NORFOLK SOCIETY. 383 



NORFOLK COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'. 



In obedience to the statutes of the Commonwealth, the 

 President and Secretary of the Norfolk Agricultural Society 

 herewith make return of the doings and expenditures of said 

 society, for the year 1852. 



The income of its funds, the bounty of the Commonwealth, 

 and the exertions of its Trustees, have been devoted, as usual, 

 to the objects enumerated in the act of incorporation, viz.: — 

 "the encouragement of agriculture, horticulture, manufactur- 

 ing and mechanic arts, in the county of Norfolk, by premiums 

 and other means." The progress and usefulness of the society 

 have been commensurate with the promises and expectations 

 of those who established it, and the results are witnessed in 

 the increased interest manifested in agricultural pursuits ; in 

 the improvement of stock ; in the more general care and skill 

 displayed in the cultivation of farms; in the more general dif- 

 fusion of agricultural knowledge ; in the planting of fruit and. 

 ornamental trees, and in the promotion of rural tastes and dis- 

 positions among the people. Since the organization of the 

 society, a large number of animals, of the best breeds, have 

 been brought into the county from foreign countries and other 

 States, and our shows, in this department, compare favorably 

 with those of other and older societies in the Commonwealth. 

 An increased interest is exhibited in the reclamation of lands, 

 and considerable sums have been expended in adding to the 

 appearance and profit of farms in this respect. A much greater 

 attention than formerly, is paid to the cultivation of fruits, and 

 the extensive planting of the apple, the pear and the peach, 

 attest the new spirit which animates the cultivator. The 

 awakened ambition and energy of the farmer, have served also 

 to impel the inventors and manufacturers of agricultural im- 



