The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-10-15
agricultural.
Vermont Experiment Station.

III the praiseworthy purpose OF the
patrons of husbandry to petition the
present legislature for the establish
ment of an agricultural experiment
station should prove effective, the ques-
ton next to be considered would be,
What kind of experiments should be
tried there?" This is very important
matter to decide upon, and with no
wish to press our own views unduly we
shall, in this article, offer some sug-
gestions on this point, based upon our
knowledge of similar establishments
elsewhere, and of their work.
1t is our view that each state expert
ment station should devote itself chiefly
to forwarding the leading agricultural
specialties of that state, without disre-
garding entirely either general work,
or the promotion of new branches likely
to be introduced or extended. We
would not have it, like the Connecticut
station, chiefly devoted to chemical
work, nor, like the New York station,
giving up too much time to the solution
of merely curious questions, not of very
great importance or applicability. For
the settlement of great physiological
questions connected with the feeding
of animals, this state is not likely
to furnish enough money, and we
must leave them to the well-endowed
stations established in Europe, where
the landowners are the nobility, who
control the government and know that
the more knowledge on these questions
is disseminated among their tenants the
more rent they can exact for their
land. These aristrocratic landowners,
being educated men, know the value of
science to the arts, and being legisla-
tors, can appropriate what money they
choose in this way to what they know
will be their own gain. Our own farmers
indeed are legislators, with a maiority
power, but unfortunately they do not,
by lack of experience in the matter, so
well understand their interest in the
increase of exact knowledge relative to
their business. In states where exper-
mental stations have been established
for the bentit of agriculture, strange as
it may seem, the chief opposition has
been from Legislators who were them
selves farmers. and the first states to
establish such stations have been states
like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and
New Jersey, where majority of the
legislature was not interested directly
in agriculture. No doubt the same
trouble will be encountered here, from
lack of information on the subject
among those who have the decision of
the matter in their hands 1t would be
well if some money were expended in
bringing such information before the
members of our legislature by means of
an address or addresses from parties
practically familiar with station work
and its results. We suggest to the
grange the propriety of bringing men
like Professor Collier, Professor Brewer,
Professor Alwater or Professor John
son, all eminent in agricultural science.
to address the members of the legisla-
ture on this subject.
For ourself, we do not believe that it
will be best to expend a great deal of
money on chemical investigations. The
analysis of fertilizers under the present
state law would naturally fall to the
station, but the chief expenditure ought
to be, we think, in the direction of our
largest farm industries, which are con-
nected mainly with the growth of forage
and root crops, the feeding of dairy
animals, sheep and swine, the care of
milk and the manufacture of milk
products, the care and management of
orchards, the production of small fruits,
and, along with these, and fundamental
to them all, thorough study of ma
nures and fertilizers practically applied
in the growth of all these crops. For
such purpose small farm is wanted,
all of good arabic land, with variety
OF soils. In our opinion fifty acres
would be plenty of land, if rightly
chosen. There ought to be abundant
but cheap buildings supplied for all the
kinds of work proposed. Nothing ex-
travagant should be allowed in any de-
partment, and the director of the sta
ton should be held to the most rigid
and careful economy in all respects.
1t would be well to make the board of
agriculture legally visitors of the sta
ton, with the duty of counseling and
advising with the director, but not with
such positive authority as to lessen in
any degree his individual responsibility,
for unless this is protected there will
practically be no responsibility any
where.
1t is to the board, the dairymen's as
ISOLATION and the grange that the direc-
tor will naturally look for the sugges-
ton of suitable subjects of study and
experiment. We believe that in order
to make the value of the station appre-
ciated it should meet the wants of the