ANNUAL ADDEESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



ROCK COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY & MECHANICS' INSTITUTE, 

 On, the Fair Ground at Janesville, Septeinber 27, 1855. 



BT COL. Z. p. BURDICK. 



Fellow Citizens : — Bj the rules of the Eock County Agri- 

 cultural Society and Mechanic's Institute, it is made my duty to 

 address you on the present occasion. In entering upon the dis- 

 charge of that duty, it may not be improper for me to say, that 

 I feel myself but illy qualified to adequately and well perform 

 the task imposed upon me. Although at present a farmer by 

 occupation, I am still sensible that my agricultural education 

 and practical mechanical knowledge, are of that kind, which fall 

 short of enabling me to profitably or deeply interest my 

 audience. 



The present however, is an occasion which enlists the sympa- 

 thies of every man, be he farmer or mechanic, merchant or pro- 

 fessional man. In this fact I find encouragement, for the inter- 

 est felt in the occasion itself, will go far towards relieving the 

 responsibility of my position, and prepare my audience to listen 

 kindly and with forbearance, to the few suggestions I may make 

 upon the objects which have gathered us here. 



To be successful in their calling, I am among those, who be- 

 lieve that farmers should be educated — not superficially, but 

 thoroughly, in the science of Agriculture, and that the necessity 

 for that education exists to as great an extent in this new and 



