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THE  HISTORY 

ef  the 

ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 

1818— 1918 


The  History 


of  the 


Essex  Agricultural  Society 


of 


Essex  County,  Massachusetts 


1818—1918 


by 


THOMAS  FRANKLIN  WATERS 


Published  by  the  Trustees 
1918 


UNlVERsifToF 
I^IASSACHUSETTS 


AMHERST,  MASS. 


NEWCOMB    &   GAUSS 
.  .  PRINTERS . . 
SALEM,    MASS. 


The  History  of  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society 


The  earliest  Societies  for  the  Advancement  of  Agri- 
culture in  America  were  established  in  1785  in  South 
Carolina  and  in  Pennsylvania.  The  Philadelphia  So- 
ciety was  organized  in  March  of  that  year,  became  in- 
active after  a  few  vigorous  years,  but  was  revived  and 
incorporated  in  1809. 

The  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agri- 
culture was  incorporated  in  1792,  the  first  of  its  kind 
in  the  Commonwealth  and  in  America.  Having  raised  a 
fund  by  annual  assessments  and  by  subscription  amount- 
ing to  $4,000,  it  proceeded  to  import  valuable  animals  to 
improve  the  domestic  stock,  to  study  the  improvement 
of  agricultural  implements,  and,  in  1797,  to  establish 
the  Agricultural  Journal,  which  was  continued  more  than 
thirty  years.  It  promoted  the  establishment  of  County 
Societies,  contributed  to  the  founding  of  a  Professorship 
of  Natural  History  and  the  institution  of  the  Botanical 
Garden  at  Harvard  College,  and  erected  a  hall  in  Brigh- 
ton for  the  exhibition  of  domestic  manufactures  and 
agricultural  products.  In  the  year  1818  it  began  a  series 
of  addresses  by  eminent  men. 

The  first  County  Society  to  be  organized  was  the 
Western  Society  of  Middlesex  Husbandmen.  It  was  in- 
corporated February  28,  1803.  Its  name  was  changed 
to  the  Society  of  Middlesex  Husbandmen  and  Manufac- 
turers January  24,  1830.  The  Berkshire  Agricultural 
Society  was  incorporated  February  19,  1818;  the  Wor- 
cester Agricultural  Society,  February  23,  1818. 

The  men  of  Essex  were  already  moving.  An  adver- 
tisement appeared  in  the  Salem  Gazette  on  February  6, 
1818: 

The  Farmers  and  others  in  the  County  of  Essex,  who 
are  desirous  of  promoting  the  Agricultural  interests,  are 


4  THE  HISTORY  OP  THE 

requested  to  meet  at  the  Hotel  in  Topsfield  on  Monday, 
the  16th  day  of  February  current  at  eleven  o'clock  A.  M. 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  AGRICULTURAL  SO- 
CIETY FOR  THE  COUNTY  OF  ESSEX,  in  aid  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Society.  As  the  object  of 
this  meeting  is  important,  it  is  hoped  there  will  be  a 
general  attendance. 

Another  notice  appeared  in  the  Gazette  of  February 
13th: 


Those  gentlemen  in  Salem  or  its  Vicinity  who  are  dis- 
posed to  organize  the  proposed  Essex  Agricultural 
Society  are  requested  to  meet  at  the  Essex  Coffee  House 
To-MORROW  (Saturday)  Afternoon  at  3  o'clock  to  de- 
liberate on  the  subject  previous  to  the  general  meeting 
to  be  held  at  the  Topsfield  Hotel  on  Monday  next. 

Pursuant  to  this  invitation,  a  company  of  practical 
farmers,  about  twenty  in  number,  met  at  Cyrus  Cum- 
mings's  tavern  in  Topsfield.  Mr.  John  W.  Proctor  of 
South  Danvers,  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  for  many 
years,  in  his  address  in  1844,  recalled  their  names: 

John  Adams  of  Andover. 

