REPORT OF THE DELEGATE OF THE STATE BOARD 



OF AGRICULTURE TO THAT BOARD OF HIS 



VISIT TO THE ESSEX SOCIETY'S 



FAIR IN 1888. 



Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : I visited the Essex County 

 Fair, which was held at Peabody ou the 25th day of September, 

 and the weather of the first day was one of the lovely days of 

 this month, and the exhibition of cattle and horses was more 

 then an average in numbers, and one feature of this cattle show 

 as it may be called such, is that the society offer no premiums 

 for trotting horses, perhaps one reason of this is, the society 

 own no grounds to have a track, and hold their fairs in different 

 parts of the county. There was a fine exhibition of fifteen 

 head of full blood Holstein by Mr. Russell, also some fine Dur- 

 hams and a larger number of Jerseys and a few Swiss cattle, 

 and nearly all of the bulls and cows had a printed pedigree 

 tacked on the fence in which they were enclosed. 



I wish to say here, the societ} 7 have a moveable fence which I 

 think other societies might take pattern from and save expense 

 of building new every few years. The show of sheep was 

 small, only three flocks were shown, one of Schropshire and 

 two of South Downs, but were very fine, especially the South 

 Downs owned by the Island stock farm from Bedford Place. 

 The show of swine was quite large, seventeen pens and all 

 breeds represented and worthy of attention, and many of these 

 were pure blood breeds. There were twenty-five yoke of oxen 

 and twenty-one pair of horses, which were made to show their 

 training and ability to work, by each" pair drawing a certain 

 load of stone on a wagon or cart, a certatn distance up hill and 

 down and turning it around twice, which must have needed a 



