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OBITUARY.

JOSHUA S. KELLER.

BORN AUGUST 7, 1816.

DIED FEBRUARY 22, 1887.

Joshua S. Keller, late member of the State Board of Agriculture from Schuylkill county, was elected to represent his society at the organization of the Board in 1877, and continued to serve in this capacity to the time of his death, having (January 29, 1887) been recently reëlected for the term of three years.

Mr. Keller was born in Greenwich township, Berks county, Pa., August 7, 1816. He received his primary education in the schools which characterized that date, and afterwards completed it at the Maiden Creek school, at Franklin and Marshall College, and at Mercersburg, Pa. For a number of years he taught school in the counties of Berks, Centre and Schuylkill. During a portion of his life he was engaged in mercantile pursuits at Hamburg, Berks county, Pa. After his marriage, he engaged in agriculture and horticulture at Orwigsburg, and there continued until the time of his death.

In addition to his membership in the State Board of Agriculture, Mr. Keller was a prominent member and officer of the State Agricultural Society, and also an active member of the State Horticultural Association. He was one of the founders of the Schuylkill County Agricultural Society, and after its organization served for a number of years as its secretary. He relinquished the work of the secretary's office to assume that of president, which he continued to exercise to the time of his death.

In his own locality, Mr. Keller was depended upon for advice upon matters pertaining to agriculture and horticulture, and was a prominent correspondent of various agricultural and horticultural journals. His essays were invariably practical, and were received with perfect confidence by the reader. He was the originator of the "Keller's Seedling Strawberry," and during the latter part of his life was a careful experimenter with new fruits, honestly giving the results of his experiments for the benefit of others.

OBITUARY.

DAVID HAMMOND FORESMAN.

BORN FEBRUARY 15, 1834.

DIED APRIL 21, 1887.

David Hammond Foresman, late member of the Board from Lycoming county, was born in Washington township, Lycoming county, Pa., February 15, 1834, and died at his home in Williamsport, April 21,

1887.

His early life was spent on the farm, and he there imbibed that love for and interest in agricultural affairs which clung to him throughout his life and which made him so valuable as a member of the Board of Agriculture; he received the principal part of his education at the McEwensville Academy, and for several years taught school in the counties of Northumberland and Lycoming; in 1854 he settled in Williamsport and soon became deeply interested in the welfare of that city; he was for fourteen years a member of the common council, and in 1877 was chosen its president; he also filled the difficult position of chairman of the highway committee with signal ability.

He was twice elected president of the Lycoming County Agricul tural Society, and was identified with the grange movement having served several terms as master of the Williamsport Grange.

He was elected by the Lycoming County Agricultural Society to represent them in the formation of the State Board of Agriculture in 1877, and continued their representative until the day of his death, having been elected for four consecutive terms.

Mr. Foresman was a man of superior intelligence and of marked energy and executive ability; with the valuable faculty of self-control, he ruled with wisdom and fairness; like all strong men, he possessed a strong emotional nature, and was capable of being influenced through his emotions; in his friendships he was remarkably constant and devoted; in the domestic circle he was at his happiest and appeared to the best advantage, and his affection for his family was one of his most conspicuous traits.

As a member of the Board, his counsel was always received with the respect and appreciation which it deserved, and his opinions were advanced with force and strength, begotten of a feeling that they were correct and right; as one of the vice presidents of the Board, his rulings were always fair and just, and his firmness tempered with justice.

OBITUARY.

CHRISTIAN C. MUSSELMAN.
BORN DECEMBER 23, 1826.

DIED AUGUST 21, 1887.

Christian C. Musselman, late member of the Board from Somerset county, was born in Summit (now Elk Lick) township, Somerset county, Pa., December 23, 1826, and died at his home in Somerset, August 21, 1887.

At the age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to the trade of a shoemaker; the occupation being distasteful to him, and being a persevering student, he, at the age of seventeen, commenced teaching and alternating this with farm labor, as was the custom of the time, he soon arrived at the head of his chosen profession. He acted as the president of the first teachers' institute held in the county of Somerset, and from time to time took a prominent part in every movement, having for its object the advancement of his chosen profession.

Having a strong taste for practical and experimental farming, he abandoned the school-room and purchased a farm near the town. of Somerset, upon which he lived until within two years of his death; this farm was his pride, and is now a model for others in the neighborhood, and many of his practical works in our Board were the result of information gained while on the farm.

At different times during his useful and active life, Mr. Musselman was called upon to occupy responsible positions of public trust, and and in every case the trust was returned to his constituents untarnished with anything detrimental to his or their credit. From time to time he filled all of the local and township offices within the gift of his constituents, and in 1849 acted as moderator in the famous debate at Mechanicsburg (now Summit Mills), between the representatives of the German Baptists and the Lutherans. In 1863 he was elected a member of the lower house of the State Legislature; at the next term he was renominated and elected by an even larger majority; his record as a member of the State Legislature is unimpeached, and but for his refusal to serve, he would no doubt have been selected to fill still higher positions in the Legislature of his State.

In 1877 he was elected associate judge of Somerset county; in 1878 he became one of the directors of the Somerset and Cambria railroad, and when that road was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio he was the only member of the old board reëlected.

