifty years ago now large enough for railroad ties. Are troubled
with peach yellows, pear blight, and black-knot on plum.”

From P. Cuark, of Newtown:

In Newtown “not more than half the wood, and not more than
one-fourth the timber exist that did fifty years ago. The clearing
off of wood has caused great freshets in spring and severe droughts
in summer. ‘The millers find trouble from want of water increas-
ing. The noted trees of great size have nearly disappeared.”

S. J. Pappoox, of Cromwell, has near his residence a famous
white oak. At the surface of the ground the circumference is 24
feet 6 inches; at 10 feet from ground, 14 feet 6 inches; spread of
top from side to side, 95 feet. A noble tree.

KH. W. Durann, Irvington, N. J.:

“Apple crop very poor; currant worm troublesome; slug on pear
and cherry very troublesome; pear blight prevails to some extent;
ditto grape mildew ; the crown-borer of strawberry is worse on land
heavily manured.

‘«« Among the valuable new strawberries, I find the new ‘ Prince of
Berries’ specially excellent and reliable.”

Norr.—The excess of matter has required taking only the most impor-
tant points and omitting the rest.

1884. ] REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 319

ROSE AND STRAWBERRY EXHIBIT.

The Rose and Strawberry Show, under the auspices of the Con-
necticut Board of Agriculture, was held in a vacant store near the
old post-office building, Main street, Hartford, Conn., June 23d.

The front windows were decorated with fresh branches of ‘‘Ham-
amelis Virginica,” or witch hazel. The exhibit was free, and was
visited during the day by large numbers of citizens of Hartford
and vicinity.

There was a beautiful collection of roses by Newton Case of Hartford, which
was much admired ;\twenty varieties of choice grown roses from R. A. Moore,
Esq., of Kensington, which were beautiful and perfect of their kinds; a dish of
roses from Mrs, Thomas Fairclough of Wolcott ; another dish of roses from War-
ren Rowley of Hartford; one from M. Louise Hubbard; Kalmia latifolia from
Mrs. Fairclough, and Kalmia augustifolia, or sheep laurel.

Roses were also exhibited by Cassius Wells; also a box of roses from A. S.
Parker, South Coventry, part from the Nathan Hale place and part from the place
of Samuel J. Tilden’s grandfather.

STRAWBERRIES.

A splendid dish of large and perfectly ripened Sharpless berries was exhibited,
by Col. D. 8. Dewey of Hartford.

Thirty-six baskets of Manchester, and numerous other strawberries, were shown
in their beauty by Messrs. G. H. & J. H. Hale of South Glastonbury.

Mrs. Thomas Fairclough, of Wolcott, exhibited four dishes of fine, well-grown
berries.

T. C. Barnes, of Collinsville, also showed four varieties of strawberries, includ-
ing fine Crescents.

Newton Case, of Hartford, some beautiful Jersey Queens.

Mr. J. B. Olcott, of the Courant, a full crate of strawberries from South Man-
chester, just as they go to market, and no wonder that he has a fame for his ex-
cellent berries.

E. W. Durand, of Irvington, N. J., sent four quarts of his Prince of Berries,
which were pronounced excellent; the variety Governor Bigelow last year pro-
nounced the best he had ever tasted.

Rey. Mr. Chapman, of Irvington, N. J., exhibited a seedling of the Crescent,
called the Empress ; firmer than Crescent ; only ordinary in quality and wonder-
ful in productiveness ; also the Bonny-Jean and Aurora, both new and very good.

F, A. Belge, gardener for Pliny Jewell of Hartford, exhibited two baskets of
unusually fine President Lincoln, which were beautiful and good.

P. M. Augur & Sons, of Middlefield, exhibited Finch’s Prolific, Jersey Queen,
and several other standard varieties ; also twenty varieties of Jersey Queen seed-
lings of their own raising.

Prominent among these was the Jewell No. 19, named in honor of Governor
Jewell. This is a seedling of J. Queen, fertilized by Late-Prolific. The plant is
strong, with foliage unusually large and healthy. The flower pistillate, cone very

320 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

strong and easily fertilized. This fruit was the largest on exhibition. When
first colored the fruit is rather acid, but when fully ripened is very rich and deli-
cious. A small bed of this new seedling yielded in 1883 at the rate of four hun-
dred bushels per acre.

Also No. 125, a strong bi-sexual variety of great productiveness and excellence ;
also No. 32, 65, 87, 118, 24, 130, 133, 135, 70, and several others, which are very
promising.

This exhibit, though like former ones, impromptu, was full of interest, especially
as an occasion of free interchange of views among the growers of fruits and
flowers.

EXHIBIT OF FRUITS, GRAIN, AND VEGETABLES AT
THE WINTER MEETING AT WATERBURY.

An exhibit of fruits, grains, and vegetables is a specialty of the
Connecticut Board of Agriculture’s meetings. This commenced as
far back as the meeting at Meriden in 1873, when a ten-foot table
was used, until now at Waterbury 190 feet of table were required
to display the articles offered.

The farmers from all parts of the State made such contributions as they could
for comparison. T.S. Gold, Secretary of the Board, exhibited thirty-nine varie-
ties of apples and seven of winter pears, all of superior merit and worthy of care-
ful study and examination; also a fine sample of sorghum syrup and a barrel
head presser.

The Green’s Farms Agricultural Club exhibited as follows :

H. B. Wakeman—Three dishes apples; half-dozen beets ; two varieties pota-
toes ; one dish of wheat ; one sample white onions; one sample corn.

Chas. B. Meeker—Red onions; white onions; white oats.

J. B. Mills—Three varieties potatoes.

L. P. Wakeman—Probstier oats, which yielded eighty bushels per acre.

Walter Jennings—Clawson wheat, and two kinds of corn.

John Elwood—Corn, beets, and onions.

T. B. Wakeman—Two kinds white onions, corn, and wheat.

Chas. Mills—Onions and Queen of Valley otatoes.

A. §. Jennings—Mediterranean wheat.

S. B. Sherwood—Five varieties of corn, on: lin oats, and one of Clawson wheat.

H. G. Birge—Longfellow corn; two kinds potatoes ; one of wheat.

A. C. Taylor—One wheat ; one oats; one onions; one potatoes.

Wm. J. Jennings—Two kinds squashes; a nest of egg-gourds; one pop-corn ;
four kinds field corn ; one evergreen sweet corn ; one barley ; one rye, and sam-
ples of beets.

Austin Jennings—Three samples corn; red and white onions.

Ebenezer Beers—Three kinds potatoes; one pop-corn; one white Dent corn;
two dishes apples.

John H. Sherwood—One sample of field corn.

Daniel H. Sherwood—One sample carrots; one sample potatoes.

ss a

1884. ] _ REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 321

Arthur H. Sherwood—One sample onions.

Willis H. Sherwood—One sample of carrots ; one of onions.

S. B. Wakeman—One sample corn; one red onions; one white onions ; one
yellow onions ; one lima beans; one kidney beans; two onion seed ; one buck-
wheat; one oats ; one wheat.

The Green’s Farms exhibit comprised eighty-four different samples or dishes, all
as heretofore of marked excellence. There is authentic evidence of a product of
corn, counting seventy poun(s of-ears per bushel, of 119 bushels shelled corn
per acre, and as by trial seventy pounds actually did yield a bushel and four
quarts of corn, the true yield approached near 130 bushels per acre. Aaing, a
yield of eighty bushels of oats shows the high state of culture at Green’s Farms.
A radius of eight miles from Green’s Farms shows sales of market products,
fruits, and vegetables probably exceeding almost any other in our country for
the like area. Green’s Farms is truly the garden district.

WOLCOTT FARMERS’ CLUB.

Wolcott, although a hill town, is full of thrift and enterprise. They not only
furnish their Waterbury neighbors with thousands of cords of wood, but also but-
ter, fruits, vegetables, and all farm products. Waterbury and Wolcott show a
striking illustration of the natural dependence between farmer and mechanic or
manufacturer. Early on Wednesday Wolcott was at the hall with a large dis-
play of their products, which were mainly as follows:

Manville Norton—One dish table beets; one white strap-leaf turnip; one cit-
ron; two squashes; seven kinds sweet corn; two kinds pop corn; one yellow
corn; four kinds of peas ; five varieties of beans; one early corn; one rye; one
sample oats; also twenty-eight cans fruit; ten varieties potatoes; one onions ;
one of carrots; one orange turnips.

E. A. Todd—One sample Dutton corn; one dish apples.

Thomas Fairclough—T wo varieties potatoes; two of turnips; three of beets ;
two of carrots.

Mrs. Thomas Fairclough—Eight dishes of beans; fourof peas; three water-
melons; one can of peaches, put up in 1869; one can of honey ; one crook-neck
squash; one cheese pumpkin; one dish potato onion sets, and four kinds of
potatoes.

A. B. Pierpont—Five varieties potatoes ; one Longfellow corn; one of rice
pop-corn ; one sweet corn, and some very large beets.

We were fully aware that Wolcott could produce fine crops of fruit and other
products, and were much gratified by this exhibit, which consisted in all of 112
different samples, exceeding in extent that of any other club. We congratulate
Waterbury in having such good neighbors close at hand to help feed her 25,000
inhabitants.

T. C. Barnes, of Collinsville, made a large exhibit of fine, handsome potatoes,
nicely arranged and labeled, consisting of eighteen varieties, with the following :

“The weight of crop of each variety is given, grown in rows of equal length,
with conditions equal, as far as could be made so; grown on a light soil—an old
cultivated garden; manure, Mapes’ Potato Fertilizer ; seed fair size, cut to one or
two eyes; drilled in one piece every ten inches.

21

822 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Ist: row.— Mohawk, « <:<.0.0j0; s/creinteteraieielo aw alae Sere eee 304 Ibs.

By h EDrinnmp hypertension 26% “

Bal @lark’s (Nos Vues secant ctosiente sto ate erctort's 623 “

4th “ Genesee Beauty cnc). sacetie cites cote oss, 3). 403 “

5th “ DNMMIOLO <5 -ininecaie lai a areinte ioe meters tees 6 14:0

6th “ BurbankS. i h\s'steicieistersicirciat tenet dee 534 “

ith vo ® Bliss? Triumphs os:. ih is !cloe wveern eee 243 “

sth’ MagnumiBonum:).tcy. 1. cjejeiierts oes eerie ele L5peie
Oth’: “£59 Bloodheanticcsw iiss sedis elects rele 764 “ Seedling.
10th ‘‘ WihitedStans Ove Reiner eee. 514“ i
llth “ Seedling Nos Sin. i et Awe ee 59% “ Colored.
12th “ Beatty/ofpHebroniierssts ctoc1-1 storie olefeleete levers UC

13th “ Queeniof Valley. iiss ace ecole tenon 534 “

14th “ as Elly Wee Seas atk WA 523 «

15th“ PPCM O27. G arstaietete nie rele Misiousiereewieleraeteiee ee dy

16th “ Mammoth) earls.\ictcicieeicie ee toe 514“

NWefadays PridevorVAMenrica sa. stiss cieine eee cae Bode

18th “ HarlypViermonts:.1-ya\e\sreleletelelvelosicrerelsvel ies 593 “

19th “ Seedling: INO 34 oii. siaseesnielelsceie sri ace 653 “ White.

“The location, I think, was somewhat unfavorable to the Ist, 2d, 13th, and
14th rows. The seed on the 5th and 8th failed to the extent of about one-third.”

Messrs. Hale, of Glastonbury, exhibited the Early Essex, a seedling ot Jack-
son White—very handsome ; also some eight varieties of strawberries, put up in
alcohol; also about a dozen lithographs of new fruits.

P. M. Augur & Sons, of Middlefield, exhibited nineteen plates of apples; also
about twenty-six lithographs of fruits.

S. W. S. Skilton, from Prospect Farm, Morris, exhibited the Litchfield County
premium white corn from the thirty-first successive crop of that variety grown on
that farm without changing the seed. Crop this year, ninety bushels of shelled
corn per acre ; has raised 112 bushels per acre heretofore in best crops.

E. Williams, of Montclair, N.J., showed fine specimens of two varieties of
Dent corn.

I. Gallup, of Ledyard, Conn., five varieties of excellent corn.

D. H. Van Hoosear, of Wilton, good specimen ears of the Barrett corn.

O. E. Pettiss, of Lebanon, five dishes of apples; also potatoes and onions.

Amos G. Hake, of Bethlehem, Conn., specimens of Dutton and Cap corn.

George T. Platt, of Milford, four varieties of corn.

N. S. Platt, of Cheshire, Conn., eighteen varieties of apples, very fine; also
two kinds of corn.

N. S. Hollister, of Glastonbury, sixteen varieties potatoes ; also Rowley corn.

G. N. Miner, of Waterville, six varieties potatoes; six caps of fruit; two
squashes.

Storrs School Farm, a fine sample of oats, onions, potatoes, and corn, highly
creditable to the farm.

J. G. Burrow, propagator of the Jefferson grape, three fine clusters of Jefferson
grapes, in good condition and of fine quality.

Rev. W. W. Meech, of Vineland, N. J., three very large Meech’s Prolific

1884.] REPORT OF THE POMOLOGIST. 3823

Quince in a glass jar of brine. The peculiarities of this quince are rapid growth,
early bearing, great productiveness, and excellent flavor. He also showed two
photographs of his orchard and two photographs of his style of pruning.

B. C. Patterson, Torrington, from “‘ Golden Farm,” exhibited a variety of apple
for name. Name not known ; called the Forbidden Fruit. A delicious apple.

The Cooley Creamer and Davis Swing Churn were also on exhibition, and ap-
proved samples of beautiful butter, from the Newington Creamery, were also
exhibited.

L. F. Scott, of Bethlehem, also showed butter from his farm, which was very
nice.

D. K. Crofut, of Derby, exhibited a new clevis of merit.

G. M. Pratt, of Middletown, Conn., an alarm gun for peach orchards, melon
beds, chicken roosts, and city yards. It attracted much attention and was highly
approved.

The model of the Pennock Road Scraper was exhibited and admired. This is
one of the valuable improvements which should be generally adopted by Connec-
ticut towns.

Samples of ensilage were exhibited by James Hoyt of New Canaan, and Amos
E. Cobb of Norwich. A nice corn-stalk binder was shown (card lost); also a
leader for cows, attaching to the horns (card lost).

S. R. Gridley of Bristol, fruits, vegetables, etc., in their usual excellence.
Also, extra large hickory nuts.

Robertson’s Swinging Stanchion, for cattle fastening, was on hand and exam-
ined by numerous visitors, and generally approved. J. B. Olcott, South Man-
chester, horse-shoes with adjustible cau

Mr. Jeffries also had samples of bees and comb, and instructed all interested in
bees, as he had opportunity.

Messrs. 8. M. Buckingham, A. N. Burrit, and Mr. Elton would severally have °
made fine contributions of greenhouse plants, but on account of the storm and
low temperature, they found it too hazardous to risk the exposure of the plants,
and they were justly excusable.

Most of the vegetables were at my disposal, and were placed in the hands of
Mr. Judd of Waterbury, who dispenses provisions to the worthy poor, which,
with a fine lot of twenty turkeys, then in his possession, were distributed for their
Christmas dinners.

The articles on the tables were the occasion of much observation and continu-
ous discussion a all hours when the hall was open between the hours of session.

324 ; BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS ON DISHASES OF
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

We are happy to report the general good health of all kinds of
farm stock in the State.

TUBERCULOSIS in neat stock continues with its usual fatality, and
warns against using as breeders animals with this tendency, for
while under certain circumstances it is contagious, it is also hered-
itary. With the exercise of prudent caution it should rarely
oceur.

ABORTION in cows travels about, invading new herds and leaving
others. There is no known remedy or preventive, but one precau-
tionary measure should be to avoid introducing any animals from
infected herds.

Tue Fouts, though not generally considered contagious, is fast
gaining this estimation. We have found that when one animal in
a herd is affected many other cases are apt to follow—hence a
strict quarantine of the afflicted should be maintained.

Zt varies so much in its severity from a mere cutaneous affection,
or irritation between the toes,,to a deep-seated affection of the
‘bones, as to require very different treatment, according to its
‘severity. No general prescription can be given, but each case
must be treated by itself. Cleanliness and attention to the general
health are always in order.

Your Commission has had numerous calls—as in case of sudden
death from suspected poison ; of disease of the lungs, where conta-
gious pleuro-pneumonia was feared—which have proved false
alarms, except in one notable case at Salem, where we found an
outbreak of true contagious pleuro-pneumonia, or

LUNG PLAGUE.

August 7th we were informed of the existence of a fatal disease in
the herd of Mr. H. E. Williams of Salem, and on the 8th the case
received our attention. We found that two cows had died July
23d, and at the date of our visit there were three very sick animals;
five others comprising the herd.

As two of the sick were typical cases of pleuro-pneumonia, we
quarantined the herd, and the next day called Dr. F. EH. Rice. On
our arrival we found one cow dead, and on post-mortem examina-
tion, our previously-expressed opinion was confirmed.

1884.] REPORT ON DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 325

The herd were all thoroughbred Jerseys, except one pair of
oxen. One of these oxen, which was quite sick, was killed and
buried a few days after by the owner.

The same day we examined a sick cow of Capt. D. H. Seaman, a
neighbor of Mr. Williams; a clear case of the malady. Mr. Sea-
man’s herd was also quarantined. A few days after this cow was
killed and buried by the owner, and no other cases have. occurred
on his farm.

Our attention was immediately directed to ascertain, if possible, .
the source of contagion. All the animals in the herd of Mr. Wil-
liams had been on the place over a year, except one cow, which, ac-
cording to his statement, he had purchased of a friend in New
Jersey, whose name he could not remember. This cow, though
apparently well, excited our suspicions as the source of the malady,
and no pains were spared to trace her history. Mr. Williams gave
her name as Molly Lathrop. By reference to the Jersey Herd-
Book, we found her name to be Molly Lathrop 3d, No. 7,627, and
through numerous transfers, we traced her to the possession of
Charles De Clyne of New Durham, N. J., and through a third
party we learned that he had sold her to Mr. Williams.

On visiting Mr. De Clyne to get the further history of the cow,
he told us that all his cows had died of some disease, except one
cow, which he had sold to Connecticut. He had called in veterin-
ary surgeons from New York, and they had pronounced the disease
pleuro-pneumonia. We also learned from Mr. De Clyne that he
had received a cow from Mr. Williams in April in exchange for
Molly. ;

Immediate notice of the nature of the outbreak was sent to Dr.
Thayer, Boston, Mass., of the United States Treasury Commission,
and also to Hon. George B. Loring, Commissioner of Agriculture
at Washington, with a request to Dr. Thayer to meet, the Commis-
sion for further examination.

Dr. Thayer, Dr. Rice, and Dr. Parkinson, with the Commission,
examined the herd August 14th. At this time we failed to get an
appraisal, though attempted, and could make no arrangements for
post-mortem, owing to the fact that under the law as it now stands,
there is no provision to compel town assessors to make appraisal
should they decline to do so when requested; which refusal, as in
the present case, prevents the slaughtering of the cattle, and the
Commission is confined to quarantine alone.

326 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

At this time we found that one ox had been killed and buried by
Mr. Williams, as also a cow belonging to Capt. Seaman had been
disposed of in a similar manner. Another cow of Mr. Williams
was found to be seriously afflicted, and the remaining three animals,
including Molly Lathrop 3d, were pronounced by the veterinarians
as affected with some lung difficulty, undoubtedly pleuro-pneu-
monia, and the immediate slaughter of the whole herd was advised.
Owing to the obstacles thrown in our way by Mr. Williams, we
were unable to secure an appraisal or to make any arrangement
to accomplish this object.

August 29th, Dr. D. E. Salmon, Department of Agriculture,
Washington, visited the herd, and endeavored to purchase the sur-
viving sick ox of Mr. Williams for pathological examination, but
failed to make any terms.

Sept. 7th the Commission again visited Salem, accompanied by
Drs. Thayer, Salmon, Rice, and Parkinson. At this time, though
the veterinarians were all agreed as to the nature of the malady,
we failed to get an appraisal, so that the fact could be settled by a
post-mortem examination. One assessor ‘was sick, and another,
after notice, absented himself from his place of business and could
not be found,

We arranged to make another effort Sept. 10th and 11th, and
found the sick animals locked in the barn, so that we could not
get access to them.

Returning to Colchester, on consultation we decided to send a
special messenger, who served written notices upon each of the
assessors to meet at Mr. Williams’s to appraise the cattle. We also
sent notice to Mr. Williams to unlock his barn and have his cattle
ready for our inspection.

This notice was not served, as Mr. Willams refused to admit the
messenger. On our arrival on the morning of the 12th, we were
told that Mr. Williams had gone to New York. The barns were
still locked and in charge of Mr. Williams, his brother.

He proposed that he would open the barn and consent to the ap-
praisal of one animal for slaughter, provided the Commissioners
would engage to gono further. This proposition was promptly re-
jected, and we notified him that we should make no compromise,
but should enter the barn. We found that the assessors would not
act at all, except on the proposition of Mr. Williams to slaughter
but one animal.

1884.] REPORT ON DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 327

We agreed, on consultation, to accept the proposition of the as-
sessors to appraise but one animal that day, but held to the right to
demand the appraisal for slaughter of any or all the animals at any
future day.

Though the ox was not the most clearly marked case, yet he was
selected, as the other two animals were thoroughbred Jerseys, and
highly prized by the owner. The appraisal was made at seventy
dollars, and on slaughtering it proved to be a typical case of con-
tagious pleuro-pneumonia. The veterinarians present were Drs.
Salmon, Rice, and Parkinson.

Sept. 17th we were notified by telegram from the selectmen of Sa-
lem of a new case of the disease. This case received immediate
attention. We found a cow, owned by Mr. Amos Williams, that
had pastured adjoining the herd of Mr. H. E. Williams, plainly
developing the disease. Mr. Amos Williams met us frankly, and
terms for slaughter were easily arranged. Our opinion as to the
nature of her disease was confirmed.

Oct. 15th we again visited the herd of Mr. H. E. Williams, at
his call, as he said the stock were perfectly well. We found the
Jersey bull in the last stages of the disease, and November 3d we
heard that he had killed and buried this bull on the night of
Oct. 27th, having given up all hopes of his recovery.

We visited Salem again Nov. 6th, and examined the herd.

An examination was again made of the herd Dec. 13th. The
remaining animal of the three in the barn was still suffering with
the disease; the other three, which had been quarantined in a sep-
arate place, appeared in usual health.

We have been thus particular in giving the history of this case,
from the serious nature of the disease and the difficulties which it
discloses in’ carrying out the provisions of the statute for its exter-
mination. Fortunately, it has been confined to this one herd and
vicinity. The long period which elapses.after apparent recovery, in
which the disease may be communicated, renders its extermination,
except by slaughter of all infected and exposed animals, very pro-
tracted, so that all those familiar with its history advise this course,
both in the interests of the owner and for the protection of the
community. The State assumes the burden and pays two-thirds of
the assessed value of the animals to the owner.

As authority on this question, we append an

328 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

Extract from Special Report by Dr. James Law, Department Agri-
culture, No. 22.

Contagious Disrases or Domestic ANIMALS.

“A diseased animal is more likely to infect a healthy one at that period
when the fever runs highest, and the lung is being loaded with the mor-
bid exudation. Proof appears to be wanting as to the infecting nature
of the affection during the incubation stage, but it must not be inferred
that with the subsidence of the fever the danger is removed. It is a
matter of frequent observation that animals that have passed through
the fever and are again thriving well, and giving a free supply of milk,
and to ordinary observers appear in perfect health, retain the power of
transmitting the disease to others. This may continue for three, six,
nine, twelve, or according to some, even fifteen months after all signs of
acute illness have disappeared.”* P. 147.

Dr. Salmon wrote the Commissioners on this subject, February
6, 1884:

‘“T should not consider it safe to raise the quarantine so long as the
cow which was sick at our last visit remains alive. The calf should
also remain under supervision for some months. As this is a herd of
Jersey cattle, the individuals of which are liable to be shipped to remote
points of the country as soon as the quarantine is removed, it is a mat-
ter of importance, not only to your State, but to the country at large,
that every precaution be taken to prevent the dissemination of the
disease.”

The Report of Dr. F. E. Rice is appended to this report. Drs.
Thayer and Salmon have already reported to the Department at
Washington.

In closing this report your Committee would respectfully sug-
gest the advisability of taking into consideration the amending of
the present laws regarding contagious diseases of animals, so
they should be of more practical use and conform more to those
of adjoining states, Massachusetts for instance; at any rate, they
would strongly urge that the present law relating to that subject,
Chapter LX XIII of the Public Acts, be so amended as to render
it efficient. As it now stands, the refusal of town assessors to

*“Australia was infected in 1850 by an imported Short-horn cow. ‘This cow had had
a slight attack (in England) some two years previously, of which she was declared at the
time to be perfectly cured.’—In 1873, one million four hnndred and four thousand and
ninety-seven, or forty per cent. of the cattle of the island, perished, amounting, at thirty
dollars per head, to a total value of $43,500,000." Prof. R. S. Huidekoper, D. V.S., in
Report of Penn. Board of Agriculture, 1883, p. 185.

1884.] REPORT ON DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 329

appraise animals when requested to do so by the Commissioners,
prevents any action beyond quarantine, and renders the law inop-
erative and of no avail to extirpate the disease.

HK. H. HYDE, Commissioners on
A ace. GOD. Diseases of
J. W. ALSOP, ) Domestic Animals.

Harrtrorp, Feb. 27, 1884.

Report oF Dr. F. E. RIcE.
To the Commissioners on Diseases of Domestic Animals :

I have the pleasure to submit herewith a report of the outbreak of
pleuro-pneumonia contagiosa as occurring in Salem, in this State.

The animals affected by this outbreak were seven cows, two steers,
and one bull, all the property of Mr. H. E. Williams, and all pure breed
Jerseys except the steers; several cows, the property of Capt. D. H.
Seaman, together with one heifer, the property of Mr. Amos Williams,
My first visit to these herds was made August 9th, in company with
your commission.

I found that two of Mr. Williams’s herd had died of the disease July
23d, and one on the night preceding our visit. Of the remaining ani-
mals of the herd, a bull and a cow, Sallie S., furnished well-defined
manifestations of the disease, while one steer was suffering very acutely.

Of Capt. Seaman’s herd, one cow was sick, and on examination, one
lung was found to be largely consolidated, while the other gave evi-
dence of having been recently invaded, and from the acuteness of the
symptoms, and the rapidity with which new lung tissue was becoming
involved, I was led to conclude that the case must terminate in death at
an early time.

I next proceeded to make a post-mortem examination of the case
that died the previous night. The cavity containing the lungs furnished
complete evidence of the existence of disease as well as of its nature,
and without attempting to burden this report by a recital of pathologi-
cal technicalities, I may say that the chest cavity contained the pro-
ducts of i#flammation in abundance; the lungs were solid, of marbled
appearance when cut across, more or less adherent to the chest walls, and
in a word presented the changes peculiar to LUNG PLAGUE 80 Clearly
that no possible doubt could exist as to the presence of that disease.
I advised immediate slaughter of both herds, but as this was found
impracticable, quarantine was substituted.

- The second visit, August 14th, was made with your Commission,
and Dr. E. F. Thayer of the U. 8. Treasury Cattle Commission, and Dr.
George Parkinson of Middletown.

330 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

On our arrival we learned that immediately after our departure on
the 9th, Capt. Seaman had slaughtered the cow to which allusion has
been made, and on the 10th, Mr. Williams had slaughtered the Steer,
which had been pronounced so badly diseased.

The veterinarians present examined all the animals easily accessible,
some being in a distant pasture. Asa result of this examination we
concurred in advising the slaughter of the diseased and exposed animals.
We then withdrew pending negotiations between your Commission and
Mr. Williams.

Friday, September 7th, a third visit was made, Dr. D. E. Salmon, of
the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., being added to the
party. As veterinarians, we were agreed as to the urgent necessity for
slaughter of all animals affected by this outbreak ; but as no appraisal
could be secured, as the assessors declined to act, evidently influenced
by the owner, we again withdrew.

Sept. 7th, your Commission, in company with Drs. Salmon, Parkin-
son, and myself, made a fourth visit to Mr. Williams’s place, only to find
the barns locked.

Sept. 12th, your Commission, with last named veterinarians, visited
the place, and having secured the attendance of the assessors, a steer,
the property of Mr. Williams, was appraised and slaughtered, and not-
withstanding the fact that the animal was not one that the veterinarians
present would have selected as best calculated to demonstrate the dis-
ease on post-mortem, and did not seem to the owner and others at all
badly diseased, his lungs presented the typical change of an advanced
stage of pleuro-pneumonia, and to an extent that would have seemed
sufficient to cause death.

This animal was of a kind, in the manifestation of the disease, very
apt to mislead the-laity and become a fruitful source of contagion.

In conclusion, I beg to call attention to the importance of existing
statutes regarding contagious diseases, and to a need of more general
dissemination of knowledge concerning the nature of contagious and
infectious diseases. To inform the people in this regard, and more
especially as to the extreme subtlety of the poison of such diseases, is
to greatly aid in the work of their extermination.

F, E. RICE, M. RB. & V. 8.

331

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[Jan.,

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

332

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1882.]

‘GHANILNOY ‘SHONVNIY—"ES8T SHTLLHIOOS IVYOLINOISV WO SNYOLHY

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

334

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1882.]

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[Jan.,

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

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“CaONIINOO— 'SHILINLVAD AGNV SNOINAYd JO SISATVNV

337

ANALYSIS OF PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES.

1884.]

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“‘SALLEIOOS

SLONGOUd WUVA
“‘daANIINOO— SHILINLVYD AGNV SNOINAYd AO SISATVNV

22

OFFICIAL LIST OF FARMERS’ CLUBS IN
CONNECTICUT—1883-4.

NAME OF CLUB.

PRESIDENT.

SECRETARY.

New Haven County,...
Abington,
Bethlehem,
ISTIStOl een cieoencees
Cheshire,
Chester,
Clinton,
Cloilvyanovey, Beso adden c
East Windsor,
Greens Farms,
(Grivilbivoywel oa g sea DON OS
Hamden,
Killingworth,
‘Lebanon,
peri ene cc cre tus toatoen:
Middlefield,
Morris,
BNC cists eve el eueinn ore
INaumoatuUek,... fe Scie
ING WAN POM, . 27-0) o ole eter
“New Canaan,
North Stonington,.. ..
New Britain,..........
IROMNeL eco eae ects:
South Coventry,
Southington,
CINEMAS relate ec erctevetrercyatets
WiatertOwase cee wsiee eps
West Cornwall,
VV ATIC eevee letters
BWALLEOIS liars ten a toeinecie
WWiOlCOtt, tas. hee aaes

eesecese ete

eee ereee

sewer eee

eee eer ee er eee

Ce

ee ee reer ee eseece

eee eceessee

seen cee

Prof. Wm. H. Brewer,..
James A. Pickard,......
L. F. Scott,
S. ah Gridley; tie ccsoe0
OAC Ribord: Peetet eee cr
IA WEL (Ghillbert; 2,402 seis.
George E. Elliot,
Joseph Hutchins,.......
William N. Wells,.. ...
Wm. J. Jennings,.......
Sidney W.. Leete,... ..-
GoW s Bradley .s2ae7uy--
N. H. Evarts,
Wm. Huntington,
OlivereRices brosuelelen re
He Weeeburnlburtecetec sc
A. C. Tracy,
Josiah Hammond,......
eB: Moles. 7 Mee eee.
i AS Wihittleseyee. cna.
BidwaAlngLOWit, cr telcloe
T. W. Wheeler,
1294 Wells ke ees
CAD Walliamsance ene
IP SHewheterson acest.
M. W. Frisbie,

Swe Peck.

Luman Wickwire,.. ...
Vallette D. Stearns......
D. N. Van Hoosear,. ...
iMarmon Pamero.aeese
Col: A. SW arners.s ene ee.

a

eeoee eee

Co

ceovecee

eee er eee

a

Cullen B. Foote.
Wm. Ingalls.

G. C. Stone.

S. R. Peck.

N. S. Platt.

C. E. Lord.
Sylvester Hull.
W. H. Yeomans.
John F. Fitts.

S. B. Sherwood.
R. H. Woodruff.
C. P. Augur.

E. P. Nichols,

O. HK. Pettis.

L. L. Coe.

P. M. Augur.

S. W. 8. Skilton.
James Watrous, Jr.
M. S. Baldwin.
J. 8S. Kirkham.
Charles F. Olmsted.
F. S. Peabody.
A. C. Blake.

B. 8. Warner.
Martin Parker.

E. A. Wood.

A. Porter.

A. H. Scoville.
T. S. Gold.

N. P. Perkins,

D. H. Van Hoosear.
Edwin A. Todd.
Dr. G. A. Bowen.

1884. ] THE SEASON OF 1883. 339

THE SEASON OF 1883

was peculiar in its character, yet with a fair average degree of
productiveness for Connecticut. The season was propitious in its
opening; corn and other grains vegetated well; the rain-fall was
moderate, yet sufficient; but the drought of the previous season
had so injured the stand of grass in pastures and meadows, that
the yield was generally light; a local drought affecting the middle
and northeastern parts of the State, and cutting short the late
- summer and autumn feed; while the low temperature of mid-sum-
mer and autumn interfered much with the high promise of early
summer.

