618 MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



premiums should be made, and in the hands of the appropriate 

 committee, before the first day of December previous, to allow 

 their transactions to be seasonably printed. At that time, corn 

 is not in a merchantable condition. It is usually harvested the 

 latter part of October, or during the first days of November, and 

 at that season there will be a great difference between different 

 fields, as to the dryness of the corn and the cob. Much has 

 been occasioned by the location and the soil on which it was 

 grown. Corn will ripen much earlier on a warm sandy soil, 

 than on a heavy clayey loam, and therefore there will be much 

 more shrinkage on corn from the one field, than on that from 

 the other. It is suggested that the supervisor, or committee of 

 examination, should take away some of the corn which they 

 had weighed, (say, one bushel,) which should at the time be 

 both accurately weighed and measured, from each field, subject 

 it to artificial heat until properly dried, and correct their former 

 estimate by the result. 



The rule of the Plymouth Society, as applied to root crops, 

 may not operate more satisfactorily than in relation to corn. It 

 will be extremely difficult to select a square rod, which shall 

 prove a fair average of the field, merely by inspection, partic- 

 ularly of carrots. The appearance of the tops does not indicate, 

 with any correctness, whether the roots are long or short, and 

 on this fact the amount of the product must greatly depend. It 

 is believed that root crops can be better estimated by weight, 

 than by measure. 



The Legislature having determined that Indian corn, wheat, 

 rye, buckwheat, barley, oats, and potatoes, shall be sold by 

 weight, and having prescribed the number of pounds which 

 shall be taken for a bushel, there seems to be a strong propri- 

 ety for assuming the same principle in ascertaining the amount 

 of those crops, and extending it to other crops for which there 

 is no legal provision. The law says, " in order to ascertain the 

 mean or true weight, each vender" [applicant] " shall weigh 

 ten measures at least, in every hundred bushels." 



A bushel of Indian Corn shall be deemed to be - 56 lbs. 

 « '< Rye " " " - 56 " 



« " Barley " " " - 46 " 



