16 MK. hazen's address. 



town In tlie county, of persons of the highest respectability, of 

 the greatest weight in the community, and of ihe best talents in 

 the highest cultivation, combined with an invigorating devotion 

 to the daily labors of the field. The object to be gained, is to 

 spread the influence of such exam[)Ies, and to impress on the 

 whole farming community the truth that the same means of ele- 

 vation are open to every farmer, and that the use of them stands 

 inscribed high on the catalogue of his duties. If nothing is to be 

 gained by the study of agriculture, then certainly the writing of 

 books, and the preparation of reports are quite useless ; and their 

 authors not only misspend their own time and labor, but they 

 may be the occasion of a far greater waste in the community. 

 Writing and printing are mere ostentation and vanity, if the mat- 

 ter is to end here, and here it is to end, unless what has been 

 published is to be taken up, considered, reconsidered, and per- 

 mitted to influence and guide the practical farmer, To what 

 end was it, that your late lamented President, the venerable 

 Pickering, gave his last days and the full ripeness of his wisdom 

 to recording for your use the fruits of his long experience and 

 acute obervation. His knowledge, while it embraced all the 

 practical details of husbandry, comprehended also the whole of 

 its philosophy. Whether he wrote upon the culture of Indian 

 corn, or the more abstruse theme of the food of plants, he was 

 equally clear, precise and practical. His political labors and 

 honors may be forgotten, when his services to agriculture shall be 

 freshly remembered with increased respect and warmer grati- 

 tude. 



In the Address delivered before you at your last anniversary, 

 it is stated to be " a great object of the farmer to obtain the most 

 valuable produce, with the least possible labor, and at the same 

 time to keep his farm in a state of progressive improvement." 

 What are the requisites to the accomplishment of this truly great 

 object? What profession requires the combination of more skill, 

 knowledge, calculation and perseverance ? If he would obtain 

 the most valuable productions, he must be acquainted with all 

 productions, their modes of culture, and all the improvements 

 made in those modes in all parts of the world. But this know- 



