Vi ADVERTISEMENT. 



ance. The characteristics of the soil in such cases should be fur- 

 nished with great fidelity. 



The absence of care and thoroughness of detail, in narratives of the 

 successful management of crops, often leads to sad disappointments, 

 by reason of the omission referred to, in cases where the attempt is 

 made to follow the guidance of such narratives. A single element of 

 the soil overlooked, or a deficient description of manures used and 

 their management, — these are not unfrequently sufficient to defeat the 

 very purpose intended by the case reported. No material fact, there- 

 fore, should ever be neglected or passed over slightly. 



In the transactions of the Essex County Society, to be found in the 

 following pages, a very happy and gratifying illustration of the force 

 and importance of these remarks, will be seen in the essays, which 

 are furnished on several interesting topics of farm-culture. This fea- 

 ture in the proceedings of the Essex Society, it is greatly to be hoped, 

 may approve itself to the judgment of all the other societies, and be 

 hereafter extensively imitated. How can the funds of these societies 

 be turned to a better account than by the award of liberal premiums 

 for accurate, condensed, and, at the same time, comprehensive essays 

 on the various branches of cultivation? 



Remarks, substantially of the same character, may be made in refer- 

 ence to the reports of committees at the cattle-shows. As the law 

 now stands, the returns of the doings of the societies may be made at 

 any time before the 10th day of January. Ample opportunity is there- 

 fore afforded to committees, to mature and perfect their reports; so 

 that the grounds, on which the awards of committees are made, may 

 be leisurely and carefully set forth, accompanied by the detailed state- 

 ments of competitors. It is thus that a great amount of practical 

 and valuable information may be furnished for the benefit of the farm- 

 ers of the Commonwealth. This suggestion cannot be urged with 

 too much earnestness upon the officers of the agricultural societies, 

 having at heart, as they all have, the welfare of the State in this, its 

 great interest. 



