1900.] ANNUAL REUNION. 135 



fail of producing good. It is remarkable that any society with- 

 out special bonds should have endured for sixty years and after 

 that lapse of time present to the public such correctly organized 

 and well conducted a society as the present, and I heartily con- 

 gratulate the Society on this anniversary. 



Mr. Potter called upon J. VV. Stockwell of Sutton, Secre- 

 tary of the State Board of Agriculture, to speak on "The use- 

 fulness of horticulture to the State." He said the Board of 

 Agriculture has been a potent force to lead in the rapid progress 

 of the last fifty years in Massachusetts, not only in the lines of 

 agriculture, but in studying the roads, the roadsides, the garden 

 and in other directions has sought to give pleasure to the taste 

 and comfort to the life of the farmer. This board should con- 

 tinue to be the leader in the new agricultural awakening in New 

 England. The board must teach the farmer that he must in- 

 vestigate for himself and make his own conclusions. 



In institutes and colleges the influence of the awakening is 

 felt from Berkshire to the Cape. All these things are the 

 farmer's education today. The farmer must stand the equal of 

 any class, and it is our duty to push forward with the progress 

 of the race. 



The desire that the child shall have a good education in prepa- 

 ration for the race of life is a notable change. It is the interest 

 and strength of the State to provide instruction for the people. 

 Rural mail delivery is another matter in which the government 

 should help the farmers, and it ought to be widened and extended 

 on all sides until it becomes the law of the land. Electric rail- 

 ways are a great means of development for the farmer, and to let 

 the congested population of the cities get a breath of fresh 

 country air. ,, 



The fanner is getting to believe in himself, and sees that 

 through united effort much can be accomplished for his advance- 

 ment. 



Looking into the future we can see equal taxation for all the 

 people, poor and rich alike, the burdens distributed according 

 to the ability of the people to bear them. We can see the day 



