24 THE HISTORY OF THE 



Upon the death of Henry Colman, on August 14, 1849, 

 by his bequest the Society came into possession of his 

 valuable private library of agricultural works, European 

 as well as American, 518 volumes and many pamphlets. 

 Pickering Dodge, the Salem merchant, donated 53 vol- 

 umes, and 37 volumes had been received in purchase. 

 This library was kept at the City Hall in Salem for a 

 time, then removed to the Court House, and some years 

 since was deposited with the Essex Institute In Salem. 



John W. Proctor's statement, in his Address in 1844, 

 regarding the abolition of the drink habit on the farm, 

 is of especial interest : 



Twenty-five years since, and nine-tenths of our farmers 

 were more or less in bondage to alcohol. I do not mean 

 so many of them were intemperate, in the ordinary sense 

 of the term, but that they were in the habit of using 

 that which was not necessary to be used — to the great 

 detriment of themselves and their estates. Where will 

 the farmer now be found, who will unblushingly say, 

 before he commences his haying, that he must lay in as 

 many gallons, or even quarts of spirit, as he expects to 

 cure tons of hay? Or that his men cannot commence 

 mowing in the morning without their hitters; — proceed 

 at eleven o'clock without their grog; — or load in the 

 afternoon without their bumper; — not to mention the 

 grosser indulgences of the evening. Time was when 

 these customs, by whatever name they were called, were 



as familiar as househould gods. But manners 



have changed with times. 



1850—1860. 



During this decade the Transactions, which had been 

 gradually increasing in size, reached a maximum of some 

 224 octavo pages annually at its close, with an occasional 

 exception, the largest size ever attained. In addition 

 to the Address, which was given usually in some church, 

 with appropriate religious exercises, generous provision 

 was made for the detailed reports of the various commit- 