Corn proved a fair average crop, the better crops being secured
before the frost of September 10th.

Wueat and Rye were somewhat winter-killed in the northern
portions of the State, but recovered and yielded fairly.

Oats were unusually good, and secured in fine order.

Buckwueat was a failure from drought and frost.

Porators were largely planted, and yielded well—quality ex-
cellent.

APPLES were scarce except in a few neighborhoods.

Pears yielded abundantly, but quality was inferior.

Pracues bore abundantly, and with the exception of some late
varieties were a decided success.

Puiums, wherever the curculio and the black knot were success-
fully fought, gave good returns.

Grapes, though extending in culture, in varieties and area, in
many cases failed to mature well. The frost of September 10th,
and the freeze of October 4th, proving very detrimental to the
crop.

The small fruits, as strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries,
all did well, the huckleberry alone proving a failure.

The Datry. The demand for cattle to stock the dairies and
ranches of the West has made veal more of an object than form-
erly, and the current of trade in young stock and dairy cows has
been Westward. Butter has been in good demand, and the prices
of choice dairy and creamery has kept full pace with any improve-
ment in quality.

Tosacco which was still in the field September 10th, was badly

340 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.,

frost-bitten, and the season can hardly be classed as favorable to
this industry.

Prices or Farmer’s Propuce. Oorn, 75c., oats, 45c. to 60c., rye,

75c., wheat, $1.00 to $1.20, potatoes, $1.00 to $1.25, hay, $10 to $20
per ton, milk, wholesale, 24c. to 4c. per quart, butter, 20c. to 45c.,
cheese, 10c. to 15c., beef sides, 6¢. to 9c., pork, 7c. to 10c., eggs, 15c.
to 45c., poultry dressed, 18c. to 25c., wheat bran, $18 to $22 per ton,
linseed meal, new process, $28, cotton seed meal, $27 to $29, ap-
ples, $2 to $4 per barrel, wool, 25c. to 35c., tobacco, 8c. to 15e.
* Working oxen, $150 to $250, milch cows, $30 to $75, not cov-
ering choice thoroughbreds, Jerseys, Guernseys, Ayrshires, Swiss,
and Holsteins, which are largely supplanting the favorite Devon
and Short Horn.

The prices given above do not cover the extreme range, yet may
prove of value for future comparison. The only break down in
prices has been in potatoes which have flooded the market.

De ee

1884.] CONNECTICUT STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 341

CONNECTICUT STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

At the annual meeting of the Society, I was directed to prepare
a Report of the Society for printing in the Report of the Board of
Agriculture. Space will not allow of any extended report.

The synopsis of the Report of the Treasurer and Corresponding
Secretary, as contained in the tables, exhibits the financial condi-
tion of the society. The Fair at Meriden was a decided success.
The improvement in the neat stock of the State, as manifested in
these exhibitions during the last thirty years, is very gratifying.
The show in Horticulture, and most other departments, testifies to
encouraging progress. Sheep and swine are annually exhibited
in decreasing numbers, yet their quality, as adapted to our present
wants, is improving. The liberal premiums offered should draw
out more competition, and that any premiums should be awarded
without special merit, is not the fault so much of those who do
exhibit and take premiums, as of those who fail to present better
ones in competition. This suggestion is not made to apply espec-
ially to the small exhibits of sheep and swine, but to every class 6f
animals, and to every article in the Dairy or Horticultural and
Agricultural exhibits. To share in the fullest benefits offered by
the Society, every producer in the State should exhibit his pro-
ducts and‘ test their relative value in comparison with what others
in the same line are producing. The varied industries of Connec-
ticut on the farm and in the shop, furnish materials for a show
only surpassed by National or World’s Fairs.

fo. GOLD;
Recording Secretary Connecticut Agricultural Society.

TREASURER’S REPORT.

Estate or NatHan Hart, TREASURER, in account with
Tur SratE BoARD OF AGRICULTURE.

RECEIVED.

Balance from Report of January 10, 1883, -

PAID.

11, 1888, John S. Kirkham, -

it,
ihe
11,

. 24,
. 80,

ce

ce

6c

4c

ce

dp lb, Ie S - -
W. J. Sullivan, - -
J. M. W. Yerrington, -
P.M. Augur,- —s_—- -
T. S. Gold, Treasurer, pro tem.,

. KIRKHAM, TREASURER.

RECEIVED.

16, 1884, Balance in Treasury

cc cb

ve be

From T. 8. Gold, - -
From State Treasurer, - -

PAID.

T. S. Gold, Salary, -
Traveling expenses,
Postage, -
Freight and express,
Telegrams, -
Stationery, -
Strawberry show,
Cattle commission,
Scovill House,

Sundries at Waterbury,

J. H. Hale, -
J. M. Hubbard,
L. P. Chamberlain,

$423.94

$423.94

$21.24
2,500.00

$2,521.24

$700.00
228.00
54.67
33.65
2.20
2.86
12.58
25.78
86.00
12.75
25.00
25.00
26.50

[Jan., BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

G. A. Bowen, -
W. H. Brewer, -
A. W. Cheever,
Jeb. Olcott, =n

Mrs. R. T. Cooke,

R. S. Hinman, -

E.H.Hyde, ~- :

The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.,

Albert Day, - -
J. S. Kirkham, =
Brown & Gross, - -
Alva Morgan, : -
P. M. Augur, - -
P. M. Augur, - -
S. B. West, - -
J. LeRoy Buck, - -
J. W. Alsop, - -
C. F. Congdon, - -
A. Warner, - -
J. M. Hubbard, - -
J.P. Barstow, - -
F. E. Rice, - -
Mrs. F. M. Hart, - -
James A. Bill, - mS
Feb. 6, 1884, Balance in Treasury, -

28.00
26.00
30.00
26.50
25.00

23.50

3438

$1,393.99
286.15
195.34
53.95
8.50
2.00
5.00
50.00
16.86
20.80
30.00
4.50
16.00
30.00
15.25
14.30
74.00
100.00
22.50
182.10

$2,521.24

id hie vi at st
y Ape RAL.

Ls agit

re
ae Wig
Petia Oke oa si
‘ales Be.
awry ty iv i

i Aa ae

popca %
rat seh ote ee
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ideal eit
i ane <2 Tee: x

} Geant WV iomarits

Ts

STATE OF CONNECTICUT.

ANNUAL REPORT

OF

The Connecticut Aotiéultural

EXPERIMENT STATION

For 1Sa a.

PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE LEGISLATURE.

NEW HAVEN:
TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR, PRINTERS.
1884.

OFFICERS

OF

fi onnecticut Aoviutuat xperiment Statin,

1883.

SPATE BOARD; OP -CONTROE.

Ex-officio.
His Exc. THOMAS M. WALLER, President.

Appointed by Connecticut State Agricultural Society : Term expires
Hon. E. H. HYDE, Stafford, Vice-President. July 1, 1885.
Appointed by Board of Trustees af Wesleyan University :

Pror. W. O. ATWATER, Middletown. : 1885.
Appointed by Board af Agriculture :

T. S. GOLD, West Cornwall. 1886.
Appointed by Governor and Senate:

EDWIN HOYT, New Canaan. 1886.

(JAMES J. WEBB, Hamden. 1884,

Executive Appownted by Governing Board of Sheffield Scientific School:
4 W. H. BREWER, New Haven, Secretary and Treasurer. 1884.

Committee. |

Ex-officio.
|S. W. JOHNSON, New Haven, Director.

Chemists.
JENKINS, Pu.D., Vice Director.
BOGARDUS.
: HUTCHINSON, B.S.
K. H. FARRINGTON, B.S.
MILTON WHITNEY.

lo
BOP ee

In charge of Buildings and Grounds.
CHARLES J. RICK.

Se 7 Soe) De a ass

oe a

eo

a

— “a?
>

~~)

WANN OUNCE MENT:

THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL HXPERIMENT STATION was established in
accordance with an Act of the General Assembly, approved March 21, 1877, ‘for
the purpose of promoting Agriculture by scientific investigation and experiment.”

The Station is prepared to analyze and test fertilizers, cattle-food, seeds, soils,
waters, milks, and other agricultural materials and products, to identify grasses,
weeds, and useful or injurious insects, and to give information on the various
subjects of Agricultural Science, for the use and advantage of the Citizens of
Connegcticut.

The Station makes analyses of Fertilizers, Seed-Tests, &c., &c., for the Citizens
of Connecticut without charge, provided—

1. That the results are of use to the public and are free to publish.

2. That the samples are taken by consumers from stock now in the market, and
in accordance with the Station instructions for sampling.

3. That the samples are fully described on the Station ‘“ Forms for Description.”

All other work proper to the Experiment Station that can be used for the public
benefit will be made without charge. Work done for the use of individuals will
be charged for at moderate rates. The Station will undertake no work, the results
of which are not at its disposal to use or publish, if deemed advisable for the
public good. See p. 17.

Results of analysis or investigation that are of general interest will be published
in Bulletins, of which copies are sent to each Post Office in this State, and will be
summed up in the Annual Reports made to the Legislature.

The officers of the Station will take pains to obtain for analysis samples of all
the commercial fertilizers sold in Connecticut; but the organized codperation of
the farmer is essential for the full and timely protection of their interests.
Farmers’ Clubs and like Associations can efficiently work with the Station for
this purpose, by sending in samples early during each season of trade.

It is the wish of the Board of Control to make the Station as widely useful as
its resources will admit. Every Connecticut citizen who is concerned in agricul-
ture, whether farmer, manufacturer, or dealer, has the right to apply to the
Station for any assistance that comes within its province to render, and the
Station will respond to all applications as far as lies in its power.

(@ Instructions and Forms for taking samples, and Terms for testing Fertil-
izers, Seeds, ete., for private parties, sent on application.

(> Parcels by Express, to receive attention, should be prepaid, and all com-
munications should be directed, not to individual officers, but simply to the

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,
NEW HAVEN CONN.

[@> Station Grounds, Laboratory and Office are on Suburban St. between
Whitney Avenue and Prospect St., 1g miles North of City Hall. Suburban St.
may be reached by Whitney Lake Horse Cars, which leave corner of Chapel and
Church Sts. each hour and half hour.

[> The Station has Telephone connection and may be spoken from the Cen-
tral Telephone Office, 346 State St., or from Peck & Bishop’s Office in Union
R. R. Depot.

CON Pee eles:

Page
Officorsiof. the! Station’: 20292 oo ee ee ae Bees eet hy 22 Sate ee 12
AMM OUNCEMOeNGE Era se Coe Wee Bin ee eee ee ee eo ee ee 3
Lablerof Contents) eas. 1-590 Seth oe ee oa eee ee Nl ee 4
iReportiofhe Board of Controleses eo) < 2232s eee 2s eee 7
Report oiebteastrerya 2) 262 ye eee Ma eee ne ee Pe Ue See 8
Report the Minecton 2234-2 2 Se Se tee aie eee ae see eee eee 9
Summary of Station Work -_..----- Ea oy a Ac Sibi cy! oh een 9
Stations Bublebing pans eee |e et nals a eR eae En ae fe eee 10
MenhilizersLaws explanations) okt a. Sayer 229.1 ay Reeekt eee ae ee ee 1l
Textiof thedlaw. 222826 es ee ee 12
Observance ofthe, Law’: .24lsctoeo led ee ee 15
Hertilizersics 44s aye SaA ae beh de ia ee aay ee ee 17
Instructions for Sampling.__---.-------. ie feuds teee mers S: , 19
HormsforDescriptioniof Sam pless= see. eae seee eee eee eee 21
Explanations of Fertilizer-Analysis and Valuation --_..-------- 23
Nitrovens. Organic iy. Pea ee So ie ee ee 23
Ammonia ca s6h+i4. ed shen shal eee eee Lee ch ae eee 23
Nitric Acids: Ate ee Bee ehet eho. 605 ee eee 23
PhosphorictA cid Solubles4as4 se. 42 2S eee eee ee 23
Pa i / Revertedrss | 22 nach 52 shes eee 23
o it polnsoluble< - fect. Sea kan . he ee 23
Potash we asivas! ae oe eee aot. Se ee eee 24
Valnation. defined 24029228 se. e02u 3. oe eee | 24
Average Trade Values for 1881, 1882 and 1883._.._--_- .--- 24
Estimating the Trade Value of a Fertilizer _.____- ee OBS 25
Usestof Valuation o3 & sae we esos (eee 25
Acricultural Valuevof Hertilzer2-2 5.2.5 =). 2-22 eee eee 26
Analyses and Valuations of Fertilizers ._..._-.---.---.------- 27
Classification of Fertilizers Analyzed .---..-------.--.--== 27
Native Phosphates. s. 220 3 OSs eee See Saeko tee 28

BoneiChar 23555 5252 ec een ence see. ee ae 28
\Superphosphates, Plain (Non-Nitrogenous)....-..--------- 28
ye Directions for making =~ _= -2 222282 eee 29
Ammoniated (Nitrogenous) and Guanos- - - 30

Tables of Analyses and Valuations... 33-38
Comparison of different Superphos-
phates of the same Brand and of
analyses with the guarantee -__--- 39-43

ee lee ial

~

CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 5

Page
Report of the Director: Fertilizers—

Special Wertiliaers -@ -./-- +222. sees Se eee SY eae 46
Tables of Analyses and Valuangus sed BPE E NE Ie 44-45
Table of Comparison of Special Manures.-.-.---- -- Sea's 47
‘Bone Wanures*: 22: jssae 222 Se see ee aos et ae eee seee 47
Method of - Valuation. 2 == 2s=22+e-2 saoecee oe eee Ce 48
Tables of Analyses and Valuations _-._._----..------ 52-53
On the Solubility of Bone in Ammonium Citrate -__--_-_- 51
DrysGroundsHish}2-6 aco es 8. Soe See eee 54
Nitrate of Soda ------ eos Ses Fee TE eee Se 56
SulphatcoivAmmoniaes a> 2 Seas ke sean eee oe eee 56
Mostzand: Plaster 3-20-26 sss0 2252-2 se Ae on 57
Cotton Seed and Castor) Pomace ......-.2-2-- 24. =--22 22-2 57
Potashisalis "26-8 2 Soscete Sees ee See ease 58
PANIALY HOS 59 Poe Age aie tes Se Re ge SP oO 60
SalipetersRetuse Sie os6 sees ease sae nese aoe cie seen se 59
Blasters serra oe She noe ba Nae ee ete a oen ae ee 61
Limestone Rock ----- BD Sea ae ae eee ee hee 63
Roecksfrom' New, Candanijo- 22355235 2c. S555 bso eset 65
Quick aime gs ss as a aS Se ee seen oe oe 66
Waste lime. fromPaper Works) 2: 2 = 5--2--=25-5-s- e555 66
Infnsoral-Harthy:2 Sco Sp Sos oe se eee a 2 apes ie ee 67
Ashes of Cotton Seed Hullso)7 3. 225--22552 22. /s02= 2 ease oe 67
Composition: of House, A'sheéss.2 225 5-1 8ss5-3552 2 555-5264 68
iheached “Wood -Ashes': ts 25-2 soso se se ees S55 Cob ee 70
Swamp IM Gky ee hs ei Se LS oe ee a eal ae 71
Review ofthe Hertilizer Market) --)35 22-24-2245 252. fs see 72
Explanations’ of Market Quotations ------=.2-2==-...1s-.-2-2-- 75

Fluctuations in price of Fertilizing Materials during the last 24
V CALS ee ee See ee Le Se ema Se acs So eet Pee 17
On the Composition of Leaves at Different Periods of Growth_---.-__--_.- 17
Mormpostiney Dead MucaVOs =a Sos sie eh Bu ae ye ey er ee as 81
Case of Poisoning with Paris Green -__.--_-- Dee SS Pee Oke Z 82
PEC Ga SUI Se see ee eRe s SST Soi a cena ee Bae! ee Oe 83
Maize: MealandeHominy, Heed a2 344 5 wee see Soon eee 83
Clutene Mea leases eset ee eC Esato cee Sea mee See ee ae 85
MOTICAPB LEW Glia CRAM S aes ae 2 ets Sok hE ee 86
Wheat bran, Middiings and Shorts). 42242 tess5-5 222552 s- 5555528 87
Cotton Seed Meal and New Process Linseed Meal__---_-----.------ 88
Table of Composition of American Feeding Stuffs _--.-_--_.-.------ 90-95
Seed Tests ....-..-- Ss a pS a: Vs eA ees = ee SC 96
OVS TASE TL ae See a Te Salar tl Sy Oe ee ee ee 96
“ ** temperature most suitable for germinating --_---.--.---- 99
ISO GETICCRSCE Un serene ene eee a ape ey oe oe eS Ae io | Sones 101
Seeds from U. 8. Department of moriculinres ets ye. = Sons yee ee oe 102
Apparatus for Testing the Vitality of Seeds_.__......-....-.---.-.-- 103
INISHRUCHIONS OL Dallp Lino SeOds sem \ ars seen ee Stee ae 2 2S a ee 105

ag 4

6 CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

Page
Report of the Director: Seed Tests—
Form for Description of Sample___..._._. Mg ty eyes: ele es 106
LOH ame (One| as) oLoNA Nba ME ee) Se | a a isso cite el Ean an aa 107 ‘
Milk 4

Analyses ol Malk: of Ayrshire] COWwSe ase seme tele =e
Case-ob Watered. Malis 3 rete 8 Seo oe ep lain Bet: Ly See tee
Bxaminationy or, Merrie ti Mui anh eee eet tere 2s Dee ee
Bech of wWornyjon@ ualityaos soil eee tena ete 2 oy ene pees
Act toxprevent, Adulteration of Milks. 505 2 seas 24 2 Dele
Determination of Nitrogen by combustion with calcium hydroxide --------

ee

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CONTROL. !

To the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut :

, GENTLEMEN :—The Board of Control of THe Connecticut
] AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT StTaTION herewith submits to your

Honorable Body the Annual Reports of the Director and of the
Treasurer, made to the Board at its Annual Meeting, held in
Hartford, January 15th, 1884.

During the year the work of the Station has been carried on
at its new quarters, which were already occupied and nearly
| ready for chemical work on the date of the previous annual
: meeting of the Board. The chemical laboratory was ready a
few weeks later and has been in continuous use since. This use

\ has confirmed the expectations of the Board as to its special
: adaptation to the work for which it was planned. The repairs
‘ and improvements on the place went on, however, until mid-
summer.

The Building Committee have still eleven hundred sixty-one
(1161) dollars of the special appropriation on hand. They report
a that the visible needs of the Station exceed this small sum, and
. they have therefore delayed expending it until the coming year,
: by which time the experience of the Station will decide which of
: the several needs are the most imperative, and how the balance
j can be most advantageously used.

; The people of the State use the Station more and more each
year and the problem becomes more difficult, how to best do

4 the varied work asked for: and to facilitate the administration

i of the Station affairs in the new and enlarged quarters, the Board

he of Control has appointed Dr. Jenkins Vice Director.

j THOMAS M. WALLER,
WM. H. BREWER, President,

Secretary.

REPORT OF OIE ~ TREASURES

Wn. H. BREWER, in account with The Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station, Jan. 17th to Nov. 30th, 1883.

RECEIPTS.
Balance from account of 1882 ....____.__-------- ---$1.673.68
State Treasurer (from Annual Appropriation). ----_-- 6,000.00
Licenses for sale of Fertilizers and Fees for Analyses__ 2,443.30
Otherireceipts)------=-=--— Be oe aga eens ett 8.55
——— $10,125.53
PAYMENTS.
PN A Ci he Ss SM late ea el ls Ra ah 8 RS wil alot $5,244.98
iaboratory Mxpenses, 45! 22h efit ser? (esse tose. 2,565.01
Hurmiturevand repairs on houses. 2. 2282222222 =e 299.67
The Grounds and Establishment... ----------------- 454.72
[Rie lee sete iet et Fe ent Sloe w PN ee A eee ae 311.50
RV Viet rete pee Se EME SR ac eA eh ol ph Se eae Ge aa hoe 132.00
RAR ey eres eects aes be a a ee ai os EI ee 150.30
[havepbare: Wales eh eeees ures Sank A Me) Bis os BRL de Sr Pe SRE Cee 2 515 39.50
Collecting, Mertilizers=2 3255 ese ee BE NM oo LL 70.61
Traveling Expenses of Board of Control_----------- 19:11
Praia tips Se Fe 2 Tec i eed AS ie PEE on Aree 202.10
Siaonery 2.208 eon eee oe tase ek epee eee ee 62.42
Es 0/21 ee ce og NE ay a SEN SR RRR Cig ® 108.55
@eleghone. SAS. eee. See LeU lee oe ee 107.55
GURY Ce hess fools: Sak eae oe Re oes 70.15
Miscellaneous'Sundinies=#220 =) 2 2 aee = soe eens 283.92
Cash balance onthand: : 005 Looe. Sees ee See 3.44
——— $10,125.53

WM. H. BREWER. Treasurer.

MEMORANDUM.

There is due the Station two hundred thirteen (213) dollars for analy-
ses made in the laboratory ; and an inventory of laboratory apparatus,
office furniture, chamber furniture, books and publications on hand,
Nov. 30th, 1883, is valued at two thousand four hundred and ninety-six
(2,496) dollars.

The previous reports of the treasurer have covered fiscal years ending
with the date of the annual meeting of the Board of Control, on the
third Tuesday of January of each year. The above account is for the
period embraced between the previous annual meeting of the Board of
Contrel and the close of the fiscal year of the State of Connecticut.
Hereafter the fiscal year of the Station will conform to that of the State.

Of the special appropriation ‘‘for the purpose of buying a lot and
erecting thereon buildings, and equipping the same for the permanent
use of the Station,” there has been expended during the period above
indicated, three thousand twenty-nine dollars and ninety-six cents
($3,029.96), leaving a balance of eleven hundred sixty-one (1,161) dollars
in my hands for the completion of the work projected.

WM. H. BREWER, Treasurer.

;

4

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.

During the winter of 1882-83 the Station was without labora-
tory facilities. On the first of March, 1883, the new laboratory
was so nearly completed that chemical work could be begun, and
in the following pages is given an account of this work from
March 1st to December Ist, so far as it is of interest to the public.
Much time and pains have necessarily been given to testing
analytical methods and controlling results, in order to insure the
utmost accuracy, but, in most cases, this work having no general
interest, is not suited to publication.

The fertilizer law requires the Director of this Station to
“cause one or more analyses of each fertilizer to be made and
published annually.” This has considerably increased the work
on fertilizers, and during the last nine months 219 analyses have
been made, nearly one-half of them on samples of complex com-
position, each one requiring six determinations in duplicate. In
connection with the fertilizer work, various investigations have
been made, with a view to securing greater accuracy in work and
rapidity in its execution. Some valuable result’ have been
obtained, which are noticed on subsequent pages.

Fifteen partial or complete analyses of milk have been made
for creameries and individual dairymen.

A modification of Liebermann’s method for determining the fat
in milk has been devised, which makes it possible to execute a
large number of fat determinations in a short time, and which, it
is believed, will be of service in work for the creameries of the
State or in dairy experiments.

Three samples of butter, suspected of adulteration, have been

tested with negative results.

Of fodders, twenty analyses have been made.
F ;

a

LOAn? THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

In connection with them a table has been prepared, giving the
average composition (with the maximum and minimum figures) of
American fodders and feeding stuffs, compiled from all analyses
which could be secured up to September Ist, 1883. The separate
analyses are collected and preserved at the Station, with refer-
ences to the journals in which they were first published.

One toxical examination has been made, which showed the
presence of arsenic and copper (Paris green) in the bowel of a
horse which had died suddenly.

One hundred and twenty-one seed examinations have beep
made, chiefly on onion seed, and some experiments on the best
temperature for the germination of onion seed are te lone in
their proper place.

The Bulletins of the Station have been only four in number,
but they have aggregated thirty-four carefully printed pages oe
the style of this Report, and were stitched for convenience of
preservation. As required by law, two copies at least (usually a
larger number) have been sent to each post-office in the State in
special envelopes, on which was printed the following:

“The Director of the Connecticut Agricultural Station shall,
from time to time, as Bulletins of said Station may be issued,
mail, or cause to be mailed two copies at least of such Bulletins
to each post-office in the State.”

Section 10 of ‘An Act Concerning Commercial Fertilizeys,” passed by the
General Assembly, to take effect Sept. 1, 1882.

[=5" The postmaster will greatly serve the public by dis-
tributing the enclosed bulletins to farmers. _2e}

The Bulletins have also been sent as usual to all of the Agri-
cultural Societies and Farmers’ Clubs, and to all the newspapers
in the State. They have been reprinted in the Connecticut Harmer
and in agricultural papers in other States.

/ EXPERIMENT STATION. 11

FERTILIZERS.

Tur Connecticut Ferrmizer Law.

The General Assembly at its session in 1882 passed a new
Fertilizer Law, which went into effect September 1, 1882, and
which repeals and takes the place of all previous legislation on
this subject in this State.

Since a full understanding of the provisions and penalties of
this law is important to all parties who buy or sell commercial
fertilizers, attention is specially directed to the following points:

1. In case of fertilizers that retail at ten dollars or more per
ton, the law of 1882 holds the sed/er responsible for affixing a cor-
rect label or statement to every package or lot sold or offered, as
well as for the payment of an analysis fee of ten dollars for each
fertilizing ingredient which the fertilizer contains or is claimed to
contain, unless the manufacturer or importer shall have provided
labels or statements and shall have paid the fee. Sections | and 3.

2. The law alse requires, in case of any fertilizer selling at ten
dollars or more per ton, that a certified statement of composition,
net weight in package, etc., shall be filed with the Director of the
Experiment Station, and that a sealed sample shall be deposited
with him. Section 2.

3. It is also provided that every person in the State who sells
any commercial fertilizer of whatever kind or price shall annu-
ally report certain facts to the Director of the Experiment
Station, and on demand of the latter shall deliver a sample for
analysis. Section 4.

Here follows the full text of the law, with explanatory foot-
notes by the Director:

¢

12 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

AN ACT CONCERNING COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
January Session, A. D. 1882.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in
General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Every person or company who shall sell, offer, or
expose for sale, in this State, any commercial fertilizer or manure,
the retail price of which is ten dollars, or more than ten dollars
per ton, shall affix conspicuously to every package thereof a
plainly printed statement, clearly and truly certifying the number

of net pounds of fertilizer in the package, the name, brand, or

trade-mark under which the fertilizer is sold, the name and address
of the manufacturer, the place of manufacture and the chemical
composition of the fertilizer, expressed in the terms and manner
approved and currently employed by the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station.*

If any such fertilizer be sold in bulk, such printed statement
shall accompany and go with every lot and parcel sold, offered,
or exposed for sale.

Src. 2. Before any commercial fertilizer, the retail price of
which is ten dollars, or more than ten dollars per ton, is sold,
offered, or exposed for sale, the manufacturer, importer, or party
who causes it to be sold, or offered for sale, within the State of
Connecticut, shall file with the director of the Connecticut Agri-

* A statement of the per cents. of Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid (P20s5) and

Potash (K.0), and of their several states or forms, will suffice in most cases.
Other ingredients may be named if desired.

In all cases the per cent. of nitrogen must be stated. Ammonia may also be
given when actually present in ammonia salts, and “ammonia equivalent to
nitrogen’? may likewise be stated.

The per cent. of soluble and reverted phosphoric acid may be given separately
or together, and the term ‘‘available” may be used in addition to, but not
instead of soluble and reverted.

Insoluble phosphoric acid may be stated or omitted.

In case of Bone, Fish, Tankage, Dried Meat, Dried Blood, ete., the chemical
composition may take account of the two ingredients: Nitrogen, Phosphoric
Acid.

For Potash Salts give always the per cent. of Potash (potassium oxide); that
of Sulphate of Potash or Muriate of Potash may also be stated.

The chemical composition of other fertilizers may be given as found in the

Station Reports.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 13

cultural Experiment Station two certified copies of the statement
named in section one of this act, and shall deposit with said
director a sealed glass jar or bottle containing not less than one
pound of the fertilizer, accompanied by an affidavit that it is a
fair average sample thereof.*

Sec. 3. The manufacturer, importer, agent, or seller of any
commercial fertilizer, the retail price of which is ten dollars or
more than ten dollars per ton, shall pay on or before the first of
May, annually, to the director of the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station, an analysis fee of ten dollars for each of the
fertilizing ingredients} contained or claimed to exist in said fertil-
izer: provided, that whenever the manufacturer or importer
shall have paid the fee herein required for any persons acting as
agents or sellers for such manufacturer or importer, such agents
or sellers shall not be required to pay the fee named in this
section.

Sec. 4. Every person in this State who sells, or acts as local
agent for the sale of any commercial fertilizer of whatever kind
or price, shall annually, or at the time of becoming such seller or
agent, report to the director of the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station his name, residence, and post-office address,
and the name and brand of said fertilizer, with the name and
address of the manufacturer, importer, or party from whom such
fertilizer was obtained, and shall, on demand of the director of
the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, deliver to said
director a sample suitable for analysis of any such fertilizer or
manure then and there sold or offered for sale by said seller or
agent.

Sec. 5. No person or party shall sell, offer, or expose for sale,
in the State of Connecticut, any pulverized leather, raw, steamed,
roasted, or in any form, as a fertilizer or as an ingredient of any

*The analysis of samples sent in accordance with section two is discretionary
with the Station. Such samples are intended for preservation as manufacturers’
standards.

+ The Station understands ‘the fertilizing ingredients” to be those whose
determination in an analysis is necessary for a valuation, viz: Nitrogen, Phos-
phoric acid and Potash. * The analysis-fees in case of any fertilizer will therefore
be ten, twenty or thirty dollars, according as one, two or three of these ingredi-
ents are contained or claimed to exist in the fertilizer. On receipt of statements,
Samples and analysis-fees, the Station will issue Certificates of compliance with
the law.

¢ Blanks for Dealers’ Reports will be mailed to applicants.

14 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

fertilizer or manure, without explicit printed certificate of the
fact, such certificate to be conspicuously affixed to every package
of such fertilizer or manure, and to accompany and go with every
parcel or lot of the same. :

Sec. 6. Every manufacturer of fish guano, or fertilizer of
which the principal ingredient is fish or fish-mass from which the
oil has been extracted, shall, before manufacturing or heating the
same, and.within thirty-six hours from the time such fish or mass
has been delivered to him, treat the same with sulphuric acid or
other chemical, approved by the director of said experiment
station, in such quantity as to arrest decomposition: provided,
however, that in lieu of such treatment such manufacturers may
provide a means for consuming all smoke and vapors arising from
such fertilizers during the process of manufacture.

Src. 7, Any person violating any provision of the foregoing
sections of this act shall be fined one hundred dollars for the first
offense, and two hundred dollars for each subsequent violation.

Sxc. 8. This act shall not affect parties manufacturing, import-
ing, or purchasing fertilizers for their own private use, and not to
sell in this State.

Suc. 9. The director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experi-
ment Station shall pay the analysis-fees received by him into the
treasury of the station, and shall cause one or more analyses of
each fertilizer to be made and published annually. Said director
is hereby authorized, in person or by deputy, to take samples for
analysis from any lot or package of manure or fertilizer which
may be in the possession of any dealer.

Src. 10. The director of the Connecticut Agricultural Station
shall, from time to time, as bulletins of said station may be
issued, mail or cause to be mailed two copies, at least, of such
bulletins to each post-office in the State.

Sxc. 11. Title sixteen, chapterfifteen, sections fifteen and sixteen,
and title twenty, chapter twelve, section five of the general stat-
utes, and chapter one hundred and twenty of the public acts of
1881, being an act concerning commercial fertilizers, are hereby
repealed.

Src. 12. This act shall take effect on the first day of Septem-
ber, 1882.

EXPERIMENT STATION.

OBSERVANCE OF THE FERTILIZER LAW. ~

15

Here follows a list of those manufacturers who up to Dec. 1,
1883, have essentially complied with Sections 2 and 3 of the
above Act concerning Commercial Fertilizers, the names of the
goods whose sale has thus been made legal, and the time of

Co., 42 Congress St., Boston,
Mass.

