344 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



Another important question, and one requiring much care 

 and deliberation in deciding it, is, how often and where shall 

 these fairs be held ? It is clear that this must be left with some 

 body of men, in whom the public have confidence. The dif- 

 ferent agricultural societies that receive the bounty of the 

 Commonwealth, and are required to make an annual return 

 to it of their transactions, might be requested to take upon 

 themselves this duty. Composed as these societies very gen- 

 erally are of farmers, they have the confidence of the farmers, 

 and they can best fix the times and places of the fairs, with the 

 proper discretion. By their trustees, or by committees chosen 

 for the purpose, they might exercise the necessary power with 

 regard to the whole matter, with but little danger of its being 

 abused. They should in the first place, map out the county, 

 and then select such points as would best accommodate the 

 population, having reference to railroad and other facilities. 

 The railroad companies could well afford to encourage the fairs, 

 by charging but half price to those who pass over their roads 

 to their market. To make this matter more specific, let us 

 take for example the County of Essex — that being the county 

 with which the writer is most familiar — and let four towns be 

 fixed upon as near as may be to its four corners, as the places 

 where monthly fairs or market days shall be held throughout 

 the year. Such four places might be Danvers, (at the Plains,) 

 Ipswich, Newburyport, and North Andover, (at Sutton's Mills.) 

 Three of these towns have at least two railroads running 

 directly to or through them ; and one, Ipswich, has the Eastern 

 Railroad passing through its centre. Having settled upon 

 these towns and the points in them, at which the market could 

 best be held, on the first Wednesday in January let a market 

 be held at Danvers, due notice having been given to that effect. 

 On the second Wednesday in January let a market come off at 

 Ipswich ; the third Wednesday at Newburyport, and the fourth 

 Wednesday at North Andover, and so go through each month 

 in the year, observing the same order as to the days. In this 

 way it would soon be known that the first Wednesday of every 

 month was market day at Danvers ; and so of the other towns, 

 they would always have the same Wednesday in the month 

 for their market day. At first these markets might not be 

 so fully attended, but still they should be observed, rain or 



