ANNUAL ADDRESS, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 Ciilljoun Conntt) %irultura{ lofieti], 
 
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 BY PROF. J. E. TENNEY 
 
 

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ADDRESS, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 CALHOUN COUNTY 
 
 HELD AT 
 
 VJarsliall, Vliclaigan. 
 OCTOBER 7th & 8th, 1856, 
 
 BY PROF. J. E. TENNEY. 
 
 MAESHALL. 
 
 SSTH LEWIS, PEI N TEE. 
 
 1857 
 
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ADDRESS. 
 
 Fellow Citizens:— 
 
 It is fortunate for a writer in this practical age, when 
 his subject needs no explanation to show its downright 
 and practical usefulness. 
 
 When we say that we desire every man, who makes 
 any pretensions to being connected with Agriculture, to 
 be a Model Farmer, itmirfit seem not necessary for us 
 to show how much both himself and the public will, in 
 every sense, be the srainers bvit; but there are, even in 
 this enlightened age, those whose perceptive faculties are 
 so dull, that should we suggest that it was best for every 
 
 man to cultivate an orchard, or at least a tree of good 
 fruit, v/e might need give him the outspoken, practical 
 suggestion, VThich Dr. Johnson once gave to a friend:— 
 ‘ Jf possible,” said he, ^"haA^e a good orchard. I know a 
 clergyman, of small income, who brought up a family, 
 A'ery respectably, which he chiefly fed on apple dump¬ 
 lings !” 
 
 From a Anew of the needs of Ac^riculture, Ave haA'e 
 chosen to make practical remarks in a practical manner, 
 rather than to All a few pages with eloquent sentences, 
 Avhich should only carry to the mind visions of unmean¬ 
 ing idealities. 
 
 From time immemorial, artists have depicted the 
 beauties of the landscape upon the glowing canA^ass— 
 kings and princes have enjoyed the luxuries of Agricul¬ 
 ture, and poor people its simple pleasures, and borne its 
 hard labors. But there liaA^e been few found who have 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 

 4 
 
 
 given lessons of wortli and practicability to the husband¬ 
 man. Now, when the ample domains of Learning are 
 being subjected to fresh iiTigation and culture—when 
 the exclusiveness of the cloister is giving place to the 
 free distribution of the intellectual wealth of all time— 
 when this is called the golden age of reason—its Para- 
 <lise regained, surely the important study of the face of 
 our own mother Earth, should not be excludcxl from the 
 fair domains. 
 
 We are a people, living at a railroad speed—a labor-, 
 saving and time economizing j^eople, and we need care, 
 lest we rush headlong over treasures of infinite value— 
 we need heralds upon every hill-top of science, lest the 
 <juiet valley of some useful stream be forgotten, and its 
 advantages unsecured. Such a herald do we stand to¬ 
 day, and while our hearis throb with painful forebodings 
 •for the political weal of our country, we are glad to 
 pause, and, taking a free breath, survey the quiet homes 
 of America, and speak, it may be, a few words of cheer 
 to a company of true and honest men—a class who are 
 our country’s only hope, her greatest wealth, and should 
 be her chief pride. 
 
 Agriculture has been termed the parent of all ait,” 
 and since it was the one first practiced by man, and the 
 one upon which he almost entirely depends for subsist" 
 dice, in a savage state; luxuries in an enlightened one, 
 and exerts a* beneficial influence upon the health, happi¬ 
 ness and moral nature of a nation, it cannot but com¬ 
 mend itself to the wise and good, and must occupy the 
 highest place in the esteem of statesmen and philanthro¬ 
 pists. That which most generally concerns mankind, 
 should most deeply interest men of wisdom and benev¬ 
 olence; consequently. Agriculture should be the theme 
 of all-absorbing interest, since it is the occupation of a 
 large majority in every civilized country. In France, it 
 has been estimated that two thirds of the people are en- 
 
