USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 4 > Part 35
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An important factor, therefore, in the establishment and development of the fair by the agricultural societies, was the bringing together of the farmers under the scrutiny and criti- cism of each other. The defects of one man's farm manage- ment were much more clearly brought to his attention when his work was reviewed with one who understood thoroughly how it should be done. The fairs were meeting places of the great agricultural educators and the most progressive farmers of the State. These men were sincerely interested in the im- provement of all phases of agriculture, and welcomed the opportunity to instruct other farmers who had not the advan- tages of education and wealth. Every good method of farming was thus made contagious, every sound principle catching ; and progressive farming became an educational epidemic through the influence of the agricultural fair.
A second advantage of the fair was the exhibition of the most modern tools and machinery for the farm, which as far as practicable were operated on these occasions. A farmer was able, therefore, to decide on the merits of an implement
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before the purchase, and was stimulated to judicious purchase by the opinions of men of experience and judgment. The best qualified men of the community were always present to ex- amine and make known their decisions and preferences as to stock, crops, fruit, and produce of all kinds. It has been said that, "he is a very smart man or a very stupid one who has been in faithful attendance on an agricultural fair and has gained nothing worth his labor."
Another influence of the fairs was the prizes which directed attention to a higher quality of farm produce or to an added improvement in livestock, and which brought about a pleasant rivalry among those interested in progressive farming. To do anything better than his neighbor does it makes a man think well of himself and inclines him to try again.
Institutes or annual meetings of the agricultural societies were well attended by prominent men and women engaged in agricultural work during the period from 1820 to 1889. Ad- dresses were usually made by prominent State officials, men of vision who understood the importance of this fundamental industry to the welfare of the State. Papers on special agri- cultural subjects were read and propounded by agriculturists who were best qualified to speak on a special topic relating to farm improvement. The institutes were in fact the starting point from which the elaborate extension service in agricul- ture, now supervised by the Agricultural College, developed.
PLANS FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (1836-1852)
The establishment of strong agricultural societies and their unified endeavor for the welfare of agriculture led to official aid to scientific agriculture. Henry Coleman was appointed in 1836 as State Commissioner for an agricultural survey of the State, and he prepared three volumes on the agriculture of Massachusetts. His work was suspended in 1840 by the legislature.
A board of commissioners was created by the legislature in 1850 to report upon the expediency of establishing agricultural schools or colleges. This commission consisted of Marshall P. Wilder, Edward Hitchcock, Samuel A. Eliot, Thomas E.
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Payson, and Eli Warren, and their report was made to the legislature at its annual session in 1851. They recommended that a State Department of Agriculture be established to con- sist of one member from each society of the incorporated agri- cultural societies receiving the bounty from the State, to be elected by the society. A convention was assembled at the State House in Boston on March 20, 1851, composed of dele- gates from the various agricultural societies of the Common- wealth, in order to draw up measures for their mutual advantage and for the promotion of the cause of agricultural education. This convention further established a central Board of Agriculture, whose duties would be substantially those which were proposed for the state department. This Board consisted of Marshall P. Wilder, president; Henry W. Cushman and John W. Lincoln, vice-presidents; Allan W. Dodge, corresponding secretary; Edgar Whittaker, recording secretary; with three delegates from each incorporate society receiving the bounty of the Commonwealth.
At a meeting of this Board, January 14, 1852, it was re- solved to petition the legislature as follows :-
"Resolved, That, inasmuch as agriculture is the chief occupation of her citizens, the Commonwealth, in the organ- ization of its government, should be provided with a depart- ment of agriculture, with officers commensurate with the importance of the duties to be discharged and the labors to be performed."
STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (1852-1889)
These various efforts finally culminated in the establish- ment of the State Board of Agriculture, which succeeded the existing voluntary central board. . An act to that purpose was passed in 1852, and the first meeting of the newly created Board of Agriculture was held July 22, 1852, presided over by Governor George S. Boutwell.
The secretary of the Board published for distribution each fall such an abstract of the returns of the agricultural societies as he deemed useful; and he appointed agents to visit the towns of the State for the purpose of inquiring into practical
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farm operations, of ascertaining the adaptation of agricultural products to soil, climate and markets, of encouraging the establishment of farmers' clubs, agricultural libraries, and reading rooms, and of disseminating useful information on agriculture by means of lectures or otherwise.
The Board of Agriculture aided to form public opinion with regard to agricultural education. The members of the Board worked unitedly for the establishment of the Massa- chusetts Agricultural College until it was founded in 1863, and continued thereafter to exercise a special influence in the development of this agricultural educational center. Through the published volumes of annual reports and other publica- tions dealing with agricultural subjects, the Board did much for the improvement of agricultural literature in the Common- wealth, and a valuable agricultural library of several thousand volumes was available during this period to those farmers of the State seeking information on all phases of progressive agriculture. The law for the protection of sheep and for the inspection of fertilizers originated in the Board of Agriculture.