“cs sb

No. 3.

compliance.
Firm. Articles. Date.
Atlantic & Va. Fertilizing Co. |The Long Islander Ammoniated Super-|May 24.
phosphate of Lime with Potash.
- |The Orient Complete Manure. ie
H. J. Baker & Bro., 215 Pearl|Castor Pomace. Apr. 26.
St., New York. Pelican Bone Fertilizer. i;
A. A. Ammoniated Superphosphate. be
Complete Manure for Corn. i
ft 7 Potatoes. tf
if “« Tobaeco. o
Kainit. May 16.
J.P. Barstow & Co., Norwich,|Rafferty and Williams Americus Bone} July oye
Conn. Meal.
P. W. Bennett, Rock Fall, Conn.|Ground Rone. Oct. 5.
Bosworth Bros., Putnam, Conn. |Superphosphate of Lime. May 8.
Bone Meal. RS
Bowker Fertilizer Co., 43 Chat-|Stockbridge Grain Manure. Apr. 12.
ham St., Boston, Mass. 4 Vegetable Manure. e
ut Forage Crop “
Bowker’s Hill and Drill Phosphate. ue
se e Brighton #8 ue
ye Fish and Potash. a
# Fine Ground Dry Fish. i
: Fresh Milled Kainit. i
_ Bradley Fertilizer Co., 27 Kilby |Bradley’s Superphosphate. - March 21
St., Boston, Mass. B. D. Sea Fowl Guano. a
Original Coe’s Superphosphate. 3
English Lawn Fertilizer. June 27.
Robert B. Brown Oil Co., St./I. X. L. Castor Pomace. May 31.
Louis.
Clark’s Cove Guano Co., New|Bay State Fertilizer. March 6.
Bedford, Mass. Great Planet ‘‘ A.” May 25.
E. Frank Coe, 16 Burling Slip,|Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate. |Apr. 25.
New York. Dissolved Bones. <i
Russell Coe, Linden, N. J. Russell Coe’s Ammoniated Bone Su-|March 8.
perphosphate.
Collier White Lead and Oil Co.,|Collier White Lead and Oil Co., Castor|May 22
St. Louis. By F. Ellsworth,| Pomace.
Hartford.
Buffalo Fertilizer and Chemical|Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate. |March 20.
were L. L. Crocker, Buffalo, Potato, Hop and Tobacco Phosphate. f
L. B. Darling & Co., Paw-/Ground Bone. March 22
tucket, R. I. Animal Fertilizer. 4
G. W. Dickinson, Essex, Conn. \Ivory and Bone Dust. Sept. 20.
Dole’s Common Sense Fertilizer|\ Common Sense Fertilizer, No. 2. May 5.

16

THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Firm.

Glidden & Curtis, Boston, Mass.

Geo. L. Harris & Son, Eagle-
ville, Conn.

Lister Brothers, Newark, N. J.

Manhattan Chemical Co.,. 276
Pearl St., N. Y.

The Mapes’ Formula and Peru-
vian Guano Co., 158 Front
taeN aie

The Geo. W. Miles Co., Milford,
Conn.

Geo. W. Miller, Middlefield, Ct.

A. Mitchell, Linden, N. J.
National Fertilizer Co., Bridge-
port, Conn.

New Haven Fertilizer Co., New
Haven, Conn.

Peck Brothers, Northfield, Ct.

Preston Fertilizer Co., Green-
point Station, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Quinnipiac Fertilizer Co., New
London, Conn.

Quinnipiac Co., Wallingford, Ct.
Read & Co., 34 Beaver St.; N. Y.

The Rogers & Hubbard Co.,
Middletown, Conn.

M. L. Shoemaker, Philadelphia.
By F. Ellsworth, Hartford.
St. Louis Lead and Oil Co. By

F. Ellsworth, Hartford.
F. C. Slade, Oakville, Conn.
Edmund Smith, So. Canterbury,
Conn.

Articles.

Soluble Pacific Guano.

Pure Bone Phosphate.

Pure Ground Bone.

iGround Bone.

Potato Fertilizer.
Ammoniated Dissolved Bone.
Cooke’s Blood Guano.

The Mapes’ Potato Manure.
or Corn at

Complete Manure for light
soils.

Tobacco Manure, Connec-
ticut Brand.

Tobacco Manure for use
with stems.
Grass and Grain Spring
Top Dressing.
Complete Manure,
Brand.

Plain Superphosphate, High Grade.

I. X. L. Ammoniated Bone Superphos-
phate.

“©” Tsland Dry Fish Guano.

Fish and Potash.

Raw Bone Phosphate.

Ground Bone

Standard Superphosphate.

Chittenden’s Complete Fertilizer for
Roots, Potatoes and Vegetables.

iA 7?

Chittenden’s Complete Manure for
Grain.

Chittenden’s Ammoniated Bone Super-
phosphate.

Chittenden’s Fish and Potash.
Ammoniated Superphosphate.

Ground Bone.

Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate..

Dried and Ground Fish Guano.

Ground Bone.

Quinnipiac Phosphate.

Dry Ground Fish.

Fish and Potash, crossed Fishes Brand.

Fish and Potash, plain Brand.

Meat and Plaster.

Quinnipiac Co’s Bone.

Farmers’ Friend Fertilizer.

Matchless Tobacco Manure.

Pure Raw Knuckle Bone Meal.

Pure Raw Knuckle Bone, Fine, ‘ A.”

Swift-sure Bone Meal.

St. Louis Lead & Oil Co., Castor
Pomace.

Ground Bone.

pee Bone.

Date.

Oct. 6, ’82.
Apres S20:
‘b
May 9.
cb
“
May 23.
May z.
ob
“

73
is
eb
Apr. 9
“

33
June 18.
a3
June 22.
May 26.
cb
at
4s
May ge
May 31.
March 26.
T3
33
Apr., 30.
cb
ce
be
May be
ce
May 14.
(73
June - 1.
vb
May 26.
May 22.
June 1.
June il.

EXPERIMENT STATION. ART.

Firm. | Articles. Date.
Pau) Thompson, 238 State St.,|Mineral Manure for Tobacco and other;May 18.
Hartford, Conn. | Crops.
Williams, Clark & Co., 109 Pearl Fish and Potash. March 22.
St., New York. |Univergal Ammoniated Dissolved Bone. us
Americus Ammoniated Bone Super- as
phosphate.
Muriate of Potash. May 21.
|Kainit. bee May 15.
FERTILIZERS.*
ANALYSES.

In respect to its terms, the Station makes two classes of analy-
ses of fertilizers and fertilizing materials: the first for the benefit
of farmers, gardeners, and the public generally; the second for
_ the private use of manufacturers and dealers. Analyses of the
Jirst class are made gratuitously, and the results are published as
speedily and widely as possible for the guidance of purchasers
and consumers. Those of the second class are charged for at
moderate rates, and their results are not published in a way to
interfere with their legitimate private use. The Station, how-
ever, distinctly reserves the liberty to use at discretion, for the
public benefit, all results obtained in its laboratory, and in no
case will enter into any privacy that can work against the public
good.

During 1883, two hundred and nineteen (219) samples of fertil-
izers have been analyzed. Of these, 17 were examined for private
parties, and the remainder, 102, for the general use of the citizens
of the State.

The samples analyzed for the public benefit have in a few cases
only been sent in by purchasers and consumers. Most of them
have been supplied by agents of the Station who during, the
spring and early summer endeavored to visit all sections of the
State, to take one or more samples of every brand of fertilizer
offered for sale in the State, and to take them from the stock of
dealers in remote places as well as from centers of trade.

* The matter of this and of several subsequent pages, explanatory of the samp-
ling and valuation of fertilizers, is copied with a few appropriate alterations from
the Report for 1881. This repetition appears to be necessary for the use of read-
ers who have not seen former Reports.

18 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

The Station agents are instructed when drawing samples to
open at least three packages of each brand of goods in every
case, and if the number of packages is large, to take a portion
from every tenth one. The contents of bags or barrels are rap-
idly and accurately sampled by means of a brass sampler made
by McFadden and Dooley, New Brunswick, N. J., on a pattern
suggested by Dr. A. T. Neale of the New Jersey Experiment
Station. In the past the Station has been in several instances
seriously embarrassed on account of the carelessness of those who
have drawn and sent in samples for analysis. This trouble is
avoided by the present system which could not earlier be adopted
for lack of means.

-The Station none the less desires the codperation of farmers
and farmers’ clubs in calling its attention to the appearance of
new brands of fertilizers in the State and in securing samples of
all goods offered for sale. All such samples are understood to be
taken in accordance with the printed instructions which the Sta-
tion supplies to all applicants. Here follows a copy of these in-
structions.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 19

THE CONNECTICUT
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SAMPLING COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS.

The Commercial Value of a high-priced Fertilizer can be esti-
mated, if the amounts per cent. of its principal fertilizing elements
are known. Chemical analysis of a small sample, so taken as to
fairly represent a large lot, will show the composition of the lot.
The subjoined instructions, if faithfully followed, will insure a fair
sample. Especial care should be observed that the sample neither
gains nor loses moisture during the sampling or sending, as may
easily happen in extremes of weather, or from even a short expos-
ure to sun and wind, or from keeping in a poorly closed vessel.

1. Provide a tea cup, some large papers, and for each sample a
glass fruit-can or tin box, holding about one quart, that can be
tightly closed—all to be clean and dry.

2. Weigh separately at least three (3) average packages (bar-
rels or bags) of the fertilizer, and enter these actual weights in
the “ Form for description of Sample.”

5. Open the packages that have been weighed, and mix well
together the contents of each, down to one-half its depth, empty-
ing out upon a clean floor if needful, and crushing any soft, moist

lumps in order to facilitate mixture, but leaving hard, dry lumps
unbroken, so that the sample shall exhibit the texture and mechan-
ical condition of the fertilizer.

4, Take out five (5) equal cupfulls from different parts of the
mixed portions of each package. Pour them (15 in all) one over
another upon a paper, intermix again thoroughly but quickly to
avoid loss or gain of moisture, fill a can or box from this mixture,
close tightly, label plainly, and send, charges prepaid, to

Tuer Conn. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,
New Haven, Conn.

The foregoing instructions may be over-nice in some cases, but
they are not intended to take the place of good sense on the part
of those who are interested in learning the true composition of a
fertilizer. Any method of operating that will yield a fair sample
is good enough.

20 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

In case of a fine, uniform and moist or coherent article, a butter-
tryer or a tin tube, like a dipper handle, put well down into the
packages, in a good number of places will give a fair sample with
great ease. With dry, coarse articles, such as ground bone, there
is likely to be a separation of coarse and fine parts on handling.
Moist articles ‘put up in bags or common barrels may become dry
on the outside. It is in these cases absolutely necessary to mix
thoroughly the coarse and fine, the dry and the moist portions
before sampling. Otherwise the analysis will certainly misrepre-
sent the article whose value it is intended to fix.

The quantity sent should not be too small. When the material
is fine and uniform, and has been carefully sampled, a pint may be
enough, but otherwise and especially in the case of ground bone,

which must be mechanically analyzed, the same should not be

less than one quart.

It is also important that samples for analysis should be taken
at the time when the fertilizer is purchased, and immediately dis-
patched to the station. Moist fish, blood or cotton seed will soon
decompose and lose ammonia, if bottled and kept in a warm place.
Superphosphates containing much nitrogen will suffer reversion of

their soluble phosphoric acid under similar circumstances. Most —

of the moist fertilizers will lose water unless tightly bottled, but
some of the grades of potash salts will gather moisture from the
air and become a slumpy mass if not thoroughly protected.

These changes in the composition of a sample not suitably pre-
served must invalidate any conclusions from its analysis, and
work serious injustice either to the manufacturer or to the con-
sumer.

It doubtless often happens that a purchaser on laying in a stock
of fertilizers decides that he will not then trouble the Station to
analyze the goods he has obtained, but will set aside samples
which he can send for examination in case the crops. report
adversely as to their quality. It is always better to send all
samples at once to the Station where they can be directly analyzed
or so prepared that they will keep without chemical change.

With the Instructions for Sampling, the Station furnishes a
blank form for Description of Sample, a copy of which is here
given.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 21

THE CONNECTICUT

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,

New HaAveEN, Conn.

Form FOR DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE.

Baton NO... 22220. L- Wee dat, Station, 25225 04-2 2243 a

Each sample of Fertilizer sent for gratuitous analysis must be
accompanied by one of these Forms, with the blanks below filled
out fully and legibly.

The filled out Form, if wrapped up with the sample, will serve
as a label.

Send with each sample a specimen of any printed circular,
pamphlet, analysis or statement that acompanies the fertilizer or
is used in its sale.

rane Of Hertiizer 00 Foe Loria Seine Paya ae etd eetepe

Name and address! of Manufacturer, _ 2-2... 2202222 228 Ne

SP o2 =~ eSB Seo Se a ee ee ie et

iP Ee Cees Sa Ree ea a a oo PU eg PN Hh es
Mr perorntactoub nis, sagiple. ey 25 sae i a tepid
Selling price per ton or hundred, bag or barrel,_.------------
Selling weight claimed for each package weighed, ----.-------
Actual weight of packages opened, ---.---..---------------

Here write a copy of any analysis or guaranteed composition
that is fixed to the packages.

sample.

22, THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

On receipt of any sample of fertilizer from the open market,
the filled out “Form for Description” which accompanies it is
filed in the Station’s Record of Analyses, and remains there as a
voucher for the authenticity of the sample and for the fact that it
has been taken fairly, or, at least, under suitable instructions. It
is thus sought to insure that manufacturers and dealers shall not
suffer from the publication of analyses made on material that
does not correctly represent what they have put upon the market.

The “Form for Description,” when properly filled out, also
contains all the data of cost, weight, etc., of a fertilizer which
are necessary for estimating, with help of the analysis, the com-
mercial value of its fertilizing elements, and the fairness of its
selling price. Neglect to give full particulars occasions the
Station much trouble, and it is evident that want of accuracy in
writing up the description may work injustice to the manufac- —
turers or dealers, as well as mislead consumers. It is especially
important that the brand of a fertilizer and its selling price
should be correctly given. The price should be that actually
charged by the dealer of whom it is bought, and if the article be
purchased in New York or other distant market, that fact should
be stated, and the cost at the nearest point to the consumer, on
rail or boat, should be reported also.

In all cases, when possible, ton prices should be given, and if
the sale of an article is only by smaller quantities, that fact
should be distinctly mentioned.

When a sample of fertilizer has been analyzed, the results are
entered on a printed form, which is filed in the Station Record of
Analyses, facing the “Description of Sample” that was received
with the fertilizer to which it pertains, and there remains for
future reference.

A copy of the analysis is also immediately reported to the
party that furnished the sample, the report being entered on one
page of another printed form and facing a second printed page of
“ Explanations,’ intended to embody the principles and data
upon which the valuation of fertilizers is based.

These Explanations are essential to a correct understanding of
the analyses that are given on subsequent pages, and are, there-
fore, reproduced here, as follows:

EXPERIMENT STATION. Io

' EXPLANATION OF FERTILIZER-ANALYSIS AND VALUATION.

Nitrogen is commercially the most valuable fertilizing element.
It occurs in various forms or states. Organic nitrogen is the
nitrogen of animal and vegetable matters generally, existing in
the albumen and fibrin of meat and blood, in the uric acid of bird
dung, in the urea and hippuric acid of urine, and in a number of
other substances. Some forms of organic nitrogen, as that of
blood and meat, are highly active as fertilizers; others, as that of
hair and leather, are comparatively slow in their effect on vegeta-
tion unless these matters are reduced to a fine powder or chemi-
cally disintegrated. Ammonia and nitric acid are results of the
alteration of organic nitrogen in the soil and manure heap, and
are the most active forms of nitrogen. They occur in commerce
—the former in sulphate of ammonia, the latter in nitrate of
soda.

Seventeen parts of ammonia, or 66 parts of pure sulphate of
ammonia, contain 14 parts of nitrogen.

Highty-five parts of pure nitrate of soda also contain 14 parts
of nitrogen.

Soluble phosphoric acid implies phosphoric acid or phosphates
that are freely soluble in water. It is the characteristic ingredient
of superphosphates, in which it is produced by acting on “insolu-
ble” or “reverted ” phosphates with oil of vitriol. It is not only
readily taken up by plants, but is distributed through the soil by
rains. Once well incorporated with soil, it shortly becomes
reverted phosphoric acid.

Reverted (reduced or precipitated) phosphoric acid strictly
means phosphoric acid that was once freely soluble in water, but
from chemical change has become insoluble in that liquid. It is
freely taken up by a strong solution of ammonium citrate, which
is therefore used in analysis to determine its quantity.* “ Reverted
phosphoric acid” implies phosphates that are readily assimilated
by crops, but generally have less value than soluble phosphoric
acid, because they do not distribute freely by rain.

Insoluble phosphoric acid implies various phosphates not freely
soluble in water or ammonium citrate. In some cases the phos-

*To determine “reverted phosphoric acid,” this Station continues to employ
the method first described by Fresenius, Neubauer and Luck (known in this.
country also as the Washington method, because adopted by the Convention of

Agricultural Chemists, held at Washington, in July, 1880), modified in a single
particular, viz: manufactured phosphates are not pulverized.

OA THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

phoric acid is too insoluble to be rapidly available as plant food.
This is true of South Carolina rock phosphate, of Navassa phos-
phate, and especially of Canada apatite. The phosphate of coarse
raw bones is at first nearly insoluble in this sense, because of the
animal matter of the bone which envelopes it, but when the latter
decays in the soil, the phosphate remains in essentially the
“reverted” form.

Potash signifies the substance known in chemistry as potassium
oxide, which is the valuable fertilizing ingredient of “ potashes ”
and “potash salts.” It is most costly in the form of sulphate,
and cheapest in the shape of muriate or chloride.

The valuation of a fertilizer signifies estimating its worth in
money, or its trade value; a value which, it should be remem-
bered, is not necessarily proportional to its fertilizing effects in
any special case.

Plaster, lime, stable manure, and nearly all the less expensive
fertilizers have variable prices, which bear no close relation to
their chemical composition; but guanos, superphosphates and
other fertilizers, for which $30 to $80 per ton are paid, depend
chiefly for their trade value on the three substances, nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash, which are comparatively costly and
steady in price. The money value per pound of these ingredients
is easily estimated from the market prices of the standard articles
which furnish them to commerce. ,

The average trade values, or cost in market per pound, of the
ordinarily occurring forms of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and
potash, as found in the Connecticut and New York markets, and
employed by the Station during the last three years, have been as
follows:

TRADE-VALUES FOR 1881, 1882 AND 1883.

1881. 1882. 1883.
Cents per pound.

INTTROGHN in nitrates!:! Aste Ps ee Ste ee Yo HAD SSE LS ANE. 26 26 20:
y Invamnmioniansaltsclece4 este ee er eh ee sateelaes 224% 29 26
Me in Peruvian Guano, fine steamed bone, dried and fine

ground blood, meat and fish, superphosphates ,

ang Special manures yes ae eae eae 20 24 23
in coarse or moist blood, meat or tankage, in cotton

seed, linseed and Castor Pomace, .-.-------- 16 18 18
4 in fine ground bone, horn and wool dust, .--------- 15 17 17
st IMetiMe medium ONE: Ns eae ms Te ee A weOr ee eRe 14 15 15
SPM ss rhahtaaveteliunady|Vayels pyar Ao aS Serene ay epee AE ART 13 14 14
e in) Coarseumedinm None a2 a eee a See eee 12 13, is

Ai in coarse bone, horn shavings, hair and fish serap,-- 11 11 11

EXPERIMENT STATION. 25

1881. 1882. 1883.
—Cents per pound.—

iIPHOSPHORIC ACID soluble im water,..__J2--2------2-.---2=: TO ee
ge ‘“ ‘reverted’ and in Peruvian Guano, .------ 9 9 8
es «insoluble, in fine bone, fish guano and super-
phosphates;.2.s26.) chest ieee eee 6 6 6
ee “insoluble, in fine medium bone,------------ 54 54 54
Oo Pues uf INGMECI DONC ye eee ee ee 5 5 5
- ue ee in coarse medium bone, ---- ---- 44 44 4}.
a as Be in coarse bone, bone ash and bone
DLAC ea Share oN So Nats Poe Ses 4 4. 4
if ‘« insoluble, in fine ground rock phosphate,-... 34 3 24
Porasu in high grade sulphate, ----.--- Bas st So we ahahoian 3 74 7 7
«in low grade sulphate and kainit,--.-------.---.----- 54 5 44
7) in wauriate, or potassium: chloride, .-..-.--.=--...5.-- 44 5 At

These “ trade-values” of the elements of fertilizers are not fixed,
but vary with the state of the market, and are from time to time
subject to revision. They are not exact to the cent or its frac-

tion, because the same article sells cheaper at commercial or man-
ufacturing centers than in country towns, cheaper in large lots
than in small, cheaper for cash than on time. These values are
high enough to do no injustice to the dealer, and properly inter-
preted, are accurate enough to serve the object of the consumer.

To Estimate the Value of a Fertilizer we multiply the per cent.
of nitrogen, etc., by the trade-value per pound, and that product by
20; we thus get the values per ton of the several ingredients, and
adding them together we obtain the total estimated value per ton.

In case of Ground bone, the fineness of the sample is graded
by sifting, and we separately compute the nitrogen value of each
grade of bone which the sample contains, by multiplying the
pounds of nitrogen per ton in the sample, by the per cent. of each
grade, taking one one-hundredth of that product, multiplying it
by the estimated value per pound of nitrogen in that grade, and
taking this final product as the result in cents. Summing up the
separate values of each grade, thus obtained, together with the
values of each grade for phosphoric acid, similarly computed, the
total is the estimated value of the sample of bone. For further
particulars, see page 47.

The uses of the “ Valuation” are, 1st, to show whether a given
lot or brand of fertilizer is worth as a commodity of trade what

it costs. If the selling price is no higher than the estimated

value, the purchaser may be quite sure that the price is reason-

able. If the selling price is but $2 to $3 per ton more than the

estimated value, it may still be a fair price; but if the cost per
3

*

26 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

ton is $5 or more over the estimated value, it would be well to
look further. 2d, Comparisons of the estimated values and sell-
ing prices of a number of fertilizers will generally indicate fairly
which is the best for the money. But the “estimated value” is
not to be too literally construed, for analysis cannot always
decide accurately what is the form of nitrogen, ete., while the
mechanical condition of a fertilizer is an item whose influence
cannot always be rightly expressed or appreciated.

The Agricultural value of a fertilizer is measured by the benefit
received from its use, and depends upon its fertilizing effect, or
crop-producing power. As a broad, general rule, it is true that
Peruvian guano, superphosphates, fish-scraps, dried blood, potash
salts, plaster, etc., have a high agricultural value which is related
to their trade-value, and to a degree determines the latter value.
But the rule has many exceptions, and in particular instances the
trade-value cannot always be expected to fix or even to indicate
the agricultural value. Fertilizing effect depends largely upon
soil, crop and weather, and as these vary from place to place and
from year to year, it cannot be foretold or estimated except by

the results of past experience, and then only in a general and
probable manner.

For the above first-named purpose of valuation, the trade-values

of the fertilizing elements which are employed in the computations

should be as exact as possible, and should be frequently corrected
to follow the changes of the market.

For the second-named use of valuation, frequent changes of the
trade-values are disadvantageous, because two fertilizers cannot

be compared as to their ‘relative money-worth, when their valua-

tions are estimated from different data.

Experience leads to the conclusion that trade-values adopted at
the beginning of a year should be adhered to as nearly as possible
throughout the year, notice being taken of considerable changes.
in the market, in order that due allowance may be made therefor.
It should be remembered that, in an Annual Report, the fluctua-
tions in trade-value that may occur within the year cannot be
accurately followed, and the comparisons of estimated values are
mostly in retrospect.

‘The valuations for 1883 were adopted in consultation with Dr.
Goessmann, Director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experi-
ment Station, Prof. Cook, Director of, and Dr. Neale, Chemist to,
the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and have been
employed by these gentlemen in their official Reports for 1883.

EXPERIMENT STATION. QT

ANALYSES AND VALUATION OF FERTILIZERS.

The eclassification of the Fertilizers analyzed in the Station
' Laboratory from March ist, to November Ist, 1883, is as follows:

5 native phosphates.

4 bone char. ,

6 plain (non-nitrogenous) superphosphates,
75 nitrogenous (ammoniated) superphosphates and guanos.*
31 special fertilizers or “ formulas.”

1 bat guano.

23 bone manures.

8 dry ground fish.

2 nitrate of soda.

2 sulphate of ammonia.

2 dried blood.

1 meat and plaster.

1 slaughter house refuse.

10 castor pomace and cotton-seed meal.
13 potash salts. *

| alkali deposit.

9 plaster.

4 limestone rocks.

1 rock. |

2 quick lime.

1 waste slaked lime from paper mill.

2 infusorial earth.

2 ashes of cotton-seed hulls.

4 wood ashes.

3 leached ashes.

1 farm manure.

1 compost.

4 mucks.

219

Of this number 14 were analyzed for private parties and are
not noticed in the following pages, since the results are not of
general interest or value.

* Including ‘fish and potash.”

98 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

NatTivE PHOSPHATES.

915. Fine-ground Crude Navassa Phosphate, Navassa Phos-
phate Co’s agent, No. 12 Cliff street, New York. Sampled and
sent by J. M. Milbank, Greenfield Hill.

993. Ground Phosphate Rock. Sold by A. E. Scribner & Co.,
35 Broadway, N. Y. Sample obtained from Usher & Tinker,
Plainville. :

ANALYSES.
915 993
Phosphoric acid soluble in ammonium citrate, -. 4.09 Dil
Phosphoric acid insoluble in “ rf eZ. 8k 34.85
Costiperiton op as Seen cates eee cle cere Cees $17.00+ $30.00*

Both of these samples are quite fine and readily pass through a
sieve having 2, inch meshes.

Boner Cuar.

Four samples of this material have been analyzed. 873 and
889 were sent to the Station by the purcltaser. 1033 and 1042
were obtained from manufacturers in New Haven by the Station.
They are all waste materials which have been used for case-hard-
ening iron.

ANALYSES,
873 889 1033 1042
Water Ss. Soe Jo ade acee 25.91 2.38
Carboniciacid) 25754252 eecere 2.15 1.18
Phosphoric acid) === ee ees== 29.17 28.34 16.63 21.34

This bone char is little more active as a fertilizer than fine
ground phosphate rock, when applied directly to land. When
properly treated,with oil of vitriol, however, it makes an excellent
superphosphate. See the following page. (

Piatn (Non-NirrRoGENOus) SUPERPHOSPHATES.

This class includes fertilizers which are made by treating some
phosphate (rock phosphate, lone ash, bone char, etc.), with a very

* $92.00 per ton wholesale in N. Y.
+ f. 0. b. in N. Y., $18.00 to $18,50 in Southport.

SoS or aa ae

=r >:
Fas -

Xe

Se ip eS gee ee ee ey eee) ee a a ae

EXPERIMENT STATION. 29

strong acid, usually oil of vitriol, without the addition of nitro-
genous matter or potash salts. They are valuable commercially
only for the soluble phosphoric acid which they contain.

Six articles of this class have been analyzed.

877. Home Made Superphosphate. Sample taken 48 hours
after it was prepared.

890A. Home Made Superphosphate. The same stock as 877,
but taken after it had lain in a pile one week.

890 B. The same after standing six months in a tightly closed
jar.

916. Navassa Acid Phosphate. Made by the Navassa Phos-
phate Co., 12 and 14 Cliff street, New York. Sampled and sent
by J. M. Milbank, Greenfield Hill.

942. Acid Phosphate of Lime. Made by the Bowker Fertilizer
Co. From stock of Wilson & Burr, Middletown. Sampled and
sent by J. M. Hubbard, Middletown.

987. High Grade Superphosphate. Made by the Mapes For-
mula & Peruvian Guano Co., N. Y. From stock of the Mapes
Branch, Hartford. Sampled by the Station Agent.

1036. Packard’s Concentrated Superphosphate. Imported by
H. J. Baker & Bro., N. Y. Sample sent by the importers at the
request of the Station.

ANALYSES.

877 8904 890B. 916 942 | 987 | 1036

Phosphoric acid soluble in water,-.. 13.04/14.4613.15| 5.56) 10.72 |34.94|39.10
Reverted* Phosphoric acid, -- ___- ) 207 6.43] 1.08 | 1.43] 6.70
Insoluble phosphoric acid,_-__ .-- j ia ea 4.55) 2.84 | 1.56] .71
| |
Gosteperitoni:: je Sse ae nik see EL $23.00) 24.00 |70.00)'
Cost of soluble phosphoric acid per } | | | $11.20+|10.02
1110) ST Oe kai j | | $9.66¢| 9.57

877 was made from the bone char 873 whose analysis is given
on the previous page, in the following way:

100 parts by weight of char were spread in a mortar bed and
wet with 42 parts of water. 55 parts of strong oil of vitriol,
“66° acid,” were then added and the whole was thoroughly
mixed with a hoe. The solvent action of the oil of vitriol contin-

* See page 23.

+ Making no allowance for reverted and insoluble phosphoric acid.

} Allowing 8c. per Ib. for reverted and 2%c. for insoluble phosphoric acid.

30 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

ued for some time, as is shown by the higher percentage of solu-
ble phosphoric acid in the material after lying fora week. As
far as concerns its mechanical condition the superphosphate pre-
pared as above was inferior to the best “acid phosphates ” in our
market. It was somewhat lumpy and could not be conveniently
drilled without sifting. The lumps were very soft, however, and
easily pulverized. Constant stirring with a hoe while the mixture
is cooling does much to prevent the forming of lumps. In this
case the operation was decidedly economical, for by it soluble
phosphoric acid was got for about $8.00 per 100 lbs., while in
market it was selling for from $10 to $12, and its fertilizing
effect was satisfactory. Generally speaking the farmer can buy
acid phosphate cheaper than he can make it. Home manufacture
is only advisable when farm work is slack and the raw phosphate
can be got at a very low price.

Ground bone is used considerably in case-hardening small arti-
cles of iron, and where the consumption is not large, manufactur-
ers throw away the spent char, or will sell it at a low price.
Such material it may be very profitable to utilize for superphos-
phate manufacture on the farm.

916 is made from the Navassa rock which contains much iron
and alumina. A larger share of the phosphoric acid may have
been soluble in water when the goods were first manufactured,
but if so, a portion has reverted, or been made again insoluble in
water. This effect is with great probability attributed to the
iron and alumina present. '

987 contains more than double the amount of soluble phospho-
ric acid usually found in high grade superphosphates and at $70
per ton retail we believe is the cheapest source of soluble phos-
phoric acid in our market. 1036 is an article of still higher grade
than the last mentioned, but is not in the retail trade. 987 is
manufactured in this country, 1036 is imported from England.

NirroGEeNnous (AMMONIATED) SUPERPHOSPHATES AND GUANOS.

Here are included all those superphosphates which contain ni-
trogen in any form—excepting the formulas or “ special manures,”
to be noticed in the next section—as well as guanos, either in
their natural state or manipulated. The articles of this class with
few exceptions also contain more or less potash and such are
known as “complete manures.”

EXPERIMENT STATION. ol

75 samples of this class of fertilizers have been analyzed during
the year, 7 of them for private parties. The analyses and valua-
tions of 63 of them are given on pages 33 to 38.

34 are called by the*manufacturers!“ phosphate” or “ super-
phosphate ;” 10, “Fish and Potash ;” 4, “Mineral Manure ;”
3, “Peruvian Guano;” 3, “Complete Manure,” and 2, “Com-
mon Sense Fertilizer.’ The other 12 are “ Alkalized Guano,”
“ Menhaden Guano,” ‘ Fish Guano,” “Sea Fowl Guano,” “ Blood
Guano,” “Soluble Pacific Guano,” “ Animal Fertilizer,” ‘Pelican
- Bone Fertilizer,” “ Farmer’s Friend Fertilizer,’ “ Bay State Fer-
tilizer” and “ Great: Planet A.”

On page 38 are given the analyses of 5 superphosphates, whose
retail prices were not reported, For that reason the analyses
could not be arranged with reference to the relation of cost to
estimated value as the others have been.

Chlorine has been determined in most cases in order to decide
whether the potash in the fertilizer exists as muriate or sulphate.
Potash is in all cases reckoned as muriate if sufficient chlorine is
present in the fertilizer to combine with it. If there is more pot-
ash present than will combine with the chlorine, then this excess
of potash is reckoned as sulphate.

998 “ Alkalized Guano” is stated by the manufacturers to be
an artificial guano made of ammonia salts, sulphate of potash and
phosphoric acid “from organic sources.” That portion of the
guano which is insoluble in water has much the appearance of
the phosphates that come from the West Indies, Curagao, Mona
Island, ete.

863 Chittenden’s Fish and Potash is made from fish scrap
which has not been acidulated. For that reason, only nitrogen
and total phosphoric acid were determined at the time when the
sample came, and the results were published in Bulletin No. 73,
p. 13. The valuation then given was $25.20. For comparison
with other brands of fish and potash it was necessary to sepa-
rately determine phosphoric acid in the three forms and to change
the valuation accordingly, which has been done in the table on
page 37.

