30 TRANSACTIONS, «fec. 



Report o\ Vecrtables. 



Committee. — William S. Barton, Chairman : Calvin W. For- 

 biish, of Grafton, Edwin Draper, Gardiner Paine, and O. B. Had- 

 wen, of Worcester. 



Your Committee were gratified to find so large and excellent a 

 display of Vegetables, at this, our Annual Exhibition. On no for- 

 mer Anniversary of the Society, has this branch of Horticulture 

 been so fully represented, nor has it ever comprised so varied and 

 superior a collection of these indispensible products. But five years 

 ago, when the present Chairman first acted on this Committee, there 

 were fewer Vegetables on Exhibition, all told, than there were vari- 

 eties merely, of tha same articles entered this year. The display at 

 the present Anniversary, was alike an honor to our Society and to its 

 enterprising contributors. 



It would be gratifying to your Committee, to urge upon the atten- 

 tion of the Society, the various theories and recommendations of 

 others, in regard to the best mode of cultivating Vegetables. They 

 will, however, barely allude to the subject. It is well known, that 

 from the earliest introduction of these products into England, during 

 the sixteenth century, down to comparatively a recent period, no great 

 improvement in their cultivation is believed to have been made. 

 The long interval of peace, which England and the United States 

 have now enjoyed, has been extremely favorable, in attracting atten- 

 tion to this interesting study. Scientific men, in both countries, are 

 now actively engaged in tho analysis of the different soils employed 

 in the culture of vegetables, and in recommending the most excel- 

 lent combinations of soil for different products. Much attention is 

 also given to the subject of the best varieties of vegetables, and to 

 the distribution of the rarest seeds and specimens. We need only 

 to call attention to the fact, that there are hundreds of valuable and 

 interesting reports and lectures, on all these topics, which are annu- 

 ally disseminated through the two countries, as well as on the 

 European Continent, and that, by obtaining access to these publica- 

 tions, to some extent, even in our own Horticultural Journals, our 

 farmers and horticulturists will possess that information, by means 



