UMASS/AMHERST

312Dbb DEflS Ibl? ^

PUBLIC DOCUMENT. No. 4.

THIRTY-SIXTH

ANNUAL EEPOET OF THE SECKETAEY

or THE

MASSACHUSETTS

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE,

RETURNS OF THE FINANCES OF THE
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES,

1888,

BOSTON :

WEIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

18 Post Office Square.

1889.

STATE BOARD OF AGMCULTURE, 1889.

Members ex offlciis.

His Excellency OLIVER AMES.

His Honor J. Q. A. BRACKET!'.
Hon. henry B. PEIRCE, Secretary of the Commonwealth.
H. n. GOODELL, President Mansachusetts Agricultural College.

Appointed by the Governor and Council.

JAMES S. GRINXELL of Greenfield,
GEORGE B. LOUIXG of Salem,
JAMES W. STOOKWELL of Sutton,

Term

Expires.

Chosen by the Incorporated Societies.

Amesbury and Salisbur,
Bay Slate, .
Barnstable, .
Berksh ire, .
Blarkslone Valley,
BriHol,

Deerfield Valley,
Eastern Ilampden,
Essex, .

Franklin, .

Hampden, .

Ilampshire,

Hampshire, Franklin ili Hampden,

Highland, .

Uingham, .

Hoosac Valley, .

Housatonic,

Hillside,

Marshfield, .

Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts, .
Massachusetts Uorticultut
Middlesex, .
Middlesex North,
Middlesex South,
Nantucket, .
Oxford,
Plymouth, .
Spencer,
Union, .
Worcester, .
Worcester North,
Worcester North-west,
Worcester South,
Worcester West, .

WM. H. B. CURRIER of Araesbury,

EDWARD BURNETT of Southborough,

XATHAN- EDSON of Barnstable, .

ALONZO BRADLEY of Lee, .

VELOROUS TAFT of West Upton, .

AVERY P. SLADE of Somerset, .

F. G. HOWES of Ashfield,

WM. HOLBROOK of Palmer, .
) BEXJAMIN P. WARE of Marblehead (P. O
} Clifton)

J. C. NEWHALL of Conway, .

GEO. S. TAYLOR of Chicopee Falls, .

D. A. HORTON of Northampton, .
, F. K. SHELDON of Southampton, .

W. H. SXOWof Becket, ....

EDMUND HERSEY of Hingham, .

S. A. HICKOX of South Williamstown, .
( J. H. ROWLEY of South Egremont (P. O
I Great Barriugton)

) ~

5. W. CLARK of Plainfield (P. O. Gumming
ton), . . ■

I GEO. J. PETERSON of Marshfield (P. '
I Green Harbor),

N. S. SHALER of Cambridge, .

E. F. BOWDITCH of Framingham,.

E. W. WOOD of West Newton, ' .

W. W. RAWSON of Arlington,

A. C. VARXUM of Lowell,

S. B. BIRD of Framingham, .

CIIAS. W. GARDX'ER of Nantucket, .

D. M. HOWE of Charlton (P. O. Oxford),

ELBRIDGE CUSHUAN of Lakeville, .

J. G. AVERY of Spencer

C. B. HAYDEX of Blandford, .

C. L. HARTSHORN of Worcester, .

GEO. CRUICKSEIANKS of Fitchburg, .

J. P. LYNDE of Athol, ....

G. L. CLEMENCE of Southbridge, .

J. HENRY GODDARD of Barre. .

1S91
1890
1892
1891
1891
1890
1890
1S91

1891
1891
1890
1891

1891
1892
1890
1891
1892
1890

1892
1890

CHARLES A. GOESSMAXN, Ph.D., Amherst, Chemist to the Board.
CHARLES H. FERNALD, Ph.D., Amherst, Entomologist to the Board.

WILLIAM R. SESSIONS,

Secretary.

THE THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

SECRETARY

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth oj
Massachusetts.

The work of the Board of Agriculture the past year has
been along the usual lines of effort. Most of the members
have exhibited a marked interest in their duties. Some of
them have spent much valuable time, for which they receive
no compensation. The delegates to the several fairs have
in almost every instance attended to the duty assigned them ;
making detailed reports to the Board of the work of the
several societies as well as of their annual exhibitions.
One hundred and twenty-five farmers' institutes have been
held the past year under the auspices of the several incor-
porated agricultural societies. Most of these have been
attended by at least one member of the Board. The member
attending has usually presented a lecture upon the subject
which the institute was called to consider. These meetings
are growing in interest, and are believed to be doing a good
work in spreading information and in encouraging the agri-
culturists of the State to attempt those branches of farming
which promise the surest returns for the investment of capi-
tal and the employment of labor. The three days' public
meeting of the Board, held at Easthampton, December 4, 5
and 6, was planned for work in the same direction. Most
of the lectures were short, and dealt with specific branches of

vi BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

farming. They were by successful men of practical ex-
perience in the specialties which they treated. Each lecture
was followed by spirited discussions participated in by
members of the Board and by the farmers present from all
parts of the State. Valuable experience and information
upon each topic was the result. The evening lectures were
planned for the entertainment and instruction of the people
of the village of Easthampton. The subjects presented on
the third day were of special interest to the Patrons of
Husbandry, who, appreciating the compliment paid them,
gave us the largest audience of the session. The three days'
meeting was a success. Those who found it convenient to
be present enjoyed and profited by it, but they have not a
monopoly of its benefit. The lectures and discussions will
be found printed with this report in the Agriculture of
Massachusetts for 1888, which the liberality of the Legis-
lature enables us to distribute through the State. Thus these
valualile papers will be placed within the reach of those
for whose benefit they were prepared.

Four essays prepared by members of the Board, and read
at the annual meeting in Boston, are also printed in this
volume. By direction of the Board, the laws of the State
pertaining to the Board of Agriculture and the several
incorporated agricultural societies, together with the rules
and requirements of the Board, are printed in the Appendix,
where may also be found the report of the Cattle Commis-
sioners and the report of the Board of Control of the State
Experiment Station.

The following table will show the distribution of the last
edition of the report. Of the 15,000 copies authorized to
be printed, 7,578 are distributed by law as follows : —

Executive Department, 14

Senators, 1,000

Representatives, 6,000

Clerks of the two Houses, ..... 62

Reporters, 12

Bound with Public Documents, .... 600

7,578

The balance are under the control of the secretary, and
were distributed as follows : —

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. vii

Members of Board of Agriculture, . . . 500

Incorporated agricultural societies, . . . 1,650

Farmers' clubs, 1,484

Granges, 2,394

General distribution, 990

On hand and unaccoimted for, .... 404

7,422

Distribution by States and Territories.

Maine 25, New Hampshire 9, Vermont 8, Massachusetts
14,407, Ehode Island 6, Connecticut 25, New York 9, New
Jersey 3, Pennsylvania 11, Delaware 1, Maryland 7, Virginia
2, North Carolina 1, Georgia 12, Florida 1, Louisiana 1,
Texas 1, Ohio 1, Indiana 3, Illinois 4, Michigan 14, Missouri
4, Iowa 2, Kansas 2, Nebraska 2, Tennessee 1, Minnesota 1,
Wisconsin 2, Oregon 1, Dakota 1, Utah 1, Colorado 3,
California 1, District of Columbia 1.

Distribution to Foreign Countries.

Canada 7, New Brunswick 2, Nova Scotia 1, Brazil 1,
England 2, Scotland 1, France 1, Italy 1, Austria 2, India
1, Japan 2, Australia 2.

During the past year two new agricultural societies have
been incorporated — one at Spencer, the other at Oxford,
both in Worcester County. Each has started with remark-
able vigor and enthusiasm, taking a position quite abreast of
the most aggressive and successful of the older societies.
There are now thirty-five societies represented on the Board
of Agriculture.

The Legislature of 1888 appropriated one thousand dollars
" for the dissemination of useful information in agriculture."
From this fund has been paid the cost of the crop reports
issued from this office for the months of June, July, August,
September and October. The expense of printing the
valuable paper on Tuberculosis by Dr. C. H. Fernald of the
Agricultural College, distributed by the Hatch Experiment
Station, was also paid from this appropriation. From the
same fund has been paid the expense of more than twenty
lectures that were delivered by prominent agriculturists
at farmers' institutes. Much more might have been ac-

viii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

complished had the appropriation been available earlier in
the season. The crop reports referred to above were an
experiment. The labor required to collect and arrange this
information was very considerable. The sixty farmers'
clubs and ninety granges scattered all over the State were
each requested to appoint a correspondent whose duty
should be to report monthly, answering questions pro-
pounded by means of a printed circular issued from this
office. INIost of these organizations responded promptly
with the information desired, while others neglected to do it
on time or ignored it altogether. Complete returns from each
one would enable us to make our work more reliable, and
more valuable to the farmers for whose benefit it is under-
taken. This experiment met with an appreciative recep-
tion. The demand for the reports increased from month
to month until an edition of 1,000 copies was required for
the October number. It is intended to resume this work on
the opening of spring.

The secretary of the Board of Agriculture is ex officio a
trustee of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. As such
his duties at the college have been many and exacting during
the past year. In the absence of a regular professor of
agriculture the management of the college farm has devolved
upon the president of the college. His hands have been more
than full, and he has properly called on the members of
the Board of Trustees to assist him in this unusual duty.
Naturally the larger share of this work has fallen upon the
secretary. The starting of the College Experiment Station
with funds appropriated by the United States Congress has
also taxed the time and energies of the president and trustees,
thus increasing largely the demands upon the time and
strengtli of the occupant of this office. The trustees of the
college also insisted upon making the secretary of the Board
of Agriculture secretary of their board, so that the records
might be kept in this office, where they would be easy of
access to the interested public and the trustees. It will also
be remembered that the Legislature of 1888 enlarged the
Board of Control of the INIassachusctts Experiment Station
by adding the director of the station, one member to be
chosen by the Massachusetts State Grange, one member to

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. ix

be chosen by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and
the secretary of the Board of Agriculture. In the reorgani-
zation of the Board of Control, after this addition to their
number, the last-named member was chosen their secretary.
Thus have been brought together in this office the records of
the three State boards that have in charge the agricultural
interests of the State. This action seems suitable on account
of convenience of doing the business of these boards, but it
has resulted in very largely increasing the work of the office.

It may not be out of place to refer in this connection to
the new department of vegetable physiology that has been
established at the Massachusetts Experiment Station. It is
devoted to the investigation of the diseases of plants. The
work accomplished in that direction is expected to be
especially valuable to the horticulturists and market gardeners
of the State. The large increase in the products of those
engaged in these special departments of agriculture justify
this enterprise. The value of the vegetables produced in
this State, as shown by the census of 1885, was $5,227,194
against $1,824,112 in 1845. This increase has been largely
in the finer vegetables. The last census shows of asparagus
$100,000; of celery $154,000; of green corn $239,000; of
lettuce $i09,000; of tomatoes $164,000; of dandelions
$55,000; and many thousands more for other delicacies in
the form of vegetables which were not produced for market
until within a few years. The sale of flowers is enormous
in comparison with the amount a few years ago. From the
best information obtainable we estimate the sales in Boston
alone at not less than $500,000 the past year.

It is the duty of the secretary of this Board to visit the
incorporated agricultural societies at fairs and institutes as
often as the other duties of his office will allow. In fulfilling
his duty he has attended thirteen fairs where it was expected
that the secretary would at least extend the greeting of the
Board, and he has spoken at twenty- three farmers' meetings or
institutes during the year 1888. It is properly expected that
this department shall be interested in all matters relating to
agriculture which come before the committees of the Legis-
lature. In this line of duty the secretary has attended
several hearinn^s before leijislative committees. Invitations

X BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

to attend agricultural conventions and important agri-
cultural meetings in neighboring States are constantly-
pressed upon the Massachusetts secretary. These courtesies
cannot always be ignored, and meetings in New Hampshire,
Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut have been attended
during the year past. We have received a return in kind
from the secretaries of these States, gaining for the discus-
sions at our public meetings the knowledge and experience
of the officers of the State boards of these neighboring
States.

The books in our office have been arranged in convenient
order for consultation, a reference catalogue of subjects
prepared, and about 300 new volumes added to the library,
which now numbers about 1,550 volumes.

We have endeavored to make a complete directory of the
granges, farmers' clubs and other agricultural organiza-
tions in the State, showing the names, location, number of
members, number of meetings held the past year and names
and addresses of their officers. There are at present in the
State GO farmers' clubs with an active membership of 3,700,
and 97 granges with a membership of about 6,300. These
farmers' clubs held 618 meetings and the granges about 2,350
meetings during the past year. Circulars have been sent to
every town in the State, in the efforts to gain this informa-
tion. Prompt replies have usually been received, but in
some cases no response has been made. The same is true
of circulars sent out to county officials for information in
regard to the workings of the dog law and the damage to
domestic animals. The following table, though incomplete,
will be of interest to those who have given the matter atten-
tion : —

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCU^IENT — No. 4.

Number of

other Domestic

Animals

killed and

injured.

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Number of

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Barnstable,

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Nantucket,

Norfolk,

Plymouth,

Suffolk,

Worcester,

xii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

There seems no immediate prospect of a material increase
in the sheep-keeping industry of the State. It is a paying
business, and there are thousands of acres of pasture-land
lying too remote from farm buildings to be profitably grazed
by dairy cows. These acres might support very large flocks
of sheep. These flocks would bring substantial income to
their owners and would save these waste places from again
becoming forest land after so many years of occupancy by
flocks and herds. The dog is the " lion in the way."
While we believe that the more flocks of sheep there are
the less likely are they to be disturbed by dogs, and that
farmers owe it to themselves and the community to utilize
these back pastures, we cannot wonder that they shrink
from the probable "slaughter of the innocents." When
dogs run at large in company, the old wolf instinct seems to
get the ascendency, and they are ready for work that would
almost shame their savage ancestors.

There is no such sentimental objection to the dairy busi-
ness. It has been rapidly increasing for several years past.
The census of 1870 gave as the product of butter for Massa-
chusetts 6,559,161 pounds; in 1875, 7,922,431 pounds were
produced; in 1880, 9,655,587 pounds; in 1885, 9,685,539
pounds were made on farms. But between 1880 and 1885
the co-operative creamery made its appearance, and more
than sufficient butter was manufactured by these establish-
ments to keep up the ratio of increase. Statistics gathered
by us show that there are at present 24 co-operative cream-
erics in operation in the State, besides 2 co-operative milk
associations that use their surplus milk in butter making.
These 26 establishments produced at least 2,000,000 pounds
of creamery butter in 1888, which was sold at an average
price of 28 cents per pound at wholesale. To produce this
butter the cream from the milk of about 11,000 cows was
used. The cost of gathering the cream, making and mar-
keting the butter and managing the business, averaged 5^
cents per pound, making it net to the farmer 22 1 cents
per pound, leaving the skim milk on the farms, to be used
in feeding calves and pigs. It will be noticed that this
method of dairying removes from the farm all the labor of
butter-making except cleansing the milk pails and cans. In

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 4. xiii

addition to the above, C. Brigham & Co., of Boston, made
from their surplus milk in 1888 about 500,000 pounds of
butter; also, O. S. French & Co., of Boston, made about
44,200 pounds of butter from their surplus milk during the
same period.

There seems to be no obstacle to the indefinite increase of
this industry in our State except the unfair competition of
oleomargarine, of which the milk inspector of Boston tells
us there were sold by Boston wholesale dealers alone 5,420,-
000 pounds in 1888. When we consider that many dealers
outside of Boston receive their supplies direct from Chicago,
we may realize in some measure the competition to which
honest butter is subjected in our markets. If this com-
modity was preferred to butter by the consumers, and was
sold at the low price at which it can be afforded, we might
feel that the people of the State were profiting by the com-
petition ; but the inspector of the Board of Health testified
before a committee of our Legislature that he believed that
most of it was eaten by people who supposed it to be honest
butter, and that the average price at which it was retailed
was not less than 25 cents per pound.

The increase in the number of our neat stock is quite sug-
gestive. The census of 1885 reported 162,847 milch cows
and 57,044 of other neat stock. These numbers were some-
what less than the assessors' returns for the same year. We
have no census since 1885, but the aggregates of polls,
property, etc., for 1888, show 187,994 milch cows and 65,609
of other neat stock." The consumption of milk is also
rapidly increasing. The statistics of the Boston milk trade
show that 1,689,311 gallons more milk were sold in that
city in 1888 than in 1886. There is no doubt that in other
parts of the State there has been the same ratio of increase.

The past season has not been as favorable for farming
operations as that of a year ago. Spring opened late. May
was a month with few pleasant days, but the weather suited
the grass crop ; both meadows and pastures were unusually
promising. June gave us a still larger rainfall than May,
and hoed crops were backward and those on low ground
suffered materially. July had less rain, and the hay crop
was generally secured seasonably and in good condition.

xiv BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The crop was large and of good quality. But the cool
weather of the month was still unfavorable for cultivated
crops. Corn was particularly backward. August was also
cool, keeping corn back but giving good feed in pastures.
September bore off the palm for rain ; 10.70 inches of rain-
fall were recorded by the gauge at the Amherst Experiment
Station. A killing frost occurred over nearly the entire
State on the 6th and 7th, seriously injuring the unripe corn
and some other crops, particularly cranberries. October
was also a wet, cold month, with 5.19 inches of rainfall and
very few days of sunshine. Many fields of corn which were
injured by the frosts of September were completely ruined
by wet weather after stocking. The unprecedented amount
of bad weather throughout the entire season not only injured
quantity and quality of money crops, but made it impossible
to do much farm work seasonably. Our corn crop, both
grain and stover, was not much more than two-thirds the
usual amount. Rye, oats and hay were above the average.
Potatoes were a good crop in quantity, but the quality was
below the average. Some sections suffered severely from
rot. Onions and cabbage were much above the average, and
the market was thereby over-stocked, so that prices were
not sustained ; and many farmers find themselves at this date
with a large surplus on hand which the market will not take
at paying prices. Cranberries were much injured by the
early frosts. The final yield was not more than 75 per cent
of the crop of a year ago. Small fruits and market-garden
crops were quite as good as usual. A very large crop of
apples was secured, but the quality was not up to the
average. Prices have ruled low, and at this time hundreds
of barrels are in the growers' hands with no demand from the
trade for them. Prices of milk and butter have been fairly
sustained. On the whole, we must count the year 1888 as
not a particularly successful one for Massachusetts agricul-
turists.

In order to give an idea of the peculiar meteorological
phenomena of the past year, we include a table prepared and
kindly furnished by the director of the State Agricultural
Experiment Station at Amherst.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

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xvi BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.'89.

AVhile we are unable to encourage our people by statistics
of unusual prosperity, we must put on record our unqualified
belief that agriculture, carried on with energy, industry, en-
teri^rise and good judgment, will, in the long run, be as
successful in Massachusetts as in any other part of the
Union. Some of the counties in our State produce nearly
or quite as large an aggregate value of agricultural products
as any county in the country, while the wonderful produc-
tion of manufactured articles by these same counties makes
us proud of our State and people. The capacity of our
State for increase in agricultural products is enormous. We
have besides the woodland 1,569,667 acres of uncultivated
land. The cultivated land, 939,260 acres, which includes
the mowing lands, according to the census of 1885,
produced $47,756,033 worth of agricultural products.
The average product per acre of the cultivated land was
only about $50, while we have one town in the State that
produced $218 worth of agricultural products per cultivated
acre. Our uncultivated acres are capable of producing
good returns if put to proper uses. We believe that our
State would be more powerful and better able to with-
stand commercial depression, political upheaval or class
dissatisfjiction, with a large and prosperous rural population,
and that the greatest good to the greatest number in our
State will lead our Legislature to foster and encourage the
agriculture of the State. Mindful of past liberality, the
farmers of the State are sanguine that those of other callings
in this our grand old Commonwealth, will still remember to
do justice to those of us engaged in the foundation industry,

AVILLIAM R. SESSIONS,
Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture.
Boston, February, 1889.

PUBLIC MEETING OF THE BOARD

EASTHAMPTON.

PUBLIC MEETING OF THE BOARD

AT EASTHAMPTON.

The Country Meeting of the Massachusetts Board of
Agriculture was held in the Town Hall at Easthampton, on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 4, 5 and 6, 1888.
Hon. George B. Loring presided, and called the meeting
to order, after which the Rev. Mr. Colton offered prayer.
The Rev. Dr. S. T. Seelye of Easthampton then delivered
the opening address, as follows : —

OPENING ADDRESS.

BT 8. T. SEELYE, D.D., OP EASTHAMPTON.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the State Board of Agriculture.

The pleasant duty has been assigned me of extending to
you a most cordial welcome, in behalf of the Hampshire,
Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society, the Farmers'
Club, and the citizens of Easthampton. We are glad to see
you. We deem it no small honor to be visited by this
Board of representative men, who have made the great in-
terests of agriculture the study and the business of their
lives. We highly appreciate the opportunity thus afforded
us of adding to our scanty stores by sharing the rich
treasures which you have gathered by years of careful in-
vestigation and unremitting toil. We shall listen with
earnest attention to your words of wisdom, and we are sure
that our mental horizon will be broadened and our aspira-
tions will be uplifted by your coming. But the rich bless-
ing which you are to give us compels us to ask. What can
we do for 3''ou? We would not only receive, — we would
also give. Yet, in the things where you are so rich, we are
poor indeed. We could only repay you in copper, where

4 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

you give us gold. We have no fancy farms, we originate no
new methods of tillage, we raise very little long-pedigree
stock. This, however, means no disparagement to our
farmers. In all those noble qualities which give dignity and
worth to manhood, they stand in the front rank. They are
intelligent, industrious, upright, loyal, true men — true as
steel. In spite of the thin, leachy soil, whose craving for fer-
tilizers can never be appeased, these farmers are forehanded,
live in good homes, and give a good education to their
children ; and this is a sufficient proof of their perseverance
and skill. But in all agricultural matters we can teach you
nothing — we can only sit at your feet. Is there nothing,
then, that we can do for you? In this valley of the Con-
necticut we could show you many a scene of beauty, which
it would immortalize an artist to portray upon the canvas.
From the summit of Tom or Holyoke you could look down
upon a landscape which for quiet, enchanting loveliness is
without a rival. It does not, however, satisfy us merely to
show you this natural scenery, beautiful and charming as it
is ; for we have something better, and we wish to give you
the very best. Here in Easthampton we can give you the
clearest possible proof of the mighty and beneficent power
of an earnest, unselfish life ; for here we can see what it
has wrought, and we can feel its constant and blessed in-
fluence upon ourselves. These fine churches, these great
factories, this richly endowed seminary, this memorial hall
and the public library, are the visible achievements of such
a life ; while the generous impulse which makes the heart
warm with sympathy and opens the hand to help the needy,
and the spirit which makes us loyal to town and State and
country, are the unseen proofs of its abiding presence. To
make this perfectly clear, let me give you the briefest possi-
ble sketch of the character and work of two men who have
blessed this town beyond measure, by living not for them-
selves but for the world.

Samuel Williston showed what was to be the purpose of
his life, when in early youth he devoted himself to the work
of the ministry. Though he was turned aside from his
chosen profession, that purpose to use all his powers for the
trood of the world was never chansfed. Nature was to him

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 5

lavish of her gifts. She endowed him with a commanding
intellect, an inflexible will, and the frame of a giant. Fame,
honor, fortune, were within his grasp. Our manufacturing
interests were established and developed, and made remarka-
bly successful, by his strong feith and rare business ability.
He was a great man. He could hardly help achieving suc-
cess. He amassed a large fortune.. What did he do with
it? Not a dollar was wasted in vain display, or in gratifying
depraved appetite or base passion. First of all, he cared for
his native town, doing all he could to make it attractive and
prosperous. Hence he built fine churches, provided liberally
for public worship, advocated and practised temperance,
obeyed and enforced law. But he did not stop here. He
had the whole world in his heart. He gave freely to home
and foreign missions, and proved his interest in all benevolent
enterprises by generous contributions. Yet he preferred to
aid permanent institutions. His largest benefiictions were
to colleges and schools. It was his highest joy to be per-
mitted to orio-inate influences which would last throusfh all
time, developing man's noblest powers, and making each
generation wiser and better than the one before it. In this
spirit he founded Williston Seminary, and endowed it with
a million of dollars. And it will live and keep the town
alive, and go on blessing the world till time shall be no
longer. Thus Mr. Williston is still a real, living, mighty
power in the midst of us to-day. May it not be that he is
now doing even more for our good and the good of the
world, than in the prime of his manhood? The good he did
lives after him, his works follow him, and every day the
good seed which he scattered is bringing forth a more abun-
dant harvest. A life devoted to the service of Him who was
the light of the world, — how good in itself, and how glorious
for what it achieves !

Edmund H. Sawyer, though cast in a very different mould,
was animated by the same purpose. As a business man he
had few equals. He looked through any proposition and saw
all its details at a single glance. This led to great promptness
in deciding, and a full assurance that his decision was cor-
rect. Confident that his plans were well chosen, he never
feared the issue, and, amid all diflSculties, pressed on with

6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

unfaltering courage to achieve success. He was wonderfully
prosperous. There were very few men in western Massa-
chusetts whose yearly income was equal to his. But did he
make his money by grinding the faces of the poor? His
employees were his partners, the sharers of his prosperity.
He was their best friend ; they loved and trusted him ; he
cared for them, and gave and loaned them money as they
needed. And whom did he not help? His large, warm
heart responded to every appeal. It opened his purse to
supply every want. The churches and schools were en-
larged and strengthened by his zeal and liberality. For
this town hall and the public library we are indel)ted to
his love for Easthampton. He gave his time and strength
and money gladly and without stint for everything that
promised to be a blessing to the town. It was his aim to
do all possible good to others, to bless everybody but him-
self. His very presence was a rebuke to meanness and self-
ishness, and an incitement to deeds of kindness. His great
love shone in his face, and in the grasp of his hand you felt
the throb of his warm heart. And his spirit lives in the
midst of us to-day, moving us to imitate his example, and
strive not to get, but to give.

Of what priceless worth to this community are the lives of
these two men, — Samuel Williston and Edmund H. Sawyer.
But who can estimate what it was worth to them to live as
they did, — not to win fortune and fame for themselves, but
to bless the world? Could they have made a wiser choice?
(]ould any other purpose have so crowned them with honor?
Did ambition ever win or riches ever purchase such glory as
rewards their unselfish devotion ? Is not an earnest, unselfish
life the best life for every man to live? I do not mean best
in its promises and hopes, best for the next world, but best
now, every day, because of the satisfying joy which is every
day poured into the soul. I have no feith in a religion that
demands wretchedness and suffering here as the price of
eternal happiness hereafter. The life that deserves eternal
joy will have a blessed foretaste of it here. Our Lord de-
clared that whoever gives up all earthly good shall receive
manifold more, not in the far-off future, but in this present
time. Good deeds pay down. Self-sacrifice is rewarded on

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 7

the instant. The great truth enforced by the example and
the words of our Lord, that " it is more blessed to give than
to receive," ought to be realized in every man's experience.
It is worth while to be a good farmer, a good mechanic, a
good merchant ; but it is worth infinitely more to be a good
man. We have seen what two such men have accomplished
in a single town. No wonder that ten good men could have
saved Sodom. Surely ten men of this class in every town
in this Commonwealth would suffice to banish the great evil
which our legislators have striven in vain to remove. How
shall this number be made up? Let these sturdy, clear-
headed, order-loving farmers answer the question. Will
they not themselves at once come to the front, and make the
number good ? Will they not also swell the ranks by fitting
their children to follow their example ? Can there be any
better training-school for such a purpose than the farmer's
home ? If only every farmer would live an earnest and un-
selfish life, the whole world would be saved.

The visible results attained by the skilled tiller of the soil
desei-vedly awaken our high admiration. To convert the
barren waste into a fruitful field, to make the desert
blossom as the rose, is a noble work, worth all it costs.
But let there be added to this, a saved world, no more
wrecked lives, everywhere the glory of the redeemed I

ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN.

DR. GEORGE B. LORING OF SALESI.

I have been requested, gentlemen, to preside over this
day's proceedings, not because I have in recent years been
connected with the Board, but, I suppose, because the an-
tiquity of my connection had appealed to the secretary. In
discharge of this duty, I desire to call the attention of the
Board to the organi2;ation of these meetings, to the steps by
which they were reached, and to the benefit which they have
exerted upon the agriculture of the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts ; and I shall make my statement as brief as possible,
with the hope that I may instruct and interest you in the
work consigned to your care.

In 1861, on the 12th of December, at the meeting of the
Board then sitting in Boston, I offered a resolution that it

8 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

would be of benefit to the Board and the agriculture of the
State to have meetings held in other sections of the Common-
wealth than in Boston, and at other seasons of the year than
winter; and the resolution contained the idea that there
should be three meetings during the season, — one at
Worcester, one at Springfield, and one at Pittsfield, — it
occurring to my mind that that was about the length of the
Commonwealth itself.

The resolution was referred to a committee, from which, by
some unaccountable oversight of the presiding officer of that
day, my name was omitted, and which was organized in an-
tagonism to the resolution. The report of the committee
was, that the financial burden then resting upon the Common-
wealth was so great that it was impracticable and hardly
proper that the expenses of the State should be increased by
the encouragement of the Board of Agriculture, — a board
which we thought at that time, and think still, is entitled to
as much consideration as any other board in the Common-
wealth. That report was accepted in February of the year
1862. True to the perseverance and energy of every Massa-
chusetts farmer, in December following, one year after my
first resolution was proposed, I ofi'ered another resolution,
havins: stated that, while we considered Massachusetts was
burdened by the great obligations of the war, and that the
necessities of the times did make economy imperatively
necessary, still, we thought, in view of the fiict that other
States were engaged liberally and somewhat extensively in en-
couraging agriculture, Massachusetts, which we looked upon
as a prosperous and powerful Commonwealth, ought to do
her duty also in that direction. I suppose these remarks
produced an influence favorable to the Board ; and in Decem-
ber, 1862, I oftered another resolution^ stating that the busi-
ness of the Board should be distributed among the farmers
themselves ; and that, whenever the usefulness of the Board
should be perfected, it would be found that country meet-
ings would be of the utmost service, and that the influence
of those meetings on the agriculture of the State would be
rapidly and largely felt. That resolution was referred to a
committee ; and, the courtesy of the presiding officer having
placed me upon it as chairman, in January, 1863, I ofiered

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 9

another resolution providing for these very meetings, one of
which you are now holding here to-day, and stated that the
effect would be rapidly felt upon the farmers of the State.
Mr. John Brooks of Princeton (many of you remember him) ,
one of the most earnest and intelligent farmers in the Com-
monwealth of Massachusetts, and Colonel Wilder, whose
memory is dear to all of you here and to all cultivators of
the soil throughout the Union, and myself, were appointed
a committee to organize these meetings. In that way this
series of assemblies commenced.

The first meeting was held in December, 1863, just two
years after my first resolution was proposed. It was held
at Springfield, and there were gathered together a body of
men who satisfied at once the oificers of this Board, who
were previously filled w ith doubts in regard to the success of
the enterprise, that the farmers of the Commonwealth were
an intelligent and thoughtful body, even in those original
days ; notwithstanding the fact that we had been told that the
Board itself and the farmers of the Commonwealth were not
suflSciently well trained to carry on such service as has been
rendered from that day to this, that the debates could not
be of value, and the meetings themselves would not be of
any interest to the people of the State. Now, gentlemen,
how has this turned out? Why, from 1863 to this hour the
country meetings of the Board have constituted the great
strength and power of the Board, as I think. We have had
most excellent and able secretaries, who have done their
duty well ; but they will all tell you that the contents of the
reports which have been of actual service and interest to the
people of the State — to the farmers themselves, especially —
have grown out of the lectures and debates at the country
meetings of the Board. The efiect of these meetings should '
never be forgotten.

The relation of the farmer to the cultivation of the public
mind is a most interesting question. The farming instinct
which carried this State on for two centuries and more in
the great business of cultivating the somewhat sterile soil
in an unpropitious climate succeeded largely, it is true ; but
the time had arrived when the application of the most care-
fully prepared and most scientific principles and practice

10 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

became imperatively necessary ; and when the country meet-
ings of this Board were established, the agricultural com-
munity was just stepping out of the bonds of mere traditional
agriculture into the work of careful and scientific agriculture,
— that wbich from that day to this has constituted the suc-
cess of farming in this Commonwealth. In all those States
where the population has largely increased, where the local
markets have multiplied, and where the demand has been
made for the most accurate and careful system of farming,
it is the application of economical and scientific methods
which enables a farmer to secure a competence for his
family, and to keep himself in line with the progressive
thought and work of the country.

Now, it is well for us to consider exactly what application
we can make of all the scientific and careful investigations,
all the nice and delicate inventions, to the occupation to
which we are devoted. The time was when you could tickle
the soil, and the harvest would rush into your arms ; but
that time is past. The selection of crops with great skill,
the application of fertilizers to the land, the choice of crops
that are appropriate to the local market, the management
of all the machinery of the farm, have become as much a
matter of care and attention as the management of cotton
and woollen mills and all their machinery, which have made
the Commonwealth what it is. The time has come, when, by
college and by board, by association of every description,
and by personal influence, the theory and practice of farm-
ing should be advanced ; when farming should be no longer
a tradition or a theory, but a careful and accurate system of
business, like all the rest of the business in this State in
which all are interested either as consumers or producers.

The influence of these meetings upon the agricultural
mind of the Commonwealth, as I judge, has been to prepare
that mind for the reception of that systematic education to
which I have referred. The meetings themselves have been
highly creditable to the practical men who have attended.
The useful essays that have been delivered ; the careful dis-
cussions and well-drawn laws, drawn from experience ; the
application of all those rules by which farmers have suc-
ceeded, have been laid before the community through these

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No, 4. 11

country meetings in a way which has enabled those engaged
in the practical work of farming to understand exactly what
their position is, and how they can best conduct the business
which has fallen into their hands.

I have great faith, and always have had, in the influence of
agricultural colleges ; but my faith in them has been con-
firmed more by the stimulating and rousing and cultivating
effect they have had upon the general agricultural mind,
than by any actual rules of agriculture, which, so far as I
am informed, have been presented or laid down. The
introduction into our community of a body of young men
who, for agricultural purposes, have cultivated their minds,
has been a vast thing for the agriculture of the State.
Everybody can feel that ; and it has made the fiirmer him-
self, as he has been engaged in toil on his land, feel that his
occupation was ranged alongside of those great professions
which previously had assumed to themselves all the thought
and all the culture and all the intellect of the community
in which we live ; so that now we have by the side of the
great classical schools here a rising agricultural college, to
lift the agricultural thought of the community on to that
plane which will give it a companionship and connection
with all the most intellectual and thoughtful professions in
the State.

We have technology for our mills, we have practical
schools for all our occupations ; and, while they do not give
us all skilful mechanics and skilful machinists and artisans,
they do give us a body of men, who, for the practical ser-
vice of life, have their faculties so cultivated that out of the
great crop will rise leaders that will teach the State and
world what are the possibilities of the business in which
they are engaged. All clergymen that graduate from theo-
logical schools are not great preachers ; all lawyers that
graduate from law schools are not great lawyers ; all gradu-
ates of our colleges are not great students. But they belong
to a cultivated community ; and, because that community is
cultivated, the leaders in these professions to which I have
alluded naturally spring up as the best plants grow out of
the best cultivated field. The crop is not all uniform. But,
as there are superior plants in every man's crop, so in

12 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

a cultivated community there are superior minds growing
up out of the influence of the abstract cultivation itself.
Now, the college has done that for this community, and
may do more ; and I trust we shall all see the time when
a professor analagous to a professor of the theory and
practice of medicine will be considered as the corner-stone
of the agricultural college of this Commonwealth. I have
no doubt young men come out of the school better prepared
for agricultural service than they were when they went in
there ; but when they come out so imbued with the theory
of agriculture and so taught in regard to its practice that
they will enable you to conduct your farming operations
here under their guidance with economy, accuracy and skill,
then the purpose of that college, as those of us anticipated
who were active in its foundation, will be thoroughly ful-
filled. Now, while the college is engaged in this work, the
Board in these meetings is engaged in other work by bring-
ing practical farmers together, so that they themselves may
accept the doctrines laid down at the college, and be better
enabled to carry home to the communities from which they
come the results of those teachings, not only in the facts or
rules of agriculture, but in the general business of stimulat-
ing the agricultural mind of the Commonwealth. I therefore
congratulate the Board upon the result of these meetings,
for the foundation of which I labored so diligently and with
so much entire confidence in the success of the enterprise.

I have not been enabled to do a great many useful things
in my agricultural life. I have endeavored to improve the
breeds of cattle and horses of the Commonwealth by the in-
troduction of well-approved blood into our herds and studs,
not always with the success I had hoped for. I have endeav-
ored to persuade the farmers that corn-fodder was not
quite what it ought to be, unless grown to some maturity,
and have advanced various views, some sound and some un-
sound, I suppose ; but there is one good thing I have done,
I am confident, and I propose to impress it upon your mind,
— and that is, the foundation of these country meetings that
bring the farmers themselves together, and place them along-
side of the intellectual activities of the colleges themselves.
I think the Board, the country meetings, and the college,

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 13

with their stimulating agricultural teaching, have already had
a vast influence upon the agriculture of the Commonwealth.
And when you remember, gentlemen, who have gathered
around these meetings, you will then see why it is they have
had so much interest attached to them, and why it is they
have really been of such practical benefit to the farmers of
the Commonwealth. I have heard discussions upon the
theory and upon the practice of the breeding of animals, at
these meetings, between the practical farmers themselves
and the great teacher Agassiz, that were worthy of being
introduced into any scientific report on earth ; and I am sure
the members of the Board and the audience present who
went out of those meetings, after having listened to debates
by men of that description, — the great theorists on one side,
and the men of practice on the other, — must have realized
that the farmer and scientist had a close association, which
might be of benefit to both. While you might not have
realized quite the vast value of the statements made by
Professor Agassiz, I can say that he had entire confidence in
the statements made to him, and that from them he drew
some of the finest of his scientific conclusions. I congratulate
you, therefore, on the work performed by the Board ; and
that the results of teachings here have been recorded for now
twenty-five years, — one quarter of a century ; and that there
is for you, and for those who come after you, this record of
practical agriculture, which will always be esteemed of high
value by the agricultural students of this Commonwealth
and of the country.

I desire, in conclusion, to express my thanks to Dr.
Seelye, who has kindly opened your discussion here by the
presentation of the power of diligence and skill and high
moral tone and great religious purpose, when devoted to the
duties of life, in this and in every other community. His
statement has been an enjoyment. The great walks of life
to which he referred are not open to us all. While the cul-
tivation of the soil may not lead to such high avenues of
power and such great distinction, it does constitute the
community out from which these great qualities spring, and
to which they may be effectually applied ; and the farmers
themselves make up that sturdy and substantial and constant

14 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

and reliable body of citizens, who can understand thoroughly
well, and appreciate the example and accept the rules and
moral force of those great lives to which he has alluded. I
congratulate you that we have been able to meet in a town
where such examples can be presented to us ; and I am sure
that the Board itself must be grateful to him for the picture
that he has drawn of New England life, and for the oppor-
tunity that New England life itself affords for such human
plants to grow up, the pride and glory of the Common-
wealth in which we live.

The first lecture of the session Avill be of the description
which I have given you ; that is, the teachings of a practi-
cal farmer with regard to one of the most delicate and difii-
cult questions known to agriculture, — the application of
commercial fertilizers, prepared by science itself, to the cul-
tivation of the soil. I have the pleasure of introducing to
you Mr. Silas G. Hubbard of Hatfield, who will speak of
his experience with commercial fertilizers.

EXPERIENCE WITH COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS.

BY S. G. HUBBARD OF HATFIELD.

In the year 1845 I was a student in this goodly town of
Easthampton. About that time, if I am not mistaken, Dr.
Gray issued the first American book upon the subject of
agricultural chemistry, and it was adopted as a text book
in Williston Seminary. A farmer's boy, I was attracted by
the title of the book, and took it up in my course of study.
It furnished some of the facts, as I remember, about the
formation of soils, germination of seeds, growth of plants,
and generalized about the new idea that chemical science
could be made useful to agriculture.

Although far behind the advanced thought and experience
of the present day, it secured a good purpose as a first step
in the right direction ; it stimulated thought, produced
a condition of mhid to welcome the advent of more advanced
ideas, and cultivated a spirit of eagerness to try new sys-
tems of agricultural improvement.

Some of you may remember how, at that time, and even
later, ' ' book farming " was scofied at and ridiculed by
prominent farmers of that day, and how some of them lived

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 15

long enough to admit the benefit science has since conferred
upon agriculture.

In the use of fertilizing materials, the farmers of that
period were limited to the use of animal manure, wood
ashes, plaster and lime ; and the most of them used manure
alone to stimulate the growth of such crops as they pro-
duced for home consumption and the distant markets.
Their surplus products of hay and grain were fed to stock,
and converted into beef, pork, and mutton products for the
New York and Boston markets.

For a period of thirty years, broom corn was the most
profitable crop produced in some of the Connecticut River
towns ; but the rapid development of the rich virgin soils of
the great West transferred its culture to New York State,
Ohio, and Illinois, and now it is most largely produced far
west of the Mississippi, on the fertile plains of Kansas and Ne-
braska. This competition has fairly driven Eastern farmers
out of the business, to such an extent that one but rarely
sees a field of broom corn east of the Mohawk valley. This
competition has been going on, and is being constantly in-
creased in the whole list of agricultural products. It was
greatly stimulated by the building of new railroads, which
are constantly being added to that vast system of Western
roads, until now almost every county of the new States and
territories have been reached, and their products brought to
Eastern markets to supply the increasing demands for grain,
flour, fruits and vegetables, as well as beef, mutton and pork
products. It has become a serious problem to New England
farmers how to meet this competition.

As bearing on the final solution of this problem, facts are
constantly accumulating to prove that the Western farmers,
with their improved labor-saving machinery, but otherwise
primitive methods of farming, are annually robbing their
virgin soils by making large drafts upon the limited amount
of plant food they contain. Eventually, these lost elements
of fertility will have to be restored by the application of
commercial fertilizers. Bearing on this point, we find that
during the past ten years manufacturers of fertilizers have
found a growing demand for their goods in all the Western
States east of the Mississippi River.

16 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Eastern farmers should feel encouraged at the prospect of
competing with their Western friends on more even terms in
the near future.

The introduction of commercial fertilizers dates from the
first importation of Peruvian guano into this country. This
article was in convenient form to handle, ready for immedi-
ate application, and, when properly applied, was wonder-
fully efiective in its action. It was at first experimented
with in a small way, but not used very largely until about
thirty-two years ago. In the years 1857 and 1858 I used it
on a tobacco field of five acres, which had been highly ma-
nured in previous years, and found it produced astonishing
results ; and particularly in 1858, it produced the greatest
growth of tobacco I have ever seen. This was the common
experience of farmers who used it at that time.

A few years later, the supply of Chincha Island guano was
exhausted ; and, owing to the inferior quality of other guanos
afterwards introduced, guano lost its place in public favor,
and fell into gradual disuse.

About twenty-five years ago, Mr. Ljnnan Klapp, agent
of the Union Oil Company of Providence, R.I., bought a
twenty-four-acre tract of plain land in Hatfield. He em-
ployed a superintendent to till this land, and sent up the
waste products of his mill as a fertilizer. This waste con-
sisted of slightly damaged cotton-seed meal, cotton-seed
hulls, and cotton-hull ashes, and these were the only fertil-
izers used.

One person at least carefully watched this new departure,
and noted the crops that were grown. These crops, con-
sisting of corn, rye, grass, onions and tobacco, were all ex-
cellent ; and the quality, particularly of the tobacco grown in
1867 and 1868, was equal to the best I saw grown in those
years.

In the year following, this land came into my possession,
and experiments with fertilizers have been continued down
to the present time. In the year 1873 I applied a good
coating of green manure to four acres of the lightest part of
this land, that had been run for several years without manures
or fertilizers. I also applied two tons per acre of damaged
cotton-seed meal, which cost thirteen dollars per ton, de-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUJ^IENT — No. 4. 17

livered. This tobacco crop, when packed, yielded over
twenty-five hundred pounds of fine tobacco per acre, and
the quality was such that it brought the highest price in the
market.

This remarkable crop attracted considerable attention at
the time ; but most farmers gave the credit of growth to the
manure, with but little to the cotton-seed meal. But few
saw the great value of the meal as a fertilizer. It did not,
however, come into general use as a fertilizer, even in Hat-
field, until several years later.

The value of cotton-seed meal as a fertilizer is now gener-
ally admitted by farmers, and its use is being more largely
increased from year to year, because it is found that the
plant food it contains costs less than in most other com-
mercial fertilizers on the market. Its most valuable con-
stituents are nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. Accord-
ing to reliable analyses, a ton of cotton-seed meal contains
about one hundred and forty pounds of nitrogen, which forms
the basis to estimate its value. If nitrogen is worth seven-
teen cents per pound, the ton is worth twenty-four dollars
for its nitrogen. It contains also about thirty pounds of
potash and thirty pounds of phosphoric acid, valuable
elements of plant food, which, together, are worth four dol-
lars more, making the total value about twenty-eight dollars
per ton.

Pure cotton-hull ashes are a valuable fertilizer, containing
in their composition large percentages of potash and phos-
phoric acid. Their gi"eat value as a fertilizer has been known
but a short time to the generality of farmers. Even now
farmers have begun to lose confidence in them, because they
so often contain much worthless foreign matter in their com-
position. They contain from twelve to thirty-two per cent
of potash, according to the condition in which the material
appears as an article in the fertilizer trade. They also con-
tain a large percentage of phosphoric acid. They have proved
to be a valuable fertilizer for grass, grain, and all kinds of
cultivated crops and fruits.

Pure sulphate of potash contains fifty-four parts of potash
and forty-six parts of sulphuric acid. High-grade sulphate
of potash is gaining in popular favor among tobacco growers,

18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

because the percentage of potash it contains can be depended
upon, and the amount to be applied can be determined ac-
cording to the requirements of soil and crop. It is con-
venient in form for use wherever potash is used for all
kinds of crops.

Nitrogenous manures are chiefly of animal origin. One
of the most important to the farmer is fine-ground sun-dried
fish. It contains about eight per cent of high-grade nitro-
gen, and six per cent of phosphoric acid. Convenient in
form for use, it is a valuable fertilizer.

Lime is the leading element in the composition of the
leaves, fiber and wood of a large number of varieties of trees
and plants in cultivation, as appears in their analysis. A
good supply of lime in the soil promotes a healthful growth
of foliage, and contributes to the pleasing, glossy appear-
ance of the leaves of many trees and plants in cultivation.
The ashes of most kinds of wood contain thirty-seven to
seventy-three per cent of lime. All textile plants, turnips
and some other vegetables, and all varieties of clover, con-
tain a large percentage of lime. The experience and obser-
vation of twenty years has taught me that lime is a leading
element of plant food, and is essential to the healthful growth
of several important cultivated crops. Without health, man,
plants or animals cannot reasonably be expected to con-
tribute their best in the sharp competition that characterizes
this age of progress.

In support of my statement as to the importance of lime,
the following facts are given. The average of eight analyses
of leaf tobacco, furnished by Professor Johnson of Connecti-
cut, is of interest to tobacco growers. The dry leaf when
burned produced twenty-five per cent of ash, which would
make five hundred pounds of ash from two thousand pounds
of leaf.

Per cent.

Pounds.

Potash, .

23.90

119.5

Carbonic acid, .

20.27

102.85

Phosphoric acid,

2.64

13.

Lime,

22.50

112 5

Three elements, potash, lime and carbonic acid, compose
sixty-eight per cent of the ash elements. The remaining

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 19

thirty-two per cent is made up largely of sand, soil, alumina,
magnesia, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and chlorine.

In his thirteenth annual report, 1885, page 364, Professor
Goessmann says carbonate of lime contains fifty-six parts of
calcium oxide (lime) and forty-four parts of carbonic acid.
Therefore, we find that lime contains two of the leading con-
stituents of leaf tobacco ; namely, lime and carbonic acid,
which Professor Johnson found in larger relative proportions
than any other single element excepting potash.

Considering the limits of the time assigned me, I have
confined my attention to only a few of the fertilizer materials
which I think from my experience are of greatest usefulness
and profit in the production of special farm crops. Time
will not permit me to speak of the many excellent fertilizer
compounds manufactured in this country, presuming also
that you are familiar with their history and usefulness.
Neither is it necessary to take up your valuable time in
the consideration of the other fertilizer material not men-
tioned, with which we have been practically familiar in times
past. Perhaps it is not necessary for me to say that I can
give you but a bare outline of my experience with fertilizers
in the limits of this paper. The conditions of success in
farming, at the present time, largely depend upon the careful
saving of animal manures and liberal use of commercial
fertilizers.

Commercial fertilizers are constantly growing in favor
with all successful farmers of my acquaintance. To grow
crops successfully for the early markets, they are highly
valued ; and their use is considered absolutely essential in
open cultivation, to stimulate the rapid growth of special
crops. The condition of early maturity of crops which the
judicious use of fertilizers will enable the farmer to realize,
serves also to insure him against the risk of frost, so often
in this latitude destructive to crops of backward growth.
This fact has been obvious to our farmers the present
year. In my native town we have harvested one of the
largest and soundest crops of corn known for several years,
while in some sections of the State there is general complaint
of much unsound corn, owing to the cool summer and the
early frost.

20 BOAED OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.

The experience of the year has clearly demonstrated the
usefulness of commercial fertilizers in forcing the early
maturity of corn and other cultivated crops, which have
brought higher prices in the markets and the early conver-
sion of crop products into cash.

It is the intelligent, wide-awake farmer, who observes
these conditions of success and takes advantage of them
that can show the most satisfactory balance sheet at the end
of the year.

The investigations carried on at the experiment station in
Amherst are invaluable to practical farmers of Massachusetts.
The analyses of fertilizer materials and fertilizer compounds,
continually going on, furnish to our farmers reliable infor-
mation as to their composition of plant food and compara-
tive value. We have also at hand the investigations of
eminent scientists of the old world, who were earlier in the
field (giving the ash composition of meadow hay and grasses,
clover and fodder plants, root crops, their leaves and stems,
refuse and manufactured products, sti'aw, chaff, textile plants,
litter, grains and seeds of agricultural plants, fruits and
seeds of trees, leaves, wood and bark).

This important work has revealed some of the hidden
secrets of nature, creating a new departure, by pointing out
the way to a more economical production of farm crops.
These important analyses have formed a basis of positive
knowledge in this country since the year 1868, and have
stimulated subsequent experiments in the formation of fer-
tilizer compounds for special crops, suggesting the idea of
supplying to the soil the elements of plant food corresponding
in quantity and kind to the constituents found in the plant.

This principle has been applied by farmers in Massachu-
setts and Connecticut, for a period of about ten years, in the
production of tobacco. The results have been very satisfac-
tory, not only in the growth of fine crops which have
brought the highest prices in market, but in reducing the
cost of production to a paying basis, making a large saving
over the old way of hauling large quantities of expensive
animal manures from the railroad station to the tobacco field.
Many farmers in Hatfield have been successful in the pro-
duction of excellent crops of com, potatoes, hay and grain

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 21

for a succession of years, following a system of crop rotation
without animal manure, using commercial fertilizers alone.

Besides the lot before referred to in this paper, I have a
large acreage of plain land that came into my possession
fifteen years ago, which has been treated wholly with com-
mercial fertilizers. This land has produced paying crops of
grass, corn, potatoes, rye, oats and tobacco, and the fertility
of the soil has been fully maintained.

I have found by experimental tests that all of my culti-
vated lands were naturally deficient in potash and lime ; and
I have taken this condition of the soil into account in my
application of fertilizers.

I am satisfied that no single formula, with certain fixed
percentages of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, can
reasonably be expected to apply equally well on all soils for
the same crop ; therefore, in practice, I have varied the per-
centages according to my best knowledge of the condition
of the soil, and requirements of plant food of crop culti-
vated. I have found unleached ashes an excellent fertilizer
to bring in a good catch of clover. Clover itself often per-
forms the office of a fertilizer by pushing its long tap root
into the lower subsoil strata, and pumping up the nitrates
and other stores of plant food to the surface soil, which
brings it within the reach of other special crops that follow.

Sandy soils, when not properly treated, are often found
deficient in vegetable matter or humus. This deficiency can
be supplied in a variety of ways, according to circumstances,
either by ploughing in coarse barnyard manure, clover sod,
stubble, cornstalks, tobacco stems, or some other cheap
vegetable material. This I should call preliminary work ;
afterwards I would apply the plant food according to the
requirements of the crop.

I wish to say, in conclusion, that there are certain impor-
tant conditions which must be observed, if we expect to
secure the highest possible returns for our outlay of capital
invested in fertilizers.

1. Unless the natural drainage is perfect, provision should
be made to carry off all surplus water from the land. This
can be done in most cases at small expense by under-
drainage.

22 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

2. Good ploughing at the proper time and thorough pul-
verization of the soil, followed by careful culture of the
crop and careful han<;lling of the product.

3. The fertilizers should be selected from high-grade
material, and free from all deleterious compounds, in fine
condition, and applied broadcast to the soil. The use of a
good fertilizer drill makes a large saving in the work, and
secures a more perfect distribution of fertilizers.

The Chairman. The remaining lecture of the forenoon
will now be given by Prof. G. H. Whitcher, director of the
New Hampshire Experiment Station, upon the subject of
*' Chemical Fertilizers." I have the pleasure of introducing
Professor Whitcher.

CHE]\nCAL FERTILIZERS.

BY PROF. O. H. WHITCHER OF HANOVER, N. H.

The subject which I shall discuss to-day is so much like
the one already presented, that I will not attempt to follow
any definite line, but will simply give you a talk, and as far
as possible will make my remarks cover difierent ground
than that so well gone over by the speaker who has preceded
me. If, in the attempt on my part, my remarks should be
a little rambling, I hope you will pardon the lack of definite-
ness. I also want to say to you that I shall be very glad to
have any one break in with questions at any point. You can
easily ask questions that I cannot answer ; but I will frankly
say that I don't know, when such is the case.

I shall endeavor to suggest answers, or partial answers,
to three questions : —

1. What do Plants require?

2. Where shall we get the Materials they need?

3. How shall we apply the same?

If I could fully answer these three questions, I should
know more about fertilizers than any other living man ;
but I want to say that such is not the case, and I can only
give you a few ideas on each.

What do Plants required
That is the question I asked myself when I commenced
the study of this problem. To know what a plant requires,

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

23

I wanted to know what it is composed of; accordingly I
selected a stalk of ensilage corn, which, when cut, weighed
exactly five pounds. What was this stalk made up of ?
This question was answered by chemical analysis, in the
laboratory. It was found that eighty-two per cent of the
stalk was water ; the starch, sugar, oil, etc., were also deter-
mined, and as a result the following table was prepared,
showing just what amount of each constituent was contained
in this one stalk : —

A stalk of corn weighing five pounds : analysis.

vvaier,

Albuminoids,.

Sugar,

Starch,

Fiber,

Fat,

Ash

oo.ol; oz;.

.88 oz.
3.04 oz.
5.60 oz.
3.60 oz.

.40 oz.

.88 oz.

80.00 oz.

But figures are hard to remember, and I have in these bottles
the exact amount of each constituent, except the water. If I
had here a two-quart fruit jar full of water, it would represent
the exact quantity that was found ; so, if you will imagine
such a jar, containing two quarts of water, you will have a
representation of the entire stalk. This bottle contains the
exact quantity of starch that the above-mentioned stalk
contained ; in this bottle we have the sugar ; in this, the oil ;
and in this, the albuminoids, or the portion that goes to make
muscle, and the caseine or curd of milk when the corn is fed
to cows. This last is the most valuable constituent of the
food. In this bottle I have the amount of ash.

Question. What was the condition of this corn ; was it
mature or immature ?

Answer. The stalk was the " Burrill & Whitman " corn,
and had one ear, the kernels of which were "blistered."
Eemember that these Ijottles show us what the stalk was made
up of, and the exact amount, so that you have before you here
a stalk of corn taken apart, so to speak ; the various parts put
in separate packages, just as we might take a mowing-machine
apart, putting the cast-iron in one place, the steel in another,
the bolts, nuts, screws, etc., each in a box by itself.

24 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Now, how did each of these several constituents affect the
soil from which the stalk was nourished? The starch, sugar,
oil and fiber came from the air and water ; that is, they are
made up of three elements, — carbon, hydrogen and oxygen,
— and these are taken, the first from carbonic acid, which is
present in the air, and from water, which may come from
the air or soil. Thus it is evident that neither the pocket-
book of the farmer nor his soil is the poorer on account of
the starch, sugar, oil or fiber produced ; the elements from
which they are made come to us free in the winds that blow
and in the rain and snow. It is also true that eighty-five
per cent of the albuminoids are made up of the same ele-
ments ; the remaining fifteen per cent is nitrogen, and for
this we pay fifteen cents per pound when we buy fertilizers.
There has always been a great deal of discussion about the
supply of nitrogen for plants. Great men have claimed that
plants take nitrogen from the air, and great men have
claimed that plants cannot take nitrogen from the air ; and
between the two opinions I am free to say that I do not
know whether plants take up nitrogen from the air or not,
and I doubt very much if any man does know.

There is a part of the plant, however, that does not come
to us free ; it is the ash. The ash of plants is not contained
in the air, and must come from the soil. In this bottle you
see the amount of ash that the roots of that single stalk of
corn took up, and you may be sure that it came from the
soil in which it grew.

Question. What amount of these various constituents
were there?

Answer. I will give you the amount per acre ; for we
found the yield to be twenty tons per acre when cut. It is
as follows : —

Pounds per acre.

Water, 32,800

Albuminoids, 440

Fiber, 1,800

Sugar 1,520

Fat 200

Starch, 2,800

Ash, 440

40,000

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 25

The ash is the part that interests the farmer, because it
contains the substances which we are obliged to furnish in
fertilizers. But the question at once comes up, do we need
to furnish the whole of the 440 pounds ? It has been found
that we do not need to do this ; and, that we may know what
is needed and what is not, I have separated the ash in this
small bottle into the various substances contained in these
vials. I will give the substances and the amount per acre :

Phosphoric acid, 47 lbs.

Potash, 130 lbs.

Soda, 18 lbs.

Lime, 65 lbs.

Silica, 162 lbs.

Magnesium 18 lbs.

440 lbs.

There was also seventy pounds of nitrogen contained in
the albuminoids.

In the table we see that this crop removed from the soil
forty-seven pounds of phosphoric acid ; and, as will be shown
later, this substance is one that is usually deficient in worn-
out soils. Potash is another element that more frequently
fails than any other. Our crop removed 130 pounds of
this.

Soda has been shown to be less essential than almost any
other substance in the ash ; plants can and have been grown
in the absence of this. Lime is essential to the growth of
plants, but it is not often deficient in New England soils.
The speaker who preceded me has shown you that for
tobacco it is necessary to apply lime, but for most crops on
most soils it is not necessary to make any additions to the
lime already present ; thus, our sixty-five pounds of lime
may be disregarded. All of you have noticed the hard
glazing or coating on the outside of corn stalks, and on
straw, etc. ; this is silica. It is never applied as a fertilizer,
for the soil yields enough in most cases ; consequently, this
162 pounds may be left out of the account in fertilizing for
our farm crops.

The eighteen pounds of magnesia also can be set aside in
nearly all cases, though there are soils where it seems bene-

26 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ficial ; but the cases are rare. These little bottles that I
have here show you the exact amount of each of these con-
stituents that was in the single stalk of corn, and of the six,
four may, in most cases, be disregarded ; the other two,
namely, phosphoric acid and potash, are needed and must
be provided for in old soils.

The phosphoric acid, that is always spoken of in fertilizer
analyses, is this white powder which I have in this bottle ;
so that an analysis showing twelve per cent of phosphoric
acid, means that in one hundred pounds of the fertilizer
there are twelve pounds of this white substance.

Now, what have we shown thus far?

1. That a crop of twenty tons of ensilage corn is made
up of various substances, some of which come from the soil,
others from the air. We have seen that 39,490 pounds oiit
of the total forty thousand comes from the air, either as water
or carbonic acid. Also, that 263 pounds of the ash is nearly
always over-abundant in the soil ; leaving 177 pounds of ash
to be provided, either wholly or in part, and seventy pounds
of nitrogen, a part of which, at least, must be supplied.

Potash is very essential, for not a grain of starch can be
formed in its absence ; and as starch or some similar sub-
stance is the foundation of all the other parts of a plant,
it follows that a plant cannot grow without potash. Phos-
phoric acid has some direct influence in the production or
transfer of the albuminoids, and is especially valuable in
those crops that contain a large amount of the latter.

How has it been sliown that Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid and
Potash are needed hy Crops?

The whole science of fertilizers dates back to the acci-
dental discovery that bone produced favorable results when
used in place of animal manures. This discovery was made
by a farmer in England, as long ago as 1750. It is true that
lime, plaster and nitrate of soda were used previous to this,
but no attempt was made to ask why they gave increased
yields.

In 1750, or about that time, an English farmer made use
of the waste bone and burnt chips and shavings which the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 27

proprietor of a comb and button factory had caused to be
dumped in a swamp as rubbish ; the effect was very gratify-
ing, and from that time the use of bone dates.

It soon became known that crushed bones were superior to
whole ones, and in 1814 a bone mill was constructed to
crush and prepare this new manure. The novelty of the use
of bone manure is mentioned in the writings of Arthur Young,
who, on returning from a tour of Northern England and Scot-
land in 1770, said; "Bones are a very odd manure, but
they find them of great benefit to their clay lands and they
will last twenty years good." It was asked, after a time.

Why do bones act as a fertilizer?

First Theory. — Bones were known to be made up of two
parts : one that would burn, called the " animal matter ;" the
other, incombustible, called " mineral matter." It was known
that animal manures from farm-yards caused crops to yield
well, and so it was natural to attribute the beneficent action
of bones to the animal matter they contained. One hundred
pounds of bone will contain not far from thirty pounds of
" animal matter" and seventy of " mineral matter "or ash.
The thirty pounds received the credit for the effects that
were so clearly due to the application of bone. This theory
was all right until it was proven to be wrong. Some Eng-
lishman, with true Yankee inquisitiveness, burned the ani-
mal matter out of a lot of bones, and used the ash ; the
result was even more satisfactory than with the whole
bone. A new explanation was not only in order, but
necessary.

The following represents an analysis of bone : —

' Animal matter,

30 lbs., containing, —

Nitrogen,
2.5 lbs.

100 lbs. raw bone,-

( 68 lbs. phos-
Mineral (ash), P^ateoflime.
[ 70 lbs., ] 12 lbs. other

substances.

f Phosphoric acid
> 24 lbs.
( Lime, 34 lbs.

Total p

lant food,

26.5 lbs.

Now, if we remove the thirty pounds of animal matter, the
ash must cause the effect that is known to be produced ; the
lime, in the amount commonly used per acre, could not ac-

28 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

count for the results, and hence the phosphoric acid must be
regarded as the valuable constituent of bones. This was the
reasoning which led to the true theory of the action of bone ;
the date of this conclusion is from 1830 to 1835.

We find mention of the use of " saltpeter," or nitrate of
potash, in 1625, but there are no definite records until 1825
to 1829.

In 1836, an effort was made by an English farmer to de-
termine the true cause of the wonderful eflTects of "salt-
peter." He knew that this manure contained nitric acid,
combined with potash, and he planned an experiment on
grass. Three equal areas were measured off and were
treated as follows: No. 1, watered daily with pure water;
No. 2, watered daily with water in which potash was dis-
solved ; No. 3, watered daily with water with which a little
nitric acid was mixed. The result was that No. 1 gave the
least yield, No. 3 was increased considerably, and No. 2 still
more. This experiment showed that the nitrogen of the
nitric acid and the potash were each useful to the growing
grass. Thus it was established, by practical farmers, that
nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are forms of plant food
that exhausted soils need.

The second question mentioned at the commencement of
this talk concerning the services of plant food, was this :
"Where shall we get the materials they [plants]

NEED ? "

Phosphoric Acid.
Bone, as already stated, was the first source of this variety
of plant food. The following tabulated statement shows the
probable date of use and discovery of materials containing
phosphoric acid : —

1750. Bones first used in England.

1814 First bone mill used in England.

1780. Bones first used in United States.

1820. First bone mill used in United States.

1837. South Carolina rock first mentioned.

1839. Liebig suggested the use of sulphuric acid to dissolve bone.

1840. Dissolved bone first used.

1843. Spanish phosphate rock first mentioned.
1845. Spanish phosphate rock first used in England.
1861. Dissolved bone first used in United States.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 29

1868. South Carolina rock first mined, in all 6 tons.

1878. " " " amount mined, 58,760 tons.

1880. " " " " " 163,000 "

1883. " " " « " 332,077 "

1885. " " " " " 437,856 "

1886. (P) Thomas-Gilchrist slag first used.

To-day it is said that two-thirds of all the phosphoric acid
used in commercial fertilizers comes from South Carolina
rock. This rock is found about Charleston, S.C., although
it is not confined to one locality, but occurs ia both Caro-
linas and in Florida.

Bone-black is a common and very desirable form of bone
which yields about thirty-four per cent of phosphoric acid.
It is simply bone charcoal. It is used. by the sugar refiners
for removing color and impurities from crude sugars ; in
time, however, this charcoal loses the power of purifying,
and is then sold to fertilizer manufacturers. Phosphoric
acid is present in fertilizers in three forms : one soluble in
water ; one insoluble in water, but soluble in vegetable acids,
and the third insoluble, except in strong acids. The phos-
phoric acid in bone, bone-black, South Carolina rock and
Spanish rock is insoluble, belonging to the third form ; that
in the Thomas-Gilchrist slag is soluble in citric acid. The
basis of Liebig's suggestion was the fact that bone, if treated
or "cut" with sulphuric acid, has its phosphate of lime
changed from the insoluble to the soluble form ; and his
reasoning was that a comparatively small amount of bone, if
rendered soluble, would supply as much available plant
food as a much larger quantity of raw bone. This was, in
practice, found to be true ; six or eight bushels of bone dis-
solved with sulphuric acid would yield as large crops for the
first year as would fifty bushels of crushed bone untreated.
It is now the general practice of all fertilizer manufacturers
to treat all phosphatic material with acid ; so that we have
dissolved South Carolina rock, dissolved bone-black, dis-
solved bone, each of which furnishes a good per cent of solu-
ble phosphoric acid.

It is claimed, however, that the " slag phosphate," though
insoluble in water, is nevertheless available to plants. The
truth of this needs more demonstration than has yet been
given.

30

BOAED OF AGRICULTUKE.

[Jan.

Potash.

Nitrate of potash, as has been intimated, was formerly
used on wheat in England ; but the use of this material in
the manufacture of gunpowder has so far increased the
price, that it is out of the reach of the farmer.

Wood ashes constituted the chief source of potash until
1868. As early as 1852, a salt mine was opened in Stass-
furt. Saxony. Salt was not reached until a depth of eleven
hundred feet was reached ; this did not occur until 1857.
In digging this shaft, a bed of "potash salts " was passed
through. For a time these were regarded as not only
worthless, but a hindrance to the salt mining. In 1861 a
company was formed to work up these salts, and a factory
was built. In 1883, thirty-four factories were engaged in
purifying these potash deposits. Only a small part of their
out-put (fifteen per cent) is used in fertilizers.

The first potash landed in this country from the German
mines, was consigned to Dr. Gould of Cambridge, Mass.,
in 1868.

On the market to-day we find : —

Muriate of potash, containing .
Sulphate of potash, containing .
Sulphate of potash (high grade), con
Kainit, containing
Krugit, containing ...
Ashes, containing ...

. 50 per cent of actual potash.

. 27 » " " "
aining 51 " " " " "

. 12 " " " "

Nitrogen.

Bones contain two and one-half per cent of nitrogen ;
nitrate of potash contains thirteen per cent of nitrogen.
The next nitrogenous fertilizer was the " Chili saltpeter,"
a substance mined in South America ; it contains fifteen per
cent of nitrogen. The first ship-load of this that reached
England found no market. It was then sent to America.

In 1836 a new material was used in England, the so-
called " gas liquor." This is the water through which
illuminating gas is washed. This water absorbs the am-
monia which comes from the combustion of the coal ; and as
ammonia contains nitrogen, it is a nitrogenous fertilizer.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

31

Later, the same liquor was prepared with sulphuric acid,
giving sulphate of ammonia, which, to-day, is one of the
sources of nitrogen used in good fertilizers. The best
quality of this salt contains twenty per cent of nitrogen ;
dried blood contains fifteen per cent ; fish scraps, seven and
one-half per cent ; guano, fifteen per cent.

How SHALL WE USE THESE MATERIALS?

The most natural answer is : Buy some one of the multi-
tude of prepared fertilizers {^commercial fertilizers) . I do
not advocate this, however, for several reasons.

1. The fertilizers found on our market are constructed
upon a wrong foundation, and are consequently, in my
opinion, poorly adapted to the wants of our crops. Let me
make this point clear. Take any ten fertilizers found on
our market and average their percentage of plant food, and
you will find about the following : —

Phosphoric acid (total), . . . .12 per cent.

Potash, 3 per cent.

Nitrogen, 2 per cent.

This is approximately the average composition. Now the
practical question is this : Does this ratio, or this combina-
tion, meet the requirements of our crops ? I answer, No ! I
have here a chart which shows you the nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash taken from the soil by the following crops,
per acre : —

Herds-
grass.

Red Top.

Alsike
Clover.

Ensilage.

Corn
Heal.

Corn
Stover.

Total
Corn.

Phosphoric acid.
Potash, .
Nitrogen,

18.40
61.20

50.40

15.60
42.00
49.60

40.40
109.60
87.60

5200
144.00
164.00

28.80
17.60
82.40

19.00
83.00
43.00

47.80

100.60
125.40

Now, you will see that these five crops took from the soil
173.4 pounds of phosphoric acid and 457.4 pounds of potash ;

32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

that is, nearly three times as much potash as phosphoric
acid. But the fertilizer manufacturers tell us that plants
want three or four times as much phosphoric acid as potash.
Now, who is right ? Do the plants themselves know what
they want ? Do they take what they want and in the pro-
portion they want it, or are the plants mistaken and the
fertilizer manufacturers right? I prefer to believe that the
roots of a plant are tolerable judges of what the plant
requires for its best development. Plants want potash and
phosphoric acid in the ratio of three to one ; they get these
materials m prepared fei^tilizers in just the reverse ratio.

This, you will say, is all theory. Well, yes. It was theory
that caused Liebig to give us the greatest of all blessings in
agriculture ; namely, soluble phosphoric acid as plant food.
It was theory that made possible the great Brooklyn
bridge. But let us see if our theory is true when tested by
the rules of practice. The following table shows the effect
of fertilizers having varying percentages of potash ; the first
column shows the percentage of potash in the fertilizer used,
and the second shows the value of the increase of crop due
to one dollar's worth of fertilizer.

Prepared fertilizers,
Chemicals,* .

l»er cent of

Value of

Potash.

Increased Crop, etc.

0

$0.06

2

1.55

8

2.45

10

2.89

Hi

2.64

20^

2.91

25

3.83

32

3.32

50

0.42

The figures in the last column represent the whole value
of increased crop, and, of course, the value of the fertilizer.
In all cases one dollar has to be taken from the figures to
show the true profit or loss.

Now you can see that increasing the potash increased the
value of the fertilizer, and I am of the opinion that our

* By chemicals I mean digsolved bone-black, muriate of potash, iulphate of
ammonia, krngit, nitrate of soda, etc.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 33

fertilizers should contain at least ten per cent of potash, and
I do not care to have more than ten per cent of phosphoric
acid.

Question. What was the crop ?

Professor Whitcher. Corn , in the cases I have just given.
I find the same thing true of grass : more potash, more grass !

Question. Will you please explain the diiference be-
tween muriate and sulphate of potash ?

Professor Whitcher. One is potash combined with
hydrochloric acid ; the other, with sulphuric. This is the
chemical difference. So far as their use is concerned I do
not know that I can tell you the difference. I should gener-
ally use muriate ; but I believe it is contended that the
quality of potatoes is affected by one more than the other.
I am not certain which is said to give the best quality, but
think it is the muriate. I have looked more to quantity than
quality in the matter ; perhaps too much so.

Benj. p. Ware of Marblehead. I think there is one point
that is not quite clear. You have shown that bone, dissolved
by sulphuric acid, becomes soluble ; that is, it contains
plant food. Now, do I understand by that that ground bone
contains no plant food ? I would also like to ask whether
there is any plant food available from South Carolina rock or
iron slag without previous preparation ?

Professor Whitcher. I did not intend to give the im-
pression that there was no plant food in bone. Phosphoric
acid is plant food wherever it is. It may be available, or it
may not be. In bone and South Carolina rock it is sparingly
soluble ; in the latter perhaps not at all.

Now, if you apply a large quantity of bone, it is slowly
decomposed in the soil, and in this way plants get a partial
or full supply according as the amount of bone used was
large or small. But I do not believe in this method of fer-
tilizing. I would use fertilizer in such a form that I could
get the most of it back in a single year. Fertilize for the
present crop, not for the next ten years. Fertilizers are the
farmer's raw material. From them he manufactures farm
products. Get the best raw material, and use it as quickly
as possible. Turn fertilizer into crop, crop into money, and
do it quickly.

34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The phosphoric acid in ' * slag " is in the so-called reverted
form, and by some is said to be available for plants.

There are many who advocate cutting or fermenting bone
with ashes, claiming that the phosphate of lime is made
soluble by this treatment. I have had one of the chemists
at our station in New Hampshire test this, and we find that
there is no action of this sort, but the reverse ; any soluble
acid that existed was made insoluble. I would not advise
any one to ferment bones with ashes ; it is a poor practice
at best.

Another reason why I believe in buying the crude chemi-
cals (dissolved bone-black, muriate of potash and sulphate
of ammonia, etc.), is that they are substances which contain
plant food in an available form.

You cannot get insoluble nitrogen in sulphate of ammonia
or nitrate of soda ; the potash salts are easily soluble, and
there is less liability of South Carolina rock being used in
dissolved bone-black than in a mixed fertilizer. You ex-
change an uncertainty for a certainty in buying chemicals
rather than prepared goods.

Again, with your nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid in
separate bags, you are at liberty to mix a fertilizer in any
proportion that you find to be best adapted to your wants.
I believe that each farmer should find out for himself what
his fiirm needs. The experiment stations can do much to
aid you, but you must adapt and adjust the work of the
station to your own needs.

Corn and potatoes require different fertilization. I have
found it not only without benefit, but positively injurious, to
use nitrogen for potatoes. Now, it does not follow that this
would be true everywhere, but in general it is so. Now, if
every farmer here would try just the one experiment of plant-
ing potatoes on ground one half of which was fertilized with
twelve dollars' worth of fertilizer containing nitrogen, and
the other half with twelve dollars' worth containing no
nitrogen, and would report the results, I have no doubt
we could learn more about fertilizing potatoes in one year
than will be learned in ten years. Now, why can't this be
done?

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 35

You can buy the chemicals of any manufacturer of fertil-
izers, and you can mix them as you think best.

Each of the three materials are harmless to handle. They
are as easy to mix as corn meal, shorts and cotton-seed.

The following is a corn mixture that I have recommended
to our farmers : —

Dissolved bone-black, 325 lb3.

Muriate of potash, 100 lbs.

Sulphate of ammonia, .... 75 lbs.

Cost, about $11.00. 500 lbs.

This is for an acre, with no manure. Put 150 pounds
in the hill, being very careful about letting the seed come
in contact with it, and sow the remainder broadcast.

E. F. BowDiTCH of Fraraingham. This is food for how
many bushels of corn to the acre ?

Professor Whitcher. Well, that depends upon the land,
whether it is corn land or not, and also on the season. On
our farm it produced ninety-seven bushela of ear corn, forty
pounds per bushel, and 5,352 pounds of well-cured stover;
while the same land, with no fertilizer, gave forty-seven
bushels of corn, and 3,266 pounds of stover; that is, for
each dollar's worth of fertilizer the increased crop was worth
$2.89, — a eood showing:.

Can Chemical Fertilizers take the Place of Farm-
yard Manure?

I answer, unhesitatingly. Yes ! Can I prove it, do you
ask? I think I can. Not as fully as I might desire, but for
four years I have had two acres of land under test for this
very point. One acre had thirty-three dollars' worth of ma-
nure applied in 1885 ; manure charged at $3.50 per cord, — a
low price. The other acre has had eleven dollars' worth of
chemicals applied yearly, for three years ; so that to-day we
have applied just thirty-three dollars to each acre. Now,
what is the result ?

36

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Corn.

Stover.

Oats.

Straw.

Hat.

1

1

3

a
1

1
1

i

a

i

5

3
1
S

i

s
c
«

1

Bush.

Bush.

Lbs.

Lbs.

Bush.

Bush.

Lbs.

Lbs.

Lbs.

Lbs.

1885,

112

97

4,835

5,352

-

-

-

-

-

-

1886,

83|

82f

4,435

4,927

-

-

-

-

-

-

1887,

~

-

-

-

43

47.5

4,535

5,267

-

-

1888,

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,880

6,202

Total value of four years' crops from manure,
Total value of four years' cro^js from chemicals,

$169 19
174 72

The cliemicals used yearly were : —

Dissolved bone-black, 346 lbs.

Muriate of potash, 150 lbs.

Sulphate of ammonia, 56 lbs.

Cost, $11.00.

552 lbs.

To apply the one lot of manure cost $2.80 ; to apply the
three lots of fertilizer cost $1.50 ; difference, $1.30. Also,
■we have the interest on $22.00 for two years, and on $11.00
for one year, to add to this $1.30; this shows against the
manure.

The hay on the chemical acre was full of clover, and I
regard it as one-third more valuable for milk than the other.

Question. What was the soil?

Professor Whitcher. Clay loam. Connecticut River
land.

B. P. Ware. One point, it seems to me, should be con-
sidered. This figuring is based on manure at $3.50 per
cord ; many of us pay five to six dollars. The difference
in our case would be much greater than in the professor's.

Professor Whitcher. I would never apply more than
150 pounds in the hill, and would put that on top, after the
crop is covered.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

37

Combinations of Chemicals for Variojis Crops :

amount per ac

no Manure is used.

Wheat xsx> Corn.

Dissolved bone-black, ....

325 lbs.

Muriate of potash, ....

100 lbs.

Sulphate of ammonia, ....

25 lbs.

Ensilage.

Dissolved bone-black, ....

250 lbs.

Muriate of potash, ....

200 lbs.

Sulphate of ammonia, ....

50 lbs.

Potatoes.

Dissolved bone-black, ....

340 lbs

Muriate of potash, ....

160 lbs.

Oats.

Dissolved bone-black, ....

300 lbs

Muriate of potash, ....

150 lbs

Sulphate of ammonia, ....

25 lbs

Grass.

Dissolved bone-black, ....

700 lbs

Muriate of potash, ....

200 lbs

Sulphate of ammonia, ....

50 lbs

Onions.

Dissolved bone-black, ....

600 lbs

Muriate of potash, ....

300 lbs

Nitrate of soda,

100 lbs

Adjourned to 1.30 o'clock.

Apternoon Session.
The meeting was called to order at 1.30 o'clock by Dr.
Loring, who introduced Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant of South
Framingham as the first lecturer of the afternoon.

PAKAMOUNT FERTILIZERS.

BY E. LEWIS STURTEVANT, M.D., SOUTH FRAMIMGHAM.

Thinh science^ talk practice. This is the aphorism for an
instructor to ever bear in mind, as only correct thought can
be expected to lead towards correct application, and science
is the method of the arrangement of facts. Hence, in the
pithy sentence of our introduction, we would express our
sense of the duty of the lecturer towards his audience, his
fundamental duty of stating facts in such orderly arrange-

38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ment that the teachings shall have reference to applied art,
and shall presumably be correct in statement and application,
I would also further express my views of an additional duty
that devolves upon a lecturer at such a meeting as this ; and
this duty consists in stimulating thought in the hearers, by
taking the audience into partnership as it were with the
speaker, by expressing in words the thought and the science
which leads to the practical talk which is expected by the
audience. If, therefore, in a lecture which deals with the
greatest of economical sciences, that of farming, the thought
in the lecture takes precedence of practice, the audience
must approve, as they consider that in practical success
thought always takes this precedence, and that the interest
in the practical conclusion necessarily must increase in
accordance with the fullness and correctness of the thought
which precedes as well as explains. I propose, hence, to
think before you and talk to you.

My subject is not only one of practical import, but is also
an intricate one, and hence, in order to keep within the
bounds of the time assigned me, it will be necessary to use
illustrative facts alone, and appeal to the consensus of tried
experience for the securing of wider generalization. If, by
implication, I also appeal now and then to the individual
experience that shall confirm what science explains and
scientific thinking here formulates, I may be pardoned in
thus calling my audience into the exercise of that partner-
ship in thought to which I have already alluded.

From Aug. 18 to Sept. 23, 1883, at intervals of a week,
five corn plants at each collection, or thirty in all, were
analyzed at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station.*
The average result of. these analyses offers a fair illustration
of the composition of the corn plant at the period of its
best condition. The figures of the analyses are : —

Water, . . . .79.01

. , oi J! 1 • 1 S plios. acid, .08

^«h, 81 of which ^Jjot^gh, . .28

Albuminoid, . . . 2.06 = nitrogen, .33

Crude fiber, . . . 4.65

Nitrogen — free extract, 12.92

Ether extract, . . .51

« Report of N.Y. Ag. Ex. Sta. for 1883, pp. 153-155; 163.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 39

These constituents can be roughly separated into two
classes : 1st, Those removed from the soil ; 2d, Those re-
moved from the soil and atmosphere. The water and ash,
or 79.85 per cent of the total, comes from the soil, as also
some little of the remaining constituents. The carbon comes
from the atmosphere directly, and is built up into the
various carbohydrates. It is not necessary to our purpose to
calculate the exact relations, but only to call attention to the
fact that in the plant, water, which is taken from the soil,
constitutes fully 79 per cent of the weight of the living
plant, while the ash and nitrogen combined do not exceed
1.14 per cent, and the phosphoric acid but .08 per cent, and
the potash but .28 per cent.

Transpiration in plants is the escape of aqueous vapor
that has accumulated in the intercellular spaces, through the
stomata of the leaves, and it varies in amount with the char-
acter of the plant, the moisture of the atmosphere, the in-
tensity of the light, or the temperature, wind, etc. ; or, in
other words, upon those changeable conditions that occur
between plants and their relations towards environment,
which are principally, in turn, the relations which find ex-
pression in the concrete term climate. It is hence difficult
to determine the average amount of this transpiration ; but
we can readily determine the amount of water thus given off
by individual plants under given conditions, and can readily
reach the conclusion of its enormous proportions and im-
portance. Prof. Boussingault * found that in the case of the
Jerusalem artichoke in a pot, each square metre of foliage
exhaled hourly 65 grammes in the sunshine, 8 grammes in
the shade, and 3 grammes at night. Wiesnerf found that
from 100 square centimetres of green maize leaf there were
transpired in one hour: in darkness, 97 milligrammes; in
difiused daylight, 114 milligrammes; and in sunlight, 785
milligrammes. In some experiments carried forward at
Rothamstead,! Sir J. B. Lawes reports that, from March
19 to September 7, the quantity of water given off by

* Popular Science Monthly, Jan., 1879, p. 365.

t Ann. de So. Nat. (6), 14, 1887. Goodale Phys. Bot., 278.

X Hort. Trans., 1850, p. 45.

40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

various plants, under different circumstances of manurial
application, were as follows : —

Each tiiiil. Grains.

Wheat, 3 plants, 55,996 — 113,527

Barley, 3 plants, 85,124—120,025

Bean, 1 plant (Vicia f aba), . . 112,231—117,869

Pea, 1 plant, 96,405—109,082

Clover, 1 plant, .... 13,671—55,093

At a later date, in 1871, he reports * as a summary of re-
sults attained, that " in the growing and ripening of either
graminaceous or leguminous corn crops, probably on the
average from 250 to 300 parts of water are given off for one
part of total dry substance, fixed or assimilated;" or, as
summarized later by a writer, f that for every ton of really
dry substance grown, a depth of three inches of rain would be
evaporated through the vegetation ; and this, let me remind,
is for England, with its moist climate and sunshine of little
intensity. Calculating from this data, we would have, in a
corn crop of 50 bushels, a total yield of about 4 to 5 tons of
plant, containing from 1,600 to 2,100 pounds of dry matter,
which, multiplied by 300, — for the maize plant is a great
evaporator of water, and the American climate is an intensely
evaporative one, — represents a loss, through exhalation, of
at least 240 to 315 tons of soil water per acre ; or, as an inch
of rainfall is equivalent to about 100 tons per acre, to an
equivalent of from two to three inches of rain.

Returning now to our illustrative analysis, we find that of
water and the other constituents usually reckoned as para-
mount in importance, viz., nitrogen, phosphoric acid and
potash, our estimated crop of 50 bushels of corn, in its
growing, removes from the soil, approximately: —

Water, 6,323 — 7904 lbs.

Nitrogen, 26— 33 lbs.

Phosphoric acid, .... 6-8 lbs.

Potassa, 22—28 lbs.

Let us now review the extent of evaporation from the soil.
In England, where, on account of the moist climate and rather
equable temperature, the yearly losses through evaporation

* Jour. R. A. S., 1871, p. 93.

t W. H. Wheeler. Jour. R. A. S., 1878, p. 15

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 41

from the soil, either directly or indirectly, are compara-
tively uniform, they are usually estimated in considering
the water supply of cities at from nine to sixteen inches of
rainfall ; in this country, with its drier and warmer climate,
they are very variable, but are found on the average to equal
about one-half of the rainfall ; or say from fifteen to thirty
inches of water.* The authority quoted, continues: "As
illustrating the difierence in capacity to absorb moisture of
the atmosphere of the two countries (England and America) ,
it may be stated, that the mean yearly evaporation from
water surfaces was determined by six years of experiment at
Whitehaven, England, to be 30.03 inches ; while experi-
ments lasting for one year at Ogdensburg, N.Y., showed
it to be there 49.37 inches, and at Syracuse, N.Y., 50.2
inches. Observations taken at Salem and Cambridge, Mass. ,
determine it at about 56 inches." In experiments with
water surfaces at Plaistow,f England, the rate of evapo-
ration was found to be 91.2 per cent of the rainfall, and
trials at Dijon, in France, gave the rate as 96.6 per cent of
the rainfall. At Orouo, Me., J evaporation from a water
surface during the period from May 20 to October 17, was
18.54 inches; and at Milwaukee, Wis., from March 15 to
November 14, as a five years' average, 32.58 inches.

From a soil surface, we have it stated by Dr. Dalton § as
the result of observations during the years 1796 and 1798,
in England, that the mean evaporation was 25.158 inches,
and for the six months, April to September, inclusive, 16.788
inches, the largest amount being 4.095 inches in July, and
3.386 inches in August. Later, Mr. Dickinson || determined
the average evaporation from a lysimeter for equal years,
1836 to 1843, as 15.320 inches, or 57.6 per cent of the rain-
fall. Other foreign determinations H are those at Rotham-
stead, the average of five years, 63.2 to 71.4 per cent of a
28-inch rainfall ; those at Geneva, Switzerland, 61 per cent
of a 26-inch rainfall ; those at Orange, France, 80 per cent

* Report of the Cochituate Water Board for 1873, p. 11.
t Jour, of Agr. 2d ser., xii., p. 400.

I Femald. Agr. of Me., 1869-75.

§ Mem. of the Lit. and Phil. Soc. of Manchester, v. pt. 11.

II Jour. R. A. S. 1856, p. 127.

H Scientific Farmer, Feb. 1878, p. 17 ; Feb. 1879, p. 15.

42

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

of a 28-inch rainfall. American trials have given the fol-
lowing figures as calculated for the Waushakum Farm lysi-
meter at South Framingham, Mass., from 1876 to 1878,
inclusive : —

1876, .

Rainfall.

43.88 in.

Evaporation.

89.2 per cent.

1877, .

43.22 in.

73.G per cent.

1878, .

54.36 in.

83.0 per cent.

or during the growing

months,

June, July, Au<

September : —
1876, .

Eainfall.

13.98 in.

Evaporation.

97.5 per cent.

1877, . . .

9.40 in.

98.8 per cent.

1878, .

15.08 in.

99.9 per cent.

The figures derived from the New York Agricultural Experi-
ment Station lysimeters,* from Aug. 1, 1882, to Nov. 1, 1887,
inclusive, show an average evaporation of 73.4 per cent of
the 23.724 inches of rainfall, being 85.4 per cent from sod,
70.7 per cent fi'om bare soil, and 63.9 per cent from culti-
vated soil. The average for June, July, August and Sep-
tember, growing months, was 84.04 per cent of the 11.84
inch rainfall.

From a few districts we have careful estimates of the
evaporation which takes place from large areas under natural
conditions, and such have been gathered together by Dr. S.
M. Babcock,f as follows : —

WATERSHEDS.

Years of
Record.

Rainfall,
Inches.

Evaporation,
Inches.

Evaporation,

Per cent of

Rainfall.

Lake Cochituate, Mass., .
Sudbury River, Mass., .
Mystic River, Mass.,
Croton River, N.Y., .

29
6

5
13

49.11

46.10

42.78
46.64

27.03
24.17
23.13
20.29

55.04
52.43
54.06
43.50

Mean, . .

-

46.16

26.35

51.23

As Croton River flows mainly through a sparsely settled
region, and the other watersheds are in a populous and

* Report of N. Y. Ag. Ex. Sta. for 1887, p. 397.
t Report N. Y. Ag. Ex. Sta. for 1887, p. 389, et seq.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 43

cultivated region, the figures for evaporation may be con-
sidered as approximately similar for the several localities.

We may now review our scientific data, by stating the fol-
lowing propositions as approximately correct : —

1. The amount of water contained in one corn crop is 70
times that of the nitrogen and ash constituent, and amounts
to about 79 per cent of the weight of the plant.

2. The amount of water transpired from one corn crop
during its growth is equivalent, at the least, to from 2 to 3
inches of rainfall.

3. The amount of water lost from the soil through evap-
oration during the growing months is over 98 per cent
of the rainfall at South Framingham, Mass., and over 84
per cent at Geneva, N. Y., as measured by the lysimeters ;
or allowing for surface drainage, which occurs on natural
areas, is probably at least 100 per cent of the rainfall or
more. For the year, from natural areas, this loss is over 50
per cent of the rainfall ; as measured by the lysimeter in
Massachusetts, about 82 per cent of the rainfall ; at Geneva,
N. Y., 73 percent.

Passing now to practical data, which may wisely take the
form of propositions, as being verifiable by common experi-
ence, we may note as of importance for our purpose : —

1. The variation of crop as between difierent years is far
greater than occurs the same year between different fields
diflferently fertilized, under conditions of fairly good farm-
mg, thus proving the importance to farming of the condi-
tions generally included under the concrete terms, season and
climate.

2 . The variation in crop between difierent fields of similar
treatment is manifestly dependent on the soil relations to
moisture, as may be readily verified by careful and intelli-
gent observation and trial.

3. The conditions of climate (or season) which principally
affect the crop, as recognized yearly by farmers, is the
greater or less amount of rainfall, as the farmer construes
his observations ; or, as the more observant man construes it,
the distribution of the rainfall, and the extent of evapora-
tion. (August, on the average, is the month of greatest
rainfall, and usually greatest drought.)

44

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jt

4. In regions where there is less available water for the
growing crop (not necessarily a small rainfall) there is found
to exist the practice of more distant planting, and fewer
plants to the hill, than where the conditions of water supply
are more favorable. This may be illustrated practically by
the 5 by 5 feet intervals and single plants to the hill practiced
in the seaboard South, and the 3| by 3|^ feet intervals and
four plants to the hill of New England practice, or experi-
mentally by the following record of trial at the New York
Agricultural Experiment Station,* 1882 being a dry and
1883 a moister season : —

COEN.

Yield pke Acre.

Method of Plantikq.

1883.

1883.

Hills 2 by 2 feet, 4 kernels to a hill, .
Hills 3^ by 31 feet, 4 kernels to a hill.

7 bush.
49| "

28J bush.
491 «

The corollary from this table, which experience confirms,
I shall digress to state as a fact, viz : That in Massachusetts,
with a rainfall of 45 inches a year, it is as easy to grow one
hundred bushels of shelled corn per acre, as at Geneva,
N. Y., with its 25 inches of annual rainfall, it is to grow
seventy-five bushels, and this irrespective of the fertility
of the soil.

5 . Weeds are great evaporators of water. By trial I have
found that a weed crop may be absolutely incompatible with
a corn crop, the corn crop showing in its curled leaf, stunted
growth and yellow color indications of suffering from
drought, and not bearing any merchantable ears. In the
experience of farmers such evidence becomes graded, and
can serve as a less intensified illustration than the one
quoted.

The summary of this practical data is that crops, under
circumstances of intelligent farming, are more dependent
upon the water supply for their maximum increase than
upon any other single agency.

Report N. Y. Ag. Ex. Sta., for 1883, p. 137.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 45

My audience will now discover that I class water as one
of the paramount fertilizers, but before continuing I desire
to caution that within the limits of an address I cannot
present the lis^hole evidence, or treat the matter as I would,
and hence use but one crop, the maize crop, as illustrative.
I propose to only go far enough here to excite interest and
thought, and after making my propositions probable, pro-
ceed to the practical point of how to grow a crop under the
best auspices for success ; how to utilize this fertilizer which
nature pours down and lifts up to each surface ; how to
retrieve from abundance to secure against the calamity of
want. I would again remind that not only is water a com-
ponent of plants, but it is a conveyor for plants, bringing to
them matter in solution, which goes towards building up
structure, and acts as a conveyor within the plant, so that we
may say that it is the life, in the sense that we say the
blood is the life. I would also remind that deserts are
usually such, not from lack of elements of plant food, but
through aridity, as is evidenced by the results of reclamation
through the agency of the irrigation ditch or the artesian
well in Algeria, our western plains and elsewhere. And,
while digressing, I may as well remind you that all arable
soil contains the fertility requisite for multitudes of crops,
and that under artificial conditions under which water rela-
tions can be controlled, crops can be raised indefinitely, as
in China, Japan, India, Palestine, etc. Where irrigation is
practiced the average crop seems to have held its own for
hundreds, even, perhaps, thousands of years of continuous
culture under the trained art of native husbandmen.

It is now necessary to consider the movement of soil
water, and in doing this I shall draw largely upon the data
accumulated at the New York Agricultural Experiment Sta-
tion, under my own supervision, and under immediate
charge of Mr. E. S. GofF, the horticulturist.

As a general rule, the water content of the soil increases
as we go downward, and the undersoil thus furnishes a grand
reservoir of moisture which is available for the return of
water to the surface through the action of capillarity, when
not too remote, and when conditions are favorable. The
great loss of water to the soil is through drainage and evap-

46 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

oration. The first is usually of little consequence for our
present reriew, except in its absence, for cultivated soils
should be well drained, either naturally or artificially. The
second is of great import, as the loss through e*^^aporation is
greatly in excess of the loss through percolation (if percola-
tion can be considered a loss to the crop), and this our
figures heretofore given are sufficient to prove. We may
state, however, that the water which flows from drains dur-
ing the growing season in our climate is rarely the water of
immediate rainfall, but that of displacement, or more usually
that of the water-table, to which drains may be considered
as standing in the relation of an overflow. At Geneva, N.
y., the water-table in 1887, as measured by the depth of
well water from the curb (the well, happily for our purpose,
being situated on a swell of land which carried the soil sur-
face below the depth of the well bottom at a distance of a
few hundred feet in each direction), was 4 feet 2| inches
below the surface on May 1 , 6 feet 10 inches on June 1,
9 feet 2 inches on July 1, 10 feet 5| inches on Aug. 1, 11
feet 3 inches on Sept. 1, 13 feet 4^ inches on Oct. 1, and
15 feet 4 1 inches on Nov. 1, soon after which date the dis-
tance gradually decreased. This water-table was unaffected
by the rainfall during the growing season. Capillarity, as
measured by soil in tubes (a far less satisfiictory way than
in natural soil, but far more certain for experimental pur-
poses), was traced vertically 44 inches, and probably would
have extended farther had the experiment been designed for
this purpose, but slight breaks in the column are apt to
retard or terminate capillary progress. In natural soil, or
blufis along a shore, the base in contact with water, I have
noted the effect of capillarity in raising water apparently a
dozen feet or more. Horizontally the action of capillarity
carries water more rapidly and farther than it does verti-
cally. In nature capillarity brings an immense body of water
to the surface, to be removed as aqueous vapor by evapora-
tion, and in this manner, during some months, an amount of
water exceeding the rainfall of the month thus disappears
into the atmosphere. Evaporation is practically a surface
phenomenon, and may be checked in great degree by any
device that shall prevent capillary water from reaching the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 47

surface. The lysimeters at Geneva, N. Y., had for surfaces,
sod, bare soil, and frequently stirred soil. The first showed
evaporation and transpiration combined, the second allowed
the capillary water to reach the surface unchecked, the third
had the capillary pores displaced by stirring of the surface,
and thus retarded the flow of capillary moisture to the sur-
face. For illustration we will quote the figures obtained.
For the month of August, 1887, with a rainfall of 3.03
inches, in lysimeter No. 1, the sod, there was no drainage,
all the water of rainfall, and more, being evaporated and
exhaled, a good illustration of the drying influence of crops ;
in lysimeter No. 2, bare soil, the drainage was .695, leaving
2.337 inches of the rainfall as evaporated ; in lysimeter No.
3, cultivated soil, the drainage was 1.055 inches, leaving of
the rainfall 1.977 inches to be calculated as evaporated.
Thus 2.337 inches, minus 1.977 inches, leaves .360 inches in
favor of the cultivated area. This .360 inches means 9,775
gallons of water per acre conserved. In 1886, under different
conditions of rainfall and climate, the difference between the
two lysimeters was even greater, indeed enormous, and offers
convincing proof of the efficacy of cultivation in conserving
moisture at a time when moisture is most needed by the
crops — it was 4.11 inches, or 111,607 gallons per acre ; the
rainfall being 2.86 inches. In 1885 the difference in amount
evaporated between the hardened and the stirred soil was
.208 inches, or 5,648 gallons per acre, with a rainfall of 5.02
inches. In 1884 the rainfall was 1.44 inches, the saving by
the process of cultivation not indicated by our apparatus,
as there was no percolation from either lysimeter, but in
September, with its 3.17 inches of rainfall, the effect of cul-
tivation was seen in the greater recovery of the stirred lysi-
meter from its extreme dryness and the saving of 6,707
gallons per acre. In 1883 the saving by cultivation for the
month of August, with 3.47 inches of rain, was 10,671
gallons, and in 1882, with 2.37 inches of rainfall, was
11,948 gallons of water per acre. I offer these figures in
quite full detail, as the importance of the saving is so great
that I would impress the fact of the saving, and its possible
enormous proportions, upon the minds of all, and having
offered the explanations and the facts, I would enforce the

48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

practical conclusion that cultivation, or the stirring of the
upper layers of the soil, breaks capillary connections with
the evaporating surface, and thus retards the loss of water
and conserves the water for crops, which, as I have already
shown, require a really enormous supply, and whose yield is
dependent very largely on this supply. Cultivation is a
mulch, and it conserves water, as our above figures show,
and this is important to remember, much more in a drought
than at other times.

Capillary action is exerted inversely in proportion to the
diameter of the tubes or pores, and is stopped at once by a
crack or space which interrupts the continuity of the capillary
tubes or pores. Hence, in soil, the rate and distance of the
action is regulated by the size of the pores in the soil and
their abundance, and is checked by any loss of continuity.
When water stagnates in the soil the earth particles are
liable to come into close contact, the soil may become, if
trampled, puddled, as we say, and hence the water of the
soil may move rapidly towards the surface and disappear as
aqueous vapor. This explains, in part, why undrained clay
soil in cultivated fields sufiers so severely from wetness in
spring and drought in summer ; this ofi*ers valid reason for
the usefulness of drainage ; this explains, in part, the appa-
rent paradox that drained soil in summer often contains more
water in a drought than does like soil that is undrained, a
fact which at one, at least, of our experiment stations was
considered so unorthodox that it became the subject of
experimental trial and ivas demonstrated. In ploughing, the
turned soil does not rest in close contact with the under soil
until consolidation is effected by rains, etc., and the dis-
turbed section gives of its own moisture to the atmosphere
and regains but little from the stored water below. In the
spring, when water is abundant and evaporation compara-
tively slight, no ill effects are perceived In the summer,
however, with shallow ploughing, it is often difficult to
secure germination of grass seed, or the continued life of the
weak seedling, as the water from the disturbed soil is quickly
evaporated and little additional supply can reach it by
capillarity from the water stored below. The turning under
of raw manure by the plough tends to form a strata discon-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 49

nected from the surface compressed by the plough sole and
the inverted surface. This is injurious to capillary action
for a long period ; and thus, during the dry season of the
year, the ploughing under of raw manure is followed by a
dryness of the workable soil which injures it for the recep-
tion of crops. This may be illustrated by the difficulty
realized in securing growth of strawberry plants that are
transplanted upon what is called a thoroughly prepared plot
in August, or upon land to which rather long manure has
been applied ; and the success which follows such trans-
planting when, by means of a roller, or by trampling, the
soil thus enriched or fined is closely compressed, and thus
brought into close capillary union with the lower undisturbed
soil.

The theoretical conditions under which, with proper cli-
mate, the best plant growth takes place, for cultivated plants
at least, is the conjunction of the best physical condition of
the soil as regards relationship to water, and the permeability
to plant roots with sufficient fertility. Thus, in greenhouse
culture, the florist cannot use soil that is loose in the pots ;
but he carefully compresses it so as to bring the particles
into closer contact, and carefully avoids wetness during the
process so as not to puddle his soil, and thus render it im-
permeable to roots and too evaporative of water ; he uses
a mixture with sand, and crocks l^elow, in order to obtain
proper drainage and permeability to water. He seeks to ob-
tain those conditions whereby his soil shall never become
unduly wet with stagnant water, never unduly dry, always
permeable. In the larger culture of the garden and the field
the same conditions of soil are desirable, although too diffi-
cult to regulate so perfectly. We can, however, by our
processes and their proper timing, approximate sufficiently
towards this condition to secure a gain.

We have thus far presented our illustrative facts, and the
thinking whereby we have connected them in a measure with
what we consider reasoned truths, adapted to practice and
verification. We have, however, dealt with what may be
called the mechanical consideration ; but we would not have
it inferred that this covers the whole field, for the chemical
consideration also is of some large importance. Professor

50

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Johnson,* in 1871, said that a German investigator found
that when a small amount of plaster, common salf, sulphate
of soda or nitrate of soda, was incorporated with the soil,
the quantity of water evaporated by the plant was re-
duced, in some cases, more than fifty per cent ; and when a
free alkali, like potash, was added, the quantity was also
very strikingly diminished. In 1850, Sir J. B. Lawes'f
trials showed a striking difference in the amount evaporated
by certain plants on mineral manure, mineral and am-
moniacal manure, and on unmanured soil, as follows : —

KIND OF PLAirr.

Total Watbb qivbn off bt

Unmanured
Plants.

Plants on Min-
eral Manure.

Plants on
Mineral and
Ammoniacal

Manure.

Wheat, 3 plants.
Barley, 3 plants,
Clover, 1 plant,

Grains.

113,527

120,025
55,093

Grains.

98,006
128,354
53,723

Grains.

55,996
85,124
13,671

These figures correspond with the German results as
stated by Professor Johnson. But Sir J. B. Lawes,| at a
later date, shows certain modifications produced by fertilizer
upon the water relation of the soil. On the plots where
nitrate of soda was employed continuously year after year,
the soil apparently retained very much more moisture, and
presented other interesting physical characteristics, differing
from those obtained on adjoining land. In some experi-
ments by Professor Roberts, § at Cornell University, a mix-
ture of salt and plaster was added to some soil in pots on
July 11, and on August 16 the moisture in the soil was
determined in the laboratory, with the result of finding in-
creased water content in the soils to which salt and plaster
had been applied. Other illustrative facts might be noted,
and I think the observant person can readily adduce in-

• Ag. of Conn., 1871, p. 240.

t Hort. Trans., 1850, 45.

t Jour. R. A. S., 1871, p. 104; 1873, p. 370.

§ Proc. of the Soc. for the Prom, of Agr. Science, 1888, p. 60.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUJMENT — No. 4. 51

stances when salt or plaster or sulphate of soda or fertilizer
has appeared to act beneficially as regards influencing the
moisture in the land, always remembering that, unless the
season be exceptionally dry, such observations can scarcely
be successfully made. It is sufficient for my purpose here
to simply call attention to this point.

I will but refer to the property that clay has of swelling
when wet, and shrinking as it dries, by which it often so
clogs the pores as to obstruct the capillary passage of water.
The application of lime, or salt, or alum to water which will
not deposit its sediment (settle), causes the clay to shrink
at once and fall to the bottom ; and it is believed that the ap-
plication of these or other saline materials to clay soil often
improves the drainage and capillary powers, by causing the
clay to so shrink as to open the pores of the soil, when
clogged, to the passage of capillary water. Professor Hil-
gard of California has well treated this subject under the
title of flocculation.

We have now thought and talked science, a little discur-
sively perhaps, as is becoming to the audience. We will
now talk practice ; and, in line with our preceding remarks,
taking for our illustrative crop the corn plant, will put into
plain form the information how we should gi'ow, or attempt
to grow, a crop, the maximum for the fertility present, and
oflfer certain explanations as we proceed.

First, we desire well-drained land ; the reason wherefor is
that stagnant water is injurious to growth, and so also is
overmuch water. Then undrained land (and this is very
important to consider), especially if clayey, is apt to become
puddled, as it were, and hence to dry excessively during the
droughty season, as we have before stated. What the crop
requires in soil, for its best development during the growing
season, if I may make a distinction, is moisture, not water.
Drainage keeps the water table from rising above the drains,
and thus preserves the soil above the drains from all but
percolating water of rainfall and capillary water supply.

Commencing with suitable soil, we would manure or fer-
tilize broadcast, and plough shallow, for reasons which I
have given in a previous lecture, to be found in the twenty-
eighth annual report of the secretary of the Massachusetts

52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Board of Agriculture in 1881. The land should then be
thoroughly harrowed, for the purpose not only of levelling
and smoothing, but also in order to consolidate the surface
soil and bring the particles of earth into closer contact (as the
florists does in his pots by pressure), fill up the cracks and
prepare for the next implement, which is the roller. This
should be used thoroughly, in order by its pressure to restore
the capillary contacts with the undisturbed soil below,* so
as to secure the access of capillary water. These operations
to be performed while the land is in a sufficiently dry con-
dition not to puddle or cake.

Now plant your seed (under average conditions the earlier
planted crop yields the best) , the distances and quantities as
enjoined by local experience, but in covering the seed be sure
to either step on or otherwise compress the soil about the
seed in order to secure close contact of the seed and soil.
This not only aids to secure moisture for germination, but
obliterates cavities in which mould can grow, to the destruc-
tion of the seed, and in early planted seed which is long in
germinating, mould is usually very destructive. I will not
speak here of seed selection and variety, or of the import-
ance of good seed, as this matter has been sufficiently treated
of by me elsewhere, and offers sufficient material for extended
remarks.

At the season of planting there is always sufficient moist-
ure, so the field can now be safely left, but in a condition, it
is true, for great evaporative loss of water. As soon, how-
ever, as the plant attains the proper size, and the earlier the
better, put in the cultivator and thoroughly stir the soil so
as to break the capillary connections with the surface and
prevent by the mulch of loose soil the access of water to the
surface to be evaporated, and thus economize the water in
the lower soil for future needs. Remember, a proper culti-
vation is irrigation 1 The succeeding cultivations can properly
follow no definite intervals. The object is to conserve
moisture, and hence whenever through rain or otherwise the
surface hardens and establishes surface connections to the cap-
illary pores, put in the cultivator and re-establish the mulch.

♦ A heavj' rain after harrowing and before planting, or just after planting, Is often
of great service, doiiij; the wnvk of the roller, but more etflcicutly.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 53

Get rid of the idea that the object of cultivation is directly
to destroy the weeds and thus prevent their robbing the soil
of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash that they appro-
priate. The object in destroying the weeds is to prevent
their robbing the soil of water, for this fertilizer robbery that
has been so magnified by some lecturers can readily be offset
by a few handfuls of extra fertilizer, but to replace the water
thus lost would require barrels and team labor. After the
ears of corn have commenced to glaze, even have just passed
out of the milk, the requirements are dryness for the proper
maturing of the crop, hence, the last cultivation can theoret-
ically cease at the period when practical experience says
stop on account of the obstruction caused by the large
growth of the plant. At and after this period weeds may be
of no disadvantage, but help dry the soil, and after the last
of August, in this climate, with early planted corn, it is
probable that the corn plant matures its grain from the
material already stored within its tissues. Late weeds also
act in part as a green crop to pick up nitrogen and conserve
it against the percolating rains of autumn and winter, and
this green crop, when ploughed under the following spring,
is ready through decay to release this saved and stored
nitrogen to the succeeding crop. In the Middle South and
South the value of late weeds is such that in localities the
sowing of weed seed at the last cultivation could be wisely
recommended did not nature usually usurp the privilege
from her abundant stores.

Following the plan of m}'' essay, I may add parenthet-
ically, as it were, that in raising the maximum crop which I
have figured on, I would by preference use at least some
artificial fertilizer, for the reasons offered, by which we may
believe that chemicals have an influence upon the economiz-
ing of the water content of the soil, but, for the same reasons
I have given before, I shall not dwell further upon this
branch of my subject.

After this presentation I may rightfully appeal to the
thoughtful intelligence of my audience to corroborate or deny
the practical conclusions from their oft-repeated experience.
Let the question be honestly asked, are these things true,
are they properly noted, are the arguments valid, are they

54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

in accord with an educated, practical common sense? If the
answer is yes, then agree with me that my title is a proper
one, that brains with ivater, and, as we all know, nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash are the paramount fertilizers for
the farmer ; but the greatest of these is brains.

Mr. West of Hadley. I understand the lecturer to say
that cultivation in a dry season preserves the moisture, but
I do not understand whether when the ground is too wet for
the crop, to cultivate or not.

Dr. Sturtevant. Leave the ground uncultivated, and
the water will evaporate very rapidly from the surface.
Take the vineyards in the western part of New York. You
will find a difierence of opinion among managers of vine-
yards differently situated. One man will argue very strongly
the importance of leaving the weeds to grow in the vineyard ;
one will have the seeds of thistles among his vegetables, and
at the same time he is combatted by others, who say you
must keep the vineyard as clean as possible, and I feel there
should be some circumstance which would reconcile their
diverse judgments.

Mr. AVest. I did not understand whether you said late
hoeing the corn was beneficial or injurious to the crop.

Dr. Sturtevant. I did not speak of it at all, sir. I
spoke only of the first cultivation, the following ones to be
governed by the condition of the land, and not by any definite
empirical rule. In many southern states it is the practice,
and recognized as a rule in cotton culture, to cultivate after
the rain, always after the rain, and not at other times.

Mr. Augur of Connecticut. What is the idea of sub-
soiling? Has it any relation to drainage and cultivation,
on tenacious soils?

Dr. Surtevant. Subsoiling appears to be a simple and
local application. I have seen places where subsoiling was
injurious when it was expected to be beneficial. I do not
think the question permits generalization. Wherever subsoil-
ing puts the land in the condition you want, it is beneficial ;
and if it docs not put it in that condition, then it may be injuri-
ous. Without seeing or studying the soil, I could not speak
in general terms in regard to it ; l)ut loose soil is not advan-
tageous to any crop, and as all you gentlemen have experi-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 55

enced in your gardens, that if you transplant a plant into
land liglitly worked up, you will find that plant will stand
still for a long time, and will be of slow growth ; and the
gardener knows it so well that he always presses down the
soil in his pot. Now, when subsoiling makes such soil, it is
always injurious, as I have known any thing about it ; but
what we want is a close soil, not a ^oose one. It is a distinc-
tion not always recognized.

Mr. Ware of Marblehead. I would like to know how
far this theory of the doctor extends. Some carry it a great
deal farther than he does. I have heard it said that those
who have observed the effects, think it is beneficial to their
sparse land ; that is, land of a gravelly nature.

Dr. Sturtevant. I think I can give one rule which will
apply to nearly every possible case of that kind. Water
which stagnates in the soil is extremely injurious, as every
florist knows, and nearly everbody will know if he stops to
think. When you have a soil, no matter Avhether it is clayey
or sand or gravel, in which the water table rises to the surface
and stagnates on the soil, then that soil is benefited by draining.
Where the water table does not rise, then we have a natural
drainage which offsets the necessity of artificial drainage.

The chairman then introduced Mr. J. D. Avery of Buck-
land, Mass., who read the following paper on " Profit from
Sheep:" —

PROFIT FROM SHEEP.

BY J. D. AVERY OF BUCKLAND.

M)'. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I will say at the
outset that I was requested to treat my subject from a
practical standpoint ; this I will gladly attempt to do.

The interest in sheep farming, as the most of you are
doubtless aware, has been sadly on the decline in this State
during the past twenty years. According to the census of
1865 there were in this State at that time 160,997 sheep ; in
1885 the number had fallen to 55,170.

The object of this paper is to create, if possible, a greater
interest in this neglected, but to my mind, profitable branch
of agriculture.

The first question which naturally suggests itself is, what

56 BOAED OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

breed or kind of sheep shall we keep? For the average
farmer, who must depend largely upon mutton in some form
for his profits (since we cannot compete with the West in
growing wool), any of the Downs, or their grades, will fill
the bill if possessed of individual merit.

A grade Merino, if of sufficient size, makes a very useful
sheep, shearing more wool, and being hardier and longer
lived than the more open-wooled breeds. The pure-bred
Merinos have sometimes proved quite profitable, but they
are usually too small and not milky enough for raising good
mutton lambs. The long-wooled breeds are not so desirable
for this section, as they require a rich pasture, with heavy
winter feeding, and their open wool makes them unable to
endure the exposure of our cold, wet storms.

The size and inaJce up of the ewe for general purposes
should count for far more than her breeding.

The ram should be pure bred ; the particular breed will
depend somewhat upon the purpose for which the lambs are
intended. If early maturity is desired my preference would
be in favor of the Southdown. If lambs are wanted for the
fall markets, or the next winter's feeding, the use of a Shrop-
shire or Hampshire-down would probably give you lambs of
greater weight, and consequently more profit.

The best time to purchase sheep is whenever such as are
desired can be bought at a fair price. The month of August
is usually as good a time as any. Good breeding ewes can
be bought for about four dollars each.

In making purcliases leave the old ones for the next man.

The be.st plan for those who raise late lambs is to replenish
their flocks by keeping a few of the best ewe lambs every
year.

Do not allow your sheep to run out too late in the season,
for, while they may look plump, the grass is so injured by
frost that it will not furnish sufficient nourishment, a'nd your
sheep will surely run down unless fed a daily ration of grain.

House your sheep during the cold, wet storms of autumn,
if convenient.

See that the fences are well put up before the sheep are
turned to pasture in the spring. If they form the habit of
getting out of a certain pasture it is not an easy matter to

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 57

stop them ; but if those same sheep are moved to a pasture
where they are not acquainted they will very often lie quiet.

A brush, rail, board, or wire fence, three or three and
one-half feet in height, if made close enough, will usually
stop sheep ; but it will generally be necessary to top-pole a
stone wall, even if it is four feet high. If sheep are not kept
on both sides of the wall, the poles should not be placed
over the centre, but towards the side on which the sheep are
kept, this will make it much more difficult for them to climb
over.

If fences are properly attended to, and in season, there
will be very little trouble with unruly sheep.

Considerable has been said and written about the extermi-
nation of brush and briars in pastures by stocking them with
sheep, some of which the writer of this cannot indorse. If
any one thinks he can kill out foul stuff by stocking heavily
with sheep, and at the same time keep his sheep in decent
condition, without feeding them grain, he will get left; but
this can l)e done successfully and profitably, when the past-
ure is not too far away, by feeding grain daily, thereby
enriching your pasture, and at the same time ridding it of
-brush and briars.

Now in regard to the matter of sheep and dogs. Many are
deterred from keeping sheep through fear of the ravages of
dogs. I think this should not be so to any great extent.
To be sure, the dog law is not what it should be. We need
a law giving any one the right to shoot every dog found
roaming at large without a keeper ; but, since we cannot
get such a law, let us make the best of what law we have,
which provides a way whereby we can get fair compensa-
tion for all sheep killed, maimed, or tvorried.

If the selectmen or appraisers do not award sufficient
damages, appeal to the county commissioners ; and, nine
times out ten, they will do the fair thing by you. It is a
very rare thing for a selectman to appear before the board
of commissioners and oppose the claims of a person who has
appealed from his award.

Now, we come to the very important matter of winter care
and management. This, it will be necessary to vary some-
what, according as the ewes are expected to lamb early or

58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

late. If not due to lamb before April, good, fine, early cut
hay will be all the feed your sheep require until near lambing
time, when a small ration of grain, consisting of corn, oats,
oil meal and wheat bran, will be beneficial. On the other
hand, if you wish to feed a poorer quality of hay they will
need a small ration of grain from the time they go into winter
quarters. Right here is the stumbling block to some, in
the way of success. They somehow get the idea that
sheep can be wintered without grain and upon food which is
unfit for any other stock ; and, acting upon this theory, it is
no wonder that when spring comes and finds twenty-five per
cent of their flock dead they give up the business in disgust.
It is useless to expect something from nothing, but I claim
that there is no stock to which we can feed poor hay in con-
nection with grain and get as good returns as from sheep.

Give your sheep dry sheds, with plenty of windows for
light and ventilation. One very important item is to keep
the air pure and fresh at all times ; this will require close at-
tention and a good deal of ventilation on warm days.

Provide them with pure running water if possible, to
which they can have access at all times. The amount of
water which a ewe that is suckling a lamb will drink is
astonishing.

See that the water-tanks are kept clean ; especially will
these need looking after during the spring, for the sheep and
lambs will start for water with their mouths full of grain,
some of which will be dropped into the water, and in a few
days of warm weather it becomes putrid, making the water
unfit for any thing to drink.

Feed hay three times a day, and be sure that you are
regular in the time of feeding, then your sheep will soon
learn when to expect their feed, and after eating will be
quiet until time to feed them again. If the hay is fine,
feed them no more than they will clean up. Should the
hay be very coarse, what is left by the sheep, being freed
from dust, will make good feed for horses, especially those
that are inclined to be heavy.

Let one man have the entire charge of the flock if pos-
sible, and don't allow strangers to go among them, unless
that man is with them.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 59

The manure made by sheep (especially those which are
fed grain), makes one of the very best fertilizers, producing
a rank growth of any crop, and being very lasting in its
effects.

I will now make a few suggestions to those who are
engaged, or are about to engage in the early lamb business.

In the first place, be sure to use nothing but the best of
pure bred rams, and as I have said before, my preference is
for the Southdown ; the best are the cheapest. To illustrate
this, I will relate something which came under my own
observation, A few years ago a man with whom I am well
acquainted, bought a flock of fifty sheep in the month of
November ; they dropped their lambs during the months of
December and January. He did not know what the sire
of these lambs was, as the sheep came from a distance ; but
they were not first-class, being long-legged, with thin back
and light quarters. The next year he used a Southdown
ram, and the lambs from these same ewes were no more like
those of the year before than a Durham calf is like a Jersey
for veal purposes, and when ready for market were worth
one dollar per head more. This may be an extreme case,
but it will illustrate the point.

Feed your ewes a gill of grain a day, commencing when
they come to the barn, and if you wish to feed them
meadow hay and the like, give them a half pint or more.

When yeaning time comes, you will have but little
trouble if your ewes have been well fed and cared for up to
this time. They will have an abundance of milk, and will
be almost certain to own and care for their lambs. It is
poor feed that makes ^oor dams. The lambs will be strong,
and in nineteen cases out of twenty, they will get up and
suck without assistance in ten or fifteen minutes from the
time they are dropped.

Should a lamb in any way get badly chilled take him to a
warm room and give him half a teaspoonful of brandy with a
little milk and put him into a pail of quite warm water for
five minutes, then rub him dry and roll him in a hot blanket,
and when he has slept off the effects of his potations he will
be ready to take his rations in the natural way.

When the lambs are about two weeks old their dams

60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

should have an abundance of early cut hay and rowen, and
their grain ration should be gradually increased to a pint and
a half or a quart, consisting of corn, oats, oil meal, cotton-
seed meal and bran in equal parts by measure, to be given in
two feeds, the prime object now being to produce as large a
flow of milk as possible.

The lambs must have a pen into which they can go at all
times, and into which their dams cannot go. In this pen put
a little rack and a trough, and feed them the very best of
early cut, fine rowen and all the grain they will eat, which
will be a very small amount until they are a month old, and
will seldom exceed at any time a quart each per day. Their
grain should consist of one half old process oil meal and the
balance mostly cracked corn or corn meal, with a very little
cotton-seed meal ; there is nothing which they like better than
cotton-seed meal, but it should be fed sparingly.

Have the troughs made in such a way as to prevent the
lambs from getting their feet into them, and if there is any
grain in them in the morning clean it out before putting
in more. Keep the lambs growing every day until ready
for market. If they get a setback they will never fully
recover from it. The aim should be to force them along just
as fast as possible, for the younger they can be made to weigh
sixty pounds (which is the standard) the better price they
will bring and the less it will cost to raise them, consequently
the greater the profit.

One advantage in raising early lambs is that it afibrds a
way to dispose of old sheep, and any others which it is not
desirable to keep for breeding purposes. My practice is to
put all such sheep in a pen by themselves, and feed them all
the grain they will eat ; then let them go to market with
their lambs ; or, perhaps, a little later, they will usually
bring enough, with the wool on their backs, to buy the same
number of good young ewes after shearing.

The most common way of disposing of early lambs, in our
section, is to sell them to dealers, who take them at the near-
est railroad station.

Another way, practiced by a great many, is to send them
by a commission dealer. Probal)ly those who are near the
city markets can dispose of them to better advantage by sell-
ing direct to the butchers or marketmen.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 61

Each one must decide for himself which is tJ\e better way.

My practice has been to sell if I could get a satisfactory

price, otherwise send them. I have never had occasion to

send more than one lot, and got more for them than I asked

the dealers.

The average price of good, early lambs is not less than
$7.00, and of wool 20 cents per pound, in the dirt.

I will now give you a few figures, and then you can judge
for yourselves in regard to the profit from sheep. For con-
venience in reckoning we will take ten ewes and figure as
follows ; —

Dr.
To cash paid for ten ewes, ...... $40 00

" three tons hay at $10.00 per ton, . . . . 30 00

" cash paid for grain, 20 00

" hay and grain for lambs, 10 00

" service of ram, 2 50

" summering ten ewes, 7 50

" losses, estimated at five per cent, .... 2 00

Total expense; the manure balancing the labor, $112 00

Cr.

By ten ewes at $4.00 each, .
" ten lambs at $7.00 each, .
" sixty pounds wool at 20 cents.

Total receipts, .
Deduct expenses,

And we have a balance of

$40 00
70 00
12 00

$122 00
112 00

$10 00

This statement is a moderate one. Some do much better
and get eight and even nine dollars per head for lambs,
which would make the balance thirty dollars instead of ten
dollars. On the other hand, some who have had a large
experience claim that sheep can be kept for considerable
less than the above estimate. This, of course, would make
the showing still better.

Now, if there is any truth in these figures, is not this
branch of aofriculture deserving of our careful consideration ?
This question will apply especially to those who are raising
scrub steers and heifers at an actual loss, when they might,
by raising lambs, get a good " [)rofit from sheep."

62 BOARD OF AGIUCULTURE. [Jan.

Mr. . Mr. Cbairman, there is one thing that I would

add, and that is, that the manure in the sheep shed is packed
so tightly that you can leave it as long as you choose with-
out danger of its heating. This is quite an advantage.

Question. In feeding lambs, do you feed them fine or
coarse food?

Mr. Avery. I do not usually have mine ground fine.
The oil meal which I have is usually cracked. Sometimes,
instead of cracked corn, I give them corn and oats ground
together, or cracked corn mixed with whole oats. The
sheep I usually feed with whole corn.

Mr. Clapp of Easthampton. I would like to know the
most convenient method of feeding sheep, whether in man-
gers or racks, or any other way.

Mr. Avery. My method is to feed the hay and grain in
the same rack ; the bottom of the manger or rack is close
for feeding grain. Some have a sort of trough at the side
for feeding grain.

Mr. HiCKOx of South Williamstown. How many can you
keep together profitably ?

Mr. Avery. I do not usually keep more than twenty-five
or thirty in a pen together. I have had fifty or sixty, and
even more in a shed together, with only a partition between.

Mr. Hardeng of Deerfield. For years the theorists have
told us that all you need to do is to turn sheep into a poor
pasture and make a strong fence around it, and the sheep are
coming out fat. Now, any one who has kept sheep knows
better. It is a fact that a few sheep may be kept in a poor
pasture where you would not think of turning in anything
else, and they will do tolerably well ; but sheep want good
feed, and they will pay for it as well as any stock we have.
Three tons of hay for ten sheep is a liberal allowance. I
think it is full as much as they will eat with their grain, and
perhaps more.

Mr. Lyman of Southampton. I would like to know
whether sheep turned into flush feed will do as well as when
the feed is fed short.

Mr. Avery. I should prefer not to turn them into flush
feed. I think it best to turn them out in the spring, wheu
the feed is short.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 63

Mr. Parsons of Southampton. Is there any advantage
or disadvantage in keeping cattle and sheep in the same
pasture ?

Mr. Avery. I think, perhaps, the sheep will get the best
of it. [Laughter.]

Mr. Edwards of Southampton, County Commissioner of
Hampshire County. What is the fair average price of sheep
in Massachusetts? When sheep are destroyed by dogs the
selectmen prize them all along from four dollars to ten dol-
lars, and sometimes as high as twelve dollars.

Mr. AvERr. Well, I should say four dollars a head. I
do not think that the sheep in our town are appraised, on
an average, by the assessors at more than that. Mine are
not.

Mr. BowDiTCH of Framingham. I would suggest that
the value of a sheep that is killed by a dog depends entirely
on the time of year, and whether she is safe in lamb. The
value of the lamb, with the proper amount deducted for its
keep, ought to be added to the value of the sheep ; and,
according to Mr. Avery's statement, four dollars, which is
very moderate, would make it eleven dollars. If it was
later in the season, and had on four or five pounds of wool,
that ought to make a difference. His price is four dollars
just after shearing.

Mr. Avery. Yes, sir. I will say, in regard to all my
statements, that I intend ito keep within the limits of average
experience.

Mr. Sessions. I hope the audience will understand Mr.
Avery's estimate is four dollars a head when he starts with
them in August.

Mr. Harding. I think Mr. Avery has put the price low,
rather than high. I know a year and a half ago I had an
order to get fifty good young ewes at six dollars a head
to deliver, and I could not get them.

Mr. Searle of Northampton. I noticed that when the
gentleman came to balance his books he said nothing about
the item of the care of the sheep.

Mr. Avery. Yes, sir. The manure balances the care,
and that is very good pay. I would like to take care of
them for the manure if somebody would find the feed.

(U BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Mr. Clapp. I lost sheep for which I was awarded five
dollars a head. I went to Buckland to find some to replace
them, and I could not find any short of six dollars apiece.
Within two or three weeks men have been travelling about
the country to find breeding ewes, and could not find any-
thing they wanted short of ten dollars.

Mr. BowDiTCH. Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that,
from my experience, and from what I have learned in cases of
damage to sheep by dogs, I think the general feeling with the
selectmen is to give a liberal award. I have heard of very
little complaint. I believe the public generally are inter-
ested in the advance of agriculture in our State, and that for
the encouragement of sheep keeping they are willing that
the authorities should make very liberal awards for damages
done by dogs. The public recognize the fact that one object
of the dog tax is to provide money to pay for stock killed
or worried by dogs ; and as the dog fund is abundant, dam-
ages should be well paid for. This should be so, for it is
very discouraging to have the prospective income from your
flock cut off by a raid of dogs.

Mr. Taft of West Upton. After some eighteen years'
experience in appraising damages, I find the price awarded
by the selectmen seems higher than the price at which sheep
can be bought, and I asked one how that happened, and he said,
" when a sheep is killed by dogs they always select the best
one in the flock." Looking the matter up pretty closely, I
came to the conclusion that he was correct. They go for the
one that is ahead ; and the best sheep are always leaders. I
think the disposition of the selectmen is to make a fair
appraisal. But, after all, Mr. Chairman, I came to the con-
clusion that a man whose sheep were damaged by dogs did
not get paid, if they attack sheep when they are in lamb. If
they half kill the sheep it is good for nothing. The damage
to a flock by worry of the sheep is much more than is sup-
posed. I suppose the dogs in my section of the State are
worse than others. You can not raise sheep in Worcester
County. In my town there are fourteen sheep. I think in
the town of Grafton, where they used to raise quite a num-
ber, everybody has gone out of the business. They are wor-
ried to death by dogs. Every man pays two dollars. It

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 65

makes a pretty large tax for dogs, but it is paid freely ; yet
keeping dogs is death on sheep. I was down at the Vine-
yard two years ago. They can raise sheep there, as they
have no trouble with dogs. I found sheep there four or six
miles from any habitation. But we are overrun with dogs,
and it useless to think of our raising sheep. You may raise
them in Franklin County, but you have got to exterminate
the race of dogs, or they will exterminate the sheep. A
friend of mine in Sutton said they had some very nice flocks
there — rams they paid lifty dollars apiece for — and the first
thing the dogs took was the ram — the best one. I think
there is one man there that has been raided six times this
season. A friend of mine was drivinsj alonsr, and a doo;
came out and took his horse by the nose, and it did him
damage. His wife said, "You will get paid for that."
" No," he said, " I have got two dogs just as bad." I have
some neighbors that keep more dogs than they do anything
else ; but they do not feed them ; somebody else has to do
that. I would like to have a law passed authorizing any-
body to shoot a dog if running loose without a keeper.
[Applause.]

Mr. Peterson of Green Harbor. I would like to ask
some gentleman who is interested in the raising of sheep
what the best fence is to keep the dogs out and the sheep in.
That may help solve the sheep problem in a measure, at least
for those who would like to keep a few. I would like to
keep eight or ten myself, if I could do it safely, for my own
use.

Mr. Avery. I would not want to undertake to build a
fence to keep the dogs out ; but I do not have much trouble
in keeping the sheep in.

Question. What about the new method of fencing?
What about the barbed wire? Will the dogs go through
that, if it is high enough and thick enough?

Mr. Bartholomew of North Blandford. I have no doubt
that dogs do work mischief, but we must remember that
there are varieties of dogs as well as sheep. In our section
we have no better protection for our sheep than our dogs ;
but we keep thorough-bred collies, and when they are well
trained they are the best protection that we have for our

66 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

flock. I have one myself, and if a stray dog gets after my
sheep, he is after him pretty soon.

Mr. Clapp. Will a dog brought up with sheep kill a
sheep ? I have always had a dog, and never knew him to
attack a sheep.

Mr. West. That depends upon the kind of dog. I have
had both kinds, those that would kill, and those that would
not.

Question. I would like to ask Mr. Avery's experience
with dogs?

Mr. Avery. I have never been troubled to any extent
with dogs until last year. I had some eight or ten sheep,
out of perhaps three hundred, that were killed. This year
I have had no trouble with them at all.

Question. That is all the trouble you ever had ?

Mr. Avery. Yes, sir.

Question. No wonder you keep sheep, then. Do you
keep a dog?

