ADDRESS. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Essex Agricul- 

 tural Society : 



When the invitation to deliver the address on the 

 present occasion was sent me by your honored secretary, 

 I hesitated, because my pursuits do not bring me into 

 the practical operations of farming, and I could not re- 

 gard the interest I had always taken in this particular 

 branch of those great forms of industry on w^hich the pros- 

 perity of the country depends, as fitting me to instruct, 

 or even to entertain an association like this, composed of 

 gentlemen who are skilled in the practice and learned in 

 the science of Agriculture. 



But sometimes the inexpert may be of use to the 

 proficient, and the looker-on may be able to turn the at- 

 tention of one who is closely engaged in a piece of work 

 to matters connected with it which otherwise he might 

 have overlooked. So, not without misgivings, I consent- 

 ed to perform the service, in which, I doubt not, I shall 

 both need and receive your kind forbearance. 



