FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE. 35 



society's current publication as "a liberal grant." It was 

 an allowance of $1,000 annually from the public treasury 

 " for printing and circulating their publications on agricul- 

 ture only ; for the raising of seeds and plants, or the ex- 

 pense of any experiments made by them with a view to 

 promote agricultural knowledge." 



The satisfaction which the members of the society must 

 have felt upon this action of the Legislature was not limited 

 to the pecuniary benefit thereby conferred, for in the resolve 

 itself as adopted and printed fn the official volume of acts 

 and resolves are embodied, as preamble to the resolve, 

 these gracious words of the committee reporting thereupon: 

 " Your committee are satisfied that the object and design of 

 the society are laudable and useful ; that it has a tendency 

 to diffuse knowledge and promote a spirit of inquiry and 

 improvement, and your committee are also convinced that 

 the said society by its premiums for introducing Merino 

 sheep and by encouraging the introduction of new seeds 

 and trees has already been productive of a great public 

 benefit." In 1816 the Legislature granted 8500 and a like 

 sum annually thereafter to enlarge the total of premiums 

 given by the society at its annual cattle shows. 



In 1807 a sufficient number of answers to the circular 

 of the society containing the forty-nine questions had been 

 received to warrant publication, the result being a pamphlet 

 of thirty-eight pages. While the number of persons re- 

 sponding was not as great as had been hoped, the committee 

 of publication found some satisfaction in the fact that the 

 towns heard from were separated by considerable distances, 

 making the response, as a whole, more instructive than if 

 it had come from towns in a particular section of the State. 

 The towns heard from were Barnstable, Brookfield, Brook- 

 line, Concord, New Gloucester in the district of Maine, 

 Marlboro, Newbury, Sturbridge and Worcester and the 

 several towns represented by the agricultural society of 

 western Middlesex. The pamphlet must have been accep- 

 table to readers of that date and is still historically inter- 