Mr. Avery. No, sir ; never owned one.

Question. Do your neighbors ?

Mr. Avery. No, sir ; not the near neighbors.

Question. Do you have plenty of hunters round?

Mr. Avery. Yes, sir ; they are quite plenty.

Mr. Lyman of Southampton. I was about to ask a ques-
tion in regard to fattening sheep ; whether it is any advan-
tage to grind corn for that ?

Mr. Avery. I do not think it is. I do not think it pays
the cost.

Mr. Lyman. Do you not think it would pay to grind for
lambs ?

Mr. Avery. Well, in our section we do not practice
grinding corn for lambs ; we crack it.

Mr. Lyman. Don't they prefer the corn unground ?

Mr. Avery. Yes, sir ; and they will select the coarser
parts first. They seem to like to grind it themselves.

Mr. Abbey of Palmer. I would like to say a word with
reference to food for sheep. I do not know of anything so
profitable and economical for winter food for sheep as good
corn ensilage. Any one who has breeding ewes, and wants
a food that will produce milk, should use corn ensilage.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 67

You cannot grow roots at the same cost that you can pro-
duce ensilage. Lambs eat it at a very early age, and will
thrive on it.

Our experience this year has proved that dogs go for the
best sheep. The first week in September a dog went into
the pasture and caught the best buck lamb in the lot, a
thorough-bred Shropshire ; he was worth twenty-five dollars.
We sent our bill to the Selectmen for twenty-five dollars.
They said they would settle it for twenty dollars, because
that was the limit they were allowed without any appraisal.
We took the twenty dollars, whereas it was a loss of thirty
dollars to us. We sent off and got another one for twenty-
five dollars, and did not get so good a lamb.

I would like to give a little report here of a flock of sheep
which I had in 1886. Sixteen sheep in January cost $65 ;
lambs sold from this flock, |80 ; wool, $16 ; fifteen ewes sold
in September, $67.50 ; one sold at another time $7 ; total
receipts, $170.50; cost of sheep, $65, — leaving a balance of
$105.50, for keeping the sheep from the early part of Janu-
ary to the middle of SeptemJier the same year, 1886. In
September, 1886, 1 bought a flock of fifteen sheep for $67.50.
The following June I sold lambs, $84; wool, $20; other
receipts, $57.50 ; fifteen sheep valued at $67.50; receipts,
$171.50, — leaving a balance for one year of $106. In 1888
sheep have done equally as well as they did before. I have
an account of another gentleman. I know the facts to be as
stated. December, 1887, ewes cost $24; sold six lambs,
$36 ; other items of receipts and expense left a profit of $45.
These lambs were some of them only ten weeks old, and
weighed sixty- three pounds, for which the owner received
twelve cents a pound ; some of them came to seven dollars
apiece.

Mr. R,o^vLEY of Egremont. I would like to add a word
in regard to dogs. I noticed what the lecturer said in re-
gard to shooting dogs at sight. It seems to me that does
not cover the ground. The attack on sheep has generally
been in the night time and unseen. Six weeks ago I went
to a pasture to get my sheep. I found three dead sheep, two
more that were nearly so, and eight more that were bitten.
I called upon the Selectman that lived near by. Well, the

68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

result is, I shall send every single sheep of that flock to the
butcher as soon as I can fatten them. The flock that I have
been raising for some years is spoiled. When I was on the
board of selectmen we always put into the appraisal of sheep
the worriment of the flock, as near as we could get at it. It
is impossible to get it accurately. AVhen on the board of
commissioners, if that question came up, we meant to be
fair; as has been stated here, the general sentiment in
western Massachusetts is to be fair. It has come to this,
either the sheep must go or the dogs ; now, which is it? [A
voice, " dogs."] I say so, too. It is but a few years since
I bought a nice flock of thorough-bred Southdowns. I paid
eighty dollars for a yearling buck ; I paid two hundred
dollars for ton ewes, just imported, and I paid for four more
$125. I had not had those sheep at home two weeks before
I was aroused one night by my own dog in the horse-barn
barking. The buck and a few ewes were near the house,
and the l)uck was only bitten on the side, and that passed
off*. In less than a week the dogs were in three flocks the
same night; and, in one flock of seventeen, thirteen were
killed. It broke up the flock entirely. Well, I tried that
for a few years, and I found it unprofitable on account of
the dogs ; I either had to keep my sheep shut up nights, or
else watch them. I had had no sight of the dogs. I then
disposed of the Southdowns and commenced with Merinos.
If I cannot grow sheep for mutton I will grow them for the
wool; and that is what I am doing now, and it is a step
down. Several of my neighbors are doing the same also.
It has come to the pass that we must give it up or must
have some way to control the dogs. Now, shooting them at
sight is well enough if we can catch them at it ; that is im-
possible in the night. I would have the dog tax made ten
dollars instead of what it is now. The trouble spoken of
here is not from the class of dogs that guard the sheep ; it
is a mongrel dog that generally comes from the city. A
thorough-bred dog I never knew to attack a sheep, unless he
was led off' into bad company ; and I believe a tax of ten
dollars, and that law enforced, would go further toward in-
creasing the number of sheep than anything else, and I do
not believe there is anything wrong in it. The persons who

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 69

keep these dogs that kill sheep are generally irresponsible,
pecuniarily, when you trace them out. They are not people
to pay the damage, if they were prosecuted, and unless steps
of that kind are taken, why we must abandon sheep raising.

Mr. HiCKOX of South Williamstown. I am glad this sub-
ject has come up to-day. I have had the same trouble in
our own section. The hills in western Massachusetts used
to be covered with sheep, four hundred and five hundred in
a flock ; but to-day we find no sheep in our town. The men
who used to keep sheep have their pasture idle ; they are
paying taxes on it, and are struggling along with their farm-
ing, and getting no benefit from it ; and, if you ask them
why they do not stock the pasture with sheep, they will tell
you they are afraid of dogs. The dogs are here, the dogs
are there ; and must we give up the sheep industry on ac-
count of the dogs? I think this is a question worthy of
being considered, and that we should not go away from here
and forget it, but should see that there is a remedy pro-
vided this coming winter to protect the men that want to
grow sheep in our State, but dare not for fear of the dog.

Mr. Avery of Spencer. Speaking of dogs, our town was
overrun with dogs some few years ago, and farmers were
making bitter complaint on account of their losses. At the
annual town meeting Ave voted to increase" the tax to three
dollars, and it had a great effect in clearing out the little
yellow dogs. It had the effect of reducing dogs in our town
more than fifty per cent. I do not know whether we had
any legal right to do it or not ; but we did it, and have col-
lected it. [Laughter.]

Dr. Sturtevant. I have a friend who is extremely am-
bitious for foxes. He was a sheep keeper, and used to
expose strychnine among the sheep to kill foxes ; and he
said, " you would be surprised to see how many dogs I kill."
It is a matter of taxation, because I think the dog owners
have some rights ; and, in a Democratic region or Republican
region, we ought not to put on a tax which is oppressive to
the poor man and not to the rich. But I think if the sug-
gestion of the society be modified to allow all dogs to be
killed, not shot, when found on your own property, the
result would be jjood.

70 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

Mr. BoAVDiTCH. If we are not getting too for from the
subject of sheep, I would like to say I have spent a good
deal of time through two sessions of the Legislature on the
subject of the dog law, and I can assure you it would be im-
possible to procure any great change in the present law,
on account of the very strong feeling among the majority of
people about dogs. There is one thing that we have learned,
that in agriculture we have new weeds and new bugs for
every new crop we grow ; but in some way we get the best
of the weeds and the bugs. Now, I would have the sheep
inclosed securely. It is more trouble, and it costs more,
but it is very seldom a dog will jump over a picket fence,
particularly in the dark. I have kept three hundred to four
hundred sheep the last three or four years ; sometimes six
hundred or seven hundred ; I hurdle most of them at night,
and I have had, during the ten or twelve years that I have
kept sheep, two ram lambs killed ; and I assure you that, in
the town of Marlborough, which is a shoe town, we have as
many dogs as any town can boast of. It is the care and
watchfulness in keeping sheep which is needful to make them
pay, as it is in any other farm crop or farm animal we try to
raise. It will be some expense, in an outlying pasture, to
hurdle at night ; but if you have a large flock of sheep, it
will cost but a trifle per head.

Mr. Taft. I am opposed to dogs ; but I believe it to be
impossible to accomplish anything by trying to amend the
dog law, there are so many men who keep these dogs. I
think only about two years ago a man found a couple of
dogs with his sheep, and one of them was shot. I happened
to be upon the board of selectmen. I found the dog that
was killed. It was a shepherd dog, and somebody is going
to feel very badly when he learns his dog is killed. It
turned out that those two shepherd dogs came from eight
miles away from that pasture. You could not have bought
either one of those, dogs for one hundred dollars. One of
them was owned by a man who had just died. I do not
suppose his widow would have sold the dog at any price ;
she had the feeling that the dog was part of the family. It
is so throughout the State. It is not that class of dogs that
generally do the damage ; it is the mongrel dogs. Mr. Bow-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 71

ditch says you can hurdle the sheep. If he can hurdle them,
that is all right ; but farmers upon these hill-town pastures
would have great difficulty in doing it. If you want to raise
sheep and make it a success, as he does, you must have large
farms, and have a large number of help ; but where some of
us do not keep much help, the dogs beat us. But still I
agree with him, that, with the present state of feeling, you
cannot pass a law that is much more stringent than the one
you have now.

Mr. Grinnell of Greenfield. It is hardly worth while,
perhaps, to say anything more on the question ; but I am
going to give my testimony. I had the honor to be in the
Senate as the representative of the farmers of Franklin
county, and Gov. Long said to me, "Why do you not make
a law that will give you the protection you want?" I said
"it is utterly impossible." We prepared an amendment to
the present dog law. We could not make a new one ; but
the amendment was so simple that I had every expectation it
would pass, a4id I supposed that would be the first entering
wedge toward changing the law. The provision was, first,
when the injury had been done to a flock, the county com-
missioners should pass upon the testimony about it at the
first meeting they had, and not as now, in December.

Mr. BowDiTCH. It has been changed. It is all- right
now.

Mr. Grinnell. Very well. It won't hurt my story at
all. That was one. The other was simply to the efiect, that
when a dog was known to have killed sheep, the owner of
the dog should be prosecuted, — the county commissioners
should be obliged to prosecute that man for the value of the
sheep destroyed, and cause the dog to be killed. It is the
simplest thing in the world, and the county commissioners
can do it, but I do not think they ever did in this State. I
got those two amendments through the Senate, which is the
worst place in the world for such things, because it is farthest
from the people. But when it went into the House of
Kepresentatives, of all the scenes that were ever enacted,
those took the prize. A man got up and opposed the law,
a Boston lawyer, a dog-breeder ; and one, I am happy to
say, who afterwards skipped the State on account of em-

72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

bezzleraent or forgery, and has never been back since. He
attacked it ; talked a great deal without touching the ques-
tion ; said "the idea of killing a pet dog!" And he pic-
tured it in such a way that those fellows sat there with tears
running down their cheeks. Men went in there with the
intention of voting for this amendment. They were told
how the wife and children would feel if their dog was killed,
and they could not stand it. Women came into the com-
mittee rooms with their little dogs. Mr. Angell, the presi-
dent of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
met us and blocked our way every time. He thought it a
wicked shame that dogs should be killed ; but a few years
afterwards he changed his sentiments, so that now he is one
of the most violent anti-dog men.

I like to have Mr. Bowditch give us his advice, and we
will follow it as well as we can ; but in his great pasture,
with great breeding dogs, a mastiff that can chew a little dog
up, and with a man ranging round the premises with a
double-barrelled shotgun, of course he can do better than
others who have not such facilities.

Mr. Lyman. I imagine that the difficulty of sheep raising
in the hill towns of Avestern Massachusetts is not so much on
account of dogs as on account of the difficulty in keeping
sheep in your own pastures. The abandonment of so many
farms in our mountain towns has left a large tract of land
open ; and, by travelling over the hill towns in the purchase
of sheep, I find that is the greatest trouble. They do not
complain so much of the dogs as that there is no place to
confine the sheep, and so they have abandoned the keeping
of them.

Question. I would like to inquire if a person that loses
ten or fifteen sheep is obliged to find them all before he can
recover damages for them? He knows they are gone, and
he finds five, but the other five he cannot find. The select-
men say, " We shall not pay for the sheep you cannot find."
I know one man who hunted three days, but he could not
get pay for part of his sheep, because he could not find
them.

Mr. Augur. Mr. Chairman, I have been very greatly
interested in this paper and the discussion of it I think it is

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 73

exceedingly practical. I wish to allude to just one point to
which I think the speaker did not allude, which is an im-
portant one to those who keep sheep, that is the time of
shearing. Years ago there was an old adage : —

" If you shear sheep in May,
Shear them the last of May;
Shear them in June, —
You can't shear too soon."

Well, sir, in the latter part of my experience in keeping
sheep, I made the rule to shear the first of Miiy, and found
it decidedly the best ; and then if we had a cold storm I
would keep them shut in. In regard to dogs, we find in
Connecticut that the average agricultural society awards
more premiums to dogs than it does to sheep. It always
seemed to me that this is going in the wrong direction.
Well, Connecticut is hardly a wool-growing State now. The
business has been driven out by dogs ; and they not only
attack sheep, but also cows, and horses, and calves. A short
time ago I heard of a registered Jersey heifer, worth one
hundred dollars, that was so bitten as to be virtually spoiled.
I do not know but the owner can get damages ; but I rather
doubt it. I do not know that their law applies to anything
but sheep. But, in regard to the award by the selectmen,
I think the rule has been in Connecticut, that, while they
get the mutton value of the sheep, if a sheep is specially
valuable for breeding purposes, they do not get satisfactory
•damages. We find the average selectmen are not willing to
give liberal damages in the matter of fancy or high-priced
sheep. But we have in Connecticut, as you have in Massa-
chusetts, sheep in some of the back towns. We have a great
deal of land that is going to waste, and we might keep
thousands of sheep wdiere none are kept.

There is one point I want to allude to — a practical point.
There came very near l)eing a syndicate formed in Middle-
sex County, Conn., in which I live, for l)uying up three or
four continuous farms, and making a sheep ranch, inclosing
it with a barbed wire fence. I should hope that the idea
would be carried out ; for it does seem that where there is a
considerable tract of good sheep land, which might be put

74 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

together and fenced by a good barbed wire fence, there is
about the most practical protection of sheep I can think of.
In Connecticut the worry the owner has when a dog does
extensive damage in a flock almost always leads him to sell
out his flock and give up the business. I know of but one
man in our town that attempts to keep sheep.

Mr. Sessions. The object alluded to by the last speaker
is just what led to the selection of this subject. There are
so many thousands of acres in New England, which are prac-
tically running to waste, it would seem that sheep might be
utilized ; and I was hoping that we might get something
from this discussion bearing upon the matter ; and we have
got something from it. In regard to this matter of damage
from dogs, I have had a little experience which illustrates
this trouble that sheep owners have — and I think one thing
we shall see is the creation of a public sentiment toward
awarding proper damages for killing and maiming sheep. I
had a flock of say sixty sheep, and about the middle of
November the dogs got into them and killed fifteen, and two
were missing. The flock were as tame a ^ any cossets you
ever saw. My man could go into the field and lead them
from one field to another, or home and back again ; but after
this happened he could not get near them with a salt dish.
The sheep were wild, and the moment they saw a movement
they ran away ; and they have not got over it yet, and won't
iret over it. The chairman of the selectmen was called. He
had been a sheep owner. He chose two men, among the
best in town, farmers, owners of sheep, to come and appraise
the damage, and they considered it. They asked me at
what I valued the sheep. I said the whole flock at six dol-
lars a head ; but the best ones were killed. I do not know
why it was ; but it was the fact. Well, they looked it over,
and finally concluded to appraise the fifteen sheep that were
gone at five dollars and fifty cents apiece, which they thought
would be about fair. The two that were missing they
did not know were Idlled, and they could not appraise
them; and, if they should prove to be dead, why, they
thought five dollars a head was about a fair price, and the
excess would partly make up for them. Now, one that was
missing has been seen, but nobody can get anywhere near

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 75

her. I got five dollars and fifty cents for those that were
found and nothing for the worrying of my flock.

I had another experience with a chairman of selectmen
who is not a farmer. Dogs got among my sheep, and a
sheep had a lamb about half grown, and the dog bit the
sheep badly. The lamb I never saw. You can imagine
what became of it, but the lamb was gone and has never been
'seen. The chairman of the selectmen came and said, " I
can pay you damage on the sheep, and if you can prove
the lamb was killed I can pay you for him." Well, I got
nothing for the lamb. There is the trouble. The sentiment
of the State ought to be in favor of giving a sheep-owner
under these circumstances abundant damage, and I believe it
is. The law is for the protection of sheep, not for the sake
of taxing dogs. The real object is the encouragement of
sheep-raising. I think the sentiment of this meeting ought
to influence the chairmen of selectmen and the public gener-
ally to do the fair thing by sheep-owners. [Applause.]

Mr. West. My own experience happens to be something
like this : The middle of September or first of October the
dogs will get among my sheep and drive them out of the
pasture. The fences are good enough if they will leave
them alone ; but if a dog gets in there, the sheep will jump a
fence four and a half feet high, and will run right into my
mowing. Can I put them back and keep them in the same
pasture? No, sir ; it is almost impossible. They have got a
taste of that fresh feed, and they will get it. It is impossible
for me to get any damage, yet it is a damage to have those
sheep get in there, and I think other people must be dam-
aged in the same way.

Mr. Cruikshanks of Fitchburg. It occurred to me while
Mr. Augur was speaking about the plan that had been talked
of in Connecticut for inclosing a large territory for keeping
sheep, to mention the system they have in my native land,
in* Scotland, where shepherds are employed. It would be
very much cheaper to employ shepherds to herd the sheep
than to inclose three hundred, six hundred or eight hundred
acres in these hill towns to keep sheep.

Mr. T. S. Gold of Connecticut. I assure you I have an
interest in this matter of sheep and dogs. I would state

76 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

that this morning I mailed a blank circular to be filled out
with statistics upon the question of the number of sheep
killed by dogs in the State of Connecticut, and the amount
of damages, and various other inquiries with regard to the
number of dog taxes enrolled in each town. I mailed them
to every first selectman in the State of Connecticut, request-
ing a prompt return to me, that I might have some exact
statistics and facts upon that subject in the State of Con-
necticut ; so that you see I was interested in this subject of
sheep and dogs before I came here to-day.

I have been exceedingly interested in the discussion which
has taken place here. The very complete paper presented
here is simple and straightforward, and commends itself to
every one, and I would emphasize some of the points in it
While I do not believe sheep can tackle briars and bushes
and destroy them when the field is overrun with them, yet
there is no other means within our reach by which we can
control many of the noxious weeds that now infest our New
England fields We could better afford to pay something
for the use of a flock of sheep, when we want to eradicate
the white daisy, the ox-eyed daisy, the wild carrot, or some
other of those weeds. Sheep will not eat all kinds of weeds,
but some kinds are a choice morsel for them, and nothing
can be used so effectually to destroy them as a flock of sheep,
so that we must give the sheep credit if we keep them, and
one of the arguments for keeping them is their assistance in
cleaning out pastures. If sheep are turned out early and
kept there until the first of July, in two years they will clean
a daisy pasture so perfectly that you would not recognize
the field at all ; and the good grasses, the finest grasses and
clover, will be encouraged to take the place of the compara-
tively small-producing daisy.

Mr. BowDiTCH. I will indorse that.

Mr. Gold. This question of the dogs and the sheep is a
very troublesome one, and the best solution we can mahs of
it is to induce the farmers by some means to keep more
sheep. I believe that where sheep are kept in considerable
numl)ers, where there are a number of flocks about the
neighborhood or in a town, they are very much less liable to
ravages of dogs than where there is only a solitary dozen

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 77

sheep kept in the town. In towns where there are only a
few sheep kept, according to the statistics, they will surely
become food for the dogs ; but in a town where there is a
considerable number of sheep kept, there is less trouble. I
have always been a keeper of sheep, and my neighbors own
sheep, and always have. Well, I have had one or two
wholesale raids into my flock within my memory ; but the
last six, eight or ten years I have not lost a sheep by dogs.
Some of my neighbors have lost some. I think that the
formers shelter themselves (they are lazy and procrastinating
in their habits in regard to putting up their fences) under
this belief that it is dogs that prevent them from keeping the
sheep. I believe if they will rouse themselves to the im-
portance of saving these old pastures, and making them
worth something for keeping other stock in (and I consider
the sheep as helps in that direction) , and will put the fences
in condition so that they can keep the sheep where they
ought to be kept, and not starve them on these old pastures,
that they will overcome this difficulty, and we shall hear less
complaint that it is the dogs. But how can you expect, when
nine men out of ten in the community own dogs, and only
one man in fifty, or a hundred, owns sheep, that we can get
these dog owners to tax themselves any more for the benefit
of the sheep owner than they are taxing themselves now?
I think we had better hold on to what we have in that direc-
tion than to risk losing what we have by attempting to get
more. There have been a great many points brought up
here of exceeding interest to me, and well spoken of. The
speaker recommended cotton-seed meal as a food for sheep.
I have had a little suspicion in regard to the effects of it
upon a flock of ewes, and still I have no [)Ositive facts, you
may say, to condemn the article ; but, after feeding this
more freely than I ever did before, I had the worst luck with
lambs the succeeding springs, — fine lambs, at two weeks old,
suddenly dropi)ing ofl' and dying without any provocation at
all. I attributed it to having fed them with cotton-seed
meal, and I have refrained from using it since. I consider
it a very strong, stimulating food for sheep or milch cows,
and in the case of such cows there is danger in using; it. It
is the most dangerous feed our hired men feed on the farm,

78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

in my opinion ; and I would advise cautiousness in regard
to breeding sheep.

Mr. Sage of the " Homestead," Springfield. I believe, if
we are to bring about the salvation of our hill towns, it is
more by the use of sheep than in any other way ; and I would
like to ask Mr. Cruikshanks whether it is not practicable to
employ trained shepherds, with trained dogs, to watch the
flock. Suppose a syndicate should buy up a thousand acres
of Berkshire land, and fence it, and also provide a competent
shepherd, and make him responsible for the flock, — what do
you think of that ?

Mr. Cruikshanks. I should say, in answer to the ques-
tion, that I have had no experience in the matter. I left
my native land before I was old enough to have anything to
do in that way ; but I have read a great deal about it, and
I can distinctly remember seeing the shepherd driving his
sheep, with his short petticoat, plaid over his shoulder,
Scotch cap, and dog by his side. I can remember distinctly
all that ; and it may be in the memory of some how the late
Richard S. Fay brought a Scotch shepherd to this country
to herd his sheep at Glenmere, near Salem. I went to the
place and saw Mr. Fay at the time, and likewise the shep-
herd. It is the practice in Scotland, and it is the only way
that sheep can be kept there, because they have no fences.
On those large mountain ranges, sheep are herded in that way
by the shepherd and his dogs. One dog is worth a dozen
men. A dog understands just as well by a simple word
what direction to take, and he will bring the sheep all
together into an inclosure. One thing may be interesting
to this audience, and that is the test of a good shepherd
dog. There are prizes ofi'ered in Scotland for shepherd
dogs. Their trainer takes ten or a dozen sheep, and puts
them into a pen full of sheep. The prize is offered for the
dog that will go into that flock and pick out his own sheep
in the shortest time. A man with such a dog can herd sheep
on the mountain side.

Prof. H. E. Alvord. While at Houghton farm I em-
ployed a shepherd for the care of a flock of sheep rang-
ing from two hundred to four hundred in number. Sheep
for mutton, and early lambs should be kept out throughout

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 79

the pasturing season, put out early and kept out late on
, unfeneed hills. In Orange County, New York, just back of
West Point, there were no fences at all, or nothing worthy
of the name, and the sheep were cared for by the shepherd
and his dog. Beginning with early spring, it was neces-
sary for the shepherd to remain with the sheep most
of the day. As the season passed on he could leave his
flock for a greater length of time each day, leaving them in
charge of the trained dog, who remained with the flock.
The most of the season I think the shepherd was a milker.
He started out his flock with the dog, and remained until
after the milking, and then followed his flock ; saw it in
his pasture in safe condition, and left it again for an hour or
two in the middle of the day. We were not far from the
city of New^burg, within a few miles of several pretty good
sized villages and towns. There were plenty of dogs, and
small shee|) raisers in the same locality have more or less
trouble with dogs ; but in five years I had but one visitation
of that flock, and that was when both shepherd and dog
were absent. I think there were none killed, and only two
or three lambs bitten in the leg and rear. The shepherd is
the guardian of the flock ; but nothing less than a flock of
three hundred would justify the expense of the shepherd,
and of course there would be a greater profit when the flock
was increased to four hundred or thereabouts. But I have
no question in my own mind as to whether the suggestion of
Mr. Cruikshanks is a good one. The cheapest way of caring
for a flock of sheep is with a shepherd and dog. Part of the
time we had a dog so well trained that the shepherd was
unnecessary during the entire day. The dog would take the
flock to the pasture and remain with them throughout the
day, and bring them back to their fold. One dog will take
care of four hundred sheep.

Mr. Sessions. If we do not figure the profit higher than
the essayist did, we should have to have a pretty big flock
if we are going to keep a shepherd.

Mr. Sage. We all know that sheep cannot be profitably
raised near a city where hay is worth twenty dollars per ton ;
but we know we can find good sheep land within fifty miles
of this place for five dollars an acre, where hay can be bought

80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

from seven to ten dollars a ton, — good sheep hay. I con-
tend that such lands could be used in a practical and profit-
able way, if a man who understood his business could be
placed in care of the sheep. I am acquainted with parts of
Berkshire county where the land is good. It formerly kept
the owners in affluence. To-day, because of the western
fever, etc., the territory is almost depopulated. I know of
no reason why people who come to places like Lancaster and
Pittsfield should not go a little south and west and make the
hills bloom agahi. I do not look on farming with sentiment ;
but, where money can be made with sentiment, I say let us
do so ; let us improve those old hill towns.

Mr. Sessions. It is said it will cost too much to fence
this land. Now, 160 acres can be fenced witii wire, if you
run the wires on the trees, for $160, and for a square mile
only twice as much, or fifty cents per acre.

Question. How many wires ?

Mr. Sessions, Four wires.

Question. Will four wires turn dogs?

Mr. Sessions. I think so ; but another wire is only just
a fifth more. At present prices of wire, the material to
fence a square mile with four wires would cost $253.50 ;
with five wires it would cost $304.20. Provided you can
put it on trees, as you can in many places, it will cost but
little to string it. Now, the fence problem is wonderfully
simplified by barbed wire, and the gentleman who thinks he
cannot afford to fence the pasture has not investigated the
matter, as it seems to me, especially if he has got any trees
where he could hitch the wire. The essayist has had a good
many years' experience in keeping a large number of sheep,
and I would like to ask him, if he went into anything of this
kind, whether it would answer to keep a thousand sheep
together. If we should buy up a large piece of land and put
shec}) upon it, a thousand or two together, would such a
large flock do well together?

Mr. Avery. I think they would do well ; perhaps not
as well as they would in small flocks. I never had more
than a hundred in a pasture together. I do not see but
they do about as well as where only a small number are
together.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 81

Question. Would not two thousand sheep in a pasture
separate themselves into flocks of a healthy size ?

Mr. Avery. I think they would, naturally. I want to
say a word in reply to the gentleman who thinks that one
dollar a head is pretty small profit. Now, it seems to me,
if we can get one hundred cents on a dollar for all we pay
out for grain, and if we on the hills can get ten dollars a ton
back for hay fed in the barn, and pay for our labor, and
then have a dollar a head left, it seems to me it is pretty
good business. The estimate which I gave you was at seven
dollars a head for lambs. There are many which do much
better than that. I have myself sold one hundred lambs for
nine hundred dollars ; and those lambs were raised from
ninety sheep, which would give a profit of between two and
three dollars a head, instead of one.

Question. What does it cost to keep a ewe sheep for a
year, — from the first of May until the next first of May, —
and have her grow a lamb, feed her well, and a lamb which
at twelve weeks old would weigh sixty pounds ?

Mr. Avery. I think it was three dollars for hay and two
dollars for grain for the winter.

Mr. Gold. It would be just one-tenth of your estimate
on ten ?

Mr. Avery. Yes, sir. My estimate for the ten would
be seventy dollars — seven dollars a head.

Mr. . Why I asked the question was this : I have

a friend in Franklin County who makes a business of raising
early lambs. He has his sheep lamb in December and Janu-
ary, and he says he can keep his sheep from the first of May
until the first of May, and get pay for his hay at four dollars
a head ; and he has sold his lambs for years at eight dollars.

Mr. Avery. I have allowed in my estimate three dollars
for hay through the winter. I have hired sheep kept through
the winter for one cent per day, which would be not much
more than half the amount which I have allowed.

Mr. Sessions. The essayist has done just what I wanted
to bring out here — what a practical man can do ; and he has
shown that he can make one dollar a head on his sheep.

Mr. Peterson. There is one matter to be noticed — the
danger that attends the keeping of sheep in large numbers,

82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

and the diseases which they are in the habit of having where
they are kept confined. They huddle together much like
our poultry ; and I have found in poultry the larger the
flock the less profit. And, though I have no practical expe-
rience in keeping sheep, it occurs to me there must be con-
siderable danger from various diseases to which they are
liable in keeping them at certain seasons of the year without
proper ventilation. I should think that might be brought out
in a few words.

Mr. Avery. I have never had any trouble from those
diseases.

Mr. Sessions. The essayist urged that they should have
plenty of air and plenty of fresh, clean water.

The Chairman. He said that he fed them well and kept
them clean.

Mr. Avery. I once heard a man ask another who had
had considerable experience in sheep raising, what was the
best thing to prevent grub in the head. His reply was,
"plenty of grub in the stomach." I think there is a good
deal in that.

The Chairman. I have had a good deal of experience
with sheep, and a great deiil of observation. I undertook at
one time the breeding of Merino sheep, not in accordance
with the high ideas of Vermont men, but as a practical
thing ; and I secured a flock of two hundred and fifty Merino
sheep of good Vermont people, which fed on a pasture
within a mile and a half of the city of Salem. The pasture
is very admirably adapted to sheep-growing and sheep-feed-
ing. I found that it was very difficult for a man to succeed
with that class of sheep unless he was remote from the town,
and unless he understood thoroughly well the wool market ;
for the increase of Merino sheep for the mutton and lamb
market was so inconsiderable they could hardly be counted.
I have studied the business in Vermont. I used to go to see
a great raiser of American Merino sheep there. With regard
to the price of sheep, he once made to me an interesting
statement. As I went into his field, he had perhaps a couple
of hundred beautiful ewes, and he had in an adjoining pen
eight or ten rams. Anybody who has seen his flock of sheep
will remember what a charming object it was. The shape

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 83

of the female was perfect, and their thrift and condition were
as fine as any flock I ever saw. He said to me, " I have
just lost a young ram which was gored by an ox, and I was
offered the day before I lost him, eight thousand dollars for
the ram." I said it was a great loss. It was in the height
of the merino fever, I should say in 1864 or 1865. He said
it was ; " but," said he, " that lamb cost me three dollars."
Now, you can judge what it cost to raise a lamb in that State.
He was a careful and accurate feeder, always kept his sheep
in the best condition. He was in Vermont, where hay and
grain were comparatively cheap. I state tliat fact to answer
the question put by the gentlemen who asked the cost of
keeping sheep. The cost diifers according to the locality,
according to the place where hay has a market value, and
where grain is of value.

Now, I think the business of sheep husbandry may be
carried on profitably. I think so because the essayist says
so; and, if that is not a good reason, I would like to have
some other reason and a better one given me. He has just
told me that the sheep business is the main business of his
farm, that he has a flock of two to three hundred sheep. He
has told you that they are middle- wool sheep. He says that
he pastures some of them twelve or fifteen miles away from
home, and on a farm of three hundred and fifty acres he
makes the caring for two hundred and fifty sheep a profitable
thing to him. Now all I can say to the farmers of Massa-
chusetts is, what one man can do another man can do in the
same locality, or in an equally good one ; and, if the essayist
is not a specimen of a successful and wise farmer, I Avould
like to have the people bring up one that is. [Applause.]
I consider him a pretty good-looking agricultural youth in
the State of Massachusetts ; and, as he was reading his essay,
I remarked to the secretary he was a specimen of the kind
of farmer that I want to see all over this Commonwealth.
[Applause.] And I think he is entitled to that compliment
for the presentation of the sheep question in the way he has
done it ; and, when he says he has kept himself in the con-
dition he is in, and got his farm in the condition it is in, and
that he has done it with a flock of two hundred and fifty
sheep, with the addition of a small amount of cattle which
he pastures in the summer season, buying in the spring and

84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

selling in the autumn, I think if anybody wants to know
anything about sheep industry, he had better go to Mr.
Avery's farm and stay there until he has learned his lesson.
But we cannot all do that. Sheep husbandry is a good thing
as an adjunct to the farm. A farmer may not be able to
keep one hundred or one hundred and fifty sheep, but if he
is so located that he has protection against dogs, the addition
of sheep is always a good thing. It shows he knows how to
use his refuse hay, and that he is always sure in the spring
of the year of getting a little income from his sheep and
lambs that have not cost him a great deal of personal labor.
It is not like milking a cow, and feeding and cleaning her.
He is always sure of getting a little revenue from his sheep
and lambs, which is so handy to pay the taxes which are
sure to come in at that time. I think the sheep husbandry
stands where Mr. Avery puts it. And let me remind you,
wherever you see a first-class small farmer with a good home,
a good barn and nice outbuildings, you will be pretty sure
in the outlying regions to find that he has got a little flock
of sheep. Whether it is the taste or the thrift, or what not,
I have always found in these days, and surely in the older
times, that a few sheep always constituted an addition to a
farm that a wise and good farmer would always have. So
I would say, let us take heart on the sheep question. If you
want to go into it, go and learn a lesson from Mr. Avery.
If we want to teach it to the farmer, let us study the habits
of our ancestors, who always kept sheep in addition to the
cattle. The farmer's' work is of such a nature that every
opportunity should be improved, and all its strings pulled
for the profit of the owner.

Now, gentlemen, pardon me for putting in my wisdom on
the sheep question ; but I have studied it carefully, and the
advantage of it is just al^out what I have stated to you. Mr.
Sessions has reminded me over and over again that it is time
to adjourn, and I have resisted him until I can resist him no
longer. Lwant to say, as I must go to Boston to-morrow,
I have enjoyed this meeting amazingly. It has reminded me
of the old time when I used to meet with the Board fifteen
years ago and twenty-five years ago, and it seems to me I
am returning to my youth.

This meeting will now stand adjourned until 7.30 o'clock.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 85

The evening session was held at 7.30 o'clock, when, owing
to the illness of Mr. Wheeler, who was to have spoken,
President H. H Goodell gave his lecture advertised for
Wednesday evening. It is thought best, however, to print
the lecture of Mr. Wheeler in the place assigned to it in the
programme of the meeting.

LIFE IN JAPAN.

BY WILLIAM WHEELER, LATE OF THE AGRICULTrjRAL COLLEGE, SAPPORO, JAPAN.

In one of those curious and delightful legends of the
fabulous age of Japan, a mythical forecast of her recent his-
tory has been traced.

Amaierasu, the sun goddess, was the eldest heir of the
mythical pair by whom Japan was created and peopled.
Her younger brother, Susanoo, the god of the sea, was brave
and powerful, but turbulent; and, being fond of hunting, he
wantonly cast over her and into her sacred abode the reek-
ing products of his chase, and otherwise defiled her dwelling.
Angered by his rudeness, she indignantly withdrew, hid
herself in a cave, and closed the mouth by means of a huge
rock called the " stone gate of heaven ; " and, her fape being
hid, night and day were the same ; darkness and distress
prevailed.

To entice her forth, the eight million gods or genii met in
counsel on the banks of the " river of heaven " (the milky
way), and, consulting together, devised a plot. Some
piped before the mouth of the cave, others danced, and still
others played fanciful antics to tempt her forth, while Taji-
karo ("great strength"), the god of strength, was posted
in ambush hard by. The sounds of revelry touched her
curiosity ; and, tempted to see the sight, she pushed the
massive stone ajar and peeped out.

The stratas^em succeeded. "Great Strength" at once
clapped his hands, stamped his feet, braced himself for a
mighty effort, and seized and threw down the massive door,
while the gods drew her forth, and passed a slight but
effectual barrier behind her to prevent her return. Naturally
enough, it does not appear that she resented the audacity of
the gods ; on the contrary, she resumed her place among
them with evident satisfaction.

86 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Now, by an easy reach of imagination, in place of the
mythical sun goddess, put historic Japan She became
known to the Western world just fifty years after Columbus
discovered America. The naval and commercial marine of
Europe, — of Portugal, Spain and Holland, — in the six-
teenth century was god of the sea, adventurous, and inclined
withal to be somewhat aggressive toward a weaker though
elder sister. Annoyed and perhaps alarmed by the harrass-
ing inroads of these rovers of the deep, and at their efforts
to cast upon her domain the unwelcome product of their
trade, as well as religious and political contaminations, she
withdrew in high dudgeon nearly a century later, and for
two hundred years secluded herself from the rest of the
world. The cupidity of the outer world was in the mean-
time more keenly incited thereby, but vain were its attempts
to allure her forth.

But now the modern god of strength, American civiliza-
tion, had quietly but firmly posted himself close by the
rocky gates of her retreat, and in 1854 the artful caresses
and novel divertisements of our gallant commodore (Perry),
together with music of the world's activity without, strains
of which oft reached her ear, excited that keen curiosity so
marked in her character, and she warily pushed the diplo-
matic door ajar and peeped out.

Again the stratagem prevailed. The " great strength" of
our day threw open the gates, Japan was brought forth from
her seclusion, and her retreat from the community of nations
cut off by a barrier of cross-character treaties. Brought
thus suddenly into unsought relationships, doubt and hesita-
tion soon gave way, and she became not only willing, but
eager, to join in the race of modern progress.

That this legend is generally supposed to explain, in the
light of Shinto-mythology, the wonder-exciting phenomena
of a solar eclipse, does not impair the aptness of the com-
parison. The children of the gods who now people the
" land of the sun " have emerged from a national eclipse,
the recurrence of which no political astronomer would ven-
ture to predict.

With the main features of Jsipan's wonderful history most
of us have perhaps become tolerably familiar, through the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 87

various sources of information which have come to hand
during the past fifteen years. The fanciful mythologic
period which extended from " the beginning," through ages
during which the gods alone existed, to the creation and
peopling of Japan by them, followed by a national chronol-
ogy, whereby the present dynasty of rulers antedates the
Christian era six hundred and sixty years ; the imbibition of
Chinese literature and civilization, which began about three
centuries after Christ, and the introduction of Buddhism
two hundred and fifty years later; the dual empire of
the Mikado and Taikun, which existed for nearly seven cen-
turies preceding the reign of the present emperor ; the
early concession of commercial privileges to Europeans,
especially the Dutch and Portugese ; and the labors of the
Jesuit missionaries in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
terminating in the wholesale persecution and extirpation
of foreigners and their converts ; the system of rigorous
feudalism, and the closely drawn lines of class distinction
among both nobility and people, which characterized the
whole of her historic period ; the exaction of treaty rela-
tions by the United States in 1854, followed by similar con-
cessions to the European powers ; the overthrow of the
Shogunate or Taikun's power, and the restoration of the
Mikado to sole civil and military supremacy in 1868 ; and
the new departure of the government in its ardent pursuit
of modern arts and sciences,. — these are the leading points
of her history, and have become a part of the general
information.

With this topical review, therefore, of the past, I shall
assume that you are prepared to appreciate the significance
of such random sketches of the social, industrial and politi-
cal life of her people as I am able to recall from the three
or four years of busy life which I spent among them.

The true origin of the Japanese race is a problem which
still awaits solution. To the Malayan, Mongolian, the
African, and even the Caucasian or Indo-European families,
either singly or by combination, their origin has been attrib-
uted by difierent writers. That, as GrifEs claims, they owe
anything to the blood of their historic aborigines, the Ainos,
who show some evidence of Caucasian origin, seems to me

88 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

altogether improbable. Physically and morally, in habits,
and so far as we can learn in language, they are quite dis-
tinct; while, to this day, intermarriage, in any form or
degree, is not known to occur between them.

The Japanese physique is not prepossessing. The men are
small, narrow-chested and lank. Their heads are of medium
size, covered with black hair, usually straight ; and the high
cheek bones, large, coarse mouth, inferior nose and irreso-
lute chin, though not universal, are noticeably character-
istic. The French have a saying, " His face was carved
with an axe." It does not inaptly fit the Japanese face.
Their hands are of finer mould than their features, which
fact, considered in connection with that aristrocratic obliquity
of the eye which they admire, helps one, if I mistake not,
to know the leading traits of their character.

The women are quite small, and of full, rounded figure.
The nose is short, lips full and inexpressive, and the neck
painfully slender. While young, and not given to the
ofiensive but fortunately vanishing customs of blackening
the teeth and shaving the eyebrows, they are not altogether
unattractive, while their easy grace of manner, pretty gest-
ures and musical voices, constitute undeniable charms.

The Japanese countenance lacks expression. The features
brighten in conversation, however, and lighten amazingly
with a smile. The people age rapidly from early youth,
the average period of their efliciency being shorter by ten
or fifteen years than is that of Europeans.

Their extreme politeness is proverbial. In the typical
Japanese it even suggests a distortion of character, since it
becomes vastly paramount to sincerity. Said one of their
oflScers who travelled much with me : " Foreigners speak
very plainly, and I always know what they mean. A
Japanese is very polite with his tongue, but you do not
know what he thinks in his heart."

It is not unusual for literary travellers the world over to
estimate the traits and character of a people upon the most
brief and limited acquaintance. The wider the divergence
between the superficial and fundamental in national traits
and character, the greater the error of such conclusions ; for
the superficial not only impresses the ordinary observer more

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 89

readily, but it is essentially misleading. These facts underlie
many erroneous conceptions of the Japanese which numerous
writers have held.

For my own part, for nearly a year I looked upon them
with unqualified admiration. I was exceedingly busy, had
acquired but little of their language, while the officials whom
I met fairly showered me with kindness. During that time
I hardly heard a baby cry ; did not know the fumes of sake
(rice whiskey) ; could not distinguish the unstable gait of a
man on his clogs from the rolling stagger of another in his
cups, nor a toper's wine song on the street at midnight from
the incantations of a wandering priest, and heard the insidi-
ous truth from foreign teachers and missionaries, with the
mental reservation, " as a man thinketh, so is he."

Nevertheless, during the further period of my life among
them, it became my lot to know the people under the great-
est variety of conditions and circumstances. I came into
more or less intimate relations with all classes, from the
prime minister and former daimios, down through official
and private grades, to tradesmen and coolies ; spent months
in their capitals, and in the interior in places where a for-
eigner had rarely, if ever, been before, sometimes with offi-
cials and servants only, at others with my wife, where
certainly a foreign lady had never travelled. I knew them
as a friend enjoying their full confidence ; as a teacher of
students whose ambition and sympathy were mutual with his
own ; in an advisory relation to a department of the general
government; as an engineer and director of public works,
involving the labor of sometimes a thousand men ; and, last
but not least, as a housekeeper. For the result, I think I
came to know them as they are ; and, while it demolished
certain Utopian conceptions, it brought them in my mind
within the brotherhood of our common humanity, and into
fellowship with the rest of this wayward, yet onward and
upward moving world.

Thackeray says that men and women are to be represented,
not as men and women are known to be, but with certain
reserves to suit conventional etiquette. I avail myself of
such reserve, not to evade the truth, but to indicate, in
admissible terms, in which direction it may be looked for.

90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

While Miss Bird, who has given us a most accurate picture
of Japanese life, boldly tells her readers that the prevailing
faults of its people are lying and licentiousness, she is com-
pelled to admire their many good qualities. They are, indeed,
an incongruous people, but their character is full of compen-
sations. Whatever its unpleasant features, you may not look
for to find corresponding bright ones.

One exception to this rule is a sin of omission common to
most Eastern races. I never found a parallel virtue that
adequately compensated Oriental procrastination. Impressed
by its dire associations, the merest novice soon learns the
Japanese word mio-niclii (to-morrow) , the time when every-
thing is promised to be done, yet even then is not, that
should have been done to-day or yesterday.

Early in my travels in the interior, I overheard my in-
terpreter, whom I had directed to order our horses for seven
o'clock next morning, instruct the driver in this wise : " The
horses are to be ready to-morrow morning at five o'clock." I
admonished him, saying we ought not to give orders the
fulfilment of which we did not propose to exact. The follow-
ing evening, at the close of our day's journey, he said that
he had ordered the horses to be ready the next morning at
seven o'clock, /orez^n style. " Seven o'clock, foreign style,"
he said, " means seven o'clock, sharp. Japanese style, any
time during the day."

The people are generally tasteful in their attire and sur-
roundings, although some of their customs do not conform
to our ideas of neatness and propriety. They wear no linen
or underclothing.

The principal garment, the himono^ worn alike by both
sexes, is a loose, flowing gown of cotton or silk, reaching the
ankles. It has large, bag-like sleeves, through the upper
part of which the arms pass, the bottom hanging as low as
the waist, or lower, making huge bags or pockets, in which
they carry handkerchiefs, usually of paper, and often used
more than once, early writers to the contrary notwith-
standing.

The garment is made throughout of one roll of cloth,
which they weave in breadths of about thirteen inches, each
piece containing the precise quantity required for one

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 91

kimono. It is cut only into suitable lengths. All the long
seams, therefore, are straight and selvaged, and are loosely
sewn. When at long intervals, if at all, it is to be cleansed,
the seams are ripped, and the plain breadths of cloth are
washed and stretched by simple adhesion upon a smooth
board, which they place in the sunshine, whereby the drying
and ironing are completed in one operation.

Around the waist the kimono is bound by the ohi or girdle,
the second in importance of the various articles of dress.
It is in the form of the ohi, and the elaborate dressing of the
hair, that the differences between the ordinary costumes of
the two sexes chiefly consist. It is generally made of heavy
brocaded silk, about four inches wide for men, and twelve
to fifteen inches for women. It is wound three times around
the waist, and as much skill and taste is displayed in tying
and adjusting the knot behind as our belles exhibit in dress-
ing the hair. It is said that gallants and connoisseurs can
distinguish between Tokio and Kioto ladies by the difference
in their manner of wearing the obi.

I was further informed that the ohi serves a purpose un-
like that of any garment worn by ladies of any other land.
Widows who have determined never to marry again publish
their resolution by wearing the knot in front. Doubtless
there were young widows in Japan during my stay there,
but I never saw this evidence of self-abnegation. However,
it is the privilege of ladies to change their minds, most
fortunately, perhaps for some of us, and it is said that even
there the knot has an irresistible tendency to backslide.

In full dress an additional outside garment shorter than
the kimono y but otherwise similar, is worn by both sexes,
but more frequently by men, who wear also the hakama, or
loose trousers of similar material. This garment is made
with wide vertical plaits, so full that upon a casual look you
would take it to be a kilted skirt. It is in truth a " divided
skirt." The prevailing colors for both sexes are sombre
shades and mixtures of brown, blue and gray, relieved for
ladies by the bright blues and embroidered decorations of
the ohi, and by glimpses of an under tunic of delicately
tinted crepe at the neck, and even at the knees, as the wind
roguishly thrusts the kimono aside.

92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Upon the feet short stockings, or foot mittens, are worn,
fastened around the ankle by a simple clasp. They are cleft
between the great and second toe, for the thong of their
straw sandals or wooden clogs, which are always slipped off
the feet and left at the door of the porch on entering a house.

During the past fifteen years European clothing has been
adopted to a large extent in cities open to foreign influence,
while the court costume and the official dress in all the de-
partments of the government are of foreign style. Gowns
and skirts are poorly adapted to the active pursuits of men,
although they are still worn by all in their home life, and
even by some foreigners during the relaxation from active
duty which warm summer evenings invite.

One of the most striking adaptations of foreign costume
which I saw — it was on a winter's day — consisted of the
loin-cloth, which is never omitted, a heavy woollen overcoat,
devoid of buttons, and a pair of wooden clogs, while from a
staff over the shoulder was suspended a pair of foreign boots
and trousers, which the noon-day sun had rendered quite
superfluous.

While the Japanese wear no linen, or its equivalent, they
are excessively given to hot bathing. It is customary to
bathe daily. Some have bath-tubs at their houses, and they
are always found in hotels ; but the great mass of the people
living in cities and towns resort to public bath-houses, where,
for a fraction of a cent each, men, women and children may
enjoy a social bath in large tanks, which are often exposed
to view from the street. Bathing suits are quite superfluous.
These houses are full of people every evening, and are more
or less frequented during the da}^. Whether in dwelling,
hotel or public bath-house, the tub is filled but once a day.
Meanwhile, it may be patronized by hundreds. The purity
of the water is preserved in some measure, however, by the
disuse of soap, that article until recently being known in
Japan only as an importation.*

During my travels, my antipathy to the cosmopolitan bath
of the hotels was soon marked. I was therefore offered the
first chance at the tub after the old water had been retired

* Its Japanese name, shabon, is taken from the Spanish Xabon, by whom it was
kitrodaced three hundred years ago.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 93

from its long and arduous service, and a fresh supply brought
into use. This privilege was for a time invariably declined.
At length, after a week's absence from home comforts, and
fearing that the reputation of foreigners for cleanliness was
in danger, I ventured to accept the favor, charging my ser-
vant to see that the bath was suitably prepared. He soon
announced it ready, led the way through a long hall to the
kitchen, or open area of the hotel, and pointed to a small
recess, in which was the bath-tub. It was a short rectangu-
lar trough of wood, projecting up through the bottom of
which, near one end, was the usual iron cylinder, or furnace,
full of burning charcoal. In the midst of the kitchen, in full
view of the bath, sat the women and servants of the house,
and several transient wayfarers. I looked nervously for
slides with with to screen the bath, but was told that none
were used. Less bold than Cassius, "upon the word,
accoutered as I was, I plunged " not in, but quietly withdrew,
and bade my servant follow, compromising the matter with
a cold douche in a room adjoiaiing my apartments.

Riding along the highways of the country, one not in-
frequently sees the members of a family bathing in a tub
set by the roadside, or near the house, in any position
convenient for fuel and water.

It is proper to add that, in deference to foreign sentiment
and the native fruit thereof, the promiscuous bathing of the
sexes is now disappearing.

If the use of soap is in truth an indication of a people's
civilization, these were not far advanced. Even for shaving,
which they practiced upon the scalp, eyebrows and ears, as
well as upon the chin, the saliva of the barber was often used
as the softening uno;uent.

It is evident, therefore, that the virtue of excessive clean-
liness which writers have attributed to the Japanese, is not
altogether deserved. Bathing is practiced rather as a sensu-
ous luxury than for personal cleanliness. Their bedding,
which consists of thick, matted quilts, is never washed,
though sometimes aired. The drainage of their towns often
flows into narrow channels, either open or covered with
boards, which run along the sides of the street directly in
front of the houses. If I were unconsciously transported to

94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

a Japanese town, I should on awakening know my where-
abouts by its unmistakable odors, many of which are the
legitimate product of the kitchen.

The houses of the people are of the plainest character.
They are usually of one story only, hotels, and some city
houses which serve the double pur[)ose of shop and dwelling,
excepted. The woodwork is fastened by wooden pins and
wedges. Paint is seldom used, palaces and cottages alike
being of gray wood. Color and gilding is found only in
temples, which indeed exhibit wonderful elaborations also in
framing, wood carving and metal ornamentation. The pan-
elled ceiling of one of the most beautiful temples which I
visited was composed entirely of carved and polished tortoise
shell.

Two or more sides of the house are open, from which one
looks out over a narrow veranda, floored with polished pine
or cedar, into a small inclosure of ground planted with chrys-
anthemums and a plum or cherry tree, and exhibiting with
more or less elaboration a bit of their peculiar landscape
gardening.

The interior partitions extend from the ceiling to within
about six feet from the floor, the opening below being closed
by means of light sliding screens of delicately framed lattice
work covered with paper, by which the rooms are separated,
and l)y removing which two or more rooms may be thrown
together. The verandas are inclosed at night by similar
screens or shutters of thin wood.

The w^alls of the house are usually of wood, sometimes of
mud-plaster spread upon a web or lattice of bamboo strips
Avoven together between the frame timbers, and are occasion-
ally covered with lozenge-shaped tile. Roofs are covered
with beautiful black tiling or thin shingles, held on by strips
of board and weighted with stones (as in many Swiss cot-
tages), or with a well-made thatch of rice straw, according
to locality, and the means of the owner.

The rooms arc carpeted with well-made mats of straw,
bound with black cloth. They are from two to three inches
thick, and of the uniform size of three by six Japanese feet.*

* It is inti'restiug to note that the Japanese foot diflfers from the English by less
than one-sixteenth of an inch.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 95

These dimensions were fixed by a law of the empire, which
also prescribed that the dimensions of rooms should be in
multiples of three feet, in order that the mats might be
readily interchanged or renewed.

Warmth is derived from charcoal burned in an open
Mhachi, consisting of a square box set in the floor and filled
with sand, or in movable braziers.

Furniture is reduced to the lowest terms. They sit on
their heels, and hence require no chairs. Their bedding is
brought from an adjoining closet into the living room, and
made up upon its mattress-like matting ; hence no chamber
furniture, unless we except the pillow, which is of wood and
about the size and shape of a brick. It rests upon one of
its longer edges, and upon its upper side is fastened a small
round sack filled with rice-chaflf. Upon this intractable
afiair the back of the sleeper's neck rests, while the head
projects into space beyond. Thus the elaborate head-dress
remains undisturbed, and the services of the hairdresser are
ordinarily required but once or twice a week.

Their meals are set forth in little hand-dishes arranged on
trays, one for each person ; hence no dining-tables are re-
quired. Their food is cooked l)y boiling, broiling, or frying
over the open hihachi of the kitchen ; therefore no stoves
are needed. A small writing-table, about a foot high, a
sword-rack and a household shrine were the most common
articles of furniture in houses whose occupants had occasion
to use or possess them.

In nearly every room of a Japanese house you find the
tokonoma. This is a shallow recess extending half-way
across one end of the room, the other half being made into
a closet or a cabinet of shells, exhibiting tasteful and decora-
tive joinery. The floor of this recess is raised four or five
inches, and here the dignity of the room is centered. It is
the dais of the apartment. A few kakemono or hanging pict-
ures, and the family legends painted or inscribed upon silk
or paper, adorn it ; while poetic inscriptions are likewise
displayed, or written upon dainty strips of cedar and hung
upon posts of the room. Similar decorations and paintings
upon the sliding doors, and occasionally a folding screen,
complete the adornments of their houses.

96 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The beautiful and dainty works of art in bronze, lacquer,
porcelain, carving, painting and embroidery, which we
associate with Japanese art industry, do not appear in the
homes of the people. They must be sought out in the houses
of the wealthy, where they have been preserved as heirlooms,
sometimes for many generations ; in temples, under the
patronage of which the arts, and especially painting, were
fostered and their products preserved; or in small shops,
to which have come many choice articles of vertu from
the palaces of noblemen, whose estates have suffered the
reverses of fortune incident to the political revolution of
1868.

To a people of our culinary tastes, the horrors of the
Japanese kitchen are almost inconceivable until experienced.
Many of the native dishes can be swallowed and digested by
very few foreigners, and only after long and persevering
practice, which few undertake, save from curiosity or ne-

The social relations in Japan are matters of frequent in-
quiry. I am often asked, " What is the social status of
Japanese women ? " In their mythological account of the
creation it is related that, while the god and goddess,
Izanagi and Izanami (the parents of the sun goddess first
mentioned) , were sitting on the floating arch of the heavens,
the god plunged his jewelled spear down into the depths of
the sea. Withdrawing it, drops of water fell from the dia-
mond point, which, condensing in their fall, formed the
nucleus of the island empire. The pair at once descended to
view this sample of their work, one going to the left and the
other to the right, to make the circuit of the island. As
they met again, the goddess in joyous rapture exclaimed,
"How happy I am to see you again, my beloved spouse."
But he, displeased because she had anticipated him, said:
" Me, your husband, the strong and powerful, should be the
first to speak; why do you, a female, speak first?" Her
bad taste was deemed of ill-omen, and they renewed the cir-
cuit. The next time, as soon as he perceived her, he first
exclaimed, *' How happy am I to meet you again, my dear
and amiable spouse."

This legend of the creation of Japan by the gods typifies

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 97

also the position of woman there to-day. While the
supremacy of man is recognized and enjoined, mutual assist-
ance and devotion are beautifully portrayed in these myths.
In Confucius' " Record of Eights," much revered in Japan,
it is written, "The man stands in importance before the
woman : it is the right of the strong over the weak." Six
centuries later, Paul wrote, "Wives, submit yourselves
unto your husbands, for the husband is the head of the
wife." The Confucian proverb, "The hen that crows in
the morning brings misfortune," suggests a rhyming adage
familiar doubtless to most of us.

Social custom in Japan consigns woman chiefly to her own
home. Men meet for considerations common to their sex
the world over, and women visit each other for friendship,
companionship and for gossip ; yet formal gatherings of both
sexes in what we term " society," is hardly known.

Japan is acknowledged by most travellers, even by those
who deplore the condition of their women, to be a heaven of
contentment, and the paradise of children. To my mind, it
is difficult to conceive of a social state in which conditions
so contradictory co-exist with a downtrodden womanhood,
or with unhappy motherhood.

If, as among the peasant class, where poverty compels the
labor of all, women labor in the fiehls, it is a lighter portion
of the work that they do, which the men requite by assum-
ing the heavier drudgery of the house. Here, as elsewhere,
woman lives upon the plane which her ability, force of
character and quality of mind entitle her to. Eight of the
rulers of Japan have been women — one of them her most
famous conqueror.

At two large stores in Sapporo women were the principal
owners and the managers. In one the wife furnished the
capital, directed from six to ten male clerks, including
two sons-in-law, while her husband served as head book-
keeper.

Japanese literature presents many charming pictures of
devotion between husband and wife, while the love and
respect which children at all ages bear thejr parents is unsur-
passed in any country. Although it is lawful for the Mikado
to have a dozen deputy wives, or concubines, and for other

98 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

men such a less number as their means and position may
allow, it is also commendable in the eyes of the rising gen-
eration that they have none.

The Japanese is, as a rule, the husband of one wife, who
enters upon her duties at so early an age that, save in the
happiness of her children, it is a positive evil. Becoming a
wife ere she ceases to be a child, she is still of childish char-
acter. Her children are not effeminately reared, however.
Their clothing is loose and airy. They wear no head cover-
ing, and their hair is shaved in conventional and grotesque
forms, varying with age and station.

The Japanese kimono and ohi, by their peculiar service in
the rearing of their children, entitle the people to a position
among the marsupials (a group of animals having a pouch for
carrying its immature young, of which the kangaroo is a
type.) They carry the young child in the pocket formed
above the girdle between the bare back and the loose kimono.
There lie reigns for the day with his head and arms free,
playing with his straw rattle, crowing, crying or sleeping,
while liis i)rotector for the time being (be it mother, father,
brother or sister) walks, rides, works, plays, eats and
smokes unhampered l)y the precious burden. By an easy-
movement of the child's head and shoulders under the
mother's arm, it partakes of the nourishment nature provides,
without interrupting her various duties. The elder children
carry their younger brothers and sisters in like manner.
Indeed, so early is the infant made the carrier of the babe,
that it is often difficult to tell which is the elder of the two.

The expressions used in polite conversation among the
higher classes are much burdened with stilted forms and
figures of s})eech, the speaker putting himself in the most
obsequious relation to the one addressed. For example,
instead of asking one's opinion by the simple question,
" What do you think of this? " one may say, "Be so good,
if you will, as to hang this upon your august eyebrow?"
If, however, one should address his servant or an inferior in
the same terms in which he converses with an equal, he
would hardly be understood.

Extreme courtesy marks the intercourse of respectable
people, although coarseness and banter may characterize

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 99

much idle tattling and gossip among the lower classes ; and,
while profanity is not indigenous, in periods of anger, con-
tempt or derision, such emphatic epithets as, " ruffian,"
" villain," " fool," " beast," " scoundrel," etc., are not
uncommon.

The ingrained courtesy of speech common to these people
leads them often to put a more favoral)le construction upon
some of the inelegant expressions too common among a
certain type of foreigners than they deserve, or than
greater familiarity with the vernacular of foreign sailors
and adventurers would justify. An amusing instance is
related by Miss Bird. On one occasion she remarked to her
interpreter, " What a beautiful day is this." Immediately
consulting his note book, "You siiy 'beautiful day.' Is
that better English than ' devilish fine day,' which most
foreigners say ? " Surely foreign teachers and missionaries
are not to be credited with all the evidences of civilization
in tlapan.

One of the most worthy of the foreign employees of the
government, a gentleman of French birth but of American
citizenship, was the general engineer a^nd superintendent of
the mines in Yezo. I knew him as a man of the strictest
honor and integrity, and having a keen sense of justice ; such
a one as the Japanese themselves would term a square man.
Becoming the victim of unfulfilled promises on the part of
certain officials, concerning the management of mines dele-
gated to him under his contract, he had tendered his resig-
nation (much against their wish), to take effect in three
months, and was called to Tokio to await the expiration of
this period.

In the meantime, while annoyed by the persistent efforts
of the higher officials to bend him to their purposes by the
ofier of pecuniary advancement, in substitution for the execu-
tive authority of which they had deprived him, a telegram
came from the mines saying that they were on fire, and ask-
ing what should be done. The officials, seeking safety in
the time of danger, dispatched a messenger to my friend's
house. The engineer, on hearing the hurried message,
ejaculated with undue emphasis of impatience, "Oh, damn
it!" turned on his heel, and, ere he could collect himself,

100 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

the interpreter had departed post-haste. The officials im-
mediately telegraphed his concise instructions to the mine.
The woi kmen forthwith stopped the mouth of the tunnel
leading into the coal-veins, and a mountain stream close at
hand was turned into the shaft above. The mine was flooded,
the fire extinguished, leaving the officials more exasperated
than ever, that with neither their blandishments nor their
gold could they prevail upon so capable a man to overlook
their caprice and continue in their service.

Not only geographically are the Japanese our antipodes,
but philosophically they may be looked upon as our oppo-
sites. In the making of books, newspapers and manuscripts,
the title is placed upon what we would call the back cover,
and reads, like the text within, from top to bottom, instead
of across the page, the lines running vertically, instead of
horizontally. The matter ])egins on the right hand side, and
reads towards the left. They call our penmanship crab
writing, because it goes backward like a crawfish

In their old system of school-teaching the children studied
and were taught at school, but recited at home, whereby the
parents might know 4f the master did his duty. The pupils
also studied aloud, each one shouting the names of the
Chinese characters or Japanese hana in stentorian tones,
whereby the teacher knew which ones were attending to
business.

Japanese carpenters draw the plane, and pull the saw on
the cutting stroke. The floor or ground is their work-bench,
and their toes serve for prehensile purposes.

Hewers of wood stand upon the side of the timber opposite
that to be hewn.

The blacksmith puts his forge and anvil on the ground,
and to deliver heavy blows stands in a hole so as to bring his
work at proper height. At light work he sits on the floor.

The Japanese farmer beats a rack with a bundle of grain,
instead of beating the grain with a flail. A flail is used for
threshing the broken heads of grain, however, but it is
swung outside instead of inside the handle. In their hay-
cutters the hay is pressed against the knife, instead of the
knife against the hay.

In rolling up paper, wall-hangings, etc., they invariably

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 101

turn the top of the roll toward the body, with the palms of
the hands upwards ; we turn it from the body, with the
palms of the hands downward.

There the candle is impaled upon the stick, the stick being
inserted in a hole in the candle, while we insert the candle
in a hole in the stick. There candles also are large at the
top and taper toward the bottom.

Japanese oars are pivoted upon a pin, and not between
pins ; the row-lock is inserted in the oar, while we insert the
oar in the row-lock.

I have seen a stone-cutter returning from work on a hot
summer's evening carrying all his various heavy tools upon
a tray, suspended from one end of a balance pole over his
shoulder, with a counterpoise of stones hung from the other
end. Pack-saddles were sometimes balanced in like manner.

Housemaids dust first and sweep afterwards.

The short cue of our wigged colonial ancestor hung down-
ward behind, while that of the Japanese projects upward
toward the front.

A student was given, as a topic for a written examination,
" The economy of brains in agriculture." His dissertation
thereon being brief, I give it in full ; " Brains are the
most precious and refined part of the human body. We
should therefore be very economical in their use," a kind of
philosophy too much in vogue the world over.

In ceremonial aftairs, the left outranks the right.

Etiquette is better than morality, and equal to a liberal
education.

Courtship follows, not precedes marriage.

Under the native marriage customs, not only is a prior
courtship unknown, but the preferences of the contracting
parties were not consulted, and they may never have spoken
before the ceremony.

It is not always a good rule that works both ways ; a wife
cannot sue for divorce upon the same grounds for which she
may be put away.

The Japanese superstitiously avoid sleeping with the head
to the north, that being the position in which the dead are
buried. I have often seen diagrams of the cardinal points
of the compass drawn or pasted upon the ceiling of rooms

102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

in native hotels for the benefit of the superstitious guest,
while travellers often carry a magnetic compass for the same
purpose.

The order in which they enumerate the points of the com-
pass is the reverse of ours, — To, sai, nam, boJcu; or, east,
west, south, north.

Equestrians mount and dismount on the right side of the
horse, and the rule of the road is that they shall turn to the
left.

A decorous manner and a proper show of respect to your
host are manifested by a loud supping noise when you drink
tea and take food, and likewise by sucking air between the
lips and teeth as you make your salaam on meeting a person
of equal or superior rank.

It is the impulse of a Caucasian, under cruder systems of
government, to kill the enemy who insults or grossly injures
him ; the Japanese who is wronged kills himself to spite his
foe.

Examples of contrariety might be multiplied to an almost
endless extent. Even the golden rule of Confucius is nega-
tive, — " What you do not want done to yourself, do not do
to others " One might easily conceive the Occident and the
Orient to be at the opposite poles of some mysterious mag-
netic or psychological influence, actuating their respective
systems of civilization.

The religious character of the Japanese as a people
appears to be in a transition state. The lasv of the empire
punishing with death the teaching of Christianity became
long ago practically inoperative ; and Christian missionary
enterprise is now tolerated, not so much perhaps because the
government is favorably inclined toward it, as because of
the apparent decay of their own religious ideas and dogmas.

Many of the Buddhist sermons are of high moral excel-
lence, and indeed most interesting. In its forms of worship
Buddhism is strikingly similar to Romanism. While wit-
nessing the ceremonial ministrations of the priests, in one of
their ornate temples, aided usually by a lay clerk, both in
lono- orowns before an altar on which candles are kept con-
stantly burning ; while listening to their monotonous inton-
ations and the responses of the kneeling congregations, and

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 103

to the discourse of the priest ^vith which the exercises gen-
erally closed, I would almost believe myself in a Roman
Catholic church.

The ceremonials of the so-called native religion, Shinto,
which signifies " the way of the gods," and which Buddhism
found there on its introduction in the sixth century, still
have much in common with that which Buddha himself is
said to have found in India nearly twelve centuries earlier.

Edwin Arnold, in his " Light of Asia," gives us this pict-
ure : —

" For, on a dawn, he walked there and beheld
The householder Sihgala, newly bathed,
Bowing himself with bare head to the earth.
To heaven, and all four quartei'S, Avhile he threw
Rice, red and white, from both hands. 'Wherefore thus
Bowest thou, brother? ' said the lord ; and he, —

' It is the way, great sir ! Our fathers taught.
At every dawn, before the toil begins.
To hold off evil from the sky above
And earth beneath, and all the winds which blow.' "

The same ceremony of throwing "rice, red and white,
from both hands," bowing " with bare head to the earth, to
heaven and all four quarters," I have often witnessed at the
Shinto temples of the government on the celebration of the
festival Niiname, the Japanese thanksgiving day, as well as
on other occasions, concerning which the same explanation
was given me by a native priest who took part therein ; that
is to say, to propitiate the evil spirits, or to " hold off evil "
in the Rikugo, the six sides of the universe.

A Japanese acquaintance of mine, who, as interpreter, ac-
companied the great embassy from Japan to America in
1872, was asked the difference between Buddhism and
Shinto. He said, " We imported Buddhism, but Shinto
we created." In truth, Shinto is the mythological religious
inheritance which the Japanese brought to their island
domain in prehistoric times, while Buddhism followed them
there later on, as it overspread half the inhabited world.

In connection with the scattering of rice and the offering
of food before the altar and mirror in their temples, the
ceremony of sweeping out the evil spirits from the six sides
of the universe is first performed. For this purpose, the de-

104 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

partment of the state religion at Tokio provides each govern-
ment temple annually with an instrument consisting of a
stick resembling a broom handle, to one end of which a
quantity of tough white paper cut into strips after a peculiar
conventional fashion is fastened. With this the chief priest
walks formally into the centre of a large area before the tem-
ple, around which the people are assembled. There he faces
in proper order the several sides of the universe, and by
vigorous passes of this wand he sweeps out the evil in-
fluences ; then follows the scattering of rice, after which
ofierings are made before the altar and the mirror, such of
these as the gods may leave for that purpose becoming a rich
perquisite of the priestly office.

Upon the 14th of February, in 1879, a letter in Japanese
was brought to my classroom by a messenger from the local
capitol. I passed it to an intelligent student for verbal
translation. Our students, like the official classes, generally
were not ardent devotees of their religion, a large number
of them indeed having professed the orthodox Christian faith
under the guidance of the late President Clark. His sombre
visage brightened, and his eye twinkled, as he interpreted
the following official notification : " Sir, to-morrow will be a
holiday, for God is come from Tokio." The glad tidings
were duly appreciated by the listeners, all of whom recog-
nized the propriety of the observance of an event so im-
portant in the annals of Sapporo. The god that came from
Tokio was the spirit exterminator or broom, of which I have
spoken, the day after it is received being set apart each
year for its dedication and use.

There are no better standards for gauging the physical
well-being of a people than the agricultural development of
their territory, their annual production of wealth, and the
amount and character of the food they consume.

A few comparisons between the sea-girt empire of Japan
and the insular kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland reveal
some illustrative facts.

The area of Japan is 143,000, and of the British Isles
122,000 square miles. Their populations in 1874 were
33,300,00 and 32,600,000, respectively, being at the rates
of 234 and 267 per square mile.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 105

Now, while only twelve per cent of Japan's territory is
cultivated, not less than fifty-six per cent of the soil of Great
Britain and Ireland is agriculturally improved. In oth'er
words, England cultivates more than /ow?'-thirds, and Japan
less than one-third of an acre per capita. Nevertheless,
Japan produces all she eats and drinks, all that she wears,
the tobacco which she smokes, sends rice and fish to China
in case of famine there, and raises a large surplus of raw
silk and tea for exportation to America and Europe.

The United Kingdom, on the other hand, tilling four times
as much land per inhabitant, would starve but for foreign
granaries and pastures, and would return to comparative
nakedness but for the cotton-fields and mulberry plantations
of other climes. She is obliged to import more than one-
half of the food and drink she consumes, all the cotton and
silk she wears, and the tobacco that she smokes.

This striking disparit}', though due in some measure to
the great productiveness of the fisheries of Japan, is chiefly
owing to the wide difference in their systems of farming and
food supply.

Agriculturally speaking, the Japanese is a vegetarian,
while the Briton is a beef and mutton consumer.

The same area of land that will furnish food of a mixed
diet like that of the English and American people, for one
man, will feed six or more upon a granivorous and vegetable
diet. The English system of farming and of food production
involves the maintenance of over fifty million domestic animals,
exclusive of horses, — that is to say, cows, sheep and swine,
— while Japan supports less than three million ; and the
maintenance of these domestic animals alone of Great Britain,
under her system of high farming, requires the product of
more than three times the whole area cultivated in Japan.

Naturally, therefore, the cost of the Englishman's diet is
far greater than that of the Japanese, the average values of
their crude food materials being about sixty dollars and ten
dollars per annum, respectively.

Plain boiled rice, eaten without sugar, salt or condiment,
constitutes sixty per cent of everything that goes into the
stomach of Japan ; while less than one-half of one per cent
of England's diet is of this grain.

106 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE [Jan.

On the other hand, twenty-one per cent in value of the
food supply of England is of the flesh of domestic animals,
poultry and game, of which articles Japan consumes less
than one-half of one per cent.

Alcoholic drinks constitute eight per cent of the total value
of the food consumption of Great Britain, — one of the great-
est consumers of intoxicating beverages among civilized
countries, — and twelve per cent of that of Japan.

Regarding the subject of alcoholic intemperance in Japan,
it ought to be said that drinking is chiefly indulged in within
their own houses, where during intoxication they usually
remain ; hence it is that disturbances of the peace and the
ordinary signs of intemperance are comparatively rare.

To the higher nutritive value of the nitrogenous and phos-
phatic foods of Western nations is closely allied, not only its
higher commercial value, but also the greater energy and
efficiency of the races of men raised thereon, — of the brain
and brawn so nourished.

Said General Kuroda, then colonial secretary, now prime
minister, " You must not expect too much of the Japanese ;
it takes six of them to do as much as one foreigner."

In the construction of public works I found that the labor
of Japanese coolies, at twenty-five cents each, was no
cheaper than that of Americans at a dollar and a half per day.
Improved tools and machinery did not account for the differ-
ence. The construction of extensive earthworks was more
cheaply performed by carrying the material in sacks slung
upon poles, than by wheeling it in barrows or carts. For
several years. General Capron said, it cost as much at govern-
ment mills to saw lumber by steam and water-power, using
the best American machinery, as by the hand labor of natives.

The annual income or production of wealth in Japan in
1874 was only $12.50 per capita, of which they ate nearly
eighty per cent in value ; while in Enghmd and America it
was nearly twelve times as much, of which the people ate
only forty per cent in value.

The annual increase of wealth in Japan is therefore
exceedingly small. * Clothing and taxes exhaust most of

* The government levies a tax of two and one-half per cent upon the full value of
the land for general purposes, and one-half of one per cent in addition for local
purposes.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 107

the remainder of the annual production, although their shoes
cost less than six cents per annum for each person.

The average annual salary of the postmasters in 1876,
about four thousand in number, was $17.66 ; in 1877, $22.20.
Certainly not a serious provocation for turning the rascals
out, should a change of administration occur. The mean
compensation of American postmasters last year (over fifty-
five thousand in number) was $216.50.

The Japanese farmer tills seven-tenths of an acre, while
the American farmer cultivates seven acres, or just ten times
as much, for each one of the agricultural population. The
average value of tlie crops per acre in both cases is the same,
being about twenty-two dollars.

A dwelling worth two hundred dollars is a rarer and finer
mansion there than one costing two thousand dollars in
America, while fewer families expend fifty dollars for fur-
nishing in Japan than there are that devote ten times as
much to the same purposes here.

The ratio of one to ten seems to represent approximately
therefore the relative efficiency of the two races, with their
attendant systems of civilization and government.

No event is more significant of the completeness of the
social and political transformation of Japan in our day, than
the disestablishment of feudalism, and the peaceful disarma-
ment of the Samurai, the privileged two-sworded or mili-
tary class, comprising over a million men, in whose feudal
chiefs, the daimios, the civil as well as military authority of
the empire was practically vested. A step towards this end
was effected in the overthrow of the Shogun in 1868 ; and
in March, 1876, just three months before my arrival at
Tokio, the wearing of swords by this class was terminated
by the mandate of the Mikado.

The Samurai or two-sworded class constitute an inferior
order of nobility, outranking, in the sequence named, farm-
ers, artisans, merchants, coolies, and, at the foot of the
scale, the socially despised tanners, butchers and execution-
ers ; and the feudal code armed each member of that class
with authority to cut down, on the most trivial provocation,
any of the thirty million plebeians of the empire.

Concerning their duty in dealing with oppressors of equal

108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

or higher rank, the same code prescribed that, " in respect to
revenging injury done to master or father, it is granted by
the wise and virtuous (that is, Confucius) that you and the
injurer cannot live together under the canopy of heaven."

Such was the legal foundation of the vendetta in Japan ;
yet this right of private redress Avas exercised upon a higher
])asis and under wiser restrictions than was the vendetta or
blood-feud among the early Greeks, the European tribes of
the middle ages, the modern Bedouins and Corsicans, or the
relic of similar barbarism still existing in some of our own
south-western States ; for the public peace was not to be
endangered, nor were riotous proceedings to attend its
execution.

But they who live by the sword perchance must die by
the sword, and in no feature were the rules of the code more
formal or complete than in that wonderful ceremony of self-
dispatch, vulgarly called hara-lciri, or "belly-cut," but
more properly termed seppuhu.

The short sword of the Samurai, guided by his own hand,
secured to him lasting honor, whatever the turn of fickle
fortune that compelled him to end his life. It rescued his
name from the iniquity of defeat, was a fit antidote for
blasted hopes and ambitions, and even secured to him honor-
able death under condemnation of his prince to capital pun-
ishment. To the weapon upon which he relied for renown
in life, he turned for a meed of grim glory in death.

The honorable penalty of self-disembowelment in capital
execution latterly gave way to the custom of striking off the
head while the victim went through the preliminary cere-
monies of self-dispatch, such as reaching forward to receive
his short sword from a second or assistant in front of him.

The person appointed to inflict the death-blow in such
cases was considered to act in the capacity of, and even was,
a dear friend or faithful servant of the prisoner, using for
this purpose his own sword, or that of the victim.

Christ said, " Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friend." But where, save in
the land of that human paradox, the Japanese, were youth
ever taught that the last tribute of affection which one may
have to pay his best friend may be to act as his executioner ?

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 109

Indeed, it is hard to conceive that these meek and cour-
teous people of to-day were actors in the many sublime
tragedies which color their history, inspire their drama, in-
vigorate their literature, and point countless tales current
among their professional story-tellers.

A former secretary of the British legation recounts the
case of a young Samurai, twenty years old, who, not con-
tent with inflicting the one conventional cut across the abdo-
men, with an upward twist of the blade at the finish, with
fierce determination slashed himself thrice across and twice
vertically, then, with unfailing resolution, plunged the blade
full through his neck in front of the spinal column, with its
keen edge to the front, and, setting his teeth, in one su-
preme efibrt with both hands drove the weapon forward, and
fell dead, an object of admiration.

The debasing influence of our luxurious civilization upon
this heroic custom is perhaps shown in an event marking the
close of the public career of the last Taikun or Shogun in
1868. Defeated on every side, he fled to Yedo, ignomini-
ously resolved to yield everything and fight no more.

A faithful councillor thereupon said to him : " My lord,
it only remains for you now to retrieve the honor of the
family of Tokugawa by committing seppuhi ; and, that you
may be assured of my sincerity and allegiance, I come to
disembowel myself with you." The Taikun, however, evi-
dently realized that the day had dawned in Japan in which
one might choose rather to live an enlightened coward than
to die a deluded hero, for he declared he would have no such
nonsense, and left the room, while his faithful retainer re-
tired to another part of the castle and solemnly performed
the hara-kiri.

1 was told by one of his former followers, who ten years
before might himself have cut down a tradesman for refus-
ing to bend tlie knee and bump the ignoble head on the
ground, that the ex-Taikun had become a merchant.

It was with peculiar interest that I called upon him (now
the Marquis Tokugawa) at Boston last winter, and heard
him express his views upon the cause of liberal Christianity
in Japan, in which he has become interested.

Since the downfall of the Taikun and the restoration of the

110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

iSIikado in 1868, the government has been in reality an
oligarchy, a simple despotism in form, administered by a
sn})reme council, consisting of the prime minister, the left
and right vice-prime ministers, and ten ministerial heads of
the various departments. Their task is far from being an
easy one. They have been obliged to defer more or less to
the needs and prejudices of a large army of beaurocrats, in
whose ranks many of the Samurai have found refuge.

Constitutional means have been devised, to take effect next
year, for the establishment of a representative assembly or
legislature clothed with limited powers at the outset, but
which will servo the effective purpose of securing an ex-
pression of the more intelligent public sentiment existing
throughout the empire.

None of the members of the imperial cabinet, with possi-
bly one exception, were nobles of high rank, but simply
respectable Samurai, some of whom, up to the time of the
restoration, or even later, were bitter opponents of foreign
innovations.

The career of the present prime minister, General Kuroda,
under whose administration as colonial minister I served,
affords an apt illustration.

I well remember the keen zest with which he related the
principal events of his early life, one beautiful summer's day
in 1876, as we steamed up the eastern coast of Japan on our
first journey to Yezo, in a fine vessel bearing his name.

Kuroda belonged to the powerful clan of Satsuma. He
inherited the national hatred of foreigners, and in 1862, at
twenty-two years of age, was one of the i)arty who cut down
Richardson, an Englishman, for presuming to pass through
the imposing retinue of his prince, Avhile proceeding along
the Tokaido near Yokohama.

Witnessing the power of the English guns in the bombard-
ment of the Satsuma capital, by which mighty England re-
buked proud Satsuma for this high-handed offence, his hatred
of foreigners was intensified ; but his eyes were opened to
the fact, that, to cope with and drive out the intruders, they
must learn from them their art of warfare.

Accordingly, although it was then a capital offence for a
Japanese to leave his country without the permission of the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. Ill

Taikun's government, Kuroda wa8 secretly ordered by Prince
Satsuma to make a tour abroad for the study of military and
naval affairs.

But the first indications of the strug-orle between the ad-
herents of the Mikado and Taikun now appeared. The
Satsuma clan upheld the Mikado's cause, and Kuroda was
appointed a general in the imperial army. He had pointed
out to us a few days before, in Tokio, the ground where the
last battle was fought on the mainland, and the Taikun's
power broken.

The following j^ear, he, as commander of the army of the
north, compelled the surrender of the remnant of the Tai-
kun's army at Hakodate.

Their leader, Admiral Enomoto, together with his princi-
pal oflacers, were, as a matter of course, condemned to death
by the central authorities. Kuroda, however, protested
aflSrming that they had fought bravely and faithfully for
their chief; that they would prove equally valiant and
patriotic in their rene^ved allegiance to the Mikado ; and,
rather than consent that the honor of brave soldiers should
thus be sullied, his own head should pay the forfeit. His
will prevailed, and their lives were spared.

Enomoto subsequently became Kuroda's colleague as
assistant secretary of the colonial department, and two years
later was appointed vice-admiral and minister to Russia.

Three years afterward he returned overland through Siberia
to Sapporo, where I met him as the guest of Kuroda. At a
state dinner then given him, Enomoto paid a glowing tribute
to the resolute will and courage of his present host, who had
ventured his own life, with all its bright promise, to save
that of his vanquished foe, the speaker.

No name in Japan has figured more conspicuously in the
crisis of the restoration, been held in greater admiration, or
clothed with more tragic interest, than that of Saigo. Two
brothers of the name have attained to places in the imperial
cabinet, after receiving the highest military honors the nation
could bestow. The younger I met in Philadelphia, where
he served as commissioner at our centennial exhibition.

The Saigos also were retainers of Satsuma. Both were
adherents of the emperor's cause against the Taikun ; and,

112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

when the struggle became open and bitter, as it did largely
through the elder Saigo's courageous championship of the
emperor's cause, after fifteen years of marvellous adventure
and hardship, he naturally became the leader of the imperial
forces ; and it was due to the wonderful success of his lead-
ership that the war of the restoration was so brief.

At its close the Mikado decreed him a liberal pension, and
in 1871 he was appointed to the imperial cabinet. Two
years later he was made general-in-chief of the army ; his
old opponent, the ex-commander of the Shogun's forces,
entering the cabinet in the same year.

Disagreement in the cabinet soon led to Saigo's with-
drawal, after which, despite the overtures of the government,
and even the commands of the emperer ordering the return
of the man most influential in his restoration, he lived in
Satsuma in comparative retirement, devoting his time to the
direction of what were avowedly private schools, but which
the Satsuma rebellion of 1877 disclosed to be military acade-
mies, containing several thousand students under foreign
instructors, and supported in part by the pension which the
Mikado had bestowed upon him. In the last throes of this
rebellion, of which he became the leader, while general of
the imperial army, he lost his life ; by whose hand it is
uncertain.

At the outbreak of the Satsuma rebellion the younger
Saigo was also a general in the imperial army, and the uni-
versal query was, " What Avill he do? " He was immediately
appointed acting minister of war, and, vibrating between the
seat of government and the scene of the rebellion, where, with
Kuroda, they directed the campaign against their late chief,
his brother, he put forth every efibrt for his country. Six
months saw the end of the conflict, when he was spared the
pain of justifying his elder brother's beheadal by that
brothers mysterious death. The living Saigo soon after
became, and still continues, minister of war.

A story of the wonderful prowess and strategic skill and
diplomacy which marked his debut on the political stage was
told me. Prior to the restoration, while going to Satsuma
with others of his clan to attend a meeting of the Imperialists
at Kioto, they fell in with another party whose leaders were

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 113

sympathizers of the Taikun. A controversy ensued, how-
ever, as to which side should be taken in the impending
struggle. It was decided to hold a council that night in a
room secured for the purpose. Accordingly, while their
followers encamped without, Saigo and three of his com-
panions on the one side, and six or eight of the other clan,
met at the appointed time and place. The discussion con-
tinued far into the night, Saigo's party having from the first,
however, no thought of yielding, while the adverse majority
proved equally determined.

Suddenly, at a pre-arranged signal, the paper lanterns
were extinguished, and, without a word, Saigo and his three
associates sprang each to a separate corner of the room,
where, drawing their short swords, they covered the sliding
doors, preventing any escape, and to the right, left and
front, cut and thrust until no living thing remained to receive
their blows. The opponents were slain, and their clansmen,
being without leaders, consented to abide by the decision of
council, and forthwith joined the Imperialists.

A striking coincidence appears in the lives of the two
brothers Mori. Mori Arinori, the younger, formerly min-
ister to China, now vice-minister of education, was one of
the first Japanese educated abroad, and was likewise first to
receive a foreign diplomatic appointment, having been ap-
pointed acting minister to the United States in 1871. While
here he interested himself in the problem of education for
Japan, reaching the radical conclusion, that only by the
adoption of the Roman alphabet and the English language
could she attain high rank in science, literature and govern-
ment, her own tongue being incapable of extreme accuracy
of expression.

Minister Mori was the first to advocate the abolition of
the sword, and it was largely due to his efforts that the noti-
fication of the 28th of March, 1876, to that end, was pro-
mulgated.

He has indeed personal as well as political incentives in
promoting this measure. While he was learning the better
ways of our civilization, his brother, Mori Yokoyama, a civil
officer of high rank, urged upon the government certain state
policies, but without success; whereupon he declared, that,

114 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

havinsr devoted the full measure of his strength and influence
to advance his country's interest, without avail, he would seal
his patriotism with death, and so died by his own sword.

Three months after the abolition of the sword it was my
privilege to dine with Minister Mori and others, at his resi-
in Yedo. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. There were
present : Kuroda, Samishami, minister to France (whose
face was of a pure Grecian type), Okubo, minister of the
home department, afterwards vice-prime minister, and
others. Okubo was perhaps the most influential man in
Japan, certainly more thoroughly identified with its modern
exotic development, and more exposed to the hatred and
calumny of obstructionists than any other. In less than two
years he was waylaid and assassinated by four Samurai,
armed with the proscribed sword, while on his way to the
imperial council chamber. His assassins immediately deliv-
ered themselves up to the authorities, — voluntary sacrifices,
as they asserted, in behalf of their oppressed fellow-men.

Not the least interesting of those present was Lady Mori,
tiny and slight of figure, in dainty European costume. She
appeared only at the table, however, where she occupied
one of the humbler places. She was addressed twice or
thrice, and then only by such of the company as chanced by
their inferior rank to sit near her. It was, however, a con-
cession to foreign etiquette that she appeared at all.

While speaking of the men most conspicuous in the
oligarchy which surrounds the throne of Japan, a word is
due the emperor who sits upon it. He is the first Mikado
during many generations who has made even a pretence of
having a voice in the government. On his accession to the
throne in 1868, at the age of fifteen, he ignored the prece-
dents of centuries, burst the doors of his sacred prison,
appeared before his people, and pledged to them the future
attainment of a constitutional government. It is difficult
to say how far this manifestation sprung from his own mind,
or what is his real part in the government. Doubtless we
may say of him, as was once said of the king of the French,
" The king reigns, but he does not govern."

While the features of the emperor are not indicative of a
high order of ability, yet he is generally believed by foreign-
ers to be a man of liberal views, and is deservedly popular.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 115

Feb. 11, 1879, I witnessed the Shinto festival, commem-
orating the 2,539th anniversary of the accession of the
first emperor, Jimmu Tenno, and on the third day of No-
vember following I attended the celebration of the twenty-
seventh birthday of his royal descendant of the 121st
generation, the present emperor.

The great length of the imperial line is largely due to its
crookedness. Any child of the emperor may become heir
to the throne, whether by the empress or one of his majesty's
concubines ; and, since that branch of his family is limited
only to twelve, it is no fault of the system if the line
becomes extinct. The heir apparent is such a son.

However much the views of foreigners concerning Japan's
people may differ, I doubt if ever a traveller spoke or wrote
of her scenery save in terms of unqualified admiration. I
hesitate to attempt a just tribute to its enchanting variety,
warmth and beauty. Japan is indeed the traveller's para-
dise. It is a bit of creation more than worthy the author-
ship of her traditional gods, or to be the abode of their
children.

Imagine yourself wafted away to the shores of the bay of
Yedo, to a landscape most fair and smiling. Gentle slopes,
crested by dark fringes of gnarled pines and stately firs,
and clothed in dense masses of feathery bamboo, lead down
to the sea. The quaint eaves of many a sombre-lined temple
and holy shrine peep out here and there from the groves
The bay itself is studded with picturesque fisher-craft, the
torches of which nightly shine like glow-worms among the
outlying forts, and against the dusky shore as far as the eye
can reach. Far away to the west, beyond the twin hills of
Hakone pass, Fijiyama, the " peerless mountain," rises above
the plain, from which tradition gave it birth in fiery flames one
night two-and-twenty centuries ago. It reaches its hoary
head far above the summer clouds, as if to gaze upon the
fair face of its twin-born sister, the beautiful Lake Biwa,
three hundred miles beyond, which the self-same night was
cradled there as Fuji arose to view. Milton conceived a
scene like this when he wrote : —

" So high as heaved the tumid hill, so low
Down sank the hollow bottom, broad and deep
Capacious bed of waters."

116 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

For a glimpse of Japanese scenery fresh from nature's
hand, nothing can surpass a journey through the Island of
Yezo. There we spent weeks and months among her grand
volcanic mountains, her luxuriant vine-draped forests, in her
fertile valleys, and along her rugged, precipitous coasts, —
traversing the best highways the empire could boast, and the
most devious and nearly impassable trails and bridle-paths
the mind can conceive. Not the least of the fascinations
which draw me back to those familiar scenes comes from the
zest which a strong flavor of adventure and danger inspired ;
while the wonders of nature's laboratory there displayed are
perhaps unequalled in few places outside our own Yellow-
stone Park.

But not alone in Tokio, the treasuried capital, which
natives love and travellers delight in, nor in its suburban
scenes enriched by the landscape gardener's art, nor yet in
the primeval grandeur of the unfrequented north, does the
memory most revel in. The interior of old Japan presents
a type of domestic scenery surrounding the humble peasantry,
of quaint and simple beauty. Cosily and most comfortably
seated in that dainty two- wheeled vehicle, the jinrikisha,
or " man-power carriage," a sprite of human form and pro-
portions whisks you along over narrow and devious paths,
through a strange medley of man's and nature's patchwork,
— of pines and palms, of rice fields and fragrant buckwheat,
of elm and bamboo groves, of tea and cotton fields.

Through azalea thickets and camellia groves, across to-
bacco fields, and past rocks coA^ered with ferns of a hundred
kinds and crowned with grotesque remains, through forests
of green and scarlet maple, and over mountains clad in rich
verdure, you may journey in perfect peace, safe from rob-
bers, safe from violence, safe even from beggars.

The maidens sweetly say Ohano, " good-morning," as you
pass, where a few years since you might have been sliced up
by the sharp swords of the Samurai. Ohayo, too, call the
laborers in the fields, and the pilgrims by the way-side,
while a general komhamva, " good evening," in musical
voices and with eager courtesy, greets your arrival at even-
tide at an hospitable inn.

Bidding farewell to this island empire of the rising sun,

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 117

for full two score miles does the enchanting panorama of the
placid bay of Yedo attend you, even through the bold-
beaconed bluffs at its portal, the veritable " rock-gate of
heaven." Here, as your ship bravely sets her prow toward
America, you turn back for a last lingering look toward the
vanishing scenes astern.

Through the long, the almost sad waning of the day, the
rugged coast-line sinks, the sharp outlines of the mountain
masses are dimmed by increasing distance, growing more
and more shadowy, until at length only great solitary Fuji,
the "matchless mountain," is distinguishable above the
cloud-land in which all forms are lost.

It seems a mighty symbol of the nation's being, above
whose mythical foundation and source — now shrouded in
the mists and shadows of time and tradition — appear the
outlines of a history towering up through the ages into
the clear atmosphere of present knowledge. And, ere the
symbol fades from view, a radiant halo of sunset splendor
bursts up through the mists and clouds about it, gilding the
sharply truncated summit, — the same sun that even then is
quickening the earnest life of a higher civilization in the
West, seeming to hold out to the people of this the hope and
promise of a brighter and better moral, social and political
life than had been conceived in that first great volume of
their history, the close of which our day has witnessed.

Adjourned to Wednesday, at 9.30.

118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

SECOND DAY.

The meeting was called to order at half-past nine o'clock,
Mr. Grinnell in the chair.

The Chairman. The Executive Committee, gentlemen,
have requested me to preside over the meeting to-day, I
suppose as a matter of compliment to me as being the sole
survivor of the first body of the Board of Agriculture estab-
lished in this State, the last original member of the Board.

The inception and the object of the Board of Agriculture
and its accomplishments were so ably set forth by our elo-
quent chairman, yesterday, that it needs nothing further
from me. It is a pleasure for us to meet and continue our
association year after year. It is a great pleasure to meet
the farmers and the people of the vicinity in which we hold
our meetings, and the benefits of these meetings are and
have been great. There is one thing to which I wish to al-
lude, and that is, the results of our meeting, our essays, and
of our discussions. I regard as among the most valuable
part of the proceedings the admirable reports of our Board
which have been published for thirty-five years, and have
been taken as models by many Boards of Agriculture in
other States. Commenced as they were in a most admirable
manner, and continued in the same way, they form a great
addition to a farmer's Hljrary, and I know that many an
evening hour is whiled away by the perusal of those volumes
at many farmers' firesides. These reports grow in value
every year; and, as valuable as they have been, it is cer-
tainly proper that I should say that they have lost nothing
of their value and their interest, nor of the admirable man-
ner in which they are arranged, under our present secretary,
who has accomplished all that the best of his friends wished
for him when they elected him two years ago. [Applause.]
Our yesterday's discussions were upon the means of fertili-
zation and of raising crops ; to-day the programme turns
mostly upon the results of those means upon the crops

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 119

which we raise, and largely to those smaller crops so essen-
tial to our comfort and true pecuniary success as farmers.
The first of those to-day will be read by a gentleman whom
you all know, who is prominent in his own county and in
the State, and who has besides had a large practical experi-
ence in growing cranberries in the interior of the State. I
think it is desirable to have the experience of such a man,
as most of our papers and most of the discussions on that
subject have been confined to the great cranberry bogs along
the coast. The essay on cranberry culture will be read by
the Hon. J. W. Stockwell of Sutton, whom it is my pleasure
to introduce to you.

CRANBERRY CULTURE.

BY J. W. STOCKWELL OF SUTTON.

The cranberry is supposed to have been so named, says
White, " from the appearance of its bud." Just before ex-
panding into the perfect flower, the stem, calyx and petals
resemble the neck, head and bill of the crane ; hence the
name " craneberry " or cranberry. I have never noticed
this resemblance, but had supposed it took its name from
being found on the borders of ponds and in wet meadows
or marshes, where the cranes or herons " most do congre-
gate." Be this as it may, its bud and blossom are beauti-
ful, and resemble, in their general appearance, the bud and
blossom of the " patridge-berry," or of the green-house
plant, the bouvardia, — not quite so large as the latter, and
much larger than the former, but of similar form and of a
delicate pink color.

The cranberry is a native of North America, and is found
from Virginia to Minnesota. It is a vine, trailing along the
ground, sometimes on rich soil, in favorable locations, running
ten feet or more, sending out branches, and these branches
other smaller ones, so that when broken near its root, and
carefully drawn out, you have a long vine, interwoven with
others, suflScient to cover a large plat of ground. These
branches send down from the joints numerous little roots to
help sustain the plant and to grow the fruit, but not in such
numbers as would seem needful to support so much life and
perfect the berry. And this peculiarity is explained by the

120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

analysis of the fruit, which is found to contain less than two-
tenths of one per cent of organic matter as derived from
the soil, all the rest being derived from the air and from
water ; science thus showing us how little except air and
water, in the laboratory of nature, are needed for productive
growth. The leaves of the cranberry vine are oblong, and
vary in hue from a bronze to a dark green. The fruit is of
a light green color when growing, turning to a lighter green
before taking on its rich crimson tint of ripeness. The color
of the mature fruit varies, with soil, mode of culture, location
and variety of berry, from the light red of our inland bogs
to the " black-cap " of the Cape. The dark color has been
thought to indicate thorough ripeness, — a mistake that has
often had an undue influence in the market in favor of the
poorer table berry, and discouraging to the planting of in-
land bogs, because the difierence of one dollar or one
dollar and fifty cents per barrel is often the difierence be-
tween profit and loss. Were this dark berry really the
better fruit, it would be well ; but when, instead, the lighter
is the finer flavored, the richer, the more juicy, and of
brighter color when on the table, then it would seem that
inland cultivated berries should be preferred by good house-
keepers. The difference between the dark berry of the
Cape and the lighter colored inland berry of the improved
bog, I will illustrate by the comparison familiar to us farmers
between the two varieties of apple — the Roxbury Russet and
the Rhode Island Greening : the one drier, with a thicker
skin, can be handled more roughly and is the better keeper ;
the other, with a thinner skin, more juicy and tender, is
easily injured, and decays sooner if injured. I used a few
days ago some of the lighter colored berries, picked more
than a year since, which were as fresh and finely flavored as
if just gathered from the vines. However, the fact remains,
the purchaser seldom cares for the difference in flavor, or
knows that there is any — a cranberry is a cranberry to him,
and nothing more ; so the dark colored fruit will hold its
vantage, especially as dealers will always prefer it because
it is the better keeper, and consequently there is less danger
of decay and loss.

This diflference is largely due to the soil and culture, rather

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 121

than to the nature of the berry ; even the ' ' black-cap "
brightens its hue on our rich meadow lands in the interior
of the State. Again, on the more luxuriant vines of the
richer soil it is readily seen that all the berries cannot be of
the same dark hue with a crop of two hundred bushels or
more per acre (which is only a fair yield) , for such a crop
cannot give to all the berries an equal chance at the heat and
sunlight ; and a part of the fruit, just as large, finely flavored
and mature, will lack uniform color until after the picking
and spreading in the store-house.

It has been said that the cranberry plant, if put on very
strong land, will run to vines and produce little or no fruit.
This, I am confident, is a mistake, if the bog is properly
levelled and sufficiently sanded. Instead, the richer and
deeper the soil beneath, the larger will be the crops, and the
more continuous and the finer the flavor of the fruit. " Cran-
berry culture," as now understood, is comparatively recent in
its origin, and is immense in its growth. I cannot, in the short
time allotted to me this morning, give you even a bird's-eye
view of the growth in the past fifty years, or less, since the
culture began, or hint at the change brought about by this
industry in the eastern part of this State and in a part of
New Jersey, notably in three counties. The comparatively
barren place has been made to bud and blossom and bring
forth fruit delightful to the palate and peculiarly healthful
as food. By it these poor soils have assumed a value far
beyond that of the richest farming lands of the West, and
have given to their owners not merely competence but
wealth.

We will now look to certain requisites of location, methods
of preparing the soil and training the vines.

The first requisite for a successful cranberry bog in the
middle or western part of the State is water, — a good and
sure supply for every emergency. In the spring, for
safety from frosts ; in the summer, for use against insect
pests ; in the fall, for security again against frosts, and in the
winter for covering the vines. Therefore, an unfailing reser-
voir, or reservoir rights, or water rights (if on a mill stream) ,
are absolutely essential to success, or to satisfactory results.
Having the water supply secured, next look for sand of good

122 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

quality ; that is, rather coarse than fine, and free as possible
from loam or other impurities, near at hand and easily access-
ible to the bogs you propose to plant.

These two conditions being assured, you are ready to
begin the work by perfecting a system ©f drainage, cutting
the large main drains with sufficient incline to insure a quick
flow when desired ; into the main drains the cross drains
should be cut at short intervals, to carry ofi" the water after
rains and to give the full effect of the sun's rays upon the
growing fruit to hasten its maturity. Having the drains
completed you are ready for work upon the bog, preparing
it for its coat of sand. This is frequently done by levelling
the inequalities only, and this may be sufficient and best on
some Cape bogs. But on a meadow, with a subsoil of rich
muck or peat, six, eight, ten or more feet in depth, and
with the tenacity for life which some of our meadow grasses
have, I think any bog will be more satisfactory in after years
if it be smoothly turned over with a flat furrow steel plough,
drawn by a steady, strong team, able to cut through any
hassocks or roots, without flinching or overwork. The cut-
ter of the plow should be drawing, or circular and rotary, of
the best steel, and sharp as possible. These directions are
for a grass meadow. Any other must be treated as the cir-
cumstances demand, so it is levelled ; or better, slightly
inclined from the center of each section toward the ditches.

You are now ready for the sand to be laid on, to the depth
of five or six inches, — six the better. It is supposed this
is on the border of your meadow, and if so, a portable tram-
way should be laid to the extreme part of the bog, that you
may work back toward the source of supply. Circum-
stances must govern you in the method of hauling the sand
to its place. On some meadows the incline is sufficient to
require no draft to carry it, — only men or a horse to take
back the cars. On the other bogs power must be used both
ways. Generally the use of four cars will keep a good
working force employed at the bank, by the quick exchange
of the two by horse power. This part of the work can be
done in the summer, fall, or winter (the sand being dumped
in heaps and spread in the spring if frozen) , or in the early
spring ; but this season should be, if possible, reserved for

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 123

setting the vines, which work should always be done in the
spring, and for the best results, certainly not later than the
first of June.

The setting of the vines I shall propose to do by the
method called hill-planting, — the only one I shall describe
this morning, though there are other methods that may in
some cases be better.

The tools (all home-made) for the planting of the vines
are first a marker, made of light material, to be easily
drawn by a man, marking or indicating more or less rows
as you please ; next, a spud : to make this, take a round
stick or piece of wood pointed at the lower end, about ten
inches from the rather blunt point, bore a hole in this stick
and drive in firmly a piece of strong wood projecting on one
side about three inches, upon which to place the foot to drive
it into the ground, making the hole for the planting ; last,
a dibble, or small wooden trowel, for setting the vines.
These simple implements are sufiicient for ordinary work,
the marker leading and making straight rows, followed by
the spud driven into the ground at each intersection, and
carefully withdrawn that the hole shall not fill ; again fol-
lowed by a boy to carry and select and have ready the vines
for the trusty and careful man to set them in the holes and
press the sand firmly around them, which completes the
work.

The vines should be fresh and thrifty, not allowed to wilt
or shrivel, but kept moist or in water, till placed in the hill.
They should be prepared by hand-sorting, to be sure they
are clean from any and every other root or grass, and when
cleaned, straightened out into ropes, and these cut into
lengths of about nine inches (if the sand is six inches deep),
and bound in blocks or bundles of convenient size (some-
what as kiln-dried kindling fuel is tied up) , for the boy who
shall accompany the planter. After being thoroughly soaked
in water till they take on a bright, fresh look, they are ready
for use.

Now the planter takes a small handful , — perhaps from a
dozen to a score of the cut vines, — and grasping the top
end firmly in one hand, places the square end of the dib-
ble on the vines about two inches from the other end and

124 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

carries them down into the hole, being careful to leave the
vines perfectly straight down in the ground, the tops being
two inches above the level sand. These will quickly send
out shoots and runners. In our inland meadows, — and it
is for these I am giving these details, — the hills should not
be less than eighteen inches apart each way, to assure the
best results.

Thorough, careful culture, removing every root of weed
or grass, is absolutely essential during the first and second
years of growth, while the third .year should give a fair crop
of first-class berries.

One hundred and fifty bushels is a fair and average yield
per acre, though a yield of from two hundred and fifty to
three hundred and fifty bushels is not uncommon on our
meadows.

Having our meadow thus planted and growing, what hin-
ders it from being a continuous source of profit to the owner?
It seems to be a fiict that no crop of any value to the pro-
ducer has yet been discovered that has not its insect pests,
its dangers and its drawbacks, — and the cranberry is surely
far from being an exception. The first point I will mention
is the danger of variation of temperature. The bog is a
source of constant anxiety from the day the water is drawn
otf (May 10 to 15) till the last berry is picked.

The water being drawn ofi", if conditions are favorable.
May 15, the danger from the light frosts is not safely
passed until June 10, and the susceptible, tender shoots
containing the blossom buds must be carefully guarded, or
the loss of the crop will be inevitable thus early in the sea-
son, for these fruit buds form in the fall and appear with
the first signs of life in the spring. Then the frosts in the
fall must be carefully guarded against. I do not think it
safe for the owner of an inland bog to be off duty after Au-
gust 15, though it is very seldom that the frosts to injure
a sanded bog come before the 25th of August. The past
season,, the frost of September 6, so severe as to aflect the
Cape and Jersey even, proves the need of a full supply of
water, and that the cranberry grower must be constantly on
the watch to save his crop. The green berries are very sus-
ceptible to frost, growing more hardy as the fruit matures.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 125

To illustrate : the frost that was so destructive to the crop
this past fall, September 6, would have had little or no
effect had it occurred September 20, or 15 even, — the
ripened berries would have withstood the same degree of
cold without harm.

Next, insect pests. The cranberry grower soon learns
that his culture is not exempt from insect enemies, the mil-
ler and its result — the fire-fang, the fruit-worm, the cricket
and the grasshopper — each comes in its season to add to
your care, and to demand your immediate attention to save
the crop. The unfailing remedy is water, best applied when
wind and current will unite to waft all insects safely over the
dam as you let the water off; for the insect pests that are
carried over the dam never come back to trouble you again.
It has been thought that a decoction of tobacco sprinkled
over the vines will stay the ravages of the fire-worm, but I
did not find it efiicient in my experiments with it the past
season. If this shall succeed, or if the remedy can be found
that shall destroy the miller, and consequently the fire-fang,
on meadows that have not the benefit of water, it will be of
incalculable value to the many growers who are obliged to
stand by and see the promise of a golden harvest vanish be-
fore their eyes, with no power to stay or to save.

The picking is done by hand, costing from forty to sixty
cents per bushel, and a good, smart picker will earn from a
dollar and a half to two dollars per day, while the average
picker will make from one dollar to a dollar and a half, the
day being about eight hours long. There is no more beauti-
ful crop raised than the cranberry. The bud and the blos-
som are "a thing of beauty," and the well-cultivated bog
is, from about June 15 to the close of the season, very
attractive and enticing, but most so as the fruit approaches
maturity, taking on its crimson tint, and hanging from its
little pendant stems, one berry above another crowding for
the sunlight and the air and the heat, as though hastening to
mature itself before the coming of the frost.

The question now to be settled is the final one, and the
important one of profit and loss.

As we have seen, the cranberry is an American plant. It
has not taken root in other countries, nor has the fruit been

126 BOAED OF AGEICULTUKE. [Jan.

received with favor in Europe. They neither know how to
cook it there nor care to eat it, and therefore we have no
export demand for this fruit. There was a stock company of
cranbeny growers formed to export and introduce the fruit,
and create a demand for it. An agent was sent out to show
how to cook it in the various ways, and to furnish the hotels
with the sauce properly prepared to excite the palate and
induce a call for it ; but I think it was a failure and was
abandoned. Therefore, as we learned to our sorrow one
recent year, we find no export demand to relieve the market ;
and our only recourse for an over-supply is the " dumps,"
and in such a case the sympathy between the cranberry
grower and his fruit is marked, if not gratifying. This fact
certainl}^ should have place in our calculations at this point.

"The cranberry business," says White, "is no longer
looked upon as speculative. It now takes its place as an
industry that will make good returns for well-bestowed
labor ; but, like any other business, to be pursued profitably,
it must be conducted on right principles, and with strict
attention to details. Some, from a peculiar knowledge of
what was required, and others more by a good fortune than
good management in selecting a locality, have achieved
brilliant results ; but many have failed, and many are now
entering the business who will be disappointed."

If this was the case, then, when the price of the berries
was from nine to twelve dollars per barrel, it cannot be more
favorable when from five to seven dollars is a good price per
barrel delivered in market. It would not be fair to deter-
mine the profits of this culture by the very unsatisfactor}^
year just passed, or by the present unsatisfactory prices of
the market, — the result of the condition of the fruit, caused
by the frosts so extensive and destructive ; the attempt to
save berries and reduce the loss has in many instances re-
sulted in the greater loss to the individual producer himself,
and certainly to the great body of producers. Under the
favorable conditions of the Cape, good bogs with sufiicient
water supply will usually be very remunerative. The con-
ditions are more favorable than in the interior ; the grasses
are not so persistent and aggressive ;• the frosts are not so
late in the spring or early in the fall. They can pick the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 127

berries more leisurely and market them from the bog. So
we find it true that the cranberry on the Cape is, and will
probably continue to be, very profitable. There can be
little doubt of this. Then the question comes to us in the
interior of the State, Taking circumstances as they are, is it
a sufficiently remunerative crop for the extra hazardous
nature of the investment ? Given the necessary conditions
to success, I believe it may be made so, and should be
encouraged, not in expectation of enormous profits, but
anticipating fair returns for the money invested, unless
over-production should result in loss to all engaged in this
legitimate branch of agriculture. With the knowledge
brought to us from experience and careful scientific experi-
ment, we may reasonably hope that many obstacles to
present success in cranberry culture in the interior of our
State will be overcome.

The Chairman. Gentlemen, you have heard this interest-
ing essay on cranberries on dry land. Mr. Stock well will
be pleased to answer any questions or take up any points,
and I should hope that the people from the Cape especially
would have" something to say.

Mr. Ware of Marblehead. There is one point I do not
quite understand. I understood from the essayist the im-
portance of rich, strong and deep bogs ; and then that they
were to be covered with six inches of pure sand without any
soil. I want to inquire whether the cranberry's delicate
roots reach down through that six inches of sand and draw
their nourishment from the rich bog underneath ? The in-
ference I drew from the paper was that they did ; but I did not
suppose the roots of the cranberry-vine, being so delicate,
would reach to that depth for nourishment.

Mr. Stockwell. I stated in the essay that the vine
should be cut in lengths of from seven to nine inches ; the
dibble placed upon the vine about two inches from the end
so as to carry it down through the sand to the loam below,
and from them come out the shoots and runners ; therefore,
you have roots at every one of these intersections below the
point where the cranberry-vine strikes the loam. The little
roots from the runners do not reach the loam.

128 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Mr. Ware. Then I understand the crop is dependent for
its food upon the roots that go down below the sand ?

Mr. Stockwell. I did not intend to have it so under-
stood, because I said the peculiarity of the cranberry is that
most of its life is drawn from the air and water.

Mr. Ware. Then the point I want to get at is, is there
any advantage in a rich bog under the soil over any other,
for instance, a gravelly subsoil, or any subsoil that might be
under the sand ?

Mr. Stockwell. I thinlc there is an advantage, the
advantage that we find in every crop that is raised upon rich
land — a difference in flavor. There is just as much differ-
ence in the flavor of the cranberry as there is in the flavor of
the apple ; and yet very few people know it. Now let me
illustrate : At a meeting of the Union Agricultural Society
in our town we had two distinguished speakers present,
whom you all know, who have attended these meetings very
frequently, and upon the table was cranberry sauce. They
at once remarked upon the peculiar flavor and character of
the sauce ; they never had tasted any like it ; they were not
particularly inclined toward cranberry sauce ; but from that
time to this each one of those speakers has had a barrel of
cranberries from the inland bogs, and takes no other.

Mr. CusHMAN of Lakeville. In continuation of this thought
I would like to make inquiry. I notice in many bogs of the
Cape they commence at the shore and dig back on a level
plane, carrying the sand upon the bog. Some utilize this
land where they have dug, and others do not. Now, I would
like to inquire of the essayist whether he would set vines
upon that sandy soil that has no mud underneath ?

Mr. Stockwell. I certainly should, because you would
receive fruit from it ; but upon such ground it would be
necessary to find some fertilizer, while upon other land it
will not.

Mr. CusHMAN. This would be flooded, you understand,
the same as the bog.

Mr. Stockwell. Certainly you will obtain a crop ; but
you will need to use some strong fertilizers, I think, for good
fruit.

Mr. Edson of Barnstable. I reside in a cranberry-grow-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 129

ing region, and am somewhat interested in the cranberry
business. We consider the Early Bhick the best, for several
reasons. They l)ring a better price, they are ripe about two
weeks earlier than the lighter colored berry, and so escape
the frost to a great extent. They are not quite as large,
but they are more solid. Open one of those early black
berries and you will find it a full, solid berry. Open those
light colored berries, larger in size, and you will find they
are very open, very hollow. They do not make as much jelly
or cranberry sauce as the darker berry. I like to see a
good dark red in cranberry sauce.

It is not absolutely necessary' to be able to flow the bogs
at any time. I presume nine-tenths of our bogs on the Cape
have no facilities for flowing in the summer season. We can
let the water on in the fall, and keep it on as late as we like,
but we can not replace it except we have a shower, and that
does not come when we have frosts. In regard to making a
bog, I will admit that in the interior the plan of the essayist
will be proper. I will go further. I think it would pay to
bog that piece ; take otf every particle of the turf so as to
get the roots out of the way entirely. They are persistent
in coming through, unless you put on six inches of sand ; and
then they will come through occasionally. The idea of put-
ting on so much sand is merely to keep out the foul stufl".
Our best cranberry growers have a very large income. We
tax the bogs when they are first made at about $1.50 an
acre. Then as they come into bearing our assessors cause
the growers to make their returns every year of the number
of barrels taken off of those bogs, and they are taxed accord-
ing to their product ; and I think they are pretty well taxed.

Mr. Sessions. Will you state about how higli a valua-
tion they attain?

Mr. Edson. Well, we value them up as high as one
thousand dollars an acre when they produce a full crop.
The best crop we ever had was nearly two barrels to the rod.
If we get a barrel to the rod, or one hundred barrels to the
acre, we consider it a very good crop. In making a bog, I
would advise any one, even in the interior, to take oflf every
particle of roots and grass and rushes that are there. It is
something of a job, but if you will take that trouble it will

130 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

pay in the end. What is taken up will make a very good
absorbent to put in your cow-yard, and you get partly paid
for the expense in that way. Then, instead of putting on
six inches of sand, I would put on only three. The cran-
berry does take its nourishment from the peat below the
sand, there is no doubt about it, and the cranberry root does
not want to go six inches down. They do not do as well in
six inches of sand as in three ; it costs much more to put on
six inches of sand than three. Our cranberry king says if
your bog is likely to be weedy, put on four or five inches of
sand ; if you are clear of all the turf and weeds, he does
not want over three inches. I am talking only of the Cape.
You want your bog very level. We ditch in sections about
five rods wide, making a ditch about eighteen inches wide,
and deep enough to carry off all the water. We want to
keep the ditch nearly full, within about five inches of the
top, and if the sections are more than five rods wide, the
center of your section will not do as well as that which is
nearer the water. When we get on our three inches of sand,
we work it perfectly straight both ways, and at the inter-
section of the lines set the vines. We want the runners
from two to three feet in length. We take a dibble, and
one of those long vines, and place it about four inches from
the center of the cross. Run them clear down into the mud
below, so they will go two or three inches into the mud.
It will branch or sprout readily. We s'et them around in
what they call flower-pot style in that section. We find that
plan of setting does the best. Women do that work a great
deal, and do it very nicely. It is good clean work, and they
like it, and make good wages, and we can always get them.
We have tried raking in the vines. They will start and grow,
but you cannot weed them. The first year they need hoe-
ing three times, because no matter how clean your sand and
gravel, it is astonishing to see what will grow. Clover and
weeds will come right out of the gravel, and you will be kept
pretty busy keeping them down. They seem to start from
the sand, and when you get the bog made, there is a good
deal of trouble in keeping it clean. You have to go over it
three times a year for the first two years. If you allow the
grass to get the start you may as well give it up, and bog it

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 131

over. A gentleman said to me, " I have paid a dollar a rod
this year to keep one bog clear of weeds." You can make a
bog for a little more than that. It will cost in our cedar
and maple swamps about two hundred dollars an acre to pre-
pare a bog if you have your sand handy. I think we can
put sand or gravel on the bogs cheaper with barrows when
we do not have over one hundred and fifty paces to wheel it
than we can with a horse. Men will go very quickly with
barrows, running them on planks just where the sand is
wanted. It spreads very easily and much more evenly than
if it is put on with a cart. I am making five acres now, and
they will cost me just about two hundred dollars an acre.
The plan described by the essayist may be best for the in-
terior, but we find that our plan is best for us.

Mr. Cedikshanks. How long will these bogs remain in
bearing condition without bogging over?

Mr. Edson. There is the advantage of putting on a little
more sand. If you put on four inches of sand, it does not
require rebogging or resetting as soon. If you put on but
two inches of sand, it runs out sooner ; but then they have
a plan of putting sand on the vine, about an inch of sand
right over the vine in winter.

Question. Do you recommend that?

Mr. Edson. I think it is a good plan. The third year
you ought to get the best crop, and it ought to pay for your
bog, and leave you a pretty good income besides ; but after
that, the fourth or fifth year, it would be better to put on
another inch of sand, and then your bog will go on better
than with fertilizers.

Question. Go on forever without re-sanding?

Mr. Edson. No. After a while the vines may get rather
weedy and iTin to a very heavy growth of vines. We have
had a good deal of trouble there this year with frost, and
the cranberry association are talking very strongly of can-
ning those berries or making them into jelly, putting them
up in glass jars. Many housekeepers say they had rather
have the frosted berries to make a jelly of than the other.
Mr. Small of Harwich told me he had a thousand barrels
on his bog he would give to any one that would pick them.
There would be a thousand barrels to put into cans. I

132 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

1)clieve we can find a market for the canned fruit and jelly.
Almost every lady would rather have the berries all ready
to put on the table than to put them up herself.

Mr. . The essayist says two distinguished gentle-
men found the sauce at Sutton very nice. I would like to
ask him if it does not make a little diiference how you cook
the cranberry, what you mix with it. It strikes me there
may have been something in that. Poor molasses or poor
sugar makes a great difference.

Mr. Stockwell. I should prefer to leave the credit of it
with the berry. My friend Mr. Edson speaks of the Early
Black. He does not speak any too highly of the berry. If
I was going to set out any berry on an inland meadow, I
would take the Early Black. It is the earlier fruit. And
then when you take the black-cap of the Cape, and bring it
into the interior, it takes on that bright hue that is so much
superior to the dark shades of the Cape berries. No doubt
the culture makes a great difference in the weight of the
berry. Large berries such as we raise will outweigh any
other berry that is grown upon natural soil, or that does not
have the right culture. On the Cape they do not need
the water usually, but that is essential and necessary for
us in the interior. They have not the frosts that we have.
They can more easily pick their berries, because it is very
seldom that the early frost that troubles us touches the
Cape bog or Jersey bog, therefore they can get along
without the water. But my friend Mr. Edson speaks of
the water as necessary, and the ditches as filled to help
mature the crop. It is exactly the opposite with us. We
want all the heat we can get from the sun in order to
mature the fruit. On the Cape they desire the water in
order that the cranberry may grow to a good size. But it
is exactly the opposite with us, so there is no comparison.

Now, with reference to hill planting and taking the turf
off. That may be in certain cases advisable ; it depends
upon the character of your meadow. If it is nothing but
grass or roots or brush, you might do it, but you are not
going to get rid of the persistent grasses by taking off the
turf, because their roots remain ; and Mr. Edson finds them
in the sand. They are coming up through if you put on

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 133

your two or three inches of sand. It won't do, by any
means, in the interior of the State ; six inches is better.
When you do a thing, do it well. Then, in the interior of
the State you are not obliged to re-sand » if you keep your
grasses out, neither are you obliged to fertilize ; you have
it all there for an indefinite period of time. If your vines
get too bushy, cut them oiF, or take out part and let them
grow again. If you do that, nothing more is needed.

Now, in reference to planting. I set eighteen inches apart
right down throus-h into the rich meadow mould. That is
what all Cape growers say is dangerous. They say you
should not have a rich soil because they run to vines. If
you will plant them eighteen inches apart and give them a
chance to get at the rich soil you will not be troubled,
because your runners come from the sand, therefore you are
saving the meadow from a superabundance of vines and are
getting a crop. Now, in reference to the crop. The interior
will give as large a crop as the Cape. As to the grass, I
was speaking to one of the largest cranberry growers in
Plymouth County, and he said he would not take a grass
meadow as a gift. That is the opinion held in many parts
of the Cape, because of the persistency of the grass.
Nevertheless we find them profitable, and if we could be
sure of security against frost, and had a proper supply of
water, it is as safe to plant in the interior as on the Cape.
The method of setting vines which Mr. Edson has described
may be the best on the Cape, but I do not believe it is in the
interior, for the reason that, for the first two years, if set
as I recommend, a dozen or a score of vines coming up in
their place and runners starting, you can cultivate and keep
down the weeds with much less expense.

The Chairman. The time for this interesting discussion
has expired, and the discussion will be continued at the hotel
between Mr. Edson and Mr, Stockwell. We are now to
take up the next subject, which is on the cultivation of the
apple, one of the most essential fruits of New England.
We are disappointed in not having a paper to be read on the
subject, the occasion of which the secretary will explain.

Mr. Sessions. On the twenty-seventh of last month, too

134 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

late to make any definite arrangements, we received a line
from Mr. Brown, who was to speak on the Apple Orchard,
saying that owing to ill health he was unable to deliver the
lecture. Yesterday I engaged two Connecticut gentlemen
to occupy his time, who will do it well, — Mr. P. M. Augur,
State Pomologist, and Secretary T. S. Gold.

THE APPLE ORCHARD.

Mr. Augur. I will only touch upon two or three points,
as the time is limited. And first, the great value of the
apple. We could not well do without it, and its use, we
all admit, should be greatly increased. The question may
be asked. What land shall we use to plant apple orchards
upon? All agree that fertile land near our large cities,
near good markets, and where land is called for for market
gardening, is too valuable to plant apple orchards upon ; and
again, we find that by going back a little from the cities and
taking the land, if I may so speak, on the back hills, ele-
vated land, land with a strong soil, and a retentive subsoil,
we get our best locations. We find in Connecticut that
orchards planted on such land are more durable, that is,
they last longer. I was told a few years ago by an old dis-
tiller who lived in one of the towns in a farming community
that he knew it to be a fact that cider made from orchards
on this retentive soil, would yield one-third more brandy
than cider from orchards on the plain where the land was
sandy and light. The fruit is richer, its keeping qualities
are better, unquestionably so ; and for that reason, consider-
ing the lower value of those lands, and their greater value
for apple orchards, we should naturally choose such lands for
planting apple orchards.

Now, having said so much, suppose we ask the question,
What shall we plant? Having selected our site for an
orchard, wliich I think should be one that can be cultivated,
what shall we plant? I am not going to say anything
about varieties, but we will take the ideal tree from the
nursery. If I should plant an orchard, I should want to
get an ideal tree, and then select the whole orchard to con-
form to that ideal. Many orchards have only a few good
trees, a great many leaning trees, a great many dwarfish

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 135

trees. It is seldom that we see a good orchard ; but if we
will select nursery trees that are grown from first-class seed-
lings we shall make a good beginning. And if you choose
grafts, be sure that a seedling stock shall make only one
tree, that we make that tree on a stock which has the center
of vitality in it instead of buying a fragment of some side
root. There are a great many root grafts that are imperfect.
We should select trees that are budded on first-class seed-
ling stocks. Then I would have a tree, which, when you take
hold of it in a nursery, seems firm, well balanced with roots,
not with the roots all on one side. Select them all as near
as possible after one model, and let them head. My own
idea is they should head from five to five and a half feet from
the surface or possibly six feet, but I would not have them
less than five or five and a half feet, in or^er to give better
opportunity for cultivating in the orchard. We have some
trees that head lower than that and it is a great annoyance
to cultivate under them, therefore I would select them after
such a model, and if trees are entirely selected with well-bal-
anced stocks, you may set an orchard of five acres, and at
the end of fifteen years have likely trees. It is a point
greatly to be desired, to have a perfect orchard.

Another point that I would allude to is the matter of
cultivation. When we plant an orchard we should endeavor
to secure a good start the first year, precisely as we would
if we were raising stock. If we have a nice calf, we want to
keep that calf growing right along from birth to maturity.
If a tree gets a very decided check, at transplanting, or
within a year or two after, it is more difficult to get it started
again and recover the time. It is best for mulching and for
cultivation if the trees are well transplanted. We want to
get a good growth the first year, yet not an overgrowth. I
think there are two extremes that we should avoid, one is
starvation, and the other is excessive growth. I remember
within two or three weeks seeing a little item in the ' ' Home-
stead" that attracted my attention, in regard to a peach
orchard where the trees had died, or at least portions of
them had died, near the ground, and the question was, what
was the matter with them ? Of course I do not know how
that orchard was managed, but my first impression was, and

136 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

I presume it was a fact, that there had been an overgrowth
on those trees, that the growth had been prolonged late into
the season, and before the bud had become fully matured a
frost had come and destroyed the cambium layer, and that a
portion of the tree near the ground had been injured. Peach
orchards are very often destroyed in that way, and pear
trees as well. I recollect in my own experience a pear
orchard where we planted currants between the rows of
pear trees, and after getting a crop of currants we renewed
the cultivation in the fall. We had a part of the orchard
devoted to Clapp's Favorite, and we noticed we had a later
growth on those trees than we desired, particularly as that
variety is a very free grower. Well, the consequence was,
that in three or four years these trees all failed. I think it
was not the orchard pear l)light, but the trees suffered from
too much growth, the wood did not mature well, it did not
harden up good. So in regard to the apple. I think this
is a point we should avoid. I have in mind now an orchard
in our city which was in its time called the best orchard in
town ; the land wus devoted to onions, and highly cultivated
through the season, and those trees made an. enormous gi-owth ;
it was remarked by everybody. But there came a time when
the onion crop was discontinued, and it was laid down to
grass ; and the revulsion was so great that those trees at once
received a shock, and from that time the orchard began to
go down. I think there had been too great growth, the wood
was soft, spongy, and the trees fiiiled very quickly.

Now, in reference to the apple orchard, I think if we can
adopt that idea and make haste slowly, keeping a good
moderate growth, never an excessive growth, not cultivating
the ground late in the season to get a protracted growth,
that we shall go on and get our orchards in good shape, and
the trees will be probably remunerative.

I will allude to just another point, and that is the matter
of pruning. Here I think we make more mistakes than in
almost any other point. We take this ideal tree that I have
spoken of and plant it, after having smoothed off the ends
of the good roots carefully. Then let us look at the head.
I prefer trees that are three years old, and that have com-
menced forming a head. Very often we shall find that three-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 137

fourths of the top which has been formed should be taken off.
We want perhaps four, or possibly five, branches to be main
branches of the tree. Let us take out everything else. Let
us not raise an indiscriminate top of tangled wood to be sorted
out after the branches grow, leaving large scars where rot will
commence, from which the trees will suffer. If we could
prune our young orchards, beginning at the start, taking out
everything superfluous, following it annually, never forget-
ting for a single year to take out everything which is not
needed, we should have shapely trees, no badly snarled speci-
mens, but trees that will go into bearing in perfect form and
in perfect condition, and we shall find that we have saved
time, and saved in every way by so doing. The trees will
commence to bear sooner, and bear more perfect fruit, and
the result will be more satisfactory to all copcerned.

There are other points, but I will leave them to Secretary
Gold, who will speak of them from experience. [Applause.]

Mr. T. S. Gold of Connecticut. What is one going to do
when the time is already exhausted before he begins, and
when, as inmy case, I have not done anything or thought of
anything but how to handle an apple crop for the last three
months ? You must excuse me if my remarks are entirely
in the way of reminiscences of my observations with regard
to the apple tree and its fruit.

Now, with regard to the question whether we should culti-
vate orchards, and how long we should cultivate them, I do
not propose to speak ; but I want to call to your mind the
fjict that all the great bearers that you remember in every
town in the Commonwealth are trees that stand where they
have had by no possibility any culture from the time they
were planted. They are trees that stand in some rich, deep,
strong, fat corner of land, so protected by fences or other-
wise that they have had no culture. Their roots have
been allowed to run near the surface. Their growth and fer-
tility has been promoted by the droppings of the cattle, or
the natural setting towards them of the surface of the land.
You see old, magnificent trees that sometimes yield a hundred
bushels of fruit, and are alive and vigorous to their extreme
branches. This may enable you to form conclusions with

138 BOAED OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

regard to the manner in which you should treat an orchard.
The most poverty-stricken orchards that I have seen are
those that are in fields which have been made to yield crop
after crop, and last of all a few crops of rye, because no
other grain would grow there ; and all this time farmers are
complaining that the orchard does not pay.

With regard to varieties, I will have a word to say. For
market purposes the fewer varieties you cultivate the more
comfortably ofi" you will be in disposing of your crop ; but
if you wish to have apples every year, a continuous supply
for your family and a continuous supply for the market, it
will not do to rely upon one, two, three or four varieties.
With a large number of varieties you will be quite sure of a
continuous supply ; very remarkable seasons excepted. If,
in addition to planting a number of varieties upon your farms,
you will select a variety of locations for your orcharding,
not putting all your eggs into one basket, so to speak, by
having the orchard all in one location, exposed to the same
influences of weather, affected similarly by drouth or exces-
sive wet ; if instead of this you distribute your orchard
somewhat upon your farm, you will score another point in
having a uniform and continuous supply. It has been my
experience that whenever a new variety has been recom-
mended, I have been anxious to secure it, and I have added
to my varieties until now I have probably over one hundred
kinds of grafted fruit growing upon my farm. The annoy-
ance and confusion that results when we are gathering fruit,
to keep the different varieties in the proper places, is very
great, to say the least. But it is very satisfactory when some
varieties that are very rare and difficult to produce, and
which do not produce a perfect apple once in five years,
bloom out upon you with most perfect fruit. It is wonder-
fully satisfactory to be able to produce a dish of the old-
fashioned Pearmain in its beauty and glory. You feel as
though you had done something ; although it is one of those
things which you can not account for. Providence has favored
you, in addition to your own labors, with temperature and
climate and conditions just right to enable you to do it ; but
there is very great gratification in it, and if 3'ou seek supreme
gratification in fruit culture, apple culture especially, you

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 139

will, of course, delight yourself with a large number of
varieties. But for the market the Baldwin and Greening
are standards most reliable here in New England. The
Baldwin has a habit of failure upon certain light soils, — upon
the gravelly soils in our valleys. Upon our hills, with their
heavier soils, it is as hardy as any of our forest trees. The
Greening is sometimes discarded in certain places, but I
think you will agree with me that, take it one year with
another, you can pick as many bushels of good Greening
apples in a day as you can of any other variety. The Bald-
win, under peculiar circumstances, will bear more abuse
and rough handling, and under certain circumstances you
will gather more bushels of Baldwins ; but the Greening
grows larger, fairer, less seconds, and less waste, and as the
market demand is this year, it stands better than the Bald-
win. The early apples — the summer apples that are so
often wasted when we grow them — find a very fair market
in some years. This last year was an illustration of that fact.
Our early apples — the William's Favorite and the Porter
and the Pippins, that variety of early apples suitable for
cooking — bore a price in our market that was better than
we are enabled to get to-day for the leading winter sorts.
We had no competition this year from New Jersey and Long
Island, a section of country that often spoils our early apple
market. It is often the case that these early apples won't
pay for harvesting and sending to market. This year they
have paid better than those that are going to market at the
present time.

