BRANCH COUNTY. 



SecVs Office, Branch Countv Agricultural Societt. ) 

 Cold WATER, olh May, 1856. ] 



J. C. Holmes, Esq., Sec'i/ Mick. State Agricultural Society: 



Dear Sir — Herewith I send you a list of the premiums awarded at 

 the fourth Annual Fair of the Branch County Agricultural Society,, 

 held at the Society's grounds in the village of Coldwatei', on the 3d, 

 4th and 5th days of October, 1855, The attendance was full, and the 

 number and quality of animals and articles on exhibition, gave abun- 

 dant evidence that the citizens of this county take a lively interest in 

 the advancement of agricultural and mechanical interests. The boun- 

 tiful exhibitions of fruit, the various kinds of grain, the mammoth veg- 

 etables, the splendid array of poultry and stock of various kinds, in- 

 cluding swine, sheep, cattle and horses, all the best of their kind, show 

 a decided improvement in the agricultural condition of our county. 



Our farmers fully appreciate these annual gatherings, and feel that 

 they contribute in no small degree to their success. As an evidence of 

 this, our Society has purchased, and enclosed with a permanent fence, 

 six acres of ground in the village of Coldwater, upon which our fairs 

 are to be held hereafter. The mechanical department was fully and 

 creditably represented. The ladies contributed largely to the interest 

 of the fair, and by their numerous exhibitions, not only of fancy arti- 

 cles and the delicacies of the season, but of the more substantial nec- 

 essaries of life, proving conclusively, even to the most timid and doubt- 

 ful, that with such wives, farmers' homes are rendered happy, and suc- 

 cess certain. 



By reference to the Transactions of the State Society, it will be seen 

 that in stock, for some years past. Branch county has stood second' to 

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