the power to turn experience and observation into practical usethese are vast themes for the farmers' attention, mastered only in a life-time. Farmers should have a knowledge of all that immediately concerns their calling. They should understand how to grow large crops, and how to dispose of the same as to the best time and advantage. This is education; to learn to think and make the most of life, to become live farmers, and the live thinkers whether having a corn-field or governing a nation always lead. Then, fellow men, ignorance is the only slave; God ever made intelligence the only king.

The new customs and fashions of the people engaged in other industries demand that agricultural products shall be of a higher type and better quality. It is almost an impossibility to dispose of an inferior article of farm productions. The cry is more gilt-edge butter, better beef, potatoes, fruits and whiter flour. Yet in this, as in many things, education lags far behind conception, and supply responds slowly to demand. To some extent this is true in the application of this element of education of agriculture, If I should ask the question here to-day, Is agricultural education necessary? every one present would answer, Yes. If I should ask the men who be-lieve that the profession of agriculture exempts from the conditions of skill and science required for success in other pursuits, to stand up, all would remain seated. Educational fitness for this is, as for all pursuits of life, theoretically admitted. The time demands that in whatever profession man is engaged he should be educated to that profession. Now, who will tell me that it is less important for the farmer to understand the composition of his soil that produces a certain vegetable or grain, than it is for the painter to know how to combine colors, so as to produce one unlike either of its constituents and more desirable than all of them separated?

Who will tell me that it is more unfortunate for the farmer to neglect through ignorance the vital condition to the perfection of a crop from the soil, than for a lawyer to try a case and send it to the jury in ignorance of the repeal of the statutes upon which the claim of his client rests? Will any one tell me how the farmer can overcome or guard against the multitude of diseases that assail vegetable life, without a knowledge of the principle of growth and condition of health in tree and plant, better than the physician can treat corresponding derangements in the human system, without the knowledge of physiology and the cause and nature of diseases?

It seems quite impossible that any sane man should question the necessity of a special course of training for intelligent husbandry, and when the necessity is admitted, it is both irrational and cowardly to rest until a want of such magnitude is relieved by an adequate supply. It is certainly inconsistent with the American character, to yield without the mastery of the problem. Above all, it would dishonor us as a State to neglect our duty. Maine is the synonym of leadership in the history of bold and unflinching progressiveness; if not at the front in this, we are nowhere to our honor.

No State has a deeper interest in the subject than ours. Maine is emphatically a good agricultural State, and capable of supporting a greatly increased population when its latent powers of production are brought out by scientific methods and practical work; but with our present management or mismanagement, our young men are disposed to break away from the endearments of home, the scenes of their childhood, and leave the graves of their fathers and mothers, and seek a home in the far West. If they could be convinced that by an expenditure not so great as they will be obliged to make in removing to a new country, and there building up meeting-houses and school-houses, and roads, and other public improvements, they will be less inclined to leave the scenes and the friends of their youth, to encounter the hardships and privations of a new country. This is one thing that should quicken our people to action, and a good reason why we should see prompt and earnest work in the interest of agricultural education in our State. Why leave a stone unturned that will tend to develop our own home industries? We have sixty-four thousand farms, and land enough for as many more. Why suffer the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin, through their legislators, to throw out stronger inducements for their agricultural interests than we, and draw our young men away from us, when our climate is as good and better than theirs, and the moment our productions are produced, they are worth double in our market what theirs are in their home markets.

Look at the cities of Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and many other western cities, and what would have been those vast cities of to-day had it not been for Maine and New England influence? Consider for a moment the brains and the energies that have gone out from us into those frontier towns of the West, and what would have been that vast region to-day if not for Maine and New England

sons? Recently, while passing through the West, I was constantly coming in contact with Maine men. Yes, Maine sons are scattered broadcast throughout the West, playing an active part in the agricultural and manufacturing interests, and also in the political affairs of the nation. Why stand we still with folded arms, unconcerned, and allow this to go on until our own resources and industries are developed? Some one may ask, "What can we do?" Why suffer our young men to repair to the cities, and fill the workshops to overflowing with their muscle, causing discontentment and dissatisfaction between themselves and their employers, by being obliged to work just so many hours for a bare existence, as it is called, when there are millions of acres of land mourning for the plowshare, capable of producing the necessaries and the comforts of life, where they can enjoy the pleasures and emoluments of an honest yeomanry such as the world has never seen, being their own boss, making their houses as long or as short as they please, being an honor to themselves, their friends and the world? Some may ask, "What can we do to obviate this?" My answer is this: The times, the fashions and customs, and the state of affairs demand that we do something. Let us build up our agricultural interests by education. Let us build a structure that will be an honor to ourselves, our State and country. Let us throw out such inducements as will smother the idea that there is a better spot on God's green earth in which to live, all things considered, than our own State. Of the three great industries of our country, agriculture comes first upon the list; let us foster other interests, but by all means build up agriculture first. Who can deny the fact that a prosperous agriculture is the foundation stone of a prosperous community or State?

