The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1869-11-23

Mr.. President, Ldties and Gentlemen:
The subject to which | desire to direc
your attention for few moments is 9TH
Nobility of the Husbandman, and hi
Duties at the Present Time" In accor
ance with long time-honored custom, w
have met together to-day to celebrate tn
bounties Of mercilul Creator, and to hol
the farmers autumnal holiday. Again
a kind and watchful Providence has bless
ed the husbhndman with Il plentiful har
vest Again has been fulfilled tha
glorious promise made to Noah more thai
six thousand years ago, that the boy
should be placed in the sky, and that i
should be to him and his seed forever,
token ofa covenant that the earth shoult
no more be destroyed by flood, but tina
seed time and harvest should continue for
ever History teaches us that in all age.
of the world our race have been accustom
ed to set apart days and times for the re
membrance and celebration of great ant
interesting events. The creation of thu
world, the birth and resurrection of oul
Saviour, are duly held in remembrance
and religiously celebrated, by all the civ
ilized nations Of the earth. When Goo
sent Moses TO deliver the children o.
Israel from the tyranny of Egypt's iror
hearted king, he led them into the land
ofCanaan,and gave them code of laws by
which they were to be governed; among
which was the command that they should
celebrate annually the incoming of the
harvest:
"And thou shalt keep the feast of the
harvest, the first fruits ofthy labors, which
thou hast sown in the field: And the
feast of ingathering, which is in the end
Of the year, when thou hast gathered in
labors out Of the field"
In obedience to this divine command,
you have come together at the end of the
harvest from the different parts and
sections Of your County, to greet each
other as husbandmen, and to acquire ad-
ditional strength and courage by care
tn comparison Of the labors the observa-
tions, the experiences, and the skill Of the
past year. Through the agency Of these
Agricultural Societies, the cultivators of
the soil are brought together, your agri-
cultural improvements, your superior ami
mails, your new and improved implements
OF husbandry, the products of your farms
and the different methods of the cultiva-
tion OF your diversified soils, are all sub
Jects OF anxious inquiry and comparison,
which cannot fail to result in mutual ad-
vantage and profit, Every thing seems
to conspire to make the occasion of unal-
loyed pleasure and profit to us all Nature
appears to-day in her richest mood the
trees have put on their gorgeous robes
oil many colors to receive and welcome
you the free pure air as it floats down
from the cloud capped SUBMITS ofold camel
and Mansfield, gives strength to the body
and vigor TO the mind the sparkling
waters Of old Winooski, as they glide
along in their ceaseless course towards
yonder beautiful Lake, bid you "hail and
farewell, while autumn spreads out before
you the rustic hospitality Of her harvest
home. Fortunately for our race the hui
man mind can never be content with the
present ; Of the future little is or can be
known. and so we turn for relief to the
past, that mighty reservoir Of men and
things and customs. 1t is with curious
wonder We gaze down the long dim aisles
Of the past upon the generations which
are gone. We delight to trace their his
tory in their simple lives and manners,
and in doing so we gain wisdom, instruc-
tions and pleasure. Among the many
rural customs of the old world. they have
a simple yet beautiful one in merry Eng
land, which is called the harvest supper.
When the harvest is ended and the grain
all gathered, the last sheaf is brought in
and raised upon the end Of pole, placed
upon the top Of the last load, and carried
10 the well filled barn, amid the shouts
and songs of the harvesters, whose busy
hands have filled the barns, and gathered
the golden wheat into garners then the
farmer spreads for them a beautiful and
sumptuous supper, while the rustic labor
ers with well filled stomachs and merry
hearts, with rich brown ale, drink to each
others health, and with song and dance,
salute the happy harvest moon. How
beautifully has one Of her own poets des-
'ribed this happy festival when lie said:
"Ihe harvest treasures all are gathered
in beyond the rage of storms; it is scene
sublime when the rich earth presents her
golden treasures and the balmy air is rich
with fragrance. Hail harvest home, to
thee the music Of nature pours the song
by instinct taught to warble, while seas,
and skies, and hills, and valleys diversity
the work Of natures God"
We could almost wish that we could
90 back to these joyous customs and glad
old days, and see the sunny smiles and
hear the happy voices of those who cheer.
I'd us in our childhood days but they are
gone never to return, and We find ourselves
Today, in this land of our adoption,
struggling and wrestling with all the stern
md stubborn realities of life. But in Or
Ter, my friends, to atone in some measure
or this sad departure from the customs
If our fathers, We have in these latter
lays instituted what We hope will prove
more useful and instructive, if not more
pleasant and entertaining-our Annual
agricultural hads. Agriculture seems to
nave been the first pursuit of civilized
nan it enables him to escape from the
life Of the savage and the wandering
shepherd, into that Of q social man, gather.
ID into fixed communities, and surround.
ng himself with all the comforts and
blessings of neighborbood, country and
iome. 1t is this and this alone that fixes
men in stationary dwellings, in villages,
owns and cities, and enables the work of
civilization in all its branches TO 20 ON.
Agriculture was held in most honorable
'sieem by all the enlightened notions of
lntiquity. The Bible informs us that
he patriarchs were farmers and cultiyat-
al the snil A hrahana IL IL aa;d ma. 49,.