BERKSHIRE SOCIETY. 345 



are much better adapted to our soil and climate, more likely to 

 live and flourish, than those taken from the far-famed nursery 

 of Rochester; and we would recommend to those gentlemen 

 about to plant out orchards, to patronize those gentlemen in 

 our county who have been at great expense in starting their 

 nurseries. They should be sustained by the farmers of Berk- 

 shire ; for we are of opinion, that as fine apples, pears, peaches, 

 plums, and many of the smaller fruits, can be cultivated here 

 as successfully perhaps, as in any part of Massachusetts. 



The orchard entered by J. Stevens, of Sheffield, did not 

 come under the rules of the society, being planted previous to 

 1849. The committee regret exceedingly that it is not in their 

 power to award the gentleman a premium. This orchard con- 

 tained 108 trees, all of them grafted fruit, comprising forty 

 varieties of the choicest fruit, and it is the opinion of the com- 

 mittee, that 500 bushels of apples might have been taken from 

 it at the time we viewed it, but having no surplus funds in 

 our hands, we would recommend to the society to award a 

 premium of ^5 to Mr. Stevens, for the spirit he has manifest- 

 ed in the cultivation of good fruit. 



Wheat. 



The crop of winter wheat was good. Nine pieces were en- 

 tered for premium ; the most of which was of fair growth, and 

 will well pay the farmer for capital vested, and time and labor 

 spent in raising this noble crop. The fields entered by J. L. 

 Cooper, of Sheffield, and Benjamin Baldwin, of Egremont, 

 would bear a fine comparison with the far-famed wheat fields 

 of the West. 



Of spring wheat, there were twelve entries. Here your 

 committee found it very difficult to decide upon the best piece, 

 a number exceeding any we ever saw before, being of an 

 astonishing growth, ascertaining, also, that it filled well, and 

 yielded bountifully. 



Winter rye is good throughout the county, having a fair 

 growth of straw, long and well filled heads, which bespeak a 

 good reward to the farmer for his labor. There were fifteen 

 entries, all of which were worthy of premium. 

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