STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 105 



smooth and pleasant to glide over. We reached Madison about 

 midnight, and were so honorably entertained at the Capitol 

 House that we should like to stop there again. "We awoke on 

 the morning of the fifth to find the beautiful city of Madison full 

 to running over with live farmers. After breakfsist we hied 

 away to the halls of legislation, and there a grand sight awaited 

 us. From four to five hundred farmers and sons of toil had taken 

 possession of the seats so wisely occupied by lawmakers and the 

 political shysters that stick to them — as does the bark louse to 

 our apple trees — as long as there is any blood left that can be 

 drawn. They had come not to engage in a woodchuck hunt, but 

 to discuss the most momentous questions of the day, and to de- 

 vise means for raising better stock and growing more and better 

 crops, thereby adding to the wealth and prosperity of the State. 

 Was this sacrilege? The representative farmers had gathered 

 in from various parts of the State and temporarily taken posses- 

 sion of their own. All seemed able and willing to impart infor- 

 mation and to receive it, too, and for four days the halls of 

 legislation were filled with oratory, and echoed to honest eloquence 

 and appeals of sound sense. They seemed to say 



"These are the hands whose sturdy labor brings 

 The peasants food, the golden pomp of kings; 

 This is the scholar, whose immortal pen 

 Spells the first lesson hunger taught to men." 



The Stare Agricultural Society, the State Horticultural Socie- 

 ty, the State Cane Growers, Dairymen and other associations were 

 holding their annual meetings simultaneously. The concentra- 

 tion of so many meetings in one week of societies having kin- 

 dred interests and being component parts of a great whole, the 

 beautiful temple of agriculture, probably brought together a 

 larger representation of each than either one could have secured 

 had the meetings been held at different dates. All of the meet- 

 ings except the State Horticultural Society came under the pro- 

 gram of the State Agricultural Society, and Secretary Babbitt's 

 long and well arranged order of business gave each a jjortion of 

 time for bringing out valuable and interesting papers and 

 discussions. Now, I do not believe that Wisconsin is favored 

 with any better farmers, or those who are more capable of ar- 

 ranging and presenting their ideas in a manner calculated to 

 benefit the people and build up agricultural societies than is 

 Minnesota. But these papers and discussions are collected to- 

 14 



