xxxiv KEPORTS OF DELEGATES. 



The rhetorical exhibition on the third day brought out such com- 

 petitors as Judge Colt, of Pittsfield, Hon. Richard Goodman, of 

 Lenox, and Dr. Sabin, of Williamstown, the mention of whose names 

 is evidence of a satisfactory show. 



The thanks of your delegate are due to President Plunkett, Sherift' 

 Root and Secretar}' Murray, for the most courteous and obliging- 

 treatment daring his visit. He is happ}' in conclusion to state, that 

 the financial condition of the Society is excellent, as appears from 

 its published transactions, and that there is no reason for any 

 anxiety in regard to its management or usefulness. 



W. S. Clark. 



HOOSAC VALLEY. 



Having at a late da}^ received from Mr. Root a request to take his 

 place as delegate to attend the fair of this Society, I very reluc- 

 tantly consented, not that I had any reluctance to being present as 

 a citizen, but, after being present with the Board at Barre, and wit- 

 nessing the advanced position of agricultural improvements in that 

 region as compared with the very recent and feeble progress in the 

 community embraced by the society which I have the honor to rep- 

 resent at the Board, I felt inadequate to do anything like justice to my 

 position as Mr. Root's substitute. Another reason for being reluc- 

 tant was, the near completion of the great tunnel. Having labored 

 for that enterprise, and, in the exercise of strong faith in its final 

 success, I had expected not to visit the Hoosac Valley again until it 

 could be reached through the base of the mountain. Although near 

 neighbors, as to distance, ^-et being separated by the Hoosac bluff, 

 the social and commercial intercourse heretofore has been ver}' slight. 

 The final opening of that great avenue will bring our two societies 

 into close proximity, and will no doubt tend to increase the efficiency 

 of both. 



But, having settled the question, I drove to North Adams on the 

 morning of September 25, in a drizzling rain, arriving in season to 

 witness the ingathering of the almost infinite variety of products 

 and materials which was to constitute the show. It is a matter of 

 astonishment to see the variety and amount of articles brought 

 together at a fair by a community in which all the people are alive 

 to make it a success. And such, apparently', was the case at North 

 Adams. The Hoosac Valley Agricultural Society has shown itself 

 well worthy the patronage of the Commonwealth. Located in a 

 portion of the State of more than average fertility of soil, adapted to 

 all varieties of production, embracing within its limits man}' thriving 