855, 856, 875 and 948 are samples of Paul Thompson’s Min-
eral Manure for Tobacco and Other Crops. 856 was sampled
and sent by W. A. Burr, West Hartford. The others were sam-
pled by the manufacturer and the’station agent. The analyses indi-
cate a series of unsuccessful experiments in manufacture, and not
a marketable article of tolerably uniform composition.

32 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

ANALYSES AND VALUATIONS.

Nitrogen veer
(9)

Station of Soluble Reverted Insoluble Estimated Cost
No. Ammonia Organic Phos. Phos. Phos. Potash. value perton-
Salts. Matters. Acid. Acid. Acid, per ton.
875 1.14 2.63 84 39 25 17.26 25.00
948 80 16 1.12 38 1.31 10.56 25.00
855 .08 -L9 none 1.76 silly 216 5.19 25.00
SE real Se Ngee
856 29 2.51

The average cost of the nitrogenous superphosphates excluding
the four just mentioned, is $41.42; the average estimated value
is $34.92, and the average difference between cost and valuation
is $6.50.

For the last four years the average cost and the average differ-
ence between cost and estimated value have been as follows:

1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.
AWerage COB, so. See ae $39.00 43.00 40.58 41.42
Average difference,_..--.--- $3.00 4.00 1.89 6.50

Since the trade values used by the Station in computing esti-
mated values have been prepared yearly from the market reports
and always in the same manner this larger discrepancy in the
present year between cost and valuation cannot be due to any
arbitrary change in our trade values. It is most likely explained
by the fact that the prices of manufactured goods have not gone
down during the last eighteen months while many of the raw ma-
terials used in their manufacture have been steadily becoming
cheaper. A further discussion of this matter will be found in the
Review of the Fertilizer Market.

About one-third (23) of the samples have not contained the full
minimum amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, guar-
anteed by the makers. In most cases, however, the difference
between the composition and guarantee was quite small and only
involved a single ingredient.

The Comparison of Different Superphosphates of the Same
Brand and of the Analyses with the Guarantees, on pages 39
to 43, serves to show first the variations in samples of the same
brand which are caused by carelessness in the preparation of the
goods or in their storage, errors in sampling, ete., and second,
how nearly the actual composition of the superphosphates agrees
with what jis claimed for them by their manufacturers.

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THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTU

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THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

44.

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‘PANnuUyUOY) —SAAZITILAA Y TVIONdG

46 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

SpeciaL FEertTinizers or “ FoRMULAS.”’

Thirty-one samples of this class of nitrogenous superphosphates
have been analyzed during the year; a part of them for private
parties. The analyses and valuations of those which have general
interest are given on pages 44 and 45. Numbers 989 and 1000
are Lawn Fertilizers. The demand for them is relatively small
and they are usually sold in lots of 100 to 200 lbs. Ton prices
are not given.

Leaving out of account these lawn fertilizers, the average cost
of 23 special fertilizers has been $49.98, the average estimated
value $42.53 and the difference between cost and valuation $7.45.

For the last four years the average cost and the difference
between cost and valuation have been as follows:

1880. 1881. 1882. 1883.

SOB byte earn es Ae SS Fe ee ae 48.00 48.04 50.22 49.98
Difference between cost and

WaMu ON ee eee 3.35 4.93 3.29 7.45

It will be noticed that the average difference between the cost
and valuation of the special fertilizers is about one dollar per ton

more than what it is in the case of the ammoniated superphos-

phates: that is, the fertilizing ingredients have been cheaper the
past year in the latter than in the former goods.

On page 47 is a table compiled from all the analyses of the
special manures there named, which have been made in this Sta-
tion and in the New Jersey Station since 1878. It shows the
average composition of each brand as well as the fluctuations in
the composition of each. It also shows that there is no uniform
and striking difference between the composition of fertilizers
‘which are claimed to be specially adapted to the demands of one
particular crop and the composition of those made for another
crop. The term “special” is meaningless and there is no appar-
ent reason for calling one of the samples an Onion manure rather
than a corn or potato manure, for it would be impossible for any

one to decide from its composition either what crop 1t was best.

suited for, or for what crop its manufacturer designed it. The
special manures are to be regarded simply as superphosphates of
higher grade than others. Their cost is greater, their estimated
value is higher, and pound for pound they may fairly be expected
to produce a larger yield than goods of lower grade.

“

g

EXPERIMENT STATION. 47

Corn MANURE.

No. of Nitrogen. Phos. Acid.* Potash.
Analyses. Ay. Max. Min. Ay. Max. Min. Ay. Max. Min,
Hey ee baker's) 22.0.5 25 3 45 5.0 4.2 5.6 5.8 5.4 SON yo Ore a0)
Horrester’s .--..-.,<- 6 4.9 5.5 3.9 6.6 8.0 5.3 9.8 14.6 6.6
Manes seats. 2a. 8 8 307 4.0) 3.4 9.4 11.7 5.4 OS WD) 42G
Stockbridge’s --__---- 7 4.8 6.2 3.8 Gila) 423-8 6.0 Tl) Bes
Williams, Clark & Co’s 1 52 5.2 6.0

PoTATO MANURE.

ede bakers) 2.2222. 4. Ae SO 5ia (6:3, 4.9) | LOSS ale Sh San
HOLTIESLOUS, «32 cnc wok S 7 ALOE oat a4: G10 12659 OS 10220 Ee oO
Tistonsy 2) Gey TL 1 4.1 0.2, 9.0

Mapas)? aot 5230 te. 5 Ber Bie Beal 8.0 10.3 4.6 8.0 14.8 5.0
Stockbridge’s _--_---- 7 ono ory 209 7.0 7.6 6.4 6.3). 10:2) (4.9

Williams, Clark & Co’s 3 2.9 3.3 2.5 6:2, 23 Abe OTT eh Se SG

ToBacco MANURE.

Erd spakers; 0380s 2 AG As eae Reh) OL 10.3. 12.0. 8.6
‘Worrester’s ____------ 1 5.5 29 9.7 :
Mapes 222 ras Ss 4 Oman as0 Tole 1-8 6 6.3 9.0 4.4
Stockbridge’s -.-..--- 2 BO (GS Toe 328 F1GSES NA 6.5 7.4. 5.6

ONION MANURE.

Herds bakers) 1 5.0 6.2 9.6

MOTEERLOE S| <2 Se oye Re NE DN el A pane aR Yt dt
Manes}: 2.2 acces oe ] Bat 6.2 7.5
piorkbridgels i. 5 2 Sb 3.90 31 6.9) 6A 5.3.) SIRS EO

Bone MANUREsS.

Method of Valuation.

For the benefit of those who have not the previous reports of

_ the Station at hand, a detailed account of the method employed

for the valuation of bone manures is here given, being in large
part reproduced from former Reports.

Experience has led us to distinguish, for the purpose of valua-
tion, five grades of ground hone, the proportions of which are
found by a mechanical analysis, 7. ¢., by passing a weighed sample
of the bone through a system of four sieves. These five grades
have the dimensions, and during 1883, have had the trade-values
below specified, viz:

* Soluble and reverted.

48 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

1888.
Estimated value per pound.

Grade. Dimensions. Nitrogen. Phos. Acid.
Fine, smaller than one 5 inch, 17 cts. 6 cts.
Fine medium, between yg and 3; inch, ise, 54
Medium, oy zs and 5); inch, 14st Sivan
Coarse medium, ie ts and + inch, Sia 44 %
Coarse, larger than 4 inch, ess Ai ess

The chemical and mechanical analysis of a sample of ground
bone being before us, we separately compute the nitrogen value
of each grade of bone which the sample contains, by multiplying
the pounds of nitrogen per ton in the sample by the per cent. of
each grade, taking ;}jth of that product, multiplying it by the

estimated value per pound of nitrogen in that grade, and taking |

this final product as the result in cents. Summing up the sepa-
rate values of each grade, thus obtained, together with the values
of each grade for phosphoric acid, similarly computed, the total
is the estimated value of the sample of bone.

To illustrate, Rogers and Hubbard’s Raw Knuckle Bone, A,
Extra fine, No. 860, contains 3.92 per cent. of nitrogen or 78.4
Ibs. per ton, and 23.61 per cent. of phosphoric acid or 472.2 Ibs.
per ton. The mechanical analysis showed:

i LEYS ip Se hand Ge Sail A pid cael Ny ara 35 per cemt.
Wine "Mediums, 2 S225. See eee ae Oe eR ee 33
Median, - saeoe ta ee ke SU Ronen 4S acre 24
Coarseumediumss-2t senr cs: its See ae pn 8
Coarse; se 2 Aee sees baat 2 Bee Se) Sie seu 0

100

The calculations are as follows:
78.4 X 35 + 100 X 17 = $4.67
18.4 X 33° = 100 X 15 = 13.88’.
78.4 X 24+ 100 X¥ 14= 2.63

(814° 8) 100° is ie e8o
Estimated value of nitrogen, $12.00
472.2 X 35 + 100 X 6 = $9.92
472.2 X 33 + 100 X 5}. = 8.57

472.2 xX 24+100 xX 5 = 5.67
472.2 X 8+ 100 x 44= 1.70

Estimated value of phosphoric acid, $25.86

EXPERIMENT STATION. 49

The result agrees with the cost price ($37.50) within 36 cents.

When the sample of bone contains foreign matters introduced
aS preservatives, dryers or adulterants, such as salt, salt-cake,
niter-cake, ground oyster-shells, spent lime, plaster, or soil, these
must be taken account of in the mechanical analysis, especially
since they would be likely, on sifting, to pass chiefly or entirely
into the finer grades. In such cases, the several grades as ob-
tained by sifting must be separately examined, and the amounts
of foreign matter which they contain must be suitably ‘taken into
the account if an exact valuation is desired.

A single examination of this kind has been made in the case of
No. 884 Lister’s Celebrated Ground Bone, which contains a con-
siderable quantity of salt cake and some salt. A second mechan-
ical analysis was made, agreeing essentially with the one given
on page 53, and nitrogen and phosphoric acid were determined in

each of the grades. The results were as follows reckoned on 100
lbs. of bone.

Pounds ot Pounds of

Per cent. nitrogen. Per cent. phos. acid.

Pounds of Per 100 Ibs. ) Rr Per 100 lbs,
Grade. per 100. nitrogen. bone. phos. acid. bone.
iriog 35,52 2 45 1.54 69 9.27 4.19
Fine medium,- 15 2.39 Al 13.82 2.07
Medium, --_---- 17 2.92 -50 14.39 2.44
Coarse medium, 18 2.92 He 17.46 3.15
COarneg= ssc 5 3.35 abi 19.94 1.60
° 100 2.30 12.85

The total nitrogen (2.30 pounds per hundred) and the total
phosphoric acid (12.85 pounds per hundred) agree reasonably well
with the amounts found by the usual method of analysis, viz:
nitrogen, 2.41; phosphoric acid, 12.55. It will be seen that the
percentage amount of nitrogen and phosphoric acid in the coarsest
portion is more than twice that in the finest portion, which shows
that the most of the foreign material—salt, salt-cake, etc.—sifts
out with the finer part of the bone. Now, in computing the esti-
mated value, nitrogen and phosphoric acid have a valuation which
is higher in the finer grades (see page 24), and it is assumed that
the percentage composition of all the grades is alike. If, as in
this case, the finer grades have a lower percentage of nitrogen
and phosphoric acid than the coarser, the valuation will be too
high. To see whether the error is a considerable one, the valua-

tion has been recalculated from the amounts of nitrogen and
phosphoric acid actually found in each grade, and is $20.06 per

50 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

ton, while calculated in the usual way it is $20.78. The differ-
ence, 72 cents, is inconsiderable; less than might be expected
between two samples of the same brand.

Even where the bone is unmixed with a dryer or adulterant, it
may often happen that the proportions of nitrogen and phosphoric
acid are not the same in the finer and coarser portions.

There is, however, a limit beyond which it is useless to attempt
to refine the processes of valuation. When they become too
complicated or costly, they defeat the object which they should
serve. It is sufficient that the errors of valuation are no greater
than those which arise from unavoidable variations in different
portions of the same lot of fertilizer, or in different lots of the
same brand. A difference of two or three dollars between cost
and estimated value cannot ordinarily demonstrate that either is
out of the way.

Bone MANURES.

Analyses.

The analyses and valuations of 23 samples will be found on
pages 52 and 53.

986 was quite wet, which explains its low percentage of nitro-
gen and phosphoric acid. It would be excellent material for
composting or immediate application to land, but could not be
transported far nor stored without loss.

939 is a waste product from the glue factory. <A large part of

the nitrogenous animal matter has been extracted, leaving it poor |

in nitrogen and correspondingly rich in phosphoric acid. It retails
in New York at $30.00 per ton, and freight to Southport is $1.00 ;
but farmers, by making up an order for a lot of 10 tons, got it for
$29.50 on the dock at Santiipars

985 is very coarse, 90 per cent. of it being held on a sieve with
one-sixth inch meshes. It is doubtful if it deserves as high a
valuation as has been given it.

1016 is manufactured by the Adamson process. The water
and grease are nearly or entirely removed by the vapor of ben-
zine, leaving the bone dry, brittle and porous.

The average cost per ton of ground bone in the samples
examined this year is $35.88; the average estimated value, $32.95 ;
and the difference between cost and valuation, $2.93.

4
;

EXPERIMENT STATION. 51

‘SRorrep Bone.”

871. From stock of James H. Baker, 104 Clymer street,
Brooklyn. Sent by E. Hoyt, New Canaan.

ANALYSIS AND VALUATION.

\ a) tear he BS ns eee epee ale Ys AC pais ane 29.04
SHITE Os INSOLUDIC! 2 gatos os re ae ee eee ee 22.02
WIPRO CCIE a2 A. a) oth2 WE oe a ee oad ee, ee 2 ee 2.65
NOSPHOLICKACIO en coe es = oe ae ee ee oe 1.59
Hgtimated.value’ per-ton,; 22-2 = -+-2=+=sseetewsocus $14.10
WOStRMIENG WR VOl Kalin ste SM eo gah s Se yl ee $16.00

;
On THE SoLuBILITY OF BonE IN AMMONIUM CITRATE.

It is known that a very small part of the phosphoric acid of
bones may be extracted from them with cold water, while a large
amount is taken up by solution of ammonium citrate,* which is
used to remove the so-called “‘reverted” phosphoric acid from
superphosphates. Seventeen samples of bone have been extracted
with ammonium citrate solution in order to learn their average
solubility in it, and also to find out whether the phosphoric acid of
‘bone which has been mixed with salt or salt-cake is more soluble
than that of pure bone. Two grams of the bone, in the condition
in which it came to the Station, were digested with 100 c¢. c. of
neutral Am. Cit. solution (Sp. gr., 1.09) for half an hour at 40° C.,
shaken every five minutes, and then filtered at once. The sam-
ples are arranged according to their fineness, and the results are
given on page 54.

An examination of the figures shows that on the average 18.9
per cent. of the phosphoric acid in the pure bones was soluble,
81.1 per cent. insoluble in Am. Cit. The solubility was greater
in the finer bones on the average. In those which had no parti-
cles larger than one-twelth inch, the average solubility was 24.1 per
cent. Where all the particles were smaller than one-sixth inch it was
19.1 per cent.; while in the coarser samples it was 10.2 per cent.
The solubility is doubtless affected by other things than the fine-
ness. The amount of grease present, the character of the bone,
whether hard (from factories where bone is worked) or soft, and
the method of grinding, all have an effect in hindering or helping
the solvent action of water or ammonium citrate.

* This is the substance formed by saturating or neutralizing the acid of lemons
by ammonia.

CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

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53

EXPERIMENT STATION.

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54 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL 2

The three samples, 996, 884 and 951, all have an acid reac-
tion, doubtless due to bisulphate of soda in the salt-cake which has
been added to them. It was to be expected, therefore, that the
phosphoric acid in them would be more soluble than in pure bone;
45.6 per cent. of their phosphoric acid on the average is soluble,
and 54.4 per cent. insoluble. One of them, 884, furnishes more
soluble phosphoric acid, pound for pound, than pure bone, but
less than half as much insoluble phosphoric acid and less than
two-thirds as much nitrogen.

So,uBILtiry oF Bone IN AMMONIUM CITRATE.

Mechanical Analysis.
Station ni an C Tae e a Sets Solublean iueoteuie
No. ‘Fine oe ae medinur | ‘Coane. a eee
66 | in. aa 4 in. |
859 50 43 7 0 | 0 6.60 16.76
1012 72 21 if 0 0 6.75 17.02
990 66 20 10 4 | 0 ope 18.80
981 32 38 25 4 | 1 3.12 i 19.07
1004 35 33 32 0 0 4.41 | 19.39:
860 35 33 24 8 0 5.00 | 18.61
908 24 | 33 26 17 0 6.46 14.40
939 35 18 27 20 0 6.72 DIOS
883 19 29 52 0 0 4.88 18.73
1007 15 21 49 15 0 2.90 21.57
1009 19 16 52 13 0 2.42 21.76
950 19 15 24 32 10 1.25 19.07
953 9 18 ail 28 14 2.43 17.79
970 0 D W574 39 42 1.69 17.48
996 50 15 | 15 15 5 3.52 8.00
84 Aq Dyas ffs 20 0 7.75 4.80
Al 38 Ve Miter eas 13 16 4.73 | 6,92

Dry Grounp Fisu.
[See next page. ]

A part of the samples analyzed contained acidulated fish scrap’
making it desirable to determine the amount of soluble and re-
verted phosphoric acid. To make a fair comparison of the sey-
eral brands, all have been treated in the same way.

865. Chittenden’s Dry Ground Fish was valued at $45.51 per
ton in Bulletin No. 73 (p. 13). The higher valuation given to
soluble and reverted phosphoric acid raises its valuation to $47.51
per ton.

PL Te

> : : :
CS ee ee ee

55

EXPERIMENT STATION.

‘ez oBed 008 y

801

00°SE Gmae $8" GLT 96°C O6T | FOT |- - 7 “ouenst) Sty punosy) puv peliqd 800s ¥ uoqsotg) £96
16° 00°SP €0°6§ 69% CoP €60'T 66'S | OR aa eet. oar “77 ""-Ystg punoswy Aq 8,00 Jozi[y10q ToyMOgl 816
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ITT | 00°F | IT'eF 08's $6 GPen— ||©5G6 Oil: SOlis a pare ene er Boe cit See “--" ust punory sug sede O01
LUZ 00'8F L0G Za ore ee1 | 098 Se | aaa ae ---"ysiq punowy Arq 8,09 1ezt[410\7 ourdrauind)| 896
19'ch | oo'Shs | 19 ytB | Gyo | 961 I2'l g¢'8 ea pee New oe ed omer eee YSiq punoiy oat | 698
spdooa | uoy |rodontéa| <-soug | ‘sour | -sout lojetiovofomuty 70 con
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= A tiger Ls oe wee ouensy) YSty ps
4 ‘3 “UMOJOTPPYT ‘ung Y UOSTILM |" "T “Quroduserry ‘suog Y aoOYserg|/punoriy puke pod 8 U0g F wojsolg] $96
: ques y uoyRyg ‘plosyieyy ‘oyer) Y GaNqoH ‘ao1sog FY *X “N “OD 4407 JOYMOg ‘Ystq punorg Arq 8,10yMog| 826
‘pueyong ‘1ojeey MM UO ‘paojqwie py ‘otddiq ay Y Splo| ‘uopuoT ‘nN “OD “yaaq ovdranine ‘ystq punowy s1q! PLOT
‘quasy woes “pLOHILH, YPOMST “WL “PIOFUN “OD SOTMT “AM “00D ‘ourny sty AIG SeTW “M 09D] 9001
“TWHARYING WOJMON “O “ULM “‘FOINJORIUUIBW | AO “AN “OOD ‘dF “A sodeyy s ‘Yysta punoay Arq sede] OGOL
» |UeARe ‘N “OQ y AoTpeag ‘gq “y| ‘WopuorTyT "NK “OD “4497 OVIdimUM?y “YsiT punory Aiq| 896
093 y woyeg ‘leinjoerjnueyy| yaodespiug “og ‘y4o,7 [RUORN “ysl punosr) oul s Opus) 698
0
Aq yueg pure podaresg “10[eo(T ‘FONJORJNUL HY ‘puerig 10 ome Ny hones

“SUAZITILAR HST

56 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

963. Preston Sons’ Dried and Ground Fish Guano contains
rather less phosphoric acid and very much less nitrogen than is
usually found in dried fish scraps.

The average cost of the samples analyzed (excepting 963) is
$45.33 per ton, the average estimated value $45.32.

NITRATE OF SoDA.

928. From stock of Mapes’ Conn. Valley Branch, Hartford,
stated not to be on sale in Connecticut.

941. Quinnipiac Fertilizer Co., New London. From stock of
Wilson & Burr, Middletown. Sampled by J. M. Hubbard, Mid-
dletown.

ANALYSES. 928 941
INTGRO BOTY Sop sei iene acpi ok ts a 15.48 15.46
Equivalent nitrate of Soda, ...._.._.....--- 94.00 93.90
oS hes beer ie ee a aa ape eee a tA ere $70.00 67.00 |
Nitrogen costsiper 100 bse 22-222 222 ses $22.61 21.67

SULPHATE OF AMMONTA.

929. Sulphate of Ammonia from stock of Mapes’ Connecticut
Valley Branch, Hartford. Stated not to be on sale in Conn.

1018. Sulphate of Ammonia from Mapes F. & P. G. Co., New
York. Sampled and sent by Michael Donovan, South Windsor.

ANALYSES. 929 1018
IND GROG OTs cee SIE ea Ne Cosel ns an oo 20.74 20.34
Equivalent sulphate of ammonia, .--.--.---- 97.78 95.70
Gost iper 100 Tbs cork Sse a aes $4.75 4,15
Nitfogen costs per 100 lbs.,---.------------ $22.90 * $23.35

Both samples were of good quality. 1018 had a slight bluish
tinge, due probably to the presence of a trace of cyanogen com-
pounds insoluble in. water. It contained no soluble cyanogen
compounds [cyanides or sulphocyanides.] The soluble cyanides
are poisonous to vegetation if applied in considerable quantity,
but it is likely that their poisonous quality has been somewhat
over-estimated. Maercker* found that one per cent. of ammoni-
um sulphocyanide in a superphosphate did no damage, and 89 lbs.
of it to the acre did not injure oats. Schumann on the other hand
found that 178 lbs. per acre did serious injury to grass land.

* Centralblatt Ag. Chem., 1883, p. 497

EXPERIMENT STATION. 5 Yi

Meat AND PLASTER.

919. Made by the Quinnipiac Co., of Wallingford. The sam-
ple consists of about + meat and % plaster. It contains 20.28
per cent. of water, 1.9 per cent. of nitrogen and about 65 per
cent. of plaster. Allowing 18 cents per Ib. for the nitrogen and
40 cents per 100 Ib. for the plaster, its estimated value is $12.04
per ton.

Corron SEED AND Castor PoMACE.
Analyses and Valuations.

880. Castor Pomace, manufactured by Robert b. Brown Oil
‘Co., St. Louis, Mo. Sampled and sent by Geo. D. Martinez, Gen-
Peal Agent. °

935. Castor Pomace, manufactured ae the Collier White Lead
and Oil Co., St. Louis; Mo. Sampled from stock of Olds &
Whipple, Hartford, by Station Agent.

966. Castor Pomace manufactured by H. J. Baker & Bro.
Sampled from stock of A. W. Allen, Jr., Thompsonville, by Sta-
tion Agent.

1002. I. X. L. Pomace, manufactured by Robt. B. Brown Oil
‘Co., St. Louis, Mo. Sampled from stock of F. Ellsworth, by Sta-
‘tion Agent.

876. Cotton Seed Meal, from the stock of G. C. Richards &
Co., Unionville. Sampled and sent by Wm. Smith, Plainville.

1053. Cotton Seed Meal, from stock of E. Ellsworth, Hartford.
Sampled and sent by H. 8. Frye, Poquonock.

1054. Cotton Seed Meal, from stock of E. Ellsworth, Hartford.
Sampled and sent by A. E. Holcomb, Poquonock.

ANALYSES AND VALUATIONS.

Estimated

Station Phosphoric value Cost
No. Nitrogen. Acid. Potash. per ton. per ton.
$80 5.64 1.87 93 $23.00
935 5.76 2.07 1.03 $24.10 23.00
1002 5.50 2.10 1.06 23.22 23.00
966 4.58 1.59 1.07 PhS ig 20.00
876 6.95 2.51 Sh 29.65 31.00
1053 tes) 2.84 1.24 31.06 30.00
1054 1.20) 3.07 Bi 30.94 30.00

58 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

PorasH SaAtts.

Analyses and Valuations.
[See page 60.]

Four of the samples analyzed are high grade muriates, supply-
ing potash at 3.9 to 4.4 cents per pound, and seven are kainit
in which the potash costs from 5.8 to 7.4 cents per pound, or 64
cents on the average.

During last spring kainit sold in N. Y. in ton lots at point of
shipment for cash, at from te to $12.60. This included bags and
cartage. (Bulletin XXVII, N. J. Experiment Station.) It was
therefore possible for Pees in the central and western parts of
the State at least, to get it for considerably less than $15 to $18,
the price char ged by Connecticut dealers.

Below are given complete analyses of the three potash focal
zers which are most used here at the present time. The analyses
of Muriate of Potash and Double Sulphate of Potash and Mag-
nesia were made by Dr. Goessmann, and published in Bulletin
No. 3, of the Mass. Experiment Station, pp. 5 and 6. The kainit
is No. 937, analyzed at this Station.

ANALYSES OF POTASH SALTS.

Potash and
Muriate. maishaie! Kainit.
IMormtnre at l0Or ss =e. eee aoe 2.88 4.90 15.30
IPOtdS hs 2 She oe eee eae eae 50.35 24.94 12.23
Soda t.28 oA See ese eee 8.33 2.09 16.05
OTs ee Se ee Nae ee Sere sey eee 1.15 43
MaeTICS ia jee er eee eae eee 40 11.30 11.16
Oxide of iron and alumina, ---. ---- 25
SwloMine evel 8 ee eee ite 18 46.99 22.26
Chlorine: sce scl oe oa eee ee : 27.98
Insoluble matter; 72222 28. 2252 se 60 54 26
Other matters not specified in the
analysisee: 5220. Se Sees ee eee ee 37.26* 8.09
105.92
Deduct oxygen equivalent to chlorine, : 6.31
100.00 100.00 99.61

From these analyses it appears that the high grade muriate
consists of about 80 per cent. of potassium chloride (muriate), 16
per cent. of sodium chloride (salt), and 4 per cent. of water and

* Mostly Chlorine.

7." 8

EXPERIMENT STATION. 59

. various other matters. The double sulphate of potash and mag-
nesia contains 46 to 47 per cent. of potassium sulphate, 33 to 34
per cent. of magnesium sulphate, 5 per cent. of water and 15 per
cent. of sulphates of soda and lime, and other matters. Kainit
contains about 85 per cent. of sulphates and chlorides of potas-
sium, sodium and magnesium and 15 per cent. water.

SALTPETER: REFUSE.

853. From stock of S. J. Archer, 194 Duane street, New York.
Sampled and sent by S. 8. Green, New Milford, Ct.

ANALYSIS.

SeN ihr eraelde (Nig (gees tae esate tore etek 4.44
Opa key arb ave Py WE ea ee i Yes a A ny eee ee 54.41
Ro taghiy = esta) Se eri ee So 2 ee oie ey aie ok 4,27
SoS tee ah gee ab Melia: ean page Mia aaa ht aa Ses Sine ~ 48,21
imsolublesimatienss sya. rs Setar Se chee oe ee 88
112.21

Deduct oxygen equivalent to chlorine, -. --- 12.26

99°95

* Nitrogen 1.15.

The compounds probably existing in this refuse are:

Potassium) nitrate (saltpeter)):...--2------525-- 2-5. 8.31
Rota ssiuniy ChIOniO Owe sees eh nae See pee ee = -61
Sodimmyahlomde (Salt) => Seek eee ee ee ae 90.20
bigest Was coe Lee eee aaa eee eee .88

; 100.00

It is a mixture of nine parts of salt and less than one part of
saltpeter and is probably a waste product from some manufactur-
ing process. Its cost is $10 per ton on cars in New York. Allow-
ing 44 cents per lb. for the potash and 20 cents per pound for the
nitrogen, its estimated value would be $8.23. It could be safely
used only in moderate quantity since for every pound of saltpeter
applied, 10 pounds of salt would also be applied. [If the price
were lower, those who sa/é their meadows would find this an’ex-
cellent material for the purpose. |

THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

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EXPERIMENT STATION. 61

PLASTER.

894, Plaster; ground by Knickerbocker Piaster Mills, New
York; sold by Ruggles & Clark, Shelton, Ct. Sampled by Sta-
tion Agent.

949. Plaster.

1028. Double Ground Land Piaster. J. B. King & Co., New

‘York. From stock of R. B. Bradley & Co., New Haven.

849. Nova Scotia Land Plaster, ground by G. W. Miller, Mid-
dlefield.

858. Nova Scotia Land Plaster, ground by V. C. & C. V.
King, New York City. ;

850. Onondaga Land:Plaster, ground by E. B. Alvord & Co.,
Jamesville, N. Y.

1029. A. A. Union Groynd Plaster, Whitmore Bros., Boston.
From stock of J. A. Paine, Danielsonville.

1030. Nova Scotia Land Plaster, Newburgh Plaster Works,
N.Y. From stock of Wilcox & Judd, Bristol.

1031. Pure Ground Nova Scotia Plaster, John Hurd, Bridge-
port. From stock of G. H. Alvord & Co., Winsted.

949, 849, 858, and 850 were sent by Harvey Elliott, North

Guilford, the other samples were taken by Station agents.

It will be noticed that 894 and 949 consist of burned and un-
burned plaster in approximately equal proportions.

Onondaga Plaster, 850, contains, as usual, over 20 per cent. of
carbonates. The Nova Scotia variety is a purer sulphate of lime.
1030 has a larger percentage of carbonate than is commonly

‘present in Nova Scotia plaster.

A correspondent inquires :

“ist. What is the comparative value of Cayuga and Nova
Scotia plaster as fertilizers ?

“2d. Are the carbonates found in Cayuga plaster of any value
in agriculture, and if so, how much ?”

It was replied in substance: Commercially considered, the plas-
ter that gives us the most sulphate of lime for the money is the
best, provided the pulverization is equal; agriculturally the same
is true in general. Carbonate of lime sometimes, no doubt, may
act well where sulphate of lime would be pronounced useless and
in such a case the Cayuga plaster would be better than the Nova

62

THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

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EXPERIMENT STATION. 63

Scotia. But carbonate of lime is much commoner and ought to
be much cheaper than sulphate; so that there is entire propriety
in insisting on the superiority of a pure over an impure article
in any general statement or comparison. If a farmer ordering
ground plaster should have ground limestone supplied him at $8
to $10 per ton he would feel abused even though the result on his
crops were as good as it would have been had he got what he or-
dered. Carbonate may help the crops and at the same time out-
rage the moral sense.

LivwEsronE Rock.

Four samples of this material have been analyzed at the request
of Professor B. F. Koons of the Storrs Agricultural School.

Professor Koons has kindly communicated the following partic-
ulars with regard to them, as well as the analysis of a fifth sam-
ple made by Professor J. H. Washburn of the Storrs School.

ANALYSES OF LIMESTONES.

N.W.of No. Stoning-
Near Bolton Notch. Lebanon. Norwich. on.

944 945 946 BET ares
Insoluble in acids, ------- 1.73 80.26 46.51 32.24 4.39
‘Oxide of iron and alumina, 1.50 5.71 4.78 7.56 2.57
Wei mes ase eat tee PERS 53.51 6.67 26.65 22.82 ay alit)
Magnesia; 22 Seti e 54 .98 92 .60 17.80
Phosphoric peidiee cc) Ut iss 07 09 .09 15
Carbonic acid and undeter-

mined matter,......... 42.65 6.29 21.05 16.63 44.07

Oe

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Carbonate of lime,_-__--- 95.56 EST 47.59 40.75 55.66
Carbonate of magnesia... 1.13 ~ 2.06 G3 1.26 37.38

““Nos. 944 and 945 are from a large layer occurring on the east
side of the ridge through which the N. Y. and N. E. railroad cuts
at Bolton Notch, about twelve miles east of Hartford.

“No. 945 was taken from the walls of the cut where the layer
is about fifty feet thick and resembles the adjoining massive and
schistose rocks so much that it was only by the aid of acid that
the presence of lime was detected. At the center of this layer the
effervescence was very decided with dilute hydrochloric acid, but
this character was less marked as the top or bottom of the layer

64 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

was approached. I am not certain as to just where in the fifty
feet layer No. 945 was taken, although I think from near the
middle.

