464 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Then, and not till then, will the farmer receive to a large degree 

 the profits of his toil. 



ADDRESS OF PROFESSOE HAMILTON 



It is needless to say that I am always glad to get back to Penn- 

 sylvania — particularly when it gives me the privilege of looking into 

 the faces of the men of this Board whom I have long known, and 

 honored for their substantial work in the interest of agriculture. 



In thinking of the Board and its services to the State, I feel that 

 some one should be deputized by the Secretary of Agriculture to 

 write its history, not simply a history of the Board as a whole, but 

 of its individual members. 



The SECRETARY: I have been trying to get it done, but so far 

 the Nestor has refused to be pressed into the work. 



PROFESSOR HAINIILTON: I think it should be done. I have 

 been thinking while sitting here, "What if the State of Pennsylvania 

 were to employ this body of men by the year to give their entire 

 time and attention to the development of agriculture in their respec- 

 tive sections?" If so much has been done by these men, meeting 

 three or four days in the year, what would be the result if they 

 were to devote all of their time to the development of agriculture? 

 I believe we have come to a time when in every state a body of ex- 

 perts to assist agricultural people at their homes v/ill be employed 

 by the year. In is coming to this that in every county in every state 

 of this Union in which farming is an important feature there is 

 going to be an expert giving all of his time and attention to the de- 

 velopment of agriculture. 



In the stronger agricultural counties, as Lancaster and Chester, 

 there will be six, eight, or ten men who will do nothing else but 

 attend to the development of their agriculture, and I may add, domes- 

 tic science as well. These men will be responsible to some central 

 agent or head, such as the State Board of Agriculture or the State 

 Agricultural College. 



There is a notable instance of the effect of that method that has 

 just been brought to the attention of the world by the publication, 

 in French, of the condition of agriculture in Belgium. Belgium 

 in its political divisions is something like Pennsylvania. It is divided 

 into Provinces similar to our counties; its population is about equal 

 to that of Pennsylvania, numbering about seven millions, of whom 

 about one million are farmers. Its area, however, does not com- 

 pare with that of Pgtmsjlvaiiia. In size it is about equal to the 

 State of Delaware. 



