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squashes, and for the Plelermy Squash. You thus see wliat 

 was the introduction of what are now the most attractive and 

 important departments of our annual exhibition, and which are 

 now placed under five separate committees, who awarded in 

 1881, 1273 for Fruits, |48 for Flowers, and $138 for 

 Vegetables. 



From 1837 to 1842, it is uncertain from the reports what 

 amount w^as awarded for vegetables, as the exhibitors receiving 

 awards also had fruits or flowers, and what the award was for, 

 is not mentioned. We find, however, that in 1839 there were 

 17 exhibitors of vegetables from 14 towns. In 1842 the 

 Fruit and Flower committee seem to have completely ignored 

 vegetables, as they are not mentioned in their report and 

 received no award, resulting however, favorably for the vege- 

 table department, for the following year a special committee 

 on vegetables was chosen, of which Allen W. Dodge was 

 chairman ; and the report of the transactions of the society of 

 that year contain the first published report, on Vegetables 

 alone, and contains the names of 20 exhibitors, from nine 

 different towns, to whom $8.25 in gratuities were awarded. 

 The chairman reported, that the exhibition was defective in 

 variety — the whole tribe of tap roots being represented by a 

 solitary turnip, and that seemed to belong to no particular 

 owner, though from its dimensions it gave evidence of good 

 cultivation ; of beets and carrots there were no specimens. 

 The squash tribes were fully represented. 



In 1846, at Lynn, the Committee on Fruits and Flowers 

 again had charge of them who awarded 16 to 15 exhibitors ; 

 and in 1847 and 1848 nothing was awarded and no mention 

 made of them. In 1850, Horace Ware, chairman of " Com- 

 mittee on Vegetables," reported that the exhibit was unusually 

 large and fine, 117.50 in gratuities being awarded to 35 

 exhibitors from 13 towns. In 1852, the " Committee on 

 Vegetables," Henry Wheatland, chairman, who had only $10 

 to award in gratuities, to 31 exhibitors from 10 towns, in their 

 report say, " They sincerely trust that this department will 



