PREFACE. 



The same arrangement has been followed in the 

 Abstract o^the returns of the societies, as that adopted 

 in the preceding volumes, that having been found to be, 

 on the whole, the most logical and convenient. But the 

 necessity of condensing more and more has been apparent 

 from the fact that so little that is really new has been 

 presented, or that what has been presented has appeared 

 in too indefinite a form to be of any general practical 

 value. 



Suppose, for instance, a farmer in one section of the 

 Commonwealth offers a statement on some particular 

 crop, and in giving the preparation of the land the 

 previous years uses the term, " loads of manure," without 

 describing what he means by loads. How is a farmer in 

 another section to know how much was applied"? In 

 one section, the most common conveyance is the horse 

 cart, in another an ox cart, and in another a load may 

 mean a cord ; so that the term used conveys no definite 

 and correct idea of how the land was manured. And yet 

 such statements appear to be the rule rather than the 

 exception, and they deserve no place in a volume designed 

 for general use. It is earnestly hoped that this loose way 

 of making such statements will be avoided in future, and 



