CENTREVILLE INSTITUTE. 375 



Evening Session, 7:00. P. M. 

 Music. 

 Prayer. 

 Question Box. 



Paper ..' - Lieut. W. L. Simpson, 



Recitation Miss Marguerite Woodwortb. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



by s. h. angevine. 



Ladies and G-entlemen: 



We have met on this occasion to compare ideas and experiences that our 

 store of information regarding the science of agriculture may be advanced. 

 It has been said that "all knowledge comes originally from observation. 

 The discovery of all new facts, the establishment of all general principles, 

 all progress, all advancement, all improvement is the direct result of obser- 

 vation." Observation is the parent of imitation. We are a world of imita- 

 tors, constantly grouping together old principles to produce new effects, and 

 these effects constitute the improvements of our present advanced state of 

 civilization. 



Strictly speaking, the production of a new thought or idea is an exceed- 

 ingly rare occurrence; but the individual observer will each day see some- 

 thing which is new and of interest to himself, and it is for the comparison 

 and criticism of these individual observations and ideas that we are 

 assembled at this time. The most grievous hindrance to successful agri- 

 cultural operations at the present time is a lack of sufficient rain-fall to 

 mature the crops in their natural condition. The ancient Egyptians were 

 compelled to resort to the practice of irrigation in order to sustain their 

 immense population. The adoption of this ancient practice has proved 

 successful in our own country where mountain streams can be conducted 

 and distributed to the valleys below. The Eomans, who were also afflicted 

 with dry seasons, sowed their wheat in drills, the rows being of sufficient 

 distance apart to admit of hoeing by hand, which was several times accom- 

 plished with good results. With the facilities at our command in the way 

 of improved machinery and implements for tilling the soil, the Eoman plan 

 of wheat culture might be adopted by us with profitable results. Situated 

 as we are upon the level plains, the scheme of irrigation is entirely imprac- 

 ticable, as the expense would amount to more than the profits. Our once numer- 

 ous forests have yielded to the woodman's ax until few barriers are left, and 

 the blighting winds and scorching sun wither and destroy vegetation, 

 perhaps as a punishment to man for his misuse of one of nature's 

 greatest gifts. However, if we have a continuation of seasons of almost 

 perpetual drought, which is not at all impossible, we should rely to some 

 extent upon a more thorough cultivation of the soil, as a partial 

 remedy. The subject of rainfall will sometime be critically examined 

 by scientists and experimentalists, and some known facts relative to concus- 

 sion of the atmosphere will be examined. Science has revealed much, and 

 will reveal more, as conditions and circumstances demand. The degree of 

 success to be attained in the future of American agriculture must depend 

 largely upon scientific and experimental revelation. The field for such 



