MARKET DAYS. 32T 



season is unusually favorable, and consequently the plan in 

 question, enabling us to grow the fruit to unusual size, and to 

 anticipate by at least two weeks the time of ripening, deserves 

 attention. The process consists in what is called " ringing the 

 vine," which is, simply, removing from the bearing shoot below 

 the fruit, and when the grapes are about half grown, a ring of 

 bark, half an inch wide. By this means, the sap being inter, 

 rupted in its descent, stimulates the ripening clusters, and 

 forces them to increased and luxuriant growth and early matu- 

 rity. This method might doubtless be applied to all kinds of 

 fruit, but, involving as it does, at the end of the season, the loss 

 of the shoot so treated, it will probably be advisable to adopt it 

 only in the cultivation of the grape, or perhaps the grape and 

 peach - 



Charles A. Hewins, Chairman. 



MARKET DAYS. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



PRIZE ESSAY ON FAIRS. 



BY A. W. DODGE, OF HAMILTON. 



In offering its prize for the best essay on the advantages to 

 be derived from establishing regular fairs or market-days 

 throughout the State, for the sale and exchange of agricultural 

 products, it is presumed that the society did not mean to con- 

 sider the question as settled in favor of such fairs ; but wished 

 rather to elicit inquiry into their merits as compared with the 

 prevailing modes of disposing of the products of the farm ; and 

 if, upon a careful and candid consideration of the question, it 

 should be found that there were sufficient and weighty reasons 

 for the establishing of such fairs, that then some practical plan 

 should be proposed for this purpose. 



These fairs or market days, which in fact are nothing more 

 than a periodical concourse of people at a stated place, for 

 selling and buying agricultural commodities and for hiring 

 laborers, have long been in successful operation in Great 



