St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-02-02
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

REPORT OF THE MEETING o
THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE
HELD IN KEEsATE THE I4TH AND 18th OF DEcE
BER, 1887.
In the winter of eighteen eighty-seven and eigl
As yOu all distinctly remember,
The Board of Agriculture come over to town
The fourteenth and fifteenth Of December.
The Farmers Club had invited them here
To tell what they knew about farming;
And although they knew the whole number was 81
They thought not the prospect alarming.
There were Cooke and Deering and Vail.
And a man from Westminster named Davis,
Who bad been in town twice before
And was greatly admired by the ladies'
Then Smith and Chaplin were here,
Accompanied by Farrar, the reporter,
And the evening the ladies held sway,
Came Tinkham by way OF supporter
The Board were met at the station
BY him who did the Club represent;
/ mean W j. Nelson, of Ryegate,
Who always has been their President.
The farmers turned out in a body
And some brought with them their wives,
Which showed men of good understanding
And anxious to lead peaceful lives
Mr.. Ranslow gave the Board welcome,
In language both sincere and kind;
The response was by Mr.. Davis,
And ike his always up to the times
Then they talked of the wastes IN the dairy,
And the merits of corn and of hay;
Then Of the mistakes of the farmers,
And of setting of milk the best wayI
And then when dinner time came
And not any invites from the residents,
They put on their coats took their teams
And went up and dined at the Presidents
The next day they met at the Corner,
When they talked of hayfelds and pastures,
OF the raising of horses and hogs
All of which the men should be masters
The evening was given to TIE ladies,
Who had previously made out program,
And when the hour came to begin,
t was presided O. er by Mrs. A. Cochran
As ehairwoman she presided with dignity.
And charmed everyone with grace
That very few men could have mustered,
Had they been put right there In her place.
The meeting was opened with prayer,
Then singing by the choir
Which was very good; and the playing
Was all that one could desire.
Then there were essays by the ladies,
Which showed they had minds of their own;
The first, very good paper,
Was read by Mrs. William Bone
The next should have been Miss Jane Wylie,
But she failed at the time there to come;
Her excuses were amply sufficient,
When signed by the bug we call hum
Then they sung the song of the farmer,
Illustrating the work of his life,
His sowing, and raking. and hOeing,
And also the work of his wife,
With her sewing, and churning, and baking,
And winding the skeins of yarn
To knit the mems fOOtings and mittens,
And also their stockings to darn.
And then we had "Irish Philosophy
That showed Irish wisdom and wit;
It was recited by Mr.. Charles Glover,
And made very good hit.
Then a Scotch song by j. b. Nelson,
Assisted therein by his wife;
1t pictured the canny Scotch character
And a scene from real Scottish life.
1.-The Farmers Lament" selection
BY Miss Fanny Gibson was read,
And a short speech by Mr.. George Cochran
That hit the nail right on the head
A specimen of the Scotch dialect
Was read by Judge VI r. Gray,
1t was selected from George Mcdonald,
To show how Scotch woman did pray.
An essay was then read by Mrs. Nelson
On - Farmers Amusements, and then
The Little Farm was very well rendered
By four OF our musical men.
Then the guests were called on for speeches,
And Deering of University fame
Gave ponse in right hearty manner,
Which brought down applause for the same
Then Tinkham to the occasion,
And gave both a speech and a song,
And of course cOmplimented the ladies,
Who applauded him both loud and long
Then the chairwOman called on Mr.. Davis.
And we re sure the man meant to be civil,
Though he said the whole thing was amazing,
And he thought beat the very d.