276 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



soil fertility problem; that is the one that interested me most, and 

 it seems to me very desirable that we should try to get together on a 

 certain line of teaching that we can carry to the farmers — that we 

 ehould get a line that it would be safe for them to accept, that will 

 mean soil improvement. 



I won't take up your time; I have no special message for you just 

 now. I came in here as an old worker among others merely to en- 

 joy the privileges of the meeting. I think you are doing a great 

 deal, yet I think sometimes you might do more; you might send a 

 few of these men to the State Legislature for the good of that body 

 and when they get there, we might be able to secure appropriations 

 that are needed for the better development of agriculture. If you 

 pick out some leading member and make him the Governor of your 

 State as representative of the farmers' interests here, then it seems 

 to me that you would have been doing your full duty for Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



Again I thank you for this kind greeting. It is one of the 

 pleasures each year to me which I always look forward to, and I 

 wish you continued success and hope that your efforts made in behalf 

 of Pennsylvania agriculture may bear such fruit as to put it on the 

 plane where we all wish to see it. 



DEPUTY SECRETARY MARTIN: Now if there are any ques- 

 tions let them come in now. 



MR. HUTCHISON: Will it not be better to call the list of coun- 

 ties? 



The DEPUTY SECRETARY: The trouble with that is, it exhausts 

 a great deal of time; whatever you have to say, say it. 



MR. NORTHUP: Mr. Chairman, I would like to talk five minutes; 

 I am just persuaded that this is one of the most important sessions 

 that we shall have in our spring meeting and I feel that it will have 

 a very important influence upon the work which we have to do. I 

 have been a chairman in the conducting of farmers' institutes for 

 ten years and I have had the hearty support of Brother Martin in 

 all that I have undertaken to do or I could not have undertaken the 

 work, and when he called up that subject this morning in reference 

 to better institute work, I thought that is just what we had to con- 

 sider and just what we have been endeavoring to accomplish. 



Now in the first place, the county manager has got to be a grand 

 good beggar, because my brother over here says that the money se- 

 cured has got to be secured by voluntary contribution, and it is one 

 of the hardest things in the world to touch a man's pocketbook, or 

 anything there is concerning him that costs money and the fellow 

 that stands up before an audience of people to get the money has 

 got to be a grand good beggar, I think sometimes he ought to go 

 into a Methodist meeting and hear the presiding elder beg, for some 

 object for which he wants to raise money in the church as an ob- 

 ject lesson, for he certainly wants to be a good beggar. 



I remember an instance iu which a youug man was going to be 

 ordained for the ministry, and they called together a large council 

 of brethren and some old ministers and they were about to ordain 

 the young man, and one of the old ministers stepped around to the 



