Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-08-10
New Hampshire Agricultural College.

NNU hdhp~hiO SVahNsNa
A correspondent of the Boston Journal,
who was with the members Of the legisla.
ture W no attended the last commencement
criticised pretty sharply the untidy appear
ance of the buildings, tools. etc, at the
college farm, of which Mr.. j. w. Stnborn
is superintendent. and he has published
reply which has some matter of general
interest, and we give it below
These city ia. mers whose experience OF
farming is that of place 10 eApend mon
ey and make Il fine place, are not exactly
the ones to pass Judgment on the workings
of practical farm where the ultimate end
must be the money to be got from the
farm. There is a certain amount of tidi
ness necessary on farm to secure the
best results. and there may be any amount
of work expended beyond this which
would result only in good looks. We
Judge Mr. Sanborn has held to the first
ami not run the college farm in debt for
needless show.
The farm policy, its experiment work,
crops and result. the all important factors.
are ignored. and the standard of the beau
tifu or orderly raised, BY which to meas,
ure the utility of the farm. ] OF irct. A
show farm, II thing in gilt, is pet Ideal
of the model state fam by the public. To
fall below this ideal is to look common.
even mean. This farm is dcsignedlY run
on the commercial basis. The show farm
teaches nothing 1t may inspire the few
who see it. An experiment farm in It's
ordinary Groupings, using the principles
and factors essential to maximum net re.
suits. pen forms - double office Tor the
MANY One critic observes that scores Ui
farm barns are moretldS. | know OF scores
whose buildings cost more than those OF
the college farm and the fine large farm
connected, and whose labor bill fer the
beautiful in farming alone exceeds our
yearly gross labor bill. AS everyone has
his own standard of what is tidy, orderly
and beautiful, 1t is necessary to know thai
of the critic in order to know whether
things here are what is implied really
sIovenIv. That cannot know. THUS
can do no better than to state the facts Il
they existed The barn windows were
clean, stalls clear of spiders webs com
mon to stables, feed boxes clean, stable,
swept and Uttered with plaster Tor odors
barn floor clean, doors up, fence boards
nailed, no sticks, stones or other materials
lying round loose anywhere about the
buildings or farm. tools all in place, with
the dir simply bloom,ed Off hut no sccur'
ing.
Negative virtues are alone sufficient to
condemn II college fam, and thus we art
placed under the unpleasant necessity OF
giving resume, very brirhy,of the situa
ton at the begir ming of the present nearly
five years management, its policy and r."
suits. 1t foUnd twenty-five grade and nat VI
cattle and one pure.bre bull calf eXccpl
ing cart substantially noools ;twelve acr
OF ground under tillage, Of its seventy five
arabic; thirty acres OF the remainder cut
ting from fifteen to eighteen tons OF hay
fences ami minor matters needing lmme
date outlay, from which no revenue cOuo
be expected. Not dollar was on hand OF
to be devoIed To the farm, except its mel
revenue after paying its own bills. 1t wa'
in good position 10 attempt to show IL
our struggling husbandry that the factors
of success are at the command OF the New
sources have been devoted to this purpose
and the more important one OF searching
for principles that underlie farm operations
as 1t has been made an experiment station
Without funds, this double work has ab
sOrbed funds and efforts, and the more IN
mediate credit of tie superficial gilt II
farming was ignored, the acccssorl' heln!
in common dress. As an experiment sta
ton it has published nearly ii " papers {
its i've years Continuous eXperImen work
most of which have received gen raj q / =
tation in this country and some ha
abroad One instance will illustrate TN
importance of some of them. The ha
crop of the country is estimated for 1871
at S27l, 1874 $50. Men of science and prat
tice agree that hay grows little, il any, a
ter bloom, and that it grows OF less VALUE
Three wears work here have shown tn
timothy grows from thirty to nearly tort
per cent subsequent 10 bloom, and Is poun
against pound more valuable. Tins Is
Colonel Sellers q estiun, literally emil
lions in it., and OF vastly more imp 'rlanr
than the tools or accessories TO is trial
In the policy and methods of its taIl
groupings, the New England historic po
lev of small areas well titled. has bee
Abandoned for broad areas well titled. IL
volving the use of capital, chemicals, far
mechanism, against hand methods, III
the purchase of rich manure foods The
the farm has had to earn. 10 generaIl2
the farm experiments have cost $40
$500 annually; 500 to $500 have been p
into permanent Improvements; twenty
cattle have become fifty including fourte
pure bred Du hams, and SIX pure br
Ayrsh'res.
A Il ok of 60 sheep and lambs, mos
pure Cutswold, have been obtained; 81
additional hors, fl sh have been bOugl
wagons. harnesses, dairy and full line
farm tools have been added, to the amou
of ne rly $1,000; 1900 bushels of ash
5000 in chemicals, large amounts of n
nure foods have been purchased; over 81
expended in pasture Improvement. w I
found II acres of hord AMI grain crop
now have 81 TO harvest; oats standing D
ST. feet hugh and good Tor 80 bushels !
acre, barley FOR so bushels. Where
acres of grass would cut Is To IL tons
shall now GET 20 tons. My critics 5
grass that in II acres will cut Al ions
two crops, tons beng weighed for f
crop per acre. Perhaps one OF he larg
items is in our fatttd soil, from which
revenue is to come in the future. low
these bills have received $l053 from
Trustees These facts | submit not
parade, but as evidence that our farm d
not merit unqualified and sweeping cr
ism. may be allowed to add that COLI
farms are not necessarily pits tor pull
moneys.
Mr. Sanborn writes, as he works, dreC
to the point, and We commend his 81;
ment AS above made, TO the managers
the Massachusetts agricultural college,
showing what can be done with lin
resUul ceS.
We have received the fourteenth ann
rouort nf the hoard of trustees of the