SECRETARY'S REPORT. 285 



Long Island, and the time will yet come, we trust, when some 

 enterprising market gardeners will be found there. 



The culture of cranberries is gradually increasing. "We do 

 not propose to speak here of the mode of cultivation of the crop, 

 as a full report upon the same was made in a recent report 

 of the transactions of the agricultural society in Plymouth 

 County, and printed with the Agriculture of Massachusetts for 

 year 1864. The crop the last year was more valuable than ever. 

 Near the seashore it needs no flowing to guard from frost, but 

 flooding in winter and early spring is advisable, to prevent the 

 ravages of the worm. 



Chas. G. Davis. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



Middlesex County has fifty-two towns and cities, and, accord- 

 ing to the returns made to the State, has 497,033 acres of land 

 taxed, being more than there is in any other county within the 

 State, except Worcester, which has 909,323 acres, and Berkshire, 

 that has 541,287 acres. The soil is of the various kinds usually 

 found in New England, but sandy and gravelly loams predom- 

 inate largely ; and in many of the towns large quantities of 

 rocks, both in the form of boulders and ledges, are found quite 

 plenty in almost every field. 



Of its population, which is larger than that of any other county 

 within the State, not more than one-fifth are engaged directly in 

 agricultural pursuits, the balance being employed in the various 

 manufactures of cotton, wool, shoes, and other articles carried 

 on in the county, or in mercantile pursuits in the cities and 

 large towns within its limits or in Boston. There are quite a 

 number of towns largely engaged in the manufacture of shoes, 

 that do not produce enough of any agricultural product, except, 

 perhaps, milk, in sufficient quantities for their own consumption, 

 and depend to a considerable extent upon the neighboring towns 

 for their supplies. 



In our agriculture we must necessarily differ from that of 

 some other portions of the State, from the fact of our proximity 

 to good markets, and perhaps, to some extent, by the nature of 

 the soil. While in Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and some 

 other counties it undoubtedly is advisable to keep sheep for 

 mutton and wool, and raise cattle for beef, it is very plain that 