“ No. 944 comes from a series of old abandoned hydromica slate

quarries on the east side of the ridge extending for half a mile or

more south from the railroad cut. The quarries have exposed the
limestone in considerable quantities, yet at no place could I find
the whole thickness of the layer as it is in the cut at the railroad.

‘The stone varies considerably in character, some of it resem-
bling that exposed .in the cut, and again in places thin layers of
highly crystalline, almost pure white, limestone occur. No. 944
comes from one of these layers about three inches thick. Just to

the north of the railroad there is a larger bluft of this limestone

and the outcrop can be traced a mile or more to the north.

“No. 946 was taken from a line of boulders in the town of
Lebanon. These may have been carried there from the outcrop.
near Willimantic, possibly from Bolton, yet the direction of the
line would indicate that they came from neither of these localities,
but from some place not yet discovered, between these, and to
the north of where the boulders are found.

“No. 947 is from a very extensive bed about three miles to the
northwest of the city of Norwich. This doubtless is the most
extensive exposure of limestone in Eastern Connecticut, as the
outcrop extends two and a half or three miles along the brow of a
hill, and at an old “Gold Mine” a layer fifty feet thick is exposed.
The rock is deceptive in appearance, looking much like gneiss and
has a great deal of feldspar, intermingled also in large veins.

“Professor Forrest Shepherd showed me where some lime, burned
in an indifferent way from this outcrop, and spread in a careless
manner upon a grass field near the city had caused a yield of
from four to six times as much grass as grew where the lime had
not been placed.

“This limestone has easy transportation down hill to the rail-
road.

“The purest limestone of eastern Connecticut that occurs in
abundance is found in very extensive beds on the line between
Preston and North Stonington. The accompanying analysis by
Prof. J. H. Washburn, of the Storrs Agricultural School, exhibits
the chemical composition of a sample. (See Table of Analyses.)
This limestone has a bluish tint, is said to cut like Italian marble,
and is admired for its strength and durability. It is densely crys-

ee ee ee ee

re a

~

We aes

t

4
,
t
7
4

EXPERIMENT STATION. 65

talline so as to exclude moisture, hence frost has but little effect
upon it.

“Lime was burned here a great many years ago, and from Prof.
Forrest Shepherd, with whom I visited the locality, I learn that
the cement (made from this lime) having suffered eighty years’
exposure, still remains firm.

“The limestone near Willimantic is underrated as to its extent
in the account given of it in the Station Report for 1881, pp. 58,
59. Ihave made several visits to the locality, and find the beds
much thicker than there reported. At one place there is a hori-
zontal surface of fifty feet exposed, and the layers have a dip of
twenty-two degrees, which would give us a bed of over eighteen
feet in thickness instead of three feet as stated.

“The Norwich and North Stonington limestone beds are des-
tined to become of great value to the agricultural interests of eas-
tern Connecticut as a source of fertilizing material. The North
Stonington deposits would also appear to have considerable value
tor architectural purposes. |

Mansfield, Conn., Nov. 28th, 1883.”

Rock FRoM A LepGE In New. CANAAN.

With regard to this material, Edwin Hoyt, of New Canaan,
wrote as follows:

“The stone came from a ledge on the land of one of our
farmers, which he has had ground in the past, and finds it to make
very green and luxuriant grass. * * *' He says it grinds as
easily as plaster, and thinks it better as a fertilizer.”

The analysis is as follows:

1027

WiaterraunlOOr eee See 3 dR a Sie ae eee og 2.15
Cimibinedawator pas Sho ee ee eile ee ee 2 oe 9.60
Sand and undecomposed silicates, .-..------------- 16.19
Silica from decomposable silicates, --..------------ 26.44
Oxide of iron and alumina,_------.-.--- Od Bap See 2 me S:GD
ITT Gad oe SERN ak | Et SUIS CRATE EE BR ee SD A 7.63
° IMAP TCS As Neecras fa 2a ae epee eta ae See se 2: 24.35
Rotashieeece meee = st penuh rere eo ee 32
RS CO(a rete SSS 2A) eee Rae Saas eet open Ret» Raia eae trace
LOped 6 aya Cejieyey (6 EMAL Sa a aN a 5.30
PHOSPHORIC AGCIG sa meer Ou 845 (54 2.00 Mle akh ye a Eat 04

100.67

66 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

To Mr. Hoyt was written in substance as follows:

The excess (.67) over 100 per cent. is due to slight and unavoid-
able errors of analysis. The rock consists essentially of 16 per
cent. of quartz and silicates which are not attacked by strong
acids, 12 per cent. of carbonate of lime, and 72 per cent. of
hydrous silicates of iron, alumina, lime and magnesia, with a little
potash. Applied to land it would supply a considerable quantity
of magnesia, probably in a form readily available to plants. It
is not likely, however, that soils in your part of the State are at
all deficient in magnesia, and its favorable effect on land is rather
to be attributed to its furnishing lime; perhaps, also, to its
mechanical aétion as an “ amendment” and to the presence of the
hydrous silicates, which have important uses in the soil, both as a
source of plant food and in absorbing and retaining plant food
which might otherwise pass into the subsoil out of the reach of
vegetation.

Quick Lime.

Two samples of quick lime were sent by R. E. Pinney, Suffield,
with the inquiry, Which is the cheaper for agricultural use ?

910. Barrel lime. Costs $13.00 in Suffield.

911. Paper mill lime. Costs $10.00 to $10.50 in Suffield.

ANALYSES.

910 911
Insoluble gina Cid sha eee ee ee see Se eee 1.40 2.85
Carbonic Aci Ss aoe steamer en eee eases .30 25
iD Frat Se AMR ce ey 5 Sh RAS el leat 55.33 85.08
Gombinetl “water kos 8 oe coe eae ane ee 3.36 6.15
Magnesiag Sh Sie Gale oe Pe oe ete 36.37 } 5.67
Other matters by difference, ---.---------- Sok Hosa j

100.00 100.00

910 is probably made from Canaan limestone, which is a car-
bonate of lime and magnesia (dolomite). More than one-third of
it is magnesia. 911 contains nearly 30 per cent. more lime than
910. The former is therefore the better of the two at the same
price. ;

Wastr Limwzt rrom Parer Works.

854. From F. Whittlesey’s paper mill, Windsor Locks. Sam-
pled and sent by R. E. Pinney.

‘

— ee eee Te oe

SE ae a, a ee

EXPERIMENT STATION. 67

ANALYSIS.
insoluble in: ‘aeids Se See ee ee ereine 1.99
Oxide of ironfand- alumina sees 22> > ee sere 87
LOWES ge eet a pt eT ge DR gE ty PRES Ey AAS: pe 45.08
Carhbonieracid -4+/5.2022 352 See Bh Ps Be he ce ahr as ies 5.95
Gombimed watery) 2 Sie eee ee ee eae ees 12.06
Wiatermathl OO) 232.0222 Soe. Ul ae ee SA tah ak AP 33.19
Wmaetormimeds. 2s )-cin ae ee Se hee ee reece 86

100.00

It contains in round numbers 50 per cent. of slaked lime, 133
per cent. of carbonate of lime, 33 per cent. of water, and 33 per
cent. of other matters. This sample had dried out somewhat
before reaching the Station; the fresh material is a paste. Two
and a half tons of it would not yield more slaked lime than one
ton of paper mill lime 911.

INFUSORIAL EARTH.

870. Sent by Ellis Bagley, Branford, as a “‘ marl.” :

872. Sent by Joseph Sellers, Portland. Taken from the bed
of a pond which dried up in the Summer. It forms a layer four
to five feet deep under a bed of muck eighteen inches deep.

ANALYSES, 870 872
Silicarand tsand ewes eae te ae eee eee 94.70 92.07
Loss on ignition (organic matter and water), --. 2.57 4.44
Oxidevorironrandsalumina, 4522 2o ses 655) oa 2.18 ) 3.49
Pre etorinitiod hotter sce ea eas 55S

100.00 100.00

These samples have no fertilizing value. The silica in them
consists in part of the siliceous “skeletons” of a low order of
vegetable life, which is aquatic. Such material, when free from
sand, is used for fine polishing.

ASHES OF CotTron SEED HULts.

To prepare cotton seed for grinding and pressing, it is “ decor-
ticated” or hulled. The hulls make up about half the entire
weight of the seed. They have no value as food, and at the mills
are used for fuel in connection with wood or coal. As the analyses
show, the ash of the hulls burned alone or with some wood is very

68 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

valuable as a fertilizer, containing over 20 per cent. of potash
and 9 to 13 per cent. of phosphoric acid.

When burned with coal the ashes would be of very inferior
value or worthless. When the ashes of the hulls can be got clean
from coal ash, they are well worth the price which has been asked
for them.

Below are given the analyses of two samples made here during
the year, the average of seven analyses of cotton hull ashes from
the market and an analysis of the pure ash, free from any wood
ashes, sand, coal and carbonic acid, made by Dr. C. W. Dabney,
Jr. (Rep. N. C. Exp’t Station, 1882, p. 99) :

852 909 composition. “of Hull.
Potash weiss 4Le Bae eee oe as 25.83 26.79 21.89 57.95
sine a ee ae res ee eyes 7.28
inom Ogle. Ay ses ore i ee , 15.53
Oxidetoimiron; 22 yee ee 2 Ae 1.87
SNUINNONIT ID Site ee ee ee re Be 0.45.
IBhOSphoricjacid yess see 12.95 9.65 10.11 4.07
SU phuricacid. {esos eae ete 4,18
. Solublevsiliea, ase asses eee i 1.67
@hiorines2 ss stereos eee as ote 2.39;
Soda, undetermined and loss, - } 4.61
Winter At CEE Pere ia yee ee 5.69 12.10 15.02
Impolnblennacidi= ==> s—s 5 = 11.63 12.45
100.00

The solubility of the phosphoric acid in 852 and 859 was as
follows :

852 909
Phosphoric acid, soluble in water, -..----.------- -90 3.49
rs Me ‘« in ammonium citrate, - ---- 7.96 ABS)
“ “ insoluble in water and am. cit.,..- 4.09 BUG
12.95 9.65

Composition oF HousE ASHES. :

1026. Ashes from 46% lbs. of Gray Birch from Holderness, N.
Hampshire. The wood was 2-6 inches diameter, 18 inches long
and well seasoned. The ash as analyzed weighed 1 lb. 14 oz.

1032. Ashes from 105% lbs. of well seasoned hickory wood.
Sticks 2 feet long, 2—7 inches diameter. The ash weighed 2 lbs. 2 oz.

1040. Ashes from 1054 lbs. of well seasoned oak wood. Sticks
2 feet long, 14 to 6 inches diameter. The ash weighed 1 Ib. 14 02.

ee ee a

EXPERIMENT STATION. 3 69

1051. Ashes from 554 lbs. of well seasoned chestnut wood.
Sticks 1 foot long, 6-12 inches diameter. Cut on the Station
land one year ago. The ashes weighed 4,4, oz.

1032 and 1040 were from wood bought of a dealer in New
Haven and probably grown in this State.

All of these woods were burned on a clean brick hearth with-
out the addition of any other kind of fuel. The bits of charcoal,
left from the fire were sifted out and burned by themselves and
the ash from them was added to the other. With these analyses
are given analyses of ashes from the same kinds of wood which
were prepared by G. H. Glover, Esq., of North Branford, in a
stove, and noticed in the report of this Station for 1879, page 45.
[ Nos. 253, 254, 255.] The amount of insoluble matter [sand,
etc.] in them is much larger than in the others.

Next in the table is given the average of 13 analyses of wood
from household fires as reported by Dr. F. H. Storer (Bull. Bussy
Institution, part III, 1874, p. 193).

The last column of the table represents the average composi-
tion of unleached Canada ashes calculated from 13 analyses pub-
lished in Bulletins Il and 1V of the Massachusetts Agricultural
Experiment Station.

225 Ere
Birch. Hickory. Oak. Chestnut. vee ga
1026 «61032 )0=«=—.255 1040) «254 «1051 53 Bee OWE
Bobashwere sk O07 su 8.15 (aah aelinoh SLANG Chai. By SNe oer arseay0h, atarer’
SLOT Le a Be 43 Wetter snes alate: 1292 292 42
imma ey ey: a © come yee 35.3 42.60 36.29 43.20 29.65 39.72 29.15 38.99
MOTIOSIA Meee ar 215 A736)5 O:0l0) ble 428% 9 36h) 5,82) 59.63
Oxide of Iron and
MUMIA Sele SUB 2000 PaO Rees eT oreenOl: we bua
Phosphoric acid..-. 2.30° 2.19 E63 01292 2.42 1.69 2:01 22040 e heliG
Sulphuric acid _---- .39 90 29° «6.96088 108° - 2.46
@hiorme: 2. 22252522 16 LON Oo edo ed Ll
Carbonic acid_____- 26.72 31.65 23.22 27.45 16.57 24.00 12:80 25.53
Sand and Silica ___.10.30 300M PSL09) Viel be 2220 5:80) = 26070) Fess 707
Ohrareo aly nie aia) 6.65 okey Vetall 2 tetas (Se Ie Se
ANGI) Pps bo A 4.95 eos ) 4.49 Sy, 5.28 1.80 4.62 11.40
Undetermined 2... ._.- diene BAERS SME SEY ee ee Cet a Bee

99.39 100.19 100.00 99.41 100.00 99.80 100.00
Per cent. of crude
ash in the wood__ 2.27 2.01 1.04. 50

The two samples of chestnut ashes differ remarkably from oak,
birch and hickory ashes in having very much less potash. A

70 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

large number of analyses would be necessary to decide whether
this difference is more than an accidental one. Canada ashes
apparently have rather less potash and phosphoric acid than
clean burned birch, hickory and oak, and less than the average of
ashes from house fires as found by Dr. Storer.

A cord of hickory wood, as we are informed by wood dealers

in this city, weighs from 3400 to 4300 Ibs. and on the average —

about 3500 lbs. A cord of oak wood weighs from 2300 to 2400
Ibs. The weight of birch and chestnut wood per cord could not
be ascertained.

From these figures and the analyses, the amounts of potash and
phosphoric acid recoverable in the ashes of a cord of oak and of
_ hickory are found to be as follows :

Oak. Hickory.
IPotashs ees sae FA Se ee ee oe 2:3 4.3 lbs.
Phiosphionie acidh ees 2s ee ence sie a) ie

LracHEpD Woop ASHES.

1024. Made by J. F. Bartlett, Winsted. From stock of J. L.
Bartlett, Simsbury. Sampled and sent by L. G. Goodrich, Sims-
bury.

1038. From stock of J. E. Wardwell, Southport.

1039. From stock of N. Alvord, Southport.

The last two samples were sent by E. C. Birge of Southport.

ANALYSES. ;
1024 1038 1039
Boveshye ihr Oks ee aes ae 1.33 1.54 1.41
Sodares Sask = oe ee oe ee eee tee 1.30 .78 .63
Time: 2 ok cae ee ee ee tee 24.69 26.92 26.85.
Magnesia, See 62s e eee ce eterna 2.63 2.70 2.10.
Oxide of iron and alumina, .--------- 4.16 2.27 2.17
Phosphoriciacid, 2-2 = ssee = =e 1.86 1.24 1.15
Sulphumic acid) Ses een ae = eee 0.19
Canbowiclacid sss hee Sea aaa eae 16.39 17.25 16.94
Insoluble in acids and silica, -------. 15.60 « 10.19 5.81
Charcdalyoe a -ceis sah e cee Bo ke ae 2.61 2.67 1.81
Watt os often ae beeen oe ee erate 28.58 33.03 - 39.65
Undetermined and loss, .----------- 66 1.41 1.48
100.00 100.00 100.00
Weight of one bushel, ---.....---=-- 63 lbs. 62 lbs.
Cosijpenipushelesaoeer ase ee oe i9e. 14¢. 14e.

All the samples are of good quality.

a ee eT a a ee

———

EXPERIMENT STATION. 71

Swamp Muck.

842. Peat, No.1. Taken from the middle of a swamp. The
layer was over 8 feet deep.

843. Peat, No. 2. Taken from the edge of a swamp. The
layer 3 feet deep.

These two samples were sent by G. M. Denison, New London,
Conn.

857. Muck sent by A. P. Hine, Torrington, Conn.

1017. Muck sent by Prof. B. F. Koons of the Storrs Agri-
cultural School, Mansfield, Conn.

ANALYSES.
The fresh material contains—
842 843 857 1017
Wisters esse Soe Satie eee 85,46 74.47 75.03 79.49
Organic and volatile matters, - 13.88 10.21 17.31 18.38
INGA gene MESES ee .66 15.32": 7.66 2.13

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

The ash contains—

Silica and insoluble, -__.-___- .30 14.38 7.25 L2:

: Oxide of iron, alumina, and
phosphoric acid, -__---__-- 52 15 26
J byhaats Fas, NMP OS Nee eee Wee aes et 12 an 16 43
Magnesia sole! apse a 2 = lal
Undetermined,___.2-...---2- 24 .25 all 22
.66 15.32 7.66 2.13

The dry muck contains—
Organic and volatile matters,. 95°46 39.95 69.32 89.62

Nitrogen! (eis sb oes Lee 1.58 1,24 1.84 2.30
Silica and insoluble, _-_._____- 2.08 56.32 29.03 5.45
Oxide of iron, alumina, ete., - - 2.04 56 1.26

TimeyAra see Ayes BA ey Beh eee 82 .68 64 2.10

72 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

REVIEW OF THE FERTILIZER MARKET.

Organic nitrogen in dried blood and azotin was quoted in New
York at wholesale in November, 1882, at $19.70 to $20.10 per 100
pounds. The same prices ruled through December and January.
Since then its cost in dried blood has steadily declined, and in
November, 1883, stood at from $13.70 to $15.20. From March till
August the cost in azotin remained at $18.90, then dropped
again, and in November, 1883, it was quoted at $15.20 per 100
pounds.

According to thirteen analyses of ammonite, dried blood and_

fish scrap, made at the New Jersey Station in the Spring of 1883,*
the average retail cost of nitrogen in those articles was $20.08
per 100 pounds.t The highest price was $22.90; the lowest,
$15.50. These were manufacturers’ cash retail prices for ton
lots, including bags, but not freightage nor the charges of middle-
men.

The cost of nitrogen in dried fish scrap, containing from 5.3 to
8.3 per cent. of phosphoric acid and from 2.9 to 8.5 per cent. of
nitrogen, from the stock of retail agents in this State, has ranged
from $22.70 to $48.26 per 100 pounds.

Rejecting this highest figure the average retail cost in six arti-
cles has been $24.54.

Nitrogen in four samples of castor pomace from retail agents
in this State has cost from $17.05 to $18.76 per 100 pounds, aver-

aging $17.79; and the average cost in three samples of cotton

seed meal has been the same, $17.81.

Nitrogen in ammonia salts cost at wholesale in New York, in
November, 1882, $22.20 per 100 pounds. Since then it has quite
steadily declined, and was quoted in November last at $16.40.

In the New York and Philadelphia markets it cost at retail in
ton lots, including packages, from $19.75 to $21.50 per 100
pounds ;{ average cost, $20.78.

Two samples from the stock of retailers in this State furnished
nitrogen at $22.90 and $23.35.

* Bulletin XXVII, N. J. Exp’t Station. 7
+ Allowing six cents per pound for the phosphoric acid present in the goods.
¢ Bulletin XX VII, N. J. Exp’t Station.

t

' EXPERIMENT STATION. "3

Nitrogen in nitrates has this year, as last, cost less at wholesale
than in any other form. In November, 1882, it was quoted at
wholesale in New York at $17.60 per 100 pounds. In January it
rose to $17.90, fell again in May to $16.30, declined still further
in the Summer, and in November, 1883, stood at $15.20 per 100
pounds.

Last Spring in New York and Philadelphia it was bought of
importers at retail in ton lots at from $18.40 to $20.60 per 100
pounds, $19.65 on the average.

The two samples analyzed here from stock of retail dealers in
this State furnished nitrogen at $22.61 and $21.67 per 100 pounds.

Phosphatic materials have not shown striking fluctuations.
The wholesale New York quotation for bone black in November,
1882, was $24.50 per ton. It remained at that figure till March,
declined to $21.50 in June, and has since remained steady at
‘$22.00.

Charleston rock, crude, in New York, was quoted at $9.00 per
ton in January, 1882. It fell to $8.50 in March, and still remains
at that figure.

Ground bone, quoted at $33.50 in November, 1882, rose in
April to $35.00, and declined in June to $32.00, where it still
remains.

Sulphuric acid, 66°, was quoted at 14 cents per pound from
November, 1882, to July, 1883, and since then has been quoted at
12 cents.

In plain superphosphates, containing over ten per cent. of solu-
ble phosphoric acid, the latter has cost* $9.80 per 100 pounds at
retail for cash, bought of the manufacturers. No allowance is
made for reverted and insoluble phosphoric acid. Such an allow-
cance would make the soluble acid cost still less.

Only two analyses of plain high grade superphosphates from
the open market have been made at this Station during the year.
‘They furnished soluble phosphoric acid at $10.02 to $11.20 per
100 pounds.

Actual potash in high grade muriate cost in New York at
wholesale in December, 1882, $3.58 per 100 pounds, which is the
highest figure for the year. In November, 1883, it was quoted at
$3.20. It has retailed in Connecticut during 1883 for $3.87 to

‘ $4.36 per 100 pounds.

* Average of nine analyses, Bulletin XXVII, N. J. Exp’t Station.
6

74 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Kainit has not fallen in price. In December, 1882, it cost at
wholesale in New York $8.62 per ton; it has been as low as $7.47,
but in November last was quoted at $8.75, the highest price of
the year. r

Since kainit contains on the average 123 per cent. of actual
potash, the wholesale cost of potash in kainit at $8.75 per ton is
$3.50 per 100 pounds. - Its retail price in ton lots in New York
and Philadelphia* was, last Spring, $4.52 per 100 pounds, but in
this State it has retailed as high as $7.38.

To recapitulate: Charleston rock has remained steady, bones
and bone black have fallen slightly, and oil of vitriol is a shade
lower perhaps, but in general we may say that phosphoric acid is
not much cheaper this year than last.

Tankage, red and black blood, azotin, nitrate of soda and sul-
phate of ammonia have all fallen very considerably in price. It
should be, and will be possible by using care in buying, to get
them at a less cost than a year ago.

Potash as muriate is a little lower this year than last; as kainit
it is at present a shade higher. ,

The market quotations given above are taken from the “ Oil,
Paint and Drug Reporter,” published in New York. The weekly
quotations for each month are averaged, and this average is taken
as the quotation for the month. The following explanations will
be helpful in the examination of the market quotations, and will
also serve to show the basis on which they have been interpreted
in this review:

Phosphate rock, kainit, bone, fish scrap, tankage, and some
other articles are quoted and sold by the ton. The seller usually
has an analysis of his stock, and purchasers often Cony ol this by
an analysis at the time of purchase.

Sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda and muriate of potash
are quoted and sold by the pound, and generally their wholesale
and retail rates do not differ very widely.

Blood, azotin and ammonite are quoted at so much “ per unit
of ammonia.” <A “unit of ammonia” is one per cent., or 20
pounds per ton. To illustrate: if a lot of dried blood has 7.0
per cent. of nitrogen, equivalent to 8.5 per cent. of ammonia, it is
said to contain 84 units of ammonia, and if it is quoted at $3.75
per unit, a ton of it will cost 83 X 3.75 = $31.88.

The term “ammonia” is properly used only in those cases
where the nitrogen actually exists in the form of ammonia, but it

* Bulletin XXVII, N. J. Exp’t Station.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 15

is a usage of the trade to reckon all nitrogen, in whatever form it
occurs, as ammonia.

To facilitate finding the actual cost of nitrogen per pound from
the cost per unit of ammonia in the market reports, the following
table is given:

Ammonia at $4.00 per unit is equivalent to nitrogen at 24.3 cts. per lb.

“ 3.90. # i : Best bse
‘ 280. | HANS f 28/0 eae
f B10. ‘ : Pye mE et:
“ a 60g oS H “ NPE RR Seta
t Sere Z % PN BENCH W
E 2.40 z : 20.6 :
t 3.30. # i : 20.0 Pca
3.20) |v! c “ PS 2h) aire
: SLO it ‘ a Lo a
: 3.00, : 18:00) es Gage’
PSO le! tt a : Ny Mee a
é D200 ss! H ¢ Lens aie eae
i DE IR be ¢ z TG Aah irae
a e0ue He z Tee tae eee
Deas ‘i C 15.2 :
“ BAGS ine “ 14.6
2.30 be te 14.0 a oe
« DOANE a 134 ey eieabatt
“ Onn tr z TO Saas 1
& DN) Page Z H Ue ire ee

Commercial sulphate of ammonia contains on the average 20.5
per cent. of nitrogen, though it is found to vary considerably in
quality. When it has that amount of nitrogen (equivalent to
24.3 per cent. of ammonia),

At 5 cents per lb. Nitrogen costs 24.4 cents per lb.

a 4i “cb cc ac INT “
ee) Sa : ee ISt :
“ Ag as be a 99.5 ub
Lime hl oa a LOE u
oe ac oe ae 21.3 i
ce a oe oe “ 20.7 a
ab 44 oe “ ee 20.1 73
oe 4 oe oe iy 19.5 a
‘ 3g ce “ oe 18.9 oe
Vargas fst a te ;
ae 32 a3 ‘“e ae 17.6 “
“ 34 a“ p “ co 17.0 ‘i
“ce 3 ‘ce oe “ce 16.4 as
ve 34 oe “ “ 15.8 ce
ct 3+ as “ “ 15.2 “

“ 3 ac “ ie 14.6 Ts

76 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Commercial nitrate of soda averages 95 per cent. of the pure
salt or 15.6 per cent. of nitrogen.

If quoted at 3% cents per lb. Nitrogen costs 23.2 cents per lb.

“ 34 oe be “ 99.3 ee
st 32 si is os 21.5
i 34 th 2 He) 208) seat
tb 24 te oe ob 19.9 ins
: 3 # He Tsang cs
i 25 ‘ Pabst

23 cP cl ae
oe 22 oe iy 16.9 in
“ce 24 oe te 16.0 “
‘ 28 oe “ 15.2 “
ze 24 ED OA AL ate
u 24 oe ot te 13.6 “
a 3) ce “ “ 1228 oe

Commercial muriate of potash usually has 80 per cent. of the
pure salt, or 504 per cent. of actual potash.

If quoted at 2.00 cts. per Ib. Actual potash costs 3.96 cts. per lb.
be

as 1.95 LC ee oESG: ef
tt 1.90 tk ts “& 996 te
‘“ 1.85 “ ts “% 266 re
te 1.80 ts 73 73 3.56 be 4
‘ “ 1.75 a te te 3.46 te
ch 1.70 “ “ce 4 ot 3.36 te
it 1.65 “ ie “ 296 &
Wi 1.60 cr te Coe eoeliG te
“ 1.55 tc tt “ 2906 ts et
“ 1.50 ts ‘“ “ 9.96 ts “a oi

The following table shows the fluctuations in the wholesale
prices of a number of fertilizing materials in the New York
market, during the last 27 months. The price given for each — F
month is the average of the four weekly quotations in that month.
Sulphate of ammonia is assumed to contain 20.5 per cent. and
nitrate of soda 15.6 per cent. nitrogen, and muriate of potash 50}
per cent. of actual potash or 80 per cent. of the pure salt. For ae
three months azotin and ammonite were not quoted at all. ee

Ne ee ee ee ee ee

EXPERIMENT STATION. rar

COST OF NITROGEN AT WHOLESALE IN COST OF POTASH
pe catia: res SP _ AT WHOLESALE IN

Azotin or Nitrate Sulphate of Muriate

Blood. Ammonite. of Soda. Ammonia, of Potash.
cts. perlb. cts.perlb. cts. perlb. cts. per Ib. cts. per Ib.
IGT NE) 21.3 21.8 21.9 24.7 3.78
omer eles 2185 21.8 21.1 24.8 3.86
ithyer Sse = 22.0 21.3 20.8 25.6 3.92
August ..--- 22.4 22.1 20.8 25.2 4.06
September -_ 23.8 Lee 20.9 24.7 3.78
October _--_- 23.0 24,3 20.8 24.9 3.64
November __ 23.3 24.3 20.4 25.6 3.62
December... 23.1 Eee 20.3 25.7 3.60
1882. January -.-. 23.0 Bue TOES) 25.6 Sia((l
February --. 22.3 22.2 19.8 25.6 3.60
March -.. 2. 19.6 20.1 18.3 25.0 3.36
April sess 19.7 19.7 18.4 23.8 3.24
May? 25.25 19.1 19.7 18.3 22k 3.26
“Tit: es ee 18.9 19.7 16.9 22.4 3.28
July eee 19.8 1925 16.8 22.4 3.40
August ----- 19°65 19.5 16.8 22.4 3.52
September -_ 19.7 20.3 Tei 22.4 3.60
October -___- LONG 20.1 17.8 22.3 3.56
November -- i9.7 ‘20.0 17.6 22.2 3.56
December_.- 19.7 20.1 17.6 21.8 3.58
1883. January -..- 19.7 20.1 eo 20.7 3.51
Febrnary -._ 19.4 iE ipo) 21.9 3.42
Marche 222 18.0 18.9 17.8 20.7 3.42
yew e252 18.2 18.9 17.9 20.1 3.40
IM divi 5 ee 18.2 18.9 16.3 20.1 3.34
june = 27S. 17.8 18.9 16.3 20.0 3.36
UL yaar Spat 17.2 18.9 15.6 19.0 3.23
August ____- 16.0 18.9 15.3 18.6 3.18
September .. 15.3 17.0 14.8 17.6 3.21
October ____ 15.0 15.2 14.8 17.3 3.12
November __ 14.5 15.2 15.2 16.4 3.20

ON THE ComposiTION OF LEAvES AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF
GROWTH.

Dead leaves collected in the fall are valued for litter and as an
absorbent in stables, but it is generally understood have no great
fertilizing value in themselves. The experiments of Zéller and
Rissmiiller have shown that while in early summer the leaves
contain very considerable amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash, these substances are withdrawn into the wood of the

78 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

tree with the advancing season, so that before the leaves fade
they have lost the larger part of what was most valuable in them,
which the tree retains for its further use. Rissmiiller’s investiga-
tions on the leaves of the beech tree* show that in their dry sub-
stance the highest percentage amount of nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash, is found when they open in May, and this per-
centage quite regularly decreases till they ripen and fall, but the
absolute amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and poe is greatest
in July and from that time on decreases.

From an oak tree standing ona lawn at the Station, leaves
were carefully picked at three different periods, as follows:

Oct. 16. The leaves were bright green and showed no signs
of fading or changing color.

Noy. 13. The leaves were brown, having almost entirely lost
their reddish tinge. Leaves were falling from the tree, but not
rapidly. It retains part of its leaves till the buds start in the
spring.

March 17. The upper branches were quite bare, but the lower
ones had still many leaves.

Two samples of leaves from a chestnut tree (Castanea vesca)
which stands on the Station land were also gathered on the
following dates:

Oct. 16. The leaves were green and unfaded.

Noy. 13. The leaves were ripe and ready to fall.

The tree was nearly bare and the next day was entirely so.

\

ANALYSES OF THE FRESH LEAVES.

——— —OAK. — = -——- CHESTNUT. —~

Oct. 16. Nov. 18. Mar. 17. Oct. 16. Nov. 13.
WATERS Seah b Skee ES 56.630 29.743 10.496 60.215 31.675
IN UIMINOIIS == 2s ee e5) eee 5.287 3.403 3.898 4.314 4.215
IBID Teese ye eee a) ed AE ape 9.185 20.379 24.322 6.705 13.395
Non-nitrogenous Extract -.__ 24.938 39.335 52.858 23.473 42.333
Hithershxtractsecs {se ae 1.630 3.340 3.898 3.480 5.407
SENG) A] Ea Eee Rage ech Le, a 2.330 3.800 4.528 1.813 2.975

100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 ° 100.000

* Landwirthschaft. Versuchs-Stationen XVII, 30.

eS ee ee

oS et

EXPERIMENT STATION.

The ash contains:

ER OMOSIAY ita: ame ee es ws oe
Mpatderot: IRON. 2 Sees. So
PhosphorictAcid'- 2.2554. :
HRCA CIO Aas = 2 LS
WarbonIevAcidy ay a4 22) 5356
Silica and insoluble in acid__-

—————-_ 0a. —

Oct. 16. Nov. 13.
326 173
.015 .029
.688 1.426
.162 .288
O81 OTT
.263 .260
.060 .090
.418 .815
Ble 642
2.330 3.800

072
.005
1.817
284
119
084
154
1.229
164

4.528

Mar. 17.

