NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
91 
NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The A nnual Meeting of this Society was held at 
Albany the third week in January. 
George Yail, Esq. in the chair. 
Mr. B. P. Johnson, Secretary, read the report of 
the Executive Committee, which was agreed to, on 
motion of Mr. McCarthy, of Oswego. 
Mr. J. McD. McIntyre, Treasurer, presented his 
annual report, which shows the receipts and expen¬ 
ditures to have been for the past year as follows :— 
Balance from last report, and receipts from vari¬ 
ous sources during the year, . . . $6,457.19 
DISBURSEMENTS. 
Premiums paid, .... 
$2,226.73 
Incidental expenses, . . . 
514.78 
Library, . 
61.22 
Salaries,. 
. 947.27 
Expenses, 1846, .... 
. 312.88 
Other expenses, .... 
. 547.75 
Invested 1st Oct. last, . 
1,000.00 
Balance on hand, 
$6,457.19 
The President stated that the permanent fund of 
the society amounts to $8,000. 
Mr. T. Smith, of Schoharie, moved the appoint¬ 
ment of a committee for the selection of officers of 
the society for the next year, and to recommend the 
place of holding the next Annual Fair, upon which 
said committee was appointed, and the following list 
of officers nominated, and unanimously elected. 
For President, Lewis F. Allen, of Erie county. 
For Vice President , 1st District, Ambrose Stevens, 
of New York. 
2d District, John A. King, of Queen’s. 
3d “ E. P. Prentice, of Albany. 
4th “ Samuel Cheever, of Saratoga. 
5th “ Geo. Geddes, of Onondaga. 
6th “ Geo. W. Buck, of Chemung. 
7th “ Allen Ayrault, of Livingston. 
8th “ James C. Ferris, of Wyoming. 
Recording Secretary , Benj. P. Johnson, of Albany. 
Corresponding Secretary , Ebenezer Emmons, of 
Albany. 
Treasurer , John McD. McIntyre, of Albany. 
Executive Committee , Luther Tucker, of Albany ; 
John J. Yiele, of Rensselaer; Joel Rathbone, of. 
Albany; Theodore C. Peters, of Genesee; Hon. 
John T. Bush, of Erie. 
Mr. Allen, President elect, then assumed the 
chair, and made the following address :— 
Gentlemen, —In accepting the distinguished 
honpT which your partiality has conferred upon me, 
I should be recreant to a feeling of proper sensibility 
hot to offer to you my unfeigned acknowledgments 
upon this occasion. Were the Society constituted 
of an assemblage of individuals for secular or con¬ 
ventional purposes, applicable only to the usual 
routine of public affairs, the selection of any one of 
its members to preside over its deliberations, might 
well be esteemed an honor; but with the high pur¬ 
poses which you have in view, the magnitude of 
the interests you represent, and the results which 
our labors, under the Divine blessing, are destined 
to, accomplish, render the position of its presiding 
officer one of marked importance, and of no ordinary 
responsibility; and particularly when I reflect upon 
the names which have so w r orthily preceded me in 
the discharge of the duties which I have now under¬ 
taken, I may well doubt my own ability to perform 
satisfactorily to you my appropriate duties. 
The New York State Agricultural Society, gen¬ 
tlemen, is among the new creations of the age, called 
into existence by the increased inquiry after intel¬ 
ligence, of the most numerous and most substantial 
class of our population—the farmers of the state. 
It is not a body of amateurs in science or the arts, 
wffio come together to hold polite disquisitions 
which may or may not have to do with the tastes 
and the partialities of the world, or of society; but 
we claim to be earnest men, representing the in¬ 
terests of the mass of our population, whose sub¬ 
stantial welfare we consult; and in our labors to 
promote their prosperity, we seek also to add to 
their enjoyments by blending with the strictly 
useful, incidentally, that which shall both elevate 
and refine. 
This society is rapidly building up a character 
for investigation and intelligence which is already 
honored at home and inviting respect abroad. It 
has been ranked among the honorable and distin¬ 
guished institutions of our country, and under wise 
influences it may achieve results which generations 
yet unborn shall rise up and call blessed. 
From long association with you, gentlemen, 
I shall, in the discharge of whatever duties I 
may be called to perform, be conscious that I am 
acting with old. friends and zealous co-laborers 
in a cherished cause; and in expressing to you an 
unfeigned distrust of my ability to perform those 
duties to you satisfactorily, I will not so far indicate 
a doubt of your kind indulgence as to ask it for the 
unintentional errors I may commit; for I know that 
indulgence is already extended in advance. I can, 
in conclusion, only assure you that whatever ability 
I possess shall be devoted to your service; and I 
trust so to act, that, on retiring from office, my 
record may not remain unmarked upon the annals 
of the society. 
Prof. J. P. Norton, of Yale College, delivered 
an address, before the society, and many gentle¬ 
men of high standing, from various parts of the state, 
and the students of the Normal School, combin¬ 
ing much useful scientific information, with very 
happy illustrations of the adaptation of the results of 
science to the cultivation of the soil. The Professor 
was listened to with the utmost attention: and at 
the conclusion of his address, 
Mr. John A. King, of Queen’s Co., moved that 
the thanks of the society be tendered to Professor 
Norton for his excellent and scientific address, and 
that a copy be requested for publication. Agreed 
to. 
Mr. Geo. YV. Clinton presented a memorial of the 
Common Council of Buffalo, asking that the next 
Annual Fair may be held in that city. The citizens 
of Buffalo had waited a long while for the society 
to gratify them by fixing upon that place as the' site 
of holding the fair; and they believed that the full¬ 
ness of time had now come. The memorial which 
he presented was hut the echo of the sentiment of 
all classes of people in that city. A large region 
of fine country would be greatly benefitted by the 
holding of the fair at Buffalo, and he would assure 
