The Treasurer, Simpson Harmount, read his report.

Hon. T. C. Jones, of Delaware county, J. M. Millikin, of Butler, and Wm. B. McClung, of Franklin, were, on motion, appointed a committee on Business.

During the absence of the committee on Business, Colonel G. S. Innis read a paper on the cultivation of the potato.

The Business Committee reported, through J. M. Millikin, the following order of business:

1. Organization and management of agricultural associations.

3. Necessity of legislation with a view to secure more equitable charges for the transportation of products on railways.

4. That organizations promotive of the agricultural interests shall be recognized in the State Constitution to be made in 1873.

5. Legislation for the protection of farmers and their property from trespass by hunters and their dogs.

On motion, the report was received and accepted.

Col. Harris, who had a paper upon the first topic, not being present at the time, the next subject-distribution of forest trees-was taken up, upon which Dr. J. A. Warder, of Cincinnati, spoke as follows:

GENTLEMEN OF THE CONVENTION.-You are aware that this subject of forest trees has been of great interest to me for sometime past, and I will not decline the call to say a few words upon it.

I hold that forest trees should be planted generally. They should be generally distributed all over the State. There should be some timber lot on every farm. Forest trees should be planted especially upon waste and hill land, and also in open countries, so as to serve as wind-breaks on the exposed sides of the cultivated lands. Why so? you may ask. First, they should be planted upon every farm for the convenience of the farmer, and for his domestic uses in a thousand ways.

Secondly, they should be planted on every farm for the protection of the farmer, his cattle and his crops, against the effects of sweeping winds.

Thirdly, they should be planted upon every farm for the sake of their valuable influence in equalizing the temperature and dryness of the atmosphere.

Fourthly, they should be planted on almost every farm-certainly on every farm in the part of the State which I represent, where the ground is more or less broken-for their influence in preventing the washing away of the surface of our soils. This applies to broken or hilly lands, also on the margins of streams.

* Jas. W. Ross, President of Wood County Society, forwarded a written "document," delegating D. C. Richmond, of Erie county, to represent Wood county in the Conven

Lastly, particularly where the soil is thin, it should never have been cleared, and if cleared, should at once be replanted in forest trees. In doing this, we may find it evidently an advantage to replant with better and more profitable or more valuable kinds than those which came to us from the hand of nature.

It is a melancholy fact that already in young Ohio there are extensive tracts of land which, perhaps, originally were not very fertile, though in their pristine condition yielded abundant crops for a few years, yet which should never have been cleared, and which are barren wastes lying out unproductive. Trees in large quantities on all these large waste places should at once be planted in Ohio, to compensate for the dreadful waste we have committed.

And it is a melancholy fact that the forests, not only in Ohio, but we may say over our whole continent, are passing away before our eyes. It has been estimated that within twenty-five years the vast resources of our pine lumber in Michigan and Minnesota and Canada will all be consumed, as they have already been destroyed upon the head waters of the Alleghany and other portions of the Atlantic States. Even in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains, with the thin population, the noble pines and beautiful spruces and firs that grace that region are rapidly falling, as they are wanted to supply the needs of the mountaineers and railways already in that country.

While the demand for timber is ever increasing its destruction with fearful rapidity, the supply is decreasing in an increased ratio, and of course the price of all kinds of lumber is greatly enhanced. Surely this is a subject that demands our earnest attention, and we should urge upon the attention of our State and National legislatures the importance of arresting the destruction of so important an element of our existence in civilized life, and the necessity of averting the theatened disaster, by encouraging in every way the artificial planting of forest trees to an extent commensurate to the necessity of our growing civilization.

I beg leave to offer the following resolutions, to give point to the remarks made upon this subject:

1. Resolved, That we recommend our brother farmers to plant their hill-sides, ravines and broken lands with timber.

2. Resolved, That we recommend at least one-tenth of every farm to be planted in groves and shelter-belts of useful trees.

3. Resolved, That we call the notice of agricultural societies to this subject, and beg them to encourage such plantations, and also nurseries of forest trees, by offering suitable premiums.

4. Resolved, That we urge our Legislature to provide bounties for planting trees, and to direct the planting of highways and railroads with lines of useful and ornamental trees 5. Resolved, That we respectfully urge upon the managers of our Agricultural and Mechanical College to give special attention to the planting of an arboretum for the production of every tree that can be made to grow upon the College farm, and to be so devised that each kind may develop its native character; also to plant an artificial forest of useful trees, so arranged as to afford the most valuable instruction to those in attendance and to visitors.

