28 Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the 



him an intelligent liking for the farm and farm life and a thorough 

 knowledge of the principles that underlie success in that line of 

 work. Bducation and education that is practical is what the 

 farmer must have. 



Make use of our State Agricultural College, if practicable ; 

 it has done and is doing an increasingly good work, and many 

 have gone out from it to fill places of importance in the world. 

 The new Agricultural building, for which an appropriation was 

 made by the last Legislature, has not been built as yet, for the 

 reason that the most desirable location for it could not be ob- 

 tained at a reasonable price. It is expected that some site will 

 be obtained and the erection of the building commenced in the 

 early spring. The attention of this Association is again called to 

 the helpfulness of a correspondence course in connection with our 

 Agricultural College. When the new building is completed and 

 equipped, then a request for the aforesaid course may receive the 

 consideration of the University trustees. Let its bear this in 

 mind. 



Agricultural Fairs. — I believe that our Association should 

 encourage them as educational factors. We find upon examina- 

 tion of the recent pamphlet issued by Hon. G. W. Pierce that 

 there are one hundred and sixty-five fairs held in the New Eng- 

 land States ; seemingly too many for the best results to be ob- 

 tained. Moreover, that in all these states, except New Hampshire 

 and Vermont, State appropriations are made to aid in the work. 

 Now why do these states make such appropriations if they do 

 not consider the gain to the agriculturist commensurate with the 

 expenditure? State aid would of necessity mean more stringent 

 rules and regulations regarding the management of the fairs, 

 hence many of the objectionable features would be eliminated and 

 the educational element made more and more prominent. 



Free seeds are now being termed a nuisance by some of the 

 agricultural papers, and seedsmen are protesting against them 

 as a restraint to trade and as class legislation. The majority of 

 farmers, I am inclined to think, consider them hardly worth plant- 

 ing ; to me it seems an expenditure of money, which, used in some 

 other way, would be of much more benefit to the agriculturist. 

 It is claimed that 40,000,000 distinct packages of seeds are sent 

 out each year in that way, — postage free, more than are annually 

 sold by all the seed establishments of the United States. 



It is also well for us to note some of the objects for which the 

 Granges of our country are working: namely, parcels post, 

 national and state aid for the improvement of public highways, 

 railway rate legislation, etc., etc., and see where we, as an Asso- 

 ciation, stand in matters which so plainly are of vital interest to 

 all farmers. 



