THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



495 



day's exhibition, the preeiJent of the society, 

 Charles T. Botts and Kichard [lill, Jr. 



To select a place (or, and to conduct the suc- 

 ceeding portion of the exhibition, \Vm. B. Chit- 

 tenden, Gustavus A. JMyers, J)r. Henry Myers, 

 Thomas A. Rust, Wm. McCrery, and Henry 

 Ludiam. 



Jesse H. Turner, 

 Thomas S. Dicken, 

 Rich. G. Haden, 

 Wm. H. Richardson, 

 Joseph Rennie, 

 Wm. D. Wren, 



Executive Committee. 



A SUGGESTION TO AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 



For the Farmers' Register, 



To the jfgricultural Societies of the U. States. 



One who has long deeply li?lt the imporiance to 

 human comfori and welfare of the great cause to 

 which you have devoted yourselves, takes the 

 liberty to address you in regard to the best means 

 of promoting it by your associated efforts. If you 

 are all actuated, as he sincerely believes you are, 

 by the true spirit of such institutions, you will at 

 least take in good part the suggestions which 1 

 am about to offer, whether you adopt them or 

 not ; and you will do me the justice to irnpute no 

 other motive to me than an earnest desire to con- 

 tribute my mite towards an object which all who 

 truly love our country have much at heart. That 

 object is, the improvement of American husban- 

 dry in all its branches. But I have not the vain 

 presumption even to attempt an enumeration ot 

 any of the direct means by which this improve- 

 ment could be best accomplished. Were I fully 

 capable of making such enumeration, it would 

 lead me too far from my present purpose, which 

 is merely to invite your attention to the serious 

 consideration of a plan by which it seems to me 

 that much greater interest could be given to the 

 meetings ol all the agricultural societies through- 

 out the United Slates. 



This plan is, for each society occasionally to 

 invite some rfiember of another society to address 

 them at their annual meetings, and, when such 

 invitation was accepted, to give public notice 

 thereof. Perhaps it would sometimes happen 

 that the stranger's address might not be better 

 than that of the individual wh« usually addressed 

 them. Still the novelty of the thing would cer- 

 tainly attract a larger number of attendants than 

 ordinary; lor we all know, that the disease of 

 "itching-ears''^ which prevailed so much in St. 

 Paul's day, is very far from having ceased in our 

 times. Nay, it would seem to be on the increase. 

 Why else do we every where see such crowds of 

 people collect together at any place where it has 

 been announced that a stranse preacher from a 

 distant part of the country will hold forth ? No 

 one believes that it is either religion or a regard 

 for public worship which draws together the 

 greater portion of the assemblage. It is neither 

 more nor less than to allay the itching of their 

 ears. Now, 1 verily believe this ancient disease 

 to be incurable, and therefore most earnestly re- 

 commend, (if you will pardon me for the liberty,) 

 that you will endeavor to extract good out of evil. 



Apply to this malady the unction of good words 

 from strange lips, and most confident do 1 feel 

 that you will soon experience the beneficial eflfects 

 of such treatment. 



The circumstance which suggested this plan to 

 my mind was, the recollection of the admirable 

 addresses delivered by the late lamented Judge 

 Buel before the Fulton County Society, the State 

 Agricultural Society of New Jersey, the Agricul- 

 tural Institute of New London and Windham 

 counties, and the Agricultural and Horticultural 

 Society of New Haven, by each of which he had 

 been invited to address them. The newspapers 

 of the day represented the concourse of people, 

 on all these occasions, as being far greater than it 

 had ever been belbre. This, beyond doubt, was 

 caused in a great measure by the deservedly high 

 character of that most worthy, talented, and truly 

 patriotic citizen. But 1 still believe, that even if 

 he had been an entire stranger to the great majo- 

 riy of the attendants, each assemblage would 

 have been greater than at any ordinary annual 

 meeting, when it was known that they would be 

 adddressed only by one of their own society. 



Generally speaking, the benefits of such ad- 

 dresses, (supposing them to be nearly or quite 

 equal in merit,) will be in proportion to the num- 

 bers who hear them. Consequently any fair 

 means to increase these numbers should always 

 be adopted : and more, I think, will be lound of 

 greater efficacy than for all our societies to recipro- 

 cate such invitations as are here proposed. That 

 they would generally be accepted I cannot doubt, 

 any more than I can doubt that such acceptance 

 would give much additional interest to the meet- 

 ings of all our agricultural societies, and thus indi- 

 rectly augment their power to do good. They 

 might not always nor often succeed in procuring a 

 gentleman to address them who was nearly equal to 

 Judge Buel. Indeed, I believe it would be a hard 

 matter, among all our societies, to find his match in 

 all respects. But the search should certainly be 

 continued, unless we decide beforehand that it 

 would be fruitless. Even to be ranked second to 

 such a man would be great praise, and enough to 

 crratify the ambition ol any one, who was not in- 

 ordinately vainol his own qualifications. 



Should the editors of our other agricultural pa- 

 pers generally approve of the plan here suggested, 

 their republication of it will much oblige a true 



Friend to American Husbandry. 



Aug. nth, 1841. 



A DISCOURSE ON THE CHARACTER, PROPER- 

 TIES, AND IMPORTANCE TO MAN, OF THE 

 NATURAL FAMILY OF PLANTS CALLED GRA- 

 MINE^, OR TRUE GRASSES. 



Delivered as a lecture before the class of the Chester 

 County Cabinet of Natural Science, Feb. 19, 1841. 



By William Darlington, M. D. 



Gramina ubique terrarum snciatitn vigent,laeta praebent pecu- 

 dibus pascua et humano generi annonam. Bndlicher, Ge- 

 nera Planta'fum. 



The late David Douglas— an enthusiastic vota- 

 ry of Flora, and finally a martyr in the cause — 

 was so long engaged in exploring and collecting 



