STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 171 



I do not say it for myself, but for my brother Directors, that they 

 do more work and at greater personal sacrifice for the public good 

 than any other body of men of which I have any personal knowledge. 

 I suggest that it is no mean tax that a member pays when he cheer- 

 fully travels from Los Angeles County or some other equally remote, 

 at his own expense, and to the neglect of important private enter- 

 prises, to attend the frc(]uent meetings of our State Board, and yet 

 this is the mere recital of a fact. Have the members of this Board 

 then a right to demand that the State shall be equally as liberal? 

 Please bear in mind that we are no beggars, asking alms for " sweet 

 charity's sake," but as administrators of a public trust confided to us, 

 asking for the means to discharge our duties according to the expec- 

 tations and requirements of the people. Grain shippers and all others 

 seeking true information in regard to the true amount of the different 

 crops of each year, will do well to put themselves in communication 

 with the Secretary of this Board before coming to a conclusion as to 

 the actual amount raised each year. The Bull and Bear element that 

 often work great hardship to many a well regulated house have no 

 standing with this society. The Bulls we keep on exhibition at the 

 park, and the Bears keep a respectful distance in the mountains. 

 Therefore, I say, without fear of contradiction, this society is the place 

 to get true information of all the crop products of the State. Pardon 

 me if I have drifted away from experimental farming, or as the Rev. 

 Henry Ward Beecher terms experimental farmers, the fools that 

 make wise men rich. With your kind indulgence, I will only make 

 a few more suggestions. The State Agricultural Society, the Viticult- 

 ural Commissioners, and the Boards of Silk Culture and Horticulture 

 have also done good work in this direction. 



It is still better to publish frequent bulletins containing a report 

 upon and a discussion of single points. It will also be well to pre- 

 pare and publish simple and plain agricultural primers containing 

 the results of experimentation, thus carrying the work into families 

 and schools. It will be desirable to educate our school teachers with 

 a view to similar instruction. But we must go further and carry this 

 work home to neighborhoods and individuals by personal instruction 

 and correspondence. Every farmer must be induced to submit his 

 questions directly to the source of scientific knowledge. 



In addition there will remain a vast amount of valuable work to 

 be done by the State Agricultural Society; a bureau of agricultural 

 and labor statistics; the district societies; the several State commis- 

 sions; the State Grange, and the press. I shall not dwell upon the 

 work to be done by these agencies, because it is more obvious than 

 that already considered somewhat in detail. But we must increase 

 our efforts to unite all these agencies in active hearty cooperation. 

 Hitherto our efforts have been too widely scattered, and we suffer 

 from consequent delays and obscure methods. 



With this distribution of labor, and cooperative spirit, we can make 

 stupendous progress in a very short time. A few years will see the 

 progressive development of a comprehensive system of agriculture 

 that will enrich our people, and add millions to our population, 

 accompanying in a very short time what in Europe has required cen- 

 turies to achieve. 



Can we do it? Is success within the range of possibilities? For 

 myself, I can boldly say, that I look forward with absolute confidence 

 towards grand success. I know that the capabilities of our State give 



