No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 271 



statement or two. I am in receipt of a letter from Professor Wells 

 W. Cooke, one of our excellent scientific institute instructors, of 

 Washington, D. C, stating that be is prevented from attending this 

 meeting on account of the severe and probably last sickness of Mrs. 

 Cooke. In this sad hour we all join in heartfelt sympathy. 



Also that Professor Surface, being President of the Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, asked me to request all persons engaged in bee-keep- 

 ing in Pennsylvania to send to him at Harrisburg, Pa., their post- 

 office address, as he desires to correspond with them. Please bear 

 that in mind all those who are engaged in bee-keeping. 



I think there are no other announcements, except to say that 

 those persons who were placed on the program for what will be the 

 regular session this morning, all I believe have manuscripts, and 

 if time will not permit them to be heard, they will be printed in our 

 bulletin, giving ihe proceedings of this meeting, so that if you do 

 not hear these papers to-day they will all come out in printed form 

 in due time. 



MR. HUTCHISON: Mr. Chairman, I move that the Deputy Sec- 

 retary be requested to send a telegram of sympathy to Prof. Cooke 

 in this sad hour. 



The motion being duly seconded, it was unanimously agreed to. 



Mr. A. P. Young, of Millville, Pa., in the Chair. 



MR. YOUNG: We will now take up the order of the day. The 

 first thing in order is the discussion which is to be opened by our 

 worthy Secretary Martin. 



The DEPUTY SECRETARY: Mr. Chairman and Ladies and 

 Gentlemen: When we are at home and in our office sometimes we 

 think of some very elaborate things which we desire to express 

 and present to the Institute. There are two or three reasons why 

 I shall not give a long talk as I had expected and intended to do; 

 one is,that about ten days since I was taken with a very severe and 

 heavy cold which simply prohibits me from using my voice beyond 

 a certain stage, and you will understand that I must necessarily ab- 

 breviate. There are, however — and I w^ant to say in the out-start 

 to the County Chairmen of Institutes, that whatever of success 

 and advancement in the great work devised for the instruction of 

 the farmers of Pennsylvania, is 'largely due to your untiring and 

 unselfish effort in the counties which you represent. 



Now do not understand by this statement that you are all perfect 

 men; do not understand that you might not have done some things 

 which might have accomplished better results. Indeed, whenever 

 the time comes that we have arrived at such a condition when noth- 

 ing better can be done, our work will have been accomplished in 

 Pennsylvania. But let me say quietly to you, that as long as man 

 tills the soil on this great earth of ours, the time will never come 

 when it will not be necessary for the farmer to procure and secure 

 knowledge, practice and instruction, greater, broader and deeper 

 than he has already attained. The reason for this is, that agricul- 

 ture embraces and gathers within itself all other sciences; chemistry, 

 botany and everything pertaining thereto, and those sciences are 

 based upon great natural principles; principles that emanate from 



