MEETINGS OF THE BOARD.

A. M.

SPECIAL MEETING AT CONCORD.

A special meeting of the Board of Agriculture was held at the office of the secretary in Concord, May 4, 1887, at 11 o'clock Present: Messrs. Humphrey, Perry, Farnum, Whittemore, Carr, Lyman, Philbrick. The records of the special meeting were read and accepted. The secretary made a verbal report of the work of the office, and laid before the Board the plan of completing the report then in press, which was approved. By-laws governing the Board, in accordance with the act of organization, were adopted. On motion, the list of fertilizer companies licensed by the State for the sale of commercial fertilizers was ordered published for general information. The Hatch Experiment Station bill was read and discussed, but no action taken. On motion, voted to hold the annual fieldmeeting in August, the date and place to be arranged by the secretary.

The Board then adjourned.

ANNUAL FIELD-MEETING AT HAMPTON.

In accordance with previous announcement, the annual fieldmeeting of the Board of Agriculture was held at Boar's Head, Hampton Beach, on Tuesday, August 30, 1887. An informal meeting of the members of the Board was held on the previous evening for considering the time and place of holding the winter series of institutes, but final action was postponed until

the annual meeting on the 31st. The morning of August 30 was strongly indicative of rain, but before noon a fair day was assured, and a large crowd assembled. A large canvas had been provided by Col. S. H. Dumas, proprietor of the Boar's Head House, and was erected between the hotel and the ocean. This afforded an excellent auditorium for the meeting. Hon. Moses Humphrey, of Concord, president of the Board, called the meeting to order at 11 o'clock and delivered an address of welcome. He alluded to the time when he was a fisherman along this coast, more than sixty years ago, and reviewed some of the leading agricultural developments since that day. He closed by referring in a feeling manner to the late Secretary Adams.

Prof. G. H. Whitcher, of the Agricultural College, Hanover, was the first speaker, upon the subject of "Fertilizers." The address was practical, interesting, and held the close attention of the audience from the beginning to the close. It is published in full elsewhere in this report. After numerous questions on the subject, which were readily answered by the professor, recess was taken for dinner. This was an enjoyable part of the program, for, scattered about the extensive grounds in the vicinity of the hotel, were families, societies, and smaller picnic parties, all enjoying their out-door dinner in their own peculiar way, while the dining-rooms of the hospitable hotel were patronized to their fullest capacity. During the intermission, through the thoughtful courtesy of Colonel Dumas, the Mechanics Band, of Hampton, arrived, and gratuitously enlivened the occasion with musical selections.

At the afternoon session a much larger audience had assembled, not only filling the large pavilion but the hotel piazzas and the grounds adjoining. It was estimated that one thousand people were in attendance during the afternoon. Hon. Joseph B. Walker, of Concord, was the first speaker, upon "The Progress of New England Agriculture during the Past Thirty Years." Mr. Walker's address is printed in this volume, and is a valuable production of one of New Hampshire's ablest writers. It is needless to say it was accorded close attention and frequent applause. The secretary spoke upon the subject as applied to New Hampshire agriculture as follows:

Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen:

The advancement or decline of the agricultural interests of New Hampshire affords a broad and fertile field for discussion, and a subject peculiarly appropriate at this meeting, representing the various agricultural organizations of the State, on the work of which the success of agriculture largely depends. Progress is continually being made in the arts, sciences, and professions, developing the resources and enhancing the prosperity of the State. Probably more advancement has been made in various directions, essential to the general development of our Commonwealth, within the past thirty years than in an equal period at any previous time. Has the science of agriculture kept pace in this advancement? The citizens of no country are credited with healthy advancement unless they have made improvement in all that tends to make an intelligent and prosperous people; and therefore no business or profession should be considered successful unless its prosperity reaches beyond the accumulation of wealth.

