428 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



estate, that ev^en many of its very buildings have been taken 

 down and carried to other parts of the country, to shelter 

 heads less worthy than those who planned and built them. 



In comparing its present struggling condition with the 

 glories which encircled it forty years ago, one may well say, 

 " How art thou destroye'd that wast inhabited of sea-faring 

 men, the renowned city which wast strong in the sea, — 

 she and her inhabitants. When thy wares^went forth out of 

 the seas thou tilledst many people ; thou didst enrich the 

 kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and thy 

 merchandise." 



But while the industries and manufoctures drawn from 

 the sea have forever gone, they are being supplemented to 

 some extent by the more common and equally useful ones 

 that supply the wrought material, and call for that labor 

 which makes prosperous many an inland town ; and as the 

 charms of this island become more and more appreciated by 

 dwellers of the hill country and of the West as a delightful 

 summer resort, the thousands of visitors must be fed; and the 

 harpoon being beaten into a ploughshare, and the blubber- 

 spade into a shovel, must become the favorite implements of 

 the islanders, whose agricultural energies will be largely 

 taxed to supply the daily necessary wants of these welcome 

 summer guests, many of whom will in time, under the at- 

 tractions of scenery and climate and the cordiality of the 

 people, become pleasant residents. 



It is to be hoped that Nantucket has seen its darkest days, 

 and that in its agriculture at least there may be a revival, 

 which I believe is sure to come if the people will exercise in 

 their farming a little of the energy, pluck and business man- 

 agement so long, so ably and so successfully displayed in 

 their maritime operations. 



Since the last State census, the farmers there have in- 

 creased their horses, within six years, from 122 to 300 ; their 

 cows from 376 to 515 ; their sheep from 1,298 to 1,552. 



If increased taxation be an evidence of increased pros- 

 perity, they should be happy in knowing that they have 

 5,000 more acres assessed than in 1875 ; that the assessment 

 is $9,0()9 more on their personal, and $179,116 on their real 

 estate than then. 



