MINUTES OF QUARTERLY CONFERENCE

SEPTEMBER 22, 1915

Minutes of Quarterly Conference of the State Hospital Commission with the managers and superintendents of the State hospitals, held at the Capitol in Albany, September 22, 1915.

Present

Commissioners MORGAN, MAY and FRIDAY.

WALTER G. RYON, M. D., Medical Inspector for the State Hospital Commission.

Utica State Hospital, HAROLD L. Palmer, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Willard State Hospital, Robert M. ELLIOTT, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Hudson River State Hospital, CHARLES W. PILGRIM, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital, MAURICE C. Ashley, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Buffalo State Hospital, ARTHur W. Hurd, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Binghamton State Hospital, CHARLES G. WAGNER, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

St. Lawrence State Hospital, RICHARD H. HUTCHINGS, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Rochester State Hospital, EUGENE H. Howard, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Gowanda State Homeopathic Hospital, CLARence A. PotteR, M. D., Medical Superintendent.、

Kings Park State Hospital, WM. AUSTIN MACY, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Long Island State Hospital, ELBERT M. SOMERS, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Manhattan State Hospital, WILLIAM MABON, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

Central Islip State Hospital, G. A. SMITH, M. D., Medical Superin

tendent.

Mohansic State Hospital, ISHAM G. HARRIS, M. D., Medical Super

intendent.

Dannemora State Hospital, CHARLES H. NORTH, M. D., Medical Superintendent.

AUGUST HOCH, M. D., Director of the Psychiatric Institute.

CHRISTOPHER J. Patterson, M. D., Physician in Charge, Marshall Sanitarium.

CHARLES B. DIx, M. E., Inspector of Buildings and Engineering for

the State Hospital Commission.

MICHAEL OSNATO, M. D., Medical Deputy in Charge of the Bureau of Deportation.

HARRY B. WINTERS, Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture.

Mr. FRED J. MANRO, Manager of the Willard State Hospital.

Mr. FRANK B. Lown and Mr. E. LYMAN BROWN, Managers of the Hudson River State Hospital.

Mr. WILLIAM H. ROGERS, Manager of the Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital.

Mr. MERRITT J. CORBETT, Mrs. ANNIE Devereux MILLS and Mr. WILLIAM H. HECOX, Managers of the Binghamton State Hospital.

Mr. MATTHEW C. RANSOM, Mrs. MARY S. GOODALE and Dr. R. LEIGHTON LEAK, Managers of the St. Lawrence State Hospital. Dr. ALICE M. SCHLEY and Miss Laura K. Larmonth, Managers of the Gowanda State Homeopathic Hospital.

Mr. CHARLES E. TEALE and the Very Rev. JOHN C. YORK, Managers of the Kings Park State Hospital.

Dr. WHITMAN V. WHITE and Mr.CHARLES V. FORNES, Managers of the Manhattan State Hospital.

Mr. JAMES MCGREGOR SMITH, Rev. WILLIAM GARTH and Mr. ROBERT C. HIBBARD, Managers of the Central Islip State Hospital.

Dr. WILLIAM D. GRANGER and Mr. SEABURY C. MASTICK, Managers of the Mohansic State Hospital.

Miss AGNES M. VALLEY, Superintendent of Nurses, Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital.

Miss ELLA B. KURTZ, Principal of the Training School of the Manhattan State Hospital.

The CHAIRMAN: It is an unusual privilege and pleasureto have so many members of the Boards of Managers with us at this quarterly conference.

The first number on the programme is "The Development of Agriculture at the State Hospitals," by Mr. Harry B. Winters, Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture.

Mr. WINTERS: Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen.I want to take this occasion to thank the different institutions for the courtesy which the Department of Agriculture has received at your hands. During the last four years it has been a real pleasure to work with you and I hope that this working co-operation will continue many years to come.

DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE AT THE

STATE HOSPITALS.

BY HARRY B. WINTERS,

Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture.

A good many years ago Dr. Liberty Hyde Bailey in one of his interesting talks said: "Water your garden with the garden rake." A listener addressed a letter to the Doctor,

asking what was meant by it, and this was the full reply: "Think it over." He did think it over and it is now a well-known fact that cultivation changes the capillary attraction of the soil and conserves moisture.

Mr. George H. Walker, president of the splendid WalkerGordon Farms, in a recent address at Atlantic City, said: 'At one time in our business history we purchased for several years practically all of our hay in Canada, paying $3.50 per ton for duty and $3.50 per ton for transportation, while the dealer's price delivered at our railway station was $15 a ton. Only about one-half of the cost went to the producer and this indicated to me the possibility that we could raise the hay on our own farms at as low a cost as it could be raised anywhere and save at least the cost of transportation. We are now raising about two thousand tons of alfalfa hay in New Jersey each year, enough to feed all of our cows both in New Jersey and in Massachusetts, and the saving on freight rates alone is sufficient to pay a fair dividend on the capital stock of our company. We are now seeding our land to alfalfa on our Massachusetts farm and attempting to save the transportation cost from New Jersey to Massachusetts, and I am sure we shall succeed in doing so."

The State of New York now owns forty-two farms, containing 24,164 acres. The twenty farms connected with the charitable institutions contain 10,012 acres: the fourteen farms connected with the State hospitals contain 10.256 acres; the eight farms connected with the prisons contain 3,896 acres. These forty-two institutions have a population of 54,906. The total farm investment is $2,670,082. The

total profit for the year ending September 30, 1914, was $318,053. Interest on the investment at five per cent amounted to $133,509. The profits with five per cent interest deducted amounted to $184,544. Rate of profit made by all the farms as a total 14.3 per cent. The greatest rate of profit made by any farm was 34.8 per cent. The greatest rate of loss made by any farm was 6.6 per cent; this loss was caused by hog cholera and fire. The greatest farmer in the State of New York is the State of New York.

An interesting comparison of the year ending September 30, 1914, and the year ending September 30, 1910, might be made.

It might also be profitable to notice that the farm standing number one last year was number two September 30, 1910; the farm standing number two was number four September 30, 1910; the farm standing number three was number eight September 30, 1910; the farm standing number nine was number one September 30, 1910.

A better system of farm accounting has been one of our greatest needs. Our work now is divided into six branches: (1) garden, (2) dairy, (3) swine, (4) potatoes and field crops, (5) poultry, (6) fruit. These are named in the order of profit usually found on the different farms. We are getting from each institution a debit and credit statement on each of these lines of work. This has been of great assistance in locating the losses and helping to do better farm work. We need a better statement of the field crops so that we will be sure that we are not taking credit for silage fed to cows and another credit for the milk. The only things the farm should be credited with are the