136 THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY 



1845, had been required by law to be sent to the secre- 

 tary of the Commonwealth, was sent to the Board of 

 Agriculture. Intimate relations were established be- 

 tween the society and the board, arising in part from 

 the circumstance that one member of the board is 

 regularly, in conformity to the act of 1852, chosen by 

 the society, to serve for a term of three years. 



The offer, in 1855, of certain premiums may be said 

 to mark, with approximate accuracy, the beginning of 

 a new era in one department of practical agriculture, 

 that of hay-harvesting. The offer was intended to 

 encourage the general use of the mowing machine, 

 and the official report on the matter shows that it had 

 the desired effect. One premium, of $600, was open to 

 competition that year, and the other, of $1,000, was 

 seasonably announced, that the competition might be 

 had and the award made in the following year. The 

 premium for 1855 was "to the possessor of the mow- 

 ing machine which shall cut, during the present season, 

 with the greatest economy and to the best advantage 

 not less than fifty acres of grass, within the State." 

 The appeal was specifically to the operators of ma- 

 chines, the intent of the trustees being "to bring out 

 skill in the use of a machine comparatively new, with- 

 out reference to the particular merits of the several 

 kinds then offered to the public." To these words the 

 trustees add that "they felt strong hopes, also, that so 

 large a premium would incite many to try the experi- 

 ment of mowing with a m.achine, who would otherwise 

 wait to see v/hether it was successful or not; in this 

 they were not disappointed, the number of competi- 

 tors having been large." 



The phrases thus used, "a machine comparatively 

 new," and, "the number of competitors having been 



