ANNUAL ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BY 



Hon. Francis W. Rockwell. 



A brief review of some of the changes affecting Berkshire agricultural interests 

 since the organization of this'society may prove of interest. 



The population of this county has nearly doubled since 1810. Then it was 

 35,907, while in 1880 it was 69,032. 



Between 1810 and 1S20 there [ was no increase, while for a period of twenty 

 years between 1810 and 1830 the increase was but 1,918. 



It is interesting to note also that between 1790 and 1830, a period of forty 

 years, the population of the county increased only 7,534, while from 1830 to 18S0, 

 a period of fifty years.it increased 31,207. Since 1830 there has been a steady 

 growth, (from 1840 to 1850 of 7,846, and from i860 to 1870 of 9,707. ) 



The first settlers found their task in subduing the savage and the wilderness. 

 After the forests were cleared the original fertility of the soil lasted many years. 

 The first generation of Berkshire farmers found their capital in hard work. They 

 cleared the forests, reared large families, kept the boys at home till twenty-one, 

 started them out in life with an axe and a few acres of timber. Nearly all their 

 wants were supplied from the farm. The axe and the rifle were their constant 

 companions. A freer, hardier race of men never trod these hills. 



After the settlements were made and the forests subdued there followed a pe- 

 riod when the revenues of the farm were mainly from the few domestic manufac- 

 tures and trie little that could be spared for the market. For a few years 

 agricultural matters were at a standstill. The prevailing system of agriculture 

 was antiquated and defective. There was little scientific study or experiment, if 

 any, looking to the renewing of the worn out soil which had lost its original 

 fertility from exhaustion. The sheep, swine and cattle of the county were in- 

 ferior. The more fertile soil of central New York, and the then newly opened 

 west tempted all and won many Berkshire men. The lands in these new sections 

 of the country yielded crops without the necessity of improved tillage. Manufac- 

 tures were restricted almost entirely to the household. 



With the organization of your society came a new era. A man of wide experi- 

 ence and travel, impressed with the need of his country's progress, settled down 

 among you. A man of means and culture, impelled by the idea of usefulness, is 

 an aid to any community. Mr. Watson, though past fifty when he came to Berk - 

 shire, brought with him an inspiration for progress. Regretting that too late in life 

 he had engaged in rural pursuits, he yet endeavored to aid this county in what he 



