110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ADDRESS OF HON. J. Q. A. BRACKETT. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — The subject of 

 the address which we have heard is a familiar one, but it is 

 one which never fails to interest. It has been a pleasure to 

 me to listen to its treatment by our fiiend who has just 

 spoken. I notice that some of the newspapers have stated 

 that I was to lecture before the Board this evening. This is 

 a mistake. They have done me an unmerited honor. I 

 came here for no such purpose, but simply as a member of 

 the Board, without any intention of doing more than to take 

 part in an informal and ofF-hand way in its discussions. One 

 of the honors enjoyed by the person who happens to hold 

 the position of Lieutenant-Governor of the Commonwealth 

 is that he becomes, by virtue of his office, a member of the 

 Board of Agriculture. The statutes, in establishing this 

 Board, have provided that the Governor, Lieutenant-Gover- 

 nor and Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be members, 

 and in my view it was not the intention of the Legislature 

 that this membership should be simply nominal, but that the 

 occupants of these positions, as far as they can consistently 

 with their other duties, should take an active interest in the 

 work of the Board. I have come here this evening because 

 entertaining that view, and should be glad to stay through 

 the remaining sessions in Springfield ; but an engagement 

 with the Governor and Council in another part of the Com- 

 monwealth to-morrow will prevent. 



I do not know that I can contribute anything of practical 

 value to the consideration of the subject which is before us. 

 Although I live in one of the most thriving and productive 

 of the agricultural towns of the Commonwealth, the town of 

 Arlington, yet my vocation is not that of a farmer, and I 

 therefore do not live in a farmer's home. I can, neverthe- 

 less, appreciate, and do appreciate, the importance of this 

 subject, not only to farmers themselves as a class, but to the 

 whole community. The Commonwealth needs the influences 

 which spring from the farmers' homes of Massachusetts. In 

 the struggle which is constantly going on in behalf of good 

 government, for the maintenance of public order, and for 

 the protection of the public morals, these influences are 



