DIGEST OF STATE REPORTS. 415 



of special interest. Such a table would refer him to reports of the 

 transactions of the board, of the State agricultural convention, of the 

 State fair, of the commissioners of fisheries, of the Ohio and the West- 

 ern Eeserve Dairymen's Associations, of cheese-factories, of agricultural 

 experiments by the Georgia State Agricultural College, and condensed 

 reports from the county agricultural societies. It would also refer to a 

 history of the settlement, resources, and products of Holmes county ; 

 the organization and achievements of Eoss County Horticultural Society ; 

 addresses by Professor Johnson, of the Sheffield Scientific School, on 

 "The guiding idea in the use of fertilizers," and by J. E. Dodge, on 

 "European breeds of sheep;" statistics of acreage and production in 

 Ohio agriculture; and essays on parasitic diseases of sheep; the wild 

 cattle of Scotland ; milk and its typical relations ; rise and progress of 

 Devons; market-gardening; importance of humus, (with analyses of 

 the Nile deposits;) function of potash in vegetation; the farmer as a 

 citizen; milk-sickness; caponizing; Kentucky blue-grass; cranberry- 

 culture; preservation of forests; points in judging of live stock; plans 

 and specifications for a farm-house; and a new seedling grape. 



This report for 1873 includes the transactions of the twenty-ninth an- 

 nual agricultural convention, held in Columbus, January 7, 1874. Eep- 

 resentatives were in attendance from seventy-two counties. The dis- 

 cussions were of more interest than usual. lu his opening address the 

 president of the board, L. G. Delano, alluded to the financial crisis then 

 passing over the country, and congratulated the farmers of the State on 

 l3eing well prepared to go through it, and their good prospect for pay- 

 ing prices. 



Eeports from county societies, farmers' clubs, patrons of husbandry, 

 live-stock conventions, &c., showed that marked and renewed interest 

 was being taken in agriculture. The reports from county societies rep- 

 resent them in a healthy and, in most cases, flourishing condition ; the 

 fairs of this year being fully up to the standard of previous years in 

 point of attendance, stock, articles, &c. County and State fairs seem 

 to be fully appreciated by the people, not only as a place for the exhibi- 

 tion of their products and handiwork, but as places for recreation. 



The State fair at Mansfield, in September, 1873, was satisfactory in 

 every respect. The arrangements were unexceptionable, the weather 

 fine, and the attendance over an average for a second fair in the same 

 place. The exhibition of horses was very large, but somewhat deficient 

 in quality. With sheep it was just the reverse. Cattle, hogs, and poul- 

 try were largely represented, and by specimens which showed a great 

 advance in qualities. The departments of fruit and of the fine arts were 

 well represented, and the fair as a whole was a gratifying success. 



The report contaius a valuable paper by Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, on 

 " Milk ; its typical relations," &c. He says : 



The cow, in a state of nature, is incapable of yielding much more milk than ia 

 required by her calf, and the surplus furnished over this amount is increased with 

 domestication, and the skill and art of the breeder who seeks to secure the fulfillment 

 of uses. 



In our domesticated breeds we have a variety of types, in accordance with the views 

 of the owners of many generations and the requirements of locality. The gray Swiss 

 cow, useful for draught and accustomed to feed on Alpine pastures, differs widely in 

 form from the short-born, a breed nurtured with the most artificial care, and supplying 

 in perfection an artificial demand ; and these in turn from the Ayrshire cow, the sym- 

 bolization of the dairy type. Each separate breed has not only its own type, but also 

 includes individuals who depart more or less from the typical form. Uudcr one aspect 

 this type may be considered as the average of all the superior cows of the breed. 

 This, in the short-horn, is the brick-set-on-edge form, tail and legs added more from 

 necessity than desire of the breeder, and with certain other requirements suited to the 