I would say a word to some of you that may not be famil-
iar with our system of selling apples ; that in our section of
the State of Connecticut the supply has been very abundant
on the hills this year, and apple buyers have taken advan-
tage of the fact, and they come and buy the fruit by the car-
load. The farmers agree to deliver the fruit just as it is
picked from the tree. They agree to pick it, not shake it off
and bruise it, but they do not reject many of the small ones.
They take pretty nearly all of them, and the farmer delivers
them at the car at eighty-five cents a barrel. He empties
his barrels into the car. Well, that seems pretty small com-
pensation, and the report that apples in such a section are

140 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

only eighty-five cents or a dollar a barrel leads people who
have no apples in their parts of the country to send there,
expecting they can get apples put up in barrels delivered at
the station for about eighty-five cents ; but that is a business
of quite another character. We have to pay thirty-five cents
each for new apple barrels to put up our crop in, and to sort
them carefully into seconds and thirds, and head up the
barrels, is quite another business than what it is to take
them .right from the trees and transport them directly to the
cars and pour them in. The agent is not the seller in New
York at all, and he has to handle a good deal of indifierent
fruit. Those who dispose of their fruit in that way have had
a very handsome receipt, perhaps of a couple of hundred
dollars, from an orchard of an acre or two. This they have
secured by their own labor, and that of one or two men in
a week's time spent in gathering. They made a very fair
thing at that very low price.

We ought to have apples for family use the whole year
round. It is not at all difficult to accomplish it, and have the
apples in good condition. We never expect to be out of
apples. We expect to have old apples until the boys prefer
the fresh green ones. Let them be placed in barrels, or
boxes, or bins, in a cool cellar, one that is not very dry is
preferable. The cellars upon our hills all have water rising
in them and flowing off in drains, hence the apples rarely
shrivel up. We have found very great advantage in the last
few years in thoroughly whitewashing the cellar. Some new
cellars that never had been used before, with an abundance
of paint and mortar all about them, furnished apples in
spring of fine flavor, excellent quality and purity of color ;
taking a hint from that fact, we have found that a thorough
cleansing of the cellar, and the abundant use of whitewash on
the walls, is a very great help in preserving the quality and
in keeping the apple from decay. Now, if you want to have
the perfect flavor of the apple retained, do not put your
apples into a cellar in which cabbage and turnips and strong-
smelling vegetables are stored, or where you keep codfish
and kerosene, or other grocery articles ; for if they do not
afiect the flavor of the apple, they do detract from its pure
and finest aroma. Keep them in a clean cellar, as cold as

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 141

you can, as near the freezing temperature as you can, and
put them into the cellar in a sound state, right from the tree,
without any extra handling. You need not disturb those
boxes or barrels or casks except as you want to use them
during the winter or spring. Every time you handle them
you injure the keeping qualities and the perfection of the
fruit; and if they are put up sound, free from bruises, each
variety will arrive at perfection at its own peculiar time.
You need not disturb your later keeping qualities at all.
Use the Pippins and Hubbardstons, or any kind that you
please, in the early part of the season, and later come toj'our
Baldwins and Greenings and Eussets that round out the
year. The apple, as the farmer's fruit, should be upon his
table in the raw state, and as an article of sauce or food,
every day in the year ; and I do not know but it ought to be
there three times a day. It is sometimes crowded out by
the pressure of other things ; when the fresh strawberries and
some fruits of that kind come on, the apple has to give way
for a time ; but it is susceptible of being prepared for the
table in such a variety of ways, and for such a variety of
uses, that it is the cheapest, the most economical, the most
healthful, and the most pleasant article that you can add to a
farmer's table, or anybody's else table, in profusion.

There is nothing that will so tend to the healthy develop-
ment of children as the enjoyment of all the fruit they choose
to eat, from morning to night ; only let them begin early, so
they will never hurt themselves by eating to excess. If it is
begun early, they may eat them morning, noon and night
with perfect satisfaction and healthfulness and enjoyment.

You will excuse me for having taken up time that did not
belong to me in these few rambling remarks. [Applause.]

Mr. Peterson. Where the mistake has been made of
setting apple trees too closely, so that the branches interlock
and prevent the sun reachmg the fruit, what is the method
of treating?

A Voice. Cut back and thin out the branches.

Mr. Gold. I have been advised to try that practice, and
I have tried to do something at it, but I made very little
progress. I could not instruct my men to do it intelligently
and satisfactorily, and I have done nothing at it except a

142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

few little preliminary attempts. But one thing I want to say-
is, I can raise better apples, and I am going to do it. I
have let apples grow, and sometimes had very good ones,
and sometimes very poor ones. Some of the difficulties con-
nected with apples I do not know anything about, and I
cannot understand them. One is the apple maggot. I do
not know how to combat him. I got an apple from the hall
below to-day, with a fine red cheek, but this contemptible
fellow had got ahead of me, and it was a worthless apple.
It is very disgusting to find him infesting our fruit, but
there are some things I believe we can meet. I believe we
can successfully combat the coddling moth. I have made
some efforts in that direction, and I only blame myself that
I have not been more thorough. I calculate to follow them
up more thoroughly until I become master of the situation
in that direction. There is abundant testimony that Paris
green is useful, and I intend to try it more thoroughly than
I have in the past. I would advise setting out trees not less
than foi-ty feet apart, and giving them a chance to grow.
WheH a tree gets to be twenty-five years old, it is just in
its best condition to bear the best fruit and the most of it ;
and then after they get into the habit of interlocking
branches, as has been referred to, it is very annoying and
unsatisfactory.

Mr. Atkins. What are some of the best new varieties ?
Are there any that are likely to become standard market
varieties ?

Mr. Gold. I have no very great experience with these
newer varieties. I have grafted some of them, and have
had some fruit, but the whole thing is rather in the dark
with me. The King is a very remarkable and fine apple in
some respects, but as far as I can learn it has proved tender
and delusive ; very few trees ever get into good bearing, they
very soon begin to die, and it is an unsatisfactory apple on
that account in Connecticut.

Question. It is not very productive?

Mr. Gold. Perhaps so ; but I have seen some trees
bearing very well.

Mr. Cruikshanks. Have you had any experience with
the Transparent Yellow? That is one of the Russian
apples.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 143

Mr. Gold. No, sir.

Mr. Cruikshanks. I have had a few of them. It is the
earliest apple that I have ever seen, of a good quality, large
size, somewhat the shape of the Porter, larger than the
Porter, I think. It is bright yellow. It is not nearly as acid
as the Astrachan, and from ten days to two weeks earlier.
At the Pomological Society's meeting a year ago last Sep-
tember, Dr. Hoskins of Vermont pronounced it the best early
apple which he had.

Question. Does it come into bearing early?

Mr. Cruikshanks. All the testimony that I have is,
that it is very early, and a superior apple for the market on
that account. Dr. Hoskins said it could be planted much
nearer together than some others, because it grows so
compactl}^

Mr. Palmer of Groton. I am sorry this discussion has
to come to a close ; as I understood the Secretary, the
time is up. I am very much interested in the raising of
apples. If I have been prospered at all in farming, I owe
my success to the apple crop ; and I was delighted to hear
the first gentleman state his views in regard to setting out
an orchard. I have set out three myself, and one orchard I
selected in the very same manner he described, going to the
nursery myself and picking out just the trees that I wanted,
paying a few cents more for them. I set out ten acres in
that way. I trimmed them in the way he spoke of, except
that I left three branches instead of four. The orchard is
twelve or thirteen years old. I picked this year on an aver-
age a barrel to a tree of Baldwins ; some trees bore a barrel
and a half. I have never put a saw into the orchard ; never
used anything but a jack-knife. I trimmed them to three
branches. Then I watched them for the first few years, and
whenever a "sucker" or branch came out, I cut it off on
the inside. I think the trees are nearly perfect in their
shape. There have never been any large limbs on them.
The advantage of starting an orchard in the way he described
is that you do not have to come in and murder it with the
saw. I have not cultivated the ground except for an ordi-
nary crop ; that is, I have ploughed it, and planted corn,
seeded down to grass, and it has been treated in that way

144 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, [Jan.

just as any other part of my farm. The land is some of the
best I had on my farm, on a side hill. Do not plant an
apple-tree where nothing else will grow ; if you are
going to get a good orchard, plant it on the best land you
have. Take a side hill, if 3^ou have it, because that is the
best drained. There are a good many things I would like to
say if the time was so that I could. We raise in our section
quite a large lot of early apples, the Early William. I sold
them this year for two' dollars a barrel, and the man took
all I had at that price, which is more than we got for our
later varieties. We began to sell our late ones to shippers
at a dollar and a quarter, and finally got down to a dollar a
barrel, and even at that low figure I think there is more
money in apples than anything else. That is, we get almost
as much of everything else, and our apple crop besides.
Now, in the little farming town that I live in, we have
shipped somewhere from twenty thousand to twenty-five thou-
sand barrels, which means about one-half of the money they
brought extra to the farmers of that town. If they had not
raised those apples they would not have raised anything else
to have taken the place of them ; and I advise every young
man who is going to commence farming to set out an orchard
the first thing he does, and take good care of it. Do not
grow your trees fast ; do not get to thinking you want the
land for something else ; and do not neglect it so that it will
die. I suppose there are a great many orchards that are
grown too rapidly. The trees are very large. You do not
want them very large ; but you want the tree trimmed, to
start with ; then let it branch over so you can pick two or
three barrels when it is loaded, by standing on the ground.
I picked eighteen hundred barrels of apples this year, and I
am confident that in no other way could I have got as
much money as I did for my apples, and money is what the
farmer wants. That is the very point to-day in farming.
[Applause.] We want to raise crops whereby we can get
more money. My apples have averaged me for the last
fifteen years twelve hundred dollars a year. We want to
have more money ; if we cannot get it in apples, get it in
blackberries, strawberries, small fruit, or something of the
kind. We want to carry on our other farming just the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 145

same. Then we want some crop for the money. Our
farmers want money just the same as the manufacturers and
merchants ; we want our boys to have money ; we want
them to dress well and have a good team to ride in ; and we
want them to have so much that they will stay on the farm.
[Applause.] And we want to so conduct farming that they
will consider it the best business in the world, as it is the
best business to-day. A young man with brains, if he has
two good legs (which I have not), can make money in farm-
ing right here in Massachusetts. [Applause.]

Mr. Gold. The gentleman asked a question with regard
to fertilizers upon these orchards. I use all the wood ashes
that I can get in my vicinity to strew upon the surface in my
orchards. If I could get more, I should use more. I top-
dress also with barnyard manure a few acres here and there,
as the case may be, every year, and I know that the top-
dressing upon the orchard pays me as well as any other use
of the manure to which I could put it. There is one case in
our neighborhood where an orchard was top-dressed with
muck from a swamp, and the result was most marvellous for
two years ; but barnyard manure as a top-dressing is the
best, I think.

Mr. Augur. I beg your pardon for taking up any more
time, but the question was asked in regard to new varieties,
and in regard to any becoming new standards, and I would
like to say a word. I was down in Maine last winter at the
meeting of the Board of Agriculture, and there was one
variety there that absorbed more time and more interest than
any other, and that was the Red Russet. I presume you are
familiar with it. It seemed to be the idea down there that
the Red Russet was the coming apple for shipping, and the
chief points in its favor were, first, that it was so vigorous a
grower, a handsome grower, as much so as any other ; again,
that the fruit was a good keeper, very good, fully equal to
the Baldwin, and perhaps better ; and then again, one of the
shippers who had shipped to Europe said that he began ship-
ping those Red Russets as Baldwins ; they took in the Eng-
lish market, and said he, " If I was going to ship again, I
should ship Red Russets." Well, that is a straw which shows
which way the wind blows. I have a good deal of faith in

146 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

that variety, although it has not been very widely dissemi-
nated. It is being called for in Maine more than any other
variety. In regard to the Yellow Transparent, I believe
everywhere that has been tried and proved, it has been very
satisfactory. The tree is not a rampant grower like the Rox-
bury Russet or Baldwin, consequently can be planted very
closely. The apple is very satisfactory, and the time of
ripening earlier than the Early Harvest. As a family apple
we have nothing to compare with the Primate. It is superb
if the tree is grown in good land and properly treated ; but
with almost all these tender apples, it has become a necessity
to use a great deal of care on account of moths and worms ;
but I have confidence that if we make three applications of
Paris green, or London purple, or white arsenic, and in the
right proportions, and at suitable intervals, bringing the last
application when the fruit has attained some little size, we
shall escape largely the efiect of the blue maggot, although
there is some question about that. Last year we were pretty
thorough in spraying our trees, and varieties like the Hurl-
but, and some of those tender apples, escaped, where we
had before been seriously troubled. I cannot say it was due
to the spraying, but I suspect it might have been.

Question. Is the Red Russet entirely a new variety?

Mr. Augur. The Red Russet is not altogether new. It
has been known a good many years, but has not been widely
disseminated. It originated in New Hampshire, and has
been represented as a cross between the Roxbury Russet
and Baldwin. It seems to be the idea that it is a sport from
the Baldwin.

Question. Is it known by any other name than the Red
Russet ?

Mr. Augur. I do not know that it has any synonym by
which it is known widely except Red Russet. That is the
principal name, at all events.

The Chairman. The next paper will be upon "Straw-
berries and Currants for Market," by a gentleman of large
experience in that direction. He is well known to you all,
— E. W. Wood of West Newton, a member of the Board.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 147

STRAWBERRIES AND CURRANTS FOR MARKET.

BY E. W. WOOD OF WEST NEWTON.

The profitable growing of the small fruits depends more
upon location than the tree fruits, being more quickly per-
ishable and more liable to injury in transportation. A home,
or not distant market, is a matter of importance, and as
the cultivation of the small fruits, as well as the gathering
and preparing for market, requires much more labor than the
ordinary crops, the opportunity for securing suitable help
when needed, and at reasonable wages, is to be considered.
This is especially true of the strawberry, as the time for
gathering the fruit is limited, and any considerable delay in
picking when in condition, will result in serious loss.

The fears entertained a few years since by the strawberry
growers that the constantly increasing supply of this fruit
from the Southern States, anticipating the native fruit for
the space of three months, would seriously interfere with its
production in this State, have not been realized. The demand
for the native fruit has constantly increased, and has rarely
sold more readily or at more satisfactory prices than the
past year.

Clean cultivation, rather than any special skill or special
fertilizer, is indispensable to the best success, as it is hardly
possible to grow a profitable crop of strawberries and any
considerable crop of weeds on the same ground at the same
time.

A strong, well-enriched, moist, though thoroughly drained
soil, afibrds the most favorable conditions. For the general
crop the matted row system is usually adopted, and the
plants should be set as early in the spring as the ground
is in suitable condition to work, and strong plants can be
secured. The ground being thoroughly prepared with plough
and harrow, the plants should be set in rows from three to
four feet apart, depending upon the varieties, and eighteen
inches apart in the rows.

To prevent the growth of weeds and keep the soil in the
best condition, it will require stirring as often as once in two
weeks from the time the plants are set until the middle or
last of August. If no other crop is grown upon the ground,

148 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

the cultivation the first two months may be largely done
with the cultivator or harrow, using the hoe between the
plants in the row. As the plants commence making growth
they will throw up more or less flower-stalks and would bear
some fruit, but as this would be at the expense of the vigor
of the plants before they become fairly established, it is
better when going over the ground with the hoe to nip out
flower-stalks as they appear, giving all the strength to the
plants for the after-growth of the runners. When the run-
ners commence to grow, on some of the plants, if allowed to
take their own course, they will distribute themselves une-
qually l)y growing out upon one side of the plant, but by
changing a portion of them to the opposite side, before they
commence making roots, the ground will be evenly covered ;
they will continue to grow and make new plants until late in
the season, but they should not be allowed to run together
from the rows. A space of one foot should be kept clear
in the middle between the rows ; this may be done by cut-
ting ofi" the runners or turning them back, if there are any
vacant spaces to be filled.

When it is desirable to economize space, as is the case
near the larger markets where land is more valuable, a
crop of early vegetables may be grown between the rows.
Lettuce, early beets, onion sets, and some others, will make
their growth and be ready for market before the runners
will commence making their growth, and the cultivation of
the vegetables will keep the ground clear of weeds ; but
where this is practiced an extra amount of fertilizer will
be required.

A plan often practised by those who grow fruit for exhibi-
tion or an extra quality for market or the table, is to set
the plants in August, or as soon as strong runners can be
secured, in rows two feet apart and one foot apart in the
row ; they will make strong plants but comparatively few
runners, giving a more open exposure to the sun and air, and
will produce the finest quality of fruit. The following sea-
son these plants will commence throwing out runners earlier
than spring-set plants, and if, after the fruit is picked, every
other row is taken out and the ground between the remain-
ing rows properly enriched, they will soon make an evenly-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 149

covered matted bed, and after the plants have made their
growth the remaining rows of old plants should be taken
out, clearing a space one foot in width, leaving the beds of
new plants three feet in width. This plan is practised mostly
by market gardeners, some of whom set several acres each
season upon ground where they have first taken a crop of
early vegetables. Grown in this way the ground will be
less covered the first season than the matted beds, and will
require somewhat later cultivation ; but after October first
they will require little or no attention until the last of No-
vember, when the ground becomes frozen. All the plants,
how^ever grown, should be covered with coarse meadow hay,
free from seed, at the rate of two tons to the acre ; or ever-
green boughs if they can be conveniently secured make a
still better covering. If the material used is applied while it
is snowing the falling snow holds it in place, and it is less
liable to be blown ofi" by the wind. No further attention is
required except to restore the covering if in any places
blown off, until about the twentieth of April, when it should
be carefully removed, and if hay is used, a small portion
may be left in the paths, as it will prevent the growth of
weeds, retain the moisture in the soil, and prevent the fruit
from becoming soiled.

The plants will require no further care until the fruit is
picked, when, if it is proposed to continue the bed another
year, the paths, with the vines on each side, should be
ploughed up, leaving a cleared space three feet in width, the
ground levelled and well enriched ; if the season prove favor-
able, the runners from the remaining vines will fairly cover
the ground. Growers are divided in opinion as to the policy
of fruiting beds more than once ; the advantages are a saving
of time and labor in successive crops. The disadvantages
are, that the old beds are more dependent upon favorable
seasons to make their growth ; the vines are more liable to
injury from insect enemies, and rarely produce as much or
as good quality of fruit as the first crop.

The selection of varieties will depend upon the object
in view by the grower, and the conditions under which the
plants are to be grown. No fruit varies so much when sep-
arated only by short distances as the strawberry. No variety,

150 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

with perhaps the exception of the Wilson, has proved profit-
able or desirable over a wide extent of territory. The
exhibitions rarely show the same varieties as successful prize
takers in different localities, and even upon adjoining farms,
owing to a difference of location or soil, or both. A variety
may prove a success in one case and a failure in the other.
Those growing for home consumption would naturally select
those of the best quality, though as a rule they are not the
most productive ; among those of high rank in quality may be
named the La Constante, the Wilder, the Hervey Davis and
the Jucunda, With the growers for market the tendency
has been towards size rather than quality ; few buyers know
the difierent varieties even by name, and the consumers in
making their selections are governed by the eye, and as the
larger fruit is more attractive it sells first and brings the
highest price. Among the large growers at the present
time in this State the favorite varieties are the Sharpless, the
Belmont and the Jewell ; these are all of large size, fiiir
quality, and when well grown sell the most readily and
bring the highest prices. They are all comparatively late
varieties, and the growers are anxiously awaiting the intro-
duction of an early variety that shall equal the above in size
and quality.

If but a single variety is grown, one having perfect flowers
must be selected. If the pistilate varieties are grown, every
fourth or fifth row should be a staminate. The influence of
the staminate upon pistilate varieties is now receiving much
attention, especially in the Western States, where it is claimed
that the influence is not only shown in the seed, but in the
size, form, color and flavor of the fruit. If this theory
prove correct, the selection of staminate varieties becomes a
matter of the first importance.

The strawberry is less liable to injury from disease or
insect pests than most of our fruits. A few varieties, among
them the Charles Downing, are liable to leaf blight or rust,
which makes its appearance before the fruit ripens, and
severely injures the crop. The Mdolontha vulgaris, a large
white grub found to some extent in most soils, but more
abundant where heavy dressings of stable manure have been
applied, requires watching in new beds. He is sluggish in

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 151

his movements, but gets there just the same, and makes his
presence known by the wilting of the leaves of apparently
healthy plants. Examination will show the roots of the
plants all eaten off close to the crown. The enemy,
having gorged himself, will be found in the immediate
vicinity, and may be easily destroyed. Prompt care in
their destruction, removal of the dead plants and turning
some of the runners from the surrounding plants into the
vacant space, will prevent serious damage. A new enemy
has recently appeared in some localities in the State, in the
form of a small black beetle about one-fourth inch in length.
He makes his appearance in the old beds soon after the fruit
is picked. In a few days the leaves are thickly perforated,
appearing as though riddled with fine shot ; he continues
devouring the foliage until nothing but the skeleton of the
leaf is left and the plants die. He is very shy and quick in
his movements, and upon any approach to or disturbance of
the leaves, immediately secretes himself in the soil around
the crown of the plant.

To the inquiry often made, "What will the strawberry
yield?" it may be said that two hundred bushels to the acre
is a good crop, though we have well authenticated records of
more than twice that amount being grown. One grower in
Arlington, the past season, sold from twenty-four thousand
feet of land something over one hundred bushels of fruit.
This was not a remarkable yield in quantity ; but the plants
were set in rows five feet apart, and a crop of early beets
grown between the rows the first season, and the plants but
sparsely covered the ground ; but under these conditions
what was lacking in quantity was more than made up
in quality ; the fruit was sold in the Boston market to
wholesale dealers and returned the owner over eight hundred
dollars.

The currant is a fruit of so easy cultivation, and confined
to so few varieties, that there is little that is new or not well
understood that can be said of it. The object in introducing
it here is, first, because it has not received, and is not at
present receiving, from fruit-growers the consideration to
which its merits as a market fruit entitle it; and, second,
because it can be successfully grown among tree fruits at a

152 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

trifling added expense, where no other crop can be profitably
produced. Many who feel inclined to engage in the cultiva-
tion of the apple and pear are deterred from doing so on
account of the time that must necessarily elapse after the
setting of the trees before a remunerative crop will be
produced. While all the small fruits may be successfully
and profitably grown in the early years of the pear and
apple orchard, the currant will continue to thrive for many
years, and to compete, often successfully, with the larger
fruits in its pecuniary returns after the latter pay an income
above expense for cultivation and interest on the invest-
ment.

One firm engaged in market gardening and fruit growing
sold in the Boston market last year eleven tons of currants,
grown in a pear orchard where the trees had attained the
usual size, and from which a full crop of pears was picked
the same season.

Of varieties, the red currant being principally in demand,
the Versaillaise or Cherry, generally believed to be one and
the same variety, is generally used ; but the season of ripen-
ing may be extended three or four weeks by setting a por-
tion of the Victoria variety ; of this the fruit is smaller than
the Versaillaise, but it is a profuse bearer and the most de-
sirable of the late varieties. Of the comparatively small
portion of white required, the Dana's Transparent, a native
of this State, is generally preferred.

The currant frequently sufiers from drought at the most
critical time of its growth, just before changing its color.
This may be prevented by mulching the ground around the
bushes, but the mulch should be removed as soon as the
fruit is picked, to prevent the roots being drawn to the sur-
face. There are two methods of pruning the currant,
first by cutting back a portion of the new growth, and
second, by cutting out every year a portion of the old wood ;
by the former method the stools become larger and produce
a larger quantity of fruit, by the latter the fruit is borne
upon young wood and is of superior quality.

The very small additional expense with which the currant
may be grown makes it one of the most profitable of the
small fruits.

1889.] PUBLIC document — No. 4. 153

Mr. Edson. The essayist has described the little black
beetle exactly as I have it in the cranberry bog. I am sur-
prised to learn that he has got up here among the straw-
berries. I want to ask the essayist if he knows of any remedy
for that fellow.

Mr. Wood. In my first year's experience with him he
made his appearance in an old bed, and not on a new bed.
During this spring he confined his work entirely to' the
old bed and left the new one untouched ; yet the new one
was close up to the old. I put on a heavy application of
Paris green, but he seemed to thrive on it, and showed no
disposition to relax his hold.

Mr. Edson. I was proposing to try Paris green, but if it
does no good I won't try it.

Mr. Wood. Your experience may be different.

Mr. Cruikshanks. My first obseiwation of this beetle was
seven years ago. I discovered that the strawberry plants
were being injured in the manner described by Mr. Wood.
I learned from our friend, Mr. Had wen, that this beetle was
causing a great deal of destruction in the West, and they
were ploughing in their strawberry fields to get rid of them.
The remedy I applied was to take the plants all out and
turn them down, and I had no trouble with it on new plants.
It is a fact that none of our small fruits have suffered as much
as the currant. The place assigned it seems to be back of
some old fence where the grass and weeds try to see which
will get possession of the ground first, and the currant bush
surely has hard work to get a footing at all. There is no
fruit plant that responds so readily to generous cultivation,
or that will give better returns for the expense. The history
of the currant goes back of three hundred years. It was
then presented to the public and was called a smooth-stem
gooseberry. Up to 1842 there were only eight varieties.
Now you can find nearly a hundred in the catalogue. But
the Royal Horticultural Society of London has tested all
these varieties, and simmered them down to less than twenty-
five in number. Although it was introduced three hun-
dred years ago, it was not until the beginning of the present
century that the currant became a standard fruit in the gar-
den. But it has been cultivated in a small way. It is one

154 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

of the most healthful and refreshing fruits, and can be used
for so many purposes that it is a mystery why this fruit has
not been much more generally cultivated.

One cause of the success of the Victoria as a keeper is that
the foliage stays on the plant, and thereby the fruit is pre-
served. I have kept the Victoria until September, when the
Cherry had gone by several weeks before. It should be
grown on a deep, rich, heavy soil, in order to get the best
results. If it is grown on a light soil it must be mulched, or
before the fruit is thoroughly ripe the foliage will fall, and
then the fruit will go also. I have read of parties that have
cleared over five hundred dollars on a single acre of currants ;
and they can be grown, as has been remarked by the essay-
ist, between pear trees. They must have cultivation. If
the grass is allowed to run into them they will get choked
up. They will continue to bear, but the fruit will be of an
inferior quality. Plant the bushes where you can take care
of them. But the result will always be satisfactory, if they
are given good care and cultivation.

Question. Have you had any experience with Fay's
Prolific?

Mr. Wood. I think the Prolific has been one of the best
advertised fruits, and I think there has been more fraud and
deception in its sale than any other. I believe the Fay cur-
rant, if you get it, is so near the Versaillaise that no man can
tell them apart. A half a dozen other varieties have been
put on the market and sold as Fay's, and there is a great
deal of prejudice against them on that account.

Mr. Stetson. I would like to inquire the remedy for the
insect that cuts oif the stalk.

Mr. Wood. I have never had trouble that amounted to
anything. They cut oflf a part of the new growth, — the
heading-in of the new growth, which is needed.

Mr. Stetson. I have quite serious difficulty. I only
raise a few. The insects eat ofi* the wood so that in the
spring of the year I can frequently pull the old stalk entirely
over.

Mr. Wood. That is on the growth of the previous year?

Mr. Stetson. Yes, sir. I thought I would like to know
if there is any remedy.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 155

Mr. Wood. I do not know of any.*

Mr. Kinney of Worcester. I would like to ask Mr.
Wood if he knows anything about the Jucunda strawberry ;
whether he knows of any place where it is holding its own ;
and whether the work of this beetle that is commonly called
the strawberry beetle, is not the reason why beds are not
cultivated two years, as used to be the practice?

Mr. Wood. The beds are run very generally in our
vicinity in the eastern part of the State the second year, and
in the vicinity of Boston I have heard nothing of this beetle
until this year. Some growers in other parts of the State
have been troubled with it, but I do not know that it has
deterred any one in our vicinity from growing their beds the
second year. Before we had any difficulty with that beetle,
it was a question with many who grow on high-priced land.
In Belmont and Arlington they have for years grown but a
single crop from the vines. They grow three crops in two
years. They set out their vines with the rows wider apart
than I recommended in the essay, five feet apart, and sow
early beets between. They get a paying crop of early
beets, and then their strawberries run over the ground for
the remaining part of the season, and next year they pick
their crop ; and as soon as the crop i-s taken off they clear
the ground and set it out to celery, and so grow three crops
in two years.

As to the Jucunda, it is like a great many varieties,
diminished year by year. You will remember the Triomphe
de Gand was a popular variety, but it cannot be found in
Our vicinity ; but the Jucunda has retained its position. I
met Mr. Kinney from Worcester — the gentleman's fether,
I believe, who is one of the largest fruit growers from that
city — last year, and he informed me the Jucunda was
among the most profitable varieties.

* Mrs. Mary Treat, in her book entitled "Injurious Insects of the Farm and
Garden," page 206, has the following: "The Currant Stalk-Borer {Aiijeria
tipuUformis, Linn.). — This is an imported insect and of the same genus as the
peach-borer. The moth lays her eggs singly near the buds, and the larva;, when
hatched, make their way directly to the pith, which they devour, forming a channel
several inches in length. The stem, thus weakened, shows by the inferior size of its
fruit that this insect is present, and it often breaks off at the afTected part. The im-
poverished growth of the stems indicates the presence of this borer, and at the fall
pruning all such should be cut away and burned."

156 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Mr. Kinney. In our experience, now the bottom has
dropped out of it. It has been for years the nicest we had,
and there was no fruit that compared with it for firmness ;
but it is gone, and I should like to find out whether it is so
throughout the country.

Mr. Wood. Well, we have had it exhibited on the tables
of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society every year, but
not as much as formerly. It is an excellent berry.

Question. Does not ploughing up a strip about three
feet wide between the old roAvs of strawberries, and letting
them cover it over with new runners, make substantially a
new bed ? Do you plough up the old and make a new row
where the old was ?

Mr. Wood. Yes, sir; but I said, cultivated in that way
we were more dependent upon a favorable season. That is,
the runners do not run as readily from an old bed that has
fruited as from a bed that is set out in the spring ; but if
the ground is kept in good condition, you will get a very
fair bed in that way.

Mr. AuGUE. Do you know, sir, about what date this
beetle you speak of appeared ?

Mr. Wood. I should think the first I saw of him was
the very last of July or the first of August. I will say
here that Mr. Saunders, in his book on "Insects Injurious
to Fruits," says that they appear before the fruit is ripe ; but
they have not on our beds, so far as I know, appeared until
the fruit is picked, the last of July or the first of August.
May I ask the audience if any other person here has noticed
it upon his strawberry beds ?

A Voice. I have, for one.

Mr. Kinney. I think it very strange that there are not
more people here acquainted with it, for I feel very certain
the same fall Mr. Cruikshanks discovered it, it was discov-
ored with us. We arc located in Worcester city. It has in
fact entirely ruined all those beds. I am not a scientist,
and do not know about the growth of the insect particularly,
only I feel confident that the damage is done before the beetle
appears. The larvae grow in the stems. They afi'ect the small
stem plants but very slightly, there is not sufficient room
for them to grow ; but take it on the Jewell and Sharpless, the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUjVIENT — No. 4. 157

larvfe, which resemble the cabbage maggot, do their worst
work. They strike the bed very soon after picking the second
crop. We have two crops in tlie year. They often ruin the
leaves before they start to grow in the spring. But they
seldom amount to very much, because they eat up a few
leaves at first and stop, and nothing more is seen of them.
During picking time on an old bed you will see great spots
where the plants go down without any reason. Well, that
same bed as soon as the picking is fairly done will be literally
covered with these little black insects, and I have found no
way of doing anything with them, except to turn the bed
under. For the larvae to grow to any extent, they must
have a plant of sufficient maturity to breed in.

Mr. Augur. This is a matter I do not know anything
about personally, but this fact of its making its appearance
at the starting of the leaves leads me to think that there is a
chance to apply insecticide in a liquid form, either hellebore
or Paris green, and it will prevent the appearance of the
second crop. If you can get rid of them in that way early,
before there is any danger of injuring the fruit, I think it is
possible that might be done.

I would like to say just a word in regard to the currant.
I have been greatly interested in this excellent paper which
has been given. It is full of suggestions ; but I want to say
a word in behalf of the Fay currant. I think it is really a
very desirable variety, and there is a difierence, I think,
between it and the Cherry. It has a longer stem from the
stalk. The stem before you get to the fruit is longer, it
is easier to pick. Pickers like to pick the Fay currant
better than the Cherry currant, and it suffers less damage in
picking. I think the true Fay currant is to be the market
currant when once it is well understood.

There is this point about planting the currant, and I think it
is worth considering. There is more danger of overstock-
ing the market with currants than with strawberries. We
can easier place ten bushels of strawberries than we can one
of currants. I would not advise any one to plant white
currants for the market. There is nothing against the white
currant except its color, but it does not sell. It goes off"
very slowly. We have threatened again and again to take

158 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

out all our white currants. In regard to the Victoria, our
experience has been that any late ripening currant does not
sell well. There is a large call, perhaps more than for any
other one purpose, for jelly making. There are persons who
buy it in large quantities, and it is well known that the cur-
rant should he picked early to make good jelly. After it
gets very ripe on the bushes it does not jell well, and the
Victoria, when it is late for good jelly, does not sell well. The
people are afraid of currants after about such a date, and the
prices of late currants are invariably less than those of early
ones.

Mr. Cruikshanks. When I discovered the little straw-
berry beetle, I told Mr. Kinney's father what trouble I was
having. ' ' Why," said he, ' ' we have none of it ; " and he went
home and found his fields full of it.

Adjourned to one o'clock, p.m.

Afternoon Session.
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at the
appointed time, and Mr. A. IT. Smith, an enterprising and
successful young market gardener of West Springfield, was
introduced as the first lecturer of the afternoon.

MAKKET GARDENING.

BY A. H. SMITH OF WEST SPRINGFIELD.

" The battle is not to the strong alone, it is to the vigilant,
the active, the brave." Equally true is this of market gar-
dening, for success in this occupation is dependent, more
than in many others, on the rounded development of the
man.

A high sense of honor should govern one in treatment of
help and in marketing of products. Energy and persever-
ance should so direct him that he may be undaunted even in
the face of unfavorable seasons and unprofitable crops. A
liking for his work must be joined to the inclination and
ability to study crops in their relations to fertilizers, soils
and markets.

To me has been assigned the task of outlining some of
the problems of market gardening. I do so under these

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 159

divisions: 1. Location and Soil of Market Garden. 2. Ma-
nures. 3. Seeds. 4. Seed Sowing and Crop Culture.
5. Markets and Marketing. G. Howwe raise Special Crops.

Location and Soil of MarTcet Garden.
For an ideal market garden we choose one having a variety
of soils and a varied exposure. For our early crops we seek
a southern aspect, protected on the north and north-west by
bluffs, buildings, trees or at least close fences. We prefer
for most vegetables a lightish loam having a little sand in its
composition, and for these reasons : We can work land of
this description earlier in the spring, and if, perchance,
worked when too moist, it partly or wholly recovers from the
ill effects. It responds very quickly to high manuring, and
is well adapted to the cultivation of small crops by improved
garden tools. In soils of this kind we find the conditions
necessary for rapid root development, and necessarily, there-
fore, of vigorous plant growth.

Manures.

Having our parcel of ground adapted to gardening, we are
confronted by the omnipresent fertilizer question. Some
one has said, " To develop the utmost economic capacity of
a given soil by fertilizing appliances, is the work of a wiser
man than belongs to our day." Growing plants require
food ; accordingly, before we can crop land heavily we must
fertilize abundantly. The chemical elements entering into
the composition of plants are comparatively few, and the
ash or mineral elements very light.

It is estimated that an acre of grain contains but one hun-
dred and forty pounds of ash elements, while the weight of
the foot of soil on the surface of the grain field may be nearly
four millions of pounds. The question continually reverts :
In how concentrated a form ought we to give the fertilizing
elements to the plants? Some reason that, as it would be
folly to try to satisfy a hungry horse with a few whiffs of
hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, seasoned with chlorine or
fluorine and an occasional pinch of calcium, sodium and
phosphorus, so it would be equally unwise to feed plants

160 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

with their chemical constituents merely. I will not take
time to develop the analogy, as I firmly believe that for
many market crops the bulky stable manures are the more
efficient, and therefore the cheaper fertilizers. I give as
reasons: 1. Experiments prove that stable manures furnish
the proper elements of plant food ; and, 2. In a manner and
proportion suited to plant growth. 3. In their decomposi-
tion they render available to the plants some of the latent
plant food of the soil. 4. The mechanical condition of the
soil is much improved by their use. 5. Sun and air far
more readily give their aid to the growing crop.

In short, an abundance of manure will often make a soil
that is cold and unresponsive a very choice one for slowly
maturing crops. I am not. ignorant of the wheat experiments
of Lawes and Gilbert, but I am yet to be convinced that as
generous and profitable crops of cauliflower, celery or lettuce,
could be raised year after year by the use of chemicals as by
the application of barnyard manures.

To be sure, at fairs we sometimes see a placard to the
eflfect that the exhibit was raised by using a certain brand of
fertilizer. A few well-directed questions will often, if not
always, bring from the exhibitor the admission that the land
was well manured for its crops the previous year.

We have in tillage and grass about thirty acres. On this
tract we use yearly, besides the manure made on the place,
six or eight tons of commercial fertilizer, some lime and
ashes, and the manure of about one hundred horses kept in
city stables. As we do not mean to top-dress our grass
land, excepting door-yards, we seed down each fall two or
three acres, and have an equal amount of turf land to break
up. From the six or eight acres in grass we cut hay for five
horses, five cows, and have a little to sell. We raise also a
little yellow corn, but with most of our fertilizers we raise
market crops, whose proceeds pay the help, meet interest
and taxes, buy seeds and implements, provide the fertilizers,
and make the permanent improvements on our gardens.

Seeds.
Where shall we procure them ? We are commonly advised
to raise them. The papers are fond of telling us that if we

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 161

will only save a few of the best specimens of our vegetables
for seed, and then set them out, we shall get seed superior
to what we can buy at any price.

The advice ought to be given in this form : Select for
seed-stock the choicest specimens which are true to type, of
solid texture, of fair size and colored alike. Preserve them
in good condition till set out in land suited to the especial
crop. If the season is favorable we shall get our seed, but
at the cost of so much time and patience that it is doubtful
(unless we are to make seed-raising a specialty) whether
we could not better afford to buy pedigree seed at a fancy
price. I think an illustration will make clear what I mean.

All of us would describe a typical carrot as one having a
thick, symmetrical root rather than a slim or tapering one.
I have here several carrots chosen with that definition in
mind.

The first might represent the Guerande carrot.

The second might represent the Danvers carrot.

The third might represent the Intermediate carrot.

The fourth might represent the Improved Orange carrot.

The fifth might represent the Long Orange carrot.

Though these specimens probably came from a single
package of seed, and though each might to a degree be
typical of a class of carrots, yet they are not all of equal
value for seed purposes.

Those of medium length best represent the average speci-
mens of the crop, and so from them we should work to most
advantage in establishing our strain of seed.

It is a work of equal difficulty to select specimen beets,
parsnips, onions and turnips ; even more the choice of cab-
bages and lettuce ; while the raising of cauliflower and celery
seed is generally left to experts.

At the recent Bay State Fair I heard a gentleman remark
that a strain of turnip seed that would invariably produce
specimens like some on exhil)ition would be worth five dollars
a pound, and I could well believe it would.

I have here a few specimens of onions which were prize-
takers at that fair, and show what judges consider good
points in onions.

Our rule about procuring seed resolves itself thus : Buy

162 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

the best seed you can get. Along the line of your specialty
seek to originate, or at least improve on the best strains in
cultivation. Remember that " trifles make perfection, while
perfection is no trifle ! "

Seed Sowing and Crop Gidture.

The condition of soil best suited to the germination of
small seeds is one finely pulverized ; not moist enough to be
sticky, nor yet dry enough to be dusty. After covering
the seed with earth to the depth of about four times the
diameter of the seed, the land should be firmed or rolled.

Where laborers arc scarce, hand work can 1)0 saved by
omitting to sow every third row of root crops. In the broad
spaces the horse cultivator may be used. If the plants are
left a little thicker in the rows than when every row is
planted, a full crop may be expected. I have even seen
onions so planted which did well.

When the seed germinates begin the use of hand hoes or
cultivators. The smaller the plants the more vigorous must
be the efibrts to keep the crop free from weeds.

Defer haying, neglect corn and potatoes if you must, but
keep your garden patch clean at all costs ! As your crops
mature, harvest them.

In rotation of crops all of us should make experiments, as
difierenccs of manuring and culture cal^ for difierent methods
of rotation. Our rule is to get as many crops as possible
from a given tract in a given time ; and, ordinarily, by fol-
lowing crops having abundant foliage with those having spe-
cial root development, or the reverse.

Mai'hets and Marketing.
For a limited amount of produce (novelties and extrava-
gances aside) , the smaller markets average larger prices than
the cities ; simply because there is less competition. What-
ever your market demands, raise if possible. When raised,
trim and pack neatly ; for slovenly arranged produce often
ffocs l)c<2:<!:inoj for customers. It is a decided advantaoje to
have boxes and crates of one style, well made and plainly
stenciled, so that consumers may know your packages in
the markets. In packing discard imperfect specimens, re-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 163

membering that the more even the contents of the package
in size, shape and color, the sooner we shall find a buyer and
the larger will be the margin of profit. If one raises only
so much as he can sell to consumers without the aid of mid-
dle-men, not only does he average higher prices, but in years
of abundant harvests he will be more sure of customers and
a fair income. In selling to market-men we ought not to
crowd the market. Better feed a little green stuff to 3'our
cows or pigs than overstock it. One shrewd strawberry
grower follows this plan : If the market-men refuse to give
him a fair price for his berries, he takes them home and on
the morrow takes them back, satisfied to receive the price
refused the day before. As the berries are now no longer
strictly fresh, the market is not hurt for fresh-picked berries.

This is but one device. The thing we urge is, that as
producers we deserve fair prices for our commodities, and
ought not to take whatever any one may see fit to ofier us.

As a rule, don't hold crops for high prices. The country
is large, freight is cheap, green stuff is perishable, and then
it is only the nimble pence that make quick shillings.

The Crops we raise.

We raise three or four acres each of potatoes, sweet corn
and cabbage, with the ordinary vegetable crops in varying
amounts, and make^ specialty of winter rout crops.

In our hot-beds we grow lettuce and vegetable plants, in
our cellars we store cabbage and roots, so that we can wait
on our customers all the year round. In mid-winter we
start our hot-beds. When spring opens we spread fertilizer
on land well manured in the fall and sow our onion seed.
Then prepare land for peas ; soon sow spinach and beets ;
then plant potatoes, and spade or plough rhubarb and
asparagus beds. Cabbage and lettuce plants, also onion
sets, must be put out, manure piles must be forked over
and seeds made ready for later crops. In short, from one
year's end to another we mean to have enough to do .

How we raise our crops would be too long a story to tell,
but we may give a brief outline, and describe in detail a few
which are often shipped to considerable distances.

Sweet corn is raised much as field corn is srrown. On

164 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

most land it may be grown by the use of commercial
fertilizers entirely ; the seed should be selected with care, as
it deteriorates readily by mixing, and cures so slowly and
imperfectly that it does not always germinate well .

About potatoes and roots as market crops, I will only say
that the smoothest and finest are invariably raised by appli-
cation of well-rotted manure or special fertilizer.

Our onion beds are heavily dressed with manure in the
fall, and receive a top-dressing of ashes or chemicals in the
spring. After thoroughly pulverizing the land the seed is
sown and the bed rolled. Clean culture follows. Danvers
is the variety we mostly raise, allowing from four to six
pounds of seed per acre. From four hundred to six hun-
dred bushels per acre is a common yield, though some
growers claim much larger amounts.

We raise strawberries in limited amount, chiefly of the
Crescent, Green Prolific and Sharpless varieties. They have
sold well the past season, and one large grower prophesies a
boom all along the line of small fruits. We set our plants
on land well fertilized for other crops, sometimes setting be-
fore the crop is removed.

For our cabbage crop we seek land not used for cabbage
for several seasons, and manure as generously as for tobacco.
For the main crop we set about July first, or at any rate
early in that month, in rows three feet skpart, with the plants
from twenty-seven to thirty-six inches in the row. At the
former distance about sixty-five hundred can be grown on an
acre, while at the latter only about five thousand.

If not sold in the fall we store them in cellars and pits for
a winter market, usually, however, sufiering some loss from
decay.

Celery, lettuce, cauliflower, and kindred crops must be
well grown to command good prices ; for, unless of good
quality, they can scarcely be sold at any price.

In conclusion, one sentence. A market gardener's success
depends on his ability to supply the market's demands for
the choicest varieties of vegetables in the neatest packages ;
requiring in their production, of course, suitable soil and
abundant fertility, added to intelligent and persevering labor.

Mr. Stratter. How can a man keep his cabbage crop
the year round ?

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 165

Mr. Smith. We do not keep our crop the year round,
but we keep it until the Southern cabbages are on the mar-
ket, until it is no use to have it any longer.

Mr. Ely. Have you any trouble with club-footed cab-
bages, and if so, what do you do with them?

Mr. Smith. We have had no trouble with club-footed
cabbages for fifteen years. The remedy, I suppose, is in the
selection of the land, as I gave it in the essay, choosing land
that had not been used for cabbages for several years. You
will find in some fields low spots where the water stands.
Cabbages in these spots will have more of a tendency to
club-foot than they will on the ordinary field. I do not
know as I have any explanation of it, but other growers tell
me it is so, but in our own experience we do not have it.

Question. Have you ever had trouble from the cabbage
worm, — the green worm ?

Mr. Smith. That does not troul^le a great deal where
cabbages are raised in large quantities. In small quantities
they do trouble somewhat. There are about so many green
worms to the acre, and if they are distributed among ten
thousand heads, they do not do any particular damage. The
enemy of the cabbage we have to contend with is the mag-
got on the early cabbage.

Mr. Sage. I would like to ask the speaker if a wet
season has anything to do with the keeping qualities of
cabbage ?

Mr. Smith. Well, we make the effort to keep ten thou-
sand heads. I have ten thousand sound cabbages now. We
shall try to keep them, and next spring will tell better how
they have kept. I have some stored in three ways this
winter. What we store for immediate sale w* can store
almost any way. What I expect to sell last are in racks ;
and some I have piled up, the roots together and heads
out, in beds right across the cellar that rise as high as a per-
son can conveniently put the cabbage on.

Mr. Sage. To keep them, do you cut the roots oflf or
leave the roots on ?

Mr. Smith. I cut the roots ofi' of those on the shelves,
because it takes so much room with the roots on ; but the
others I do not take off.

166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Question. Are the samples in the room below a fair
sample ?

Mr. Smith. They are smaller. I put them there to show
the quality. That is what is wanted in judging of vegetables.

Question. Are they all as dry and hard as those?

Mr. Smith. Well, of course those are exhibition speci-
mens, but I think the flat Danvers are as hard as those, but
not the round ones. Those are pretty good specimens of
the round ones. The flat Danvers are generally a little
earlier.

Mr. . The gentleman has admitted he had trouble

with the white maggot, but he does not tell us whether he
has any means of fighting it. If he has, I wish he would
tell us.

Mr. Smith. Well, I do not know that there is any remedy
for it. This year we have not been troubled with it. Two
years previous to this year we were. I have taken more
pains in raising my cabbage plants. I do not claim that
taking care has had anything to do with it, but I have had
better luck.

Question. What do you do for the onion maggot?

Mr. Smith. I have not had any trouble since I have
raised onions, but I have seen various things recommended.

Mr. Sage. A friend with whom I was conversing recently
has lost perhaps several thousand heads of his cabbages, and
he could assign no reason except the wet weather. The roots
were six inches under ground, and were cut off within an
inch of the head, and they were all rotten. What was the
cause ?

Mr. Smith. I think they were planted too soon, and
were too ripe. Wet weather produces a diflerent growth
than a dry season, it produces a different flavor ; but at this
time of year there ought not to have been any trouble with
wet weather.

Mr. Sage. Was this loss due to cutting off of the roots?

Mr. Smith. I do not think it was.

Mr. Sage. Was it due to covering deeply?

Mr. Smith. It may have been. I do not know. It may
be because they were covered with dirt directly.

Mr. Sage. No. They were placed one layer of cabbages

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 1G7

on the surface, and I think a spreading of hay before the soil
was thrown upon them.

Mr. Smith. I never heard of any cabbages rotting so
early in the year unless they were very ripe.

Mr. Sage. Does a superabundance of water create a
superabundance of water in the cabbage head when the
season is dry?

Mr. Smith. I do not know about that.

Mr. Sage. I would like to ask the gentleman what celery
he finds the most satisfactory and profitable ?

Mr. Smith. I think my heaviest heads. That is a little
difierent from the question he asks. My heaviest heads
would be most profitable for the market, but of course it is
more work to trim them. I like to see celery, of which
thirty-six heads would sell for a box. I know there are
many here in the hall that difier from that, but I should
think the Boston market now is for celery of that class.
White Plume I have not raised extensively this year. I
have in other years somewhat. This year I raised some
Golden Heart that was very good. That is very nearly as
easily planted as the White Plume. For many uses I like
it better.

Question. I would like to ask the gentleman if he con-
siders any celery that is not banked fit to eat ?

Mr. Smith. Well, I think the gentleman that raised
White Plume celery told us that it could be planted very
much quicker than the other, and I should think perhaps
half of it would be fit to eat. But if I was going to raise it,
I think I would follow a difierent plan from what I. did when
I raised the White Plume before. I should raise it for an
earlier market.

Question. Does not the gentleman find, with the White
Plume or any other celery, that, if it is not banked, it has
not a satisfactory market?

Mr. Smith. Well, I did not suppose celery was ever put
into the market that had never been handled, as you sa}^
paper put about it ; I suppose that is always done. There
are people in the hall who raise early White Plume without
any earth.

Professor Humphrey of the State Experiment Station.

168 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

Is there some one here who will volunteer to send to the
Experiment Station at Amherst some good specimens of
club-footed cabbages and turnips? I do not want a large
specimen, because it is for microscopic study, and will take
but a little piece. If any one here will volunteer to send
me such a sample at Amherst, I will be very greatly obliged.

The Chairman. Our next lecture is upon Irrigation, by
a gentleman who not only practices it extensively upon
market garden crops, but has the past season journeyed
across the continent to observe the workings of the systems
of irrigation in Colorado and California. He is abundantly
able to interest the audience : W. W. Rawson of Arlington.

IRRIGATION.

BY ■W. W. RAAVSON OF ARLINGTON.

In the growing of crops of all kinds, there are many things
necessary for their development. Some of the principal
ones are air, light, heat and moisture. No one of these is
of more importance and more necessary to their develop-
ment than moisture.

From sev^enty-five to ninety-five per cent of the compo-
sition of vegetables is moisture. Of fruits, seventy to
eighty-five per cent; of grasses, seventy to eighty per cent.

To grow these to perfection, more moisture is necessary
than furnished by rains and the atmosphere. The supplying
of moisture by artificial means is called irrigation, which is
one of the means used for producing fertility in the soil.

It was first used in Egypt nearly four thousand years ago,
and has since been used in all countries. The Romans took
the lead at the beginning of the present century. The pools
which Solomon constructed were to hold water, which was to
be used for irrigating the soil. In Ecclesiastes, the second
chapter, the fourth, fifth and sixth verses, we read: "I
made me great works ; I builded me houses ; I planted me
vineyards : I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted
trees in them of all kind of fruits : I made me pools of water,
to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees."
From then to the present time nearly all nations have had
more or less use for irrigation.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 169

The method of using irrigation differs very much in dif-
ferent countries. Very much depends upon the locality.

Where there are but two seasons, the wet and dry, they
can tell very readily when to prepare for irrigation ; but
where there are four seasons, it cannot be known until
the dry season arrives, which in our New England States
generally occurs in the summer or in our hottest weather.
Sometimes in the fall, in order to perfect a crop of celery or
cabbage or cauliflower.

Very many of our vegetables are grown under glass, so
that with us irrigation becomes a necessity.

The better facilities one has, the less the expense, and the
more perfect will be the success in securing the crop.

When the grower understands irrigation, it is much easier
to get a good crop under glass than it is in the field, and I
had much rather undertake it.

The subject of irrigation must be well understood, if it is
to be used so as to secure the best results in growing a
crop.

It is very evident that no crop can be grown without it.

There are various methods of applying moisture to the
soil and to growing plants, such as running it over the surface
in furrows or trenches, playing it upon the foliage, and by
filling tiles, which is mostly practiced on low lands by stop-
ping the lowest end of the tiles and filling them from the
lowest point. This method I would recommend for low and
heavy lands, because if applied to the surface the soil will
harden and become an injury to the growing crop. On sandy
lands the most benefit can be derived by running it over the
surface about once a week, and applying about one inch at a
time, which is about the average rainfall of our New England
climate.

When the rainfall is uniform no irrigation is necessary ;
but as it is too often the case, no rain falls for two or three
weeks or more, then it becomes necessary to make two or
three applications.

Irrigation by watering the foliage is not recommended,
except under glass, when it is often necessary and can be
applied without injury to the growing crop.

It is better to water under glass on a pleasant day than on a

170 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

stormy or a cloudy one ; but in the field a cloudy one would
be preferred if the water was to be applied to the foliage.

The supply for irrigation is taken from ponds, rivers,
brooks, or it is pumped from driven wells. I much prefer
to pump from wells in all cases, because in the summer
the water from ponds or rivers is quite warm, while that
from wells is cool, which will be an advantage to the crop,
especially if the ground is dry and hot, as is often the case ;
and in winter if taken from ponds or rivers it is very cold
and could not be put upon the plants until it had been
warmed, while that taken from wells would be at a proper
temperature to be applied immediately.

For these reasons I have always preferred the wells and
have always used them.

The appliances used for pumping are the wind-mill and
the steam pump ; but it is much the best to have both.

The cheapest pumping is done by the wind-mill, but when
it does not pump a sufficient quantity then the steam pump
can be used.

In many places there are elevated ponds or rivers that
can be taken from. When such is the case no pumping is
necessary.

There are some very extensive works of this kind in Cali-
fornia and Colorado. I visited one this last summer. It had
nine hundred miles of canal. I saw it about forty miles from
the head. At that place it was twenty feet wide and ten feet
deep. The land sloped about ten feet to the mile and the
water flowed about two miles an hour. There were many
small canals or ditches leading from the large one. This
entire system would irrigate about sixty thousand acres of
land. It was a very great undertaking to build it ; but it
increased the value of the land very much, so that when it
was sold it brought five dollars more per acre.

In addition to this increase in the value of the land, every
one who used the water paid so much for the use of it.

The past year the cost was sixty-seven cents per acre, so
you see the cost of irrigation was quite small.

It was mostly used for vineyards, and was applied when
the crop was growing. When the crop was nearly grown its
use was stopped, and none was applied while the crop was
ripening.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 171

The weather there is very even, so that they know just
what to depend upon. So even is it that they dry all of
their raisin crop in the field without any fear of rain.

There are other plans of irrigation carried on in that sec-
tion which are not so extensive. Most of the vegetable
gardeners use wind-mills, some of them having as many as
five or six on their place.

Others use steam pumps. Their land is all arranged for
irrigation. They pump the water into a large tank and con-
duct it through their fields in wooden troughs made for the
purpose.

They are about ten inches square, and are so constructed
that the water may be let out at any given point. They
allow it to run over the land, and use as much as may be
required.

We do not irrigate in the same manner, nor can we. They
know there will be no rain for a given time. We do not
know from one day to another, and are in constant fear lest
the shower that comes to-day may be the last for a month.
We have to put the water on lightly, for fear there may be
a deluge the next day. One inch of water at any time is all
that it is safe to apply. If there is no rain for a week then
another inch, and so on through the season, as the necessity
may demand. I think one inch of water over the surface
once a week will keep any crop growing in the dryest
weather.

A good steam pump will supply that amount through a
three-inch pipe in six hours — twenty-five thousand gallons.
I mean by a " good pump," one that will pump one hundred
gallons per minute. I do not recommend a smaller pump,
because it will cost just as much to run one half the size ;
the only diSerence being that a little smaller quantity of coal
will be used The cost of a large mill is not much more
than a small one, and it will do many times the work of a
small one with the same labor. I would as soon think of
being without a steam pump as the farmer who cuts hay
would of being without a mowing-machine.

It takes one man to run the pump and one to attend the
hose. But very little hose is required if the land is well
piped. I would recommend piping the land with two and

172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

one-half inch cement-lined pipe placed in the ground, with
hydrants but a short distance apart ; that is, one line running
from the mill or pump, as the case may be, to each of the
buildings and hot-beds, and then pipe for the remainder on
top of the ground, with three-inch pipe, so that the ground
will be well covered with pipe enough, and then very little
hose will be required. The pipe on top of the ground must
be taken up in the fall and put down in the spring. All of
the pipes must be connected with the pump and wind-mill if
both are on the place.

This may seem very expensive to some, but it will save
much time in the busy season by having the water carried to
all parts of the place. Upon a place often acres the expense
of furnishing pump, boiler, pipes and fittings would not be
over one thousand dollars.

I had rather have a place of ten acres well fitted for irri-
gation than one of twenty acres without irrigation ; and I
venture the assertion that I could raise more vegetables, or
receive more money for my crops in a period of ten years
from the ten acres irrigated than from the twenty acres not
irrigated.

The question of irrigation is not difiicult to understand.
One simply needs to know the rules of nature and to follow
them, and then it is very easy.

An animal will not thrive though he may have plenty to
eat, if he has nothing to drink. Just so with plants ; but
plants require more water according to their bulk than does
an animal.

If the. usual fall of rain, which is one inch, would be suffi-
cient to grow any crop, then the same quantity supplied by
irrigation should be sufficient ; and if the greater part of a
growing crop is moisture, then it is very evident that it must
be supplied, and if not by nature, then it must be by artifi-
cial means which we call irrigation. Many may say, I have
no water. To you I would reply, there is not a farm of
twenty acres in New England but has water enough upon it,
or running through it or under it, to irrigate it. This is a
very broad statement, but it has proved itself true.

Any farm that is well arranged for irrigation, whether it
be of five, ten or twenty acres, will bring enough more at any

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

173

time when offered for sale to pay for the amount expended.
Therefore the expense would be only the interest on the money
invested, besides the fuel and labor. We will allow $50.00
for interest, or $2.50 per acre for twenty acres. The cost of
running a pump for twenty-four hours would be : for coal
$3.00, for labor $7.00 (if run day and night), ad<litional help
in moving hose, etc., $1.00; making a total of $11.00 per
day to iiTigate four acres, or $2.75 per acre if only one
application was made, and a total cost of $5.25 per acre if
only one application was made. If two applications were
made, $4.00 per acre ; if three applications were made, $3.63
per acre ; if four applications, $3.38 per acre.

Is there any crop grown that will not allow of this out-
lay upon it? If there is, then certainly there can be no profit
in gi'owing it, and we had better turn our attention to some-
thing else.

I have seen, with three applications of water, a crop that
would not have brought $200 per acre, bring $1,000, and it
was all done in three weeks' time.

I have seen others nearly doubled by one application,
made at the right time and in the right way.

In closing I would say, arrange your land for irrigation ;
obtain the necessary equipment ; plant your crop for irriga-
tion, and plant those best adapted to soil and locality ; study
the subject and understand the requirements of your crop,
and you will find that there will be no department of your
farm or market garden that will be of so much benefit to 3^ou,
or that will so well pay you for the investment, or upon
which you will place so much confidence to insure you a
good crop in any season, as your well-arranged system of
irrigation.

Moisture in Garden Crops.

Per cent.

Per cent.

Artichoke, .

. 81.1

Cauliflower, .

. 90.4

Asparagus (shoots),

. 93.3

Celery, ....

. 84.1

Beans (broad),

. 14.3

Corn (stem and leaves).

. 86.9

Beans (kidney), .

. 136

Cucumbers, .

. 95.6

Beets, .

. 88.0

Kohl-rabi,

. 89.4

Beets (sugar).

. 81.5

Lettuce,

. 94.0

Cabbage,

. 90.0

Mushrooms, .

. 88.8

Cabbage (red), .

. 90.1

Onions, ....

. 86.0

Carrots,

. 87.5

Parsnips,

. 88.3

174 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Moisture in Oarde?i Crops — Concluded.

[Jan.

Per cent.

Per cent.

Peas (green),

. 79.5

Radishes,

. . 933

Pumpkins, .

. 89.1

Spinach,

. 88.5

Potatoes,

. 75.0

Squash,

: . 90.0

Rhubarb (stems and leaves), 91.7

Turnips,

. 92.0

Rhubarb (root),

. 74.4

Horse-radish,

. 76.7

Moisture in Fruits and Berries.

Per cent.

Per cent.

Apples, .

. 83.6

Raspberries, .

. 86.2

Pears, .

. 83.0

Blackberries,

. 86.4

Plums, .

. '81.2

Mulberries, .

. 84.7

Peaches,

. 88.7

Gooseberries,

. 85.7

Apricots,

. 81.2

Currants,

. 86.0

Cherries,

. 80.3

Blueberries, .

. 82.7

Grapes,

• 78.2

Cranberries, .

. 89.6

Strawberries,

. 87.7

Moisture in Grasses, Glovers, etc.

Per cent.

Per cent.

Timothy,

. 70.0

White clover.

. 80.5

Orchard grass.

. 70.0

Green oats, .

. 81.0

Red clover (in bloc

)m),. . 80.0

Serradella, .

. 80.0

Mr. Washburn. I should like to inquire whether it will
do at all times to take water from an ordinary well and apply
it to growing crops, and if the temperature is not too cold
at certain seasons of the year for the application ?

Mr. Rawson. I would say that at no time of the year
have I found well water that was pumped from twenty or
thirty feet below the surface that had not a temperature as
high as fifty, and I know of no crop grown that will not
stand a temperature of fifty degrees. Cucumbers are the
tenderest, and they will stand water at fifty degrees at any
time. I have tried the temperature a great many times, and
have never found it below fifty, and therefore recommend
pumping from wells instead of from rivers and ponds.

Question. In that case water can be applied to surface
drains. How deep can those drains be laid, if deep enough
to escape the plough ?

Mr. Rawson. You wish to ask about filling the tiles ?

Mr. . Yes, sir.

Mr. Rawson. It is according to the quality of your land,

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 175

and the depth you run your plough. Now, in our sandy soil
we should have to put the drains certainly a foot and a half,
because ^ye plough nearly fifteen inches ; but in many soils,
where you plough only six or eight inches, ten or twelve
inches would be sufficient distance, and the tiles to irrigate
the land should be laid about ten feet apart. I irrigate my
celery, which is in rows of six feet, by ploughing a furrow
for each row. Now that will wet the land three feet each
side very well. The farther apart you put your tiles, the
more water they will require to irrigate the land between.

Question. Do you use the common drain tile ?

Mr. Rawson. Yes, I should if I used any, so that the
moisture would come through the joints.

Mr. Smith. I suppose that the water in the ordinary
drain tile would go to the lower end of that quite rapidly,
and escape there through the land at the lower end before
you could get any to staiid in your tile near the upper por-
tion of your field to be absorbed by the soil, would it not?

Mr. Kawson. Yes, sir ; but it is not always necessary to
run it down the steepest way. You could run it across,,
make a slight decline of the tile. An incline of a few feet
would be sufiicient to make a tile at the end take down the
water. You would need it at the end to take it off.

Mr. Smith. Would you drain the land at all ?

Mr. Raavson. It would drain it if there was pitch enough.
Tiles six or eight feet apart would drain almost any land,
with outlets at the end to take the water ofi*.

Question. I understand you irrigate by the surface, and
not by the tile ?

Mr. Rawson. Yes, sir.

Question. How do you apply it?

Mr. Rawson. I apply it in furrows. I plant my cabbages
in rows, and fill the furrows between them with water once
in 80 often, and the same with my celery and beets. I
arrange my land for irrigation.

Question. AVhy would you need any tiles at all ? Why
would not the furrow be better?

Mr. Rawson. It is according to what your sul^soil is. If
the subsoil is clay, it would be necessary to have some tile.
If the subsoil is gravel, I do not think you would need any

176 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

tile, because the water would go right through. For that
reason I would not recommend applying more than one inch
of water at a lime, because you would lose a great deal of
water.

QuESTiox. Suppose you had a place forty rods long, in
how many places would you apply the water in that forty
rods?

Mr. Rawson. Well, it would depend upon the decline of
the land. If the land was very level, I should apply it in
two or three places ; but if the land had quite a decline to it,
one place would be enough. I have a place where one of
my fields is something like between four hundred and five
hundred feet. The decline is, I think, about five feet. I
can run a stream the length of that in one minute, but you
have to have the stream, you have to have the water.
You want two two-and-a-half inch streams, and make a
regular brook of it. If you have only a little water, it will
soak in about as fast as you pump it on. I do not recommend
anything of that kind. I have a lot of steam fire-engine hose,
that is very easy to be obtained, which I connect with my
three-inch pipe, and then when the pump is running, I run
it into both furrows, and the water will soon go to the other
end, and the ground along the way will take what water
it requires, especially if a new furrow has been ploughed
recently. I would have the man at the upper end change
the hose before it got to the lower end. Those things have
to be looked after. There is no necessity of wasting any
water. A man can learn by practice just how far down that
row the water will be when it is necessary to take it up at
the upper end. If he does not know enough for that, I would
put on another man.

Mr. Sage. Are there many men in Massachusetts who
have farms that they can arrange on the hill-side, where they
can catch water ? Would it not be more desirable to catch
it, and lay up a store of water for drought?

Mr. Rawson. Yes, sir ; if that can be done. Any way
you can store up water and get it at the least expense is the
way to do it.

Mr. Sage. How large should a reservoir be for five acres?

Mr. Rawson. You would want one hundred and twenty-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 177

five thousand gallons to irrigate the place once. Then you
would want one hundred and twenty-five thousand gallons
for the second irrigation.

Mr. Sage. How many irrigations?

Mr. Rawsox. It depends on the season. This fall we
have not had to irrigate at all. [Laughter.]

Mr. Wilson. I would like to inquire how it is about the
frost in this climate. Would it not spoil the drain pipe?

Mr. Rawson. Not if laid upon a board.

Mr. Wilson. Would not the frost freeze the water and
split the tile at fifteen inches of depth ? It certainly would
an iron pipe.

Mr. Rawsox. In the winter time? What do you want
water then for?

Mr. WiLSOX. Well, sir, the water is not wanted for use ;
but if the water is where it will freeze, it will be pretty sure
to split the tile.

Mr. Rawsox. I do not understand how the gentleman is
going to have the water in the tile and have the ground all
frozen around it unless the tile is filled with water before the
ground is frozen ; and if that is the case, the tile is stopped
up somewhere.

Mr. AViLSON. I have had experience with a good many
thousand feet of iron pipe in the ground, and I have never
yet been able to convey water fifteen inches under ground
without its being frozen and splitting the pipe.

Mr. Rawsox. I understand you now. That is a different
question altogether. You speak of tile and pipe. I speak
of the pipe four feet under ground and the tile fifteen inches.

Mr. WiLSOX. Then I understand the water will leave
the tile through the winter?

Mr. Rawsox. Yes, sir. The water will not remain
through the winter in the tile ; but in the pipe it will re-
main, and that should be four feet below the surface.

Mr. WiLSOX. How about irrigating strawberries ?

Mr. Rawsox. I have used irrigation for strawberries. I
applied the water in furrows, every three feet ; or make a
little ridge and plant say two feet apart, and let the water
run down, a slow, steady stream. I should recommend, in a
case like that, not a flood of water, the same as you put on

178 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

cabbage, where you get through as quick as you can. On
strawberries I should carry my water to the upper end of
the rows, and have a little faucet from the pipe at the upper
end to go down every furrow, open my faucet, and let the
water trickle down. That is the way I water my cucumbers.
I only have one man when I water my cucumbers. I
arrange the pipe so as to go between the cucumbers, and
have an inch faucet ; then I set the pump going and open
the faucets, and the water runs down all the rows, so there is
no necessity for a man at all. When I think I have it wet
enough I stop the pump and the water stops too. You will
notice that in my essay I say that the cucumber contains the
most water of any vegetable. There is only 4.4 per cent of
solids in the cucumber, and 95.6 per cent of moisture. It
is pretty difficult to get too much water upon cucumbers.
I have twenty-five acres on my place, and I could not irri-
gate them unless I run the pump night and day ; it takes
me just a week to get through it, then I have to begin again.
Now this year, some of you may think it strange that I used
a pump at all. I ran my pump six weeks night and day in
the months of June and July. I have not run it since.
[Laughter.]

Question. I would like to ask Mr. Rawson if he thinks
there are many wells from which he could run his pump
night and day?

Mr. Rawson. No, sir. I never saw a dug well from
which I could run a pump at all.

A Voice. Mr. Rawson is situated right on a river, and
pumps from the river, or so near it that it is the same as
from the river.

Mr. Rawson. No, sir. I pump from a well sixty feet
below the river. My water is taken from a driven well. I
never saw a dug well that would supply a steam pump ; but
a driven well is a different thing, and you can pump from a
driven well by striking a current of water that will supply
the steam pump. I never have been on a place yet of ten
or twenty acres but what I found a current somewhere that
would carry a steam pump. One of my wells is sixty and
the other is eighteen feet below the bottom of the cellar.
Either one of them supplies the steam pump, and they are

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 179

both of them upon currents which will flow over the top of
a four-inch pipe on a level with the ground, driven down
sixty feet. T connect my steam pump right onto it. I have
another one in which the water comes up about ten feet in
the pipe. It is twenty-eight feet deep. The longer you
pump from a driven well the more water there is in it.

Mr. Sessions. How did you discover the current?

Mr. Rawson. By an apple tree — a piece of stick. All
I have to do is to step above the current —

Mr. Sessions. That is the secret of it Mr. Rawson has
the power which many have heard of — a sort of magic as to
discovering water. I do not know whether he can tell us
how any of us can do it or not.

Mr. Rawson. No, sir ; I do not believe you can.

Question. I would like to know what encouragement
there is for a man in a hill town to sink one of these wells —
on the top of a hill where it is rock — to get a supply for the
house ?

Mr. Rawson. Is your land all ledge?

Mr. . It is ledge after you get down twelve or

fourteen feet.

Mr. Rawson. There are arrangements by which rocks
are drilled right through nowadays as well as through soil.
If I was on a hill like that I would move off. [Laughter.]

Professor Stockbeidge. I am very deeply interested in
the line of remark that has been made. It seems" to me,
after all, when we consider the whole State of Massachusetts,
the farmers of the State and their situation, that this talk
about irrigating a domestic garden, or even a market garden,
is rather a picayune business. What I want to do is to irri-
gate a haying lot of one hundred acres, a corn field, a wheat
field, on a broad, grand scale. I do not believe we can pump
water by steam engines and get water enough for that
extended work, and that if we have water enough to irrigate
on a grand scale, as we want, we must take it by gravity from
some flowing stream. Now, the question I wish to ask is
this — the gentleman has probably investigated this matter
thoroughly : Suppose the people of Easthampton want to
draw water from some stream that is coming down from an
elevated section of this town, for the purposes of irrigation.

180 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

what rights have they in that stream ? Have they the con-
trol of that water? Can they take it, or has somebody else
the right to the water, and are the farmers debarred?

Mr. Rawson. The way I understand the law at the pres-
ent time is, that they have not the right. That is just what
has brought me where I am ; that very subject. We have
no right to take it for irrigation. The town of Arlington
gets its water from a pond, which they made themselves by
stopping up a basin at the lower end. It is 125 feet above
my land, and I offered the town six hundred dollars a year
to supply me with water, and they said they could not do it.
I said, "Why not?" "Well, because the law does not
allow us to sell water to any one for irrigation." There is
no objection against people taking it for domestic purposes,
but just as soon as I should get it for irrigation, or my plan
all made, somebody would come by and say, "Rawson is
making too much money, and he can't have it." That is just
about the way that is. Now, if we could get the water for
irrigation by some law, still not taking it away from the
people that have it for domestic purposes, it would be better
for the farming community, and for the domestic people,
too. But we have no such law at the present time, as I
understand it.

Professor Stockbridge. Then I would like to ask this :
Supposing the farmers of West Springfield, all through that
basin region, want to build an irrigating canal, such as you
have seen in California and in Colorado, and want to take
the water out of the Connecticut River above Holyoke, carry
it up around that slope, and irrigate a thousand acres below
here, have they a right to take that water?

Mr. Rawson. I do not think they have, according to the
law of the State at this time. If they can, it would be the
best thing they could do.

Professor Stockbridge. Then, for the purpose of irrigat-
ing here in Massachusetts on a large scale, we are debarred
from getting the water, are we not ?

Mr. Rawson. Practically. But I do not know of any
way that you can get the water cheaper than for twelve cents
a thousand gallons, and I can pump it for that. There is no
reservoir that you can make, there are no pipes that you can

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 181

lay, and there is no money that you can expend, but the
interest would be more than it would cost you to pump this
water at twelve cents a thousand gallons.

Professor Stockbridge. I understand, where Indian corn,
wheat, etc., are irrigated, it only costs sixty cents an acre
for the water for a year. Can you pump it up and put it
on for sixty cents an acre ?

Mr. Eawson. I am talking about Massachusetts, not
California.

Professor Stockbridge. I would like to ask another
question. If we have no legal rights to the water of Con-
necticut River, or any of its branches, for irrigating purposes,
I want to know if we have not an undoubted right to take
sewage waters of our inland cities, iind use those waters for
irrigating purposes ?

Mr. Rawson. I think we ought to have.

Professor Stockbridge. Then had we better not do it?
Take the sewage water of the city of Worcester, that is
troubling all the valley of the Blackstone from there to
Long Island Sound, and which is a great volume of water.
Could not that be used for irrigating purposes to great
advantage, and would it not be infinitely better water to use
than your well water?

Mr. Rawson. Yes, I think it would be better to use ; but
of course until we get some act through the Legislature in
relation to it, it would be pretty difficult for us to get it,
and I am not much of a lawyer myself, and I hope the gentle-
man will not ask me too many legal questions. But I hope
the time will come before long when we shall get some such
right ; w^hen the farmers of Massachusetts will place men
enough in the Legislature to obtain such rights. And I
hope that those young men that are now being educated in
our Agricultural College will have such instructions, not
only in agriculture, but in elocution, parliamentary practice
an(i those points which will bring them before the public, so
that they will take their place where they should be, and
place the agricultural interests of the State in the position
they ought to occupy. [Loud applause.]

I think the gentlemen are wandering somewhat from the
subject, and I hope you will excuse me, also, for departing

182 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

from the subject of irrigation, because I feel it is very im-
portant that our young men in our colleges should be edu-
cated a little more in elocution, oratory and parliamentary
practice.

The Chairman. Gentlemen, the discussion upon this
subject is now closed. The next lecture will be upon " Hay
for Market," by Mr. J. B. Walker of Concord, N. H., a
gentleman of ability and experience, whom I now have the
pleasure of introducing to you.

Mr. Walker preceded the reading of his paper with the
following words : Some years ago, before the war, Mr.
Theodore D. Parker of Boston, a merchant sailing vessels
down into South America, had occasion to go down South.
The atmosphere down there was decidedly pro-slavery, and
it was decidedly anti-slavery up here. It was not particu-
larly pleasant travelling down there. He went out on the
Mississippi River and" went down three or four days on a
steamboat, and had for a companion in his state-room a
Mississippi planter. They had a very agreeable time all the
way down the river, and took great comfort together.
When the boat drew up at Natchez the planter said, " Here
I land. INIy plantation is about a dozen miles out from here,
and I would be glad to have you come and see me," and
handed him his card. Thereupon Mr. Parker returned the
compliment. It seems they had been together two or three
days without inquiring each other's name. The planter took
the card and read it, started back, drew a long breath, and
said, "Is it possible that I have been three days on the great
father of waters in company with that pestilent abolitionist,
Theodore Parker of Boston?" "Oh, no, sir. My dear
friend, you make a mistake. If you will read my card care-
fully you will see that my name is Theodore D. Parker."
"Ah! I beg your pardon, sir. I hope you will excuse
me, — Theodore D. Parker. Now, as a friend, will 3^ou
allow me to give you a little advice ? You are travelling
in the South, and as you will register, probably, at the
hotels, you be very careful to write that ' D' in your name
almighty large." [Laughter.] Now, there are four points
in my paper of special importance, and I want them written

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 183

in our memories " almighty large," for they are important
to the safety of our crops, and to the safety of our pockets,
if we are going into grass raising.

HAY FOR MARKET.

BY J. B. WALKER OF CONCORD, N. H.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — I have felt a good deal
of diffidence in coming down here into the very garden of
New England to speak to some of its best hay farmers upon
a subject to which they have given a life-long attention.
The responsibility of my mistake, if such it prove to be,
must be borne in part, at least, by our mutual friend the
secretary of your Board of Agriculture.

I need not say that in New England the hay crop is the
great underlying one of our agricultural system ; that upon
this, directly or indirectly, rest all its various branches ; that
as we enlarge or diminish this, we may increase or must
lessen our stocks of cattle and sheep and horses ; and, further,
that as these vary in numbers so will vary the manurial
resources of our farms, and eventually the pecuniary con-
ditions of our pockets. We once had a sordid old fellow
up in New Hampshire, better off than the rest of us, who
was wont to say that he always put his pocket-book under
his pillow when he went to bed, for " he loved to lie awake at
night and hear his notes draw interest." But a higher
pleasure by far than that comes to the grass farmer in May
and June, as he hears in the night watches the gentle rain
descending from heaven upon his meadows of living green,
rendering soluble the plant food which they contain, that it
may be converted by nature's mysterious processes into
glorious expanses of waving grass. He feels that he is
co-operating with God himself in the accomplishment of a
worthy end.

Our attention just now is directed forward, and it may be
well to note, at starting, the mark at which we now stand
upon the grass-growing scale ; and I am happy to congratu-
late the Massachusetts farmers upon having attained a higher
one than that occupied by those of any of her sister New
England States, for the former raise on an average one and
seven one-hundredths (1.07) of a ton per acre, affording an

184

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

annual of feed of 3,521 pounds to each of their cattle, horses
and sheep.* But, if she does stand at the head, is this the
best which old Massachusetts can do? I do not think so.
Thousands of individual farmers are making better records
every year, and there can be no doubt that the average hay
producer, having a fair quality of grass land at any point
north of Mason and Dixon's line, can double this yield.

Conditions of Success.

There are three requisites to high success in the produc-
tion of hay, viz. : Maximum crops, superior quality and
minimum cost. No one, or even two, of these will insure
it. Large crops of high excellence will return little profit
if their cost be excessive .« Meagre returns of any quality,
at whatever expense produced, are never satisfactory. To
vary a little the statement of the proposition, the farmer
gets the best net returns from good crops of good quality,
raised at the least adequate expense

Grass is indigenous to most of our New England soils.
It grows by culture, it grows by neglect, it springs up spon-
taneously everywhere, it is omnipresent. Yet its most
profitable production is almost a fine art, requiring a knowl-
edge of its composition, its organic construction and its
habits of growth.

Without an intelligent supply of its wants, high success in
its culture is as unattainable to the farmer as is good flour to
the miller who is ignorant of the peculiar character of his
wheat and of the mechanism of his mill.

* STATES.

Tons per Acre.

Acreage.

No. of Tons.

Maine,

New Hampshiie

Vermont

Massachusetts, ....
Rhode Island, ....
Connecticut

.86
.87
1.03
1.07
.80
1.03

1,279,299
674,440

1,015,620
639,498
102,894
542,495

1,107,788
588,170

1,052,183

684 679

82,646

561,079

In 1880 the hay-consuming animals in Massachusetts were : horses, 59,629; mules
and asses, 243; oxen, 14,571; milch cows, 150,435; other cattle, 96,045; sheep,
67,979; total, 388,902. The amount of hay raised, 684,679 tons, or 1,369,358,000
pounds.— United Stales Census of ISSO.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 185

Habits and Phtsical CoNSTRUCTioisr or Grass Plants.

If one should go upon a good grass field, about the first
or middle of July, and carefully remove from its bed a cubic
foot of soil with all the plants growing thereon, he will find
standing upon it about three or four hundred stalks, some
two feet and a half or three feet high, surmounted by heads
ol" panicles, and bearing upon their sides long and grace-
fully bending leaves. A further examination, by carefully
washing away the earth from which these have sprung, will
reveal an intricate mass of tubular roots interlacing with
each other in all directions, the great body of which are con-
fined to the upper four or five inches of the cube. Some,
perhaps, like those of the clover, will be found to have
penetrated deeper, but as a general rule the upper four-inch
stratum of any meadow contains nine-tenths of the grass
roots growing upon it.

If he should proceed further still, and analyze any or all
of these, he will find them composed of various distinct sub-
stances, combined in certain fixed proportions. For in-
stance, a thousand pounds of air-dried timothy hay will be
found to contain 143 pounds of water, fifteen and one-half
pounds of nitrogen, twenty pounds of potash, one and one-
half pounds of soda, four and one-half pounds of lime, one
and nine-tenths pounds of magnesia, seven and two-tenths
pounds of phosphoric acid, one and eight-tenths pounds of
sulphuric acid, and twenty-two and one-tenth pounds of
silica.* Without these ingredients within reach, and in
assimilable form, the half ton of timothy cannot be pro-
duced ; and, if nature does not furnish them, the farmer must,
or go without his hay.

The Seed-bed.
The first thing which demands attention in preparing for
a grass crop is the seed-bed. Nature suggests that it be
at least five inches deep, and success is dependent upon its
being a good one. It must be so made as to meet all the
underground wants of the grass plants, and of such fineness

* Talks on Manuies, by Joseph Harris, p. 344.

186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

as to allow their roots and minutest rootlets to wander
through it with facility and in all directions. It must be
porous to such a degree as to readily admit to its bosom the
warmth and air and moisture of the atmosphere above it.
Without these life cannot flourish. Destroy a soil's porosity
and you destroy the vitality of every living thing growing
upon it. Some one hundred and fifty years ago Mr. Jethro
Tull of Enarland asserted that tillas^e was a substitute for
manure ; and, although his experiments did not sustain his
proposition, they did prove that minute pulverization aided
greatly in rendering assimilable the plant food locked up in
indigestible compounds in the soil, and consequently di-
minished to some extent the amount of fertilization otherwise
required. His efibrts, therefore, were not in vain, and his
posterity will always owe him a debt of gratitude for the
great truth which he unwittingly taught them.

Fertilization.

It maybe superfluous, perhaps, to say that adequate fertili-
zation is a sine qua non to a good grass crop. You all know
and believe it ; and yet, if their fields are a true index of
their views, thousands of New England farmers do not agree
with you.

What kind of fertilizer one should use on his grass fields
must generally depend upon the circumstances surrounding
him. He will, of course, employ the manures of his farm
stock, and if these sufiice will need no other. If he does
he may be so situated that he can buy stable manure. Per-
haps he can obtain wood ashes, and has lands adapted to their
use. The spent lime and drench precipitates of a tannery
may be within his reach. If he can obtain either of these at
remunerative prices they will generally answer fairly his
purpose. Whether he can afibrd to use any of the so-called
commercial fertilizers, I am unable to say. My own expe-
rience with them, in connection with grass, has been limited
and not satisfactory. Further experimentation with these is
needed, and some of this the grass farmer may as well con-
duct for himself upon his own lands, noting with care the
nature of his soils and the formulas used. I have strong
suspicions that the latter may be economically modified.

1^89.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 187

The condition in which manure should be applied has
received less thought than it has deserved. Its action being
twofold, — that of affording plant food to the crop, and, to a
greater or less extent, of rendering assimilable that already
in the soil, — it is most active when fine and evenly dissemi-
nated throughout all portions of it. When applied in lumps,
with undressed spaces left between them, it is less efiective
and the crop is unevenly fed. The mechanical perfection of
manurial application is the bringing into close contact a par-
ticle of manure with every particle of the soil.

But economy requires that it be diffused through the seed-
bed only. As before stated, the great mass of most grass
roots lie in an upper strata of soil some four inches deep.
In this they seek their food, and in this it should be placed.
They will not seek it very much below this depth, and the
soluble portions placed there are liable to be lost in the sub-
soil. If applied upon the surface it will reach its destination
only as it is washed down to it by rains, being entirely inert
during dry periods, and liable to run to waste where the sur-
face of the ground becomes hard by frost or other cause.

Moisture.
This in sufficient and constant supply is essential to suc-
cessful grass-growing. I say sufficient supply, for it has
been said, and probably with substantial truth, that an ordi-
nary grass crop exhales in growing twice and a half of its
weight of water. The "Marcite" or winter meadows of
Lombardy and Piedmont, in the valley of the Po,* which
bear grass uninterruptedly from the 8th of September to the
25th of the following March, receive during this period
successive irrigations of an aggregate depth of eleven hun-
dred and eighty-eight inches or ninety-nine feet. I also say
constant supply, because receiving its food in solution, this
is largely withheld during periods of drought, causing the
crop to languish and mature a stunted growth. The drought
which prevailed in the valley of the Merrimack, in 1884,
cut short the hay crop about one-fifth of the yield anticipated
on the first day of June, and destroyed a large percentage

* Italian Irrigation, by Capt. Baii-d Smith, toI. 2, p. 107.

188 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

of the grass plants, which were restored only by reseeding.*
While good grass cannot grow in water, it cannot grow
without a full and constant supply of it.

Good Seed.

My attention was called, some years ago, by a valuable
member of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, the late
Capt. John B. Moore, to the great importance of using
good seed in farming. A moment's reflection will call to
mind the fact that a sound acorn contains a perfect oak in
embryo, awaiting expansion in the ground and air. It is
also just as true that the maize kernel and the grass seed
inclose the undeveloped stems and leaves of those plants.
If the seed be withered, feeble or imperfectly developed,
it will surely transmit its own constitutional imperfections to
the crop which springs from it ; and it is just as reasonable
to expect a herd of choice cattle from a collection of scrub
calves, as to expect satisfactory vegetation from imperfect
seeds. The law is general and immutable, that imperfec-
tion breeds imperfection just as much in the vegetable as
in the physical world. As farmers, we may regard it to
our profit, or disregard it to our loss. The amount of
poor seed imposed upon the farmers is astonishing to
one whose attention has not been called to the subject,
and it is one of the causes to which poor crops may often
be attributed.

I desire to emphasize these four points to which I have
just called your attention, viz. : Properly made seed-beds,
adequate fertilization, suiBciency of moisture and good seeds.
They are very important, and cannot be ignored with im-
punity. For that reason I desire to leave them in large
letters upon the tablets of your memories.

** The rainfall at Concord, N.H., in 1884, during the grass-growing months of
May and June, was as follows : May 5, .28 inch ; May 8, .15 inch ; May 9, .08 inch ;
May 10, .02 inch; May 14, .60 inch ; May 16, .17 inch; May 20, .67 inch; May 22,
.20 inch; May 23, .30 inch ; May 28, .60 inch; totals, 3.07- June 6, .25 inch; June
10, .07 inch; June 12, .24 inch; June 24, .10 inch; June 25, .27 inch; totals, .93.
On the first day of June the prospect of a good grass crop was most promising. On
the first of July all such anticipations had vanished. The rainfall had been less than
an inch dui-ing the former month, and the crop was a fifth less than an average one.
Subsequently the sharp drought of July destroyed extensively the roots of the grass
plants.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 189

Obstacles.

The hay producer encounters various obstacles in the
prosecution of his business.

Frequently low places in his fields show a deterioration of
the quality of his grass, by the appearance of sedges, brakes,
etc. This suggests underdraining of the parts affected, if
practicable, and if not so, an elevation of the surface. Either
will remove the evil.

Now and then a dry ridge will indicate its aridity by a
scantiness of herbage. The remedy for this is an incorpora-
tion of additional vegetable matter with the soil , or a lower-
ing of its surface to the level of the surrounding ground.
The latter course secures largely the avoidance of the impact
of dessicating winds and of the rapid drainage from its sur-
face of the rainfall.

But the most serious obstacle by far is drought We
cannot control the condition of the atmosphere, and I should
hardly venture to suggest any remedy for this malady but
for the fact that we must have one. We are situated
somewhat as was the boy sent out to catch a woodchuck
by his fiither, where such animals were not plenty, with
the imperative remark, " We must have one, for the
minister dines with us to-morrow, and he cannot make a
dinner Avithout fresh meat." AVe cannot raise grass without
moisture, and fortunately for us we can generally do much
to secure it.

The melting snows and spring rains almost always keep
the ground sufficiently moist up to the middle of May. If
the soil be in good condition, by that time the grass will
have attained such a height and thickness as to shield it from
a rapid loss of its moisture. The term "good condition,"
just used, suggests the well-known fiict that abundant fer-
tilization is a great palliative of drought.

Dryness of a soil is often due to the fact that, owing to
the hardness of its surface, the rainfall cannot penetrate it,
and simply runs over and off it, to no good purpose. The
maintenance of a porous soil and open sod, by frequent
breaking up of the ground and its thorough pulverization,
accompanied by reseedings, is a good remedy in such cases.

190 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The harm resulting to mowing-fields from fall feeding comes
largely from the compacting of the ground's surface by the
tread of the cattle.

As before inthnated, strong, drying winds not infrequently
rob exposed elevations of their moisture, to the very great
injury of their herbage. A practicable remedy for this evil
may be often found in belts of trees, so placed as to break
the force of the winds and deflect them to a course above
and beyond the parts affected. These will also sei-ve to pro-
tect the grass roots by preventing the blowing away of the
snow in winter, whereby large tracts of ground are often
left bare.

There is another remedy for drought which is sometimes
practicable, particularly in hilly and well-wooded localities.
I allude to irrigation, which, properly conducted, is an abso-
lute specific, as it insures moisture at all times and to any
extent.

I am aware that irrigation is seldom practiced in New
England, and that one who advocates it is liable to be
regarded as possessed of lunatic ideas, Avhich, however, are
entirely harmless so long as no money is risked upon them.
Yet in Europe, in northern Africa, in India, and in the
western part of our own country, it is very common.

We have as yet hardly begun to study the value of our
water resources. Until recently those only have been re-
garded as of much account which had sufiicient power to turn
a mill wheel. But recently they are being looked upon from
a domestic and sanitary stand-point, and the farmer ought to
go still further and examine them as agricultural agencies ;
investigating their channels and volumes, both above and
below ground. Thousands of Italian farms are made peren-
nially fruitful by the streams descending the southern water-
shed of the Alps, and the celebrated " Marcite," or winter
meadows, are often irrigated by springs alone. It is time
for us to wake up to the fact that it is a reckless waste to
allow the thousands of New England brooks to flow idly and
uselessly through our pastures and meadows, all the way
from their remotest sources amid the mountains, to the great
resounding sea.

So far, the few eff'orts at irrigation in New England which

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 191

have come under my own limited observation have been fairly
successful, and furnish a perfect protection from drought.
Of course, few, comparatively, of our farms have the water
requisite for the purpose, but where it does exist irrigation
is as practicable and as little ruinous as hoeing corn or dig-
ging potatoes. In the Eastern world its success is as old at
least as history, and doubtless older.

Hay Eaisixg as a Specialty.

The high price and poor quality of hired labor, unaccom-
panied by a corresponding price of farm products, has raised
the inquiry, Can hay farming be prosecuted as a specialty
with profit? It may be said in reply, that it is not easy in
New England to so organize the labor on a farm as to confine
it to one crop. Still, it may be done, and a farmer possessed
of good grass lands, and so situated that he can buy manure
at reasonable rates, may find the business a satisfactory one.

I have personally found that about five cords of the best
stable manure per acre, applied every five years to good grass
land, broken up and seeded that often, will secure an aver-
age yield of about two tons a year, or ten tons for that
period.

I think that the outlay and returns will not greatly vary
from those of the following statement ; —

Outlay.

Breaking up one acre of sod ground, eight and a half inches
deep, with sulky plough, one man at $1.50 per day, and three
twelve-hundred-pound horses at $4.50 per day, two-thirds of
a day each,

Harrowing twice, one man and two horses, three hours, .

Five cords of manure, delivered on land, at $7.00 per cord.

Spreading same ; one man, two horses and manure-spreader
one day,

Ploughing in same ; one man and two horses half a day, .

Harrowing ; one man and two horses three hours,

Twelve quarts of grass seed, ......

Sowing ; one man, one horse and seed-sower one hour,

Rolling ; one man, two horses and roller, one hour, .

Use of farm implements, say,

Cost of harvesting two tons of hay each year, for five years, at
fS.OOperton,

Total cost of hay, exclusive of rent of land and taxes,

fl 00

1 35

35 DO

4 50

2 25

1 35

1 00

30

45

1 50

30 00

$81 70

$120

$81.70

$38.30

150

81.70

68.30

180

81.70

98.30

200

81.70

118.30

192 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The profit realized during the five years will depend of
course upon the market value of the hay. This will be —

At $12 per ton,

15 " . . .

18 " . . .

20 " . . .

being |7. 66, $13.66, $19.66 or $23.66 per annum, accord-
ing as the respective prices above-mentioned are realized.
While these figures will doubtless vary in difierent localities,
they have sufiicient general accuracy to show that Avell-con-
ducted grass-farming may be made a fair-paying business,
particularly in favored localities.

Should these figures seem satisfactory, it may be well to
look a little further, as to the amount of labor requisite for
the maintenance of a fair-sized hay farm. I will probably
be safe in saying that an intelligent, able-bodied man with a
good team will break up a tract of twenty acres of Con-
necticut River meadow in thirty working days ; that he will
harrow this twice preparatory for manuring in four working
days ; that, provided he does not have to draw it more than
a mile and a half, he will put upon it one hundred cords of
manure in fifty working days ; that, with a manure-spreader,
he will spread this in twenty working days ; that he will
plough it into the seed-bed in ten working days ; that he
will harrow the ground twice, after manuring, in four work-
ing days ; that he will sow and roll in the seed in four work-
ing days ; in all, one hundred and twenty-two working days.
From April 15 to November 15, exclusive of July, left for
haying, there are one hundred and thirty-two working days.

If this calculation is correct, one man and team can break
up, manure and reseed twenty acres of grass ground each
year during the working season, exclusive of the month of
July, and have ten days to spare for rainy weather and other
contingencies. The other five months, which complete his
year, remain for other business. How other considerations
may modify the desirableness of this system of farming each
individual must judge for himself. That hay-raising as a
specialty may, under favorable circumstances, be made
practicable and fairly remunerative, there can be little doubt.
It requires less hand labor per acre than any other of our

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 193

farm crops, except those of wheat, rye, oats and barley. To
persons wishing to do some farming, and at the same time
avoid the great difficulty of obtaining satisfactory labor at a
fair price, it offers agreeable employment and fair compen-
sation. In other words, if I am correct, a single man favor-
ably situated, with a good team and extra help in haying,
will manage one hundred acres of grass land, and have the
winter left for the disposal of his crop, and such other busi-
ness as may claim his attention.

Stjmmary.
Such of you as may have visited the late ex-Alderman
Mecchi, on his farm at Tip Tree Hall, in Englan<i, or have
read his books, doubtless remember that he had reduced
some of his agricultural experiences to concise maxims. For
instance, he was wont to say : " Never use a man when you
can use a horse ; never use a horse when you can use a
steam engine ; for an iron horse don't cost half as much as a
flesh horse, and will last twice as long." Citing his example
as my apology, I beg leave, by way of recapitulation, to
condense some of the things I have just said into a few not
very elegant dogmatic sentences. I would gladly put them
into verse, as did old Thomas Tusser his "five hundred
points of good husbandry," but I cannot write as mean
doggerel as he did, nor, I am sorry to say, any better, so I
must give them to you in plain prose.

1 . Raise grass on grass land ; for two tons can be as
easily raised on an acre of such land as one ton on an acre of
a dry and sandy nature.

2. Never let your yield decline to a low point in quan-
tity ; for, by so doing, it will decline in quality as well, and
a double loss will result.

3. When the grass plants of a field are no longer thick
and vigorous, plough, fertilize if necessary, and reseed it;
for a yield of hay is in near proportion to the number and
health of the plants producing it.

4. Whenever the surface of a grass field has become im-
pervious to the rainfall, break up and reseed it ; for grass
won't grow without moisture, and moisture will not pene-
trate an impenetrable surface.

194 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

5. Top-dress only porous sod lands, using fine and sol-
uble manures ; for it is as vain to top-dress an impervious
turf as to satisfy a man's hunger by scattering food upon the
skin ©f his cranium.

6. Never use poor seed, for like produces like ; and the
breeder may just as reasonably expect good progeny from a
mean parentage as a grass grower satisfactory crops from
mean seed.

7. Understand perfectly the composition of your soils,
fertilizers and grasses. It is the only way by which you can
know what you are about. This cannot be done without
more or less experimentation by the grass producer upon his
own fields. Reading and observation only will not suffice.

8. As a general rule, break up, manure and reseed your
grass lands one year before they need it. By so doing you
will be more often right than wrong.

9. Raise as little second-class hay as you can ; for first-class
buyers want first-class hay, which is easiest sold and yields
the best profit.

10. Never half manure the seed-bed of a hay field. By
so doing one gets half crops of hay, and incurs the labor
and expense of two ploughings, fertilizations and seedings,
where one might have sufiiced.

Our agricultural system is just now in transition from that
of a receding to that of a coming period. Wonderful dis-
coveries in natural science are changing it materially, and
ushering in the new spirit of a new age, under whose au-
spices special farming has appeared. It embodies a central
idea which is the direct opposite of that upon which our
fathers wrought. Instead of a little of everything, it sug-
gests the raising of a good deal of one thing. How exten-
sively it is to prevail, experience has not yet determined.
We have something of it in tobacco raising, something in
dairying, something in truck farming. We arc likely to see
more of it in hay husbandry.

Mr. Humphrey of New Hampshire. Mr. Chairman, I
suppose the meeting is open for outsiders to say a word. I
wish to make the inquiry of my friend Walker whether he
has visited the farm of Professor Sanborn, where irrigation is
in operation, and has been for years?

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 195

Mr. Walker. I have seen it. He commenced irrigation
twenty-five years ago, and has kept it up from that day to
this. The irrigation is not like the scientific irrigation you
will find on the other side of the water ; but he has main-
tained, as I understand it, crops of grass for twenty years
mainly without any manure, simply from water alone.

Mr. Humphrey. He has a hundred acres that are under
irrigation. I have been all over them. He takes the water
from a pond that was a saw-mill pond, and takes it on the
upper side and irrigates by furrows led away down the hill.
He gets from seventy-five to one hundred tons of hay a year
from it, and Mr. Walker said it has been irrigated twenty-
five years. I was not aware of it.

Question. Where does he get his water ? Is it sewage
water ?

Mr. Humphrey. No, sir. It is Concord brook water
that runs through a pasture, a little brook that nobody cared
anything about, that nobody would interfere with the dam-
ming of; and by building a dam as long as this hall he makes
a pond of about forty acres, and in that pond he accumulates
water enough to draw from during the year as he wants it.

Mr. Gold. You spoke of grass seed. Have you had
any experience with unhulled seed, such as we used to raise
ourselves, compared with the hulled seed, — hulled that we
now get in the market ?

Mr. Walker. I have not. I buy the best seed I can,
the cleanest I can, from examination with a microscope and
taking the word of the seller, and deducting what I think is
reasonable from his statement ; and the result is, I get pretty
fair seed. I get some things I do not buy, l)ut I pay for
them. I do not get any more seed from having a few extra-
neous things thrown in than if the seed was pure, and hence
I get the yellow daisy once in a while. I have kept clear of
the Avhite daisy ; but if we get seed that has been injured by
wet, or immature seed, we Avill find sometimes that our gi'ass
does not come up to what we expected. Our poor crops of
hay are often due to lack of vitality and imperfections in the
seed.

Mr. Gold. The sources of our seed are entirely difierent
from what they used to be. We used to raise seed which

196 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

was good for all our purposes. It had an inclosing hull on
it to protect it. It did not have so many kernels in a pound
as the present seed has, but I have a suspicion that a bushel
of that seed was a great deal better than a bushel of the
hulled seed that we now get in the market. We have many
failures of grass seed. We see it come up, and the next
thing it is gone. This is so common that I am suspicious
that this seed that we now obtain is very inferior in vitality.
I have no experimental facts to settle this question, only I
have a suspicion of that kind. I am suffering in the seed-
ing of my land in some way that I can account ibr in no
other way than that this seed has been heated on the ground
in which it m-ew, or it was immature, or the fact of its being
hulled takes from it a natural shield and protection and
invis^orator that gave it some stamina to start with, and
enabled it to stand the drought and other obstacles in its
early feeble state.

Mr. Walker, I do not know where you will get that
seed, unless you raise it and thresh it yourself. The only
pure seed that I have ever sown is witch-grass seed, and that
you probably are not very fiivorably inclined to. We some-
times sow witch-grass seed, but that you cannot put on the
market. At least I never tried. We get enough of that at
home. We get that pure, and it always grows well.

QuESTiox. Do I understand the gentleman that he seeds
with twelve quarts per acre only ?

Mr. Walker. Perhaps I ought to explain a little. I
seed with twelve quarts of timothy-seed per acre. My land
is full of witch-grass. I cannot get rid of it if I would, and
I do not know as I would if I could. It sells just as well
in the market as any other hay. On some lands I mingle
red-top once in a while ; but my main dependence, beside
timothy, is what comes up, and it is witch-grass seed and
perch-grass seed. Now, I do not recommend that for you.
If you have no witch-grass seed, I think you had better
pray that you may never have it. But if you have it, and
cannot get rid of it, then make the best of it. It makes very
good hay, and stable keepers will buy it, and give just as
much for it as any other.

Question. Do you use any clover seed?

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 197

Mr. Walker. No, sir. I »raise my hay for market, and
you have to give the buyer such hay as he wants. Capt.
John B. Moore once said he raised a certain variety of
strawberry, the meanest strawberry there was, but the kind
of strawberry the Boston people wanted. Now, I try to raise
the kind of hay my customers want, and they want as much
herds-grass hay as they can get, and do not mind about a
mixture of witch-grass. [A question was asked which was
inaudible to the stenographer, but Mr. Walker replied to it
as follows :] Perhaps I can answer that question best by
telling exactly what I do do. I lay down my land to grass
whenever I can, from the spring until the time the ground
freezes up. If I could do it exactly when I want to do it, I
would do it somewhere from the first day of August to say
about the middle of September. Now, my mode of operation
is this, and here is where I am standing to-day. I have
worked up to it from another level. I go on and invert the
sod of my land, sometimes during haying when we have
lowery weather, and if we do not do it at that time, then
just as soon as we can get at it. I plough about eight and a
half inches deep. Of late years I have used the Cassidy
sulky plough. That turns the sod over and laps one furrow
upon another. That leaves the ground pretty rough. I use
a harrow to get down a good surface. Sometimes it needs
to be harrowed more and sometimes less. I then take a
manure-spreader and put five cords of manure on top of that
sod as evenly as I can spread it. The end aimed at is to
disseminate the manure over the surface of the ground in the
finest possible way. When that is done, I have found no
better way than to plough that manure into the seed-bed.
You take up the turf and you will find the main part of the
roots are down about four inches deep. I try to put the
manure down all the way from the top to the bottom of that
four or five inches. If you take a plough and cut a narrow
furrow, and watch it, you will find that as that furrow turns
over, this manure spread evenly on the surface will tumble
down with it, and some will be at the top and some will be
nearly buried. When the field has been well ploughed in
that way, we take a harrow and make it as even as we can.
I find that with a smoothing harrow I can do as well as with

198 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

any other. Then with a seed-sower, about eight feet long,
a horse and man will sow an acre in perhaps an hour. When
that is done, I put on a roller and roll down the top of the
ground and roll in the seed. You asked me why I rolled it
in. In the first place, I like to see a good smooth surface.
There is something pleasant in the appearance of it ; but the
advantage of it is that you get a better germination, — a larger
percentage of germinating seeds from rolling it than you. will
if you brush it in, as many people do.

What do you want in germination, when you come to
think of it? Why, you want moisture; and you won't get
moisture, if you mix your grass seed loosely with the soil.
If you can lay the soil so close about the seed as to have the
moisture of the soil moisten the seed, then there is one con-
dition of germination secured. Another is, you must have
warmth if the seed is going to sprout, and as the sun's rays
come down on the soil and warm the surface it gets the
warmth, and you get perfect germination. I remember
some years ago I was going down the Alabama River, from
Montgomery in Alabama to Mobile, going down on a boat,
and we had a New York alderman there. This was before
the New York aldermen had become as corrupt as they are
now. That alderman used to have a sense of duty, and
used to go round and visit the city institutions of New York,
and he told a story about going to the marine hospital and
finding a couple of old sailors there. They were past work,
were worn out, and had drifted in there to stay what little
time they had, and then were going to die. One morning
in the spring, it was a little warm, and those old fellows
crawled out and sat sunning themselves. Finally one said to
the other, " Jim, we ought not to be spending all our time
doing nothing. We are going pretty soon. Can't you think
of something we can do?" "Well," says Jim, " I don't
know as there is anything to be done, except to write our
epitaphs." So they found a shingle and a piece of chalk,
and sat down on the piazza, and Jim said to Sam, "Now
3'ou begin. You write first and I will write next." " No,"
Sam said, " You write first." So Jim began it. He
scratched his head, put the chalk on the shingle, and finally
got started. " Here I lies," and there he stopped. " Here

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 199

I lies as snug as," " Here I lies as snug as a bug in a rug."
" There," said he, " is my epitaph. You can't beat that."
So Sam took the shingle and turned it over, and after
scratching his head, he wrote, " Here I lies a darn sight
snugger than that other bugger." [Laughter.] Now I
think, when you roll in your grass seed, that seed lies a little
snugger and is going to germinate better than where you
simply brush it in.

Mr. Cruikshanks. Have you had any experience with
orchard grass ?

Mr. Walker. I do not know anything about it. I
simply raise hay for the market. I am not a scientific man,
nor a very learned man. I have seen orchard grass, but I
do not know enough about it to undertake to tell you any-
thing.

Mr. Wilkinson. After your land has been seeded down
for five years and weeds of various kinds come into the
grass, what do you do with them? I think one item in the
expense of raising hay is to take care of the weeds.

Mr. Walker. If you sow late in the fall and use barn-
yard manure where buckwheat has been pretty abundant,
you will be pretty sure to get a crop of weeds in your grass
next summer. If you sow as early as August or September,
although those weeds are mingled with your manure, frost
kills them, and you will have clean hay next year ; but I do
not think in five years, on good grass land, well manured,
that you will get many weeds. If you do, there is only one
thing to do, and that is to plougli up and reseed.

Question. Can you not mow them down?

Mr. Walker. Oh, that mowing down does no good.

A Voice. Plough them up.

Mr. Walker. Yes, rip them up.

Mr. Chase. Have you tried* top-dressing and found it
practicable and economical ?

Mr. Walker. If you top-dress when your sod is, say
two years old, it may be advantageous ; but if you are going
to raise grass, I think we had better use more manure by
furrowing it in than to use it in top-dressing. Where you
top-dress, and the ground is frozen from the first of Decem-
ber until the middle of Mai'ch or April, during that entire

200 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

period, if that manure lies upon the ground, it is not going
tlirough the frost, and as the snow and rain come, and the
snow melts, more or less of it becomes soluble and runs off.
You may get it in the hollows, but you lose it on the ridges.
I do not believe top-dressing is economical except uf)on an
open sod. As a general thing, I say, do not top-dress. I
will say one thing more about weeds. We have various
weeds up there that make their appearance as a substitute
for hay, so when I find my hay crop declining in quantity I
also find it declining in quality. If you let grass land lie
too long anywhere, you will find more or less of wild stock
getting in, and that spoils your crop for market hay.

Question. Did you ever top-dress and follow immedi-
ately with a harrow?

Mr. Walker. No, I never did. My sod is pretty tough,
and as I think now, I am inclined to hold my ground on
ploughing in. Where I top-dressed I have not had good
success. I have top-dressed, and when I came to cut the
grass, 1 could not see that it had done any good. I top-
dressed once with nitrate of soda, and I thought I was going
to get a good crop. My man said that I got less where I
put the nitrate of soda than where I did not. I think I did
get a little more ; but where I have top-dressed I do not
think I have received benefit enough to pay for the dressing.
I have a little grass around my door-yard, and I top-dress
that, and by putting on enough of it I keep a good sward;
but I cannot afi'ord to do that on my grass fields.

Question. What do you think of using the wheel harrow
and working the manure in thoroughly as a substitute for
second ploughing?

j\Ir. Walker. I have tried that, and perhaps you can
make it go ; but I find I do not get so thorough a dissemina-
tion of the manure, so that a particle of manure comes in
contact with every particle of soil, as I do by a fine plough.
You know when a woman puts yeast into dough she wants
the yeast to go through it to every particle of the mass,
otherwise you do not get very good bread. And it is so in
manuring land. But so far as I am concerned, I can cover
the manure better with a fine plough than with a wheel
harrow.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 201

Question. How deep do you plough the second time ?

Mr. Walker. I plough just as deep as I can and not
disturb the old sod that has been turned over. That is, I
plough about four inches or four and a half inches deep on
the second ploughing. About one-half of my grass-raising
is done on land that is ploughed up, and seeded down
immediately. Another portion of it is where I raise oats
and corn and so on, and the sod has a chance to lie one year
and rot.

Question. You spoke of using a horse-seeder. What
seeder do you use ?

Mr. Walker. I began with a little whirligig seeder, put-
ting the bag around your neck and turning a crank ; but I
have got a seeder that goes on the Victor horse-rake. It is
about eight feet long. A man gets on the horse-rake and
drives across the field back and forth, and if he is careful to
follow his tracks he will get the seed on very finely. All
you have to do is to drive your horse.

Question. Can you gauge the quantity?

Mr. Walker. Yes, sir.

Question. Is it a machine made purposely to go with
that rake?

Mr. Walker. Yes, but you can put it on any rake as
well. The machine costs about ten dollars.

Mr. Sage. We have heard a little about good grass land.
What constitutes good grass land ?

Mr. Walker. That kind of land that will bear first-rate
grass. [Applause.] Up our way — I do not know how it
is down here — we want ground that can be kept continually
moist in some way; that is fertile; that is rather cool.
Now, the market will stand hay at about the rate of two
tons and a half to the acre. When you get three tons
of hay, the stable keepers rather shake their heads. I
think on good grass lands you get of the first cutting two
tons and a half, and sometimes three tons to the acre, and
then it will dwindle along down, and at the end of your five
years, if you have first-rate land, you will get down to one
and one-fourth or one and one-third of a ton to the acre.
Then it is time to plough it.

Question. What is the value of hay half timothy and
half red-top, compared with all timothy?

202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Mr. Walker. I don't know. I raise hay to sell. I
think the timothy sells the best of any. I doubt whether it
is the best hay. t think those who have studied the sub-
ject will tell us that red-topis really better hay than timothy.

Mr. . The idea is that clear timothy generally brings

the best price ; better than when red-top is mixed with it.

Mr. Walker. Well, people that are very particular like
pure timothy hay better than any other ; and if it is put on
the market in proper shape, you can get a dollar a ton more
than others get for hay that is mixed.

Mr. . The gentleman does not seem to recommend

top-dressing. From my experience in raising grass, it seems
to me that I cannot dispense with top-dressing. I agree
with him in turning the sod underneath. I agree also with
what he says about seeding down, but I could not dispense
with clover. If we will put in clover, the root of that clover
will make us a great deal of fertility for future crops. If he
will top-dress his land when it has been seeded, and seed
with clover any time during the month of October of the
last two years, if he does not see splendid results I will be
mistaken.

Mr. Walker. What shall I do with my clover? I can
not sell it.

Mr. . I feed it.

Mr. Walker. I do not keep any cattle. I am going
along trying to avoid poor help, and farm by machinery. I
use the least possible amount of manual labor. When you,
know that fact, perhaps that may explain some things.

Mr. . Of course that explains the question to the

average farmer of Massachusetts. I do not suppose we can
all do that.

Mr. Walker. But the secretary told me I must talk
about hay for market, and the market does not want that
kind of hay.

Meeting adjourned to 7.30 p.m.

18fir9.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 203

Evening Session.
The evening session was held at 7.30 o'clock, when
William Wheeler of Concord gave his lecture on ' ' Life in
Japan." The lecture on <' Eeminiscences of the Orient,"
by Pres. H. H. Goodell, was on the programme for this
evening, but on account of the illness of Mr. Wheeler was
delivered last evening, and is printed here in accordance
with the programme.

RElVnNISCENCES OF THE ORIENT.

BY HENRT H. GOODELL OF AMHERST.

'* Many a traveler will remember, no doubt, a sudden thrill
on awakening suddenly in the midst of his first night on
Eastern soil — waking as it were from dream into dream.
For there came a voice, solitary, sweet, sonorous, floating
from on high through the moonlight stillness, the voice of
the blind Muezzeen, singing the Ulah or first call to prayer.
And at the sound, many a white figure would move silently
on the low roofs, and not merely like the palms and
cypresses around, bow his head, but prostrate, and bend his
knees. And the sounds went and came : God is good !
God is great ! Prayer is better than sleep ! There is no
God, but God, and Mahomet is his prophet ! La elah 11
Allah ! Mahomet ragoul Allah ! He giveth life and he
dieth not ! O thou bountiful ! Thy mercy ceaseth not !
My sins are great ! Greater is thy mercy ! I extol thy
perfections ! And then the cry would be taken up and
prolonged by other Muezzeens, and from the north and
the south, the east and the west, came floating on the
morning stillness this pious invitation to prayer, — this
proclamation to all the world of the embodiment of the
Moslem creed : There is no God, but God, and Mahomet
is his prophet."

Who that has ever been in the East can for an instant lose
the impression of that first moment, so vividly portrayed in
the above sketch? It is perhaps the most characteristic
feature of Eastern life, and one that is repeated daily, again
and again, in every Turkish city. A creed so simple and

204 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

yet so bold in its utterance ! Its very strength lies in its
simplicity ; and the millions who have lived and died in the
profession of its faith, have carried its tenets triumphantly
from the shores of the Atlantic to the great wall of China
and the heart of further India.

Reminiscences of the East : of the land of the fig-tree and
olive, the vine and the pomegranate, the myrtle and rose,
the musk and the ottar of Araby the Blest, and the delicious
notes of nightingales warbling as though intoxicated with
their own sweet song. What images rise up before me and
return to my memory ! Out of all this luxuriance, what
shall I select as my theme ?

Shall I tell you of that wondrous city, " alone of all the
cities of the world, standing on two continents," massed on
its seven hills, and rising tier on tier of swelling domes and
burnished minarets, each one a center of refulgent light, yet
so toned down and softened under the light of a sky known
in no other clime than in the East, so circled round by masses
of dark verdure which cluster round the sacred edifices, that
the eye finds no inharmonious point, but wanders with re-
curring delight over the whole?

Or shall I tell you of the great war between the crescent
and the cross, when, lying almost within sound of the great
guns whose iron hail was crashing upon the doomed city of
Sevastopol, we watched the transports sailing by, carrying
reinforcements to the allied troops or bringing to the city
the thousands of unhappy wretches, gashed and maimed,
battered out of the semblance of humanity, or who, stricken
down by the insidious attack of disease, had been brought
there to linger awhile and die?

Or, once more, shall I tell you of the land itself, its
products and resources, the people and their ways, their
lives and occupations, their various methods of gaining their
daily bread ?

It has seemed to me that perhaps this last was the more
appropriate. And yet I almost despair of giving you an
adequate idea of a country and a people 'where everything is
done in a manner so exactly opposite to our own. The
distinction they make between the religious and the moral
character is very singular. With us there can be no religion

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 205

without morality ; but with them the religious has nothing to
do with the moral character. The pirate committing murder
on the high seas, and taken red-handed, refuses to eat meat
on Friday and thus imperil his soul, even while his hands
are yet wet with his brother's blood. The robber strips you
to the skin, takes everything you possess, maltreats and
threatens you with death, and then calmly ejaculates as he
leaves you, " May God save you, my lamb, if in danger. I
give you into His keeping."

No one is ever supposed to be the less covetous, the less
a cheat, a gambler, a liar, a defrauder, a robber, a murderer,
because he prays. Nothing is farther from his own thoughts
or the thoughts of the bystanders, than that his prayers
should exert any transforming influence upon his own char-
acter. And why should they? For when they have busi-
ness to transact with their neighbors on temporal matters
they use a language which all can understand, but whenever
they have any business with their Maker about their eternal
interests it is always done in a language they do not under-
stand. Outwardly pious and sincere, inwardly they are
whited sepulchres and full of dead men's bones. The
traveler in the highway, the artisan in his shop, the mer-
chant in the bazaar, the lounger in the cafe, when the hour
for prayer arrives, hastens to spread his little carpet on the
ground and goes through the required formula. But he is
keenly alive all the time to whatever is going on about him,
and when his pious ejaculations are ended, will be found to
have lost not an iota of anything that may have been said
during his temporary fit of piety. If a professional story-
teller has been amusing the crowd with some entertaining
tale while he was praying, he will be found not to have lost
the point of the story, or the pith of any joke. The writer
of the article entitled " Baron Hirsch's Railway in Turkey "
tells the following story : A peasant one day sent in all
haste for an American missionary to come and pray for him.
Not a little surprised at the unusual request, the missionary
went, and .the peasant remarked, " Your prayers are more
efficacious than those of our priests." The missionary was
somewhat surprised at this, and after modestly murmuring
something concerning faith, was preparing to comply with

206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

the request, when the man continued, " I have taken a ticket
in the Vienna lottery. If I win through your prayers, you
shall have one-half."

It was apparently a perfectly natural thing, this copartner-
ship of earth and heaven, and the peasant could see no
impropriety in invoking the prayers of those he considered
more potent than he. He put up the money, the missionary
furnished the prayers, and they went divvys on the result.
What harm ?

But to turn from the moral side to the customs of every-
day life. The barber, for example, pushes the razor from
him ; ours draws it to him. The carpenter draws the saw
towards him, for all the teeth are set in ; ours do the
reverse, for the teeth are set out. The mason sits while he
lays and trims his stone, ours stand. The scribe writes
from right to left, usually upon his hand or knee ; ours from
left to right, upon the table or desk. Even in the matter of
building a house, the same law prevails. We begin at the
bottom and finish at the top ; the Turks begin at the top,
and frequently the upper rooms are entirely finished and
habitable, while all below is a mere framework like a
lantern.

The Oriental uses a pipe so long that he cannot hold a
coal to the bowl, and at the same time draw a whifi* of tobacco
smoke from the other end. We use one so short that the
scent of burned hair too often mingles with that of the fra-
grant weed. We polish our boots with elaborate care ; but
these people, whose religion, perhaps, will not allow them
to use brushes made from the bristles of the unclean beast,
wipe up their shoes with their hands, and then put on the
last finishing touches with their handkerchiefs, or the slack of
that wonderful thing denominated Turkish trousers. Bar-
naby, in his " Journey through Asia Minor," quotes a mis-
sionary as saying: "The Turks about here are just the
bottom-side-upwardest, and the top-side-downwardest, the
back-side-forwardest, and the forward-side-backwardest
people I have ever seen. Why, they call a compass which
points to the north, queblen, or south, just for the sake of
contradiction ; and they have to change their watches every
twenty-four hours, because they count their time from after

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 207

sunset, instead of reckoning up the day like a Christian."
One more striking point of diiference, and we have done. The
Turks through long ages led a roving, wandering life in the
immense plains of northern and central Asia. Rising from
the position of slave and subject to that of master, they
gradually fought their way down to the shores of the
Mediterranean and occupied the entire territory. But the
inherited instincts of so many generations have never been
completely laid aside. As in their warlike, migratory state,
the tent was to them simply a sleeping-place to which they
retired for the night, so the house has been to them ever
since. Home, in our sense of the word, with all its beauti-
ful associations, has no answering equivalent in their mind,
and, in fact, there is no word in their language which can
convey such an idea.

To add to the difficulty of giving any adequate idea of the
people of Turkey, is the fact that they do not form a single
race, amalgamated and blended into one, though made up of
different race elements, but are composed of Turks, Jews,
Greeks, Armenians, wild tribes of Koords, Turcomans,
Kuzel Bash and the Bulgarian, Croatian and Slavonian
tribes of the Danubian principalities, each retaining its dis-
tinct nationality, its own religious rites, and its own peculiar
customs and ways. Of the population of eight millions in
round numbers in European Turkey, the Turks number
about 3,600,000, and the rest are Christians and Jews. In
Asiatic Turkey the proportion is about the same. Of these,
the Greeks and the Jews are the tradesmen ; the Armenians,
the artizans and bankers ; the Bulgarians and Croats are
agricultural in their tastes, while the Koords and Turcomans
live largely by plunder and by the produce of their herds.
In such an assemblage of races you would naturally expect
to find great differences ; and yet, after all, certain distinct
features will be found peculiar to all, and certain customs
that are common to all.

As a rule, the Turk will be found to be honest and truth-
ful, and living up to the command laid down by Mahomet in
the earlier days of his inspiration : " When thou hast given
thy word, stand fast by it, and let the words of thy mouth
be even as thy written agreement." Of the other races we

208 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

cannot say as much. The Jews, as in all ages, are the
money-getters, and live and thrive in their quarters, as in the
Ghetto of Rome, in a squalor and filth that would quickly
exterminate any other race. The Greeks are shrewd and
enterprising, but the characterization of the Cretans by St.
Paul is DO inapt description of their character; *'The
Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." Their
own countryman, Euripides, even before the time of the
apostle, wrote, " Greece never had the least spark of hon-
esty ; " and Lord Byron, twenty centuries after, one of the
most enthusiastic in their cause, exclaims, "I am of St.
Paul's opinion, that there is no difierence between Jews and
Greeks — the character of both being equally vile."

The Armenians, on the other hand, are a purer, simpler
race, retaining much of that individual nationality which
made them formidable in the days of the Romans. But
contact with the outer world — with the foreigners pouring
into Turkey — is changing their character for the worse.
It need hardly be said that the farther you go from the capi-
tal and the large cities, the simpler and more innocent the
lives of the people.

In nothing is this difierence of nationality so strikingly
manifested as in the cemeteries. The Turks plant theirs
with the cypress, and at the head of a grave where a man is
buried, a stone is erected crowned with a turban, or, in more
recent times, with the national emblem — the fez. At the
foot of the grave a plainer stone marks the resting-place of
the woman. The tuiban is absent, and in its place the top
of the stone is rounded or pointed, while a running vine is
worked around the outer edge. The inscription is very
simple — only the name of the family of the deceased, and
a recommendation of his soul to the only living and true
God. A beautiful custom prevails, both among the Turks
and the Christian population, of hollowing out two small
cavities in the tablet covering the grave itself, which are
kept filled with seeds and fresh water to attract the birds to
come and build their nests near by and sing their songs over
the graves of the departed.

The cemeteries of the Jews are in keeping with their daily
life. As their object is so to live as not to attract attention

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 209

and thus call down upon themselves the persecution of their
neighbors, so the resting-places of their dead display the
same neglect and want of care. Nothing drearier or more
desolate can be imagined. Not a tree or shrub to relieve the
melancholy waste. Nothing but the barren hill-sides, strewn
for miles around with gray slabs, lying in the most ten'ible
confusion.

Not so the Greeks and Armenians. Choosing some beau-
tiful site, as in the " Grand Champ desMorts" at Constanti-
nople, overlooking the Bosphorus and the Marmora, they
plant the stately palm or the graceful terebinthus [turpen-
tine], erect a coffee-house and make it the fashionable
resort. Its cool and airy situation, its agreeable shade and
the convenience of comfortable seats afforded by the tomb-
stones, make it a pleasant promenade. Here, on the flat
tablets, the elders mark out a rougli board and play games
of chance or checkers, or perchance discuss the merits of
their ancestors sleeping quietly beneath. Here lovers wan-
der arm in arm and whisper their fond nothings, undisturbed
by ghosts of former days. And here the gallants, as they
sip their Avine, order so many Roman candles burnt in honor
of their ladies. The occupation of the deceased is always
pro tray ed upon his tombstone, an adze or saw representing
a carpenter; a lancet, a barber; an anvil, a blacksmith; an
inkstand, a scribe or lawyer ; and if, perchance, his end has
been hastened by violence, the manner of his " taking off"
is faithfully portrayed. Here you may see a representation
of the deceased upon his knees, holding his head in his
hands, while jets of blood spout from his neck in stiff curves,
like those issuing from a beer bottle on a tavern sign. There
you may see the fatal bowstring adjusted about the neck
as he awaits the tightening of the cord. These representa-
tions carry with them no associations of infamy or crime.
They are but the heraldic quarterings to be found among the
aristocracy of other nations, and if they had a name would
be called the " scimetar pendant, or the bowstring displayed
in a field azure." Only, instead of being blazoned upon the
carriages of the living, they are placed upon the tombstones
of the dead, for they signify that the wealth of the deceased
was suflBcient to excite the avarice of the reigning power.

210 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

" To die, then, by the sword or bowstring, implies the pos-
session of wealth, and the surviving relatives glorify them-
selves in perpetuating this record of financial standing and
consideration."

To the observant traveler in the East, one of its most
noticeable features is the absence of farm life among its in-
habitants. Between village and village you rarely meet
with isolated farm-houses or cultivated areas. You pass
directly from the town or hamlet, with its surrounding
gardens and arable land, into a wild, unbroken territory, in-
fested only by wild beasts and lawless men. From motives
of security, the people all live together in the villages ; the
farmer going to his farm, two or three miles away, every
morning, and quitting work an hour before sundown, to re-
turn to his distant family. Even in the neighborhood of
large cities you find this to be the case, and within fifteen
miles of Constantinople itself, with its million or more of
population, could still be shot, only a few years ago, wild
boars and wolves in the dense forests surrounding the Bents
of Belgrade.

Another very noticeable fact is the utter disregard of fer-
tilizers. Great heaps of manure accumulate in the sheep-
folds, the poultry-yards and horse-stables, which are allowed
to waste from lack of knowledge of their value. It is true
that on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, where are
grown the celebrated melons, three of which make a camel's
load of say six hundred pounds, a hole is scooped in the
sand, a handful of hen or pigeon manure thrown in, the seed
planted and nature left to do the rest. But this is the ex-
ception to the rule. Nor should we blame these people too
severely, when we have such bright and shining examples of
the same pernicious practice in this country. In California,
in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, the manure is hauled, not
to the field, but to the public highways, where it is carefully
spread to keep down the dust ; and in Canada the farmers
were reported only this last summer as dumping it by the
cart-load into the rivers.

The droppings of the cow, on the other hand, are carefully
preserved, worked up with coarse straw and stubble, and
dried for winter fuel ; for over large areas the woods have

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 211

entirely disappeared, and the poor people have no other re-
source. The preparation of the winter's supply is especially
the duty of the women, and, to quote the w^ords of the
veteran missionary Van Lennep : ' ' We have watched them
collecting the manure from the track which the cattle follow
in going to pasture in the morning, shaping it into round
cakes, six or eight inclies in diameter, by handling it as they
would a lump of dough, and with a skilful twist of their
hand suddenly sticking it on the walls of their houses to dry
in the sun. They seem to enter upon this duty as a matter
of course, and conduct it with an artistic dexterity which
proves that it is one of the accomplishments of the good
housewife much to be desired."

As to the distribution of the arable land, we may make
the general division into villages and " Chifliks," or farms of
considerable extent. The common farmers live in villages
for safety. They may own the land around them in common,
but generally each man has his own. The commune system
is mainly in European Turkey, and is the ancient system of
the Slavic race.

The ' ' Chifliks " or large farms are usually owned by
Turks, and vary in size from several hundred to as many
thousand acres. They constitute a village in themselves.
The landed proprietor in the center, usually on an elevated
bit of ground, and the huts of his dependents clustered
around and below. It is only the old feudal system revived.
The lord in his castle, and the hovels of his humble retainers
grouped about the walls. These large estates are devoted
principally to grazing ; but if there is good wheat land you
may see immense fields of grain, from which a good yield is
considered nine to ten bushels for one of sowing. The crops
are never measured by the acre, and the above yield would
probably be not over twenty bushels to the acre.

The threshing floor and its implements and operations
would interest an American farmer in the very highest de-
gree. Frequently a whole village will unite in constructing
one for common use. A description of such an one from
Hamlin's "Among the Turks "may not be uninteresting:
" I examined one that was about one thousand feet in length,
and, say, one-third of that in breadth. It was made by

212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

hauling on to it hundreds of loads of clay and coarse gravel.
The whole was made into mortar, and spread some five or
six inches deep on a level, well-prepared surface. It was
then tamped every day hy a force of men, that went all over
it twice a day, until it became too dry and solid for further
work. It is now artificial stone. Its inclination from a level
is just enough to keep it clear of water. With occasional
repairs, it lasts for generations. About three-fourths of this
floor is given to threshing, the rest to winnowing. The
grain from the field is spread six or eight inches deep over
the floor, and then the whole animal force of the village is
turned in upon it, — horses, donkeys, mules, horned cattle,
with carts and drao^s, or with nothing but the feet." But
the most efiective, the finishing-oflT instrument, is doubtless
that referred to by the Prophet Isaiah (xli., 15-16), where he
says, "Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing
instrument having teeth : " And this having teeth is what I
desire especially to bring to your attention. In appearance
it looks very much on the upper side like a common stone
drag or boat. It is of plank, about three inches thick, of
the toughest wood, and studded on the underside with sharp
flints. The edges of these flints, after having been driven
into the socket chiselled out for them, are trimmed sharp,
and thus completed it makes a most savage-looking imple-
ment. Seated on this, with a long pole to prevent the
bundles from riding up over the bow, the driver urges on
his bullocks. As it goes round and round the area, it cuts
and bruises the straw fine, and this, with the chaflf, takes the
place of hay, for cattle feed in the East. The threshing
process over, there are two raking operations, — one to clear
oflT the coarse straw not good for food. This is piled up as
worthless chaflf to be burned. Then follows a skilful raking
off* of the finer straw without taking up the wheat. After
being passed through sieves, which let the wheat and chafl
pass through but retain the coarser stuff", it is ready for
the winnowing. This is accomplished by tossing the wheat
high into the air, from shovels made of beech, with long,
elastic handles, to allow the breeze to carry oflT the lighter
particles. Two more siftings, in sieves of diflferent sized
meshes, complete the operation. The wheat thus cleaned

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 213

looks well, but oh, the labor ! Thousands and thousands of
bushels are injured or destroyed annually by the rains before
the threshing is over ; for at best, even with several thresh-
ing floors, it will take a number of weeks for all in the vil-
lage to have their turn. Eflbrts have 1)een made from time
to time to introduce more perfect machines, but the attempt
has always been viewed with distrust by the natives, and
dark hints have been mysteriously circulated of the agency
of the Evil One. We all remember the story of the opposi-
tion to the penny post in London, and how it was denounced
by the long-headed ones as an " insidious Popish contriv-
ance." History only repeats itself; and it was this same
conservative spirit that Sir Walter Scott satirizes in his
" Antiquary," when he puts into the mouth of Mause Head-
rigg the following objection to winnowing machines: "It
is a new-fangled machine for freeing the corn frae the chaff,
thus impiously thwarting the will o' divine Providence, by
raising wind for your leddyship's use by human art, instead
of soliciting it by prayer, or patiently waiting for whatever
dispensation of wind, Providence was pleased to send upon
the shieling hill."

