114 



The usual dinner was dispensed with to accommodate the Ladies' 

 Fair, but a neat collation had been prepared at a side table for 

 His Excellency the Governor, and other guests. After justice 

 had been done to the refreshments, the President introduced the 

 intellectual entertainment in a short speech of welcome and con- 

 gratulation. He then gave the following sentiment, complimen- 

 tary to the Commonwealth : — 



Massachusetts — It was her mission to lead in the march of civilization 

 and improvement. Well has she executed the high trust ; long may she 

 gather the rich harvest of her planting. 



His Excellency Gov. Banks responded, in a very happy and 

 eloquent speech. 



He spoke of the great improvements of the age, as well in agriculture as 

 in other branches of industry. The improvements in this Commonwealth 

 were gratifying, and he declared agriculture to be the fundamental interest 

 of any nation ; and where there was not agricultural success, there could not 

 be success in any other industrial pursuit. To agricultural prosperity were 

 allied the political rights and liberties which we were blessed with by God, 

 and the labors of our fathers. Men of industrial pursuits — he who tills the 

 soil, or drives the loom, or forges the anchor — do not stand below any men 

 on the face of the earth. Farming had been called a life of toil and drudg- 

 ery, with no opportunity for mental cultivation or mental enjoyment; but 

 the triumphs of invention had relieved much of this, and it now offered' as 

 fair inducements to the young man as any other pursuit. And we must 

 make it our primal interest, said he, and a labor of love, or we shall lose 

 the blessings allied with it, and they will be bestowed upon those who take 

 our places. 



The remarks of the Governor were received with frequent de- 

 monstrations of applause, and seemed to give an unusual degree 

 of satisfaction. 



The President announced as the next toast : — 



The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture — The en- 

 trenched guard for the protection of Massachusetts agriculture — may it never 

 lack the sunshine of popular patronage or an abundant harvest of well 

 earned renown. 



To this sentiment James S. Grennell, Esq., delegate from the 

 State Board, responded in a very felicitous speech, in which he 

 contrasted the past with the present, and congratulated the So- 

 ciety upon the elevated position it holds among sister associations. 

 He alluded to the influence of agricultural exhibitions and the 

 pleasure it would give him to report in behalf of this Society. 



A sentiment complimentary to the clergy was responded to by 

 the chaplain. Rev. J. 0. Means, in an appropriate manner. 



