THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



And, without the aid of a regular Secre- 

 tary, there was no means of establishing 

 such a communication and correspondence 

 with the agricultural community, as could 

 effectually carry into operation the provi- 

 sions of the Constitution above referred 

 to. It may be said, without fear of contra- 

 diction, that no agricultural society, either 

 in this country or in Europe, ever survived 

 the first chrysalis years of a few cattle 

 shows, and entered upon the higher and 

 broader career of collecting and diffusing 

 useful knowledge, without the aid of a Se- 

 cretary's office, zealously and ably admi- 

 nistered. A Secretary, to a great State 

 Agricultural Society, is as indispensable 

 a functionary as is an Adjutant General 

 to an army, who is the centre and medium 

 of intelligence, correspondence, and com- 

 munication for the whole. 



Soon, your Society will number its thou- 

 sands and tens of thousands of members, 

 scattered over the wide expanse of our 

 great State, and will be far more unwieldy 

 than an army of soldiers of equal number, 

 marshaled into close and orderly array. 



A Secretary's office, established at Rich- 

 mond as the head quarters of the Society, 

 would, of itself, constitute a material bond 

 of union between the widely scattered 

 members of the Society— it would become, 

 also, a medium of communication between 

 the various individual or associated mem- 

 bers of the great agricultural community. 

 It would be the farmer's intelligence of- 

 fice — the depository, too, of seeds, plants, 

 shrubs, trees, &c. — of new and valuable 

 varieties,for distribution—of modelsof use- 

 ful machines — of specimens of soils, marls, 

 manures, minerals— the place for collecting 

 contributions to useful knowledge in agri- 

 culture; and from which to diffuse the 

 same, through printed publications or 

 otherwise, under the supervision and con- 

 trol of the Executive Committee. In view, 

 then, of the indispensable importance of a 

 Secretary to the Executive Department of 

 the Society, your Committee respectfully 

 recommend, that provision be made for the 

 selection, appointment and salary of such 

 an officer, in such manner, as in the wis- 

 dom of the Society, may appear best cal- 

 culated to advance its great objects in col- 

 lecting and diffusing useful knowledge ap- 

 pertaining to agriculture. Your Commit- 

 tee would further call attention to a consi- 

 deration of the expediency of establish- 

 ing at Richmond, a suite of Agricultural 

 Booms, and as soon as either the unaided 

 funds of the Society, any appropriation by 



the Legislature, or the enlightened policy 

 of the Council of the City of Richmond, 

 may render it practicable. 



One of these rooms might be occupied 

 by the Secretary as an office and a deposi- 

 tory for the archives of the Society; and 

 another should be a large hall for meetings 

 of the Society, for lectures upon subjects 

 connected with agriculture — a depository 

 for seeds, models, &c. — and a third might 

 be a library and reading-room. 



The Constitution authorizes the appoint- 

 ment by the Society, itself, of an "Agri- 

 cultural Commissioner and Chemist." — 

 Your Committee deem it highly important, 

 that there should be appointed a Chemist 

 to the Society, and they would respectfully 

 urge action upon this subject at its present 

 meeting. 



We cannot close this report without 

 returning our thanks to Chas. B. Williams, 

 Esq., the Recording Secretary of the So- 

 ciety, not only for the prompt discharge of 

 the special duties of that office, but for the 

 important aid at all times rendered to the 

 Committee in the discharge of their labors, 

 and for many other useful services, all 

 gratuitously rendered to the Society, from 

 its organization to the present time — ser- 

 vices, which we know have been rendered 

 at great personal sacrifice, and in addition 

 to the duties of a laborious bank office. 



Mr. Edmunds of Halifax, after compliment- 

 ing the Executive Committee upon the man- 

 ner in which they had discharged the arduous 

 and responsible duties devolved upon them, 

 moved the following resolutions, which were 

 adopted, viz: 



\. Resolved, That Messrs. William Old of 

 Powhatan, B. Johnson Barbour of Orange, 

 Richard A. Cunningham of Culpeper, Edmund 

 Ruffin, Jr. of Prince George, and J. Ravens- 

 croft Jones of Brunswick, be, and they are 

 hereby appointed a committee to consider and 

 report upon so much of the Report of the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee as relates to the appoint- 

 ment and compensation of a Secretary who 

 shall be charged with conducting the corre- 

 spondence and general business of the Society. 



On motion, P. St. George Cocke, Esq. the 

 President, was added to the committee. 



2. Resolved, That so much of said report as 

 relates to the appointment of an Agricultural 

 Chemist be referred to a committee to consist 

 of Edmund Ruffin, Sr., Esq. of Hanover, J. 

 R. Edmunds, Esq. of Halifax, Dr. John B. 

 Harvie of Powhatan, Col. F. H. Smith of the 

 Virginia Military Institute, and Dr. William 

 Wei ford of Culpeper. 



On motion of Mr. John Marshall of Or- 

 ange, the following resolution was unanimous- 

 ly adopted: 



Resolved, That four thousand copies of the 



