434 NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY. 



and natural history surveys of the State to be made, on 

 a less extended and expensive scale than the surveys of 

 the State of New York, but such as were very useful, 

 very well executed, and very creditable to their authors, 

 and to the State itself. The geological survey, by the 

 well-known Dr Hitchcock, occupies a large quarto 

 volume, and is accompanied by a map. The agricul 

 tural survey, which occupied about four years, was con 

 ducted by Mr Henry Colman, since known by his visit 

 to this country. Mr Harris drew up the report on &quot; The 

 Insects of Massachusetts injurious to Agriculture f Dr 

 Emerson one on the Trees and Shrubs natural to Massa 

 chusetts 5 and Dr A. A. Gould on the Invertebrate Ani 

 mals. The names of these latter gentlemen will speak 

 for the excellence of their works, which were published 

 and circulated extensively by the Legislature, and, 

 though defective in engraved illustrations, have been 

 productive of much good. 



There are now ten or twelve county societies, in addi 

 tion to the old Massachusetts Society, and each of these 

 societies receives a yearly grant, in the proportion of 

 two dollars for every sixty cents raised by the subscrip 

 tions of its members. These grants amount in all to 

 7000 dollars a-year. Instead of reporting to the central 

 society, as in the State of New York, these separate 

 societies all report directly to the Secretary of State ; 

 and this gentleman causes a general report, made up 

 chiefly of extracts from the subordinate reports, to be 

 prepared for the Legislature under his own superintend 

 ence. I suppose it is partly owing to the want of an 

 energetic head, in the shape of a controlling and stimu 

 lating central society, directly responsible to the Legis 

 lature, that practical agriculture does not present itself 

 in so progressive a form in this State as in that of New 

 York. 



Indian corn, oats, and rye and in this order are the 



