266 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



From twenty-two lots of butter, in consequence of the general 

 excellence of the article, the committee found much difficulty 

 in selecting five entitled to premium. They would, however, 

 recommend the following awards : — 



To Mrs. J. L. Bassett, of Bridgewater, 1st premium, $7 00 

 " H. S. Davis, of Plymouth, 2d " 6 00 



" Willard Wood, of Bridgewater, 3d " 5 00 



" Copeland, of West Bridgewater, 4th " 4 00 



" L. D. Holmes, of Bridgewater, 5th " 3 00 



The committee would suggest to future contributors of but- 

 ter that it would be well for them to send their contributions 

 in stone jars. They found one exceedingly handsome lot packed 

 in a box newly painted upon the inside, which tasted so strongly 

 of paint that the true qualities of the butter could not be tested. 

 Other lots in wooden tubs tasted slightly of the wood, and these 

 lost that excellence which very probably they originally pos- 

 sessed. The committee would call the especial attention of 

 future competitors for premiums to this suggestion. 



R. Perkins, Chairman. 



FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 



ESSEX. 



From the Report of the Committee on Fruits. 



The show of fruits, particularly apples, was as fine as at any 

 previous exhibition, and the number of contributors and the 

 quantity of fruits exhibited indicate a continued and growing 

 interest in this society. But in order to show our collection to 

 advantage, we require a room as large as Faneuil Hall in Bos- 

 ton. There were upon the tables eleven hundred and eight 

 plates of fruit, from one hundred and fifty contributors. 



The liberal premium our society has offered for the production 

 of a hardy grape, equal in quality to the Isabella, " ripening in 

 this county in the open air by the middle of September, prolific 

 and suitable for the table, the same to be tested by the commit- 



