NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
151 
(and the wide range of the society renders it expedient 
to make the collection as comprehensive as possible,) 
are requested to forward their contributions as soon as 
practicable. 
The makers of new or improved agricultural imple¬ 
ments—the farmers and planters in this and other 
states who desire to disseminate information in refer¬ 
ence to their operations in stock or grain or other ag¬ 
ricultural products—the friends of horticulture and the 
domestic arts—as well as the publishers of agricultu¬ 
ral journals in this and other states—are respectfully 
requested to lend their influence in promoting the pur¬ 
poses of the State Society, in reference to all or any of 
the above-mentioned projects. The owners of improv¬ 
ed breeds of horses and cattle may also find the state 
agricultural hall a suitable place for exhibiting por¬ 
traits of animals of the several varieties of stock. 
Specimens in every department of natural history and 
science, will be acceptable as contributions for the ag¬ 
ricultural museum. 
Contributions of any kind, in furtherance of the 
specified objects, may be forwarded by the express or 
transportation lines direct to Albany, or may be made 
to either of the following officers of the society, viz: 
John P. Beekman, President, Kinderhook, Columbia 
county; James Lennox of New York; Thomas L. Da¬ 
vies of Dutchess ; J. B. Nott, Thomas Hillhouse, or J. 
M’D. M’lntyre of Albany; George Yail and Alexander 
Walsh of Rensselaer; Henry S. Randall, Cortland; 
Rawson Harmon of Monroe; B. P. Johnson of Oneida; 
E. Kirby of JefFerson ; George J. Pumpelly of Tioga ; 
John Savage of Washington; Joel Rathbone, Luther 
Tucker, and Ezra P. Prentice of iVlbany; and the cor¬ 
responding committees of the State Society, as well as 
the officers of the County Societies, are respectfully re¬ 
quested to co-operate in furtherance of this design. 
The valuable collections in Natural History, result¬ 
ing from the State Geological Survey, are all contained 
in the apartments adjoining the Agricultural Hall in 
the old State House: and the public generally—not 
merely the friends of science, but the political econ¬ 
omists and the business men who are desirous of tra¬ 
cing the connexion of the geological survey with the 
agricultural and other industrial interests of the com¬ 
munity—may find ample repayment for the time em¬ 
ployed in the examination. 
Henry O’Reilly, Recording Sec’y, Albany. 
At a meeting of the Executive Committee, in the city 
of Albany, on Thursday the 15th of February, 1844 
—John P. Beekman, of Columbia, President of the 
State Society, in the chair :. 
After the usual preliminary business, the subject of 
causing a more general publication of the Premium 
List was mentioned, with a view of exciting greater 
attention to the State Fair next fall. 
And, on motion of Mr. Vail, of Rensselaer, the re¬ 
cording secretary was directed to request the corre¬ 
sponding committees to call upon editors in their re¬ 
spective counties, for the purpose of procuring an in¬ 
sertion of that list, as a matter of general interest to 
the farming community. 
Mr. Nott of Albany county, offered a resolution, 
which was adopted, directing the same officer to request 
the editors of agricultural and other journals, to call 
attention to the fact, that the premiums on agricultural 
implements and essays, and a certain portion of the 
premiums offered for horses and cattle, are open to com¬ 
petition from other states. 
It was also resolved, on motion of Mr. Nott, that 
certain “premiums open to competition from other 
states,” whether awarded in the form of medals or 
otherwise, be made equivalent to the cash premiums 
offered on animals confined to the state ofNew York— 
(horses and fat and working cattle being left with pre¬ 
miums already designated.) 
Mr. Mclnt} r re of Albany, suggested a correction, 
which was made accordingly, in the premium list,—pro¬ 
viding that, in the several varieties of sheep, a pen of 
five ewes, instead of a single ewe, be required for the 
premiums offered. 
Mr. Vail moved, and the motion was approved, that, 
whenever age is specified for an animal in the premium 
list, the term be understood as including all over that 
age. 
The President called attention to the propositions for 
legislative aid to establish an agricultural college and 
pattern-farm : 
And Mr. Walsh of Rensselaer county moved that 
a committee be appointed to consider the various prop¬ 
ositions suggested; and to report at the next meeting 
of the executive committee—taking such action mean¬ 
while as circumstances may require. 
Mr. Rathbone of Albany, moved that the recording 
secretary be directed to communicate with the Pough¬ 
keepsie committee in reference to the reservation of 
suitable grounds for the plowing-match, as well as the 
state fair—with the view of temporarily securing sev¬ 
eral locations, from which selections may be made be¬ 
fore the land is required for spring crops—the ground 
for the plowing-match to contain at least thirty acres— 
and to be selected, together with the ground for the 
fair, early in the spring, when the meeting of the ex¬ 
ecutive committee may be held in Poughkeepsie, for 
those and other purposes. 
Mr. Walsh moved that a committee of five, of which 
the president should be chairman, be appointed to call 
upon the state officers immediately, and ascertain what 
portion of the old State House can be assigned to the 
State Agricultural Society, under the concurrent res¬ 
olutions of the last legislature. The committee, con¬ 
sisting of the President, and Messrs. Rathbone, McIn¬ 
tyre, Walsh, and Nott, reported during the day, that the 
hall on the first story, formerly occupied by the comp¬ 
troller, had been designated for the future uses of the 
State Agricultural Society, and the recording secretary 
was directed to have that hall immediately arranged for 
the purposes of the society, and to give public notice of 
the fact—which direction has been complied with. 
On motion of Mr. Nott, a committee of three was 
appointed to examine the essay accompanied by a state¬ 
ment of experiments made by Marcus Adams of Mon¬ 
roe county, in reference to the manufacture of sugar 
from cornstalks. [It may be proper to remark that the 
experiments have been made on such a scale as to en¬ 
able Mr. Adams to declare that he “ sees no good reason 
why the manufacture of sugar may not become as univer¬ 
sal as the raising of corn”—inasmuch “ as every neigh¬ 
borhood can as easily be supplied with its apparatus 
for making sugar as for making cider.”] The com¬ 
mittee consists of Messrs. Nott, Hillhouse, and Rath¬ 
bone. 
A communication was then read from the Massachu¬ 
setts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, which 
was addressed to James S. Wadsworth, late president 
of this society. The communication proffered a dona¬ 
tion of the volumes of the “ Transactions,” published 
formerly by that society, &c. 
On motion of Mr. Nott, the secretary was directed to 
send to the Massachusetts Society a series of volumes 
of Agricultural Transactions of the State ofNew York, 
together with a letter acknowledging the courtesy of 