 I 
 
gaged in husbandry; in Italy, more than three fourths;' 
 and in our United States, not much less than five sixths*- 
 Such a gathering as this, is a noble proof, that Agri¬ 
 culture is beginning to receive the attention that it de¬ 
 serves. Time has been when the philosopher has walked 
 proudly along, looking down, as he thought, from a 
 higher heaven, upon the poor plowman, wUile the plow¬ 
 man has looked upon the philosopher as a clog to the 
 wheel of Nature—a piece of woi*se than useless human 
 machinery^ There have been davs when the scholar 
 would hardly have closed the lids of his ponderous vol- 
 ume to have a'one out and shaken hands with the black- 
 smith. Time has been when the dust of the forge, the 
 clang of the hammer, and the rattle of the loom, have 
 been sneered at, bv those wdio should have loved them.- 
 During those days, the pursuits of the artisan and schol¬ 
 ar, which should have kept side by sid-e, w^ere separated, 
 mutual subjects of suspicion and ridicule. This separa-- 
 , tion has been the case of injury, both to scientific pur¬ 
 suits, and agricultural and manufacturing skill. 
 
 While the man of science has wasted time and ener¬ 
 gies in frivolous or aimless pursuits, instead of directing 
 liis knowledge to some great and good practical purpose. 
 —the Farmer has been content to have the morn usher 
 in, and the nio-ht to carrv out, the hours of a dav, beo-un- 
 and ended, just as his father and grandfather had begun 
 and ended it: without a thouo’ht that he ^vas born to bet-- 
 
 ^ o 
 
 ter thino's. Persons have lived and died, not manv 
 hundred years since, believing that David, Abraham- 
 and Isaac, feeding their flocks upon the Eastern hills, 
 were model herdsmen, and that the Greeks, who. as He- 
 riod and Theophrastus tell us, broke the ground by a 
 rude plough; solved it by hand; covered it with a rake,- 
 threshed their grain with a flail,-winnowed it by wdnd,. 
 and when w^anted for the family, ground it in niortars< 
 or quern mills into meal, were model Farmers- 
 
But such a view of things is changing—such days are 
 being numbered among things that were. We are pri¬ 
 vileged to live in an age when Minerva, Ceres and Yul- 
 can walk over the earth, hand in hand. We are blessed 
 in seeing Science and Industry sit side by side, in the 
 dingy workshop. The one carefully and kindly apply¬ 
 ing knowledge to practical purposes, and the other 
 gladly receiving and patiently carrying out those prin¬ 
 ciples which are calculated to lighten labor, and make 
 man less a mere machine, and more as God intended 
 him, a well developed, reasoning being. 
 
 Of the importance of this science to our own country, 
 what need we sav? Do not the broad acres that stretch 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in rich plateaus, or nes¬ 
 tle in quiet valleys, among hills, waiting for the plow 
 and the hand of labor, to call forth wealth untold, give 
 us an answer? AYe have a land, the richest and fairest 
 in Agricultural facilities and beauties, that the sun evei* 
 shone upon. AVe need not enter into praises of our soil 
 and climate, when there are nearly a quarter of a million 
 of fruit trees planted yearly, in one of the newest states; 
 when there are more peaches exposed in the markets of 
 New York, annually, than are raised in all France; and 
 when A merican apples will command double prices in 
 European markets. These facts speak for themselves* 
 in the comparison of this with the old countries, and we 
 must see that it is of vast importance to us, as a nation, 
 that the mass of our people continue in the prosecution 
 of Agricultural pursuits. The interests of Agriculture 
 are at the foundation of all other interests. Yo arts noi- 
 sciences, nor morals, can prosper without these. 
 