In support of these resolutions, especially the last one, allow me to say, Mr. Presidentand my brother farmers here must not take offense at it-there is, from some cause or other-whether from defective education, or what-there is a lamentable ignorance among ourselves in regard to our own trees. I don't want it to be so in the future, and I know that no attendant at our meeting here would want any who attend our Agricultural College to leave that institution with the ignorance upon this subject that many

of you are willing to admit exists to-day. When I go into a new region of country, and ask my friends who I come in contact with, "What timber have you here?" I generally get a ready and correct response with regard to about half a dozen leading varieties in that region. It is true I do not always expect that a ready and correct answer will be given, with the technical names, but they should be able to answer as to the different species. They may say they have sugar trees, we all know what that means, or that they have oak, or ash, or plenty of walnut. We all know that this is an important question, because the natural growth of the forest is one of the most important indices as to the nature of the soil. But when I come to inquire how many oaks they have in a particular part of the county, they may tell me, "We have plenty." "But what kinds?" "Well," they say, "we have white oaks," and perhaps may add, "burr oaks," and one or two others; when, from the car windows, I have seen at least a half dozen varieties. If I point to some other species and ask, "What do you call that?" the reply will perhaps be, "Well, it is some kind of oak," and that is about all I can get out of them. Now, there is as much difference between some of these species of oaks, as be tween them and other varieties of forest trees. But, as I have said, I hope in the future there will not be this ignorance in regard to our forest trees, as we trust our young men who attend our agricultural colleges will have an opportunity to be enlightened on this subject.

T. C. JONES, of Delaware. Mr. President: I was waiting for some one else to speak to this resolution. I suppose it is unsafe, at least inexpedient, for this Convention to pass such resolutions without their being considered by a committee. There is not time for the discussion of such important resolutions, so that we can arrive at what is the judgment of the members of the Convention in reference to them. As to the first resolution, which directs that hill-sides and waste land not already occupied with timber should be planted with trees, I suppose everybody will agree. The devoting one-tenth of the farms to timber is another question. Farmers are obliged to consider questions of economy, and the truth is, timber land does not pay. And to keep land in timber for the public good when we don't need it on the farm-don't need it for immediate use-is a thing that it will be difficult to get farmers to do. I would say, however, that would be my judgment, that there ought to be that much of a man's farm in timber. Dr. WARDER. It only asks the Convention to recommend this.

Judge JONES. Still it is to go out as the opinion of this Convention. It is not the opinion of an individual. It is taken as being well considered and then recommended. The resolution with regard to the Agricultural College is still more difficult to manage. We have there three hundred and twenty acres of land. I don't think we can do the things which that resolution proposes without great injury to the experiments in agriculture, in crops and grass, and the management of stock. There is a native forest on the farm now of some fourteen acres, and we propose to let that be, and we propose, of course, to have specimens that are not found there, of the useful trees--Ohio trees-80 far as the size of our farm will admit. I should dislike that the Convention should pass a resolution as specific as that is, because of course you are the representatives here of the agricultural interests of Ohio, and the board of trustees would not willingly disregard what you say, and might feel themselves embarrassed about it if they found it impracticable to follow it out. I think we should adopt those first resolutions. I believe everybody will agree to them. As to the balance of them, I think it doubtful whether they ought to be adopted, without at least going to a committee.

Dr. WARDER. My friend at my elbow suggests that it might be well to amend by the words" as far as practicable."

On motion of S. N. Titus, of Meigs, the resolutions were taken up and acted upon separately.

The first resolution being again read, it was, on motion of W. B. McClung, adopted.

The second resolution being read, Dr. Warder remarked that the amount named is the smallest limit that has been suggested by any who have discussed the subject of timber planting. The usual amount recommended is one-fourth. In Europe it runs up in some regions as high as one-third of the whole amount.

The resolution was then adopted.

The third resolution being read, a motion was made that that resolution and the remaining ones be laid upon the table. Before this motion was seconded, W. S. Hickox, of Richland, moved that they be referred to a special committee, consisting of Dr. J. A. Warder, Judge T. C. Jones, and Major J. M. Millikin, to be reported by said committee to the Convention at the afternoon session.

The motion prevailed.

Col. S. D. Harris, of Cleveland, then read the following paper upon the organization and management of agricultural associations:

At our last annual meeting I took occasion to say somewhat concerning the agricultural press as a power in the rural world, and an educator of the people. A legitimate outgrowth of this agency has been the agricultural societies of the country, with their several cnnual exhibitions and general co-operative influence.

