STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 183 



of Butte, Dr. C. M. Hitchcock of San Francisco, Dr. H. W. Carpentier 

 of Alameda, Jose M. Covarrubias of Santa Bartjara, and J. D. Morley 

 of Stanislaus, Vice-Presidents; Corresponding Secretary, O. C. Wlieeler 

 of Sacramento; Recording Secretary, Geo. H. Beach of Yuba; Treas- 

 urer, J. A. Paxton of Marysville. 



At this meeting was also adopted an amendment to the Constitu- 

 tion, permanently locating the office of the Society at Sacramento, 

 and requiring the Corresponding Secretary to reside at that place. 



The hfth annual fair of the Society was held at Marysville, com- 

 mencing August 23d, and continuing six days. 



As evidence of the increasing interest in these fairs on the part of 

 fanners and the public, it may be here stated that the admission fees 

 to the exhibition, including season tickets, amounted to $9,420; mem- 

 bership tickets, at $10 each, to $5,990. The exhibition of agricul- 

 tural and horticultural products at this fair fully sustained the repu- 

 tation of the State in this department. Through the fair being held 

 out of the center of production, the collection was not as large as 

 expected. The feature of the fair that gave best evidence of advance- 

 ment, was the exhibition of agricultural machinery of home manu- 

 facture. There was also a marked increase in the number of good 

 stock on exhibition. Another interesting feature of this fair was an 

 exhibition of tropical fruits from Los Angeles County. Oranges, 

 lemons, citrons, and other tropical fruits were in the exhibit. 

 Another was the exhibition of the apiary business, bees, honey, etc., 

 showing the adaptability of California to this interesting and 

 important industry. 



The transactions of the Society for 1858 were published by the 

 State, by resolution of the State Senate, and form an interesting and 

 valuable volume of 373 pages. 



With a view to the accommodation of District Fairs and of the State 

 Fair in the future, the City of Marysville, in connection with the 

 State Society, erected an exhibition hall or pavilion covering an area 

 of over 19,000 feet square, and the entire space was well filled with the 

 exhibition. The opening address of President Fall was full of prac- 

 tical suggestions, and contained a strong plea for improvement in 

 every department of industry. He urged the importance of culture 

 and scientific study on the part of the cultivators of the soil, and 

 suggested agricultural schools and colleges for farmers and their sons. 



The annual address was delivered by Hon. S. B. Bell, of Alameda. 

 He eloquently contrasted the slow, plodding processes of the culti- 

 vators of the soil in early days with the modern processes since the 

 introduction of labor-saving machinery, and pictured their corre- 

 spondingly improved social conditions, and gave agriculture and 

 agricultural societies credit for much of the general advancement in 

 civilization. The opening paragraph was a graphic picture of the 

 rapid strides that had been made in agriculture in California in the 

 short period of the existence of the State: " Were this the first time 

 of the assembling of this association, it would be a source of deep 

 congratulation to you, its members and supporters, and still deeper 

 to the entire State. How shall we express our happiness, then, when 

 we consider that this is the fifth anniversary of the Society, in a State 

 not yet nine years of age? This, too, when these shores were not 

 sought to till the ground, but to lay it waste in scattering its soil in 

 search of its golden sands. All were worshiping at the shrine of 

 Plutus, and Ceres was not a divinity in the land. Now, within five 



