ondition, but was
badly and slovenly put up, with much larger twine than they use in
Ohio,--the fleeces, also having a torn and jagged appearance; and many
of them, when opened, were found to contain the _unwashed_ tags. He,
however, expressed himself highly pleased with the quality of the wool
he had purchased, and said it compared favorably in that respect with
any he had ever received from Ohio; and he believed if our wool could be
sent to market as clean and in as good condition otherwise as the Ohio
wool,--and the prejudice which has been created against it, in
consequence of this not having been the case heretofore, could once be
removed, he doubted not that "Michigan wool" would command in the market
the highest prices and the most ready sales.

This is certainly a serious matter, and prompt and efficient measures,
of some kind, should at once be taken to remedy the evil; and every
wool-grower should feel, as he really is, personally interested in the
work. I commend this subject, gentlemen, to your serious consideration,
and trust some concert of action will be had to prevent a continuance of
this great evil, and to place "Michigan wool" where it should most
certainly stand, at the head of the list. If this can be done in no
other way, I would suggest the formation of a "Wool-Growers Board of
Trade," or some other efficient organization for the purpose--if for no
other--of tracing out and holding up to scorn every individual who shall
aid in inflicting so serious an injury to this great interest, and of
doing so great a wrong to his neighbors and fellow-citizens, and that,
too, from the base and fraudulent motive of selling dirt and tags as
fine wool--for be assured that any imposition of this sort, practiced
upon manufacturers, will recoil upon our own heads; and where _one_ cent
will thus be saved, thousands, yes, tens of thousands of dollars, will,
as a necessary consequence, be indirectly lost to the farmers of
Michigan. And the loss they have sustained from this cause during the
last three or four years will undoubtedly exceed the enormous sum of two
millions of dollars.

But I must take leave of this subject.

THE STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

Permit me now to occupy your attention for a brief space whilst I speak
of this Institution--the State Agricultural College--upon whose grounds
we are now assembled, and where by the kindness and courtesy of its
officers, we have been so cordially welcomed and s