REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. IQl 



ESSEX. 



The annual fair of this society was at Haverhill, on the 26tli 

 and 27th of September. Your delegate was on the ground 

 during the first day, but is under necessity of relying upon the 

 statements of others for what transpired on the second. 



The prominent points of interest were, the exhibition of 

 cattle ; the sliow of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and 

 articles of domestic manufacture, in the hall ; the ploughing 

 match ; the address ; the spading match ; the dinner ; and last, 

 but important, the social enjoyments and the pleasing moral 

 influences of the occasion. 



The horses exhibited were few, ^ut some were of excellent 

 qualities. The working oxen were good ; some fine samples o^ 

 Jerseys and of Devons were exhibited. Tlie arrangements for 

 the exhibition of stock were admirable. Old Essex holds 

 together in one society, and consequently gets less than her 

 pro rata allowance of the public money; yet such is the liber- 

 ality of her citizens that she seems to be in no want of funds. 

 Praise is due. 



In the hall, the exhibition of friiits and vegetables was fine ; 

 that of apples was first rate ; of pears, good ; of garden vege- 

 tables and flowers, highly creditable to the farmers and people 

 of Essex. The dairy products were few, consisting of a little 

 butter and Jio cheese, the former being of good quality, but not 

 extra. A few samples of boots and shoes, and some very 

 ingenious specimens of needle work, were on exhibition. Es- 

 sentially, however, the mechanical skill of the county was 

 unrepresented. , 



The ploughing match was in a stony old pasture, ground 

 well adapted to test the skill of the workmen, but such as ren- 

 dered a just discrimination of comparative merits impossible. 

 The spading match was between seven Irishmen, each spading 

 sixty feet of land, the time allotted being seven minutes. The 

 game was disconcerted by the press of the multitude, but 

 showed one thing at least, that the plough is the better instru- 



13 



