188 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



o-et it at the price I pay now. I think I paid 11 cents per 

 pound by the bag. 



The Chair. We. have in the audience one of the oldest 

 of the former members of the Board of Agriculture, — a 

 man whom every one who knows him respects and loves. 

 I know it would do you good to see his face and hear him 

 speak. Mr. Hadwen, Avill you step forward and face the 

 audience and the Board, and speak to them? 



Mr. O. B. Hadaven (of Worcester). I feel very much 

 embarrassed and I also feel very much flattered at being 

 called ui)on on this occasion. I always felt it an honor to 

 attend the meetings of the Board of Agriculture of Massa- 

 chusetts. I had the good fortune to be for twelve years one 

 of its members, but I believe to-day there are but two per- 

 sons living who were on the Board when I first became a 

 member. 



I appear before you as one who has a great fondness for 

 agriculture, I might say, in all its phases that are adapted 

 to the Commonwealth, and for seventy years have engaged 

 in its calling. I have been very much delighted to-day, as 

 you all have, in listening to this lecture. We have never 

 had the privilege before of listening to such an able lecture 

 on the same subject. I most heartily concur, so far as I am 

 able, in the sentiments that have been expressed. I belong 

 to a club whence this Board of Agriculture emanated, that 

 has been in existence since 1840. One of the members of 

 the club grows in the western portion of the country 20,000 

 acres of wheat every season, and he stated a while ago that 

 in less than fifty years the bread Ijaskct \vould be empty. 

 He meant us to gather from that that wc had got to depend 

 more upon our own resources in this Commonwealth than 

 we have been doing ; that we should have to change our 

 modes of ai^riculture, and o^o back to the ao^riculture which 

 was pursued in earlier times, and raise grains for our own 

 sustenance. This will undoul)tedly prove true. It is well 

 known that this Board was organized to stimulate the agri- 

 culture of the State, — Avhich it has done, — because the 

 prosperity of the State depends so largely upon cheap and 

 economical living for the masses. We all know that our 



