20 TRANSACTIONS OP THE 



the experiment is successful, and it becomes a settled practice of the 

 department to detail an officer to specially note the wants of this 

 coast, he will soon take cognizance of our other peculiar productions, 

 even such as have no especial connection with our dry seasons. Our 

 great wine interest, destined I believe some day to overtop all other 

 agricultural interests in this State, and to rival in fame the choicest 

 vintages of France; our semi-tropical belt of oranges, figs, olives, and 

 bananas; the increasing industry of dried fruits, which will at no 

 distant day drive out from our market the corresponding products of 

 the Mediterranean; all these and other kindred interests will come 

 in for a share of attention, and will be helped by having an officer 

 of the department here to note their wants and to proclaim their 

 promise. 



I have been asked how this five thousand dollars could, in my judg- 

 ment, be made to produce the best result — and let us be sure and get 

 the very best result, so that we can point to what it has produced 

 when we ask for more. 



General Le Due, the Commissioner of Agriculture, hopes event- 

 ually to establish experimental farms, such as are maintained by 

 some of the European Governments and by a few of our Atlantic 

 States, or at least experimental stations, where some zealous farmer 

 may, with a little aid from the Government, make experiments for 

 the benefit of the public — and that is what a great many of you are 

 doing all the time, only you pay the bills yourselves. But this small 

 sum will hardly suffice for an experimental station except on a small 

 scale. 



Meantime I understand General Le Due will be here soon after the 

 Fair, and he will consult with your officers as to the best method of 

 spending this money. 



If I may make a suggestion, I would offer a small portion of it as a 

 prize for the best essay on the conditions and wants of agriculture in 

 the arid region of the United States; meaning by that, wherever the 

 rainfall is deficient and irrigation is helpful. Such a paper, carefully 

 prepared by a thoughtful man, either on the general problem of agri- 

 culture in countries deprived of rain for long periods each year, or 

 deficient in supply for the entire twelve months; or a paper treating 

 of any of the special questions, such as I have suggested above, if 

 published in the agricultural report would excite deep interest among 

 our Eastern brethren, and would, I am sure, bring out a rich fund of 

 personal experience from our own midst — and this is just what we 

 want. The accumulation of personal experience constitutes all our 

 civilization; a single fact is perhaps worth little, but when reinforced 

 by a succession of similar facts, it becomes a law of nature, and we 

 can follow it as a guide in life. 



Each man's experience forms part of the evidence that establishes 

 the law ; and if we can do nothing else, we can use this small appro- 

 priation to collect facts, or, in the words of the appropriation itself, 

 to "accumulate data" and publish them, respecting our peculiar 

 agriculture. Follow this carefully, glean the experience of every 

 farmer on doubtful points, and you soon gain a mass of facts that 

 will serve as a guide for every-day life. 



And let me entreat you not to let this humble beginning perish for 

 want of attention. Strengthen the hands of your Representatives in 

 Congress by commending this matter to their care. You are entitled 

 to this consideration from Congress ; now demand it as a right, and 



