170 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



• ii Pennsylvania. \\ <• are uol forgetful of the fad that the first 

 settlement made in Pennsylvania was made in Chester county and 

 it was only a few miles south of this place where William Penn 

 lauded when he came from England and began his work in this great 

 Commonwealth; so we are here from the sixty-seven counties of 

 the State to visit this first county, or the older sister, or the one that 

 we recognize as the mother of us all. And you know the wise King 

 of Israel said that the "hoary head when found in the way of right- 

 eousness was a crown of glory," so we come here recognizing that 

 this crown of glory is resting upon you, for you are the older sister or 

 older brother of the family. 



Reference was made in the address of welcome to which we 

 listened, to the fact that this is a great agricultural county, and 

 for this reason we take pleasure and satisfaction in receiving the 

 welcome you have given. We feel that you are engaged in the same 

 pursuits in which we are interested. We are here as a body of 

 farmers, and you know, friends, the old saying that ''birds of a 

 feather flock together," and so we shall feel especially at home 

 among you. We know that this is a great agricultural county, per- 

 haps the greatest in the Commonwealth. We are all aware of the 

 fact that at the last census, Lancaster county was reckoned to be 

 the greatest agricultural county in the United States — in the whole 

 country, but I doubt not if the estimate were made according to 

 number of square miles in Chester county and Lancaster county, 

 the result of that estimate would be in favor of Chester county. 

 You have here the opportunity for, perhaps, the most diversified 

 agriculture that can be followed in any part of the State. You cer- 

 tainly have every variety of soil, from the rich, micacious soil found 

 in the southern borders of your county, to the heavy and the rich 

 limestone soil of the great Chester Valley which is just north of us, 

 so that here we have an opportunity for almost every kind of agricul- 

 ture. Why, I can remember when I was a boy of hearing of the im- 

 mense fields of corn that were raised in Chester county. I can re- 

 member the time when we, in the western part of the State sold 

 our cattle to dealers who brought them here to be fed by Chester 

 county farmers. I can remember, before occupying the official posi- 

 tion that I now occupy, of hearing of the magnificiently equipped 

 dairies here in Chester county, the best perhaps that can be found 

 anywhere in this Commonwealth, if not the best in the United 

 States. 



I can remember, moreover, in my boyhood days of having the 

 opportunity to see three of the finest herds, of Shorthorn and Durham 

 cattle ever brought into Somerset county, and they were brought 

 from Chester county. The Jerseys and Guernseys have found 

 their way from this county into the central and western counties of 



