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superior to the storms of fortune, arid became the ornaments of 

 their age the benefactors of mankind. It is from these causes 

 that we honor the names, and dwell with such profound interest 

 upon the characters, of Galileo and Tasso, Hampden and Mil- 

 ton, Watt and Arkwright, Rittenhouse and Fulton. 



Let not the hardy sons of New England, then, doubt of suc- 

 cess in the application of efficient means to ameliorate the con- 

 dition of their tillage, either from the rudeness of their climate? 

 or the less favorable character of their soil, compared with the 

 fertile savannahs of the South and the beautiful prairies of the 

 West. They have shown what the Saxon blood can achieve, in 

 the battle-field and on the deep, in science and in the arts, in 

 commercial adventure and mechanical skill, and they will not 

 incur the stigma of degeneracy, by failing to rival their own lin- 

 eage of another hemisphere, in that pursuit where they have 

 attained such marked distinction. 



It should be recollected, that it is not the geographical position 

 or sterility of our inheritance, which have thrown us in the 

 rear of other nations ; for that vast and favored region which 

 lies under more propitious skies, in the other extremity of the 

 Union, is not in advance of the North. 



There are many causes which have retarded agricultural 

 improvements throughout the United States, other than the 

 natural difficulties which are to be encountered. None, how- 

 ever, have operated more unfavorably, than the indifference which 

 has too generally prevailed, in relation to the subject, but more 

 especially among those who, from their ample means, distin- 

 guished attainments, elevation of character and the time 

 which they might devote 'to experimental inquiry, could render 

 such essential service, both by their practical operations and 

 the powerful influence of their example. There are, it is true, 

 illustrious exceptions to this lamentable and inexcusable neglect, 

 of the noblest pursuit in which man can be engaged, when taken 

 in the widest scope of its intellectual, moral and physical 

 influence. 



Strenuous and commendable exertions have been made in 



many of the States, to induce a better disposition. This society 



bears upon its roll of members, the names of individuals, whose 



long and faithful public services cannot be too highly appre- 



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