

REPORT 



OF THE 



COMMITTEE ON VEGETABLES, 



FOR THE YEAR 1886. 



By CHARLES N. BRACKETT, Chairman. 



As another of those distinctly marked periods by which we meas- 

 ure our existence and chronicle events will soon be numbered with 

 those that have preceded it, it may be well to take a brief retrospec- 

 tive glance over the road we have travelled, and enquire what have 

 been the most prominent features, and what the results of the 

 various exhibitions which this department has made during the 

 j^ear. Such a review is often both instructive and encouraging, as we 

 may not only learn from it what we have really accomplished, but, 

 by reviewing the difficulties already overcome, we shall be better 

 able to meet the obstacles that lie in our onward path. The period 

 now just closing upon us has been one of progress in nearly all 

 the departments of the farm and vegetable garden. The crops 

 have generally been abundant, and the season has favored the 

 harvest. 



Nearly all of our most intelligent cultivators are now sensible 

 that their profession is one which should be studied ; that it is a 

 profession in which the specially educated man occupies the same 

 position of advantage that he does in every other pursuit of life. 

 There is a better appreciation of the advantages to be derived 

 from the application of scientific principles to our labor, and 

 more disposition on the part of the cultivator of the soil to avail 

 himself of such helps. The walls of prejudice have been modified 

 or broken down by the introduction of labor-saving machines, or 

 new methods of culture, once considered as useless innovations. 



