Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-03-29
rFor the Daily Spy.l
The Sixth Annual Report of the Secretary Of the
BOARD of AgriGulture.

oOdIu VI 1a6
Mr.. Editor Il wish through your columns
to call the attention of your readers to the
above named report. The secretary begins by
an account of the remarkable success which
has attended the operations of the board for
five years ending April LIST, 1859, at the farm
connected with the State Reform School at
Westboro'. He tells us that "the board has
cleared for the state, on an average, over
thousand dollars year" for the whole time ;
and to correct "gross misrepresentation" and
to prove that the farm has been greatly i'm
proved in its productive capacities" he gives
us the amount of produce raised on the farm
each of the five years previous to its coming
| into charge OF the board and also, what pur
| ports to be the amount raised while under their
arrangement He tells US that "the farm has
produced 1909 bushels of corn, III tons Of
English hay, and 2044 bushels OF wheat, rye
and oats more since it came into the hands of the
board than 1t did the five years previous land
that this large increase of crops is fairly due to
| the increased capacity of the farm" and that
nothing is included in this amount but what
was produced by the management of the
| farm"
Now this looks WELL and if it is correct, the
board are justly to entitled our gratitude; and
the legislature ought to be liberal in their APP
preparations for their future operations. If, on
the contrary, it is not correct, the people are
deceived and and great injury is done to the
whole Commonwealth. To satisfy ourselves
on this point, we will just turn to former re-
ports. In 1854 the state farm, only, was culti-
waited by the board, and the amount of corn
raised, as reported was 900 bushels. in 1866
they hired large farm adjoining the state
farm, on which they raised 235 bushels of
corn, 1865 bushels of potatoes, and 80 tons of
English hay, which together with the avails Of
large pasture and all the other products of
the farm, s0ere included in the reported produce
of the state farm for that year. (See secreta-
ry's report for 1866, page "a, 35, and 39) You
will see by the above reference that 255 bush
els of corn, more than half the hay, and about
two-thirds of the potatoes reported as the
produce of the state farm, for that year, grew
on hired land.
In 1856, another adjoining farm was hired
and cultivated by the Board, that, and the fol-
lowing year, but the details of the crops are
not in my possession. l learn, however, from
the Secretary's Report of 1857, page 2l2, that
5023 bushels of corn were raised on said hired
land. In 1858, large amount of hay was
purchased of neighboring farmers, all of which
is included in the sum total as the produce of
the state farm. So you will see that when we
deduct what we know from the printed docu-
ments, grew on hired land, (leaving out most
of the produce of one farm for two years. and
the increased capacity of the farm" stands
thus -
1854-900 bushels corn.
1S55-724
1S56-13 acres corn on hired land, the produce to
be deducted from Secretary's Report.
lS57-6ll4 bushels corn.
lS5S-536
Much of the manure made on the state farm
was carried to those adjoining farms, while the
reservoirs for receiving the wash from the in
sttution, and which cost the state some thou
sands of dollars, were left unoccupied. Dur
ing the last year of their operations not a load
was saved from this vast resource, which con-
sequently lett the farm in condition to "in-
crease in its capaciy'' more rapidly, in the same
direction, had not different policy been adopt
ed. More might and ought to be said, but it
appears to me enough has been stated to show
the people who is responsible for some of the
misrepresentation" afioat in the community.
BY the above statement of facts / would, by
no means, implicate the whole Board MANY
OF them are my personal friends, whom es-
teen and respect, and would charitably hone
that no one, save the writer's, have ever com.
pared the different reports and carefully ex.
amined their details.
Truth AND JUSTICE.
| Westboro' March 90 1860