Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1874-01-09
To the Farmers and Mechanics of Mary
land

announce tilc ldCi, anu CoIultilt INV lt'
yOu to its rooms.
The charter of the Association re-
quires that it should open rooms, as ;
place of resort for persons IN pursuit
of agricultural and mechanical intor.
nation, and for reception of essays and
discussions upon subjects in which
farmers and mechanics are interested
1t is to fulfil this requirement of law
as we'll us from the benefit and advan-
tage which experience teaches, as the
result Of cooperation and concert OF
action in all other branches ofindustry,
wherever instituted, and the eXpecta-
ton of fcqually beneficial results, which
has prompted the Maryland Agricul-
tural and Mechanical Association no
longer to postpone the assumption of
all the duties and obligations required
/ in the law of its creation. Maryland
! is one of the oldest States Of the | Mon
practically nearer to the sea-board and
/ the great West than any Of her sister
States. She possesses soil III many
locations naturallyrich and fertile. and
nowhere irrcsponsiyc 10 the improving
hand of man. Her climate is mild.
genial, and healthy: her land we'll wa
/ tered with living springs and abundant
water courses and many of her rivers
/ IaiEording large water-power. but par
T TALLY occupied, swelling into Eayiga-
/ BILE streams, we'll supplied with fish
land game, before entering the magniti-
cent Chesapeake, upon whose bosom a
very large coatTlsc and foreign COM
merce Is borne To her metropolis ut its
| head. From hence. in less than sixty
minutes by rail, the Capital at Wash
| iinEton, once a part Of Maryland, is
reached; both together containing a
population of oue-half million souls.
and both rapidly increasing in num-
bers. In addition. by canal and rail
road. the State has III inexhaustible
supply Of the best quality Of bitumi-
nous coal, cheaply and easily distribu-
ted to everf county and ncigaborhood
/ in the Commonwealth.
! With such a combination Of rare ad-
yantagrs, Maryland ought to be one
of the foremost agricultural States in
the Union. Truth forces the admis-
sion that she is not, but on the contra
~ her agriculture languishes and de-
clines, and it would b. folly TO attempt
TO conceal what is so obvious and man
-1rr--.----l--.-see,,s ee,,sr-r shCala ssc~ saeseh shc
cause and apply the remedy, il a rem
/ cdv may be- found. For that object
Ithis Association has been formed.
/ /: has been thought that combined
chor; and consultation, so valuable in
all other pursuits fife, could not fail
/ Jo iufa<s new life, energy and thrift
into our dropping agriculture. The
state has created and literally en-
dowcd this Association; the city of
! Baltimore has also added almost an e.
iqual contribution, and patriotic and
public spirited merchants and citizens
of Baltimore. among whom WAS the
late iamonted Johns Hopkins. have
contributed for the Fair Grounds and
their improvement m amount equal to
tha, of he State and city combined
The latter still profttr their continued
MD and support, aud the State tenders
annually an amount equal 10 that con-
tTlbuted by the members of the AsSo-
citation mp Ia the sum Of two thousand
dollars. II remains for the farmers
and mechanics, for whose especial BEN
eft Jhis Association was created, To do
their part.
As the President Of the Association,
it is my duty to address YOU. and to
call npon Won To show Your apprecia-
ton OF what has been so noblv done in
your behalf. Especially do | appeal
10 my brother farmers To awake to re-
ncwel energy and activity in behalf of
their noble calling, and of this its rep
rcscntative institution, | earnestly aud
urgently invite Won 10 visit its rooms.
enroll Your names rs its active men,
bcrs, and attend the regular monthly
meetings of the Association. | also
appeal to the merchant and manufact-
urer, the mechanic and the profession
al man, not To Withhold their continu-
Gus aid and support. We are all na-
turally dependent, the one upon the
other and all upon the bounteous gifts
of Providence, who of the fruits of the
earth gives lis day by day our daily
bread, and of the soil furnishes to the
manufacturer the raw material. and to
the merchant the exchanges of COM
merce. The beauty ofan organization
like this is, that it presents broad
platform, which knows neither sect
nor rparty, and upon which all classes of
business and callings of life, meet up
on an even plane in which each has Il
common interest. need scarcely add
t. this appeal the enumeration Of the
many subjects of interest which. will
from time to time Be brought to the
attention Of the Association. | will
only mention few of the most pressing
and important, which in my Judgment
ought to be considered and acted upon.
First, and most obvious, is the ques-
ton of labor and emigration. We need
labor, the true source of wealth and
prosperity, and if we desire to add to
the value of our land and increase the
wealth of the State, a considerably in
creased population. All legitimate
means ought therefore to be used to