Hobart  Clark  of  Andover. 

Aaron  Perley  of  Boxford. 

Amos  Perley  of  Boxford. 

James  Kimball  of  Bradford. 

Dr.  Andrew  Nichols  of  Danvers. 

Daniel  Putnam  of  Danvers. 

Eleazar  Putnam  of  Danvers. 

George  Osgood  of  Danvers. 

Temple  Cutler  of  Hamilton. 

Robert  Dodge  of  Newbury. 

Paul  Kent  of  Newbury. 

Orlando  B.  March  of  Newbury. 

Enoch  Tappan  of  Newbury. 

Stephen  Tappan  of  Newbury. 

Stephen  Mighill  of  Rowley. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  & 

David  Cummings  of  Salem. 

Elisha  Mack  of  Salem. 

Ichabod  Tucker  of  Salem. 

John  Peabody  of  Topsfield. 

Jacob  Towne  Jr.  of  Topsfield. 

Ichabod  Tucker  Esq.  was  chosen  Moderator,  and 
David  Cummings  Esq.  Secretary  of  the  meeting.  Quot- 
ing from  the  Records : 

A  Committee  of  Five  was  appointed  to  take  the  sub- 
ject of  forming  a  Society  for  the  County  of  Essex  into 
consideration  and  make  report  to  this  meeting  as  soon 
as  might  be  convenient.  The  following  gentlemen  were 
appointed  said  committee,  viz.: 

Ichabod  Tucker  Esq.,  Capt.  Paul  Kent,  David  Cum- 
mings Esq.,  John  Adams  Esq.,  and  Elisha  Mack  Esq. 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  for  an  hour.  The 
Committee  after  due  deliberation  upon  the  subject  at 
said  adjournment  made  their  report. 

Evidently  the  preliminary  caucus  at  the  Coffee  House 
in  Salem  had  made  wise  preparation,  and  the  Committee 
was  able  to  report  at  once  that  it  was  expedient  to  form 
such  a  Society,  and  to  submit  a  proposed  series  of  Rules 
and  Regulations.  Their  report  was  adopted  unani- 
mously. Two  articles  of  the  Rules  are  of  especial  in- 
terest, as  indicative  of  the  scope  of  the  new  organiza- 
tion. 

Article  8.  The  Trustees  shall  regulate  all  the  con- 
cerns of  the  Society  during  the  intervals  of  its  meetings ; 
propose  such  objects  of  improvement  to  the  attention  of 
the  public,  publish  such  communications  and  offer  such 
premiums  in  such  form  and  value  as  they  shall  think 
proper,  provided  the  premiums  offered  do  not  exceed 
the  funds  of  the  Society.     .     .     . 

Article  16.  A  Committee  shall  be  raised  from  time 
to  time,  severally  to  solicit  and  receive  subscriptions  for 
raising  a  fund  for  encouraging  the  noblest  of  pursuits, 
the  agriculture  of  our  country,  the  same  to  be  sacredly 
appropriated  to  that  purpose. 


6  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  following  officers  were  chosen : 

President, 
Hon.  Timothy  Pickering. 

Vice-Presidents, 

William  Bartlett,  Esq. 

Hon.  Thomas  Kittredge. 

Hon.  John  Heard. 

Ichabod  Tucker,  Esq. 

Recording  Secretary, 
Benjamin  R.  Nichols,  Esq. 

Corresponding  Secretary, 
Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall. 

Treasurer, 
Hon.  Nehemiah  Cleaveland. 

Voted  that  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  pub- 
lished in  all  the  Newspapers  printed  in  the  County  of 
Essex  and  in  such  Boston  papers  as  the  Secretary  of 
this  meeting  may  direct. 