The other implements of husbandry are very simple and
primitive. The ox-yoke is made of two straight pieces, one
above, the other below the neck, the top piece alone being
hollowed. Two straight pins serve instead of the yoke to
inclose the neck, a strong tiiinnel in the middle taking the
l)lace of staple and ring.

The plough is absurdly ridiculous. Take a pole about
ten feet long, four or five inches in diameter at the butt ;
and by mortise and tenon unite this at a slightly acute angle
to another piece of about equal size, sharpened and shod
with iron to plough the earth, and variously provided with
some sort of a handle for the ploughman's hand, and you
have an Oriental plough. It does not turn a furrow, it
simply scratches the earth to the depth of four or five inches,
and then the ground must be cross-ploughed in order to
secure anything like an adequate preparation for the sowing.
European ploughs, to which several pairs of buffaloes were
attached, have been introduced at various times, but were
soon given up on account of the difficulty of finding animals

214 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.

strong enough to draw them. The hope of success lies in
the improvement of the breed, but there is something beyond
this, for the best breeds introduced soon degenerate from
lack of nourishment. The country must be better governed,
property made more secure, before farmers will find it to
their advantage to give their cattle more than the scanty
grass they can pick up here and there on the parched hill-
sides. The improvement of implements will follow as a
matter of course. The same thing is true of the ordinary
horses ; barley and straw alone, and the treatment received
through many generations, has produced the small, wiry,
enduring hack of Asia Minor, as far removed from the lithe
form and airy grace of the Arab steed as light is from dark-
ness.

The spade is triangular in shape, with a straight handle,
longer than a man is tall. A few inches above the blade, a
piece of Avood is mortised in, upon which the foot is set, to
force the blade deep into the earth. The length of the
handle enables the laborer to lay his whole weight upon the
extremity, and afterwards use it as a lever in order to raise
a large quaintity of soil which he merely turns over. " Shal-
low ploughing but deep spading seem then to be the two
chief rules of Oriental agriculture."

The hoe has a broad blade, not flat, but slightly concave,
the handle very short, compelling the laborer to crouch to
his work. The sickle is about the same form as our own.
The scythe shorter, heavier, clumsier, the snath nearly
straight, with but one handle, the left hand grasping the
snath itself. The blade has no curve worth mentioning.
Fortunately for the back of the laborer, hay is in so little
demand that the scythe is practically only used in the cradle,
and that not by Turks, but almost exclusively by the Bul-
garians. As you pass by the great wheat fields you will see
men and women with their sickles slowly and laboriously
reaping the golden harvest. Ask them whether they could
not do the work much more rapidly and easily with the
cradle, and they will answer, " Doubtless." Ask them why
they do not use it, they will reply, " Good Lord ! it is not
our custom." And that is the end of all controversy with
an Oriental. To change the custom of his fathers is as

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 215

impious an act as to defile the bones of Iiis ancestors or
curse his grandmother.

One is sometimes in despair of any progress in the East-
ern world. The beginning must be made at the root. Edu-
cate the youtli, and they are as ready for improvement as
any people. In some places on the rich lands of the Danube,
modern implements of harvesting have been introduced, and
the produce doubled, because the farmer is no longer afraid
of sowing more than he can gather. The women do a great
deal of work in the fields, and may be seen laboring side by
side with the men. The position occupied by them may be
fairly well illustrated by the following story : A gentleman
riding one day in the country overtook a man who had laden
his wife with a heavy bundle of sticks. He remonstrated with
him, saying, " My good man, it is too bad that you should
load your wife down in this V7ay. What she is carrying is
a mule's burden." " Yes, your excellency," the man replied,
" what you say is true. It is a mule's burden. But then
you see Providence has not supplied us with mules, and he
has supplied us with women." It is the same all through the
East. Sir Thomas Munro, in his " Travels to the City of the
Caliphs," relates as a reason why an Indian should be
exempt from paying his tax that he pleaded the loss of his
wife, who *' did as much work as two bullocks."

Stuart Wood, in a recent number of the Quarterly Jour-
nal of Economics, says : " The agricultural processes of dif-
ferent countries are among the surest indication of the
condition of the laboring population. In Germany it is a
common sight to see a cart drawn by a woman and a dog.
Where labor is dearer and money more plenty, or the people
a little easier, a horse releases both alike from their un-
natural task. In the United States, where labor is dear,
costly agricultural machinery is extensively used in spite of
the smallness of the farms. It is much used in England also,
because there the farms are large ; and wages, although lower
than in the United States, still far exceed those of other
countries. In Russia, on the other hand, in Turkey and in
Asiatic countries, we find the rudest tools ; baskets are used
instead of wheelbarrows, wooden ploughs instead of iron
ones ; and gangs of spade men replace both the ploughs and

216 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

the beasts which draw them. A part of this is no doubt due
to sheer stupidity, but much is also due to the price of labor
and the rates of interest."

The products of the soil are as various as the climate
and geological character of the country. Fruits are abun-
dant, of excellent quality, and extensively used by the whole
population. Grapes are delicious, and within reach of the
poorest, selling at the rate of two pounds and three-fourths
for two or three cents. Apples, apricots, peaches, cherries
and plums have their localities of abundant growth, but no
attention is paid to obtaining the best kinds, or improving
those already possessed.*

Of grapes, whoever has once partaken of the famous
" chaoush" from the Bythinian side of the Bosphorus, will
forever eschew all others : thin-skinned, small-seeded, fine-
pulped, — a dream, a delight, — something to be talked
about, never to find equalled. The vineyards of the Chris-
tians and the Moslems difier in one very important particular.
The former cultivate those kinds suitable for making wines ;
the latter, those that are best for food. While the one are
making spirits, the other are preparing that grape molasses
called " pekmez," which is extensively used. In it, all
manner of fruits are stewed or boiled, and the preserves laid
aside for winter use. With it, savory dishes of quinces and
meat, or chestnuts and meat, are prepared, much relished
by the poor.

The olive is grown over a very wide area, especially in
Asiatic Turkey and the Mediterranean islands. It is a uni-
versal article of food. Give an Oriental bread and black
olives for a lunch, and he is happy. Add to this olive oil to
flavor his stewed beans, his clam and rice, and his salads,
and he is happier. Beyond that it is not necessary to go.
The olive orchard in the flowering time is one of the most
beautiful sights in the world, — the gnarled and twisted
trunks hoar with age ; the short, oblate, slightly curled sil-
very leaves ; the branches fairly bending beneath the weight
of the snowy petals, and the ground beneath and around
white as with flakes of snow. Job says, referring to this
peculiarity of its shedding its blossoms, " He shall cast off

* I am largely indebted to Hamlin's " Agriculture of the East" for my facts.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 217

his flowers as the olive." Next to the cereals, it is by far
the most important agricultural product of Turkey. Its
berry, pickled, forms the chief article of food; the oil, pro-
duced from its pericarp, seasons most of the dishes, and
keeps alive the light that cheers the winter's gloom ; its
wood, close-grained and hard, takes on a beautiful polish
and is very highly prized ; while its bark and leaves, pos-
sessing certain febrifuge principles, are much sought after
by the leeches of the country. The tree is slow in reaching
maturity, but after the fifteenth or sixteenth year it bears on
indefinitely, and seems never to lose its vitality. There are
trees in the garden of Gethsemane estimated to be one thou-
sand years old, still in full sap and vigor. It is of all fruit
trees the hardiest, for scarcely any amount of mutilation,
any severity of frost, or even sharp scorching by fire, suf-
fices to destroy its life. " So long as there is a fragment
remaining, though externally the tree looks as dry as a post,
yet does it continue to bear its load of oily berries ; and for
twenty generations the owner gathers fruit from the faithful
old patriarch. This tree also requires but little labor or care
of any kind, and, if long neglected, will revive again when the
ground is dug or ploughed, and yield as before. Vineyards
forsaken die out almost immediately, and mulberry orchards
neglected run rapidly to ruin ; but not so the olive. Though
they may not have been attended to for half a century, yet
they continue to be a source of income to their owners."

These peculiarities Virgil observed and carefully noted in
his Georgics nearly two thousand years ago : —

" But, on the other hand, no culture needs
The olive tree at all ; not it the knife
Forthcurved expects, nor clinging hoe, when once
It in the field is fixed, and bears the breeze.
To it the earth, its bosom loosened up
By furrows of the ploughshare's hook-like tooth,
Sufficient moisture gives, and gives the plough
Returns of weighty fruitage rich and ripe."

— Georgic, II., p. 420.

" Why, cleave an olive tree's dry stump, and, strange
And wondrous strange to tell, an olive root
Will from the dry wood come ! "

218 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Frequently a whole village will unite and plant a grove
in common. Then not even the berries that fall to the
ground are allowed to be picked till a proclamation is issued
by the head man of the village or the governor of the prov-
ince. A tree yields from ten to fifteen gallons of oil, and
the profits are about one hundred dollars to the acre. It is
claimed that the tree bears only every other year ; but this
is due probably to the vicious manner of gathering the fruit,
— beating the branches with long poles to shake ofi" the
berries, and, in so doing, bruising and destroying the tender
buds that are setting for the next year's crop.

The husks with which the prodigal son would fain have
filled his belly, and which Scripture says the swine did eat,
were not after all such very poor fare. Many a repentant
sinner might go farther and fare worse. They are the fleshy
pods of the locust tree, a leathery brown when fit to eat,
some eight to six inches in length, containing a spongy,
mealy pulp, of a sweet and pleasant taste in its ripened state,
and in which are imbedded a number of shining brown seeds,
very hard, and somewhat resembling a split pea. These
seeds are of no value whatsoever, on account of their bitter
flavor ; but the sweet pulp of the pod, when dry, is exten-
sively used as an article of food, particularly among the
laboring classes. In Syria it is ground up into a coarse flour,
and a species of molasses made, which is used in the prepara-
tion of different kinds of sweetmeats. As food for horses it
is exported in large quantities into the south of Europe.
Into this country and Great Britain it finds its way, under
the name of locust beans or St. John's bread, receiving both
names from the ancient tradition that they are the ' ' locusts "
which formed the food of John the Baptist in the wilderness.
The tree is cultivated extensively in all the countries bor-
dering the shores of the Mediterranean, both for its food-
producing qualities and its wood, which is hard, and sus-
ceptible of a fine polish. In size and manner of growth it
resembles an apple tree, but is more bushy and thick-set.
It yields a prolific harvest, and it is not unusual to see a tree
bearing over half a ton of green pods.

One other tree deserves mention, not on account of its
food-producing qualities, but for its importance in a com-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 219

mercial point of view. It is the shrub oak, — the Quercus
mgilojps, — which, growing wild on the mountain slopes and
rugged steeps, where nothing else will grow, gives employ-
ment to hundreds of men, women and children, who, in the
season, go out to gather the acorns. These are brought down
in sacks to the nearest sea-port, whence they are exported,
thousands of tons annually, under the name of " valonia,"
to be used in the tanneries of Europe. They readily com-
mand eighty dollars to ninety dollars a ton ; and, from the
sea-port towns of Smyrna and the islands adjacent, forty thou-
sand tons have been sent to England alone in a single year.

The cereals of the empire do not differ much from ours.
The exports are barley, maize and wheat. Rye, oats and
millet give good results, and there are various other seeds
of good native use. Looking only at the soil, climate, in-
dustrial population and the rivers and coasts of her great
inland seas, Turkey ought to be our formidable rival in the
markets of Europe ; but her state of paralysis is such that
nothing is to be apprehended from that quarter. Destructive
treaties with England, and stupid legislation on the part of
her own government, have reduced her to a state of hope-
less bankruptcy.

Turkish agriculture and horticulture furnish nil that the
heart could wish in the shape of edible vegetables. All that
we produce is there produced, with the exception of potatoes,
which are imported from Europe : squashes of various kinds,
and measure unlimited; okra, spinach, celery; melons, un-
rivalled in flavor and size; cucumbers of any length you
choose.

The people of the East eat hardly any meat, but live
almost wholly on vegetables. The same regimen that made
the three Israelitish captives at the Babylonian court so much
fairer and fatter than those fed on the king's meat, seems to
agree remarkably with the people now. Given a little rice,
some unleavened bread, a few olives, a cucumber cut up with
garlic and seasoned with oil, and a pound or two of grapes
or other fruit, and you produce those miracles of strength to
be found in the Turkish porters, who, adjusting the burden
to the pack they carry on their backs, walk off with a load of
from five to seven hundred pounds, and make nothing of it.

220 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Tobacco is grown in many parts of the empire, but it is a
government monopoly, and the taxes levied upon the un-
happy cultivators are so burdensome that they are gradually
being forced to give up the business. The finest tobacco,
distinguished for its mild character and exquisite flavor,
comes from the hill-sides of Latakia, a sea-port town of Syria.
It is a little singular that smoking, introduced into the East
not earlier than the seventeenth century, should have taken
such deep root that the Turks and the Persians are now
looked upon as the greatest smokers in the world. Men,
women and children, with consummate skill, roll up their
little cigarettes, — for they are never purchased ready made ;
and the yellow stain on the finger tips is as characteristic
a mark as the black on the hand of a printer's devil.

Coming now to' the farm-yard, we find it abundantly pro-
vided with animal life. In every part of Turkey domestic
fowls are met with, and the traveler always finds eggs and
chickens, if nothing more. In European Turkey large flocks
of geese and turkeys are raised for the Constantinople mar-
ket, and are driven down from the inland farms, a distance
even of one hundred and fifty miles. This task is usually
performed by gypsies ; and we have often wondered at the
unerring precision with which, with their hooked sticks,
they would suddenly arrest some lunatic goose in full career
of wings and feet. The hens are transported in crates on
the backs of horses.

The Turkish horse is a smaller, hardier animal than ours.
It is more tractable, less nervous, has a better disposition,
and rarel}^ runs away. It is broken only to be ridden, and
not driven ; for, outside of the city of Constantinople, there
is not a pleasure carriage to be found in the whole empire.
In the cities all loads are carried on the backs of the porters,
or, suspended on poles, are carried by two or more of the
same class. In the country are to be found only the rudest
kinds of carts, drawn by bullocks or bufialoes, — the wheels
cut out of a solid piece of wood four or five inches thick ; and,
as no grease is used, the terrible squeaking and groaning that
is made, as the carts lumber along, remind one, as it has been
quaintly said, of " all the pandemonium of hell let loose."

The horses of the sultan's stables, and of some of the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUIVIENT — No. 4. 221

pasha's, are magnificent creatures, wholly or in part of Arab
blood. But the larger proportion of the horses met with
are of a very inferior breed. The Turkish cavalry is well
mounted, but the horses are far lighter and smaller than
those in the English or French service ; and during the
Crimean war there was nothing attracted so much admira-
tion as the splendid horses of the allies. The sultan, and,
indeed, the whole Turkish government, jealously guard the
Arab race of horses, that no infidel foreigner may ever pos-
sess the pure breed. The pure-blooded Arab mare is never
to be sold or given away to a foreigner, nor can the Moslem
take her with him outside of the country. It may be doubted
whether it ever has been done, and whether, in the cases
claimed, the blood is pure and the pedigree sure.

Perhaps no one is better qualified to speak of the Arab
horses than the traveler Palgrave, whose command of tbc
Eastern languages was such, that, in the guise of a native,
he penetrated into the very heart of Arabia, and lived for
months unsuspected among the people. Nay, in one of his
journeys in Turkey, he actually ofliciated in one of the
mosques in place of the regular priest, who had been taken
sick. Practicing as a physician in the Nejed district, where
the race of horses is the purest, and having been permitted
to see and examine the stud of the sultan, he says :
" Never had I seen or imagined so lovely a collection. Their
stature was, indeed, somewhat low, — I do not think that
any came fully up to fifteen hands, fourteen appeared to me
to be about their average ; but they were so exquisitely well
shaped that want of greater size seemed hardly, if at all, a
defect. Remarkably full in the haunches, with a shoukler
of a slope so elegant as to make one, in the words of an Arab
poet, ' go raving mad over it ; ' a little, a very little saddle-
backed, just the curve which indicates springiness without
any weakness ; a head broad above, and tapering down to a
nose fine enough to verify the phrase of ' drinking from a
pint-pot,' did pint-pots exist in Nejed; a most intelligent
yet singularly gentle look ; full eyes ; sharp, thorn-like little
ear ; legs fore and hind that seemed as if made of hammered
iron, so clean and yet so well twisted with sinew ; a neat,
round hoof, just the requisite for hard ground ; the tail set

222 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

on, or rather thrown out, at a perfect arch; coats smooth,
shining and light ; the mane long, but not overgrown nor
heavy ; and an air and step that seemed to say, ' Look at
me ; am I not pretty ? ' Their appearance justified all repu-
tation, all value, all poetry. . . . But, if asked what are,
after all, the especially distinctive points of the Arab horse,
I should reply, the slope of the shoulder, the extreme clean-
ness of the shank, and the full, rounded haunch, — though
every other part, too, has a perfection and a harmony un-
witnessed anywhere else.'*

No Arab ever dreams of tying up his horse by the neck.
The tether replaces the halter. A Jight iron ring furnished
with a padlock encircles the hind leg just above the pastern.
A rope is attached to this, and made fast to an iron peg set
in the ground. To make of their horse a devoted friend is
the end sought after by all Arabs. With them he leads, so
to speak, a domesticated life, in which, as in all domestic
life, women play a conspicuous part, — that, in fact, of pre-
paring, by their gentleness, vigilance, and unceasing atten-
tion, the solidarity that ought to exist between the man and
the animal. A sustained education, daily contact with man,
— that is their grand secret ; it is that which makes the Arab
horse what he is, — an object worthy of our unexceptional
admiration. No wonder the Arab poets sing, with the meta-
phor and hyperbole peculiar to that glowing clime: "Say
not it is my horse ; say it is my son. He outstrips the flash
in the pan, or the glance of the eye. His eye-sight is so good
that he can distincruish a black hair in the nig-ht-time. In
the day of battle he delights in the whistling of the balls.
He overtakes the gazelle. He says to the eagle, ' Come
down, or I will ascend to thee.' When he hears the voice
of the maidens, he neighs with joy. When he gallops, he
plucks out the tear from the eye. He is so light he could
dance on the bosom of thy mistress without bruising it. Ho
is a thorough-bred, the very head of horses. No one has
ever possessed his equal. I depend on him as my own heart."

The famous Arab chieftain, Abd-el-Kadr, who for so many
years gloriously resisted French aggression in northern
Africa, betrayed unhappily by fortune, but saved by history,
prepared, while languishing in confinement in France, a series

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 223

of maxims concerning the horse and its management, that are
worthy of close attention. His method of judging a horse
is "to measure him from the root of the mane close to the
withers, and descend to the end of the upper lip between the
nostrils. Then measure from the root of the mane to the end
of the tail bone, and if the fore part is longer than the hind
part, there is no doubt the horse will have excellent qualities.
To ascertain if a young horse will grow any more, measure
first from the knee to the highest point situated in the pro-
longation of the limb above the withers, then from the knee
downwards to the beginning of the hair above the coronet
(to the crest of the hoof) ; if these two measures are to one
another as two-thirds to one-third, the horse will grow no
more. If this proportion does not exist, the animal has not
done growing ; for it is absolutely necessary that the height
from the knee to the withers should represent, in a full-grown
horse, exactly double the length of the leg from the knee to
the hoof."

And now, with a few choice maxims from the same hand,
I must pass on to other themes : —

No one becomes a horseman until he has been often thrown.

Thorough-bred horses have no vice.

A horse in a leading-string is an honor to his master.

Whoso forgets the beauty of horses for that of women, will never

pi-osper.
Horses know their riders.
The best time of day for giving barley is the evening. Unless on a

journey, it is useless to give it in the morning.
Water a horse at sunrise, and it makes him lose flesh. Water him in

the evening, and it puts him in good condition. Water him in the

middle of the day, and you keep him as he is.
During the great forty-day heats, water your horses only every other

day.

The pious Ben-el-Abbas — Allah be good to him ! — hath said : —

" Love horses and take care of them.

Spare no trouble ;
By them comes honor, by them comes beauty.
If horses are forsaken of men,
I will receive them into my family,
I will share with them the bread of my children ;
My wives shall cover them with their veils,
And cover themselves with the horse-cloths.

224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

I ride them every day

Over the field of adventures ;
Carried away in their impetuous career,

I combat the most valiant.
My steed is as black as a night without moon or stars.

He was foaled in vast solitudes ;

He is an air-drinker, son of an air-drinker.
His dam also was of noble race, and our horsemen have
named him the javelin.

The lightning flash itself cannot overtake him ;

Allah save him from the evil eye."

The mule needs no remark. He is the same useful, hard-
working, unpopular animal in Turkey as in America. He
has the same moral obliquity of character, and the same
uncertainty in his business end, as elsewhere. His great
usefulness in the transportation of goods makes him worthy
of better treatment than he receives.

The donkey, the poor donkey, is everywhere in the way.
He is the common bearer of a certain class of burdens in all
the cities. You meet him in every street. He crowds you
to the wall with protruding load. Everybody curses and
kicks him, while he is doing his best. He carries all the
sand, lime, bricks, boards and lighter timbers for building.
He carries aAvay all the refuse of every kind. He is the
most useful, abused and patient of animals. Men, women
and children ride him. He always leads the caravan of
camels, mules or horses. Everybody uses him ; nobody
loves him ; everybody abuses him. The Eastern world could
not live without him.

The prince of burden-bearers is the camel. He is in
truth the " ship of the desert." He bears enormous loads,
of from six to eight hundred pounds, twenty -five to thirty
miles a day. But for him all inland commerce would cease.
From the far-off, isolated hamlets of the East he gathers up
and brings down to the sea-port towns, or to the few
through which a railway passes, the products of the country,
and returns laden with the merchandise of Europe. Awk-
ward beyond description, with his short body and long neck
and legs, moving noiselessly over the ground with his soft-
padded feet, you wonder, and yet shrink from him. Dia-
bolical in expression, he is ugliness personified.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 225

In the breeds of cattle there is room for great improve-
ment. There are none of superior breed ; and beef of good
quality is not to be found in Turkey. The best quality, which
is imported, is from south Russia. Until the time of the
Crimean war such a thing as a Ijeefsteak was hardly known.
It was mutton, mutton everywhere. Well do Ave remem-
ber the first morsel of steak we ever tasted. It was fried in
a frying-pan, done till there wasn't a drop of juice in it, and
came up garnished with garlics and onions, and covered over
with parsley. But what a flavor it possessed ! "Something
original and authentic," as Howell puts it, " mingled with
vague reminiscences of canal-boat travel and woodland
camp." Like the Englishman " who had no prejudices,"
from that moment I hated mutton.

The ox is small and hardy, but for heavy draft the buffalo
is in constant use. This ugly-looking animal, whose para-
dise is a mud-hole, into which he can sink with the excep-
tion of his mouth and eyes, is very powerful. The female
gives a milk that is rich, though somewhat strong and odor-
ous. The manufacture of butter is infamously bad. The
churns used are of various kinds. Earthen jars, shaped like
a barrel, swelling in the center, are filled with cream and
then tilted up and down. The trunk of a tree, hollowed out
and boarded at both ends, is hung to a beam and swung to
and fro. The skins of animals, particularly thegoat, with the
hair inside, are sewed in the form of a bag, and, being filled
with cream, are rapidly rolled over and over on the ground
until the butter comes. The gypsies, it is said, when starting
on their journeys, will fill the skins with cream, and, sitting
upon them, will find butter when they have reached their jour-
ney's end. It is said that in early times the missionaries
used to punish their children by putting them under the table
and making them shake a ])ottle of milk. Sawing the butter
is a very necessary operation, and all well-provided families
have a fine-tooth saw with which to extract the hairs from the
butter. The natives melt the butter for cooking, and easily
strain out the hair. But no attempt is ever made to eat it on
bread. A missionary on the rich plains of the Sangarius tried
to introduce a reform in the process of churning. He showed
the farmers that in the markets of Constantinople their butter

226 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

brought less than one-half the price of good English or Italian
butter. He tried to introduce the American churn, and the
mode of working, salting and putting down. It is needless
to say the attempt was an utter failure. They had always
had hair and butter together, and they always would have,
till death. In Proverbs (xxx., 33) we are told that " Surely
the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing
of the nose bringeth forth blood : " There would seem to be,
at first sight, no special analogy between the process of churn-
ing and pulling a man's nose until the blood comes, if you
consider our method alone. But, in the native operation,
the comparison is a just one and natural ; for the women seize
and squeeze and wring the milk in their goat-skin bottles in
a vigorous way which would soon fetch the blood if applied to
the nasal organ of some antagonist.

The mountains and plains of this great empire, both in
Europe and Asia, afibrd unrivaled facilities for the keeping
of sheep. In the summer the flocks pasture on the mountain
slopes, while the shepherds with fire-arms and dogs keep
careful watch against the attacks of wild beasts. In the
winter, immense flocks migrate from European Turkey into
the milder climate of Asia Minor. There is such an enor-
mous extent of vacant pasture land that no expense is
incurred, except in the transportation of so many animals
across the Bosphorus or Dardanelles.

The fat-tailed Caramanian sheep are the most singular and
surprising animals to be met with in Turkey. While yet
lambs, the tail begins to broaden and thicken with a fat
which is regarded by the natives as a great delicacy, and
equal to butter for cooking purposes. In a few months the
weight and size of the tail becomes a positive burden to the
animal, furnishing, in those creatures that have been carefully
fed and tended, from fourteen to twenty pounds of pure fat,
superior to lard, and entering into competition with butter.
If, as often happens, the end of the tail drags upon the
ground, so as to endanger excoriation, a very simple though
laughable remedy is resorted to. A little carriage, rudely
made, with wheels of about six or eight inches in diameter,
is placed under the end of the tail, which is thus sufliciently
sloped out from the body, and is so harnessed to the lord

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 227

(or lady) of the tail, that it is borne about without injury,
and may "laugh and grow fat" at its leisure. You may
thus often see a sheep going on foot, and its tail following
in a carriage. The natives will tell you that these carriage
tails sometimes produce seventeen okes (forty-six and three-
quarters pounds) of pure fat ; but the Oriental imagination
is prone to get the better of the real facts, and the figures
above given (fourteen to twenty pounds) are perhaps nearer
the truth. It is sufficient to know that the tails do some-
times become so heavy as to anchor the sheep and cause its
death, if suitable precautions are not taken.

According to a recent article in the " Country Gentle-
man," these sheep are found in Syria, Egypt, north Africa,
Asia Minor and western Asia, and were described by Herod-
otus and Aristotle more than two thousand years ago ; but
the writer could not resist adding a pound or two to his tale,
and he claims that "animals are not rare whose tails weigh
from one hundred to one hundred and twenty pounds,
while the average weight is forty to sixty."

Another fact is peculiar about the flocks of sheep and
goats. The ewes are milked as regularly as we milk our
cows, and it is done with wonderful rapidity. Two grasps
of the overflowing udder, and it is emptied. Among my
earliest recollections is that of a flock of goats being driven
every morning to my father's door and there milked, in
order to insure our receiving our day's supply of the lacteal
fluid in its virgin purity. Immense quantities of cheese,
made from the milk of sheep and goats, moulded into disks
of twelve to fourteen inches in diameter, and an inch thick,
are transported from the interior of the country to the mar-
kets of the great city.

Of the Angora goats, with their long, fine, silky hair,
natives of the rocky slopes in the province of Angora, I
have not the heart to speak. From the silky fiber of their
hair, skilled workmen had long supplied the world with rare
and high-priced goods of female apparel. But, with the
priceless blessings of free trade, the country was flooded with
a cheap imitation made by machinery. The flocks dwindled
away, the occupation of whole villages was gone, and abject
poverty and ruin overtook the wretched inhabitants.

228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

You will perhaps have noticed the absence of any allusion
to the swine among the domestic animals enumerated. The
reason is obvious. Considered as an unclean beast by both
Turk and Jew, it is only in Christian villages that they are
to be found. What was cursed under the Mosaic dispensa-
tion and continued under the Mohammedan, is still looked
upon with suspicion by the faithful ; and, though their
mouths may water as the delicate aroma of roast suckling
pigs arises on the air, yet they rigidly a])stain from any par-
ticipation. Two infallible signs, one negative and one
positive, disclose the character of a Christian town in Tur-
key, — the absence of minarets and the presence of pigs.
In consequence of the pig being in this manner a Christian
animal, there is an oppressive tax on pigs, levied when the
animal is three months old. The risk incurred from the pay-
ment of so large a tax (ten piasters) on so young an animal,
is so great that many of them are killed shortly after birth, and
an important article of food is lost to the peasantry.

I have lingered longer than I intended, for one reminis-
cence has led on to another ; but I cannot close without
alluding to one more fact which must be patent to every
thoughtful observer traveling in the Levant to-day ; and
that is, the constancy of the Eastern mind to itself, and the
immutability of its customs and observances. The same
scenes penned by the writers of Holy Writ two thousand
years ago are repeated to-day unchanged.

Rebekah still lets down her pitcher at the wayside foun-
tain, and helps the thirsty Labans to a refreshing draught.

The tender Ruths still glean where Boaz reaps.

The Miriams still dance and sing the song of triumph,
as they go forth to welcome home their conquering heroes.

The women still in humble posture grind their corn, as,
sitting on the ground, they whirl the upper grindstone round
upon the nether one.

Still, at the evening meal, reclined about the table, raised
but a few inches from the floor, they dip their piece of un-
leavened bread into the common dish, just as in the days
when Jesus said, " He that dippeth his hand with me in the
dish, the same shall betray me."

Adjourned to Thursday, December 6.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 229

THIKD DAY.

The meeting was called to order at 9.45, and was presided
over by Mr. C. L. Hartshorn of Worcester, who intro-
duced as the first speaker Mr. S. W. Clark of Plainfield,
who presented the following lecture upon "Co-operative
Dairying."

CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING.

BY S. W. CLARK OF PLAINFIELD.

This subject of co-operative dairying has been presented
to the public for several years at farmers' institutes, grange
meetings, meetings of this Board, by the agricultural press,
and by talented newspaper correspondents and learned pro-
fessors, until it is worn threadbare. It has been presented
in every conceivable light, and there remains really nothing
that I can add. That was my first thought, when requested
by our secretary to present the paper ; but, upon second
consideration, it occurred to me that I might present some
facts that had come to my knowledge in the practical organi-
zation and management of a co-operative creamery, con-
ducted on the cream-gathering system. That is what I shall
call your attention to, leaving arguments and theories mainly
to others.

Organization.
A co-operative association is a stock company, chartered
under general laws, by the commissioner of corporations,
upon application made by the officers of the company, who
are chosen by the stock-holders, consisting of a secretary,
treasurer and five directors, who elect the president from
their number. The amount of capital, number of shares,
the size of the same, and their by-laws, are optional with
the company, all being agreeable to the several provisions
of chapter 106 of Public Statutes relating to the same.

230 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

Buildings.

The main building should be a substantial structure, frost-
proof, if possible. For the manufacture of eight hundred to
one thousand pounds daily it should be about forty-five feet
by thirty-five feet, two stories high, the upper being a tene-
ment for the butter-maker and family. The lower story
should be fourteen feet between joists, and may have a
bank wall on the back side six feet high ; and a drive-way
so arranged that the cream-cans can be taken from the
gatherer's wagon by a crane, and swung into the building
onto a platform as high as the top of the tempering vats.

The work-room should be at one end of the building,
eighteen to twenty feet wide, and thirty-five long, containing
elevated tank for water, with a pipe conveying steam for
heating the same ; shafting sinks ; an abundance of pure
spring water, also ice water from a tank above ; and all
necessary machinery and utensils for churning, salting,
working and packing the butter. The floor of best cement,
slightly concave, with a drain in the center, which, with its
branches, will carry all slops, and the eaves' water, with as
great velocity as the location will allow, to a stream of
water. Another drain is required to convey the butter-
lUilk a sufficient distance from the creamery to an under-
ground frost-proof cistern, from which it can be pumped
for feeding pigs or carting away. These drains are provided
with traps, and, if properly laid and flushed frequently,
will be sweet usually even in hot weather without the use of
chemicals.

The next room, thirty-five by fifteen feet, is for the tem-
pering vats, three in number, holding upwards of five hun-
dred gallons, standing on an elevated floor, so that the
cream will flow from them into the churns, and so placed
that their faucets can be operated from the work-room. The
lower floor is of cement, inclining to the rear, so that all
slops will run into a drain.

The remaining room should be partitioned for a refrigera-
tor in the rear ; the middle can be used for a store-room,
and the front for an office. An L, one story, thirty to
thirty-five feet long, twenty to twenty-four wide, to contain

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 231

the boiler and engine. Fuel next, and at the farther end
a cement sink in the floor, furnished with a water-pipe from
the main, throwing water through a nozzle with the force
acquired from nearly two hundred feet head ; also a steam
jet from the boiler in the bottom of the sink. This depart-
ment is used mainly for cleansing the cream-gatherers' cans.
Our machinery and fixtures were furnished by the Vermont
Farm Machine Company of Bellows Falls. Boiler twelve
horse-power, horizontal tubular return flue, set in masonry ;
engine, eight to ten horse-power, of the vertical, throttle-valve
pattern. We use wood for fuel. Two No. 9 Davis swing
churns, Hanley's jacketted gathering-cans, and the temper-
ing vats so arranged that we can cool them with ice water
or heat with steam, have all proved very satisfactory.

The Eureka butter-worker we have set aside for a home-
made one, but intend to try a power- worker soon, and the
foot printer for Carver's printer, worked like a cooky
cutter. With this our butter-maker can stamp one pound
in eight seconds, or seven in a minute. Our patrons are all
required to use the Cooley elevator creamer. We furnish
all with printed instructions and rules, requiring a strict
regard to cleanliness of cows, stables and all utensils used.
Cows must stand on an elevated floor, and feed that can give
the milk an unpleasant flavor, including musty fodder, and
cotton-seed meal above two quarts per cow per day, are
strictly prohibited. Milk must be strained three times.
Adulterated, impure or gargety milk cannot be used. We
recommend a temperature of forty-two to forty-five degrees
for the water in creamers. Cream-gatherers are instructed to
report any violation of our rules. Patrons disregarding these
rules, or furnishing cream off" quality from any cause, are
first kindly informed of their error ; if they make no efibrt to
improve, we, after the second or third complaint, order our
cream-gatherer to pass them, allowing them to make good
butter from defective cream if they can.

Factory Management.
The cream is strained into the tempering vats as soon as
brought in, and kept at a temperature that will ripen it for
churning early the next morning. This requires care and

232 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

skill, as the acidity of the cream affects the flavor of the
butter. We churn slowly, by concussion, which brings the
butter in the granular state.

The buttermilk that will flow is drawn through a sieve
into the proper drain ; what remains is washed out with cold
water. We then wash the butter with water warmed
to sixty degrees ; this leaves it in the best condition to salt
and work. We use Genesee salt, one and one-quarter
ounces to the pound, unless ordered otherwise. Have orders
for butter with no salt. The granular butter and sifted salt
are thoroughly mixed, and, if convenient, allowed to stand
a short time ; then worked, but not too dry, and immediately
prepared for market by packing in tubs or printing, usually
in one-pound size. The highest degree of cleanliness must
be observed in the factory at every step.

Business Management.

The directors usually meet each month to advise and share
the responsibilities with the president or business manager.
The cream-gatherers' books are footed as often, and a state-
ment made showing all receipts and expenses ; also each
patron's share of the net proceeds of the business, which
amount is paid to him from the 20th to the 25th of each
month. The quality/ of butter made in this way may not be
essentially better than some of the patrons might have made
at home, but it is as good as the best, and uniform in quality.
A dealer may order a small quantity or a ton, to be delivered
a part this week, or later, and it will be not only all goody
but uniform. So that I can send a dealer a single tub for a
sample ; if that is satisfactory, we can fill his order, however
large it may be, and that will be equally so. The keeping
qualities of creamery butter are superior to average dairy
butter. We have sold tons of it to packers who have held it
for a rise, and, so far as I know, have always been successful,
never losing a penny on our l)utter by holding it as long as
the state of the market required. This they could not so
safely do with average dairy butter, the stock story that
creamery butter will not keep to the contrar^'^ notwith-
standin<r.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 233

These are some of the reasons why the price of creamery
butter has been higher than dairy batter in all our leading
markets. This fact can be easily proved by reference to
market reports. The diflerence in price in favor of the
creamery has been for some years, and probably will be for
the future, fully equal to the total expense of making and
selling the factory product. So that the dairyman who
troul^les himself with the labor and care of making and sell-
ing his own, buying salt and boxes, etc., and in many cases
taking the risk of working his wife or mother into a prema-
ture grave, does it all, not only for nothing, but at con-
siderable loss. In the quantity of butter made, I suppose I
am. now on new, and some may think on doubtful, ground.
But I fully believe that in a well-conducted creamery a
greater gain is realized by its patrons in the increased quan-
tity of butter made than in the higher price it brings.

Case No. 1 was a trial for two weeks in March, 1887,
with a small dairy, using small, open tin pans and a dash
churn. The next two weeks the cream from this dairy was
sold to our creamery, all other conditions being as nearly as
possible the same in each case, and the price at which the
butter sold not varying half a cent per pound. The amount
of money realized by this patron was a little over 36 per
cent in favor of the creamery. The price being the same
per pound, surely it follows that the gain was from an in-
crease in the product.

Case No. 2 was a test for one year with twenty-two cows,
using a Cooley creamer and barrel churn. The cream during
the next year w^as sold to the creamery. The price per
pound in this case did not vary half a cent ; but the increase
in money realized was 17 to 18 per cent, due allowance
being made for all changed conditions. Other cases have
l)een reported to me more pronounced even than No. 1 ;
but not being conducted by myself, and perhaps not with
due care, I will not vouch for them ; will only add that our
creamery has over sixty patrons. I have interviewed many
of them concerning this point. Nearly all know that we are
making more butter for them than they formerly made. All
were satisfied ; a few keep no accurate accounts, and could
make no reliable statement.

234 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The Cream-gathering System.

I will refer to only three of the more important advantages
of this system.

First. The skimmed milk is left on the farm, where it has
a two-fold value, as by feeding to calves and swine it is con-
verted into a superior fertilizer. If carried away, as in the
whole milk system, it is selling the farm by the milk-can,
and its value must be replaced by the purchase of other fer-
tilizers.

Second. The expense of cream-gathering is by far the
larger item on that side of the account ; but the expense of
collecting whole milk must be far greater, as it has four or
five times the bulk and weight of the cream alone.

Third. It is the most equitable, as the keeper of highly
fed Jersey cows may get eighteen spaces or more of cream
per can, while poor stock, half fed, will give their owner less
than half that quantity. Each sells just what cream there is
in his milk, and no more. The value of the cream per space
is very nearly the same in either case. I have endeavored
to show that by this system of making butter we produce a
superior quality ; that we can produce probably 2® per cent
more of it ; that we can sell it at an advanced price, that
will more than pay for the total cost of manufacturing ; that
the dairy-maid, mother or wife has no labor or care what-
ever with the cream or butter, only the pails and cans and
strainer to wash. The dairyman has no salt-boxes or tubs
to buy ; has cash for his cream once a month, brought to his
hand. We favor our patrons by buying feed per carload,
giving them wholesale rates on small lots. Each patrou may
know what the others are doing. This stimulates a friendly
rivalry. Nearly all keep more cows than formerly. Within
about fourteen months six or seven carloads of cows have
been brought from New York State and absorbed by us, be-
sides many smaller lots bought nearer home. Many are test-
ing their cows, weeding out the poorer ones, improving the
better ones by giving better care and feed, learning that all
these things pay, — ' ' pay cash every thirty days." The many
benefits of co-operation have long been recognized and util-
ized by men in other branches of manufacturing and trade.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 235

but the small farmer seems to have been ' ' left out in the cold "
until the last ; but now, wherever this system of co-opera-
tive dairying is available to him, he and his family can be
greatly benefited. Of the one hundred and twenty-five
creameries in New England, our State has its proportion.
But we have not half — no, probably not one quarter —
enough of them. Not long ago there was a great cry in
some localities, "All are going into creameries. Creamery
butter will glut the market." In fact, the market for this
grade of butter is continually improving. Our creamery
now has orders far exceeding the amount we can supply.
Here let me say that we have made during the year about
ninety-six thousand pounds of butter ; it was sold for above
twenty-six thousand dollars. The expense of selling and
collecting has been no greater than I formerly incurred in
marketing the product of my dairy of twenty cows. Note
the saving, — the product of sixty-five to seventy dairies
marketed at no greater expense than that of one.

I have met but very few dairymen who sang in the minor
key. The burden of their song usually is, "I am doing
very well now. My wife makes better butter than any one
else about here ; this dealer or that city boarder said so.
They want all we can make." Some will say frankly that
they can make just as good if not better butter than any
creamery, — minister A. or Dr. B. said so, — when they
are selling at a considerably less price than our patrons are
getting. These people need instruction. They should
understand that a creamery butter-maker is an expert, be-
sides having a great many advantages not available to them-
selves, the disadvantages being nearly all on their side. The
low price they sell at, compared with what the factory prod-
uct brings, should convince them. As a class, they are
the last to see the benefits of co-operation. Their business
habits have an influence in this direction. Each works his
own little farm in his own way, selling his surplus near
home, usually to an acquaintance, — knowing very little of
the wholesale market prices. " Paddling his own canoe,"
with very little regard for the bustling world outside, he is
very liable to get left. How can we reach and benefit this
class ? It is not very largely represented here to-day ; very

236 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

few of them will ever read this paper ; they do not believe
much in book-farming. " Creameries are all well enough,"
they say, "for fancy farmers, but my old way is good
enough for me." If you press them with too much zeal,
they will class you with lightning-rod men and swindling
tool agents, and say, by their looks, " You can pass on ; we
can take care of ourselves." Yet this class would derive
more benefit by patronizing a co-operative creamery than
any other. One of this class, after being with us a few
months, said: " I never took any comfort in dairying be-
fore. Now everything goes right." Before, he sometimes
had white specks in his butter, sometimes it would come
soft, and sometimes he would churn half the night, and then
his butter would not come. Some believe that this is caused
by witches in the cream, and nothing will drive them out
but a red-hot horseshoe dropped into the churn. This I was
told with all seriousness. While much has been done to
give the laboring class practical instruction, something still
remains to be done. I believe the creamery has " come to
stay." It has a mission as an educator, as a helper of those
in an agricultural community least able to help themselves.
It should be encouraged, and every practicable means used
to disseminate a knowledge of its methods and its benefits.
But I have fully occupied the time allotted me. Hoping that
this essay has been, in a measure at least,

" Judicious, clear, succinct ;
The language plain, the sense well linked.
I told not, as new, what everybody knows ;
But, new or old, I hasten to a close."

The Chairman. I regret very much indeed that there are
so few present to hear this paper and listen to the discussion
that will naturally follow, for it does seem to me to be of
great interest to the New England farmer. But it is going
to be printed in our report by the secretary later, and I
trust the farmers will read it. I propose now to call upon two
or three gentlemen from neighboring States to talk to us,
and I will first call upon Mr. Bachelder, Secretary of the
New Hampshire State Board of Agriculture.

Mr. Bachelder. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen : I cer-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 237

tainly feel very much honored in being called upon to say
a few words, for I well know the liberal policy which has
been manifested in your State with regard to agricultural
appropriations, and I also well know the interest which the
farmers have taken in the discussion of this subject. While
I feel a sense of honor, I certainly feel it would be more
fortunate for you and for myself, and for your secretary, to
let me sit quietly by and listen to the discussion. You all
know that I come from a State of rugged soil, in which we
have our proportion of rock and thin soil ; but I am pleased
to say that the State of New Hampshire, in the year 1887,
increased her number of horses, increased her number of
cattle, increased her number of sheep and number of swine,
an aggregate value of half a million dollars. I cannot, of
course, give you the specific reason for this, but we think
there are three reasons which have largely contributed to this
result. First, the establishment of creameries in our State
has been a powerful incentive to the farmers to keep better
stock. The grange, which is doing a powerful work
there, has increased the work in various directions among
farmers. The subject of ensilage, which we hear of so often in
our agricultural meetings, has led our farmers to keep more
stock, and to keep them in a better manner. We have to-
day twenty co-operative creameries, that manufactured dur-
ing the year 1887 a little over six hundred thousand pounds
of butter, that returned to the farmers of that State a net
price of twenty-two and one-half cents per pound for the
milk or cream furnished to make a pound of butter. This
is the average price returned from the creameries of the
State. Of course there are exceptions to this price. One
creamery, for instance, returned only sixteen and two-thirds
cents, while another creamery returned over twenty-seven
cents.

Question. Did the one returning sixteen and two-thirds
cents run all the year round ?

Mr. Bachelder. Yes, sir. I presume the reason for
the small price which they were able to return was the fact
that they did very little business. I think they worked up
the product of something like one hundred and sixty cows.
This gave a very small product in proportion to the invest-

238 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ment, and made the cost of making the butter very high.
Now, the question has come to us in our agricultural meet-
ings : Can you produce a sufficient amount of milk or cream
to make a pound of butter for twenty-two and one-half
cents ? We all know that the real object in farming is to
get the market price for our hay and for our grass and for
the grain which we feed. Now, during the present year, I
have experimented in a little way on a herd of grade Jersey
cows on a farm at East Andover, and I have kept an accu-
rate account of hay, grain, and cost of pasturage, to see if I
could produce a sufficient quantity of cream or milk to make
a pound of butter for twenty-two and one-half cents. The
year is not quite out, but it is near enough so I can draw
pretty correct conclusions in this case.

Question. How many cows?

Mr. Bachelder. I have twenty grade Jersey cows.
They will eat during the year not far from two tons of hay
each. This hay, in our market, is worth $12 per ton at the
barn. I presume it is worth more here in your State.
They will eat about eighteen hundred pounds of grain each,
which will cost me about $21. This will make the cost of
the hay and grain $45. I then allow $7 per cow for pastur-
age and taxes, making the cost of keeping each cow per
year $52. Now, for the result. I shall be able to produce
from each of those cows 225 pounds of butter, which, at
twenty-two and one-half cents per pound, would come to
$50.62. I shall be able to get from the skim milk from each
of those cows $10, making $60.62 from the product of each
cow, leaving a profit of $8.62. By careful experiments that
I have made this year, and made in previous years, I find
that I can get about four cents for the skim milk left after
making a pound of butter. I do this in feeding to pigs, and
killing them before they are eight months old.

Question. Is the calf of any account in that matter?

Mr. Bachelder. The calf, so far as my experience has
been, is of no account. I dispose of the calves in any way
that I can, as soon as the milk is good.

Question. Is there any difference between the interest
on the money invested and what you would be obliged to
pay, provided you hired those cows?

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 239

Mr. Bachelder. I reckon the pasturage at six dollars.
That is about what it is worth there. Then I reckon one
dollar on each cow for the interest and taxes I do not know
as that would be perfectly correct, but it is as I estimated it.

Mr. Ware. Would it not be about six or seven dollars
really that ought to be charged to the account for the use of
the cow for one yenY ? Have you allowed anything for the
depreciation of the cow ?

Mr. Bachelder. I purchase my cows, and I am usually
able to get as much for them when I get through as when I
bought them. Sometimes they depreciate ; but it is seldom
that I have a cow but what I get as much for her at the end
of the period as I gave, and for that reason I made no ac-
count of the matter.

Mr. Sessions. Your cows cost you about $50 apiece on
the average ?

Mr. Bachelder. About $50 dollars apiece. The ques-
tion was asked what I get for butter. I have been able to
sell the butter for the last year for no fancy price. I have
been able to sell it for no more than any farmer in the State
of New Hampshire or Massachusetts can get for butter of the
same quality. I have been able to get an average for the
year of twenty-eight cents per pound. In the manufacture
of the butter I have practiced a little system of co-operation,
which it seems to m© can be practiced to advantage in other
sections of the State, and perhaps in Massachusetts. Now,
we are situated ten miles from a creamery. If we were
near a creamery, I should probably put the cream in there,
and have it manufactured by the butter-maker, and save the
work of manufacturing ; but we are so far away that we have
to do another way. My practice is this : I sent my man to
a practical butter-maker, and let him learn what he could of
the business in a short time ; and he came home and went to
making the butter, and he has not only made the butter
from my twenty cows, but he has made the butter for a
neighboring farmer who has twenty more, so that I am
running a co-operative creamery on a small scale now. I
pay the farmer for his cream what the creamery would pay
him. He gets the price for his cream that he would get
from the creamery, almost at his own door, and I have been

240 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

able, as I say, to make butter in this way that has brought
twent3^-cight cents a pound. In regard to the price of skim
milk, I have kept an accurate account, and I am sure it is
as I have stated. One year ago I ])ought a lot of small pigs,
and fed them skim milk for six months. At the end of six
months I had paid for the grain they had eaten, and had
$89.60 left for the skim milk, which enabled me to realize
about one-half a cent per quart. In keeping the record for
the year, it has brought me about $10 per cow.

Mr. Ware. You say you pay $50 for your cows. I
suppose they are new milch cows, and that you realize as
much when you sell them. I do not see how you can do
that, unless you keep them another year, and sell them as
new milch cows ; and, if you keep them year after year for
a period of four, five or six years, there must be a deprecia-
tion in the value of the cows. That was the point I alluded
to in my question.

Mr. Bachelder. When I purchase a cow that does not
prove what I think she ought to, if the feed does not go to
the production of milk and butter, she will take on flesh, and
I dispose of her for beef; and, if she proves a good milker, I
keep her a number of years. I have not been in the business
long enough to know how I should come out in the end ;
but the cows are worth what I gave for them now at the
present time.

Question. I would like to ask the gentleman what an
average Jersey cow will bring for beef when you turn her?

Mr. Bachelder. Well, the cows of the size I have
bring from $40 to $50. Mine are grade Jersey. I do not
keep any thorough-brcds.

Question. How much does it cost to fat a Jersey cow?

Mr. Bachelder. Well, I could not tell you in regard
to that. The only point I wish to state is, we can produce
milk and cream to make a i)ound of butter for the price
which has been realized from it by the creameries of the
State ; and, also, that this little system of co-operation which
I have practiced can be carried on by two or three farmers
in other sections of the country, where they could not avail
themselves of the creamery.

The ChairxMAN. We have present with us to-day Mr.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 241

James Chees3IAN, Secretary of the New England Creamery
Association, and we shall be pleased to hear a few words
from him at this time.

Mr. James Cpieesman. Mr. Chairman and ladies and
gentlemen, I esteem it an honor to be invited to address you
to-day, because the audience contains many men who are
much older than myself, — men who have grown gray in
the business of dairying ; and I feel keenly the responsi-
bility that devolves upon me in addressing you who have had
so much longer experience than I, although my experience
has been derived from a pretty wide area. AVhat I have to
say in the few moments allotted me will be to notice some
points brought out in the practical address from my friend
behind me, evidencing in a very marked manner the value of
co-operation, which was so very thoroughly indorsed by the
speaker who followed him. At the present day I think we
must all be convinced that, without some form of co-opera-
tion, it will be utterly impossible for us to hold our own
against the gigantic corporations that are growing up.
With co-operation it will be quite possible to do it, and we
shall derive profit in doing it. I was very much pleased
and instructed by the reference to the co-operative purchase
of food supplies. Some fifteen years ago, my first experi-
ence in agricultural pursuits was entirely in that direction.
In England the members of the Agricultural Society had
suffered so severely for a number of years from the adulter-
ation of seeds, food supplies and fertilizers, that it became a
matter of self-defence for then) to undertake to supply these
articles on a co-operative basis. The objcc^t was not so
much to divide the profits among themselves, although that
received serious consideration, as to secure a supply of
pure foods, fertilizers, and seeds of guaranteed power
of germination. I want to ask INIr. Clark what kinds of
foods they l)uy, and whether they have undertaken the
preparation of compound feeding-stufis at the creamery
that would stand up to the formula they prefer for the
production of the best quality of cream in the manufac-
ture of their butter.

Mr. Clark. I will state that our purchases have been
confined mainly to wheat-bran and oats. We can usually

242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

purchase our corn about as well as to buy it by the carload.
Our wheat-bran we buy in large quantities, and cotton-seed
in limited quantity.

Mr. Cheesman. Do you prescribe any standard?

Mr. Clark. No, sir. We prohibit an undue quantity of
cotton-seed, that is all.

Mr. Cheesman. There are some questions I would like
to ask Mr. Clark, because the value of all these meetings
depends on the number of questions presented, and without
these questions it is impossible to have that interesting dis-
cussion which results from their presentation. One question
is, Do most of your patrons adhere to a temperature of forty-
two degrees?

Mr. Clark. We instruct them to, and, so far as
our cream-gatherers are concerned, they say they are con-
forming to that requirement.

Mr. Cheesman. Has the cream-gatherer power of in-
spection over all details ?

Mr. Clark. Yes, sir.

Mr. Cheesman. Do you use paper or cloth in making
your pound prints ?

Mr. Clark. We use paper.

Mr. Cheesman. How long do you set it aside?

Mr. Clark. Sometimes, if we are crowded, we give it
very little time ; but if we can, half an hour or a little
longer.

Mr. Cheesman. Is that sufficient?

Mr. Clark. I suppose not strictly ; but it answers.

Mr. Cheesman. How large are the granules ?

Mr. Clark. Oh, we intend to stop churning when the
granules are about the size of a buckwheat kernel, or a little
finer.

Mr. Cheesman. You must all have noticed, some time
last week, that a combination in Chicago, interested chiefly
in the manufacture and sale of oleo-butter, had organized a
conspiracy against creamery butter, by forcing up the price
to a very high figure. I think one day the quotation was forty
cents a pound. It seems to me, if the system of co-opera-
tion exists in the State of Illinois, that it is exceedingly
dangerous practice to permit those interested in oleo-butter

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 243

to manipulate the real butter market in the way they have
been doing of late. It can result in nothing but injury
to the butter interest ultimately, and I am inclined to think
that before very long something of the kind may be attempted
in the Eastern States, — may very likely originate in New
York City, — and make it a very necessary matter for the
creameries in the Eastern States to adopt some form of co-
operation for the purpose of controlling the distribution of
their butter. It is not sufficient to sell butter on the open
market, and allow it to pass into the hands of the oleo-butter
manufacturers, or those interested in its sale, and leave them
to use their enormous influence in the manipulation of the
butter market. Sooner or later, I am inclined to think, the
creameries will have to control the distribution throughout
to the consumer. That is a very serious matter, and I com-
mend it to all interested in co-operative dairying, for delib-
eration.

After what has been said by the writer of the paper, I
think we can entei-tain no doubt of the success of co-opera-
tive dairying. Wherever private dairying, so called, suc-
cessfully competes with co-operative dairying, it is only by
the adoption, to a greater or less extent, of the same
mechanical methods of butter-production, and the same
methods of business organization, as has been illustrated by
what our friend Mr. Bachelder told us All the makers of
fancy dairy butter, so called, are wealthy owners of cattle
kept for breeding purposes, and usually men owning very
large herds, able to keep well-qualified butter-makers, who
can produce the same quality, or very nearly the same
quality, the year through ; and so it commands those gilt-
edged prices which are so common with men who practice
private dairying of the higher class, so that practically there
is no essential difference between the successful private
dairyman and the co-operative dairyman. The question
which presents itself for our consideration is this : The aver-
age farmer is usually the owner of a small herd, and cannot
adopt the same methods throughout ; and, if he did, it would
render his butter-making unnecessarily expensive, as has
been illustrated to us by Mr. Bachelder. You may remem-
ber he quoted the case of one creamery in New Hampshire

244 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

which sold its butter at sixteen and two-thirds cents per
pound, because they were receiving the cream of one hun-
dred and sixty cows only. My friend behind me represents
a creamery receiving the cream of eight hundred cows.
Their expenses, probably, are about four cents, or four and
a quarter.

Mr. Clark, It has been as low as three.

Mr. Ceieesman. That is unusually low. I think the
average expense of manufacturing, cream-gathering, and
marketing butter produced in Xew England creameries, runs
about four and one-half cents to five and six-tenths, which
is exceedingly low. Manufacturers of dairy utensils, of
very much longer experience in the New England States
than I have had, tell me that the cost of production on
private dairy farms, and of marketing, is not less than eight
and one-half cents per pound. Here is a very wide differ-
ence, with this point also to be emphasized, that in creamery
butter you have a higher uniformity throughout, and wher-
ever it is placed in competition with the average farm prod-
uct, it invariably brings from five to six cents per pound
more ; so that you have the difierence in the value of the
product to place to the credit of the co-operative dairying,
added to the difference in the cost of production, which
varies from seven to ten cents per pound all round, — a great
difierence in favor of co-operative dairying.

There seems to be remarkal^le unanimity of opinion as to
the value of skim milk for calf and pig feeding throughout
the New England States. From all the data I have been
able to gather, it would appear to be worth from twenty to
twenty-five cents per hundred pounds, or two to two and
one-half mills per pound. That added to the price of butter
makes very nearly twenty-four cents a pound, which comes
a little more than half way between twenty-two and one-half
cents, quoted from New Hampshire creameries, and twenty-
eight cents, which Mr. Bachelder was able to get for his
product.

The success of co-operative efi'ort depends entirely on the
loyalty of the individual patron to the creamery. As we
have heard from the reader of the paper, their success has
been very largely due to the extent to wliicli the principle of

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 245

co-operation was practiced by the patrons ; that is, the extent
to which this principle was observed in its spirit. And so
it will be all the way throughout ; the greater the influence
they can exert on the individual patron, the more success
will there be in producing a higher quality of butter than
has been produced in the past. And 1 think one application
of co-operation in the future will be the co-operative supply
of a standard food, which will be prepared some day not
far distant by the creamery. The average creamery is able
to undertake the distribution of the food, and so control all
of its patrons in feeding and caring for their cattle. They
will come pretty closely on the heels of those wealthy pri-
vate dairymen who have been able to produce the rich butter
which sells at such gilt-edged prices in the markets of our
great cities. At the Bay State fair I was very much struck
by a statement of the cost of the creamery butter of New
England. It seems that during the year last past at least
one creamery in the New England States had sold its butter
in New York for fifty cents a pound. But the very fact that
creamery butter was good enough to sell for fifty cents, even
twice or three times, shows that there are great possibilities
of improvement in the production of creamery butter. Some
reference was made by the reader of the paper to the insinua-
tion that creamery butter will not keep. That is true of
some creamery butter, as it is true, to a very much wider
extent, of a large proportion of the average farm butter.
The ordinary butter-maker, operating a small creamery,
works under great disadvantages. He is very often selected
because he presents himself for low wages ; and he presents
himself for low wages, in the great majority of cases, because
he is not a competent butter-maker, and the butter he turns
out will have very close correspondence to the rate of wages
paid to him. So it will hold throughout. The expenses of
a creamery must necessarily be ratable in proportion to
the quantity of raw material handled. That is a law that
holds good in all business, in all manufocturing operations ;
and the creamery is no exception to the general rule. There
are some creameries in the West that are able to operate
on as low expense as two cents and two and one-quarter
per pound. These creameries manufacture butter at the

246 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

rate of two thousand and twenty-five hundred pounds per
day. When the average yield of the cow of the New Eng-
land States can be improved by that process of selection
which is referred to by our friend, we may hope to see the
products of each creamery largely augmented, and a corre-
sponding reduction in the expense ; and everyone who aids
earnestly and faithfully in improving the status of the New
England creamery around him, will aid in bringing about
this improved condition of things, and will aid in increasing
the returns from his own farming operations.

I was present at a dairy conference in Maine the week
before last. I wish to say, in justice to some of the private
dairymen in some parts of this State, that at the present
time the creamery interest in the State of Maine is compara-
tively weak ; that is to say, the creameries are small. If
there is any difference up there, probably the private butter-
makers will be making butter for a number of years at a
slight advantage as to quality and price obtained for their
butter, though I doubt very much whether the net results
are any different between private and co-operative dairying.
One of the speakers at the conference was a lady who had
been practicing private dairying for a number of years, and
she gave us a paper under the title, "How to make High-
priced Butter." Last fall, and for a number of years past,
she has been very successful in making butter, which has
competed at all the leading fairs in the State, and, I believe,
also at the New England Society's annual fair. She made
an astounding statement. You have heard from Mr.
Bachelder that he considers a cow yielding two hundred and
twenty-five pounds of butter a very excellent animal, and
she is ; but I tell you, on the authority of a well-known
public man in New England, that the average private pro-
duction is one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and
thirty-five pounds per cow ; and the same is true of Canada
and northern Michigan, and some other dairy districts of the
Western States. But this lady said she had got from six
cows in her herd two thousand pounds of butter in the year
1887. It will not be more than eighteen hundred pounds
this year. Now, these cattle are not fancy. They are pure-
bred Jerseys, registered in the old INIaine Register. They

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 247

are not eligible for registry with the American Jersey Cattle
Club. So you see it is not a case of a fancy and wealthy
farmer, for the lady in question is a widow, and has had to
labor to bring up and educate a family. When I expressed
my surprise at finding this very extraordinary herd up in
the State of Maine, — where I should have least expected to
find it, though it would not have surprised me in this State,
or in Connecticut, — I was told by several men in the audi-
ence that two hundred and fifty and two hundred and sev-
enty pounds of butter was a very common yield in private
dairies. If that is so, it shows that Maine has attained a
very high position in dairying, so far as cows are concerned.
Now, during a visit of a day or two last May in the
county of Franklin in this State, I learned that there were a
great many cows sending cream to the creamery at Cenway,
and many of them in private dairies, that stood up to two
hundred and sixty and two hundred and eighty pounds per
cow. The American Jersey Cattle Club consider that a
three-hundred-pound butter cow is a splendid animal. It is
possible for every farmer in this State, and in the State of
Connecticut and in the State of Maine, to adopt that proc-
ess of selection which has been presented to us in such a
graphic manner by Mr. Bachelder. On the yield of the
individual cow, and the expense of manipulating her prod-
ucts, the whole question of profit hinges. The closer we can
narrow the margin, of course the larger will be the profit of
the individual dairyman. There is no profit in keeping ani-'
mals, or very little profit in keeping animals giving less than
two hundred pounds of butter. The men who have distin-
guished themselves in making gilt-edged butter nowadays con-
sider that an animal which is not good enough to sell in open
market at auction for the price of two hundred and fifty to
three hundred dollars is not good enough for their purposes.
I can give you the names of several well-known breeders
who make butter for the New York market at fifty to seventy
cents a pound, according to their customer, whether sold
wholesale at the hotels or sold through retail stores at a
small rate of commission. These gentlemen are continually
selling stock which does not come to their ideal of the stand-
ard cow ; but they are always in the market to buy an animal

248 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

which in their estimation is worth from two hundred and
fifty to four hundred or five hundred dollars. Every one in
the audience can appreciate the fact that the cost of main-
tenance is no more for a good animal than it is for an aver-
age one, or, indeed, a poor one ; so that the greater the
aggregate product of the individual cow, the greater will be
the profit on her, and the greater will be the profit derived
from her products in the manipulation, whether in the
private dairy or in the creamery.

I am exceedingly obliged to you for the attention with
which you have listened to me, and I regret that I have not
been able to present what I have had to say in a more con-
nected form. I have trusted to the inspiration of the
moment, and to such material as the speakers who have
preceded mo might offer ; and I hope you will follow my
example, and present some questions to the speakers who
preceded me, so that we may have an interesting discussion
on the paper we have had this morning. [Applause.]

The chairman then stated that the time had arrived for
the next paper to be presented ; but, before it was read, the
secretary proposed the following, which was unanimously
adopted : —

I move a vote of thanks to the town of Easthampton for the use of
this beautiful hall ; also to the Easthampton Farmers' Club and the citi-
zens of the town, for the pains they have taken to make this meeting a
pleasant one, and our stay agreeable ; particularly for tlieir very credit-
able exhibit of tools, manufactured articles and agricultural products,
gathered in the hall below for our inspection.

Mr. HiCKOX. As I shall not be able to be present vdth
you this afternoon, T have a resolution which I would like to
offer, as follows : —

Resolved, By the State Board of Agriculture and farmers of Massa-
chusetts, in convention assembled, that we earnestly and unitedly pe-
tition the Legislature to enact a law that shall j^rotect both the producers
and consumers of honest butter, and that a State Dairy Commissioner
be appointed, with power and means for enforcing the laws relative to
the same.

The resolution was greeted with applause and was
adopted unanimously.

The Ctiatrman. Our secretary, in making up his pro-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 249

gramme, took into consideration the fact that the people
who would come here are following different specialties.
He has given us quite a number of short papers, which have
been follow-ed by pointed remarks and discussions. He also
remembered that all the homes represented here have in
them wives, and, perhaps, daughters ; so he has arranged to
have a lady read an essay before the Board for the first »time
in many years. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to
you Mrs. George R. Chase of Medfield, Mass, who will
speak to us about " Farmers' Wives and Daughters."

Mrs. Chase was greeted with hearty applause as she came
forward to the platform. And, before reading her paper,
she said : —

The invitation to read a paper at this time and place was
a thorough surprise to me. I tried to think what qualifica-
tions I had for the work, and could count but three.

All my people, as far back as I have any record, have been
farmers. It has been ni}'^ great good fortune, especially of
late years, to become acquainted with many Massachusetts
farmers and farmers' wives. I have a sincere and deep love
for the country and country life.

Standing here as I do to-day, I feel that I am, in some
sense, a pioneer. If the path I hew be rude, much must be
forgiven, because it is the first.

I ask you to believe that the people whom I present to you
to illustrate certain points, are real women whom I know.

FARMERS' WIVES AND DAUGHTERS.

BY MRS. GEO. R. CHASE OF MEDFIELD.

Thankful and Desire, Mercy and Content, Dorothy and
Priscilla, were farmers' wives. Brave, devoted, uncomplain-
ing, their very ^ames make us remember that first dreary
winter spent on the coast of Massachusetts, — a winter dark
with hardship, privation and danger ; bright with w^oman's
loving sacrifice, industry and hope.

A century and a half later, New England farmers' wives
provided food and clothing for their little ones, tilled the
farms and guarded the red-coated cows from the red-coated
marauders, while their hero husbands were winning inde-
pendence for them and for us.

250 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The daughters of the mothers who had struggled with
sickness, hunger, a savage foe, bore their full share of the
joys and sorrows, the burdens and triumphs of 1776.

Then, as now, farmers' wives loved the home. "The
first sure symptom of a mind in health, is rest of heart and
pleasure felt at home." Every good home must have a good
woman at its head. In the country she is the farmer's wife.
To live in the country and enjoy all its pleasures, she must
love the country. She must appreciate for twelve months
the scenery which city visitors can have but for one.

To me, city born and country bred, to watch the bursting
buds of spring, the growth of the green sward, the tossing
seas of grain, the shifting shadows as they lift and drop over
hill and valley, the matchless glory of the forest as it dons
its autumn gown of red and gold ; to listen to the hum of
bee, the chirp of cricket, the first chant of frog, the snatch
of bird song, the " gay gossip of the stream ; " to smell the
new-made hay, the healing breath of the pine ; to pluck and
taste fruit from my own vine and tree ; to drive by water,
meadow and Avood ; to stray through the fields, — these de-
light me.

" A voice of greeting from the wind was sent ;

The mists enfolded me with soft white arms ;
The birds did sing to lap me in content,

The rivers wove their charms ;
And every little daisy in the grass
Did look up in my face and smile to see me pass."

" Who lives to nature never can be poor." Teach the
children to love nature. Perhaps they will not need much
instruction. Some little people who spend their summer in
our town speak of it as " sweet Medfield." An older mem-
ber of their household marveled at their fondness for their
country home, until he began to explore it for himself; when
nearly every day he could be seen riding on the most retired
roads, — hard telling which of the three, rider, horse, or
Irish setter, enjoyed these excursions most.

Two winter pictures I can never forget One, a sunrise
from a snowy hill ; far away stretched the glittering crust,
to where the frozen river pretended to be asleep at base of
other hill. The other came to me with a winter drive the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 251

morning after an ice-storm. Exquisite the frost work on
tree and bush and fence rail. The steel shoes of our sleigh
creaked, and roadside weeds flashed their gems at us as we
sped by. The sun climbed fast and high, in haste to undo
all this beauty. I said that I would not take ten dollars for
this picture. The same day a manufacturer said he would
not take a thousand for his ; but then he did not get his
money from the farm.

The ideal home must be in the country. Steam heat and
modern improvements are desirable, but not essential. To
one once accustomed to them, country air, landscape diversi-
fied with hill and dale, meadow and singing stream, or silvery
lake, have become a necessity. The house may be small ;
vines that climb and clamber, and not paint, may cover the
weather-stained walls ; the water may come from a Imckc t at
the end of a sweep ; but here, with no factory bell to vex,
our home shall be planted and adorned with woman.

When a woman enters a farm-house to be its mistress, she
ought, at least, to be qualified to take good care of the far-
mer and herself. For her own peace of mind she ought to
know much about housekeeping ; and, no matter how much
she knows when she begins, she must learn constantly. It
is the age of the cooking-school. Just now it is the fashion
to dabble in dough ; that makes it easy.

In preparing food for the well which shall keep them so,
in ministering to the more delicate appetite of the sick, in
combining a wise frugality with an ingenuity which varies
the form and appearance of common kinds of food, there is
ample scope for skill, afiection, intelligence. The man is
made in part by his stomach. The kind of man depends in
no little measure on the quality of the food and its prepara-
tion. Morals and manners, as well as health and energy,
depend on the food supply in no small degree.

The good wife will not, if she have daughters, do all the
work herself. She will be too wisely kind for that. Rather
will she lead and instruct them, allotting to each a special por-
tion of work, which shall be done in such a way and at such
times as never to be drudgery. Work not dragged through-
out the entire day, but pushed in the early hours and
regarded as a kind of healthy preparation for pleasure and

252 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

recreation sure to come, will be a feature of our home. Each
daughter may be taught in turn to do any kind of housework
tolerably, and some kind perfectly. To one may be given
the dining-room. Let her see to it that the table is fault-
lessly arrayed, that l)right silver, clear glass, snowy linen
and fresh flowers entice family and guest. To another,
the care of the chambers may be assigned. Haply she may
have, or learn to have, the nice knack which transforms
ordinary furniture and surroundings into restful hints of
pleasant dreams.

The wife and daughters have a mission, too, in the parlor,
which must be, not a room shut up, too dismal and lonely
and dark for even a sensil)le fly to enjoy, but a light, cheery
place, where, perhaps, curtains and carpets have been kissed
so lovingly by the life-giver that they look less bright than
once ; where a bird may sing in its cage ; where books and
pictures look out upon one ; where dog and cat may fear
not to bask and purr ])efore the blazing open fire. In short,
in a room just bright and pleasant enough to be comfortable,
but not grand enough to disturb or alarm lest harm should
come to it, or primness be disturbed, our farmer's fiimily
may live. In such a home the wife may entertain those
friends who favor her with their visits, and dispense an
easy, natural hospitality, which is its own exceeding great
reward, and which marks one of the diflerences between
boarding-house and home, between happy husband and
lonely bachelor.

Perchance the farmer who has gone with me so far agrees
fully that his wife or daughter should be a power in kitchen
and parlor, but shakes his head in doubt when I say that she
may have a duty outdoors as well as within. I shall try to
sustain the position that in many cases the four walls of her
home shall not limit the horizon of her industry. Does she
not know just what she wishes to have come from the vege-
table garden? Why may she not provide vegetables and
fruits for her table, as well as flowers? Let her select some
specialty, and pursue it with loving interest, with woman's
fidelity, until in her knowledge of this she shall not be ex-
celled. What the specialty shall be, individual taste and
surroundino;s must decide.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 253

If small fruits be her choice, she may lal)or under a dis-
advantage in raising the crop ; yet, in picking and packing
the fruit she has no equal. A light touch and an exacting
standard of excellence place her in the front rank. The
berries which sell for the highest price in our market are
packed by farmers' wives and daughters, and in many cases
picked by them. If poultry be selected, then let her have
no hens on the farm. Birds they must all be to her, and
objects of faithful ministry, well nigh of atfection.

One June morning the young ^vife of a farmer picked a
crate of strawberries, then drove with him across the coun-
try to a social and literary meeting of farmers and their
wives. None the less did she enjoy the good things there
because she had earned them by taking care that work at
home did not suffer in her absence. No less beautiful was
she because cheek and hand w^ore a becoming brown.

A portion of each summer day is spent outdoors. Often
the evening meal, spread beneath the trees, is a family picnic.

Young farmer, too shrew^d to marry, how can you do with-
out such a wife at this, — helpmeet, chum? Yet there are
more to be had for the asking.

A Worcester County farmer's wife made sixty dollars net
on pickled cucuml)ers. A Norfolk County farmer's daughter
has cleared one hundred dollars from primroses. The writer
has received seventy-five cents a box for strawberries, that
did their best to win, and the praise bestowed on them was
more satisfying than the cash they brought.

There is a field under glass in which we can work with
pleasure and profit. Shy flowers, tomatoes, Black Ham-
burgs, out of season, may be had for the coaxing.

At a recent fair there was an exhibit of preserves and
jellies which easily distanced all competitors. I was glad to
notice, from the exhibitor's price list, that she was aware of
the quality of her work, and charged accordingly.

The farmer's wife who is well to do may set a good ex-
ample in thrift. Should only those do this who felt com-
pelled to take the step, much of the force of example would
be lost.

A man's business required him to drive through a manu-
facturing settlement in delivering straw to be sewed by

254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

women into hats. He bad never had occasion to stop, but
drove to places on either side. One day he was much sur-
prised to be hailed by the wife of the superintendent of the
works, who told him that she wished to take straw to sew,
and desired to be instructed in sewing it. " What a mer-
cenary woman," thought the agent of the straw goods firm.
Later, a very different impression was produced on him by
her saying that while slie did not need to sew straw, the wives
of the workmen did need to, and she intended to learn the
work and then teach them. What a noble woman this, in
the changed light, her motive being known.

The work which once these wives of workingmen scorned
to do, they now eagerly sought. They needed a leader,
director, and could brook none but one of some position in

society.

" I will work, and hope, and love,
Singing to the hours ;
While the stars are bright above,
And below, the flowers."

The more familiar the farmer's wife becomes with the farm
and its management, the more competent will she be to
assume the management of it, should this ever be desirable
or necessary. One woman whom I have met, during an en-
tire winter, the first spent upon the new farm, milked the cows
while her husband worked at his trade in the city. Another
superintends the barn work, that the head of the fiimily may
be absent, working to meet the payments on the fiirm. In
a third case an educated young lady has had given her to
run her father's farm, he having turned his attention to other
business. In another instance the father suddenly dies ; the
daughter, a bright young woman, assumes his place, and man-
ages a nursery and fruit fiirm without detriment to the busi-
ness or to her. Again, a farmer dies, leaving an excellent farm
encumbered with debt. The widow manages the fifty acres,
takes an active interest in raising registered stock, goes over
her land herself, and is often followed by members of her
herd, that testify to her gentle ways and kind treatment by
the perfect confidence they repose in every one. This lady
would like to sell her farm, but she will not sacrifice to the
first indiff*erent buyer. She can wait.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 255

Bear with me while I cite another case. Mrs. M's hus-
band fell ill, lingered and died. There was a large family
of young children living in an old house, which the husband
had intended to replace by a new one. The lumber for this,
ordered before his illness, was now upon the ground. Con-
trary to the advice and the dark predictions of friends and
neighbors, this grand woman carried out her husband's plans,
built the new house, and managed the form, though as a part
of her duty she felt compelled daily to drive her wagon of
milk to town. This she continued to do, to the ever-increas-
ing admiration of all, until her oldest son became her first
assistant, strong and mature enough to relieve her. No jot
or tittle of the lady was abated in this steadfast woman, who
worked with both head and hand while it was necessary ;
who refused to sell the farm, as she was advised, and con-
quered grief and agonj^ by toil for the living.

" The path of sorrow, and that path alone,
Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown."

Let no farmer's wife fail to maintain the dignity of her
calling. It will do her no harm to remember occasionally
that the mother and the wife of Washington lived upon
estates in the country ; that the Avife of John Adams also
lived on a farm.

There is a proverb which runs, "A man must ask his
wife's leave to thrive." The former's wife should attune
herself to sympathy with her husband's tastes, should be-
come his loving comrade. Is he fond of horses ? She will
learn to be. Does he love to raise choice cattle? She Avill
not try to thwart his ambition. Is he a dairy farmer? Then
she will be glad to have his brand of butter rank high in the
market and bear a good name.

No good woman can live for herself or for her home alone.
In the church and in social circles her influence is needed.
Her position will be just what she makes it. She should
take a keen interest in the public schools ; investigate their
methods, their strength, their weakness. She should give to
the teacher of her own or other children, interested and
intelligent sympathy. If room be made for her, she can do
good work on the board of trustees of the public library in

256 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

her town, or as member of an advisory board. If there be
no public library or reading-room, why should she not
organize one ? Surely the kind of reading that is popular
with the young concerns her.

I have, in the suggestions made to the farmer's wife, given
her little time for idleness. She asks none. My acquaint-
ance with ^Massachusetts farmers' wives is not a very narrow
one, and I assure you that I cannot recall a single lazy
woman among them. It is complimentary to them that I
should fill their lives so full. They must be misers of their
time

The mother must do much towar^l the education of her
girls ; but she cannot do everything ; nor can all mothers do
equally w^ell. Many a daughter will outstrip her mother, to
that mother's joy, not regret. Let the mother, however,
try to keep pace, to bring back once bright school-days, and
to brush the dust and cobwebs from matters nearl}^ forgotten.
Follow Bacon's famous direction. Pursue a course of read-
ing wdth congenial associates. Join a company of people
with the same tastes and employment as yours. Try writing
out, in your own words, the information that has come to
you by reading, then w^rite your own ideas. Find wdiether
writing maketh an exact man. Try conference with the same
associates, and find whether it really maketh a ready man.
We will not pass without considering Dean Swift's advice to
talkers : —

" Conversation is but carving :

Give no more to every guest

Than he's able to digest ;

Give him always of the prime,

And but little at a time.

Cai've to all but just enough,

Let them neither starve nor stuff;

And, that you may have your due,

Let your neighbors carve for you."

Encourage the daughters to tread the path of learning as
long as they will. If any lag by the way too early, urge
them on. " It is less painful to learn in youth than to be
ignorant in age." Alice Freeman says: "Hardly a week
passes that fathers and mothers and teachers do not ask me
whether it will pay to send some bright, ambitious girl to

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 257

college. There is but one answer. If civilization pays, if
education is not a mistake, if hearts and brains and souls are
more than the dress they wear, then, by every interest dear
to a Christian republic, by all the hope we have of building
finer characters than former generations have produced,
give the girls the widest and the highest and the deepest
education we have dreamed of, and then regret that it is not
better, broader and deeper." Then, too, they ought to have
the chance to secure a special education. Why should not
an education, practical in character, be provided by the
State, for farmers' daughters as well as farmers' sons?

Let not our girls look down upon the simple, womanly
tasks that bring joy and comfort to the household. When
at home, where they are always welcome, let them play the
part of hostess, and entertain the mother as they would their
dearest friend. Let her live the day without a care. Per-
haps it is her turn to have a vacation now ; and, if you give
her one, you will be repaid many-fold by speaking eye and
happy face.

" Be good, fair maid, and let who will be clever ;
Do noble deeds, not dream them all day long;
And thus make life, death, and the vast forever,
One glad, sweet song"

What, husband, ought you to do for the wife who does so
much for you? Why, make the best of everything, of
course. Don't fret, don't worry. Anybody can do that.
The distinction will be in keeping an even keel in troubled
waters. Remember that that Avife of yours is human, usu-
ally more sensitive than you. Give her, without the asking,
all the helps you can. Surely you will give her her fair
share of the income from the farm? She will no doubt
spend it wisely. What better diversion for her and you
than to travel as extensively as time and means will permit ?
Travel near home. Learn the histor}'^ and geography of
your own town. Then go farther ; explore as far beyond as
possible. Money spent in this way will pay a dividend in
information obtained, and pleasant recollections for after
days in chimney corner and in field.

In selecting your meetings for social and intellectual im-

258 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

proveraent, go to those where your wife can accompany you.
The places which do not need her can well spare you, or
you can well spare them.

There is a disease that sometimes breaks out in country
towns. It is known as " Western fever." Why go West?
Isn't an Eastern cottage miles ahead of a Western dugout?
What will you do when you get there, — raise crops for no
market ? Will you wait for that rise in the value of your
land, which may never come? Is it to wrestle with malaria?
Is it to count your neighbors and friends by ones instead of
by hundreds? Is it to get along without those priceless
privileges, thought all too lightly of here in New England,
because everybody enjoys them? Would you miss scenery,
good roads, society, churches, schools? It is to be hoped
so. Oh, wife, when you are called upon to decide between
New England comforts and Western possibilities, ask the
dear man whether he proposes to go West for his own bene-
fit, that of the neighborhood he leaves, or that of the country
to which he is going.

Perhaps this may reach some who are so fortunate, or un-
fortunate, — for there are two ways of looking at it, — as to
live in a house where help is not hired. They may have
two handmaids, — Cheerfulness and Content. Cheerfulness
has been called the daughter of Employment. Given a farm
well stocked, well managed, plus a cheerful spirit on the part
of some one member of the family, — sometimes wife, some-
times daughter, — and it will far distance another not so
blessed. Everybody, from man to the animals, about the
place, will catch the glad contagion. We love a dog, Ney,
that, if he hears a merry laugh, if he be outside the room,
immediately demands admittance. He thinks he must have
his share of the fun, and he gets it. Charles Lamb used to
say that a laugh is worth a thousand groans, in any state of
the market.

Sometimes the girl or woman on the farm sees nothing to
love in the life. She is dull to the beauty of her surround-
ings, and thinks she would gladly exchange her lot for a
place in village or city. Such a farmer's daughter, while
living on the farm, did not appreciate or enjoy her special
privileges and advantages. Since leaving the farm she has

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 259

been teacher, member of school committee, and not without
experience as a woman of affairs. Now she longs for land
to till, and, having secured a liberal addition to the family
garden, four o'clock on many a summer morning finds her
busy with hoe or rake.

In parting with my farmer's wife I adjure her to cultivate
the grace of contentment. Such a charm is this that no
woman can afford to try to hold sway over the hearts of
home without it. Look sometimes down instead of up the
line. I remember a little poem called " Contentment," in
which a widow and her son are represented " as having
nothing, yet possessing all things." The hut, into which the
rain enters and the snow drifts, contains a chair, a little
three-legged stool, and a box spread with a clean white cloth
and scant fare. The mother draws a furrowed hand across
her boy's locks, and bids him go to bed, as he has warmed
the toes enough, and the fire won't last. She has no blanket
to wrap about him, but she covers him with boards that have
been warmed by the fire. He turns towards her a smiling
face, and asks, "Mother, what do the poor boys do that
have no boards ? "

" Some murmur when their sky is clear

And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear

In their great heaven of blue.
And some with thankful love are filled

If but one streak of light,
One ray of God's good mercy, gild

The darkness of their night.

" In palaces are hearts that ask,
In discontent and pride.
Why life is such a dreary task.
And all good things denied.
^ And hearts in poorest huts admire
How love has in their aid
(Love that not ever seems to tire)
Such rich provision made. — Trench.

The Chairman. The subject is open for remarks, and I
hope the ladies and gentlemen present will give it the con-
sideration its importance deserves. Mr. Moses Hxjmphrey,
President of the New Hampshire State Board of Agriculture,

260 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

is present with us. He has had large experience in the agri-
cultural department in New Hampshire, and as a farmer,
and we will all be glad to hear from him, if he will speak to
us at this time for a few minutes.

Mr. Humphrey. I do not know, Mr. Chairman, how
long your few moments mean. If you want me to speak
but live minutes, say so ; or fifteen or half an hour.

The Chairman. We have an hour's time.

REMARKS OF MOSES HUMPHREY OF CONCORD, N. H.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — The subject that
has been presented to us by our lady speaker is a subject of
great interest to me. I want to say to you that more than
fifty years ago I chose for a wife a farmer's daughter. I
lived with her fifty-six years, and I tell you, if there is any-
thing in the world that has made me, it is that woman.
[Applause.] I tell you, if you have not looked that ground
over fairly and squarely, you do not know how much the
influence of a wife is over a man ; no matter what position
he holds, whether in the government or as a farmer, or in
any other business. I married a farmer's daughter, and that
is the kind for the young and old to get wherever they go.
If you want to succeed in life, you want to get practical
common sense. If you find men or women that have risen
to eminence in any part of the country, you will find that
they have come from the farm, where the habits of industry
are taught the boy and girl from youth up. The habit of
industry is everything to a man, anywhere and everywhere ;
and, if you bring your boys and girls up to such habits, they
do not have much fol-de-rol or nonsense about them ; they
are looking forward for business. You have got to start with
a good foundation to make the right men and Tvomen for the
country. Look all over this country and see who controls
it. Where did they come from? Who were they? To a
large extent our leading men were farmers' boys, their
mothers were farmers' wives ; and, if you trace their ances-
try, you will find that a large portion of them came from
New England, and my experience proves that you will trace
them back to a New England farm.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 261

Who is Tom Eastman of New York ? I knew Tom East-
man on a farm ; he worked as hard as any boy ; he is a good,
thorough-going fellow, and he had a splendid mother to teach
him. He was brought up on the farm, and when he left the
town he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and started a milk farm.
Then he went to buying cattle, and from that he shipped his
cattle to New York ; and he was the first man that ever fitted
a ship to carry beef to England. That man to-day is worth
six millions of dollars. Now, I knew him well all the way
through, and I wanted to say in this connection that he mar-
ried a farmer's daughter, and she was one of the best girls that
I ever knew. She knows how to make butter, and can make
butter to-day as well as any lady present. Now she can
control her household in New York, and is not filled with a
desire to make a fine show. She makes a happy home, and
everybody happy about her. This is one farmer's daughter
that I know.

Now let me speak of another man, — Austin Corbin. I
knew him as a boy, and lived beside him. I was older than
he. He started out and worked as hard as any other man
until he was twenty years old ; then he got a little education
and was admitted to the bar, and went out West ; there he
had a taste for banking, and he went into that business ; and
to-day he is a millionaire, — I do not know how many millions
he has. He is a practical sort of fellow ; if you come across
him you will find he is the same Austin Corbin to-day,
with his millions, that he was when a boy. That is my
experience with him.

Now, there is another question connected with this matter.
It is a broad question ; I could talk upou it a great while.
What are we living for? Of course we all know we cannot
stay here. Our object should be to get the most good out
of life we can ; get it honestly, get it fairly, get it squarely
A man that does not get his money honestly and foirly and
squarely does not enjoy life. That is my opinion, and I
have seen a good deal of life. I want to say one word
further in connection with Mr. Eastman of New York.
There was another young man by the name of Brown. They
both started life together. Both taught a little village
school ; and, when Eastman went West, Brown stayed upon

262 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

his farm and did not accumulate much wealth. Thoy met a
few years ago, and Eastman said to him, " Ed., if you had
gone out with me, you would have been well off by this
time." " Well," said Brown, " let us see, Tom, how it is
with you. You are out there with your millions. I want
to know whether you get more out of life than I do ? I have
a farm here ; I have brought up a fiimily of children who are
well-to-do in society, and my farm is all paid for ; I have all
the comforts of life, and do not have half as much trouble as
you do. Do you get any more out of life than I do?"
" Well," said Eastman, " I do not know. It is rather pleas-
ant to have plenty of money to do with." The next year
he met Brown, and said, " I have come to your conclusion,
that you get the most out of life." Now, that is the point,
to get the most out of life. You may go ahead and acquire
wealth, and you may reach a certain point, no matter where
it is. Perhaps when you started in life you thought if you
got a few thousand dollars you would be satisfied ; but you
are never satisfied with that ; and I want to say if there are
any young men here, do not think that when you get up to
a certain sum of money you will retire from business, be-
cause you will not do it ; if you do you will die, — you will
not live two years afterwards.

I want to say to you I have been in active business sixty
years, most of the time in farming, and now I am fool
enough to run a horse-railroad. I would not be idle for any
amount of money. I want to be doing something, and when
I die, I want to die with the harness on. I want to feel that
I have been worth something to this world. [Applause.] I
have never cared to amass wealth ; I want only enough to
live on. I have enough to get through with, and if I have
a dollar or two left I am going to give it to some charitable

O O o

institution. I mean to getihe most out of this life by going
along squarely and dealing justly. I want to leave a good
name behind me. That I would rather have than any monu-
ment. [Applause.]

I am not talking agriculture. I do not suppose you ex-
pected I would. I have been connected with our Board
since its organization, eighteen years, and have just been
appointed for another three years' term. I calculate to live

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 263

to serve many more years. But I must close. Let me say
once more that farmers' wives and farmers' daughters make
happy homes. There is no man that ever enjoyed a home
more than I have, and therefore I can speak from my own
experience. You may think I am telling a story ; but I am
eighty-one years old. [Applause.]

The Chairman. The remarks of our friend certainly have
a good ring to them. He is a young man, as you can see
and understand by his talk. I do not see anything to hinder
his living eighty-one years longer.

Mr. Humphrey. That is what I started for. I feel just
as well as I did when I was a boy. You know sometimes
we think these old fellows are old fools, and I do not know
but you think I am one. Still, I think my head is level
enough to run a horse-railroad and make money out of it.

The Chairman. I hope he will make money out of it,
for he has told us he is going to give it to charitable institu-
tions when he gets through.

The Chairman then called upon Mr. James Draper of
Worcester, late Acting Master of the National Grange, to
address the meeting.

REMAKES OF JAMES DRAPER.

I will take only a moment of your time, but there are two
items in this programme that have moved me. The first is,
that you have invited to grace this platform a woman to
speak to you upon this touching subject of farmers' wives
and daughters. The other is just this line on the closing
page, "The subjects for discussion on the last day are of
particular interest to Patrons of Husbandry, and they are
invited to be present, and take an active })art in the dis-
cussions." Now, Mr. Secretary, as representing the Order
of the Patrons of Husbandry for fourteen years in Massachu-
setts, I thank you for this invitation to be present and par-
ticipate in your discussions. I expect a better and higher
development of the agricultural interests of Massachusetts
from this union of efforts.

Now, a word or two in regard to this organization. I am
keenly aware that many of you, through ignorance, perhaps,

264 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

may be somewhat prejudiced against it ; but, let me say to
you, we are all working for the same grand end, — to im-
prove the farmer, to improve the farmers' homes, and,
through education and co-operation, to improve the farming
industry of this Commonwealth ; and not only of this Com-
monwealth, but of the nation. Twenty-two or three years
ago, at the close of the civil war, Mr. Newton was Commis-
sioner of Agriculture. His thought was upon that part of
the South where the devastating influence of war had swept
away all the prosperity of the former agriculture. He ap-
pointed a Mr. Kelly, then a clerk in the department of
agriculture, to visit the South. He went through that
country, and saw the desolation on every hand. What could
be done to encourage the disheartened and discouraged agri-
culturists? He put his mind to the work, came back to
Washington, met with those who had been interested in
agricultural matters, and suggested to them the idea that,
first of all, they must educate the people of the South. They
could not plant agricultural colleges there, but they could
gather the people together in some local associations, and
educate them in improved methods of agriculture, — in a
reconstructed agriculture, as it were ; because the slave
labor of the past must be replaced by the paid labor of the
freedman. How could they educate them ? They must have
some organization to do this, — a thorough one, State and
local; and, looking upon the history of associated efibrts in
years gone by, they conceived the idea of binding this people
together in a fraternal order, with a ritual. And, when they
were speaking of the South, the question was asked, "Why
confine it to the South? Why not make it national in its
scope?" And so they went on enlarging their ideas, until
they perfected a national order, — a strong fraternal body,
bound together with a ritual, whose whole object should be
to improve and benefit the tillers of the soil of Am'erica.
In that early day there was much to be overcome ; but they
were determined to carry forward their work, and the State
organization began, slowly working its way to the westward,
and this order increased with a rapidity second to no other
in the world. But they made a mistake. The politicians
and sharpers thought there was an opportunity to run it

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 265

as a political and money-making machine, and it had to go
through a purging process ; and from this time on the work
has gone forward on a sure basis. What is the secret of our
strength? First, a strong fi'aternity. The history of the
world tells us that the fraternal orders have stood next to
the Church of God. They are one of the safeguards of this
country, and so we have bound ourselves together with cer-
tain rites and ceremonies.

In its very inception the question was raised. What
about the farmers' wives and daughters? And a Mrs.
Carrie Hall, then in Washington filling a clerkship in
one of the departments, suggested, " If you are going to
admit the ladies, why not admit them on an equality with
men?" The idea was adopted at once, and it was decided
that women should be admitted in this order on an equality
with the men, entitled to every position that men are entitled
to, being admitted to the councils, and helping carry on the
work in all ways. And to women to-day we owe the sta-
bility and purifying influence of our order.

Our work is not familiar to all of you, I see many fa-
miliar faces, and we feel that it should be better known. It
must occur to you, that, to bring about results, there must be
thorough organization. You are doing a noble work, mem-
bers of the State Board, in your meetings once or twice a
year. You are doing a good work in your institutes, but
there is nothing to bind you together in strong eifort for
aggressive work. We may have, perhaps, one hundred
subordinate granges in Massachusetts. We are required by
our laws to hold monthly meetings, but some of the granges
meet bi-monthly, many weekly ; and we place our five thou-
sand meetings held annually in the hill towns of Massachu-
setts against your few field meetings. Hence, when the
time comes for us to work, we work understandingly and
unitedly, and determined to win. Here is an illustration.
A question came up in the United States Congress on the
oleomargarine law. We heard of it here in New England,
and the masters of the State granges of New England
assembled in Boston and discussed the matter. We decided
that we would send a communication to Washington that
would mean what it said; and, in the name of forty

266 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

thousand oro-anized farmers of New England, we demanded
the passage of that bill. That meant something. If we had
sent it in the name of A, B, C and D, it would have passed
away ; but when we spoke of forty thousand organized farm-
ers of New England, they thought it was time to listen. I
might speak further of the work of this organization in shap-
ing national legislation as well as State, but I will not take
up your time. I do, however, wish to say to you, Mr.
Secretary, that we appreciate this innovation in your work
in giving us an opportunity to be heard, and assure you that
the State Grange of Massachusetts will ever be ready to co-
operate with you in every measure that shall help to purify
the politics of our State, that shall help to establish temper-
ance in our homes, and that shall help to build up and foster
Massachusetts agriculture. [Applause.]

The Chairman. Our essayist will be glad to answer any
questions which you may wish to put to her on the subject-
matter of the essay.

Mr. Myrick. I should like to ask how she solves the
hired-help question in the house ?

Mrs. Chase. I have never had any.

Mr. Mtrick. Well, Mr. Secretary and Mr. Chairman, let
me say that if every farmer was fixed the way Brother Chase
is, we should hear no complaint about farmir^ not paying.

The Chairman then invited any of the ladies present to
make remarks upon the topic before the meeting ; but, none
responding, he called upon Mr. H. A. Barton, Jr., of
Dalton, Master of the Massachusetts State Grange, to ad-
dress the meeting.

REMARKS OF H. A. BARTON, Jr.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, — It is a pleasure
to me to say a word or two here this morning, in connection
with the subject which has been so ably and so practically
placed before us in the address to which we have listened
with so much interest. As has been stated to you by the
Chairman of the meeting, within the past few days I have
pursued the duties of Master of the State Grange of Massa-
chusetts, and I hardly saw how I could spare the time to

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 267

attend this meeting ; but, as I looked at the programme and
saw that your Secretary had arranged for the Patrons of
Husbandry to be represented here, I felt I must at least try
to meet you ; and I wish also to thank him, and the members
of the State Board of Agriculture, for opening the way, as
they have here to-day, and for inviting our co-operation in
working for our farmers. Let us farmers try to have this
spirit ; let us try to see to it, that, as farmers, in the Grange,
in the State Board of Agriculture, and in our State Agricul-
tural College and Experiment Station, we do all that we can
to unite our efforts, and work solidly together to build up
and assist the agricultural part of our State. As we look
over our State to-day, we see thousands of acres upon which
there is not a hoof of cattle or sheep. These are subjects
which come before us for our consideration, and which we
should try earnestly to meet.

In regard to the subject which has been so ably presented
to us here, I also take an earnest interest ; for the success
which has attended the efforts that have been made to edu-
cate the farmers throughout the country, is due to the mothers
and daughters with whom we have been associated. The
influence which has gone out from those homes, and their
influence in our meetings, has tended to refine and elevate
them, and raise their homes to a standard which we would
never have equalled had it not been for their influence and
their associations at those meetings. I will not weary you
with further remarks at this time, because there are sisters
here whom we would wish to hear, as well as some men whom
we would like to hear from upon this subject. While the
paper was being read, which was so interesting to me, there
came to my mind a few lines I read in a paper the other day,
and I will try to repeat them ; but, before doing so, I will say
that as agriculturists we cannot expect to be millionnaires.
We must be satisfied with a moderate income, and must try
to enjoy the pleasures of our home life, must try to make our
homes pleasant, and make the best of what God has given us
to use.

" Give me that home where kindness seeks

To make that sweet which seemeth small ;
Where every lip in fondness speaks,

And every mind hath care for all.

268 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Whose inmates dwell in glad exchange

Of wishes free from vain expense ;
Whose wants beyond their means ne'er range,

Nor wise denials give offense."

The Chairman. I see in front of me Mr. Benjamin P.
Ware of Marblehead, a member of the State Board. I think
the members have not had much to say in regard to farmers'
wives and their homes, and I hope he will speak for the
Board.

REMARKS OF B. P. WARE.

Mr. Ohairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Fellow Far-
mers,— I did not expect to be called upon on this occasion,
although I have been connected with the Order of Patrons
from almost its beginning in this State, and have been asso-
ciated with them, with my most hearty interest, all of this
time. I am in full sympathy with what has been said here
to-day, and I am delighted that there has been presented to
you a specimen of the result of the work of the Grange.
That lady who has presented to you such an able essay, you,
I dare say, would never have heard from, were it not for the
influence of the Grange. She has shown to you what you
may reasonably expect in selecting the daughter of a far-
mer's wife for a wife for yourself. She has pictured to you
a being that perhaps some of you, my young friends, may
feel that there is danger of taking to herself wings and flying
away ; but do not have any such fear, for, if you anticipate
the pleasure of heaven hereafter, if you would have a taste
of it here on earth, take to yourselves one of those beings
that have been so ably described here ; and in no other
way, in my opinion, will you come so near enjoying on earth
the pleasures of heaven.

I believe in the great influence that this State Board of
Agriculture has exerted upon the farmers of Massachusetts
in the line of agriculture. I believe in the great influence
for the agriculturist that comes through farmers' clubs and
farmers' institutes. They are all doing a great and good
work ; but there is no organization of agriculturists that
does the complete work for the farmer, the farmer's wife, the
farmer's daughter and the farmer's son, that the Grange is
doing, has done and ever will do, if it continues true to the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 269

principles under which it was first established. It has been
said here that next to the Church of God there is no influence
equal to that of the Grange. That is true in my opinion.
I believe that the Grange makes the practical application of
Christian principles. I was glad to hear my friend on the
right say that this life was for us to get what we could
out of it ; not to see how much money we can make, but to
see how much good we can do, not to ourselves alone, but
to our neighbors ; and if we do good to our neighbors, we
shall certainly do good to ourselves, and in that way we are
settins: the most out of this life. But we cannot get the
most out of this life as farmers, unless we become Patrons
of Husbandry. I speak from actual knowledge. But this
is not the time to make a canvass for the growth of our
Order, — that is not what we are here for ; but it is no harm
to show you what good may come from the Grange in con-
nection with other agricultural institutions for the benefit of
the farmer and farmer's family. I am glad, sir, that you
thought of the Grange, and gave opportunity for a word
being said in its favor, because it gives us an opportunity to
bring to the front our wives and daughters and sisters. I do
not know but all of us farmers had a true and full apprecia-
tion of the importance and value of the women in the far-
mers establishment ; but to-day it has been depicted in such
living and vivid colors that we must go home with a renewed
love for our own wives and daughters, if it is possible to
increase it.

Recess until one o'clock.

Afternoon Session.
The meeting was called to order at 1.45, when the Chair-
man introduced Mr. J. M. Hubbard of Middletown, Conn.,
who read the following paper, upon "The Uses of Associa-
tion by and among Agriculturists." Before beginning to
read his paper, however, Mr. Hubbard said : —

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, — Before I pro-
ceed to read the paper which I have prepared for this occa-
sion, I desire to say one or two earnest words in appreciation
of the essay which concluded the morning's exercises. All

270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

of you appreciated it. No one could listen to it without
appreciating it. Its truths were timely and wise, and the
form and manner of its presentation were so finished and
perfect that it sent those truths home to our hearts, and I am
sure that good will come from it. Its thought ran somewhat
in the same lines of my own in preparing this paper, so that
it serves in some measure as an introduction to what I have
to say, and I am glad of it for that reason ; but, on another
account, it places in strong contrast the comparative rudeness
and imperfection of my own work. I trust, however, you will
pardon me. I am glad that, if the audience of this morning
had to make their selection between Mrs. Chase's essay and
my own, they chose hers, for they chose wisely in so doing.

THE USES OF ASSOCIATION BY AND AMONG
AGRICULTURISTS.

BY J. M. HUBBARD OF MIDDLETOWN, CONN.

Association is a means to an end. It does not create force,
but it concentrates, directs and makes efiective the force which
would otherwise be wasted. It is to individual power what
the enclosing walls and directing machinery of the boiler and
engine are to the expansive force of a single drop of water
converted into steam.

Gathering many drops together, holding them firmly, di-
recting their force wisely, great and good works are accom-
plished. Left without concentration and control, the same
force is dissipated and lost.

The importance of this principle must have commanded
recognition at a very early period in the history of the human
race. Indeed, such recognition seems to have been instinc-
tive. Not only is there no record on parchment or monument
which hints of a time when association among men for the
security of life and of its desirable possessions was not prac-
ticed, but among the lower forms of life as well, there seems
a clear perception of the benefits of association. Birds flock
together for their long migrations, wolves hunt in packs, and
the grazing animals roam in herds for society and mutual
protection.

But, while association is a recognized necessity of rude
conditions and low forms of life, it is not characteristic of

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 271

them. On the contrary, it becomes more pronounced and
pervasive as life climbs upward to higher forms and more
affluent conditions. For, while life is wonderfully flexible,
adapting itself to its surroundings with great facility, and
while the heirs of the ages are the richer because of what
past generations have accumulated for them, still the essence
of life remains the same under all conditions and through all
mutations.

Life is a battle-field ; and, while civilization has modified
the conditions of strife and changed somewhat its arena, the
fact of strife remains. The universal reign of peace is still
the dream of the enthusiast, visible only in the dim future,
an uncertain prospect ; and, I may add, a doubtful good.

It could not have taken the most sluggish intellect long to
perceive that in this strife the one who stood alone was
doomed to defeat and early extinction. Two are stronger
than one ; many are more powerful than few ; and, in a com-
bination for defense, what each does for all the rest, he does
for himself as well. And, following very closely in the foot-
steps of this idea of personal security through association,
there must have come the idea of territorial security. So
long as antagonistic groups of men claimed the same terri-
tory, security could be maintained only by constant readiness
to fight. But, if each such group occupied its own ground,
with defined limits and a conceded right, peace between
them might be maintained so long as these territorial rights
were regarded. Upon these two closely related ideas of
personal security and territorial integrity, established and
maintained through association, the wonderfully varied and
complex structure of human government has been built.
These are the strong foundations which bear up this all-com-
prehending, involuntary association, which the rudest forms
of social life cannot do without, but which finds its widest
scope and shows its best type where civilization is most
advanced. Until human government was established, life
could have been but little more than mere existence. But,
where a degree of security had been established which would
permit the growth of the arts of peace, and life began to take
on breadth and variety, other associations became necessary
for the development and expression of the fuller life. And

272 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

I think that among the earliest of these must have come
religious associations.

However much we may diflfer in our theology, no serious-
minded person can ignore or belittle the religious element
in human nature. The associations of men in which this
element has been the controlling one stand second only
to governmental associations in the influence they have
exercised over human life and action. I here make
mention simply of the fact, reserving comment until a later
period.

History informs us, that, as life became specialised and
skill developed, as manufactures grew and commerce arose,
and men united in the same governmental and religious asso-
ciations separated into groups, according to their several
avocations, the common interests and mutual antagonisms
inseparable from such a condition of things called into exist-
ence a group of associations, each designed to protect the
interests of an industrial class. The guilds, so prominent
and useful in Europe a few centuries since, are examples of
associations of this nature, and, with those already men-
tioned, give us historic illustrations of the three groups into
which nearly all associations of men may be gathered. They
are those which relate to government, those in which the
religious or benevolent element is the controlling one, and
those which stand for the interest of a group or class. Leav-
ing out of view for the present the associations peculiar to
the present age, I wish to ask your attention to a few charac-
teristics of those which are historical.

Note this first. All associations which meet a permanent
need, and so endure from generation to generation, take on
organization. They become bodies. A directing head
crowns them ; a pulsating heart beats within them, and keeps
the life-current in circulation. They rush out with arms,
and grasp with hands ; and we can in no way so well de-
scribe their function and action as to use the terms of life and
the bodily organism. Now, to meet a common danger, men
might temporarily associate themselves, to separate as soon
as the danger had been averted. But, finding soon that dan-
ger is a constant attendant of life, they learn to make their
association permanent by organization. They gain not only

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 273

permanence in this way, but effectiveness as well. Associa-
tion accumulates power, but organization provides for its
wise expenditure.

Note, secondly, that all these associations, while formed
for good uses, may be and have been turned aside to those
which are evil. Human governments have expended their
force in tyranny over their own, and violence to other people,
which no principle of right can sanction or excuse. Religious
associations have shown a peculiar susceptibility to fall under
the dominion of hate, rather than love ; and the record of
their misdeeds is long and black. And the voluntary associa-
tions, formed for the guardianship of important interests,
have not kept their record clear from well-founded charges
of perversion of power to others' injury. It is so easy to
pass from defence of one's own rights to assault upon the
rights of others ; so difficult to halt the movement at the true
line of demarkation, and restrain the eager impulse of human
nature to push its advantage to the utmost. The sense of
power is an exhilaration .to him who wields it ; and history
shows on many of her pages how easily this exhilaration
passes to the delirium of intoxication.

Note, next, that after frank and full statement of all the
evils wrought by the misdirection of the power of association,
an immense balance of good still remains to its credit.

It is either the fault or misfortune of history that it occu-
pies itself so largely with the strifes of nations and individuals.
The picture which it paints becomes in this way distorted.
It puts the drama of war upon the stage in full cast and
with all the accessories, while peaceful, happy home life
is something between the acts. "Happy," says the old
proverb, "that nation whose history is brief." Meaning,
Happy that nation the story of whose strifes is brief. But,
if it were possible to put on record the story of myriads of
useful individual lives, of unnumbered happy family groups,
of neighborhoods, of states and nations in peaceful activity,
made possible all of them by the association of men in gov-
ernmental organizations, the showing of history would be a
very different one. The anarchists who would cure the inci-
dental evils of government by the destruction of its entire
fabric, are either under a horrible delusion or are malignant

274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

enemies of their kind. And not less mistaken are those who
war upon religious associations because of the bigotry and
tyranny which these have so often manifested.

The work of these associations, in elevating and purifying
thought and conduct, and in sustaining humanity under sore
trials by means of faith in a loving Heavenly Father and in
a spiritual life supplementing this mortal life, will a thousand
times outweigh the evils they have wrought, stated at their
utmost.

And I think the same thing is true in general of the mis-
cellaneous class associations, which we are, perhaps, too apt
to think of as selfish and narrow, and not calculated to do
good work. In the order of progress, narrowness precedes
breadth ; and, if an organization be not in its influence nar-
rowing, it is no valid criticism of it to say that it is narrow.
It is its tendency, not its absolute condition, by which it
must be justified or condenmed. We learn the grand lesson
of brotherhood little by little. We can find room in our
hearts at first for but few, and those must be in some way
very close to us. It is the exercise of brotherliness which
opens our eyes and warms our hearts and widens our scope
of fraternal feeling. Any association which gives brotherly
love a chance to work, even in a limited sphere, is doing
good.

And, while the word selfish, as we use it, has a bad sound,
we must remember that a true regard for self is not only not
bad, but it is one of the first and most important duties laid
upon any one. To provide for one's self; within reasonable
limits to assert one's self; to find one's place and to occupy
it, if need be to crowd an intruder out of it ; to grasp the
equipment necessary for his work, — all these have reference
to self, and may perhaps be classed as selfish actions. But
they are right, every one of them ; and he who fails therein
is responsible for a blunder, if not guilty of a wrong. It is
no objection to an association that a true self-regard and
a justifiable self-interest are among the objects it seeks to
promote.

I believe that the final verdict upon the work of all these
associations must be this, — They have wrought well. Gor-
ernments, churches, trade associations, and most of the mis-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 275

cellaneous benevolent and social organizations, seem to me
essential parts of the machinery of progress. Life is uplifted
and enlarged by their agency. Never in the world's history
have they been so numerous, so active and so powerful as
now. Every sign of the times points to their continuance
and increase ; and those who would do their part of the
world's work need to use the most effective machinery in
existence.

I wish now to notice another very general characteristic
of these associations. They all do, with more or less
efficiency, the work for which they are designed, but they
do not stop with that. They do other work ; and this un-
planned and unforeseen outcome of their action is sometimes
of greater importance than any other. In general, it may be
said that men form associations to expend their force outside
themselves, upon some resisting body or against some oppos-
ing force. But the disciplining force of association com-
mences instantly to work upon its own members, and this
work is never for one moment intermitted. Without inten-
tion, almost without consciousness, men in association with
each other are being wrought upon by a transforming force,
which produces such change that we can hardly imagine what
sort of creature an isolated human being wou.d be. Of one
thing we may be sure, — he would be immeasurably inferior
to the associated man. This indirect, unplanned, almost
unnoticed, work of association, is not only great, but good
as well. The ideal man is never the one who stands alone,
but always he who stands in the ranks of the great army of
humanity, battling there for dominion over the forces of
nature, and for conquest over the powers of evil. It would
hardly be in common humanity to subject itself to this dis-
ciplining force, but for the need to use the power of associa-
tion in external relations. Here, as in many other matters,
those who work for good ends accomplish other and better
things than those which came into their plan. Those who
build well, build always better than they know.

In the campaign of life there are truces and treaties, but
never such a lasting peace as will permit us to lay our armor
down and disband our forces. We would gladly do so, if
we might. We hate to be always on guard ; we thoroughly

276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

dislike drill and discipline ; and we heartily wish that things
were so ordered that we might have what we want without
fighting for it. But the world is not framed and managed
to suit our wishes in this respect. We need not join in the
apotheosis of strength. We know that might does not make
right, and yet we must recognize the truth, that there are
rights which belong to strength and do not belong to weakness.

There is a foundation in justice for that seemingly harsh
law, that "unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he
shall have abundance : but from him that hath not shall be
taken away even that which he hath." Neither individual man
or classes of men have any title to opportunities and privi-
leges which they have not proved their ability to hold and
use. If left in unworthy or incapable hands, a wrong is done
not only to those who could and would use what they but
listlessly hold, but also to the great interests of humanity,
for which all powers are to be used and all privileges exer-
cised. The law of the "survival of the fittest," harsh as
some of its operations may seem, is not inconsistent with the
law of love. Both spring from the same Divine Source, and
love can find scope to work only as power is lodged in fit
and capable hands.

Suppose for a moment that the resources of the world were
lodged permanently in incompetent hands. Suppose that
this continent had been left to the Indians, as some senti-
mentalists would seem to think should have been done.
Suppose that everywhere incapacity had been allowed to
hold the key to earth's resources, refusing or neglecting to
perform for humanity the service of unlocking these resources,
and preventing others, able, ready and willing, from render-
ing this service The wrong, the evil, the shame of such a
situation would have cried from earth to heaven, and com-
pelled a change. Limitations are defined by opposing forces,
reaching at length a condition of equilibrium. This is true
when nature is inanimate and force is blind ; tnie also of all
forms of life and consciousness ; true of nations and true of
smaller groups ; true of individuals. Room to grow and
scope to work belong to those who can fill the room and do
the work. The prizes of life, in all its walks — in business,
in literature, in science, in oratory — belong to those who,

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 277

by virtue of superior ability, can take them ; and who, in
taking them, wrest them away from the weaker contestant,
as really as victory is wrested from the weaker side in battle.
The silver-tongued orator who declaims against war and
pleads for universal peace, is victor on a field of strife as
truly as is the soldier whom he denounces.

It is right that this should be so. By this method of selec-
tion humanity is served in the most important matters by
those best fitted for such service. We know no other way
to single out these servants and give their work into their
hands. And it is only when these questions of supremacy
are settled that we come to an abiding peace. Our own late
civil war furnishes a most striking illustration of the way to
peace through strife. Only those who participated in it, or
lived through those awful years in vital sympathetic connec-
tion with it, can form any conception of its horrors. But
we could not avoid it, — we could not escape it. That is
what we say who were on the side which won ; and those
who were on the side which lost say the same thing. Our
great commander's invocation, "Let us have peace," could
be uttered and answered after that tremendous struggle had
been fought out to the bitter end. But its results will justify
it. All its cost is to be repaid many times over, not alone
to those who won, but to those who lost, as well.

I am now to apply these general considerations to the
questions raised by the theme assigned me. How does the
farmer stand related to this principle of associated life and
work? Should he make use of it, or no? If yes, to what
extent, under what limitations, through what forms, and by
what rules ?

To the first question, an affirmative answer must be given.
I anticipate no dissent in this matter. The farmer cannot
neglect an agency capable of producing results of such im-
portance to himself and to the great interests committed to
his charge. Just think of it a moment. Agriculture is the
mother of all industries ; and, although the children to whom
she has given birth and nurture have grown to vigorous matur-
ity, the mother-industry still equals in importance all others
put together. In this country, agriculture gives employment
to half the population ; and here, as elsewhere, the work she

278 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

does is the essential work. What seem to some the hard
conditions of the farmer's life, may drive you and me out of
it into something which offers greater attractions : but, if we
desert, our places must be filled by new recruits. The farm-
ing class must continue, and it is of the highest importance
that its work be well done. It holds, as no other class does,
the welfare of the whole community in its hands. It should
be equipped for good work. All the powers and privileges
which it can rightly use, all the attractions and compensations
to which it is fairly entitled, it should demand and receive.

Agriculture is more than a business. It is a life. Men
employed in other avocations can make the separation
between their business and their life very nearly complete.
They can go home and leave their business behind them.
Not so the farmer. His home must be with his business.
His business must come into his home, and those who share
his home must also be his partners in business, if it is to be
successful. This fact must be taken note of in framing asso-
ciations for his especial use. They must be so framed as not
only to promote his business prosperity, but also to con-
tribute to the fulness and satisfaction of home life for him
and his.

What should be the relation of the farmer to the govern-
ment under which he lives? His membership in this great
association is not a matter of choice with him. He comes
into it, as do its other members, by the avenue of birth, and
he can withdraw only through the solemn portals of death.
While he lives he is a member ; and the query is. What
does this membership mean to him, and how should he
use it?

I venture to use here, for purpose of illustration, a recent
incident in my own experience. At a reunion last spring of
the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut, there was de-
volved upon me the pleasant duty of responding to this senti-
ment, " The Farmer Soldier." The tcme of the meeting had
been light and joyous ;. but this theme took such possession
of me that I could not treat it lightly. So far as my own
observation went, so far as other sources of information sup-
plemented it, our army in the late war was very largely an
army of farmers. I believe this to be true of patriotic

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 279

and defensive armies everywhere and at all times. They
come from the nation's farms. For the nation's life they
offer, and if need be, sacrifice their own. Their work done,
the survivors go back to their silent, inconspicuous lives,
and are too soon forgotten. Seeking for the philosophy of
this fact, it seems to me that the common phrase, " The
land we love," does have a special weight of meaning for
the class who own the land, live upon it, work upon it, study
it, develop its resources, and from those resources feed and
clothe the world. If there be something in this thought, and
the farmer does indeed have especial reason to love his
country, to stand for its defence in time of danger, and to
die for it if need be, it would seem to follow that he ought
to exercise the full measure of control which belongs to him
and the government of that country. I most thoroughly
believe that to do this is his privilege and his duty as well.
In this land of freedom, where the conduct of government
is committed to the people, such control must be exercised
largely through the agency of political parties. These great,
loosely organized, voluntary associations of voters, of which
but two worthy of the name can co-exist, should represent
the progressive and conservative tendencies of the public
thought. I do not believe in a farmers' party. There is no
room for it, and class interest is far too narrow a basis for
such an association. The farmer may belong to either the
progressives or conservatives ; but, in the party of which he
is a member, he should be a force. He should meet therein
the representatives of every class interest upon equal terms,
and exercise that measure of control to which the number
and importance of his class entitle him.

There are two general principles or methods of controlling
the action of a political party. One is to guide it aright
through forethought and influence exerted at the right mo-
ment, as the skilful horseman guides his team by constant
touch of rein. The other method attempts no guidance, but
visits each departure from what is deemed the right course
with crippling punishment. While this last method may
sometimes prove effective, it has no other recommendation.
Important public interests are endangered by it, and at best
it is cruel and unskilful.

280 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

It is a commendable thing to vote aright ; or, with ample
measure of caution, not to vote wrong. But the act of
voting is a choice of alternatives ; and it is a matter of the
highest importance that the issues upon which one is to vote
be formed aright. The farmer should do his full part, not
only in contributing by his vote to the success of the party
of his choice at the polls, but also in the more important
work of influencing the course which his party shall take,
and determining the attitude which it shall assume with ref-
erence to great questions of public policy. I think we may
go farther than this, and of right may, and in duty ought, to
insist upon reasonable and just recognition in the distribu-
tion of the honors and emoluments of public station.

The most eflfective administration of the business of gov-
ernment may require that in a great number of positions,
whose occupants are strictly employees, and whose duties
are ministerial or mechanical, skill and experience in the
performance of these duties shall be prime qualifications ;
and, so far, an office-holding class may be recognized. But,
so far as those positions are concerned which really direct
the policy of the government, no office-holding class can be
tolerated in a government " of the people, for the people,
by the people." And no great class of citizens can be
refused a reasonable recognition in the distribution of these
positions, without wrong to itself and injury to the interests
it is set to guard. No such class has any business to sub-
mit to this exclusion. Without question, it is the privilege
not only, but the duty as well, of the farmers, to use the
power which their numbers give to secure for themselves
recognition in public station, as well as to give right direc-
tion to public policy. I rejoice to see, in the formation of
local political clubs of a permanent character, a movement
toward a more orderly and responsible direction of party
action. Through the machinery of these clubs, where they
exist, and through such other agencies as may be available,
I urge farmers to take that share in the direction of public
afiairs to which their numbers and importance entitle them.

How shall I treat the relation of the farmer to religious
associations ? I do not stand upon this platform to preach
to you. I do not wish to impose my theology upon any one,

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUIVIENT — No. 4. 281

or to proselyte any one to my church. I have spoken of
religious associations, not for the sake of thrusting upon you
a subject which does not belong to this discussion, but be-
cause I could not leave it out without marring my theme.
Religion cannot be kept out of life without crippling and
degrading life. Its expression may be almost infinitely
varied, and its philosophy subject to great changes ; but the
religious element in man's nature remains steadfast throuofh
all variations, and I'equires association for its right expres-
sion and healthy development. I certainly could not advise
any farmer to strangle or starve the religious element in his
nature. I believe in churches and the public worship of
Almighty God. I believe in the religious observance of the
Sabbath day. No class in the community needs its rest in
all fulness more than does the farming class ; and it is only
when rest day is sacredly kept that it is most thoroughly
restful. The farmer who neglects to avail himself of religious
associations, who fails to connect himself with some religious
organization, and who does not make use of these means to
develop his spiritual faculties and to clarify his perception
of the reality of that unseen world, so close to which many
of his own every-day experiences bring him, is greatly the
loser by such neglect and failure.

Is there any need of a class association for farmers ? —
something which finds scope to work within the broad field
of the farmer's interest, and does not try to go outside of it ;
something selfish, perhaps, but, if so, not with a selfishness
which is narrowing or mean ; something which will lift up
the farmer's life, but not pull down any worthy interest ;
something which will put the farmer upon equal footing with
his competitors, enable him to do his best work, and secure
fair compensation for it. I have kept this question pretty
well in the background, but it is now time for it to come to
the front and receive attention. Do the special interests of
the farming class require association and organization for
their protection and furtherance ? Do the greater general
interests of the whole community which are placed in the
farmer's hands require that he shall employ the power of
association in the service demanded of him ? To my mind,
there can be but one answer to these questions. All the con-

282 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

siderations bearing upon the matter marshal themselves in
solid phalanx, and press forward to the one conclusion. The
tillers of the soil must have an association of and for them-
selves. They may make use of those associations which care
for the interest they hold in common with others, or which
express the feeling and thought of common humanity ; but,
in order that they may rightly use these, they imperatively
need an organization which shall be all their own. In this
they can find the training which will equip them for effective
service in other associations In it they can give the neces-
sary attention to their business interests, and, with the
advantages it furnishes, may meet the trader upon more
nearly equal terms than when isolated and unprepared.
Here, too, each individual farmer can find help for his own
particular battle ; for I think, in farming as in no other busi-
ness, the strife is individualized. It is, like the old Homeric
wars, a series of personal combats, instead of being, as in
modern warfare, mass against mass. Thus each farmer has
his own peculiar combination of adverse conditions to meet,
to fight, to conquer if he can. No one else can fight his
battle for him, but others can help him wondrously by the
stimulus of success in conditions different indeed, but no
harder than his own ; by the suggestion of principles and
methods capable of adaptation to his case ; and by the cheer
which comes from simple contact with others of like interests,
trials, difficulties and hopes. He needs the power of associa-
tion and the machinery of organization to bring this help to
him in adequate measure.

I have already spoken of the close relation existing be-
tween the farmer's business and the home life of himself and
family. The association which is to fit his needs must take
this fact into consideration, and serve him socially as well as
in his business interests and his relations as a citizen. Per-
haps there is no point in the whole circle of his needs where
the demand for relief is more imperative than here. Most
sorrowful indeed are the pictures, truthfully drawn, of the
isolation, the monotony, the round of unvarying and unre-
lieved drudgery with which the cup of life is filled to the
brim for the members of many farm households. We may
and do protest against the assumption that these are typical

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 283

farm homes, or that such harsh features and dark lines are
inevitable accompaniments of farm life. Their existence
may not be denied, but the necessity for them is denied.
But, if they do exist, and are not necessary, they ought to
be removed ; for, in themselves and in tkeir effects, they are
evil and hurtful. Not only do they sorely limit and mar the
lives into which they intrude themselves, but they cripple
the powers which should be used in the service of the public,
and thus the evil comes home to everyone. This condition
of things amounts to a disease in the social organism ; and,
medically speaking, association is the remedy indicated.

For the work we have to do, we need an association com-
bining the elements of permanence, strength and flexibility.
It must be permanent, for the dangers against which we
would guard are permanent in their nature. It must be
strong, for the work to be done is both great and difficult.
It should be flexible, for it must work under widely varying
conditions, and be operated by persons of every shade of
temperament and every grade of ability, and of the widest
possible range of differing opinion. To every one of these
it must present some attraction, to draw him within its en-
closure ; some tie to bind him there, some stimulus to make
him work, and results which will compensate him for all his
expenditure.

Is there in existence any association which proposes to do
the work thus outlined, which confronts these evils with
power of resistance and machinery of conquest, which finds
large acceptance with those whom it proposes to aid, and
which brings in its hands the fruits of its work to accredit
its claim to attention? If there be such an organization,
bringing good credentials, every farmer should give it audi-
ence. If its credentials are sufficient to establish its ability
to do the work we need to have done, then every farmer
should welcome its coming, as hard-pressed soldiers on the
field of battle welcome the coming of a strong reinforcing
column. And I think such an association should receive a
kindly welcome from good people in every walk of life. It
is not for the advantage of any one that farm life be emptied
of brightness and made repulsive to those whose tastes would
naturally lead them to adopt it, and whose ability and enter-

284 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

prise might work effectively therein for the good of all. But,
while a friendly interest in whatever is helpful to the agri-
cultural class may be wide-spread and very general, the bur-
den of maintaining an organization for the benefit of farmers
must fall upon themselves. The work is theirs, and none
else can, even if they desired, do it for them. Their help
must be self help. Out of the peculiar difficulties which
beset them, the formers must extricate themselves. The
obstructions found in their pathway they themselves must
remove. If they ask help, they must ask it as allies, and
not as dependents. They should not ask it at all, unless
fully prepared to do what they can for themselves, and to
render an equivalent for all the help they receive. If the
criticism were made that farmers as a class failed in vigorous
self-assertion, and in sturdy resistance where class interests
are threatened or invaded, I, for one, should feel obliged to
conceal the fact, though I might find, in the conditions which
surround the farmer's life, much of excuse for it. But I
want to be in such a position relative to this whole subject
that I shall not need to deal in excuses at all. I hate ex-
cuses. I neither enjoy making them myself or having them
made to me. They always imply failure, and you can never
be quite sure that they justify failure, or show that it was
inevitable. Failure can never be justified, so long as any
reasonable, practicable, obvious means of averting it remains
untried. Anything short of the highest success can be justi-
fied only by showing that every possible effort was made,
and vainly made, and every available agency pressed into
service, and found inadequate to attain it. Men must fail
sometimes ; but, if the hard necessity is upon one, let him
so fail as to be under no necessity of making excuses. For
a mean and narrow social life, for stingy contributions to
the public weal, for nerveless grasp and uncertain guidance
of public affiiirs, it will be hard for a class so strong in num-
bers and important in function as are the farmers of this
country, to make any acceptable excuse. And there ought
not to be any occasion for excuse. A mighty army in num-
ber, essential beyond all others in function, the farming class
has but to lay hold of the power of association and right
organization, and it will be equipped to give ample protec-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 285

tion to its own interests, and make thorough performance of
its work.

Of course equipment is vain unless used. Guns that are
never fired won't keep off the foe, no matter how good they
may be in themselves, or how perfect the condition in which
they may be kept. A mill full of the best machinery ever
constructed will accomplish nothing unless water is turned
onto the wheel, or fire built in the furnace of the engine that
is to drive it. A first-class equipment is magnificent, but it
must have power to impel it and care and skill to direct it.
I believe in good weapons for strife and good machinery for
work ; but I wish to guard, my every utterance against the
mistaken presumption that the best equipment is of any avail
unless intelligently and faithfully used. Those who come
into an association of any kind, and then stand idly by to see
how the thing is going to help them, are not the ones to get
good out of it or do good through it.

And now, good people all, who have heard me patiently
so fai-, please give me credit for all the self-denial it has cost
me to reach this point in my discourse without once uttering
the magical word "-grange." The time for that utterance
will be no longer deferred. The name comes into the dis-
cussion as the thing which it designates comes into the far-
mer's life, in the fulness of time. Long waiting preceded
it and prepared the way for it. Out of a brooding conscious-
ness of need, this measure of relief was brought at last to
life and light. I do not think it misnamed when I call it an
inspiration, meaning by that term nothing supernatural, but
something far more than the thought or the device of one
man or of a small group of men. In some such way as
Thomas Jefferson voiced the unspoken and perhaps uncon-
scious thought and purpose of a new-born nation ; in some
such manner as railroad, telegraph and telephone have come
in response to dimly perceived but real need ; in the way in
which, all through the ages, individuals or groups have
voiced the thought of dumb masses, or wrought the work of
relief for which the only demand was an unspoken need ; in
a way not exactly paralleled by any of these examples, but
illustrated by them all, the minds of a few men became pos-
sessed with the grand ideal of an organized brotherhood of

286 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

the tillers of the soil. The whole story of the Grange in-
dicates unmistakably that it is a growth rather than a con-
trivance. Its seed thought is that of brotherhood. This
was enlarged to take in the idea of sisterhood as well. Is
there a word in the English language which comprehends
both? If not, there ought to be, and this would be the
descriptive word to apply to the Grange. In its social rela-
tion and work the Grange recognizes fully the fact to which I
have already called your attention, that agriculture is a life
as well as a vocation. For all who share that life, she opens
wide her hospitable gates and spreads her bounteous table.
Manhood, womanhood, age, youth, wealth, poverty, those
to whom many talents have been intrusted, and those charged
with but few, so that they both be faithful users, — all sit
down to the wholesome feast of the Grange, and rise up fed and
strengthened. Her feasts which nourish the body fitly supple-
ment those by which the mental and moral natures of all who
come and partake are also nourished and strengthened.

But the Grange trains as well as feeds its membership. It
is not by any manner of means a fat animal show. Not
accumulation merely, but service, is the mark aimed at. The
Grange wants its members in good working condition, and
food and exercise are both designed to maintain this condi-
tion. If it did no other work than this, which is wrought
wholly within itself and upon its own membership, it would
be one of the grandest institutions of modern social life.

But, while the social stnicture and work of the Grange
constitute the heart of the organism, it has other noble
features, and sets itself to other important tasks. Next
in importance perhaps may be placed its helpfulness to the
farmer as a producer. Success in farming depends largely
upon close attention to details of management. Take a
representative group of farmers anywhere, and each one will
have some point of management in which he is superior to
all the others. Let them pool their skill, their knowledge, the
devices and practices which each has proved and found prof-
itable, and all will be benefited. Something of this sharing
of treasures and exchange of benefits goes on through the
agricultural press, and by means of the casual association of
farmers in agricultural societies and other organizations ; but

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 287

the diffusion of such information is immensely increased
by the close association and unity of interest provided for
in the Grange.

But this, too, as well as its social work, is all within the
Grange. We have not yet touched upon its exterior work.
And I confess that my own interest in this which I have
thus hastily sketched has been so absorbing that the external
work of the Grange has seemed comparatively unimportant.
It is not, however, absolutely unimportant, nor has it been
neglected. If my impressions are correct, it was the first
thought of its founders to bring the power of association to
bear upon the farmer's relation to the markets, as buyer and
seller. They felt keenly the disadvantages under which he
labored, and thought they saw in association a remedy for
them. The results have proved their judgment correct, and
justified their work. They thought, too, that by means of
organization and concentration public opinion might be
moulded, and legislation secured against evils which affected
not the agricultural class alone, but with them other pro-
ducers, and through them the great body of consumers.
They believed that the grip of monopoly upon the articles of
transportation must be relaxed, or no healthy, vigorous circu-
lation could be maintained. They believed that falsehood in
trade, working injury backward upon the producer and for-
ward against the consumer, should be the subject of legisla-
tive prohibition and penalty. The interstate commerce law
and the oleomargarine legislation of the several States and of
the United States stand as conspicuous expressions of this
thought. Both have been bitterly resisted and savagely
criticised ; and if indeed they are wrong in principle and
evil in their fruitage, much of the blame thereof must fall
upon the Grange, for it has done more than any other single
agency to bring them to pass. The Grange does not shrink
from this test. It believes firmly in the principle of the
control of monopolies by the government. It believes in
such supervision of trade as shall punish fraud, prevent
harmful adulteration of food, and protect not the purses
alone but the health as well of all consumers.

