INTRODUCTORY. To His Excellency the Governor : The report of the Board of Agriculture for the past year, constituting the third volume of "New Hampshire Agriculture," is herewith communicated for the consideration of the Legislature and the people of the State. With many deficiencies and some matter merely formal in its character, the volume contains a liberal amount of practical agricultural information, which has been contributed by members of the Board and others, or with much care and labor has been collected from reliable sources. It is presented to the farmers of New Hampshire and the friends of progressive agriculture, with the earnest desire that it may prove a source of profitable instruction, encourage the practical farmer to renewed efforts for improvement, and stimulate men to engage more vigorously in the cultivation of the soil. JAMES O. ADAMS, CONCORD, April 21, 1873. 197502 Secretary. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. ORGANIZED FOR THREE YEARS, AUGUST, 1870. ORIGINAL MEMBERS. Merrimack County-Moses Humphrey, Concord. APPOINTED DURING THE FIRST YEAR. Strafford County - Hiram R. Roberts, Rollinsford, vice Mr. Jones, resigned. Sullivan County -John S. Walker, Claremont, vice Mr. Brown, resigned. Belknap County Thomas Cogswell, Gilmanton, vice Mr. Whipple, who declined. Grafton County -Charles F. Kingsbury, Lyme, vice Mr. Hoskins, resigned. Belknap County - Jeremiah W. Sanborn, Gilmanton, vice Mr. Cogswell, resigned. •No appointments were made the second year. NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. AN AGRICULTURAL REVIEW. It is important to look back as well as forward- - to see what has been done, that we may take lessons from experience and apply their teachings to our future course. Therefore we initiate our third volume by a brief review of the seasons and the harvests since the issue of our last annual report. After two years of almost unexampled drought, the snows that melted late in March, 1872, were rapidly absorbed by the thirsty earth. Weeks passed; but little rain fell upon the ground, and there were fearful indications of a severer drought during the coming season than had yet visited us. Grass sent up few and sickly blades, seeds deposited in the cultivated field refused to germinate, trees held back their blossoms, and streams flowed sluggishly in their channels. June came in, as May went out, wet and warm, and so continued, giving vitality to vegetation and clothing the earth with an excess of verdure. July was wet and hot; showers were frequent, accompanied sometimes with hail, and always followed by excessive heat. August was but a repetition of its predecessor, or rather was another July intensified in heat and rain. Through September and even through all the autumn months, rain continued to fall, until the springs were filled, the ground saturated, and streams rose up to their full banks and swept over the adjacent meadows. We have seldom had a season of such excessive rains and of such sultry days, and though a rapid vegetable growth was the consequence, there was often resulting an injury of a serious character which was manifested in hay unharvested or badly made, grains mildewed and rusted, potatoes diseased and much fruit untimely destroyed. We have no definite reports in which facts and figures are given as authority, but having passed over much of the State and met many farmers at their homes, or at fairs and conventions, we have a general knowledge regarding the condition of their barns and cellars and granaries sufficiently accurate to enable us to present a fair summary of the year. The hay crop, which in many sections is becoming the most important, was above an average, notwithstanding the unfavorable prospect in spring. That which was first harvested was well cured, and was serviceable in the season of excessive cold that followed; but the frequent rains later in the summer proved destructive to thousands of tons of meadow and lowland grass, and seriously injurious to much that was finally harvested. Many meadows were so flooded as to be inaccessible, and were left untouched by the scythe and rake. The second crop" on upland fields was immense. Corn was put down as good, though an unusual amount of fungus growth appeared in the fields. Wheat was an average, oats a little extra, so far as our observation extended, while rye and barley, being little cultivated, did not vary from other years enough to make the change felt in any locality. The potato crop was not excessive in the southern portions of the State, though large in the northern parts. The potato made a vigorous growth of stalk, but the very warm weather at the time the tubers were setting and growing had no favorable effect on the crop. Great heat as well as great moisture are unfriendly to a harvest of first quality of potatoes. In regard to other root crops we have only an impression, which is that a good yield was obtained in those sections where proper attention was given. We are confident that our farmers mistake their own interest when they neglect the cultivation of turnips and other roots for stock feeding. They can be grown at a cheap rate, especially the flat turnip. Ten cents a bushel is regarded as the maximum cost of production, when rightly managed, while their value compared with hay is not less than twenty cents. Fruit was abundant, but was inclined to early decay, though it has kept unusually well during the winter. The price of orchard fruit has been moderate. In many sections labor was so high that much fruit remained unharvested, and cattle and swine were allowed to feed on it in the orchards. Most of the small fruits |