SECRETARY'S REPORT. 41 



advantage of each other. The name and custom are of European 

 origin, where they have been established for centuries, v^ith such 

 marked success that they have long been considered indispensable. 

 Their benefit to the farming community and others, who wish to 

 buy or sell, or exchange stock or any other product of the farm, 

 is very great. There, the different breeds of neat stock of every 

 age and variety, of cattle, horses, sheep and swine, are exhibited 

 in great numbers, and the purchaser can make any selection his 

 fancy may dictate or his interest require. The great importance 

 and convenience of such fairs, may be readily seen by the facilities 

 for buying and selling, or otherwise exchanging, in hours, which 

 would otherwise require weeks. In this country, where the pop- 

 ulation and stock are much less dense than in Europe, their bene- 

 ficial results, probably, cannot be as great. Yet it is believed, in 

 view of the value of well matched oxen, steers and horses, over 

 those which are not, they would prove highly beneficial. In addi- 

 tion to the above, the farmers may exhibit samples of the different 

 kinds of grain and dairy products they may have to sell, and the 

 merchant wish to buy at a stipulated time and place — and thereby 

 supersede the necessity of carrying them to a distant and uncer- 

 tain market. 



Your committee would not attempt to point out any definite 

 course to be pursued upon this subject, but would recommend that 

 this Board devise some plan to carry this object into effect." 



The report was adopted. 



The committee on twentieth topic submitted a report which gave 

 rise to a somewhat protracted and animated discussion. 



Mr. Anderson said the whole race of dogs should be extermina- 

 ted. More damage was done by them in one year than the good 

 the best of them effected in ten years. He spoke of the importance 

 of encouraging the rearing of sheep. Small as the encouragement 

 of exemption would be, gentlemen from the cities would be sur- 

 prised to find of how much account it was with the poor persons 

 concerned. He was strongly in favor of exempting a limited num- 

 ber of sheep from taxation, believing that many would thus be 

 induced to keep them. 



Mr. Bean defended the dog. He was of great benefit in Aroos- 

 took county, in protecting the sheep from bears. The watch dog 

 was also highly valuable. A burglary was recently prevented by 

 a faithful dog, and property saved greater than the value of all the 

 sheep killed by dogs during the year past. 