 The veomen constitute the bone and muscle of the 
 nation, and in proportion as this interest flourishes, sO 
 will all others. It is impossible for us to tell the billions 
 and trillions of property valuation in our country. But 
 if the same svstem of industry could be carried out in 
 

 
 the States of this Union, that prevails in our own State 
 and in the Free States generally, we should soon become 
 the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the globe* 
 But there is a dark cloud in the horizon, and although 
 at first it ‘Hvas no bigger than a man’s hand,” it has in^ 
 creased and kept increasing until its thick darkness is 
 shadowed upon the whole land. We need not tell you, 
 tliat Slavery is a severe draw-back to Agricultural inter* 
 ests—that it is a fatal miasma, whose poisonous breath 
 withers every fresh and green thing; that it is a noisome 
 pestilence which precedes the giant Death, and with him 
 lavs waste the fairest and brirfitest fields of our country. 
 
 4. O 4 
 
 1^0 tropical sun can brighten the darkness of this fiend 
 incarnate; no orange flowers or bright lined blossoms, 
 (*an weave wreaths fair enouaii to cover his brow with 
 glory; no fragrance of sunny and southern air, can be 
 an antidote to his pestilential breath. And the monster 
 stands, where the God of iSJature has poured in rich 
 abundance his gifts of golden sunshine, songs of birds, 
 and breath of flovrers. lie stands like a Death’s head, 
 in a banquet ball, maliciously grinning upon the ludi^- 
 ous shadov/s he casts over every thino; p^oodlv, fair and 
 pleasant. To convince you that this is no over-drawn 
 picture, we have only to contrast a fe^v statistics of this 
 State with those of Arkansas, which, we believe came 
 into the Union about the same time, with our own state. 
 
 Michigan has 56,243 square miles—Arkansas 52,19S. 
 Michigan has population of 397,754; Arkansas 209,897; 
 47,100 of these are slaves. Michigan has propeidy, val¬ 
 uation §>59,787,295; Arkansas §^39,841,025. Michigan, 
 value of farms $51,872,446; Arkansas $15,265,245.— 
 Michigan, improved land $11,929,110; Arkansas $6,- 
 647,969, value of slaves included. Michienn has an 
 Educational income of $214,717; Arkansas $105,819. 
 Michigan has 56 Newspapers; Arkansas 9! This last 
 comparison is w’onderful. . But 9 papers in Arkansas ! 
 
s 
 
 X /X * 
 
 
 Tlie Literature of any country is a pretty safe index of 
 its prosperity. No one can doubt but that the rich soil 
 of Arkansas has a capacity equal to that of our own 
 State for Farming interests, and it is equally certain, 
 that Slavery paralyzes every species of improvement. 
 
 Happy for our State, that we are free from this curse< 
 and happy would it be for our whole country, if it shall 
 never cover another square mile, beyond its present lim¬ 
 its. 
 
 Perhaps it is not necessary for us to speak of the im¬ 
 portance of Agriculture, as it regards happiness; yet we 
 (‘annot bear referring to the exquisite pleasure one en¬ 
 joys in sitting under his ‘‘own vine and fig tree.*’ You 
 may have a drapery of soft foliage above you; “blos¬ 
 soms fresh from spring beauty” snowing upon you, and 
 a table loaded with-fruits, rich, bloom-decked—melting 
 and luscious, before you. How happy you find yourself 
 walkincr throuo;h vour own forest; wandering over broad 
 fields, to which vou hold the title deed; watching the 
 ricli waves of golden grain that is ripening for your 
 farm. The songs of birds arc never more pleasant than 
 wheii vou think thev are your birds, because they built 
 nests in vour trees; the hum of bees is never more mu- 
 sical than when arising from vour hives; and the bab- 
 ble of the brook, is none the less tolerable, because it 
 wdnds through your meadow. There are myriad pleas¬ 
 ures in rural life, that are found in no other, and they 
 are ]>leasures of the purest kind; for they are insepara¬ 
 bly connected with the great and beautiful works of na¬ 
 
 ture- 
 
 “Thcn, m^'n 
 
 Whom Nature's works can chr.rm, with 
 (.od biniHelf, lH)id converse: ^tow 
 F amiliar, dav by day, with fJis concej'tions; 
 Act upon his plans, and foim to h.s. the 
 P.eiish of il)eir souls.” 
 
