PREFACE. 



The Returns of some of the societies still continue to be meagre and 

 unsatisfactory, containing little that is of general and permanent interest, 

 while others are delayed beyond the time allowed by law, and hence are 

 not available in making up this Abstract. To meet this difficulty, the 

 State Board of Agriculture, at its last Annual Meeting, passed the 

 following votes : — 



B 



Voted, That the several agricultural societies receiving the bounty of the State be 

 required hereafter to offer, annually, three premiums, of not less than eight, six and four 

 dollars, respectively, for the best Reports of Committees who recommend the awards of 

 premiums. 



Voted, That the Secretary of this Board be requested to notify all the societies receiving 

 the bounty of the State, that hereafter, in addition to the financial returns now required by 

 law to be made on or before the tenth day of December of each year, they will be required 

 to return a full and complete Report of their doings, printed in pamphlet form, on or before 

 the fifteenth day of January following. 



And that the Secretary will not be authorized to certify to the legislature, or to the State 

 Auditor, that a society has complied with the law, and is entitled to its bounty, unless it 

 has conformed to this requirement. 



The object of the first requirement is to raise the quality of the 

 Reports, now often very meagre and discreditable to the societies, and 

 to promote their usefulness by stimulating the chairmen of committees 

 to greater care and effort in their preparation. Some of the societies 

 have already adopted this admirable plan, with highly satisfactory 

 results, so that it cannot be regarded as a hardship to comply with so 

 reasonable a requisition. 



The object of the second requirement is to secure the returns in 

 season to make them available in the preparation of the State Report, 

 some of the full returns, by the practice hitherto adopted by the societies, 

 coming in too late to be of any service. 



The law is such that the government has a perfect right to require 

 these returns in full on or before the tenth day of December. It has 

 been found, however, that it was impracticable to require a full con- 



