86 
STATE AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 
the State to an expense of several thousand dollars necessary 
to the fitting up of another camp. And the consequence has 
been that the society has lost the net receipts of the Fair, the 
cost of printing the premium list therefor, the Madison sub¬ 
scription and. the advantage of selling the timber and other 
material while it was yet new and comparatively uninjured— 
advantages whose value, in the aggregate, could hardly have 
fallen short of five thousand dollars. 
These facts will account for the embarrassed condition of the 
finances, as seen by the accompanying Eeport of the Treasur¬ 
er, and should hardly fail to place the State Government and 
the patriotic people of Wisconsin in a friendly, if not gener¬ 
ous attitude towards the Society. 
Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the holding of ex¬ 
hibitions—one very important means of promoting the indus¬ 
trial interests of the State—is not the only office of the Socie¬ 
ty. The law under which the Society has a corporate exis¬ 
tence [see Chap. 80, Sec. 4, Eevised Statutes,] provides, that 
the amount annually appropriated in aid of the declared ob¬ 
jects of the organization, shall “be expended by said Society 
in such manner as it may deem best calculated to promote and 
improve the condition of agriculture, horticulture, and the 
manufacturing, mechanical and household arts in this State, 
either for the payment of premiums at the annual cattle shows 
and fairs of the Society ; or in the purchase and distribution 
of choice seeds, cuttings, plants or tubers, which have been 
tested and found adapted to the soil and climate of this State; 
or in the prosecution of scientific investigations and experi¬ 
ments, and the collection and diffusion of information tending 
to develope the natural and agricultural resources of Wiscon¬ 
sin.” Under authority of this act, and with the conviction 
that a thorough knowledge of the industrial capacity of our 
State would tend to the more rapid development of its resour¬ 
ces, and at the same time immediately aid in securing to Wis¬ 
consin an honorable rank among the enterprising and progres¬ 
sive States of the Union, it is the purpose of the Society to 
undertake the important work of making agricultural surveys 
