No. 11. 



Agricultural Address. 



351 



in offering those premiums, is simply to ex- 

 cite a spirit of emulation among cultivators 

 to improve the varieties of fruits, vegetables, 

 and other productions. It is desirable that 

 each kind of fruit offered for competition 

 may be as numerous as possible, regard being 

 had to produce none but of fliir quality. 

 Each article should be accompanied by its 

 appropriate name. It is also desirable that 

 the articles exhibited should be accompanied 

 by short observations on the mode of culture, 

 with any other remarks deemed to be of 

 utility. 



The judges are authorized to withhold pre- 

 miums where none is entitled to distinction; 

 and where but one of a class is exhibited 

 they will award such premium as they think 

 it merits. Those who intend to compete, 

 must inform the Committee of Arrangement 

 before eleven o'clock on the day of exhibi- 

 tion. 



All stock, &c., exhibited, must remain on 

 the ground during the exhibition ; and all 

 stock intended for sale will be required to 

 be registered in a book provided by the Com- 

 mittee of Arrangement, at the following 

 rates: For each horse, ^2; for neat cattle, 

 $1 each; for hogs and sheep, fifty cents 

 each. 



Articles that are designed to compete for 

 premiums, will be produced when practica- 

 ble, at the Annual Exhibitions of the Socie- 

 ty. Perishable articles may be offered at 

 any of the meetings of the Society, or at 

 those of the Directors, which take place on 

 the afternoon of the second Saturday of every 

 month in the City Hall ; or they may be sub- 

 jected to the inspection at any time, of either 

 of the following committee appointed for that 

 purpose, viz: Dr. J. W. Thomson, M. Can- 

 by, J. R. Latimer, Samuel Uilles, Dubre 

 Knight. 



The books for the admission of new mem- 

 bers, will be open by James Webb, Secre- 

 tary, at Hall's Hotel, from nine o'clock until 

 two and a half, on each day of the Exhibi- 

 tion ; price reduced to S2, which includes 

 the annual dinner — dinner tickets delivered 

 by the Secretary. 



The Society will dine together at three 

 o'clock. All members not in arrears to the 

 Society, will receive their tickets to the 

 dinner free of charge. The Annual Address 

 will be delivered by a distinguished agricul- 

 turist, at John Hall's Hotel, immediately 

 afler dinner. 



If you would have a supply of horse-radish 

 through the winter, have a quantity grated 

 while the plant is in perfection; put it in 

 bottles, which fill with good vinegar, and 

 keep tightly corked. 



ADDRESS 



Delivered before the Mooresloton Agricul- 

 tural Society, Jhirlinglon Co., N. J., on 

 the 2nd inst., by Dr. Joseph Parrish. 



Gentlkmen, — To understand agriculture 

 in its true meaning, we must study the book 

 of nature; we must exercise our noblest 

 thoughts, to comprehend the phenomena 

 which are daily revealed to us in the ope- 

 rations of those laws which regulate the 

 economy of vegetable life. 



Galileo, a profound philosopher, when in- 

 terrogated by the inquisition as to his belief 

 in a Supreme Being, pointed to a straw on 

 the floor of his dungeon, and replied, that 

 from the structure of that object alone, he 

 inferred the existence of an intelligent Cre- 

 ator. ^ When I received through your cor- 

 responding secretary an invitation to address 

 you on this occasion, the first thought that 

 occurred to me was, that this would be a 

 theme well calculated to satisfy us with the 

 effort which has been made by the formation 

 of this Society to trace effects to their causes, 

 and to inspire us with zeal in the application 

 of physical science to the pursuit of agricul- 

 ture. The farmer of the present age ought 

 not to be satisfied with mere bodily rest at 

 the close of his daily labours; his mind 

 should hunger for that knowledge which 

 will unfold to him hidden mysteries — he 

 should want to see, as did Galileo, a won- 

 derful mechanism even in a simple straw. 

 He should seek after light that will show 

 him what there is in the bosom of the earth, 

 that causes the seed to burst its shell and 

 germinate into life — what influences sur- 

 round it that promote its growth and fruit- 

 fulness. Not that he should perplex himself 

 with abstruse and doubtful questions — but 

 that he should strive to be exalted above the 

 brute that labours with him, by cultivating 

 the intellect, by studying the philosophy of 

 nature, that he may see in every flower that 

 blooms in his garden, in every ear that 

 grows in his field, and in every blade that 

 springs up in his meadow, the wisdom and 

 design of a beneficent Creator; and as he 

 cultivates a taste for such researches, his 

 fondness for home and the labours of his 

 farm will become stronger, and his instruc- 

 tions to his children will be their surest pro- 

 tection against the allurements of city life, 

 which tempt so many to depart from the 

 straight forward path of honest husbandry. 

 In all nations of the world, where civiliza- 

 tion has extended its blessings, agriculture 

 is nurtured as the purest and most certain 

 source of public prosperity. Wherever go- 

 vernment is found protecting the farming 

 interests and sustaining a system of well- 



