and even in the state of Massachusetts, so rarious our local situ- 

 ations, that each section must adopt a system, in some respects 

 peculiar to itself. 



The society, which I now have the honor of addressing, 

 while desirous of diffusing information and of encouraging the 

 interest of agriculture in general; yet in its formation and in 

 the progress of its measures, has had a primary regard to the 

 advantage of the county of Essex. As every district in the 

 Commonwealth has its advantages and disadvantages, the soil 

 various, and that article may be cultivated in one, unsuited to 

 another ; it would be for the interest of husbandry in general, 

 that societies should be as numerous as our districts. Even in 

 the county in which we dwell, certain portions enjoy advan- 

 tages denied to others. Farms located near populous towns, or 

 the sea shore, can be furnished with manure with greater fa- 

 cility than in the country. General principles in agriculture 

 may be established and recommended, but specific rules are as 

 various as the location of farms, which the judgment and discre- 

 tion of the manager must search out and prescribe for himself. 



The farms in this county (with exceptions not numerous) 

 consist of from forty to an hundred and forty acres of land. In 

 experiments and researches, is not special reference to be had 

 to the interest of the farmer, and what can be accomplished by 

 this class of the community ? A gentleman, with a capital, may 

 gratify his taste and curiosity in conducting his farm. With him, 

 it is immaterial, in his mode of cultivation, whether he is re- 

 munerated for his expense or not. Not so w^th the common 

 farmer. In any particular method of manuring and cultivating 

 recommended, the first enquiry is, what will be the clear gain, 

 and shall I realize it at the end of the first or second year? 

 It is to Jbe remembered by our cultivators generally in Essex, 

 tliat the farm is their dependence ; nor can they adopt any sys- 

 tem of husbandry which will not give tciem an im'nediate profit. 



The gentleman of capital, whose farm is his amusement, may 

 wa t years for his reward. The common farmer wants his pay 

 down. Plans of improvement have been recommended, practi- 

 cable indeed to the man of wealth, but wholly uninteresting to 

 the mass of farmers in Essex, because beyond their ability, 



