134 ESSEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



these subjects. There are libraries in the county devoted to 

 these special subjects. But where are the fountains of knowl- 

 edge to which the student of agriculture may repair, to quench 

 his thirst? They are not to be found here, and he must con- 

 tent himself with the supply that reaches him, weekly, through 

 the agricultural newspapers, and from the annual flowings of 

 the society's volume of Transactions, including, perhaps, the 

 little rills that percolate through the pages of the Old Farmer's 

 Almanac. Is it not a reproach to farmers, that, as a class, they 

 are not more alive to the importance of supplying this deficiency 

 of the means of information on their own peculiar business ? 

 The means — the books — exist, and are to be had ; but where 

 are they to be found in any number collected together, and ac- 

 cessible to all ? 



Much, of late, has been said in speech, and in print, in legis- 

 lative halls, and agricultural assemblies, of the importance of 

 establishing agricultural schools. The attempts, however, 

 which have been made to found them, have hitherto, in this 

 county, proved abortive, and, to some minds, they appear to be 

 uncalled for, or, at least, of doubtful utility. Without express- 

 ing an opinion of their feasibility, if properly organized, or of 

 their usefulness, if rightly conducted, I would ask, if the want, 

 which such schools are intended to supply, a more thorough ed- 

 ucation in the principles and practice of agriculture, might not, 

 in part, be supplied by agricultural libraries? The young man 

 labors in the field — his mind is inquisitive — give him the proper 

 instructors, whether books or professors, and he will obtain the 

 desired information. Where there is a will, there is a way, and 

 most true is this of an ardent mind in the pursuit of knowl- 

 edge. To such a mind, open the doors of your library, and you 

 open to it the resources of wisdom and experience, of theory 

 and science, in matters of agriculture, for which, now, it may 

 knock and knock in vain, at the door of any and every other 

 library in the county. 



As connected with county agricultural societies, a library will, 

 it is believed, be a new feature, and if the reasons here adduced 

 in favor of it are conclusive, a bright and useful feature. It 

 will be an advance upon what has already been done by these 



