Report on Essays. 



Your committee engaged in the duties assigned them, with min- 

 gled emotions of pleasure and anxiety. With pleasure, in view of 

 the bright pages of literatui-e which lay before them to be reviewed, 

 and anxiety lest an unjust award should dampen the zeal of some 

 youtliful essayist. 



For the pui*pose of enjoying the former, and avoiding unpleasant 

 results which would follow the latter, the essays were aU read and 

 portions of them re-read in hearing of the committee, each member 

 marking their merits upon a given scale as they were read, and 

 these markings compared before engaging in any discussion con- 

 cerning their comparative merits. It was a nice point to decide 

 upon the comparative merits of Livermore's and Clark's essays on 

 special farming ; each appeared to understand the subject on which 

 they were writing, and expressed theu- ideas in a very clear and 

 pleasant style. We are of opinion, however, that R. W. Livermore 

 discussed the subject a httle more fully of the two, and the commit- 

 tee were unanimous in awarding to him the first premium on special 

 farming ; the second to John W. Clark, the third to E. B. Smead, 

 the foui-th to Clarence E. Brown. 



The examination of essays on general farming was conducted in 

 the same manner, and the awards were as foUows : first premium 

 to R. W. Livermore, second to Fred N. Summers, third to Clarence 

 E. Brown, fourth to M. M. Hobart. 



The general rules for writing essays are so few that every one 

 should become familiar with them. First. — A complete essay con- 

 tains all facts upon the subject under discussion, in possession of 

 the essayist, and no more. Second. — The form of words in which 

 the ideas or sentiments are arranged, should be that most perfectly 

 understood by the writer. 



L. P. WARNER. 



