158 



ESSAYS AND REPORTS. 



The Comniittee to award premiums for Essays and Reports 

 would report that it is not easy to discriminate between so 

 many very meritorious reports as have been made the present 

 year, among which are those on Milch Cows, Swine, Bread 

 and Honey, Small Fruits, &c. On one or two of these, 

 considerable labor has apparently been bestowed, and it is not 

 ■ impossible that your Committee may not have discriminated 

 wisely in not including some one of them as among those 

 which should receive premiums. They would have given a 

 premium to the Chairman of the Committee of Delegates, for 

 his report upon the workings of the local Farmers' Clubs, but, 

 under the rules of the Society, no piemiums can be given for 

 reports which are not upon the subjects for which the Society 

 offers premiums. Taking all things into account, the Com- 

 mittee decided to award the premiums as follows : — 



For Reports, — first premium, $10, to Joseph How, of 

 Methuen, for his Report on the new variety of Winter Apples, 

 which contains valuable ideas upon the utility of cross-grafting 

 and improving apples. 



Second premium of -18 to Benj. P. Ware, for his report 

 upon Farms, as embodying, in an interesting form, facts in 

 the experience of others, the tendency of which is to encour- 

 age intelligent farming by the young men of Esse.x County. 



Third premium, $6, to Aaron Low, for his report upon root 

 crops. 



Two essays were offered. One was upon the cultivation of 

 Grass, the other upon Attractive Homes. Though these were 

 very good in themselves, the Committee had doubts whether 

 either of them contained information or ideas sufficiently new 

 or striking to entitle them to a premium. As they consid- 

 ered, however, that increased attractiveness to farmers' homes 

 was a subject to which increased attention could be given with 

 real advantage to the farmers' families, and as the essay 

 upon this subject contained some results from actual experi- 



