THE SHEEP ARRIVES. 225 



farm, whereon to spend what he may consider, rightly or 

 wrongly, will be the happiest days of his life. We see that feel- 

 ing exhibited in every direction — in the love which men bear 

 for landscapes which picture the country ; in the high prices 

 they pay for pictures of rural scenes, and in the stories related 

 by poets and historians. There is no more effective narrative in 

 ancient history than that of Thucydides, when he tells us that 

 at the time Athens was besieged by the Spartans, the people of 

 the country, who were driven from their rural retreats to the 

 city, died by thousands of home-sickness. Pent up in the city, 

 they could not survive the absence from their dairies and their 

 farms. That is a feeling we want to foster, and that is a feeling 

 which will be fostered by institutions such as the Agricultural 

 College of Amherst. We want young men to come out of that 

 college, not only for the purpose of conducting our own farms, 

 but of conducting the farms of others who are willing to use 

 their capital in that way, and for the purpose of spreading over 

 the whole country a love for farming, not only as a profession 

 but a science. 



But I have detained you too long. I merely rose for the 

 purpose of offering, on behalf of the people of Massachusetts, 

 a resolution of thanks to the Board of Agriculture and President 

 Clark, of Amherst Agricultural College, for the opportunity 

 afforded us of meeting here, and gathering wisdom from the 

 lips of those who have addressed us. 



This resolution was subsequently reduced to writing, and 

 adopted, as will be seen further on. 



At this point the carcase of a sheep preserved by Prof. 

 Gamgee's process was brought into the hall and placed upon 

 the platform, where it attracted much attention. 



Prof. Gamgee. The utilization of sheep, by transporting 

 them to the English market, must, I hope, be henceforth a 

 very important business. But you have heard me speak 

 enough, and I am very anxious to show this assembly the 

 man who has been the most enterprising in this matter, and 

 who was guilty of inflicting me upon an American audience. 

 I should like to have my friend, Mr. Richardson, of Newbury- 

 port, Mass., a true Yankee, come up and say what he has to 

 say for himself, and so enable me to retire. 



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