406 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The completeness and the high scientific and practical char- 

 acter of the foregoing papers leave little to be said to extend 

 the limits or to add to the value of this Report. 



The members of the State Board, in common with the whole 

 scientific world, have been called upon to mourn the loss of 

 one of their associates whom all loved and delighted to honor. 

 His genial and sunny face, so truthfully reproduced in the 

 frontispiece by the newly invented heliotype process, will 

 serve to remind us all of the influence he exerted and the en- 

 thusiasm for scientific research and accurate observation which 

 his presence infused into the practical thought of our people. 

 The grandeur of his character, his unselfish and self-sacrificing 

 devotion to the cause of science and the advancement of 

 human knowledge, the exactness of his methods of investiga- 

 tion and the power and magnetism with which he imparted 

 instruction through the lecture or the more informal discus- 

 sion or debate, have left their lasting impression on the minds 

 of those with whom he came in contact. 



The lesson of such a life as that of Agassiz will not be lost. 

 It has lifted our practical community to a higher level of 

 thought, to loftier aims and to nobler purposes. It has, to 

 some extent at least, shown us the possibilities of human cult- 

 ure and the direction which that culture should take. It has 

 given us the model of a popular teacher, who could inspire in 

 others somethino^ of his own love for nature and a desire to 

 unfold her charming secrets, and it has set an example of 

 the power and effectiveness of concentrated and persistent 

 labor to attain success. 



The Farm for Boys. 

 It has often occurred to me to say a word for the encourage- 

 ment of farmers' boys. They sometimes get impatient of the 

 work, the confinement and the restraints of home on the farm. In 

 some cases there is, perhaps, too much reason for it ; and in 

 others, and probably the majority of cases, it arises from an idea, 

 by no means well founded, that boys differently situated, in the 

 village or the city, hold a far more desirable position, and have 

 the advantage of them. In point of fact they have no occa- 

 sion to envy the lot of their city cousins. A long experience 

 and observation, with rare opportunities of comparison, have 