Thus the State Board of Agriculture became a source of agricultural information, and has continued to be a medium through which the basic principles of scientific agriculture are expounded. It has been administered by men with a broad knowledge of the agricultural needs of this Common- wealth. The influence of the Board of Agriculture has always been of direct importance to the farmers of the State, and of great indirect import to the allied manufacturing inter- ests whose success and progress depend primarily upon the development of this basic agricultural industry.
EARLY PLANS FOR AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (1776-1850)
As the agricultural societies began to function and the good resulting from an exchange of ideas on agricultural principles and practices was given more serious consideration, it became apparent that the prospective farmers needed an education in scientific agriculture.
Probably the first expression of this need for agricultural
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education was found in the proceedings of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, published in 1776.
"An Address to the Essex Agricultural Society" by Andrew Nichols, at their first Cattle Show at Topsfield, October 5, 1820, gave further expression to the need of systematized agricultural education in the following words :-
"And, is it altogether visionary to suppose, that the best interests of this county would be promoted by the establish- ment of an agricultural academy, where such studies as are best calculated to make accomplished and scientific farmers might be advantageously pursued, and the students required by returns to labour one or two days or half days every week, with an experienced husbandman and gardener, who should be selected to manage a farm connected with the institution. Such a seminary, well endowed and properly managed, would furnish more useful instructors for town schools in agricul- tural districts than can now be obtained. It would answer all the purposes of a pattern-farm, rapidly disseminate knowl- edge of the greatest improvements in the art, and produce the most accomplished farmers and useful citizens."
An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1822 to introduce the study of agriculture in Dummer Academy, Newbury, Essex County.
On Easter Monday, April 8, 1833, the Farm School, Thompson Island, Boston, commenced operations in a small way. This institution was established for the purpose of training boys in gardening, agriculture, and other useful arts, and of awakening in them habits of industry and order and preparing them to earn their livelihood.
A practical course of study in scientific agriculture was introduced at the Teachers' Seminary, Andover, in 1840. It was the object of this course to afford facilities for young men to obtain a knowledge of the various branches of natural science, in order that they might be able to understand and apply the principles of scientific agriculture which lie at the foundation of all successful farm practise. It was proposed to teach botany and physiology, mineralogy, geology, and chemistry in their application to agriculture, and to afford
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students the opportunity to witness tillage operations under the direction of a teacher.
Chapter 148 of the Acts of 1856, entitled "An Act to aid in the Establishment of an Agricultural Department in West- field Academy," authorized the town of Westfield to vote and appropriate a sum, not exceeding $5,000, to be applied in the establishment of an agricultural department at Westfield Academy.
Other evidences of the trend toward a more complete sys- tem of a higher education in agriculture, which finally termi- nated in the founding of Massachusetts Agricultural College, were the establishment of the Bussey Institute, in 1835, as a department of Harvard College under the trusts created by the will of Benjamin Bussey, of Roxbury; and the founding of Smith Agricultural School in Northampton, as provided under the will of Oliver Smith, who died in Hatfield, Hamp- shire County, December 20, 1845.
In the Amherst College catalogue of 1843-44 appeared the name of Professor Charles U. Shepard, A.M., listed among the faculty as "Lecturer on Agricultural Chemistry and Mineralogy."
The Massachusetts Academy of Agriculture and the Massa- chusetts Agricultural Institute were incorporated in 1845 and 1848 respectively for the purpose of satisfying in part the growing desire for instruction in agricultural science and im- provements in all arts connected with the practice of farming. Several of the agricultural societies petitioned the legislature during 1848 relative to the establishment of an institution for the promotion of agriculture; and Governor George N. Briggs in his inaugural address of January 8, 1850, brought the issue to the attention of the legislature, recommending favorable action.
ESTABLISHMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE (1850 -- 1863)
In the final report of Henry Coleman, the first Commis- sioner of Agriculture (1837-1841), who was appointed by the legislature to make an agricultural survey of the Common-
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wealth, the necessity of special education for farmers was urged as follows :
"In order to render the agricultural profession more attractive and respectable, we must seek its intellectual eleva- tion. Improvement of the mind confers a rank which wealth cannot purchase, and commands a respect which the proudest aristocracy may envy. It is too late in the day to decry the value of science in agriculture. Who can name an art, or trade, or business, in which knowledge is a disadvantage or a prejudice to success, or in which, indeed, it is not a substant- ial help? Why should agriculture, combining as it does so many reasons and opportunities for the application of skill and knowledge, be an exception to every other art and busi- ness ?"
