dividual good, you are working for the public good. One of the greatest necessities of the farmer is more intellectual culture. There is another feature to this fair to which let me call your attention, and that is the absence of gambling and games of chance. It is a grave error that an evil must be licensed upon the fair grounds to obtain money with which to do good. Agriculture should set the example, that she is able to rise by her own intrinsic worth, without licensing such pernicious practices. Speed on the day when our agricultural fairs shall be the highest and purest of our public entertainments. With these few thoughts for your reflection, we close by proclaiming the exhibition of 1874 now open to the public. ANNUAL ADDRESSES Delivered on the Fair Grounds, September 8, 1874, by W. W. DANIELLS, M. S., Professor of Agriculture and Analytical Chemistry, in the University of Wisconsin, and His Excellency, WILLIAM R. TAYLOR, Governor of Wisconsin. HARD TIMES-A CAUSE AND A REMEDY. BY W. W. DANIELLS, M. S. This is the state's great festal day. The promised seed-time and harvest are past, and here are shown for our delight the fairest fruits of the land. Here have come from all parts of the commonwealth, men of every trade and profession, to exhibit the fruits of their own labor, and to see that of their fellow-workmen. It is a day of good cheer of all, of hearty hand-shaking, of the renewal of acquaintances, and of the giving and receiving of mutual congratulations and wellwishes. Hence, this may well be called the "Feast of the Harvest." But let us make it more than a day of rejoicing. More than any other of the year this day should be the one upon which most is learned that will be useful in teaching us to so direct our efforts, that in the years to come we may more successfully battle with the obstacles that beset our way, and reap richer returns as the fruits of our labor. There is no other day of the year when we can meet the best farmers of the state with their choicest productions, the most successful breeders with their excellent herds, (and Wisconsin may well be proud of their very high excellence,) and the fruit-grower with the fairest of specimens that are not only his joy and pride, but are also in themselves evidence of that skill and wise culture that are here essential to success. I say again, then, that to-day when we meet those men who are most successful in their various branches of farming, having with them products of their toil as proof of their success, is the day of all the year, when by questioning and conversation, we may gain that knowledge which will enable us to share in the future their more profitable harvests. A fair degree of prosperity has been given the farmer during the year just closing, and about us on every hand are to be seen proofs of a generous harvest. Yet the air has been vocal with sounds of murmuring, and one need only listen to realize that all is not well. Railroads, monopolies and "middlemen!" How constant, and general, and bitter has been the cry against these. I have thought it best, in discussing the outlook for farmers to-day, to see if there is not some cause for the general discontent and uneasiness of the agricultural community, that cannot legitimately be laid at the door of either of these several agents. All wrongs that have been inflicted by them upon the people, should be summarily righted, and for all illegal acts they should be punished. But are they wholly responsible for the "hard times," and for the want of general prosperity now said to prevail among farmers? I believe middle-men and railroad managers are humanly weak, and that they have demanded and will again demand, if left to themselves, exorbitant rates of commission and charges for freight; but their evil-doings have been thoroughly discussed by others; so that I shall pass them by and look for another cause than those mentioned, to which, at least, a portion of the existing evil not only may, but ought to be attributed. The feeling of discontent of which I speak is not confined to our own state, but with her cries are mingled those of all the Northwestern states. Hence there must be some common cause or train of causes reaching over this large extent of territory, as wide and general as the effect to which the want of usual prosperity may be attributed. By the census statistics of 1870, the nine northwestern states, (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin), contain 29.1 per cent. (11,245,635) of the population of all the states and territories. We may consequently assume that they demand for consumption about three-tenths of all the food and manufactures consumed throughout the country. Corn and wheat are the leading farm-productions of these states, constituting in 1872, according to the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 65.8 per cent., or nearly two-thirds the value of all their farm products. The wheat grown by them amounted to 59 per cent. of that grown in the Union, while of corn they raised 53 per cent. The relative amount of these staples produced to the population, was in different parts of the country in 1870, as follows: New England produced to each inhabitant... Western States produced to each inhabitant.. ..quarts.. 9 1-5 .bushels.. 4 1-5 ...do....16 04. The product of corn to each inhabitant at the same time was for New England.... Middle States.. Western States.. Western States, 1872. t A comparison of the production of these cereals in all the states. and territories, with that of the Western States during the last twenty years shows a much more rapid increase in the production of the west, than in the whole country taken together. There were raised of wheat to each inhabitant in the United States... 1850. 1860. 1870 .bushels.. 4.3 5.5 7.4 ..do.... 8.6 11.7 16.0 Showing that while production in the whole country iucreased but 75 per cent. to each inhabitant, that of the Western States increased 86 per cent., or 11 per cent. more rapidly. During this same period the quantity raised to each inhabitant decreased in both the New England and Middle States. The product of corn to each inhabitant during the same time. and including the yield of 1872, was in the United States.. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1872 .bushels.. 26 1-8 26 19.7 28.3 ..do.... 39.4 42.1 33.1 52.2 This is an average gain of 8.4 per cent. to each inhabitant for the United States, and for the Western States 32.5 per cent. Or the increase in the amount of corn raised to each inhabitant, was in the latter, nearly four times greater than that of the whole country, notwithstanding the fact that this was also the period of the The corn crop af 1869-census of 1870-was an unusually poor crop. very rapid settlement of the West. The Middle States scarcely changed their production during this time, while the yield of New England decreased. These statistics show that there is in the West a large over-production of corn and wheat, and that this over-production is so great that when the requirements of the other states are supplied, there is still on hand a large surplus for which a market must be sought abroad. This is exceedingly gratifying as showing the great capabilities of the West to furnish bread for the world, and as an index of the rapid progress and development of its agricultural resources. But when regarded with the full bearing that they have upon the permanent prosperity and happiness of a great portion of the country, they become serious questions, demanding careful and thoughtful consideration, not from a single standpoint merely, but in all the relations, both near and remote, which they bear to the industry and wealth of the nation. Already have they brought upon the West the great problem of "Transportation," that will require for its proper solution, not only time, but careful and wise action as well, and they are to-day pointing to more intricate problems, and to harder times for the Western farmer if the lesson of the hour is not well heeded. It has been quite the custom for farmers to regard theirs the most independent of all professions. Fifty years ago, when the wants of all men were fewer than they now are, when the farmer threshed his grain with a flail, when he mended and often made the shoes for the family, when the wife spun the flax and wool, wove the fabric and made their clothing, when reapers and mowers, gang-plows and horse-hoes, seed-drills and corn-planters, hay-tedders and horse-forks were unknown, farmers were in a high degree independent. But the farmer of to-day is living in quite another age. He is now but the producer of the raw material, and is just as dependent upon men following the other various pursuits of life as they are upon him. The tendency to a minute division of labor which has come, with the advancement of civilization, while it has greatly increased the prosperity of the farmer, has at the same time taken from him whatever independence he once possessed, and made him but one of many equally important agents in society. At the present time the western farmer finds himself a producer of two commodities, corn |