 Happiness cannot but be connected with such a life, 
 and since happiness, the phantom that lures us on to ail 
 iuture hours, and we can in a great degree, contribute 
 
to that happiness, by Agricultural life, its importance 
 need not longer be argued. 
 
 Agriculture should be studied as a science. More 
 general knowledge of its principles, is necessary. Men 
 ot lettei's have been comparatively ignorant of the broad 
 and plainest fields which Agriculture opens up to the 
 view of scientific and investigating minds. We need 
 men of ability and research now, to go out upon this 
 new field, unlock its hidden treasures; bring to light its 
 veiled resources, and develop its vast capabilities.— 
 Whoever will do this, will gain a crown of glory, beyond 
 and brighter than that of kings, heroes and statesmen. 
 For whoever shows a great heart, engaged for the good 
 of man, and spends a life devoted to unselfish purposes, 
 having for its aim, the elevation of humanity—-him will 
 posterity show itself worthy enough to hold in the most 
 grateful adoration. Other paths of life have been light¬ 
 ed bv the sun of science. There have been thousands 
 
 V' 
 
 of men, in every branch of business, who have devoted 
 their time and talents to their profession, its improve¬ 
 ment and elevation. There have been men in all other 
 pursuits, who have made their profession, not only the 
 means of procuring daily bread; but have labored faith- 
 full v and well, to secure the honors of their own avoca- 
 tion. Poetry has had its Shakspeare, Milton, Byron and 
 Fowper. Oratory has had its Demosthenes, Cicero, 
 Webster, Clav, Pitt and Brougham. History has had 
 its Herodotus, Plinv, Eollin, Hume. Gibbon and Mac 
 Aulev. Astronomy has found its Tycho, Brahe, Hers- 
 (hell and Levrier. Botany its Discorides, Jussieu and 
 Linnteus. Mechanics, their Faust, Guttenberg, Watts, 
 FTewton, Franklin, Fulton and Morse. So it has been 
 in every other branch of Science or domain of known 
 edge; but where are those who have sought among the 
 labors of the peaceful husbandman, to add to the 
 .'^Achievements and hap>pines3 of mankind? 
 
There may have been some in past ages, who ponder¬ 
 ed and labored in quietness, with a view to raise Agri¬ 
 culture to a position which it deserved to take; but the 
 dazzling glow of the Historian’s narration, has danced 
 and gleamed on the armor of the warrior, while the 
 practical workers of the w^orld have been martyrs to the 
 difficulties which have “ died without odes or funeral 
 orations, to celebrate their triumphs or honor their me¬ 
 mory.” 
 
 This is wrono;. Agriculture should take its rank among 
 the nobility of professions; and this it never will do, 
 until men of science and genius turn their attention to 
 it; thoroughly investigate its properties, and exhibit its 
 capacities. That there has already been something done, 
 we do not deny. The influence of man, even the little 
 he has exerted, over both vegetables and animals, is 
 wonderful. He has changed the crab into the apple; 
 the harsh and stringent sloe into the delicious plum; 
 the coarse and sea-side brassica into the cauliflower; 
 and has improved and augmented the corn tribes to an 
 incredible extent. All domestic animals, whether used 
 for food, service or pleasure, have sprung from a few 
 wild and uncultivated species, and have been made what 
 they are, in a great degree, by the intervention of man. 
 
 We have had a Davy, Sinclair, Anderson, Coke, Xai- 
 mes and Young—men, who united philosophical sagaci¬ 
 ty, with patient experiment. They have done a blessed 
 work for Agriculture, but thev, with a few others, are 
 the only exceptions to those who have had it in their 
 power to improve the science, and have left it neglected 
 and forgotten. Hence, we claim, with great justness, 
 that Agriculture has not been thoroughly studied as a 
 science, to any great extent, and that it has hidden re¬ 
 sources, whicli it should be a pleasure, and is a duty for 
 scientific men of tliis age to investigate. 
 