An effort to carry these prior suggestions into practical operation was made in 1850, when Marshall P. Wilder, then president of the Norfolk Agricultural Society and also presi- dent of the Massachusetts Senate, introduced a bill looking to the establishment of an agricultural school or college. A Commissioner was authorized to visit and report upon the agricultural institutions of Europe. Dr. Edward Hitchcock was selected; and his report was made to the legislature of 1851, containing a detailed account of more than 350 institu- tions. The recommendation of the commissioners, based upon this report, was that the legislature establish a central agricultural college with a model and experimental farm.
The continued demands of the agricultural interests in this State, supplemented by the constant advocacy of the State Board of Agriculture for agricultural education, prepared the way for the success of the Massachusetts Agricultural College which was finally incorporated in 1863. Under the Merrill Act of 1862, the Government granted 360,000 acres of land to Massachusetts for the establishment of one or more colleges for the education of the industrial classes.
Governor Andrew, the legislature of 1863, the Board of Agriculture, and all others interested combined in an earnest effort to make suitable provisions for the establishment of an institution that would teach the science of agriculture. Sev-
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eral plans, differing in vital issues, were presented by able educators and agriculturists for this purpose. A joint committee of the legislature of 1863, whose chairman was the Rev. E. O. Haven, drew a bill which was approved by the Department of Agriculture and those progressive farmers most interested in a higher agricultural education. This plan called for the establishment of a strictly professional school for farmers as an independent institution. It was regarded as important that it should be in an agricultural region away from city influences, and that it should equal in its educational facilities the other colleges of the State. Its object was to teach the theory and practice of agriculture and to give its pupils a literary and scientific training of a high order. It was to be well equipped with apparatus and books; a farm with stock and tools; and the necessary professors, not only to systematize and teach all useful agricultural knowledge, but also to make original investigations and experiments for the advancement of the science of agriculture.
MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE (1863-1889)
The legislature adopted this plan, and the Massachusetts Agricultural College was accordingly incorporated by an order of 1863. The members of the corporation were elected by the legislature for life and were chosen from among the prominent men in agricultural pursuits. President Henry F. French prepared a plan for the establishment of the college at Amherst in the Connecticut Valley, which was unanimously adopted by the trustees and approved by the Governor and Council. An excellent farm of nearly 400 acres was pur- chased near the town and suitable buildings were erected, and the college received its first class on the second day of October in 1867. Thirty-three young men, averaging eighteen years of age, most of them sons of farmers, presented themselves for entrance.
The growth of the institution, so far as money and mem- bers are concerned, from 1867 to 1889 was gradual and sufficiently impressive to leave no doubt as to its permanently important place in the agricultural advancement of Massachu-
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setts. The College served most effectually in awakening a spirit of investigation and inquiry, in creating respect for the business of farming, and in promoting desirable improvements in agricultural practice.
The work of Dr. Goessmann, professor of chemistry, upon fertilizers brought order out of chaos, and our present fertil- izer laws owe their origin in a large measure to his work and influence. His investigations in regard to the sugar beet and sorghum as sugar plants during this period were of great value, though the profitable establishment of these industries was found to be impossible. He accomplished, while giving his entire time to the college, a great amount of useful work in determining the value of food substances, and in pointing out the influence of special fertilizers upon the quality of fruits and upon diseases affecting crops.
Professor Stockbridge during this period carried out not- able experiments which led to the introduction of special ferti- lizers for crops. He was one of the first to demonstrate that the benefit derived from frequent cultivation of the soil in dry weather was to be explained by the fact that such treatment causes the more complete retention of moisture already pres- ent and the absorption of larger supplies from the air.
The experimental work of President Clark attracted wide- spread attention ; and although not so essentially practical in its bearings, it was of great permanent value.
EDUCATIONAL SERVICE OF MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE (1863-1889)
Alongside the influence of the college upon enlightened agriculture on the farms in all parts of the State, was the personal education of young men to become better farmers or to serve agriculture more effectively because of the edu- cation they received. Of those who graduated from this institution from 1867 to 1889, only one sixth of all the grad- uates were employed in agricultural colleges and experiment stations. Among these graduates could be found two college presidents, several professors of agriculture, two directors of experiment stations, and several vice-directors. More than
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture
MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY
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one half of the entire number graduating during this period were either actively engaged in the pursuit of farming or in closely allied work.
An objection often raised to this type of education was that all graduates receiving their education and training at the Massachusetts Agricultural College were not farmers. The obvious reply is that an education so meager in its re- quirements that the students would be fitted for only one pursuit in life would be unworthy of Massachusetts and con- trary to the intent of the act of Congress donating the land for the purpose of establishing colleges of this type.
