94 HAMPDEN SOCIETY. 



HAMPDEN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



In the remarks accompanying the returns of this Society, it is 

 said, "the third Exhibition of this Society has proved highly 

 successful. In all the substantial and important departments, it 

 presented a marked improvement upon either of the former 

 Fairs, and unmistakable tokens were given, that the interest 

 in, and influences of, the Society are rapidly extending through- 

 out the county. Some of the best animals in the field were 

 from the mountains of Chester, and they took the premiums 

 from the towns here in the valley of the Connecticut. The two 

 days of exhibition passed off pleasantly and profitably. 



" In reference to farming, there are two things of crowning 

 importance, which, well carried out, will advance the interests of 

 agriculture amongst us incalculably, and without which, the 

 work contemplated by the Society, in its establishment, must 

 remain unfinished. The^;-5^ is a survey of the county, on the 

 basis of agricultural chemistry. An examination of the soil, 

 to ascertain its characteristics and peculiarities, its adaptedness 

 to particular manures, and its general capabilities, is a desidera- 

 tum that ought not to be postponed. The earth, the soil, is the 

 great instrumentality of the farmer ; an accurate knowledge of 

 it is as important to him, as such a knowledge of iron is to him 

 who works in iron, or of Avood to him who works in wood. 

 For the want of this knowledge, how inefficient and incomplete 

 is the cultivation of the soil, and how much manure is every 

 year wasted and misapplied ! An analysis of soils should be 

 entered upon as one of the leading objects of the Society, not 

 to be lost sight of by any consideration. It lies at the founda- 

 tion of the farmer's success. 



" The other object, is the offering of suitable premiums for farms 

 under the best management and cultivation, with a view to ex- 

 tent, value and economy. Premiums of this kind have been 

 annually offered by the Society, but they have not been such as 



