174 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



ANNUAL ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, AT SACRAMENTO, 

 SEPTEMBER 16, 1884, BY HON. L. J. ROSE, OF SUNNY SLOPES, SAN GABRIEL. 



GRAPE OTJLTURE IT^ OALIFORlSriA. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: It is with much pleasure that I attend 

 the annual return of this Fair, and year by year, note the improve- 

 ments of the beautiful productions of our State — the profusion and 

 beauty of the flower garden, the orchard, the vineyard, and the field, 

 as displayed here. 



Well may visitors to our coast look with wonder and admiration at 

 our ever fresh display, running through every month in the year; at 

 the varied hues and forms of flora, the wondrous size, fairness, rich- 

 ness of coloring, and luscious flavor, the gifts of Pomona, or the abun- 

 dance and quality, the gifts of Ceres. California seems to be the 

 favored abode of these deities, and where they delight to pour out 

 their choicest gifts; where they add a new perfume to the violet and 

 the rose; a brighter blush and softer down to the rounded cheek of 

 the peach ; more bloom and sunshine to the purple or the gold of the 

 grape, and a lavish abundance which is at the same time the envy 

 and admiration of the world. 



Nor are we blessed with all these gifts in the vegetable kingdom 

 only, for the animal kingdom fully keeps pace with all of this mar- 

 velous perfection. 



Go to the Fair grounds — look through the stock department; see 

 the sheep, the pigs, the cattle of various breeds as displayed there, 

 and you will see a glow of health, and lines of beauty for each kind 

 and breed, true to their standard, to delight the expert, the connois- 

 seur, and the artist. Take the horse department — look at the gloss 

 and sheen of their satin coats, see the soft undulating lines of their 

 contour and muscle, denoting strength, speed, and perfect health — 

 and the world cannot excel the exhibition. Nor are we left in the 

 realm of opinion or belief in this matter; beliefs may be deceptive, 

 for we all love our own the best; but we have proof. With not one 

 hundredth part of the number, yet we are competing successfully in 

 both trotting and running, against the combined stables of the East, 

 and it is a reasonable belief that man, too, will attain a higher aver- 

 age organization; that time will produce individuals that will be the 

 peers of other countries and lands; that individuals, from time to 

 time, will crop out as our country grows older, that will be renowned 

 in poetry, in oratory, in art, and in science. 



I look around me here and see young, fresh, and beautiful forms 

 and faces beaming with life and perfect health, reared or matured in 

 this land, free from all enervating influences — a land, you may say, 