How trivial, in view of the work it has done and stands
ready to do, seem the objections urged against the Grange. I

288 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

note a few of them. It is a secret organization, and secrecy
may be a cover for evil practices. Very true ; and it may
be a shield for the purest and choicest treasures of humanity.
There are interests which we all instinctively keep thus
shielded. Individuals have memories and hopes which they
keep to themselves, or share with the very few whom they
wholly trust. The privacy of the family circle is a sacred
one. There is use as well as a misuse of secrecy, and some
of the choicest bloom and fruitage of life can be perfected
only under its sheltering veil. Used as the Grange uses it,
its fruits are good, and only good. Another objection to
the Grange is the expense of maintaining it. That it does
cost money to run it, is a fact, but not a valid objection.
All good things cost something. Some one has to pay for
every desirable possession. If not he who enjoys it, then
some other person must foot the bills always. But this fact
amounts to an objection only when it can be shown that cost
exceeds value. If what you procure is worth to you more
than what you give in exchange, and also worth more than
anything else you could procure for the same equivalent, the
only wise thing to do is to give the price and make the ex-
change. Now, the Grange usually returns in kind for more
than the money expenditure required for its maintenance ;
while of that which money cannot measure, its returns,
always liberal, are sometimes such as can hardly be exagger-
ated in statement.

The Grange costs to maintain it not only money, but time
and thought as well. And, in regard to these, the same rule
for selecting lines of expenditure prevail. "VYe want the best
return which can be had. Our capital is limited, ah, how
sternly ! We cannot afford to waste any of it. How can
we best use these precious years, days, moments, coming, as
they do, to us one by one, and never returning for use a
second time? Failure here is utter failure. We may lose
money, and still get along very well without it ; but, if we
waste time and thought, we are bankrupt indeed. And we
must use this capital in some manner. It cannot, like money,
be accumulated. It must be expended, if it is to do us or
anybody any good. Can the time and thought expended in
Grange membership and work be used to better advantage

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 289

elsewhere? I do not see how any one can answer Yes, and
justify his words. My answer is the other way.

It may be said that there is danger in the Grange. It is
liable to fall into the hands of bad men , l)e turned aside from
the beneficent uses for which it was designed, and its mis-
directed powers be made to work evil, I do not deny the
possibility of this. If any one requires of me a guarantee of
absolute security against a wrong use of the power of the
Grange, I shall decline to give it. I know of no other asso-
ciation in regard to which such guarantee could be given.
"Eternal vigilance" is the price, not of liberty alone, but
of most other good things as well. I invite farmers to join
the Grange and entrust their interests to its keeping, not as
passengers on board of a luxuriously appointed train, having
no relation to its movement except to pay their fare and be
carried to their destination. Themselves and their precious
interests will be carried safely, if the conditions of safety are
fulfilled. These conditions require that every person upon
whom a trust is devolved shall be faithful to that trust. On
board the Grange train, its members are not passengers alone,
but engineers, brakemen, switchmen and trackmen, as well.
They run the train, as well as ride upon it ; and, if it runs to
wreck, they alone are responsible. If this fact is an objec-
tion to the Grange, it is equally an objection to almost every-
thing else in life, and indeed to life itself. There is risk in
everything ; there is danger everywhere, and no escape from
its presence is possible. In that presence the cowardly
policy is the worst conceivable policy. Trying to run away
from its presence, we fall into its power. Facing it with
manly courage and vigilance, we may live in its presence and
resist or turn aside its power. " Out of the nettle danger
we pluck the rose of safety ; " and he who shrinks from the
nettle may never wear the rose.

My thought of the future of agriculture never makes the
farmer's life one of ease and luxury. It never dispenses
with the homely virtues of industry and economy. But it
does bring to the farmer just recognition and compensation.
I want the land upon which he works to recognize him as its
master, and yield to him from its store-house ample returns
for his toil. The land will recoffnize its master when he

290 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

comes. When farmers fairly conquer the land, they may
rule it,' but never until then. I want this compensation and
recognition to come also from the community in which the
farmer lives ; and I believe this, too, will come when fairly
conquered. When, therefore, I assume that the farmer of
to-day is without the compensation and recognition he ought
to receive, I do so for the purpose of stirring him to action,
and not in the way of weak complaint against any other class.
Agriculture must fight its own battles, and conquer and hold
what is of right its own. And it must use in this strife the
agencies which are calculated to win. It must use the power
of association. It must not be deterred by the inevitable risk,
nor by the necessary cost, nor by trivial criticism of details of
organization. It must go forward, even at the cost of some
mistakes, some losses, some defeats. It is a campaign, and
perhaps a long one, for which the forces of agriculture have
enlisted ; but who doubts that it will issue in victory ? Not
he who is in his place and doing his work.

I bring my discussion of the subject to a close at this
point, admonished as I am by these accumulating pages that
I have already overstepped the limit of time allotted me.
But, until now, I have seen no point at which I could stop
without very incomplete treatment of the theme. And I
am keenly aware that much might still be added, not only to
the extent but also to the force of my argument. But I do
not know that I care, even if it were possible, so to treat the
subject that nothing would remain to be said. I wish rather
to start trains of thought which you yourselves will conduct
to their right destination. I am not overmuch anxious that
you should agree to all that I have advanced. Not without
critical examination of it in the crucible of your own minds,
would I wish you to accept any of it. But if, after severe
tests, you do find that it contains the pure gold of truth,
rough and unsightly though the enclosing ore may be, then
I ask you to take that truth to your hearts ; let it work out
its appropriate fruit in your lives, and pervade with its
blessings all the communities in which you dwell.

The Chairman. The subject is open for discussion, or for
questions to be asked. I see Mr. Ely of Holyoke is here ;
we would be pleased to hear from him.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 291

REMARKS OF MR. ELY.

Mr, President and Gentlemen : — I am a little surprised
at being called up, but do not be under any misapprehension
or any fear of consequences, because I do not propose to
talk to you except to say how thoroughly I indorse the paper
that has been read to you. It is a noble paper, and full of
truth. I believe in the Grange. I do not belong to one at
present, because the material from which the Grange has to
be made does not seem to exist in my section, but I believe
it to be a good thing. I am going over to South Hadley
Falls and join their Grange, if they will let me in. I was in
a Grange long ago. I do not know just when it started. If
it has not been any particular help to me morally and intel-
lectually, it has been a great pleasure to me. I well recollect
how proud I was, at the meeting of the first State Grange I
attended, to see the body of men collected together from the
old State of Massachusetts, all the way from the place where
that arm stretches into the Atlantic back to the hills of Berk-
shire. There were men there with whom I was proud to be
associated. I said then, if you could put that body of men
right into the State Legislature, it would greatly improve
our legislation. There is not a town in this Commonwealth
which would not be improved by having its young men
belong to a Grange. I thoroughly approve of all that has
been said. I did not get up to take your time, but just be-
cause your Chairman made a mistake in calling upon me.

The Chairman. I wish I could make another mistake
equally as. good. I shall now ask State Master Barton to
speak to us for a few moments.

REMARKS OF H. A. BARTON, Jk.

As T stated this morning, it is a pleasure forme to be here
and listen to the paper which has been presented to us, and
the thoughts which have been given to the farmers that are
gathered here ; and with all my heart I can indorse the prin-
ciples which the speaker has presented, for I well remember
the time when I first joined the Grange, and I know well the
benefit it has been to me. If there is one thing more than

292 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

another that I woukl like to have you carry with you from
here to-day, it is this one thought — and not in regard to the
Grange alone, l^ut in regard to the State Board of Agricul-
ture— which I forgot to state this morning, and that is,
that we have })erhaps half of our membership composed of
mothers and daughters ; and I believe if there is one thing
more than another that would raise the standard of the State
Board of Agriculture, it is this : that, when a man is elected
from an agricultural society from any part of the State as a
member of the State Board of Agriculture, his wife should
also be a member, and occupy in a measure the same posi-
tion. You would see this hall filled to-day wilh ladies, and
with gentlemen too, young and old, if every member of the
State Board of Agriculture had his wife with him here to-
day. If your invitation included the ladies, they would
appreciate it ; l)ut I fear they feel that it is a body of men
simply, and they are not welcome, — not because the invita-
tion has not been given, but because they feel there is no
place for them. If at our State Board of Agriculture meet-
ings we could have the ladies with us, and have such papers
presented as we had this morning, it would help carry for-
ward the work of agriculture in our State I am glad
because of that feature in our Grange. The power of organi-
zation I do not believe is half appreciated by the farmers in
the State ; and to-day, if the farmers would realize that they
can be united throughout the State, half a million dollars
could be saved to them in one month. Last year, by coming
together and buying our corn, we saved a large sum of
money, compared with what it would have cost us if we had
bought it of the regular dealers. The dealers afe not to
blame, for they only charge you a proper increase where
they deal out the grain in small quantities, and somebody
gets grain he does not pay for. Now, no matter Avhether
grain is high or low, if vou would arrange with your own
dealer in your county and buy it by the carload, you could
save three dollars a ton, and forty-five dollars a carload,
fifteen tons in a car. Last year we saved six dollars a ton
in buying as we did. You will not see this year the ad-
vance in grain equal to that of last year, because this year
there is an immense crop ; but you could make a saving by

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 293

buying your grain by the carload, and not of regular dealers.
How can this be accomplished ? Through the organization
of the Grange. It can be accomplished through any other
organization, if you had the opportunity to bring men to-
gether to arrange it. For instance, if you want perhaps five
tons of grain, you do not feel like running all over town to see
who wants five tons more ; but if you have a meeting where
it is stated upon the programme that you will call upon
farmers who want to buy grain, they will come together, and
you can see who wants to buy. And I wish the sentiment
might go out from this meeting, that it is of vast importance
to organize, even for this one object alone. It can be done,
and it should be done ; and you could save enough on your
winter's grain to enable you to go to Boston with your wife
and buy a good dress for your wife or daughter. This
result can be obtained, if the farmers will work together.

Mr. S. A HiCKOX was then called upon, and he ad-
dressed the meeting as follows : —

EEMARKS OF S. A. HICKOX.
Ladies and Gentlemen : — This call is very unexpected to
me, but, in regard to the matter before us, I do not wish to
seem to be unwilling to bear testimony. It seems to me that
this meeting of the State Board of Agriculture has been a
success, and first I wish to congratulate our Secretary for the
good judgment he has shown in the arrangement of the pro-
gramme ; namely, in so getting it up that the papers have not
consumed all the time. There has been a good opportunity
for discussion ; and though we find that there would have been
more discussion if there had been more time, we have made
quite an improvement on the programme of last year. In
regard to the paper of this forenoon, that was presented so
ably by Mrs. Chase, it seems to me that she gave us a true
picture of the qualities that constitute a home on the farm ;
and though I do not feel that I can add to that picture, yet I
would like to emphasize those ideas, and carry those thoughts
with me to my home and see if I cannot use them there.
Now, home on the farm, brothers and sisters, is a home to
be desired. There we have the stock, the diiferent kinds of

294 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

animals, we have the blooming fields and all the opportunities
that the country gives, and have them for twelve months in
the year, as the essayist called to our attention this forenoon.
The people from the city have them for two or three or four
weeks, and consider that a great opportunity ; but we have
them for twelve months, and can enjoy them and develop
our minds and our muscles, and bring forth results in the
fields that people from the city and country alike will come
forward and compliment. I esteem it a privilege to live in
the country, and to be the head, if you please, of a country
home.

Now, a home in the country, as well as in the city, must
have a center, and the center of the home should be the
housewife and mother. It is necessary for the body to have
a head. Is it not as necessary that it should have a heart?
That good mother in the home represents the heart of that
home. She should represent it, and we should do those
things that will assist her in bringing out those other features
that the essayist mentioned this forenoon. It seems to me
that, while these facts have been brought so vividly before us
this morning, it is our opportunity to profit by them, and
carry them with us to our homes in the country ; and I cor-
dially indorse that suggestion of the gentleman a moment
ago, that we bring our wives into these meetings of the Board
of Agriculture. I believe that it is one of the ways to
strengthen these meetings, and make them more beneficial.

Now, I hope you will pardon me, but I wish to say one
word more. I believe the day is coming when we shall have
such homes on the farm as were pictured to us this morning,
and I believe they will be brought about largely through the
influence of such organizations as were described in Mr.
Hubbard's paper, where the families of the farmers of the
State may come together, and become cognizant of the privi-
leges and opportunities they may enjoy, and of the difiiculties
they have to overcome. If we can intelligently understand
the difficulties, it is more than half the work of overcoming
ihem. I have been in the Grange but a short time compara-
tively, but I find it is a benefit to the farmer, and I believe
it is your privilege to join it and be profited thereby. I be-
lieve it is your duty as a farmer to come forward and enjoy

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 295

the benefits which the Grange will bring to you and your
family. We are meeting the different combinations of the
country, and if you think that you are smart enough to meet
these organizations alone and keep yourselves whole, why,
you will go on until yau find that you cannot. I am convinced
that I cannot meet them successfully, and I believe that none
of us are able to meet them alone. Let us join together and
meet them. Never let us give up our industries nor our
hard labor because others say we must. If there is any
principle in the Grange that is not right, let us do away with
it. If the Legislature does not give us the protection that
our industry demands, we can act unitedly in bringing about
the laws that we need, so that producer and consumer shall
be dealt with alike.

I thank you for your attention. I am glad we have heard
of a home on the farm. Let us think that these homes are
nothing more or less, if we look at them aright, than typical
of the home of homes ; namely, the home that we all are
going forward to in heaven above.

The Chairman then called upon Mr. A. W. Cheever,
who spoke as follows : —

REMAKES OF A. W. CHEEVER.
Friends : — I hardly feel that I have anything to say at this
hour that will add to the usefulness of these three days'
meetings. I can say for myself that I have enjoyed this
meeting in some respects above any other that I have at-
tended during the sixteen years that I have been a reporter
for " The New England Farmer " at these country meetings of
the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. I have learned here
that once, away back in the early history of this Board, Mrs,
Ednah D. Cheney did speak before the Board of Agriculture.*
It was news to me. It was before I had attended. I sup-
posed that the lecture to-day by Mrs. Chase was the first ever
delivered by a lady before this organization, and I think we
may about as well call it the first ; for, if there was one pre-
vious to this, that we have all forgotten, it is safe to call this
the first once more. It has been my fortune, as connected
with the press, to be present at a good many meetings, not

♦ Agriculture of Massachusetts, 1871, p. 156.

296 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

only in Massachusetts, but in other parts of New England
and of other States. I have been over the State of Maine
several times, aiding Secretary Gilbert in holding institute
meetings similar to this. I have attended the Connecticut
Board meetings annually, with scarcely an exception, for
fourteen or fifteen years, and I have been West two or three
times to attend agricultural meetings. I must admit that I
have said privately to some of my Massachusetts friends, that
Massachusetts agriculture is not recognized by its own people
as it should be. Massachusetts as an agricultural State does
not take the position it should ; and, compared with some of
our other New England States, it is, and has been for years
past, sadly behind. In Connecticut they have a three days'
meeting that begins in the morning of the first day with a
well-filled house, and continues through as late as ten o'clock
of the third evening, with nearly as large attendance as at
previous sessions. The interest is kept up all the way
through, business crowding all the time. And why is it?
It is largely because the wives and mothers, the daughters
and sisters, are thqve with their husbands and brothers and
fathers. I think it is fourteen years that I have known of
the secretary of the Board of Agriculture of Connecticut
having his wife present at the Board meetings ; and from
that time to this, the leading spirits in that meeting have had
their wives present as companions from year to year. That
custom has brought an influence into their meetings which
has drawn out a large attendance of people in the vicinity,
and that is one reason why their meetings have excelled ours
in interest. It is very diflerent where the farm-women look
upon the agricultural meeting as a meeting of men, to which
the husband is going for two or three days, leaving the cares
of the farm for them to attend to. I am glad the secretary of
our Board could this year announce that a part of this meeting
would be devoted to a discussion of Grange matters. It is
an excellent omen. It is an encouraging feature, for which
we may be thankful.

I am also exceedingly glad that the secretaries of the differ-
ent Boards of the New England States are invited to come
here and take part in this meeting. It creates a good fellow-
ship. It reminds each that it is not Massachusetts alone, nor

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 297

Maine alone, nor any single State, that each is working for,
but that all are working for one common interest. New
Eno^land once exerted a great influence in the nation. It was
looked up to, but it is growing relatively small. Some talk
about it as a little corner that has been left out in the cold,
and they sometimes speak of Boston " culture " in a sneering
way. I went out the past summer into the Territories of
Dakota and Montana, to observe what was going on at the
West, to learn of the condition of other parts of this country
besides New England. It so happened that it was my luck
to be the only New England person in the party. The others
were from the Middle and Western States, and I think they
enjoyed poking fun at New England agriculture. One said,
that, " after seeing these broad prairies and this rich land, I
fear you never can write editorials for your New England
iarmers with any courage." Another one spoke of New
England as the place where they find six great stones and one
small potato in each hill. [Laughter.] That was the kind
of fun they poked at me, because i believed in New England.
We all had to make our bow before audiences while exchang-
ing congratulations. When it came my turn, I said :
" My trip out here has opened a new view. I see things as
I did not before. I used to think New England was bounded
on the west by New York, that New England was a small
corner of the United States ; but I find, as I come out here
through these Middle and Western States, and to the Terri-
tories, and cross these great prairies, that, wherever I meet
two men, one of them was born over in New England, or at
least his parents were. I find it has been New England all the
way, and she is no longer bounded on the west by New York,
but extends clear to the Rocky Mountains." [Applause.]
If our smart New England boys have gone West, we should
not be jealous of their success. We should expect our sons
to outstrip us ; but, if we desire to keep up the reputation of
our New England States in the esteem of the people, we must
use more of that sort of pluck and energy and persistence
that our sons and younger brothers are showing in their
newer States.

Mr. Alonzo Bradley of Lee. A few days ago I read
in one of the Western papers an essay upon dairy farm-

298 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ing. The essayist, in referring to New England, called it
" that little State away down East." But there is this fact to
be remembered : we raise the boys and girls here, bring them
up under our New England orthodox principles, and send
them West ; and you will find the West is largely indebted
to New England for the enterprise with which it is being
built up. Now, we all acknowledge the need for the Grange,
or some similar association, to enable the farmers to make
their influence felt. Let me illustrate. A few years ago,
on the Housatonic Railroad, we endeavored to fonn a milk
association, in order that we might act with greater power
and influence. A great deal of enthusiasm was manifested
at the first meeting. I was appointed for the north end of
the road, to see the farmers and persujjde them to unite in
the milk association. I entered upon my duties with en-
thusiasm; but, just as soon as I got a little away from the
public thoroughfares, I was astonished at the difficulty of
convincing the farmers of the necessity for action and enter-
prise. I could accomplish nothing. Now, the trouble is
not with the farmers that are here ; it is with those who are
not here, those who are back on the farm, who do not attend
these meetings, who are satisfied with their passive life. As
has been remarked, time and again, I believe that farmers
have duties and responsibilities, and now is the time to act.
I think the matter cannot be too strongly pressed, — the im-
portance of availing of this opportunity through the Grange
organization. For those of us who are fully aroused to the
importance of this thing, there is a work to do in arousing
those that are indiflerent. That is the class that we want to
influence.

The Chairman. The Secretary has a few remarks to
make, and then the meeting will be brought to a close.

REMARKS OF WM. R. SESSIONS.
Ladies and Gentlemen: — I have heard some things which
seem to me like apologizing for New England. I take no
stock in such sentiments. New England can stand up for
itself in all matters of agriculture and manufiicture. The
other day a friend of mine who had not been in the East for

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 299

years came on from Dakota. I met him on the day of his
arrival. He had come by way of Montreal, and over the
Boston and Albany Railroad. He said, " What a country
this is ! I would not give a quarter section of Dakota for
all the land between Boston and Wilbraham." I said, " You
did not know you came through a county that produces
the largest aggregate value of agricultural products of any
county in the whole country ? " He said, " No." But that is
true. The county of Worcester produces more dollars'
worth of agricultural products than any county in America.
The capacity of Worcester County has not been commenced
upon. The value per cultivated acre of products is some-
thing like fifty dollars, but only about one-third of the land
is cultivated. What are you going to say to that ? We have
one town in Massachusetts that produces agricultural prod-
ucts to the value of two hundred and eighty dollars per cul-
tivated acre. You see the capacity for improvement is suffi-
cient for our day and generation, and for the generation of
our children, if they will stay here. You have heard of the
capacity of our cranberry bogs, and of the size of the apple
crop, and of the opportunities for strawberry and currant
culture, for creameries and the butter product. There are
opportunities enough, if we will only put energy and enter-
prise into our work. I think we have received some instruc-
tion from the gentlemen here this afternoon which will help
us put our shoulders together and accomplish something.
Let us go away from here feeling that we have no need of
apologizing for New England agriculture. There is no need
of it. The product of the Western States they boast of is
only about seven dollars per cultivated acre, while the value
of the product of the whole State of Massachusetts is fifty-
four dollars per cultivated acre. Let them boast of the
West, but let us stand up for our section, and do something
for its improvement.

Now, I want to thank these gentlemen that are here for
the support they have given me in my endeavors to make
this a successful meeting. I am indebted to the Grange, to
the speakers, who have done better than I expected ; and I
thank you, and especially the people of these towns, for we
have been cordially received. We have received all the help

300 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

possible, except a large audience, and I do not know but we
have had as large a one as we ought to expect from Easthamp-
ton. It is a manufacturing town, and of course the people
of the village are not interested in our matters. I am very
sorry, however, that they did not take advantage of their
opportunities last evening and the night before to hear the
two lectures, which would have been heard in Boston or New
York by large and appreciative audiences, — not but that
the agricultural lectures were equally good, but those were
lectures which would interest all classes.

The Chairman then adjourned the meeting sine die.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 301

ANNUAL MEETING.

The Boiird met at the office of the Secretary, in Boston,
on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 1889, at 12 o'clock, it being the Tues-
day preceding the first AVednesday in February. In absence
of the Governor, Mr. Grinnell was chosen President
'pr^o tern.

The Board then adjourned until 12.30 o'clock.

At 12.30 P.M. the Board was called to order by Mr.
Grinnell.

Present : Messrs. Bird, Bowditch, Bradley, Burnett,
Clark, Cruickshanks, Currier, Cushnmn, Edson, Gardner,
Goddard, Goessmann, Grinnell, Hartshorn, Hersey, Hickox,
Holbrook, Howes, Loring, Lynde, Peterson, Rawson, Row-
ley, Sheldon, Smith of Amherst, Smith of Deerfield, Snow,
Stockwell, Taft, Taylor, Varnum, Ware and Wood.

Voted, To take u}) the report on Pul)]ic Meeting on the
fourth day of the Annual Meeting.

Voted, To indefinitely postpone the matter.
Voted, To adopt the order of business of last year.

A committee of three to examine and report upon the cre-
dentials of newly elected members was appointed : Messrs.
Hartshorn, Peterson and Rowley.

Reports of delegates being in order, the members made
report of the societies to which they were assigned, which
reports were discussed and laid on the table.

302 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The Committee on Credentials of newly elected members
reported the following duly elected : —

At large, appointed by the Governor, James W. Stockwell.

From the Bay State Society, Edward Burnett, for three
years from February, 1887.

Barnstable Society, Nathan Edson.

Franklin, J. C. Newhall.

Hampshire, D. A. Horton.

Union, C. B. Hayden.

Worcester South, G. L. Clemence.

Spencer, John G. Avert.

Oxford, D.M.Howe.

Worcester North-west, J. P. Ltnde.

Martha's Vineyard, N. S. Shaler.

Middlesex North, A. C. Varnum.

The report of the Committee on Credentials was accepted.

Adjourned to 9.30 o'clock Wednesday.

SECOND DAY.
The Board met at 9.30 a.m., Mr. Grinnell in the chair.

Present : Messrs. Avery, Bird, Bowditch, Bradley, Clark,
Clemence, Cruickshanks, Currier, Cushman, Edson, Gard-
ner, Goddard, Goessmann, Grinnell, Hartshorn, Hayden,
Hersey, Hickox, Hoi brook, Horton, Howe, Howes, Loring,
Lynde, Newhall, Peterson, Rawson, Rowley, Shaler, Shel-
don, Slade, Snow, Stockwell, Taft, Taylor, Varnum, Ware
and Wood.

Minutes of yesterday read and approved.

Resignation of J. H. Goddard as member of Examining
Committee of the Agricultural College presented and
accepted.

A committee of three on Assignment of Delegates was
appointed : Messrs. Sheldon, Ware and Bradley.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 303

A committee on Time and Place for holding the Public
Meeting was appointed : Messrs. Wood, Hartshorn and
Currier.

A committee of three on Changes of Time of holding Fairs
was appointed : Messrs. Cushman, Howes and Clark.

A committee of three on Essays was appointed : Messrs.
Lynde, Holbrook and Hickox.

A committee of three was appointed to nominate mem-
bers of the Executive Committee : Messrs. Taylor, Cruick-
shanks and Newhall.

A committee was appointed to nominate members of
Examining Committee of the Agricultural College : Messrs.
Hartshorn, Taft and Bird.

The reports of the delegates to the several societies were
read a second time by their titles, and accepted.

The Committee to report names for the Examining Com-
mittee of the Agricultural College reported the nomination of
George Cruickshanks to fill the unexpired term of Mr. God-
dard ; N. S. Shalerand A. C. Varnum for three years, — who
were elected.

The Committee to report names for Executive Committee
reported as follows : Messrs. Slade, Bowditch, Hersey,
Hartshorn and Rawson, — who were elected.

Dr. C. A. Goessmann, State Inspector of Fertilizers, pre-
sented his report, which was accepted,

Dr G. B. Loring read an essay on " American Agri-
culture," which was accepted and will be found printed in
this volume.

Voted, That the time for the election of Secretary be fixed
at 11 o'clock, Thursday, and that the election of a member
of the Board of Control take place immediately afterwards.

Report of the Examining Committee of the Agricultural
College called for. In the absence of the chairman no report
was ready. After some discussion, the Board adjourned to
2.30 o'clock P.M.

304 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The Board was called to order at 2.30 r.M., Mr. Grinnell
in the chair.

Report of the Board of Control of the Experiment Station
presented by the director, Dr. Goessmann, and accepted.

W. W. Rawson read an essay on " Market Gardening,"
which was accepted, and will be found printed in this volume.

The Conmiittce on Time and Place for holding the Public
Meeting reported, by their chairman, that the meeting should
be held at Fitchburg on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurs-
day, December 3, 4 and 5. The report was accepted and
adopted.

The Committee on Essays for next Annual Meeting re-
ported as follows : —

Essays.

Agricultural Societies and their Management, . J. H. Rowley.

Choosing an Occupation, J. H. Goddard.

Tuberculosis, Dk. Wm. IIolbrook.

Soils of Massachusetts, N. S. Shaleu.

Messrs. Hickox, Howe, Horton, Cushman and Taft were
appointed a committee to attend the Legislative Committee
hearing on Friday next in the interest of Honest Butter.

Voted, That the Board of Agriculture petition the Legis-
lature, in aid of the petition of the Board of Control of the
State Experiment Station, for an appropriation for the erec-
tion of suitable buildings to accommodate the department of
Vegetable Physiology, and that the Chairman and Secretary
sign said petition for the Board.

Adjourned to 9.30 a.m., Thursday.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 305

THIRD DAY.

The Board met at 9.30 a.m., Mr. Grinnell in the chair.

Present : Messrs. Avery, Bird, Bradley, Clark, Clemence,
Criiickshanks, Currier, Cushman, Edson, Gardner, God-
dard, Goessmann, Goodell, Grinnell, Hartshorn, Hayden,
Hersey, Hickox, Holbrook, Horton, Howe, Howes, Lynde,
Newhall, Peterson, Rawson, Shaler, Sheldon, Slade, Snow,
Stockwell, Taft, Taylor, Varnum, Ware and Wood.

Minutes of yesterday read and approved.

Mr. Sheldon made a report on the assignment of delegates,
as follows : —

Ainesbury and Salisbury, G. S. Taylor.

Bay State, J. H. Rowley

Barnstable, W. H. Snow.

Berkshire, C. L. Hartshorn:

Blackstone Valley, W. H. B. Currier.

Bristol, Wm. Holbrook.

Deerfield Valley, V. Taft.

Eastern Hampden, J. II. Goddard

Essex, D. M. Howe.

Franklin, F. K. Sheldon.

Hampden, G. L. Clemence.

Hampsliire, F. G. Howes

Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden, . . . E. Hersey.

Highland, E. Cdshman.

Hingham, E. W. Wood.

Hoosac Valley, C. B. Hayden.

Housatonie, E. F. Bowditch.

Hillside, J. G. Avery.

Massachusetts Horticultural, . . . . G. Cruickshanks

Marshfield, J C. Newhall.

Martha's Vineyard, S. A. Hickox.

Middlesex, J. W. Stockwell.

Middlesex North, S. B. Bird.

Middlesex South, W. W. Rawson.

Nantucket, B. P. Ware.

Oxford, A. P. Slade.

Plymouth, . . J. S. Grinnell.

Spencer, S. W. Clark.

Union, N. S. Shaler.

Worcester, N. Edson.

300 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Worcester North, A. Bradley.

Worcester North-west, G. J. Peterson

Worcester South, D. A. Horton.

Worcester West, G. B. Loring.

Report accepted and adopted.

A committee of five was appointed on Public Meeting :
Messrs. Cruickshanks, Hartshorn, Lynde, Clemence and
Bird.

E. Cushman read an essay on "A Hundred Acres or
More," which was accepted, and will be found printed in
this volume.

At the request of the Board of Trustees of the Massa-
chusetts Agricultural College, the following resolution was
adopted : —

Resolved, That each society be recommended to consider
the subject of agricultural education, particularlj^ with refer-
ence to the Agricultural College, at one Institute.

It being 11 o'clock, the special assignment was called up,
which was the election of a Secretary, to be followed by the
election of a member of the Board of Control.

William R. Sessions was elected Secretary, and Dr. J. P.
Lynde was elected a member of the Board of Control.

Mr. Grinnell called Mr. Taft to the chair, and read an
essay on " Massachusetts Agriculture," which was accepted,
and will be found printed in this volume.

The Board then adjourned to 2 p.m.

The Board met at 2.15 p.m., Mr. Grinnell in the chair.

The Committee on Changes of Time for holding Fairs re-
ported that the time for holding the Eastern Hampden be
changed to the third Tuesday after the first Monday in
September ; the Middlesex to the fourth Wednesday after
the first Monday in Se})tember ; the Middlesex North to the
fourth Tuesday after the first Monday in September ; the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 307

Martha's Vineyard to the first Tuesday after the first Monday
in September ; that the date of the Oxford be the third Tues-
day after the first Monday in September ; and that the date
of the Spencer be the fifth Thursday after the first Monday
in September. The report was accepted and adopted.

Voted, That the laws governing the Board of Agricul-
ture and the agricultural societies, together with the require-
ments of the Board as read, be adopted and printed as an
appendix to the Secretary's report for 1888, and also in
pamphlet form for distribution to the several societies.

Voted, That the Secretary be requested to collect the re-
mainder of the historical sketches, and with the Executive
Committee edit and publish them when thought desirable.

Voted, That the Executive Committee be also a commit-
tee on Printing.

The following resolution was presented and adopted : —

Resolved, That each member of the Board visit the Agri-
cultural College at least once during his term of service, and
oftener if the money at the disposal of the Secretary for the
payment of the traveling expenses of the members of the
Board so warrant.

Voted, That the several agricultural societies are earnestly
requested at their next annual meeting to fix the dates at
which they will hold the several Institutes required by the
Board, and the subjects they desire to have discussed at
those Institutes, and at once notify the Secretary of the
Board if they desire assistance in the procuring of lecturers.

The minutes of the last day were then read and ap})roved.

Adjourned.

WILLIAM R. SESSIONS,

Secretary.

308 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jt

AMERICAN AGPJCULTURE.

BY DR. GEORGE B. LORING OF SALEM.

I desire to call the attention of the Board to American
agriculture as a part of the increasing and developing indus-
tries of this country. The rapid growth of all enterprise
here constitutes one of the most important and interesting
chapters in the history of civilization. The stories of dis-
covery and conquest have charms which more prosaic occu-
pations are not expected to possess, and yet they all sink into
insignificance before the recital of the steady and triumphant
march of the vast army of untiring and devoted sons of
industry, who have cleared the forests and opened the
mines, and chained the water-falls, and built the great high-
ways of travel and transportation over valleys and through
mountains, and erected chuiches and school-houses, and
organized cities and towns, and fed and clothed and educated
themselves, and have tilled the commerce of the world with
the products of their toil. The chosen career of the
American people has been a career of peaceful industry, and
our achievements on this field have won the admiration of
the world, from our infancy to our maturity and strength.
More than three-quarters of a century ago, Sheridan ex-
claimed, in the House of Commons: "America remains
neutral, prosperous and at peace. . . . Turn your eyes to
her. View her situation, her happiness, her content. Ob-
serve her trade and her manufactures adding daily to her
general credit, to her private enjoyments, and to her public
resources ; her name and her government rising above the
nations of Europe with a simple but commanding dignity
that wins at once the respect, the confidence, the afiection

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 309

of the world." And, contemplating the genius of our insti-
tutions and the vital force of our republic, De Tocqueville
declared : " There will then come a time when there will be
seen in North America one hundred and fifty millions of men
equal among themselves, who will all belong to the same
family, who will have the same point of departure, the
same civilization, the same language, the same religion, the
same habits, the same manners, and among whom thought
will circulate in the same form, and paint itself in the same
colors. All else is doubtful, but this is certain. Now, here
is a fact entirely new in the world, of which imagination
itself cannot grasp the import."

Unchecked by war, and defiant of all disaster, this repub-
lic has increased in population at the rate of a million a year
during the last decade, rivaling now every country in the
civilized world except Russia, and attracting to her shores
vast communities of people from those crowded and impover-
ished nationalities. Thriving States and populous cities
spring up here like magic. The products of new and fertile
lands are borne to the great centres of trade which are
created everywhere by the necessities of a teeming popula-
tion. The civilization which is advancing with such rapid
strides from sea to sea is indeed a civilization of thrift,
intelligence and morality. Prosperous industry is here the
pioneer of education : the cultivated farm and the profitable
mill preparing the way for the library and the lyceum, the
school-house and the meeting-house. Conscious of the
responsibilities and duties which attend them wherever they
go, and proud of that individuality which Freedom bestows
upon every man who enjoys her influence, this aspiring and
industrious people of our land have endowed schools and
colleges, have established more than seventy thousand
churches, have provided places of worship for more than
twenty millions of worshipers, and have church property
valued at more than three hundred and fifty million dollars.
You will allow me to remind j^ou of that wonderful develop-
ment of industry out of which this mental and moral activity
has grown, and in the encouragement of which the well-
organized agriculture of the community has done its share.

In agriculture our growth has been extraordinary, and

310 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

accounts for that vast internal and foreign commerce out of
which has grown so much of our financial success. It is not
necessary to go back a half century, or even twenty-five
years, to obtain the most gratifying evidence of our prog-
ress in the work of tilling the soil. But, starting in 1870,
at which time we had reached an enormous production in
proportion to our population, and making our comparisons
with the returns of 1880, we may learn what can be accom-
plished in a single decade by a people constantly increasing
in numl:)ers and occupying new lands. In 1870 the wheat
crop was 287,745,62(3 bushels; in 1880 it was 459,667,032
bushels. In 1870 the amount of cotton raised was 4,352,317
bales; in 1880, more than 6,000,000 bales. In 1870 the
amount of Indian corn raised was 760,940,594 bushels ; in
1880 the amount was 1,754,449,435 bushels. In 1870 the
crop of oats reached 282,107,157 bushels; in 1880,407,-
859,033 bushels. In 1870 the tobacco crop amounted to
262,735,341 pounds; in 1880 it amounted to 473,107,573
pounds. The increase of agricultural products was nearly
one hundred per cent in these ten years, and in the last
year of this decade, out of this vast increase of our crops
and products, our cattle export rose from $13,000,000 to
$14,000,000; corn, from $43,000,000 to $50,000,000;
wheat, from $167,698,000 to $190,546,000; flour, from
$35,000,000 to $45,000,000; cotton, from $209,852,000 to
$247,534,391 ; beef, from $7,000,000 to $12,000,000; lard,
from $28,000,000 to $35,000,000 ; and pork, from $5,000,000
to $8,000,000, annually.

The law of this vast and growing industry, as we all
know, is the cultivation of those crops which are adapted to
a local market, and the occupation of lands lying near that
market. Not yet has this law become universal, it is true ;
but it applies to all the other and thickly settled sections of
our country, and goes with diversified industries wherever
they create large cities and towns. Fifty years ago the
farmer was compelled to seek his market near home, on
account of the difficulty which attended the transportation
of his crops. But the settling of new and remote lands and
improved modes of transportation rendered the growing of
the great staples necessary ; and corn, wheat and provisions

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 311

occupied the former's attention, and opened to him remote
and even foreign markets for his trade. This frontier farm-
ing, however, is but temporary, and must be followed by
that systematic husbandry which constitutes the legitimate
business of the American former, and carries him back to
those days when agriculture was almost the sole business of
the country, and when a prudent and industrious farming
community w^as uniformly prosperous. While our large
towns and our manufacturing States therefore provide mar-
kets for a large portion of the products of the West, they
also support that more profitable system, which consists
in a careful cultivation of the soil and in the economical
management of small farms. The trade of this country to
which I have alluded is immense, and the sources of supply
in all their variety form an interesting topic for considera-
tion.

New England requires about twenty million bushels of
wheat, and produces only one and a quarter millions. New
York uses thirty millions, and grows about twelve millions.
The supply of this deficiency comes from the West, — from
the Ohio valley and the prairies west of the Mississippi and
the Missouri, — and costs from forty to fifty million dollars
in years of good production, but still more in this year of
comparative scarcity.

To assume, however, from the fact that New York goes
West for six-tenths of her wheat supply, that wheat growing
is an unprofitable industry there, would be an unsafe and
unreliable conclusion. There are eight counties south of
Lake Ontario which yielded, in 1879, (5,086,876 bushels
on 377,269 acres; or eighteen and six-tenths bushels per
acre, — a rate more than fifty per cent above that of Min-
nesota or Dakota, and somewhat higher than that of Cali-
fornia for the same year. Thus an important part of the
deficiency of other counties in New York was supplied by
the surplus grown in the Seneca valley and its neighborhood.

There is another district lying eastward towards the Hud-
son, and southward towards the Delaware, that finds a greater
profit in the dairy, — making a production in butter and
cheese worth far more than the grain })rocured from the
West. Not only are the home wants in the dairy products

312 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

supplied, but a large share of the one hundred and twenty
million to one hundred and forty million pounds of cheese
exported from year to year is credited to this district, bring-
ing a vast amount of money from Europe, a part of which is
contributed to the aid of the Western wheat-growing. Going
still nearer to the sea-board, to Dutchess and Westchester
and the fruitful sand of Long Island, we find more people
and less wheat, and a soil devoted to market gardening,
yielding, under the most favorable circumstances, a gross
product worth a thousand dollars per acre, — enough to buy
a quarter section of superior wheat-land west of the Missis-
sippi. In the immediate neighborhood of New York City
the product of market gardening swells to millions of dollars.
Ten years ago the census reported more than a million
dollars' worth in Queen's County alone, and the present enu-
meration must when tabulated show an immense increase for
this suburban district. The neighborhood of Boston and
Philadelphia and every other large city is moiiopolized by
market gardens, and the country about Norfolk, Va., is
mainly devoted to fruit and vegetables for Northern con-
sumption. The fruits of the country, a perishable commod-
ity, must be produced as near as possible to the point of
principal consumption. The domestic fruits alone furnish a
trade of large volume and value. New York City has a
trade in domestic fruits of more than nine millions of dollars ;
Chicago, which supplies the great North-west, has about as
much ; and the other large cities of the country would swell
the total amount to about sixty million dollars, including
the great amount now sent from our southern latitudes.
Could all the fruits sold in small cities and villages be added,
and those consumed on farms and village lots be enumerated,
it is probable, judging from careful deductions from available
data, that the annual value of the fruits of the United States
would not fall much below two hundred million dollars.

Thus the distribution of farm products is found to arise
from a multiplicity of causes : soil, climate, nearness to large
cities, prices of land and labor, facility for obtaining labor
at required times or seasons, skill in special industries de-
veloped by long practice, conservative persistence in time-
honored usage, and many other causes, serve to distribute in

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 313

patches, large or small, the crops which furnish the products
of American agriculture. The great cereal crop of the coun-
try, Indian corn, which is only exceeded by grass in the
universality of distribution, constitutes more than one thou-
sand seven hundred of the two thousand million bushels of
grain of 1879. It is found in every State and in every
Territory, with one or two exceptions. Yet this crop cannot
escape the law of special local attraction. The three States,
Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, yield eight hundred million
bushels, or forty-five per cent of the crop ; and only seven
States, including Indiana and Ohio on the east, and Kansas
and Nebraska on the west, have ever any considerable sur-
plus above the requirements of home consumption. The re-
maining thirty-one States and all the Territories produce but
thirty-seven per cent of the crop, at a rate of only nineteen
bushels per acre, — but half the rate of the yield of the corn
belt. The receipts at the sea-board cities for exportation
and consumption, including all kinds of grain, ground and
unground, aggregated 352,921,452 bushels in 1879, and
369,559,607 bushels in 1880. The whole Eastern move-
ment of Western grain, including shipments to interior
points on the Atlantic slope, must somewhat exceed four
hundred million bushels, — not more than one-sixth of the
total production of an abundant year, and less than one-
fourth of the lightest crop the most disastrous season is likely
to yield. The relations which are thus established between
the interests of our country not only afiect the material pros-
perity of the farmer, but they provide him with that social
enjoyment upon which the happiness of an educated people
largely depends, and rouse him to that energetic action
which gives strength to all his powers. The isolation of
farm life incident to sparsely settled regions is one of the
trials which the American is anxious to avoid ; and when he
leaves the outlying farm and secures a home nearer the
haunts of men, he places himself within reach of the lyceum
and the library, and easy and convenient intercourse with
his fellowmen. The comforts and adornments of his home
are increased ; and farming becomes to him an occupation
analogous to those branches of business which tempt men
away from the loneliness of the country to the pleasures and

314 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

opportunities of the town. The tendency of the rural popu-
lation of some sections of our country to abandon the ex-
hausted farms and seek lands nearer a populous market, is
by no means an element of agricultural decline. It indicates
rather a disposition to take advantage of those circumstances
which lead to more active industry and more profitable labor.
It is the same spirit of enterprise which has induced many
farmers to abandon general agriculture and devote themselves
to special crops, and has led the casual observer to infer that
the cultivation of the soil was being abandoned. I have
known the statistical returns of many evidently thrifty and
prosperous farming communities to indicate a reduction of
the products of the farm, and to lead to the supposition, that,
because the cereals and animal products were diminishing,
the lands were deserted. But a more careful examination
has always revealed the fact that it was a change in the in-
dustry alone which had taken place, and that for those crops
which met with competition from the cheap and fertile lands
of the West had been substituted the products of the market
garden, with all the profit which goes with this mode of
manipulating the land. As this system extends and manu-
facturing cities and towns multiply, the returns of our farms
will be largely increased, and the average yield of our land
per acre will be greatly enlarged. It is the intimate relation
between our industries which makes general farming what it
is, and will gradually make American farming what it should
be The opportunity afforded the corn and wheat growers
of the West and the cotton and sugar planters of the South,
the fruit growers of Florida and the cattle feeders of the
great mountain ranges, constitutes the mainspring of our
agriculture, strengthened as it is by constant and rapid com-
munication.

Connected with the power of j^roductive lands, and the
varieties of climate and soil, and the demands of an indus-
trious and prosperous people, there goes of necessity a system
of transportation which constitutes one of the co-operative
industries of society. The energy and ingenuity of man
have done much to bring all natural resources under human
control ; but it is modern methods of transportation which
have given new value to lands, new opportunities to mills,

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 315

new markets and values to crops ; and it may be safely said,
that the addition of a powerful and rapid means of trans-
portation has not only given new life to all the old industries,
but has added a new one of inestimable value and importance.
The labor and expense of exchanging commodities have ]>een
so far diminished in our day that every producing industry
is now able to employ its time and means to the best possible
advantage. No time is now wasted by the manufiicturer in
traveling from his mill to his market ; none l)y the farmer in
transporting his crops from his fields to the consumer. No
limit is now put to the capacity of the mill, the capital
absorbed and the hands employed, by distance and obstacles
on sea and land. The farmer whose time and means and
horses were fully employed in hauling the crops of a hundred
acres to market fifty years ago, can now employ his force at
home in increasing the crop of ten times that area of land,
while it is harvested and borne to market l^y machinery.
Lands which were once useless to the cultivator are now
brought l)y rail to the very doors of the market required
by their crops. And not only is the transporting capacity
of each individual increased, but the force which can be
retained for work on the land is vastly enhanced, as well as
the profit on the crop itself. When, many years ago, the
railroad from Springfield, 111., to the Illinois River was
opened, it was announced in a leading newspaper of that day,
" One week before the railroad was finished, corn could be
had here in any quantity at fifteen cents per bushel ; now,
not a bushel can be had for less than twenty-five cents."
With a system of farming which I have defined, and a system
of transportation which we possess, the producing power of
American labor and land is almost unlimited.

The relations which have been established between these
active and vigorous industries to which I have alluded have
produced upon society, moreover, a degree of mental energy
and general intelligence never equaled in any age of the
world. In the afiairs of life, now, a man's head is considered
to be worth as much as his hands, — the relative market
value of these two commodities having materially changed
since the ' ' common and concurrent mind " began to assert its
supremacy. The necessity for economizing and utilizing

316 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

labor in every department of business has created a neces-
sity for clothing labor with some degree of intelligence ; and
out of this elevation of practical service has grown that active,
vigorous and untiring fiiculty for invention which forms one
of the striking characteristics of the present age, and gives
new force to all our industries, agriculture included.

That the prosperity of agriculture has kept pace with the
increasing prosperity of every other industry in our land, is
manifest. The activity of the grain-growing sections of our
country has been and is great ; and the demand for the prod-
uct of the pasture and the stall has been most encouraging
to those who supply the market at home and abroad. It may
be that this encouragement of local and special crops has not
been as great, and that the farmer is especially called upon to
consider how he can secure a suitable reward for the labor
which he applies to the careful and systematic tillage of the
soil, to supply local markets with what they require, and for
the care which he bestows on the orchard and the dairy. But,
on the whole, the condition of the American former is looked
upon as so satisfactory in every point of view that the lesson
taught by him is engaging the minds of some of the most
thoughtful statesmen and publicists of the old world. It has
been discovered that the American system of land-holding,
for instance, is the foundation of great popular content ; and,
accompanied as it is by great social and civil opportunities,
surrounded as it is by the free institutions of our land,
attended as it is by the school-house and the meeting-house,
and by the constant call to public service which leaves but few
exempt among us, it constitutes the foundation on which rest
great mental activity, great dignity of character, great enter-
prise and ambition. To the practical work of the agricultural
community here, wide-spread disaster, moreover, is un-
known. The local damao;e of a drouo-ht or a flood is not
indeed unusual ; but the extent of our territory is such, the
diversity of our soil and climate is so great, that the disasters
seem to be circumscribed and accidental, while the pros-
perity is wide-spread and constant. With landed possessions
which are obliged to bear the burdens of heavy taxation,
with wages of labor vastly greater than in any of the
countries of Europe, with the personal requirements of the

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 317

farmer and his family increased by social obligations and the
natural demands of a free and responsible people, we have
been able to compete in the grain markets of the world with
those who, in some instances, are furnished with land free
of rent and taxation, and whose necessities of life are so
small and whose duties are so few, that the former seem
intolerable and the latter seem insignificant and trivial. The
skill of the American farmer, supplied as he is with the
most ingenious and graceful and effective machinery, has
become an object of admiration and imitation. The well-
organized home of the American farmer is looked upon as a
model. The place filled in the community by the American
farmer is considered so important and honorable that other
nations inquire how it has been attained. The crops of the
American farmer are looked upon as so sure, that all anxiety
with regard to the supply of food for the people less favored
has passed away.

The rapid growth of this industry with which we are all
familiar may be made more apparent by recurring to its con-
dition in this country three-quarters of a century ago. At
that time the ploughs were usually made by the village
blacksmith and wheelwright. Shovel factories were few
and small. Grain harvesters, reapers, mowers, tedders and
horse-rakes were unknown. The mechanical enterprise
engaged in producing these and other improved implements
of husbandry is untiring ; and in one year the patents issued
for improvements in agricultural machinery exceeded 1,000,
(if which 3B were for rakes, 160 for hay and grain harvesters
and attachments, 1G7 for seed planters and drills, 30 for hay
and straw cutters, 90 for cultivators, 73 for bee-hives, 90 for
churns, and 1(50 for ploughs and attachments. In 1810 our
export of corn amounted to only 140,996 bus'.iels ; of wheat,
only 345,024 Inishels ; of flour, only 748,431 barrels; the
amount of cotton grown was only 124,000,000 pounds.
Of the great increase in the number and value of cattle,
horses, sheep and swine in this country, and of the develop-
ment of the dairy as a source of profit to the farmer, it is
unnecessary to speak. The annual production of more than
$3,000,000,000 by the agricultural industry of this country
is of itself sufficient to indicate the skill and energy of those
who are engaged in all of its various branches.

318 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

This unusual and extraordinary growth which has thus
far attended American agriculture is due not only to the
diversity of our soil and climate, and the rapid increase
of our population, and the vast improvement of our agricul-
tural machinery, but to the independent ownership of laud
which characterizes American institutions. It were not easy
to tell the strength and stimulus which come through the
ownership of the soil to him who occupies it, has fixed his
home upon it, and looks to it for his means of subsistence.
The proportion of land-holders in this country to the aggre-
gate population is great and significant, especially when w^e
consider the reponsibilities resting upon them, and the oppor-
tunities which they possess. The increase in the number of
farms in the United States, during the twenty years between
1860 and 1880, is remarkable. The aggregate in the entire
country in 1860 was 2,044,077 ; in 188^3 it was 4,008,907.

The increase by subdivision is largest in the cotton-grow-
ing States, wdiere the share-tenant system prevails. In
Texas the increase is by both subdivision and new land, the
area in farms having nearly doubled in ten years ; while in
Alabama the enlargement is only twenty-six per cent, though
the number of farms is doubled. The South Atlantic group
shows an increase of 12.14 per cent in lands, 72.3 per cent
in farms. But, notwithstanding the great division and sub-
division of land in the United States, under the customs of
the country and the law^s of inheritance, and the demands of
emigrants and settlers for government lands, in accordance
Avith the various provisions of Federal legislation, a distin-
guished English statesman and economist has discovered that
landlordism in America has "resulted in fixing on the free
soil of the United States a land s^^stem that belongs to the
era of barbarism ; " and that "the tendency to landlordism
in the United States is inevitable and immense." He declares
that statistics show that "the popular notion that the agri-
cultural classes of the United States own the soil they till to
be incorrect ; " and he adds, with the triumphant air of a
prophet of evil, that " the United States possesses a quarter
of a million more tenant-farmers paying rent to landlords
than the three kingdoms and the principality together."

Confident that these startling statements will attract the
attention of every member of this Board wdio is a land-holder

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 319

and practical farmer, I desire to present to your minds a few
encouraging facts and some brief suggestions, which may
satisfy you, at least, that you need have no fears that the
system of landlording, which has nearly destroyed the agri-
culture of England, and has oppressed and distracted Ire-
land, will ever become an established institution in America.
In the New England States, which are especially interesting
to us, there are 207,232 farms, — of which only 17,597 are
rented. These rented farms are occupied by tenants w^ho
are subjected to no violent restrictions, and they are owned
by persons who in many cases have come into possession
accidentally, — perhaps by inheritance, perhaps by fore-
closure. The owners of these farms are often incapacitated
by age from labor on the land, are often occupied elsewhere,
and often hold these estates in probate. But seldom are
farms of this description purchased as an investment, nor do
they ofler any inducement whatever to the capitalist. The
condition of newer States, and of States in new conditions
under the government, is somewhat difierent ; but it is
analogous in many respects. In IlMnois and Indiana, for
instance, the original large land-holdings are not wholly dis-
tributed in fee ; and in some cases the original owners of
small farms have removed to remoter and cheaper Western
lands obtained on government terms, satistied with the
profit they have made by the sale of their holdings. For
these reasons many farms are still rented, — forms which
constitute a part of large tracts of land purchased in the
early period of those States by Eastern capitalists, or taken
as an investment by local capitalists, who preferred land
with even a small income to the uncertainty of speculative
stocks. In Illinois, for the above reasons, out of 255,741
farms, 80,244 are occupied by tenants, under the easy system
of the United States. In the Southern States the case is
somewhat difierent. Prior to the late civil war a great pro-
portion of the lands in these States was occupied and man-
aged by large planters. When the system under which they
had been operated was broken up, the management of such
estates was in most cases changed, and at the same time their
sale in smaller divisions was found impossible, on account of
the impoverished condition of those who would constitute

320 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

almost the entire mass of the small land-holders there. As
I have previously stated, the number of farms in those
States has largely increased ; in Missouri, from 92,792 to
215,575; in North Carolina, from 75,203 to 157,609; in
Georgia, from 62,003 to 138,626; in Mississippi, from 42,-
840 to 101,772 ; in Texas, from 42,891 to 174,184. In this
increase there were but few purchasers, either emigrant or
native. The emancipated colored population became tenants,
and, as the number of farms increased, the number of tenants
necessarily increased: Missouri having, in 1880, 58,892;
North Carolina having 52,722 ; Georgia, 62,175 ; Mississippi,
44,558 ; Texas, 65,465. In all of the States, New England
and Southern, many of the farms are rented on shares. The
tenant is for the time proprietor. The obligations of his
lease are easy. He stands on an equality with the land-
holder,— and usually holds the commanding position. Of
the 4,008,907 farms in the United States, only 1,047,505
are occupied by tenants of this description ; and these farms
are constantly changing from ownership to tenant occupancy.
These figures must satisfy any one, even if he is determined
to find the fatal disease of the republic in its land system,
that the agricultural classes here do " own the soil they till,"
and that landlordism, as I have described it and as it exists,
has few charms, and threatens no danger.

1 might enlarge upon the division and subdivision of lands
in the United States, as contrasted with that of the United
Kingdom ; but I will merely remind you that New England
has five times as many farms as " old England," and small
land-holders innumerable, with less than one-seventh of the
population ; and that 4,008,907 farms are held in the United
States with a population of 60,000^000, while 50,000 landed
proprietors only are counted in the 35,000,000 of people in
the United Kingdom. Feudal tenure, moreover, does not
exist here. Our ancestors left that behind them in England,
and opened the way for that constant distribution of land,
which, with the cheap and easy modes of transfer here, brings
landed property into an active market. They left behind
them, moreover, the entire system of tenant-farming, as
established by long custom and intricate law in England ;
and the landlord has gradually disappeared.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 321

It is hardly worth while, therefore, for any student of
American afiairs to discuss the land-holding and the agricul-
tural problem here from an English stand-point. The rela-
tions existing between the landlords of England and their
tenants need only to be understood here to be avoided. No
argument with regard to the future of the United States can
legitimately be drawn from them. In the famous discussion
between Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Hartington, the latter
was charged with having "prepared the country for the
belief that the system of English agriculture is not formed
on what he calls a natural principle, but, supporting three
classes of the community, is one which has failed in conse-
quence, and will never be restored." In reply to this. Lord
Beaconsfield declared that there is no tenure of land which
can be devised except on the condition of furnishing three
incomes to three classes; viz., the proprietors of the soil,
the farmers as a middle class, and the agricultural peasants,
— those who toil with their own hands. To him citizen-
proprietorship was unknown. The farmer, in his classifica-
tion, was a peasant-proprietor, a tenant ; the owner of the
land is lord of the soil, the landlord. It is this complication
which weighs down the agriculture of England, and has re-
duced much of the land lying around her great local markets
to a sheep-pasture.

" Much of the land of England," says Mr. Caird, " a far
greater proportion of it than is generally believed, is in the
possession of tenants for life, so heavily burthened with set-
tlement incumbrances that they have not means of improv-
ing the land which they are obliged to hold." While we
hear on the one hand constant complaints from the owner of
the vas't demands of his landed estates for buildings, drain-
age, machinery and improvements of every variety, we hear
constantly on the other of the embarrassment created by that
law which ' ' took away all claim of the tenant over every
addition he had annexed or incorporated with the land, the
moment that his interest, whether yearly or by lease, ex-
pired ; " and confiscated all his ' ' property in any engine or
machine annexed to the soil, though for the express purposes
of the farm, and without which it could not be profitably
occupied." In fact, all law governing the relations between

322 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [JaD.

landlord and tenant in England " is based on the feudal
system, which gave the landlord a certain superiority over
his tenants." No such state of affairs exists or can exist in
the United States.

Says Hoskins : " The real property laws of England, from
the period immediately succeeding the conquest down to the
present time, present a history consistent with itself in one
particular, — that of a perpetual struggle of rival interests.
The parties to the conflict have differed in successive periods ;
the feudal sovereign, the baron, the churchman, the lawyer,
and the land-owner, have each entered into the strife in turn,

— each as the pressure of adverse power or of selfish interest
impelled them. The result of all these struggles was the
system bequeathed two centuries ago, and under which, with
slight modifications, the business of the country is still carried
on. But in those strug-orles there are two voices that were
never heard, two interests little thought of, — those of the
political economist and the agriculturist. Can it be won-
dered at, if the state of those laws be found productive of
results injurious to the best practices of the one and violating
the first principles of the other? There is in the history of
England no instance to be found in which the ripened and
intelligent desire of the community — clearly and repeatedly
expressed through the most public, the most able, the most
learned channels, upon a subject which has received pro-
longed and exhaustive investigation by a succession of royal
commissions — has waited so long and so patiently upon the
hand of legislation as that which has asked for the reform of
our law of real property, — especially as affecting the ac-
quisition and transfer of land. Whether the question be
looked at from the point of view of the jurist, as a question
of law reform, in the restoration of simple and inexpensive
instead of complicated and costly procedure ; or from that of
the agriculturist, in respect of the influence that this branch
of the law exercises over our most important home industry ;
or from that of the political economist, pleading for the
rights of the community in the distribution of public wealth,

— the cry is still the same : Free the land ; release it from
the shackles in which time and custom and interests — long
passed away — have entangled it, obstructing its adaptation

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 323

to the uses of modern life, and presenting it as an anachronism
upon the face of our institutions." Until these demands are
gratified, until the tenure of land in England is reformed,
until the tenant is relieved, and the farm-laborer is lifted
above starvation, — the advice of the English economist will
be of little value, his condemnation of our land system will
be of no effect, and his prognostications will have no terrors
for us.

The general distribution of land, to which I have referred,
the independence of land-holders, the absence of severe legal
restrictions, the freedom from restraint, and the social
equality which characterizes this country and gives every
man his opportunity, and clothes him with unusual obliga-
tions, — all conspire to stimulate agricultural investigation,
and to rouse the popular mind to great activity and constant
inquiry into all problems relating to this industry. By
associations innumerable, by colleges, by competition at
fairs, by the explorations of science, every branch of farming
is explored, and all the results of experience are formulated
and arranged for the guidance of the learner and the
encouragement of the expert. The readiness with which the
American farmer apprehends a successful application of his
labor to the land, and his keenness in avoiding unprofitable
speculations and doubtful operations, have secured to him a
degree of general prosperity hardly found elsewhere. There
is no doubt that his business is attended with more success
than is that of his fellow-laborers on the land in any other
quarter of the globe. From the market gardens around our
large cities to the broad fields which supply the staples for
commerce, — cotton, corn, wheat, beef, pork and products
of the dairy, — there may be found, as I have already said,
a successful agricultural enterprise in the hands of an in-
dustrious and sagacious people. Understanding well the
varieties of climate in which they live and the varieties of
soil on which they labor, recognizing the demands of the
markets they are to supply, they seldom fail to adopt that
branch of their business which promises the largest return.
Blessed with a div^ersity of soil and climate and a breadth of
territory unknown to any other people, they are free to
make their choice, and are never compelled to force upon

324 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

any section an inappropriate crop, or to call art into compe-
tition and unequal strife with nature. While exercising an
instinctive judgment in their calling, they are always ready
to enter upon any inquiry which may afford new light and
open new paths. To no agricultural community on earth
can the student of economy address himself with more assur-
ance that his views will be considered and his theories tried.
It is indeed difficult to determine whether the American
farmer displays more activity and skill on the fields he culti-
vates or in* those wider fields upon which he enters with the
scientist and the theorist. It is not surprising, therefore,
that the careful and observant student of social and civil
economy should be tempted to lay his views before so intel-
ligent and appreciative an audience. Nor should he be
disappointed if his theories are slowly adopted and carefully
investigated. And it is curious and interesting to witness
the modifications which take place in the agricultural
industry : how a crop prevails under favorable circum-
stances for a period, and declines under adversity ; how, as
interests require, the application of labor varies ; how the
wholesale and somewhat rude forming of a sparsely settled
region will be converted into the most ingenious processes
by being brought into contact with wealth and a populous
community. And this law no agricultural theory, no agri-
cultural experiment, can defy. And yet in this lies the
farmer's temptation. The beaten path grows dull, and he
longs to leave it. Investigation and experiment are full of
charms and promise, and he becomes a willing follower.
His fields he devotes to a new and untried crop, his stalls to
a novel industry, — too often to his cost. Let me illus-
trate.

Eor many years the New England market has been sup-
plied with beef, mutton and pork from the West, to a very
considerable extent. It is now proposed to establish beef
factories, so called, in New England ; and, as I understand,
to fatten beef in these factories on the products of our corn-
fields converted into meal and ensilage. This question I
will not discuss myself; but I will give you such facts as I
have with regard to the production of beef elsewhere, and
leave you to judge of the profit of a beef factory. Before

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 325

laying before you these facts, I would suggest that beef-
fattening, like corn-growing, may, as I think, be subsidiary
work on a New England farm ; and I cannot therefore too
highly commend the enterprise of those who have brought
among us the best breeds of cattle for beef and the dairy ;
nor can I fail to express my admiration of the wonderful
specimens of heavy cattle, pure-bred and grades, which are
often found at our agricultural fairs. I consider a well-made
working ox to be a part of the economical labor of a well-
regulated farm ; and I shall rejoice in their increase in New
England, whenever the farmers find it for their interest to
use them ; and I am sure every farmer will agree with me
that a model dairy cow should be as remarkable for her
thrift as for her dairy qualities.

While you are considering the advantages of fattening
beef in New England, and calculating the profits to be
derived from beef factories, I desire to call your attention to
the methods by which beef on the hoof is brought to the
great Western markets, and the expense of getting it there.

The three greatest markets for cattle in this country are
Kansas City, Chicago and St. Louis. Ranch cattle destined
for these markets are secured at a cost of about three dollars
and forty cents per hundred pounds, at three years old.
AVhen a year old, they are purchased for about twelve
dollars per head, — or two dollars per hundred live weight
of six hundred pounds. They are fed on the ranches until
three years old, during which time they usually add three
hundred pounds to their weight, and one dollar and sixty
cents for each hundred pounds to their value ; making seven-
teen dollars as the result of two years' holding, less the
expense, which it is safe to place at two dollars per head per
year. These animals are called " feeders," and are pur-
chased by farmers for about twenty-five dollars per head.
Most of them are driven through the corn fields of eastern
Kansas, eastern Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana, to be con-
verted into beef. It is estimated that corn at twenty cents
per bushel can be converted into beef at a profit, at the
prices which have obtained during the past ten years. At
twenty-five cents per bushel the profit is less certain ; and
at thirty cents per bushel the profit is exceedingly doubtful.

326 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The weight of these cattle when ready for market is about
twelve hundred pounds, and their value six dollars per
hundred. Thus we have added one hundred per cent to
the original cost price, and thirty-three and a third per cent
to the original weight. All expense, such as freight, com-
missions, etc., from the feeding point in Kansas to Chicago,
will fall within three dollars per head. Feeders in south-
western Kansas are in the habit of feeding large numbers of
steers in a most systematic manner. They purchase their
cattle at about three dollars per hundred pounds on the hoof,
early in December, and supply them with corn so arranged
in cribs that they can help themselves. Water is supplied
by a running stream. No hay or fodder is fed, and one man
only is required to take care of the herd. The cattle are fed
until the first of May, and are estimated to consume each
seventy-five or eighty bushels of corn during these five
months. The refuse of the corn is consumed by hogs, the
profit on which during a successful season is estimated to
pay for all of the corn fed out. The cattle, when driven
into the feeding enclosure, have" cost from twenty-five dollars
to twenty-seven dollars per head ; during the feeding season
they have consumed fifteen dollars' worth of corn, and are
sold, according to the above estimates, for about seventy-
two dollars per head, delivered in Chicago, at a cost, as I
have stated, of three dollars. The profit on cattle fed in
this manner is easily estimated.

But there are many cattle reaching Chicago which are
wholly unfit for beef, and require additional feeding for the
market. These cattle can usually be purchased for about
fifty dollars per head ; and they have been shipped to New
York and thence to neighboring farms at the rate of three
dollars per head. You will be interested in an estimate of
the expense of converting these animals into marketable beef,
as compared with the estimates I have given of feeding in
the West. It is evident, I think, that we cannot afford to
feed eighty bushels of corn, worth in the Eastern market at
the lowest calculation fifty cents per bushel if brought from
the West, and more if raised on our own farms, amounting to
forty-eight dollars, in order to bring a nine hundred pound
steer up to twelve hundred pounds. Sixteen dollars per

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 327

hundred is a pretty high price to pay for beef on the hoof.
And, granting that two steers can be fed on an acre of corn,
an estimate suggested by the advocates of New England beef
factories, is there any farmer here who would consider six
hundred pounds of beef, live weight, to be a sufficient com-
pensation for the (Jorn crop of an acre — the market value
of the beef being thirty-six dollars? The conversion of this
crop into meal and ensilage it seems to me can hardly mend
the matter, — considering the cost of grinding the corn and
packing the fodder into a silo. I have said nothing of the
interest of the money invested in a beef factory, — thirty-two
thousand dollars, I think, — and the expense of labor employed
in the care of the cattle. I have, moreover, allowed to all
animals an equal aptitude to ftitten. Mr. Burleigh of Maine,
one of the best judges of cattle I have ever known, a farmer
who, by his judicious and bold importation of the best blood of
England into our country, has conferred a lasting benefit on
the agricultural interests of all these States, says ; <« Many
times I have fed animals equally well bred and with equal
care, when one would gain three pounds to the other two."
And, while I believe in ensilage for certain purposes, and
feel quite sure it is a convenient and profitable food for my
dairy cows during the dry pasturage of late summer, and in
the stable confinement of winter, I shall wait with interest
for the result of Mr. Burleigh's experiment in making " a test
between ten acres kept in grass, and the same number in corn
and fed as ensilage," — fed, I suppose, for beef.

From the vision.uy speculation of such a proposition as
beef factories, erected when corn and roots and hay are dear,
and labor expensive, we turn to the practical experiments of
the colleges and experiment stations established in almost
every State in the Union, and to the intelligent cultivator on
his land, with the expectation that long-mooted questions of
agriculture will ultimately be settled to the farmer's satisfac-
tion and profit. While he cannot afibrd to waste his money
in doubtful experiments presented by advocates and not by
investigators, or his time in useless inquiries into phenomena
real or imaginary, which have no value among the processes
of nature, even when they happen to exist, he can accept the
results of the work performed by the practical scientists,

328 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

who draw their conclusions from facts, and do not endeavor
to bend their facts to their theories. When the Maryland
Experiment Station obtains and publishes definite results
from the cultivation of the potato, and the New Hampshire
Station lays down combinations of food for the different
objects of feeding, tested on the different animals fed, they
are engaged in disseminating useful knowledge, and stand by
the side of the farmer in his labor. It is this form of investi-
gation which may lead and guide American agriculture in
the career which is constantly opening before it as the
industry of an independent, land-holding people, to whom
pseudo-science is an obstacle and a hindrance.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 329

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

BY JAMES S. GRINNELL OF GREENFIELD.

To write upon the farming of Massachusetts, is, to use an
agricultural simile, much like " threshing old straw," having
as a subject been most thoroughly canvassed, — as declining
or advancing, according to the views taken of it by those
more or less informed, — in essays, in wise or unwise scrib-
blings, in agricultural and other papers, and as discussed in
farmers' institutes and clubs. A somewhat labored paper
was read before this Board in 1882, when it was believed to
be shown that, in the growth of the agricultural population ;
in the much greater comforts and even luxuries now enjoyed ;
in the intellectual and educational advance ; and in the vastly
increased returns from the whole agricultural products, not-
withstanding a great diminution in some principal articles
of food consumption, — the farmers of Massachusetts were
much better off than they were forty years ago ; and recent
examination confirms this judgment.

The farming and farm productions of Massachusetts have
been and often are slightingly mentioned and ridiculed by
farmers and newspaper writers and politicians of other newer
and larger States, who usually, in merely regarding the
enormous productions of those States as the only test of
what farming should be, seem to be quite unmindful of the
part Massachusetts men have taken and now hold in forming
the agriculture of the country, in developing and maintaining
the best rules and principles of good husbandry, and origi-
nating the implements by which these great results have been
accomplished ; and also the prominence Massachusetts now
holds, by her Board of Agriculture, her Agricultural College,

330 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

her numerous agricultural societies, and her thousands of
active and intelligent farmers.

While Massachusetts agriculture at the present time may
not have a very great influence on the whole country, to us,
citizens of the Commonwealth, it is much, and its decline, if
there were any, would be serious ; as the widow of an old
Scotch laird, who was beheaded for being " out in '45," said,
of his misfortune, " 'twas nae gret thing of a held, but 'twas
a sair loss to him." Our missions are different : they of the
larger States are as foreign missionaries, to send provisions
throughout all the world ; we, as home missionaries, are to
feed our own and fit them for service elsewhere, — a limited
field, but quite as important.

Our population is now two millions, — more than twice
what it was in 1845, and requiring, of course, food in the
same proportion.

While, to be sure, the larger part of the staple provisions,
the meats, and of all the cereals, is supplied to us from the
Western producing States and Territories, there is yet
necessary, for the use of the consumers, who are to the pro-
ducing farmers more than twenty-five to one, a very great
amount of food material to be grown by the agriculturists
of our own State, and which is proportionately increased
much beyond the advance of the population.

There are various ways by which the condition of our
farming at present, as compared with past years, may be
judged. The first — the most natural one, and the most un-
certain and delusive — is the individual view taken by a
superficial observer, who judges from the daily talk of
farmers, and hears their grumbling of hard times ; low
prices for what they sell, high prices for what they buy ; the
difficulty of procuring labor; their everlasting complaints
against the administration of the seasons ; of edacious taxes ;
diseases in animals and crops, and the horrors of the insect
world, in which are found, it is said, over two hundred thou-
sand species, all of which the farmer believes are arrayed
against him, and mostly in active operation. Trustingly to
listen to these environments of the farmer, one would hardly
suppose he had a comfortable home, and from the products
of his farm enough for himself and family to eat, drink and

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 331

wear ; to clothe them all ; to educate his children ; to pay
for stated preaching, and enjoy it ; and generally to improve
his farm and his animals. The farmer regards himself as
bearing to the fullest extent the primal curse imposed by the
Almighty for '< man's first disobedience by the fruit of that
forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the
world, and all our woe." To him alone, of all occupations,
comes the doom, "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."

While his life has more freedom and independence of
action than others enjoy, it is laborious, and made more so
by the constant trials and contests against forces of nature,
from which other occupations are exempt.

The farmer is naturally a pessimist in his talk, and con-
veys in his conversation discouraging ideas. He is not
usually inclined to admit that he is making money. He
sometimes brags that his lambs brought a pretty fair price,
though qualified by the statement that he ought to have had
a little more; that his steers had done very well, but the
market was a little down ; that his shotes at seven months
old were fat, and brought more than he expected, but, if he
had kept them a week longer, he would have got a quarter
of a cent a pound more. But he does not expect these little
ebullitions of success to count and be remembered, and
especially not to be recalled on the first of May. He in-
clines to the belief that the assessors are natural enemies,
and he does not purpose that they shall have any insight into
his afiairs more than the law allows.

The two inevitables are before him, — death and taxes.
The first he prepares himself to meet indefinitely and in-
difierently ; the other, to avoid if it be possible, consistent
with the most attenuated honesty. 'Next to the icy hand of
death, he dreads the frosty touch of the collector of taxes.

This secretive tendency in this direction, natural to all, is
more developed in the farmer, because all he has is, or ought
to be, in sight : in his land, his buildings, his crops, his
stock, and his implements and machines, — visible subjects
for taxation, on which he often pays for the support of his
government and his church more than his wealthier neigh-
bors in other vocations, more lucrative, if not as honest, the

332 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

results of which are everlastingly concealed, entombed in the
sacred vaults of a trust and security deposit company. This
continued deprecatory talk of the farmers themselves, of the
unprosperous condition of their profession and of themselves,
is supposed, but wrongfully, to be a true exposition of Mas-
sachusetts farming, as coming directly from those engaged
in it. It will not stand the test of analysis, is disproved by
the census returns, the assessors' books, and is based largely
on a false standard of values, brought on by the condition of
the country a quarter of a century ago.

I quote from a paper read here seven years ago, more
than ever convinced of its soundness.*

"Without any doubt, the most prevailing and best credited
reason among the farmers themselves, and coming nearest
home to them, for believing that agriculture has declined in
Massachusetts, is in judging from the fallacious stand-point
of the very high prices which they obtained for agricultural
products during the late war and for some years after its
close. Through that fearful strife, when more than a million
of able-bodied men from the North were changed largely
from producers to consumers, the government, obliged to
support them in the field, was, from the inadequate supply of
all articles of food and clothing which come from the farm,
forced to pay very largely for them ; and thus a scale of
prices was established through the country far above the
rates which had prevailed before the war, and which we had
been accustomed to receive.

" These, with the inflation of the currency, induced among
us more extended cultivation ; and this, with a scarcity of
labor, enhanced the cost of all that we produced. This in-
creased production continued for some years after the war,
and prices were still kept up, and it was a long time before
they were brought down to ante-bellum times. In the long
run, it was a misfortune for our farmers to have received such
high-sounding, paper-money prices as they did for every-
thing they made, raised or grew during that period.

" A factitious value was created, which could not and did
not continue very long after the emergency causing it had
passed, — but long enough to have wrought conviction in

* Agriculture of Massachusetta, 1881, p. 379.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 333

the minds of the producers that it was to be permanent. It
was disappointing and hard for farmers to realize that this
was not to be, and they did not cheerfully nor readily return
to normal prices. This condition, existing for eight or ten
years, with a reluctant return to old rates, has given an im-
pression of a general decline in agriculture which is disproved
by safer tests."

Much the same conclusion is drawn by a casual observer
in driving through some rural districts, settled long years
ago, and even now remote from railway connections or a
convenient market, quite outside the radius of a manufactur-
ing or a commercial centre. He sees farm-houses, barns and
buildings going to ruin, — good, comfortable homes in their
day, where large families have been raised, members of
which have gone out to colonize new lands, or to give addi-
tional impulse to the throbbing beats of great business centres,
by the infusion of new, hearty, healthy blood. They have
gone, not because farm work was too hard, not because farm-
ing would not give them a good living, but from a proud,
restless ambition to be independent

But, while looking upon these evidences of thrifty, happy
homes, once so cheerful and prosperous, now "touched by
the mortal finger of decay," and crumbling into ruins, it
seems to him as a picture of desolation ; and from these he
generalizes that all the agriculture of Massachusetts has quite
declined, and that the State is being depopulated of its rural
inhabitants to a greater extent than is the case.

But, when he descends from these rough heights to the
neighborhood of a railway station, a manufacturing village
or a popular resort for summer residents, he will find that
these people from the hills have only sought a convenient
market for agricultural products, easier grown and more
remunerative on smaller holdings of better land, without
thereby decreasing the population of the Commonwealth.
If he extends his inquiries into the cities and large towns, he
will find, among the wealthiest merchants, the ablest finan-
ciers and most successful business men, many who as farmers'
boys commenced with sweeping the store or driving trucks ;
many of the most prominent in the learned professions
who left the farms because of lofty ambition and want of

334 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

room. He will find the controlling men on the railways,
those who, commencing at the car-brake, have risen to be the
managers and superintendents of great lines of travel. These
are the overflow, the surplus boys who had not room on the
old homesteads.

If, then, this searcher after information will consult our
most admirable State census, he will find that the popula-
tion has more than doubled in less than forty years ; that, in
the past ten years, from 1875 to 1885, the population has
increased nearly 300,000; that, since 1865, the cultivated
acres have increased from 881,402 to 939,260,-57,858
acres ; that every county in the State shows an increased
average value of land and buildings on farms in 1885 over
1875. Farms in the vicinity of the, cities, with their increas-
ing population, are greatly enhanced in value ; and this is a
large item, considering that forty years ago we had but four
cities, and now have twenty-five, with people to be fed
numbering in each from 15,000 to 400,000. The average
value of farms, gardens, orchards and the buildings thereon,
is each $4,112.83 for 1885, as against $3,660 in 1875,—
or $452.83 gain on each farm.

The special importance and interest of this are enhanced by
the fact that, in our system of farming, the Massachusetts
farmer detests the relation of landlord and tenant ; the
former he seldom is, the latter he will not be. He will have
his farm in fee simple, even if he has to temporarily embel-
lish it with a mortgage ; and the fact that many do that, and,
by industry, economy and prudence, successfully throw
off that burden, proves that even under those conditions
farming can be made to pay. The opinion of practical farmers
on this landlord and tenant question is shown by the fact that
while the whole number of farmers is 40,112, there are but
3,243 of those as tenants. The whole number of persons
engaged in agriculture in 1865 was 68,538 ; in 1875, 70,945 ;
and in 1885, 77,661.

I find another evidence of the general prosperity of the
farms, by the courtesy of the Secretary of State, who to
my inquiry replies that the whole number of insolvent
debtors returned to his olEce for the ten years past was
5,379, of which he is glad to say only 121 farmers appear in

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 335

the record, — about one-fifth of one per cent. I venture to
say, that, if these could be traced, four-fifths Avould be found
to have failed in transactions outside of legitimate farminsr, —
such as signing notes for others, buying wild-cat patents,
assuming obligations too heavy to carry, or attempting to
combine with their fanning some other business for which
they were unfitted.

This certainly does not look like a decline in the agricul-
ture of Massachusetts, and these facts stand in strong con-
trast to careless individual opinions and observations.

For years has gone out the cry of ' ' Keep the boys on the
farm." This ad captandum wail, largely the stock of care-
less lecturers and newspaper writers, uttered without con-
sideration or sufficient reason, should be greatly modified.
To induce one boy to remain on the old homestead — to comfort
and assist the father and mother on the down hill of life ; to
care for the farm, and ultimately to become its owner and the
head of a new family, with the social, domestic, business,
political and religious responsibilities attending these — is a
consummation devoutly to be wished.

But tlK)se who clamor to keep the boys on the farm do not
thoughtfully consider the condition of the farmers and their
farms, and still less from their narrow stand-point of vision
do they consider the laws of nature, under the ordering of
a Divine Providence, which compel the dispersion of these
families sooner or later.

In the first place, see the situation of the farmer, his land
and buildings, as commonly found The average size of
farms is now about seventy-five acres ; fifty years ago, about
ninety-nine ; and the average number of children in a family,
about five. Now, to keep three or four boys on the same
farm, when they had attained their manhood, with an in-
stinctive and proper desire to be their own masters and to
be husbands and fathers, would be unreasonable and impos-
sible. A natural spirit of pride and independence would
forbid their long continuing as mere wage-workers. The
farm could not be made to support two or three families,
even if they attempted the impracticable scheme of a co-
operative system. It is not, in the ordinary experience of
mankind, possible for two or three families long to dwell in

336 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

harmony under the same roof. If two or three grown
brothers, with a father and families, ever passed together a
continuous, pleasant and profitable life, it is very exceptional.

The attempts formerly made, — now happily rare, — of
keeping the boys on the farm by its division among sons,
the old father retaining only a life support, have too often
resulted in unseemly and distressing quarrels. Quite as
impracticable and impossible would it be to divide among
two or three sons a farm of a hundred acres, — " suitably
divided," as an advertisement would read, "into mowing,
tillage and pasture, with wood enough for family use, a
never-failing well, and running water to the barn." Mani-
festly, this could not be done ; and the only way to keep boys
on a farm would be for one to buy an adjacent property,
paying what money he had earned since he was one and
twenty, mortgjiging the farm for the remainder, and getting
the old man to sign his notes.

Now, arrangements being made for but one of the boys to
stay on the farm, what is to become of the others, and of the
sisters, who certainly are worthy of equal consideration,
though they seldom receive it? They must go. So much
for the practical and personal side of this question.

But there is another matter involved in this ' ' keeping
the boys on the farm," broader and more important, in a
political sense. History shows that the permanent coloniza-
tion, settlement and cultivation of new territory is always
(with the exception of nomadic races, who move in
tribes) accomplished by individual action of the young,
hardy, restless and persevering members of the community.
The promptings for this migratory tendency are various,
never so well illustrated as in the history of our own State
and of this whole country : ' * freedom to worship God ; "
the search for gold and other precious and useful metals ; a
desire for more genial skies and a richer soil, which should
yield its abundance uncumbered with thorns and thistles,
and un watered by the sweat of the face ; and a restless, ad-
venturous desire to penetrate the unknown, and to see and
to try something new.

But, were we of the Aryan race not thus possessed of
this roving tendency, there would in time have come an

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 337

imperative necessity for a constant migration. While
among our rugged mountain ranges there are fertile valleys
and productive hill-sides, yet a limit would long ago have
been found, where the productions of the soil would not have
been sufficient to supply the wants of that greatly increased
population.

Malthus, a great authority, says : "There is a constant
tendency in all animated life to increase beyond the nourish-
ment prepared for it. It is observed by Dr. Franklin that
there is no bound to the prolific nature of plants and animals
but what is made by their crowding and interfering with
each other's means of subsistence. Were the face of the
earth vacant of other plants, it might be gradually sown and
overspread with one kind only ; and, were it empty of other
inhabitants, it might in a few ages be replenished from one
nation only, — as, for instance, with Englishmen.

" The great law of necessity, which prevents population
from increasing in any country beyond the food which it
can either produce or purchase, is a law so obvious and
evident to our understandings that we cannot for a moment
doubt it. The different modes which nature takes to repress
a redundant population do not indeed appear to us so certain
and regular ; but, though we cannot always predict the
mode, we may with certainty predict the fact.

"In the northern States of America, where the means of
subsistence have been more ample, the manners of the people
more pure, and the checks to early marriages fewer than in
any of the modern States of Europe, the population has been
found to double itself for above a century and a half in less
than twenty-five years."

The learned and accomplished superintendent of the Fed-
eral census says that the capabilities of increase in popula-
tion have been exhibited, and on a vast scale, under the
most favorable conditions for observation, upon the terri-
tory of the United States within the past century ; and these
capabilities are well understood and susceptible of reduction
to at least approximate mathematical statements. In a
new community, where land is abundant and fertile, where
the occupations of the people are mainly agricultural, where
the habits of the people are simple, and the absolute require-

338 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ments of the family are few, a population of European stock
may increase, decade after decade, at the rate of even thirty
per cent in ten years ; and it is even possible that, in
circumstances exceptionally favorable, an increase of thirty-
three or thii-ty-five per cent, wholly irrespective of immigra-
tion, might take place in ten years.

The entire immigration to the United States for thirty
years, between 1790 and 1820, was estimated by Dr. Sybert
at only about eight thousand annually ; while the entire
population had increased from four millions to nine and one-
half millions.

Governor Winthrop, speaking of the increase of population
to 1640, says, with the rate of increase going on for thirty-five
years, the people would have multiplied more than fifteen
fold before the beginning of King Philip's war, a doubling in
about nine years, which ratio could not last long. The great
increase which did come, and by comparison what it would
have been, is made more comprehensible by the fact that,
prior to King Philip's war, in 1646, forty-four towns had
been settled and incorporated; and that before 1765, the
date of taking the first colonial census, the number of incor-
porated towns had increased to one hundred and seventy-five.

This position is strengthened by the fact that, from 1701,
when, by the best estimates that could be made, the popula-
tion of Massachusetts was seventy thousand, to 1776 it had
increased 402 per cent. Up to this time there had been but
little migration either way ; but soon after the war the grow-
ing surplus went West.

The redundancy of population in Massachusetts has been
constantly reduced by migration to other States and the vast
territory west, without which that immense fertile country
would for a long time have remained in possession of the
roaming bufialo and the untutored Indian. The agricultural
portion of our population has in more recent years been
somewhat relieved of its redundancy by occupations in local
centres, in manufacturing towns or various railways.

The superintendent of the census of 1860 says that about
one'-third of those born in Massachusetts were then living in
other States, and that the old agricultural States may be
said to be filled up, so far as the resources adapted to a rural

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 339

population in the present condition of agricultural science
may be regarded. The conditions of their increase undergo
a change upon the general occupation and allotment of their
areas. Manufactures and commerce then come in to supply
the means of subsistence to an excess of inhabitants beyond
what the ordinary cultivation of the soil can sustain.

But people who enter other occupations and pursue other
industries must be maintained in food ; they cannot live on
the products of mechanical, manufacturing or professional
labor alone ; their actual support must come from the soil, —
naturally, where they live. And when the land where they
have settled fails to furnish that support which they need,
they must seek it elsewhere, either by buying it froni abroad,

— not always practicable, — or, as in this case, migrating to
broader and more fertile fields, from which to draw the
means by which they live.

By the normal increase, without the addition of immi-
grants, the population of 378,787 in 1790, in doubling at
the moderate rate of every thirty years, would have been
757,574 in 1820, 1,515,148 in 1850, and in 1880, 3,110,296,

— a population of 386 to every square mile of territory in
the State, exceeding in density every other State or country
recorded, except Belgium, which has 481 to the square mile,
but on over six million acres of cultivated land (five million
in the highest state of tilth), while we have but 939,260
acres.

It is, therefore, evident that such a population could never
have been maintained on such an acreage of such soil as our
State ; nor would even the subjugation of the million and a
half acres of our ' ' uncultivated land " have afforded relief.

It was only the migration from the farms of able-bodied
young men and women, that both held in check our ever-
increasing population, and planted in other sections of this
wide land the germs of great States and a stable government.

While the laws of nature have forbidden any great advance
in our agriculture by the ordinary increments of population,
counteracted as they have been by constant emigration, we
must turn to the remarkably full and accurate statistics of our
own census, to judge somewhat by comparison of our standing
at the present with that of former years.

340 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

For the last two decades, since 1865, we have very careful,
and minute tables ; prior to that, for two decades, not so
complete, but enough to make interesting, and, so far as
they go, satisfactory, comparisons of the condition of our
farming. In the first place, we are shown, as before stated,
a gain in the past twenty years of 57,858 acres of land under
cultivation. The increased value of farm property is similar.

Far))is and Farm Buildings.

1865, $153,084,565

1875, 182,663,140

1885, .,. 185,118,925

All Farm Properly.

1865, $198,506,103

1875 209,974,877

1885 216,230,550

We are also shown, that, while (with the exception of corn,
in which we hold our own) our crops of cereals have some-
what diminished, we exhibit a steady and large increase
of all agricultural and domestic products in thirty years ;
back of that our returns are too incomplete to make any
comparison.

Agricultural and Domestic Products.

1865, $32,027,821

1875, 37,073,034

1885, 47,756,033

During the past forty years vast changes have occurred,
altering our whole manner of living. By the construction of
long lines of railway, the important staples of life, as the
cereals and meats, which our climate and soil could not have
furnished to our much more than duplicated population, have
been brought to our doors, at rates lower than we could
usually raise them with profit. But with the increase of
consumers has come a great demand and a cultivated taste
for many articles of necessary and luxurious food, formerly
unknown or uncalled for, now supplied by farmers and
gardeners.

Of fruits, berries, nuts, etc., we raise $2,680,000 worth.
The whole product of fruits for 1845 was $755,382. Besides

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 341

over $1,100,000 worth of apples and $147,000 of pears, we
grow over $540,000 worth of cranberries ; of strawberries,
over $400,000; other berries, $138,000; and of grapes,
$117,000. Of vegetables we show $5,227,194, against
$1,824,112 in 1845 ; quite credible, when, beside $2,000,000
of potatoes, $270,000 of onions and $500,000 of cabbage, we
add $100,000 for asparagus, $154,000 for celery, $240,000
for green corn, $109,000 for lettuce, $164,000 for tomatoes,
and for dandelions $55,067, — and thousands more for a host
of nutritious and delicious esculents, which in earlier days
generally graced only the tables of the wealthy, but now in
their seasons are considered as necessities for the proletariat.

It is not only that the farmers live better than their
fathers, but their surplus goes to the consumers, and from
this come quick returns, by which they are able constantly
to provide for themselves necessities and the comforts of
modern living. This change of productions is most plainly
illustrated in the fact that the value of the cereals now grown
by us is less than that of the animal products, the dairy, or
of fruits, berries and nuts, or of vegetables. The dairy
products have increased from $1,800,000 in 1845 to
$13,080,526 in 1885 ; and of this increase nearly $5,000,000
are within the past ten years, or since 1875. These figures
show that the fanners of Massachusetts are not losing their
importance ; and that, while it is not a great farming State,
it has its own features of farm industry, which, as displayed
by our census, are valuable and encouraging. To a con-
siderable extent the advance in agriculture is corroborated
by the report of the town assessors, who represent the tax-
able real estate as very largely inci-eased ; and of the
personal property, that horses have increased in number
the past year 5,315 ; milch cows and other neat cattle, 9,686.
Sheep, however, are still on the declining plane by 3,733,
while their individual value has decreased from $4.38 to
$3.83. Explanatory of this, to some extent, is the humili-
ating fact that dogs have increased 3,729 in number, and
are returned by their owners as worth to them $12.05 each,
as against $9 74 in 1875.

There is a large discrepancy between the assessors' repoit
of swine and that of the census. In 1885 the assessors

342 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

return 44,670 swine ; our census for the same year gives
65,749 hogs and 69,680 pigs. The only explanation I can
give of this is, that on May 1, when the assessors make
their lists, it is for the purpose of taxation, and nothing is
returned beyond the extremest limit of the law. The grown
hogs, except mainly breeding stock, have generally been
slaughtered during the winter ; and the pigs that came in
the spring, or were farrowed the previous fall, had not, in
the judgment of their owners, arrived at an age sufficient to
undergo the rigors of taxation. But in the coming autumn,
when cattle shows are blooming, and in November, when
our State census is taken, to show the magnitude of our
stock-growing, with no fear of an impending tax, the returns
are made witli the most profuse liberality ; and, by that
time, every pig that squealed in May has developed into
shote-hood, and is recorded a hog. This may reasonably
account for a large difference in the two enumerations.

A careless reading of the census for 1865 might lead one
to think we had lost largely in dressed meats. No doubt
the thousands of tons of dressed meats of all kinds, brought
on in refrigerator cars, have reduced our production of beef,
mutton and pork, but not to the extent which the incom-
plete census of that year would show, of over fourteen million
dollars' worth of dressed meat, while we show less than three
million in 1885.

In 1865 all the cattle, sheep and hogs, brought from
abroad and slaughtered at Brighton, to the amount of over
four million dollars, are credited to us ; which in 1885 are
properly omitted, as not our products.

Again, the price of dressed meats in the exceptional year
of 1865 was just about double that of 1885, which would
be about seven million dollars. These two amounts, with our
actual production of nearly three million, about equalize,
and show that our loss even in that line is comparatively
insignificant.

Without going into any further detailed statements, I give
below a table showing the increase in animals and products
since 1845, — forty years. I take this date as of the earliest
agricultural statistics collected by our State, and at a time
when a dollar counted a hundred cents. I have taken all the

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

343

articles enumerated in 1845, — others could not be compared ;
and, from the different way of taking the census then and
now, I have been obliged to group neat cattle, horses and
colts, lumber, wood and charcoal, and the cereals.

1S9S.

Neat cattle, . . . ,

Horses,

Sheep,

Swine,

Wool,

Butter,

Cheese,

Milk,

Poultry and eggs, .

Cereals,

Hay,

Potatoes, . . . .
Maple sugar, . . . .
Tobacco, . . . ,

Beef,

Wood, charcoal and lumber, .

15,327,199

3,461,118

556,284

917,435

335,136

1,106,709

398,174

304,907

51,782

2,228,229

5,222,833

1,309,030

41,443

16,686

225,918

2,379,911

$23,872,794

$8,487,982

6,056,143

265,952

1,013,617

61,432

2,541,551

99,119

10,516,468

2,070,462

1,806,177

9,676,893

1,904,225

77,175

474,929

493,014

2,602,953

148,145,092

It will be seen that we have in forty years almost doubled
in every product of the farm except sheep, wool, cheese and
the various grains. Sheep and wool have gone to the dogs.
The milk that was formerly made into cheese now goes more
profitably to creameries, or to those who don't keep cows.
Of corn, our royal crop, we grow more than we did forty
years ago, but by the bushel the price is not so high now as
then. We can import it from the West cheaper than it could
have been grown at that time ; and, with our improved imple-
ments and modern modes, we can raise it cheaper than we
can import it. Wheat, rye and oats are grown in less quan-
tities, as the land can be more profitably used for other pur-
poses and crops.

344 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The condition of our agriculture by the test of the census
figures is very satisfactory. An impartial and quite satis-
factory test for judging of the vitality of the agriculture of
our State may be made by examining the exposition of its
character, as manifested in the action of the people through
the Legislature, in establishing and maintaining a Board of
Agriculture, an Agricultural College, an Experiment Station
prior to the action of the Federal government, and numerous
agricultural societies, — all receiving the bounty of the State,
in a liberal provision annually paid.

It cannot be questioned, that to the efforts of our agricul-
tural societies is to be attributed in a great measure the
general advancement of practical agriculture among us.
They have encouraged by premiums and stimuhited by honor-
able competition ; they have excited greater interest in the
objects of agricultural labor, difi'used information respecting
it among the people, and elevated the standard of good
husbandry.

It has been often printed, and commonly believed, that the
first cattle show and fair ever held in this country was at
Pittsfield, in Berkshire County, in 1814. While this is true as
of a " cattle show " for the exhibition of stock, for that merely
and for premiums for the best, yet, for early activity in a
united effort to advance agricultural interests in this State,
the town of Hard wick, in Worcester County, is the first.

June 12, 1762, was passed " An Act for setting up a Fair
in the Town of Hardwicke in the County of Worceslev.''

Be it enacted by the Goveruor, Council and House of Represen-
tatives, That henceforth there may be kept a Fair in said Hard-
wicke^'on the third Wednesday and Thursday of May, and on the
third Wednesday and Thursday of October annually.

And be it farther enacted, That the said Town of Hardwicke
be, and hereby are, enabled at a Meeting called for that Purpose,
to chuse proper Officers to Regulate said Fair, until the annual
Meeting in March next, and to be chosen thereafter annually in
the Month of March during the Continuance of this Act.

And be it further enacted, That no Bargain and Sale made at
any of the said Fairs, shall be deemed valid and effectual in the
Law, unless the same be made between Sun-rising and Sun-setting.

This Act to continue and be in Force for the Space of seven
Years from the first Day of July next, and no longer.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 345

This fair was held for many years, the charter having
been extended, and was so important and of such general
interest that its occurrence was duly heralded by the alma-
nacs of the day, and " Hardwicke fair" had as conspicuous a
notice as "general election," or " Commencement at Cam-
bridge." It attracted public attention, and multitudes flocked
to it from all the regions round about. It was uniformly
under the direction of a superintendent, clerk, and from two
to four constables, elected at the annual town meeting.

This fair was instituted largely by the exertions of Brig-
adier-General Ruggles, who for twenty years resided in
Hard wick, and was very active in promoting the welfare of
the town by introducing improved breeds of horses and cattle
and better methods of cultivating the soil. Unhappily, he
did not believe that the severance of the provinces from the
mother country, at that time, was desirable ; and, after suffer-
ing all the insults and indignities put upon Tories of that
day, he openly and defiantly left the town and the country.
His great farms, five in number, were confiscated, and he,
at the age of eighty-eight, died in Nova Scotia after the war
was over, having ])een by George HI. somewhat compensated
for his loss of property and station, and for his loyalty to the
Crown.

Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, in which
our success freed us from the restrictions which Great Britain
had placed on our trade, commerce and manufactures, many
of the leading men of Boston, — professional, merchants,
mechanics, ship-owners and others, — foreseeing in the
growth of this new country the necessity of early promoting
its agriculture, from which all future prosperity must neces-
sarily flow, obtained from the general court in March, 1792,
an Act incorporating the "Massachusetts Society for Pro-
moting Agriculture."

The simple preamble reads: " AVhereas very great and
important advantages may arise to the community from in-
stituting a Society, for the purpose of promoting Agricul-
ture ; and divers persons having petitioned to this Court to
be incorporated into a Society, for that laudable purpose;
Be it therefore enacted," etc.

The twenty-eight incorporators bear the names of the

346 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

most patriotic, prudent and respected citizens of their day,
whose record is not only perpetuated on the books, but in
the streets, places, buildings and public institutions of this
our capital ; and of many of them their memory is kept
everlastingly green in the names of various beautiful towns
through the Commonwealth. They commenced with a sub-
scription among themselves of four thousand dollars, — a
liberal sum for those days. Since, by annual assessments,
by legacies and donations, the society has accumulated a
large sum, the interest of which has from the first been ex-
pended by them for the benefit of the farmers of the Com-
monwealth, for whom it has done more than any other
society, or than aH combined.

In 1797 it instituted the " Agricultural Journal," a publi-
cation continued more than thirty years. It took measures
for the institution of county societies, and erected a hall at
Brighton for the exhibition of domestic and agricultural
I)roducts. It contributed to the establishment of the pro-
fessorship of natural history and of the botanical garden in
the University at Cambridge. It originated a series of ad-
dresses at agricultural exhibitions, from the most eminent
men, which were published and distributed with great effect
and influence. It paid handsome premiums for essays on
agriculture, and for experiments, and for successful crops
and how to grow them. It imported and distributed through
the Commonwealth the first of the finest breeds of all our
best domesticated animals, vastly to the improvement of our
stock, and help to the farmers.

The Berkshire County Agricultural Society, incorporated
in 1811, was the next, and held, at Pittsfield, the first cattle
show in this country, in 1814. The Society of Middlesex
Husbandmen, started in 1803, was incorporated in 1820 ;
then followed the Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin, the
Worcester and the Essex, in 1818.

An Act of 1819 appropriated two hundred dollars annually
to every society which should raise the sum of one thou-
sand dollars for the promotion of agriculture, and in like
proportion for any greater sum, not exceeding three
thousand dollars. Since then, so great has been the interest
in agriculture, and so liberal the State in continuing its

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 347

aid, that now no less than thirty-four incorporated societies
hold their annual fairs, their farmers' institutes and farmers'
clubs.

In 1852 the Board of Agriculture was established, the
members of which are the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor,
Secretary of State, the President of the Agricultural College ;
three members at large, appointed by the governor, and one
from each incorporated agricultural society.

The Agricultural College, under the combined action of
the Federal and State governments, was incorporated and
located at Amherst in 1864. It has been, and still is, very
successful, — never so much so as now. The Experiment
Station was also incorporated and located at Amherst on
the grounds of the Agricultural College, in 1882, and now
receives support from the Federal government.

Under the direction of the Board of Agriculture, each
incorporated society holds not less than three farmers' insti-
tutes during the year, for essays and discussions.

In 1864, in accordance with the views of the Board of
Agriculture, expressed the previous year, the New England
Agricultural Society was formed, comprising in its limits
the six New England States ; and has in each year, in some
one of these States, held a large and successful exhibition,
in which were represented great agricultural, manufacturing
and mechanical displays.

The Bay State Agricultural Society was organized in 1886 ;
and, as a society bearing the name of the State, and as an
exponent of the agriculture of the State, may properly
receive a somewhat more extended notice.

There is no doubt that the early exhibitions of the State
and the county societies of Massachusetts contributed very
much to the improvement of our practical farming, and much
to awaken a spirit of inquiry and investigation ; and that
their continuance will do more than any other one thing to
secure the advancement of agriculture among us.

The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture con-
tinued its exhibitions for more than twenty years, and until
they were found to interfere with those of county societies ;
they were then abandoned in 1833, and the funds of the
society devoted to the importation and breeding of stock,
distributed all over the Conunonwealth.

348 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

More than twenty years then passed, and meanwhile, as
most of the neighboring States had adopted the practice of
holding State fairs, it was thought by some farmers, especially
in the western part of the State, that the interests of agricul-
ture would be served by holding a State fair in Massachusetts.
Accordingly, a meeting of citizens to consider the matter
was called at the State House in July, 1857, when the matter
was discussed at length. It was finally voted that a State
fair should be held whenever the State Board might deem
it expedient. It was determined by that body to hold a fair
in Boston, October 20-23, late enough not to interfere with
the county societies

The weather was very cold, discouraging visitors, and the
time happened unfortunately in the midst of an unexampled
financial crisis, so severe that many of the wealthy gentlemen
subscribers to the guarantee fund trembled as they rose in
the morning, lest the night should close upon their ruin.
The fair, interesting in the display of animals and of prod-
ucts, was not a success financially, notwithstanding that the
Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture made the
very generous donation of two thousand dollars.

The attempt was not renewed, and the matter of a State
fair slumbered for nearly thirty years ; till, in September,
1885, some spirited men, mostly from Worcester County,
feeling that the New England society now twenty years
established did not meet the requirements of an exclusively
State society of Massachusetts, resolved to again make the
attempt to form a society, and to hold a fair. A public
meeting was called at Worcester, and quite largely attended,
when it was voted to form a State society, to be called the
Bay State Agricultural Society. April 19, 1886, a charter
was obtained, under the general law of corporations, a con-
stitution and by-laws were adopted, able and efficient officers
chosen, and in Boston, Oct. 5-9, 1886, a fair was held,
with great success, in the grand display of animals, financial
results, and the instruction and enjoyment of thousands.

Greatly to the disappointment of farmers and many other
people, the prevalence of epizootic pleuro-pneumonia in
various sections of the country made the holding of a fair,
as was intended the next year, unsafe, and it was passed till

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 349

1888 At the solicitation of many farmers from the country,
especially from the western part of the State, and great
assurances of a very large attendance, with a sufficient guar-
antee fund from citizens of Springfield, the second fair of
the Bay State Agricultural Society was held on Hampden
Park in that city, commencing on October 4, and continu-
ing a week, — rather against the judgment of the officers of
the society.

The grounds were admirably adapted and arranged, with
abundant water, and with ample, convenient and securely
enclosed sheds for the accommodation of the vast collection
of animals, and the comfort of their keepers. Every prep-
aration for a o-reat disDlav of fine animals and a very large

during the whole week was exceptionally bad, — cold,
cloudy, raw, with rain almost every day and night, with an
occasional snow-squall. Aside from the inclement weather,
I am inclined to think that these two experiences settle the
question of expediency in holding a great and expensive fair
in a large city, or in the country, in favor of the city.

If the farmers, with their wives and children, wish to see
the fine animals, — for comparison, for education, for pur-
chase or for the pleasure of sight-seeing, — they might just
as well come to Boston, and take a holiday, as they do
Arbor Day, Decoration Day, or Labor Day. While, of the
residents in the city, there are ten times as many, paying
ones of all classes, to whom the sight of these fine animals
is as a new revelation, and who will derive from their visits
to the fair an immensity of instruction and amusement, and
the teaching of the fair would be by no means lost.

While some of the grandest animals were from beyond the
limits of our State, yet there were enough of the splendid

348 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

More than twenty years then passed, and meanwhile, as
most of the neighborhig States had adopted the practice of
holding State fairs, it was thought by some farmers, especially
in the western part of the State, that the interests of agricul-
ture would be served by holding a State fair in Massachusetts.
Accordingly, a meeting of citizens to consider the matter
was called at the State House in July, 1857, when the matter
was discussed at length. It was finally voted that a State
fair should be held whenever the State Board might deem
it expedient. It was determined by that body to hold a fair
in Boston, October 20-23, late enough not to interfere with
the county societies

ERRATUM.
Page 349, second paragraph, tenth line, for $;30,000, read $3,000.

fair slumbered for nearly thirty years ; till, in September,
1885, some spirited men, mostly from Worcester County,
feeling that the New England society now twenty years
established did not meet the requirements of an exclusively
State society of Massachusetts, resolved to again make the
attempt to form a society, and to hold a fair. A public
meeting was called at Worcester, and quite largely attended,
when it was voted to form a State society, to be called the
Bay State Agricultural Society. April 19, 1886, a charter
was obtained, under the general law of corporations, a con-
stitution and by-laws were adopted, able and efficient oflicers
chosen, and in Bostpn, Oct. 5-9, 1886, a fair was held,
with great success, in the grand display of animals, financial
results, and the instruction and enjoyment of thousands.

Greatly to the disappointment of farmers and many other
people, the prevalence of epizootic pleuro-pneumonia in
various sections of the country made the holding of a fair,
as was intended the next year, unsafe, and it was passed till

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 349

1888 At the solicitation of many farmers from the country,
especially from the western part of the State, and great
assurances of a very large attendance, with a sufficient guar-
antee fund from citizens of Springfield, the second fair of
the Bay State Agricultural Society was held on Hampden
Park in that city, commencing on October 4, and continu-
ing a week, — rather against the judgment of the officers of
the society.

The grounds were admirably adapted and arranged, with
abundant water, and with ample, convenient and securely
enclosed sheds for the accommodation of the vast collection
of animals, and the comfort of their keepers. Every prep-
aration for a great display of fine animals and a very large
attendance of [)eople was made by the officers of the society
and the citizens of Springfield, in the most liberal manner.
The animals were there, the finest collection we have ever
had in Massachusetts, but the people did not come ; and the
pecuniary loss was about $10,000, of which $30,000 was
supplied from the surplus of the first fair at Boston, and
$7,000 from the guarantee fund of Springfield.

One reason for the discouraging want of success in the
scant attendance was doubtless owing to the weather, which
during the whole week was exceptionally bad, — cold,
cloudy, raw, with rain almost every day and night, with an
occasional snow-squall. Aside from the inclement weather,
I am inclined to think that these two experiences settle the
question of expediency in holding a great and expensive fair
in a large city, or in the country, in favor of the city.

If the farmers, with their wives and children, wish to see
the fine animals, — for comparison, for education, for pur-
chase or for the pleasure of sight-seeing, — they might just
as well come to Boston, and take a holiday, as they do
Arbor Day, Decoration Day, or Labor Day. While, of the
residents in the city, there are ten times as many, paying
ones of all classes, to whom the sight of these fine animals
is as a new revelation, and who will derive from their visits
to the fair an immensity of instruction and amusement, and
the teaching of the fair would be by no means lost.

While some of the grandest animals were from beyond the
limits of our State, yet there were enough of the splendid

350 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

productions of our own growing to make us proud of our
Bay State fair, and of the substantial evidences of our
farming. My conclusion is, — seeing the general solvency
of the farmers, and regarding individual expressions deroga-
tory to the general prosperity of the farmers as misleading
and incorrect ; and thinking that the establishment and per-
petuation of our agricultural institutions by the Legislature
of the Commonwealth is convincing evidence of the confi-
dence of the people in sustaining a necessary and reasonably
prosperous occupation, — that all these, with a scrutiny of
the figures of our census, show unmistakably a great and
substantial progress in the agriculture of the State, and in
the condition of the tillers of the soil.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 351

A HUNDRED ACRES OR MORE.

BT ELBRIDGE CUSHMAN OF LAKEVILLE.

Our forefathers, while in old England, learned to place
great value upon land. Limited in their possessions, with
no hope of becoming land-owners, they realized the full force
of the old couplet, —

" Time was, ere England's grief began,
When every rood of ground maintained its man."

It would have been strange, indeed, when landing upon
what to them seemed the boundless shores of an unoccupied
wild, if they had not exulted at the possibility of unlimited
ownership of land.

As the years went on, and their numbers increased, this
greed for land took deeper and deeper root in their natures,
and we find in the earlier records of the colony an account
of some of the boldest ' ' western land speculations " that are
recorded in the history of our country. Within a few years
of their landing, large tracts were bought of the natives,
which, in many instances, are still known by the local name
given at the time of purchase. This ruling passion was
strong in death. Wills, bequeathing land to sons, often con-
tained a request that it should be retained by them until
transferred, without division, to male heirs, or to brothers
of the same name. Thus large tracts of land were held in
the same family name for several generations. No doubt
the old-time customs would have continued until our day,
had not the conditions changed, bringing with the changes
new customs and ideas. The demands upon the public
treasury were increased by the organization of Christian and
educational institutions, and by the cost of the various im-

352 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

provements made by public enterprise. Taxation increased
and bore heavily upon the land-owners. By the wonderful
development of the resources of the country, and the rapid
increase of new industries, the price of farm labor was ad-
vanced faster than the price of farm products was increased,
and the New England farmer was surprised to find that he
had become " land-poor." Just prior to the middle of the
present century a reaction conmienced, and many were found
heartily responding to the sentiment, "Ten acres enough."
It was thought that a small ftirm, well tilled, would prove
the paradise of the husbandman. The day-dream of the
laborer of every trade seems to have been of a little home in
the quiet country, with a few fertile acres to be tilled by his
own hands. Many stories were told of fabulous profits
realized from single acres devoted to special crops, far ex-
ceeding the income from farms containing many broad acres.
Science was demonstrating the possibilities of an extensive
system of farming. The benefits of such a system were,
however, necessarily confined to lands adjacent to the cities
and larger towns, while the homesteads that dotted the
mountain sides, as well as those down by the sea, were truly
left " out in the cold." Many could not realize these changes,
so gradual, yet so sure. They did not try to adapt them-
selves to them. Numbers of New England farmers wore
themselves out struggling in this contest with the inevitable.
So here, as in many another instance, it has been only
through the agony of death itself that the new ideas and
systems have been able to supplant the old. As time has
passed, many of these old homesteads have been leftuntilled
and some are quite deserted. The lilac, the lily, or the
garden rose may yet mark the spot where once centered the
hopes and affections of a happy famil}'- ; where comfort,
peace, and hallowed associations once clustered around a
home. And yet this was one of a neighborhood whose
people were all like the Arcadian farmers, —

" The richest were poor,
And the poorest lived in an abundance."

But a new era has dawned ; other rapid and mighty changes
are in progress. The last quarter century has witnessed a

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 353

most wonderful development in art and science. The laws
of trade have been almost revolutionized. Within our mem-
ories some of the States of this Union were practically more
distant from us than are to-day the most remote countries of
the earth. Our tables are supplied with the luxuries pro-
duced in distant lands, and they are cheap in comparison
with the fruits of our own State and neighborhood. The
small producer finds his products forestalled in his own
home market by those from warmer climes, cheaper lands
and perhaps cheaper labor. Large profits are no longer
possible, and his little business, once so pleasant and profita-
ble, will hardly meet the expenses of his family. The in-
terest and taxes on his high-priced land are serious burdens.
It has been said that land valued at over one thousand dol-
lars per acre cannot be profitably farmed in Massachusetts.
The same would be only too true of land of much less value
if it were used for farm crops and common market gardening.
There is abundant evidence that the profit on the special
crops of our market gardeners has been crowded down to a
minimum by sharp competition, while in the purely farming
districts there is a handwriting upon the wall that requires
the help of no prophet to interpret, " Farming don't pay."

We learn with sadness from statistics that the value of our
farms is depreciating at the rate of over half a million dollars
per year, while in some towns almost whole neighborhoods
are for sale, and miles square can be bought for less than
the cost of improvements. No farmer can contemplate this
state of affairs without extreme solicitude. We do not men-
tion these facts to excite alarm or to discuss causes, but
rather for the purpose of suggesting remedies. We do not
belong to the desponding class. We have great faith in, and
high hopes foi;, the future of New England agriculture. Our
only fear is that the farmers will fail to grasp their oppor-
tunities in time. Men of small mold and contracted mind
have had their day in all vocations. They are being crowded
off* the stage. The present condition demands men of broad
views and energetic habits. The successful farmer of the
future will be a man of such a stamp, — a thinking man, a
man of broad and comprehensive ideas. He will be compelled
to compete with the world, so he will draw information from

354 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.

every source. He will not confine his search for the secrets
of success to the operations of those engaged in kindred pur-
suits. He will early learn that agriculture is not an excep-
tional business, but that it is subject to the same laws of
trade that other callings are, and that the same causes lead to
success or failure in all vocations. He will see that the most
successful producer is the one that can place his product
before the consumer for a trifle less than any competitor, and
that where the profit on a single article is but a trifle, quanti-
ties must be produced to insure an income.

Not long since we were told by a successful manufacturer
that he commenced business twenty-five years ago with small
capital and little knowledge of the business. At that time,
the profit on a five-thousand-dollar business gave him a fair
income ; now, with a business ten times as large, it requires
all the skill that years of experience have brought to insure
only the same net income. This is not an exceptional case.
In our fathers' day, the shoe-maker pounding his leather on
his lapstone and pegging his shoes upon his knee completed
one pair of shoes per day, and sold them at a living profit.
To-day, he who would make shoes at a profit must employ
powerful and costly machinery in large shops. He will be
able to tell you the number of pairs turned out per second
in his large establishment. Trades have been divided and
subdivided until a score or more are embraced in one.
Each of these has become a specialty, and successful men
in every industry are known as specialists. Are these
lessons not to be noted by the fanner? Can the novice
without experience or capital hope to compete successfully
with the expert having all these advantages? Can the
stranger in the market expect his mite of production to
receive notice beside that of large producers in charge of
sharp and experienced salesmen? The inevitable conclusion
is, that the " hand-to-mouth" " one-horse farmer" has had
his day.. Starvation, if nothing else, will force him out of
the business. Already the farms of Massachusetts have
increased in size until the average is nearly or quite ninety
acres each. This indicates progress, and is in keeping with
the changes in nearly every industry. Consolidation, con-
centration, combination, are the unmistakable tendencies of

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 355

the future. We would by no means discourage the acquire-
ment of small homesteads. The ownership of a farm is
conducive to good citizenship, and we would that every
man, whatever his calling, might own the home that shelters
his family ; yet we believe that in the future the most success-
ful farming of our State will be upon farms larger than the
average. The products of these farms must depend largely
upon circumstances and conditions of a local nature. Char-
acter of soil, demands of the local market, the taste of the
farmer, should all be consulted. Then we must remember
that the larger the business the broader and more compre-
hensive must be the ability of the manager. Science has
already taken the place of luck and chance in the manage-
ment of agricultural operations.

Our fathers often considered the phases of the moon, but
the farmer of the future will note the conclusions of our
experiment stations and the warnings of the weather bureau.
His eflbrts must be special rather than general. The suc-
cessful farmer will be a specialist, and will need a thorough
training in the branch he undertakes. Our State is placing
golden opportunities within the reach of every boy who has
a taste for agriculture. All that is required on his part, to
fit him for the highest position in his calling, is ambition,
perseverance and industry. One who has the scientific
training of the schools, combined with experience in the field
and on the farm, will always be sought after. The demand
for such men already exceeds the supply. The field is
broad. Capital stands waiting for a directing hand. It
has been said, with truth, that a president for a railway
corporation, or a captain for a large ship, can be more readily
found than a man capable of the management of a large
farming estate. We believe that the boys who will help
supply this demand are already in our schools. It is not
the part of wisdom for the Massachusetts farmer to despair,
or sit down in idleness because the products of other sec-
tions are sold in his local market. He should bestir himself
at once to produce a better article, or endeavor to supply
the demand at a less price than it can be obtained from
abroad. Most of the land of our State can be made avail-
able for the production of something needed by our own

356 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

population. In some sections grazing would seem to be the
most profitable. Sheep husbandry and dairying will be
followed by farmers in such localities ; other sections are
adapted for fruit-growing ; and under the constant care of
one experienced, the business may be made a financial suc-
cess. Perhaps nowhere in the world are the choice grasses
gi'own to greater perfection than in our State.

Science and experience alike have demonstrated that good
crops of hay can be grown for many years in succession
without the application of animal manures. Some of our
lands are well adapted to the production of cereals. In the
present state of the market the business would be close
and the profits very small ; but with skilled hands, sustained
by the necessary capital, so that every discovery in art and
science might be utilized for assistance in the work, we are
confident that the profit realized would equal that from the
same amount of capital invested in trade or manufactures.
We have been for some years somewhat extensively engaged
in the production of Indian corn. From careful observation
we know that the cost of production has been enough below
the market price to afibrd a fair profit. But, to accomplish
this result, large fields have been cultivated by machines and
horse-power. Plant food has been supplied in the cheapest
form known. The experience gained in the work has taught
us that the cultivation of the single acre without the aid of
suitable helps is done at a loss.

We believe a greater confidence and a closer relation
between capital and labor are needed in our calling. Young
men should conquer their aversion to farm work, especially
in subordinate positions. The old maxim, of " learning to
obey before attempting to control," should not be forgotten.
We believe it to be quite as lucrative, and fail to see why it
may not be quite as honbrable to be employed as foreman or
laborer on a large estate as in a factory or counting room.
Great business ability and enterprise is being put forth in
extending the varied industries of our State. Capital is
abundant and cheap. There is within our borders much
cheap land. Already we hail with joy the dawning of the
day Avhen skilled labor, business ability, enterprise and
cheap land, together with capital, will place agriculture in

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 357

the front rank among the occupations of our people. The
larmers are giving more particular attention to the conditions
which are essential to success. Most gratifying results have
already been achieved through the wider diffusion of knowl-
edge, and the keener perception of opportunities.

In the future the Massachusetts farmer will feel no sacri-
fice of independence or individuality in consenting to become
a simple part in the harmonious working of a perfected
system. The liberal appropriations in aid of agriculture, and
the good seed sown by the press and the schools, have borne
fruit. Agriculture has become an acknowledged science.
The business is now on an elevated plane, demanding in its
management superior talent and energy. Soon organized
capital will assist in its operations, and it will be conducted
with the same system and certainty of success as the other
industries of the Commonwealth.

358 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Ja

MARKET GARDENING

BY W. W. RAWSON OF ARLINGTON.

Market gardening should be distinguished from farming.
While the market gardener is a tiller of the soil, his occupa-
tion differs essentially from that of the farmer.

By market gardening is meant the raising of such vege-
tables as celery, lettuce, cucumbers and the like, with a few
of the more stable and hardy characters, such as squashes
and beets.

The business of market gardening has within the last
twenty years become one of considerable importance, and
when understood is quite profitable. In this business, as in
every other, the success depends more upon the man con-
ducting it than upon anything else.

He must understand the nature of growing plants ; the
different qualities of soil required for each ; the mode of
cultivation and the time of planting best adapted to the
climate where located. He must have some knowledge of
chemistry and botany, must be a practical engineer and
mechanic, and also be familiar with the laws of nature.
After these requirements, the more common sense he has,
the better for him.

The location of the garden is quite important. It should
be as near the market as possible. If the roads to and from
the market are level, the land will be much more valuable,
because one of the largest items of expense in connection
with the business is the teaming of the product, and the
manure necessary to secure a crop.

The land should be of various qualities, and a gentle slope
to the south and west is much preferable, because on it the
crop will mature earlier, and it is easier to irrigate it. Near-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 359

ness to a river or pond would be advantageous, because from
it a supply of water could be obtained. If not near a river
or pond, then a well could be driven which would answer
the purpose. The possession of these would add value to
the place. Ten acres well irrigated are worth more than
twenty acres without irrigation.

The use of glass has also become very important in con-
nection with growing crops of this kind, and many of the
largest crops are grown almost entirely under glass. Hot-
houses and hot-beds are used. The heat in the former must
be furnished in cold weather by steam or hot water ; in the
latter, by hot manure.

The man who undertakes this business must serve an
apprenticeship of several years, in order to become familiar
enough with it to enable him to carry on a market garden,
either for himself or for any one else, successfully.

I have had many come to me and say that they would like
to work for me a year, that they might become familiar with
the business, or, in other words, learn the trade.

I have told them that that would not be long enough time,
and that five or six years would be little enough.

There is no class of men at the present time for which
there is so much demand as for market gardeners, and at
better wages than they could command in any mechanical or
professional pursuit, with the same time spent in fitting
themselves for their calling. It is a very healthy business.
There is great variety in it, and something is constantly
coming up that is new, and which will demand study and
earnest attention.

I have followed it for twenty-five years, and have been
unusually successful ; yet I feel that I have many things to
learn, and that the business is at present but in its infancy.

It is but a few years since hot-beds were introduced, and
but ten years since hot-houses were first used. They were
first heated by hot water, and later steam was used. Then
it was learned that irrigation would be a great benefit ; and
now the electric light is coming into use. I believe that it
has not only come, but that it has come to stay, because of
the very great benefit it will be in the growing of our kind
of crops during the short days of winter. It will be a very

360 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

profitable investment to all who will use it. I have one
large light of 2,000 candle-power over one of my houses, and
ten 30 candle-power inside another house. The effect has
been very manifest, and the result of the experiment very
satisfactory to me. I could see the effect upon the growing
crop very soon after the lights had been placed in the houses.

I think I prefer to have them all inside the houses, and
placed about twenty-five feet apart in a house twenty-four
feet wide ; the house would then be almost as light as day.
The great objection to a light outside is that in frosty weather
the light could not shine through the frosted glass, and it
would therefore be of but little benefit, but when placed
inside it has all the chance possible.

I cannot tell at present just how much benefit the light is,
but by another year I shall have had it thoroughly tested.

The market gardener has many difficult problems to solve
and but very few things in his favor. The weather is quite
an important factor : but this is uncontrollable and we cannot
find a substitute or a remedy. First-class help is hard to
find ; good land is difficult to obtain, all of it being occu-
pied ; the South is competing very closely with us ; it is a
constant struggle from beginning to end, and from morning
to night. Unless the market gardener is in love with his
business, it will be very discouraging.

In market gardening, as in every other braneh of business,
if one would carry it on successfully he must have special
men for special work, and this can only be done by one who
does sufficient business to enable him to employ a head for
each department. In a mercantile establishment each mem-
ber of the concern has a special part of the work to perform,
and devotes himself to it exclusively. Each department has
a head, who is held responsible for its success.

In mechanical establishments the same plan is adopted and
the same responsibility is placed. In the professions we
find that individuals are applying themselves to specialties.
It must be so if success is to be achieved. In carrying on a
market garden, I say employ a superintendent, a salesman, a
green-houseman, a foreman for each department; a night-
man to attend the fires in winter, and to keep an eye on the
whole place ; a machinist to look after the machinery and

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 361

tools ; a painter to keep wood-work from going to decay and
to keep the glass in repair ; a hostler to take special care of
the horses ; a harness-maker to look after the harnesses and
to keep them in repair, and to keep- the horses from having
sore shoulders in summer, etc. ; a man to put up or to see
to the putting up of all the vegetables that are going to mar-
ket, so that they may always be put up uniformly and in a
salable condition, so that your first and second qualities may
run always the same, and the trade may know what to
depend upon. Always select for a driver of the teams one
who is adapted to it, so that the most may be obtained from
the horses with the least wear upon them.

The selling of goods is not so difficult as in former years.
Large quantities are now sold where but a little was sold a
few years ago. The market gardener near a large city can
dispose of large quantities of vegetables of many kinds if the
quality is first class.

Sometimes the prices realized are quite small, but where
they are raised in large quantities the cost is much less than
it was twenty years ago.

The sales are all for cash, and in this respect it is one of
the best kinds of business carried on. If the market gardener
has a load for market every day, there is. money constantly
coming in, and he has ready money to pay his bills after he
once gets started.

The cultivation of the soil is a very important matter to
be understood. It requires much experience to know when
to plant and how to plant. The selection of seed is also a
very important matter. Success in this direction can only
be obtained l)y carefully looking ahead, and by making the
selections in tlie early part of the winter. You must know
just how much is wanted ; but always buy enough.

Before I went into the seed business I bought a great
many seeds. My plan was to go to some reliable dealer,
and tell him just what I wanted. I asked for the best, and
always paid the highest price, so I was reasonably sure of
getting the best. I fared much better than if I had spent my
time looking around to find where I could buy the cheapest.
You will find that, if you will always look for the best,
the best will always be looking for you, and the man

362 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

with whom you deal will, if he has something extra nice and
knows that you want it, send you word or save it for you.
Follow this rule in relation to seeds and you will find that
you will come out a long ways ahead. I have bought as
high as $1,000 worth of seeds in one year, and I have never
been cheated by a seedsman. I have paid the highest price
and have felt that I have received my money's worth. The
tools upon the market garden should be the best and of the
most approved pattern. They should be kept in perfect
order and in a building expressly for the purpose.

A plan of the place should be marked out early in the
winter, and it should be definitely settled what crop is to be
put into each piece the following season. This will enable
you to get the manure into position, — the difierent kinds for
the different crops. Estimate the quantity of seeds required
by the size of the piece to be planted. Look the tools over
carefully and have them put in the best of order. Do every-
thing that can be done before the ground opens.

With the work all planned, the seed bought, the manure
in place and the tools all ready, you can go to work, and in
the busy time of planting you will appreciate all that has
been done in the winter, you will be able to keep up with
the work, and you will see how important it is to get every-
thing ready, as I have described.

I would therefore advise young men who are thinking of
taking up the market gardening business, to carefully study
the requirements and then fit themselves to fill them. By
following the suggestions I have ofiered they will be fitted to
carry on the business with satisfaction and profit. Some may
ask : How can the necessary education be obtained ? I
would say to them : Complete your grammar school course,
spend one or two years in a commercial college, go to the
Agricultural College, and after that course is completed,
spend one year in the Experiment Station. Then engage
yourself to the best market gardener you know of who will
take you for three or five years. Then you will be fitted to
take a position as a foreman, or you can carry on the business
for yourself.

Some may ask : Are there any positions for young men
with the education you have described ? I will say that there

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 363

are, and I have some waiting to be filled at the present time,
and can find no one to take them. There is a good salary
waiting the position for the right man. This business is in
the advance line of agriculture. It has never been brought
to the notice of agriculturists as it should have been, but it
is now, or soon will be, in the front, even though it is but in
its infancy. It is that kind of a business that requires special
training and a practical knowledge to secure satisfactory
results. The amount of capital required is quite large, but
not more so than is necessary in other lines of business
carried on at the present time.

The profits, if carried on on a small scale, will not be so
great as if carried on on a large scale, and they are not so
great as a few years ago.

By starting small, giving close attention, and keeping the
business on a pace with the times, the capital will be readily
obtained. Only those will succeed in any business who
attend to it, and, as we learn in the Scripture, " only those
who endure to the end shall be saved."

THE FINANCES OF THE SOCIETIES.

[365]

366

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BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. '89.

Analysis of Premiums and Gratuities Awarded— Concluded.

SOCrETIKS.

ll

|5

2S
**£

II
o

1
u a

Amount awarded
for Objects strict-
ly Agricultural,
not already speci-
lled.

m
s

•E 2 S

tDT3T3

m

Amesbnry and Salii-
bnry,

$5 00

$10 00

$15 00

.

.

$131 00

170

Barnstable, .

30 00

-

-

$250 00

114 95

453

BayBtate, . . .

_

-

-

-

-

273 00

-

Berkshire, .

27 00

-

-

$150 50

960 00

866 50

423

Blackstone Valley, .

-

-

-

-

-

85 50

162

Bristol,

135 00

23 00

60 00

-

1,546 73

403 00

440

Deerfield Valley,

-

-

-

18 00

50 00

94 35

300

Eastern Hampden, .

-

25 00

-

-

405 00

65 13

128

Essex

27 00

30 00

25 00

26 00

-

196 00

402

Franklin, . .

-

10 00

-

9 00

586 00

110 60

310

Hampden, .

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Hampshire,
Hampshire, Franklin,
and Hampden,

18 00

16 00
20 00

-

30 00
400 00

89 77
109 75

171
170

Highland, . . ,

3 00

-

_

-

34 00

146 35

154

Hillside, . . .

10 00

-

-

-

-

67 75

309

Hlngham, . . .

5 00

63 76

_

-

_

98 32

320

Hoosac Valley, .

17 00

-

-

33 00

1,100 00

243 50

272

Housatonic,

-

-

-

32 00

552 50

334 50

482

Marshfleld, .

-

50 00

_

-

457 00

129 82

375

Martha's Vineyard, .

5 00

5 00

9 00

-

-

182 80

202

Massachusetts Horti-
cultural, .

_

10 00

_

_

_

215

Middlesex, . .

_

50 00

_

-

75 00

91 00

984

Middlesex North,

_

_

_

-

-

-

303

Middlesex South,

-

45 00

45 00

180 00

44 70

164

Nantucket, . . .

-

2100

15 00

-

_

123 65

260

Oxford, . , .

4 00

-

-

-

300 00

44 00

129

Plymouth, . . .

5 00

60 00

-

-

860 00

184 25

364

Spencer,

13 50

15 00

-

-

270 00

34 00

186

Union

-

-

-

15 45

370 00

127 75

226

Worcester, .

_

_

-

80 00

3,657 50

586 13

401

Worcester North,

38 50

25 00

-

311 70

550 00

86 95

_

Worcester North-west,

5 00

30 00

-

850 00

81 46

162

Worcester South,

8 00

35 00

-

575 00

423 20

233

Worcester West,

5 00

30 00

10 00

-

468 00

138 80

191

$33100

$603 75

$134 00

$720 65

$14,526 73

$5,708 48

9,061

OFFICERS OF THE AGEICULTURAL SOCIETIES, 1889.

AMESBTJRY AND SALISBURY.

President — F. W. SARGENT of Amesbury.
/Secretory — JOHN Q. EVANS of Salisbury.

BARNSTABLE.

Pmsident — JOH^ SIMPKINS of Yarmouth.
/Secretory — FRED C SWIFT of Yarmouthport.

BAT STATE.

President— HENRY S. RUSSELL of MUton.
/Secretory — FRANCIS H. APPLETON of Lynnfield.

BERKSHIRE.

President — CVLARLES E. MERRILL of Pittsfield.
Secretary — F. F. READ, Jr , of Pittsfield.

BLACKSTONE VALLEY.

President— BA'^IFL W. TAFT of Uxbridge.
/Secretory — WM. L. JOHNSON of Uxbridge.

BRISTOL.

President— S. P. RICHMOND of Freetown.
Secretary — T>. L. MITCHELL of Taunton.

DEERFIELD VALLEY.

President — JAMES D. AVERY of Buckland.
Secretary — M. M. MANTOR of Charlemont.

EASTERN HAMPDEN.

President — B.. P. HOLDEN of Palmer.
Secretary — O. P. ALLEN of Palmer.

[371J

372 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ESSEX.

President — B. P. WARE of Clifton.
Secretary — DAVID W. LOW of Gloucester.

FRANKLIN.

President — JOK'^ S. ANDERSON of Shelburne.
/Secretory/ — FREDERICK L. GREENE of Greenfield.

HAMPDEN.

President— CHARLES F. FOWLER of Westfield.
Secretary — ETH.A'^ BROOKS of West Springfield.

HAMPSHIRE.

President — Jj. W. WEST of Hadley.
Secretary — FRANK E. PAIGE of Amherst.

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

President — FDWIN C. CLAPP of Northampton.
Secretary — L. C. FERRY of Northampton.

HIGHLAND.

President — 'EDWARD PEASE of Huntington.
/Secretory — JONATHAN McELWAIN of Middlefield.

HILLSIDE.

President — ALVA'N BARRUS of Goshen.

Secretary — WM. G. ATKINS of West Cummington.

HINGHAM.

President— EBED L. RIPLEY of Hingham Centre.
Secretary — WM. H. THOMAS of Hingham.

