Vermont State IIorticultubal Society. 39 



and horticultural societies ; but to Vermont homes and to Ver- 

 mont horticulture we invite your attention. 



Agriculture is the basis of all wealth and prosperity of the 

 nation and of the world, and Vermont, though small in size, has not 

 been altogether small in achievement along agricultural lines. 

 Our experiment station is an acknowledged authority, and the 

 individual farmer has accomplished something in some direc- 

 tions, they are less conservative, more inclined to "prove all 

 things," to more fully realize the importance and supremacy 

 of their calling and look upon themselves as men having equal 

 rights with other American citizens. 



The legislature of 1904 will be historic in several things it 

 failed to do, but it will always be told to its credit that it made 

 the building of Morrill Hall a possibility. This will mean so 

 much to the dairyman and agriculturist in our state. Espe- 

 cially to the boys and girls will this be a blessing. We who 

 are interested, and those who at present are not awake to the 

 possibilities of horticulture within our borders, will hold the 

 legislature of 1904 in grateful remembrance. 



No man today has any need to blush because he is a 

 farmer,, but rather press on to greater successes. Is he not 

 a peer of any man, and does he not hold the nations' bread in his 

 hand? > 



The representative farmer can not afford to be, or allow 

 himself to become a man of one idea. He should not only be 

 conversant with the work on his farm,, understanding the prin- 

 ciples involved in plant and animal life; but he should try to 

 become acquainted with other farmers and strive to learn their 

 methods and surrounding conditions. This investigation should 

 not be confined to agricultural interests entirely. The broad 

 minded man will study the conditions of all classes of people 

 and an unprejudiced comparison will in most cases cause him 

 to magnify his own calling. 



Civic and educational interests should also be looked after 

 by him for they are of vital importance to himself and to his 

 family. Neither is it well for a man to devote all his thought 

 and industry to any one line of farming. 



I contend that from a financial standpoint, diversified farming 

 is preferable, and certainly the more lines of thought exercised, 

 to a certain extent, the more intellectual power will be developed. 

 The more thought and study put into the farm and the farm 

 home the more will we enjoy and prize them. 



How can a farmer's work be called drudgery and his life 

 a humdrum? There is so much that elevates and inspires him, 

 living as he does in such constant touch and close sympathy 



