192 [Assembly 



Look around you aud see what has been done, and tell me if 

 any portion of our State can boast of neater dwellings and hap- 

 pier homes than are to be found in the rural districts of our 

 State. There are farmers' homes that rival in beauty the man- 

 sions of the wealthiest, and there are charms connected with his 

 well cultivated and neatly arranged farm which the city or the 

 town can never reach. 



The debt-burdened farmer has become the man of manly inde- 

 pendence, and everything around him gives evidence of a culti- 

 vated and refined taste. His buildings bear evidence of design ; 

 they tell of home-comforts and home-convenience too, and are 

 arranged in such a manner as best to secure the convenient dis- 

 patch of every portion of labor required. The substantial and 

 well made fence, the clean fields, the drained swamps, the lux- 

 uriant herbage upon the hill-side, the waving crops of every 

 variety, the well-filled barns, all testify of the farmer's in- 

 dependence. 



The most fastidious can now find attraction in the farm yard. 

 Fine herds of cattle, well fattened swine, the finely formed South 

 Down or the finely fleeced Saxon or Merino, the choice poultry^ 

 the cultivated fruit of every choice variety, all testify that an 

 interest has been enlisted in this noble pursuit, most creditable 

 to the farmer and most gratifying to every friend of his country. 



Gentlemen — I claim that much, very much of this is due to 

 the efibrts of this Society. A generous rivalry hcis been aroused, 

 which has penetrated to the remotest part of your State. Each 

 man becomes a competitor ; choice varieties of grain are sought 

 for, choice breeds of animals are secured ; experiments in rota- 

 tion of crops are carefully made, and we are beginning to realize 

 that labor and toil have their reward. 



Improvement, however, has not stopped here. The desire to 

 do everything better than has heretofore been done has caused a 

 demand for improved implements for the farmer's use. He asks 

 that his plow, his rake, his wagon shall compare with the im- 

 provement of his residence ; that his axe, his hoe and his scythe 

 shall equal, if it do not rival, the far-famed Toledo blade for its 

 temper and its keenness of edge. H^is not satisfied with this 



