STATE AGBICULTURAL SOCIETY. 189 



President Phelps, in his opening address in the Pavilion, September 

 20th, in speaking of the part the State Society had taken in the devel- 

 opment of the several industries of the State, said: 



The good fruits of this Society (being the parent of all the eounty ami district societies as it 

 has been) may be noticed throughout the State. Its exhibitions have tended more than any- 

 thing else to cause the introduction of improved breeds of domestic animals, now so plentifully 

 scattered over the State, and from which we shall in a short time possess herds unsurpassed in 

 numbers or excellence by those of any State in America. We are none the less indebted to it 

 for our great variety of fruits, plants, and roots, and grains and vines; and also for many of our 

 useful inventions of labor-saving machinery, and for the impetus given to the mechanical arts 

 generally. All these, while they lighten our toils, tend greatly to stimulate industry by com- 

 bining science and a greater degree of intelligence with laborious pursuits. 



Let us, then, benefit ourselves as we may do by the varied and in many respects really 

 magnificent display of industrial products that surround us on every hand. Let us heal all 

 dififerences, unjust"rivali-ies, and petty jealousies that have grown up between us and every part 

 of the State. To entertain an}' such feelings towards those whose objects are the same as oui's, 

 is unwortliy of noble, generous sons of toil. If others are disposed to entertain any such feel- 

 ings towards us, be theirs the foil}', the shame, the loss, the regret. 



He called the special attention of farmers to the importance of mul- 

 tiplying the variety of their products : 



This Society has offered premiums for a multitude of these neglected products, with a view to 

 stimulate their production among us so as to put a stop to their importation entirely. It is a 

 most singular and humiliating fact that we are yet receiving from Nev/ York and Boston large 

 supplies of cured meats, while carcass beef is worth scarcely one-half as much here as it is in 

 either of those cities. We are shipping barley to New York, a distance of seventeen thousand 

 miles, and receiving in return pork, hams, bacon, and lard made from grain of the same grade. 

 This certainly should not be, particularly since it has been demonstrated that they can be cured 

 in this climate as well as in any other. 



General John Bidwell delivered the annual address. He opened 

 with the following vivid picture of California, as he saw it in early 

 days : 



Nineteen years ago this magnificent valley was scarcely known to the civilized world — with one 

 exception, and that exception was this very place — Sutter's Fort. It was all a wilderness, inhab- 

 ited by a race of human beings as wild as the deer, and less capable of civilization, perhaps, than 

 any other on the American continent. This place had been selected by that distinguished pioneer, 

 .John A. Sutter, who was planting the germ of civilization, by beginning to cultivate the soil. 

 He had begun to erect walls for self-defense, and had already in operation that most useful of 

 all establishments to the farmer and pioneer — a blacksmith shop — and other useful branches of 

 industry were in the very germ of incipieney. Horses and cattle — those indispensable attend- 

 ants of man in all countries, new as well as old — had been brought hither, but they were nearly 

 as wild as the antelope and elk, with which they were then beginning to dispute the pos- 

 session of the plains, and with which they were often seen grazing harmoniously when undis- 

 turbed, or in commingling flight at the ap])roach of danger. Leaving this pilace, you saw^no 

 habitation, no settlement, no sign of civilization was to be seen until you pass beyond the Coast 

 Range of Mountains. To the north nothing in the shape of human advancement till you had 

 wound your way for nearly a thousand miles to the Columbia River. To the east more than 

 fifteen hundred miles separated this point froin the frontiers of Missouri and Kansas, and a 

 thousand from the borders of New Mexico. Sacramento even then began to exhibit indi- 

 cations of future importance. It was a place of protection to all who came to the country. 

 It became the destination and home of the immigration across the plains. It brought to notice 

 the existence of these rivers, these fertile plains, and these mountains. It was a point of inter- 

 est to be visited by every traveler who came to the Pacific Coast. It was the nucleus of a 

 gradually expanding settlement, whicli was destined to furnish the means of enacting 

 important results to the whole country. Here the first blow was struck which began the 

 war, revolutionized the country, and gave it to the United States. From this place emanated 

 the enterprise which unlocked for the use of the world that vast magazine of treasure, the 

 Sierra Nevada Mountains. 



He traced the history and material progress of the country from 

 that early day up to the time he was speaking, bringing to light many 

 interesting facts and making many valuable suggestions. Then, 

 turning to the President of the Society, he said: 



