The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-20
THE CONVENTION CLOSED
JIlEES r. MACDONALD 1DDRESSED
 LAST NIGHTS SESSION.

Work of the state Road Commission De-
 scFlbed-Onion Culture Discussed by l.,
 c. Beecher of Woadbridgo-ur. G. M.
 Twitcheu's Interesting Paper on Points
 of Cattle and Hortos-A Resolution of
 ThOnks-Other Doings at the Closing
 Meeting.
 The last days session oC the state board of agrlcultmc's annual meeting and farmers convention was called 10 order at 9;SO yesterday with rather small attcndanco present, Firas on the program was Q paper by LoRoy C. Beecher of Woodbridge on New Methods fin Onion Culture" MT. Beecher has been very successful in this line of farming and his paper gave the results of his large experience. pr. Foote of Haddam then gave an infor- mal talk concerning his experience with ensilage and described his success with silos during the thirty years of eX- perience with them. Next on the pro- gram was a paper by Professor w. II. Jordon of Orono. Me, on "CoEserva tism in Scientific Agriculture" MT. Jordon spoke of the larger amount expended in this country in agricultural study and the results attained through the agricultural colleges and the agrlcul- tural press. He then said: There are iN, 1,o. T,,it1 PO t. maintaining courses in agriculture The faculties of these institutions include l,64S persons, and have an endowment of $4500,000 and over 21, GOO students in agriculture.
 '"There are 5 experiment stations, 51 receiving government aid. These in stitutiOns are otlicered by 5T persons who use annually about $1 O0O, OOO They published in the year stated 54 annual reports and 40l bulletins and distribut- ed this literature to over 500,000 persons. It's appears from this that 1000 persons and $5,000,000 aye annually applied to the education and investigation by the farmers of the United States. Of this sum over $2, 800 900 is a direct gift from the national government.
 "TheTe is at least one complaint the farmers of the United States have no right to utter, that is, That they do not receive full recognition in the exercise of the patemaI functions of national and state governments or in growth of the means and methods of public educa- ton, The question which must come to the workers in college and state with great force and meaning is, are we justifying this great outlay of time and money by what we are accomplishing.
 After the paper had been Thoroughly discussed an adjournment was taken.
 At ? o'clock the convention reassem- bled in the Hyperion, where Dr. G. M. Twitchcll, secretary of the Maine State Agricultural society, spoke on the Scale of Points and Score Card in De- termining Awards at Agricultural Fairs" His address was in substance as follows:
 One of the most difficult things for a man to do is to break company with an old time practice and to establish new paths. Ever the truth has been the same, but our conception is changing as We awake to the stress of new con- dtionS. It is truth just the same, but it comes in new dress, and divides and sub-diVides, for as we probe into the closer relation of things. we find that our appreciation of the value and re- lajion of parts is all which aid in en- abling Us to comprehend the whole, We stand amazed at the wonders made plain by the delivers in the realm of nature, yet they are but putting to- gether the fragments and seeking thus t0 know the purpose of the story. It is getting a the harmony of things which alone make improvement possible. The era Of muscle has been superseded by | that of brains. All conditions conspire l and inspire towards a higher standard. | The farmer is not a. producer to-day | buJ a manufacturer, and the laws which | govern in the realm of manufacturing govern also in that of agriculture. One 1 is the comprehension of details and | their relation to one another. II is the natural tendency with men working alone as do the great majority of farm | CTS, to drift unCorsciously into fixed ness of habits. The evil attending this ! is recognized. Out of 1t comes the low standard of production, large per cent l of unprOfitable stock, quantity of in | ferjor products, evidence of want ol appreciation of the best means and methods of marketing, now fully one half the story. While this is natural there is demanded a getting down tc simple problems and a study of parts
 in relation to the whole and for the single thought of purpose.
 1 The special purpose in the creation of agricultural societies is to secure reg
 ular exhibits of stock and products | The original act reads, For the i'm, provement of agriculture and the ad- Vancement of mechanics" Two svs. tem,s are open for the awarding oi premiums, the committee of three and the single judge with his score card
 The objection to the former is not ol | inferior judgment, though the divisions of the scale will make a man critical 1 but that no evidence is given for siyina
 or withholding an award and also that
 it is difficult to free one from the over.
 shadowing influence of wealthy anG
 influential exhibitor. or to pass such by without a ribbon. Under this method
 there can be no education for the simple
 reason that no one knows why the rib | bon is given or not.
 l Our agricultural societies exist fol
 three specific purposes:
 n ff,,yJ -.--.-