I said, on last year, that a connection for twenty-five years with the agricultural press enabled me to speak understandingly upon that subject; and I might now say that a participation of nearly fifty years in agricultural fairs entitles me to speak with still more of personal knowledge upon this subject

It is more than fifty years ago that the first gathering which answers to our present agricultural fairs or cattle shows took place under the old elm tree on the common in the village of Pittsfield, State of Massachusetts; and it is nearly fifty years ago since I, then a boy not yet in my teens, led a little bull calf of my father's herd, with the premium ribbon on his halter, at a county fair in the State of Vermont.

The fairs—or, as we called them, cattle-shows- of that day were not the complete exhibitions which we are accustomed to see in these days, but they had their peculiar features of attraction; and I shall never forget the principal feature of the occasion of which I just spoke, which consisted of a great triumphal car, on immense timber wheels, on whose platform was congregated the representatives of the various trades and industries of the time, each with the tools and appliances of his vocation; a tall mast or flag-staff rising from the center of the platform, surmounted by a sheaf of golden wheat; the whole drawn by a procession of forty oxen.

Some rude exercises were included among the premium offers of those early cattle shows, as I recall one which was held at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, where negro girls ran foot-races for the prize of a cotton shift, and darkey boys held cudgeling matches in competition for a dollar; all of which might have been quite as legitimate

to the occasion as the modern amusements of balloon ascensions, firemen's parades, or even an agricultural hoss trot!

It is now about thirty years since agricultural fairs began to be common in Ohio. At that time there were exhibitions of this sort held at Cincinnati, Zanesville, Chillicothe, Dayton, and perhaps some other of the older settled towns of the State.

Soon after, I had the honor to assist in the formation of the first society in the old county of Trumbull, at Warren, and a few years later to draft the constitution for the present county society of Franklin, at Columbus. Meanwhile the Cuayhoga county society was organized at Cleveland, and shortly after many others in various parts of the State; and then the Ohio State Board of Agriculture was organized at Columbus, and held its first exhibition at Cincinnati in 1850; and at the regular annual meeting held at Columbus in December of that year, thirty-four delegates from county societies occupied seats in the Convention. In 1851 the number of county delegates had increased to forty-two, and within a few years later, our annual conventions usually numbered between sixty and seventy delegates, though the actual number of regular county societies, which had a name to live, was between seventy and eighty; and for the season of 1872 I have the record of eighty-one county fairs in Ohio, besides a large number of local township and district independent associations.

The popularity of the State fairs of New York, Ohio and other of the well-managed societies and exhibitions, incited the ambition and enterprise of certain gentlemen of great expectations to try the same on a larger scale; and so they proceeded to organize a National Agricultural Society, and to set up national exhibitions, after the manner of our itinerating State fairs; but after a pretentious and barren existence of some half a dozen or more years, finally collapsed at a performance in Cincinnati in 1860, when the treasurer evaded the sheriff by slipping off between two weeks with what was left of their ill-gotten money, leaving their credulous creditors to whistle over the fate of a bursted bubble.

Ignorant, or regardless of this sad experience, other certain gentlemen of great expectations, met in national convention at Nashville two years ago, and went through the motions of organizing a National Agricultural Society. And shortly after, still another like meeting was held at Selma, with a like result. Last May this double-headed enterprise met in St. Louis, and was eliminated into one. Next spring this nebulous concern is to hold forth at Indianapolis, when we shall see what we shall see.

A fair amount of public patronage was early conceded to the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, consisting of grants of money, and the publication of a large edition of its annual reports, and, since the completion of the present Capitol, of office rooms in the building. The regular county societies also receive a small stipend from their county treasuries, upon certain healthy conditions, which are seldom very strictly complied with, according to the rules in such cases made and provided by the State Board.

On the ground of local convenience, or of local private enterprise, many independent associations have been organized and put in successful operation. None of these receive any public patronage, but are entirely dependent upon their own good management or good luck for their financial and popular success.

Experience has proved that the permanent prosperity of all these associations—regular and independent-depends upon one or both of two conditions: a substantial capital, and a strong hold upon the affections of the people. There was a very expressive political axiom much in use some years ago, concerning the "cohesive power of public plunder," and there was a good deal of truth in it, even when used in no offensive sense. The small annual appropriation of public money available to agricultural societies, has