606 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. 



In ^?op's Fables it is recorded that the fox. and otlier beasts of the forests, 

 were once invited to pay their respects to tlie lion, sick in his den. On nearing 

 the month of the den, the warj-^ fox noticed that the tracks of all the animals that 

 had preceded him pointed inward ; but none outward. So the fox tuined aside, sagely 

 conchulino: that liis skin was safer in the open air. 



The careful spectator of the operations of the wheel of fortune, will discover — 

 that the dollars laid down on the cloth by the simple ones, are being constantly 

 raked into the vortex and den of the wheel, and that seldom do their feet turn out- 

 ward, or are thej'' returned to their rightful owners. 



The officers of the fair may attempt to shield, or solace tliemselves with the truism, 

 " That a fool and his money are soon parted," and that he will never lack for oppor- 

 tunities to achieve this separation, whether on or off the fair ground. This may be 

 true, but are we hereby justified, in licensing a band of robbers to prey upon the 

 weak and the incompetent? 



We should unite with all good citizens in striving to keep our young men free 

 from the contaminations of vice, knowing that the future welfare and destiny of 

 society and the state, rests mainly for security upon the virtue and integrity of the 

 people. 



An Irisliman once complained of his physician — "that he stuffed him up so full of 

 drugs while he was ill, that he was sick a long time after he got well." 



In morals also, a man may sow his wild oats in his youth, and then settle down as 

 a staid and respectable citizen; but he will not immediately recover from the scars 

 and reproaches of his profligacy until long after he has abandoned his evil practices. 



We are pointed to the church and the Sunday-school, as institutions expressly 

 designed for the moral and religious education of the people; and that the mission- 

 ary field is outside the fair ground. 



It is obvious, to every careful observer, that churches and Sundaj'-schools in our 

 modern times, exert but little influence in shaping the morals of community; and 

 our main reliance rests upon good influences in tlie home training of children; their 

 separation from vicious associates; a correct public sentiment; and the restraints of 

 the civil code. 



An eminetit writer has fitly said — "that our manifest destiny, and the genius of 

 our national idea is substantiated by exhibiting its practical development in tlie 

 great and ever enlarging spheres of industry, government, morality, and religious 

 faith." 



We have a mission— an important stewardship in the world of progress. Let us 

 acquit ourselves like men in the faithful discharge of every trust. 



How sublimely grand and magnificent the realm of nature spreads out before us. 

 How vast the resources of the country — and its political power and influence. Who 

 can measure or weigh the industrial energies and capacities of the people? 



Amid privations, and the sturdy discipline of toil, down through the ages, like the 

 rills of tlie mountains, the brooks of the meadows, and the mighty rivers that roll to 

 the sea, so, these combined efforts — the grand aggregation and results of personal 

 Industry, enterprise, and thrift, have establislied society, nurtured the arts, sciences, 

 mechanical, educational, religious, and benevolent institutions of the day, and, like a 

 resistless tide, influenced and controlled all our national prosperity and national 

 life. 



The remainder of the forenoon session was occupied with a lively discussion 

 on the subject of membership tickets; and also the issuing of 3d and 4th 

 prizes. 



Thursday Afternoon. 



Mr. Robert L. Hewett, of the Secretary of State's office, read the following 

 paper on 



STATE CROP REPORTING SYSTEMS. 



Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention : 



A little more than a week ago I received a letter from your secretary, requesting 

 me to hold myself in readiness to respond to a call, upon any branch of the general 

 subject of agriculture I might choose. As I am not a member of your organization, 

 nor of anj"^ one of your organizations, have no experience whatever in the manage- 

 ment of fairs, nor any pet theories as to tiieir management which 1 would care to 

 present for the criticism of experienced, practical men, like the gentlemen present, 



