FARMS. IIT 



F AEMS. 



ESSEX. 



Report of the Committee. 



I know that truth lies in facts, and not in my mind which judges of them ; 

 and tliat the less of myself I put in the opinions I form, the surer I am to 

 approach the truth. — M. Emile. 



The committee appointed by the Trustees of the Essex Agri- 

 cultural Society, have availed themselves of every opportunity 

 afforded them for the discharge of their duties, and regret that 

 their observations have not been more extensive, and that no 

 farms have been entered for premium. The task assigned them 

 is one of the most agreeable, and may be made one of the most 

 useful of all duties imposed upon members of the society. 

 Without in any way appearing before the agricultural com- 

 munity as a commission of investigation, they have endeavored 

 to obtain such information of a practical character as may be of 

 service to those who would learn from experience ; and they 

 feel that no occupation presents so many objects of deep and 

 abiding interest as that which connects man intimately with 

 nature, and establishes his dependence upon her variety and 

 her mysteries. The success of the farmer, who, with unwearied 

 diligence and instinctive sagacity, appeals to the uncertain soil 

 and the changing seasons for his reward, is something more 

 than a mere question of ordinary business, for it brings before 

 the mind all those associations and those strong bonds which 

 bind men to the earth as a great parent, and it arouses within 

 us those sentiments which have filled the breasts of all who 

 have songht relief from the perplexing cares of life, in the 

 simple, healthful and refreshing pursuits of agriculture ; a 

 relief perhaps deemed visionary by him whose daily toil has 

 become a burden, but most truly sweet to him who exchanges 

 but for an hour the fever of the counting-room, or the bar, or 