-—— CHESTNUT. —

Oct. 15.

2358
.016
A04
.928
18L
.186

1.813

’ “7. .
To facilitate comparison, these analyses are reduced to

free basis.

Aulpyiminoids P22)... 1. So occe seek 12.19
JAYHOVEY ie ioe ae Sia lea a IU 21.18
Non-nitrogenous Extract ----.---- 57.50
Bihenbxtrachi essa of So sce eh = 3.76
Belt yeaepera Nets 480d Suda) 4.0 Gist 4 es Fs 5.37
100.00
The ash contains :

JEYOR NSD oe Ms ep IT st ne et Ail
SOM aye en ae earn a Cra he 04
Tinie Epo ata emt Das A yO 1.58
Jay La ASST Eas Res ES Ue a rail
Oxaid evo fuirant es seme ea ve eh ald
Phosphoric Acid ae. see o. see vel sean st
Suloburic Acide = 2882 Be 14
SAEMONTC VA CIC eran ek oe .96
Silica and insoluble._....-.-___-- 13
Daou

4.84
29.00
55.98

4.76

5.42

100.00

5.42

4.56
20.17
59.06

4,36

5.05

100.00

10.84
16.86
58.99
8.75
4.56

100.00

4.56

Novy. 13
«384
021

a water-

6.17
19.60
61.93

1.93

4.37

100.00

The leaves gathered on Oct. 16th had very nearly finished their
assimilating function, those gathered Nov. 13th we may assume
had nearly or quite ceased to lose through resorption into the
wood, and those gathered March 17th represented dead leaves
which had been exposed to leaching and the action of frost for

nearly four months.

The green oak leaves lost between one-third and one-half of the
percentage of nitrogen in their dry substance, between the time

80 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

that they began to change color and the time when they became
brown (“dead”). The corresponding gain is found chiefly in the
fiber and also in the ether extract. The relative amount of potash
in the second period is only one-third of what it is in the first,
the relative amount of phosphoric acid is much less, while lime,
silica and phosphoric acid are relatively more abundant.

The same changes to a less extent are noticed in the chestnut.
leaves, except that there is a loss instead of a gain in ether extract.

These analyses show the composition of the leaves at different.
periods, they do not prove an absolute loss of nitrogen, potash,
ete., during the fading of the leaves, though such a loss no doubt
occurs. The percentage amounts of these elements can be less-
ened either by the withdrawal of them from the leaves or Oy, the
further deposit of fiber, fat, ete., in the leaves.

Between Nov. 13th ind March 17th, the dry matter of the oak
leaves has become, pound for pound, somewhat poorer in nitrogen,
fiber and ash, and the ash has lost in large part its potash and
phosphoric acid. In this case the loss must be absolute as well
as relative, for there can scarcely be any other than a physical
connection between the leaf and the wood of the tree. The loss
has been occasioned by the weathering and leaching of the leaves
in the winter storms.

From the analyses of the oak and chestnut leaves gathered on
Noy. 13th, it is seen that the newly fallen leaves, with about 30
per cent. of water, contained in 100 lbs:

Oak. Chestnut.
Nitropen! 255). Se eee Gea .54 lbs. .67 lbs.
Potash =p. o: = 23 oe eee se alr .38
Phosphoric acid 2: eee eee eee .26 .23

Stable manure with 70 per cent. of water, contains about .5 lbs.
nitrogen, .4 lbs. potash and .5 lbs. phosphoric acid. While the
nitrogen in stable manure is readily available, it is likely that
that of fallen leaves is comparatively inert.

The amount of leaves which fall yearly, according to Eber-
mayer,* varies considerably, being larger in wet seasons than in
dry, larger on a rich soil than on a poor one. It also varies with
the thickness of the woods. Other things being equal, trees pro- |
duce more foliage when standing apart than when standing in
dense woods.

* Versuchs:Stationen: XVIII, 63.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 81

Nor is the composition of the fallen leaves, at least of the ash
constituents, at all constant. J. Nessler* found in the dry sub-
stance of newly fallen oak leaves, phosphoric acid and potash as
_ follows:

Phosphoric Acid. Potash.
ESOle oe te oat Soo tn atk poe per Cent: .347 per cent.
IS 6 See eee sa ae 073 F uae Se
and in dry beech leaves:
SG ieee eee ess Sek se .360 503
BGS Eee ees eye ot 104 282

Similar observations were made by Zoller and Rissmiiller.

CompostTinc Drap LEAVEs.

Under date of March 31, 1883, Mr. George A. Ross, of Jewett
City, writes as follows:

I wish to make a compost heap of the following :

Dead leaves that have drifted behind a wall for the last 25
years and more, also the soil under these leaves, which is a dark
brown loam filled with small roots ; and unslaked lime.

1st. Now how shall I compost it ?

2d. In what proportion shall I use the lime and loam ?

3d. Shall I use the lime unslaked or slaked, at first ?

4th. Shall I let it stand a year?

I should be very happy to hear you make any suggestion that
you think will benefit me.

To Mr. Ross was replied in substance :

Ist. Use fresh slaked lime.

2d. One bushel of unslaked lime to 15 or 20 of the loam would
probably be an ample quantity. (1 bush. of lime to 10 of pure
swamp-muck is enough.)

3d. Mix or interstratify well. Put down 20 bushels, two or
three inches deep, then sprinkle on the one bushel of lime still
warm from the slaking. Add another layer of loam and another
of lime, and so on until the heap is several feet high.

4th. The heap may remain through a summer and may then be
mixed by cutting down and shoveling over.

5th. If a bushel of salt (to six bushels of lime) be dissolved in
water and the brine be used to slake the lime, the action will be

* Jahresbericht Ag. Chem., XI, 360.

82 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

much more rapid and a few weeks will suffice to set up a decom-
position, when the heap may be overhauled, and the compost will
be ready in a few weeks more.

6th. Instead of salt, muriate of potash may be advantageously
used. It will probably act as well in the compost and will also
supply indispensable potash to the crops.

The favorable effect of ‘salt and lime mixture” is explained in
my Report on *‘ Peat and Its Uses as Fertilizer and Fuel,” page
73, as follows:

“When quick-lime is slaked with a brine of common salt
(chloride of sodium), there are formed by double decomposition,
small portions of caustic soda and chloride of calcium, which dis-
solve in the liquid. If the solution stand awhile, carbonic acid is
absorbed from the air, forming carbonate of soda; but carbonate
of soda and chloride of calcium instantly exchange their ingredi-
ents, forming insoluble carbonate of lime and reproducing com-
_ mon salt. When the fresh mixture of quick-lime and salt is
incorporated with any porous body, as soil or peat, then, as
Graham has shown, unequal diffusion of the caustic soda and
chloride of calcium occurs from the point where they are formed,
through the moist porous mass, and the result is, that the small
portion of caustic soda which diffuses most rapidly, or the car-
bonate of soda, formed by its speedy union with carbonic acid, is
removed from contact with the chloride of calcium.

Soda and carbonate of soda are more soluble in water and more
strongly alkaline than lime. They, therefore, act on peat more
energetically than the latter. It is on account of the formation of
soda and carbonate of soda from the lime and salt mixture, that
this mixture exerts a more powerful decomposing action than
lime alone. Where salt is cheap and wood ashes scarce, the
mixture may be applied accordingly to advantage. Of its useful-
ness we have the testimony of practical men.”

Case oF Potsonine witH Paris GREEN.
“ Hast Harrrorp, Sept. 25, 1883.
Prof. 8S. W. Jounson:

Dear Sir: — Were inclosed I send you a portion of the bowel
of a horse for analysis, which I have very strong suspicion was
poisoned. Dr. Cressy made the post-mortem examination, and is
of that opinion also. An early reply will greatly oblige

Yours very truly,
Jno. KE. Laturop.”

EXPERIMENT STATION. 83

The material came to hand on the 29th of September, and was
immediately examined. It contained both copper and arsenic,
which, with acetic acid, are the constituents of Paris green (aceto-
arsenite of copper). Paris green was, therefore, undoubtedly
the cause of death.

FEEDING STUFES.

Twenty samples of feeding stuffs have been under examination
during the year, as follows:

Mealgiromuentire;cornis. = as" Sees = fe ee se 1 sample.
ELON al eaten aint ene a, Seer soba a ly vat Bee 6.ancs
Gluten: medley. ee ees te ee Rhea Bway Nn AR Sea ge ye 2 5
Muhtesitsnoiddilime sso ao nls See tect Sen eens 2a Suh aice
SHOT USHER eet ent) OU COE ks pbs SR A Se
STAN ae ree oe Ate ene ye ch MR! EL teare A toon Dg et
Wotton;seedamealt = eee our eh a ee Se
Wow process)linseedsmeal: +2. 2202 S232 52 8EGY Ake ee Tenge
Dried grains)from ale brewery>---sl2---~==-22-.25 22 Eig
Sieam-aried DTewers rains! see oe oso. ee eee Tea, ce?
20

Maize Mra anp Hominy FEeEp,
[See Table of Analyses on page 78.]

CLVIII. Meal from entire corn. From stock of W. H. Childs,
of North Manchester. Sent by H. A. Slater, of North Man-
chester. Price in February, 1883, $30.00 per ton. This meal is
rather below the average as regards its content of fat.

The next six analyses are of “hominy feed; ” also called “ Bal-
timore meal ” or “ white meal.” This material is a by-product in
the manufacture of hominy. It consists of the hull of the corn
and of the soft portions around the chit.

CLIV and CLVII were sent by Oliver Rice, of Meriden. Cost
$1.30 per 100 pounds at retail, $23.00 per ton in car lots in Meri-
den in February, 1883.

CLX. Sent by H. A. Slater, from stock of W. H. Childs, North
Manchester. Price, $25.00 per ton in February, 1883.

CLXIII. Sent by Andrew Kingsbury, Coventry. Price, $1.25
per 100 pounds (yellow corn meal retailing at $1.40).

CLXIV. Sent by N. P. Perkins, Willimantic, from stock of
J.C. Bugby & Co. Price, $1.25 per 100 pounds in June, 1883
(yellow corn retailing at $1.40 per 100 pounds).

“sjo] aweo UT y

00°001 00° 00L 00°00T 00001

¥G'8 G9°9 £3'8 ZE'8 Se") G8"h liege aero a Tene aS See Aa ae ee “== 98a

PaO) Pmt < ae 96° FL 99) es 8668 ~ (040 ‘teBNg ‘YoIRyg) JousyxG] o1f-WOSOTYLN
re]
S €L°s Sag coor 32's 98°% gas OO Tens Me ae see ee he mea Se Pe es TOO
Pp 68'8 1L'6 ge'01 LeU LOL &9'6 GRO Ee: er een eee =e sproulmand, y
R 09°% 6L'E mee 66% 9'°G = 09 5-5 ee ars eg GE re ee qsV
= :

‘aad aD,

3 M
do)
= 01g raat aa og Lh Ostet eee AGRE SEE 841 001 1 1
3 00'Ees 00°S6$ 400° 82$ 00° XO) et ee ab ag ce Mig DS eh ~~ ~t09 ted 4809
ie) = °
ea 00°00L 00°00T 00°00L 00°001
5) eee === a ==
ia BEL G6"G LVL 61'L ro'9 91h GGG. Roe oe es Ce en “> 9a
is 89°19 ie ag Wau a) 99°19 ae Leng > (ojo ‘ae8ng ‘qo.1eyg) JoRryxXG{ 9o1J-UOSOTIN
S O8'€ coe epee 616 PSG a. COilressbe ae ponies oes oh ee tee Toqtyf
rH 88h 69°8 00°6 G16 09°6 69°8 188 Ge SS eat igh nt eR Sprouraing| V
Ee 08% 6E°E Tae FSG : GEG Sey O86 a SS er Ca a eee Ysy

9F Tl PI OL 16GL 9F' SL FTI ¢9°8 [G28 ye AS Se 3 Sea es Joye \\

‘TIXx'10 “AIX'IO Txt ~ = Se ‘TIAO “AITO ‘TITA'TO
[eo FY M IO [ROW BLOWN [eg ‘poog AUIMOY ‘sdoyD AuratoH *[BOWW OZIVW
‘SHUSATVNY

84

4
E
.
;
h
“4
.

=

~

vee ey

sana cain He all

EXPERIMENT STATION. 85

. CLXXIMI. Sent by O. L. Buell, West Simsbury, from stock of
J. & H. Woodtord, Avon. Cost $1.20 per 100 pounds, or $23.00
per ton in December, 1885.

On the average hominy meal contains 9.3 per cent. of albumin-
oids and 7.5 per cent. of fat; maize meal, 9.0 of albuminoids and
3.8 of fat: and flint corn, 10.9 of albuminoids and 4.9 of fat.

Presumably the albuminoids and fat in hominy meal are sever-
ally as digestible as they are in ordinary maize meal. They are
cheaper, and the relative quantity of them, especially of the fat,
is larger. For these reasons it appears that, as far as can be
judged from chemical analysis, it is more economical at the prices
given to use hominy meal in a ration than corn meal. Experience
in its use must decide whether it is as healthful as maize meal,
and whether in the case of milk cows it has a favorable or unfav-
orable effect on the milk yield, or imparts any peculiar flavor to
the milk. In substituting it for corn meal, it should be considered
that hominy meal contains twice as much fat as corn meal, and
the ration should be modified accordingly. This large proportion
of fat evidently makes it needful to use some caution as to the
quantity fed.

Mr. N. P. Perkins, of Willimantic, writes that he and others
of the same place, are feeding hominy meal instead of yellow
corn meal to milch cows, with good results. The cows keep in
excellent condition and give more milk than on yellow corn meal.
The daily ration per cow is 4 quarts hominy meal, 2 quarts wheat
bran and 2 quarts of “fine feed,” well mixed and fed wet; one-
half in the morning and the other half at night.

Mr. Perkins also feeds it to horses and hogs in the same way
that maize meal is fed. But in fatting cattle it cannot be quite
so freely used as the maize meal. <A fatting cow which ate a
peck of the latter daily became cloyed when a peck of hominy
meal was substituted, and refused it altogether.

' Mr. A. Kingsbury, of Coventry, also reports favorably with
regard to using hominy meal for cows.

GLUTEN MEAL.

CLV. Sent by Burdett Loomis, Hartford, February, 1883,

CLXXII. Sampled and sent by Newton & Fuller, Springfield,
Mass., from their stock. Price in November, 1883, $1. 40 per 100
nai As.

86 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

ANALYSES.
CLV. CLXXII. CLV. Water TXT.

Wiatense 2-2 he ee Pee 10.73 10.54
(A Bhp eee ans aes ee 712 67 .80 “15
Albummoidss= 22s ose 31.75 30.00 35.54 33.53
Bipereeeeeee oee ao eee ele 26 .60 1.40 67
Nitrogen-free extract.-_ 50.57 54.93 56.69 61.42
TE epee hes Bes By Te ey, seer are 4.97 3.26 5.57 3.63

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Gluten meal is a by-product in the manufacture of glucose,
which has lately come into the market. It is not easy to compare
this with the ordinary kinds of feed. It ranks among concen-
trated feeding stuffs, because of its large content of albuminoids
(or protein). Beans with 24 per cent., linseed cake with 29 per cent.,
and malt sprouts with 26 per cent. of albuminoids come nearest
to it in respect to this, the most costly element of food. The
gluten meal is, however, richer in fat than beans or malt sprouts,
and much less rich than linseed and cotton seed meal. It most
resembles the ‘‘ new process” linseed meal, which contains on the
average 355 per cent. of albuminoids and 44 per cent. of fat, and
it is likely that its feeding value will approach that of “new
process” linseed. Actual use in feeding can alone decide posi-
tively its value, which, from its source and its composition, is
presumably high. Its proper use is in connection with coarse and
unconcentrated foods, to supply their deficiency of albuminoids.

Drixp Brewers’ GRAINS.

CLVI. Dried grains from ale brewery. Sent by Burdett
Loomis, Hartford, February, 1883.

CLXVII. “ Dried Brewers’ Grains for Horse and Cattle Feed.” —
Prepared by the Concentrated Feed Company, 422 East 62d St.,
New York City. Sample drawn from a bag of 100 pounds pre-
sented to the Station by the company.

ANALYSES.
Water free.

CLVI. CLXVII. CLVI. CLXVIL.
Waters Se ote oi oe gah 6.23 11.91
7S) SIE i sole PS ee Bail 3.63 SH} 4.11
Albuminoids ..._---.-. 19.25 20.25 20.53 22.98
d ON 12) ge ee ef ON ee 10.24 11.60 10.92 135
Nitrogen-free extract--_ 56.80 46.10 60.58 52.37
UL aed SERS S 4.17 6.51 4.44 7.37

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

EXPERIMENT STATION. 87

The prejudice against brewers’ grains, which has been quite
general, has arisen largely from the improper feeding of them and
from the fact that, being very wet, they spoil quickly and have to
be brought from the brewery fresh every day or two, or else are
liable to be fed sour unless pitted or ensilaged. When properly
fed they give excellent results.

The Concentrated Feed Company now prepare them by drying,
so that they can be kept indefinitely. In composition they differ
from gluten meal by containing some 12 per cent. less of albumin-
oids and 10 per cent. more of fiber, with 2 per cent. more of ash.

Wueat Bran, Mippiines anp SHorts.

CLXVIII. Wheat bran. Sent by M. C. Dean, from stock of
E. W. Spurr, Falls Village. Cost $20 per ton on cars in August,
1883.

CLXI. “White middlings.” Sent by H. A. Slater, North
Manchester, from stock of W. H. Childs. Cost $28 per ton in
February, 1883.

CLXV and CLXVI. Wheat middlings. Sent by H. Page,
Durham Center.

CLIX. Shorts. Sent by H. A. Slater, North Manchester, from
stock of W. H. Childs.

ANALYSES.
Wheat Middlings.

Bran. - ee Shorts.
CLXVIII. Ch: CLXV. Chxvir GiExs
UP OTIS Set Sr goes he TAGS 13.85 11.62 BSS 13.59.
JSS) GAR pe ERD Se hh 5.97 2.45 ait 8 Spee 5.23
Almuminords 2222s. 22 - 12.69 15.00 14.25 14.31 13.87
TiO SI ae A ha Oat 7.69 LO Roly eee 8.99
Nitrogen-free Extract _... 56.21 3.70 ee Se 55.62
ee et 2 es ee SO IG AN (8: 3.50 3.98 2.70
100.00 100.00 100.00

Water Free.
CID See eee #.0') 6.95 2.84 Jee Tei 6.05
PALDTIMMOIdS aes se ek Ae 14.79 17.41 16.11 16.15 ceed LOR ONS:
METAS epee Pl! ‘3a Fee 8.97 1.48 pee alin 10.40
Nitrogen-free Extract _-_. 65.50 73.94 ede Bae 64.37
PORE. CaaS ee meres 3.19 4,33 3.96 4,49 Bole

100.00 100.00 100.00

38 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

CLXV and CLXVI represent two different lots of wheat mid-
dlings offered tothe sender, who wished to know which was the
better article. CLXVI has about one-half a per cent. more of
fat in it, which, other things being equal, would make it more val-
uable. To Mr. Dean’s inquiry with regard to the sample of
wheat bran sent by him answer was made as follows:

“ Your questions, as to the value for feeding and for manure of
this sample, are not easy to answer. The value of bran as of
any other similar kind of feed depends upon the place in the ra-
tion, bran alone being a very poor feed, while bran in suitable
mixture with other fodders is very valuable. In the Reports of
this Station and in “ Armsby’s Manual of Cattle Feeding,” also
in a recent book by Stewart on the same subject this matter is
more or less fully discussed. You will find in the Station Report
of 1881, a paper by Dr. Armsby, pp. 90 to 105, which will give
you the principal points. As to the value of the manure, I can
only say that the richer the food, other things being equal, the
richer will be the manure. Bran contains an abundance of nitro-
gen and phosphates. In the mature animal these ingredients pass
entirely into the manure when the animal is not increasing in
weight or giving milk or nourishing young. The manure from
bran fed animals will therefore be richer in these elements than
that furnished by hay-fed cattle. As to feeding, one word
further: but a limited, rather small amount of bran can be fed to |
an animal without injury to its health. The proper use of bran
in a cattle ration is as an addition to common hay or other coarse
feed and the coarsest feed like straw and chaff may be advan-
tageously fed to animals when a suitable quantity of bran or
similar concentrated feed is used at the same time.”

Corron SEED Mrat anp New Process LinsEED MRAL.

CLXII. Cotton Seed Meal. Sent by Wm. Smith, of Plainville,
from stock of G. Richards & Co., Unionville. Cost, $31.00 per
ton. Its analysis as a fertilizer will be found on page 57, No.
876.

CLXX. Cotton Seed Meal. Sent by H. 8. Frye, Poquonock.

CLXXI. Cotton Seed Meal. Sent by A. E. Holcomb, Poquo-
nock.

These two samples were from stock of F. Ellsworth, Hartford.

Cost $30.00 per ton in November, 1883. :

EXPERIMENT STATION. 89

CLXIX. New Process Linseed Meal. Made by Cincinnati Lin-
seed Oil Co. Sample drawn Nov. 1, 1883, from five 100-Ib.
bags, presented by the company to this Station.

ANALYSES.

Cotton Seed Meal.

New Process
Linseed Meal.

CLXII. CLXX. (t} 7.3.4 CLXIX.

Winiceee ts os ee 7.61 7.29 13.35
PASH os OE kr Le Flies 6.53 , 6.85 6.08
Albuminoids _-_-_ 43.44 46.12 45.31 34.25
Hibera soot Se Sates 4.90 D.32 8.00
Carbhydrates -- ae 21.67 21.93 37.02
Tay Meee oe ee eS ee eel yi 13.30 1.30
100.00 100.00 100.00

,
Water Free :

PACS Ty eet tte OS 7.38 7.00
Albuminoids -__ 49.91 48.87 39.51
Hipgteae tas 2s 5.30 5.74 9.22
Carbhydrates- -- 23.48 23.67 42.78
Bad yr ews hye 14.25 14.34 1.49
100.00 100.00 100.00

The samples of Cotton Seed Meal are of average quality. This
material has been used to some extent as a fertilizer in this State
and when it has been damaged by water, smoke, etc., or has be-
come musty, this is the only use to be made of it; but the clean
fresh meal can most economically be used first as cattle food and
then as a fertilizer. When the nitrogen of any such material
can with small outlay of money or time be converted into milk
or beef it is certainly wasteful to turn it back into the ground
and after nine months or 4 year recover it again in vegetables or
grain. That part of the cotton seed, not assimilated by the
cattle is saved in their manure and may then be applied to the
land.

The “new process” of preparing linseed meal effects a more
complete exhaustion of the oil or fat contained in the cake after
it has been pressed. Linseed “cake” as will be seen from the
table following, has about 29.7 per cent. of albuminoids and 114
per cent. of fat. Nearly all of this fat is removed by the new
process and the meal after the extraction contains, pound for
pound, more albuminoids than the cake.

kb
i

90 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

CLXIX contains less oil than any sample previously examined |
here, though the albuminoids are not proportionally high.

It is of no special advantage to the farmer that the oil should
be so perfectly extracted (for a certain amount of fat is desirable
in the ration), unless by this means the feed can be bought cheaper
or rather unless the albuminoids, pound for pound, cost him less.
The necessary fat in the ration can be then supplied in cheaper
form from cotton seed. *

TABLE oF THE ComposiTION oF AMERICAN FEEDING STUFFS.
By Dr. E. H. JENKINS.

On the following pages is given the average composition of the
fodders commonly used in the country, compiled exclusively from
American analyses. The compiler has aimed to bring together
all analyses which have been published and could be obtained up ~ ‘
to September Ist, 1883. Probably a few have been overlooked. =

In the first column of the tables is given the total number of
analyses from which the average was obtained. The probable _
accuracy of the average increases with the number of analyses on a
which it is based.

“It is very desirable to know within what limits the composition a
of each fodder is likely to vary, and for that reason the maximum
and minimum amounts of each ingredient have also been inserted ~
in the table. *

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96, THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

SEED TESTS.

During the year 122 samples of seeds have been tested with
regard to their vitality, and many of these tests have been re-
peated a number of times in experimenting with new forms of
apparatus and in studying the effect of temperature on germination.

In this study attention has been chiefly directed to onion seed
because its production is a long established business in this State,
and the station is more often called upon to test, this than any
other kind of seed.

ONION SEED.

Within the last few years the Station has tested a considerable
number of samples which were sent in by growers or wholesale
dealers with information as to the variety of the seed, its age,
and the locality where it was grown. These samples represented
seed ready for market after winnowing and separating the small,
light seed.

On the following pages are tabulated the results of those tests
which were made on seed reputed to be less than one year old.

Numbers 130, 131, 138, 230, 253, 254, 255 and 258 are believed
to have been more than one year old at the time of testing This
is indicated by their low vitality and the fact that so large a per-
centage of seed remained hard at the end of the sprouting test.
See Report of this Station for 1882, page 95.

Excluding these eight samples, the vitality of 72 samples is.
found to be on the average 81.8 per cent., ranging from 58.8 to
99.5 per cent., and the average weight of 79 samples, per 1000
seeds is 3.773 grams.

On only four varieties have a considerable number of tests
been made. Their average vitality and weight are as follows:

Average weight

Variety. No. of Average per 1000 see

. tests. vitality. (grams).
WihitePortugals 25> (Soe ese 1] 73.5 3.440
Wethersfield Large Red_-_----.-- 16 80.9 3.758
Danvers vellowiso22: =. fe Ee ts} 84.1 3.849
WihitelGlobetc 422-8 (2 ate sas ee 10 84.0 3.836

The results of these tests show that the vitality of seed of

the same variety and raised in the same geographical region _

\ EXPERIMENT STATION. 97

ONION SEED TESTS.

Cs Seed 1-2sprouted 1,000

remained seed ger- seeds

Station Where When Seed hard minated weigh

Variety. No. raised. raised. sprouted. (perct.) in days. (grams).
Wethersfield Large Red 224 R. I. 1882 86.8 4.5 5 3.793
if Me 48 Conn. 1879 92.5 7.0 4 3.910

ee :: 53 « 1879 82.3 9.0 4 3.950

ie 131 cf 1880 75.3 18.5 4 4,284

sf i 138 i 1880 44,3 34.5 3 4,241

ot a 225 7 1882 75.8 4,5 5 3.754

ae at 246 se 1882 Gigs 8.0 -L 3.920

Ms 7 247 = 1882 73.0 17.5 4 4.217

‘3 85 Mich. 1880 74.0 13.0 Lk 3.966

Tae ne 86 oe 1880 80.0 4,0 f 4.150

ee y 132 1880 85.3 5.5 4 4,373

a a 255 Hk 1882 37.5 38.0 2.977

Hs * 117 Cal. 1880 89.5 1.0 3-1 2.890

te 5H 181 Mi 1882 79.5 2.0 5 2.869

oh e 226 . 1882 70.0 - 7.0 8-11 3.104

cs ae 46 - 1878 92.5 4.5 5 3.737
Large Red Globe ------ 112 Conn. 1879 90.5 5.0 a 3.797
< SOT Ne ee 228 S 1882 . 86.5 9.5 5 4.493

i Ana 249 oe 1882 85.5 7.0 4. 4.189

ay ee eae 182 Cal. 1882 89.0 35 6 3.285
Early Large Red Globe- 22% ‘“ 1882 75.8 7.5 6 3.506
Early Red Globe_~_----- 84 Conn. 1880 85.8 7.2 5 4.352
i He renee ae _. 229 a 1882 72.6 13.0 6 4.004
Ses LB a teat oe 259 Mich. 1882 58.7 14.5 6 3.039
Second Harly Red_-.--. 235 R. I. 1882 66.2 14.5 5 3.825
Extra Early Red______- 944 Coun 8894.) 75.05 .79 12-5 4 3.990
cn o BRA Oe 245 i 1882 69.0 15.0 4 4,010

Me He Pos ae ees 240 Cal. 1882 89.3 1.5 4 3.362
Extra Early Flat Red -- 80 Conn. 1880 82.5 12.0 5 4,485
Ms - 2. 223 By 1882 74.0 9.0 5 4.220

5 s -- 1838 Cal. 1882 96.3 2.0 4 3.612

y ih == 222 4 1882 77.8 5.0 5 3.895
Extra Harly_.-... ---. 170 Conn. 1882 99.5 2.1 5 4,341
Danvers Yellow -...-.- 230 RB. I. 1882 35.3 30.0 5 3.347
he Late Cae 101 Conn. 1880 92.2 5.5 5 4.179

ee ae) Be ceeg ct 102 t 1880 80.3 7.2 5 4.107

wv 3p Aa ee eee, 109 <A 1880 85.2 (hat 5 4.172
ie Ly adr, Saree 110 £ 1880 97.8 1.5 q 4.009

98 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

ONION SEED TESTS. .

Seed 1-2sprouted 1,000
remained seed ger- seeds

Variety. apa Med Afra sited’ (uae et) auoeee PPasbe
Danvers Yellow _------ 136 Conn. 1880 88.5 6.5 4 4.333
i SEER SSA ER ivelny 1880 Ones 4.0 4 4.137
oe pda Reg aa 258 ee 1882 39.8 30.5 5 3.141
se Heat y pope ht Rane See 1879 94.3 2.3 5 4.050
u Me eae thee ie 97 te 1880 98.0 3.0 6 4.305
o yd ee he Oe 98 M 1880 90.8 5.0 5 4.099
i Re ate 134 oe 1880 92 2 3.8 6 4.350
i geo ae als, 5 eel © 135 ¥ 1880 87.3 8.8 5 4.241
f pin nds Bhawan a 49 1879 85.8 10.5 4 3.490
ef thet Cheats ous 55 1879 64.8 11.0 7 3.585
KY ate ie apace aes 118 Cal. 1880 88.5 0.8 4 2.662
A LI TYE at ee 241 te 1882 74.8 4.0 5 3.052
. pe ate pence Bee 242 oh 1882 78.0 ONS 4 3.990
Flat Danvers Yellow__._ 231 N. Y. 1882 69.8 6.0 6 4,057
us “180 Cal. 1880 94.5 0.8 5 2.981
e 3 LEE Se % 1882 82.3 1.0 6 3.169
Globe Danvers Yellow_- 179 a 1882 17.0 2.0 6 2.890
2 s. 282 fas 1882 68.0 Aya) 6 3.279
VellowsDutchs: 2o25: ae 111 Conn. 1880 80.0 4.8 5 3.350
ML bin hte Sais eee ere 253 Mich. 1882 Dieo 23.0 6 3.014
White Portugal_--..--- 50 Conn. 1879 75.8 14.0 3 SEAN
Ae aN, | ean 114 ue 1880 91.8 2:5 6 4.040
oR ge al dense of Oe 115 i 1880 88.0 7.0 5 4.190
CO ge oe! Ga te a 116 ce 1880 89:0) sora oD 5 3.767
roa aM ea ecee 220 a 1882 60.0 3) 5 3.788
ak aN RS Frese ne eee LS NE Ye 1879 64.5 2.5 1 3.952
Lois ak lay gh ws RE 256 Mich. 1882 48.0 Igy. 5 2.681
Sea Mes eee 257 ee 1882 69.5 14.0 6 3.254
Usa SP palates pol ne 178 Cal. 1882 73.8 2.8 5 2.605
abe elie Aah A ah Me 221 tf 1882 69.5 3.0 5 2.851
“ REM iat OAS a 1882 70.0 2.5 6 3.000
White Globe -.-------- 57 Conn. 1879 96.0 0.0 4 3.830
= eee mare se It Is et 1880 93.8 2.0 4 4,444
OS ahd At 2h Sarees ees 218 x 1882 75.0 6.0 6 3.747
Uy Saye Verectere ts 2 ee 219 + 1882 70.8 7.0 6 3.946
SoM ET: ges eat 250 oe 1882 73.2 16.0 6 3.920
Oa ay eS ogre pee 251 # 1882 88.7 8.0 5 4.260
eee 2 250 ea! 12Gb IN aye 1880 89.7 7.0 6 AND Sia
Oy fae eae tai ee eS 954 Mich. 1882 20.0 65.0 6 4.418
A ee es ek ee 177s Cal. 1882 89.5 0.8 6 2.890
kas Bien ta eee 217 tt 1882 77.0 0.5 6 3.258

>" ay

se Ys

4
;
|
ig

EXPERIMENT STATION. 99

varies considerably from year to year with the character of the
season. For instance, the season of 1882 is said to have been an
extremely bad one for raising seed in Michigan, and it is seen
that the Michigan grown seed of that year is very light and
sprouts poorly.

It is held by some growers that onion seed more than a year
old raised in a favorable season gives a better crop than seed
raised a year later in a poor season.

