The Portland daily press., 1877-10-17
BY TELEGRAPH.
MAINE.
FARMERS IN COUNCIL.
Meeting of the Board of Agriculture Mt

Especial to the Press.l


Alfred.
Especial to the Press
ALFRED, Oct. 16.-The semi-nanual meeting
of the Maine Board of Agriculture and Farm
ers' Convention opened at Alfred this forenoon
with fair attendance and good prospect of
most profitable and interesting session.
The meeting was called to order by Vice
President w. w. Harris of Portland, and a
graceful and neat address of welcome was
made by William Emery, Esq. of Alfred. In
speaking of the county, whose invitation the
Board accepts at this session. Mr.. Emery gave
some interesting and suggestive figures, few
of which are as follows:
York county has twenty-six towns contain
ing 60, 1000 inhabitants. There are in the coun-
ty 214,O0O acres of improved land with no less
than 100000 acres unimproved The hay
crop yields about 100000 tons annually and
there are raised each year about 100000 bushels
of potatoes. The dairies Of the county turn
out 100000 pounds of butter annually, and
recently considerable attention has been given
to the manufacture of cheese.
Considering the fertility and possible produc-
tiveness of the soil the county ought to be and
could be abundanty self supporting, yet
every year the town of Alfred alone buys
5000 bushels of corn, 500 to 800 barrels of flour
and Yearly 500 bushels of oats. This great
draft upon the cash resources of the county
was regarded as caused by misrepresentation
of the comparative profitableness of agricul-
ture-a misapprehenSiOn which he believed to
be groundess, and which he hoped the meeting
of the Board would do much to remove.
Vice President Harris made brief and very
Inv. md Co. Co. a,
BILE words set forth the objects held in view in
calling the convention and his sense of the
weight and value of the topics to be consid-
cred.
The first essay of the session was presented
by Mr.. ID. M. Durham, who spoke of exports
and imports of manure in Maine"
From Mr.. Dunhan's very clear and complete
statement of statistics it appears that the state
of Maine exports annually fertilizers to the
value of 81, 124 600, but imports only to the
amount of 1924 500, making balance against
the farming interests of the state of some
100000 This, as it would seem with good
reason, he thought was not as il should be.
Messrs Gilbert, Flint, Leland and Others,
took part in the discussion which followed the
essay. Quite a large fraction of the export OF
manure from the state consists of bone phos
pilates, and the need of this element for our
lands was emphasized in the discussion.
The afternoon session opened with an essay
on liquid manures by Geo. Flint of Anson,
which was fully discussed. Among the visitors
present and participating is Secretary Adams
of the NV Hampshire Board.
The students of the State College at Orono,
with several of the faculty. arrived by the af.
ternoon train They number some ninety and
are uniformed and equipped in two companies
termed Coburn Cadets, and are quartered at the
town ball. They will take part in the exer.
cIses Thursday
10 the evening Prof. Carmichael of Bowdoin
delivered yaluahlA lectnre on "ExnerIment
stations at home and Abroad
"Wednesday evening lecture will be given
by j. A. Varney on Our homes; how to beau.
tfy and adorn Them" and Thursday evening
President Allen will lecture upon "The State
College; its work, aims and results"