 Before entering other fields of labor, men must prc: 
 
pare for them by a severe course of study, or a long 
 term of apprenticeship; but whoever heard of a boy 
 apprenticed to learn the Farmer’s trade? or of one pur- 
 suing a course of study preparatory to becoming a Far¬ 
 mer? We hear that boys, and even men, are “working’’'^ 
 on farms—ne^^er that they are shidying or thinking on 
 farms. Most appropriately it is said that they are work¬ 
 ing^ for the labor of many farmers, is simply and ordy 
 the working of a machine—working with little or no 
 reason, and with no view to economy of either time or 
 labor—the same never ending rise-up and sit-down, that 
 a perpetual motion automaton might perfonn. 
 
 Man should be only the controlling influence, the rea¬ 
 soning being, the motive power in Agriculture; study¬ 
 ing to impinve and increase its productions, and inven¬ 
 ting machinery to perform the menial labor. And we 
 earnestly believe, that the dawn of a day is near, even 
 that this is the twilight of a time, when a man shall not 
 go forth to his fleld as unthinking as the plow he follows, 
 but wisely reasoning, judging and performing. Happy 
 day, too, when a man shall sit under his own vine-cov¬ 
 ered portico, and look upon his bmad lands blooming% 
 
 I 
 
 even to a surfeit of blossoms, and pix)ducing all that they 
 are capaMe of producing^ and all that can delight the eye, 
 
 or minister to a healthv taste! When each home sha] I 
 
 %/ 
 
 1)6 a miniature palace in tastefulness and beauty, and 
 everv a’arden a Paradisaical one in blossom, richness, 
 fragrance and order. If we do not during our lives see 
 our land, our Eden, there may he those, young in years, 
 who shall in later life have the joy of such a scene. To 
 ensure this high state of cultivation, and render our land 
 such a blooming garden, there must be a more extensive 
 division of the land. Rich men must part with a por¬ 
 tion of their half-tilled acres, and poor men from tilling 
 farms for others, must have those of their own to till.— 
 There must be small farms and more farmers'. Ahh** 
 
12 
 
 J 
 
 bodied clerks must l)eave their places, Behind counters^ 
 and desks, to pale-faced seamstresses, and go out on- 
 farms, to gain healthy countenances and fruitful lands. 
 
 — I 
 
 The almost unlimited extent to which a few acres of* 
 land may be cultivated, is already seen in vegetable-' 
 ^Towiiifif gardens near cities. We have ourselves knowni 
 of six acres of land, near ISew York, which in one year* 
 produced for its owner $15,000. This was, of course^ 
 cultivated on chemical principles. 
 
 We cannot limit the productiveness of the earth.—■ 
 Ghinese culture shows that it can be carried beyond any 
 thing to which we are accustomed, and it is probable 
 that every American Farmer, if he would make the ex¬ 
 periment, might realize the apologue of the Koman vine 
 <lresser.- ^TTa^ung two daughters, we are told, that when 
 the oldest was married, he gave her a third of his vine¬ 
 yard for a portion; notwithstanding which, he had the 
 s-ame quantity of fruit as before.- When, his youngest 
 daughter was married; he gave her half of what remain¬ 
 ed; and still, because he bestowed on the portion reser-- 
 ved as-much labor as he had formerly on the whole, the 
 produce of his vineyard waS'undiminished.” If such a 
 result could be obtained when cultivators were ignorant 
 of many important principles, what might not be done,> 
 now by farmers who, uniting science with experience, 
 r^'liouid confine their labors to a few acres? Evident!v,.. 
 v/e should greatly enrich ourselves as a I^ation, and^ 
 vastly beautify the appearance of our farms. 
 
