40 



though we have nothing to give Mr. Herrick, yet we trust t^ 

 will feel rewarded for his trouble in exhibiting them, by the 

 thought that he has done something toward adding to the in- 

 terest of the exhibition. 



We award to I. W. Andrew, of West Boxford, the premium 

 for the best lambs, " Harris's Insects." Mr. Andrew's sheep 

 are the South Down, and by many called fine wooled. ' Al- 

 though the wool is short, yet, for fineness it cannot be classed 

 with the Merino and the Saxony. We hope the Society will 

 next year avoid this difficulty of classing, by offering premiums 

 for the best lot of the different breeds of sheep. 



Mr. Franklin Putnam, of North Andover, entered a lot of 

 Oxford Down Sheep, but not enough of them, according to the 

 rules of the Society, to entitle them to a premium. These 

 sheep did not look so well as those of this breed which we 

 have been accustomed to see at our exhibitions, in years past. 

 It is an important question for the farmers of this county to 

 decide which is the best breed for us, and we can not decide it 

 fairly till we have tested them more fully. 



The Chairman of the Committee would state that he has not 

 had an opportunity to consult with the other members in re- 

 gard to the opinions he expresses ; but in the awards, they were 

 united in their views. 



We would refer to the able report upon sheep, made last year ; 

 and while we would commend much that is said there, we dissent 

 from many of the views expressed. The report says, "In 

 sheep-husbandry it is evident that wool is the primary and 

 mutton the secondary object." We maintain that in this coun- 

 ty mutton or lamb is the primary object, and wool the second- 

 ary. 



Sheep-husbandry, to be successful here, must be managed 

 somewhat in the same way that our market gardeners manage 

 their businets. The first inquiry with them is, what can we 

 grow that can not be transported from a distance, for where 

 land is high it will not pay to raise those articles that wilj 

 keep, or that enter largely into the commerce of the world.^ 



