The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1874-10-23
Mi s C elIane us.
A ID r ESS
BY TIE
Hon. JOHN RITCHIE, Of Frederick.
AT TIE
FIRST EXHIBITION
OF THE
Hartford County Agricultural and
Mechanical Association,
ON
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18th, 1874

| LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
In the first place, let me express my warm &C
| acknowledgement for the invitatonto address yol
on this occasion. | esteem it an cnvabe privi
| lcgc to be thus identified with the inception o
| an enterprise so honorably Differed, and dcdi
Gated TO SO laudabe Il purpose as the advance
mcnt of the prosperity of Hartford county.
trust this suspicious Inauguration is the begin
ing of a long career of evercXpanding useful
ness.
Distinguished as your county has been, from
colonial times, in other relations-always main
| tanning position Of eminencc in the social, pc
litical and judicial annals of the Statc-l rcgar(
the formation of this society as earnest of he
intention to maintain in behalfof her agricultu
raj and mechanical interests, that station among
her sister counties to which her importance ant
| resources entitc her.
Much as am tempted in this presence tC
speak Of the influence of her men, both of tho
present and past generations, in promoting The
welfare and contributing to the renown Of oul
good old State, ] know that my feeble tcstmo
ny could add nothing to their fame. Historical
records have made that secure, and cmbodN
their best culogy And likewise has tradition
rendered superiluous any tribute might pay tC
lhe beauty, culture and refining graccs OF thai
gentler sex which has so well done its part il
elevating Hartford TO the high position she
enjoys, and whose approving presence augurs {
Destowal of their coveted cooperation in Tho
undertaking initiated with this exhibition
cul HOl, however, 1OfDcnl nOtlnG INC person
al appreciation of the women of Hartford
have shown, in the fact of selecting as my wifi
the product of the graft of good Hartford varic
~ on an old Frederick county stock.
The organization of this society is gratifying
evidence that you are alive to the value of those
agencies which the universal and enlightened in
terest of recent years in the subject of agricul
ture has supplied for IFS advancement. Com
paratively neglected amid the general progress
in other arts for the long ages prior TO the last
hundred years, about century since it telt-thC
quickenng touch of applied chemistry, and
bursting the cercments Of traditionary routine
and unlettcred methods, started into new and
progressive life Since then kings and philoso
pliers have We'd in honorable effort TO foster, de
velop and direct it; and with science laboring
in its behalf; bureaus and professors compiling
and Calculating its statistics, and shedding a
flood Of knowledge upon the subjects of irriga.
ton, drainage, the analysis and improvement OF
soils and kindred matters; with the contriDu
tions of art in the way of improved machinery,
and the endowment and multiplication OF
schools dedicated to its enlightened study, it
stands forth as among the most honorcd callings,
and may justly soon be ranked as one of the
"learned professions"
The particular advantages derived from agri-
cultural associations must be obvious. In the
first place, they tend to supply what has always
been great drawback to the agricultural class
their lack Of Intercourse and comparison of
ideas and information, and their neglect of CO.
operative effort. From the nature of his pur.
suit the farmer leades scqucstercd and com
paratively isolated life. Distance and tircsome
toll tend to prevent that association with his
fellows so necessary for mutual improvement
and mutual protection. This isolation and lack
of union have in all ages made him the easy
prey of marauding bands or confederating spccu-
lators, according to the state of civilization
of the community in which his lot was cast
And even in our own day and country the alb
sence of legitimate cooperation among farmers,
has made him too often the victim of classes
whose interests were opposed to his, and who
were shrewd enough to make those combina-
lions for his oppression which he was not wise
enough to establish for his defence
Merchants, mechanics, manufacturers and
professional men, as they follow their calling
chiefly i'll towns and cities can readily enjoy that
intercourse and secure that association which
the interests of their respective pursuits may
seem to demand, while the farmers, though
greatly outnumbering all other classes, have
largely failed, from their segregated life, to
avail ofone another's experience and one anoth.
er's help. The disadvantages resulting from this
neglect are too of en- cXempliiicd, for instance,
at our sessions of Congress, where the active
and concerted efforts of cooperating manufac.
turers reap the benefit of their organized action
in cXhorbitant and partial tariff duties, which
the more numerous but less vigilant cultivators
of the soil, unrepresented in the lobby, have to
pay.
In deprecating the lack of &C. cooperation among
farmers, it is not to be implied that they should
confederate in n spirit of anagonism, or parti-
sanship against their fellow citizens who are
engaged in other avocations; for, eve be all
brethren; members one ofanother;" but | have
in contemplation only that spirit of conference,
interchange and mutual help, which tends to
the legitimate nurture of ones calling, and cna-
bes him the better to secure its natural and just
rewards and benefits
~ rln ri wit
purview. They tend TO enlarge ones ideas,
cure provincial error and prejudice acquant
the farmer with improved varieties of seed and
stock; the best methods of cultivation, and the
latest and most approved implements and ma
chinery. In these particulars, there is brought
to his attention, at single exhibition, much
that he might be otherwise years in learning, if
he ever learned it at all.
Speaking of machinery reminds me that the
promotion of mechanical interests is likewise
one of the objects ofyour society; and well NAV
those two interests be conioned Agriculture
owes much to mechanical art for its present at
tanments and capabilities. A few facts will
show what progress has been made in agricultu-
raj machinery, and how much farmers are in
dcbted to the artisan.
The fail was universally used in England TIL
the close of the last century, and the plows were
made of wood for the same period. A water
wheel was not known till one hundred years af-
ter Christ, nor windmill erected till the 11th
century of this era. Contrast the rude condi-
tion of implements indicated by these facts, with
the drills, reapcrs and threshing machines of the
present day, and the great strides in this regard
are readily apparent. Think of it. In the lapse
of q single lifetime, we have passed from the
clumsy fail, laboriously welded by the human
arm to threshing our grain by steam, and even
curing our clover hay according TO weather sig
mails, sent by Telegram from cold Probabilities. ~
In this connection, let me call your attention
to the eypcdiency of fostering the manufacture
of implements of husbandry at your own doors.
In an address delivered a year or two since by
Gov. Austin, he urged upon the farmers of Min
nesota the policy ofcncouraging this manufac-
ncsota produced IL, 900, 900 bushels of wheat an
ed within its limits. He estimated the yearly
expenditures of the farmers of that State for
farming implements at 81 ,000,0 900, aud properly
censured the improvidcnce and burdensomencss
of having to pay $50 or 800 in freight for q
thresher which they should be enabled to buy
at their own homes.
The force of these remarks may not be equal
ly pertinent in county so near TO Baltimore as
yours, but they may nevertheless be appropriate
ly quoted for your consideration.
While there are many topics relating to the
general subject of agriculture worthy of discus
sion, my limited time and the occasion indicate
that whatever views may have to submit of q
practical nature, should be confined to the agri
cultural interests Of our immediate part Of the
country.
In this connection 1t seems to me, there are
two considerations eminently paramount all
others. The one is the late revolution in the Ia.
Dor system of the South, with which we have