14 



We hope to be able to lay before you a statement of the wheat, grass, and 

 oat crops of Maryland by the 1st of September, and of the corn crop by the 

 1st or middle of November. 



Earnestly soliciting your co-operation in this important matter, 

 I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 



JAMES T. EARLE, 

 President of Maryland State Agricultural Society. 



To 



President of State Agricultural Society. 



Mr. Earle, at the same time, issued a circular to individuals and county 

 societies, askiog them to report, by the tenth of October following, the state 

 of the crops, whether above or below an average, and the causes that have 

 beneficially or prejudicially affected the crops. 



These efforts assumed a more definite form in the plan adopted by the edi- 

 tor of the American Agriculturist, Orange Judd. In 1862 he issued a circu- 

 lar to his subscribers and others, containing five sets of inquiries, one for 

 each of the months from May to September, and all alike. The following is _a 

 copy of the circular issued by him ; the explanations which were a part of it 

 we omit: 



