THE FOOD QUESTION. 79 



BUSINESS MEETING. 



Saturday, February 20, 1886. 



An adjourned meeting of the Societ}- was holden at 11 o'clock, 

 the President, Henry P. Walcott, in the chair. 



The Librarian laid before the Societ}' a complete set of the 

 Transactions of the Norfolk Agricultural Society, presented by 

 Henry O. Hildreth, its last Secretary, in remembrance of Hon. 

 Marshall P. Wilder, for twenty years President of that Society. 



Mr. Wilder acknowledged the personal compliment extended to 

 him in the terms of the donation. He said that he was glad to be 

 remembered, and still more glad to have this valuable series of books 

 in the Library to perpetuate the memory of the Norfolk Agricultural 

 Society. At its meetings he made his first efforts in behalf of agri- 

 cultural colleges ; which were seconded by some of the most re- 

 markable Americans who have ever lived, — Daniel Webster, 

 Edward Everett, Horace Mann, Robert C. Winthrop, Josiah 

 Quincy, and others. Soon after, he was sent to the State Senate 

 and elected President, where he made the first definite movement 

 to promote agricultural education, presenting a bill which passed 

 the Senate unanimously, but was lost in the House. He has, 

 however, lived to see his views in regard to agricultural education 

 carried out. He claimed no merit for these efforts, for he only 

 followed the instincts of his nature and his sense of duty. 



The thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to Mr. 

 Hildreth for his donation to the library'. 



Adjourned to Saturday, February 27. 



MEETING FOR DISCUSSION. 

 The Food Question. 

 By Edward Atkinson, Boston, 

 Ladies and Gentlemen: 



I will not begin this address as I did when I spoke to the Farm- 

 ers a few days ago, and said that I had been brought before 

 them to show them what I did not know about agriculture. 



I will say that I am here, perhaps, to bring before you the 

 reasons why the methods of horticulture should be in some meas- 



