42 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



the labored researches of science and accumulated wisdom of 

 agricultural experience and skill. 



It has been said that the agriculture of the world has never 

 yet been grasped by a master mind. It is true ; and because, 

 heretofore, the highest rewards of honor and distinction have 

 never been obtained from agricultural pursuits. A new era is 

 dawning. It is beginning to be felt and acknowledged that 

 agriculture is the first and most important of all the arts, and 

 that the highest honors and profoundest gratitude are due not 

 to him who has trod successfully the accustomed paths of hero- 

 ism, or the tortuous Avindings of politics, but to him who has 

 proved himself a benefactor to his race, by an honest and well 

 directed zeal in the ennobling study and pursuit of agriculture. 



