104 THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY 



ceived by gift from Francis Peabody of Salem. An im- 

 portation of a bull and three cows of the Ayrshire breed 

 was made by the trustees in 1835, at a cost of $1,170. Two 

 instances of bringing swine from foreign lands appear in 

 the record of these early years, one in 1818, and one in 

 1823. It may be noted as evidence of the importance in 

 which these undertakings were held by the trustees, that, 

 in several instances during the period thus referred to, 

 medals were voted by the trustees to shipmasters who had 

 bestowed special care upon the animals during the voyage. 



An important share of the society's bounty continued to 

 be offered, each year, after the suspension of its cattle shows, 

 in premiums for the best cultivated farm, for the largest 

 crop per acre of certain vegetables, for the cultivation of 

 forest and other trees, for useful inventions, etc. It also 

 contributed each year to the total of premiums offered by 

 certain of the county agricultural societies, presumably 

 those whose pecuniary resources were least, or those where 

 certain lines of agriculture, deemed specially desirable, 

 were pursued, either because of the enterprise of the farm- 

 ing population or favorable situation. Such premiums were 

 usually, if not invariably, in whatever county offered, open 

 to competitors from all other counties. The total of premi- 

 ums paid in the year 1838 was $900, and in each year up to 

 1842, several hundred dollars. The state of things as 

 respects the use of the plough, at this period, is indicated in 

 the fact that, in 1837, a premium of $30 was offered to any 

 mechanic " to construct and introduce, for the use of farm- 

 ers, a sub-soil plough." In 1840, as previously intimated, 

 it had become well understood that the ideal of a plough 

 for ordinary use had not been fully attained in the manu- 

 facture of that instrument on the Jeffersonian lines, with 

 the early New York improvements. Accordingly, the 

 society offered these premiums : " For the best plough that 

 will turn the sod over and lay it flat, regard being had for 

 excellence of work, ease of draught, cheapness, etc., $100 ; 