The average weight of 1000 onion seed, as found in 79 samples
representing 14 “varieties” grown in different sections of the
country, was 3.773 grams. The maximum weight was 4.493
grams; the minimum, 2.605 grams. From these figures we may
compute the number of seeds per pound which is, in round num-
bers—

Average number of onion seed in the pound_-_----__-_--- 12,000
Maximum number of onion seed in the pound_.._-.._----- 17,400
Minimum number of onion seed in the pound.___----__-_. 10,000

The California grown onion seed seems to be smaller than
eastern grown, and it has been found considerably lighter in all
cases where it has been tested. ‘To illustrate, the average weight
of 1000 seeds of Wethersfield large red onion, Connecticut grown,
in 16 trials was 3.95 grams; Michigan grown, 3 trials, 4.16
grams; California grown, 3 trials, 2.95 grams. White Portugal
onion, Connecticut grown, 4 trials, 3.901 grams; California
grown, 3 trials, 2.818 grams. Danvers yellow onion, Connecticut
grown, 11 trials, 3.786 grams; New York grown, 5 trials, 4.236
grams; California grown, 3 trials, 3.234 grams, etc., etc.

The temperature most suitable for the germination of onion
seed in laboratory tests has been made the subject of experiment.
Haberlandt* has observed the germinating power of 56 species
of seeds and the rapidity of their germination at 62°, 77°, 89°,
100°, 111°, 122° F., but onion seed was not among the number.
In each trial made at this station three lots of two hundred seeds
each were placed in three sprouting beds of the kind described
below, and left to germinate at 51°, 60° and 85° F., respectively.
These temperatures were not entirely constant, but the fluctua-
tions were inconsiderable. A maximum and minimum thermom-
eter stood with each apparatus, and the figures given are the
average temperature. From time to time the seeds already
sprouted were counted and removed.

* Landwirthsch, Versuchs-Stationen, xvii, 104.

100 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Following are the results:

Station No. Variety. Per cent. of seed sprouted at
51° F. 60° 85°

237 talline cepa ay eee EI eee 63.0 DiEO 42.5
238 DIV RENTS ha es A sy ctl STL te a ak 35.5 45.0 29.0
239 pallrenvg: Si ieee Sasa ee 47.5 55.0 32.0
240 Extra Early Red ___.___-..:- 82.0 88.5 51.5:
245 Extra Harly Red .- 2222222 5. _ 58.0 62.9 40.5
241 Nellow DanVersa ese fee 78.5 83.0 45.0
242 VWoellow Waniverses 2s ce. ee ape 71.0 69.0 51.0
248 Mellow Wamyers a este nh wee D 82.5 29.0
243 White Portugal :.22.2-_2 -2- 65.0 69.0 39.0
246 Large Red Wethersfield -_--_- 70.5 76.0 39.5
249 largevRed Globesss. 222222. 78.5 84.5 49.0
250 Whitey Globes ae) 9 75 2a 77.0 77.0 50.5
251 Wihite: Globeso 2s, Ses 8 es 82.0 83.5 62.5
254 WihiteaGlobes ss aaa y= 20.5 15.5 10.0
253 MellowsDutch Sree eels aes 48.5 43.5 23.0
252 White Silver Skin (French) -_. 67.0 T30 47.0
INV OTARO LE A. Stee See 63.0 66.5 40.0

It appears from these results that in every case fewer seeds ger-
minated at 85° than at either of the lower temperatures. This
difference is very decided in every instance except, perhaps, in
No. 254, and amounts, on the average, to 25 per cent.

More seed germinated at 60° than at 51° in all the trials but
one, No. 237. The differences, however, with the exception of
No. 248, are seen to be comparatively small when it is considered
that duplicate tests made at the same temperature not infre-
quently vary by 4 per cent.

One-half of the germinating seed sprouted within 10 days, on
the average, from the beginning of the test at 51°; within 7 days
at 60°, and 6 days at 85°.

The results demonstrate that a temperature not far from 60° F. —
is the most suitable for the germination of onion seed in the lab-
oratory. Probably a difference of 5 degrees in either direction
would make no essential difference in the results.

EXPERIMENT STATION. _ 101

LETTUCE SEED.

The vitality of 28 samples of lettuce seed, representing 23
alleged “varieties,” received from wholesale dealers, and stated
by them to be fresh seed, winnowed and ready for market, was,
on the average, 98.3 percent. The maximum vitality was 100
per cent.; the minimum 93 per cent. Since there was so little
difference in the vitality of the samples, the results of the tests
are not here given in detail. The varieties were the following:
Boston Curled, Extra Boston Curled, Early Boston Curled, Bos-
ton Market, Curled Simpson, black seed; Curled Simpson, white
seed ; Extra Curled Simpson, Early Simpson, Butter Salad, black
seed; Butter Salad, white seed; Butter Salad, yellow seed; Ten-
nis Ball, white seed; Early Tennis Ball, Hanson’s, Large India,
All the Year Round, Drum Head, Cabbage, or Malta Drum
Head; White Paris, Frankfort Head, Early Curled Silesia,
Ferry’s Prize Head, Green Fringed, Philadelphia Butter.

The weight of 1000 seeds of the samples above referred to was
on the average 1.28 grams. The maximum weight, 1.56 grams;
the minimum, 1.00. Most of the samples were California grown.

Four samples of Early Boston Curled and two of White Paris
are not included in the averages for this reason. The White
Paris seed averaged .717 grams per.1000, and the four samples
of Boston Curled .808 grams per 1000. These weights it will be
seen are very much lower than the minimum of all the other 28
samples.

102 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

SreEps FRoM THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. -

Twenty-five varieties of vegetable seeds distributed by the
Department of Agriculture last winter have been tested with the

following results: ;
Seed 1-2 sprouted

Seed remained seed ger-
Station sprouted. sound. minated
' Variety. No Per cent. Per cent. in days.
Lerruce—
Yellow Seeded Butter ---.--_-.--- 184 99.0 2.0 3
Salamander? oe. eee a eben 185 98.8 1.0 3
California Gardeners’-------.---- 186 95.2 0.0 6
CABBAGE— :
Jersey Wakefield-........--.---- 187 98.8 0.0 5.
[Deoahy, tienes S54 See ee ee ee 188 96.2 3.5 5
Henderson’s Early Summer-.------ 189 78.5 0.0 6
TURNIP—
Purple Top Rutabaga-_.-.-------- 190 94.8 2.0 5
Sweet German Rutabaga___------ 191 90.3 0.0 5.
CARROT—
on gyOnan ye eer eee oe oe aos eee 192 53.0 30.5 6
Improved Long Orange ------ --- 193 52.5 24,7 7
RavDIsH—
Long Scarlet ------.-.---------- 194 (MeN 0.0 4
White Tipped Scarlet Turnip ----- 195 61.7 0.0 4
PEAS—
Daniel, O'Rourke 2. .ca2/-56- shes 163 96.0 0.0 - 9
Challenge --_-.-_-- PR SEED ys See See 164 94.0 0.0 9
VOKKsiTeeLOLe see see See ee 165 95.0 0.0 9
Improved Daniel O’Rourke- - -- --- 166 94.0 0.0 8
SwEET CoRN—
Early Minnesota ------ ue Be ae 168 60.5 0.0 13
Barly Marblehead .-_.-.------=-.- 169 83.5 0.0 14
ONION—
Extra Harly Onion __...__-.----- 170 95:5 3.0 5
Bxtrachianly weds soe foe ae 171 53.8 33.0 6
Wihtte, Portugal, 24 22 oe eae 74.5 15.5 6
RediGlobevs - aaa sabe Ree 173 31.0 39.0 6
TomMATO— f
Popbytes eee ae re kee 175 45.5 ? 5
AT Sey SmOOthme ses eae ee 174 76.8 0.0 6

PACIG eee ee ees eed. Steen 176 78.3 0.0 5

EXPERIMENT STATION. 103

Most of them were of good quality as far as vitality is con-
cerned. One sample of onion seed, 173, was evidently old and
comparatively worthless. 31.0 per cent. sprouted, while 39 per
cent. remained hard at the close of the test. One other sample,
171, is undoubtedly old seed.

It will be noticed that a laboratory test can only take into
account three of the factors which determine the quality of a
sample of seed, viz: its purity, that is, its freedom from seeds of
other species of plants, its germinating power, and its weight.

At present it is not possible in most’ cases from such a test to
decide whether the seed will produce vigorous or feeble plants,
or whether it is true to name, in so far as to be free from all
other varieties of the same species.

APPARATUS FOR TESTING THE VITALITY.OF SEEDS.

During the year the apparatus here described has been tested
and found to give perfectly satisfactory results with onion and
lettuce seed. Other species of seeds have not as yet been tried |
in it.

The apparatus consists of a pan of copper or galvanized iron
two and a half feet long, ten and a half inches wide and one and
three-quarters inches deep. At one end is a small horizontal tube
let into the side near the bottom, which may be closed with a cork.
The pan has a slightly arched cover, two feet and four inches
long, ten inches wide, with a rim three inches deep. It is pro-
vided with a handle and has two three-quarter inch orifices on
top through which a thermometer can be introduced if desired,
which also secures sufficient ventilation for small seed. The tiles
which hold the seed to be tested are made of a very light* and
coarsely-porous earthen ware which absorbs water almost as rap-
idly and abundantly as a sponge. This material is manufactured
by S. L. Pewtress & Co., of New Haven, as a filtering medium,
and is quite unlike any other earthenware that has come under
our notice. Each tile is nine inches, by eight and one-half, by one
and one-half. The upper surface is grooved, by help of a broad
file, so as to form seven channels or beds, about one-quarter of an
inch apart, running the length of the tile, each seven-eighths of an
inch wide and three-sixteenths of an inch deep.

* One of them weighs, when dry, 2 pounds 11 ounces.

104 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Each channel receives two hundred seeds, previously soaked
for six to twelve hours, and a slip of paper with the proper label
‘or number.

The water and seeds may be emptied together into the dry.
channel from the capsule in which they have been soaked and dis-
tributed evenly with the help of a wash bottle.

Each pan will carry three tiles or twenty-seven samples of
seeds. The bottom of the pan is covered with water a quarter of
an inch deep, the cover is put on and the apparatus placed where
the temperature is tolerably constant and suitable for the ger-

“mination of the seeds under trial.

The air in this apparatus is constantly saturated with moisture,
the seed bed is also saturated but can never have water standing
on it; the holes in the cover secure necessary ventilation, but
the evaporation from the porous tiles is not so rapid as to reduce
their temperature. These considerations and the fact that little
care is necessary to keep the water supply constant, have led us
to adopt this form of apparatus, after finding that the results of
its use closely agreed with those obtained with moist filter paper
as a sprouting medium. In sixty-six trials by the two methods a
difference of ten per cent. or more occurred in four cases; the
average difference was 0.7 per cent.

This sprouting apparatus thus appears to give unexceptionable
results, and in convenience of use much surpasses any arrange-
ment we have hitherto met with. For use with large seeds addi-
tional ventilation may be needful.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 105
The Station’s instructions for sampling seeds are as follows:
THE CONNECTICUT

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,

NEw HAVEN, CONN.

Instructions for Sampling Seeds.

The Purity and Germinating Power of Seeds intended for
Farm and Garden use are learned by examining a small average
sample. From a weighed amount of seed the pure seeds are
culled out and weighed, foreign matters and especially noxious
seeds are identified, the vitality of the pure seed is tested by care-
ful sprouting trials, and a report is drawn up of the results.

As the test of germinating power requires some time for its
completion, a report on samples sent in cannot be ordinarily
expected in less than two weeks.

The examination of grass-mixtures can only be undertaken in
special cases. It requires a large outlay of time and labor which
is not often justified by the results.

In selecting a sample for examination the greatest care should
be used to have it represent accurately the whole amount from
which it was taken. This result will be secured by proceeding as
follows :

1. Mix well together with the hand and arm the contents of
the package (bag or barrel) or packages of seed.

2. Take out five or six small handfuls or cupfuls* from various
parts of the package, mix these together and take a ne of this
mixture for the sample.

3. Send of the smaller seeds—red top, white clover, timothy,
etc., two (2) ounces; of beets, turnips, red clover, etc., four (4)
ounces; of wheat and cereals, and of peas and other legumes,
eight (8) ounces.

4, Samples may be sent by mail, or otherwise, prepaid, and
should be plainly labelled and addressed to

Conn. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,
New Haven, Conn.

_* A small cup may be closed with the palm of the hand, forced down to the
desired place, then filled and withdrawn.

8.

106 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Seeds sent in for gratuitous examination must be accompanied
by the following form:

THE CONNECTICUT
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,

. New HAveEN, CONN.

Form for Description of Sample.
Station, No. Received at Station, LSS

Each sample of seed sent for gratuitous examination must be
accompanied by one of these Forms, with the blanks below filled
out as fully as practicable.

This Form, filled out and sent with the sample, will serve as.
a label; but it should be returned 7m good order for filing in the
Station Records.

Send with each sample a specimen of any printed circular, or
statement that accompanies the seed or is used in its sale.

a

Name or label of seed,

Name and address of Producer or Importer,
Name and address of Dealer from whose stock this sample is taken,
Date of taking this Sample,

Selling price per pound or bushel,

Known or reputed age of seed,

Number of packages from which sample is taken,

Signature and P. O. address of person taking and sending the
sample.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 107

The results of the examination are reported to the party send-
ing, on a Form, of which the following is an example:
e

—~"« 2

REPORT OF SEED TEST.

Oe eae ee oe

CONNECTICUT

4 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

1

New Haven, Conn., 188 .

Examination of
Received 188 Station No.
From
Pure seed, per cent. by weight.
Impurities, per cent. by weight.
Pure seed sprouted during days. per cent. by number.
Pure seed decayed during days. per cent. by number.
Pure seed sound (unsprouted)
, after days. per cent. by number.
Of sprouted seed, 3 germinated in days.
1000 seeds weighed grams.

Per cent. value,

The ‘per cent. value” of a sample of seed is obtained by multiplying its per
cent. (by weight) of pure seed into the per cent. (by number) found, or able, to
germinate, and dividing by 100. It refers the number of seeds found, or able, to

+ germinate, from ‘pure seed” back upon the sample itself, in terms of per cent.
In case of perennials only it takes account of 4 of the unsprouted sound seeds, the
proportion which, on an average of many observations, has been found to ger-
minate under favorable conditions.

Director

108 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

MILK.

ANALYSES OF MILK oF AyRsHIRE Cows.

In March last, 8. M. Wells, Esq., of Wethersfield, gave the station
opportunity to make analyses of a number of samples of the milk
of single Ayrshire cows from his well-known herd. The results
are tabulated below. Two of the analyses are incomplete as

respects some ingredients.

Mysie Mysie Flora Flora

Name of Cow. Mysie. Athol. McCrae. McArthur. 34
AVE) lege een dy aera 88.40 87.45 87.66 85.83 87.24
Casein and albumin, - 3.03 3.07 3.26 at a 3.05
TOES op ee Ss Paleo Sil 3.78 3.82 4.96 3.74
PSUGaT NS saw Se Se 4.82 4.94. 4.32 4.71, ous
UNCTAD Sot Siety Re ae oe ee ae 208 .76 94 Eel sit,

100,00 100.00 100.00 |

Total solids, ..-- 11.60 12.55 12.34 14.17 12.76

Date of dropping last
Cali Sete ae eee Oct. 26,’82. Feb. 27,’83. Dec. 26,’81. Mar. 21,’83. Mar. 6, 83.

The milk was received Mar. 28, 1883. As will be seen, three of
the cows were fresh in milk, one had been four months in milk
and one fifteen months.

With perhaps the exception of the milk of Flora McArthur
who calved only a week before the sample was taken, the analyses
show as close agreement as could be expected between analyses —
of the milk of a single cow on different days, or at different stages
of lactation. The average total solids amount to 12.76 per cent.,

which shows excellent quality.

CasE OF WaTERED MILK.

In March, 1883, a sample of milk was brought to this station
by the purchaser, who suspected adulteration. This suspicion was
confirmed by the analysis I, see below.

It was reported to the sender that the milk might possibly —
be a genuine milk of extraordinary and abnormal composition,
taken from a single cow; but in all probability it was rich milk
(probably Jers¢y or Guernsey), which had been mixed with
about one-third its weight of water. That to test the matter —

beyond all doubt a sample taken by a third party at the time of

"y

aa)

2 awe oe

EXPERIMENT STATION. 109

milking and known to be unwatered, might be sent for analysis ;
and if this trial should be refused the fact of watering would be
rendered pretty certain.

A sample taken as suggested was soon afterwards analyzed
with the following results, II:

1 Il.
PSCC) STAVIbY ce ese eee ee 1.024 1.030
POMS POl COMtien Joa seas Se ache eee 10.04 14.14 .
Fat, CF ie ea a he Peat Bp 28 vie ee Bey — Oh Ba Se 3.31 5.48

The fact of watering thus proved was not denied, and .the
seller made the restitution demanded.

A sample of milk from the same party taken three weeks later
contained 14.28 per cent. of solids and 4.40 per cent. of fat.

EXAMINATION OF Marker Mix. '

Incidental to the proving of a method of determining fat in
milk, partial analyses have been made of fifteen samples of milk
bought at groceries or meat markets in New Haven in December,
1883. The price paid in all cases was four cents a pint. The
results are as follow:

No. Solids. Fat.
48 9.25 2.81
49 13.03 4.19
50 10.32 2.95
51 11.32 3.46
52 13.03 3.79
53 ltl 2.99
54 11.41 3.
55 13.55 4.49
56 11.06 3.00
57 12.52 asog
58 12.04 3.94
59 13.88 5.38
60 12.61 4.33
61 14.26 5.66
62 ari 4.15

Three of these samples, Nos. 48, 50 and 53 have probably been
skimmed or watered, one other, No. 56, is of poor quality, the
rest are, no doubt, pure milk. Nos. 59 and 61 are unusually rich.

These samples were not bought primarily with the object of
finding out the quality of the milk kept on hand at the places

110 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

visited, and they do not accurately show it: They show only
what quality of milk a purchaser is likely to get. No pains are
usually taken to stir the milk thoroughly in the can before dipping
out, and it may easily happen that one customer will receive rich
milk and another very poor milk from the same can.

Errrect oF Worry ON THE Quatiry or MizK.

On May 14, Mr. Wm. F. Morgan of Woodbridge, brought to
the station a sample of milk from a cow recently purchased by
hini and turned in with his herd. The animal was represented to
be a good milker, but the quality of her milk was inferior and no
- cream could be got from it. A partial analysis of the milk was
made with the following results :

SPSCihG OTA vAb ys soma ee ee ee el eeu 1.031
Solidstipenicentae 2 eee nee fe ee mee re ee ern n 11.28
Fat, Fe ouivtne, eta tena bsiahan saa Raion 2.16

The cow had been a pet and had not previously run in a herd.
It was suggested by Mr. Morgan that she might be somewhat
harrassed by the other cows. It is well known that excitement
or “nervousness” often has an effect on the milk secretion and
that the quality was thus strikingly influenced in this case is
rendered highly probable by the following analyses of two
samples of milk from the same cow, taken at later dates—which
show excellent quality.

r Aug. 1, ‘83. dan, 15, ’84.
Wiater, percent. = 252 = so. maeoe 87.50 84.92
Solids*pericentiza ee esha l eee a 12.50 15.08
Casein and albumin, per cent. _--- 2.81 3.34
Hat: per centie ate ae eee ee 3.94 5.54.

The present State law with regard to the sale cf milk is as
follows :

An Act To PREVENT THE ADULTERATION OF MILK.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in
General Assembly convened :

Section 1. Whoever shall knowingly sell, supply, or bring to
be manufactured to any butter or cheese manufactory in this State
any milk diluted with water, or adulterated by the addition of

=

—
St

= Co ae =

tao ee

=

ay
~ =
es

r

~~

EXPERIMENT STATION. 111

any foreign substance, or from which any cream or milk com-
monly known as strippings has been taken; or whoever shall
knowingly bring or supply milk to any butter or cheese manufac-
tory that is tainted or partly sour, shall, for each offense, forfeit
and pay a sum not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than
one hundred doHars with cost of suit, to be sued for in a court of
competent jurisdiction, for the benefit of the person or persons,
firm or association, or corporation, or their assigns, upon whom
such fraud shall be committed.

Src. 2. The usual test for quality and the certificate of analy-
sis of the director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment
Station shall be deemed prima facie proof of adulteration.

Src. 3. No person shall sell, or expose for sale any milk from
which the cream or any part thereof has been removed, without
distinctly and durably affixing a label, tag, or mark of metal in a
conspicuous place upon the outside, and not more than six inches
from the top of every can, vessel, or package containing such
milk, and such metal label, tag, or mark shall have the words
“Skimmed Milk” stamped, printed, or indented thereon in letters
not less than one inch in height, and such milk shall only be sold

or retailed out of a can, vessel or package so marked.

Src. 4. No person shall sell or offer for sale, or shall have in’
possession with intent to sell or offer for sale, any impure or
adulterated milk.

Src. 5. Every person who shall violate the provisions of sec-
tions three and four of this act shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined not more than
seven dollars, or be imprisoned not more than thirty days or
both.

Src. 6. A printed notice of this law shall be conspicuously
posted in all public places, creameries, or factories where milk is
received or sold.

Approved, April 25, 1882.

112 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

se

On THE DETERMINATION OF NITROGEN BY COMBUSTION WITH
Catctum Hyproxipr.

In a paper by the Director, published in the American Chemist
for 1873 (vol. III, p. 161), it was shown thatthe mixture of
sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide or oxide, proposed by
Will and Varrentrapp as a reagent for converting organic nitro-
gen into ammonia for the purposes of analysis may be advan-
tageously replaced by a more easily prepared mixture of sodium
carbonate and calcium hydroxide. When preparing that paper
some combustions were made with simple calcium hydroxide and
in case of uric acid for instance, the amount of nitrogen obtained
fell short of the theoretical quantity by less than one per cent.
As no entirely satisfactory results were then reached by burning
with simple slaked lime, it was concluded that the presence
of an alkali hydroxide, which it was thought might be formed in
small quantity in the process of combustion, was necessary to the
complete conversion of the nitrogen into ammonia. Further
trials were then contemplated but not until recently has the
opportunity offered to carry them out. A series of analyses
whose results are here given, demonstrate that this further sim-
plification of the Will. and Varrentrapp method applies to all
those classes of substances, which are ordinarily encountered in
technical work.

The calcium hydroxide was prepared from a good quality of
quick lime by slaking with water in but slight excess, drying
off any surplus of water at a moderate heat, rubbing gently in a
mortar, passing through a sieve of 5!; inch holes and bottling in
well-closed ‘‘ fruit jars.”

The tubes were filled and the combustions were made in the
way indicated in the Report of this Station for 1878, page 116.
The points to be observed are chiefly these. For the burning of
0.5 gram of substances containing 8 per cent. of nitrogen or less,
a tube of 14 inches is long enough. For dried blood or albu-
minoids containing from 12 to 17 per cent. of nitrogen a tube 2-4
inches longer is desirable. :

The mixture of substance and slaked lime must not quite half
fill the tube in length-wise direction. The long anterior layer of
slaked lime must be brought to a full red heat before heating the
mixture, and must be so kept throughout the combustion.

EXPERIMENT STATION. Bits

No fumes or tarry matters, indicative of incomplete combustion,
should appear in the bulk containing standard acid.

When the combustion proper is begun it may be carried on
quite rapidly until completed.

The tube is cooled below a red heat before aspirating.

The ammonia from the combustion is received in standard
hydrochloric acid and titrated with a standard ammonia solution,
using tincture of cochineal as an indicator.

The advantages of using cochineal tincture instead of litums solu-
tion are very considerable. It can be kept unaltered indefinitely,
as litmus cannot, it is not seriously affected by the presence ot
carbonic acid in solutions, and as an indicator it is more sensitive.,

In our use of the mixture of slaked lime and sodium carbonate,
the acid in the bulb-tube is frequently colored more or less deeply
red. This in nowise interferes with the alkalimetry, for the red

color fades as the point of neutralization is reached. In burning
with simple slaked lime, the standard acid has almost invariably
remained colorless, a fact which shows that the combustion with
the latter is more perfect. Evidently it is highly heated water
_ vapor which at once oxidizes the carbon and hydrogenizes the
nitrogen, and the slaked lime alone, operates more effectually
because it supplies more water in a given bulk of charge.

As was to be anticipated, the lime, at the full red heat to which
it must be exposed, does not retain all the carbon dioxide that is
formed ; the gases which pass the standard acid give a copious
precipitate in baryta-water. The standard acid, however, takes
up from the heated gases too little carbon dioxide to sensibly
affect the point of neutralization, and the entire accuracy of the
determination is in no degree impaired.

The contents of the tube, after the combustion is finished, are
mostly quicklime with some carbonate, since they slake strongly
and effervesce slightly in dilute acid.

The following are some of the results obtained by the two
methods. Soda lime here signifies the mixture of about equal
bulks of sodium carbonate and slaked lime. The combustions.
have been executed by Mr. E. H. Farrington.

114 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Theory. Soda-lime. Slaked lime,
Crystallized potassium ferrocyanide,_.._ 19.93 19.82 19.86
Anhydrous u“ “ Deeg ie 22.78 22.83
Potassium ferricyanide, ==" ese 25.49 § 25.42 —
( 25.46 25.42
Sinychuines 2a. cee an tese eee 8.38 ; pa
? 8.32
Happuncigeid) 2252/2. s UN SAREE 7.81 1.19 7.83
Dried oak leaves, .-22:5.--=.----- ae Bree 1.81 1.76
Dried chestnut leaves,....-------.---- su35 1.54 1.63
Wihont midQlings, wm. -eeaee see eS eae 2.28 2.30"
Dried peat, ..---.-- IF. Se aige ee e Bee 2.03 1.94
Wastor pomace,= aoe hoon ae eee Sere 4.54 4.53
2.48 2.39
Misia Shall ouewioly ea es Ree apn Bano 3UT5
Superphosphate, 4-46 2. sc bee sR 3.46 3.37
BONG eee Ee ae ee Ree noe ke Bes 3.93 4,02°
RN Sf te a ees a cni= Rone Sain ai ate otal mite 6.70 6.61
Sh sCrap eee eee eee ease an ear 7.16 7.12
ty Op i: Rai eg ars pee gay 2 2a BAe eS Laven 7.61 7.70
aria logue eat Eile 8 RAY WN ty ae Srey ped
eG 11.79
i a j 11.18 11.26
Rae iGh I me er ake Tine 11.23 11.33

~

In the case of bone, fish and superphosphates, a still closer
agreement would probably have been obtained by the two
reagents if the materials analyzed had admitted of finer pulver-
ization and more accurate sampling.

A considerably larger number of comparisons have been made,
but in no case, except that of strychnine, was the difference
greater than is indicated by the determinations above given.

The combustion of strychnine is more difficult than that of the
other substances named above, and for good results it is needful
to use it in small quantities, as seen from the subjoined statement.

Soda-lime. Slaked lime.

Strychnine,......-..-.- 0.5 grm.: tube 12-14 in. Ayieg ais
(7.85 7.98
‘ peas ah la Ee a ne
oo neeeee ene : Dell to pasts et cee 8.14
8.05 8.20
res a Pig mph aad 0.2 « “% 90 “ 8.14* 8.25
‘ . eu (eau
SRE FON eat 6.1 20 8.32

* Will & Varrentrapp’s Soda-lime, made by Merck.

EXPERIMENT STATION. 115

LN UD BEX

Page

Act concerning commercial fertilizers; == 52252225. ss. s---ssnes ee oe 12
Emo mprevent the adulteration of milky 2225 {oy 22 Sssshs 22h Le oes oe 110
PoTICHiural vallerotea terilizer, oo aero. one Se Ue eee eee eae oc 26
Ammonia, Sulphate of, analyses and valuations,__--.------.----------- 56
Ashes, Cotton Seed Hulls, analyses, ............-.-- ----- gee ak aa , 67
ut ComposiiomoMhouse, analyses: see ae We eo 68, 69
smumloachod. wood analyses) a 22, Sy iint peo SW ysis eh ae 70
Atlantic and Virginia Fertilizer Co., Long Islander Superphosphate, - - -- -- 34, 37
ss a Orient Complete Manure,.-------_-- 35, 37
PEZOUlliaW hOleSalG: Price Of 2. sare. wee oe so oe ae eet ea ee ee ae ys Ge 12, 17
Baker, H. J. & Bro’s.- A. A. Ammoniated Superphosphate, -._._.-..---- 34, 37
tf ote = CAStOles hOMACKsS See aes ee eo awe ea AS eas 57

i wee CORN ManUne: e542) ae wa an Ny fae melee Se ale -_.. 44, 45

OS fc Complete sEobaecos Manure) 2s Sse eee eee 44, 45

f cE Pe SC TASS eM ATLULO ses Spt S a Sete ee fa per Ma Abner, DN 44, 45

a Paint ee aos he bs Ganon eo CP tL ER END a 60

rf i Mprriatte rote ROtash wes ost a=, ae ete ee ees ee ane es Bae 60

(2 Packard's )Superphosphaters sao. os ons 22s ee 29

fs ee elicanebone: Hertilizerys: +, 2s. Ses caeoa oe 33, 36

: ts Pe OULh OMANUTO, OMe eee Co. seca eee tees 44, 45
AKO te AMO SUEL = sROned One. <2 5 Jon lees Ue ee Se ess 51
BOnNO Lee eRe GTOUNGE BONG Kose oe se ceeess e ee ae ree we ee Lee EEL 52, 53
EOC wWwROleSHICupliCd Ol, 4 a5 ska Us ree ee. Ce St Se 72, UT
orien Clicnies wine Te wen Goes 2) Smee tO ey AL TRE Toe SM yt J cee aa eet) Sues 28
REM MANULCA tee arent ponds od eee Mere tee Behr aie oe ees 47
he = mechanical analysisvas ae saoyas see seas ae eee ee ee ee 48
J e TMeWMOdLOL Valuation se scee es. ea eee ee one 48
Bone, solubility of in Ammonium Citrate,......__-.--- PL ely EI BIB 51, 54
moaw ONLGe bros! Ground! BONO; + <2 02 santos oto. ee eee! su eI 52) 53°
= Superphosphater oly Dime: sas .6 8 eS o he aA ARIS 33, 36

_ Bowker Fertilizer Co., Brighton Phosphate, -___....-.-..-----.-------- 35, 38
ie ueeAcidn Phosphate of lime, to sses2 soe se ees eee 29

a s DISSOLVed BONG. Pee Sewanee AU ee he 34, 37

u eeaDeve Ground shish-eac +c omeeeu ti Doe ys oo. See ee

ie Mmemneronud Aone HO ses e mule) ihre See 52, 53

i ef Bisheande: bOtaSh eos ss ee Shere i no Nee a ele 34, 37

‘ ea Hallands Drill Phosphate, 2222-22 8.0 let hia bee 35, 37

116 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Page
Bowker Weriilizer Co, Kamit tienen, Sal a oan yee ee ge 60
7 Fe awa Dressing) 2220050 eho en evn Papa 44, 45
a i Stockbridge Forage Crop Manure, ..__.-..-____. 44, 45.
i . . Grain-Manure; 42. oe ose ae ee 44, 45
rs - te Grass Top Dressing and Forage Crop
Manure; 2 2=-4 05-00) Dey ee 44, 45
ae = a Mariure for Cortes bolt) eae 44, 45
i ty y Manure for Potatoes and Vegetables,__ 44, 45
a a ee Seeding-down Manure,_____.-.__-_.- 44, 45
Bradley Fertilizer Co., Sea Fowl Guano,-....-...-.-.-)..2..2.... =. 35, 38
se i Superphosphinte, 222 22 Suas Se eet yee eee 33, 36.
4 ff Superphosphate-of Lims,. ..2i2.. 2240 eee 34, 37
Bradley, Wm_; Boglish Lawn Dressing; 2... 2.22.22) a 44, 45
= Original Coe’s Superphosphate of dhimes: 2. See ee eee BBP aie
Beoway dt, B. Oi Co, Oaxtor Pomace, oe 2s A 57
Buffalo Fertilizer and Chemical Works, Ammon. Bone Superphos., ....... 35, 38
i : a ‘* Potato, Hop and Tobacco Phosphate, 44, 45
BORER Monte Pe Aan ay eat eS ae ee Palo een eae ee ioe BLA 10-
Castor Pomace, analyses and valuations,._..................--._...__- 5%
Chittenden’s Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,...._.-_ ......-..--._- 35; 31
nt Fertilizer for Corn and other grains, ...._._-..-----.-.-.- 44, 45,
et Bing Ground: Fishes: 0/054 oe se eae OO ee 54, 55
e dab jand UPotadh ir Tel ee ie a ee 31, 34; 3b, 37
ft Grain -Hertilizer, 0 025 Gbe) jer hol et a 44, 45
2 Potato’Hertilizere 2 yy. 202i o ON ly 8 Se 44, 45
s Root @ertilizon >. 5. 4 ta oy Re yt Lei rer ys a 44, 45
a Tobacco: Weridiner, 32 4 = eee 44,45 —
¥ Universal’ Ehosphate, 464005526 25. 2 Lee a eee a 35,37
Church, Jas..&‘Co:, Menhaden: Guano, _) 22.22 2. e a ee 33, 36.
Clark’s Cove Guano (o,, Bay State Pentilizer, «25.29 en Pe oe ee 33, 56
o uf Great. Planet Brand,‘ .A\? 7.0) 0 eb See 34, 37
Coe, E. Frank, Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,: seas po see eee 33, 36
Coe, Russell, Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,..._...__._-.___- 34, 35, 37, 38
Collier. White’ Lead ‘Co., ‘Castor Pomace,..6 2). 52.000 YS eae bil
Comparison of the analyses of Nitrogenous Superphosphates with the
Guarnhiices ef e e ehe pe ae Ly 2 8 ee eee ik 40.
Comparison of analyses of Superphosphates of the same brand, and the
analyses with pnarantes, -<2 2... ee uke ak ae ee ee 39, 40°
*Comparison of ‘special manures, $2... 522. oe Seb ee 47
Composition of Feeding Stuffs... «Jz in aes RU ee pee » 905
Cotton Seed, analyses and valuations,.............--.-_--------L----- Ev eye
Pettonyseed Meal me Un tee et pet coe Oe Ae er 88.
eee: L. B. & Co., Darling's Animal Fertilizer,..........--..-.-_--.- 33, 36 ie
A us Kine;/Ground Bone, ce 2a abe 4 ee 52, 53
Dole Common Sense Fertilizer Co., Common Sense Fertilizer No. 2,------ 35,38
“ “ “ “i “ No. 3, cee 35, 35°75
Dred Browers! Grains, analyses, 2o0 2 va W eo! a 86"

