Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-01-14

tended for this department to HENRY ID.
H>AAoSD, Agricultural Editor Oxford Dem
ocrat, Paris. Me.
The RETIRING SECRETARY OF THE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
We believe il eminently fitting and
proper that the retirement of Hon. b.
Walker McKeen as Secretary of the
Board of Agriculture should not pass
without some slight tribute to his SER
vices to the state, and to the cause of
agriculture at large. For IA years he
has been a valued member of the Board
of Agriculture of our state, and the
pages upon which he has written are by
no means blank. He has striven ear
nestly, honestly and well for the upbuild-
ing of the cause, in which his whole
heart and life are enlisted, and the
record he has left behind is one to be
pointed to with pride.
The progress made has been so grad
ual, and has been made with so little
noise and blare of trumpets that 1T is
hard TO recall that matters were not al
ways as Commissioner Gilman finds
them upon entering the Office this morn
ing. But the changes wrought under
the guidance of Secretary Mckeen are
nevertheless marked, and will be noted
by none more than by Commissioner
Gilman, who was a member of the Board
when Mr.. McKeen was elected Secretary.
Mr.. McKeen was President of the
Board when the act creating an Agri-
cultural Department OF the Board was
III . -, a Of hiStnrr thaf
it was largely through his efforts that
this act was introduced and finally be-
came a law. When he was elected Sec
retary of the Board in 1891 he came to
an office devoid of all that was helpful
TO those who were entitled to its use and
benefits. There were no records and no
means of knowing anything about the
previous work of the Board except
through the meagre reports of the an
nual meetings, published each year in
the yearly report. The office was abso-
lutely without catalogues, and all means
of taking advantage of the few books it
contained.
Secretary McKeen has had an ana
lytical subject index of the reports made
and this has been carried up To date. 1t
consists of nearly 10000 cards, duly ar
ranged in library cases, and by its use it
is easy To ascertain all that has been
written at any time of any subject. Ex-
pert librarians have said that with this
index set of agricultural reports is
worth at least $50.
Secretary McKeen has also collected a
complete card catalogue of the work of
all of the American Experiment Stations,
as compiled by the cataloguer of the
Department at Washington, and has
nearly all of these bulletins on file, and
ready for reference at any time. The
reports of the Agricultural Departments
of several states are to be found in the
fine bookcases in the office, which have
been added to the office furniture under
the administration of the retiring secre-
tary. The institutes have been increased
from IS to So in year, and the interest
has been continually increasing.
We cannot too strongly emphasize the
value of the work done by Secretary Nc
Keen in this line. No man has put more
life and inspiration into any department
of public service than he has into this,
and we believe it will be many long
years before its influence will cease. The
dairy meetings have also greatly increas-
ed in interest and value to the dairymen
of Maine. In his institute work it has
been his practice to call in the aid of
speakers from the experiment station rs
well as from the live up to date farms of
the state. Practical Maine farmers who
have made success of their own busi-
ness have been valuable teachers for
Others In addition to this home talent
he has brought from abroad such men as
John Gould, IL. c. Adams, Prof. Voohees,
L. b. Harris, o. ID. Sanford, Henry Van
Dresser, \. j. Bachelor and others.
The board bulletins have been extend
ed, and receive communications from
between three and four hundred farmers
in every county. They have been enter
ed as second class mail matter and sent
monthly to about 5000 farmers. There
is a constantly increasing demand for
these bulletins, and for the reports.
Secretary McKeen has spoken at nearly
every institute held during the ten years
that he has been secretary, many times
speaking twice, and at different places
the same day. 1t is an acknowledged
general institute work in the field.
lie has always been favored with the
hearty cooperation of the board and was
elected to his fourth term of office with
only five scattering votes against him,
out of the Is votes thrown.
The Kennebec Journal thus tittingly
alludes to the retirement of Secretary
McKeen:
''Hon. B. Walker McKeen, who for 10
years has been the secretary of the State
Board of Agriculture, will leave, Friday,
upon the invitation of Hon. o. e. Gregg,
superintendent of Institutes in Mime
sofa, to participate in institute work in
that state. The meetings which he will
address will be held continuously from
Jan. till March II. Associated with
him in this work will be L. b. Terry of
Ohio, the eminent authority on clover
and potato culture, who has addressed
some of the strongest agricultural gath
erings ever held in our state, Henry Van
Dresser of New York, and other speakers
of national reputation. During his long
service in the promotion of the great
agricultural interests of our state Mr..
McKeeu gained an enviable reputation
as a speaker of rare ability, force and
clearness. The fact that after laying
aside the burdens of office he has been
so promptly called upon to do service as
speaker on farm topics in one of the
greatest agricultural states in the Union,
is certainly a high compliment to his
superior qualifications for work of this
character"
Surely the good wishes of thousands
of warm friends and appreciative CO.
laborers from the farm homes scattered
all over our state will go with him and
wish him success in his new field Of
labor, and safe return to his old home,
where there are yet, We trust, many
years of success and happiness in store
for him.-Turf, Farm and Home.
Take an inventory at this season.
Make out a list of everything you have
on hand in the way of stock, tools, hay,
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