No. 4.] BUSINESS SIDE OF AGRICULTURE. 83 



SECOND DAY. 



The meeting was called together at 10.30 a.m. by Secre- 

 tary Sessions, who said : The hour has arrived at which 

 we should begin our proceedings. If the speaker says any- 

 thing you do not believe, we want you to hit back, and we 

 want all the time there is. The suggestion has been made 

 that if any of you intend to " lock horns" with the speaker 

 you had better come up front, where we can all get the 

 benefit of it. The vice-presidents and the executive com- 

 mittee have decided upon Mr. Augustus Pratt of North 

 Middleborough as the presiding officer for the forenoon. 



Mr. Pratt. Ladies and gentlemen : I wish to congratu- 

 late you on the beautiful morning of our meeting. We have 

 had a very pleasant and entertaining visit to the well-man- 

 aged agricultural college of our State. We have seen the 

 well-arranged buildings, the beautiful grounds of our agri- 

 cultural college ; and it seems to me very appropriate that 

 this morning, after our visit, we should take up the subject 

 before us, which is, " The business side of agriculture." We 

 are fortunate to-day to have with us a distinguished gentle- 

 man whom we have listened to many of us many times with 

 great profit ; a gentleman who has pursued the business of 

 agriculture in his own State until he has outgrown it and 

 has gone to the south to cultivate a more extensive area. It 

 is with great pleasure that we have the privilege of hearing 

 to-day — I say it because I believe it is the truth — the 

 greatest peach grower in the United States. I take pleasure 

 this morning in presenting to you Mr. J. H. Hale of South 

 Glastonbury, Conn. 



