FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 295 



" the grass withereth and the flower fadeth ; " or let the lat- 

 ter rains be withheld through July and August, and the 

 brethren will have to go down to the land of the Nile to buy- 

 corn. Failures of crops are not all attributable to manures. 



Deposits made in banks of earth and banks of manure are 

 as safe as those made in banks of savings. Investments 

 made in farming-stock receive as good dividends as those 

 made in government bonds, or in bank or railroad stocks. 



And here let me say, for the encouragement of every farm- 

 er, that he has a business safer, with less risks and better 

 remuneration, as a class, than any other calling ; and if he 

 have not all the advantages in buildings, location, facilities, 

 and circumstances, possessed by some of his more fortunate 

 neighbors, let him take courage, and put forth every effort to 

 make the most of his opportunities to improve his farm, his 

 home, and his condition, remembering that he labors in an 

 honorable calling, the earliest business of man, — one that 

 lies at the foundation of every other business ; one that has 

 less peplexities, less failures and more successes, and which 

 gives a truer, nobler independence, than falls to the lot of 

 any other business, calling, occupation, or profession on the 

 face of the whole earth. 



For the committee, 



HoEACE P. Wakefield, Chairman. 



The essay led to a long discussion, in which Messrs. Chad- 

 boiu-ne, Ware, Hadwen, M. J. Smith, and others participated, 

 when it was laid over, under the rule. 



Mr. Heesey then submitted the following essay on 



THE BEST METHODS OF OFFERING PREMIUMS BY AGRI- 

 CULTURAL SOCIETIES. 



The best method of offering premiums by agricultural 

 societies is undoubtedly that which secures the best results ; 

 and the best results are those which give to the farmer infor- 

 mation that enables him to secure the largest amount of 

 money for the least expenditure of labor and material, 

 and at the same time to keep his farjn in a flourishing condi- 

 tion. 