HOOSAC VALLEY.

President — JAMES M. WATERMAN of Williamstown.
Secretary — GEORGE F. MILLER of North Adams.

HODS ATONIC.

President — THEODORE S. BALDWIN of Egremont.
Secretary — HENRY T. ROBBINS of Great Barrington.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 373

UARSHFIELD.

President — JOWN H. PARKS of Duxbury.
/Secretory — FRANCIS COLLAMORE of Pembroke.

Martha's vineyard.
President — WM. J. ROTCH of Tisbury.
Secretary — B. T. HILLMAN of Chilmark.

MASSACHUSETTS.

President — TKOM AS MOTLEY of Jamaica Plain.
Secretary — 'E. F. BOWDITCH of Framingham.

MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL.

President— Br. HENRY P. WALCOTT of Cambridge.
Secretary — ROBERT MANNING of Boston.

MIDDLESEX.

President— W. W. RAWSON of Arlington.
Secretary — WM. H. HUNT of Concord.

MIDDLESEX NORTH.

President — A. C. VARNUM of Lowell.
Secretary — E. T. ROWELL of Lowell.

MIDDLESEX SOUTH.

President — '^. B. DOUGLAS of Sherborn.
decretory — EDGAR POTTER of South Framingham.

NANTUCKET.

President — GEORGE H. GARDNER of Nantucket.
Secretary — ALBERT EASTON of Nantucket.

OXFORD.

President — J. P. DANA of Oxford.

Secretary — W. H. H. THURSTON of Oxford.

PLYMOUTH.

President — JAMES C. SWAN of West Bridgewater.
Secretary — Gr. W. R. HILL of Brockton.

374 BOAED OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.'89.

SPENCER.

Prm'dewf— CHARLES N. PROUTY of Spencer.
Secretary — T. J. COMINS of Spencer.

tTNTON.

President— HENRY K. HERRICK of Blandford.
)5ecre«ary — ENOS W. BOISE of Blandford.

WORCESTER.

President — 5. LEWIS ELLSWORTH of Worcester.
Secretary — Jj. F. HERRICK of Worcester.

WORCESTER NORTH.

President— GEORGE CRUICKSHANKS of Fitchburg.
Secretary — ^. W. HUNTLEY of Fitchburg.

WORCESTER NORTH-WEST.

President — SOB.!^ D. MORTON of Boston.
Secretary — 5. F. WHITCOMB of AthoL

WORCESTER WEST.

President — V. M. HARWOOD of Barre.
^Secretory — GEORGE W. COOK of Barre.

WORCESTER SOUTH.

President — IS.. B. LYNDE of West Brookfield.
Secretary — C. V. COREY of Sturbridge.

AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS, 1889.

Amesburt and Salisbury at Amesbury, October 1 and 2.

Bat State (date not given).

Barnstable at Barnstable, September 24 and 25.

Berkshire at Pittsjield, September 10, 11, 12 and 13.

Blackstone Valley at Uxbridge, September 24 and 25.

Bristol at Taunton, September 24, 25 and 26,

Deerfield Valley at Charlemont, September 12 and 13.

Eastern Hampden at Palmer, September 17 and 18.

Essex at Beverly, September 24 and 25.

Franklin at Greenfield, September 26 and 27.

Hampden at Westfield, September 18 and 19.

Hampshire at Amherst, September 19 and 20.

Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden at Northampton, October 2

and 3.
Highland at Middlefield, September 4 and 5.
Hillside at Cummington, September 24 and 25.
HiNGHAM at Hingham, September 24 and 25.
HoosAC Valley at North Adams, September 17, 18 and 19.
Housatonic at Cheat Barrington, September 25, 26 and 27.
Massachusetts Horticultural at Boston, September 17, 18, 19

and 20.
Marshfield at Marshfield, September 11,12 and 13.
Martha's Vineyard at West Tisbury, September 3 and 4.
Middlesex at Concord, September 25 and 26.
Middlesex North at Lowell, September 24 and 25.
Middlesex South at Framingham, September 17 and 18.
Nantucket at Nantucket, September 4 and 5.
Oxford at Oxford, September 17 and 18.
Plymouth at Bridgcwater, September 18 and 19.
Spencer at Spencer, October 3 and 4.
Union at Blandford, September 11 and 12.
"Worcester at Worcester, September 19 and 20.
Worcester North at Fitchburg, September 24 and 25.
Worcester North-west at Athol, September 17 and 18.
Worcester South at Sturbridge, September 12 and 13.
Worcester West at Barre, September 26 and 27.
[375]

APPENDIX

STATUTES EELATING TO THE STATE BOARD
OF AGRICULTURE.

PUBLIC STATUTES— CHAPTER

INDEX.

Srotion

1. Board, how constituted.

2. Tenure of office of members. Va-
cancies, how filled.

3. Where and how often to meet; to
receive no compensation.

4. Secretary and clerk and their sal-
aries.

5. Board to be overseers of agricol-
tural college.

Skction

6. Board to investigate subjects relat-
ing to agriculture, take donations,
etc.

7. to fix days for annual meetings of
agricultural societies, etc.

8. to report to general court.

9. Secretary to publish abstracts, etc.
10. may appoint agents.

Section 1. The governor, lieutenant-governor, and ^°^^^(^i°J
secretary of the commonwealth, the president of the
agricultural college, one person appointed from and by
each agricultural society which receives an annual
bounty fx'om the commonwealth, and three other per-
sons appointed by the governor with the advice and
consent of the council, shall constitute the state board
of agriculture.

Sect. 2. One-third of the appointed members of offlce^f men
said board shall retire from office on the first Wednes- t)er8.
day of February in each year, according to their. ap-
pointments. The vacancies thus occurring shall be
filled by the governor and council, or by the agricul-
tural societies, as the offices were before filled, and the
persons thus appointed shall hold their offices for three
years from the expiration of the former terms. Other
vacancies may be filled in the same manner for the
remainder of the vacant terms.

[379]

Vacancies,
how filled.

380

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Where and
how often to

To receive no
compensation.

Secretary and
clerk and their
salaries.

Salary estab-
lished.

Clerical
services.
Lectures.

Board to be
overseers of
agricultaral
college.

to Investi-
gate sabjects
relating to
agricultarc,
take dona-
tions, etc.

to fix days
for annuiil
meetings of
agriculinrml
Bociettes, eto.

Sect. 3. The board shall meet at the state house
or at the agricultural college at least once in each year,
and as much oftener as may be deemed expedient. No
member of said board shall receive compensation from
the commonwealth except for personal expenses when
engaged in the duties of the board.

Sect. 4. The board may appoint and prescribe
the duties of a secretary, who shall receive a salary of
two thousand dollars a year ; and who, at such times
as the board shall approve, may employ a clerk at a
salary of eleven hundred dollars a year, and may ex-
pend for other clerical services in his office, and for
lectures to be given before the board of agriculture at
its annual and other meetings, a sum not exceeding
four hundred dollars.

[Section 4 has been amended by Acts of 1883, chap.
184, sect. 1 : The secretary of the board of agriculture
shall receive an annual salary of twenty-five hundred
dollars, and at the same rate for any part of a year.
Also, by Acts of 1884, chap. 66, sect. 1 : The sec-
retary of the board of agriculture may expend for other
clerical services in his office, and for lectures to be
given before the board at its annual and other meetings,
a sum not exceeding eight hundred dollars per annum.
Also, by Acts of 1887, chap. 245, sect. 1 : The clerk of
the secretary of the state board of agriculture shall
receive an annual salary of twelve hundred dollars.]

Sect. 5. The board shall be a board of overseers
of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, with powers
and duties to be defined and fixed by the governor and
council, but such powers shall not control the action of
the trustees of said college, or negative their pciwers
and duties as defined by chapter two hundred and
twenty of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and
sixty-three.

Sect. 6. The board shall investigate such subjects
relating to improvement in agriculture in this common-
wealth as they may think proper, and may take, hold
in trust, and exercise control over donations or be-
quests made to them for promoting agricultural educa-
tion or the general interests of husbandry.

Sect. 7. They may fix the days on which the
different agricultural societies shall commence their
exhibitions, and may prescribe forms for and regulate

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 381

the returns required of said societies, and shall furnish
to the secretary of each society such blanks as they
may deem necessary to secure uniform and reliable
statistics.

Sect. 8. They shall annually, on or before the Board to

'' '' report to

fourth Wednesday of January, by their chairman or general court,
secretary, submit to the general court a detailed report
of their doings, with such recommendations and sug-
gestions as the interests of agriculture may require.

Sect. 9. The secretary of the board shall in each Secretary to
year cause to be made and published for distribution abstracte, etc.
as full an abstract of the returns of the agricultural
societies as he may deem useful.

Sect. 10. He may appoint one or more suitable may appoint
agents to visit, under the direction of the board, the *^®°'**
towns in the commonwealth for the purpose of inquir-
ing into the methods and wants of practical husbandry ;
of ascertaining the adaptation of agricultural products
to soil, climate, and markets ; of encouraging the
establishment of farmers' clubs, agricultural libraries,
and reading-rooms ; and of disseminating useful in-
formation in agriculture by means of lectures or other-
wise ; and such agents shall annually in October make
to the secretary detailed reports.

An Act authorizing towns and cities to provide
FOR the Preservation and Reproduction of
Forests.

[Chapter 255, Acts of 1882, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.]
Section 1. The voters of any town, at a meeting Preservation
legally called for the purpose, and the city council of forest trees by
any city, may, for the purpose of devoting a portion of towns,
the territory of such town or city to the preservation,
reproduction and culture of forest trees for the sake of
the wood and timber thereon, or for the preservation
of the water supply of such town or city, take or pur-
chase any land within the limits of such town or city,
may make appropriations of money for such taking or
purchase, may receive donations of money or land for
the said purposes, and may make a public domain of
the land so devoted, subject to the regulations herein-
after prescribed. The title of all lands so taken, pur-
chased or received shall vest in the Commonwealth, and

382

BOAED OF AGEICULTURE.

[Jan.

Description of
the land taken
to be recorded
In the registry
of deeds.

Board of
forestry to
serve without
pay; to
appoint
keepers.

may lease
buildings on
land.

Proceeds of
sale of prod-
ucts to be paid
to board.

Buildings for
Instruction
and recreation
may be built.

shall be held in perpetuity for the benefit of the town
or city in which such land is situated.

Sect. 2. A town or city taking land under this act
shall, within sixty days after such taking, file and cause
to be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county
or district in which the land is situated a description
thereof sufficiently accurate for identifying the same.
In case such town or city and the owner of such land
do not agree upon the damage occasioned by such
taking, such damage shall be ascertained and deter-
mined in the manner provided in case of the taking of
land for a highway in such town or city, and such town
or city shall thereupon pay such sums as may finally
be determined to be due.

Sect. 3. The state board of agriculture shall act as
a board of forestry, without pay, except for necessary
travelling expenses, and shall have the supervision and
management of all such public domains, and shall
make all necessary regulations for their care and use
and for the increase and preservation of the timber,
wood and undergrowth thereon, and for the planting and
cultivating of trees therein. The said board shall ap-
point one or more persons, to be called keepers, to
have charge, subject to its direction, of each such public
domain, enforce its regulations and perform such labor
thereon as said board shall require ; and said keepers
shall have the same power to protect such domain from
injury and trespass, and to keep the peace therein as
constables and police officers in towns.

Sect. 4. Said board may lease any building that
may be on any such public domain on such terms as it
shall deem expedient. All sums which may be derived
from rents and from the sale of the products of any
such domain shall be paid to said board and shall be
applied by it, so far as necessary, to the management,
care, cultivation and improvement of such domain ;
and any surplus remaining in any year shall be paid
ovfer to the city or town in which such domain is situ-
ated. Said board shall not, however, expend upon or
on account of any such public domain in any year a
greater amount than it receives as aforesaid.

Sect. 5. A city or town in which any such public
domain is situated may erect thereon any building for
public instraction or recreation, provided that such use

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 383

thereof is not in the judgment of said board inconsist-
ent with the purposes expressed in section one.

An Act to Establish an Agricultural Experiment
Station.

[Chapter 212, Acts of 1882, Sections 1, 2 and 3.]

Section 1 . An agricultural experiment station shall Experiment

. , station eBtab-

be established and maintamed at the Massachusetts luhed.
agricultural college in the town of Amherst.

Sect. 2. The management of said station shall be Management
vested in a board of control of seven persons of which board of
board the governor shall be president ex officio, and of
which two members shall be elected from the state board
of agriculture, by said board of agriculture ; two from
the trustees of the Massachusetts agricultural college,
by said trustees ; one from the Massachusetts society
for promoting agriculture, by said society ; and the
remaining member shall be the president of the Massa-
chusetts agricultural college. The said board shall
choose a secretary and treasurer,

[Section 2 has been amended by Acts of 1888,
chap. 333, sect. 1. The management of said station
shall be vested in a board of control of eleven persons
of which board the governor shall be president ex
officio, and of which two members shall be elected
from the state board of agriculture, by said board of
agriculture ; two from the trustees of the Massachu-
setts agricultural college, by said trustees ; one from
the Massachusetts society for promoting agriculture, ^

by said society ; one from the Massachusetts state
grange, by said state grange ; one from the Massachu-
setts horticultural society, by said society ; and the
remaining members shall be the president of the
Massachusetts agricultural college, the director of
Ihe Massachusetts agricultural experiment station
and the secretary of the state boai-d of agriculture :
provided, however, that no person so elected by any of Provi«o.
the above named boards or societies shall continue to
be \ member of said board of control after he has
ceased to be a member of the board or of the society
by which he was elected. The said board shall choose
a secretary and treasurer.]

384

BOAKD OF AGKICULTURE.

[J.

Board to
make report
to the legis-
lature.

Sect. 3. The said board of control shall hold an
annual meeting in the month of January, at which time
it shall make to the legislature a detailed report of all
moneys expended by its order, and of the results of
the experiments and investigations conducted at said
station, with the name of each experimenter attached
to the report of his own work, wliich detailed report
shall be printed in the annual report of the secretary
of the state board of agriculture.

Agricultural
experiment
Btation to
make annual
report to
board of agri-
culture.

An Act Rklating to the Annual Report op the
Board of Control of the Agricultural Ex-
periment Station.

[Chapter 105, Acts of 1883.]

The board of control of the agricultural experiment
station shall annually, in the month of January, make
a detailed report to the state board of agriculture of all
moneys expended by its order, and of the results of
the experiments and investigations conducted at said
station, with the name of each experimenter attached
to the report of his own work.

The Board of Supervisors op Statistics.
[P. S., Chapter 31, Section 17.]
Board of Sect. 17. The Secretary of the commonwcalth, the

Buperviior* of ''

statistics. Secretaries of the boards of agriculture, of education,
and of the state board of health, lunacy, and charity,
and the chief of the bureau of statistics of labor,
shall constitute a board of supervisors of statistics,
who shall serve without pay.

Documents
and reports.

Agriculture.

An Act Concerning the Printing and Distribution

of certain Reports and Documents.

[Chapter 369, Acts of 1885, Section 1.]

Sect. 1. There shall be printed annually the
number of copies of documents and reports specified
in this section, the same to be numbered in the series
of Public Documents, and distributed as herein pro-
vided: Report of secretary of board of agriculture,
twelve thousand copies ; twenty-five copies thereof to
be furnished to each member of the legislature.

This has been amended by Acts of 1 888, chap. 256 : —

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 385

Sect. 1. There shall be printed annually fifteen Additional
thousand copies of the report of the secretary of the secretary of
state board of agriculture ; and twenty-five thousand of agriculture,
copies of the report of the board of control of the
state agricultural experiment station.

Sect. 2. Of the reports of the board of control of fJ^'Sngof
the state agricultural experiment station provided for '■eportg.
in section one of this chapter, fifteen thousand copies
shall be bound with reports of the secretary of the
state board of agriculture, and eight thousand copies
shall be for the use of the said board of control.

Printing and Distribution of Public Documents.

[P. S., Chapter 4, Section 11.]

Sect. 11. The treasurer, auditor, attorney-general, ^^f^*"?^*^?
adiutant-general, board of education, and board of cuituremay

•" ° ' be put in type

agriculture, may require any portion of their reports to in advance,
be put in type previous to the first Wednesday in
January annually, when the same can be done consist-
ently with the public advantage.

An Act for the Suppression of Contagious Diseases
AMONG Domestic Animals.

[Chapter 252, Acts of 1887, Section 19].

Sect. 19. Cattle commissioners now or hereafter Abstract of

appointed shall keep a full record of their doings, and cattle commig-

report the same to the legislature on or before the printed in

tenth day of January in each year unless sooner board of agri-

required by the governor ; and an abstract of the same
shall be printed in the annual report of the state board
of agriculture.

culture.

386

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

STATUTES RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL AND
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

PUBLIC STATUTES. — CHAPTER 114.

INDEX.

Section

1. Agricultural societies may be en-
titled to annual sum from the
treasury, by, etc.

2. Societies claiming bounty to file
certificate.

3. Amount of bounty. State board
may withhold same.

4. Societies may make rules for dis-
tribution of bounty.

5. to make annual returns, with pas-
sages, etc., marked.

6. Forfeiture of bonn'y.

7. Premiums to be offered by societies,
etc.

8. for trees for ship timber.

9. All citizens of county may become
members, and compete for pre-
miums.

10. Surplus to be at interest.

11. To what societies provisions apply.

12. Cattle shows regulated.

13. Penalty.

14. Extent of foregoing provisions.

Section

15. Marshals to be appointed; to have
powers of constables.

16. Rules for ascertaining amount of
premium crops.

17. Premiums for experiments.

ASSOCIATIO.VS FOR EXCOURAGIXO
AGRICULTURE, ETC.

18. Ten or more persons may become a
corporation. Powers and privileges.

farmers' clurs.

19. Farmers' clubs to receive publica-
tions, etc.

GOOD order at fairs, ETC.

20. Societies, etc.. may make regula-
tions for preservation of peace at
fairs, etc.

21. Booths, etc., not to be established
within half mile of cattle shows,
without consent Gaming, etc.,
prohibited.

22. Penalty.

Agricultural
pocieties may
be entitled to
annual sum
from the
treasury, by,
etc.

Section 1. Every incorporated agricultural society
which was entitled to bounty from the commonwealth
before the twenty-fifth day of May in the year eighteen
and sixty-six, and every other such society whose ex-
hibition grounds and buildings are not within twelve
miles of those of a society then entitled to bounty, and
which has raised by contribution of individuals and put
out at interest on public or private security, or invested
in real estate, buildings, and appurtenances for its use
and accommodation, one thousand dollars, as a capital
appropriated for its uses, shall, except when otherwise

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 387

determined by the state board of agriculture as pro-
vided ill section three, be entitled to receive in the
month of October annually, out of the treasury of the
commonwealth, two huudi'ed dollars, and in that pro-
portion for any greater sum so contributed and put at
interest or invested ; but no society shall receive a
larger amount in one year than it has awarded and paid
in premiums during the year last preceding, nor more
than six hundred dollars.

Sect. 2. Every society which claims bounty shall Societies

J J J claiming

annually, on or before the tenth day of December, file ^{'""'^.0'
in the office of the secretary of the board of agriculture
a certificate signed by its president and treasurer, speci-
fying under oath the sum so contributed and put at
interest or invested, and then held so invested or well
secured as a capital stock.

Sect. 3. The amount of bounty to which a society Amount of
is entitled for any year shall be ascertained by the cer- state board
tificate last filed by it under the preceding section, "me.^'
But a society shall not receive bounty in any year, if
the state board of agriculture, having first given such
society full opportunity to be heard in relation to its
financial affairs and general management, so determines
by a two-thirds vote of the whole number of its mem-
bers present at its annual meeting, and by its secretary
notifies the treasurer of the commonwealth thereof on
or before the first day of September in such year.

Sect. 4. Every society receiving bounty shall make Societies may
such rules and regulations for the distribution thereof ctn., for dis-
as shall, in its opinion, best promote the improvement bounty."''
of agriculture ; subject, however, to the restrictions of
sections six to ten inclusive.

Sect. 5. Every such society shall annually, on or to make
before the tenth day of January, make a full return of turns, witii
its doings, signed by its pi-esident and secretary, to the mlfrbld*' ^ "''
secretary of the board of agriculture, embracing a
statement of the expenditure of all money, specifying
the nature of the encouragement proposed by the
society, the objects for which its premiums have been
offered, and the persons to whom they have been
awarded, and including all reports of committees and
all statements of experiments and cultivation regarded
by the president and secretary as worthy of publica-
tion, and with such general observations concerning the

BOAED OF AGRICULTUEE.

[Jan.

Forfeiture of
bounty.

Premiums to
be offered by
societies, etc.

for trees for
ship timber.

All citizens of

Surplus to be
at interest.

To what
societies pro-
visions apply.

Cattle shows
regulated.

state of agriculture and manufactures in the common-
wealth as it may deem useful.

The return shall be marked in such manner that the
passages deemed by such officers most worthy of pub-
lic notice, study, and application may be easily distin-
guished.

Sect. 6. A society which neglects in any year to
comply with the laws relating thereto, or with the regu-
lations of the board of agriculture, shall not be entitled
to bounty in the year next succeeding.

Sect. 7. Every society which receives said bounty
shall offer annually by way of premiums, or shall other-
wise apply for the encouragement or improvement of
agi'iculture or manufactures, a sum not less than the
amount so annually received, and shall offer such pre-
miums for agricultural experiments and in such man-
ner as the state board of agriculture requires.

Sect. 8. Every society shall annually offer such
premiums and encouragement for the raising and pre-
serving of oaks and other forest trees as to it seems
proper and best adapted to perpetuate within the com-
monwealth an adequate supply of ship timber.

Sect. 9. Every such society shall admit as mem-
bers, upon equal terms, citizens of every town in the
county in which it is located, and all premiums offered
shall be subject to the competition of every citizen of
such county.

Sect. 10. All money offered for premiums which
is not awarded or paid shall be put out at interest and
added to the capital stock of the society.

Sect. 11. The foregoing provisions, except the pi'o-
viso in section three authorizing the state board of
agriculture to withhold bounty, shall not, except by
special enactment, extend to an agricultural society
incorporated for any territory less than a county.

Sect. 12. Every society may by its officers define
and fix bounds of sufficient extent for the erection of its
cattle pens and yards, and for convenient passage ways
to and about the same, on the days of its cattle shows
and exhibitions, and also for its ploughing matches
and trials of working oxen ; within which bounds no
persons shall be permitted to enter or pass unless in
conformity with the regulations of the officers of the
society.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 389

Sect. 13. Whoever contrary to such regulations, Penalty,
and after notice thereof, enters or passes within the
bounds so fixed, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding five
dollars.

Sect. 14. The foregoing provisions shall not author- Limit of
ize a society to occupy or include within such bounds
the land of any person without his consent, nor to
obstruct travel on any public highway.

Sect. 15. The officers of each society may appoint Marshals to
a suflScient number of suitable inhabitants of the county to hTve°'° "^ '
to act as marshals at cattle shows and exhibitions, who constables,
shall have the powers of constables in relation to the
preservation of the public peace and the service and
execution of criminal process within the respective
towns where such shows and exhibitions are held, and
such pi-ocess may be directed to them accordingly ; and
they shall exercise their office from twelve o'clock at
noon of the day preceding the commencement of such
shows and exhibitions until twelve o'clock at noon of
the day succeeding the termination thereof, and no
longer.

Sect. 16. The state board of agriculture may Rules for
prescribe rules and regulations to societies for uniform ihe amount^of
modes of ascertaining the product of crops entered for crop^'.""*
premium.

Sect. 17. Any agricultural society may offer and ^^'^^^i^Qts''
pay premiums for experiments in the cultivation of
crops or in the raising of domestic animals for farm
purposes, and no regulation of the board of agriculture
to the contrary shall be valid.

Associations for Encouraging Agriculture, etc.

ore

Sect. 18. Ten or more persons in any county, city. Ten or
or town, who by agreement in writing associate for the become T**^
purpose of encouraging agriculture or horticulture, or '=°''P°''*^"'°-
for improving and ornamenting the streets and public
squares of any city or town by planting and cultivating
ornamental trees therein, may become a corporation by
such name as they assume therefor upon calling their
first meeting and organizing in the manner provided in
sections twelve and thirteen of chapter forty ; and shall
thereupon during the pleasure of the general court have
for their pui'poses all the rights, powers, and privileges

Powers and
privileges.

390

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

given by sections twelve to fifteen, inclusive, of said
chapter, and may hold real and personal estate not
exceeding ten thousand dollars in value.

Farmers'
clubs to re-
ceive publii
tlons, etc.

Farmers' Clubs.
Sect. 19. Farmers' clubs properly organized and
holding regular meetings shall, upon application made
annually in November to the secretary of the state
board of agriculture, receive copies of its report and of
its other publications, in proportion to the number of
their members and to the applications so made. Every
club receiving such copies shall annually in October
make returns to said secretary of its agricultural experi-
ments and of the reports of its committees.

Societies, etc.,
may make
regulations
for preserva-
tion of peace
at fairs, etc.

Bootlis, etc.,
for sale of
good?, rot to
bo cstablisbed
•within half
mile of cattle
shows, etc.,
without con.
Bent.

Gaming,
horse-racing,
etc., prohib-
ited.

Penalty.

Good Order at Fairs, etc.

Sect. 20. Any agricultural society or farmers' club
may establish such regulations, not repugnant to law,
as it may deem necessary and expedient for the preser-
vation of peace and good order or for the protection of
its interests at its regular or annual meetings, shows,
fairs, or exhibitions, and shall cause at least five copies
of such regulations to be posted in as many public
places on its grounds not less than forty-eight hours
before the time of holding each meeting.

Sect. 21. No person during the time of holding a
cattle show, fair, or exhibition, or meeting of a farmers'
club, without the consent of the proper authorities hav-
ing charge of the same, shall establish within one half
mile of the place of holding such show or meeting a
tent, booth, or vehicle of any kind for the purpose of
vending any goods, wares, merchandise, provisions, or
refreshments. No person shall engage in any gaming
or horse-racing or exhibit any show or play during the
regular or stated time of holding any cattle show, agri-
cultural fair, or meeting of any farmers' club, or engage
in pool-selling, at or within half a mile of the place of
holding the same : provided, that any person having
his regular place of business within such limits shall
not be hereby required to suspend his business.

Sect. 22. Whoever violates any provision of the
preceding section, or a regulation established under
section twenty, shall forfeit for such offence a sum not
exceeding twenty dollars.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 391

Of the Suppression of Common Isuisances.

[P. S., Chapter 101.]

Sect. 10. The mayor and aldermen or selectmen of „°JJJ^^;®**^''
any place, upon complaint made to them under oath ll'^^H' f^-'
that the complainant has reason to believe and does show^^ etc.,

'■ ^ how removed.

believe that a booth, shed, or other temporary erection,
situated within one mile of a muster-field, cattle-show
ground, or other place of public gathering, is used and
occupied for the sale of spirituous or fermented liquor,
or for the purpose of gaming, may, if they consider the
complaint well founded, order the owner or occupant
thereof to vacate and close the same forthwith. If the
owner or occupant refuses or neglects so to do, the
mayor and aldermen or selectmen may forthwith abate
such booth, shed, or erection as a nuisance, and pull
down or otherwise destroy the same in any manner they
choose, or through the agency of any force, civil or
military.

Of Gaming.
[P. S., Chapter 99.]

Sect. 11. Whoever during or within twelve hours Gaming at
of the time of holding a cattle-show, military muster, musters^^c.'
or public gathering, within one mile of the place
thereof, pi'actises or engages in any gambling or unlaw-
ful game, shall forfeit for each offence a sum not ex-
ceeding twenty dollars. If he is discovered in the act,
he may be arrested by any sheriff, deputy-sheriff, con-
stable, or other civil officer, and lawfully detained, by
imprisonment in jail or otherwise, not exceeding twenty-
four hours, until a complaint is made against him for
the offence.

Of . Offences Against Public Polict.
[P. S., Chapter 209.]

Sect. 11. All racing, running, trotting, or pacing Racing, etc.,

of a horse or other animal of the horse kind for a bet lawful, excJpt

or wager of money or other valuable thing, or for a purse at'cau*ie ^^'^^

or stake, made within this state, except trials of the * °^^*
speed of horses for premiums offered by legally consti-
tuted agricultural societies, is declared to be unlawful ;

392

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Penalty.

and any person engaged in such racing, running, trot-
ting, or pacing, for any such bet or wager, purse or
stake, or aiding or abetting the same, shall be punished
by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprison-
ment in the jail not exceeding one year, or by both
such fine and imprisonment.

Eetate of

agricultural

socletiee.

Property and Persons Exempted from Taxation.
[P. S., Chapter 11.]

Sect. 5. The following property and polls shall

be exempted from taxation :

Ninth, The estate, both real and personal, of incor-
porated agricultural societies.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 393

EEGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF AGRI-
CULTURE.

1. The Board shall hold an annual business meet- Annual meet-

Ing.

mg at the office of the secretary in Boston, commencing
on the Tuesday preceding the first Wednesday in Feb-
ruary, and continuing through the following Wednes-
day, on which day the new members may take their
seats. The meeting will be prolonged as business may
require. The business of the Board shall be con-
ducted in accordance with the rules used by deliber-
ative bodies.

No member shall speak more than once until others
who have not spoken shall speak if they desire it, nor
more than twice without first having obtained leave of
the Board.

No member in debate shall occupy more than ten
minutes at a time without leave of the Board.

2. At the annual meeting an executive committee Executive
consisting of five members shall be chosen, whose duty ''"™™'
shall be to act for the Board in cases of emergency.

3. The times for holding the fairs of the agricul- Times for

=• => holdini; the

tural societies receiving bounty from the State of fairs of the

° '' several

Massachusetts shall be as follows : — eocietiee.

Amcsbury and Salisbury, 5th Tuesday after the 1st Monday in
September.

Barnstable, 4tli Tuesday after tlie 1st Monday in September.

Bay State.

Berksliire, 2d Tuesday after tlie 1st Monday in September.

Blackstone Valley, 4tli Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Bristol, ith Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Deerfield Valley, 2d Thursday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Eastern Hampden, 3d Tuesday a^ter the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Essex, 4th Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September.

394

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Fi'anklin, 4th Thursday after the 1st Monday in September.

Hampden, 3d Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Hampshire, 3d Thursday after the 1st Monday in September.

Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden, 5th Wednesday after the
1st Monday in September.

Highland, 1st Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Hillside, 4th Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Hingham, 4th Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Hoosac Valley, 3d Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Housatonic, 4th Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Horticultural, 3d Tuesday after the 1st Mon-
day in September.

Marshfleld, 2d Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Martha's Vineyard, 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Middlesex, 4th Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Middlesex North, 4th Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Middlesex South, 3d Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Septem-
ber.

Nantucket, 1st Wednesday after the 1st Monday in Septem-
ber.

Oxford, 3d Tuesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Plymouth, 3d Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Spencer, 5th Thursday after the 1st Monday in September.

Union, 2d Wednesday after the 1st Monday in September.

Worcester, 3d Thursday after the 1st Monday in September.

Worcester North, 4th Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Worcester North-west, 3d Tuesday after the 1st Monday in
September.

Worcester South, 2d Thursday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Worcester West, 4th TImrsday after the 1st Monday in Sep-
tember.

Society join-
ing with the
New Eugland
society's
exhibition.

Delegates
appointed by
the board, and
to make re-
ports.

In cane a
delegate ca
not attend
fair.

4. Any society joining with the New England Soci-
ety's exhibition will be allowed to change its time to
conform to that, and such society will be allowed
to merge its show with it without forfeiture of bounty.

5. At the annual meeting a delegate shall be ap-
pointed to attend the fair of each society represented
on the Board and to make report in writing to the
Board at the next annual meeting of the fair, and of
the condition and work of such society.

6. If such delegate be unable to fill the appoint-
ment, he may exchange with any other delegate, but in
case he cannot make such exchange he shall seasonably
notify the secretary, who shall appoint a substitute.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 395

If no visiting delegate appears at a fair of a society, it
shall be the duty of the member from that society to
make a report to the Board.

7. It shall be the duty of the secretary of this Board The secretary

„ , ". to transmit

to transmit to the secretary of each society the report npons of

» ., . .^. , , ^ delegates.

of the visiting delegate.

8. The following is established as the standard by Standard by

,., 1111 . -11 .,1, 1 which cropw

which crops shall be estimated by weight by the several i-haii bo esu-
societies : Indian corn in the cob as taken from the weight. ^
field shall be rated as 80 pounds to a bushel ; a bushel
of Indian corn, shelled or dry, shall be 56 pounds ; a
bushel of rye 56 pounds ; a bushel of barley 48 pounds ;
a bushel of buckwheat 48 lbs ; a bushel of oats 32
pounds ; a bushel of wheat 60 pounds ; a bushel of
potatoes 60 pounds ; a bushel of carrots 55 pounds ; a
bushel of onions 52 pounds ; a bushel of sugar beets
60 pounds ; a bushel of mangel wurzel 60 pounds ; a
bushel of ruta baga 60 pounds ; a bushel of parsnips
45 pounds ; a bushel of common or English turnips 50
pounds ; a bushel of white beans 60 pounds ; a bushel
of peas 60 pounds.

9. The various societies are recommended to con- Nomenclature
form to the catalogue of the American Pomological

Society in the nomenclature of fruits at their exhibi-
tions and in their publications.

10. The Board recommend that cattle entered for Cattietobe
exhibition be kept on the grounds through the entire grounds.
exhibition, and it is required that in any event they be

kept on exhibition until thi-ee o'clock in the afternoon
of the first day.

11. No society receiving the bounty of the State Premiums on

u II 1 ^ • ^ •^. T grad.or

shall bestow any premiums or gratuities on grade or native bulls.
native bulls.

12. Dr. Charles A. Goessmann has been elected the Dr. c. a.
chemist to the State Board of Agriculture, and Dr. an'd^Dr.''o?ii.
Charles H. Fernald as entomologist to the same Board ; fhemlit'and
and as such they are introduced to the farmers of the re'p^uvfiy!
Commonwealth.

12. There shall be a standing committee of six Examining
members, called the examining committee of the agri- thr^'ricui.°
cultural college, of whom the first two on the list shall ^^^^ *^° ^^^'
retire at the end of each year, their places to be filled by
election at the annual meeting. It shall be the duty of
this committee to act for the Board of Agriculture and to

396

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

of the agricul-
tural college.

Secretary,
how elected.

Special meet-
ings of the
board.

Public
meeting.

•Societies to
ti lid three
f^irmers'
institutes.

perform the duties prescribed for the Board by the
Governor and Council, as follows : —

1. To visit the college as often as they may deem
essential for the proper performance of theu* duties, but
at least once in each year.

2. To inspect the property of the college, including
the land and buildings, especially with reference to the
adaptability and sufficiency thereof for accomplishing
the objects of the institution.

3. To observe the methods, extent and character of
the instruction which it gives.

4. To attend the commencement exercises and
examinations, and, so far as they may deem it expedi-
ent, participate therein.

5. To make report of their doings and observations,
with their views, suggestions and recommendations
concerning the institution and its work annually to the
Legislature.

6. Power is given to perform the foregoing duties
by and through a sub-committee, of not less than five
members of the Bo.ard, to be selected annually, and at
such times as the Board may elect.

7. To have and perform such other powers and
duties as may be from time to time defined by the
Governor and Council.

13. The secretary shall be elected at the annual
meeting. The term of service shall be one year,
beginning with the first of July following the election.

14. Special meetings of the Board may be called by
the executive committee, of which one week's written
notice shall be given to each member by the secretary.

16. There shall be an annual three days' public
meeting of the Board for lectures and discussions, at
such place within the Commonwealth as the Board may
designate, beginning on the first Tuesday in December.

17. Each agricultural society receiving the bounty
of the Commonwealth is hereby required to arrange
and hold not less than three farmers' institutes each
calendar year within their limits, and the Board will
render all the assistance in its power to make such
institutes interesting and profitable. The secretary is
expected to attend as many of these institutes as is
compatible with other duties of his oflSce, aijd he will
provide lecturers for the institutes as far as the appro-

mined.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 397

priation for this object will warrant. And the several P^tes for

, •' Inetitutee to

agricultural societies are earnestly requested at their bedeter-
annual meetings to fix the dates at which they will
hold the several institutes required, and the subjects
they desire to have discussed, and at once notify the
secretary of the Board if they desire assistance in the
procuring of lecturers.

398 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

CATTLE COMMISSIONERS' REPOET.

To the Honorable Senate and House of Bepresentatives of the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts.

The undersigned Cattle Commissioners respectfully submit
their annual report.

Horses.
The year has been one of general health for our equine
stock, though during the months of October, November and
December an epizootic prevailed to a limited extent, causing
more or less trouble to livery owners and horse-car com-
panies. As usual, the only contagion endangering this class
of animals has been glanders, and the cases, whether actual
or suspicious, have not been more numerous than in 1887.
We have taken charge of, and caused the isolation of, many
suspects which were afterwards released, and have con-
demned to slaughter seventy-six animals having the lesions
of the disease. We have the best of reasons for believing
that the provisions of law requiring "persons who have
knowledge of, or have reason to suspect, the existence of a
contagious disease among any species of domestic animals in
this State, whether such knowledge is obtained by personal
examination or otherwise, to forthwith give notice thereof to
the board of healtli of the city or town where such diseased
animals are kept," is too often disregarded, and in such a
manner that detection and conviction is nearly impossible.
The motive for this course of action, in many cases, is doubt-
less to escape the action of the law, which condemns such
diseased animals to slaughter ; but in others it is for the pur-
pose of avoiding publicity and supposed injury to the repu-

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 399

tation of the stock and stables of the owner, though they
destroy the animals. This is especially the fact in Boston,
where not a case of glanders has been reported to the Board
of Health during the last seven months, in which time it is
certain that some animals infected with this disease have been
destroyed, and many others may have been removed. There
are several localities in the State which appear to be centres
of infection ; notably, the vicinity of Springfield and of
Adams, and in these the local authorities should exercise
great care and watchfulness. In our last report information
was given of a peculiar case of trouble with a large number
of horses belonging to the Cambridge horse-car company, of
which, at one time, we had isolated 192 animals as suspects.
They presented some abnormal conditions of the lymphatics
and of the mucous surfaces, but none of the lesions which all
agree are evidence of glanders. The members of the Board
entertained radical differences of opinion in relation to the
import of the conditions found, and their proper course of
action in the disposal of the case ; but as, with a single ex-
ception, there was no evidence of the disease in the acute
form among the many hundreds of animals we examined, the
192 we isolated, or the many thousands with which they
were brought in daily contact, and should have developed the
disease if it really existed, the opinion was formed by a
majority of the Board that the isolated suspects were not a
public danger, and they were from time to time set at liberty
and put back upon the road to their work, the last eight
being released April 2, seven months after their first isola-
tion. Under direction of the Board, 178 of these suspected
horses were quartered at the Murray Street stable and worked
together. We visited this stable and examined a number
of the horses December 28, fourteen months after they
were first placed under surveillance, and found them in the
same condition, as when first isolated, apparently in perfect
healthy in the opinion of the majority of the Board, as well
as all the other horses which were stabled with them. The
suspects had performed fully their proportionate share of the
work of the company ; there had been no known cases of
glanders, and but two deaths from any cause. At this date
no facts have developed which prove that the public safety

400 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

was endangered or a mistake made by setting these horses at
liberty ; but their future will be watched with much interest.

Neat Stock.

We have been frequently notified by boards of health and
private individuals of cases of supposed contagious disease
among cattle, particularly of contagious pleuro-pneumonia.
But examination proved that the trouble was ordinary pneu-
monia, or that complicated with some form of anthrax.
There has been no contagion among this stock, unless it has
been in the form of pulmonary tuberculosis. From year to
year this disease is attracting more and more attention. In-
vestigations and experiments are being made in relation to
its patholog}^ its character as a contagion, the laws which
control or modify its dissemination and periods of develop-
ment. The disease is not new, but was known and described
centuries before the Christian era. It has prevailed in all
the temperate and semi-tropical regions of the world in the
human species, and all domestic animals except, perhaps, the
horse. Its lesions are nearly identical in all, and under cer-
tain circumstances it may possibly be communicated from
species to species. Whatever diversity of opinion may exist
as to its virility as a contagion, all agree that it is heredi-
tary. Sanitary statistics in Massachusetts show that sixteen
per cent, of deaths among humans are caused by it, but this
cannot be taken as the ratio of its prevalence among bovines.
There is an accumulation of facts which makes it quite cer-
tain that the milk and meat of tuberculous cattle is not
healthy food unless it is heated to 150 degrees. The com-
missioners have not believed that the provisions of our law
are suflBcient to enable them by its force to curtail or eradi-
cate this disease, but they do believe that much would be
accomplished in this direction if stock owners would cease to
breed from suspected cows, and as fast as possible send them
and their present progeny to slaughter. During the year
Dr. Winchester, the veterinarian of the Board, in connection
with several other members of the profession, has made a
somewhat extended examination of herds of cattle in different
parts of the State in relation to the prevalence of this disease,
the account of which will be appended to this report.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 401

Hog Cholera.
This disease is more or less prevalent in the State. No
new facts have been found which lead us to change the opin-
ion heretofore expressed in relation to the manner in which
it is brought here. Our observations for several years have
proved that with us it rarely if ever spreads from herd to
herd, but is fed to them in the refuse of pork brought from
the West and which contains its germ. This fact has been
so often stated, and is so well known, that it seemed to us
that all swine owners who feed it should do so at their own
risk and expense, and guard the public frorn danger by keep-
ing their herds strictly confined on their own premises.
Accordingly, on the 24th of February regulations were issued
to the boards of health of the cities and towns, directing
them in all cases of disease to require strict isolation of the
entire herd infected, at the expense of the owner, but in no
case to appraise or slaughter the animals ; also, to notify the
commissioners if the contagion assumed a malignant or any
peculiar type, that such measures might be adopted as the
public safety required. Under this system there has been no
increase of the malady, and whatever burden it may have
caused, it has been borne, not by the State treasury, but by
those who could see profit in swine feeding notwithstanding
its risks. None of the other contagious diseases which have
caused us so much trouble and loss in some former years
have visited us, and though our competition with Western
stock products has been sharp, ours have been reasonably
prosperous.

LEVI STOCKBRIDGE,

A. W. CHEEVER,

J. F. WINCHESTER, V. S.,

Cattle Commissioners.
Boston, Jan. 7, 1889.

402 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

APPENDIX,

TUBERCULOSIS.

Tuberculosis undoubtedly prevails among the domesticated
animals over the entire globe, and has been well defined as a
universal panzootic.

Its frequency depends upon various external influences, as
well as constitutional predispositions of different species and
breeds. The centres of this malady are met with in the
great centres of human population, and in these centres a
large per cent, of tuberculosis is found in mankind.

This disease is of the greatest importance, since it has
been induced experimentally in animals of different species,
as carnivores, herbivores, and onmivores, by inoculation and
feeding for certain periods tuberculous material from the
lungs and glands of diseased subjects, as well as their milk.

Since man derives a great deal, and in some instances
his entire sustenance, from the flesh and milk of animals
around him, we can scarcely doubt that an intimate casual
correlation exists between him and them with regard to the
disease.

Tuberculosis has been demonstrated to be due to the bacilli
of tuberculosis by Koch, and that the germ will reproduce
itself innumerable times and retain its virulence. It will
not multiply outside of the animal body except by artificial
means, but it has been known to retain its activity in decay-
ing sputum for forty -three days, and in air-dried sputum for
186 days. Death has taken place from the inoculation of the
bacilli into susceptible animals as soon as ten days when
introduced directly into the circulation, in five or six weeks
when subcutaneously inoculated, and in from three to four
months when associated with infectious animals. These

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4. 403

facts have been well demonstrated by Koch in his numerous
experiments. Animals that are not susceptible to this dis-
ease will succumb to the direct inoculation of large numbers
of the bacilli. The period of incubation is an uncertain one,
as will be seen from the results of the experiments made by
Koch, varying as regards the amount of virus entering the
system, and the susceptibility of the animal.

By artificial means this bacilli has been cultivated for eigh-
teen months, through twenty-six successive breedings, and
then found, by inoculation, to produce the morbid phenomena
of tuberculosis, the same as when taken from an infected
animal. This organism may gain its entrance into the system
by circulation, from the mother, respiratory or digestive
tracts, or through wounds on any part of the body. It has
been well said that contagious diseases in general, iind tuber-
culosis in particular, are very infrequent in habitations to
which strange cattle are not admitted, and where vacancies
are filled up by the home stock.

The development of the disease depends upon the surround-
ings, condition of the animal, the organ or tissue involved,
and the amount of virus taken into the system. The first
evidence of infection is an elevation of temperature, which
often passes away in a few days unnoticed.

The general condition of the animal will depend on the
progress that the disease has made so as to interfere with the
functions of the body. This will vary from the appearance
of perfect health to emaciation, with a rough, stary coat, and
hide-bound. Among other symptoms, there is an enlarge-
ment of the external lymphatic glands of throat, neck and
flank, and usually associated with disease in some of the
internal organs. Again, there is lameness without any evi-
dence of external cause, swelling of the joints, contraction of
muscles of the neck, and abscesses along the bones.

Cases often present themselves with a cough, more or less
discharge from nostrils, hurried and labored respiration, or
even difficult . and audible respiration with a grunt. When
the digestive organs are the seat of the disease, capricious
appetite, bloating, tenderness on pressure, faeces soft or
constipated, and in last stages thin and foetid. The first

404 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

evidence where the digestive organs are involved, the animal
does not hold its own in flesh and general condition.

The udder is not infrequently a seat of the trouble, which
shows itself in the form of small nodules or circumscribed
mammiets, which do not yield readily to the treatment for
garget, for which they are often mistaken. The nervous sys-
tem is not exempt from its ravages, as seen in cases of paraly-
sis or excitement, when the spinal cord or brain is afiected.

The generative organs are not infrequently involved, as
seen in nymphomania or continual bulling.

That the lesions of tuberculosis are not confined to any
special tissue or organ, can be seen by the various symptoms
it presents, as well as the difierent ways the virus may
enter the system.

Of 200 cases that were inspected by Goring of Bavaria,
in 88 cases the lesions were confined to lung and serous
membranes; in 67 cases the lesions were confined to lungs
only ; in 33 cases the lesions were confined to serous mem-
branes only, and in 12 cases where the disease was in other
organs.

Again, in 1,596 cases of tuberculosis, carefully investigated
in the Grand Duchy of Baden, 21 percent, with lung lesions
only ; 28 per cent, with peritoneal and pleural lesions only ;
39 per cent, with lung and pleura ; 9 per cent, with general
tuberculosis ; 3 per cent, with genital organs.

It is a well-established fact that heredity has an influence
in its propagation, and it may be transmitted by the male
as well as by the female. Notwithstanding the above fact,
animals may be born from tuberculous parents without any
predisposition to the disease, and multiply the same as if
from perfectly healthy ancestors ; still, the predisposition may
be inherited from tuberculous parents.

That it is an infectious disease has been well established.
As long ago as 1780, Dr. Wichmann, court physician at
Hanover, stated that phthisis was transmitted when exposure
to infection had been frequent or long continued. The experi-
ments of Villemin in 1864 caused hira to come to the con-
clusion that tuberculosis was an infectious and specific malady,
capable of being transmitted from one animal to another.
From clinical observations tubercular phthisis is a contagious

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 405

malady equal in infectiousness to glanders and contagious
pleuro-pueumonia, and contagion plays a more active part in
its propagation than heredity.

It has been accepted, that: 1. Tuberculosis has been
observed in all warm-blooded animals submitted to domes-
ticity or deprived of their liberty. 2. Tuberculosis presents
analogous manifestations in man and animals in life and death,
and the course and terminations are the same. 3. There are
clinical observations which prove the transmission of tuber-
culosis from animals to man by the consumption of the milk
of tuberculous animals. That it is not necessary to have
the udder tuberculous in order to have the milk contain the
bacilli of tuberculosis, has been demonstrated by Dr. Austin
Peters of Boston, he having found the bacilli in milk from a
tuberculous cow where the udder was in an apparently nor-
mal condition. Fleming cites a case where two young girls
were fed upofi milk from tuberculous cows, and died from
tuberculosis ; while their brothers, more fond ot whiskey than
milk, were hale and hearty. In order to control this malady
the diseased animals should be killed ; everything that has
been in contact with them thoroughly disinfected. Isolate
all animals that are at all suspicious until positive symptoms
manifest themselves. Never breed from an animal whose
history is tainted, or about whom there is the least suspicion.
As regards treatment, this disease has taxed the energies and
defied the efforts of physicians for generations ; and of what
practical benefit could it be, since these animals are useless
for breeding, dangerous for dairy purposes and as compan-
ions, and unfit for food. Our energies, therefore, should be
directed towards prevention and eradication.

Having stated a few facts as to what the disease is, its
cause, some of the prominent symptoms and the means neces-
sary to combat it, it may be of interest to some to know to
what extent tuberculosis was the cause of death in the human
family in this State during the year 1886.

According to the Eegistration Eeport for that year, there
were 39,040 deaths in this State, and of that number 7,329
died from tuberculosis, or 18.37 per cent.

From the twelve prominent causes of death, numbering
23,872, tuberculosis claims 30.7 per cent.

406 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

There were 11,772 deaths under five years of age that year,
and of that number 1,372 were from tuberculosis, or 11.68 per
cent. Excluding all deaths under five years old, then tuber-
culosis claims 21.88 per cent.

That this disease exists among the dairy stock of this
State, a few facts gleaned from Drs. Penniman of Worces-
ter, Osgood of Springfield, Bunker of Newton, Peters and
Saunders of Boston, besides a few of the individuals who
have sufiered a loss of cattle, establishes the fact.

An examination of forty-nine herds, in difierent parts of
this State, or 1,110 animals, shows that on thirty-four farms,
where 866 bovines were kept, 239 were killed, and the exam-
ination after death sustained the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
Beside these 239 that were killed, 189 presented symptoms
that would cause them to be looked upon as suspicious. On
the fifteen other farms, where 244 bovines were kept, twenty-
eight presented symptoms that indicated tu*berculosis, but
none were killed to sustain the diagnosis ; and beside these
there were nineteen suspicious cases.

Having obtained the consent of a few gentlemen that have
sufiered a loss of cattle from this cause, I present the history
of those outbreaks, and the rest I specify by numbers.

In the spring of 1887, at the request of Mr. Jacob C. Rogers,
Dr. Austin Peters and myself made an examination of the
milch cows at his farm in Peabody. There were a number
of animals that presented the symptoms of tuberculosis. An
inquiry into the history of the cattle kept on this farm
revealed the facts : that some years previous to this the herd
of Jerseys and Grades owned there had had the disease, but
to what extent not known ; these were disposed of about
the year 1878, with the exception of one cow, which after-
wards died of milk fever. For two or three years the num-
ber of cattle on the farm was limited. When the farm was
stocked again it was with Guernseys, and no evidence of dis-
ease was manifested in this stock until the year 1883, when a
cow, recently purchased, dropped a bull calf and then
gradually failed until she died, and an examination showed
the lesions of general tuberculosis. In 1885 this bull was
killed, and an examination presented the same lesions as
found in his dam. From that time the malady steadily gained

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 407

ground, until, in the spring of 1887, all the cattle on the farm,
with a few exceptions, had been killed or otherwise disposed
of, and the barn was then fumigated. Not suspecting that
this trouble was infectious, new^animals were added to the
herd after killing the bull, in 1885, and in one instance a bull
was bought in November, 1886, and in June, 1887, he was
killed, and the post-mortem showed the lesions of the disease.
This bull came from a farm where tuberculosis had never
been known to exist. Thinking that the disinfection of the
barn had been such as to remove all traces of the disease,
Mr. Rogers, in May, 1888, purchased in Vermont six cows
that were healthy and from a farm where tuberculosis was not
known to exist, and put them in the barn from which he had
taken the diseased animals. In December, 1888, only two
of these animals remained in an apparently normal condition ;
the others, having developed the symptoms of tuberculosis,
had been taken away. The forty-four animals on the farm,
including the six from Vermont, have been killed or other-
wise disposed of.

In December, 1884, five Guernsey cows were brought to
the farm of Mr. F. L. Ames in North Easton, and in August,
1885, a bull of the same breed. During the winter of 1887
this bull began to fail, and in April of that year he was ex-
amined by Dr. J. S. Saunders of Boston, and the diagnosis
of tuberculosis made, when he was killed, and the autopsy
showed the lesion of tuberculosis with phthisis.

In May of the same year, after an examination of the herd-
(thirty-six animals) by Dr. A. Peters of Boston and myself,
ten mature animals and four calves were killed. ' Six of the
cows were Ayrshires, and the others Guernseys. The calves
were killed as they were sired by the bull killed in April,
and the others as they presented symptoms of tuberculosis,
which were sustained by the post-mortems. The following
December, four more, three Ayrshires and one Guernsey,
were disposed of by death for the same reason, making in all
up to date nineteen herds.

Of the imported Guernseys, three cows and the bull were
killed, one cow died from the efiects of calving, and one re-
mains. Previous to bringing the Guernseys to the farm the

408 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

stock was all Ayrshire, and there is no history of a sick
animal other than due to calving.

Outbreak :^nox aitd Stockbridge Land Co.

Lenox Furnace, Mass., Oct. 30, 1888.
J. F. Winchester, D. V. S.

Dear Sir : — In reply to yours of 27th, would say, we have killed
thirty-two head of cattle, all showing conclusive evidence of having
tuberculosis. This comprises the entire herd. The stables have stood
empty since some time in June, and have been thoroughly washed with
a solution of crude carbolic acid, and afterward whitewashed.

On Nov. 15, 1887, eight cows and heifer Avere sent here from Palmer,
Mass., one of which was a mere skeleton, very weak, coughed hard
whenever moved, coughing up quantities of soft yellow matter. She
stayed with the other cattle for three weeks or more, and was then con-
demned by a veterinary surgeon and ordered killed. Along in March I
noticed several of the other cows coughing, and by the 1st of May most
of the cows were coughing and losing flesh rapidly, although well fed,
and before long not an animal was exempt. Numbers of them (eight,
I think) were opened by Dr. Geo. N. Kinnell of Pittsfield, and all killed
were slaughtered after being condemned by him. We killed twenty
cows, three yearling heifers, one yearling bull and eight calves. Ten
of the cows were five years old or over, twelve animals under two years
old, all but one high-grade Jersey or thoroughbred Jersey. So far as I
noticed, the age had little to do with the severity of the disease, as
calves of two or three weeks would cough quite as hard as the cows.
Many of them, old and young alike, got so sore from coughing that they
seemed to suffer greatly from each attack. The cattle were fed through
the winter on ensilage in morning, hay at noon, and ensilage at night.
Wheat middlings fed on ensilage twice per day. Were turned out to
water once each day, When once the disease got started with a cow,
she would eat everything within reach, — weeds, stubs and all, — and she
was constantly hungry. One cow was killed within a few days of
calving, and the lymphatic glands and the intestines of the calf in others
were plainly blotched by forming tubercles. I am not sure that I have
answered your questions as fully as you may desire, but will cheerfully
give further information at any time.
Yours truly,

Henry J. Washburn,
Agent Lenox and Stockbridge Land Co.

Lenox Furnace, Mass., Dec. 12, 1888.
J. F. Winchester, D. V. S.

Dear Sir : — At the time of the arrival of the cows from Palmer this
farm had twenty cows and three yearlings on it. In former years it
commonly carried forty to sixty head of all ages, but owing to a change
of ownership in May, 1887, the number had been reduced. I was bom

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 409

and brought up on this place, as well as were my father and grandfather,
and I never knew of or heard of the existence of a case of tuberculosis
in the town until the arrival of one from Palmer in November, 1887,
and can therefore safely say that none ever existed here before.
Yours truly,

Henkt J. AVashbuen.

During the year 1885 Mr. C. S. Emerton of Peabody re-
stocked his farm, having during the previous year sold all
the cattle then on the ftirm. He would occasionally have a
cow run down, and dispose of her, but gave little or no heed
to the trouble. During the fall of 1887 several failed in
their milking qualities, and did not clean after calving. This
led to an examination of the cows, and tuberculosis was
found to exist. Those that presented the symptoms of this
disease had been in the herd from a few months to as many
years. Not responding to the grain given them, and gradu-
ally losing flesh, nineteen mature cows and all the calves
raised on the farm were killed, and an examination^ after
death showed the changes due to tuberculosis. In the spring
of 1887 a bull was bought in Vermont, and in the foil he was
killed, having well-marked symptoms of the disease. These
animals were grade Holsteins and natives. The result of
this outbreak was that all the bovines on the farm were either
killed or disposed of otherwise, and his loss has been his
entire herd, or forty head, during the past few years.

In the spring of 1887 Dr. J. Penniman, V. S., of
Worcester, was called to a farm, and while there he noticed a
cow that was coughing, thin in flesh and apparently diseased
with tuberculosis. On making inquiry about her, he learned
that she had been coughing quite a long time and had not
done well. This led him to note the condition of the others,
and in a short time he heard nearly all the rest of the herd
cough. Within a few days he was called to make a post-
mortem examination of an animal, and on arrival found the
cow dead about which he had made inquiry, and the exami-
nation revealed general tuberculosis with phthisis. In a few
weeks from this time the owner desired him to make a criti-
cal examination of all the cows on the farm, numbering
seventeen head of grade Jersey, Ayrshire, Shorthorns and
Devons. The result of the examination was that a two-year-

410 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

old heifer that stood beside the cow that died, had a bad
cough, disease of the lungs, and enlargement of the external
lymphatics, and death was recommended. Another cow,
where the sjrmptoms of the disease were very marked, was
killed, and the post-mortem showed a similar condition of
the internal organs as the one that died. Among the lot
was a fine-looking cow, in good flesh, that was heavy with
calf, and soon after calving she died from milk fever, and an
examination of the lungs found them diseased and broken
down in places. The rest of the herd, with one exception,
were coughing with more or less lung disease, and the
owner was advised to fatten them, and if inspection, after
slaughter, showed them free from disease, to be sold.

Soon after this he was called to another farm to see a cow
that had been ailing for some time, and she presented well-
marked symptoms of tuberculosis, which an examination
after death sustained, having general tuberculosis and phthisis.
In about six weeks from this time another cow which had
been gradually failing died, and the post-mortem showed
similar lesions of tuberculosis as the first cow which was
killed, only to a greater extent. A third one was soon killed
for the same trouble, and in the barn where these three had
been kept nearly all were coughing, although they had the
general appearance of health.

Another case of interest is of a gentleman in Worcester
who kept a cow or two to supply his own family with milk,
and also some of his neighbors. He had been supplying
himself and neighbors for a year or so when he called the
veterinarian to one of these cows. The doctor found a
mature animal, thin in flesh, temperature 104 degrees F.,
unmistakable lung lesions, coughing, hurried respiration,
but with a good appetite, and giving a good quantity of milk.
Death was recommended, and autopsy showed tubercles in all
stages of development in the lungs. In about one year was
again called to the same barn to see a cow which was showing
similar symptoms, and she was a daughter to the one alluded
to above. She was killed, and autopsy showed similar con-
ditions as the dam. A year or two more passed away and
the doctor was sent for again, and another was found with
the same symptoms as the two preceding ones ; this one a

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

411

descendant of one of the others that were killed. The owner
was selling the milk as usual for the children of the neigh-
borhood, and he must have been aware that his course was
little less than criminal, as he had been told the nature of the
disease. He promised to have this cow killed, but he sold
her for fifteen dollars to a gentleman some twelve miles out
of the city, as a wet nurse for thoroughbred calves. The
doctor sent word to the gentleman of the possible results
if he persisted in feeding that cow's milk to calves, and
again recommended death. Some months after this it was
learned that the cow was not killed, but again sold for
fifteen dollars, and soon after this she began to run down
so fast that she was sold for the last time as a live animal for
fifteen dollars to a Worcester firm, to be manufactured into
bologna sausages.

The doctor cites a case of a herd of thoroughbred Jer-
seys within seventeen miles of Worcester, where the entire
herd was killed and buried, and the barn thoroughly cleansed
and disinfected. Although he does not believe it aflects
every herd within a radius of ten miles of Worcester, he has
occasionally found it not only in the city but in almost every
adjoining town ; and he has no doubt but that it lurks insidi-
ously in many a herd, and perhaps the owners may be igno-
rant of the fact, but he is quite sure some know they have it
and keep very still.

Bovines on

Percentage

Hebo.

Farm.

Suspicious.

KlUed.

No. 1, . . . .

70

8

8

11.42

2, .

2

2

_

100.00

3,

57

6

_

8.77

4,

60

1

8

2.00

5,

12

1

3

8.33

6,

12

2

1

16.66

7,

4

1

_

25.00

8,

90

12

78

13.33

9,

34

2

3

5.88

10,

36

19

52.91

11,

32

32

-

100.00

12,

61

1

36*

1.65

13,

14

8

-

57.14

14,

6

2

3

40.00

* Eleven otherwise disposed of.

412

BOAKD OF AGRICULTUEE.

[Jan.

Bovines on
Fann.

KUled.

Suspicions.

Percentage
KiUed.

No. 15, . . . .

4

4

_

100.00

16,

7

2

5

28.67

17,

30

4

2

13.33

18,

6

4

1

80.00

19,

25

7

2

28.01

20,

35

6

-

17.18

21,

2

1

-

50.00

22,

1

1

_

100.00

23,

1

1

_

100.00

24,

8

3

_

37.67

25,

28

4

-

14.28

26,

30

4

_

13.33

27,

44

30

14*

68.49

28,

23

6

-

25.84

29,

17

5

-

29.41

30,

2

1

_

50.00

31,

17

4

12

26.52

32,

48

6

3

12.50

33,

40

30

10*

75.00

34,

20

20

-

100.00

* Disposed of otherwise.

Symptoms of

ge that
Symp-
Disease
e Killed.

Hbed.

Farm.

Disease, but
none Killed.

Suspicious.

2 ■S o §

llll

No. 1, .

24

2

_

8.33

2,

13

2

-

15.38

3,

12

1

_

8.33

4,

8

-

-

_

6,

38

1

2

2.63

6,

15

2

1

13.33

7,

,

11

2

6

18.18

8,

7

_

_

_

9,

30

2

3

6.66

10,

28

2

3

7.14

11,

15

1

-

6.66

12,

11

2

2

18.88

13,

12

6

2

50.00

14,

3

2

1

66.00

15,

17

3

4

17.66

J. F. WINCHESTER, D. V. S.

Note. — The writer has been indebted to Dr. Koch, Dr. Fleming and
Dr. Walley, for certain of the facts presented in the foregoing.

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1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4. 413

SIXTH ATsTTsTTTAT. REPOET

DIRECTOR OF THE STATE AGRICULTURAL EXPERI-
MENT STATION AT AMHERST, MASS.

To the Honorable Board of Control

Gentlemen : — The past year has been, for several
reasons, an eventful one in the history of the Massachusetts
State Agricultural Experiment Station. The State Legisla-
ture of 1888 has passed two acts affecting the organization
and the work of the Station. The membership of the
Board of Control has been increased, and the management
of the new regulations for the trade in commercial fertilizers
has been assigned to the director of the Station. The Board
of Control has also assumed the responsibility of attending
to all the chemical worlc called for in connection with investi-
gations instituted m the various departments of the Hatch
Experiment Station, reserved by the authorities of the
INlassachusetts Agricultural College. The terms agreed to
l)y the Board of Trustees of the college and the* Board of
Control of the Massachusetts Experiment Station allow five
thousand dollars of the Hatch fund for that work. The
character of the additional work, as well as the increase in
financial resources, has rendered some change in the work-
ing force of the Station advisable. To meet the growing
demand for assistance in adopted lines* of investigation, a
department of vegetable physiology has been organized with
a view to assist in particular in the investigation of diseases
of plants by microscopic observations and otherwise. Prof.
James Ellis Humphrey of North Weymouth, Mass., a grad-
uate of Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard University,

414 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

late professor of botany at the University of Indiana, Bloom-
ington, Ind., was elected to the professorship of vegetable
physiology, and entered upon his duties Nov. 1, 1888. A
desirable increase of assistance in the chemical department
of the Station for the coming year will be provided by some
members of the senior class of the Agricultural College, who
are already in training at the Station.

The work carried on during the past year has been in the
main in three directions, namely : to determine the cost of
food for the production of milk and pork, field experiments
with different kinds of farm crops, and chemical examina-
tions of a variety of substances of interest to farmers. The
results of the season are, on the whole, quite satisfactory.
Unfavorable weather during a considerable part of summer
and autumn interfered at times, somewhat, with a more
general success in field experiments, yet not in a sufficient
degree to question seriously the previous statement.

The chemical laboratory has received a valuable addition
of necessary apparatus. The library of the Station has been
enriched by the addition of books and journals needed for
reference in the special lines of investigations instituted.
The stalls for feeding experiments have been enlarged in the
direction pointed out in the preceding annual report. Most
of the farm buildings are, as far as circumstances permit, in
a good state of preservation ; some of them, however, need
a new coat of paint.

The chemical examinations in the laboratory have been in
various directions, and exceptionally numerous. Fodder
articles, fertilizers, products as well as refuse materials of
various industries, have been tested with reference to their
agricultural value. Much work has been done to determine
the sanitary conditions of water supply in small towns and
on farms. The resources of the chemical department have
been engaged to their full capacity to meet the growing call
for assistance on the part of our farming community.

The work for the improvement of the farm lands has been
continued. Drill culture has been largely adopted for the
renovation of the lands, and green manuring has extensively
served to develop and economize inherent sources of plant
food. The area prepared for future field experiments has

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4. 415

been enlarged in various parts of the farm. From nine to
ten acres of permanent grass land have been added to our
fodder sources. Every field of the farm has been made to
contribute, as far as practicable, to that end. A detailed
description of the work carried on in the difierent parts of
the farm will be found in the accompanying report.

The buildings for stock feeding have been considerably
enlarged for the purpose of inaugurating experiments regard
ing the cost of feed for the production of mutton and beef.
The general arrangement for serving the feed has been
improved with a view to enter, whenever advisable, upon
experiments to study the rate of digestibility of fodder plants
peculiar to American farm industry. The live stock of the
Station consists at present of two horses, six cows, two
steers, six sheep and nine pigs. All, with the exception of
the horses, serve at present in experiments to ascertain the
cost of feed for the production of milk or meat.

The details of the work carried on in the barn, the field
and the laboratory, during the past year, are recorded in the
subsequent pages, under the following headings : -

Feeding Experiments.

I. Experiments with milch cows ; English hay, com stover, fodder
corn, ensilage, corn and cob meal, wheat bran and gluten meal.

n. Experiments with milch cows; green fodder, vetch and oats,
Southern cow-pea, corn meal, wheat bran and gluten meal.

III. Experiments with pigs; skim milk, corn meal, corn and cob
meal, gluten meal and wheat bran.

IV. On fodder supply and analyses of fodder articles.

FjELD Experiments.

V. Fodder com raised with single articles of plant food.

VI. Fodder crops raised with and without complete manure.

Vn. Experiments with vetch and oats, sen-adella and Southern cow-
pea.
Vni. Experiments with potatoes, roots and miscellaneous crops.

IX. " Potato Scab,'' by Prof. James Ellis Humphrey.

Work in the Chemical Department.

X. Fertilizer laws and fertilizer analyses ; miscellaneous analyses.

XI. Water analyses.

Xn. Compilation of analyses of fodder articles, with reference to
food value.

416 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

XTTT. Compilation of analyses of fodder articles, with reference to
fertilizing ingredients.

XrV. Compilation of analyses of agricultural chemicals and refuse
materials used for fertilizing purposes.

XV. Meteorological observations.

The periodical publications of the Station have been con-
tinued at such intervals as circumstances advise. The public
interest in the bulletins and annual reports is steadily in-
creasing. The State authorities have authorized the publi-
cation of twenty-five thousand, copies of the annual report ;
and the call for our bulletins has necessitated the printing of
nine thousand copies, with a prospect of the need of ten
thousand in the near future. The obligation imposed upon
the director of the Station by the new laws for the regula-
tion of the trade in commercial fertilizers, to issue, during a
large part of the year, a monthly statement of analyses of
fertilizers made under his direction, will materially increase
the periodical publication. It appears advisable in the in-
terest of economy to publish the analyses of fertilizers as far
as practicable in the form of business circulars, and to
reserve the discussion of experimental work to the periodical
bulletins.

All parties engaged with me in the work of the Station
have faithfully attended to the tasks assigned to them ; and
it is with particular pleasure that I publicly recognize that
fact.

I cannot consider my whole duty on this occasion fulfilled
without expressing my sincere thanks to you for your kind
support during the past year.

Yours very respectfully,

C. A. GOESSMANN,

Director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station.
Amhbrst, Mass., Jan. 9, 1889

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 417

0]Sr FEEDmG EXPERIMENTS.

1888.

I. Feeding Experiments with MiloTi Cows ; English Hay, Com Stover,
Fodder Corn, Corn Ensilage, Corn Meal, Com and Cob Meal, Wheat
Bran and Gluten Meal.

IT. Feeding Experiments with Milch Cows ; Green Fodder, Vetch
and Oats, Southern Cow-pea, Hay, Rowen, Corn Meal, Wheat Bran and
Gluten Meal.

III. Feeding Experiments with Pigs ; Skim Milk, Corn Meal, Corn
and Cob Meal, Gluten Meal and Wheat Bran.

I. Feeding Experiments with Milch Cows ; English
Hay, Corn Stover, Fodder Corn, Corn Ensilage,
Corn Meal, Corn and Cob Meal, Wheat Bran and
Gluten Meal.

During the year 1886 a series of feeding experiments with
milch cows was inaugurated for the purpose of comparing
the feeding effects of dry corn fodder, of corn ensilage and
of corn stover, as a substitute in whole or in part for Eng-
lish hay ; and that of corn ensilage, as compared with various
kinds of roots, as far as practicable, under corresponding
circumstances. The same variety of corn, if not otherwise
specified, served for each trial. The corn ensilage used on
these occasions has been produced in every instance from a
corn crop of the same advanced state of maturity as the one
which furnished the dry corn fodder, i. e., at the beginning
of the glazing over of the kernels.

The daily diet of the cows consisted, at the beginning of
the experiment, of three and one-quarter pounds of com
meal, an equal amount of wheat bran, and all the hay they
could eat. This combination of fodder articles was adopted
as the basis of our investigation mainly for the reason that

418

BOAKD OF AGRICULTUKE.

[Jan.

it had been used in some of our earlier feeding experiments,
and not on the assumption of its being the best possible
combination of fodder articles for milch cows. The actual
amount of hay consumed in each case was ascertained by
weighing out a liberal supply of it and deducting subse-
quently the hay left over. The statement made in our
records in this connection refers to the average consumption
of hay per day during the feeding period.

The temporary changes in the diet, whenever decided
upon, were carried out .gradually, as it is customary in all
carefully conducted feeding experiments. At least five days
are allowed in every instance to pass by, in case of a change
in the character of the feed, before the daily observations of
the results appear in our published records. The dates
which accompany all detailed reports of our feeding experi-
ments, past and present, furnish exact figures in that direc-
tion. This is in particular the case whenever such state-
ments are of a special interest for an intelligent appreciation
of the final conclusions presented. The weights of the
animals were taken on the same day of each week, before
milking and feeding.

The valuation of the various fodder articles consumed was
based on the average local market price per ton in Amherst,
1886-1887: —

Good English hay, .

$15 00

Corn meal,

. 23 00

Wheat bran, .

. 20 00

Gluten meal, .

. 23 00

Rye middlings, . . $24 00

Dry com fodder (stover), 5 00

Corn ensilage, . . . 2 75

Carrots, . . . . 7 00

To assist those not yet familiar with the various points
which ought to be taken into consideration when deciding
the relative agricultural value of fodder articles at our dis-
posal, the following short discourse on this subject, from the
preceding annual report, is here reprinted. The value of a
fodder for dairy purposes may be stated from two distinctly
difierent stand-points : namely, with reference to its influence
on the temporary yield of milk and the general condition of
the animals which consume it, and in regard to its cost,
i.e.y its physiological and commercial value. The relative
commercial value of a fodder article again depends on its

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 419

first cost in the market, and on the value of the fertilizing
constituents left in the manurial matter after it has served
for food. The market value and actual feeding efiect of one
and the same article do not necessarily correspond with each
other ; in fact, they rarely coincide. The market value may
be stated for each locality by one definite number. The
feeding effect of one and the same substance, simple or com-
pound, varies under different circumstances, and depends in
a controlling degree on its judicial use in compounding diets.

1. Physiological or Feeding Value.

As no single plant or part of plant has been found to sup-
ply economically and efficiently, to any considerable extent,
the wants of our various kinds of farm stock, it becomes a
matter of first importance to learn how to supplement our
leading farm crops to meet the divers wants of each kind.
To secure the highest feeding value of each article of fodder
is most desirable in the interest of good economy. The
judicious selection of ingredients for a suitable and remu-
nerative diet for our dairy stock obliges us, therefore, to
study the value of fodder articles at our disposal from both
standpoints.

To ascertain the chemical composition of a fodder ration,
in connection with an otherwise carefully managed feeding
experiment, enables us to recognize with more certainty the
causes of the varying feeding effects of one and the same
fodder article, when fed in different combinations. It fur-
nishes also a most valuable guide in the selection of suitable
commercial feed stuffs ^from known sources to supplement
economically our home-raised fodder crops. Practical ex-
perience in feeding stock has so far advanced that it seems
to need no further argument to accept it as a matter of fact
that the efficiency of a fodder ration in the dairy does not
depend, aside from its general or special adaptation, on the
mere presence of more or less of certain prominent fodder
articles, but on the presence of a proper quantity and a cer-
tain relative proportion of certain prominent constituents of
plants which are known to be essential for a successful sup-
port of life and of the special functions of the dairy cow.

Investigations into the relations which the various promi-

420

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

nent constituents of plants bear to the support of anima]
life have rendered it advisable to classify them, in this
connection, into three groups, — mineral constituents, and
nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous organic constituents. For
details regarding this matter, I have to refer to previous pub-
lications of the Station. (See Fourth Annual Report, pages
31-37.)

Numerous and extensive practical feeding experiments
with most of our prominent fodder articles in various
conditions, and with all kinds of farm live stock, have
introduced the practice of reporting, in connection with the
analysis of the chemist, also the result of careful feed-
ing experiments as far as the various fodder articles have
proved digestible, and were thus qualified for the support of
the life and the functions of the particular kind of animal
on trial. In stating the amount of the digestible portion of
the fodder consumed in a feeding experiment, it has proved
useful for comparing different fodder rations, etc., to make
known by a distinct record the relative proportions which has
been noticed to exist between the amount of its digestible,
nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous organic constituents.
This relation is expressed by the name of " nutritive ratio."
An examination of the description of our feeding experi-
ments will show, for instance, that the corn meal fed (1888)
contained one part of digestible nitrogenous to 9.66 parts of
digestible non-nitrogenous organic matter, making the cus-
tomary allowance for the higher physiological value of the
fat as compared with that of starch, sugar, etc. (2.5 times
higher) .

The " nutritive ratios "of the articles of feed consumed
'in 1888 are subsequently stated as follows : —

Corn meal,

. 1:9.66

Wheat bran, .

. 1:3.85

Gluten meal, .

. 1:2.11

English hay, . . . 1:10.52

Dry corn fodder, . . 1 : 10.31

Stover 1: 9.3

Corn ensilage, . . 1 : 8.8

The results of our own analyses of these fodder articles
are here turned to account for the calculation of the above-
stated " nutritive ratios."

It has been noticed that, as a general rule, growing

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 421

animals and milch cows require a richer food, — i. e., a
closer relation of digestible nitrogenous and non-nitrog-
enous organic constituents in their feed, — to do their best,
than full-grown animals and moderately-worked horses and
oxen. German investigators recommend a combination of
fodder articles, in other respects suitable, which contains
one part of nitrogenous organic constituents to 5.4 parts of
digestible non-nitrogenous constituents.

2. Oommercial Value or Actual Cost of a Fodder Article.

The composition of the various articles of food used in
farm practice exerts a decided influence on the manurial
value of the animal excretions resulting from their use in
the diet of different kinds of farm live stock. The more
potash, phosphoric acid, and in particular nitrogen, a fodder
ingredient contains, the more valuable will be, under other-
wise corresponding circumstances, the manurial residue left
behind, after it has served its purpose as a constituent of
the food consumed.

As the financial success in most farm managements depends
in a considerable degree on the amount, the character and
the cost of the manurial refuse material secured in connec-
tion with the special farm industry carried on, it needs no
further argument to prove that the relations which exist
between the composition of the fodder, and the value of the
manure resulting, deserve the careful consideration of the
farmer when devising an efficient and at the same time an
economical diet for his live stock.

The question whether one or the other fodder mixture will
prove ultimately, under otherwise corresponding circum-
stances, the cheapest one, can only be answered intelligently
when both the original cost of the feed consumed and the
value of the manurial residue subsequently obtained are
duly considered.

An examination of the fodder articles used in connection
with our investigations shows, for instance, the following
relation between their first cost and the commercial value of
their fertilizing constituents ; —

422

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Value of Fertiliz-

First cost.

ing Constituents.

Com meal, . . . . .

$23 00

$7 19

Wheat bran, .

.

23 00

12 31

Gluten meal, .

27 00

17 49

English hay, .

.

15 00

6 45

Corn ensilage,

.

2 75

1 31

Fodder corn, .

.

5 00

4 77

Corn stover, .

.

5 00

4 95

Carrots, .

.

7 00

1 06

T<ane's sugar beet,

•

5 00

1 60

A compilation of our own observations in this direction
will be found at the close of our present report.

The close relation which quite necessarily exits in most
farm managements between the system of cultivating the
lands and the keeping of farm live stock for farm work, for
the dairy and for the supply of food for the general market,
imparts to the barn-yard manure a special if not a con-
trolling importance as a valuable manurial resource. The
barn-yard manure ought to remain, in a judicious system of
mixed farming, not only the main reliance of the farmer for
plant food, but also the cheapest manure at his disposal.
The objections raised at times against a liberal use of barn-
yard manure ought not to rest on its higher cost of produc-
tion, when compared with other manurial substances in our
market. The name, " barn-yard manure," is, however, too
frequently used without any particular discrimination with
reference to all kinds of manurial refuse obtained in con-
nection with stock feeding and stock raising, which are
frequently of widely differing composition. To approximate
even fairly the comparative value of two samples obtained
on different farms remains a hopeless task as long as a more
definite information regarding the following points is want-
ing : —

(1.) The character of the fodder consumed.

(2.) The kind, the age and the function of the animal
which served for its production.

(3.) The nature and the quantity of the material* which
served for the absorption of the animal excretions.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 423

(4.) The care bestowed upon collecting and preserving
the entire liquid and solid excretions.

Assuming, for our. present purpose, in both instances,
identical conditions, as far as the kind of animal, the mode
of collecting and the care of keeping the manure are con-
cerned, it will be apparent that the relative values of the
two kinds of barn-yard manure stand essentially in a direct
relation to the amount of nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid,
etc., which was contained in the feed consumed.

The loss of fertilizing constituents contained in the fodder
of milch cows, in consequence of the production of milk,
varies quite naturally more or less in case of different cows,
as well as of one and the same animal at its different stages
of milk production. Whether the whole milk or only the
cream is sold off from the farm deserves here not less
serious consideration.

We have adopted thus far in our calculation a loss of
twenty per cent., which may be considered quite a liberal
allowance in case of a fair average production of milk, and
where the whole milk is sold.

1886. — From the description of our earlier feeding
experiments with milch cows (see Fourth Annual Keport,
page 11), it may be observed that the relations of the diges-
tible nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous organic constituents
in the different combinations of fodder articles which con-
stituted, during the various feeding periods, the daily diet
of the cows, varied on that occasion from 1 : 6.7 to 1 : 10.17.
The closer relation was obtained by feeding, on an average,
daily,—

3^ lbs. of wheat bran, ")

15 lbs. of hay, y Nutritive ratio, 1 : 6.7.

40 lbs. of Lane's sugar beet, )

and the wider ratio by feeding daily, on an average, —

3 J lbs. of com meal, ")

5 lbs. of hay, V Nutritive ratio, 1 : 10.17.

41| lbs. of corn ensilage, )

1887. — As most well-conducted experiments with dairy
cows endorse the use of a diet which has a closer relation

424 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

between its digestible organic nitrogenous and non-nitro-
genous constituents than either one of the above-stated two
fodder rations used by us, it was decided to try fodder
combinations which, in consequence of the addition of some
concentrated commercial fodder article, would contain a
larger amount of digestible nitrogenous substances. The
gluten meal was selected for that purpose. The same coarse
fodder articles — English hay, corn ensilage, corn stover
and roots (carrots) — were used in most cases in different
quantities and combinations with equal weights of corn meal,
wheat bran and gluten meal. The relations between the two
above-stated important groups of fodder constituents varied
in the different diets used from 1:5. 9 to 1:7.9. The closer
relation was obtained by feeding daily, on an average, —

3\ lbs. of corn meal,

3J lbs. of wheat bran,

3^ lbs. of gluten meal, \ Nutritive ratio, 1 : 5.9.
10 lbs. of hay,
35 lbs. of carrots,

and the wider ratio by feeding, on an average, —

SI lbs. of corn meal, ~\

3\ lbs. of wheat bran, y Nutritive ratio, 1 : 7.9.
25 lbs. of hay, )

The entire feeding experiment (I) was subdivided into
eight distinctly different feeding periods ; the same number
as on the preceding occasion, for the same length of time —
seven months.

The dry corn fodder, the ensilage and the roots were cut
before being offered as feed.

The yield of milk decreased, although at a different rate,
in the case of different animals as time advanced. The
shrinkage in the daily yield of milk amounted, at the end
of the experiment, to from 3.2 quarts to 4.9 quarts in case
of different cows. The gradual decline in the entire milk
record of every cow is only once broken, namely, during
the sixth feeding period, February 7 to February 21, when
the yield of milk shows an increase of from .7 to 1.9 quarts
per day, as compared with that of the preceding period.
This change for the better was noticed when ten pounds of

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 425

hay and thirty-four pounds of carrots were used, under
otherwise corresponding circumstances, as a substitute for
five pounds of hay and twenty-nine pounds of corn ensilage.
The amount of dry vegetable matter contained in the hay
fed with roots and in the hay fed with corn ensilage was
practically the same in both instances. The feed of the
sixth feeding period, containing carrots as an ingredient, is
thus the most nutritive and also the most expensive.

The results of the experiment led us to the following
conclusions : —

The nutritive value of our dry corn fodder (stover) com-
pares well with that of an average quality of English hay ;
the same may be said of good corn ensilage in place of from
one-half to two-thirds of the customary amount of hay.

The nutritive value of our dry corn fodder (stover) and
of a good corn ensilage, taking into consideration pound for
pound of the dry vegetable matter they contain, has proved
in our case fully equal, if not superior, to that of the average
English hay.

The nutritive feeding value of carrots, taking into con-
sideration pound for pound of the dry vegetable matter they
contain, exceeds that of the corn ensilage as an ingredient
of the daily diet, in place of a part (one-half) of the hay
fed. The conclusions thus far stated are in full agfreement
with those pointed out in our earlier experiments.

The influence of the various diets used on the quality of
the milk seems to depend in a controlling degree on the con-
stitutional characteristics of the animal on trial. The effect
is not unfrequently in our case the reverse in different
animals depending on the same diet.

The total cost of the feed for the production of milk is
lowest whenever corn fodder or corn ensilage have replaced,
in the whole or in part, English hay, under otherwise corre-
sponding circumstances.

The net cost of feed consumed for the production of one
quart of milk during the various feeding periods, varies as
widely as from .34 cents to 1.6 cents in case of the same
cow. The net cost of the feed is obtained by deducting
eighty per cent, of the value of the fertilizing constituents
it contains.

426 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The manurial value of the feed consumed during the entire
feeding experiment, deducting twenty per cent, for the
amount of fertilizing constituents lost in the production of
milk, is, at the current market rates, in every instance, more
than equal to one-third of the original cost of the feed.

To avoid misconstruction regarding the statement of net
cost of milk used in our description, I state once more that
it does not include expenses of labor, housing, interest on
investment, etc., but means merely net cost of feed after
deducting eighty per cent, of its manurial value. (For
details, see Fifth Annual Report, pages 11-34.)

1888. — To verify as far as practicable the above-stated
conclusions, a new series of observations was decided upon.
The course adopted was essentially the same as in the pre-
ceding year. English hay, fodder corn, corn ensilage and
corn stover served as coarse fodder articles ; and corn meal,
corn and cob meal, wheat bran and gluten meal as the sup-
plementary feed stuffs to secure the desired relative propor-
tion of digestible nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous substances
in the daily fodder rations. The repetition of a comparative
test between roots and corn ensilage was left over for another
season, when a larger supply of sugar beets and carrots
would render the trial more decisive. The fodder corn,
corn ensilage and corn stover were cut to an even length
(1^-2 inches) before fed. The daily average amount of
fodder corn left behind unconsumed was 5.55 pounds and
that of corn stover and ensilage, 3 pounds.

Six cows, grades, served in the experiment, which was
subdivided into seven feeding periods, extending over a
period of four and one-half months. The same quantity of
corn and cob meal, wheat bran and gluten meal (three and
one-quarter pounds each) was fed daily from the beginning
to the close of the trial. Corn ensilage was fed in different
proportions with one-half or one-fourth of English hay.
Fodder corn and corn stover were fed most of the time by
themselves.

The nutritive value of the different diets used has been
quite close, varying from 1:5.5 to 1:6.1. The adopted
rates of digestibility of the fodder ingredients are those
which have been published of late by E. Wolff. They are

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4. 427

in most instances the average values of a series of actual
tests, and are for this reason applicable for mere economical
questions. As soon as our home observations shall have
furnished sufficient material to enable us to establish reliable
average values, they will be substituted.

Local Market Value of Feed used in our Calculations .

Corn meal, .

. $23 00

English hay.

. $15 00

Corn and cob meal, .

. 20 70

Fodder corn,

. 5 00

Wheat bran,

. 23 00

Corn ensilage, .

. 2 75

Gluten meal,

. 27 00

Corn stover.

. 5 00

An examination of the subsequent tabular statement of
the details of the late experiment cannot fail to show that
the conclusions drawn from our preceding observation in
this direction are in the main fully sustained.

The high nutritive value of fodder corn, good corn ensi-
lage and corn stover, as compared with that of English hay,
counting in all instances pound for pound of dry vegetable
matter, is fully confirmed. The general condition of the
animals on trial, as well as the quality of the milk, point
in that direction.

The daily yield of milk decreased gradually, apparently
at a normal rate, during the progress of the experiment.
The shrinkage in the yield of milk amounted, at the close of
the trial, in the case of different cows of different milkinsr

o

periods, to from 1.6 to 4 quarts per day. The weight of the
cows had decreased in three cases, and had increased in
three.

The first cost of feed for the production of one quart of
milk in case of the same cow, is, as a rule, from one-half to
one cent less per quart wherever fodder corn, corn ensilage
or corn stover have replaced in part or in whole the English
hay. The first cost of feed for the production of one quart
of milk differs, for obvious reasons, quite seriously in case
of the same diet as far as different animals are concerned.
This difference stands in a direct relation to the daily yield
of milk ; the less the latter, the higher the cost of the feed.
A few results taken from our subsequent records may con-
vey some more definite idea regarding this important cir-
cumstance.

428

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Fodder rations : Fodder corn, 18-19 lbs.

Com and cob meal, 3^ lbs.

Wheat bran, 3 J lbs.

Gluten meal, 3} lbs.

Daily Yiel.! of

Milk.

First cost of feed,

Net cost of feed.

Daisy,

Melia,
Eva, .

17.5 qts.

12.7 »

6.1 "

1.01 ets. per qt.
1.28 "
2.64 "

.50 cts. per qt.

.66 "
1.39 "

Fodder rations : English hay, 20 lbs.

Corn and cob meal, 3^ lbs.

Wheat bran, B\ lbs.

Gluten meal, S\ lbs.

Daily Yield of

Milk.

First cost of feed.

Net cost of feed.

Daisy,

Melia,
Eva, .

13.5 qts.

10.9 "

5.6 "

1.97 cts per qt.
2.44 "
4.74 "

1.28 cts. per qt.
1.59 "

3.09 "

The net cost of feed is obtained by deducting eighty per
cent, of the commercial value of the fertilizing constituents
it contains from its first cost. The manurial value of
the feed consumed during the feeding experiments, after
deducting twenty per cent, for the amount of fertilizing
constituents lost in the production of milk, is at current
market prices in every instance more than one-third of the
original cost of the feed.

For further details, consult the following record : —

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

429

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430

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[Jan.

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PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

431

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1888.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,
Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,
Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,
March 1 to March 13,
March 20 to April 4,
April 20 to April 30,
May 9 to May 15,

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432

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

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Lbs.

282.23
588.48

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Lbs.

285.74

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Lbs.

170.01
340.00

130.00
80.00

140.00

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1888.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16, .
Jan. 21 to Feb. 6, .
Feb. 18 to Feb. 26, .
March 1 to March 13, .
March 20 to April 4, .
April 20 to April 30, .
May 9 to May 15, .

t^ Oi i-i <M GO O CO

tH p -^ GO t>; -<5J lO

G>q (N r-H T-H r-5 .-5 c^

(N -* GO CS CO r-( tH

CO o

I I (j4^ I I
CO t>

^ o o o

t^o oo

cJd ^ d>d>

CO -* CO 00

1-1 CO 1-1

P t-- CO 1-; C5 GO lO

CO GO >-5 c-i d d d

p C5 CO CO -^ CO »q

GO lO GO t-l ■'f Ca CO
O 1-1 lO "O h- I— I t^
i-l GO 1-1 1-1 1-1 rH

CO CO CO CO ■* O lO

Hj [i, tM ^ <3 -il S

B2BBBBB

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

433

•pou3djo}5iiirejo -jb
atio JO uoijonpojd jqj
paaj JO jsoo aSBjaAV

•pouad Siiunp parans
-U03 paaj JO jsoo IBJox

•pouad Suunp
paransuDD ja.vojs'
luoo JO junoniB iB)oi

•pouad 9ai
-jnpparansuoo BSt3\\s
-ua JO junotaB ibjox

•pouad anj
-jnp pamnsiioa ujoo
jappo J JO junomB ibjox

•pou
-art Snunp patnnsuoa
Xbh jo JunoraB IBjOi

•popad 3ui
-jnp paninsiioa inaiv
iiamio JO lunoraB [kjoj,

•pouad Sin
-Jnp patnnsiioa UBjg
JBaqAV.JO junoraB [cjox

■pouad aujjnp pamns
-1100 luai? qoD puB

UJOO JO uinotQB IBJOX

•popad 3a{
-jnp painnsuoa isare
UJOO JO liuioraB iBiox

•pouad joj Tiiire
JO piaii ^UBp aSBJaAV

•pouad ajij
-na Snjjnp p'aanpoj'd
HUH JO AiJUBnb iBjox

CN -# (N <M CO i-H 1

CO —'

(>5 lO

1^ o o o o

.05 0 , o o o

J O -t< CO 00 -^

.-H CO tH t-H

»0 uO O 'O o o o

(>1 C<) lO G^ p l^ t>;

cj i-o iri oj cN "C (>i

CM lO ■* -* O CO c<»

lO >C (M G^l "O C^

iO G-^ 00 uO CO (N CO

to COO CO -*o >o

1-1 <M

CO

o r;2

« rt o o =: o-G.^
3222232

I O O '
(M CM

!:» ij (S « w Q^ ^

eo CO <>» CO (M -*

<N '* IM CO rl rH

1-1 o o

o o o

o d ' d

t- -* CO

T-l CO

uo O O »0 "O

(N lO O t-- !>;

' lO lO <N lO c4

»o -* »o CO c^

O^ T-l O t^ (N

d^.fi'5'S b
000000

.tj +j .ij *i ^ .J3

434

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

'^ c^ CO CO »-i 1-1

o o o o

o o o o

d 'do ' d

-^ CO 00 -*

eo <Ki c^ s^ i-H

CO O CO -t* O uO

[iH piH S -a1 <J5 1^

22 22 2 2

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

435

Summary of Net Cost of Feed for Each Cow during Succeeding
Periods

•a t«

w . u» 1

h<w V

— i:^^^. —

*j

S|

£=■3

°-g£5

£=S

a°^

a

PERIODS.

ill

ii

anuria! Value
Ihe Feed after
ducting the 20
cent, talten by
Milk.

ill

11

11
II

H

S 1

is

|2i

^

Cents.

Lbs.

1. May, .

$2 34

$1 03

$0 82

$1 52

1.56

860

Minnie, .

2 34

1 03

82

1 52

1.41

985

Melia, .

2 30

1 02

82

1 48

1.22

985

Eva,

2 34

1 03

82

1 52

2.41

985

Lizzie, .

2 30

1 02

82

1 48

1.75

1,025

2. May, .

4 51

1 98

1 68

2 93

1.40

880

Minnie, .

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.36

1,005

Melia, .

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.19

1,005

Eva, .

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

2.39

1,030

Lizzie,

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.63

1,060

Daisy, .

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

.90

1,145

3. May, .

2 33

1 42

1 14

1 19

.77

820

Minnie, .

2 23

1 33

1 06

1 17

.74

966

Melia, .

2 27

1 37

1 10

1 17

.66.

965

Eva, .

2 25

1 34

1 07

1 18

1.39

1,010

Lizzie, .

2 32

1 41

1 13

1 19

1.04

1,060

Daisy,

2 49

1 57

1 26

1 23

.50

1,105

4. May,

2 87

1 29

1 03

1 84

1.13

840

Minnie,

2 87

1 29

1 03

1 84

1.17

950

Melia,

2 87

1 29

1 03

1 84

1.13

975

Lizzie,

2 81

1 27

1 02

1 79

1.50

1,050

Daisy,

3 10

1 41

1 13

1 97

.89

1,060

6. May,

3 26

1 50

1 20

2 06

1.21

825

Minnie,

3 10

1 42

1 14

1 96

1.12

942

Melia,

3 16

1 45

1 16

2 00

1.06

897

Eva,

3 16

1 45

1 16

1 99

2.26

1,000

Lizzie,

3 03

1 39

1 11

1 92

1.40

1,045

Daisy,

3 50

1 62

1 30

2 20

.96

1,091

6. May,

1 65

93

74

91

.82

804

Minnie,

1 57

92

74

83

.74

922

Melia,

1 74

1 00

80

94

.76

935

Eva,

1 C2

96

77

85

1.35

1,153

Lizzie,

1 61

88

70

91

.95

1,043

Daisy,

1 69

95

76

93

.62

1,046

7. May,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.63

860

Minnie,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.65

945

Melia,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.59

972

Eva,

1 86

81

65

1 21

3.09

1,105

Lizzie,

1 86

81

65

1 21

2.19

1,087

Daisy,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.28

1,103

43G BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Ji

SmiMART.

May.

Total amount of milk produced during the above records

(87 days) 977.6 qts.

Total cost of feed per quart of milk produced, . . . 1.93 cts.

Manurial value left behind per quart of milk produced, . .73 cts.

Ket cost per quart of milk produced, 1.20 cts.

Minyiie.

Total amount of milk produced during the above records

(87 days) 999.5 qts.

Total cost of feed per quart of milk produced, . . . 1.85 cts.

^lanurial value left behind per quart of milk produced, . .70 cts.

Net cost per quart of milk produced, 1.15 cts.

Melia.

Total amount of milk produced during the above records

(87 days), 1,098.3 qts.

Total cost of feed per quart of milk produced, . . . 1.70 cts.

]\Ianurial value left behind per quart of milk produced, . .65 cts.

Xet cost per quart of milk produced, 1.05 cts.

Eva.

Total amount of milk produced during the above records

(74 days), 460.4 qts.

Total cost of feed per quart of milk produced, . . . 3.42 cts.

Manurial value left behind per quart of milk produced, . 1.31 cts.

Net cost per quart of milk produced, 2.11 cts.

Lizzie.

Total amount of milk produced during the above records

(87 days), 787.8 qts.

Total cost of feed per quart of milk produced, . . . 2.34 cts.

Manurial value left behind per quart of milk pi'oduced, . .90 cts.

Net cost per quart of milk produced, 1.44 cts.

Daisy.

Total amount of milk produced during the above records

(78 days), 1,265.3 qts.

Total cost of feed per qiaart of milk produced, . . . 1.36 cts.

Manurial value left behind per quart of milk produced, . .53 cts.

Net cost per quart of milk produced, .83 cts.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUxMEx\T — No. 4.

437

Manurial Value of Feed.
May.

I*

= i|

°^y

r^i

'fi=^

^

m

IIS

IH

11

FEEDING PERIODS.

til

o5-

ill

^%

|ii.

m

g£-gsi

•i'A

%%i

u ■

H

>

a

!?i*'^

'A

^

1888.

Cents.

Lbs.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,

$2 34

fl 03

10 82

$1 52

1.56

860

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.40

880

Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,

2 33

1 42

1 14

1 19

.77

820

Mar. 1 to Mar. 13,

2 87

1 29

1 03

1 84

1.13

840

Mar. 20 to Apr. 4,

3 26

1 60

1 20

2 06

1.21

825

Apr. 20 to Apr. 30,

1 65

93

74

91

.82

804

May 9 to May 15,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.63

860

Total, . . .

$18 82

$8 96

$7 16

$11 66

-

-

Minnie.

1888.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,

$2 34

$1 03

fO 82

fl 52

1.41

• 985

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.36

1,005

Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,

2 23

1 33

1 06

1 17

.74

965

Mar. 1 to Mar. 13,

2 87

1 29

1 03

1 84

1.17

950

Mar. 20 to Apr. 4,

3 10

1 42

1 14

1 96

1.12

942

Apr. 20 to Apr. 30,

1 57

92

74

83

.74

922

May 9 to May 15,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.65

945

Total, .

$18 48

$8 78

$7 02

$11 46

-

-

Melia.

1888.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,

$2 30

$1 02

fO 82

$1 48

1.22

985

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.19

1,005

Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,

2 27

1 37

1 10

1 17

.66

965

Mar. 1 to Mar. 13,

2 87

1 29

1 03

1 84

1.13

975

Mar. 20 to Apr. 4,

3 16

1 45

1 16

2 00

1.06

897

Apr. 20 to Apr. 30,

1 74

1 00

80

94

.76

935

May 9 to May 15,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.59

972

Total, . . .

fl8 71

$8 92

$7 14

$11 57

-

-

438

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Manurial Value of Feed — Concluded.
Eva.

II

or^i

e-i

^H

«

fc5

||g^

m

m

85

cfe

FEEDING PERIODS.

ll^

m

"Is

<6-

•5^

lU

^5i

^11

i'

H

>

s

^

1888.

Cents.

Lbs.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,

|2 34

$1 03

$0 82

U 52

2.41

985

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

2.39

1,030

Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,

2 25

1 34

1 07

1 18

1.39

1,010

Mar. 20 to Apr. 4,

3 15

1 45

1 16

1 99

2.26

1,000

Apr. 20 to Apr. 30,

1 62

96

77

85

1.35

1,153

Way 9 to May 15,

1 86

81

65

1 21

3.09

1,105

Total, .

$15 73

$7 57

$6 05

$9 68

-

-

Lizzie.

1888.

Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,

$2 30

%l 02

$0 82

$1 48

1.75

1,025

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,

4 51

1 98

1 58

2 93

1.63

1,060

Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,

2 32

1 41

1 13

1 19

1.04

1,060

Mar. 1 to Mar. 13,

2 81

1 27

1 02

1 79

1.50

1,050

Mar. 20 to Apr. 4,

8 03

1 39

1 11

1 92

1.40

1,045

Apr. 20 to Apr. 30,

1 61

88

70

91

.95

1,043

May 9 to May 15,

1 86

81

65

1 21

2.19

1,087

Total, .

$18 44

$8 76

f7 01

$11 43

-

-

Daisy.

1888.

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6,

f4 51

$1 98

fl 58

$2 93

0.90

1,145

Feb. 13 to Feb. 26,

2 49

1 57

1 26

1 23

.50

1,105

Mar. 1 to Mar. 13,

3 10

1 41

1 13

1 97

.89

1,060

Mar. 20 to Apr. 4,

3 50

1 62

1 30

2 20

.96

1,091

Apr. 20 to Apr. 30,

1 69

95

76

93

.62

1,046

j\Iay 9 to May 15,

1 86

81

65

1 21

1.28

1,103

Total, .

$17 15

$8 34

f6 68

flO 47

-

-

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

439

Valuation of Essential Fertilizing Constitueyits contained in the Fariou.

Articles of Fodder used.
Nitrogen, 16jJ cents per pound; pliosiihoric acid, 6 cents per pound; potassium

oxide, 44 cents per pound.
[Per cent.]

■i
1

i

1

i

s

1

3

5

b

P3

1
1

1

CO

Nitrogen,

1.796

1.453

2.780

5.120

.995

1.250

.289

1.119

Phosphoric acid, .

.744

.688

1.857

.297

.201

.464

.112

.354

Potassium oxide, .

.435

.548

1071

.030

1.465

2.085

.264

.976

Valuation per 2,000 lbs.,

$7 19

$6 09

$12 31

$17 28

$4 77

$6 45

$131

$4 05

Analyses of Milk.

[Per cent.]

May.

1888.

Jan. 17.

Jan. 31.

Feb. 24.

Mar. 9.

Mar. 29.

April 11.

April 24.

May 3.

Solids, .
Fat, . . .
Solids not fat, .

14.04
4.1.3
9.91

13.64

3.64
10.00

14.30

3.91
10.39

14.18

3.55
10.63

14.05

3.95

10.10

13.76

2.64

11.12

13 91

4.18
9.73'

14.36

4.71
9.66

Minnie.

Solids, .

Fat, .

Solids not fat.

13.61
3.68
9.93

13.86
4.21
9.65

14.55
3.90
10.65

13.76

3.65

10.11

13.36
8.54

9.82

13.84

3.43

10.41

13.28
4.33

8.95

13.90
4.62
9.28

Melia.

Solids, .

Fat, .

Solids not fat,

12.79
3.30
9.49

13.19
3.57
9.62

13.26

3.13

10.13

12.43
2.48
9.95

12.15
3.21
8.94

13.26

3.19

10.07

13.90
4.47
9.43

13.12
3.79
9.33

Eva.

Solids, .

Fat, .

Solids not fat.

16.38

5.45

10.93

16.60

6.00

10.60

15.97
5.17
10.80

16.04
4.84
1120

15.79
5.54
10.25

16.44

4.77
11.67

16.28
6.30

16.70

6.46

10.24

Lizzie.

Solids, .

Fat, .

Solids not fat.

13.39
3.68
9.71

13.77
4.46
9.31

13.20

8.15

10.05

13.27

3.21

10.06

14.02
4.32
9.70

12.89

2.87

10.02

13 35
4.71
8.64

13.76
4.61
9.15

Daisy.

Solids,

Fat,

Solids not fat.

13^4
4.23
9.11

11.96
3.09
8.87

12.63
2.73
9.90

13.22
3.55
9.67

12.94
3.54
9.40

12.95
3.18
9.77

12.09
3.86
8.23

12.43
3.78
8.65

440

BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE.

[Jan.

Corn Meal (Average)

•

1

'" c
S 2

S c

5 = .

•5 >.l

i

li

§£l

c -i

= -^

o

It

i £ <N-

lis

:|l

3

a.

o

fc«

Oh

Moisture at 100° C, .

13.08

261.60

_

Dry matter, .

86.92

1,738.40

-
-

_

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

1.66

33.20

-

-

^

" cellulose, .

3.49

69.80

23.73

34

j.ai

" fat

4.97

99.40

75.64

76

" protein (nitrogenous

matter),

10.39

207.80

176.63

85

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

79.49

1,589.80

1,494.41

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,770.41

-

Corn and Cob Meal (Average).

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 13.69

Dry matter, 86.31

100.00
Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, 1-68

" cellulose, 7.75

" fat, 3.67

" protein (nitrogenous matter), 9.13

Non-nitrogenous extract matter, 77.77

100.00
Nutritive ratio, 8.8.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

441

Wheat Bran (Average).

a

a "s

5 o

5 = .

2

6
ll

III

So

o ^ S
= 55

a

1!

111

III

eu

o

a<

s:,

!zi

Moisture at 100° C^, .

11.14

222.80

Dry matter, . .

88.86

1,777.20

:

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

6.59

131.80

_

_

O

" cellulose, .

12.80

256.00

51.20

20

[.CO

" fat

6.00

120.00

96.00

80

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

17.72

354.40

311.87

88

Non-nitrogenous extract

matrter, ....

56.89

1,137.80

910.24

80

100.00

2,000.00

1,369.31

}

Gluti

DN Meal

(Average).

1

? 8

lll

m

5°2

fli

B
1

Moisture at 100° C, .

9.77

195.40

N

Dry matter, ....

90.23

1,804.60

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

.93

18.60

_

_

j:^

" cellulose, .

4.60

92.00

31.28

34

r"^

" fat, ....

6.63

132.60

100.78

76

^

" protein (nitrogenous

matter),

35.43

708.60

602.31

85

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

62.41

1,048.20

985.31

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,719.68

442

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

IlAY.

[Experiment Station, 1887.]

a

5

1.1
s •-

B '5

ill

1 5 1

fit

11!

%

1

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

10.78
89.22

215.60
1,784.40

412 38
24.20

99.75

579.10

58
46

57

63

]

Analysis of dry matter.
Ci'utle ash, ....
cellulose, .
" fat, ....
" protein (nitx-ogenous
matter) ,
Non-nitrogenous extract
matter, ....

100.00

7.11

35.55

2.63

8.75

45.96

2,000.00

142.20

711.00

52.60

175.00

919.20

100.00

2,000.00

1,115.43

Fodder Corn (dry).

[Experiment Station, 1887.]

lil

I §

5».
Ill

t

5
is

a
»5

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

24 87
75 13

497.40
1,502,60

320.60
39.30

120.89

826.78

72
75

73

67

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

" fat, ....

" protein (nitrogenous
matter) ,
Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

5.14

22.26

2.62

8.28

61.70

2,000.00

102.80

445.20

52 40

165.60

1,234.00

CO

100.00

2,000.00

1,307.57

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

443

Corn Ensilage.

[Experiment Station, 1887.]

;- i

1

:i

I §

f Dl

0
DtS.

atlo.

li

11

III

Hi

111

1

-

6

B«

Moisture at 100° C, .

77.24

1,544.80

•\

Dry matter, ....

22.76

455.20

:

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

4.94

98.80

_

_

00

" cellulose, .

20.66

413.20

297.50

72

J. 00

" fat, ....

3.15

63.00

47.25

75

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

9.67

193.40

141.19

73

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, . . .

61.58

1,231.60

825.17

67

100.00

2,000.00

1,311.11

Corn Stover.
[Experiment Station, 1887.]

1

i a

= 'S

pi

Pl

5^.

iff

ft.

1

55

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

19.07
80.93

381.40
1,618.60

301.39
39.45

133.88

844.87

72
75

73

67

\

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

" fat, ....

" protein (nitrogenous
matter) ,
Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

4 22

20.93

2.63

9.17

63.05

2,000.00

84.40

418.60

52.60

183.40

1,261.00

CO

100.00

2,000.00

1,319.59

444 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

II. Feeding Experiments with Milch Cows : Green
Crops v. English Hay.

The preceding annual report contains a record of feeding
experiments with milch cows, in which some noted green
crops were used in place of English hay.

1887, — A mixed crop of green oats and vetch, of
Southern cow-pea and of serradella, served in that con-
nection.

Five cows were engaged in the trial. Two cows were fed
with a daily fodder ration consisting of corn meal, 3| pounds
(2 quarts) ; wheat bran, 3;^ pounds (4 quarts) ; English
hay, 20 to 25 pounds.

The excess of hay left over was weighed back, and sub-
sequently deducted from the original quantity. Three cows
received periodically the above-stated daily rations and
alternately the following : corn meal, 3^ pounds ; wheat
bran, 3^ pounds ; English hay, 5 pounds ; and as much of
either green vetch and oats, green Southern cow-pea or
green serradella, as the individual animal would consume.
They consumed per day, on an average, from 64 to 65
pounds of green vetch and oats ; of green Southern cow-
peas, 96 to 97 pounds ; and in case of green serradella, from
97 to 98 pounds. The feeding of the green crop commenced
in every instance with the beginning of the blooming period.

The feeding of the different green fodders, in place of
three-fourths of the customary daily rations of English hay,
gave, on the whole, very satisfactory results. For details,
we have to refer to the Fifth Annual Report of the Station.

1888. — The experiment has been repeated with some
modifications during the past season. A mixed crop of
vetch and oats and one of Southern cow-pea were raised for
that purpose. (See record of field C. in this report.)

The quantity of green fodder fed at stated times is some-
what less in pounds than in last year's trial, on account of
the addition of gluten meal to our last year's fodder ration.

The daily green fodder ration consisted of corn meal, 3^
pounds ; wheat barn, 3^ pounds ; gluten meal, 3| pounds ;
English hay, 5 pounds ; and as much of vetch and oats or
cow-pea as the animal would consume, which amounted in

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 445

the case of green vetch and oats to from 54 to 68 pounds, and
in that of green Southern cow-peas from 70 to 80 pounds.

The nutritive ratio of the green fodder diet was a closer
one than on former occasions, varying from 1 : 4.5 to 1 : 5.5.
The nutritive effect was very satisfactory, for the animals,
without exception, maintained their original weight; the
yield of milk was in every instance somewhat raised, and
the quality of the milk was equal to the best, as far as one
and the same animal was concerned.

Five cows, grades, were turned to account in the trial.
The net cost of the feed for the production of one quart of
milk was in most instances lower than in case of a whole
English hay ration.

The cost of green fodder is based on that of hay, $15.00
per ton, allowing two tons of hay, with fifteen per cent, of
moisture, as the average produce of English hay per acre.

This mode of valuation has been adopted, as on previous
occasions, on account of the entire absence of market prices,
as far as green vetch, cow-pea and serradella are concerned.
These crops, as a rule, rank higher in the scale of an
agricultural valuation than the meadow grass.

Valuation per Ton of the Articles of Fodder used.

Corn meal, . . . . $24 00

Corn and cob meal, . . 20 70

Wheat bran, . . . 22 50

Gluten meal, . . . 22 50

English hay, . . . $15 00

Vetch and oats, . . . 2 75

Cow-pea, . . , . 3 14

RoTven, . . . . 15 00

The following pages contain the details of the experi-
ment : —

446

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

on

00

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^

:^

C^

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^ r_| ,-H ^ ,-< ,-(

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oo o '# CO 0:1 lO

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CD 0 oi ao 06 0

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CO CO CO CO CO CO

qoo puB ujoo

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uo lO 0 "O 'O

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§

O

1888.

July 1 to July 6, . . .

July 10 to July 22, .

July 26 to Aug. 1, .

Aug. 11 to Aug. 25, .

Sept. 7 to Sept. 14, .

Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, .

<M »0 CO CO -H t-,

.-H o o o) 00
000000

(M CM <M (M iM (M

(M <M 50 00 00 CO
rji Oi '^ 'tt; t>. 00

th d d d d 00

o o "O 00

op (N p CO

d lO oi ' »o od

CO CO CO CO CO CO

CO CO CO CO CO

ae «o CO 1— t »o -t< lO
J5 CO CO •-• CO

p 3 5 s S7S^

1-5 l-I ■<< <J C/3 CO
00 0000
r-( O CO 1— I t^ O

3 oTsr

i-<COC»

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

447

poijsd auipaaj

«5 -rtl 05 iC lO >0

HOBaSuijnpiBiniuB

0.0,0,0,0.0,

JO jqaiSM 93BJ9AV

T-H rH tH ,-H ,-( r-(

(M CO t^ 05 O O

•onua aAiiuinji

i-; lO p C5 iC 05
CO lO O '^ Th lO

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<M cr^ C<) CM (M (M

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c^

1 1 1 ^ 1 1

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pun qo^SA

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o lo oj ' lo r^

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CO CO CO CO CO CO

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t-H O CO rH t^ Ci

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448

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

^i^

•poiiad anipaaj
qasa Sujjnp i«miuB

JO JUSjaii 9aBJ3AV

iSiSil

•onBH BAnujn^r

«o«oco "O'^eO

■mm

JO iJBnb jad jaj
-%vm ijp JO spunoa

00 rH O O O l^
r^ C^ --^ (>i C^ (?i

•Svp J3d p33np
-Old 311101 JO sji«nt)

»0 1-1 CO CO CO (M
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^ Tficocoeooi

•(spunod u|)
pamnsuoo Jappoj
^IIBpaqi oi pauiBj
-uoD jaitBtn aiqBja
-3a A Ajpjo junomy

CO O CO 00 00 t>^
C^ CO (M (M (M (M

1
I

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•najiOH

21.87

•»aa-4ioo

80.00

•SJBO
PU» 14DJ3A

-g. . . .

CO

•Xbh

20.00

5.00

19.89

5.00
21.00

•I»are najnio

<N C^ C^ <N C^ <N

CO CO CO CO CO CO

•OBJa JB81AV

c^ c^ c^ (N c^ (>;

CO CO CO CO CO CO

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qo.O puB nj03

2

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TO

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U
S

I 88».

July 1 to July 6, . . .

July 10 to July 22, .

July 26 to Aug. 1, .

Aug. 11 to Aug. 25, .

Sept. 7 to Sept. 14, .

Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, .

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

449

t>. 00 o ix> lO 00

<>} p -^ iq »0 CO
oi (>i c<i oi c4 o4

!M T-l '^Jl G-l 1-1

o

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t-t -^ -< <1 CO CO

o o o o o o

1-1 O O 1-1 t> 05

1-5 1-3 »-5 <5 CO M

I'-^'Sf^AA

450

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

alio ;o 'uoiionpojd .loj
paa.l JO jsoo aSsjsAv

pouod auunp parang

-UOO paSjI JO JS03, [BJOX

•pouDd
Snianp paransnoo
iiaAioji JO junorat! injoj.

•poi.iad Sui
-jnp patnnsuoa b3J
-MOO JO JunoraB ibjox

•pouad Siiunp
paransiioo siaq Pu^
qajaA io ;unoniB iBioj,

•pouad
SuTjnp pamnsuoa
Xbix jo junoniB itfjox

•pouad Sni
-jnp pamnsuoa iBapi
uajniOJO JunomB [Bioi

•pouad Sin
-jnp pamnsuoa ncja .
JBaq.u JO }unomB icjox

•pouad Suunp parans
-noa IBSH <10D pns
ujoo JO junomB [tjjox

■pouad Sni
-jnp paransnoo icanr
ujoo JO junoraB [ejox

•pouad joj 5ii!re
JO piatjC jfijBp aSBJaAv

•popad ajtj
-na 3u[Jiip paanpojd
TOUT JO 'S)!in''nl' l«»ox

« O lO 05 GO (M (M

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r=^ G<i <M c4 c4 c<i CQ

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■^ .-I ^ (M rt< CM (M

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o- i-i ^ d r-; -; d

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C<1

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o o o o o o

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l-H O CO --H t^ C5

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P S 3 5 « 5^
l-S »-5 l-S <i CC M

O

o

o o >o o o -*

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C?i CM (M 00 O CM
T- ^ CM -*i (M (M

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lO (M l^ t>- O 1-;

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i-H -* CS ^ (M CM

UO >0 'O O O

C>J t-; t>; p C^

CM CM GO O CM

-* (M ^ (M CM

f^ OOOOCO'*!
p CO CO 1-; rH CO

CO <» ^ -^ O CM

O O OO O O
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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

451

•pouad
joj 5ii!ni JO jjunb
auo JO uonanpojd joj
pssjl JO jsoo aSBasAV

2 ,-; r-i ,-H CM --I C<j

•poiJsdSuunppatnns
-uoD paaj JO JSOO [bjox

t-H CO r-l -^ Oq ,-H

•poijad
auijnp pamnsuoo
n3Aioa JO ^unoratj iBjoj,

Lbs.

328.00

•pouad Stif
-Jnp pamnsuoo ■oaj
-MOO JO jnnomB [bjox

Lbs.

640.00

•pouad 3uunp
pamnsuoo sjbq pub
UOjaA JO junomB ibjox

Lbs.

880.25

_

•pojjad
Snijnp pamnsuoo
jCbh jo ;unoraB tB}ox

Lbs.

120.00

65.00

139.25

40.00
147.00

•pouad 3ui
-jnp pamnsuoo iBai\[
aamiO ;o jnnoraB ibjox

3 O C^ G^ 00 ^' (N
i-H -<JH CM Tt< G^ (M

•pouad 3ui
-anp pamnsuoo UBjg
Jws'I.W Jo?unomB ibjox

O O -O -O O O

OT "O c^; t^ t->. o t^
3 o <>i c^i GO -o oi

i-H tK <M ^ (M c^

•poijadSujjnp parans
-uoo [Ban qo.o puB
ujoo JO junomB ibjox

Lbs.

19.50

•pouad 3ui
-jnp pamnsuoo [Ban
ujoo JO junomB ibjox

Lbs.

42.25

22.75
48.75
26.00

22.75

•pofjad JOj smvi
JO piaii ^iiBp 93BjaAV

5 -^ ^co cocoes

•poiiad ajij
-ua 3uunp paonpoid
qUK io ^ijuBnb IBJOX

li "O CO CO >o '-< CO

O" CO 00 Oi O .-( CO

i

o
«

Ed

Cm

?

1888.

July 1 to July 6, . . .

July 10 to July 22, .

July 2G to Aug. 1, . . .

Aug. 11 to Aug. 25, .

Sept. 7 to'Sept. 14, .

Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, .

452

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Valuation of Essential Fertilizing Constituents contained in the Various

Articles of Fodder tised.

Nitrogen, 16.J cents per pound; phosphoric acid, 6 cents; potassium oxide, 4 J cents.

[Per Cent.]

1

£

5

p
2

1

1

3

^

o -

>

1

5

a

1

Moisture, .

12.78

13.69

10.87

10.59

10.78

74.02

8.84

Nitrogen,

1.635

1.45

2.415

5.30

1.25

.447

1.93

Phosphoric aciJ, .

.746

.683

2.88

4.41

.464

.176

.09

.364

Potassium oxide, .

.436

.548

1.64

.551

2.0S5

1.475

.239

2.86

Valuation per 2,000 lbs.,

$6 67

$6 09

$12 82

$18 49

$6 45

$2 94

$2 15

$9 24

Manubial Value of Feed.
Annie.

,

u 1

(0 be -

a ^

a> »

<j

FEEDING PERIODS.

8 €

II
51

|1

1 s

1 2 "S

111

o S =

» 1 1

anurial vnluo of th
Feed after dcductin
the 20 per cent, take
by the milk.

m
III

■E p. ■a

fe e g

Hi

ft

p

^

>

a

^

^ .

&:

18 8 8.

Cents.

Lbs.

July 1 to July 6,

?1 66

fO 76

fO 61

$0 95

.95

770

July 10 to July 22,

2 91

2 03

1 62

1 29

.61

768

July 2G to Aug. 1,

1 65

0 80

0 64

1 01

1.00

763

Aug. 11 to Aug. 25,

3 91

2 29

1 83

2 08

.94

777

Sept. 7 to Sept. 14,

2 10

1 24

0 99

1 11

.92

766

Sept. 19 to Sept. 25,

1 69

0 82

0 66

1 03

1,16

781

Total, .

$13 82

$7 94

$6 35

?7 47

-

-

Daisy.

1888.

July 1 to July 6,

$1 56

$0 76

fO 61

10 95

1.11

1,095

July 10 to July 22,

3 17

2 31

1 85

1 33

.71

1,125

July 2o to Aug. 1,

1 83

0 88

0 70

1 13

1.21

1,108

Aug. 11 to Aug. 25,

4 15

2 44

1 95

2 20

1.07

1,112

Sept. 7 to Sept. 14,

2 21

1 31

1 05

1 16

1.05

1,090

Sept. 19 to Sept. 25,

I 89

0 91

0 73

1 16

1.69

1,100

Total, .

$14 81

$8 61

$'5 89

$7 92

-

-

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

453

JVIaotjrial Value op Feed — Concluded.
May.

6C 1

g o

5 = .

5 z:

FEEDING PERIODS.

II

s 1

s Z 1

fe r ^
° 1 i
III

^53

anurial value of
Feed after deduct
the 20 per cent, ta
by the milk.

1 =^'

Ml

HI

2 5"

" 2 §

It
i|

H

>

a

5?;

s^

^

1888.

Cents.

Lbs.

July 1 to July 6,

$1 56

$0 76

$0 61

?0 95

1.43

895

July 10 to July 22,

3 07

2 20

1 76

1 31

0.86

880

July 26 to Aug. 1,

1 82

0 88

0 70

1 12

1.50

896

Aug. 11 to Aug. 25,

4 13

2 43

1 94

2 19

1.23

916

Sept. 7 to Sept. 14,

2 20

1 SO

1 04

1 16

1.15

902

Sept. 19 to Sept. 25,

1 81

0 87

0 70

1 11

1.40

931

Total, .

$14 59

f8 44

$6 75

$7 84

-

-

Minnie.

1888.

July 1 to July 6,
July 10 to July 22,
July 26 to Aug. 1,
Aug. 11 to Aug. 25,
Sept. 7 to Sept. 14,
Sept. 19 to Sept. 25,

$1 56
2 93

1 80
4 02

2 20
1 78

$0 76
2 05

0 86
2 36

1 30
0 85

§0 61
1 64

0 69

1 89
1 04
0 68

$0 95
1 29

1 11

2 13
1 16
1 10

1.39
.91
1.52
1.35
1.34
1.78

1,010
990

1,007

1,022
992

1,035

Total, .

$14 29

%S 18

§6 55

$7 74

-

-

Melia.

1888.

July 1 to July

6,

$1 56

?0 76

$0 61

?o

95

1.34

1,019

July 10 to July

22,

3 11

2 24

1 79

1

32

.87

1,048

July 26 to Aug.

1,

1 79

0 86

0 69

1

10

1.47

1,032

Aug. 11 to Aug.

25,

4 09

2 40

1 92

2

17

1.27

1,045

Sept. 7 to Sept.

14,

2 15

1 27

1 01

1

14

1.23

1,028

Sept. 19 to Sept.

25,

1 69

0 81

0 65

1

04

1.43

1,052

Total, .

$14 39

$8 84

$6 67

f7

72

-

-

454

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Analyses of Milk.

[Per Cent.]

May.

July 3.

July 17.

July 24.

Aug. 7.

Aug. 21.

Sept. 4.

Sept. 15.

Sept. 25.

Water, .
Solids, .
Fat (in solids),

86.91

13.09

2.44

85.95

14.05

2.85

85.72

1428

4.04

85.88

14.12

4.40

86.60
13.40
4.28

86.12

13.88

3.79

85.85

14.15

4.54

85.95

14.05

4.29

Mi7inie.

Water, .
Solids, .
Fat (in solids).

86.95

13.05

2.57

86.48
13.52
3.22

85,37
14.63
4.08

85.63
14.37
4.83

87.10

12.90

4.11

86.64 86.03
13.36 13.97
3.91 4.65

86.00

14.00

4.66

Melia.

Water, . .

Solids,

Fat (in solids),

86.90
1310
3.73

86.63
13.37
3.42

86.92

13.08

3.61

86.94

13.06

3.65

87.73

12.27

3.42

86.82

13.]8

3.37

87.56

12.44

3.04

85.98
14.02
4.30

Annie.

Water, .
Solids, .
Fat (in solids).

88 71

11.29

2.08

88.51

11.49

1.72

88.15
11.85
2.99

87.73
12.27
3.60

88.51
11.49
3.25

88.86

11.14

2.30

87.47
12.53
3.29

87.22

12.78

3.87

Daisy.

Water, .

Solids,

Fat (in solids),

86.39
13.61
2.66

-

86.84
13.16
4.08

87.46
12.54
3.50

87.76

12.24

3.54

87.39
12.61
3.46

87.49

12.51

3.46

85.77

14.23

3.98

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

455

Corn Meal (Average;;

a

P

B -3

pi

Pounds Digesti-
ble in a ton of
of 2,000 lbs.

5 = .

Pl

.2

s

Moisture at 100° C, .

12.78

255.60

_

_

Dry matter, ....

87.22

1,744.40

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

1.58

81.60

OS

" cellulose, .

1.69

83.80

11.49

34

Sod

" fat, ....

3.96

79.20

60 19

76

^

" protein (niti-ogeuous
ruaiter),

11.15

223.00

189.55

85

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

81.62

1,632.40

1.534.46

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,795.69

-

The analy.ses of corn and cob meal and of English hay ar(
the same as used m the preceding experiment.

Wheat Bran (Average Analysis).

i

i °

5 ° 2

■ o

a a

■2 -2
|1

§ 1 1

III

lis

lis

1

S

o

Moisture at 100° C, .

10.87

217.40

1

Dry matter, ....

89.13

1,782.60

100.00

2,000,00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

7.85

147.00

_

-

^

" cellulose, .

10.38

207.60

41.52

20

r '^

" fat, ....

5.11

102.20

81.76

80

^

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

16.96

839.20

298.50

88

Non-nitrogenous extract

'matter, ....

60.20

1,24.00

963.20

80

100.00

2,000.00

1,384.98

-

)

456

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Gluten Meal (Average).

i
ll

it!

II

ill

5°.

111

1

1

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

10 59
89.41

211.80
1,788.20

6.05
83.45

629.68

1,053.74

34
76

85

94

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

" fat, ....

" protein (nitrogeoous
matter) ,
Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

.53

.89

5.49

37.04

56.05

2,000.00

10.60

17.80

109.80

740.80

1,121.00

o

r-l

100.00

2,000.00

1,772.92

-

}

Vetch and Oats.

[Experiment Station, 1888.]

g
6

o .

5 1

tuents (in
in a ton of
lbs.

1 s =

0

1

IJI

lil

m

s

0.

6

•a

Moisture at lOO** C, .

74.02

1,480.40

_

Dry matter, ....

25.98

519.60

:

-

100.00

2,000.00

-

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

7.39

147.80

-

-

-

" cellulose, .

35.81

716.20

_

_

_

" fat, ....

2.29

45.80

_

-

_

" protein (nitrogenous

matter) ,

10.76

215.20

-

_

-

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

43.75

875.00

-

-

-

100.00

2,000.00

-

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

457

Cow-Pea.

[Experiment Station, 18S8.]

a

= '5

il

T=.

.s

« fl

?, " »

Q £ «

°^l

a

It

III

lii

Hi

1

ft.

c;

11,

5z;

Moisture at 100° C, .

80.45

1,609 00

Dry matter,.

19.55

391.00

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

7.44

148.80

-

-

-*

" cellulose, .

25.88

617.60

243.27

47

f "^

" fat

2.62

52.40

30.92

59

^

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

17.93

358.60

215 16

60

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, . . . .

46.13

922.60

636.59

69

100.00

2,000.00

1,125.94

-

KOWEN.

[Experiment Station, 1887.]

jl

B o
^ a

|il

E g
^ o i

.2

h

"A

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

8.84
91.16

176.80
1,823.20

341.74

28.06

150.48
551.75

58
46

57

63

\

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

" fat, ....

" protein (nitrogenous
matter).
Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

10.50

29.46

3.05

13.20

43.79

2,000.00

210.00

589.20

61.00

264.00

875.80

100.00

2,000.00

1,072.03

-

J

458

BOARD OF AGEICULTUEE.

[Jan.

Experiment Station Farm.
Milk and Creamery Record from Nov. 1, 1887, to Oct. 31, 1888.

Quarts of Milk
produced.

Spaces of

Cream
from Milk.

Price allowed
per Space.

Amount

received fVom

Creamery.

1887.

Xov. 1 to Nov. 30,
Dec. 1 to Dec. ol,

1888.

Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, .
Feb. 1 to Feb. 29, .
March 1 to March 31, .
April 1 to April 30, .
May 1 to May 31, .
June 1 to June 30, .
July 1 to July 31, .
Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, .
Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, .
Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, .

l,692i
1,667

l,979x

2,108f

1,965

1,864}

l,798f

1,701 2

1,9662

1,858

1,730}

1,7591

766
872

1,105
1,067
1,013
951
941
848
920
894
822
897

3.75 cents.
3.875 "

4.00 "
4.00 "
3.90 "
3.65 "
3.50 "
3.25 "
3.25 "
3.50 "
3.75 "
3.85 "

$28 35

33 79

44 20
42 68 .
39 50

34 71
32 94
27 56

29 90
31 29

30 82
34 53

Total,

22,091}

11,086

-

$410 27

1S87.

Nov.,
Dec,

1888.

Jan.,

Feb.,

March,

April,

May,

June,

July,

Aug.,

Sept.,

Oct.,

6.62 spaces of cream make

cents per pound.
6.69 spaces of cream make

cents per pound.

6.63 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.60 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.60 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6. 65 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.46 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.35 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.45 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.34 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.45 spaces of cream

cents per pound.
6.39 spaces of cream

cents per pound.

make
make
make
make
make
make
make
make
make
make

1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,

1 povmd of butter,
1 povmd of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter,
1 pound of butter.

equal to 24.85
equal to 25.94

equal to 25.54
equal to 26.40
equal to 25 74
equal to 24.27
equal to 22.58
equal to 20.63
equal to 20.96
equal to 22.19
equal to 24.32
equal to 24 61

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 459

III. Feeding Experiments with Pias : Skim Milk,
Corn IVIeal, Corn and Cob Meal, Wheat Bran and
Gluten Meal.

Our annual report for 1887 contains a description of seven
successive feeding experiments with growing pigs, which
were instituted mainly for the purpose of ascertaining the
cost of the feed required for the production of a definite
weight of dressed pork.

In the first and second cases, creamery buttermilk and
home-made skim milk with corn meal had furnished the sole
ingredients of the daily diet of the animals on trial ; whilst,
during the five succeeding ones, wheat bran and gluten meal
had been added as fodder constituents. (For details, see
Fifth Annual Report, pages 55 to 83.)

In comparing the final results of the difierent experiments
from a financial stand-point, adopting in all cases, for obvi-
ous reasons, a corresponding local market value of the
fodder articles used, it was found that feeding skim milk or
creamery buttermilk and corn meal in connection with wheat
bran and gluten meal, as described in the Fifth Annual
Report, experiments III., IV., V., VI., VII., had lessened
the net cost of production of dressed pork.

This reduction appeared, however, to be due in the
majority of experiments (III., IV., V. and VI.,) rather to a
higher commercial value of the manurial refuse resulting,
than to a higher nutritive effect of the stated change in the
character of the diet. The results obtained in the seventh
experiment alone furnished an exception to this circum-
stance ; for, in this case, the smallest quantity of the total
weight of the dry feed consumed showed not only a high
commercial value of the manurial refuse resulting, but also
the highest nutritive effect. The subsequent reprinted sum-
mary of the seven experiments may serve as a further illus-
tration of the previous discussion.

460

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Summary of Experiments.

[Based on the same cost of feed and manuiial valuation of feed consumed.]

ant of
r for
of one
reesed

III

EXPERIMENTS.

a mo
Matte
tion
of I)
nibs

verage

Dry

produc

pound

Pork(

^ir

fe^-S

et Cost

inKthi
from J
Value

lii

nil

<

6

a

i^

n

3.31

6.51

2.30

3.90

m., IV., V

3.86

5.92

2.91

3.88

VI.,

3.58

5.69

2.78

3.74

VII

3.07

5.15

2.52

3.39

From the above summary it is apparent that the course of
feeding adopted in the seventh experiment has given the
most satisfactory pecuniary results ; for the net cost of feed
consumed amounted to 3.39 cents per pound of dressed pork
produced, after allowing a loss of thirty per cent, of the
manurial value of the feed, in consequence of the growth of
the animal. As we sold our dressed pork for from 5| to 7^
cents per pound, we received from 1.5 to 3.5 cents for labor,
housing, etc.