The  Salem  Gazette  of  February  20th  made  compli- 
mentary editorial  comment: 

It  will  give  pleasure  to  the  friends  of  the  country  to 
observe  that  a  Society  is  formed  in  the  County  of  Essex 
for  the  promotion  and  improvement  of  Agriculture,  the 
real  basis  of  individual  and  national  wealth  and  pros- 
perity, and  that  that  scientific  and  practical  farmer,  the 
Hon.  Timothy  Pickering,  (who  assisted  many  years  ago 
in  the  formation  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Phila- 
delphia and  of  which  he  is  still  a  member)  has  been 
elected  its  first  President.  It  will  be  recollected  that  at 
Brighton  the  exhibitions  of  our  Essex  farmers  have  made 
no  mean  figure  and  in  some  instances  borne  away  the 
prizes.  The  celebrated  Oakes  Cow  of  Danvers  has  been 
commemorated  by  the  art  of  the  engraver. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  7 

Meeting  again  on  May  6th  the  Society  chose  Ichabod 
Tucker,  Treasurer,  in  place  of  Dr.  Cleaveland,  resigned, 
and 

Voted,  That  all  the  ordained  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
who  reside  within  the  County  of  Essex  be  admitted  Hon- 
orary Members  of  the  Society. 

A  committee  was  chosen  to  petition  for  incorporation, 
and  the  charter  was  granted  June  12,  1818. 

On  February  10,  1819,  the  Treasurer  reported  that 
117  members  were  enrolled.  David  Cummings  was  chosen 
Recording  and  Corresponding  Secretary,  Hon.  Daniel  A. 
White,  Treasurer.  Frederick  Howes  Esq.  succeeded  Mr. 
Cummings  in  February,  1820,  and  he  was  succeeded  in 
1821  by  John  W.  Proctor  of  Danvers,  who  held  the  office 
with  distinguished  ability  for  many  years.  Mr.  White 
resigned  and  Benjamin  R.  Nichols  was  chosen  Treasurer 
in  1823,  Benjamin  Merrill  in  1824,  and  Dr.  Andrew 
Nichols  in  1828,  who  held  the  office  until  1841. 

It  was  a  happy  omen  for  the  success  of  the  Essex 
Agricultural  Society  that  its  President  and  its  inspiring 
genius  was  the  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering.  A  graduate  of 
Harvard  in  the  class  of  1763,  he  chose  the  legal  profes- 
sion and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  After  distinguished 
military  service  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  he  removed 
from  Salem,  his  birthplace  and  early  home,  to  his  wild 
lands  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  Wyoming  Valley,  where  he 
secured  the  organization  of  Luzerne  County.  Called  from 
his  retirement  in  1791,  he  became  Postmaster  General  in 
Washington's  cabinet,  Secretary  of  War  in  1795,  and  in 
December  of  the  same  year  Secretary  of  State.  At  the 
completion  of  his  term  of  office,  in  1800,  he  returned  to 
his  lands  in  Pennsylvania,  but  soon  removed  to  Essex 
County,  through  the  kindness  of  friends,  who  purchased 
his  land  holdings. 

In  his  old  home  fresh  honors  awaited  him.  He  became 
Chief  Justice  of  the  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in 


8  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

1802,  was  elected  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  in  1803, 
and  re-elected  in  1805,  and  served  as  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  1813  to  1817.  His  public 
political  life  was  now  ended,  and  having  purchased  a 
small  farm  in  Wenham,  he  devoted  himself  to  agricul- 
ture with  the  same  intensity  which  had  characterized 
his  political  career.  He  had  been  the  Secretary  of  the 
Philadelphia  Agricultural  Society  and  had  been  an  influ- 
ential factor,  it  is  said,  in  the  organization  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Society  of  Agriculture. 

The  Vice-Presidents  were  exceptionally  fit  men  to  give 
prestige  to  the  new  Society.  William  Bartlett,  a  wealthy 
Newburyport  merchant,  owned  a  great  farm  in  Methuen ; 
John  Heard,  the  Ipswich  merchant,  was  an  enterprising 
farmer  as  well ;  Dr.  Kittredge  of  North  Andover  and 
Ichabod  Tucker  of  Salem  joined  agriculture  to  their  usual 
vocations. 

