The Press., 1885-06-25
Issued Every Thursday Evening.
THE STORES SCHOOL.

state, including people of prominence from remote towns, whose presence was an evi- dence of friendly interest, which augu IS we'll for the future of the school. Included among these wero Gov. Harrison of New Haven, Speaker Simonds of Canton, Col. Joslyn of Hartford, Senators Pember of Vernon, Chaffee of Mansfield, Crandall of Lebanon, Representatives Hawley of Staf- ford, Grosvenor of Pomfret Chairman of committee on agricultural, Clarke of Had dam, Slade of Bridgeport, Hyde of Frank lin, Abbe of Enfield, Warren of Eastford, Keigwin of Windham, and probably many others. Secretary Gold of the board of agriculture, Olcott, who s, ably helps to make the Hartford Conrant interestin g by his work in it's agricultural department, Editor Parsons of the Connecticut Farm CT, Hubbard of Middetown and Holman of Holland of the State Board of Agricnl- ture, Trustees Barstow, Hyde, Hubbard, Prof Johnson. These are only few ran- dom names remembered of the many we'll known men present.
 The church adjacent was not large enough for the gathering, and as many as possible gathered abont the rear windows, and Profs. Rooms, Washburn and Cham berlin, aided by the fine looking corps of students, used all possible means to ex- tend comfort and enjoyment to the great est possible number
 The exercises began with music by fine orchestra made mp of yonng men of Mansfield and Coventry, led by c. w. Lee, and accompanied on on the piano by Mrs. Root. The exercises were further along at intervals interspersed by their music, also with some fine solo singing by Miss Marion Keeney of Hartford, formerly of North Manchester and Mansfield.
 The graduating class numbers six, each of whom had an essay on some topic re- lated to agriculture The first essayist was Robert A. Aver of Saybrook on ''Bees, a good practical description of the insect, it's habits, and the ways to profit by his industery, and the fostering care need ed for the encouragement of the bnsy little workers. Horace s. Eaton of Chaplin read about "Forca on the farm,'' goiug deep into the subiect-how nature nsed forces of heat, uplifting frosts, opposed to gravitation, the contest furthering the work of making soil, also the of lifting the germ of the seed in it's upward growth. Frank B Fenner of Mansfield told of the "Climatic infinence of the forests, how the removal of these had disastro,lsly af fected our climate. This subject was handled intelligently, and with much or iginality. Arthur C. Ford of Romford treated of Formation of soils," and the methods by which nature first created soils, and now aids man Cor perhaps is slightly aided by man) in creating and re- newing its capacity for fruitfulness. Roy al E. Myers of Litchfield had for his top ic ''Insects injurious to the garden" and Isaac B. Wakeman of Sangatuck '.Pro- gressive agriculture. f.' None who heard these young men could help seeing that they understood their topics, that they had been trained to ob- serve, and to note what come under their observation, that their views were practical and based on wisely directed experimental knowledge. There was not paper read that seemed at all dry, formal or 'book- isll" to the auditors.
 The. address of Gov Harrison at the close was informal He said he was there as matter of duty, not to aid in the en-
 tertainment. He reminded the young men
 that they were beneficiaries of the state
 The state expected nothing in return, not even that they should use the knowledge they had gained within her borders and for
 her benefit. Yet they should not for that
 reason forget the obligations resting upon them to cherish the mother comuson-
 wealth. They were expected to use the l light given them.
 | Speaker Simonds spoke next. He was
 facetiously introduced as future govern
 or, and made happy reply to the badinage, l then talke d for some ten minutes in sober
 CT view, ip substance about as follows It must be,admitted that the agriculture
 of the state of Connecticut is not ln a very fionrishing condition. We need not com pare the census returns of one decade with l those of another for evidence of that fact. The commonest observation is quite sniff cient. Deserted farms and deserted farm
 houses are becoming more numerous with each passing year: our hillsides are dot ted with them. And not alone our hill sides: go westward from the capitol at Hartford and you will come upon them within distance of four miles, and this
 on level-lying land that offers no explana-
 tion to the eye of this phenomenon of de- sertion. In my own town it is no uncom-
 mon thing in U stroll through the woods to come upon tumble-down wall which en- circles an old orchard now grown up to
 white birches or young chestnuts. The
 majority of young men who are born aud
 reared upon farms take their flight to fac. tories, stores, and offices before they be-
 come of legal age.
 Why is this?
 l It is because improvements in the art of
 agriculture have not kept pace with inn provements in the other practical arts of civilized life. Behind this reason stand
 other reasons: the apparently limitless
 area of the virgin lands of the west, open
 to occupation, has seemed to make 1t idle
 to contend with our own rocky hills and exhausted soils the inventive genius of the Yankee mind has f1,stered manufac-