The statement that an addition of gluten meal or of wheat
bran or of both, to a diet which previously consisted only of
skim milk and corn meal, tends to increase the commercial

ing considerations : —

■ First. The principal fertilizing elements contained in a
mixture of equal parts of gluten meal and wheat bran have
a higher market value than those contained in an equal weight
of corn meal.

Second. It is admissible, for mere practical purposes, to
assume that, in raising one and the same kind of animals to
a corresponding weight, a corresponding amount of nitrogen,
of phosphoric acid, of potash, etc., will be retained and stored
up in the growing animal.

An excess, therefore, of any or of all of the three essential
fertilizing constituents previously specified, in one diet, as
compared with that of another one, counts in favor of that

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 461

particular diet, as far as net cost of feed is concerned.
Although it must be acknowledged that, even in one and the
same feeding experiment, most likely no two animals would
show strictly corresponding relations in that direction, it
remains not less true that it is a most commendable practice,
in a general farm management, to consider carefully the
relative value of the fertilizing constituents contained in the
various fodder articles which present themselves for our
choice in the compounding of suitable fodder rations. Our
allowance of a loss of thirty per cent, of the essential fertil-
izing constituents contained in the food consumed, in conse-
quence of the development and growth of the animal, is
purposely a liberal one. The adoption of this basis for our
estimate tends to strengthen our conclusion that the raising
of pigs for the home market can be made a profitable branch
of farm industry, even with comparatively limited resources.

It has been stated that, during our III., IV., V., VI. and
Vn. experiments, the same fodder articles, skim milk, corn
meal, wheat bran and gliften meal, had been used to com-
pound the daily diet ; and that the seventh feeding experi-
ment had yielded the highest profits on the same basis of
selling price. As the daily fodder rations thus in all of these
trials had consisted of the same kind of fodder ingredients,
and as at all periods of the experiments the call for food had
been attended to with care, it became evident that the par-
ticular mode of combining at different times the same fodder
ingredients to make up the daily diet had to be considered
the principal cause of the difference in our results.

To test the correctness of this conclusion it was decided
to constitute a new experiment. The same mode of com-
pounding the daily fodder ration for different periods of
growth, which had been adopted during the seventh experi-
ment, was to be carried out with a new lot of pigs. (See
experiments VIII. and IX. further on.)

The following short abstract, taken from a more detailed
description of the seventh feeding experiment in our last
annual report, cannot fail to assist in a desirable understand-
ing of the question involved : —

Seven animals, crosses between White Chester and Black
Berkshire, served in this experiment (VIE.). Their live

462

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

weights were from twenty-two to twenty-six pounds in case
of different animals. The same fodder articles were used as
in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth experiments ; they were,
however, fed in different proportions. The daily ration of
corn meal was gradually increased during the progress of
the experiment, for the purpose of altering the relative pro-
portion between the nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous matter
in the feed. The relative proportion of one part of digestible
nitrogenous matter to two and nine-tenths parts of digestible
non-nitrogenous matter was changed at stated periods until
it reached 1 : 4.28 ; practically, three feeding periods.

Average of Daily Rations (Experiment VII.).

June 28 to July 11,
July 12 to July 25,
July 26 to July 28,
July 29 to Aug. 8,
Aug. 9 to Aug. 15,
Aug. 16 to Aug. 23,
Aug. 24 to Aug. 29,
Aug. 30 to Sept. 12,
Sept. 13 to Sept. 23,
Sept. 27 to Oct. 11,
Oct. 12 to Oct. 27.

8.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
14.67
17.34
20 00
23.34
29.00
47.00
62.66,

1.34
2.00
2.68
5.33
8.00
11.35
17.00
12.00
15.68

2.66
4.00
2.66
5.33
8.00
11.35
17.00
12.00
15.66

1889.

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

463

Summary of Experiment VII.

MARK OF PIG.

c
c

1.
1^

e

a

1
1^'

S
1

5

Iff

m

^3

III

11

N,

.

202.93

176.0

60.04

61.66

163.75

129.36

6.39

o,

.

203.09

176.0

60.21

61.83

161.00

127.19

5.49

P,

. .

203.00

176.0

60.21

61.83

174.00

139.20

5.02

Q.

. .

194.09

173.0

67.71

59.93

164.50

128.31

5.27

R.

194.43

173.0

58.04

59.66

177.50

138.45

4.89

8.

. .

194.43

173.0

58.04

59.68

162.50

128.38

5.26

T,

• •

194.43

173.0

58.04

59.66

178.25

140.85

4.80

1,388.40

1,220.0

412.29

424.23

1,181.50

931.74

-

Total Cost of Feed consumed during the Above-stated Experiment (1887).

1,386.40 lbs. corn meal, at $24.00 per ton, $16 64

1,220.00 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, . . . 2196

412.29 lbs. wheat bran, at $22.50 per ton, .... 4 64

424.23 lbs. gluten meal, at $22.50 per ton, .... 5 77

148 01

Average cost of feed for production of one pound of dressed pork,
5.15 cents.

Manurial Value of Feed conmmed during the Above Experiment.

Corn Meal. Shim Milk. Wheat Bran. Gluten Meal. Total.

$5 62

$11 32

$2 97

f3 71

$23 52

Manurial value of feed for production of one pound of dressed pork,
2.52 cents.

The cost of feed consumed varied, in case of different
animals, from 4.80 to 5.49 cents per pound of dressed pork
produced.

Taking the entire lot of animals into consideration, it
amounts to 5.15 cents per pound of dressed pork obtained.
The amount of dry matter contained in the feed required for
the production of one pound of dressed pork varied from
2.83 to 3.24 pounds.

464

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Basis of Valuation of Essential Fertilizing Constituents contained in
the Various Articles of Fodder used (1887).

Peb Cent.

Corn
Meal.

Skim
Milk.

Wheat
Bran.

Gluten
Meal.

Moisture,

Nitrogen (17 cents per lb.), .
Phosphoric acid (6 cents per lb.).
Potassium oxide (4^ cents per lb.),
Valuation per 2,000 lbs..

10.00
1.96

0.77
0.45

f7.97

90.00
0.55
0.17

0.20

$2.25

10.80

2.80

2.36

1.36

113.51

8.80
5.03

0.30

0.03

$17.49

Eighth Feeding Experiment.

Six animals of a mixed breed, weighing from twenty-three
to twenty-nine pounds, served in the experiment. The
latter began Nov. 8, 1887, and lasted until March 12, 1888,
or 124 days; the average of the individual live weight had
reached 185 pounds. Skim milk, corn meal or corn and
cob meal, wheat bran and gluten meal, furnished the fodder
ingredients of the daily diet. The corn and cob meal took
the place of the clear corn meal on the 8th of January.
The daily ration of skim milk reached, within the first week,
six quarts per head. This amount, being the limit of our
home supply, was fed daily until the close of the experi-
ment. Skim milk and corn meal, two ounces of the latter
to one quart of the former, constituted the diet for about
three weeks, when the steadily increasing demand for food
was supplied by a gradually increasing quantity of a mix-
ture consisting of two weight parts of gluten meal and one
weight part of wheat bran. On the 3d of January, at the
beginning of the third month, the daily diet was changed ;
the latter consisted thereafter of six quarts of skim milk
and a mixture prepared of four weight parts of corn and cob
meal, one weight part of wheat bran, and one weight part
of gluten meal. The quantity required of the latter to meet
the daily wants of the animals began with forty-eight ounces
per head, and rose gradually to seventy-two ounces. (See,
for details, subsequent tabular statement.)

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

465

Average of Daily Rations (Experiment VII

I).

!

a

OB

a o
1 1

■a

si

I
o

3

11
1°

1887.

Nov. 8 to Not. 15, . .
Nov. 16 to Nov. 29, . .
Nov. 30 to Dec. 13,
Dec. 14 to Deo. 20,

1888.

Dee. 21 to Jan. 3,

Jan. 4 to Jan. 7,
Jan. 8 to Jan. 16,
Jan. 17 to Jan. 30,
Jan. 31 to Feb. 20,
Feb. 21 to March 11,

10
12
12
12

12
32

5

2.38
5.35

9.43

8.00
8.87
9.81
8.00
8.81

4.76
11.06

18.86
8.00
8.87
9.81
8.0)
8 81

35.48
39.24
48.08
52.88

• II.

j„„

1 : 2.92
1 : 2.30

1:3.80
1:4.17

The entire experiment was managed, as far as practicable,
to serve as a repetition of our seventh feeding experiment.
The substitution of the corn and cob meal of our own pro-
duction from a superior home-raised corn, for the clear corn
meal of our general market, may well be considered of but
little consequence. This view is fully supported by a care-
ful analysis of both.

The financial results of the eighth experiment, like those
of the seventh, are superior to those obtained in the preced-
ing five feeding experiments. This fact becomes still more
worthy of notice when considering that the seventh experi-
ment was carried on during a warmer period of the year,
and thus under more favorable circumstances than the
eighth experiment. Our late results seem to confirm
the conclusions arrived at in our previous experiments,
namely : —

First. A gradual periodical change, from a rich nitrog-
enous diet to that of a wider ratio between the digestible
nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous food constituents of the
feed, is recommendable in the interest of good economy.

466

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Second. The feeding effect of one and the same diet
changes with the advancing growth of the animal on trial.

Third. The power of assimilating food and of convert-
ing it into live weight decreases with the progress in age.

Fourth. It is not good economy to raise pigs for the
meat market to an exceptionally high weight. To go beyond
from 175 to 180 pounds is only advisable when exceptionally
high market prices for dressed pork can be secured.

In addition to what has been said on this particular point
in previous communications, I insert here, in a tabular form,
the estimated cost of feed used for the production of one
pound of live weight during the succeeding stages of growth
of the entire lot of pigs which served in the eighth experi-
ment.

Cost of Feed for the rroduction of One Pou7id of Live Weight during the
Different Feeding Periods.

ght of
at close 1
g period

1 live
during

m lbs.).

red lbs.
atter in
roduced j
igiit (in|

ts4

■o g S.a'

C.3 "^

Illli

U. I. Feeding period,

48.50

22.50

63.4

3.24

n. " "

96.50

48.00

612

3.58

III. "

134.00

37.50

33.2

4.80

IV.

189 00

55.00

27.3

6.40

V. I. Feeding period,

43.00

20.00

56.3

3.65

n. » "

91.00

48.00

61.2

3.58

ni.

132.00

41.00

35 8

4.44

IV. "

198.00

66.00

32 8

4 60

W. I. Feeding period.

44.00

2150

60.5

3.40

n. "

96.00

52.00

65.5

3.31

ni.

130.00

34.00

30.1

5.29

IV. »

187.00

67.00

28 3

5.21

X. I. Feeding period,

46.00

21.00

59.1

3.48

n. " "

93.00

47.00

60.1

3.66

III. "

128.00

35.00

30.6

5.20

IV.

178.50

60.60

25.0

5.88

Y. I. Feeding period.

46.00

21.00

59.1

3.48

II. » "

93.50

47.60

50.7

3.62

III.

133.00

39.50

34.6

4.61

IV.

181.60

48.50

23.8

6.12

Z. I. Feeding period,

52.00

22.50

63.4

3.24

II. "

97.00

45.00

48.0

3.82

III. "

132.50

35.50

31.1

6.13

IV.

184.50

52.00

25.8

5.71

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

4(37

[U.]

S^^

ISo

Hi

m

1

11

■3

•o^?

»r3

;i3

^■^^

■ss-

o

a"-

as

1^

PERIODS.

m
m

lis

1*1

lit

1"'

1
1

jl

il

18S7and 18S8.

Ib.oz.

Nov. 8 to Nov. 29,

123.00

1.5.38

-

-

1 : 2.92

26.00

48.50

1 1

Nov.30toJan. 3,

210 00

25.88

12 41

24.83

-

1:2 30

48.50

96.50

1 6

Jan. 4 to Jan. SO,

162 00

9.00

16.00

16.00

55.00

1:3.80

96.50

134 00

1 6

Jan. 31 to Mar. 12,

246.00

-

21.27

21.27

127.59

1:4 17

134.00

189.00

1 6

Total Amotint of Feed consumed from Nov. 8 to March 12.

741 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, .... 133 38 lbs.

50.26 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, .... 43.69 "

49.68 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . , 44.15 "

62.10 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 56.03 "

182.59 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 157.59 "

Total amount of dry matter.

Live w.eigbt of animal at beginning of experiment.
Live weight at time of killing, ....
Live weight gained during experiment, .
Dressed weight at time of killing,

434.84 lbs

26.00 lbs

189.00 "

163.00 "

154.00 "

Loss in weight by dressing,

Dressed weight gained during experiment.

35 lbs., or 18.52 per cent.
132.82 lbs

Cost of Feed consiwied during Experiment

185.25 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .
50 26 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton,
4-9.68 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .
62.10 lbs. gluten meal, at |27.00 per ton, .
182.59 lbs. corn and cob meal, at ^20.70 per ton.

$3.33

.68

.57

.84

1.90

?7.22

2.69 lbs. of dry matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and 3.28 lbs. of

dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 5.44 cents.

468

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Period I. Cost of feed consumed during period,

22 50 lbs. live weight, gained ; cost per lb.,
18.3;^ lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb.,

Period II. Cost of feed consumed during period,

48.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb.,
39.11 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb.,

Period HE. Cost of feed consumed during period,

37.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb.,
30.55 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb.,

Period TV. Cost of feed consumed during pei'iod,

55.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb.,
44.81 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb..

$0.73
3.24 cts.
3.98 cts.
$1.72
3.58 cts.
4 40 cts.
fl.80
4.80 cts.
5.89 cts.
$2.97
5.40 cts.
6.63 cts.

[V.]

- -

Si .

Ei

d >!. .

St! .

Ei-g

TJ

«B

-^

^

^,^1

QT3 ^

m

-Is

^-^

1

•s?

-s

■o

"-" a a

°S.3

oS.S

^li

I

0°-
1 =

a a

-^

PERIODS.

§1 =

m

ill

1I.S

is?
11.1

llli

S
1

111

n
il

r-

H

H

H

H

H

IZi

o

1887 and 1888.

lb. o«.

Nov. 8 to Not. 29,

123.00

15.38

-

-

-

1 : 2.92

23.00

48.00

0 15

Nov.SOtoJan. 3,

210.00

25.88

12.41

24.83

1 : 2.30

43.00

91.00

1 6

Jan. 4 to Jan. 30,

162.00

9.00

16.17

16.17

65.68

1 : 3.80

91.00

132.00

1 T

Jan. 31 to Mar. 12,

246.00

-

21.27

21 27

127.59

1:4.17

132.00

198.00

1 10

Total Amount of Feed consumed from Nov. S to March 12.

741 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, .... 133.38 lbs.

50.26 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, .
49 85 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter,

62.27 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter,
183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter,

Total amoimt of dry matter.

43.69 "

44.30 "

56.19 "

158.18 "

435.74 lbs.

Live weight at beginning of experiment.

Live weight at time of killing, .

Live weight gained during experiment.

Dressed weight at time of killing.

Loss in weight by dressing.

Dressed weight gained during experiment

23.00 lbs.
198.00 "
175.00 "
160.00 "
lbs., or 19.19 per cent.
141.41 lbs.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

469

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment.

185.25 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .... $3.33

60.26 lbs. corn meal at $23.00 per ton, .58

49.85 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .57

62.27 lbs. gluten meal, at f27.00 per ton, .84

183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton, . . . 1.91

$7.23
2.49 lbs. dry matter yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and 3.08 lbs. dry matter

yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. dressed pork, 5.11 cents.

Period I. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . $0.73

20.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . . 3.65 cts.

16 16 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 4.62 cts.

Period II. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . $1.72

48.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . . 3.68 cts.

38.79 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 4.43 cts.

Period in. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . fl.82

41.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . . 4.44 cts.

33.13 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost jjer lb., . 5.49 cts.

Period IV. Cost of feed consumed during pei'iod, . . f 2.97

66.00 lbs. live weight gained; cost per lb., . . 4.50 cts.

53.33 lbs. dressed weight gained; cost per lb., . 6.57 cts.

[W.]

ai .

£i

« t. .

l^ .

= ,^

-i

«■§

^^

i^

^^?

o'^ »;

as-s

r=

㥤

•?S

■a

m

c 3~--'

oS.S

.u 3 -

= 2 6C

.2

go,
1°

S =
1^

i

PERIODS.

ill

Its

III

i!

ill

iii

<3

"Si

H

H

El

H

^

'A

o

1887 and 1888.

Ib.oz.

Nov. 8 to Nov. 29,

123.00

15.38

-

-

-

1:2 92

22.50

44.00

1 0

Nov. 30 to Jan. 3,

210.00

25.88

12.41

24.83

-

1:2.30

44 00

96.00

1 8

Jan. 4 to Jan. 30,

162.00

9.00

16.00

16.00

55.00

1:3 80

96 00

130 00

1 2

Jan. 31 to Mar. 12,

246.00

-

21.27

21.27

127.59

1:4.17

130.00

187.00

I 0

Total Amount of Feed consumed from Nov. 8 to March 12.
741 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, .... 133.38 lbs.
60.26 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, .... 43.69 "

49.68 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . . 44.15 "

62.10 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 56.03 "

182.59 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 157.59 *'

Total amount of dry matter,

434.84 lbs.

470 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experiment, . . 22.50 lbs.

Live weight at time of killing, 187.00 "

Live weight gained during experiment, .... 164.50 "

Dressed weight at time of killing, 151.00 "

Loss in weight by dressing, ... 36 lbs., or 19.25 per cent.

Dressed weight gained during experiment, . . . 132.83 "

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment.

185.25 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .... |3.33

50.26 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton, ..... .58

49.68 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .57

62.10 lbs. gluten meal at $27.00 per ton, .84

182.59 lbs. corn and cob meal at $20.70 per ton, . . . 1.90

$7.22

2.64 lbs. dry matter yielded 1 lb. live weight, and 3.27 lbs. dry matter

yielded 1 lb. dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. dressed pork, 6.44 cents.

Period I. Cost of feed consumed during period,

21.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., .

17.36 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb..
Period II. Cost of feed consumed during period,

62.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., .

41.99 lbs. dressed weight gained; cost per lb.,
Period III. Cost of feed consumed during period,

34.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., .

27.45 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb..
Period IV. Cost of feed consumed during period,

67.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., .

46.03 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb..

$0.73
3.40 cts.

4.20 cts.
$1.72
3.31 cts.
4.10 cts.
$1.80
5.29 cts.
6.66 cts.
$2.97

5.21 cts.
6.45 cts.

[X.]

Si .

g- '

cV —

a • "o

"i

«o

t^-

^

i

ill

a^7

1

3

i!

Ms

PERIODS.

ill

Hi

in

ill

iS-es

^
1

;ii

"S|

!l

sll

■2? -

m

ns

^5 SO

is

p

1-

n

H

^

H

H

O

1887 and 1888.

Ib.oz.

Nov. 8 to Nov. 29,

123 00

I5.:i8

-

-

-

1 : 2.92

25.00

46 00

0 15

Nov.30toJan. 3,

210 00

25.88

12.41

24.83

-

1 : 2.30

46.00

93.00

1 6

Jan. 4 to Jan. 30,

162.00

9 00

16.17

16.17

55.68

1:3 81

93 00

128.00

1 3

Jan. 31 to Mar 12,

246.00

-

21.27

21.27

127.59

1:4 17

128.00

178.50

1 3

J

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

471

Total Amount of Feed consumed from Nov. 8 to March 12.

741 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, .
50 26 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter,
49.85 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter,
62.27 lbs. gluten meal, equal to diy matter,
183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to di-y matter.

Live weight of animal at begmning of experiment, .

Live weight at time of killing,

Live weight gained during experiment, ,
Dressed weight at time of killing, ....
Loss in weight by dressing, . . . 18.50 lbs.,
Dressed weight gained dm'ing exiieriment,

133.38 lbs

43.69 "

44.30 "

56.19 "

158.18 "

435.74 lbs

25.00 lbs

178.50 "

153.50 "

160.00 "

.38 per cent

137.59 lbs

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment

185.25 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .

50.26 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 a ton, .
49.85 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .

62.27 lbs. gluten meal, at $27.00 per ton, .
183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton.

2.84 lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and 3.17 lbs.

of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 5.33 cts.

$3.33

.58

.57

.84

1.91

$7.23

Peeiod I. Cost of feed consumed during period, ' . . $0.73

21.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . 3.48 cts.

18.82 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 3.88 cts.

Period U. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . $1.72

47.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . 3.66 cts.

42.12 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 4.08 cts.

Period m. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . |1.82

35.00 lbs. live w^eight gained ; cost per lb., . 5.20 cts.

81.37 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 5.80 cts.

Period IV. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . $2 97

60.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . 5.88 cts.

45.26 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 6.56 cts.

472

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

[Y.]

PERIODS.

III

5=M

ill

11?

ill

III

m

Si?

ill

1

5

-1

= 53
< a,

°» .

5?

^''-

..n

g-

H

r--

^

^

&

5"

1887 and 1888.

Ib.oz.

Nov. 8 to Nov. 29,

123.00

15.38

-

-

-

1:2.92

25.00

46.00

0 15

Nov.SOtoJan. 3,

210.00

25 88

12.41

24.83

-

1:2.30

46.00

93.50

1 6

Jan. 4 to Jan. 30,

162.00

9.00

18.17

16.17

55.68

1 : 3.81

93.50

133.00

1 6

Jan. 31 to Mar. 12,

246.00

-

21.27

21.27

127.59

1:4.17

133.00

181.50

1 2

Total Amount of Feed consumed from Nov. 8 to March 12.

741 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, .... 133.38 lbs.

60.26 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, .... 43.69 "
49.85 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . . 44.30 "

62.27 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 56.19 "
183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 158.18 "

Total amount of dry matter,

435.74 lbs.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experiment, . . 25.00 lbs.

Live weight at time of killing, 181.50 "

Live weight gained during experiment, .... 156.50 "

Dressed weight at time of killing, 150.00 "

Loss in weight by dressing, . . . 31.00 lbs., or 17.08 per cent.
Dressed weight gamed during experiment, . . . 129.27 lbs

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment.

185.25 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, ....

60.26 lbs. corn meal at $23.00 per ton,

49.85 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton,

62.27 lbs. gluten meal at $27.00 per ton,

183.27 lbs. com and cob meal, at |20.70 per ton,

2.78 lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and 3 37 lbs.

of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 5.59 cents.

$3.33

.58

.67

.84

1.91

$7.23

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

473

Period I. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . fO.73

21.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . 3.48 cts.

17.83 lbs. di-essed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 4.09 cts.

Period II. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . f 1.72

47.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . 3.62 cts.

39.39 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost pel" lb., . 4.37 cts.

Period HI. Cost of feed consumed during period, . . |1.82

39.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., . 4.61 cts.

32.75 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 5.56 cts

Period TV. Cost of teed consumed during period, . . $2.97

48.50 lbs. live weight gained; cost per lb., . . 6.12 cts.

40.22 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., . 7.38 cts.

[Z.]

Si .

m

lit

"5a.s

ill

Ii-

m

i

=1

■g e

1

PERIODS.

ii

111

a ^^

III

o

1^"

Ii

.1^

1

lis

fia

III

ipt

hi

.s.a
-1

H

H

H

H

H

!zi

o

1887 and 1888.

Ib.oz.

Nov. 8 to Not. 29,

123.00

15.38

-

-

-

1:2.92

29.50

52.00

1 0

Nov.30toJan. 3,

210.00

25.88

12.41

24.83

-

1:2.30

52.00

97.00

1 6

Jan. 4 to Jan. 30,

162.00

fl.OO

16.17

16.17

55.68

1 : 3.81

97.00

132.50

1 4

Jan. 31 to Mar. 12,

246.00

-

21.27

21.27

127.59

1:4.17

132.50

184.50

1 4

Total Amount of Feed consumed from Nov. 8 to March 12.

741 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, .... 133.38 lbs.

50.26 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, .... 43.69 "
49.85 lbs. wheat bran, equal to diy matter, . . . 44.30 "

62.27 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 56.19 "
183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to diy matter, . . 158.18 "

Total amount of dry matter,

435.74 lbs.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experiment.
Live weight at time of killing, ....
Live weight gained during experiment, .
Dressed weight at time of killing.

Loss in weight by dressing,

Dressed weight gained during experiment,

29.50 lbs
184.50 "
155.00 "
150.00 "
34.50 lbs., or 18.70 per cent.
126.02 lbs.

474

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Cost of Feed consumed during Exjyenment.
185.25 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon,

50.26 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton,
49.85 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .

62.27 lbs. gluten meal, at f 27.00 per ton, .
183.27 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton.

2.81 lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. live weight, and 3.46 lbs.

of dry matter yielded 1 lb. di'essed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 5.74 cts.

Period I. Cost of food consimaed during period,

22.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb.,
18.29 lbs. di'essed weight gained ; cost per lb., .

Period II. Cost of feed consumed during period,

45.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb,,
36.58 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., .

Period III. Cost of feed consumed during period,

35.50 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb., .
28.86 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., .

Period IV. Cost of feed consumed during period,

62.00 lbs. live weight gained ; cost per lb.,
42.28 lbs. dressed weight gained ; cost per lb., .

$3.33

.58

.57

.84

1.91

$7^3

$0.73
3.24 cts.
3.99 cts.
$1.72
3.82 cts.

4.70 cts.
$1.82
5.13 cts.
6.31 cts.
$2.97

5.71 cts.
7.02 cts.

Summary

OF Experiment VIII.

1.

a

-It

.5

a

3
•3
1

li

5 j
E a

lit

IIS

m

If-.

u

60.26

185 25

49.68

62.10

182.59

163.00

132.82

6.44

V

50.26

185.25

49.85

62.27

183.27

176.00

141.41

5.11

w

60.26

185.25

49.68

62.10

182.59

164.50

132.83

5.44

X, . . . .

50.26

185.25

49.85

62.27

183.27

153.50

137.59

5.33

Y

60 26

185.25

49.85

62.27

183.27

156.60

129.27

6.59

Z

50.26

185.25

49.85

62.27

183.27

165.00

126.02

5.74

Total, . . .

301.56

1,111.50

298.76

373.28

1,098.26

967.50

799.94

-

Total Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment.

1111.50 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .... $20.01

301.56 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton, 3.47

298.76 lbs. wheat bran, at f 2;].00 per ton, 3.44

373.28 lbs. gluten meal at $27.00 per ton, 5.04

1098.26 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton, . . . 11.42

$43.38
Average cost of feed for production of 1 lb. dressed pork, 5.42 cts.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

475

Manurial Value of Feed consjmied during Experimeti

Skim milk,

Corn meal,

Wheat bran, ....
Glutei! meal, ....
Corn and cob meal, .

$8.85
1.09
1.99
2.88
3.33

$18.14

Manurial value of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 2.27 cts.

Basis of Valuation of Essential Fertilizing Constituents in the Various
Articles of Fodder used (1888).

Corn
Meal.

Skim
Milk.

Wlieat
Bran.

Gluten
Meal.

Corn

and Cob

Meal.

Moisture,

Nitrogen (161 cents per lb.), .
Phosphoric acid (6 cents per lb), .
Potassium oxide (1^ cents per lb.), .
Valuation per 2,000 lbs., .

13.08

1.80

.71

.43

$7.20

91.00
.47
.22
.21

11.99

11.14
2.78
1.86
1.07

$12.35

9.77

4.57

.30

.03

$15.46

13.69

1.45

.69

.55

$6.06

The net cost of feed consumed for the production of one
pound of dressed pork, making a deduction of thirty per
cent, of the fertilizing constituents contained in the feed,
varies in the case of different animals from 3.52 cents to
4.00 cents per pound. In the case of the entire lot of pigs,
it amounts to 3.83 cents per pound. As we sold our dressed
pork at 7 1 cents per pound, we secured 3.92 cents per pound
sold for investment, labor and profit.

It will be noticed that our estimates above are based on
the ruling local market prices of the time when our late
experiments were carried on. These prices differ from those
adopted on earlier occasions. An intelligent comparison of
our late financial results with those obtained in previous ex-
periments can only be made by using corresponding values.
The subsequent page contains a re-valuation of our late
results, on the basis of market value used in all previous
feeding experiments.

476 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

SUMMAKT OF EXPERIMENT BASED ON THE SaME COST OF FeED AND

OF Manurial Value of Feed consumed as used in Preceding
Experiments.

Total Cost of Feed consumed dui'ing Experiment.

1111.50 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, ; , . $20.01

301.56 lbs. corn meal, at $24.00 per ton, ..... 3.62

298.76 lbs. wheat bran, at $22.50 per ton, 3.36

373.28 lbs. gluten meal, at $22.50 per ton, 4.20

1098.26 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton, . . . 11.42

$42.61
Average cost of feed for production of 1 lb. dressed pork, 5.32 cts.

Manurial Value of Feed consumed during Expei'iment.

Skim milk, $10.00

Corn meal 1.20

Wheat bran, 2.02

Gluten meal, 3.26

Corn and cob meal, 3.33

$19.81
Manurial value of feed for production of 1 lb. dressed pork, 2.48 cts.

The net cost of feed for the production of one pound of
dressed pork, taking the entire lot of pigs into consideration,
amounts to 3.69 cents. This result is the second best in
our whole series of experiments. This fact becomes more
significant when it is duly considered that the experiment
(VIII.) was carried out during the winter season. The
task of maintaining a desirable moderate temperature in the
piggery during the entire trial becomes more difficult in
winter than during any other season of the year. Low
temperature requires more food for the support of respira-
tion ; the normal condition of the animal system is apt to be
more seriously aifected in various directions, and the gain in
live weight suffers usually correspondingly in case of the
same diet.

To confirm, if possible, our previously advanced conclu-
sions still more, it was decided to repeat our mode of feed-
ing with another lot of pigs during the^ latter part of spring
and the summer season. An examination of our ninth
experiment, which is described in a few subsequent pages,
cannot fail to show that they are fully sustained.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 477

Analyses of Fodder Articles used in Experiment YJIl.
Skim Milk (Average).

Per Cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 91.00

Dry matter, 9.00

100.00
Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, , 6.67

" fat, . . . . • 2.78

" protein (nitrogenous matter), 34.00

Non-nitrogenous extract matter, 66.55

100.00
Nutritive ratio, 1 : 1.86.

Corn ]\Ieal (Average).

B o

3 1
c « ^

|ii

jii

"a
•11

2

Moisture at 100'^ C, .
Dry matter, ....

13.08
86.92

261.60
1,738.40

23.73

75.54

176.63
1,494.41

34

76

85
94

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

" fat, ....

" protein (nitrogenous
matter) ,
Non-niti-ogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

1.66
3.49

4.97

10.39
79.49

2,000.00

33.20
69.80
99.40

207.80

1,589.80

100.00

2,000.00

1,770.41

478

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Wheat Bran

(Average).

ti

« '5

§ Si

|il

a 2

lii

ill

i

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

11.14

88.86

222.80
1,777.20

61.20
96.00

311.87

910.24

20
80

88

80

]

Analysis of dry matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

» fat, ....

" protein (nitrogenous
matter),
Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

6.59

12.80

6.00

17.72

56.89

2,000.00

131.80
256.00
120.00

354.40

1,137.80

■CO

1

100.00

2,000.00

1,369.31

-

J

Gluten Meal (Average).

;

— ;;;

s

8

1 g

^ C

S °

ill

11

lis

lii

sll

1

0-

w

a.

^

Moisture at 100° C, .

9.77

195.40

~

Dry matter, ....

90.23

1,804.60

_

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of dry matter.

Crude ash, ....

.93

18.60

—

—

y-{

" cellulose, .

4.60

92.00

31.28

34

f "^

» fat, ....

6.63

132.60

100.78

76

^

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

35.43

708.60

602.31

85

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

5241

1,048.20

985.31

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,719.68

-

>*

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 479

Corn and Cob Meal.

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 13.69

Dry matter, 86.31

100.00
Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, 1.68

" cellulose, 7.75

" fat, 3.67

" protein (nitrogenous matter) , 9.13

Non-nitrogenous extract matter, 77.77

100.00
Nutritive ratio, 1 : 8.8.

Ninth Experiment.

Six pigs of a mixed breed, weighing from seventeen to
twenty-two pounds each, served in the experiment. The
feeding began April 12, and closed August 8. The live
weights of the animals at the time of killing varied from 185
to 203.5 pounds. Skim milk, corn meal, gluten meal and
wheat bran furnished the ingredients of the diet. The mode
of feeding was practically divided into three periods, with
reference to the nutritive character of the feed, as fol-
lows : —

Live Weight
of Animal.

Nutritive Ratio.

I. Period,

20 to QOlbB.,

1 digestible nitrogenous; 2.68 digestible
non-nitrogenous constituents.

n. Period,

CO to 130 lbs.,

1 digestible nitrogenous; 3.62 digestible
non-nitrojjenous constituents.

III. Period

130 to 200 IbB.,

1 digestible nitrogenous; 4.35 digestible
non-nitrogenous constituents.

480

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

AVEKAGE OF DaILT RATIOKS (EXPERIMENT IX.).

-

X,

.

£1 •

^

o

s i

1

S

1

00

W 5.

ll

a
S

a

3

5 s

l!

5 ^

£

a o

1888

.

April 12 to April

23. . .

_

3

-

-

6.

1 ,

> I-

1 : 2.80

April 24 to May

1,

-

6

-

-

12.

J

May 2 to May

14,

-

3.47

6.94

12.

1

May 15 to May

28,

-

9.89

19.78

12.

f "•

1 : 2.53

May 29 to June

4.

-

10.67

21.34

12.

June 5 to June

22,

-

8.65

8.65

34.60

Im.

1 : 3.63

June 23 to July

8.

-

9.86

9.86

39.44

J

July 4 to July

9,

-

7.70

7.70

46.20

1

July 10 to July

25,

66.10

9.35

9.35

-

XV.

1 : 4.35

July 29 to Aug.

8,

63.00

10.50

10.50

-

J

[1-]

PERIODS.

m

a "t:

ill

m

ill

111

i!i

Ills

i!t

l5^

III
lis

1

1

■c

!1

SO

il
fl

H

H

H

&-

H

'A

o

1888.

Ib.oz.

April 12 to May 1,

-

83.00

10.38

-

-

1 : 2.80

21.50

50.00

1 7

May 2 to June 4,

-

204.00

25.50

15.60

31.21

1 : 2.53

50.00

95.00

1 5

June 5 to July 3,

-

174.00

66.12

16.87

17.99

1 : 3.62

95.00

140.25

1 10

July 4 to Aug. 8,

109.97

214.00

16.69

21.18

21.18

1 : 4.35

140.25

200.75

1 11

Total Amount oj Feed consumed from April 12 to August 8.

109.97 lbs. com meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 95.03 lbs.

675.00 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, . . . 121.60 "

118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 102.44 "

53.65 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . . 46.94 "

70.38 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 63.28 "

Total amount of diy matter,

429.19 lbs.

1880.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

481

Live weight of animal at be^nning of experiment, . . 21.50 lbs.

Live weight of animal at time of killing, .... 200.75 "
Live weight gained during experiment, .... 179.25 "

Dressed weight at time of killing, 162.00 "

Loss in weight by dressing, . . . 38.75 lbs., or 19.3 per cent.
Dressed weight gained during experiment, . . . 144.65 lbs.

Cost of Feed consumed durmg Exj^eriment.
109.97 lbs. corn meal, at ^23.00 per ton, ....
268.75 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .
118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, at f 20.70 per ton,
53.65 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, ....
70.38 lbs. gluten meal, at $27.00 per ton, ....

2.40 lbs. of dry matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and

2.97 lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 4.83 cents.

$1 26

3 04

1 23

62

84

$6 99

[•^•]

ii

= 11

m
m

oa.s

S.

1?

1

PERIODS.

i!l

is?

m

mi

ill

§§1

^
>

= S

!l

|;5.=

!§£

III

•£S.=

lis

1 =

H

t-

c-i

H

y,

i-

0

1888.

lb. 02.

April 12 to May 1,

-

83.00

10.38

-

-

1 : 2.80

20.00

46.00

1 4

May 2 to June 4,

-

204.00

25.50

15.60

31.21

1 : 2.53

45.00

88.00

1 6

June 5 to July 3,

-

174.00

65.09

16.60

16.93

1 : 3.63

88.00

128.25

1 e

July 4 to Aug 8,

109.97

214.00

16.69

21.18

21.18

1 : 4.35

128.25

185.75

1 9&

Total Amount of Feed cojisumed from Aj^ril 12 to August S.

109.97 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter,
675.00 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter,
117.66 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter,
53.38 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter,
69.32 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter,

Total amount of dry matter.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experiment,

Live weight of animal at time of killing, .

Live weight gained during experiment, .

Dressed weight at time of killing.

Loss in weight by dressing, . . .33

Dressed weight gained during experiment.

95.03 lbs.

321.50 "

101.55 "

46.71 "

62..33 "

427.12 lbs.

20.00 lbs.
185.75 "
165.75 "
152.00 "
5 lbs., or 18.17 per cent
135.63 lbs

482

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment

189.97 lbs. corn meal, at 823.00 per ton, .
168.75 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .
117.66 lbs. corn and cob meal, at f 20.70 per ton,
53.38 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .
69.32 lbs. gluten meal, at ^24.00 per ton, .

?1 26

3 04

1 22

61

$6 96

2.58 lbs. dry matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weiglit, and 3.17

lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weiglit.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 5.13 cents.

[3.]

^!2

%

111

i

1

o

«1

it

1

1^

PERIODS.

ill

ill

lii

>

^.2

■sg.

11

ill

|52

Mi

ill

hi

cS-5

5

3

Mi

If

51

H

H

H

5^

fe

&

O

1888.

Ib.oz.

April 12 to May 1,

-

83.00

10.38

-

-

1 : 2.80

19.00

44.50

1 4

May 2 to June 4,

-

204.00

25.50

15.60

31.21

1 : 2.53

44.50

91.25

1 6

June 5 to July 3,

-

174.00

66.12

16.87

17.99

1:3.62

91.25

132.00

1 e

July 4 to Aug. 8,

109.97

214.00

16.69

21.18

21.18

1 : 4.35

132.00

196.25

1 11.6

Total Amount of Feed consumed from April 12 to August 8.

109.97 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 95.03 lbs.

675.00 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, . . . 121.50 "

118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 102.44 "

63.65 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . . 46.94 "

70.38 ibs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 63.28 "

Total amount of dry matter.

429.19 lbs.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experim^t,
Live weight of animal at time of killing, .
Live weight gained during experiment, .
Dressed weight at time of killing.
Loss in weight by dressing, . . ,37
Dressed weight gained during experiment,

19.00 lbs.
196.25 "
177.25 "
159.00 "
25 lbs., or 18.98 per cent.
143.61 lbs,

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

483

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment

109.97 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton, .
168.75 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon,
118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, at f 20.70 per ton
53.65 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .
70.38 lbs. gluten meal, at $24.00 per ton, .

$1 26
3 04
1 23

62
84

$6 99

2.42 lbs. of dry matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and

3.00 lbs of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 4.86 cents.

[4.]

1

ill

i

"S0,g

1

ft
1^

a .5

1

PERIODS.

cs„ 2

i!l

iii

III

1

^li

^"3

!l

'm

■mt

IS.I

3|^

s

s

||6

P

.sS

H

H

H

H

&

Iz;

& o

1888.

lb. oz.

April 12 to May 1,

"

83.00

10.38

-

-

1 : 2.80

17.00

42.00

1 4

May 2 to June 4,

_

204.00

25.60

15.60

31.21

1:2.53

42.00

85.25

1 4

June 5 to July 3,

-

174.00

66.12

16.87

17.99

1 ; S.62

85.25

126.00

1 e

July 4 to Aug. 8,

109.97

214.00

16.63

21.18

21.18

1:4.35

126.00

188.75

1 12

Total Amount of Feed consumed from April 12 to August 8.

109.97 lbs. com meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 95.03 lbs.

675.00 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, . . . 121.50 "

118.69 lbs. com and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 102 44 "

53.65 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . . 46.94 "

70.38 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 63.28 "

Total amount of dry matter,

429.19 lbs.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experiment, . . 17.00 lbs.

Live weight of animal at time of killing, .... 188.75 "
Live weight gained during experiment, .... 171.75 "

Dressed weight at time of killing, 154.25 "

Loss in weight by dressing, . . . 34.50 lbs., or 18.27 per cent.
Dressed weight gained during experiment, . . . 140.36 lbs.

484

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment

109.97 lbs. com meal, at $23 00 per ton, .
168.75 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per g^^llon,
118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, at f 20.70 per ton
53.65 lbs. wheat bran, at f 23.00 per ton, .
70.38 lbs. gluten meal, at $24.00 per ton, .

2.50 lbs. diy matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and 3.06

lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dresesd pork, 4.98 cents.

f 1 26

3 04

1 23

62

84

$6 99

[5.]

it

Si

EC'S

c ^

^ '

■§

%■%

oj^

>>

°a.a

Hi

111

ofl.S

•s

It
1»

li

•a

k

PEBIODS.

1°^

Pl

p:^

§11

3 C'5
PI

^
*

^1-^

°'i

11

II

Ill

111

III

III

s
5

PI

II

il

^

H

B

H

H

!5

P

$■

O

1888.

Ib.oz.

April 12 to May 1,

-

83.00

10.38

-

-

1 : 2.80

21.50

45.00

1 S

May 2 to June 4,

-

204.00

25.50

16.60

31.21

1 : 2.53

45.00

86.75

1 4

June 6 to July 3,

-

174.00

68.12

16.87

17.99

1 : 3.62

86.75

129.50

1 7.6

July 4 to Aug. 8,

109.97

214.00

16.69

21.18

21.18

1 : 4.35

129.50

193.75

1 12

Total Amount of Feed consumed from April 12 to August 8.

109.97 lbs. com meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 95.03 lbs.

675.00 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, . . . 121.50 "

118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 102.44 "

53.65 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . , . 46.96 "

70.38 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 63.28 "

Total amount of dry matter,

429.1Q, lbs.

Live weight of animal at beginning of experiment, . . 21.50 lbs.

Live weight of animal at time of killing, .... 193.75 "
Live weight gained during experiment, .... 172.25 "

Dressed weight at time of killing, 158.00 "

Loss in weight by dressing, . . . 35.75 lbs., or 18.45 per cent.
Dressed weight gained during experiment, . . . 140.47 lbs

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

485

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment

109.97 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton, .
168.75 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, .
118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton,
63.65 lbs. wheat bran, at |23.00 per ton, .
70.38 lbs. gluten meal, at $24.00 per ton, .

$1 26

3 04

1 23

62

84

?6 99

2.49 lbs, of dry matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and

3.07 lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.
Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 4.97 cents.

[6.]

a.: .

nil

Hi

11.

ill

■§5
■<1

k

PERIODS.

III

Ml

III
ill

&
^

$

P

■Zu

1^

H

H

s

o

1888.

Ib.oz.

April 12 to May 1,

-

83.00

10.38

-

-

1 : 2.80

18.25

47.00

1 7

May 2 to June 4,

-

204.00

25.50

15.60

31.21

l:;j.53

47.00

95.00

1 7

June 6 to July 3,

-

174.00

66.12

16.87

17.99

1:3.62

05.00

142.25

1 10

July 4 to Aug. 8,

109.97

214.00

16.69

21.18

21.18

1 : 4.35

142.25

203.50

1 11

Total Amount of Feed consumed from April 12 to August 8.

109.97 lbs. corn meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 95.03 lbs.

675.00 qts. skim milk, equal to dry matter, . . . 121.50 "

118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, equal to dry matter, . . 102.44 "

53.65 lbs. wheat bran, equal to dry matter, . . . 46.94 "

70.38 lbs. gluten meal, equal to dry matter, . . . 63.28 "

Total amount of dry matter,

429.19 lbs.

Live weight of animal at .beginning of experiment

Live weight of animal at time of killing, .

Live weight gained during experiment, .

Dressed weight at time of killing,

Loss in weight by dressing.

Dressed weight gained during experiment,

18.25 lbs.
203.50 "
185.25 "
165.50 »
35 lbs., or 17.2 per cent.
153.39 lbs.

486

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

fJan.

Cost of Feed consumed during Experiment.
109.97 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton, .
168.75 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon,
118.69 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton.
63.65 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, .
70.38 lbs. gluten meal, at $24.00 per ton, .

2.32 lbs. of dry matter fed yielded 1 lb. of live weight, and
2.81 lbs. of dry matter yielded 1 lb. of dressed weight.

Cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 4.66
cents.

fl 26

3 04

1 23

62

84

$6 99

Summary of Experiment IX.

a

a

.o ■

a

a

■"Ma

■" «!C

.o J^

4

It

a
S3

i
it

Hi

Mil

3!

o

M

u

a

a

o

I, . . .

109.97

168.75

118.69

53.65

70.38

179.25

144.65

4.83

2, ...

109.97

168.75

117.66

53.38

69.32

165.75

135.63

6.13

3, ...

109.97

168.75

118.69

53.65

70.38

177.25

143.61

. 4.86

4, ...

109.97

168.75

118.69

53.65

70.38

171.75

140.36

4.98

6, ...

109.97

168.75

118.69

63.65

70.38

172.25

140.47

4.97

6, ...

109.97

168.75

118.69

53.65

70.38

185.25

153.39

4.56

659.82

1,012.50

711.11

321.63

421.22

1,051.60

858.11

-

Total Cost of Feed consumed during the Above-slated Experiment.

659.82 lbs. corn meal, at $23.00 per ton, $7 59

1,012.50 gals, skim milk, at 1.8 cents per gallon, . . . 18 23

711.11 lbs. corn and cob meal, at $20.70 per ton, ... 7 36

321.63 lbs. wheat bran, at $23.00 per ton, 3 70

421.22 lbs. gluten meal, at $24.00 per ton, 6 05

Average cost of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork,
5.15 cents.

$41 93

Manurial Value of Feed consumed during the Above Experiment.

Corn Meal. Skim Milk. Corn and Cob Meal. Wheat Bran. Gluten Meal. Total.

$2 11 $8 29 $2 16 $2 01 $4 05 $18 62

Manurial value of feed for production of 1 lb. of dressed pork, 2.17
cents.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

487

Summary of Experiments (II. to IX. inclusive).

[Based on the same cost of feed and manurial valuation of feed consumed.]

EXPERIMENTS.

Average amount of
Dry Matter for
production of one
pound of Dressed
Pork (in lbs.).

Hi

^■■5.5

i.
iiif

Net Cost of Feed per
pound of Dressed
Pork after deduct-
ing thirty percent,
from Manurial
Value (in cents).

II

III., IV., v., ....

VI

VII.,

VIII

3.31
3.86
3.56
3.07
3.27
3.00

5.51
5.92
5.69
5.15
5.32
4.89

2.30
2.91
2.78
2.52
2.48
2.30

3.90
3.88
3.74
3.39
3.58
3.27

Cost of Feed for the Production of One Pound of Live Weight during
the Different Feeding Pei'iods.

i — wT;

L.>-<» w

°|S^

Itl

U'Sa

^l~.

im^

m

?IM

o

6

1. I.

Feeding Period, ....

50.00

28.50

1.72

IL

" "

95.00

45.00

3.87

III.

u u

140.25

45.25

4.13

IV.

4t »

200.75

60.50

4.78

2. I.

Feeding Feriod,

45.00

25.00

1.96

11.

•.<. Cl

88.00

43.00

4.05

III.

" «

128.25

40.25

4.57

IV.

» u

185.75

57.50

503

3. I.

Feeding Period,

44.50

25.50

1.92

11.

" "

91.25

46.75

3.72

III.

tC ii.

132.00

40.75

4.59

IV.

41 U

196.25

64.25

4.50

4. I.

Feeding Period,

42.00

25.00

1.96

II.

u u

85.25

43.25

4.02

III.

" "

126.00

40.75

4.59

IV.

u u

188.75

62.75

4.61

6. I.

Feeding Perio<l,

45.00

23.50

2.09

II.

" "

86.75

41.75

4.17

III.

41 44

129.50

42.75

4.38

IV.

" "

193.75

64.25

4.50

6. I.

Feeding Period,

47.00

28.75

1.70

11.

44 44

95.00

48.00

3.63

III.

<K 44

142.25

47.25

3.96

IV.

44 44

203.50

61.25

4.72

488

BOARD OF AGKICULTURE.

[Jan.

Analyses of Fodder Articles used in Experiment IX.
CoiiN Meal.

i

n

n

5°.

c

li

n

Hi

— -^ g

5 :i

lis

Ill

€>

I

o

^

^

Moisture at 100° C, .

13.59

271.80

-

_

Dry matter, ....

86.41

1,728.20

_

100.00

2,000.00

Anahisis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, ....

1.68

83.60

—

—

S

" cellulose, .

1.56

31.20

10.61

34

>a5

" fat, ....

3.10

62.00

47.12

76

^

" protein (nitrogenous

matter),

10.42

208.40

177.14

85

K on-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

83.24

1,664.80

1,564.91

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,799.78

-

J

The analyses of corn and cob meal and of skim milk are
the same as used in the preceding experiment.

Wheat

Bran.

tc d
5 5

^1

on 2

1=5

i "5
I §

5 = .

1

ii

§ S «'

Isl

lU

E

a

ft.

u

Moisture at 100° C, .

12.50

250.00

_

_

Dry matter,.

87.60

1,750.00

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, ....

6.80

136.00

-

-

^

" cellulose, .

10.70

214.00

42.80

20

i.M

" fat

5.49

109.80

87.84

80

T-H

" protein (nitrogenous

matter),

17.79

355.80

313.10

88

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

59.22

1,184.40

947.52

80

100.00

2,000.00

1,391.26

-

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

489

Gluten Meat,.

a

a

lit

1 s «

p!

i

1

Moisture at 100° C, .

10.09

201.80

Dry matter, ....

89.91

1,798.20

:

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of Dry Mailer.
Crude ash, ....

.51

10.20

c^

" cellulose, .

.80

17.20

5.85

34

l^

" fat, ....

4.86

97.20

73.87

76

^

" protein (nitrogenous
matter),

39.28

785.60

667.76

85

K"on-nitrogenous extract

matter

64.49

1,089.80

1,024.41

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,771.89

-

Valuation of Essential Fertilizing Constituents contained %n the Various
Articles of Fodder used.

Nitrogen, 16^ cents per pound ; phosphoric acid, 6 cents ; potassium oxide, i\ cents.

Pee Cent.

Com

Skim

Corn and

Wheat

Gluten

Meal.

Milk.

Cob Meal.

Bran.

MeaL

]\Ioisture,

13.59

_

13.69

12.50

10.09

Nitrogen,

1.60

.48

1.45

2.49

6.65

Phosphoric acid,

.662

.22

.688

2.54

.455

Potassium oxide.

.387

.21

.648

1.45

.059

Valuation per 2,000 lbs., .

$6 40

$2 02

16 09

$12 50

$19 25

490

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

ANALYSES OF FODDER AETICLES.

Corn Fodder (Pride of the North).

Moisture at 100" C.
Dry matter,

Per cent.

24.87
75.13

100.00

Analysis of Dry
Crude ash,

" cellulose, ....

" fat,

" protein (nitrogenous matter),
Non-nitroffenous extract matter.

Matter.

6.U

22.26
2.62
8.28

61.70

100.00
Fertilizing Constituents in Corn Fodder.

Moisture at 100° C, . . ' 24.87

Nitrogen (161 cts. per lb.), .995

Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.), .201

Calcium oxide, .310

Magnesium oxide, .093

Potassium oxide (4^ cts. per lb.), 1.465

Sodium oxide, .794

Ferric oxide, .026

Insoluble matter, 1.318

Valuation per 2,000 lbs f 4 77

Weight of stalk and ear (average) , • . . . 8 oz.

" stalk (average), 3 oz.

" ear (average), 5 oz.

The above material was cut when the kernels began to
glaze. Part of the crop was put into a silo. Both products
have been used of late in our feeding experiments with milch
cows.

Corn Cob (Pride of the North).

[Experiment Station, 1887.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100" C, 24.76

Dry matter 75.24

100.00

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

491

Analysis of Dry Matter. Per cect.

Crude ash, 1.75

" cellulose, 33.77

" fat, .53

" protein (nitrogenous matter), 3.00

Non-niti*ogenous extract matter, 60.95

100.00
Fertilizing Constituents in Corn Cob.

Moisture at 100° C 24.76

Nitrogen (16| cts. per lb.), .36

Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.), .069

Calcium oxide, .005

Magnesium oxide, .008

Potassium oxide (4^ cts. per lb.), .512

Sodium oxide, .265

Ferric oxide, .006

Insoluble matter, .267

Valuation per 2,000 lbs. $1 71

Corn and Cob Meal (Pride of the North).

[Experiment Station, 1887.]

Per Cknt.

•

I.

II.

Passed sieve, 144 meshes to square inch, .

75.36

7385

Moisture at 100° C,

Dry matter,

26.34
73.66

13.69
86.31

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

" cellulose,

" fat,

" protein (nitrogenous matter), .
Non-nitrogenous extract matter, ....

100.00

1.64
6.31
336

7.82
80.87

100.00

1.68
7.75

3.67
9.13

77.77

100.00

100.00

Fertilizing Constitueyits in Cor7i and Cob Meal. ver cent.

Moisture at 100° C. 26.34

Nitrogen (16^ cts. per lb.), 1.24

Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.), .587

Calcium oxide, .095

Magnesium oxide, .131

Potassium oxide (4 J cts. per lb), .468

Sodium oxide, 200

Ferric oxide, .004

Insoluble matter, .130

Valuation per 2,000 lbs., , $5 19

492

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Corn Ensilagb,
[Sent on from Marblehead, Mass.]

Pbb Ckkt.

I.

11.

Moisture at 100° C,

Dry matter,

78.88
21.12

83.48
16.52

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

" cellulose,

" fat

" protein (nitrogenous matter), .
Non-nitrogenous extract matter, ....

100.00

6.32

25.77

8.27

8.94

65.70

100.00

4.30

3525

3.33

6.91

50.21

100.00

100.00

Both samples of ensilage, it is stated, were planted and
harvested at the same time ; both had their kernels fully de-
veloped, just past the milky state, when they were put into
a silo, Sept. 20 to 30, 1887. No. I. is from *« Stowell's
Evergreen Sweet," and No. II. from common *' Southern
White " corn.

Ensilage No. I. shows a larger percentage of nitrogenous
and non-nitrogenous matter than No. II., yet it was of a
decidedly inferior general state of preservation when re-
ceived at our office. Whether this circumstance applies to
the entire contents of each silo, or is merely of an accidental
nature, we are unable to decide.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

493

Corn Meal.

[Amberst Mill.]

£ a
II

ii

■ '1
lii

5^i

i

1

Moisture at 100° C, .
Dry matter, ....

11.97

88.03

239.40
1,760.60

12.44
73.11

201.96

1,504.00

34
76

85

94

\

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash, ....

" cellulose, .

» fat, ....

» protein (nitrogenous
matter).
Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

100.00

1.48
1.83
4.81

11.88

80.00

2,000.00

29.60
36.60
96.20

237.60

1,600.00

100.00

2,000.00

1,791.51

-

Wheat Bran.

[Sent on from North Amherst, Mass.]

68.97 per cent, passed screen 144 mesh to square inch.

k

° o

^ g

3 °

«\^

,

a :S

11

Hi

ill

5

is

ft

u

ftfl

Moisture at 100° C, .

9.43

188.60

1

Dry matter, ....

90.57

1,811.40

:

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, ....

6.27

125.40

-

-

^

" cellulose, .

12.98

259.60

51.92

20

J« -h

" fat, ....

4.36

87.20

69.76

80

i-H

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

16.76

335.20

294.98

88

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

59.63

1,192.60

954.08

80

100.00

2,000.00

1,370.74

-

The material is of a fair average composition.

494

BOARD OF AGEICULTURE.

[Jan.

Fertilizing Constituents in Wheat Bran.

Moisture at 100° C, .
Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.), .
Magnesium oxide,
Calcium oxide, ....
Potassium oxide (4^ cts. per lb.).
Sodium oxide, ....
Nitrogen (16| cts. per lb.).
Insoluble matter,
Valuation per 2,000 lbs., .

Per cent.
9.43

2.67
.83
.18

1.51
.15

2.43

.24

$12 60

Wheat Bran.

[Amherst Mill.]

Il

5 = .

c 3 5

it

III

:||

p-

u

Ch

y,

Moisture at 100° C, .

9.25

185.00

Dry matter, ....

90.75

1,815.00

_

_

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, ....

7.90

158.00

-

-

?^

" cellulose, .

10.05

201.00

40.20

20

( "^

" fat, ....

4.73

94.60

75.68

80

^

" protein (nitrogenous

matter).

16.12

322.40

283.71

88

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

61.20

1,224.00

979.20

80

100.00

2,000.00

1,378.79

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

495

Wheat Bran.

[Amherst Mills.]
67.50 per cent, passed screen 144 mesh to square inch.

1

Is

Hi

11

B 2 3

?

it

1 i °-

g s S-

•c

o

t^

:Moisture at 100° C, .

9.89

197.80

Dry matter, ....

90.11

1,802.22

-

-

100.00

2,000.00

-

-

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, ....

7.26

145.20

-

-

o

cellulose, .

14.80

296.00

59.20

20

|>CO

" fat, ....

6.22

104.40

83.52

80

rH

" protein (nitrogenous

matter),

18.17

363.40

319.79

88

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

54.55

1,091.00

872.80

80

100.00

2,000.00

1,335.31

-

J

Gluten Meal.

[Bought at Springfield, Mass.]

— T";::

i

^^ c

5 = -

i

a

S -2

Hi

li

III

g 2 «'

II

s

&<

o

11,

&,

Moisture at 100° C, .

9.50

190.00

Dry matter, ....

90.50

1,810.00

:

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash

1.08

21.60

_

-

" cellulose, .

4.74

94.80

32.23

34

" fat, ....

3.92

78.40

69.58

76

1-H

" protein (nitrogenous

matter) ,

36.19

723.80

615.23

86

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

54.07

1,081.40

1,016.52

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,723,56

-

496

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Gluten Meal.

[Bought at Springfield, Mass.]

^

— — c

— »;

1

S a

2 = ,

3,

ll

SI

» 2

ISl

III

^ 2

lil

III

o

«

Moisture at 100° C, .

11.10

222.00

Dry matter, ....

88.90

1,778.00

:

:

100.00

2,000.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, ....

.55

11.00

_

_

"*

" cellulose, .

.91

18.20

6.19

84

S(N

" fat, ....

6.13

122.60

93.18

76

" protein (nitrogenous

matter),

34.79

695.80

591.43

85

Non-nitrogenous extract

matter, ....

57.62

1,152.40

1,083.26

94

100.00

2,000.00

1,774.06

-

ROWEN.

[Grown at the Experiment Station, 1887. Contained a liberal admixtttre of clo-ver.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C 8.84

Dry matter, 91.16

Analysis of Dry Matter,
Crude ash,

" cellulose, ....

" fat,

" protein (nitrogenous matter)
Non-nitrogenous extract matter, .

Fertilizing Constituents of the above Rowen
Moisture at 100° C, .
Nitrogen (16 J cts. per lb.).
Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.), .
Potassium oxide (4J cts. per lb.)
Calcium oxide, .
Magnesium oxide.

Sodium oxide.
Ferric oxide.
Insoluble matter.
Valuation per 2,000 lbs.,

100.00

10.50
29.46
3.05
13.20
13.79

100.00

8.840

1.930

.364

2.860

.853

.197

.122

.057

2.178

f9 24

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 4.

497

Provender.

[From Amherst Mill.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . 9.40

Dry matter, 90.60

100.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, 3.42

" cellulose, 11.52

" fat, 5.76

" protein (nitrogenous matter), 14.35

Non-nitrogenous extract matter, 64.95

100.00
Nutritive ratio, 1 : 7.56.

This article is, according to statement, a mixture of 450
pounds of corn, 125 pounds of oats, and 100 pounds of
wheat bran.

Moisture at 100° C,
Dry matter, .

Ground Oat Feed,

[Sent on from Salem, Mass.]

Per cent.
8.92

91.08

100.00

Analysis of Dry Matter
Crude ash,

" cellulose, ....

" fat,

" protein (nitrogenous matter)
Non-nitrogenous extract matter,

3.52

8.78

8.34

18.66

60.69

100.00

The article is evidently a compound containing admixtures
which are richer in nitrogenous matter and fat than oats.
A mere analysis of a compound commercial fodder article is
only of interest to the practical farmer when the amount and
kind of ingredients which sei-ve in its preparation are well
known. It is not safe, as a rule, to invest to any extent in
a compound commercial fodder article without feeling well
satisfied conceming the character of its various ingredient .s.

498

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Spent Brewer's Grain.
72.63 per cent, passed through mesh 144 to square inch.

Moisture at 100° C,
Dry matter,

Per cent.

6.98
93.02

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

" cellulose,

" fat

" protein (nitrogenous matter) , .
Non-nitrogenous extract matter,

Fertilizing Constituents of Spent Brewer^ s Grain.
Moisture at 100° C, .
Nitrogen (16 1- cts. per lb.),
Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.)
Potassium oxide (4^ cts. per lb.)
Calcium oxide, .
Magnesium oxide.

Sodium oxide.
Ferric oxide,
Insoluble matter.
Valuation per 2,000 lbs.,

100.00

6.15
15.90

1.95
20.49
55.51

100.00

6.98
8.05
1.26
1.552
.296
.286
.347
.159
1.770
$12 88

The material is of a fair quality as far as composition is
concerned.

Cotton Hulls.

[I. and II. sent on from Boston, Mass.]

Pbr Cent.

I.

11.

Moisture at 100" C,

Dry matter,

10.17
89.83

11.45

88.85

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

" cellulose,

" fat

" protein (nitrogenous matter), .
Non-nitrogenous extract matter, ....

100.00

2.75

61.40

2.36

4.90

38.59

100.00

3.38

40.24

4.27

5.36

46.75

100.00

100.00

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

499

Fertilizing Constituents of Cotton Hulls.
[I. and II. sent on from Boston (same as above) ; III. sent on from Memphis, Tenn.]

Pbk Cbmt.

I.

II.

in.

Moisture at 100° C, .

10.17

11.45

8.76

Phosphoric acid, ....

.14

.28

.18

Magnesium oxide, ....

.23

.29

.25

Calcium oxide,

.13

.20

.22

Potassium oxide, ....

1.12

1.06

1.07

Nitrogen,

.77

.76

.74

Insoluble matter, ....

.06

.003

.11

Valuation per 2,000 lbs., .

$3 66

$8 76

$3 57

Cotton-seed Meai..

[Sent on from North Amherst, Mass.]

68.34 per cent, passed sieve 144 mesh to square inch.

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 6.84

Dry matter, 93.16

100.00
Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash, 7.06

" cellulose, 10.83

" fat, 13.02

" protein (nitrogenous matter), 40.18

Non-nitrogenous extract matter, 28.96

100.00
A fair sample of its kind.

FIELD EXPERIMENTS.

I. Field A. Fodder Corn raised with Single Articles or
Plant Food.

II. Field B. Fodder Crops raised with and without Com-
plete Manure.

III. Field C. Experiments with Fodder Crops for Green

Fodder.

IV. Experiments with Potatoes ; and Paper on Potato Scab,

BY Prop. James E. Humphrey.

V. Experiments with Root Crops.
VI. Notes on Miscellaneous Field Work.

[501]

FIELD EXPERIMENTS.

[Field A.]

I. Fodder Corn raised upon Worn-out ^Meadow Lands

PARTLY fertilized WITH OnE OR TwO SPECIAL ARTICLES

OF Plant Food, partly without the Use of any
Manurial Matter.

The observations recorded below extend already over a
period of five years.* The field selected for the experi-
ment was utilized for a series of years previous to 1882 as a
meadow for the production of hay. The annual yield of that
crop had sufiered at that time a serious decline in quantity
and quality. During the spring of 1883 it was planted with
corn for the production of fodder corn, without the use of
any manurial matter.

The same course of planting and of general treatment was
carried out during the year 1884. The corn fodder raised
in that year left no doubt about the serious exhaustion of
the soil, as far as its fitness for a further successful cultiva-
tion of corn fodder was concerned, for the entire yield of
that crop amounted only to 5,040 pounds per acre, with a
moisture of thirty per cent. The soil had evidently reached
a condition which promised to prove favorable for a special
investigation, as far as the extent and the particular charac-
ter of its exhaustion on plant food was concerned, whether
the failure of the crop was due to a general exhaustion of

* For details, see preceding reports, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887.

[503]

504 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

essential articles of plant food, or to that of any particular
one of them.

As the cultivation of grasses and fodder corn affects the
manurial resources of the soil in a similar direction, by-
abstracting approximately one part of phosphoric acid to
four parts of potash, it seemed but natural that a soil which
originally did not contain much more of available potash
than of available phosphoric acid must become unproductive,
as far as these crops are concerned, before the latter is
exhausted. It is not less evident that a system of manuring,
devised with reference to this circumstance alone, can pre-
vent an early decline of remunerative crops in the majority
of cases.

The recognized importance of both — grasses and fodder
corn — in our present system of general farm management
has served as the principal inducement to begin our field
experiments at the Experiment Station with a practical illus-
tration of the particular serious changes which a close rota-
tion of these crops produces in the existing soil resources of
plant food, wherever the adopted system of manuring does
not provide for a periodical return of fertilizing substances,
with reference to the kind and to the amount of each of them
carried off by the crop.

The land set apart for the experiment consists of ten
adjoining plats, one-tenth of an acre each in size. " The plats
are five feet apart ; the grounds between them are kept free
from any growth, and receive no fertilizing ingredients of
any description. The entire field is surrounded by a tile
drain, and each plat has a separate one through its centre.
This terminates at its east end in a well, which is connected
with the surrounding drain.

The systematic treatment of the various plats began in
May, 1885. All were ploughed, year after year, at the
same time and in the same manner, — in autumn after har-
vesting and in spring before manuring and planting. Plats
1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 10 received annually for three succeeding
years, 1885, 1886 and 1887, an addition of a definite amount
of either phosphoric acid or of a nitrogen compound or of a
potash compound; while plats 2, 4, 6 and 8 received no

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 505

manurial matter during that period. All, except plat 6,
were planted during the above-stated three succeeding years
with the same variety of corn (Clark). Plat 6 received
during that time no fertilizing material ; it was ploughed and
worked with the cultivator in the same manner and at the
same time when the other plats were thus treated ; it was
kept clear, as far as practicable, from every kind of vegeta-
ble growth (black fallow).

The details of the work and of the annual results of the
course pursued in the management of the experiment have
been described in the preceding annual report. The subse-
quent summary may suffice here to record the principal facts
brought out before the beginning of the present year (1888).

506

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

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1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 507

A careful study of these results shows that neither phos-
phoric acid nor any form of nitrogen, when applied each by
itself, even in exceptionally large proportions, has produced
a material change in the annual yield, as compared with that
obtained on unfertilized plats. The application of potash
compounds alone shows in every instance a decided increase
in the crop. The annual yield was increased by its use
during the first two years to twice the amount of that pre-
vious to its special application.

1888. — The original plan of the experiment has not been
altered materially during the past season. The principal
aim of our investigation has been the same as during the
three preceding years ; namely, to study the direction and
the degree of exhaustion on plant food of field "A" during
the progress of our investigation.

The results of the past season (1888) confirm the conclu-
sion presented in our previous annual report, 1887. An
exceptional deficiency of the soil on available potash, pro-
duced by continued close rotation of grasses and corn
fodder, without any substantial provision for an exception-
ally large consumption of potash, proves still the first cause
of a reduced annual yield of corn fodder.

The exhaustion on available plant food assumes, however,
as might be expected, a more general character as years
pass on. This fiict shows itself plainly in a gradual falling
off of the annual yield on plat 9, where a liberal amount of
potash as the sole fertilizing material exerted in preceding
years a marked beneficial influence on the annual yield. The
same circumstance causes evidently the lower yield upon
those plats (1 and 7) which received a liberal manuring with
potash compounds two years later, and, after a repeated
application of each, phosphoric acid or nitrogen had failed
to improve the annual yield.

A manuring for three successive years with potash alone
has sufficed in our case to terminate its beneficial effect on
the natural productiveness of the soil, as far as the corn
crop is concerned. More complete manures are required to
restore a desirable degree of fertility of the soil.

The result obtained on plat 6 deserves a particular notice.
This plat had been used, in common with the entire area

508 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

occupied by our experiment, for two years in succession, —
1883 and 1884, — for the production of fodder corn without
the use of any manurial matter. The degree of exhaustion
of the entire field w^s very marked and practically uniform.
During the spring of 1885, when all other plats were planted
with the same variety of corn, plat 6 was ploughed and
harrowed like the remainder, but not planted with corn ; it
was assigned to the task of ascertaining the effects of " black
fallow " on the soil under treatment. It seemed of interest,
in connection with our inquiry, to illustrate the influence of
mere atmospheric agencies on the future productiveness of
our field. For this purpose, during the years 1885, 1886
and 1887, the plat was ploughed, harrowed and treated with
the cultivator in the same manner and at the same time as
the remaining plats. During that entire period no manurial
matter of any description was applied. The appearance of
every description of vegetation was, as far as practicable,
prevented by a timely use of the cultivator.

At the beginning of the past season, after having pro-
duced no crop for three succeeding years, it was prepared
in the same way and at the same time as the other plats for
the planting of one and the same variety of corn. No
manurial matter was on that occasion applied to plat 6.
The date of planting the corn, and the subsequent treatment
of the crop to the time of harvesting, was the same in all
cases. The yield of fodder corn upon plat 6 was the third
lowest in the scale including all plats; ^. e., 1,930 pounds
per acre. It was also the poorest-looking crop upon field
"A" during the larger portion of the season. The result
shows, in a very striking manner, that the growing of
plants does materially assist in rendering available the
inherent mineral plant food of the soil. The growth ot
three years, although in our case exceptionally small, was
lost to us. Our observation in this connection confirms the
results of more recent careful investigations into older
systems of agricultural practice. Black fallow, as a rule,
does not materially benefit the productiveness of an ex-
hausted soil, and ought to be discouraged, therefore, from a
mere financial point, at present rates of rent.

The subsequent more detailed description of the field

1889. J PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 509

work carried on during the past season, as well as the
conditions of the crop at different stages of growth, upon
different plats into which field "A" has been subdivided,
will enable all parties interested in the experiment to draw
their own conclusions regarding its teachings.

The entire field was ploughed twice, as in previous years, —
in autumn, a short time after harvesting the crop, and early
in the succeeding spring. The fertilizing materials, single
or compound, wherever used, were applied broadcast, and
slightly harrowed under some time before planting.

Plat 1. Received 50 pounds of muriate of potash (25 pounds of
potassium oxide) .

Plat 2. 50 pounds of nitrate of soda (7-8 pounds of nitrogen).

Plat 3. 100 pounds of dissolved bone-black (16-17 pounds of soluble
phosphoric acid) .

Plat 4. Nothing.

Plat 6. 97 pounds of magnesia sulphate.

Plat 6. Nothing.

Plat 7. 50 pounds of muriate of potash (25 pounds of jjotassium
oxide) .

Plat 8. 50 pounds of sulphate of ammonia (10 pounds of nitrogen).

Plat 9. 50 poimds of muriate of potash (25 pounds of potassium
oxide.

Plat 10. 97 pounds of sulphate of potash and magnesia (25 poimds
of potassium oxide) ; 100 pounds of dissolved bone-black (16-17 pounds
of soluble phosphoric acid).

The corn (Clark) was planted in drills, May 29. The
rows were three feet and three inches apart, and the kernels
were dropped in the rows from twelve to fourteen inches
apart, with six to eight seeds in a place. The entire field
was subsequently kept clean from weeds by a frequent use
of the cultivator or the hoe, as circumstances advised.

The young plants appeared above ground quite uniformly,
June 5. They soon showed, however, marked differences
in regard to the rate of growth upon different plats, and
presented, as the season advanced, more or less striking
differences in their general appearance.

510

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Height of Corn on Plats, in inches (1888).

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8

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58

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11

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18

29

40

62

Plat 3,

7

9

121

14^

19

22

34

41

45

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35

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33

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55

63

Plat 10,

9

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17

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30

49

72

85

84

A change in the color of the plants was first noticed at the
beginning of July upon plat 6, and subsequently in those
upon plat 8. Tassels appeared at about the same time on
plats 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9, and about three days later on plats
4, 6 and 8. An examination of the plants at the time of
cutting, September 14, showed that. those raised upon plats
2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 had either no ears or but a few imperfect
ones, while those from plats 1, 5, 7 and 9 had more. Plat
1 0 had from two to three times as many as either of the last
mentioned. The majority of the plats, with the exception
of plat 10, had produced only small and imperfect ears.

The following tabular statement contains the exact results,
as far as the character of the crop is concerned ; —

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

511

Height of Plants
When Cut.

Weight of Stover.

Weight of Ear..

Plat 1,

72 inches.

559 lbs.

58 lbs.

Plat 2,

62 "

280 "

23 •

Plat 3,

45 "

150 "

0 '

Plat 4,

35 "

113 "

1 ♦

Plat 5,

72 "

610 "

54 '

Plat 6,

32 "

193 "

0 '

Plat 7,

74 "

626 "

50 '

Plat 8,

29 "

141 "

5 '

Plat 9,

63 "

487 "

66 '

Plat 10,

84 "

607 "

130 '

The experiment will be continued, with some modifica-
tions, for another year. As the condition of the soil in field
"A" (see next page) becomes from year to year better
known, its fitness for investigations of a similar character
increases as time advances.

The photographic illustrations accompanying this chapter
represent some of the most striking features noticeable in
the growth of these plats. They illustrate in particular the
striking influence of potash on the annual yield, and show the
disadvantages of black fallow on the productiveness of farm
lands.

The annual yield of crops of dry corn fodder is stated
with reference to the same moisture, 48 per cent.

The crops raised during the years 1886, 1887 and 1888,
on plats 1, 2, 6, 7 and 9, have served for our illustrations.

512

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

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EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN FODDER. Field A. Plat i.
COne-tenth of an acre.)

50 lbs. Sodium Nitrate ( =7 to 8 lbs. nitrogen).
Yield of Dry Corn Fodder, 430 lbs.

50 lbs. Soduuii Nitrate ( = 7 to 8 lbs. Nitrogen) and 50 lbs.
Muriate of Potash ( =25 lbs. potassium oxide).
Yield of Dry Corn Fodder, 720 lbs.

^y^?^<-^*^ii?sr^;^s^-t

50 lbs. Muriate of Potash ( =25 lbs. Potassium Oxide).
Yield of Dry Corn Fodder, 617 lbs.

EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN FODDER, Field A. Plat 2.

No F"ertilizer.
Yield of Drv Corn Fodder, 250 lb?

1887.

No Fertilizer.
Yield of Dry Corn Fodder. 165 lbs.

50 lbs. Sodium Nitrate {- 7 to 8 Ibt, Nitrogen).
Yield of Dry Corn Fodder. 303 lbs.

EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN FODDER. Field A.

A field with complete manure, consisting of Barn-yard manure
and potash Salts.

Yield of Dry Corn Fodder, 2800 lbs.

lVc*i.^^

Plat 6. 1888. Was kept free from any vegetation from 1885 to 1888;

and planted in 1888 with corn without receiving any manurial matter.

Yield of Dry Corn Fodder, 193 lbs.

»//»r,M Co, Sr«rf />,„

EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN FODDER, Field A, Plat 7.

1886. 100 lbs. Dissolved Bone-black (= 17 lbs. available phosphoric
acid). Yield of Dry Corn Fodder. 255 ibs.

iSc^j. ioulo.>. l)is,Mj;vcd JJunc-blaclc (, = i; h.,-. .i\ aii.ii-.t.- ,.iiw.-.iii,,M-ic

acid) and 50 lbs. Muriate of Potash (=25 lbs. Potassium (.).\icie").

Yield of Drv Corn Fodder. 7:50 lbs.

50 lb-;. Muriate ot i'uta->h ( = 23 lh>. of Potassium 0.\ide).
Yield of Drv Corn F'odder. 676 lbs.

EXPKRIMF.N rs WITH CORN FODDER. Fiei.d A. Flat 9.

18S6. 50 lbs. Muriate of Potash 1= 25 lbs. Potassium Oxidt-I.

Yield of Dry Corn Fodder. S40 lbs.

Muriate of P.na.iM ^ j :; lu^. J'oia.>iu
Yield of Dry Corn Plodder, 553 lbs

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 513

II. Ikfluence of Fertilizers on the Quantity and
Quality -'OF Prominent Fodder Crops.

[Field " B."]

The field assigned to the above-stated inquiry is located
west of field "A," and has been used, like the latter, for
several years previous to the establishment of the Experi-
ment Station, for the production of hay. The land is nearly
on a level, and runs from north to south ; it occupies at the
present time an area of 1.7 acres. The soil consists of a
somewhat sandy loam. During the spring of 1883 it was
ploughed and prepared for raising corn fodder. This crop
was raised for one year in drills, and without the aid of any
manurial matter. The previous thorough mechanical treat-
ment of the soil, as well as its impoverished condition, was
considered favorable for the contemplated work. In 1884
the entire field was subdivided into eleven plats of equal
size, with five feet of space between them. Every alternate
plat has received from that date annually the same kind and
same amount of fertilizer, — six hundred pounds of ground
bones and two hundred pounds of muriate of potash per
acre. The fertilizer has been applied at an early date each
spring, either broadcast or between the rows, as circum-
stances admitted. It was in each case subsequently slightly
harrowed under. Since 1885, all crops on that field have
been raised in rows ; this system of cultivation became a
necessitj^ in the case of grasses, clovers, etc., to secure a
clean crop for observation. The rows, in the case of corn
and leguminous plants, were three feet and three inches
apart ; and in the case of grasses, two feet. The space
between the different plats measured five feet ; it has received
thus far no manurial substance of any description, and is
kept clean from vegetation by a proper use of the cultivator.
Plats 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21 are fertilized annually;
plats 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 have received thus far no fer-
tilizer. The single plats are either occupied by one variety
of plants or by two ; in some instances several plats are used
for one and the same crop. Corn and various prominent
varieties of meadow grasses and of leguminous plants have
thus far been selected for observation.

514 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

The details of the work carried on upon field " B " are
from year to year recorded in the annual report of the
Station. As the chemical analyses of the crops raised
require considerable time, on account of other contemporary
pressing engagements in the laboratory, they are usually
published in bulletins and the reports of the succeeding
year. These analyses may claim a special interest, as they
are made of a variety of fodder crops, raised, as far as
practicable, under corresponding circumstances with refer-
ence to climate, to soil, to system of manuring, to the
adopted modes of cultivation, of harvesting and of analyz-
ing. In making this statement, I do not mean to imply
that our local conditions of climate and of soil are in every
instance the most favorable ones to enable the various crops
here on trial to attain in all cases the highest possible devel-
opment. This qualification of our results applies with more
or less propriety to some varieties of grasses as well as of
leguminous plants.

The subsequent tabular record of the crops raised upon
the difi"erent plats of field "B" since 1884 may assist in a
desirable understanding of its past history and its condition
at the beginning of the season of 1888. The single plats
are, since 1886, each 175 feet long and 33 feet wide.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

515

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516 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

18S8. — At tho besinniiiGr of the season but few changes
became necessary in the management of the field ; for, plats
13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 and ^21 being still occupied by a
perennial vegetation, only plats 11, 12, 15 and 16 required
particular attention in that direction. It was decided to add
the Kentucky blue-grass (Festuca pratensis) and the Soja
bean {Sjja hispida) to our list of prominent crops on trial
upon field " B."

Plats 11 and 12 were seeded down, in drills two feet
apart, with Kentucky blue-grass; and plats 15 and 16 with
Soja beans, in rows three feet and three inches apart, to cor-
respond with the rule adopted for grasses and leguminous
plants. In both instances one plat was fertilized in the same
way as heretofore, with fine-ground bones and muriate of
potash (11 and 15), and the other two (12 and 16) received
no fertilizer. The Kentucky l)lue-grass was seeded down
rather late. May 24, and the Soja beans May 18. The
mechanical condition of the soil was in both cases very sat-
isfiictory for the work.

Those plats which were still occupied by perennial plants,
planted in preceding years, were treated between the rows
at an early date with the cultivator, and subsequently the
weeds and foreign growth in the rows removed with the hoe
and the hand. Plats 13, 17, 19 and 21 received at the same
time their annual supply of manure, consisting of fine-ground
bones and muriate of potash. Plats 14, 16, 18 and 20 re-
ceived none.

As the plats were 175 feet long and 33 feet wide, equal to
an area of 5,775 square feet, each received a mixture of 80
pounds of ground bones and 27 pounds of muriate of potash.

The subsequent enumeration of crops raised upon field
*'B," during the years 1887 and 1888, shows the change
made in crops at the beginning of the past season.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

517

1887.

Plat No. 11 (fertilized).
Plat No. 12 (unfertilized)

Plat No. 13 (fertilized),

Plat No. 14 (unfertilized)

Plat No. 15 (fertilized).
Plat No. 16 (unfertilized)
Plat No. 17 (fertilized),

Plat No. 18 (unfertilized)
Plat No. 19 (fertilized),
Plat No. 20 (unfertilized)
Plat No. 21 (fertilized).

Corn (Clark variety).

Corn (Clark variety).

Italian rye-graas {Lolium Italicum).

Englleh rye-grass (^Lolium per enne) .

Italian rye-grasa.

BrjgliHh rye-grass.

Five varieties Southern cow-pea.

Five varieties Southern cow-pea.

Meadow fescue {Festuca pratensis) .
' Alsike clover.
. Medium red clover.
I Alsike clover.
I Medium red clover.

Mammoth red clover.

Alfalfa (lucerne).

Mammoth red clover.

Alfalfa (lucerne).

Kentucky blue-grass.

Kentucky blue-grass.
( Italian rye-grass.
( English rye-grass.
( Italian rye-grass.
( English rye-grasB.

Soja bean.

Soja bean.

Meadow fescue.
C Alsike clover.
( Medium red clover.
C Alsike clover.
( Medium red clover.
( Mammoth red clover.
( Alfalfa.

( Mammoth red clover.
( Alfalfa.

The general appearance of the plats seeded down in pre-
ceding years with perennial varieties of grasses and of
leguminous plants presented some interesting features at
the opening of the late season. Some crops had suffered
seriously from winter-killing, while others had passed un-
harmed through the winter. Wherever the growth had suf-
fered, the fact showed itself invariably in the most serious
degree upon unfertilized plats.

Perennial rye-grass^ plat 14 (unfertilized), was almost
entirely winter-killed ; while upon plat 13 (fertilized) a
much less serious effect could be noticed.

Italian rye-grass looked decidedly better preserved in
both instances than the perennial rye-grass.

Meadow fescue^ plat 17 (fertilized), appeared remarkably
vigorous, and retained the lead for the entire season, as far
as the varieties of grasses on trial are concerned.

Alsihe clover was seriously winter-killed upon the unfer-
tilized plat 18, while upon the fertilized plat 19 it was very
well preserved.

518

BOARD OF AGIilCULTUliE.

[Jan.

Medium red clover appeared in fair condition upon plat 18
(unfertilized), yet fell behind the alsike clover on plat 19
(fertilized).

Alfalfa and mamrtioth clover, on plats 20 and 21, presented
the same features in their growth as was noticed with refer-
ence to alsike clover and medium clover.

The weight of the hay obtained from the first cut of each
kind of crop, when well advanced in blooming, gives a fair
representation of their general character and condition at the
time of harvesting. The yield is in every instance stated
with reference to an entire plat (175x33 feet), in case of
fertilized as well as unfertilized ones.

Grasses.

English Rye-Grass,
cut July 5, 1888.

Italian Bye- Grass,
cut July 5, 1888.

Meadow Fescue,
cut July 2, 1888.

Fertilized plat, .
Unfertilized plat, .

300 lbs.
90 "

260 lbs.

105 "

700 lbs.
No plat.

Leguminous Plants.

Medium Red

Clover,

cut July 5, 1888.

Alsike Clover,
cut July 5, 1888.

Mammoth Red

Clover,
cut July 5, 1888.

Alfalfa,
cut July 6, 1888.

Fertilized plat, .
Unfertilized plat.

690 lbs.
250 "

490 lbs.
70 "

460 lbs.
20 "

150 lbs.

50 "

Fertilized plat,
Unfertilized plat,

SojA Bean (Green).

Cut Aug. 30, 1888.

(The crop was put into a silo Aug. 30,

2,080 lbs.
1,560 "

The Soja bean has been raised during the past season in
different parts of the field, to serve for ensilage. The in-
vestigation of this valuable plant is not yet finished, and
a detailed description has been reserved for a future date.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 519

As the cultivation in rows is an exceptional one as far as
meadow grasses and clovers are concerned, no attempt has
been made to state their yield per acre. The principal aim
of the experiment on field <* B" consists, as has been stated
above, in securing suitable samples of each crop on trial, for
the purpose of ascertaining the influence of stage of growth
and of a difi*erent degree of fertility of the soil on their com-
position. Sufficient material has been collected of every
crop stated above, and the results of a chemical analysis of
each will be published from time to time as the work
advances.

The analyses of alfalfa and of alsike clover of the first
year's growth (1887) have been already published in the
annual report for that year ; also analyses of orchard grass,
red-top, meadow fescue and timothy. (See pages 125-132.)

520

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

MAMMOTH RED CLOVER,

1 -
O

S

■si

a
(ji

5

ALFALFA FERTILIZED

MAMMOTH F^ED CLOVER,

ALFALFA FERTILIZED

ALSYKE CLOVER

MEDIUM RED CLOVER.- FERTIL/ZED

CO

o

>

ALSYKE CLOVER.

MEDIUM RED CLOVER. UNFERTILIZED

r

'71

MEADOW FE5CUE FERTILIZED

23

m

r
a

^

SOJA BEAM UNFERTILIZED

0

5

0

e>OJA BEAM FERTILIZEP

CP
CP

31

ITALIAN RYE GRASS

RYEGRASS UM FERTILIZED

ITALIAN RYE GKass

RYE GRASS FERTILIZED

KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS UNFERTILIZED

KENTUCKY BLUE GRA3S FERTILIZED

1«80.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT --No. 4. 521

III. Experiments with Fodder Crops for Green
Fodder.

[Field "C."]

In a discourse on fodder supply for dairy cows, in the pre-
ceding annual report, pages 89, 90, the following statement
was made : —

The practice of raising a greater variety of vahiable crops for
green fodder deserves the serious consideration of farmers en-
gaged in the dairy business ; for it secures a liberal supply of
healthy, nutritious fodder, at a time when hay becomes scarce
and costly, and when it would be still a wasteful practice to feed
an imperfectly matured green fodder corn. The frequently
limited area of land fit for a remunerative production of grasses,
and the not less recognized exhausted condition of a large pro-
portion of natural pastures, make it but judicious to consider
seriously the means which promise not only to increase, but also
to cheapen, the products of the dairy.

A liberal introduction of reputed forage crops into farm opera-
tions has evei-y where, in various directions, promoted the success
of agricultural industry. The desirability of introducing a greater
variety of fodder plants into our farm management is generally
conceded. In choosing plants for that purpose, it seems advis-
able to select crops which would advantageously supplement our
leading fodder crop (aside from the products of pastures and
meadows) , — the fodder corn and corn stover.

Taking this view of the question, the great and valuable family
of leguminous plants, as clovers, vetches, lucerne, serradella, peas,
beans, lupines, etc., is, in a particular degree, well qualified for
that purpose. They deserve also a decided recommendation in
the interest of a wider range, for the introduction of economical
systems of rotations, under various conditions of soil, and differ-
ent requirements of markets. Most of these fodder plants have
an extensive root system, and, for this reason, largely draw their
plant food from the lower portion of the soil. The amount of
stubble and roots they leave behind after the crop has been
harvested is exceptionally large, and decidedly improves both the
physical and chemical condition of the soil. The lands are con-
sequently better fitted for the production of shallow-growing
crops, as grains, etc. Large productions of fodder crops assist in
the economical raising of general farm crops ; although the area
devoted to cultivation is reduced, the total yield of the land is
usually more satisfactory.

522 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.

Each farmer ought to make his selection, from among the
various fodder plants, to suit his individual resources and wants ;
yet, adopting this basis as his guide, he ought to make his selec-
tion on the basis that the crop which is capable of producing, for
the same area, the largest quantity of nitrogen containing food
constituents, at the least cost, is, as a rule, the most valuable one
for him.

Our prominent fodder plants may be classified, in regard to the
relative proportion of their nitrogenous organic food constituents
to their non-nitrogenous organic food constituents (nutritive
ratio) , in the following order : —

1. Leguminous plants, clover, vetch, etc., . . 1 : 2.2 to 1 : 4.5

2. Grasses, 1 : 6.0 to 1 : 8.0

3. Green corn, roots and tubers, . . . . 1 : 6.0 to 1 : 15.0

The composition of the various articles of food used in farm
practice exerts a decided influence on the manurial value of the
animal excretions, resulting from their use in the diet of different
kinds of farm live stock. The more potash, phosphoric acid,
and, in particular, nitrogen, a fodder contains, the more valuable
will be, under otherwise corresponding circumstances, the manu-
rial residue left behind, after it has served its purpose as a con-
stituent of the food consumed.

As the financial success in most farm management depends, in
a considerable degree, on the amount, the character and the cost
of the manurial refuse material secured in connection with the
special farm industry carried on, it needs no further argument to
prove that the relations which exist between the composition of
the fodder and the value of the manure resulting deserve the
careful consideration of the farmer, when devising an efficient
and at the same time an economical diet for his live stock.

Believing in the correctness of the previous remarks, it
has been one of the aims of the manager of the Station to
experiment with various new fodder crops, to ascertain
their adaptation to our climate and soil, and their fitness for
the support of the dairy industry at a period of the season
when good hay is scarce, and when the green fodder corn
has not yet reached a desirable condition to do its best.

Some, as the vetch, Southern cow-pea and serradella,
have been cultivated for several years past on a compara-
tively large scale, with marked success. They yielded a

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 523

liberal amount of green fodder from the beginning of June
to the beginning of October. Their good services as green
fodder for milch cows during that period have been described
in the last annual report (1887, pages 35-48). Similar
results have been obtained in this direction during the past
season. The details of the feeding experiment form a part
of this report.

The observations with reputed fodder crops have been
extended during the past year ; most of them were, how-
ever, raised on a small scale, to ascertain merely their
general character and their particular degree of adaptation
to our climate and soil, and to secure material for analysis,
to compare their relative proportions of essential nutritive
constituents.

The fact, as has been stated before, that all these crops
are raised under corresponding conditions, as far as climate,
soil, modes of cultivation and of fertilization and particular
stages of growth are concerned, imparts to the results the
claim of an exceptional value to decide judiciously their
comparative merits.

1888. — Field " C" comprises at present an area 328 feet
long and 183 feet wide. It was ploughed the previous fall,
and again April 26 ; it was harrowed soon after, and fertilized
broadcast at the rate of six hundred pounds of fine-ground
bones and two hundred pounds of muriate of potash per
acre. The field is divided into two parts, running from east
to west ; they are separated from each other by a passage-
way three feet wide.

The northern half of the field is 70 feet wide and 328 feet
long; the southern half is of the same length, but 110 feet
wide.

The latter is again sub-divided into three equal plats,
each 111 X 109 feet, or 11,990 square feet. The east end
of this field was planted with a mixture of vetch {vicia
sativa) and of oats (variety, western). The middle divis-
ion was planted the same day with serradella, and the
western with Southern cow-pea. Vetch and oats were
seeded broadcast, and serradella and Southern cow-pea in
drills, three feet three inches apart. The northern half of
field "C" was occupied by a series of crops in rows,

524 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jun.

running from south to north, three feet three inches apart,
with the exception of the carrots, which were planted in
rows fourteen inches apart. The crops were arranged in
the following order, beginning on the east end : —

Danvers carrots, ninety rows.

Welcome oats, three rows.

Hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa), one row.

Small pea (Lathy rus sativus), one row.

Sulla {Eedijsartim coronarid), one row.

Bird's-foot clover {Lotus corniculatus) , three rows.

Lotus villosus, three rows.

Sweet clover (Melilotus alba), three rows.

Early cow-pea, one row.

Teosinte {Euchlcena euxurians), two rows.

Flour corn, one row.

Pop-corn, striped rice, one row.

Chinese sugar cane, seven rows.

Early orange cane, fifteen rows.

Early amber cane, fifteen rows.

The seeds of the plants, with the exception of the carrots,
serradella, vetch and Southern cow-pea, were sent on by
the United States Department of Agriculture.

Vetch and Oats. — Twenty-five pounds of vetch and fift^i
pounds of oats were seeded broadcast May 8. The oats
appeared above ground May 15, the vetch on May 17.
The oats began to head out and the vetch to bloom June
30. Both crops had reached a height of 28 inches July 5,
and of 32 inches July 12. The feeding of the crop began
July 7 and terminated July 23. The total yield of the
green crop amounted to 5,276 pounds, or 8.53 tons, per
acre.

Southern cow-peas were seeded in rows, three feet and
three inches apart. May 14. They appeared above ground
May 28. The plants were six inches high June 27 ; twelve
inches high July 12; and twenty inches high August 3.
They began to fill out the space between the rows August
10 ; bloomed August 17, and formed pods August 23. The
feeding of the crop commenced September 4, and was
finished September 15. The crop had suffered somewhat
from frost September 7. The total yield amounted to
4,050 pounds, or 7.36 tons, per acre.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 525

JSeri'adella was planted in rows, three feet three inches
apart, May 14. The young plants appeared above ground
May 26. They had reached a height of six inches July 5 ;
began blooming July 12, and measured eleven inches, when
a blight made its appearance on the leaves, which ultimately
destroyed the crop to such an extent that no part of it was
fed. The grounds occupied by the serradella had been
used during the preceding season for the cultivation of
different varieties of wheat, which seriously suffered from
fungoid growth. The exceptionally wet season most likely
contributed also towards the fjiilure of the crop.

The early frost, September 7, terminated prematurely
the observations on Chinese sugar cane, early orange cane
and early amber cane.

Teosinte, pop-corn, flour corn, melilotus, sulla, hairy
vetch and lotus, have been sampled for analysis.

The perennial varieties of leguminous plants are left in
the tield for observations during the coming season, when
their special agricultural merits will be discussed.

52«j

BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE.

rJan.

FIELD C
E

N

CARROTS

VETCH AND
OATS

MISCELLANEOUS
FODDER CR0P5

1
1

SERR.ADELLA

CHINESE
SU6AR CAME

EARLY 0RAM6E
SUOAflCANE

COW PEA

EARLY AMBER.
5U6ARCANE

w

SCALE 4 RODS To 1 IMCH

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 4. 527

IV. Experiments with Potatoes.

The experiments reported in this connection are continua-
tions of those described under the same heading in our last
annual report.

One of the experiments has been carried on upon the
same portion of jfield "D" since 1884. It was originally
instituted for the purpose of studying the effects of high-
grade German potash salts, muriate of potash and potash
magnesia sulphate, as the main potash source of plant food,
on the quantity and the quality of potatoes raised by their
assistance.

The second one, observations with scabby potatoes, owes
its origin to the interest created by some observations made
in connection with the former ; it was carried on, for impor-
tant reasons, upon a different part of the farm.

A. Observations upon Field ♦' Z>."

[Variety : Beauty of Hebron.]

An examination of the preceding records of this experi-
ment cannot fail to show that our original plan has been
seriously interfered with by an early and persistent appear-
ance of either scab or blight, or of both combined. The
scab appeared in some parts of the field sooner than in
others. — in the fertilized part of the soil sooner or more ex-
tensively than in the unfertilized soil. The results in 1884
were not as bad as in 1885. The seed potatoes used in 1885
were selected from our own crop ; they were planted upon
the same part of the field where they had been produced the
preceding season. The system of manuring and of general
treatment was the same as in the previous year. A blight
on the leaves appeared that year in August, and terminated
the experiment prematurely. The crop, when harvested
August 2Q, was found suffering from scab in all parts of the
field engaged in the experiment.

It was decided, in sight of these tacts, to continue the
experiment in 1886 upon the same field, with some modifica-
tions, to ascertain, if possible, whether the main influence
regarding the results in our past observation had to be

528 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ascribed to atmospheric agencies, or to the condition of the
soil and the fertilizer applied, or to the quality of the seed
potato used.

1886. —The same field was used as in 1885. The land
was well prepared by ploughing and harrowing April 27,
and subsequently fertilized the same as in previous years.
The change regarding the character of the fertilizer applied
consisted in using nearly twice the amount of potash salts,
muriate and sulphate of potash, for the same area, in case of
plats 1 and 3. A second important change from our pre-
vious practice consisted in securing first quality seed po-
tatoes, in particular free from scab. The same variety,
Beauty of Hebron, was obtained for that purpose from Ver-
mont ; it was as fair an article as could be desired. The
system of planting and cultivating was the same as in pre-
vious years. The potatoes were planted upon all plats May
5, 1886. All the vines were in full blossom July 6; they
began to turn yellowish and dry up July 30. The crop on
the entire field was dried up August 8. This change seemed
to appear most marked,. and first, on the vines raised from
whole potatoes. The crop was harvested August 28.

Neither a liberal use of our own mixture of commercial
manurial substances, rich in potash compounds, nor the
selection of a fair quality of seed potatoes from another
locality, had afiected our results, as compared with those of
the previous season ; for the entire crop, with scarcely any
exception, was badly disfigured by scab. The potatoes were
unfit for family use, and had to be sold at a low price for
stock feeding.

A due consideration of all the circumstances which accom-
panied our course of observations thus far, induced us to
draw the following conclusions : —

1. Medium-sized whole potatoes give better results, as
far as a large-sized, marketable crop is concerned, than half
potatoes obtained from tubers of a corresponding size.

2. Disregarding the results of the first year, when pre-
viously existing resources of plant food in liberal quantities

1889."] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 529

must have rendered the influences of an additional supply of
manurial substances less marked, it appears that sulphate of
potash produced better results in our case than muriate
of potash.

3. The premature dying out of the vines, accompanied
by blight or scab, or both, must be considered a controlling
cause of an exceptionally large amount of small potatoes.

4. Some peculiar condition of the soil upon the lands
used for this experiment is to be considered the real seat of
our trouble. (For further details, see annual report.)

To test the correctness of conclusion 4 still further, the
experiment was continued for another year.

1887. — The same plats as in previous years were utilized
for the experiment. The subdivisions remained unchanged.
The fertilizers applied were the same as in 1886.

The lands were ploughed and harrowed during the first
week of May, and the potatoes planted in all plats May 11.
First quality potatoes, Beauty of Hebron, raised in Ver-
mont, were used as seed. The growth looked well upon all
plats until July 28, when the vines on plats 2 and 3 began
to turn yellow. They commenced drying up August 9, and
by August 12 were dry on all plats. An examination of the
little potatoes, July 1, showed already, in every case, the
marks of scab.

The entire crop, when harvested, was so seriously affected
by scab that it proved worthless in the general market.

The months of July and August were exceptionally wet
and wann in our part of the State, a circumstance which has,
most likely, aggravated our trouble.

The potato crop was in that year quite extensively a fail-
ure in our vicinity, wherever low lands had been used for its
production.

1888. — The continued failure to raise upon this field a
potato crop free from a serious attack of scab had strength-
ened our belief that neither the kind of fertilizer applied, nor

530 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE [Jan.

the particular character of the season, nor the quality of the
seed potatoes used, had any special relation to our results ;
but that some peculiar feature of the soil would ultimately
prove to be the cause of our trouble.

Assuming that the presence of some injurious parasite in
our soil might be the first cause of the scab, it was decided
to devise some means by which its development would be
prevented. The following course was adopted : Three plats,
each forty-four by seventy feet, corresponding in location with
plats 1, 2 and 3 in our description of preceding years, were
assigned for the observation.

Plat 1, located on the eastern side of the stated area, re-
ceived the same manure and in the same proportion as in the
preceding year (600 pounds of fine-ground bones and 580
pounds of potash-magnesia sulphate per acre). The plat
thus fertilized was subsequently subdivided into two equal
parts, of which one received broadcast a mixture of one-half
a pound of bi-sulphide of carbon and of ninety-five pounds
of air-slaked lime ; while the other half received broadcast a
mixture of one-half a pound of carbolic acid and of ninety-
rive pounds of air-slaked lime.

In both instances the soil was subsequently slightly har-
rowed before the potatoes were planted.

Plat 2, located between plats 1 and 3, received, as in
previous years, no fertilizer ; but one hundred and ninety
pounds of air-slaked lime were sown broadcast and har-
rowed in before planting. The application of lime was made
here to assist in discriminating between the influence of a
mere application of air-slaked lime, and that of a mixture of
either bisulphide of carbon or carbolic acid and air-slaked
lime.

Plat 3, forming the western end of our experimental field,
received for manuring purposes, as in the preceding years,
fine-ground bones and muriate of potash, at the rate of 600
pounds of the former to 300 pounds of the latter per acre.
The fertilizer was applied broadcast and slightly harrowed
in. The plat thus prepared, in a similar way tc plat 1, was

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

531

FIELD "D."

3

Excelsior
Sugar Beot.

Improved
Imperial.

Lane'a
Sugar Beet.

Rus'n Rhubarb.

Potatoes,
Plat 1.

subsequently subdivided, like the latter, into two equal

parts. One part was treated broadcast with a mixture of

air-slaked lime and of bisulphide of

carbon, and the other one with that of

air-slaked lime and of carbolic acid, in

the same way, as far as relative portions

and total amount are concerned, before

planting.

The potatoes were planted on all the
plats May 7 ; they appeared pretty
uniform above ground May 27. The
general treatment of the crop during the
entire time was the same on all plats,
and closely corresponded to the course
pursued in preceding years. The vines
began to change their color August 17,
and were all dead August 31. The
change seemed to be a natural one ; no
indications of blight could be discovered
on the leaves ; the extreme wetness of
the season seemed to favor the continu-
ation of the growing period. The crop
on all the plats was harvested Septem-
ber 7. An examination of the entire
crop, when spread out over the field,
showed no marked difference in any
particular part of the various plats. The
potatoes were of a fair size, but seriously
sufiering from scab and rot.

Plat 1 yielded 1,080 pounds of pota-
toes ; plat 2, 876 pounds, and plat 3,
976 pounds, of all sizes. Fifteen bushels
of scabby potatoes, nearly one-third of
the entire crop, were collected before
the crop was removed from the field.

Although the results of the year are
discouraging, the experiment will be repeated, with some
modification, when a more favorable season may assist in the
work.

Potatoes,
Plat 2.

Potatoes,
Plat 3.

Garden
Vegetables.

Vilmorin
Sugar Beet.

D

' Scale, 4 rods to 1 Inch.

532 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

B. Observations with Scabby Potatoes
The experiments were inaugurated in 1886 for the pur-
pose of inquiring into the circumstances which control the
development and the propagation of the scab on potatoes.

1886. — The first year's work in this connection has been
confined to the task of observing the behavior of scabby
potatoes as seed potatoes, under some definite previous
treatment. To prevent a possible propagation of scab in the
new crop by infected seed potatoes, the following course was
adopted : Thoroughly scabby potatoes, obtained from the
previously described experimental plats, were treated with
some substances known to be destructive to various forms of
parasitic growth. This operation was carried out with the
intention of destroying the propagating power of adherent
germs of an objectionable character before planting the seed.

The field for the experiment was distinctly separate from
other experimental plats for the cultivation of potatoes. It
had been used for many years previous for the raising of
grass, and had since been planted but once, — the preceding
year (1885) , — with corn. The land was prepared by plough-
ing and harrowing in the same way as other potato fields. It
was fertilized broadcast, at the rate of 600 pounds of ground
rendered bones and 290 pounds of potash-magnesia sulphate.

The field was subdivided into five plats of equal size,
eighty feet long and fifty feet wide, and the potatoes subse-
quently planted in rows, three feet three inches apart, with
hills three feet from each other in the rows. Three feet of
space was left between the plats unoccupied. The scabby
seed potatoes selected for the trial were, as far as practi-
cable, of a uniformly medium size. Each lot was immersed
in the particular solution prepared for the difierent plats ;
after being kept there for twenty-four hours they were
removed and directly planted.

Plat 1 was planted with healthy and smooth potatoes,
without any previous treatment. This course was adopted
to learn whether soil, fertilizer, or atmospheric agencies of
the season would favor the appearance of scab in the crop.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 533

Plat 2. The scabby seed potatoes were allowed to remain
for twenty-four hours in a saturated solution of muriate of
potash before being planted.

Plat 3. A strong solution of hypochlorite of lime (bleach-
ing lime) was applied in a similar way, for the preparation
of the scabby seed, as in case of plat 2.

Plat 4. A saturated solution of carbolic acid in water
sei'ved in this instance for the treatment of the scabby po-
tatoes.

The potatoes were planted in all plats on the same day.
May 7. The vines did not appear evenly at first ; they were,
however, equally vigorous upon all plats at the close of June.

The tops on all plats were pretty generally dried up
August 8. The potatoes were harvested on the entire field
August 30. The yield on all plats was fair, and the quality
of the potatoes, almost without exception, excellent ; this
seemed to be more striking in regard to those on plats 2, 3
and 4, which had been, in the beginning of the season, some-
what behind in growth. Here and there could be seen a
potato with a small mark of scab ; a large proportion were
perfectly smooth, and without any sign of it. The results
were recorded as those of a first experiment.

The fact that a scabby potato may produce, under certain
circumstances, a smooth and otherwise excellent potato,
was confirmed. Good potatoes have been raised before
from seed potatoes sufiering from scab, without any previous
treatment similar to ours. Without any intention of antici-
pating the results of future observations, or to point out
with certainty the exact cause of our results, we expressed
the opinion that a difierence in the condition of the soil in
our old and new experimental potato plats might have
proved to be the principal cause of our trouble ; for the
former yielded, from healthy potatoes, most inferior scabby
potatoes ; while the latter produced, from scabby potatoes,
a most superior, smooth potato, under otherwise almost
identical conditions, as far as soil, mode of cultivation and
kind of fertilizer were concerned, upon lands in close prox-
imity, during the same season.

534 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

1887. — The experiment was repeated upon the same
lands, with but a slight modification. The soil was ploughed
and fertilized, as in the preceding year. Ten plats, each fifty
feet long, were planted with four rows of potatoes, three feet
three inches apart, and with nineteen hills in the row.
Medium-sized, whole scabby potatoes (Beauty of Hebron),
selected from the crop raised upon our own fields during the
previous year, and which is described in some preceding
pages under the heading "Potato Experiment, A," served
as seed potatoes. One-half the plats were planted with
scabby potatoes, all from the same lot, after being immersed
for eighteen hours in some solution prepared for that pur-
pose ; and the other half were planted without any previous
treatment of the seed, — plats 2, 6 and 10 with our scabby
potatoes. Beauty of Hebron, and plats 4 and 8 with healthy,
smooth tubers, of the same variety.

Scabby potatoes, soaked in a solution of potassium sulphide.

Scabby potatoes, without any particular treatment.

Scabby potatoes, treated with a solution of hypochlorite of

lime (bleaching lime) .
Smooth, healthy potatoes, without pi*evious treatment.
Scabby potatoes, treated with a solution of potassium chloride

(muriate of potash) .
Scabby potatoes, without previous treatment.
Scabby potatoes, treated with a solution of carbolic acid.
Smooth, healthy potatoes, not ti'eated.

Scabby potatoes, treated with copper sulphate (blue copperas).
Plat 10. Scabby potatoes, not treated.

The young plants made their appearance on all plats, ex-
cept plat 9, June I ; those on plat 9 appeared eight or ten
days later. The entire crop looked uniformly well. The
vines dried up on all plats at about the same time. The
crop was harvested with the following results : —

Plat

1.

Plat

2.

Plat

3.

Plat

4.

Plat

5.

Plat

6.

Plat

7.

Plat

8.

Plat

9.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

535

Beauty of Hebrok.

I'LAT.

1

Solutions Used.

Results
(S> pt. 12, 1887).

Vo. 1,

Scabby.

Potassium sulphide.

Good; not scabby.

" 2,

Scabby.

None.

Good; not scabby.

" 3,

.

Scabby.

Hypochlorite of lime (bloaching lime).

Especially good.

" 4.

s

Good.

None.

Somewhat scabby.

" 6.

;♦

Scabby.

PotasBium chloride (muriate of potash).

Especially good.

" 6,

2

Scabby.

None.

Good; not scabby.

" 7,

'^

Scabby.

Carbolic add.

Especially good.

" 8,

^

Good.

None.

Especially good.

" 9.
•• 10,

Scabby.
Scabby.

Copper sulphide (blue copperas).
None.

Only 7 hills left. More

or less Kcabby.
Somewhat scabby.

A careful consideration of these results tends to show that
a certain condition of the soil has been the leading cause for
the origin and propagation of the scab ; for scabby seed
potatoes have produced healthy, smooth tubers, both with
and without any special previous treatment (see plats 1, 2,
7 and 8). . On the other hand, it is not without interest to
notice that plats 1, 3 and 7 have furnished us with some of
the best potatoes we have raised during the past season.

1888. — The field occupied by the experiment was the same
as during the preceding year. The same arrangement of
plats was adopted. The preparation of the soil, as far as
ploughing and manuring are concerned, was the same as jn
the preceding season. The solutions of chemicals for the
treatment of part of the seed potatoes was identical witli that
of the preceding year. All the details of the field work, be-
ginning with planting and ending with harvesting, were
closely corresponding to the course pursued in 1887.

The potatoes were planted May 9 ; the vines died on all
plats, apparently without any exceptional external cause,
between August 23 and 31. No marked difierence could be
noticed in the appearance of the potatoes from the various
plats. All plats had produced some scabby potatoes. The

536

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

result of the season is, to say the least, an indifferent one, as
far as the action of the various solutions of antiseptics as a
preventive of scabby potatoes is concerned.

The conclusion arrived at in previous years has evidently
received an additional support by the results of the past
season. Every one of our observations thus far made in
this connection points towards the soil as the bearer of the
cause of the scab on potatoes. The inquiry into the first
cause of the scab will be continued.

Those of our readers Avho are not familiar with the present
views entertained by scientists regarding the real character
of the scab on potatoes, will find Professor Humphrey's dis-
cussion of this subject, which accompanies this chapter of
our annual report, very interesting and profitable reading.

It has been considered of interest to photograph the seed
potatoes, and subsequently some specimens of a correspond-
ins: size of those raised from them. This course it is thouo-ht
will furnish us in time with an exact record of the exterior
characteristics of genuine varieties, and assist us in dis-
criminating between new and old. As the Beauty of Heb-
ron, Early Rose and Polaris (originated by H. F. Smith of
Waterbury Centre, Vt.) have been the principal varieties
raised upon the fields of the Station during the past season,
their photographs accompany this report. A picture of
the Colorado wild potato, raised on our lands, may not be
without interest in this connection. The pictures are in
every case taken at an equal distance, and thus allow a com-
parison of relative sizes.

Description of Photographs of Potatoes.

Largest.

Medium.

Smallest.

Weight in

Weight in

Weight in

ounces.

ounce*.

ounces.

Picture No. 1.

Beauty of Hebron Potatoes,

7 to 19

3 to6|

H to 3^

Picture No. 2.

Early Rose Potatoes, .

4 to 8

2^ to ^

n to 2^

Picture No. :>.

Polaris Potatoes,

6 toll

3 to 5^

2 to 3

Picture No. 1.

Colorado Wild Potatoes, .

-

-

-

Beauty of Hebron (Seed Potatoes for iSSS).

Beauty of Hebron (Potatoes Raised in i88S~).

Early Rose (Seed Potatoes for iSSS).

0^ Stats f^inrii^s.

Early Rose (Potatoes Raised

J

No. 3.

Polaris (Seed Potatoes for 1888) •

Polaris (Potatoes Raised in 1888).

No. 4.

Colorado Wild Potatoes (Raised in li

s Co. STATl PnillCK.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUIVIENT — No. 4. 537

POTATO SCAB.

BT JA8. ELLIS HUMPHREY, PBOFE8SOB OF VEGETABLE PHY8IOLOOT.

The value of the potato crop in Massachusetts exceeds
that of any other phmted crop ; consequently, the loss by
any widespread and serious disease of this crop must be an
impoi-tent item. The commonest and most constant disease
which attacks the potato in the field is that commonly
known as the '* scab." It is well known in both Europe and
America, and attacks the tubers, giving little or no evidence
of its presence in those parts of the plant above ground.
The cause of this trouble is not at all understood, though
various theories are held as to its nature, It is proposed in
the present paper to discuss briefly the present state of our
knowledge of the potato scab, by way of introduction to a
series of investigations of the disease which the writer ex-
pects to carry on during the coming year.

The disease first manifests itself in the form of small cor-
roded spots or pustules on the surface of the potato. Writers
on the subject generally agree that these spots replace the
" lenticels " of the tubers.

If a smooth potato tuber be closely examined, there will
be seen spots of the size of a pin's head or smaller, of a
slightly different shade, and somewhat roughened or granular
in appearance. These breaks in the continuity of the tissue
of tabular cork-cells which form the so-called ' ' skin " of
the potato, are filled with loose, globular cork-cells, through
whose intercellular spaces an interchange of gases can take
place between the interior of the potato and the outer air.
They are then, so to speak, the ventilators of the tuber,
and are known as "lenticels." (The normal structure of
the potato tuber is shown in the accompanying Fig. 2.)
It is in these lenticels that the scab originates or first shows
itself.

From these spots the disease rapidly spreads, until some-
times almost the whole exterior of the tuber becomes in-
volved in the decay and breaking down of the surface tissue.
In many cases, at least, there are developed over these
patches, rough, brittle scales or crusts of corky tissue, which
peel readily from the surface, and which render the name

538 BOARD OF AORICULTUKE. [Jnn.

"scab" an appropriate one for the disease. In Fig. 1 is
shovvn the appearance of the fully developed scab, rcf)ro-
duced from photographs of potatoes raised on the plats of the
Station in 1888. This whole change goes on while the tuber
is still in the ground ; and after the crop is dug and stored,
no further change occurs. The disease aifects the tissue to a
depth of only a few cells, all below remaining in a normal,
healthy condition. The cells affected lose their starch, and
contain, in its place, according to some writers, globular
brown masses, usually regarded as disorganized cell-contents.
In so far as the starch, which gives its chief food value to the
potato, is destroyed, that value is lessened ; but the unsightly
appearance of " scabby" tubers causes a much greater pro-
portional decrease in their selling value, since, by paring
away the affected superficial tissue, the remainder is made
perfectly suitable for food.

The cause of this disease has been discussed by several
writers. Most of the views expressed are based on the
first important discussion of the subject by Schacht, in a
work on the potato plant and its diseases.* This author
believes that the efficient cause of the scab is an excess of
moisture in the soil. It can readily be shown, that, when a
potato tuber is exposed to an abundance of moisture, the
lenticels become more prominent, in consequence of the
loosening and separation of the cells which fill them. This
affords, Schacht thinks, an easy opportunity for the water to
enter those tissues of the tuber bordering the lenticels. They
thus become water-soaked, and rapidly decay, assuming a
dark and muddy appearance . Two of the chief recent writers
on the diseases of plants, Frank and Sorauer, adopt this
view. Frank f regards the disease as a case of breaking
down of tissue, originating in what is practically a wound.
Sorauer | thinks the scab develops rapidly during short but
specially favorable periods, and instances, as such a period,
the time of a heavy rain following a drought. Each of the
above writers mentions as a possible cause, or at least an ag-
gravating condition, the presence of lime, marls, or especially

• Bericht tiber die Kartoffelpflanze und deren Krankheiten, Berlin, 1854, p. 24.

t Krankheiten der Pflanzen, Berlin, 1880, p. 140.

t llandbuch der Pflanzenkrankheiten, Berlin, 1886, vol. i, p. 227.

lS6d.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 589

of iron oxide in the soil ; and Sorauer thinks that ammonia set
free from the soil may sometimes have a similar influence.
Another authority, W. G. Smith,* considers that the chief
cause is mechanical irritation, from the presence in the soil
of corrosive substances ; and states that a difference may
often be noticed in the degree of scabbiness of potatoes from
different parts of the same field, depending on the relative
proportions of refuse in the soil of the different parts. Smith
also says that one form of the disease may be caused either
by long drought or by excess of moisture. All authors agree
that the scab-like crusts, which characterize the disease in its
complete development, originate from the natural effort of
the plant to repair the injury to the tuber by a secondary
formation of cork. Sorauer differs from the others quoted,
in rejecting the theory of irritation or corrosion as a primary
cause of the trouble. He quotes at length several experi-
ments, conducted in German experiment stations and else-
where, whose results seem to be conclusive against the idea
that foreign substances in the soil can cause the disease by
mechanical or chemical action.

We may now proceed to consider the Ijearing of some
recent American observations on the views already stated.
The only experiments undertaken in this country for the pur-
pose of testing current theories, with which I am acquainted,
are those of Arthur and Beckwith of the New York Experi-
ment Station. I Plats of potatoes were planted and kept
under identical conditions, except that half of the hills were
kept wet by irrigation, while the others were not artificially
watered. One-half of the hills of each class were planted
without manure, and the remainder were manured. In the
unmanured hills, abundant moisture had practically no in-
fluence, for the percentage of scabby potatoes was very nearly
the same in the irrigated and unirrigated portions. On the
other hand, the irrigated hills on the manured ground pro-
duced seventy-one per cent, of scabby tubers, against only
thirty per cent, from the unwatered hills. A general average
gives forty-eight per cent, of scabby tubers on the irrigated

• Diseases of Field and Garden Crops, London, 1884, p. 37.
t Sixth Annual Repoi-t of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, 1888,
pp. 307 and 344.

540 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

ground, to thirty-one per cent, on that unirrigated ; and fifty-
one per cent, of diseased ones on the manured ground, against
twenty-two per cent, where manure was not used. These
results indicate that an abundance of moisture favors the de-
velopment of scab, but can hardly be held to support the
view that it is the chief cause of the disease. Beckwith con-
cludes from his experiments that an increased yield is nearly
always accompanied by an increase of scab ; and that any
marked change in the rapidity of the growth of the tubers
favors its development, a continuous growth from their first
formation to maturity being least favorable to the appear-
ance of the disease. The last point may, perhaps, be re-
garded as another aspect of Sorauer's view that a heavy
rain after drought especially aids the development of scab.

Observations made at this Station during the past five years,
and detailed in its reports,* also bear interestingly on the
subject. The experiments were begun with a wholly differ-
ent end in view, but were vitiated the first year by the
appearance of scab, which has persistently appeared on the
same plats in every succeeding year. The first year, when
the land was freshly broken, the trouble was less severe, and
a difierence in severity was noticed on plats difierently fer-
tilized. Since the first year, the crop has been uniformly
scabby, but not more so in wet than in drier seasons. The
experiments thus far, while by no means conclusive in their
results, seem to point to peculiar soil conditions as the most
probable cause of the disease.

In 1887 there appeared a paper by a Norwegiah naturalist,
Brunchorst,f on a disease of potatoes common in that
country, and there called " Skurv," which he believes to be,
and which, from his description, seems to be, the same as
the German " Schorf " and the English and American " scab."
This writer states that the masses noticed by other investi-
gators in the dead cells of the tuber, and by them supposed
to be composed of disorganized cell-contents, are really the
resting condition of a parasitic organism, whose attacks

* Second to Sixth Annual Reports of Massachnsetts Agricultural Experiment
Station, 1885-S9.

fUeber eino sehr verbreitete Krankheit der Kartoflfelknollen. In Bergens
MngeumB Aarsberetning for 1886, p. 219.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 541

cause the disease. He describes in detail the structure of
these masses, as he understands them, but has not seen the
supposed parasite in its active state. He names the organ-
ism 8pongospora Solajii, and regards it as closely related to
Plasmodiophora Brassicae, discovered by Woronin * in 1877,
and now generally regarded as the cause of the so-called
' ' club foot " or ' ' stump root " disease of cabbages and
turnips. For a better understanding of Brunchorst's theory,
it may be well to give here a very brief account of the " club
foot " parasite.

On emerging from its resting state under the influence of
favorable conditions for vegetation, it appears as an almost
inconceivably tiny, naked mass of protoplasm, with the
power of moving or creeping about in moist soil. Here it
may attack a young root of either of several plants of the
Mustard family, most commonly of a cabbage or turnip.
Penetrating a surface cell, it lives and grows at the expense
of the contents of that cell, moving on to another when the
first is exhausted. Cells thus attacked increase in size, in
consequence of the abnormal stimulus caused by the pres-
ence of the parasite, Avhich often also causes a large increase
in the number of cells in the affected region. This h^^per-
trophy produces the characteristic swellings which give the
disease its name. As a result of the growth and fusion of
the protoplasmic masses of the organism, many of the root-
cells become at length filled by them. Each of these masses
separates, toward the close of the season, into numerous
very small globular ones, and each of the latter secretes a
wall or coat about itself. In this condition the organism
can sui-vive considerable extremes of cold or dryness, and
can await the recurrence of favorable conditions. When the
weather again permits, the walls or coats crack open, and
the contained bits of protoplasm emerge from their rest,
each one taking up its active life, and repeating the cycle
just outlined. Brunchorst believes the history of his 8pon-
gospora to be very similar to the above, differing chiefly in
the fact that the numerous masses, into which the parasitic
contents of one cell divide, remain angular and closely
compacted into a spongy structure, instead of becoming

* Pringsheim's Jahrbacher fiir wissenschaftliche Botanik, vol. xl, p. 548.

542 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

globular and separate, as in Plasmodiophora. In Fig. 3
are shown the active and resting stages of the latter, and
Brunchorst's representation of the resting state of his sup-
posed scab parasite.

Both the New York and the Massachusetts observations,
before referred to, bear on Brunchorst's views. If the scab
is caused by a living organism, its development must be
checked by the application of substances fatal to parasitic
forms of life ; and scabby potatoes would be expected to
produce usually a scabby crop, when planted, the infected
tubers infecting the new generation. Experiments with
fungicides, at both stations named, gave only negative re-
sults, the decrease in scabbiness where they were used being
insignificant. The average proportion of scabby tubers pro-
duced from scabby " seed " in the New York experiments
was forty-five per cent., while smooth "seed" yielded
thirty-seven per cent, of diseased potatoes. At our own
Station the crops have varied little in quality, when raised
under similar conditions, whether from smooth or scabby
" seed; " and badly diseased tubers have, in several cases,
produced exceptionally good crops.

One further observation, noted by Beckwith in the report
quoted, is of interest. He finds that, while forty-three per
cent, of the white-skinned potatoes and fifty-three per cent,
of the flesh-colored ones raised on the station farm were
scabby, only twenty-seven per cent, of the dark-skinned
ones were afiected. Assuming the cause of the disease to
be external to the tuber, such a result was to be expected.

From the above statement, it is evident that much re-
mains to be learned before our knowledge of the cause of
the potato scab will be at all satisfactory. And, until a
pretty definite knowledge of its cause is gained, all attempts
at discovering a remedy are so many leaps in the dark.
The conditions at this Station are in many respects very
favorable for a hopeful prosecution of investigations into the
nature and origin of the pest, which are planned for the
coming season. The writer will be very glad of suggestions
or reports of experience from persons who have had to do
practically with the disease, or to communicate with any
who are interested in this subject of inquiry.

^m.

542 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

globular and separate, as in Plasmodiophora. In Fig. 3
are shown the active and resting stages of the latter, and
Brunchorst's representation of the resting state of his sup-
posed scab parasite.

Both the New York and the Massachusetts observations,
before referred to, bear on Brunchorst's views. If the scab
is caused by a living organism, its development must be
checked by the application of substances fatal to parasitic
forms of life ; and scabby potatoes would be expected to
produce usually a scabby crop, when planted, the infected
tubers infecting the new generation. Experiments with
fungicides, at both stations named, gave only negative re-
sults, the decrease in scabbiness where they were used being
insignificant. The average proportion of scabby tubers pro-
duced from scabby ' ' seed " in the New York experiments
was forty-five per cent, while smooth "seed" yielded
thirty-seven per cent, of diseased potatoes. At our own
Station the crops have varied little in quality, when raised
under similar conditions, whether from smooth or scabby
" seed; " and badly diseased tubers have, in several cases,
produced exceptionally good crops.

One further observation, noted by Beckwith in the report
quoted, is of interest. He finds that, while forty-three per
cent, of the white-skinned potatoes and fifty-three per cent,
of the flesh-colored ones raised on the station farm were
scabby, only twenty-seven per cent, of the dark-skinned
ones were affected. Assuming the cause of the disease to
be external to the tuber, such a result was to be expected.

From the above statement, it is evident that much re-
mains to be learned before our knowledge of the cause of
the potato scab will be at all satisfactory. And, until a
pretty definite knowledge of its cause is gained, all attempts
at discovering a remedy are so many leaps in the dark.
The conditions at this Station are in many respects very
favoral)le for a hopeful prosecution of investigations into the
nature and origin of the pest, which are planned for the
coming season. The writer will be very glad of suggestions
or reports of experience from persons who have had to do
practically with the disease, or to communicate with any
who are interested in thi;^ subject of inquiry.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

54;

Fig. 1. Two potatoes, " Beauty of Hebron,'' from Station 23] a ts, badly
affected by " scab," illustrating the visual form of the disease.
Fi-om photograiihs. Five-sixths natural size.

rig. ^.

Fig. 2. Section taken at right angles to the surface of a healthy potato
tuber, showing its normal sti'ucture.
sk. The " skin " of the tuber, of tabular cork-cells.
I. A lenticel, filled v/ith rounded cork-cells.
p. The pai-euchymatous tissue, which forms the bulk of the

tubers, containing starch-grains, st.
Original. Magnified one hundred diameters.

544

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

I-iy, 3.

Fig. 3. a

b.

Cell from diseased root of cabbage, showing resting stage

of Plasmodio2)ho7'a Brassicae, Woronin, the " club-foot "

parasite.
Protoplasmic masses of P. brassicae emerging from the

resting state,
c. Cell from scabby potato, showing resting stage of Spongo-

sporaSokmi, Brunchorst, the supposed "scab" parasite.
a and b, after Woronin. a magnilied one hundred diameters,

b magnified six himdred diameters,
c, after Brunchorst. Magnified one thousand diameters.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 545

V. Experiments with Eoot Crops.

The importance quite generally conceded to the introduc-
tion of a liberal cultivation of root crops in a mixed farm
management, wherever a deep soil and the general character
of the climate favors their normal development, rests mainly
on the following consideration : They furnish an exception-
ally large amount of valuable vegetable matter, fit for fodder
for various kinds of farm live stock, competing in this direc-
tion favorably with our best green fodder crops ; and they
pay well, on account of large returns, for the necessary care
bestowed upon them by a thorough, deep cultivation to meet
success.

The physical condition of the soil, however favorable it
may have been for the production of crops of a similar char-
acter, will suffer if year after year the same system of culti-
vation is carried out. Diversity in the mechanical treatment
of the soil, and change of season for such treatment, cannot
otherwise but affect advantageously its mechanical condition
and the degree of its chemical disintegration, promoting
thereby its fitness for developing inherent plant food, as well
as its power of turning to account atmospheric resources of
plant growth. The roots of the same plants abstract their
food year after year from the same layer of soil, while a
change of crops with reference to a difierent root system
renders it possible to make all parts of the agricultural soil
contribute in a desirable succession towards an economical
production of the crops to be raised. Deep-rooting plants,
like our prominent root crops, for this reason deserve a par-
ticular consideration in the planning of a rational system of
rotation of crops.

To raise roots the second year, after a liberal application
of coarse barn-yard manure, or the turning over of grass
lands with the assistance of some commercial phosphatic
fertilizer in the interests of a timely maturity, is highly
recommended by practical cultivators of sugar beets. To
stimulate in the roots the production of the largest possible
amount of sugar and starch must be the object of the culti-
vator, for these two constituents of roots control, more than
any other one, their increase in solids.

546 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Root crops, although somewhat peculiar in their compo-
sition when compared with many of our prominent fodder
articles, have proved a very valuable constituent in the diet
of various kinds of farm live stock, when properly supple-
mented by hay, grain, oil cake, bran, etc., as circumstances
may advise. Our experience at the Experiment Station con-
firms fully the valuable services of roots as an ingredient of
fodder rations for milch cows. (For details on this point,
see " Feeding Experiments with Milch Cows," in our fourth
and fifth annual reports.)

The encouragement received on that occasion has served
as an inducement to continue our work in this direction.
The aim has been to experiment with the best varieties of
roots at our disposal. The preceding annual report contains
a short sketch of the field work carried out during the year
1887. The difierent varieties of roots raised had been
photographed, and copies taken by the heliotype process
accompanied the report. The discussion of their composi-
tion and of their comparative agricultural value had to be
left for a later date, on account of the closing up of the
annual report before that work was finished. The same
course we are obliged to pursue, for the same reason, in
regard to our field experiments with root crops during
the late season (1888). Our present communication com-
prises, first, the analyses of roots raised in 1887 ; and second,
a description of the work carried on in the field with difier-
ent varieties of valuable roots for feeding purposes.

1. Analyses of Roots raised upon the Lands of the Station
in 1887.
The seeds used in our experiments were sent on by the
United States Department of Agriculture, with the excep-
tion of No. 7, — Saxony sugar beet, — which was taken from
our collection of imported seeds. The field work was
planned with a view to ascertain the general character and
the particular composition of the difierent varieties of roots
on trial, when raised, as far as practicable, under corre-
sponding circumstances with reference to the peculiarity of
season, the quality of soil, the system of manuring and the
mode of cultivation.

1889.-] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4. 547

The land consisted of a good loam in a fair condition of
fertilization. It has been manured for several years past,
annually, with a mixture consisting of six hundred pounds
of fine-ground bone and two hundred pounds of muriate of
potash per acre. The seeds, ten varieties in all, were sown
May 25. Each variety occupied two rows across the field,
of equal length (eighty feet).

No. 1. Beet, Mangel Wurzel, " Giant Long Red."

2. Beet, Mangel Wurzel, "Yellow Ovoid."

3. Beet, " Eclipse."

4. Beet, "Red Globe."

6. Beet, " Egyptian Turnip."

6. Beet, " Long Smooth Red."

7. Beet, " Saxony " Sugar Beet.

8. Turnip, Ruta-baga, " White Sweet German."

9. Turnip, " Early Yellow," or " Golden Stone."
10. Turnip, Ruta-baga, " Skirving's Purple Top."

The rows were three feet three inches apart. The young
plants were in every case thinned out or transplanted, as
circumstances advised, to about eight inches distant from
each other in the rows.

The transplanting and thinning out took place between
July 5 and 11 ; the weather during this time was favorable
for transplanting. The seeds of Nos. 6 and 9 did not prove
as good as the others ; the young plants of Nos. 5 and 9, in
particular, did not do as well after transplanting as the re-
mainder.

The crop was harvested between October 31 and November
2. The roots, after being removed from the ground, were
topped, and three of each kind were taken to the laboratory
for a chemical examination, while three of an approximately
corresponding size were photographed.

The three sample roots selected in each case represented,
as far as practicable, the smallest, medium and largest of
each variety raised.

The specimens selected for our fodder analyses were kept
in the cellar, slightly covered with moist earth, until wanted
for the chemical examination.

The photographs were taken in every case with the roots
at an equal distance from the camera. (See illustrations,
pages 148-150, in our last annual report.)

548

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jc

Statement of Field Results.

NAME OF VARIETT.

