14 



As you, Mr. President, have recently stated, "fully one- 

 half the improved varieties of vegetables in the market to- 

 day had their origin in this county which places her in the 

 front rank in this field, and had the same attention been 

 paid to raising improved breeds of animals the results 

 would have been equally gratifying. For the same influ- 

 ences of soil and climate which give this flavor and firm- 

 ness to our fruits and vegetables, impart a strength and 

 vigor, a fineness of quality, and a hardiness of constitution 

 to all animals bred here where pa,ins have been taken to 

 select tlie proper seed'. 



We all know that, the larger vegetable growths of the 

 West are attained at the expense of quality. Our experi- 

 enced seedsmen would scarcely recognize in these mon- 

 strosities tiie descendents in the third or fourth generation 

 from seed they themselves have furnished. So an old 

 breeder of Vermont horses would hardly recognize to-day 

 in a car load of coarse w^estern horses, the descendents 

 from the fine old Morgan horse, such a change has been 

 wrought in other climes and on other soils, in a few re- 

 moves from the parent stock. 



A Texas sheep breeder familiar with thoroughbred 

 Merinos bred in his state, than which he had thought 

 nothing could be better, and who was inclined to look with 

 scorn upon our smaller sheep, was perfectly astonished 

 upon a closer examination to find how much finer the 

 quality of a New England Merino was. 



Notwithstanding the universal distribution of the Jerseys 

 in every state in the Union, it is those bred in New Eng- 

 land, New York and Canada that bear the palm of excel- 