The service of Massachusetts Agricultural College by pre- paring leaders in the field of agriculture, in allied fields, and in non-agricultural pursuits, has been set forth by different presidents of the Massachusetts Agricultural College as the primary objective of a graduate of the Massachusetts Agricul- tural College. A survey of the graduates now as then would indicate that this fundamental objective has been reached in the great majority of cases and the advancement in agricul- tural practices stands today as a monument to the greatness of achievement of the learned professors, instructors, and graduates of this institution and the other agricultural schools and institutes organized during the first half of the nineteenth century, who have so effectively served the best interests of the Commonwealth.
SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC (1882-1889)
The State Agricultural Experiment Station, located at Amherst, carried on extensive research work along agricul- tural lines during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The station was established by an act of the legislature in 1882, and began actual work upon the grounds of this station on April 1, 1883. The most learned men in agricultural re- search were assigned to this new phase of agricultural en- lightenment as a further effort of the Commonwealth to assist the farmers in a better understanding of their problems. The results of the work of the Experiment Station were published in bulletin form, and were made available for free
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distribution to the farmers of the State. The station has also issued bulletins upon matters of general interest to the farmers. Those upon the gypsy moth, tuberculosis, and profitable use of commercial fertilizers, have been found to be especially, instructive. In meeting the expense of publication and distribution of some of these bulletins, the Experiment Station received assistance from the State Board of Agricul- ture and the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture.
Professor Maynard, in charge of the horticultural experi- mental work, felt strongly that the farmers and gardeners themselves could not afford the costs of making necessary experimental trials along horticultural lines. At that time a great number of small fruits were advertised and sold by nurserymen without any scientific study of their value. Hence the necessity for trials under the direction of trained specialists in horticulture. Under the supervision of Prof- essor Maynard, careful tests were made of various solutions and preparations recommended for spraying fruit trees and vines, as well as some garden crops, for the prevention of disease and destruction of insects, and of apparatus devised for such work. This work was carried on upon the State's grounds and also in some of the orchards of prominent fruit growers in different parts of the State, under the general charge of the officers of the Experiment Station.
Another line of profitable experiments brought out the fertilizer needs of potatoes, and the resulting information was passed on to the potato growers of the State. Very import- ant experiments, indicating the special fertilizer requirements of such crops as oats, mixed grasses, millet, and beans, were made on the station farm on small plots specially prepared for this purpose, on which the result of a special fertilizer was clearly evidenced by the respective growth of the plants.
Professor C. H. Fernald, in charge of the entomological de- partment of the Experiment Station at this time, was notably successful in this special phase of agricultural research work. It required a man of Professor Fernald's education, training, and experience to cope with the insect enemies of agriculture
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THE STATE CATTLE COMMISSION
if progress was to be made in their extermination, and he was assigned by the Agricultural College to this difficult problem. It was very clearly shown during the first few years of the life of the State Agricultural Experiment Station that it sup- plemented in a very practical and thorough way the work of the Agricultural College; and it brought home to the progres- sive farmers of the State very definite agricultural principles, upon which continued success of the agricultural life of a community is dependent.
THE STATE CATTLE COMMISSION (1860-1886)
The first important legislation relative to the work of this commission was passed in 1860, because of the importation into this country, in June, 1859, from Holland, of two Dutch cattle, now known as Holsteins. They were found to be sick with an unknown disease. Both of them soon died. In the large herd of the same kind of cattle, within a month other cattle were found sick, exhibiting the same symptoms. The disease spread rapidly and produced great losses; and the farmers became very much alarmed. The inhabitants of Brookfield petitioned the legislature for some sort of legisla- tion which would enable the city or town to control this disease, and this petition was supported by the Department of Agriculture.
The result was that in April, 1860, the Cattle Commission Law for the suppression of contagious diseases among cattle was passed, and a small appropriation was made available to pay expenses incurred in this work. Paoli Lathrop, of South Hadley, Dr. G. B. Loring, of Salem, and Amasa Walker, of Brookfield, were appointed commissioners. They made a survey of the State, and were greatly concerned over the condi- tions that existed. The law was based on the "stamp out policy," which made it necessary to slaughter a whole herd where a single animal was found to be sick with a contagious disease.
This disease was identified as contagious pleuropneumonia. The appropriations made by the legislature during the first year proved entirely inadequate to carry out the work of
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killing necessary herds and indemnifying the farmers for losses sustained. The Board of Agriculture, however, and the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture contributed generously to carry on this work, until a special session of the legislature was called and a larger appropria- tion provided for the elimination of this disease. It was not until 1864 that the Cattle Commission reported that no further traces of the disease could be found; but it is estimated that the work of stamping out this first contagious disease cost the State of Massachusetts nearly $100,000, and cost the private individuals a much larger sum.
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