In considering the success our agriculture has attained, we should know the social and educational progress made as well as the financial. The time is passed when the success of a farmer was measured entirely by his bank account, and is fast being determined by his general intelligence and the advancement made in all that goes to make a thrifty and honored citizen of the State. It is time to get out of the old ruts. Consider for a moment the condition of the farmers of the State thirty years ago. There will come freshly to the minds of many present the honest, hard-working, plodding farmer, whose field of information and interest was limited by the boundary lines of his farm, and whose chief ambition seemed to be to bequeath a property to his descendants. In fact, there were no inducements offered for a broader life, and the social, educational, and political affairs of the State were entirely neglected, and controlled by other classes of people. Since that time a great change has taken place, and investigation proves that the present means of advancement offered the agricultural people of the State are not excelled by any class or profession.

The educational improvement has been brought about in

various ways. The Agricultural College, made possible by the act of Congress of 1862, has exerted a broad influence for the dissemination of an agricultural education. The Board of Agriculture, organized in 1870, has performed a large amount of practical work, holding meetings in nearly every town of the State, and issuing annual reports, which have widely distributed the information gained at those meetings and other important agricultural facts. The Grange, first organized in New Hampshire in 1873, has extended its influence until, at the present time, it has an active organization in ninety-one towns, holding more than two thousand meetings annually for the discussion of agricultural subjects. The Granite State Dairymen's Association, organized in 1884, has held numerous meetings and instilled a desire for a better knowledge of dairy matters. The Grange Fair Association, organized in 1886, witnessed a year of remarkable success, and is aiding agricultural education in a practical way by a friendly rivalry in the products of the farm.

Numerous other agricultural organizations have come into existence during the period. We would not forget the work just taken up by the Granite State Poultry Association, and the success of their first annual exhibition. These are organizations that have come into existence within thirty years. The establishment of an agricultural experimental station, which is about to take place, with an annual appropriation of $15,000, is a valuable acquisition to the long list of educational organizations, diffusing an agricultural knowledge and promoting a higher education among the tillers of the soil. The number of agricultural papers has largely increased since 1857. Then the family paper was passed through the neighborhood; now, there are few farm homes without several agricultural publications, and many a farmer would find it a long evening without his daily paper. What a change within thirty years!

The opportunities offered the farmer for social culture are increasing in an equal degree. As a person becomes better educated, there is a tendency to increase sociability, and, by the means previously referred to, by the society of summer visitors, and urged by the demands of an educated mind, there is no society which the farmer and his family may not be fitted to enter on an equality with people of culture and refinement.

There may exist in the minds of some a doubt in regard to the financial advancement, in regard to the profitable cultivation of the soil. During the first half of the present century the land was comparatively new and contained much of the primitive fertility, which, by continued cropping, has become in a measure exhausted. Science has come to our aid. Commercial fertilizers have come into use, and, by the aid of improved machinery, crops are cultivated and harvested at greatly reduced expense. Shipping facilities have increased also. We have not the time to go into detail in this matter, but figures will prove that a bushel of corn or a pound of butter can be produced at as small expense as thirty years ago. We refer now to those farms of the State that are worth cultivating, and not to the hilly sections with thin soil that can only be profitably used in the growth of wood and lumber. Farm buildings are in better condition than at the beginning of the period we are considering. We submit that the same amount of thought and intelligent application of labor will bring as remunerative results as at any time in the history of the State.

We refer to political advancement, for it is fast being demonstrated that it is the farmer's duty to take such interest in the political affairs of the State as will secure a just regard for his own interests. By the mental training received in various ways, he is enabled to hold, and fast being called to, positions of honor and trust previously filled only by professional officeseekers. In no way is the advancement of agricultural interests more clearly shown than by the recognized ability of those engaged in it for participating in the public affairs of the State. We predict that in the future more positions of honor and trust will be filled by the sturdy yeomanry of New Hampshire, socially and educationally fitted by the various means to which we have referred.

We would by no means assert that agriculture has advanced to its highest standard; but, after calm reflection and consideration, we are led to believe there is cause for congratulation, and that we have attained a position from which the greatest success may be reached. As representatives of the various agricultural organizations, let us join hands in a friendly grasp for the con