ADDRESS.

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES and Gentlemen:

THE brief time which has been given me to prepare an address, would have led me to decline the attempt, if the subject was altogether new to me. But the objects by which I am surrounded, carry me back to the days of my childhood. The rich productions of the earth, which have been brought here in such profusion, which manifest the industry of our farmers, the abundant stores of butter and cheese which prove that our dairy womeħ have not been idle, the tempting fruits, that exhibit the great improvement that has been made in horticulture, and the various domestic animals that have only to be seen to be admired, seem to greet me like old acquaintances, and I feel at home in the midst of them.

I should not do justice to my own feelings, Mr. President, if I did not on this occasion, congratulate you and other members of the Society, on the success which has attended this first attempt in this state, to hold a State Fair. The result reflects honor upon you and honor upon the Legislature which gave you its patronage. The arrangements that have been here made for the exhibition, combining in such an eminent degree, convenience, room, order and an opportunity for display, have only been equaled by the zeal and enterprise which have gathered into one view, the agricultural, horticultural and manufacturing wealth of the state. It was high time that such an exhibition should be made. Connecticut has no need to be ashamed of her sons and daughters, or of the workmanship of their hands. There was no reason why she should not take her place, with her banners flying, in that

grand procession, which has commenced its march, and which will continue to move forward, to do honor to labor.

I confidently trust that this is but the commencement of a series of exhibitions which will return with each revolving year, and that while our Legislature continues to extend its fostering care to the interests of science, to the promotion of the arts, and to calls of humanity, it will not neglect the primary interest which sustains and supports all the rest; I mean, of course, the agricultural interest.

My object, Mr. President, will be to ask the attention of this audience for a short time, to some reasons why the people of this state should pay particular attention to the promotion of agriculture. One prominent consideration which seems to me worthy of attention, is the progress which has already been made during the last half century. As to those of you whose heads have like mine, already been blanched by time, I need only refer you to your own observation and experience in the days of your youth. To give others some idea of the contrast which exists between the state of agriculture now and what it was then, it may be necessary to be more particular. At that time, nothing was more common than to see fields which had been fertile, and which were still capable of being rendered highly productive, lying almost waste. They yielded nothing from year to year, but sorrel or white everlasting, or perhaps a crop of tall mullens. Those fields had been worn out by a constant succession of crops. They were plowed year after year, as long as they would pay for cultivation, and then they were left to recover themselves at leisure, and if they failed to do this, it was considered the fault of the soil and not of the farmer. The doctrine of the rotation of crops, had not then been promulgated. A man would have been considered rash who should have hazarded the assertion that the same lot could be used successively for plowing and meadow land. There was also another idea, that prevailed to a considerable extent among a certain class of persons, and that was, that stones in a field were a good substitute for manure; that they had a tendency to keep land warm and moist, and they were therefore very

cautious about removing many of them for the purpose of fencing. It was considered indispensable to use all the manure of the barn-yard, to keep up the meadows. Plaster was not then known. I can well recollect when it was first introduced, of tracing it, where it had been scattered in particular places in a field, by the clover which had sprung up, and wondering how such an effect could be produced by such a cause. At that time, horn shavings, lime, bones, guano, and various other articles which have since been so successfully used, had never been heard of for such a purpose. I could now point out many of the finest and most productive lots, which were then considered hardly worth inclosing. The young farmers who hear me, can scarcely realize how much has already been accomplished in this state, by restoring worn-out fields, and raising all to a higher state of fertility.

During the same period of time, a more striking change still has been exhibited in the domestic animals of the state. A half century ago, almost the only varieties of cattle were those of black, white, spotted, red and brindle. Communication with England was then rare, and no one dreamed that there was such a marked distinction, as has since been manifested by such splendid specimens of Durham, Devonshire and other choice breeds as have been exhibited on this and other similar occasions.

When I was a boy, there was but one breed of sheep in the state; the coarse-wooled, long-legged kind that required double fettering, to keep them from rambling all over a farm. The first attempt at improvement was called the otter breed, a species of monstrosities with legs bowed like half circles, and the principal recommendation of which was, that they could hardly walk, and of course, jumping was out of the question. Soon afterward the merino was introduced, and I am proud to say, by a citizen of Connecticut. The name of Col. Humphreys will go down to posterity with honor, and will command its gratitude, not only for his services in the Revolutionary struggle, but for the benefits which he conferred by the introduction of that valuable breed.

What is true of cattle and sheep, is true also of every other species of animals on the farm.

What would a State Fair have been fifty years ago?

Drive off all your Durham and Devonshire cattle, all your Merino and Saxon sheep, all the horses that have excited our admiration by their beauties of figure and grace of motion; leave nothing in your pig-pens but a few long-eared, slabsided porkers; clear out of your hen-coops all the Chittagongs, Shanghais and Frizzles; reduce your potatoes to the simple red and the English white; leave nothing among this vast variety of pumpkins but the old-fashioned yellow, better to my taste, however, especially at Thanksgiving, than any of the rest; sweep away at once all your delicious fruits and splendid flowers, and it would give you some faint idea of what a State Fair would have been then, and what an improvement has been made.

In farming utensils the change has been as great or greater. My efforts at pitching hay were with a round-tined fork, large and heavy, to keep it from bending, as it had not a particle of elasticity, with a handle of proportionate size and strength, so that it required about as much force to lift the fork as it did the hay which it would hold. When the elastic square tined forks were introduced, the old farmers shook their heads and could not believe that such slender things would answer any purpose. The hoe, the plow, the rake and the scythe snath were all of an equally heavy, clumsy character. If any of them were at this day put into the hands of a hired man, he would indignantly quit the field and consider himself insulted.

If we take a wider range and look at the condition of manufactures, we shall find more cause still for congratulation at the progress which has been made in half a century. I can recollect well when the double wheel was brought into use, and this was eagerly adopted by the farmers' daughters who were so industrious that they wished to employ both hands instead of one. The only spinning-jenny in those days, was one that was not stationary, and the only power-looms were those that could move hearts as well as shuttles. I was

familiar with the Naugatuck river, from its junction with the Housatonic, almost to its source, when not a water-power was used upon it, except for a grist-mill or a saw-mill. What a contrast does that interesting stream now present! What is true of that, is true also of all the streams in this state.

While our attention is directed to the difference between the former and present condition of manufactures, I wish to advert particularly to one great fact, of which the state of Connecticut may well be proud, and that is, that almost every species of manufacture in which the people of this country have been able to compete with those of other countries, has either originated in this state, or has been carried to the greatest perfection in it. It was a citizen of Connecticut who some thirty or forty years ago, invented a simple but accurate clock, enabling the poor as well as the rich, to have a time-piece for the regulation of labor. This has been carried forward by one and another of our citizens, to one degree of perfection after another, till the worthy chief magistrate of this city and his compeers in the business, may be said to keep the time of the world.

Soon after the invention of the clock, a new and cheap mode of plating a metal button was discovered by another citizen of Connecticut. The invention itself seemed a small affair, but it not only gave an impulse which led to the future establishment of a flourishing city, but the article itself is in demand on the other side of the ocean.

The English have always prided themselves on their su periority in every species of cutlery, yet they have been driven by self-interest, to order axes from our ax factories in Connecticut. There are also now in this state, establishments in which knives and razors and other instruments are made, possessing an edge and a finish, which Sheffield will strive in vain to surpass.

It was by the perseverance and ingenuity of citizens of this state, that the business of rolling and drawing copper and brass was first introduced into this country, constituting as it now does, a profitable and important branch of employment.