ST. LOUIS INSTITUTE. 5 



tioTi of St. Louis men ; he was glad it had been arranged for, as the interests 

 ■of the town and the farmers are so closely connected that what is for the inter- 

 est and benefit of one is also for the good of the other, for if the farmers are 

 thrifty and prosperous the merchants and business men of the town are also 

 prosperous. He had not been so well acquainted at St. Louis as in some other 

 parts of the county, but had always heard a good report of the town and its 

 people. In military parades and Fourth of July celebrations he had often 

 been annoyed that so many of the people, asserting their rights as American 

 citizens, persisted in standing on the sidewalk to see the procession go by. " If 

 the people in this county will help all in their power the institute can be made 

 a success, but if you all persist in standing on the sidewalk while the proces- 

 sion goes by, let me tell you, there will not be much of a procession." 



He was glad that while we couldn't all go to the agricultural college the col- 

 lege had come to us, and he was reminded that in the matter of Olawson wheat 

 alone, which was at first condemned, until finally Prof. Kedzie energetically 

 •took up the fight for this variety, and soon it became the most profitable wheat 

 in the State, until more had been saved to the State by this variety of wheat 

 than had been voted to and expended by the college from its foundation to the 

 present time. He always felt like taking off his hat and standing uncovered 

 in the presence of the old veterans who came to the howling wilderness of 

 Michigan in 1853, and with strong arms and willing hearts have made the wil- 

 derness to blossom as a rose. Many of those pioneers are still here and some, 

 he was glad to know, were here to take part in the deliberations of this 

 institute. 



The first session closed with a most amusing poem by Judge Giles T. Brown, 

 •on " The American Bird," setting forth the superior merit of the thanksgiving 

 turkey as compared with the fancied virtue of the eagle. The second session 

 opened with a paper by Mr. Geo. F. Lewis, secretary of the North Eastern 

 Agricultural Society of Michigan, on "The Best Kacket," exalting the farmers' 

 calling and illustrating his paper by many extempore narratives. He said 

 farmers should consider the comfort of their own homes as the chief reward or 

 possibility of their lives. Their wives should have things a little better than 

 themselves. They should have the best turkey on their own table, the driest 

 fuel piled away in the woodshed, the purest water in their well and their home 

 •sheltered by beautiful trees, either those of nature's planting or if these had 

 been destroyed, such as could be transplanted from the woods. This object, the 

 speaker showed to be entirely within the reach of every farmer. 



President Wiliits : I have enjoyed Mr. Lewis' remarks and agree with most 

 •of them. 



Unquestionably the best product of this earth is men and the farmers are 

 ihe best of these. 



In New York, the best of their merchants grew up on farms. 



Of the lawyers of the country nine-tenths of the best were raised on the farm. 



I do not say that necessarily farmers are more intellectual or honest than 

 other men, but there is something in the necessary small economies and the 

 «arly rising, the hard work and close thrift that give the habits that win suc- 

 cess. Hence I am a strong believer in the benefit to the country of an intelli- 

 gent farming community as its basis. It is such a community that raises the 

 most intelligent lawyers, doctors and clergymen. 



Not having been able to secure Mr. Reid's paper on pasture for publication, 

 I have incorporated the discussion which it drew out with that which follows 

 Dr. Beal's paper on red clover, which will be found later on in this volume. 



