State Agricultural Society. 11 



that they are accomplishing a valuable work in the interest of immigra- 

 tion by spreading information and attracting attention to our valuable 

 resources. 



We would here suggest that a great amount of valuable information 

 is annually collected through the channels open to the society for an 

 annual publication, instead of a biennial one, and that such annual pub- 

 lication would be of but little additional expense to the State compared 

 to the increased benefits that would result therefrom. Nearly all the 

 State societies of the Atlantic States issue annual publications, as does 

 also the Agricultural Department of the General Government; and cer- 

 tainly there are many more and stronger reasons why our society should 

 do so than can be urged in favor, of the practice in the old Eastern 

 States. In those States the systems of conducting all agricultural opera- 

 tions have been reduced to a science or art by a series of experiences 

 handed down from lather to son through many generations, until it 

 would seem but little more was to be learned. They are not seeking to 

 add to their already crowded population by offering inducements to 

 immigrants to settle among them, and yet they keep up their annual 

 publications and consider the money thus used well spent. Although 

 we have in a few years made great improvements and advancement in 

 the development of our agricultural resources, and learned much that 

 will be of great value to us in the future, yet we have but just begun to 

 read the great book of knowledge upon this subject which the future 

 will open to us. We have abundant undeveloped resources, and but a 

 very few people, comparatively, to develop them. An increase of popu- 

 lation* of the active, working, intelligent kind, is one of our greatest 

 necessities, and there is no more effectual or economical way of securing 

 that class of immigration than by publishing and advertising to the 

 world, and particularly to the class we want, the many advantages we 

 offer them. It is from this class of people we receive the most frequent 

 inquiries, and it is found that the most satisfactory manner of answering 

 such inquiries so as to produce a favorable impression and action is to 

 send in answer a late volume of the society's transactions. But when 

 such transactions are published but once in two years much of the 

 matter contained in any particular volume must of necessit}^ have been 

 collated from one to two years before publication, and if the volume is 

 two years old at the time of sending them, such matter would be four 

 years old at the time of using it in answer to a present inquiry. The 

 absurdity of such a slow process of publishing to the world our rapidly 

 developing and as rapidly increasing resources and advantages must be 

 apparent to every one who has the true interests of our State at heart, 

 and who will give this subject a moment's thought. 



In this connection we will mention that we have already received 

 numerous orders for the forthcoming transactions, one of which is for a 

 thousand volumes for distribution by the California Immigrant Union. 

 As this volume contains more than an ordinary amount of valuable 

 statistical information gathered from various public and private sources, 

 and an unusual number of able and exhaustive essays on various agri- 

 cultural subjects of great present interest, some of which, to render 

 them more valuable and practical, require to be illustrated by wood cuts, 

 we would recommend the printing of at least five thousand volumes, 

 and that provision be made for procuring the necessary cuts for illus- 

 tration. We would also recommend that provision be made by the 

 present Legislature for the annual publication hereafter of the society's 

 transactions. 



