518 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



ADDRESS. 



DELIVERED BY R. K. NICHOLS, ESQ., AT THE OPENING OF THE FAIR, SEPTEM- 

 BER 23, 1884. 



When the fathers of man came from the distant East, from the 

 center of the earth, from the sources of the three sacred rivers, the 

 prehistoric Iran, they came bringing with them the history of the 

 world before the flood. They issued forth to tame, to reclaim, to sub- 

 jugate, by the arts of husbandry, an unknown, an unexplored, a vir- 

 gin land. With them agriculture, yet in its puling infancy, was crude 

 and insufficient. They acquired their first knowledge of the repro- 

 ductive powers of the earth by simple observations of the workings 

 of nature. There was something mysterious, supernatural, to their 

 simple, untaught minds, in nature's fructifying power. Recognizing 

 the action of unknown forces, they ascribed the sprouting, growth, 

 and productive qualities of trees and plants directly to their gods. 

 They believed that the gods, in person, partook of the labors and 

 pleasures of the field, hallowed them by their presence, directed them^ 

 by their instructions. Agriculture, in all its branches, was under the 

 immediate supervision and protection of their deities. Yearly, with 

 solemn rites, did the ancient husbandman present his first, best fruits, 

 a votive offering, on the altar of his god. A pious custom, perpetu- 

 ated to historic ages. For do we not read in the " Book of the Law," 

 that the chosen people were commanded, yearly, to bring a sheaf of 

 the first fruits of their harvest' to wave before the Lord? 



In these later times, as civilized man has advanced in the "march 

 of progress," we have lost our veneration for many of the ancient 

 customs, and proven the falsity of others. Yet, even to us, with all 

 our pride of increased knowledge, after all our researches in chem- 

 istry and botany, to us, in many ways, nature is yet a sealed book. 

 We can only acquire a knowledge of her economy by observation, 

 comparing one with the other, and thence drawing deductions for the 

 general good. For this purpose we have Agricultural Fairs. For 

 this reason, mutual improvement, derived from observation and com- 

 parison of our first, best fruits, have the members of the Twelfth 

 Agricultural District of California assembled together on this occa- 

 sion, at this convenient, well appointed, and beautiful place. Beau- 

 tiful, indeed, it is, both to the eye and sense, as, with one sweep of the 

 vision, we behold the towering summits, where thunders sleep and 

 lightnings play, before us the open lake, and in the distance the broad, 

 alluvial plains, golden with the harvest, rich with happy homes and 

 an industrious population. Here we bring our samples of first, best 

 fruits, and offer them upon the altar of judicious observation, that, 

 by honest comparison, all may be benefited by the experience, 

 labors, and success of each. We have here presented the results of 

 our mechanical industries — the fruits of forest, field, and farm; all 

 are represented — our orchards, vineyards, grain fields, hop yards, 

 stock, sheep, and horses. 