In 1878 he was elected by the Somerset County Agricultural Society to represent them in the State Board of Agriculture, and continued their representative until his death. As a member of the Board he was noted for the earnestness with which he advocated his views upon practical agricultural topics, and for his practical essays and addresses at its meetings. Earnest as he was, he was careful not to unduely cause unpleasantness to his colleagues, and was universally respected by them for his earnest advocacy of all that he believed to be right and just, and for his unwavering opposition to anything resembling fraud or imposition.

By his death our Board loses an earnest and practical member whose position it will be difficult to fill.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

PENNSYLVANIA STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING.

Held at Harrisburg, commencing January 26, 1887.

Board called to order at 9.30 A. M., by Vice President M. W. OLIVER in the chair.

Present, Hon. J. S. Africa, Dr. E. E. Higbee, Messrs. Atherton, Young, Dr. Edge, Garretson, Noble, Zerr, Scott, Brown, Eves, Oliver, Mullin, Hiester, Thornton, Wilson, Colvin, Engle, Lantz, Smith, Clapp, Musselman, Searle, Gates, Bunnell, Underwood, Roland and Secretary.

The SECRETARY announced that the terms of office of one-third of the members of the Board expired previous to this meeting, and that from this cause their names were not called; nearly all of them had been reëlected and were present, and after the presentation of their credentials, would take part in the work of the meeting.

The CHAIR named Messrs. Barnes, Gates and Musselman a committee to receive and report upon the credentials of members-elect and delegates.

On motion, a recess was taken until the Committee on Credentials were ready to report.

Committee on Credentials reported that Messrs. Painter of Armstrong, Reeder of Bucks, Edge (T. J.) of Chester, McCracken of Jefferson, Barnes of Lehigh, McKee of Mercer, Hoffa of Northumberland, Gundy of Union, McDowell of Washington, Kratz of Montgomery, presented credentials showing that they had been properly appointed by their respective county agricultural societies to represent them in the Board.

The committee also reported that a certificate for Mr. Keller of Schuylkill was not in proper form, and, after discussion, the Secretary was directed to return it and furnish a proper blank.

The committee further reported the following delegates as present with proper certificates:

East Lynn Grange, P. of H., No. 271-Pennock E. Leonard, C. F. Wickersham.

Grange No. 353, (Huntingdon county.)-Miles Henderson.

Middletown Grange No. 684-Allen Tomlinson, John Wildman.

Fulton Grange No. 66—J. G. McSparren.

Clarion County Pomona Grange-Henry Cyphert.

Brandywine Grange No. 60-S. R. Downing.

Goshen Grange No. 121-Dr. B. H. Warren.

Huntingdon County Pomona Grange-A. P. White.

State Horticultural Association-John C. Hepler, H. S. Rupp, H. C. Snavely and Col. George F. McFarland.

Berks County Agricultural Society-George D. Stitzel, Tobias Barto, Joseph F. Moore.

Pennsylvania Forestry Association-C. C. Binney and Hon. J.

Hess.

Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultural Society-Calvin Cooper, John H. Landis, Johnson Miller, W. H. Brosius.

Farmers' Protective Association of Philadelphia-E. Satterthwaite, S. N. Roland, I. P. Thomas and Jesse Wilson.

Chester County Agricultural Society-Alfred Sharpless, B. H. Warren, M. D.

Columbia County Agricultural Society-H. V. White.

Solebury Farmers' Club-Asher Mattison, H. W. Rice, W. M. Ely. On motion, the Board then proceeded to the election of officers for the coming year, and as tellers the CHAIR named Messrs. Scott, Gundy and Zerr

Messrs. Reeder, Underwood, Herr, Oliver, Dr. Edge and Searle were then nominated for the positions of vice presidents. The tellers announced that Messrs. Oliver, Edge and Underwood had been elected by the first ballot.

Messrs. Reeder, Musselman, Herr, Hiester, Roland, McDowell, Gates, Wilson, Barnes and Searle were then nominated as members of the Executive Committee. On motion, Messrs. McDowell, Searle and Gates were allowed to withdraw their names.

The tellers announced as the result of the first ballot the election of Messrs. Musselman, Roland, Reeder, Hiester, McDowell, Barnes and Herr.

On motion of Mr. ROLAND, seconded by Mr. SMITH, the CHAIR named Messrs. Roland, Mullin and McDowell a committee to wait upon the Governor and escort him to the meeting.

On motion of Mr. NOBLE, Thomas J. Edge was nominated Secretary, and on motion of Mr. Reeder, the President was directed to cast the ballot of the meeting for him.

On motion of Mr. GATES, the reading of the minutes was dispensed with.

The Committee on Legislation reported as follows:

Your Committee on Legislation would, in accordance with the rules. of the Board, respectfully report upon the following topics, which have engaged their attention:

First. They have taken into consideration the interests of the Board and its work, and find that its field of operations has so widened and enlarged that some legislation is required to provide the means to carry on its work. We, therefore, recommend that the act for granting the usual appropriation be so amended as to provide that the item for district institutes, &c., be increased in the sum of two thousand dollars, making a total of three thousand dollars, to meet the demand. of the different counties for the benefit of institute meetings. We also recommend the passage of a supplement to the act providing for the publication of the annual volume on "The Agriculture of Pennsylvania," so that more space shall be assigned to the production of this Board, the present allotment being much too limited to contain a fair digest of its transactions. We also suggest the propriety of asking the General Assembly to authorize the Board to enlarge the

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