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usual and current prices at Westborough, for grinding and sawing, for all teaming and other work done for, and for agricultural products and other articles furnished to, the Trustees by the Board of Agriculture.

This arrangement shall go into effect on the first day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-four, and, in order to give the plan a fair trial, shall continue in force for the term of five years, subject to such modifications as experience may suggest, and as may be mutually agreed upon by said Trustees and said Board of Agriculture; any such modifications to be indorsed on this instrument: Provided, always, that it shall be competent for the Legislature at any time to annul this agreement, and to place said premises and property under the charge of said Trustees as fully as the same were before said Act was passed.

In testimony whereof, Harvey Dodge, Daniel H. Forbes, G. Howland Shaw, and J. H. W. Page, a committee of the Trustees of the State Reform School for this purpose specially appointed, and Marshall P. Wilder, Seth Sprague, Simon Brown, and Charles L. Flint, a committee of the State Board of Agriculture for this purpose specially appointed, have, in behalf of said Boards respectively, hereunto set our names interchangeably, at Westborough, this twenty-fourth day of March, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-four.

MARSHALL P. WILDER,

SETH SPRAGUE,

SIMON BROWN,

CHARLES L. FLINT,

Committee of the State Board of Agriculture.

HARVEY DODGE,

DANIEL H. FORBES,

G. H. SHAW,

J. H. W. PAGE,

Committee of the Trustees of the State Reform School.

Subsequently to this agreement, it was thought desirable by both Boards that the pumping of water for the institution should be done under the direction of the Trustees of the State Reform School, as also the sawing and grinding for the same; and these labors have accordingly been so performed, that part of the above contract having been virtually annulled by mutual understanding.

At this meeting, also, a series of By-Laws was adopted for the management and regulation of the farm, as follows::

SECT. 1. The principal objects of the Board of Agriculture are, to relieve the Trustees of the State Reform School of the care and management of the agricultural portion of the establishment at Westborough, to provide a farm for the Board where experiments may be made in stock and the various crops and fertilizers, and to furnish greater facilities for the employment and instruction of the inmates of the Reform School, in agriculture and horticulture, in accordance with what is believed to have been the views of Gen. THODORE LYMAN, the founder of the institution; and with a view to carrying out these objects of the Board, and giving opportunity for discussing its interests and maturing and carrying out its plans, the annual meeting of the Board shall be at the State House on the first Wednesday of January, at 10 o'clock A. M., at which time the several committees of the Board shall be elected. Its quarterly meetings shall be held on the farm, at Westborough, on the first Wednesday of April, on the first Wednesday of July, and on the third Wednesday of October, at 10 o'clock A. M. of each year.

SECT. 2. There shall be annually elected by the Board a Superintending Committee of the farm at Westborough, consisting of eight members, whose duty it shall be, in connection with the Secretary, so far as the same may be consistent with a performance of his other duties, to meet at said farm once in each month, and as much oftener as they may deem necessary, to make such arrangements and give such directions to the farmer as the various crops, trees, stock, and other interests of the farm may require, and shall make a full report of their doings to the Board at its quarterly meetings. And said committee may be subdivided into smaller committees, in such manner as they may see fit, each of which shall keep accurate memoranda or records of their doings, and report the same, from time to time, to the Secretary; and it shall be his duty, from these reports and such other means of information as he may possess, to keep a record of the lots under cultivation, with their number and contents in measure; of the manner of draining, reclaiming, ploughing, cultivating and manuring, stating the kind of land in use, the kind and quantity of the fertilizer used, when and how applied, the state of the atmosphere when applied, and the amount of each crop gathered, together with the results of the whole process.

SECT. 3. The Secretary shall notify members of the times of meeting of the Board, call its committees together whenever three or more members of a committee shall deem it necessary, keep a journal of

the proceedings of each meeting, and attend to such correspondence as shall promote the objects of the Board. He shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, all documents, statements and notices which may directed by the Board or its committees, and communicate to it all proceedings relative to its financial concerns.

SECT. 4. The Superintending Committee shall appoint a farmer, and such other persons as they may think expedient, for the management of the farm. The farmer shall have charge of all the farming operations, and shall be responsible for the proper management, good order and economical use of every thing connected therewith.

He shall carry forward such general improvements and make such purchases of stock as the said committee may direct. He shall also, under the direction of the committee, attend to engaging and discharging the adult help that may be employed on the farm, and shall be responsible for the character and conduct of the same, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the committee.

