$19,200 00 $18,367 85 $19,800 00 $19,396 30 $20,400 00 $19,623 62 $21,000 00 necessary ex agriculture by means of lect ures or otherwise, Printing 15,000 copies of the Used. penses of the se retary, Incidentals, office of sec 1,800 00 1,659 82 2,000 00 1,997 42 2,200 00 2,198 69 2,200 00 "Agriculture of Massachusetts," 5,521 08 5,521 08 Totals, 7,305 00 6,729 37 *7,000 00 $32,737 99 $31,523 58 $35,705 00 $34,773 44 $35,929 37 $34,867 00 $36,800 00 LEGISLATION. The legislation of the year 1890 that had particular reference to the agricultural societies was an amendment to section 1 of chapter 114 of the Public Statutes, authorizing the payment of a bounty to certain agricultural societies (Acts of 1890, chapter 297); an act stating the conditions under which societies may sell or mortgage the whole or any portion of their real estate (Acts of 1890, chapter 274); an act to incorporate the Worcester East Agricultural Society (Acts of 1890, chapter 41); an act to authorize the Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society established in the town of Blandford to take land for agricultural purposes (Acts of 1890, chapter 411); and a resolve in favor of the Worcester East Agricultural Society, providing for the payment of two hundred dollars bounty (Resolves of 1890, chapter 36). 1891. Appropriated. At the annual meeting of the Board, Feb. 3, 4 and 5, 1891, the following regulations were adopted: 1. That the agricultural societies be required to print a revised list of their members in their transactions for 1891, unless such list has been printed in their transactions within three years. 2. That the societies be required to print in their transactions the names of the officers for each year ensuing their election. 3 That amounts paid in premiums to parties not residents of this State shall not be considered in predicating the amount of State bounty the societies shall receive. 4. That the secretary be instructed to notify the societies that they will be required to make their returns in strict compliance with the provisions of law and the regulations of the Board. FARMERS' INSTITUTES. The regulations of the State Board require each of the thirtyeight societies which expect the State bounty to hold not less than three farmers' institutes each year. Some societies hold more than the required number. These institutes have been mostly well attended. Live topics have been treated by lectures, which were followed by interesting discussion, in many cases awakening much enthusiasm. It is believed that much valuable information has been imparted, and that the agriculturists of the State are as a whole fairly prosperous. The "old paths" so often recommended do not get praise in the farmers' institute of to-day. Changed conditions require a change in practice. Our fathers prospered by producing staple farm products. The wonderful transportation facilities of to-day enable all parts of the world to send such products to us at small expense, and Massachusetts farmers must compete on almost even terms with the mellow and fertile soil of the Western prairies. But Massachusetts has a full hundred of cities or towns that have more than four thousand inhabitants. Most of the people who live in these centres enjoy a liberal income or earn good wages, and they are willing to spend that income for the good things of life. They want the luxuries of life, the finest butter, the purest milk, the freshest of poultry products, the products of gardens and greenhouses in season and out of season. They are willing to pay for them. He who furnishes what is wanted and just when it is wanted, gets a good price and makes a profit. Here lies the opportunity of the Massachusetts farmer. The effort at the institutes has been to stimulate enterprise in these directions. The agricultural productions of the State are increasing in value from year to year. The loss in beef, wool, wheat, etc., is more than made up by an increase in milk, butter and fine fruits, including cranberries and garden products. ABANDONED FARMS. Meantime, we hear much of the abandoned farms in the State. They are in retired locations, mostly among the hills. Some of them are ideal situations for summer residences of the well-to-do, others are adapted to specialties in agriculture. This office is in continual receipt of letters of inquiry about such property. If the Legislature would provide for an official list and descriptions of such property, somewhat after the plan pursued in New Hampshire, it is believed that many of these farms might be sold, and thus become productive property, enhancing the valuation of the State and adding to its production and population. MEETINGS OF THE BOARD. The public winter meeting of the Board at Worcester, December 2, 3 and 4, was a success in the quality of the lectures presented. The policy of procuring for this meeting