STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 533 



tranquility and rational contentment which lend an attractive 

 charm to the shades of rural retirement. 



Gov. Hunt then proceeded to consider the relations between 

 agriculture and other departments of human industry. He con- 

 tended that the various pursuits of labor, instead of being hostile 

 and antagonistic, are in truth harmonious and mutually beneficial. 

 Commerce and manufactures wait upon agriculture as servants 

 and auxiliaries, contributing in a thousand ways to its improve- 

 ment and productiveness. The mechanical skill which provides 

 the farmer with more perfect instruments, arms him with new 

 strength and capacity for his daily conflict. Those who " go down 

 to sea in ships" invigorate agricultural industry by imparting an 

 extra value to the productions of the soil. They promote the 

 comfort and refinement of the rural population, by placing within 

 its reach the inventions of art, and the diversified fruits of the 

 earth, from every clime. All other interests are subordinate to 

 the agricultural; from its prosperity they derive their vitality 

 and support. Its advancement contributes to their growth and 

 expansion. 



He then dwelt at some length upon the superior importance of 

 agriculture in its relations to the State. As the principal fjun- 

 tain of all wealth, public and private, and the only sure basis of 

 mercantile and manufacturing enterprise, it deserves a prominent 

 place in the regards of the statesman. The subdivision of the 

 soil into moderate parcels, and its careful cultivation by intelli- 

 gent and independent proprietors, are closely related to the 

 strength and durability of a republic. All history proves that a 

 virtuous yeomanry, composed of intelligent freeholders, consti- 

 tute the surest guardians of liberty, and the most faithful sup- 

 porters of law. An agricultural population tluis constituted 

 will cherish the s])irit of freedom, and preserve that purity of 

 ])atriotism whicli witlistands the encroachments of power, and the 

 seductive a])j»roaches of political corruption. Our country may 

 justly claim to possess a class of farmers, superior to any similar 

 class in otlier parts of the world, both in point of intelligence and 

 personal independence. Wliile ownership imparts a spirit of 

 independence to our rural po])ulation, and our system of educa- 

 tion fits them for the exercise of political responsibilities, our 

 republican instituti(»ns will rest on a firm and secure foundation. 