1. Mangel Wurzel, "Giant Long Red," .

2. Mangel Wurzel, "Yellow Ovoid," .

3. Beet, " Eclipse,"

4. Beet, " Red Globe,"

6. Beet, " Egyptian Turnip," . . . .

6. Beet, " Long Smooth Red," . . . .

7. Sugar Beet, "Saxony,"

8. Ruta-baga, " White Sweet German,"

9. Turnip, "Early Yellow," or " Golden Stone,
10. Rula-baga, "Skirving'a Purple Top," .

350
285
335
170
185
314
445
50
295

9.76
4.
7.5
8.76
6.

8.76
4.
5.6
12.75

Beets.

[I. Mangel Wurzel, "Giant Long Red," weight, 2 lbs. II. Mangel Wurzel,
" Yellow Ovoid," weight, 2 lbs. 3 oz. III. " Eclipse," weight, 1 lb. 4 oz.]

Pkb Cbkt.

I.

II.

IIL

Moisture at 100° C, . . . .
Dry matter,

86.92
13.08

87.66
12.34

Not
detei-mined.'

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

" cellulose,

" fat,

" protein (nitrogenous matter),

Non-nitrogenous extract matter,

100.00

8.35

9.54

.90

7.83
73.38

100 00

11.01

7.21

1.01

10.45

70.32

8.86

4.29

.85

10.09

75.91

100 00

100.00

100.00

The sample had suffered a loss in original moisture from exposure.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

549

Fertilizing Ingredients in the Above Beets.

Pke Cent.

I.

11.

in.

Moisture at 100" C,

86.92

87.66

-

Nitrogen, .

.171

.206

.282

Phosphoric acid, .

.102

.085

.156

Potassium oxide,

.305

.462

.587

Calcium oxide, .

.064

.059

.062

Magnesium oxide.

.047

.031

.045

Sodium oxide.

.145

.105

.055

Ferric oxide,

.006

.004

.005

Insoluble matter.

.028

.018

.043

Valuation per 2,000 lbs.,

$0 94

$1 17

11 62

Beets.
[IV. " Red Globe," weight, 1 lb. 2 oz. V. " Egyptian Turnip," weight, 1 lb. 2 oz.

VI. " Long Smooth Red,'

weight, 1 lb

10 oz.]

Pek Cint.

IV.

V.

VI.

Moisture at 100° C, .

86.95

85.80

85.49

Dry matter,

13.05

14.20

14.51

100.00

100.00

100.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.

Crude ash,

10.57

5.80

8.99

" cellulose,

4.52

6.23

5.47

" fat,

1.76

.82

.79

" pi*otein (nitrogenous matter),

12.17

7.82

11.80

Non-nitrogenous extract matter,

70.98

79.33

72.95

100.00

100.00

100.00

550

BOARD OF AGEICULTURE.

[j£

Fertilizing Ingredients in the Above Beets.

Pbb Cent.

rv.

V.

VI.

Moisture at 100* C,

86.95

85.80

85.49

Nitrogen, .

.264

.177

.236

Phosphoric acid,

.079

.070

.087

Potassium oxide.

.525

.303

.377

Calcium oxide, .

.044

.049

.040

Magnesium oxide,

.025

.035

.044

Sodium oxide, .

.110

.061

.099

Ferric oxide.

.004

.002

.003

Insoluble matter,

.013

.018

.028

Valuation per 2,000 lbs., .

$1 42

$0 92

*1 20

Moisture at 100° C.
Dry matter,

Sugar Beet.
[VII. " Saxony," weight, 1 lb. 11 oz.]

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

" cellulose,

" fat

" protein (nitrogenous matter), .
Non-nitrogenous extract matter.

Per cenL

83.32

16.68

100.00

5.09

6.81

.39

7.32

81.39

Fertilizing Ingredients in Stigar Beet.
Moisture at 100° C.
Nitrogen,
Phosphoric acid.
Potassium oxide
Calcium oxide.
Magnesium oxide
Sodium oxide.
Ferric oxide.
Insoluble matter.
Valuation per 2,000 lbs

100.00

83.32
.209
.136
.383
.052
.034
.113
.025
.032

$1 18

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

551

TUKNIPS.

[VIII. Ruta-baga, " White Sweet German," weight, 2 lbs. 2 oz. IX. " Early Yel-
low" or "Golden Stone," weight, 14 oz. X. Rnta-baga, " Skirving's Purple
Top," weight, 2 lbs. 11 oz.]

Per Cent.

vin.

tr.

X.

Moisture at 100° C, .

87.23

87.20

88.40

Dry matter,

12.77

12.80

11.60

100.00

100.00

100.00

Analysis of Dry Matter.
Crude ash,

8.81

8.01

9.24

" cellulose,

11.04

10.96

11.60

" fat,

1.23

1.42

2.32

" protein (nitrogenous matter), .

10.34

10.81

11.16

Non-nitrogenous extract matter.

68.58

68.80

65.68

100.00

100.00

100.00

Fertilizing Ingredients in the Above

Turnips.

Pbb Cknt.

vni.

IX.

X.

Moisture at 100° C,

87.23

87.20

88.40

Nitrogen, .

.211

.221

.207

Phosphoric acid, .

.136

.116

.125

Potassium oxide,

.646

.412

.452

Calcium oxide, .

.106

.117

.080

Magnesium oxide,

.030

.033

.027

Sodium oxide, .

.051

.133

.141

Ferric oxide,

.002

.009

.004

Insoluble matter,

.001

.072

.017

Valuation per 2,000 lbs..

fl 32

fl 22

fl 21

The closing months of the summer season of 1887 were
marked by an exceptional amount of rainfall. The serious
influence of that circumstance showed itself in various direc-

552

BOAED OF AGRICULTUEE.

[Jan.

tions in our vicinity. Some crops in low localities suffered
more or less a premature decay, others did not reach their
full maturity in due time. Our root crop, judging from the
results of our examination, evidently did not reach its full
perfection on account of the exceptional wetness of the latter
part of the growing season. The moderate amount of dry
vegetable matter found in the well-studied variety of Saxony
sugar beet, as well as the large proportion of the nitrogen
most of them contained in other combinations than in that
of true albuminoid substances, entitle to that conclusion.
Root crops are commonly reported to contain on an average
from thirty-five to forty-five per cent, of their nitrogen in
other and less valued combinations than the typical albu-
minous matter or the genuine protein substances. An ex-
amination of the subsequent tabular statement of some tests
in that direction shows that our roots, as far as they have
been submitted to an actual observation (1-7), contained
from fifty-two to seventy per cent, of their nitrogen in
various combinations quite generally considered of less
nutritive value than the group of typical albuminous sub-
stances. The last-named class of compounds reaches usually
its highest attainable proportions in a plant or part of a
plant at the state of maturity.

Determination of Albuminoid Nitrogen m Roots raised upon
THE Fields of the Station.

Per Cent.

Total
Nitrogen.

Albuminoid
Nitrogen.

Non-
Albuminoid

Nitrogen.

Root No. 1,

"2,

"3,

"4

"5

"6,

"7

1.20
1.61
1.53

1.90
1.20
1.81
1.25

0.58
0.55

0.56
0.57
0.58
0.51
0.60

0.62
1.06
0.97
1.33
0.62
1.30
0.66

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 553

The various kinds of roots usually raised on farms for
feeding purposes diiier essentially in regard to the amount,
of dry vegetable matter they contain. Turnips contain from
seven to eight per cent. ; ordinary mangolds from eleven to
twelve per cent. ; improved varieties of beet roots, like
Lane's, from fifteen to sixteen per cent. ; good carrots from
fourteen to fifteen per cent. ; a good sugar beet from eigh-
teen to twenty per cent, of solids ; or, in other words, one
ton of an improved variety of good sugar beets is equal to
from two to two and one-half tons of ordinary turnips, as
far as the amount of dry vegetable matter is concerned.

Modes of cultivation and of manuring exert a decided in-
fluence in this direction on the composition of the roots.
Large roots of the same variety contain quite frequently less
solid matter than the smaller ones. Close cultivation in the
rows, in connection with the use of well-decomposed manu-
rial matter as fertilizer, tends to produce good results.

The difierence in the amount of solids, as far as each kind
of root is concerned, is otherwise due, in the majority of
cases, to a more or less perfect maturity. A liberal manur-
ing with potash and nitrogen, in connection with a scanty
supply of phosphoric acid, is frequently the cause of imma-
tured roots at the ordinary harvest time.

2. Field Observations with Root Crops in 1888.
The field used for the work was of the same character as
in the preceding trial. It represents a part of field " D " on
our records, and is 328 feet long and 70 feet wide. The
main field runs from east to west, and the rows run in all
cases from south to north. The soil consists of a deep,
sandy loam, and has been fertilized for several years annu-
ally with the same fertilizer, six hundred pounds of fine-
ground bones and two hundred pounds of muriate of potash
per acre. Some of the land has been used before for the
raising of root crops. It was ploughed in the autumn, 1887,
and again on April 26, 1888. The fertilizer was applied
April 30, in the customary way, broadcast, and slightly
harrowed in before planting. The rows were seventy feet
long and three feet three inches apart. The seed was taken
partly from our own imported stock of previous years, and

554 BOAKD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.

partly chosen from varieties sent on by the United States
Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C. The fol-
lowing varieties were seeded May 17 and 19 : —

Bows.

No. 1. Excelsior Sugar Beet, 15

2. Improved Imperial Sugar Beet, 6

3. Vilmorin Sugar Beet, 14

4. Lane's Sugar Beet, 9

5. New Market Gardener Beet (red), 1

6. Eclipse Beet (red) , 1

7. Osbom's Selected Beet (red), 1

8. Yellow Danver's Carrot, 90

One row was planted with Saxony sugar beet, from our
crop of 1887, for the purpose of raising seeds for our own
consumption during the coming season.

The young plants appeared in all cases above ground
May 28 ; they were in every instance, whenever necessary,
thinned out to have them eight inches apart in the rows ;
none were transplanted.

The average number of roots in a row was at the end of
the season as follows : —

Plants.

Excelsior Sugar Beet, 89

Improved Imperial Sugar Beet, 96

Vilmorin Sugar Beet, 119

Lane's Sugar Beet, 105

New Market Gardener Beet, 67

Eclipse Beet, 118

Osbom's Selected Beet, 122

The entire yield of each of these varieties of beet roots
without tops amounted to, —

1,870 pounds in fifteen rows of Excelsior.
1,070 pounds in six rows of Improved Imperial.
3,355 pounds in fourteen rows of Vilmorin.
1,250 pounds in nine rows of Lane's.

125 pounds in one row of New Market Gardener.

150 poimds in one row of Eclipse.

130 pounds in one row of Osbom's Selected.

The Vilmorin sugar beet exceeds in our case in yield all
other sugar beets, allowing an equal number of rows with an
equal number of plants. The yield per acre, with rows
three feet and three inches apart, at our rate of production
would amount to 22.95 tons.

No. I. Saxony Sugar Beet, raised

No. 2. Excelsior Sugar Beet, raised

No. 3. Improved Imperial Sugar Beet, raised 1888.

No. 6. New Market Gardener Beet, raised li

J0^

No. 7. Eclipse Beet (red), raised i{

No. 8. Osborn's Selected Beet (red), raised \i

No. 9. Danver's Carrot (yellow), raised 1888.

fz/vr/wCo, 57<rf f

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

555

The crop was harvested October 22. The entire season
was remarkable for its exceptional coolness in July, and its
abundance of rain. The leaves retained even to the time of
harvesting a considerable degree of vitality.

Carrots (Danver's Yellow) . — This crop occupied an area
of 109 by 70 feet; the field was manured in the same way
and with the same quantity of fine-ground bones and muriate
of potash as the one which served for the raising of the
above-mentioned varieties of roots. The soil was in both
instances practically of a corresponding character, and in a
corresponding state of fertilization. The seed was planted
in rows, fourteen inches apart, June 1. The young plants
appeared above ground June 17 ; the crop was kept clean
from weeds by the use of the hand and the cultivator. The
roots were harvested October 31 ; they amounted to 6,850
pounds, or 137 bushels, at 50 pounds each, which is equal
to 19.52 tons per acre.

Samples of all the varieties of roots raised at the Station
have been carefully collected and at once photographed, to
present a concise idea of their peculiarity, as far as their
exterior is concerned. Analyses of each kind will be pre-
sented later on. Three samples of every variety, represent-
ing the largest, middle and smallest size of each, served the
photographer. The picture was in each case taken at a
corresponding distance, to allow comparison of size. The
weisrht of each is also stated.

Tabular Statement of Weights

OF Roots

PHOTOGRAPHED.

Largest.

Medium.

Smallest.

Picture No. 1. Saxony Sugar Beet,*

-

_

-

" 2. Eicelsior Sugar Beet,

2 lbs. 14 oz.

lib. 15 oz.

1 lb. 5 oz.

" 3. Improved Imperial Sugar Beet,

4 " 4 "

2 .. 4 «

1 " 5 "

" 4. Vilmorin Sugar Beet,

6 <■ 0 "

2 " 7 "

1 " 2 "

" 5. Lane's Sugar Beet

2 " 15 "

1 " 9 "

1 " 7 "

" 6. New Market Gardener Beet, .

4 .. 7 ..

3 " 14 "

1 " 14 "

" 7. Eclipse Beet

2 " 11 "

1 " 13 "

0 «' 12 "

•• 8, Osborn'i Selected Beet, .

2 '• 11 "

1 " 9 "

1 " 2 "

" 9. Danver'a Carrot

0 " 13 "

0 " 11 "

0 " 8 "

Total weight of 3 sizes, 8 lbs. 12 oz.

556 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

VI. Notes on Miscellaneous Field Work.

Aside from the strictly experimental work on our older
field, much preparatory work has been carried on during the
past year on our more recent addition of lands. The older
field, which has been for six years under our control, is
located along the west side of the highway leading from
Amherst to North Amherst ; it covers an area of about twenty
acres, including the grounds occupied by the present build-
ings of the Experiment Station. The more recent addition
of lands (1886) is located along the east side of the high-
way ; it covers an area of thirty acres, of which ten acres
are occupied by a natural forest growth. The entire field
forms the western slope of a prominent elevation. Most of
the cultivated portion, which consisted of old grass lands,
is gradually slanting towards the north-west, while a con-
siderable portion of it is nearly on a level, with a slight
depression towards the north. The entire area, consisting
essentially of a good gravelly loam, admits of a satisfactory
management of the work to be carried on upon it. The
steeper portion along the wood land will be used for experi-
ments with large and small fruits, the adjoining part towards
the west for experiments with general farm crops, and the
more level western termination for permanent grass lands.
This plan for its future use was adopted after taking posses-
sion of the grounds in 1886.

As the lands along the slope are somewhat springy, and
as its lower portion has at times to convey to the north a
considerable amount of water coming from adjoining southern
hillsides, a thorough system of underdraining was at once
devised, and in its essential direction carried out, before any
of the sod was turned over. Subsequently, during the
autumn of 1886, the northern end of the entire field, to the
extent of twelve acres, was ploughed ; while the ploughing
of the southern terminus of the field, comprising eight acres
of old grass land, was for financial considerations reserved
for a year later (1887).

The ploughed lands were thoroughly treated with a wheel
harrow during the succeeding spring, before planting. Wood

1889. J PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 557

ashes, at the rate of one ton per acre, was the only fertilizer
used during the first season. This mode of manuring these
lands was adopted for the purpose of assisting in a rapid de-
composition of a rank growth, and of bringing the soil, as
far as practicable, to a corresponding state of fertilization
in the interest of future experiments. A variety of crops
was subsequently planted, with the main aim to secure, in
every instance, a thorough mechanical working of the soil
by drill cultivation or by the use of the hoe. Several
varieties of barley and of oats, corn, potatoes, squashes, and
a variety of other garden crops, occupied the field. The
periodical stirring of the soil promised to free the land from
a foul growth, which in the course of time naturally over-
runs old grass lands.

During the month of September about seven acres of
the entire cultivated area were prepared for a permanent
meadow, and seeded down with a mixture of herd's grass
and red-top ; some varieties of clover were added the suc-
ceeding spring (1888).

The southern end of the field, which had still served, as
above stated, for the production of hay, was turned over
late in the season, to be prepared during the succeeding
spring for future experiments in the same manner as the
north end.

1888. — The preparatory work has been contiimed in all
parts of this field. The exceptional rainfall has seriously
tested the capacity of our drain tiles ; they have stood the
test, on the whole, satisfactorily. Needed alterations have
been attended to, and the prospects are that no further
serious trouble may be expected. No fertilizers but wood
ashes have been used thus far. Drill cultivation has been
generally adopted, to assist in future cultivation. Several
acres of oats, barley and corn have been raised, to assist in
the support of feeding experiments. The permanent grass
lands have been increased here to j&-om nine to ten acres.
Definite grass mixtures have been used as seed, to test their
respective merits in our locality. The results will be care-
fully watched, from a botanical as well as from an economical
stand-point. An orchard will be laid out during the coming
year.

558 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. [Jan.

The subsequent statement contains an enumeration of the
principal crops raised in different parts of the farm, on lands
either permanently assigned for the production of fodder
for the live stock of the Station, or engaged in a course of
preparation for future experiments : —

Tons

Good English hay, 23

Rowen, . 9

Com stover, 3J

Corn fodder, 4^

Roots (carrots and sugar beets) , 7

Oats (grain and straw), 4 J

Barley (grain and straw), 2

Green fodder (vetch, oats and cow-pea), 4|

Crops for ensilage (corn, 9 J tons ; Soja bean, cow-pea and Hun-
garian grass, 3| tons), 13

Potatoes (mainly Beauty of Hebron, Early Rose and Polaris), 260 bush.

From four to five acres of Southern cow-pea, Soja bean,
horse bean, lupine and buckwheat have been subjected to
drill cultivation, for the purpose of renovating old grass
lands and to serve ultimately as green manure.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4. 559

KEW LAWS

RE&ULATION OF THE SALE OF COfflERCIAL FERTILIZERS.

Work in the Chemical Department.

I. Fertilizer Laws and Fertilizer Analyses.
II. Miscellaneous Analyses.

The Legislature of 1888, at the suggestion of the State
Board of Agriculture, has enacted a new law, entitled, " An
Act to regulate the Sale of Commercial Fertilizers," chapter
296. This Act, which has been in operation since Sept. 1,
1888, assigns the supervision of the sale of commercial fer-
tilizers to the director of the Massachusetts State Agricul-
tural Experiment Station at Amherst, Mass.

The provisions of the Act are as follows : —

[Chap. 296.]

An Act to regulate the sale of commercial fertilizers.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Every lot or parcel of commercial fertilizer or
material used for manurial purposes, sold, offered or exposed for
sale within this Commonwealth, the retail price of which is ten
dollars or more per ton, shall be accompanied by 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 manu-
facturer or importer, the place of manufacture, and a chemical
analysis stating the percentage of nitrogen or its equivalent in
ammonia, of potash soluble in distilled water, and of phosphoric
acid in available form soluble in distilled water and reverted, as
well as the total phosphoric acid. In the case of those fertiUzers

560 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

which consist of other and cheaper materials, said label shall give
a correct general statement of the composition and ingredients of
the fertilizer it accompanies.

Sect. 2. Before any commercial fertilizer, the retail price of
which is ten dollars or more per ton, is sold, offered or exposed for
sale, the impoi'ter, manufacturer or party who causes it to be sold
or offered for sale within the state of Massachusetts, shall file with
the director of the Massachusetts agricultural experiment station,
a certified copy of the statement named in section one of this act,
and shall also deposit with said director at his request a sealed
glass jar or bottle, containing not less than one pound of the fer-
tilizer, accompanied by an affidavit that it is a fair average sample
thereof.

Sect. 3. The manufacturer, importer, agent or seller of any
brand of commercial fertilizer or material used for manurial pur-
poses, the retail price of which is ten dollars or more per ton, shall
pay for each brand, on or before the first day of May annually, to
the director of the Massachusetts agricultural experiment station,
an analysis fee of five dollars for each of the three following fertiliz-
ing ingredients, namely, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium,
contained or claimed to exist in said brand or fertilizer : provided^
that whenever the manufacturer or importer shall have paid the
fee herein required for any person acting as agent or seller for
such manufacturer or importer, such agent or seller shall not be
required to pay the fee named in this section ; and on receipt of said
analysis fees and statement specified in section two, the director
of said station shall issue certificates of compliance with this act.

Sect. 4. No person shall sell, offer or expose for sale in the
state of Massachusetts, any pulverized leather, raw, steamed,
roasted, or in any form as a fertilizer, or as an ingredient of any fer-
tilizer or manure, without an explicit printed certificate of the fact,
said certificate to be conspicuously affixed to every package of
such fertilizer or manure, and to accompany or go with every
parcel or lot of the same.

Sect. 5. Any person selling, or offering or exposing for sale,
any commercial fertilizer without the statement required by the first
section of this act, or with a label stating that said fertilizer con-
tains a larger percentage of any one or more of the constituents
mentioned in said section than is contained therein, or respecting
the sale of which all the provisions of the foregoing section have
not been fully complied with, shall forfeit fifty dollars for the first
offence and one hundred dollars for each subsequent offence.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 561

Sect. 6. This act shall not affect parties manufacturing, im-
porting or purchasing fertilizers for their own use, and not to sell
in this state.

Sect. 7. The director of the Massachusetts agricultural experi-
ment station shall pay the analysis fees, as soon as received by
him, into the treasury of the station, and shall cause one analysis
or more of each fertilizer or material used for manurial purposes
to be made annually, and publish the results monthly, with such
additional information as circumstances advise : provided^ such in-
formation relates only to the composition of the fertilizer or fertil-
izing material inspected. Said director is hereby authoi-ized in
person or by deputy to take a sample, not exceeding two pounds
in weight, for analysis, from any lot or package of fertilizer or any
material used for manurial purposes which may be in the posses-
sion of any manufacturer, importer, agent or dealer ; but said
sample shall be di'awn in presence of said party or parties in in-
terest or their representative, and taken from a number of packages
which shall be not less than ten per cent, of the whole lot inspected,
and shall be thoroughly mixed and then divided into two equal
samples, and placed in glass vessels and carefully sealed and a
label placed on each, stating the name or brand of the fertilizer or
material sampled, the name of the party from whose stools the
sample was drawn, and the time and place of drawing ; and said
label shall also be signed by the director or his deputy and by the
party or parties in interest or their representatives present at the
drawing and sealing of said samples ; one of said duplicate samples
shall be retained by the director and the other by the party whose
stock was sampled. All parties violating this act shall be prose-
cuted by the director of said station ; but it shall be the duty of
said director, upon ascertaining any violation of this act, to forth-
with notify the manufacturer or importer in writing, and give him
not less than thirty days thereafter in which to comply with the re-
quirements of this act, but there shall be no prosecution in relation
to the quality of the fertilizer or fertilizing material if the same
shall be made substantially equivalent to the statement of analysis
made by the manufacturer or importer.

Sect. 8. Sections eleven to sixteen inclusive of chapter sixty of
the Public Statutes are hereby repealed.

Sect. 9. This act shall take effect on the first day of Septem-
ber in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-eight. \_A'[yproved
May 5, 1888.

562 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The above-stated regulations are now in force, and a
compliance with them is imperative on all manufacturers,
importers, agents or sellers of any brand of commercial
fertilizer or of any material used for manurial purposes, the
retail selling price of which is ten dollars or more per ton.

It will be noticed that the new provisions for the control
of the trade in fertilizers in Massachusetts apply not only,
as heretofore, to a certain class of more or less compound,
distinct brands of commercial fertilizerg, but to all materials,
single or compound, used for manurial purposes, without
regard to source, when offered for sale at ten dollars or
more per ton.

The official report of analyses and of all materials used
for manurial purposes, which are sold in this State under a
certificate of compliance with the present laws for the regu-
lation of the trade in these articles, has been restricted to a
statement of chemical composition, and to such additional
information as relates to the former. This change, it is
expected, will tend to direct the attention of the consumer
of fertilizers more towards the composition of the different
brands of fertilizers ofiered for sale.

The practice of affixing to each analysis of this class of
fertilizers an approximate commercial valuation per ton of
their principal constituents has, therefore, been discon-
tinued. Those who are not yet familiar with the current
market value of fertilizing constituents may benefit by a
short discussion of that subject at the close of this chapter.

The approximate market value of different brands of
fertilizers, obtained by the current mode of valuation, does
not express their respective agricultural value, i.e., their
crop-producing value. The higher or lower market price of
different brands of fertilizer does not necessarily stand in a
direct relation to their particular fitness, without any refer-
ence to the particular condition of the soil to be treated, and
the special wants of the crop to be raised by their assistance.
To select judiciously from among the various brands of fer-
tilizers ofiered for patronage requires in the main two kinds
of information ; namely, we ought to feel confident that the
particular brand of fertilizer in question contains the guaran-
teed quantities and qualities of essential articles of plant

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 563

food at a reasonable cost, and that it contains them in such
form and in such proportions as will best meet existing
circumstances and special wants. In some instances it may-
be mainly either phosphoric acid or nitrogen or potash ; in
others, two of them ; and in others again, all three.

A remunerative use of commercial fertilizers can only be
secured by attending carefully to the previously stated con-
siderations.

The new duties assigned to the director of the Station
render it necessary to discriminate in the future, in official
publications of the results of analyses of commercial fertili-
zers and of manurial substances in general, between analyses
of samples collected by a duly qualified delegate of the
Experiment Station, in conformity with the rules prescribed
by the new laws, and those analyses which are made of
samples sent on for that purpose by outside parties. In
regard to the former alone can the director assume the re-
sponsibility of a carefully prepared sample, and of the
identity of the article in question.

More detailed information in this connection, regarding
the duties of the director of the Massachusetts State
Agricultural Experiment Station, and the obligations of
the manufacturers, dealers and agents engaged in the sale
of commercial fertilizers or materials used for nianurial
purposes, may be obtained by addressing the director at
Amherst, Mass. Copies of the above-printed Act may be
had on application.

564

BOAUD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

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WilUams & Clark Co., New York City, N. Y., .
Prentiss, Brooks & Co., Holyoke, Mass.,

Bradley Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass., .

Crocker Fertilizer and Chemical Co., BufiFalo, N. Y.,

Mapes Formula and Peruvian Guano Co., New York C

Bowker Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass., .

Benj. Randall, Boston, Mass..

Crocker Fertilizer and Chemical Co., Buffalo, N. Y.,
Standard Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass., .
American Manufacturing Co., Boston, Mass.,
L. B. Darling Fertilizer Co., Pawtucket, R. I., .

Hargrave Manufacturing Co., Fall River, Mass., .

1

•♦ Americus " Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,
" Americus " Potato Fertilizer, ....
H. L. Phelps' Complete Manure; Guano and Potash,

H. L. Phelps' Phosphate

H. L. Phelps' Complete Manure for Com and Grain,
Bradley's XL Superphosphate of Lime, .
Crocker's Potato, Tobacco and Hop Phosphate, .

Mapes' Com Manure,

Mapes' Potato Manure

Bowker's Hill and Drill Phosphate,
Stockbridge's Manure for Vegetables, .
Randall's Combined Bone and Potash, .
Crocker's Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,

Standard Superphosphate

Allen Fertilizer,

Darling's Animal Fertilizer,

Swan Island Guano,

Hargrave's Ground Bone,

Cotton-seed Hull Ashes,

Cotton-seed Hull Ashes

^c,«^o«»oc22:2SSS;?5g85SS

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

565

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BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

567

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568

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

15-

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111

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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

569

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9.35
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10.93
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1

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10-14
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1

•paajnoaeno

8.2-9.9

2-3
2.1-2.8
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2-4

2-3
4.1-5.8

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3.26
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10.76
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12.67
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14.43
9.33
17.65
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7.73
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14.46
15.78
13.90
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i
1

......

Bradley's Dry Fish Guano, ....
Americus Ammoniated Bone Superphosphate,

Bay State Fertilizer,

Ames' Bone Fertilizer

Common Sense Fertilizer, ....

Lowell Bone Fertilizer

Jefferds' Animal Fertilizer, ....
Crocker's Potato, Hop and Tobacco Phosphate, .

Orient Complete Manure,

Adams' Market Bone Fertilizer,
E. Frank Coe's Potato Fertilizer, .
Chittenden's Complete Tobacco Fertilizer,
N. Ward's Ilijrh Grade Animal Fertilizer,

Mayo's Superphosphate,

Whittemoro Bros.' Fertilizer, ....
Economic Fertilizer, No. 3, . . .
CleveLmd Supcr|)hosphate, ....

Lister's Success Fertilizer

Williams cSi Clark Co.'s Potato Phosphate, .
Bradley's XL Superphosphate,
Pacific Guano Co.'s Fish and Potash,
Cotton-seed Hull Ashes.f

OK XiojBJoqsT

*?;^3g§53Sfe«S22|2gg|^?3|| 11

570

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

H

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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

571

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572

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

rJan.

• o

a>73 -

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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

573

II

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2.5-3.5
5-6

7.5

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2-3
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10
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2.81
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9.53
10.66
12.26
7.86
5.72
4.65
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t

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6-8
9-11
18-20

7.25-9.25
10-12
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12-14
10-12
10-12
10-12
27-30
8-10
5-6
2-4

•pnnoj

13.53

10.22
10.72
23.60
6.58
5.90
6.98
10.52
8.90
4.77
10.99
10.59
13.63
15.20
29.54
11.19
5.00
4.83

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6.40

4.61
2.59
16.14
3.77

o.lo

2.92
6.22
1.08
7.52
1.06
2.97
2.94
21.68
5.47
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2.91

1.67
2.23
5.91
2.31
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4.90
2.30
2.21
2 75
0.93
2.38
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4.22

3.94

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1.60

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3.71

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8.24-9.89

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0.8-2-1.82

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1.32
1.73
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12.81

15.23
10.38
16.27
7.63
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10.47
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23.59
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12.62
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26.48
11.68

1

.S

Stockbridge's Manure for Seeding Down,
Stockbridge's Manure for Grass, Top Drc

Forage Crops,

Stockbridge's Manure for Potatoes, .
Seeding Down Fertilizer,
Qumnipiac Dry Ground Fish,
Baker's Complete Grass Manure, .
Baker's Special Corn Fertilizer, .
Darling's Animal Fertilizer, .
Brightinan's Dry Ground Fish Guano,
Bright man's Fish and Potash,
Dow's Grass Fertilizer,
Farmers' New Method Fertilizer,
The Lawrence Fertilizer,
The Lawrence Fertilizer,
Jefferds* Finfe Ground Bone, .
Adams' Market lione Fertilizer, .
Church's Fish and Potash, .
Economic No. 1,

osf jTio^woqBi

2i5 S?^^^^:;?Sl§2S^f£S8S§8g

574

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[J.

2 ^ lo . . .|

^ § ^ •> -a 2 ■•= "^ « .2

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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

575

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576

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

n. — Analysis of Commercial Fertilizers and Manuk-
lAL Substances sent on for Examination.

Wood Ashes.
[ I. Sent on from Ipswich, Mass. II. and III. Sent on from Concord, Mass ]

Pek Cent.

I.

II.

III.

Moisture at 100° C,

4.24

14.50

14.13

Calcium oxide,

38.30

33.34

33.45

Magnesium oxide,

2.82

3.83

3.39

Potassium oxide,

2.55

5.76

6.32

Phosphoric acid,

1.83

1.28

1.40

Insoluble matter (before calcination).

21.58

14.96

14.83

Insoluble matter (after calcination), .

19.81

9.95

11.67

Sample I. contains but one-half the amount of potash of
an ordinary quality of Canada wood ash. Samples II. and
m. are of a good quality, and correspond fairly with the
guaranty of the dealer. The question has been repeatedly
asked, on what basis to adjust differences between a stated
guaranty of composition and the actual results of an analysis
of a sample of wood ash. Our answer has been, in these
cases, to allow 5| cents for every pound of potassium oxide
and 6 cents for every pound of phosphoric acid which the
analysis shows to be less than the guaranty states to be
present.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

577

Wood Ashes.

[I. Sent on from Amherst, Mass. II. Sent on from Amherst, Mass. III. Sent on
by F. H. Greeley, Salisbury, Mass. IV. Sent on by J. D. W. French, North
Andover, Mass.]

Per Cent.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . .

8.67

19.14

7.29

17.14

Phosphoric acid,

1.25

1.72

3.09

5.04

Calcium oxide,

39.06

30.16

45.22

35.69

Potassium oxide,

5.38

4.76

4.37

4.22

Magnesium oxide, ....

2.88

3.04

4.27

6.45

Lisoluble matter (before calcination),

17.42

21.72

18.14

17.47

Insoluble matter (after calcination), .

8.79

13.45

11.23

12.19

[V. Sent on by C. F. Clark, Boston, Mass. VI. Sent on by Coolidge Bros., South
Sudbury, Mass. VII. and VIII. Sent on by Fred L. Ames, Boston, Mass.]

Per Cent.

V-

VI.

VII.

vm.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . .

4.94

4.41

12.33

8.20

Phosphoric acid,

1.54

1.28

1.54

1.87

Calcium oxide,

31.70

35.50

34.17

40.15

Potassium oxide,

4.80

4.76

4.39

4.70

Magnesium oxide, ....

4.58

4.87

3.26

4.42

Insoluble matter (before calcination).

20.85

9.64

15.37

20.55

Insoluble matter (after calcination), .

18.57

6.10

12.19

18.33

578

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Wood Ashes.

[I. Sent on by F. H. "Williams, Sunderland, Mass. 11. Sent on by C. H. Thomp-
son & Co., Boston, Mass. III. and IV. Sent on from Amherst, Mass.]

n.

in.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . .

Phosphoric acid,

Magnesium oxide, ....

Calcium oxide,

Potassium oxide,

Insoluble matter (before calcination),
Insoluble matter (after calcination) , .

8.31
1.65
2.41

37.39
7.78

10.93
6.15

2.57

1.53

5.29

26.94

7.95

17.44

15.66

8.67
1.25
2.88

39.06
5.38

17.42
8.79

19.14
1.72
3.04

30.16
4.76

21.76

13.45

Wood Ashes.

[ I. Sent on by S. M. Farnsworth, Harvard, Mass. II. Sent on by J. J. H. Gregory,

Marblehead, Mass. III. Sent on by D. G. Lang, Concord, Mass.]

Feb Cent.

I.

II.

in.

Moisture at 100° C,

16.51

2.76

22.07

Phosphoric acid,

1.37

3.09

0.48

Magnesium oxide,

4.03

2.84

3.48

Calcium oxide,

32.54

32.03

29.11

Potassium oxide,

5.07

10.24

5.84

Insoluble matter (before calcination), .

16.13

24.39

19.70

Insoluble matter (after calcination), .

13.06

17.91

15.13

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

579

Cotton-seed Hull Ashes.

[I. Sent on from Hatfield, Mass. II. Sent on froir

Agawam,

Mass. III. Sent on

from South Deerfield, M

iSS.]

Pbr Cent.

I.

II.

m.

Moisture at 100° C,

13.26

7.15

10.19

Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.), .

8.83

8.06

15.37

Potassium oxide (5^ cts. per lb.), .

24.13

28.22

19.07

Calcium oxide,

8.92

10.50

5.14

Magnesium oxide,

8.60

15.25

9.78

Insoluble matter (before calcination), ,

14.29

12.75

18.11

Insoluble matter (after calcination), .

12.22

10.57

12.16

Valuation per 2,000 lbs , . . . .

137.14

$40.71

$39.42

The samples are of an exceptionally good quality.

Cotton-seed Hull Ashes.
[Sent on bj Bcnj. M. Warner, Hatfield, Mass.]

Moisture at 100° C,

Phosphoric acid, .

Potassium oxide, .

Calcium oxide,

Magnesium oxide.

Insoluble matter (before calcination).

Insoluble matter (after calcination).

Per cent.

6.95

3.14
25.10
12.41

5.84
55.48

9.58

580

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Potash Fertilizers.

[I. Muriate of Potash. II. Sulphate of Potash and Magnesia, sent on from
Amherst, Mass.l

Pbb Cent.

I.

II.

Moisture at 100° C,

2.21

8.08

Potassium oxide,

49.77

21.88

Sodium oxide,

10.06

5.06

Calcium oxide, .

2.07

3.54

Magnesium oxide,

0.45

11.93

Sulphuric acid,

0.55

43.43

Chlorine,

50.00

3.10

Insoluble matter,

0.17

0.77

Saltpetre Waste from Gunpowder Works.

[Seat on from Acton, Mass.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C , 5.19

Potassium oxide, 15.04

Sodium oxide 36.82

Total calcium oxide, .47

Total magnesium oxide, .27

Nitrogen, 1.90

Sulphuric acid, 1.02

Total chlorine 63.50

Calcium chloride, .05

Magnesium chloride, .63

Insoluble matter, Trace.

The composition of this material varies in different samples
in a marked degree. Its application on forage crops and on
grass lands in particular has proved highly satisfactory.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUxMENT — No. 4.

581

Muck.
[I. and II. Sent on from Marlborough, Mass. III. Sent on from Concord, Mass.]

Peb Cent.

I.

II.

III.

Moisture at 100° C,

33.64

40.63

56.46

Dry matter,

66.36

59.37

43.54

Nitrogen in dry matter, ....

1.65

1.21

1.16

Ash constituents in dry matter, .

6.44

18.73

4.72

Insoluble matter in ash, ....

5.76

15.07

Not
determined.

These samples are fair representatives of their kind. As
the agricultural value of this material has been repeatedly
discussed in previous reports, no further statement seems to
be called for.

Muck.
[I. and II. Sent on by A. A. Rice, Mount Hermon, Mass.]

Per Cent.

I.

II.

Moisture at 100° C,

30.26

75.44

Dry matter,

69.74

24.56

Nitrogen,

2.54

.37

Ash constituents in dry matter, ....

8.28

12.00

582

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Muck.

[Sent on by W. H. Earle, Worcester,

Mass.]

Per Cent.

I.

n.

Moisture at 100° C,

10.030

11.231

Ash,

51.289

51.400

Ferric oxide,

Trace.

Trace.

Aluminic oxide,

6.672

6.953

Calcium oxide,

.038

.049

Magnesium oxide,

.030

.031

Potassimn oxide,

.051

.062

Phosphoric acid,

.198

.232

Nitrogen,

1.470

1.460

Insoluble silicious matter,

39.755

39.635

Sea-weed.
[Sent on from Eastham, Mass., — two samples.]

Feb Cent.

I.

II.

Moisture at 100° C, .

12.05

14.96

Nitrogen (16^ cts. per lb.), .

1.66

1.28

Phosphoric acid (6 cts. per lb.),

.44

.17

Potassium oxide (4^ cts. per lb.)

3.81

.36

Calcium oxide,

2.73

3.86

IMagnesium oxide.

1.48

1.30

Sodium oxide,

11.75

8.40

Chlorine, ....

6.40

5.28

Insoluble matter, .

7.73

.78

Valuation per 2,000 lbs.,

$9.25

14.72

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. ^

583

The samples were received in an air-chy state. Accord-
ing to statement, I. had been dried without any serious
exposure to bad weather; II. had suffered from exposure
for a considerable leno-th of time.

Cotton-seed Meal (for mamirial purposes).

[I. Sent on by Geo. Frost, Boston, Mass. II. and III. Sent on by C. L. Warner,

Hatfield, Mass.]

Pke Cent.

I.

u.

m.

Moisture at 100° C,

6.26

8.30

8.30

Ash,

6.16

5.77

5.77

CalciiuQ oxide,

.31

.31

.31

Magnesium oxide,

.95

.77

.77

Potassium oxide,

1.80

1.21-

.89

Phosphoric acid,

1.32

1.45

1.26

Nitrogen,

7.26

6.69

6.88

Insoluble matter,

.63

.40

.40

Refuse CameVs Hair from Cotton-seed Oil Works.

[Sent on by W. H. Bowker, Boston, Mass.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 8.80

Ash, 7.25

Nitrogen, 5.92

Potassium oxide, 2.56

Phosphoric acid, 2.77

Insoluble matter, 1,27

Castor Pomace.

[Sent on by Benj. M. Waraer, Hatfield, Mass.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 8.67

Ash, 6.70

Nitrogen, 5.72

Phosphoric acid, 1.57

Potassium oxide, .97

Calcium oxide, .71

Magnesium oxide, .65

Insoluble matter, 1.21

584

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Cotton Waste.

[Sent on by Samuel Pillsbury, Boston, Mass.] Per cent.

Moisture at 100'' C, 8.24

Nitrogen, 2.09

Phosphoric acid, .83

Calcium oxide, . 2.52

Magnesium oxide, .66

Potassium oxide, 1.62

Insoluble matter, 20.10

Wool Waste.

[Sent on by A. S. Shepard, Franklin, Mat

S.] Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C,

. . 7.67

Ash,

10.63

Phosphoric acid,

1.15

Potassium oxide,

.54

Nitrogen,

5.26

Insoluble matter,

5.83

Waste from Cotton-seed Presses.

[Sent on by Oliyer R. Robbins, Weston, Mass.] Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 6.83

Ash, 23.47

Phosphoric acid, .96

Potassium oxide, .20

Nitrogen, 4.24

Insoluble matter, 17.74

Waste from Linseed Presses.

[Sent on by Oliver R. Robbins, Weston, Mass.] Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 7.06

Ash, 2.34

Phosphoric acid, 2.43

Potassium oxide, .24

Nitrogen, 8.05

Insoluble matter, 1.00

Scouring Liquor of Raw Wool.

[Sent on from Plymouth, Mass.] Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 92.03

Dry matter, 7.97

Nitrogen (in liquid), .09

Ash, 3.28

Calcium oxide, -04

Magnesium oxide, Trace.

Potassiiim oxide, 1-09

Sodium oxide, .92

Iron and alumina oxides, .09

Insoluble matter, .22

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 585

One hundred parts of ash contained, —

Per cent.

Calcium oxide, 1.22

Magnesium oxide, Trace.

Potassium oxide, 33.23

Sodium oxide, 28.05

Iron and alumina oxides, 2.74

Insoluble matter, 6.91

The above-stated liquid was obtained, according to infor-
mation received, by scouring raw wool with a solution of
soda-ash and soap. The most noticeable constituent of the
material is its comparatively large amount of potash (1.09
per cent.) in the calcined residue or ash. The presence of
a liberal amount of potash compounds in raw wool is well
known. A sample of raw wool from South America, tested
here in that direction some years ago, showed from 3.92 to
4.2 per cent, of potassium oxide. The washings of sheep
and of raw wool may be used with a good effect on grass
lands. Solutions like the one above described are, however,
too concentrated for direct use ; they ought to be diluted
with from ten to twenty times their weight of water, to
render advisable their direct application on any growing
vegetation.

Refuse Material from Soap Works.

[Sent on by Holyoke Soap Works, Holyoke, Mass.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . 19.70

Total phosphoric acid, 15.37

Soluble phosphoric acid, .03

Reverted phosphoric acid, 5.29

Insoluble phosphoric acid, 10.05

Nitrogen, 4.24

Insoluble matter, 1.37

This material is similar to tankage in composition and in
mechanical condition.

586 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Jan.

Fish Fertilizers.

[Sent on from Eastham, Mass. I. Salt Fish Waste. II. Fish Chum. III. Salt
Fish Trimmings. IV. Whalebone. V. Whale Scrap.]

Per Cent.

I.

n.

III.

IV.

V.

Moisture at 100° C, .

37.35

53.86

5.22

6.81

9.51

Total phosphoric acid, .

2.89

3.80

5.50

20.84

1.15

Soluble phosphoric acid (8 cts.
per lb.),

.58

.36

.69

.34

.84

Reverted phosphoric acid (7^
cts. per lb.), ....

1.16

1.77

2.15

1.84

.07

Insoluble phosphoric acid (3
cts. per lb.), ....

1.15

1.67

2,66

18.69

M

Nitrogen (12 cts. per lb.),

5.26

4.26

7.63

3.40

9.64

Insoluble matter,

.10

.06

.26

3.69

9.10

Valuation per 2,000 lbs., .

$15.96

fl4.46

124.24

$22.67

$24.73

The main quantity of these substances was in a very coarse
state.

Dry Orou7id Fish,

[I. and II. Sent on by R. P. Smith, Hatfield, Mass. III. Sent on by W. W
Sanderson, South Deerfield, Mass.]

Peb Cent.

I.

II.

ra.

Moisture at 100° C, .
Ash, ....
Total phosphoric acid, .
Sol iblephosphoric acid,
Reverted phosphoric acid.
Insoluble phosphoric acid.
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter, .

8.34

37.76

8.23

.10
3.81
4.32
6.81

.82

9.92
28.37
7.96
.61
3.79
3.56
6.82
1.34

10.10

21.50

6.67

.32

.75

5.60

6.98

4.57

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

587

Peruvian Guano.

[From P. Williamfl & Co., Taunton, Mass. I. Warranted Peravian Guano, No. 1.

II. Low-grade Peruvian Guano.]

Pbk Cent.

I.

n.

Moisture at 100° C, .

14.18

16.14

Ash, ....

47.36

65.01

Total phosphoric acid,

19.91

22.26

Soluble phosphoric acid,

7.34

2.24

Reverted phosphoric acid,

6.05

5.03

Insoluble phosphoric acid.

6.52

14.99

Potassium oxide.

2.80

4.17

Nitrogen,

8.01

4.06

Insoluble matter, .

4.04

7.83

Phosphatic Fertilizers.

[Sent on from Ashby, Mass. I. Acid Phosphate. II. Dissolved Bone-black.

III. South Carolina Rock Phosphate.]

Pbk Cent.

I.

u.

in.

Moisture at 100° C

13.93

13.86

1.68

Total phosphoric acid,

13.84

16.37

25.81

Soluble phosphoric acid (8 cts. per lb.).

10.91

14.60

.27

Reverted phosphoric acid (7icts. per lb.), .

.69

1.53

.47

Insoluble phosphoric acid (2 cts. per lb.), .

2.24

.24

25.07

Insoluble matter,

9.54

2.09

11.64

Valuation per 2,000 lbs., ....

$19.38

$25.80

$11.16

Bone-black.
[Sent on by F. G. Arnold, Swansea, Mass.]

Moisture at 100° C,

Ash

Phosphoric acid,

Insoluble matter,

Per cent.

5.04

67.43

16.56

.37

588

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Ground Bones.

[I., II. and III. Sent on from Amherst, Mass. IV. Sent on from Jamaica Plain,

Mass.]

Mechanical Analyses.

Per Cent.

I.

II.

UI. IV.

Fine, smaller than J^ inch, .
Fine medium, smaller than ^^ inch, .
Medium, smaller than ^^ inch,
Coarser than ^^ inch, ....

63.29

27.78

8.93

40.44

30.91

25.30

3.35

56.69

34.97

8.34

37.48
35.51
18.91

8.10

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

Chemical Analyses.

Per Cent.

I.

u.

m.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . .

8.12

11.24

6.31

6.92

Ash,

41.62

58.66

47.63

68.64

Total phosphoric acid, ....

24.13

20.85

19.72

22.59

Soluble phosphoric acid.

.17

4.87

1.16

.20

Reverted phosphoric acid, .

9.12

1.20

9.34

6.65

Insoluble phosphoric acid, .

14.75

14.78

9.22

15.74

Nitrogen,

3.60

2.85

6.84

4.82

Insoluble matter,

.56

.48

.71

3.23

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

589

Ground Bones.
[I. Sent on from Amherst, Mass. II. Sent on by A. S. Belcher, North Easton,
Mass. III. Sent on by Edmund Ilersey, Hingham, Mass. IV. Sent on by W.
W. Sanderson, South Deerfield, Mass.]

Mechanical Analyses.

Per Cknt.

I.

II.

HI.

IV.

Fine, smaller than ^g inch, .
Fine medium, smaller than o^ inch,
Medimn, smaller than ^2 inch, .
Coarser than ^^ inch, ....

22.59
18.71
24.61
34.09

18.53
10.14

7.12
64.21

34.79
21.22
14.71
29.28

69.00

24.09

12..S2

4.59

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

Chemical Analyses.

Per Cent.

I.

II.

in.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C, . . . .

3.97

12.43

6.75

9.96

Ash

49.35

64.21

61.35

55.83

Total phosphoric acid, ....

19.49

25.67

24.71

18.41

Soluble phosphoric acid.

_

.13

.09

2.73

Reverted phosphoric acid, .

3.80

6.20

8.10

9.94

Insoluble phosphoric acid, .

15.69

19.34

16.52

5.74

Nitrogen,

4.04

2.68

3.14

3.12

insoluble matter,

.78

.42

.42

5.79

590

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Phosphate Slag.

[Jan.

[I. German " Phosphate Slag," New York. II. " Phosphate Slag " sent on fron:
England.]

Pee Cent.

I.

n.

Moisture at 100° C

Feme oxide and aluminum oxide,

Total phosphoric acid,

Calcium oxide,

Magnesium oxide,

Insoluble matter,

5.08
15.98
21.05
63.97

3.83

Not
determined.

.37

8.55

18.91

49.22

Not
(ietermined.

5.06

This material has been of late introduced into our markets
in a fine-ground state as " phosphate meal," manufactured of
the " Peine-Thomas Scoria." P. Weidinger, No. 76 Pine
Street, New York City, who has advertised the sale of the
above material for trial, makes the following statement : —

' ' We ofier to the American fertilizer trade the article
above stated, whose rapid and successful introduction into
various countries, with constantly increasing demand, gives
us a guarantee that its importance for agriculture will not be
underrated. This is a very finely ground phosphate meal,
obtained from the so-called ' Peine-Thomas Scoria,' through
the dephosphorization of pig iron, after the patented method
of Sidney Gilchrist Thomas. The dephosphorization of the
iron takes place by melting the iron with lime in a current
of air, a proceeding by which pig iron, rich in phosphorus,
is converted into steel, free from phosphorus (ingot iron).
In this manner the phosphorus of the pig iron is converted
into phosphoric acid, which, uniting with the lime added,
forms phosphate of lime. The melted mixture of phosphate
of lime with excess of lime and combinations of the iron and
manganese, obtained by this proceeding, is called ' Thomas
Scoria.' It is brought into the market for the purposes of
agriculture in a finely ground state."

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 591

The phosphoric acid present is neither to any extent soluble
in water nor in a solution of citrate of ammonia. The com-
position of the slag is peculiar, on account of an excess of
caustic lime, which favors a breaking up into minute particles
when exposed to air and moisture. The more finely ground
when exposed to atmospheric influences, the more rapidly
takes place a general disintegration. This behavior tends to
difiuse the phosphoric acid, and favors absorption by the
roots. No previous treatment by acids has been found
necessary to secure satisfactory returns when used as a phos-
phoric acid source for plant growth. On account of the
alkaline reaction of the " phosphate meal," no ammonia salts
or organic nitrogen compounds are used as an admixture for
the production of more complete fertilizers. In case nitro-
gen shall be applied, nitrate of soda is used, to furnish that
element. Muriate of potash and kainite are recommended as
potash sources.

European agricultural chemists speak well of this new
source of phosphoric acid. As it is claimed that phosphoric
acid can be furnished at less cost and more efficiently in the
form of " phosphate meal " than in any of our known mineral
resources of insoluble phosphoric acid, it seems desirable
that experiments should be instituted to test its merits.

Fifteen dollars per 2,000 pounds has been asked in our
vicinity for a finely ground material.

Concentrated Flower Food.

[Sent on from Springfield, Mass.]

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, . 11.20

Ash, 42.89

Phosplioric acid, 6.30

Sulphuric acid, 15.73

Potassium oxide, 4.72

Sodium oxide, 17.45

Calcium oxide, 6.18

Nitrogen in organic matter, 2.31

Nitrogen in nitrates, 4.66

Insoluble matter, .25

592

BOARD OF xVGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Compound Fertilizers.
[1. Sent on by A. S. Hawley, North Hadley, Mass. II. Sent on by Staples & Phillips,
Tannton, Mass. III. Sent on by C. M. Allen, Franklin, Mass. IV. Sent on by
F. G. Arnold, Swansea, Mass.]

Per Cent.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C,

10.86

11.71

6.76

6.26

Ash

48.44

57.84

52.96

56.88

Total phosphoric acid, .

11.07

13.30

8.32

1256

Soluble phosphoric acid,

5.87

5.80

2.86

2.09

Reverted phosphoric acid,

3.60

1.85

5.01

6.10

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

1.60

5.65

.45

4.37

Nitrogen in organic matter,
Nitrogen in nitrate,

1.65

_

i 2.10

.19
3.44

\ 3.78

Potassium oxide, .

3.19

1.63

8.60

9.87

Insoluble matter, .

5.50

6.01

1.52

3.03

Compound Fertilizers.

[I. Sent on by A. Bradley, Lee, Mass. II. Sent on by F. H. Bardwell, Hatfield,

Mass. III. and IV. Sent on by Oscar L. Dorr, Sharon, Mass.J

Pbb Cbnt.

I.

II.

in.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C,

12.43

12 34

10.50

19.47

Ash, ....

41.15

64.14

66.62

60.40

Total phosphoric acid, .

8 90

12.33

12.86

8.32

Soluble phosphoric acid,

7.45

5.65

4.72

4.02

Reverted phosphoric acid,

1.06

3.22

5.25

2.02

Insoluble phosphoric acid.

.39

3.46

2.89

2.28

Potassium oxide, .

7.28

1.34

6.00

2.54

Nitrogen,

4.73

1.52

3.80

3.28

Insoluble matter, .

.94

6.56

1.61

10.19

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

»yo

Compound Fertilizers.

[I. Sent on by J. M. Aiken, Prescott, Mass. II. Sent on by W. W. Sanderson, South
Deerfield, Mass.]

Pbk Cbnt.

I.

II.

Ikloisture at 100° C, .

10.47

6.26

Ash,

64.21

62.53

Total phosphoric acid,

13.61

9.88

Soluble phosphoric acid.

3.91

3.97

Reverted phosphoric acid, .

6.24

3.09

Insoluble phosphoric acid, .

3.46

2.82

Potassium oxide, .

1.45

3.54

Nitrogen, ....

2.48

1.38

Insoluble matter, .

7.44

7.88

Compound Fertilizers.
[I. Sent on by Lawrence Hardware Co., Lawrence, Mass. II. Sent on by J. M.
Aiken, Prescott, Mass. III. Sent on by A. Bradley, Lee, Mass. IV. Sent on by
J. M. Aiken, Prescott, Mass.]

Per Cent.

I.

n.

III.

IV.

Moisture at 100° C, .

10.36

10.66

17.07

13.34

Ash, ....

69.19

60.64

44.24

49.38

Total phosphoric acid, .

16.44

12.60

9.28

13.02

Soluble phosphoric acid,

4.03

5.50

7.47

6.81

Reverted phosphoric acid,

8.46

1.29

1.43

2.56

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

3.95

5.71

.38

3.65

Potassium oxide, .

1.16

2.50

7.64

2.16

Nitrogen,

2.66

1.70

1.34

3.02

Insoluble matter, .

3.43

8.09

1.69.

6.07

594 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

VALUATION OF FERTILIZERS AKD FER-
TILIZER A:^rALYSES.

The hitherto customary valuation of manurial substances
is based on the average trade value of the fertilizing elements
specified by analyses. The money value of the higher grades
of agricultural chemicals, and of the higher-priced compound
fertilizers, depends in the majority of cases on the amount
and the particular form of two or three essential articles of
plant food, ^. e., phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash, which
they contain. The valuation which usually accompanies the
analyses of these goods shall inform the consumer, as far as
practicable, regarding the cash retail price at which the
several specified essential elements of plant food, in an efii-
cient form, have been ofi*ered of late for sale in our large
markets.

The market value of low-priced materials used for manurial
purposes, such as salt, wood ashes, various kinds of lime,
barn-yard manure, fectory refuse, and waste materials of
difierent descriptions, quite frequently does not stand in a
close relation to the market value of the amount of essential
articles of plant food they contain. Their cost varies in dif-
ferent localities. Local facilities for cheap transportation,
and more or less advantageous mechanical condition for a
speedy action, exert, as a rule, a decided influence on their
selling price.

The market price of manurial substances is liable to serious
fluctuations ; for supply and demand exert here, as well as
in other branches of commercial industry, a controlling influ-
ence on their temporary money value. As farmers in many
instances have but little chance to obtain the desired infor-
mation, agricultural chemists charged with the inspection of
commercial fertilizers assist in the work, by ascertaining as
far as practicable the actual market price of the leading

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

.95

manurial substances in our principal markets for a given
period of time. The results of the inquiries into the condi
tion of the trade during the six months preceding the 1st of
March, 1888, are embodied in the subsequent tabular state-
ment of cost of fertilizing ingredients for the opening of the
season of 1888.

The market reports of centres of trade in New England,
New York and New Jersey, aside from consultation with
leading manufacturers of fertilizers, and notes on actual sales
of individual farmers and farmers' associations, etc., furnish
the necessary information regarding the current trade value
of fertilizing ingredients. The subsequent statement of cash
values in the retail trade is obtained by taking the average
of the wholesale quotations in New York and Boston, dur-
ing the six months preceding March 1, 1888, and increasing
them by twenty per cent., to cover expenses of sales,
credits, etc.

Trade Values of Fertilizing Ingredients in Kaw
Materials and Chemicals.

1888.

Cents per Pound.

Nitrogen in ammouiates, 17^

Nitrogen in nitrates,

Organic nitrogen in dry and fine-ground fish, meat, blood,

cotton-seed meal and castor pomace, ....
Organic nitrogen in fine-ground bone and tankage,
Organic nitrogen in fine-ground medium bone and tankage,
Organic nitrogen in medium bone and tankage, .
Organic nitrogen in coarser bone and tankage,
Organic nitrogen in hair, horn-shavings and coarse fish scrap,

Phosphoric acid soluble in water,

Phosphoric acid soluble in ammonium citrate,* .

Phosi^horic acid in diy-ground bone, fish bone and tankage.

Phosphoric acid in fine medium bone and tankage.

Phosphoric acid in medium bone and tankage,

Phosphoric acid in coarser bone and tankage.

Phosphoric acid in fine-ground rock phosphate, .

Potash as high-grade sulphate, and in forms free from muriate

and chlorides,

Potash as kainite, 4|

Potash as muriate, 4J

♦Dissolved from two grams of phosphate unground, by 100 C. C. neutral solu-
tion of ammonium citrate, sp. gr. 1.09 in thirty minutes at 65° C, with agitation
once in five minutes ; commonly called " reverted " or " back-gone " phosphoric acid.

16

16|

13

101

8
8

7

596 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

The above trade values are the figures at which, in the six
months preceding March 1, the respective ingredients could
be bought at retail for cash in our large markets, in the raw
materials which are the regular source of supply.

They also correspond to the average wholesale prices for
the six months ending March 1, plus about twenty per cent,
in case of goods for which we have wholesale quotations.
The valuations obtained by use of the above figures will be
found to agree fairly with the reasonable retail price at the
larsre markets of standard raw materials, such as —

Sulphate of ammonia,
Nitrate of soda,
Muriate of potash,
Sulphate of potash,
Dried blood,
Dried ground meat,

Dried ground fish,

Azotin,

Ammonite,

Castor pomace,

Bone and tankage.

Plain superphosphates.

To obtain the valuation of a fertilizer (i. e., the money
worth of its fertilizing ingredients) , we multiply the pounds
per ton of nitrogen, etc., by the trade value per pound.
We thus get the values per ton of the several ingredients,
and, adding them together, we obtain the total valuation per
ton in case of cash payment at points of general distribution.

The mechanical condition of any fertilizing material, simple
or compound, deserves the most serious consideration of
farmers, when articles of a similar chemical character are
ofiered for their choice. The degree of pulverization con-
trols, almost without exception, under similar conditions, the
rate of solubility, and the more or less rapid diffusion of the
different articles of plant food throughout the soil.

The state of moisture exerts a no less important influence
on the pecuniary value, in case of one and the same kind of
substances. Two samples of fish fertilizer, although equally
pure, may differ from fifty to one hundred per cent, in com-
mercial value, on account of mere diff'erence in moisture.

Crude stock for the manufacture of fertilizers and refuse
materials of various descriptions, sent to the Station for
examination, are valued with reference to the market prices
of their principal constituents, taking into consideration at
the same time their general fitness for speedy action.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 597

A large percentage of commercial fertilizing material con-
sists of refuse matter from various industries. The composi-
tion of these substances depends on the mode of manufacture
carried on. The rapid progress in our manufacturing indus-
try is liable to affect at any time, more or less seriously, the
composition of the refuse. A constant inquiry into the
character of the agricultural chemicals, and of commercial
manurial refuse substances offered for sale, cannot fail to
secure confidence in their composition, and to diminish
financial disappointment in consequence of their application.
This work is carried on for the purpose of aiding the farming
community in a clear and intelligent appreciation of these
substances for manurial purposes.

Consumers of commercial manurial substances do well to
buy, whenever practical, on guaranty of composition with
reference to their essential constituents, and see to it that
the bill of sale recognizes that point of the bargain. Any
mistake or misunderstanding in the transaction may be
readily adjusted, in that case, between the contending parties.
The responsibility of the dealer ends with furnishing an
article corresponding in its composition with the lowest
stated quantity of each specified essential constituent.

598

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Ju

Analyses of Water sent on for Examination.

[Parta per Million.]

KUMBER.

<

1

B ■<

a
<

□

•c

2

6

6

1

1
t

1
1

If

0

,

LOCALITY.

I

.108

.160

17.80

148.00

60.00

4.03

No. Amherst.

n., .

.01

.06

7.00

104.00

56.00

4.57

None.

Amherst.

in...

.23

.34

47.00

312.00

206.00

9.14

None.

Amherst.

IV.,.

.25

.44

19.00

202.00

63.00

2.86

Present.

Littleton.

v., .

.09

.10

6.00

132 00

72.00

3.25

None.

No. Amherst.

VI., .

.40

.12

137.20

546.00

124.00

-

-

Amherst.

vn..

.03

.05

6.00

64.00

48.00

1.56

None.

Ipswich.

vm..

1

S03-

CaO-

82.00
63.00

i 64.00

310.00

100.00

9.57

-

Ashby.

rx...

.12

.09

None

38.00

30.00

.63

-

Ashby.

X., .

.08

.08

42.00

300.00

76.00

7.00

-

Ashby.

XI.,.

.17

.05

20 00

192.00

104.00

3.12

None.

No. Amherst.

xn.,

.07

.02

9.00

138.00

60.00

2.86

None.

Ashby.

XIII.,

None

.02

20.00

178.00

70.00

1.82

None.

Ashby.

XIV.,

.44

.28

22.00

160.00

40.00

3.12

None.

Ashby.

XV.,

.05

.18

144.00

530.00

102.00

5.43

None.

Ashby.

XVI.,

.13

.46

None

70.00

36.00

1.43

-

Amherst.

XVII.,

.08

.08

42.00

354.00

108.00

5.29

None.

Amherst.

XVIII.,

.12

.28

6.00

86.00

26.00

1.43

None.

East Amherst.

XIX.,

.05

.44

20.00

146.00

52.00

4.57

None.

East Amherst.

XX.,

None

.04

9.00

72.00

24.00

1.27

None.

East Amherst.

XXI.,

.26

.24

20.00

124.00

46.00

1.11

None.

Boston.

xxn..

.10

.10

9.10

72.00

52.00

1.11

None.

Boston.

XXIII.,

.64

.36

45 00

268.00

96.00

8.43

-

Sherbom.

XXIV.,

None

.08

12.00

106.00

56.00

2.21

None.

Wellesley.

XXV.,

None

.09

25.04

318.00

76.00

7.86

Present.

No. Hadley.

XXVI.,

_

-

-

-

-

-

None.

No. Hadley.

XXVII.,

.068

.14

18.00

208.00

96.00

6.00

-

No. Amherst.

XXVIII.,

3.33

.80

127.00

720.00

224.00

10.00

None.

No. Hadley.

XXIX.,

Trace

.06

Trace

38.00

30.00

1.69

None.

No. Hadley.

XXX.,

None

.06

31.00

196.00

76.00

3.51

None.

Shirley.

XXXI.,

1.30

.40

47.40

7.14

380.00

98.00

None.

Shirley.

XTXTT.,

.08

.06

8.00

98.00

22.00

2.60

None.

No. Amherst.

xxxni..

4.70

1.50

125.00

844.00

182.00

10.10

-

No. Hadley.

XXXTV.,

.12

.20

None

40.00

24.00

-

--

Amherst.

XXXV., . .

.09

.09

Trace

68.00

28.00

-

-

Amherst.

XX XVI.,

.12

.06

3.00

68.00

26.00

2.21

None.

Amherst.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

599

Analyses of

Water — Continued.

KUMBER.

<

1

5

li

r

<

o

1

•>

1

1

1

J

1

LOCALITY.

xxxvn., .

.02

.04

None

38.00

22.00

-

-

"Worthington.

xxxvni., .

.01

.05

None

52.00

30.00

.79

-

Worthington.

XXXTX.,

Trace

.02

None

22.00

14.00

1.43

-

Worthington.

XL.,

L15

.05

28.00

306.00

82.00

7.86

-

Amherst.

XLI., . .

.02

.14

None

24.00

12.00

-

-

Worthington.

XLU., . .

Trace

.02

Trace

54.00

40.00

.95

-

Worthington.

XLIII., . .

.04

.03

None

52.00

36.00

2.08

-

Worthington.

XLIV., .

-

-

-

-

-

-

Present.

East Amherst.

XLV., .

-

-

-

-

-

-

None.

East Amherst.

XLVI., .

-

-

-

-

-

-

None.

Amherst.

XLVII., .

-

-

-

-

-

-

None.

Berlin.

XLVUI.,

Trace

.05

None

22.00

2.00

-

-

Worthington.

XLIX., .

.12

.12

None

148.00

64.00

1.56

None.

No. Hadley.

L

.14

.58

.60

74.00

34.00

3.12

None.

Westhampton.

LI

.05

.20

5.00

86.00

64.00

2.34

None.

Wellesley.

LH.. . .

.10

.14

Trace

238.00

114.00

7.00

-

So. Hadley.

Lm., . .

.01

.10

23.00

154.00

50.00

2.86

-

Ashby.

LIV., . .

1.40

7.90

4.00

422.00

322.00

17.06

None.

Amherst.

LV

1.50

.70

126.00

482.00

198.00

8.29

None.

Amherst.

LVI., . .

.40

.55

8.00

142.00

58.00

3.90

None.

Amherst.

LVII.. .

.01

.016

2.00

148.00

64.00

4.71

Present.

Amherst.

LVIII., . .

.02

.05

18.00

148 00

40.00

4.86

None.

Amherst.

LIX., . .

.04

.05

11.00

52.00

16.00

1.95

None.

Amherst.

LX., . .

.05

.05

9.00

20.00

8.00

1.56

None.

Amherst.

LXI., .

.03

.04

13.00

116.00

60 00

2.86

None.

Amherst.

LXII., . .

.01

.07

34.00

292.00

156.00

5.86

None.

Amherst.

LXIII., . .

.03

.10

6.00

216.00

44.00

5.00

None.

Amherst.

LXI v., . .

.03

.16

Trace

88.00

48.00

.32

None.

Amherst.

LXV., . .

1.36

1.20

57.00

412.00

108.00

8.14

-

Amherst.

LXVI., .

.003

.04

24.00

120.00

56.00

6.29

Amherst.

LXVIL, . .

.016

.044

3.00

140.00

70.00

.63

None.

No. Dana.

Lxvni.,

.45

.35

8.00

52.00

20.00

1.56

None.

No. Amherst.

LXLX., . .

.06

.10

22.00

116.00

26 00

2.21

None.

Amherst.

LXX., . .

.026

.08

38.00

324.00

160.00

8.29

None.

Amherst.

LXXI., .

.064

.044

22.00

308.00

64 00

5.14

None.

Amherst.

LXXII , . .

.124

.148

2.00

56.00

12.00

1.11

None.

Amherst.

LXXI IT.,

-

.05

Trace

45.00

35.00

1.56

None.

Littleton.

600

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

Analyses of Water — Concluded.

NUMBER.

i
1
4

i!

w

c5

1

J3

LOCALITY.

1
1

i

<

1

s

1

1

^1

1

LXXIV..

.06

.05

53.00

325.00

177.00

7.43

None.

Northampton.

LXXV., .

Trace

.04

25.00

212.00

112.00

4.86

-

Amherst.

LXXVI.,

.04

.06

19.00

92.00

40.00

.95

-

Amherst.

LXXVII.,

.07

.05

Trace

■ 62.00

42.00

.79

None.

Amherst.

LXXVIII., .

.04

.22

Trace

34.00

4.00

-

Amherst.

LXXIX.,

.01

.04

3.00

68.00

22.00

1.56

None.

Amherst.

LXXX., .

.02

.07

5.00

40.00

10.00

1.11

None.

Amherst.

LXXXI.,

.03

.03

12.00

112.00

51.00

2.99

None.

Framingham.

LXXXII., .

Trace

.IS

13.00

153.00

94.00

3.25

None.

Amherst.

T^XXXTTT., .

.03

.10

Trace

70.00

45 00

1.11

None.

Sunderland.

LXXXIV., .

.04

.08

Trace

45.00

30.00

~

None.

Northampton.

LXXXV.,

.04

.07

15.00

111.00

70.00

3 79

None.

Northampton.

The analyses have been made according to Wancklyn's
process, familiar to chemists, and are directed towards the
indications of the presence of chlorine, free and albuminoid
ammonia, and the poisonous metals, lead in particular. (For
a more detailed description of this method, see "Water
Analyses," by J. A. Wancklyn and E. T. Chapman.)

Mr. Wancklyn's interpretation of the results of his mode
of investigation is as follows : —

1. Chlorine alone does not necessarily indicate the pres-
ence of filthy water.

2. Free and albuminoid ammonia in water, without
chlorine, indicates a vegetable source of contamination.

3. More than five grains per gallon* of chlorine (=71.4
parts per million), accompanied by more than .08 parts per
million of free ammonia and more than .10 parts per million of
albuminoid ammonia, is a clear indication that the water is
contaminated with sewage, decaying animal matter, urine,
etc., and should be condemned.

4. Eight-hundreths parts per million of free ammonia
and one-tenth part per million of albuminoid ammonia ren-
der a water very suspicious, even without much chlorine.

* One gallon equals 70,000 grains.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 601

5. Albuminoid ammonia over .15 parts per million ought
to absolutely condemn the water which contains it.

6. The total solids found in the water should not exceed
forty grains per gallon (571.4 parts per million).

An examination of the above results of analyses shows
that Nos. 5, 9, 10, 11, 17, 22, 27, 35, 36, 64, 78 and 82 are
of a suspicious character, and that Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 14, 15, 16,
18, 19, 21, 23, 28, 31, 33, 34, 40, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55,
56, 64, 65, 68 and 72 ought to be condemned, on account of
a large amount of free and albuminoid ammonia, due most
likely to access of sewage water. An examination of the
above statement shows that a large proportion of the samples
received were from bad wells. Of fifty-eight samples of water
tested for lead, four were found to be poisoned by that metal,
in consequence of the use of lead pipes.

A satisfactory supply of good drinking water on a farm
depends, in a controlling degree, on a judicious selection of
the location of the wett designed for the use of the family
and for the live stock, and on the personal attention be-
stowed, from time to time, on the condition of the well and
its surroundings. Good wells are liable to change for the
worst at anytime, on account of circumstances too numerous
to state in this connection. To ascertain, from time to time,
the exact condition of the water which supplies the wants of
the family and of the live stock, is a task which no farmer
can, for any length of time, neglect, without incurring a
serious risk to health and prosperity.

The subject receives, quite frequently, but little attention,
on account of the fact that the harmful qualities which an
apparently good water may contain are disguised beyond
recognition by the unaided senses. Certain delicate chemi-
cal tests, aided at times by microscopic observations, are,
in the majority of cases, the only reliable means, in our
present state of scientific inquiry, by which desirable infor-
mation regarding the true character of a drinking water can
be obtained.

Parties sending on water for an analysis ought to be very
careful to use clean vessels, clean stoppers, etc. The samples
should be sent on without delay after collecting. One gallon
is desirable for the analysis.

602

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE

[j£

Compilation of Analyses made at Amherst, Mass.,
OF Agricultural Chemicals and Refuse Materials
USED FOR Fertilizing Purposes.*

Prepared by Mr. W. H. Beal.

As the basis of valuation changes from year to year, no valuation is stated.

1868 to 1889
Muriate of Potash (45 Analyses).

Pkb Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

4.05

.05

2.05

Potassium oxide,

58.98

45.94

52.46

Sodium oxide,

11.26

2.13

6.69

Magnesium oxide,

.90

.30

.55

Chlorine,

54.00

43.20

48.60

Insoluble matter,

2.00

.15

.75

Sulphate of Potash (15 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C,

5.00

.19

1.00

Potassium oxide,

51.28

20.44

35.86

Sodium oxide,

8.59

.34

4.46

Maguesium oxide,

2.63

.24

1.50

Sulphuric acid,

59.30

10.86

45.00

Insoluble matter,

31.55

.14

.75

* This compilation does not include the analyses made of licensed fertilizers.
They are to be found in the Reports of the State Inspector of PVrtilizers from 1873
to 1889, contained in the Reports of the Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board
of Agriculture for those years. C. A. G.

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

Sulphate of Potash and Magnesia (13 Analyses).

603

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

11.58

1.95

5.50

Potassium oxide,

27.77

11.70

22.50

Sodium oxide,

18.97

2.09

6.50

Magnesium oxide,

13.66

10.86

12.26

Calcium oxide,

3.38

.82

2.50

Sulphuric acid,

47.90

31.91

43.00

Chlorine,

7.80

.14

2.50

Insoluble matter,

2.36

.26

1.41

German Potash Salts (11 Analyses)

Moisture at 100° C,

25.83

.45

13.14

Potassium oxide,

50.40

7.56

21.63

Sodium oxide,

26.23

1.30

13.76

Calcium oxide,

1.26

.06

.85

Magnesium oxide,

9.83

Trace.

9.25

Sulphuric acid,

21.53

.17

10.85

Chlorine,

49.11

22.27

35.63

Insoluble matter,

3.76

.90

2.08

Kainite

(3 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C,

13.57

2.15

9.26

Potassium oxide, .

16.48

12.51

14.04

Sodium oxide.

-

'-

21.38

Calcium oxide.

1.41

.82

1.12

Magnesium oxide.

11.30

6.65

8.97

Sulphuric acid.

23.71

17.53

21.05

Chlorine,

-

-

32.38

Insoluble matter, .

1.56

.17

.86

604 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

Carnallite (1 Analysis).

Potassium oxide, .
Sodium oxide,
Magnesium oxide.
Sulphuric acid.
Chlorine,

[Jan.

Per cent.

13.68

7.66

13.19

.56

41.56

Moisture at 100° C
Calcium oxide,
Magnesium oxide.
Potassium oxide.
Sodium oxide.
Sulphuric acid.
Chlorine,
Insoluble matter

Krugite (1 Analysis).

Per cent.

4.82
12.45

8.79
8.42

5.57
31.94

6.63
14.96

Sulphate of Magnesia (9 Analyses) .

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C, . , . . .

31.90

7.50

22.50

Calcium oxide,

3.89

1.15

2.52

Magnesium oxide,

25.29*

13.50

18.25

Sulphuric acid,

52.23*

31.91

37.00

Insoluble matter,

11.06

.40

6.73

'Kieserite, natural and calcined.

Nova Scotia Plaster (9 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C,

15.79

.52

6.50

Calcium oxide,

37.59

30.60

33.60

Magnesium oxide,

1.40

.36

.76

Sulphuric acid,

54.10

33.56

44.00

Insoluble matter, . . . . ' .

7.95

.45

2.00

1889.J

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

605

Onondaga Plaster * (7 Analyses).

Per Cbnt.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C, .

22.25

8.95

13.27

Calcium oxide,

31.46

29.15

30.00

Magnesium oxide,

6.06

3.89

4.66

Sulphuric acid.

36.00

31.58

33.00

Carbonic acid,

8.80

7.20

8.20

Insoluble matter, .

12.00

8.28

9.83

Contains 1 sample of Uayuga plaster.

Gypseous Shale (^1 Analysis;.

Calcium sulphate,
Calcium carbonat(;,
Magnesium carbonate.
Insoluble matter, .

Per cent.

38.55

11.05

2.65

37.15

Gas-house Lime (4 Analyses) .

Pee Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

33.55

11.01

22.28

Calcium oxide,

46.80

40.00

42.66

Magnesium oxide,

8.30

8.30

8.30

Sulphuric acid,*

20.73

20.73

20.73

Insoluble matter,

15.00

.40

6.05

Bnlpburic acid includea all forma of sulphur present.

606

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[J.

Lime Waste.

Pee Cent.

a " •

lit

»> 3 S
•? B >

il

Moisture at 100° C.

11.50

17.54

36.30

Ash,

41.00

05.24

-

Calcium oxide,

23.40

47.80

27.51

Magnesium oxide,

-

-

Trace.

Potassium oxide,

-

-

.22

Phosphoric acid,

.77

.81

2.25

Nitrogen,

6.87

1.06

-

Insoluble matter,

.10

5.50

.32

Lime-kiln Ashes (7 Analyses).

Pee Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Averagre.

Moisture at 100° C,

30.70

.20

15.45

Calcium oxide,

50.16

36.00

43.08

Magnesium oxide,

4.45

1.26

2.60

Potassium oxide,

1.70

.02

.86

Phosphoric acid,

3.16

Trace.

1.18

Carbonic acid,

39.36

9.66

16.66

Insoluble matter, . . .

63.77

3.30

14.54

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

607

Marls * (5 Analyses) .

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

55.80

.60

18.18

Calcium oxide,

50.61

20.72

40.07

Magnesium oxide,

1.03

.22

.64

Iron and alumina,

1.00

.36

.69

Phosphoric acid,

2.72

.07

1.05

Carbonic acid,

40.38

16.63

28.51

Insoluble matter,

3.44

3.44

3.44

MassdchuBelts.

Virginia

Marl

'■

Feb Cent.

2 feet below
Surface.*

4 feet below
Surface.!

Moisture at 100° C, .

16.70

15.26

Calcium oxide,

9.21

5.29

Magnesium oxide.

.25

.16

Potassium oxide, .

.61

.37

Phosphoric acid, .

.09

.08

Sulphuric acid, .

1.00

.31

Carbonic acid.

4.23

1.76

Insoluble matter, .

59.59

68.86

No. 1 contained a large amount of shelU.

t No 2 v/.is largtiy Band.

608

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Wood Ashes. (Canada.) (87 Analyses.)

Highest.

Lowest.

Moisture at 100° C,
Calcium oxide,
Magnesium oxide,
Iron oxide, .
Potassium oxide, .
Phosphoric acid, .
Insoluble matter, .

28.57

50.89

7.47

10.24

3.99

24.10

.70

18.00

2.28

2.49

.29

2.10

Coiton-seed Bull Ashes (23 Analyses^

Moisture at 100° C,

26.81

2.30

7.33

Calcium oxide,

39.75

3.35

10.00

Magnesium oxide,

17.15

2.02

9.50

Iron oxide,

-

1.50

Potassium oxide,

42.12

5.00

20.95

Phosphoric acid,

13.67

.76

7.62

Insoluble matter,

32.48

5.38

11.79

Ashes of Spent Tan-bark (3 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C,

7.45

4.87

6.31

Calcium oxide,

37.26

31.35

33.46

Magnesium oxide,

5.10

2.57

3.55

Potassium oxide,

2.87

1.14

2.04

Phosphoric acid,

2.77

.13

1.61

Insoluble matter,

24.33

24.33

24.33

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUiNIENT — No. 4.

609

Ashes of Waste Products.

Pbb Cent.

Chestnut
K. E. Ties.

Logwood.

MUl.

Moisture at 100° C,

6.15

1.50

.53

Calcium oxide,

4.71

3.90

34.93

Magnesium oxide,

1.80

Trace.

1.35

Potassium oxide,

.19

.08

1.60

Phosphoric acid,

1.54

2.30

.46

Insoluble matter,

77.83

9.70

36.36

Hard Pine Wood Ashes.

Moisture at 100° C.
Calcium oxide.
Magnesium oxide,
Potassium oxide, .
Phosphoric acid, .
Insoluble matter, .

Moisture at 100° C,
Potassium oxide, .
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter, .

Nitrate of Potash (2 Analyses).

Per cent.
.75

24.95
8.39

10.16
2.24

29.90

Per cent.

1.75 2.10

44.76 45.62

11.60 14.58

Trace.

Nitrate of Soda (13 Analyses).

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C
Sodium oxide.
Calcium oxide,
Magnesium oxide,
Nitrogen,
Sulphuric acid.
Chlorine,
Insoluble matter.

2.00

70.97
.41
.04

16.26

.20

2.52

.90

.85

35.00

Trace.

Trace.

14.44

Trace.

.20

.24

1.25

35.50

Trace.

Trace.

15.75

Trace.

.50

.50

610 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Saltpetre Waste from Gunpowder Works (7 Analyses) .

[Jan.

Highest. Lowest.

Moisture at 100° C,
Potassium oxide, .
Sodium oxide,
Calcium oxide.
Magnesium oxide,
Nitrogen,
Sulphuric acid,
Chlorine,

4.24

30.94

45.92

.83'

.28'

3.30

4.85"

56.00

.50
4.65

22.08
.71'
.09'
.80
.84'

37.66

* Only estimations reported.

Nitre Salt-cake (2 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C

6.71

6.34

6.03

Potassium oxide.

.87

Trace.

.87

Sodium oxide.

.

32.72

26.40

29.56

Nitrogen,

2.29

-

2.29

Sulphuric acid.

48.85

46.69

47.77

Insoluble matter,

4.12

3.73

3.92

Sulphate of Ammonia (22 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C,
Nitrogen,
Sulphuric acid.
Insoluble matter, .

2.40
22.23
70.70

.13
19 70
57.68

Ammonite. per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 5-88

Phosphoric acid, 3.43

Nitrogen, 11-33

Insoluble matter, 1-38

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 611

Dried Blood (11 Analyses).

Feb Cent.

nigbest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

21.52

7.65

12.50

Ash

10.04

3.56

6.37

Phosphoric acid,

6.23

1.53

1.91

Nitrogen,

13.65

7.80

10.52

Refuse Materials (Animal).

Oleomarga-
rine Refuse,

Felt
Refuse.

Sponga
Refuse.

Moisture at 100° C.
Ash, .
Calcium oxide,
Magnesium oxide.
Phosphoric acid, .
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter, .

8.54
14.42

12.12
.96

39.24
33.53

5.26
8.44

7.25

3.94
1.27
3.19
2.43
39.05

Horn and Hoof Waste (3 Analyses).

Feb Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

10.27

10.08

10.17

Ash,

14.62

1.05

7.63

Phosphoric acid,

-

2.30

Nitrogen,

16.10

11.84

14.47

Insoluble matter, •

-

-

.24

612 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Wool Waste (3 Analyses).

Highest. Lowest. Average

[J.

Moisture at 100° C.
Nitrogen,

10.12
6.25*

8.43
6.00

9.27
6.62

Saturated with oil.

Eaw Wool and Wool Washings.

Pee Cbst.

Raw Wool.

■Water
Washings.

Acid
Washings.

Liquid
from Wool
Washings.

Moisture at 100° C,

6.95

-

-

92.03

Ash,

7.64

-

-

3.28

Fat, . . .

8.92

-

-

-

Calcium oxide,

-

.28

.61

.04

Magnesium oxide, .

-

None.

.20

Trace.

Potassium oxide, .

-

3.92

4.20

1.09

Sodium oxide,

-

.49

.40

.92

Nitrogen,

12.88

-

-

.09

Insoluble matter, .

3.63

-

-

.22

Meat Mass (6 Analyses).

Pee Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

18.75

8.16

12.09

Ash

14.66

2.90

13.60

Total phosphoric acid,

3.58

.56

2.07

Nitrogen,

11.50

9.69

10.44

Insoluble matter,

.77

.40

.58

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

Refuse from Rendering Establishments.

613

Pkb Cest.

Bone
Sonp.

Dried
Soup from

Meat
and Bone.

Dried Soup

from
Rendering
Cattle Feet.

Rendering
Factory.

Soap Ghkabb

KBFD6K.

I.

II.

Moisture at 100° C, .
Ash, ....
Phosphoric acid, .
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter,

82.92
7.07
1.26
1.14

14.80
8.40

.63
9.97

.64

10.80
7.50

.46
14.47

.26

92.14

.14
1.12

38.79

43.13

11.04

2.21

1.20

19.70

59.65

15.37

4.20

1.37

Bones (103 Analyses).

Pes Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

11.90

3.05

7.47

Ash,

74.90

37.25

56.07

Total phosphoric acid, . . . . .

29.83

12.06

22.50

Soluble phosphoric acid, ....

.76

.10

.43

Reverted phosphoric acid, ....

16.78

2.24

6.50

Insoluble phosphoric acid, ....

23.87

8.13

15.70

Nitrogen,

6.75

1.50

4.12

Insoluble matter,

6.00

.04

2.00

Tankage (12 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C

28.09

5.46

14.61

Ash

37.06

19.40

23.23

Total phosphoric acid, .

14.60

8.00

10.67

Soluble phosphoric acid,

.27

.27

.27

Reverted phosphoric acid.

-

-

3.25

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

-

-

8.79

Nitrogen,

8.07

5.82

7.08

Insoluble matter, .

2.00

.56

1.23

614

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

fJan.

Fish containing 20 per

cent.

or less of Moisture (47 Analyses).

Pbk Cest.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C, .

.

19.88

6.61

13.24

Ash, ....

72.23

15.99

20.00

Total phosphoric acid, .

16.64

4.33

8.25

Soluble phosphoric acid,

1.70

.37

.55

Reverted phosphoric acid,

4.57

1.78

2.17

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

7.16

2.11

3.80

Potassium oxide, .

.45

.45

.45

Nitrogen,

10.24

3.87

7.05

Insoluble matter, .

4.99

.74

2.50

Fish containing between 20 per cent, and 40 per cent, of Moisture
(8 Analyses).

Feb Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C, .

38.11

20.58

29.34

Ash

36.50

16.87

24.14

Total phosphoric acid, .

8.90

5.60

7.25

Soluble phosphoric acid,

-

-

.82*

Reverted phosphoric acid,

-

-

2.87*

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

-

-

3.99*

Potassium oxide, .

-

-

.85t

Nitrogen,

7.41

4.22

5.81

Insoluble matter, .

2.89

.82

1.85

* Fish pomace.

t Diy grouQd fish.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

615

Fish conlainiiig 40 per cent, and more of Moisture (12 Analyses).

Pek Cbnt.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

60.58

40.35

45.46

Ash,

' 20.78

1.92*

12.50

Total phosphoric acid,

8.56

1.02*

5.08

Soluble phosphoric acid, ....

1.51

.83

1.17

Reverted phosphoric acid, ....

2.02

.64

1.33

Insoluble phosphoric acid, ....

3.62

1.88

2.75

Nitrogen,

7.60

2.43

4.97

Insoluble matter,

2.44

.16

1.35

Fieb-liver refuse.

Whale Flesh.

Pkb Ckht.

Raw.

Dry (with
Fat).

Dry (with-
out Fat).

Whale
Scrap.

Moisture at 100° C, . . .

44.50

-

-

9.51

Ash.

1.04

1.86

320

11.74

Fat,

22.81

40.70

-

-

Flesh

32.10

67.44

96.80

-

Nitrogen,

4.86

8.68

14.60

9.64

Lobster Shells.

Moisture at 100° C,
Calcium oxide.
Magnesium oxide,
Phosphoric acid, .
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter, .

Per cent.

7.27
22.24
1.30
3.52
4.60
.27

616 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE.

Peruvian Ouano (26 Analyses).

[Jan.

.

Pbb Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

22.61

7.02

14.81

Ash

61.65

13.58

37.61

Total phosphoric acid,

23.10

3.43

13.26

Soluble phosphoric acid, ....

8.80

.35

4.57

Reverted phosphoric acid, ....

6.20

1.38

3.79

Insoluble phosphoric acid, ....

16.60

4.67

10.58

Potassium oxide,

4.08

1.14

2.61

Nitrogen,

11.26

4.44

7.85

Insoluble matter,

11.91

1.30

6.60

Bat Guano (9 Analys

es).

♦

[One sample contained 1.31 per cent, j

)otassium c

)xide.]

Moisture at 100° C,

72.38

7.80

40.09

Ash,

72.14

4.34

38.24

Phosphoric acid, '

6.53

1.00

3.76

Nitrogen as nitrates,

1.80

.24

1.02

Nitrogen as ammoniates, ....

3.42

1.49

2.45

Nitrogen in organic matter, ....

5.66

.34

3.00

Insoluble matter,

54.15

.20

2.00

Cuba 0-uano (7 Analyses).

Moisture at 100° C,

36.85

12.10

24.27

Potassium oxide,

1.20

.14

.67

PHosphoric acid,

24.35

11.54

17.94

Nitrogen as nitrates,

1.00

.24

.62

Nitrogen as ammoniates, ....

.26

.14

.20

Nitrogen in organic matter, . .

1.48

.23

.85

Insoluble matter,

3.40

2.95

3.17

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 617

Caribbean Guano (Orchilla) (10 Analyses).

•

Pek Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

12.50

2.12

7.31

4;;!alcium oxide,

45.00

34.91

39.95

Magnesium oxide,

4.13

2.46

329

Phosi^horic acid,

35.43

18.11

2G.77

Sulphuric acid,

2.36

1.80

2.08

Insoluble matter,

2.40

.17

1.27

South American Bone Ash.

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 7.00

Calcium <?yide, 44.89

Phosphoric acid, 35.89

Insoluble matter, 4.50

South Carolina Bock Phosphate (4 Analyses).

Pbb Cbnt.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C, .

1.90

.10

1.50

Calcium oxide,

-

-

41.87*

Magnesium oxide,

-

-

3.03*

Iron and alumina oxide.

-

-

4.26*

Total phosphoric acid, .

30.51

25.81

28.03

Soluble phosphoric acid.

-

-

.27*

Reverted phosphoric acid.

.47

.19

.33

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

30.31

25.07

27.69

Insoluble matter, .

13.74

9.18

11.61

Only eBtimute.

618 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Navassa Phosphate (2 Analyses).

[Jan.

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C

_

_

5.60*

Calcium oxide,

37.67

37.22

37.44

Iron oxide,

11.79

8.75

10.27

Alumina oxide,

-

-

4.24*

Phosphoric acid,

34.45

34.09

34.27

Insoluble matter,

-

-

2.70*

* Only one test.

Brockville Phosjihate (1 Analysis).

Moisture at 100° C,

Phosphoric acid,

Insoluble matter,

Bone-black (5 Analyses).

Per cent.

260

35.21

6.46

Pkb Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

10.65

1.55

4.60

Phosphoric acid,

30.54

23.47

28.28

Insoluble matter,

6.60

1.53

3.64

Phosphatic Slags.
[I. German phosphatic slag. II. English slag.'

Pbr Cent.

I.

II.

Moisture at 100° C,

Calcium oxide, .

Magnesium oxide,

Iron and alumina oxides,

Total phosphoric acid,

Soluble phosphoric acid,

Reverted phosphoric acid,

Insoluble phosphoric acid,

Insoluble matter,

.10

41.87
3.03
4.26

30.51

.19
30.32.
13.74

.37
49.82

18.91

5.93

12.98

5.06

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

Castor Bean Pomace (4 Analyses).

619

Tee Cent.

Highest

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100 C,

10.18

9.25

9.98

Calcium oxide,

.96

.77

.87

Magnesium oxide,

.37

.20

.20

Potassium oxide,

1.70

.64

1.12

Phosphoric acid,

2.22

2.03

2.16

Nitrogen, . . ^ .

5.72

5.33

5.56

Insoluble matter,

2.38

1.12

1.75

Cotton

Befuse.

P«K Cent.

Cotton
Dust.

Cotton
Waste
(Dry).

Cotton
Waste
(Wet).

Cotton
Waste.

Moisture' at 100° C,

34.46

5.53

34.69

8.24

Ash

50.93

-

-

-

Calcium oxide, ....

.90

1.45

2.45

2.52

Magnesium oxide, ....

.90

.87

1.13

.66

Potassium oxide, ....

.19

.89

.80

1.62

Phosphoric acid, ....

.21

.84

1.54

.83

Nitrogen,

.50

1.32

1.30

2.09

Insoluble matter, ....

47.46

49.68

41.33

20.10

620

BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE.

[Jan.

Cotton-seed Meal (6 Analyses).
[I. Average of five analyses. II. Damaged.]

Pek Cent.

I.

II.

Moisture at 100° C,

Ash

Calcium oxide,

Magnesium oxide,

Potassium oxide,

Phosphoric acid, .

Nitrogen,

Insoluble matter,

6.80

6.77

.39

.99

.89

1.45

6.10

.60

9.90

.22

.56

1.21

1.26

3.73

.20

Rotten Brewer's Grain.

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 78.77

Calcium oxide, .26

Magnesium oxide.
Potassium oxide, .
Phosphoric acid, .
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter, .

.15
.04
.43
.72
.59

Tobacco Stems (5 Analyses).

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

12.18

8.95

10.61

Ash, . . .

15.00

13.30

14.07

Calcium oxide.

4.76

3.39

3.89

Magnesium oxide.

1.40

1.11

1.23

Potassium oxide, .

8.82

3.34

6.44

Sodium oxide,

.68

.16

.34

Phosphoric acid, .

.87

.44

.60

Nitrogen,

2.69

.90

2.29

Insoluble matter, .

1.35

.29

.82

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

621

Befuse Materials ("Vegetable).

Peb Cbnt.

Olacose

Hop

Sumac

Keftise.

Refuse.

Waste.

Moisture at 100° C, .

8.10

8.98

63.06

Ash

-

-

6.80

Calcium oxide,

.18

.27

1.14

Magnesium oxide,

.02

.10

3.25

Potassium oxide, .

.15

.11

.17

Phosphoric acid, .

.29

.20

-

Nitrogen, ....

2.62

.98

1.19

Insoluble matter, .

.07

.63

2.25

Sea-weed.

PER CENT.

Ebl-Obass.

ROCKWKED.

I.

n.

Green.

Dry.

Wet Kelp.

Moisture at 100° C,

45.61

25.17

68.50

10.68

88.04

Ash,. _ . . . .

20.39

10.81

23.70

65.75

2.26

Calcium oxide,

1.56

2.70

-

7.66

-

Magnesium oxide, .

.09

.12

-

.21

-

Potassium oxide.

1.61

.21

-

4.89

-

Sodium oxide, .

2.51

.74

-

7.90

-

Phosphoric acid.

.41

.22

-

2.75

-

Nitrogen,

.70

.96

.62

1.45

.26

Insoluble matter, .

.46

1.66

-

10.40

-

622

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Sea-weed Ashes.

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C 1.47

Calcium oxide, « . . 6.06

Magnesium oxide, 4.37

Potassium oxide, .92

Sodium oxide, 8.76

Phosphoric acid, .30

Sulphuric acid, 2.98

Sulphur, .14

Chlorine, 6.60

Magnesium chloride, .14

Insoluble matter, 63.65

Rockweed.
[I. Collected in May. II. Collected in December.]

PBB ClKT.

I.

n.

Fresh wet rockweed lost, in air, of water, .

78.700

65.920

Fresh wet rockweed lost, at 100° C, of water, .

90.400

76.920

Air-dried rockweed contained, of vegetable matter, .

88.220

89.000

Air-dried rockweed contained, of water, .

11.780

11.000

The filled pods left, at 100° C, of solid organic matter.

7.360

-

The fresh stems left, at 100° C, of solid organic
matter,

30.650

_

The slime of the pods, dried at 100° C, contained, of
nitrogen,

2.920

-

Rockweed, entire plant with filled pods, dried at 100°
C, contained, of nitrogen,

2.286

1.721

Rockweed, air-dried, contained, of nitrogen.

2.017

1.432

fresh (wet), contained, of nitrogen, .

.487

.397

dried at 100° C, contained, ashes, .

28.930

24.890

air-dried, contained, ashes, ...

6.220

22.150

" fresh (wet) , contained, ashes, .

3.770

5.825

The slime of the pods contained, ashes, .

49.356

_

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

623

One hundred parts of the ash contained (I.) : —

Per cent.

Potassium oxide, ....

4.842

Sodium oxide, ....

12.050

Calcium oxide, ....

2.691

Magnesium oxide.

2.753

Ferric oxide, ....

338

Sulphuric aoid, ....

7.986

Phosphoric acid, ....

6.240

Mud.

Pee Cent.

Mns.«el

Mussel

Salt

Salt

Black

Fresh-
water

Mud.

Mud.

Mud.

Mud.

Mud.

Mud.

Moisture at 100° C

1

60.01

2.24

46.36

60.37

56.55

40.37

Ash,

27.29

72.02

49.28

33.09

39.60

-

Calcium oxide.

.93

23.39

.90

.91

.91

1.27

Magnesium oxide.

.14

-

.31

.43

.66

.29

Potassium oxide,

6.17

.33

.32

.38

.22

Sodium oxide,

.70

-

.94

.94

.86

-

Fen-ic oxide, .

3.48

8.26

4.55

3.70 ■

4.26

1.80

Phosphoric acid.

.10

.35

Trace.

Trace.

Trace.

.26

Nitrogen,

.21

.72

.39

.40

1.64

1.37

Insoluble matter,

-

37.60

43.55

26.20

31.84

18.26

Soil from a Diked Marsh.

Per cent.

Moisture at 100° C, 83.40

Ash, 7.85

Calcium oxide, . . . 1.24

Potassiimi oxide, .26

Phosphoric acid, .13

Nitrogen, . . 1.64

Insoluble matter, 3.65

624

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Muck (11 Analyses).

Pkb Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

89.89

12.03

55.13

Ash, .

26.12

3.05

13.75

Nitrogen,

1.82

.26

.95

Peat (10 Analyses).

Per Cent.

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Moisture at 100° C,

85.38

11.29*

61.50

Ash, .

33.72

1.20

7.71

Calcium oxide.

-

-

.50

Nitrogen,

1.79

.41

.75

Insoluble Tna,tter, .

-

-

.38

German peat i

Turf (2 Analyses).

Feb Cent.

I.

n.

Moisture at 100° C

Ash, . . .......

^itrncrpTi .........

25.58
3.28
1.91

13.00
9.43
1.97

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUAIENT — No. 4.

625

Hen Manure.

Per Cbnt.

Dried.

Fresh.

Moisture at 100° C,

8.35

45.73

Calcium oxide,

2.22

.97

Magnesium oxide,

.62

Potassium oxide,

9.94

.18

Phosphoric acid,

2.02

.47

Nitrogen in organic matter, ....
Nitrogen as ammoniates,

1.85
.28

S "

Insoluble matter,

34.65

39.32

Poudrette.

Moisture at 100° C,
Ash, .

Potassimn oxide,
Phosphoric acid,
Nitrogen,
Insoluble matter.

Py cent.

5.25
35.45
49
6.74
3.58
4.65

Miscellaneous.

Per Cbnt.

Soot.

Ashes from
Blue Works.

Moisture at 100° C,

Organic and volatile matter, ....

Magnesium oxide,

Potassium oxide,

Cyanogen compounds,

Insoluble matter,

5.54
22 90

1.83

35.34

12.74

36.22

Trace.

9.02

Trace.

12.30

COMPILATIOX OF ANALYSES OF FODDER ARTI-
CLES, FRUITS AND SUGAR-PRODUCING
PLANTS, ETC.,

MADE AT

AMHERST, MASS.

1868-1889.
Prepared by Mii. W. H. Beal.

A. Analyses of Foddek Articles.

B. Analyses of Fodder Articles with reference

TO Fertilizing Ingredients.

C. Analy'Ses of Fruits.

B. Analyses of Sugar-producing Plants.

628

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

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031

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PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 4.

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634

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

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1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMEXT — Xo. 4.

G35

C. — Analyses of Fruits.

NAME.

Date.

1
1

li

i!

m

1

1

.1

1

i

•

Apple (Baldwin),

1877.
Sept. 1

Pcrct.

20.14

1.055

12-15

Per ct.
3.09

Per ct.

Perct.

c.c.

"

Oct. 9

19.C6

1.065

.. ..

6.25

-

-

-

"

Nov. 27

-

1.075

" "

10.42

-

-

-

Rhode Island Greening,

Sept. 1

20.27

1.055

" "

3.16

-

-

-

..

Oct. 9

19.68

1.066

7.14

-

-

-

t

Xov. 27

20.25

1.080

" "

11.36

-

-

-

Pear (Bartlett), .

Aug. 31

15.00

1.060

" "

4.77

-

-

-

" . .

Sept. 7

16.55

1.060

" "

6.68

-

-

-

Sept. 20

-

1.065

" "

8.62

-

-

-

" J. .

Sept. 22

-

1.060

" "

8.93

-

-

-

Cranberries,

10.71

1.025

15

1.35

-

-

-5

. .

1878.

10.11

1.025

15

1.70

-

-

-II

Early York Peach (ripe).

-

-

1.045

25

-

1.92

6.09

45

(nearly ripe).

-

10.90TT

1.039

25

-

1.36

4.12

42.3

Crawford Peach (nearly ripe),

-

-

1.050

18

-

2.19

7.02

85.8

" " (mellow),

-

ii.36ir

1.055

18

-

1.70

8.94

78

" " (not mellow),

-

11.8811

1.045

22

-

1.67

5.92

04

* One part Naj CO3 in 100 parts of water,
t Picked October 9.
I Picked September 7.

§ Free acid, 2.25 per cent.
11 Free acid, 2.43 per cent.
V In pulp, kept ten daya before tcBtlnf .

636

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

C. — Analyses of Fruits — Continued.
Wild and Cultivated Grapes.

NAME.

Date.

1

S
o

1

11

1

ll

1

S3
5

ill

ill

Concord, .

.

1876.
July 17,

1.0175

31

Per ct.
8.30

Per ct.
.645

Perct

7.77

c.c.

. .

.

July 20,

1.0150

31

8.10

.625

7.72

216

. .

Aug. 2,

1.0200

25

9.94

.938

9.4^

249

. .

Aug. 16,

1.0250

28

10.88

2.000

18.38

229

. .

Aug. 30,

1.0500

25

15.58

8.620

55.33

120

. .

Sept. 13,

1.0670

23

17.48

13.890

70.46

55

. .

Sept. 4,

1.0700

IS

19.82

16.130

81.38

49.2

Purple Wild Grape,

July 19,

1.020

31

9.00

.714

7.93

204

"

Aug. 4,

1.020

28

12.25

1.100

8.98

249

"

Aug. 16,

1.025

28

12.48

2.000

16.03

233

Aug. 30,

1.050

26

16.58

6.500

39.81

147.6

White Wild Grape, .

Aug. 31,

1.050

26

16.48

9.260

56.18

93

Hartford Prolific,

Sept. 6,

1.060

22

17.39

13.89

79.87

88.8

Ives' Seedling, .

Sept. 6,

1.070

26

20.15

15.15

75.14

88.6

lona, .

Sept. 7,

1.080

21

24.56

15.15

61.68

144

" (mildewed),

Sept. 7,

1.045

26

15.41

6.25

40.56

204.4

Agawam, .

Sept. 11,

1.075

20

20.79

17.24

82.92

94.8

Wilder, .

Sept. 11,

1.064

20

16.53

13.67

82.69

56

Delaware, .

Sept. 12,

1.080

24

23.47

17.86

76.09

74

Charter Oak, .

Sept. 12.

1.080

24

15.98

8.77

54.94

168.3

leraella, .

Sept. 16,

1.075

23

19.67

9.20

46.77

89.8

Bent's Seedling,

Sept. 20,

1.080

21

20.65

16.13

78.11

181.8

Adirondack,

Sept. 20,

1.065

21

15.11

13.17

87.16

68

Catawba, .

Oct, 16,

1.080

13

23.45

17.39

74.16

82

Wilder, .

1877.
Sept. 11,

1.065

23

16.41

15.15

92.32

60

Charter Oak, .

Sept. 12,

1.055

23

16.22

9.80

60.42

90

Concord, .

Sept. 13,

1.065

24

15.90

13.16

82.76

103

. .

Sept. 26,

1.075

24

19.34

15.43

79 78

70.8

Sumalan, .

Sept. 24,

1.065

16

19.62

13.16

67.07

73

Wild White Grape,

Sept. 5,

1.050

22

15.57

7.20

46.24

140.8

«' " " (shrivelled).

Sept. 20,

1.060

16

20.02

10.00

49.95

130

Wild Pnrpla Grape

[Bhri

Telle

1).

Sept. 20,

1.045

16

16.69

8.22

49.25 j

104

'One part of pure Naj COj in 100 partt water.

1889.-

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

637

C. — Analyses
Effect of

of Fruits — Continued.
Girdling on Grapes.

NAME AND CONDITION.

Date.

1

4
II

a

i

1

o

1

1

f2t

1877.

Per ct.

Perct

Perct

C.C.

Hartford Prolific, not girdled,

Sept. 3,

1.045

19

12.85

8.77

68.25

111.4

girdled.

Sept. 3,

1.065

19

17.18

12.50

72.76

100

Wilder, not girdled

Sept. 3,

1.055

19

15.41

10.42

6T.62

108.2

girdled

Sept. 3,

1.075

19

17.24

14.70

85.28

88.4

Delaware, not girdled, ....

Sept. 4,

1.065

19

15.75

11.76

74.68

101.2

girdled

Sept. 4,

1.075

19

19.14

15.15

79.16

94.4

Agawam, not girdled, ....

Sept. 4,

1.060

19

16.60

11.37

63.48

12S.2

girdled,

Sept. 4,

1.075

19

18.45

16.31

87.42

114.8

lona, not girdled

Sept. 6,

1.0625

n

16.60

13.51

68.31

131.4

•' girdled,

Sept. 6,

1.085

22

21.48

15.63

72.76

i25.a

Concord, not girdled

Sept. 6,

1.045

22

13.46

7.46

65.42

182.4

girdled,

Sept. 6,

1.070

22
22

17.53
17.63

13.88
13.70

79.18
78.27

102.8

not girdled, ....

Sept. 26,

1.065

86

girdled

Sept. 26,

1.080

22

24.47

19.61

80.13

78.8

" not girdled

Oct. 5,

1.075

12

20.92

17.50

85.37

42

girdled,

Oct. 5,

1.085

12

-

17.86

-

64

' One part of Na, CO 3 in 100 parts of water.

638

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

C. — Analyses of Fruits — Continued.
Effect of Fertilization upon the Organic Constituents of Wild Grapes.

NAMK.

Date.

1

f

It
|l

It

Per cent, of
Acids.

1877.

WUd Purple Grape Berries,

Sept. 20,

16.31

-

-

8.03

-

Unfertilized.

.

19.55

-

13.51

-

Fertilized.

" " " Juice, .

"

-

1.045

16

8.22

9.840

Unfertilized.

" - .

-

1.065

19

13.51

1.149

Fertilized.

Wild White Grape Berries, .

20.02

-

-

-

-

Unfertilized.

. .

21.65

-

-

-

-

Fertilized.

" " " Juice, .

-

1.060

16

10.00

1.846

Unfertilized.

.... . .

-

-

-

14.29

.923

Fertilized.

Effect of Fertilization upon the Ash Constituents of Grapes.

NAME.

Date.

II
1

1
CO

i
5

||
1 o
a

si
1

So

Remarks.

1876.

Wild Purple Grapei,

Sept. 13,

60.93

.15

22.23

5.59

.79

17.40

2.93

Unfertilized.

Sept. 20,

62.65

.85

14.24

3.92

.53

13.18

4.63

Fertilized.

Concord Grapes, .

July 7,

41.73

5.04

25.03

7.80

.55

18.48

1.37

Unfertilized

..

July 17,

47.34

1.13

24.21

-

.75

21.38

.43

"

..

Aug. 18,

51.14

3.19

16.20

6.38

.65

20.77

1.67

..

Sept. 13,

1878.

57.15

4.17

11.30

3.10

.40

12.47

11.82

"

.. .<

Oct. 3,

64.65

1.42

9.13

3.63

.50

14.87

5.80

Fertilized.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — Xo. 4.

639

C. — Analyses of Fruits — Concluded.
Ash Analyses of Fruits and Garden Crops.

Asb.

100 PABT3 OF Ash contained—

1

1

1

i

1

1
1

11=5
1"* 1

Concord grape (fruit), .

-

51.14

3.19

16.20 6.38

.65

20.77

1.67

Unfermented jaice,

-

50.85

.48

3.69 j 4.25

.10

6.43

.90

Fermented juice,

-

40.69

-

6.85 6.24

-

9.04

-

Skins and pulp,

-

7.70

.42

57.36 1 8.80

.08

24.40

1.32

Seeds, . .

3.08

6.71

-

-

3.03

-

17.20

.29

Stems of grapes,

4.69

20.91

-

20.20

8.45

-

17.75

2.09

Young branches, *

-

24.71

.94

40.53

10.66

1.08

17.16

4.92

Wood of vine.t .

2.97

22.57

-

9.72

4.28

-

14.07

23.S4

Clinton grape (fruit).

-

58.45

3.51

13.34

7.37

.90

18 19

-

Baldwin apple,

"

63.54

1.71

7.28

5.52

1.08

20.87

3.68

Strawberry (fruit), J

.52

49.24

3.23

13.47

8.12

1.74

18.50

5.66

" §

-

58.47

-

14.64

6.12

3.37

17.40

-

•' vines, .

3.34

10.62

13.35

36.63

3.83

6.91

14.48

14.17

Cranberry (fruit), .

.18

47.96

6.58

18.58

6.78

-

14.27

-

" vines,

2.45

12.98

3.27

16.49

10.33

3.35

10.94

34.04

Currants, red, .

.47

47.68

4.02

18.96

6.23

1.20

21.91

-

" white, .

.59

62.79

3.00

17.08

5.68

2.67

18.78

-

Crawford peach, Bound,

-

74.46

-

2.64

6.29

.58

16.02 i -

Ml

-

71.30

-

4.68

5.49

.46

18.07

-

Branch, sound, .

-

26.01

-

54.52

7.58

.52

11.37

-

" diseased, ||

-

15.67

-

64.23

10.28

1.45

8.37

-

Asparagus stems, .

-

42.94

3.58

27.18

12.77

1.22

12.31

.08

" roots, .

-

56.43

5.42

15.48

7.57

-

15.09

3.67

Onions, .

-

38.51

1.90

8.20

3.65

.58

15.80

3.33

With tendrils and blossoma. f One year old. J Wilder. § Downing. || Yellows.

640

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

D. — Analyses of Sugar-producing Plants.

Composition of Sugar Beets raised upon the college grounds during the season

of 1870 and 1871,

NAME.

Date.

Brix

Saccharo-

Per cent,
of

Non-
saccharine

( Degrees).

Sugar.

Substances.

Electoral,

Sept. 10,

14

12.30

1.75

Imperial,

" 12,

15

12.59

2.41

Vilmorin,

" 13,

14.5

12.95

1.55

Imperial,

" 18,

14

10.79

3.21

Imperial,

Oct. 11,

15

12.05

2.95

Electoral,

" 16,

15

12.22

2.78

Vilmorin,

" 18,

16

13.13

2.87

Imperial,

Nov. 14,

15

11.60

3.34

Vilmorin,

" 21,

15.5

13.12

2.38

Vienna Globe,* .

Sept. 19,

11

8.00

3.00

Common Mangold,*

" 19,

9

5.00

3.97

Fodder beets.

Percentage of Sugar in Diflfereut Varieties of Sugar Beets grown on college farm
during the season of 1882.

•

NAME.

Source of
Seed.

Weight in
Pounds.

Per cent, of
Sugar in Juicr

I. Vilmorin,

Saxony, .

|to i

15.50

II.

"

1 to 1

15.61

I. White Imperial, .

i to If

14.20

n. "

"

If to 2

10.27

New Imperial, .

1

n to If

13.80

I. White Magdeburg,

"

11 to 2

13.10

n. "

1 Silesia, .

n to If

10.06

Quedlinburg,

Saxony,.

n to If

13.44

White Silesian, .

Silesia, .

U to li

9.72

1889. J

PUBLIC DOCUMENT-^ No. 4.

641

D. — Analyses of Siigar-prod^icing Plants — Continued.
Effect of Soil and Fertilization on Electoral Sugar Beets.*

Soil.

Manors.

n

CO

If

It
2;

51

Sandy loam,

Fresh yard manure.

16.5

12.50

4.00

75.08

Clayish loam, .

" "

15.5

11.05

4.45

71.30

Warm alluvial, .

Yard manure and

chemicals, .

12.75

9.17

3.58

71.92

" » .

Fresh hog manure,

13.5

9.53

3.97

70.06

Light sandy soil,

No manure, .

18.5

13.73

4.77

74.21

Alluvial soil,

Brighton fish.

14.5

11.15

3.35

76.90

Heavy soil,

Yard manure.

12.25

8.15

4.10

66.53

-

-

13.5

9.90

3.60

73.33

Not raUed on college farm.

Effect of Fertilization on Sugar Beets.*

.

Pei^estaoes of Sogab

IN JDICB.

Fertilizers.

Freeport.

Electoral.

Vilmorln.

Fresh horse manure, ....

11.96

9.42

7.80

Blood guano without potash.

10.99

10.10

10.20

Blood guano with potash,

12.55

13.24

10.50

Kainite and superphosphates, .

13.15

12.16

10.50

Sulphate of potash, ....

14.52

14.32

12.78

Second year after stable manure,

13.49

12.78

12.19

All were grown on the same ooil, — sandy loam.

643

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

D. — Analyses of Sugar-producing Plants — Continued.
Effect of Different Modes of Cultivation on Electoral 3ugar Beets.

»

LocALiTT OF Beet-field.

Brix

Saccharo-

(Degrees).

Per cent, of
Cane Sugar.

Non-
gaccharlne
Substances. .

Sing Sing, N. Y.

11

7.80

8.20

Washington, N. Y., ....

14

10.97

3.03

South Hartford, N. Y., . .

15

11.70

3,30

Greenwich, N. Y., .

12

9.50

2.50

Frankfort, N. Y., . . . .

13.5

11.00

2.50

Albion, N. Y.,*

18

15.10

2.90

" t

14

9.70

4.30

From beeta weighing from 14 to 2 lbs. t rrom beetB weighing from 10 to 12 Ibe.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 4.

643

D. — Analyses of Sugar-producing Plants — Continued.
Early Amber Cane.

Datb.

CONDITION OF CANE.

II
■c »

II
II

s

O

00

s

6

1

5

1

1879.
Aug. 15, .

No flower stalks in sight,* .

4.2

27

Per ct.
2 43

Per ct.
None

C. C.

6.8

Perct

7.93

Ang. 16. .

« ..

6.8

24

4.06

None

9.0

11.10

Aug. 20, .

Flower stalks developed,*

7.9

24

3.47

2.15

7.0

13.00

Aug. 24, .

Flowers open,*

8.7

23

3.70

3.00

4.0

14.07

Aug. 27, .

Plants in full bloom,* .

10.0

25

3.65

4.13

10.0

15.4$

Aug. 30, .

Seed forming,*

9.5

30

4.00

3.81

9.5

16.14

Sept. 2, .

Seed in milk,* .

10.7

27

3.85

4.41

9.5

15.85

Bept. 9, .

Seeds still soft,* . .

12.1

22

8.21

6.86

9.6

26.18

Sept. 9, .

Stripped on Sept. 2,*

12.8

22

3.77

6.81

9.6

28.76

Sept. 18, .

Left on field without stripping,* .

13.2

22

3.57

7.65

-

-.

Sept. 18, .

Tops removed,*

13.8

2G

3.16

8.49

-

-

Sept. 18, .

Tops and leaves removed on Sept. 9,* .

11.5

22

3.16

6.85

-

-

Sept. 18, .

Tops removed ; left on field 9 days,* .

12.8

22

10.00

.60

-

-

Sept. 21, .

Juice from the above,* . . . .

13.0

21

-

-

-

Sept. 23. .

* .

15.0

18

-

-

-

-

Sept. 25, .

Left on field 3 weeks,! •

19.8

21

11.91

6.27

-

-

Sept. 28, .

' t .

17.8

12

16.60

-

-

-

Oct. 4, .

' t .

16.1

17

8.62

6.16

12.0

-

Oct. 7, .

Freshly cut. Ground with leaves,! .

16.7

20

4.16

9.94

6.8

-

Oct. 8, .

" " Stripped 2 weeks,! •

12.8

17

6.16

5.27

7.0

-

Oct. 9, .

.. .. .. " ! . .

18.4

17

7.67

-

10.6

-

Oct. 14, .

Several weeks old,!

18.2

15

10.42

-

10.4

-

Oct. 18, .

" " !

15.1

23

7.57

-

-

-

Oct. 19, .

" " !

15.5

15

9.22

-

13.6

-

Oct. 22, .

!

16.2

16

8.30

-

-

-

Oct. 23, .

" " !

. .

18.3

17

11.30

6.6

14.0

-

Oct. 24, .

.... 1

. 16.6

15

S.63

-

9.*

-

Raised on th* college farm. ! Raised by farmeri In the vicinity of tke eoll«g«.

644

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[Ja

D. — Analyses of Sugar-producing Plants —
Composition of the Juice of Com Stalks and

■ Concluded.

Melons.

i?

d

B.

=

VARIETY.

1

2 -i

P

Is

S

o

ll

S ^

5

■a

Northern com, * . . . .

1.023

27

Per ct.
4.35

Per ct.

.28

Per ct.
15.18

Black Mexican sweet corn, ] .

1.048

27

2.06

7.02

17.44

Evergreen sweet com, f .

1.052

_

4 85

6.70

20.38

Common sweet corn, % . . .

1.035

-

6.60

None.

-

Common yellow musk-melon, §

1.040

26

1.67

2.65

-

White-flesh water-melon, .

1.025

18

2.91

2.16

-

Red-flesh water-melon, .

1.025

22

3.57

2.18

-

. . .

1.025

19

3.84

1.77

-

Nutmeg musk-melon, || . . .

1.030

19

3.33

2.11

-

t . . ■ .

1.050

20

2.27

6.38

-

"**...

1.030

19

2.50

1.43

-

* Tassels appearing.

II Not ripe.

t Ears ready for the table.

IT Ripe.

X Ktrnels somewhat hard.

•* Over-ripe

§ Fully ripe.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

645

Dairy Products.

NAMR.

Volatile
Matter and
Moisture at

100° C.

Ash.

Fat.

Casein.

Non-nitro-
genous
Extract.

Whole milk, ....

Skim milk,

Buttermilk, ....

Whole milk cheese (Jersey),* .

Whole milk cheese,* .

Cheese from milk skimmed after
12 hours' standing,*

Cheese from milk skimmed after
24 hours' standing,*

Cheese from milk skimmed after
36 hours' standing,*

Cheese from milk skimmed after
48 hours' standing,*

Cheese from skim milk with ad-
dition of buttermilk,* .

Genuine oleomargarine cheese,*

87.40
89.81
91.84
37.16
35.83

37.30

42.24

43.95

45.41

48.38
37.90

.70

.80

.80

3.39

3.14

4.52

2.35

5.14

3.88

4.64
4.50

4.00

.37

.21

37.32

3434

27.81

23.42

17.67

15.77

18.35
31.66

3.20

3.53

2.79

22.13

26.69

30.37

31.99

33.24

34.94

28.63
25.94

4.70
5.49
4.36

' From analyeea made in 1875.

646 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan.

METEOROLOGY.

The meteorological observations of the past year have been
a continuation of those of preceding years, being on the same
general plan as recommended to voluntary observers of the
United States Signal Service. Observations are made at 7
A.M., 2 P.M. and 9 p.m., and include observations of tem-
perature, quantity and movements of the clouds, direction of
the wind, the humidity of the air during the summer months,
rain and snow fall, and of casual phenomena.

January opened with 4 inches of snow and good sleighing,
which continued through the larger part of the month. On
the 26th, a heavy snow-storm. At the close of the month
the snow averaged about 18 inches. Quite a depth of snow
remained on the ground until the thaw of the 20th of Febru-
ary. The snowfall for the month of February amounted to
9.5 inches. At the close of the month there were 6 inches
on the ground.

From the 11th to the 16th of March occurred the severest
storm of the season. This storm is recorded as giving 16
inches of snow, which amounted to 3."35 inches of water.
The storm was accompanied by high winds. The compara-
tively warm weather which followed took the snow otf
rapidl3^ At the close of the month there were but 2 inches
of snow on the ground. The last storm of the season occurred
on April 10, with a record of 1.5 inches of snowftill.

The rainfall for the year amounted to 58.04 inches, or an
average of 4.84 per month. According to the observations
at Amherst, this is the heaviest since they were begun in
1836.

The average rainfall for the years 1836-1888 amounts to
44.34 inches. The smallest rainfall during this time was in

1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 647

1864, 34.44 inches ; this was preceded, however, by a rain-
fall of 56.19 inches in 1863, which is, next to 1888, the high-
est for the period.

The largest rainfall during any one month was 10.70 inches
in September. This record for one month has been exceeded
only five times during the period covered by the Amherst
observations (1836-1889). The rainfall was pretty evenly
distributed throughout the rest of the year.

The mean annual temperature for the year is 43.98°. The
average for the period from 1837-88 is 46.81. The average
for the year 1875 was 44.22, which is the lowest except for
the year 1888. The highest average thus far for any year
has been 49.47°, in 1878. January, 1888, was the coldest
month since 1837, being 9.5 lower than the average for that
period. The temperature for October has been lower but
once, — 1841, — and for April and July but twice, since the
records began. The temperature for June, August and
November was the average for those months, while Decem-
ber shows a consideral)ly higher mean. February, March,
May and September were considerably below the average.
The weather during the growing months was quite favorable
to the grass crop, but corn sufl'ered considerably from the
wet weather. The latter was unfavorable for the curing of
both these crops.

The last killing frost of the season occurred May 8 ; the
first in the autumn, September 7. The average date of the
first killing frost in this vicinity is September 20. Light
frost occurred ]\Iay 16 and September 6. Snow-squalls
occurred October 9 ; the first snow-storm happened Novem-
ber 25. This snowfall, amounting to 5 inches, was the only
appreciable one during the month. The snow disappeared
quickly. In December there were two slight storms, amount-
ing to less than 3 inches.

The prevailing direction of the wind for the j^ear was
N. W. It was north-west in January, February, March,
April, June, July, August, Septeml)er, October and Decem-
ber; sotith-west in May, and north-east in Noveml)er.

The number of days when the sky was less than four-tenths
covered by clouds, clear days, was 58 ; the greatest number,
9, being in January, and the fewest, 1, in August.

648 BOARD OF xVGRICULTURE. [Jan.

There were 97 '* cloudy" days, or those when the sky was
more than seven-tenths covered by clouds. March and Octo-
ber had 12 cloudy days each; April and July the fewest, 3
each. The remaining days were variable, being partly
cloudy and partly fair.

The highest temperature of the year was 94.5°, occurring
July 23; the lowest, —21.5°, occurring January 23. The
maximum for the previous year, 1887, was 93.6°, on the 2d
of July, and the minimum was — 22.2°, on the 19th of
January. The absoliite range of temperature for 1888 was
116°, practically the same as for 1887, 1° less than for 1886.

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

G49

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650

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Miscellaneous Phenomena — Dates.

Frost.

Snow.

Raia.

Thunder
storms.

Lunar
Ualos.

January,

-

4, 8, 10, 13,
17, 25, 26,

1. 15,

-

-

February,

4, 7, 10, 11,
18, 25,

4, 8, 20, 25,

-

24

March, ....

2,11,12,13,
21, 26,

20, 21, 22, 26,

27, 28,

-

25

April, ....

4,17,23,24,
25,

10,

1, 2, 5, 10, 12,
14, 18, 20,

6,

-

May

3, 8, 16,

~

1, 5,8, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15.
16,18,28,29,

14,

21

June

~

-

6,7,14,15,20,

21,23,24,26,

28, 30,

6, 14, 15,
21, 23,
24,30

"

July

-

-

1,5,9,11, 19,
20, 27, 31,

1, 5, 11,

-

August

-

-

4, 5, 6, 12, 13,
17, 21, 22,

4,17,

18

September, .

6, 7, 29, 30,

-

1,8,12,16,17,
18,20,21,26,

20, 21,

15

October,.

1, 3, 4, 11,

15, 19, 22,

26, 30,

~

1, 2, 6, 7, \1,
13, 14, 16, 17,
19, 24, 27, 28,

~

"

November, .

13, 17, 21,
22, 23, 24,

25,

3, 8, 9, 10, 15.

16,19,26,27,

29,

"

14

December,

3, 7, 21, 22,

4,9,

6, 11, 16, 17,
18, 27,

-

15

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

651

Recokd

Of the Average Temperature taken from Weather Records at Amherst,
Mass., for three consecutive months, dui'ing the summer and winter
beginning with the year 1836.

Decjmber, January, February.

June, July, August.

1836-37,

Degrees F.

25.396

1837, .

Degrees F.
69.130

1837-38,

26.386

1838,

69.550

1838-39,

25.950

1839,

70.180

1839-40,

20.626

1840,

68.770

1840-41,

23.146

1841,

69.230

1841-i2,

28.516

1842,

68.210

1842-43,

23.460

1843,

67.950

1843-44,

21.320

1844,

67.260

1844-45,

25.550

1845,

70.120

1845-46,

22.140

1846,

68.406

1846-47,

25.176

1847,

68.806

1847-48,

28.966

1848,

69.210

1848-49,

23.026

1849,

69.210

1849-50,

27.570

1850,

68.820

1850-51,

25.040

1851,

66.640

1851-52,

21.620

1852,

66.830

1852-53,

27.940

1853,

67.846

1853-54,

23.670

1854,

69.856

1854-55,

23.126

1855,

67.146

1855-56,

20.820

1856,

69.225

1856-57,

22.720

1857,

67.240

1857-58,

26.956

1858,

67.930

1858-59,

24.746

1859,

65.650

1859-60,

24.790

1860,

66.540

1860-61,

24.510

1861, .

66.870

1861-62,

24.470

1862, .

66.490

1862-63,

27.640

1863, .

66.656

1863-64,

26.060

1864, .

69.336

1864-65,

21.310

1865, .

*

68.946

1865-66,

25.676

1866, .

67.400

1866-67,

. 25.276

1867, .

67.920

652

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE.

[Jan.

Record of Temperature, etc. — Coucluded.

December, January, Febrnary.

1867-68,
1868-69,
1869-70,
1870-71,
1871-72,
1872-73,
1873-74,
1874-75,
1875-76,
1876-77,
1877-78,
1878-79,
1879-80,
1880-81,
1881-82,
1882-83,
1883-84,
1884-85,
1885-86,
1886-87,
1887-88,

Degrees F.

20.350
26.290
27.866
26.666
24.630
21.350
27.286
21.180
28.156
23.510
28.506
■ 24.290
80.506
21.856
29.256
24.220
26.506
22.630
24.846
22.146
20.827

June, July, August.

1868.
1869.
1870,
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878:
1879,
1880,
1881,
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888

Degrees F.

69.700
66.890
71.700
67.810
70.790
68.596
66.306
68.026
71.780
70.080
68.896
68.150
69.286
67.966
69.866
68.840
68.960
66.740
66.100
68.100
67.893

1889.]

PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4.

653

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•APeEA-TAKEN 111 2 ACRES ■

INDEX TO SECRETARY'S REPORT.

Acres, a bundred, or more, paper on, by Elbridge Cusbman, 351.

Address of Dr. G. B. Loring before tbe State Board of Agriculture at

Eastbampton, 7.
Agricultural exbibitions, 1889, 375.

American agriculture, paper on, by Dr. G. B. Loring, 308.
Annual meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, 301.
Apple orcbard, tbe, remarks on, by P. M. Augur, 134.
Apple orchard, tbe, remarks on, by T. S. Gold, 137.
Assignment of delegates, 305.
Association by and among agriculturists, the uses of, lecture on, by J. M.

Hubbard, 270.
Augur, P. M., remarks on the apple orchard, 134.
Avery, J. D., lecture by, on profit from sheep, 55.

Bachelder, N. J. , remarks of, 236.

Barton, Jr., H. A., remarks of, 266, 291.

Board of Agriculture, public meeting of, at Eastbampton, 3.

Board of Agriculture, annual meeting of, 301.

Bradley, A., remarks of, 297.

Chase, Mrs. G. K., lecture by, on farmers' wives and daughters, 249.
Cbeesman, James, remarks of, 241.
Cheever, A. W., remarks of, 295.

Chemical fertilizers, lecture on, by Prof. G. H. Whitcber, 22.
Clark, S. "W., lecture by, on co-operative dairying, 229.
Co-operative dairying, lecture on, by S. "W. Clark, 229.
Cranberry culture, lecture on, by J. W. Stockwell, 119.
Cusbman, Elbridge, paper by, on a hundred acres or more, 351.

Delegates, assignment of, 305.
Draper, James, remarks of, 263.

Ely, Oscar, remarks of, 291.

Exhibitions, agricultural, 1889, 375.

Experience with commercial fertilizers, lecture on, by S. G. Hubbard, 14.

Farmers' wives and daughters, lecture on, by Mrs. G. E. Chase, 249.
Fertilizers, chemical, lecture on, by Prof. G. H. Whitcber, 22.
Fertilizers, commercial, experience with, lecture on, by S. G. Hubbard, 14.
Fertilizers, paramount, lecture on, by Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, 37.
Finances of tbe societies, tbe, 365.

[6,59]

660 INDEX TO SECRETARY'S REPORT. [Jan. '89.

Gold, T. S., remarks on the apple orchard, 137.

Goodell, H. H., lecture by, on reminiscences of the Orient, 203.

Grinnell, J. S., paper by, on Massachusetts agriculture, 329.

Hay for market, lecture on, by J. B. "Walker, 183.
Hickox, S. A., remarks of, 293.

Hubbard, J. M., lecture by, on the uses of association by and among agri-
culturists, 270.
Hubbard, S. G., lecture by, on experience with commercial fertilizers, 14.
Humphrey, Moses, remarks of, 260.

Irrigation, lecture on, by W. W. Rawson, 168.

Japan, life in, lecture on, by William Wheeler, 85.

Loring, Dr. G. B., address of, before the State Board of Agriculture, 7.
Loring, Dr. G. B., paper by, on American agriculture, 308.

Market gardening, lecture on, by A. H. Smith, 158.
Market gardening, paper on, by W. W. Rawson, 358.
Massachusetts agriculture, paper on, by J. S. Grinnell, 329.

Officers of the agricultural societies, 1889, 371.

Opening address, public meeting at Easthampton, 3.

Orient, reminiscences of the, lecture on, by H. H. Goodell, 203.

Paramount fertilizers, lecture on, by Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, 37.
Public meeting of the Board of Agriculture at Easthampton, 3.

Rawson, W. W., lecture by, on irrigation, 168.
Rawson, W. W., paper by, on market gardening, 358.

Seelye, Dr. S. T., opening address of, at Easthampton, 3.

Sessions, William R., remarks of, 298.

Sheep, profit from, lecture on, by J. D. Avery, 55.

Smith, A. H., lecture by, on market gardening, 158.

Societies, the finances of the, 365.

Societies, agricultural, ofllcers of the, 371.

Stockwell, J. W., lecture by, on cranberry culture, 119.

Strawberries and currants for market, lecture on, by E. W. Wood, 147.

Sturtevant, Dr. E. Lewis, lecture by, on paramount fertilizers, 37.

Walker, J. B., lecture by, on hay for market, 183.

Ware, B. P., remarks of, 268.

Wheeler, William, lecture by, on life in Japan, 85.

Whitcher, Prof. G. H., lecture? by, on chemical fertilizei's, 22.

Wood, E. W., lecture by, on strawberries and currants for market, 147.

APPENDIX.

Laws relating to the Board of Agriculture and agricultural societies , etc.

379.
Cattle commissioners, annual report of, 398.
Experiment Station, annual report of board of control of, 413.

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