■WE3T OXFORD SOCIETY. 193 



"Witli a fiimilj, is a worse calamity than if a fire leveled his build- 

 ings to the ground. 



I am so hopeful as to believe that these valleys of the Saco, as 

 well as the hillsides all over this good county of Oxford, will yet, 

 by the aid of science and skill, add at least one fold more to the 

 products of industry. 



Any man among you, who may have too small a farm, may find 

 another one directly underneath the old one. Plow deep, manure 

 deep, pulverize well and deep, and you have embodied in a single 

 sentence the substance of all that constitutes good husbandry. I 

 can already see in this county evidences of a marked improvement 

 in the cultivation of the soil, in a better grade of stock, in the intro- 

 duction of more and better fruit, in embellishing and rendering your 

 homes more comfortable, convenient and attractive. 



I confess to a feeling of pride in every thing that pertains to the 

 health, wealth, intelligence and moral standing of my native State. 

 I have resolved to resist the allurements of a distant land, and to 

 spend my days in Maine. This resolution made twenty years ago, 

 I have not yet once felt like breaking. We are capable of sustain- 

 ing a greater population than ever Greece or Rome could support. 

 Her villages are becoming centres of little and great cities. Her 

 seacoast extends for hundreds of miles, and is indented with bays, 

 rivers and harbors. In a single year the State of Maine could fit 

 out a fleet of ships equal in tonnage to the whole navy of Great 

 Britain. Scarcely a township exists in which may not be found an 

 abundance of water power, while timber and fuel are actually grow- 

 ing faster than we can consume it. 



Railroads are fast extending into every portion of the State, and 

 rendering available what before was of no value. The swamps are 

 fast becoming fertile meadows. By reason of steamboats and rail- 

 roads and mechanical industry, commerce is extended, and the farmer 

 realizes pi ices in cash such as were never known before, in time of 

 peace. 



Smart and enterprising boys and girls are found in abundance all 

 over the State, ready to peddle tin ware, or practice law. ready to 

 cut logs for the mill, or to engage in loo;rollinoi; • ready to 'teach the 

 oxen how to draw, or to teach the younger boys and girls how to 

 read; ready to play on the piano, or to make bread; ready to swap 

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