 Such a result is desirable, and it is within the powen 
 of eacli Farmer to aid in bringing, it about. Such a 
 course would not only make many poor men rich ones„ 
 but would rescue many barren acres from the possession: 
 of mullins and thistles, and make them bloom as the rose.^ 
 
 Agricultural Chemistry should be more extensively 
 ^tudie(l. It sliould be a study insisted uj)on in our 
 schools, especially for. boys, who are or may be coniiectr- 
 

 »€d with Agriculture. We regret that there is-so little at¬ 
 tention paid to this in our-schools—that in fact it is 
 hardly reputable in city schools, or colleges, for a young 
 man to own, that his highest ambition is to be a good 
 Fariner. We are sorry that here, in a democratic land, 
 we haye to confess to the sin of a o;rowin2: taste for a 
 
 •division of society, into idle aristocrats and plebian wor¬ 
 kers—of an admiration for sickly delicacy, instead of 
 
 a 
 
 healthy robustness—a preferment for the addle-brained, 
 -city fop, to the plain,-sensible, young Farmer. Sad in- 
 ^deed will be the day when America sees her •children 
 -despise the tillers of her own proud soil! If such a day" 
 should come, when we live, we shall prophecy in the 
 •streets, and cry in the high jdaces—Behold, how" are 
 the mighty falleni The time of her desolation is nigh, 
 .and the day when her fruitful places shall be a howling 
 wilderness, is at liand!” But we do not expect this.— 
 W e hope better things of America, than to see her tall 
 from her proud place among the iSTations of the earth, 
 -.as Greece did, enervated by luxnriousness and idleness: 
 •destroyed by the sun of sad prosperity. 
 
 We hope that the scorn with wFich some, even here, 
 pretend to look upon Agriculture, and other useful sci- 
 •ences, will prove only an opinion of hot-house growth, 
 and that it will neither endure the reproach of good 
 •sense and correct taste. We need not argue the dignity 
 »of labor; the honor of an honest, sun-bumed face, and 
 •toil-worn hands; the wealth of a spirit, rich in the con¬ 
 sciousness of being useful, and happy in the knowledge 
 that some of life’s great ends are answei’ed by" their liv¬ 
 ing. The ancestry" of the laborer proves the true dignity^ 
 -of his birth. Xo idlers can claim such a genealogy, as 
 he can, and they" are not among the low, or forgotten in 
 the annals of fame, who have been stem, faithful men of 
 labor. Adam was a Farmer, w"hile yet in Paradise, and 
 nfter his fall, commanded to earn his bread by- the s^veat 
 
14 
 
 of his brow. Job, the honest, upright and patient, was 
 a Farmer, and his patience has passed into a proverb. 
 Socrates was a Farmer, yet added to his calling, the 
 glory of his immortal philosophy. St. Lnke was a Far¬ 
 mer, and divides with Promethens, the honor of subjec¬ 
 ting the ox for the use of man. Cincinnatus wms a Far- 
 mer, and the noblest Roman of them all. Burns was a 
 Farmer, and the Muse found him at the plow, and filled 
 his soul with poetry. 
 
 Washington was a Farmer, and' retired from the high¬ 
 est eaidhly station, to enjoy the quiet of rural life, and 
 present to the world a spectacle of human greatness.— 
 The enthusiastic LaFayette—^the steadfast Pickering—^the 
 scholastic Jefferson—^the chivalric Randolph—^the elo¬ 
 quent Clay^—^the talented Webster—all found an Eldora¬ 
 do’s consolation from life’s cares and troubles in the green 
 and verdant lawns that surrounded their homesteads. 
 
 Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, began 
 life as a hosier, and became a celebrated wndter. Will¬ 
 iam Cobbett was in his life a Farmer’s bov. Isaac Wal- 
 ton, the ^^complete angler,” was a linen draper. Thomas 
 Simpson, the great mathematician, wms a weaver, at one 
 period of his life. Sir Richard Arkwright, the inventoi* 
 of the cotton spinning inachine, wms a poor man, and 
 commenced life as a barber. James Brindley, the author 
 of canal navigation in Europe, the first who tunneled 
 gi’eat hills, and brought ships across navigable rivers on 
 bridges, was a wheel-wright. Ben Johnson was a brick¬ 
 layer, Sir William HerscheU, the greatest astronomer 
 that the world ever saw, was once a singing-master.— 
 Chautrey, the great sculptor, was a milk and butter boy. 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence was the son of an inn-keeper.— 
 Will Shakspeare was a poor man’s son, his father could 
 not write his name, and his cross or mark still exists in 
 the record of Stratford on the Avon, to, attest the fact. 
 John Bunyan, the greatest master of Allegory, and am 
 
thor of the second best book in the world, was a tinker. 
 Hogarth, the greatest master of the pencil, was a silver- 
 smith’s apprentice. 
 
 These men have magnified their greatness and good¬ 
 ness, by an association with ordinary labor, a sympathy 
 with the cares and trials of common men, and their glo¬ 
 ries remain untarnished—their spotless virtues undim¬ 
 med, and their noble examples will be kept in rememb¬ 
 rance, and preserve their names consecrate, so long as 
 there is nobilitv enough in human hearts, to revere and 
 bless all that is good, beautiful and true. However much 
 the door-way of the heart may be choked by weeds of 
 pride and ignorance, there is to every one some ingress, 
 and through that flows in a channel of honesty and truth, 
 and even those who affect to despise the labors of the 
 husbandman, in their inmost hearts, where a little man¬ 
 liness remains, must and do honor him. 
 
 Tillers of the soil, we honor you, we sympathise with 
 and love you. We glory in being sprung from a race of 
 yeomen; and have a worthy pride in knowing that the 
 blood of plain and honest husbandmen courses in our 
 veins. We are descended from that band of heroes, 
 which gi'ew up into strength, nobility and truthfulness, 
 among the Green Mountains of Yeimiont, and shed their 
 blood ujDon the plains of Boston, Bennington, and tracked 
 it upon the snows of Yalley Forge. Are we not spning 
 of a noble race? Can escutcheoned peers boast a proud¬ 
 er one? Or bloody heraldry show one of more pure and 
 honest pm^pose? 
 
 Even now, we remember us of a far New England 
 home—of a cottage in a quiet valley, among tall moun¬ 
 tains—and the shadows of the present close around us, 
 and we go back to those earlier days of truth and good; 
 to those days begun by early hours, and wholesome toil 
 in the field, and ended with a clear conscience, and a 
 sweet repose^ We remember all the purity and truth 
 
_ 16 ^ 
 
 that our spirits bore then; and from that pleasant pic¬ 
 ture, we turn to other homes—to the thousand quiet ones 
 that are nestling in valleys, and on hill-sides all over 
 America. 
 
 We look upon your homes, fellow men, we see the 
 smoke curling up from behind clumps of dark trees— 
 we see the bright faces of children, watching your return 
 from the field—and note the soft cushioned chair that is 
 ready for you; and looking farther, we see you seated 
 in it, and with a happy face, gazing into the fire and 
 wondering, that you are so happy in having the golden 
 sheaves all bound, and the fr’uits gathered in; and away 
 from city sins and temptations, feel that you are blessed 
 above the common lot of men. So you are, too. And 
 while from our heai’t of hearts, we bid you an earnest 
 God sjpeed^ we ask you to remember the Giver of all 
 your blessings—to perform the duties that you owe to 
 your country, and be sure to forget not, in selfish pur¬ 
 poses and ends, that even yet— 
 
 “ Life has wrongs that may be righted, 
 
 Noble deeds that may be done, 
 
 Its greatest battles are unfoaght. 
 
 Its greatest triumphs are unwon.” 
 
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