1902.]^ INRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 23 



cident in the farmer's life that I do not thoroughly understand. 

 From the first hum of the bee in April to the first chill flakes 

 of snow in November, and from that tremendous dinner on 

 Thanksgiving day, through the long New England winter, 

 of buckwheat cakes and sausage, to the first run of shad in the 

 spring, there is not a duty, nor a sorrow, nor a joy in the life 

 of the farmer's boy of thirty years ago that I have not ex- 

 perienced. I am proud to testify that I have held the hoe and 

 the plow and the scythe, and the dull cradle (for that is all 

 the boy got), and the milk pail, and the old New England 

 primer, and the wooden-covered spelling book. I have helped 

 dip candles, mow away hay; I have ridden horse bareback 

 in stony fields until my legs became permanently shorter than 

 they ought to be. I have mowed away hay, set hens, run 

 down roosters, and lived on hasty pudding. I had a sled 

 and a pair of skates, and a dog and a gun, and a pair of cow- 

 hide boots that I couldn't get off when I got them on (ap- 

 plause), and could not get on when I had got them off. I had 

 all these things in due season, and I had plenty of bread and 

 milk and ginger snaps all the time, and I was happy. I didn't 

 have much money, but I had some things that money cannot 

 buy, I had good health, and a good time, and good parents. 

 (Applause.) Since those days it has been my lot to sound 

 some of the shoals and depths of other walks in life, and 

 experience, if it has taught me anything, has taught me that 

 the Connecticut farmer has as much independence and as 

 much happiness, and as much respect for his Creator, and can 

 have as much respect for himself as any other class of men in 

 the world. I know that the farmer's life is a rather discourag- 

 ing one in New England. I know that there are fewer crops 

 today than there used to be, perhaps, that can be raised at a 

 profit. I know that expenses have increased. It is not for 

 me, perhaps, to advise you. The distinguished gentlemen 

 who come after me will do that, and I have no doubt they 

 will give you good advice. But I thoroughly believe that the 