Every evening he shall make known to the Superintendent of the Reform School what work he intends shall be performed by boys on the following day, and the places where they are to be employed, in order that, in assigning boys to the work, regard may be had to their / qualifications, character and exposure, and such assignment be made as will most effectually guard against escapes, and also secure the best advantage from their labor. He shall have charge of the boys while employed on the farm, shall receive and return them punctually, as required by the Superintendent, and see that the rules of the institution respecting their discipline are strictly observed while they are under his care.

He shall cause all merchandise, fuel, and whatever else is required for the use of the institution, to be drawn by the teams of the farm, and shall perform any other labor with men, boys and teams at the request of the Superintendent of the school, when not inconsistent with his duties upon the farm, and fully carry out the agreement made between the Board of Trustees and the Board of Agriculture.

He shall keep a correct account of all receipts and expenditures relating to the farm, and of all labor performed thereon, and shall furnish to the Board an annual report of the same, with schedules of the articles purchased during the year, and of the stock and farming implements on hand, and may communicate such other information, and make such suggestions, as he may think will be useful.

He shall see that all the regulations of the Board and of the institution are strictly observed by all persons employed by him, and shall promptly discharge any who refuse or neglect to comply with them cheerfully.

SECT. 5. There shall be a Finance Committee of three persons, whose duty it shall be to approve the drafts of the Secretary before drawing money upon them from the treasury, and also to approve all bills presented for payment.

SECT. 6. There shall be a committee of three persons to examine and compare the vouchers returned by the Secretary, and audit the accounts at the close of each fiscal year.

Messrs. M. P. Wilder, B. V. French, Simon Brown, Moses Newell, H. W. Clapp, J. A. Nash, John Brooks, and Seth Sprague were appointed a Superintending Committee, to which was intrusted the entire management and responsibility of the farm.

That committee appointed four subcommittees. Messrs. French and Brown, on general improvements, farm arrangements, plans, &c. Messrs. Brooks and Newell on stock, including the sale, keeping, &c. Messrs. Wilder and Nash on crops, including fertilizers, &c.; and Messrs. Sprague and Clapp on labor. One of these committees was directed to visit the farm each week, and report at the meeting of the Superintending Committee at the beginning of each month.

It will be seen by the date of the contract that the season was considerably advanced before the plans of the Board could be perfected; consequently, the labors of the present year were conducted under great disadvantages. No arrangements could be made, and no plans be formed, without a constant reference to the wants and necessities of the Institution for the supply of which that farm was intended.

The Board had no expectation of making what is sometimes called a "model farm," nor indeed any desire to do so. Neither the circumstances of the place nor the means at their disposal were suitable to this. The greater part of the land was to be cultivated in a plain, practical way, so as to meet the demands for produce, while some part of the crops might be subjected to experiments of various kinds, that, by their careful conduct, some questions in which the community were deeply interested might be settled.

For these reasons it is obvious that but few experiments

*See Appendix, B.

could be advantageously made during the first year. Moreover, the character of the soil and its previous treatment were in a great measure unknown; and owing to the lateness of the season, all the work was necessarily crowded into a very short time. The experiments that have been made, however, are not without their interest and value. They will be found in detail in the reports of the various committees hereafter. It is the design of the Board to extend them, and to conduct them in such a manner as to secure perfect accuracy.

To be of any value, experiments require the expenditure of much time and labor, much skill, a constant watchfulness, and many facilities which are not often at the command of an individual. The State can make them at little expense, comparatively; and though they must, for the reasons stated, be a secondary object at the farm at Westborough, it is of the utmost importance to secure all possible accuracy in making them, that they may have the respect and confidence of those interested in them.

It will be seen by the Report of the Committee on Improvements, made at an adjourned meeting of the Board, held on the 5th of December, that the wants of the State Reform School have increased to such an extent, and the location of the farm buildings is such, that it is very important to purchase land adjoining the farm. This adjoining land can be obtained at a reasonable rate, and it is evidently for the interest of the State to secure it, both because it is really needed to enable the farm to meet the growing wants of the Institution, and because it would vastly improve the condition of the farm itself. This subject is well alluded to in the following

REPORT.

Your committee had charge of the general improvements, farm arrangements, plans, &c., on the farm at Westborough. They have erected a piggery,* containing a commodious store-house and slaughterhouse, 30 feet by 86, with 14 feet posts, and so constructed as to admit of storing straw, roots, &c., in the loft. They have converted an old barn into a tool-house,* carpenter's shop, seed room, blacksmith's shop, &c.; have laid drains in the barn-cellar to carry off the See Appendix, C.

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