Assuming no wisdom above others, I am still free to declare my convictions that in order for the farmers of our State to receive such an education as the fashions and the times demand, we must have means adapted to the end or fail. We should have our college farm stocked. No sensible farmer would think he was carrying his farm on judiciously unless it was stocked with cattle of some

He who cultivates his library and neglects his fields until hunger drives him between the plow handles, will find to his sorrow the mastery of pure science, the higher mathematics and the classics cheap accomplishments, to be gladly exchanged for a moiety of learning in the fields of applied science. To make an agricultural school of real value it must embrace a course of instruction and

system of teaching covering the whole field of agriculture. It must be a school of itself, brought down to the solid footing of plain instruction in science and practice, and sealed by the sweat of the student's face upon the farm. There are other means of agricultural education than schools and colleges which commend themselves to the thoughtful and observing, which are our agricultural societies they are schools of observation and incentives to study, yielding a rich return to those who labor so generously in their behalf. No other means have been more effective in infusing pride and awaking a spirit of emulation among farmers that they should be conducted with a closer reference to the elucidation of facts. They should be in close sympathy with the largest portion of our people, the producers. The public heart should throb in their behalf and answer every reasonable demand of those who live by labor and desire to educate themselves in the most intelligent and acceptable methods of farming. The farmer who carries away the prize is always proud of it, and should have the credit of taking a forward step in advancing the standard of agriculture. Not wishing by any means to recommend, only as a suggestion, sir, it is my opinion that our State agricultural societies should be state institutions, then strictly audited accounts would be kept and free to be carefully looked over by any member of the society who wishes to do so. Then the few devoted souls who have shouldered the burdens of the institution, and have been carrying it along year after year by their persevering and untiring efforts, would be free from the upbraiding of the inquisitive and interested public.

It is too bad for our State Agricultural Society to be struggling through a financial depression. The farmers of Minnesota were delighted and too glad when the State appropriated $100,000 for the establishment of a State fair, notwithstanding it was their own hard earned dollars that paid the bill. Their legislators seemed to be aware of the fact that these agricultural interests were the backbone and the foundation of their prosperity and success as a State. Hence, I think our agricultural societies should be harrowed over that they may be made more productive and bear better fruit.

Our institute work is accepted by the farmers with good grace, and in my experience is satisfactory. It has been the endeavor of our Secretary to provide something new for discussion, and by all means. something true. These meetings are more particularly for the benefit of men of my age, and like myself, whose school days have

passed, and who failed to obtain a scientific training, and, with the cares of life upon their shoulders, can only glean information by their own practice and by reading our agricultural reports and papers. I feel as though the class should be looked out for, or in other words they should look out for themselves. They are the ones who are fighting life's battles to-day, and while we should practice economy in all our business affairs, we should not be so cautious as not to invest when we are sure of receiving for our investment a good revenue. Now we have to pay a trifle for what reports we have at present, and only one in six farmers with the present number can receive one, and as they will tend to educate the farmer, showing what the Board of Agriculture and our experiment station are doing, why not invest a little more in institute work and reports? I have heard the remark made, What good does the Board of Agriculture and experiment station do me: I never get a report? And as proud and pleased a man as I ever saw was a farmer carrying away a handsomely bound report; he felt as though he had received something equivalent to what he had been paying out. There is certainly not enough reports to meet the demand, there is only enough for the favored few. There is one thing more I can hardly endorse, although I speak with all honor and respect to our worthy Secretary, but our agricultural interests receive only his divided attention. Will not sixty-four thousand farms justify us in paying a secretary of the Board of Agriculture sufficient to enable him to give our agricultural interests his undivided attention?

There is a demand for more institute work, more reports, and more attention from the Secretary. This means an appropriation sufficient to meet the demands. The Board of Agriculture are doing all they possibly can with the present funds they have to work with. Not wishing for any to think I am here to-day on a begging mission, for certainly the farmers of our State would not justify me in that, yet as I understand business, it is simply this, first find out what we want, and then go ahead and do it. And I feel justified in saying that if this honorable body should recommend to our Legislature, and they should appropriate sufficient means to stock our College farm, increase our institute work, pay our Secretary sufficient. to enable him to give our agricultural interests his whole attention, or any measure whereby the farmers would become better educated, it would be a profitable investment, by causing our productions to be of better quality, the cost of producing would be less, this being