554 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



I congratulate this Congress on the increased hope and encour- 

 agement that has come to the homes of the great mass of Ameri- 

 can farmers the past year. In almost evei'y branch except cotton 

 farming there has been a manifest improvement in prices. Let 

 us hope that our brethren of the cotton field have gained some- 

 thing in economic knowledge, which after all is the key-note to 

 profit everywhere. 



Our agriculture is becoming nationalistic. The Farmers' Con- 

 gress is one of the proofs of this assertion. We are no longer a 

 loosely joined band of States, discordant, belligerent. Thank 

 God we are becoming connected by railroads, navigable rivers, 

 interchangeable products, and a more general commingling of our 

 people. National legislation is taking on thought of this kind in 

 the establishment of experiment stations, the enactment of laws 

 for the better protection of agricultural products against the dis- 

 honest greed of men who adulterate and counterfeit. 



The march of study, investigation and knowledge have opened 

 to the farmer a new view of the marvellous array of forces around 

 him. Both the farmer and the men of science are coming to see 

 that the farm constitutes a magnificent domain of intellectual 

 conquest. 



Every branch of farming is organizing, not only by States, but 

 in a national way, to promote specific knowledge and a whole- 

 some sense of national independence. Never before in the history 

 of this nation has there been such an awakening of intellectual 

 activities, such marshalling of invention, physical research, chem- 

 istry and cognate sciences, education and legislation, all in beharf 

 of the American farmer, as at the present time. 



We are beginning to feel, as a people, that agriculture is an 

 intellectual as well as a manual pursuit ; that from the humblest 

 tenant to the lordliest ranchman progress and profit depend on 

 mental comprehension of the principles involved and an energetic 

 obedience to that comprehension. Comprehension means intel- 

 lect; obedience means business. Some men are all intellect and 

 no work ; others are all work and no intellect. The true farmer 

 unites both. He is a student and a doer of the work. 



Some of the questions for this Farmer's Congress to ask of 

 itself are : What can we do in an organized way to help eman- 

 cipate this great business of farming from a lack of comprehen 

 sion? How can we contribute as a force to the emancipation of 

 the farm from the wasteful effect of ignorance, and help put in its 

 place the energizing and enriching influences of knowledge? In 

 other words, what can we do to promote farm education? What 

 can this Congress do to promote wise legislation in the State and 