Leverett  Saltonstall,  the  Secretary,  was  a  commanding 
figure  in  the  legal  and  political  world.  Gorham  Parsons 
Esq.,  the  wealthy  proprietor  of  the  great  Fatherland 
farm  in  Byfield,  was  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  the  soil. 

The  year  1818  was  a  fitting  time  for  the  birth  of  the 
Essex  Society.  It  was  an  era  of  bewilderment  and  dis- 
couragement. The  Indian  corn  crop  had  suffered  great 
damage  from  frost  in  the  autumn  of  1812,  and  almost 
total  destruction  in  the  fall  of  1816.  Confidence  in  the 
reliability  of  the  great  staple  was  shaken,  and  there  was 
an  idea  more  or  less  current  that  it  was  injurious  to  the 
soil. 

The  American  consul  at  Lisbon,  seeing  the  value  of 
the  Merino  sheep  had  sent  home  to  Vermont  large  flocks 
of  this  breed  in  1809-1811.  The  Salem  Gazette  of  Sept. 
18, 1810,  noted  the  arrival  of  imported  sheep  at  Newbury- 
port for  the  Northern  States,  150  Merinos  with  a  shep- 
herd and  his  dog.  A  vessel  had  sailed  from  Marblehead 
for  Spain  to  secure  a  cargo  of  sheep.  A  brig  had  arrived 
at  New  York  from  Cadiz  with  180  sheep  and  a  ship 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  9 

broker  of  Newburyport  had  imported  a  flock  of  ninety. 
The  Essex  Merino  Sheep  Company  was  organized.  It 
imported  largely,  rented  farms  in  various  parts  of  the 
County,  and  placed  the  flocks  under  the  care  of  shepherds 
brought  from  Spain.  Many  farmers  disposed  of  their 
native  flocks  and  invested  in  the  new  breed.  But  the 
foot-rot  and  scab  appeared  and  made  sad  ravages.  The 
agents  of  the  company  proved  incompetent  and  some- 
times dishonest.  The  company  became  bankrupt,  the 
flocks  were  scattered.  Choice  rams  or  ewes  that  had 
cost  a  thousand  or  fourteen  hundred  dollars  had  died  or 
were  sold  for  a  trifle.  Many  farmers  lost  heavily  and 
the  Merino  mania  became  a  by-word  for  wild  and  ruinous 
speculation. 

The  common  farmers  were  plodding  along  in  the  ways 
of  their  fathers.  Their  tools  were  clumsy  and  inefficient, 
largely  home  made  or  hammered  out  by  the  neighboring 
blacksmith.  The  sheet-iron  shovel  was  patented  in  1819 
and  the  shovel  of  cast  steel  in  1828.  The  first  American 
patent  for  improvement  in  hoes  was  registered  in  1819, 
and  the  cast  steel  hoe  appeared  in  1827.  The  light  and 
efficient  steel  spring  pitchfork  was  invented  by  Charles 
Goodyear  in  1831.  Samples  of  the  old  tools  that  have 
been  preserved  are  of  burdensome  weight  and  easily 
bent,  as  they  were  made  of  soft  iron. 

The  old  plough,  with  its  wooden  mould  board  covered 
with  thin  strips  of  iron,  with  an  iron  coulter,  was  still 
in  vogue.  It  was  often  home  made  and  so  ill  contrived 
that  three  or  four  yoke  of  oxen  were  required  in  breaking 
up  heavy  ground.  The  iron  plough  had  been  invented 
many  years  before,  but  found  little  favor.  As  late  as 
1835,  it  is  said.  Sir  Robert  Peel  presented  two  iron 
ploughs  of  the  best  construction  to  a  famous  club  in 
England.  On  his  next  visit  the  old  wooden  ploughs  were 
still  in  use.  "Sir,"  said  a  member,  "we  tried  the  iron 
and  be  all  of  one  mind  that  they  made  the  weeds  grow." 
Charles  Newbold  of  New  Jersey  took  out  a  patent  for 


