90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



he understands what these rights and privileges are, and that 

 with the understanding of what they are he has also an appre- 

 ciation of the duties and responsibilities inseparably asso- 

 ciated with them. Citizenship in the State of Connecticut 

 today, and in the United States today, presupposes intelli- 

 gence. Our several states, especially the states of New Eng- 

 land and many of the Middle States, have, for generations 

 past, made such provisions for universal education, for the 

 education of all the children within their limits, that a good 

 degree of .intelligence, so far as it is dependent upon educa- 

 tion, has resulted, unless the people have wasted their oppor- 

 tunities. Now, intelligence is based upon two things : First, 

 upon the natural faculties with which we are endowed, and, 

 second, upon the use we have made of those faculties, their 

 improvement and cultivation. It is not necessary to refer to 

 natural faculties in the State of Connecticut, because citizens 

 of the State of Connecticut have inherited them from a long 

 ancestry second to none in intelligence in the whole country. 

 Furthermore, your educational system here has guaranteed 

 to your people a high degree of intelligence, so far as that is 

 dependent upon education. 



The time is past when a successful farmer can be an 

 ignorant person, or, to put it the other way, when an ignorant 

 person can be a successful farmer. In these latter days, when 

 there are so many lines of farming, a high degree of intelli- 

 gence is absolutely necessary, a great stock of information 

 also, and in applying that information great intelHgence is 

 necessary in order to achieve practical results. There is 

 much that requires the exercise of this intelligence. We have 

 insect enemies never known before. We have attacks of 

 fungous growths of many kinds and other enemies to meet, 

 and which must be met, and there is certainly failure before 

 us unless we have a great amount of information, most of 

 which was not obtainable fifty or one hundred years ago ; and 

 the intelligent application of that information also is neces- 

 sary in order that we may be kept from being overwhelmed 

 by this class of the farmers' enemies. That presupposes 

 much intelligence on the part of a farmer as a citizen. The 

 term " citizen " is a very comprehensive one. It includes a 

 great deal more than simply voting at town meetings, or 

 voting at a general election, or anything of that sort. It is 



