8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



course of forming is pursued and lands are worked to produce 

 profitable crops. 



We have been favored for a long series of years with men 

 who have devoted their lives to the progress of agricultural 

 pursuits, and their example and influence have led many to 

 take an interest in and obtain a living by agriculture. And 

 when we see so large a proportion of our people devoted to 

 this interest in all its legitimate phases ; when we recognize 

 the fundamental truth that the ground which we cultivate is 

 the primary source of all wealth; and more than this, when 

 we remember that without its annual products of grains and 

 roots and fruits and vegetables for the use of man, and the 

 herbage and grasses from which our stock gather their suste- 

 nance, all other interests would be paralyzed, we can at once 

 realize the importance of agriculture in relation to all other 

 industries in this county. 



Among the most noticeable and cheering phases of advance- 

 ment among our farmers that forcibly strike the eye of the 

 observer, is the marked improvement in their grounds and 

 dwellings. Happily the era is fast passing away, in which 

 farmers, either rich or poor, in any section of our county, 

 deem it compatible with their interests, and with the dignity 

 of their vocation, to live in homes deficient in comforts or 

 embellishments such as the age now demands. 



Grounds about their buildings are receiving more care and 

 attention, and are frequently embellished with trees and 

 shrubs and flowers, indicative of a growing taste and a love 

 for beautiful things. Great improvements are taking place 

 in our methods of farming, fruit culture is receiving increased 

 attention, and the general management of farms is continually 

 presenting evidence of general economy and thrift. Our 

 farmers have not been slow in introducing upon their farms 

 the improved machines and implements of husbandry ; the 

 best and purest seeds are eagerly sought for, and the best 

 live-stock is slowly but surely taking the place of inferior. 



Several organizations in this county have contributed to 

 these results, and I believe I shall be justified in passing 

 them briefly in review. 



The Worcester Agricultural Society, the oldest and for 

 many years the only Agricultural Society in this county, was 



