8 [Assembly 



addition to which, there were forty-one coops of poultry, consist- 

 ing of fowls of almost every variety — turkeys, geese, ducks, &c. 

 The cattle show of 1852 surpassed any heretofore held by the 

 Institute. The perfection and beauty of the animals very justly 

 elicited general commendation. It is to be regretted that up to 

 this time we have been entirely too limited in the space occupied 

 by us for this important purpose. We have reason to hope that, 

 through the liberality of our municipal authorities, this difficulty 

 may in future be obviated, so that the many who take an interest 

 in this exceedingl)- useful department of our annual fairs, either 

 as exhibitors, connoisseurs or amateurs, will be accommodated 

 with ample space. 



That portion of our fair at Castle Garden, exhibiting the ce- 

 reals and their various preparations, the productions of the dairy, 

 garden vegetables, the fruits and flowers, were all admitted to be 

 of o-reat excellence and beauty. A detailed description will be 

 found among the reports herewith presented. Improvement 

 marks the progress of the husbandman, to some extent, by the 

 adoption of new methods of tillage. The app.lication of fertiliz- 

 ing- materials, founded on the developments of scientific investi- 

 o-ation, is attracting increased attention. The introduction of 

 under-draining, sub-soil plowing, irrigation, and the proper ad- 

 mixture of soils, are found to be helps of great importance, in 

 some instances compensating for their cost in a single season, 

 with accruing permanent advantages; thus bringing into produc- 

 tiveness, sterile fields and pestilential swamps, and restoring their 

 vicinities to that healthfulnessand purity necessary for the abode 

 of man. It has come now to be a settled matter that, with a cbr- 

 rect knowledge of the constituents of the plant and an analysis 

 of his soil, the practical farmer possesses the means of determin- 

 ing, almost with certainty, the ability of his land to produce any 

 desired crop, and how to return to his land the required ingre- 

 dients, should analysis show them to be missing. Without this 

 knowledge, it would seem that the practice of the farmer is a 

 chance matter, founded upon no settled data or rationale. 



Agricultural implements constituted an important and very 

 interesting feature of the fair. So great a vaiiety of useful and 



