32 BOARD OF AGlilCULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. 



of the State. We are glad to have you come here at this 

 time, when we have a farmer for imwor of the city to give 

 you the city's greeting. We are also glad to have you come 

 and hold this meeting in the home city of the secretary, in 

 order that you may learn in what esteem he is held by his 

 neighbors and fellow townsmen. And we are glad to have 

 you come when Mr. I lad wen can welcome you as president 

 of the Worcester Horticultural Society. Mr. Had wen was 

 on your Board more than thirty years ago, and as a resident 

 member of the Board he welcomed you and called the meet- 

 ing together in this hall twenty-nine 3^ears ago ; and I have 

 been in the cit}^ thirty-five years or more, and during all that 

 time jMr. Hadwen's life has been an exemplary one in good 

 citizenship and moral influence, and as an open book ; and 

 his influence has been important and beneficent, not only in 

 these two societies, but in the community in which he lives, 

 and I think you would stand by me if I should add in the 

 State also. He is the Nestor and the Marshall P. "Wilder 

 of Worcester County. 



We are also glad to have you come hero to hold your dis- 

 cussions on real, practical agricultural matters. In fact, the 

 farmers at the i)resent time can go nowhere else except to 

 these meetings and to the institutes for instruction and edu- 

 cation in agriculture, — outside, of course, of the agricultural 

 newspapers and the agricultural colleges. Our fairs are 

 supposed to be educational in agricultural matters, but the 

 management is always hampered Avith the idea that something 

 must be done to make them pay ; and about half of every 

 connnittee of arranoenients are in favor of shows and some 

 sort of attractions that will annise the people, so that the 

 most of our fairs are half circus and half agricultural fairs. 

 But in a meeting of this kind you are not hampered in that 

 way. You are here to discuss practical agricultural matters. 

 Fo)- instanc(^, to-day you have up for discussion "Market 

 gardening." Now, that is a very important industry in this 

 Commonwealth. The changed condition of agriculture has 

 brought the farmers to a large degree to raising truck or 

 market gardening; and yet I believe that you h^ve not had 

 this matter open or discussed in one of your meetings for 