EXPERIMENT STATION.

i ee

‘Explanations of fertilizer analyses and valuation,
market quotations,

REISE ENS UTES 2. oa iS Le men ans, ec ens Bates Soe eee re eee the ae
LLCS ARS Cpe Se ee eee ei mee SORE ns Spa ng YL AS EL aban ny Ce Eee
“ classificationvof: thoseianalyzed, 2s 2-354" 4. 2 ao se5 sen ae
Brie Zersna Were ac 8 a See Se ne ae A el ea ee ae See
a Observance of, =2 22 \.252222 Dn Se Be eae ns SR OTE OS cama
BUSM@rOry-CTOUNG 242 - 2. i Slee Soa St pees Cee ee ee eee
Form for description of fertilizer samples, .._~.--.~.-_-=------=-------
orm foredescription of seedsia2 2 6522) so 2.5 8 ole ee Sa
es ROPOLUINON SCCOS) Fas ees Sarees ee ees ey SS ti
Glidden & Curtis, Soluble Pacific ease Se tea ee a eS
ore MCal analy Ses ees cs ae a Sesion Gentes see ee
45uanos,, -_- -)- Be GE aa OA ey at Ne eee eD, We IEE Sey = aguas meee Sees ARE aigt
MarngnaoH.& Gon, Ground Bone, Si. .t- 402-422 2s -- 8 xe es
a sf Pure:Bone: Phosphate, S25 2s5 le) asa aes
eleairnyeRC Od pAMANVROSe 2 kote See a a ee a enact erect
Home-made: superphosphaici-22 7.2 Soo su ees ae eee
Rnrindor acco. AlKalizod: Guang, 9.22 222.2555 528 oe Se eas see 34,
ss Now lt Peruvian Guano, Standard, 222 252-2 ae 2

u: No. 1 we s GDOSS a: te See ee ee ee

af PEruVvisHe Gann se ne eae ee ee eo ee
Tin 1B Pee Re Oe 0 a ee ee ee ee oo ee ee ee
imei cochious tor sampling. = 205522 Ja oA 2s i ek ee he ae ee
ecaritieawmnolesalarCost Ol... 5 te, tak. Shey Stes ee gee Oran
eLwROHees iW ewe Grounds BONG =e Seas Soe Se SS Jao ae a 50,
Leaves, composition of at different periods, ...--....---.-----=-------_-
PPeCONADOSUING CCAM Sails Sere ose aa Bhat en oe ee
ne; Caustic) (‘Qnick-lime”), analyses) 2s: _ 22.2 22-2---2-5 2-5 see qenos
imimes\Waste, Irom paper, works, .analysis,.-= --2.2----25-.2-5--25-2-5-
picshonee LOCK analyses. <a ce SoS — so a ee hone a ot ene ae oe
norenenicdl rows proccss ston 2 he fe Be eae
Lister Bros., Ammon. Dissolved Bone Phosphate, ..-..--.--------------
iL Celebrated Ground Bone,.--.------------ fy Oe ey ee

s Crescent Bone re retires ts Crain Se re ay

fy IR GtatOmHeriliZer 222 Yeu se ot ee BAN oe toa
PRB CLY atin i yRCe qe aes SNR SS ose kee felt eS
Manhattan Chemical Co., Cooke’s Blood Guano,...----.--------.------
Mapes, F. » Be G./Co:, Ghrinloes Manuires se. Se ace eoes.c Nas ee ees
“ sc “ “ce (fae? Brand), _ ee, Se Seas, 5

ss e x6 PyryaG round Hist ie 5-ty NS ee eee ores bes

Y: yy e Grass and Grain Spring Top Dressing, -.--------.

ip eh te High Grade ‘Superphosphatess 122-222-2555 25

i ws “ aNtinsiecok SORA Pe sak = sere eee oe Sls

eb if Tobacco Fertilizer, Connecticut Brand,._--..-----
oo} rs i Tobacco Manure (for use with stems),-..------.-

sc te a“ IROLatOWMANURO 6 act 4 sane ate aa eee eee

29

77

118 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL

Mapes, Hc ye. Ge Com sulphate! of Ammonias2 o.oo lane onl ianean
No Namers: (Me “Grounds Boner slr aa akan PM To Dre nau n

ue os HishHerilizer-andsPotashss eee ee fase eran
a a IXL Ammoniated Superphosphate, ...._....____.__-
uk s Gh Phosphates. eC) Sasi y Caen Ne ae ee
Mal, analyses orsmukvorsayrshirereows,.s8 soe oe oe eee Oe eens
WAACASE! OL, Watered ioe awe BE etn e RO Ee Ee I
PEROHeCh OL WOLkyaOny (UalUyyOL me eern eset ea = Uo keel oe
examina donnoly market, 2! ee cse keene ore AU Ra

Y Raw) Bone Superphosphate a2. 3. sees ee ee 3
Mitchell Standard Superphosphate, .........--.--.-2--2 2-22.22 dee knee
MMilnreck, fain tl yeen /5o 8 (te eRe ee eos Pe he ee el
Muriate of Potash, analyses and valuations, ........_._..--_...-.....---

£ iM wholesale’ price ‘of, (i c.e te ee ee Sona
National Fertilizer Co. See Chittenden.
Wative Phosphates Lite. t ban ae Ste ee ie Le ee ee eee
Navassa Phosphate Co., Navassa Acid Phosphate, ............------..-
ue uf Phosphate weet ee ee a ee eee
New Haven Fertilizer Co., Superphosphate,_............-..---.-..-___
Nitrate’of Soda, analyses.and valuation,--22,- 4. 2-2 S22 a eae
oo wholesale price, Of. ee ee oe i he ens ee ee
Nitrogen, determination of by combustion with Calcium Hydroxide,
se explanations, (22 euSs 7. eee ee
ay ‘OTPAniC eee Say SO a Oo 8 AA SOR aes aS Be iS
Nitrogenous Superphosphates and Guanos,-.-----.---.---.-.----------
Packard’s Concentrated ,Superphosphate, .-_.......-.-.-------------~--
Baris Green,’ poisoning wits. oe wo eck Pete Le e2B LU eae
Paul Thompson’s Mineral Manure for Tobacco and other crops,_..-.----
Péck Bros., Pure Ground BONG 2360 ie he I a ea Ye

PeteriCooper,/ Noh, Bone, . S22 caus tek otal aes fae
Phosphate Rocko oi iel Lea eee ee eee) er
Phosphoric Acid, Soluble, explanation of term,.........._-..---.-.----

fe «Reverted, ‘ Sa ces ee St newt Lies Seine Lee a

“Insoluble, s TO Uh qc te cen Lee ae ar
BUA Ster set ee ORR e oh Rie Uy Ce a A a ee ie A ea EE each ia te

"analyses, andsvaluation, eve eae kes sete eb ee ee eee
ih Carat ea te nin EL 7 Bist ‘hts REAR SOR eh
SUNG Wie WOCOMTes ter rekee 207 NO NO Ae iN ates Se em n oe 2 2 Sey ee
PoOvash) hexplanations #22 26 hee en Ae cet eA Sree eae abate hs Se

EXPERIMENT STATION. 119

Page

Potash Salts, analyses and valuations, ...2--....-.-..-------------2--- 58
Preston Fertilizer Co., Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,...._..._.-.-. 34, 37
Sy He Groung FBome eee Goi eee Le aun ary oe eel 52, b3

e oy Dried and Ground Fish Guano,......._....._..- 55, 56
Ouinnipiac Herulizer:Co.-Dry, Ground Bish, sossese5 sense eee nee ae ae oe 55
af Fish and Potash, Crossed Fishes Brand,___.-_-- 33, 36

af * Hish and Potash, Plain Brand a2 2522220256 0e0. 34, 37

=. x EG AITAT Gs Wee (2 ee ee ee eee OAL epee Sie EE 60

i if Muriatesoi Potashs 425 ea eee ees te wore 60

bl us INGirabem Ofm SOc da at eee ee ees Cee Le 56

H Phosphate, eso ee eee ates ee Re Te Bn 33, 34, 36, 37
OrinniniaciCos Meatwand: (Plaster, 02205 S32 eco keceaceeece eevee we 57
Read: & Co.,) Farmers’ Friend! Fertilizer)... £.-02.-- 4-3 5c. -laseel 34, 37
BS Matchless@Pobacco"Mantire; 2 eee ree le yee ae eae ees 44, 45

Ee por Omunos board. ofaControl sesa- sass e soot ane eee aoa een ee oe 7
iN DITO CUOW rena e sa eh eae es SNS ee ee eee le aeae Nee Le ae 9

4 PIP OASUIN CT meee er eee YM ey Soper yo Spe 2h aoe gets une 8
evmew, Olthe fonilizersmarketyswo 520 5b. Le Ses as pest Sa ae 72
ackeimomya ledcoun New Canaan. cacect acca acwncascon anes wanes 65.
‘ Rogers & Hubbard Co., Bone, Grade “' A,” Extra Fine,..........-..-..- 52, 53
if ue IDE jenjoy Moa) Senators ee ee ee 50} b2, 53

ut a Ray cheouclkdev Bones Migals = pot yee ae ee ee Dayos

ns Raw Knuckle Bone, “A” Extra Fine,.-.__.-._-_ 52, 53

rf Hf Pure Ground Raw Knuckle Bone, Grade Meal,___ 52, 53
ERG ELC OM OTOP terrae mee an MNT A cae Mime tate dE eM dee Sk CMe pete so Mba 51
Saltpeter Refuse, analysis and valuation, -s.-.-2.---..2...-c-.-0-e-2-- 59
Scripnoei Oo. s/bhosphate Rocks -225 452-2222 52222 2 oe, Rist Sele 28
SONGS See Se a eee ee As dpe RRM ce Oe Si 96
SAP PacavusytOnmesuine wWitalloy Olt =.= 4.28 see sar nc eee aaa ae 103

Bee LOM eLOTaCESCHIPLONPOLme aware ser hcl Gee aes oy eka oe Ur ent Oars 106
LOLI LOL TOPOL On) ee SOO i Aden RE Je Doe ee re ae 107

SINS PRUCIONSMtOre SAMpLIM Os nae aie heb alee ya en SRL Myke Oe eae 105.
mLOLUUCOn ViILallb Olt aoe tec epe ee seems i oa ne ese es pee 101
POMONA VCLAMeaWelo htc Ole asta sete Soe nck ee yee eer See tay 99
‘Onion, temperature best for germination of,......-...--..-.-....-- 39

Se OOM BV ULALTE Ahlen ee eng ee a ae hs Nl el ee ea ee, 96
ETOUU ORS eDepariment oOmA STICHILUTe) 26 4544. se san See ees ae ne 102
Shoemaker, M. L. & Co., Swift-Sure Bone Meal, ......-..._.__------- HO a2 OS
Siadopnnisl Groundipbone. fete Ler bs Se LS Jo ee es Ae Sl 52, 53
Stem E PMG OUN CMD OUO) w aa payee ace eye ets LORS og 1 eee 52, 53
VS) SCTE Tey a yb a(S a ae eS psa Is feo a er Pee lO eS 46
MrOGKOLage, Horace: Crop, Manure, +23 Sateen estos ook ee koe 44, 45
4 (Caeyiay WMT EE CMe Eye SES ye PRR se eee ee 44, 45

i Grass Top Dressing and Forage Crop Manure,----.--.-...- 44, 45
NANUIEGELOL, COLD ey 0s a pM Pete a ed Sete a fe 44, 45

ci Manure for Potatoes and Vegetables,...._...--------.---- 44, 45
Sulphate of Ammonia, wholesale price of,........-....-_----.-------- 72, 77

A = ~ ad
,
. *) Wee) °F

120 CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.
s ‘ \

Summary ol Oiation WOLK, 228202, 25. slau oun eee eg oe yale pete ed a ;
SHReTPgeD nates, Nitropenousy: = SoMa eee So eae ae Se eee ee 30
re if average estimated value, cost and difference ‘
for lastrioun years see. eee es 32)
: Plaine 252 ee hou eb te Wie Sh 1k oO eae 28%
Thompson & Edwards, Pure Fine Ground Bone,..........-.----------- 52, 53
- World of Good Ammon. Bone Superphosphate._--- 33, 36
Piragde-vaiues tor Vests S82 andl SSoeie = on | epee pene 2 oa ee eee 24,25 |
Wialustioneor-Mertilizers e-= <j ass ae See Seer Been Raed ae ae 24, 25, 26°
4 MIBOS Oly reeset epee ce SE ke Ss ye ee 2 de ed ee 26
Williams, Clark & Co., Acorn Brand German Potash Salts,-_------------ 60
* iH American Brand Ammon. Bone Superphosphate,..- 34, 37 E
Wirisen sPare, Bone Mont, (oo At a ee We et a oy a 52,530 2 aan
Wheat Bran analyses, 25-3. ne aoe Nai tat Rieter oe eee
or IMiddlingssapalyses.n<=-e2 est. oe ke Le eis 2 is te eye
Shortstanalysess (see eo eee {oe to 2 kl eee eee

COMPOUND INDEX

TO THE REPORT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND OF THE

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

Folios starred refer to the Report of Experiment Station.

Act coneerning Commercial Fertilizers, - : - -
“« to prevent the adulteration of Milk, - . - -
Agricultural value of a Fertilizer, - - - - -
ss Societies, Official List, . - - -

“ sf Finances, - - - - .
Alfalfa, : - - - - - : -
Ammonia, Sulphate of, analysis and valuations, - - -
American Pomological Society, Rules, = - - : -

Anderson, Rey. Dr., Prayer, - - - - Z
“s re Address, - - = = =
Ashes, Cotton-Seed Hulls, analysis, - - - -

“Composition of House, analysis, - - - -

«leached Wood, analysis, - - : - A
Atlantic and ees Fertilizing Co., Long I. Superphosphate,

* is “ Orient Complete Manure,
Augur, P. M., Peach Experiences, - - - -
“Report on Pomology, - - - -
Azotin, wholesale price of, - - ° - .
Baker, H. J. & Bro.’s A. A. Ammoniated Saserphoep Kate -
eS 6 Castor Pomace, - - - -
He oe Corn Manure, - - = -
es < Complete Tobacco Manure, - -
i us Grass Manure, - - . -
‘ i Kainit, - - - - -
i ss Muriate of Potash, - - - -
y a Packard’s Superphosphate, - -
‘f s Pelican Bone Fertilizer, - - -

Potato Manure, - E = a
Baker, James H., Rotted Bone, - - - - -
Barstow, J. P., Address, - - - - - 2

PAGE.
*12
*110
*26
331
332
231
*56
174

10

31

*67
*68-69
#70
*34, 37
*35, 37
14

311
*79-77
*34, 37
*57
*44, 45
#44, 45
*44, 45
*60
*60
*29
#33, 36
*44, 45
*51

12

2 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Bees, Lice on, - - .
“« Foul Brood, - - -
<P altalian, - - -
“Queen, - - -
“Stocks in Connecticut, -

Bennett, P. W., Ground Bone, -

Blackberries, - - -

Blood, wholesale price of, - -

Board of Agriculture, Official List,

s ue Annual Meeting,
Winter Meeting,
Bog Meadow, Reclaiming, -
Bone Char, - - - -
Bone Dust, - - - -
Bone Manures, - - -

Y e mechanical analysis,
method of valuation,

e it

if3 ce

Bone, Solubility of in Ammonium Citrate,

Book Farmers, - = a
Bosworth Bros., Ground Bone,_ -

rs “ Superphosphate of Lime,
Bowen, Dr. G. A., Health of the Farmer and his Family,
Bowker Fertilizer Co., Brighton Phosphate,
Acid Phosphate of Lime,

“ “

Dissolved Bone,

Fish and Potash,

se s Kainit, -
Lawn Dressing,

ce “ce “ce

“ec “cc

Superphosphate,

“ec “c

Bradley, Wm., English Lawn Dressing,

cs Original Coe’s Superphosphate of Lime,
Brewer, Prof. W. H., Educational Influences of the Farm,

ce “ee

Sanitary Reform,
Brewer’s Grains, dried, analysis, -
Brown, R. B., Oil Co., Castor Pomace,

Dry Ground Fish, -
Fine Ground Bone,

Hill and Drill Phosphate,

Superphosphate of Lime,

Stockbridge Forage Crop Mastin
Grain Manure,
Grass Top-Dressing, -
Manure for Corn,
Manure for Potatoes and Vegetables,
Seeding down Manure,
Bradley Fertilizer Co., Sea-Fowl Guano,

1

#48
*51, 54
216
*52, 53
*33, 66
131
*35, 3
*29
*34, 37
#55
*52, 53
*34, 37
*35, 37
*60
*44, 45
*44, 45
*44, 45
*44, 45
*44, 45
*44, 45
*44, 45
*35, 38
*33, 36
*34, 37
*44, 45
*33, 36
180
268
*86
*57

INDEX. 3

PAGE

Buffalo Fertilizer and Chemical Works, Ammon. Bone Superphosphate, *35, 38
os i 5 Potato, Hop, and Tobacco Phosphate, *44, 45
Bulletins, Experiment Station, - - - - - - "#10
Cables’ Experiments with Fertilizers, - - - - - 233
Castor Pomace, analysis and valuations, - - - - - *57
Celery, profits of culture, - - - - - . - 121
Cellars, in Farm-houses,_ - - - - - - - 136
ss ventilation, - - - - - > 148
Chamberlain, L. P., Farm Traber’ in New England, - - - 96
= Cess-pools, = - - - - - - 281

Cheever, A. W., Various Views of Farming, - - - - 210
Chestnuts, planting for Timber, - - - - - - 283
Children on the Farm, - - - - - - - 143
Chittenden’s Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate, - - - *35, 37
& Fertilizer for Corn and other Grains, - - - *44, 45

y Fine Ground Fish, - - - : - - *54, 55

fe Fish and Potash, - - - - - *31, 34, 35, 37

ss Grain Fertilizer, - - - - - - *44, 45

se Potato Fertilizer, - - - - - - *44, 45

‘s Root Fertilizer, - - - - - - *44, 45

Gs Tobacco Fertilizer, - - : - - - *44, 45

of Universal Phosphate, - - - : - *35, 37
Cholera in London, - - - - - - - 272
Church, Jas. & Co., Menhaden Guano, - - : - - *33, 36
Clark, Prof. J. W., Peach Culture, - - - - - 74
Clark’s Cove Guano Cot, Bay State Fertilizer, - 2 - - *33, 36
in ‘ Great Planet Brand “A,” - - - *34, 37

Coe, E. Frank, Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate, - - - *33, 36
Coe, Russell, Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate, - - *34, 35, 37,38
Collier White Lead Co., Castor Pomace, - - - - - #57
Composition of Feeding Stuffs, - - - - - =) 90
Corn Culture, - - - oe - - - - 112
“by Commercial Fertilizers, - - - - - Sets 12)
“for Fodder, - - - - - - - - 286
Cotton Seed, analyses and valuations, - - - . - *57
Cotton Seed Meal, - - - - - - - - *88
Cranberry Culture, - - - - - - - 163
Currants, - - - - - - . - 44
ae L. B. & Co., Darling’s Animal menier - - - *33, 36
ce Fine Ground Bone, - - - - *52, 53

Diseases of Domestic Animals, — - - - - - - 824
Dole Common Sense Fertilizer Co,, Common Sense Fertilizer No. 2, - *35, 38
£8 os sé ae se No. 3, - *35,38
Educational Influences of the Farm, - . - - - 180
Ensilage,_ - - : - - - - - - 164

Exhibition, Winter Meeting, - - - - - =i), 020

4 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Explanations of Fertilizers, analyses and valuation, -

rS es market quotations, - :
Eye, Affected, ~ - - = SRW os
Fancy Farmer, - - - - - -
Farms in Connecticut, - - - -
Farm Labor in New England, - - - -
Farmers’ Clubs, Official List, : - - :
Farming, Various Views of, - - - -

“Compulsory, - - - - E
Feeding Stuffs, -" - - : : :
Fertilizers, - - - - : = :

oo classification of those analyzed, - -
Fertilizer Experiments, = - - - 2 5
Fertilizer Law, - - - = ~ “

a observance of, - - - :

Fish, Dry Ground, - - . : = E
Form for Description of Fertilizer Samples, - -
sh ne Seeds, - - = :
ee Reporting Seeds, - - E -
Glidden & Curtiss, Soluble Pacific Guano, - -
Gluten Meal, analyses, - : z :

Gooseberries, : : - - - -
Grapes, - . - - - - =
Grape Vines, pre: - - - - -
Guanos, - - - - - -
Hale, J. H., Small Fruit Garden, - - - 9.
Harris, G. i. & Son, Ground Bone, - - -

ss Pure Bone Phosphate, - -

Health of the Farmer and his Family, - - -
Hominy Feed, analyses, - - - - -
Home-made Superphosphates, - - : -
Honey-producing Plants, - - - . :
Horse-shoe Calks, - : - - - -
Hours of Labor, - - - - -
Hubbard, J. M., Concerning Things Pee seem Worthless,
Hungarian Grass, - - - - -
Hurtado & Co., Alkalized Guano, - - - -

fs No. 1 Peruvian Guano, Standard, -
st No. 1 Os Lobos, - -
€¢ Peruvian Guano, - - - -

Infusorial Earth, - - : : :
Insects on Grape Vines, - - : A 5
Instructions for Sampling, - : : .
Jeffries on Bees, = - - 2 5 A é
Jenkins, Dr. E. H., City Sewage, - - - -
Kainit, wholesale cost of, - - = = s
Lawrence, W. P., Ground Bone, - - - -

2285
*31, 33, 36
- *34, 37
- *35, 38
- *33, 37
~' 1 eeey,
< 57

*50, 52, 53

Lead Pipes for Water,

INDEX.

Leaves, composition of at different periods,

“

composting dead,
Lecture, Farmer’s Small-Fruit Garden, J. H. Hale,
Concerning Things which seem Worthless, J. M. Hubbard,
Farm Labor in New England, L. P. Chamberlain,
Health of the Farmer and his Family, Dr. G. A. Bowen,

Educational Influences of the Farm, Prof. W. H. Brewer,
Various Views of Farming, A. W. Cheever,
Conflict of Civilization with its own Wastes, J. B. Olcott,

Lime, Caustic (quick-lime), analyses,

Lime Waste from Paper Works, analysis,

Limestone Rock, analyses, - -
Linseed Meal, new process, -
Lister Bros., Ammon. Dissolved Bone Phosphate,
Celebrated Ground Bone,
Crescent Bone, -
Potato Fertilizer, -

Lucerne,
Maize Meal, analyses,
Manhattan Chemical Co.,

(73

ing

“ec

Cooke’s Blood Guano,

Mapes, F. & P. G. Co., Complete Manure,

“ce

Dry-Ground Fish,
Grass and Grain Spring
High-Grade Superphosphate,

Nitrate of Soda,

Brand),

Top Dressing,

Tobacco Fertilizers, Conn. Brand,
Tobacco Manure (for use with Stevens’),

Potato Manure,

Sulphate of Ammonia,

McNamara, M., Ground Bone, -

Meat and Plaster, analysis and valuation, -

Memphis, sanitary condition, -

Miles, George W. & Co., Ammonia, Bone Superphosphate,
“C” Island Dry-Fish Guano,
Dry-Ground Fish,
Fish and Potash, XX,

’ Fish Fertilizers and Potash,
IXL. Ammonia, Sulphates,
IXL. Phosphates,

“cc

“ ee

“ “

6s “

Milk, Analyses of Milk of Ayrshire Cows,

“cc

“e

case of watered,
effect of worry on quality of,
examination of market, -
law, - -

6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

PAGE
Miller, G. W., Miller’s Bone, - - - - - - %*52.35
fe < Raw Bone Superphosphates, - - - - *35, 38
Mitchell, Standard Phosphates, - - - - - - *35, 38
Mixed Farming, - - - - - - - ° 219
Mortgaged Farmer, - - - - - - - 222
Muck, analysis, - - - - - - - - *71
Muriate of Potash, analyses and valuations, - - - - *60
ae ie wholesale price of, = - - - - - *73, 77
National Fertilizer Company, see Chittenden.
Native Phosphates, - - - - - *28
Navassa Phosphate Co., Navassa Acid Phosshiias - - - *29, 30
ce ‘ «¢ Phosphate, - - - : : #28
New Haven Fertilizer Co., Superphosphate, - - - - *35, 38
Nitrate of Soda, analyses and valuation, - - - - - *56
ef «« wholesale price of, 7. - - - - *72,77
Nitrogen, determination of by Comb. with Calcium Hydroxide, =) S112
Ks explanations, - - - - - - - #23
By organic, - - - = z 2 ib Ki *23
Nitrogenous Superphosphates and Guanos, - - - - *20, 33
Nomenclature of Fruits, - - - - - : 4 174
Olcott, J. B., Conflict of Civilization with its own wastes, - - 237
Packard’s concentrated Superphospate, - - - - - *29, 30
Paris Green, poisoning with, - - - - > - *82
Paul Thompson’s Mineral Manure for Tobacco, - - . - ¥*31, 32
Peach Borer, - - - - - = - - 20
Peach experiences, P. M. Augur, - - - - - 24
Peaches, varieties, - - - - - - - - 18
sf at Enfield, - = - - 5 & = 23
s yellows, - - - - - - - - 74
Peach Trees, heading in, - - . - - - - 26
Peck Bros., Pure Ground Bone, - - - - - - *52, 53
Peruvian Guano, - - - - - - : - 233
Peter Cooper, No. 2 Bone, - - - - - - *50, 52, 53
Phosphate Rock, - - - - - - - - *28
Phosphoric Acid, Soluble, explanation of terms, - - - - *23
” “Reverted, sf s - - - - *23
ty «Insoluble, 7 s - - - - *23
Plaster, - - - - - - - - =e 61
2 analyses and valuation, - - - 7 - - *62
Cayuga, - - - a : e - - *61
fs Nova Scotia, - - - - - - - *61
Plants in living rooms, - - - - - - - 147
Pleuro-Pneumonia, - : - - - - - - 325
Potash, explanations, - - - - - - - a4
Potash Salts, analyses and valuations, = - - - - - 58
Potato culture, - - - - - - - - 111

Premiums and gratuities at Fairs, - - - - - - 335

INDEX. T

PAGE.

Preston Fertilizer Co., Ammonia, Bone Superphosphate, - - *34, 37
ti ‘* Ground Bone, - - - - - *51, 53

af ss ‘*« Dried and Ground Fish Guano, - - - *55, 56
Quinnipiac Fertilizer Co., Dry-Ground Fish, - - - - *55
"§ Fish and Potash, Crossed Fishes Brand, - - - *83, 36

ae Fish and Potash, Plain Brand, - - . - *34, 37

ms Kainit, - - - - = : 2 . *60

a Muriate of Potash, - - ~ < 2 4 *60

ot Nitrate of Soda, - - - - - - *56

se Phosphate, - - - - . - *33, 34, 36, 37
Quinnipiac Co., Meat and Plaster, 3 = a . 2 *57
Raspberries, - - - - - = = : : 44
Rood & Co., Farmers’ Friend Fertilizer, - = - = - *34, 37
OO ee Matchless Tobacco Manure, - - 2 5 - #44, 45
Report on Pomology, - - - = = s é 311
«« «Diseases of Domestic Animals, - - - - 324
Report of the Board of Control, - - - - = s *7
fs “Directors of Experiment Station, - - - 2 #9

5 «Treasurer, ni “ - - * 4 #8

fe oe on Board of Agriculture, - - = = 343
Review of the Fertilizer Market, - - = = P *72
Rock from a ledge in New Canaan, - - - = e *65
Rogers & Hubbard Co., Bone, Grade “ A”’ extra fine, - - - *51, 52
fi a “Damp Bone Sawings,_ - - - *50, 52, 53

sé WS «Raw Knuuckle-Bone “ Meal,” - - - *52, 53

ff cs «Raw Knuckle-Bone “ A ” extra fine, - - *52, 53

s a “Pure ground Raw Knuckle-Bone Grade Meal, - *52, 53
Rotted Bone, - - - - : A Z z *5]
Saltpeter Refuse, analysis and valuation, - = = = *59
Scientific Farming, - - : - - s a 217
Scribner & Co’s Phosphate Rock, - - = é i #28
Season of 1883, - = = : = aS x 339
Seeds, - - - - : : - - : *96
““ apparatus for testing vitality of, - : Z E - *103

“« form for description of, - - - = 2 3 *106

“ form for reporting, - - = - : Set Oy

“* instructions for sampling, - - - = : iM *105
“lettuce, vitality of, - - - - u & *101

“* Onion, average weight of, - - - : = - *99

is “temperature best for germination, - - - = #99

i es vitality of, - = = : = = é #*QG

ao Ee from U.S. Department of Agriculture, - 2 . *102
Sheep Culture, - - : 2 : S = 155
Shiftless Farmer, - - : : - 2 : 2 205
Shoemaker, M. L. & Co., Swift-Sure Bone Meal, - > *50, 52, 53
Slade, F. C., Ground Bone, = = = = : - *52, 53

Smith, E., Ground Bone, - - = e - - - *52, 53

8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

PAGE.

Special Farming, - - - = 4 e 2 : 288
Special Fertilizers, - - - = = - 3 *46
Stockbridge Forage Crop Manure, - = 2 : - ¥44, 45
ef Grain Manure, - - - : : - ¥44, 45

ss Grass Top Dressing and Forage Crop Manure, - - *44, 45

s Manure for Corn, - - - - - - *44, 45

ss Manure for Potatoes and Vegetables, - - - *44, 45
Storrs’ Agricultural School, - - - = = é 202
Strawberries, - - - : 3 2 : i 38
Strawberry Show, - - - - = s 2 319
Sulphate of Ammonia, wholesale price of, - : - - *72, 77
Summary of Station work, : - - - : P *9
Superphosphates, Nitrogenous, - - : : 3 2 *30
ef plain, average estimate, - : 5 : #28

ce value, cost, and difference for last four years,- —~ - *32
Thompson & Edwards, Pure Fine Ground Bone, - - *52, 53
ee ‘e World of Good Ammonia, Bone Biipeihos hase *33, 36
Tobacco, Experience in Culture, - : : = 5 5 116
Trade values for 1881, 782, 783, - - 2 S x - *24, 25
Valuation of Fertilizers, - - c O z * #24, 25, 26
a uses of, - - - - - : e *25
Waller, Gov. Thomas M., Address, - = 2 : . 47
Water in the House, - - E = e Z y 209
Webb, J. J., Polluted Streams, - - - = A < 150
Well-to-do Farmers, - - - < = 2 = 2921
Wilder, M. P., Extract from Address, - - - - : 176
Williams, Clark & Co., Acorn Brand German Potash Salts, = - . *60
me ‘6 Am. Brand Ammon. Bone Superphosphate, - *34, 37
Wilson’s Pure Bone Flour, - - = 3 5 - *52, 53
Wheat Bran, analyses, - - - : E = = *87
«« Middlings, analyses, - - : 3 f Z *87
«Shorts, analyses, - - - : 5 F *87
Yellows in Peaches, - - - + = = 3 74

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