284 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS. 



lately, within the past two or three years, the State of Minne- 

 sota is taking a forward rank, through its State Experimental 

 Farm, among the different states of the Union, and, I may say, 

 among the experimental farms of the world. It is doing a good 

 work, and, if it is supported by the State as it deserves to be, 

 it will do a great deal more and a great deal better work 

 than it has done in the past. 



A year ago this winter there were some immigration meet- 

 ings held through the state of Minnesota. In addressing a 

 few of them and in thinking what I could say and what I could 

 do, I always ran up against the question as to how far short 

 our farmers came of doing their work under the best and most 

 favorable conditions and how far they came short of doing 

 themselves justice. In order that they might come and see 

 what intelligent farming would do, I invited different counties 

 to send a delegation of forty or fifty each, to visit the State Ex- 

 perimental Farm, and told them we would carry them here 

 and back free on our railway. Now I felt that in doing this 

 we did a wise thing, in helping them to help us. I hope that 

 the Legislature this year will make some provision for the Ex- 

 perimental Farm to take care of these people when they come. 

 They have at least to get a luncheon there, because, when they 

 get out to the farm at ten o'clock in the morning, the day is 

 soon gone, and it would take half the time to go and come 

 from where they would be able to get something to eat. Last 

 year I believe that over five thousand delegates visited the 

 State Experimental Farm, and at twenty-five cents apiece it 

 would take a considerable amount to give them a good whole- 

 some luncheon. 



Before I close, I would like to say a few words to the His- 

 torical Society concerning some of the interests that are up- 

 permost in the minds of the people of the state and the most 

 important to them. I tried to get some figures in regard to 

 the acreage and the yield of the various crops; I could get 

 figures partially from some counties, and not from others, up 

 to 1894. I got what figures I could, but I will not impose 

 them upon you, as I know they are not complete and not cor- 

 rect. Now think of a state like Minnesota, and an interest 

 so important as its agriculture, with nobody anywhere in the 

 state to gather together the statistics or figures showing what 



