Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-02-19
Board of Agriculture.

The board held u meeting at the town hall,
st. Johnsbury, commencing Thursday alter
noon of last week, j. X. Emerson, of Peach
am, president of the county agricultural so--
ciety, being in the chair. lie gave the adj
dress of welcome.
Geo. r. Drew, of North Danville, gave an
address on "Tho advanta ges of Hard Times"
and j. p. Foster, of Barnet, one on Progress
in Agriculture and Education which we
did not arrive in season to hear.
When we entered the hall Mr.. +. d.
Douglas, of Whiting, was speaking. He said
the kind of education our farmers want 10
enable them to take their place with the leg
islators of the land is agricultural education.
DR.. HosSins: There is nothing we can get
so cheap according to its value us practical
education. We get 1t every day. 1t comes
to us in spite of our efforts to shun it. The
great improvements in agriculture in Europe
were due. not to the education of the agri-
cultural class but of the rich landowners.
Mr.. Brown: We can get the necessary
kind of education in no better way than in
such meetings AS this. We want to get to-
gether in the farmers clubs, and exchange
our ideas. 1t is practical and not theoretical
knowledge that we want.
Prof. Collier: Science is necessary in agri-
culture. We have an immense reservoir of
wealth in our Vermont Soils which all our
forefathers had not the power to take away
from us. Restoring less than fourth of
what is taken from our fields is sufficient to
keep up their fertility. If we but stop ex-
hausting our soils they will become more
fertile in spite of us.
In regard to the agricultural college fund
he said it is easy enough to be wise after the
fact. And probably that is the case with the
criticizers ofthe agricultural college and the
use made OF the fund. The fund was used
for branches which were legitimateiy neces-
sary under the act bestowing the fund. If
the Legislature had the fund in their hands
now they would probably act differently in
view of the development of the intellectuali-
ty of the farmers of Vermont. But now, the
most courteous and appropriate course would
seem to be for them to aid the college in es-
tabishing such practical school as was call
ed Tor by Mr.. Douglas and others. Not q
single student presented himself for the
course of agricultural lectures which was to
have been delivered at Burlington this win
ter, and does that encourage us to appropri-
ate money and establish purely agricultur-
al college?
The agricultural colleges of Massachusetts,
Ohio and Michigan, which have farms, do
not meet with universal approval in those
states. They probably have not the best
plan Of instruction.
DIR. Hoskins: The trouble is that farmers
do not want the education. The secret OF
the success of European agricultural schools
Is that the rich landholders-not the poor
iarMers-refused to let land to those who
had not the necessary brain and education.
Josiah Ward, of st. Johnsbury, broke up
piece OF land which might have borne 5Oor
55 bushels of oats. Put on so bushels of ash
es, and got GO bushels per acre. Got from
80 TO 55 bushels of oats from the so bushels
of ashes Put SO bushels of ashes on one
acre of stubblc and 30 loads of manure on
another part of the same field, and got much
more winter rye, and afterwards probably a
ton more ofhay in the ne xt few years from
SO bushels of ashes than from the 20 loads of
manure.
Evening,
Way said he once tried somo of
Bradley's superphosphate on various crops,
carefully, aud is satisfied he never received u
cents worth Of profit thereiron, though per-
haps it was because his soil at that time
needed something else more than phosphate.
He had formula for an artificial fertilizer,
which he thought would DO better and
cheaPer,if The material were bought 10 guam