14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the Delegate Board, which is set by statute law to convene the 

 first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of each year; 

 hence the business of the 'Board is contained in such reports, 

 and could not consistently be compiled for publication until 

 they have been properly and officially accepted, which in & 

 manner, accounts for the delay in the published reports. 



The time for the Annual Agricultural Convention should be 

 changed to l!Tovember of each year. It was fixed thirty-three 

 years ago, before the days of railroads, when horseback was 

 the principal mode of reaching the capital in the winter, and 

 it was then arranged for one trip to answer the Agricultural 

 Convention and attend the meeting of the Legislature. 



We call attention to the weather tables in this report, which 

 we have kept up for twelve years in succession. They are 

 useful for reference, as nowhere else can such tables be found 

 in a condensed published form. Perhaps the most remarkable 

 feature in this connection at this date of writing (February, '85) 

 is the unusual and impressive fact of three severe arctic winters 

 in succession. The present one will be remembered as the most 

 severe on record; sixteen times below zero. ISuch a succession 

 of cold winters has puzzled scientists to account for. The 

 winter of 1881 and 1882, which preceded the cold winters re- 

 ferred to, was one of the mildest ever known, as the grass and 

 wheat continued to grow all winter, and the following season 

 produced the extraordinary wheat crop of 47,000,000 bushels in 

 Indiana. 



•The proceedings of the annual meeting of the Delegate Con- 

 vention, with the valuable essay matter, will be found of unu- 

 sual interest. The reports from the agricultural societies of the 

 State are of special local interest, and show marked improve- 

 ment. 



The proceedings of the State Industrial Associations contin- 

 ues to be one of the important features of this report. Thej 

 are growing in favor, and more appreciated as the real objecti 

 become known. These associations have been fostered and 

 encouraged as branches of the Board of Agriculture, until th« 

 meetings have outgrown the accommodations of the Board, and 



