362 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER 



Deo 



Annual Eeport of the Executive 

 Board of the Macoupin County 

 Agricultural and Mechanical So- 

 ciety, delivered Tfov. 5th, 1863. 



Gentlemen of the Socieey : One year ago you 

 met in this room and elected your present board of 

 oflBcers, and entrusted to their guardianship the 

 interests of the Society for tlie year past. If, in 

 the course of the year, you have found cause to 

 regret the appointment, the ballot-box is now pre- 

 sented to you and an opportunity given to correct 

 the error. If, on the other hand, the administra- 

 tion of the present board meets your approval, 

 we shall look back upon our years work with sais- 

 faction, that our time and our means have not 

 been spent in vain. 



The year past has been a sad period in the his- 

 tory of our country. War, with all its attendant 

 horrors, has been upon us, and although our own 

 State has not been the scene of strife and battle, 

 yet we have felt the depressing influences of the 

 struggle. Agriculture has sufi'ercd much. Many 

 a hand that has heretofore been engaged only in 

 the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, now grasp the 

 sword and the musket in the defence of our country. 



The various means and transportation which 

 have heretofore stood ready to convey our pro'luce 

 to market, are now over-taxed with other business 

 and insufficient for the purpose. 



The privileges of our gieat rivers and river mar- 

 kets, have been snatched from us, and the products 

 of our 1 ibor have to be sent almost half across 

 the continent by railroad to find a market. 



These influences have operated injuriously to 

 the agi icultural interests of the country, and any 

 thing that has a depressing influence on agricul- 

 ture will necessarily operate injiiriou:-ly to agri- 

 cultural societies and agricultural fairs. 



The executive board indulged the hope in the 

 beginning of the year that they would be al)Ie at 

 this election, to report that the Society was out of 

 debt. This desirable result would have been at- 

 tained only for the large expense necessarily in- 

 curred in rebuilding the improvements which were 

 destroyed by fire during the year — an expense 

 wholly unforseen and unprovided for. 



The total receipts into the treasury for the cur- 

 rent year have been $1409,30. 



Am't on hand at beginning of year, $ QSj'ZO 



Making altogether, 1503,00 



Total amount paid out, 1400,00 



Leaving balance in our favor, 102,18 



By these figures, it will be seen that, although 

 the Society has met with reverses, it yet sustains 

 itself; and with judicious management another 

 year, and a successful fair, all outstanding debts 

 may be paid. 



The executive board would respectfully urge 

 upon the members, the necessity of giving a hearty 

 support to the Society. Let it not be said that 

 old Macoupin, one of the largest and richest coun- 

 ties in the State in agricultural pur.^uits, is lagging 

 behind her sister counties in her support of agri- 

 cultural institutions. 



Our fair for the present year, though quite cred- 

 itable, both in respect to the attendance and the 

 articles on exhibition, was not what it should have 

 been, considering our population and agricultural 

 resources. If our entire farming population were 

 made to feel their interest in the matter, and m- 

 duced to bring out all their worthy stock aad 

 other articles to the fair, our Society would then 

 take its proper position among othtr societies. 

 To secure these results, it is of the most vital im- 

 portance that good men be chosen to administer 

 the affairs of this Society— men who will attend 

 the meetings of the board and work with it, re- 

 gardless of personal convenience. 



And after all this is done, and they have devoted 

 their time and what wisdom they may possess to 

 forward the interests of the Society, they will yet 

 fail unless they have the suppoit of the people. 

 Every man who has articles worthy of exhibition, 

 or who has the abilitv to attend the fairs himself, 

 is accountable to that extent for the success of the 

 Society. . 



Then let us enter upon our new year with the 

 determination that each one of us, and every one 

 of us, will do our whole duty in the matter. If 

 we do this, and keep that determination, another 

 year will see the Macoupin County Agricultural 

 Society placed in its proper position at the head of 

 like institutions in this part of the St;.te. 



W. C. Waters, Tres't. 



John Tunnell, Sec'y. 



— The above shows that the Society has been 

 well managed, and in a most prosperous condition, 

 and the members have done well in re-electing the 

 old board, as follows : 



President — W. C. Waters, Carlinville. 



Vice President — J. C. Duggar, Carlinville. 



Secretary — John Tunnell, Plainview. 



Treasurer — T. L. Loomis, Carlinville. 



Directors — D. McDaniel, D. Gore, Carlinville ; 

 M. Olmsted, Shipman ; L. Johnson, Buford: H. 

 J. Loomis, Chesterfield. 



We spent two days at the fair of the Society, 

 and can bear testimony to the efiiciency of its 

 management. — Ed. 



Report of the Commissioner of Agriculturb. 

 — This report for 1862, of 632 pages is at hand. 

 It presents an improved appearance in the getting 

 up of the work over its predecessors of the Patent 

 Ofiice. We have not had time to give it a thorough 

 reading, but a glance through its well printed pages 

 impresses us very favorably, and we think it will 

 prove a decided acquisition to the library. Its 

 statistical tables appear to have been constructed 

 with great care, and at this time particularly val- 

 uable. They show that the Northern States are, 

 after all, the great pillars of the Union, and to the 

 energy and mechanical ingenuity of the free States 

 is due, to a great extent, the prosperity of the 

 country. 





