483 I [Assembly 



others make themselves members, even when unable to contribute, 

 anything to the exhibitions ; and there are a few that, ever 

 since I have been connected with the society, have carefully 

 forwarded the amount of their annual membership, saying they 

 could not attend but wished to keep up the society. So long 

 as such men live there is no danger that the Onondaga Agricul- 

 tural Society will die out ; but 1 stand up this day and plead 

 with the farmers of this county to come up as one man and help 

 those comparatively few individuals. Your interests are one, 

 your efforts should be one, and last of all, your ungenerous 

 sneers at those of your number w^ho are trying to do you a ser- 

 vice can well be spared. 



Since we last met together I have had the pleasure of witness- 

 ing the annual fairs of Columbia county, at Kinderhook ; ol 

 Hampden county, Mass., at Springfield ; of Hartford, Conn., at 

 Hartford, and the fair of the American Institute. From them I 

 learned many valuable things which I shall take the liberty to 

 recommend to my successor for his adoption in promoting the 

 best interests of the society. I also learned that our exhibitions 

 were in many important respects greatly inferior. We especially 

 lack in the display of vegetables, and though w^e had more of an 

 exhibition this year in that line than at any previous time, still 

 our display was not one-tenth of what I saw at Springfield and at 

 Hartford. This should not be so. Allow me to recommend quite 

 an increased amount in the variety and extent of 'premiums in 

 that department. 



Our exhibitions compared with those I saw are quite too brief. 

 While it may not be advisable to exhibit livestock but^one day, 

 yet the display of mechanical and manufactured goods, of fruits, 

 flowers and vegetables, and of other articles should be for two 

 days and a half. Increased receipts by this plan will w^arrant 

 greater premiums. 



The whole list of premiums needs another revision. Though 

 greatly improved from what it was, it is still susceptible of fur- 

 ther improvement. 



