690 MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



often find premiums richer than silver and more desirable than 

 cups and spoons. 



"We have left many points untouched, but our time, like 

 that of our friends at Amherst, is full, more than full. Were 

 it as well filled as theirs, we should feel much better satisfied. 



S. REED. 



MR. PROCTOR'S REPORT. 



EXHIBITION OF THE BERKSHIRE SOCIETY. 



This time-honored association held its Annual Show on the 

 6th and 7th days of October. One of the pioneers, as it was, 

 in agricultural enterprise, it is entitled to all the distinction due 

 to discriminating efforts for the good of the public. Thanks 

 to the vigilant yeomanry of Berkshire for the seed thus early 

 planted, which has so grown and flourished that its branches 

 overshadow the land. The late Mr. Webster, when he met 

 his New England friends at Washington, in June last, happily 

 referred to the Berkshire County Society as the file leader of 

 all others in our land, and gave the endorsement of his match- 

 less intellect to the utility of these county organizations. Let 

 those who have the rashness to question their value, reflect on 

 their own comparative ability to judge. 



Fortunately there are those still living who participated in 

 the formation of this society, who are able to relate intelligibly 

 the adventures of their youth. It was our privilege to meet 

 one of these venerable men, with locks whitened by the frosts 

 of seventy winters, and hands hardened by the toils of half a 

 century, but with mind and memory bright as a morning in 

 June. Since our visit, a highly interesting pamphlet of sixty 

 pages, published by Elkanah Watson, Esq., the first Presi- 

 dent of the Society, in 1819, has come to hand, giving the de- 

 tails of the origin of this society, as well as many useful hints 

 for the formation and management of such societies ; indicat- 

 ing a clear apprehension of the benefits to be derived from 

 them. There is much to be learned before our ideas on these 

 subjects will be as comprehensive as were those of our fathers. 



