1883.] EVENING SESSION. 259 



EVENING SESSION. 



The convention met at seven and a-lialf o'clock in the 

 Second Congregational Church, Vice-President Barstow in 

 the chair.. 



After a voluntary on the organ, the Rev. Mr. Forbes, the 

 pastor of the church, said : 



Mr, President, — Allow me to say a word. It gives us a 

 great deal of satisfaction to welcome this body of men to our 

 church to-night. We would not, by gathering you in a church , 

 make your occupation any more sombre, but we would, if we 

 could, by our music and by song, do something to cheer the 

 labor of your hands, and the labor of your brains as well, and 

 having listened to the organ strains, I will now invite you to 

 listen to a solo — " Consider the Lilies." 



Mrs. MuRLLESS, the leading soprano of the choir, then sang 

 the familiar and popular sacred melody, " Consider the Lilies, 

 How they Grow," to the evident gratification of the audience. 



The President. I have the pleasure of introducing to you 

 as the lecturer this evening, Mr. J. B. Olcott, the well-known 

 agricultural correspondent of the "Hartford Courant," who 

 will now address you. 



HINTS TOWARD SMALL FARMING. 



Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen of the Board of Agriculture : 



1 do not know how to begin my part of this evening's proceed- 

 ings without a word of thanks, at least, for this very pleasant 

 ending of our pleasant sessi(yis. We have had the best meeting 

 here that we have ever had anywhere, I think, in the State. 



This paper was first hinted at by Secretary Gold. He was in- 

 stigated thereto by the following letter from a mother who evi- 

 dently does not know exactly what is going on with the soil 

 around her, but sees something is the matter, and writes in her 

 sorrowful wonder and perplexity, a sort of epistolary prayer for 

 help. 



Conn., April 27, 1882. 



Mr. T. S. Gold: 



Sir : I was glad indeed to receive my Connecticut Agricultural 

 Reports via express office, twenty-four hours ago. Have been 



