82 



die of the hall, narrowing and receding as they rose, the low- 

 est shelf for the larger specimens, such as squashes and pump- 

 kins, the next cabbages, then root products, then potatoes, 

 then onions, and thus continuing till all weie provided for. 

 Each contributor might have his section, large or small, ac- 

 cording to the extent of his collection, where it could be seen 

 together. Then all specimens of the same vegetables exhibited 

 by the several competitors, would be in a line together, extend- 

 ing round or through the hall, and could be more easily com- 

 pared by the Committee. Visitors, too, specially interested 

 in any particular vegetable, could have it before them by pass- 

 ing round the hall, could see the names of its different culti- 

 vators and see its different varieties, and would thus avoid the 

 difficulty now so generally experienced in selecting it from the 

 different collections in different parts of the hall, and carrying 

 it in the mind, but not in the eye, from one part to another. 

 The shelves, with the uprights to support them, should be 

 made of good materials, and so contrived as to be put up with- 

 out nails or anything to damage them. Well painted and 

 carefully housed, they would last a lifetime. 



No statements are required from contributors of vegetables 

 as to their methods of I'aising them and the yield of the same. 

 Indeed, these details which go to the very foundation of good 

 and profitable cultivation, are all passed over to another de- 

 partment, that of root crops, and the furnishing of them is 

 made a condition on which premiums are awarded. These 

 two departments, while embracing the same articles for consid- 

 eration, are distinct from each other. The one encourages the 

 display of the best specimens of vegetables, without reference 

 to the method or expense of production — the other bestows its 

 approval on the largest yield per acre at the least cost. The 

 one has to do only with the product itself — the other with pro- 

 cesses and cost as well. Hence, a more interesting and in- 

 structive report can be made in the latter than the former de- 

 partment. Still the latter has this compensation, it appeals 

 directly to the sight. To the eye it tells its story, and seeing 



