16 BOARD OF AGUICCLTURE. 



an advantage to the consnnier as well as the farmer. We ask for 

 noUiing nioro than our cmjikiI riglits witli our fellow men in intelli- 

 gence and iu adai^tation to cireninstanccs. There is an increasing 

 demand for a more thorongh education on the part of the farmers. 

 Thev desire to become better citizens, better farmers, wiser, more 

 inlhiential anil more ns(*fiil men. In order to accomplish this we 

 must go out of our selfhood and toil for something nobler than 

 greed. I>et us feel it an honor to place the fame where it belongs, 

 upon the right side of the great ledger book of life. Adjust and 

 adopt the truths laid down in the platform of our farmers' organiza- 

 tion. Labor to encourage schools, colleges, fai's, libraries, and not 

 forget the agricultural press. Do our duty and be faithful to our 

 calling, then we shall have accomplished our mission, then we can 

 proclaim the farm the loveliest spot for the human affection to dis- 

 pla\' its sweetness, for beaut\' to manifest itself in the growing tree 

 and tinted flower, for the small and well-selected librar}' to be well 

 read and thought over, for a race of yeomanry such as the world 

 has never yet seen, and to cherish all that makes life lovely and 

 brave. When mind animates toil, and sentiment beautifies it, when 

 deep-rooted love sanctifies, routine life truly becomes a delight, though 

 genius may charm and poetr}' burn, and eloquence kindle into great 

 thoughts and deeds ; when this mission is done, who wonders the^' sigh 

 for the rural quiet of the farm. In the millennium of farming, when so- 

 ciety shall demand higher types of men, the}' will come from the ranks 

 of the farmers, and the rustic and rural crown shall take the place 

 of the civic and moral ; farmers will then be crowned and sceptred, 

 around them the triumphs of genius and the accomplishments of art, 

 symbolized in the plow. 



Every political part}' has its platform, and has its creed, but the 

 day has gone by when party lines divide the farmer's interests. 

 They are knit together in this grand resolution. If we employ a man 

 to do our business, the first question to settle is, Is he honest, will 

 he be faithful to his charge? Men of all parties are hovering around 

 the camp fires of protection, and the important measures now pend- 

 ing before Congress, are the Hatch bill, recommending appropria- 

 tions for an experiment station in ever}' State in the country, and 

 the Cullom bill, adjusting inter-State commerce. Every farmer in 

 this countr}' is interested in these bills and is looking forward with 

 high anticipation for their passage. I understand both these bills 

 passed the House once and met with opposition in the Senate, and 



