210 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



satisfactory changes, these efforts were not successful, and the fair of 

 1877, like that of 1876, was not well sustained in the cattle depart- 

 ment — that is, the cattle show, though good, was not what it would 

 have been under more favorable circumstances. The fair com- 

 menced on the 17th day of September and continued six days. 



The President, Marion Biggs, delivered the opening address. It 

 was full of facts and practical figures and good suggestions: 



True economy will impel us to employ all our lands in the direction of tkeir highest capacity 

 for production. We have lands better adapted to grazing than to the raising of cereals. We 

 have other lands better adapted to the growth of fruits and vegetables. Whenever this is the 

 case, we should follow the suggestions of nature in ado2:)ting a varied agriculture. The lesson 

 I would convey by these considerations may be briefly summarized : The soil and climate of 

 diiferent countries differ. Each and all should be devoted to that product which returns the 

 highest reward for the labor. Commerce is the handmaid of production. It admits of the 

 growth of every product in the climate and soil best adapted to its growth. The waving corn- 

 fields and the yellow harvests of the Northern States yield untold wealth to the farmer, 

 because those products are interchangeable with those of the rice-fields, the cotton and sugar 

 plantations of the South. The acres in the temperate zone devoted to tlie production of the 

 tropical fruits and jilants, and the acres in the tropical devoted to the growth of temperate 

 productions, are each and all wasted acres, and the labor bestowed on them misdirected labor. 

 A varied agriculture will arise in California, but its development should be slow and judicious. 

 It will come too late only if the suggestions which are found in the soil and cliniate are 

 unheeded. It will come too soon if profitable agriculture be abandoned for unprofitable 

 experiment. 



N. Greene Curtis delivered the annual address. He referred to the 

 history and objects of the Society, its annual fairs, its great benefits 

 to the State and her industries. "The heart of every Calif ornian will 

 leap with joy and gladness at these evidences of our material wealth, 

 our present prosperity, and the brilliant prospect of our future gran- 

 deur and glory." He paid a high tribute to the farmer, the mechanic, 

 the merchant, the professional men, the laborers, and the press; and, 

 referring to California, closed as follows: "All attest her glory and 

 her enterprise, her prosperity and safety, and proclaim her the 'Queen' 

 of States, the nursery of arts and sciences, the promoter of industries, 

 the home of luxury and refinement, and the cornucopia of the world. 

 May the destiny of our beloved State still continue to be guided, 

 guarded, and protected by an all-wise Providence to a future, grand, 

 glorious, and sublime, and our prayer shall ever be, 



"Great God, we thank Thee for this home. 



This bounteous birth-land of the free. 

 Where wanderers from afar may come 



And breathe the air of liberty, 

 still may her flowers untrammeled spring. 



Her harvest wave, her cities rise. 

 And yet till time shall fold her wing, 



Eemain earth's loveliest Paradise." 



The Board, in their annual report, say: "It was expected that 

 the natural and unavoidable drawbacks attendant upon a dry 

 season would have the effect of greatly weakening — if it did not 

 entirely exhaust— the vitality of the Society; but, on the contrary, 

 and in testimony of the oft-repeated expression that 'all signs fail in 

 dry weather,' the fair of 1877 was one of the most successful ever held 

 in the State, exceeding in a marked degree the revenue of the one 

 held in 1876. More and increased interest seemed to be manifested 

 in the well-being of the Society, and every effort was put forth by all 

 classes to add to its importance and place it on a strong foundation. 

 During the year improvements have been made on the grounds of 