men of national reputation as agricultural lecturers, gave us an exceedingly interesting programme. The audiences were not large, but the prominent farmers were present from all over the State, and the discussions that followed the lectures were animated, and questions on practical points of the addresses brought out a vast amount of valuable information. The essays at the annual meeting by members of the Board are worthy of a place with the lectures at the Worcester meeting. This matter printed in this volume, "Agriculture of Massachusetts, 1890," will be a standard for reference in the institutes of the coming year, and in the discussions of our granges and farmers' clubs. DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT. The liberality of our Legislature provides for the printing of 15,000 copies of the " Agriculture of Massachusetts," and the distribution of them is such that every city and town in the Commonwealth shares in it. The distribution of a little more than half is provided for by law, each member of the Legislature having twenty-five copies, and five hundred copies are bound with the public documents. The remainder are distributed through this office to members of the Board of Agriculture, members of agricultural societies, farmers' clubs and granges and to farmers in towns having no member of the Legislature or of the Board, or no agricultural organization, through our appointed agents, and a few are retained in the office to supply those who are not able to get them from the sources above mentioned. Frequent requests come to this office for back volumes of the "Agriculture of Massachusetts." Much difficulty has been experienced in the past in supplying these; and, in order that we might not be obliged to refuse such requests, the policy has been adopted of purchasing these volumes from parties having them for sale, whenever it could be done advantageously; and thus parties desiring these reports have been able to procure them for what they cost us. This results in good in two ways. It prevents the books from being destroyed, and also enables parties wishing to do so to complete their sets at a comparatively small expense. The following is given as an illustration of what has been done in this line the past three years: Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, 20 vols. ; Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, 18 vols.; Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station, 16 vols.; Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, 26 vols. ; Portuguese government, 36 vols.; Utah Agricultural College, 7 vols. ; Chicago Public Library, 13 vols.; Cornell University, 11 vols.; Wellesley College, 8 vols.; University of Illinois, 17 vols.; German Consul, Boston, 29 vols.; University of Minnesota, 30 vols.; Cleveland, O., Public Library, 25 vols.; New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, 28 vols.; Astor Library, New York, 4 vols.; Harvard Univer sity, 6 vols.; United States Department of Agriculture, 6 vols.; Dayton, O., Public Library, 3 vols.; Patent Office Library, London, 3 vols.; Cumberland Grange Library, Abbott Run, R. I., 13 vols. ; New York Agricultural Experiment Station, 7 vols.; Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, 7 vols. ; Agricultural College, Sapporo, Japan, 15 vols. ; Storrs Agricultural School, 9 vols.; Raymond Library, East Hartford, Conn., 19 vols.; New York State Agricultural Society, 7 vols.; Juvenile Asylum and Farm School, Hartford, Conn., 18 vols. LIBRARY. During the past year quite a number of recent works on agriculture and kindred subjects, and works of reference, have been added to the office library; also a number of the annual reports or transactions of societies, experiment station bulletins and other pamphlets, have been bound and placed on the shelves for preservation and in a convenient form for future reference. An effort has been made to complete the files of the transactions or annual reports of the several societies which are now or have been represented on the Board of Agriculture. The files of several societies have been made complete. The copies named below are lacking, and it is hoped that the officers of the several societies or others will assist in completing the files that are now incomplete. There are a number of duplicates in the office, which will be sent to societies wishing them. Barnstable County. 1873 and all previous to 1872. Berkshire County. 1869, 1870, 1877, 1882, and all previous to 1868 save 1859. Bristol County. — 1855, 1857, 1858, 1860, 1861, 1877, 1883, and all previous to 1854. Eastern Hampden. - First six annual reports, 9th, 10th, 11th, 14th, 27th. Franklin County. — 1st, 2d, 10th to 16th inclusive, 21st. Hampden. 1860, 1861, 1862, 1864, and all previous to 1859. Hampshire. 1850, 1852, 1854 to 1859 inclusive, 1861 to 1864 inclusive, 1866, 1867. |