10  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

an  iron  plough  in  1797,  but  after  spending  $30,000  in 
his  effort  to  bring  it  into  common  use,  abandoned  the 
attempt,  as  the  farmers  persisted  in  declaring  that  the 
iron  plough  poisoned  the  soil  and  prevented  the  growth 
of  crops.^ 

Benjamin  P.  Ware,  born  in  1824,  in  an  address  to  the 
Society,  drew  a  vivid  picture  of  the  farmer  of  his  boy- 
hood days.  Incessant  physical  toil  and  great  muscular 
strength  were  the  chief  essentials.  The  farmer  who  was 
determined  to  succeed  had  to  mow  the  broadest  swath, 
hoe  the  hardest  row,  work  the  longest  hours,  and  always 
lead  and  spur  his  laggard  men.  The  striped  frock  and 
heavy  cowhide  boots  were  his  only  livery. 

There  was  crying  need  of  a  clearing  house  of  agri- 
culture, as  it  were,  a  common  medium  of  information 
which  should  gather  up  the  methods  of  the  most  alert 
and  progressive  farmers,  the  results  of  the  latest  experi- 
ments with  crops  and  new  tools  and  improved  breeds, 
and  bring  them  home  to  every  farmer  in  every  nook  and 
corner  of  Essex  County,  and  teach  him  how  to  make  his 
head  help  his  hand.  This  was  the  great  task  the  Essex 
Society  set  for  itself. 

Its  first  method  was  publication.  Abundant  and  in- 
spiring material  was  not  lacking.  Col.  Pickering's  first 
paper,  read  at  a  meeting  on  May  5,  1818,  was  published 
at  once  in  pamphlet  form.  In  this  practical  document 
he  reported  his  visit  to  Danvers  to  see  the  famous  Oakes 
cow.  Some  years  before,  Caleb  Oakes  had  bought  a  mon- 
grel cow  from  a  herd  on  its  way  from  Maine  to  Brighton. 
She  had  developed  extraordinary  butter-making  quali- 
ties and  had  taken  the  premium  at  the  Cattle  Show  of 
1816,  held  by  the  Massachusetts  Society  in  Brighton. 
Root  crops  were  beginning  to  receive  attention.  He  had 
raised  about  half  a  ton  of  the  new  Mangel  Wurtzel  and 
was  so  well  pleased  with  the  result  that  he  had  brought 


^U.  S.  Census  Report,  1860. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  11 

a  package  of  seed  for  every  member  of  the  Society  who 
desired  it.  He  recommended  the  culture  of  Swedish  tur- 
nips as  well. 

In  his  address  to  the  Society  in  1820  he  called  atten- 
tion to  the  great  crop  of  carrots  raised  by  Erastus  Ware 
in  1817  on  the  Pickman  farm  in  Salem,  752  bushels, 
weighing  18%  tons,  on  one  acre ;  commented  on  the  flat 
culture  of  corn  as  preferable  to  hilling;  remarked  upon 
the  Arbuthnot  iron  plough,  and  quoted  at  length  from 
the  foremost  English  authorities  on  farming.  The  se- 
ries of  publications  thus  begun  has  been  continued,  with 
a  few  interruptions,  to  the  present  day,  and  constitutes 
probably  the  largest  and  most  helpful  contribution  to 
the  literature  of  agriculture  made  by  any  County  Society 
in  the  Commonwealth,  and  perhaps  in  the  country. 

The  second  method  adopted  by  the  Society  was  the 
Cattle  Show,  already  popular  in  other  localities.  Its  first 
venture  in  this  field  was  at  Topsfield,  the  most  central 
point  in  the  County  in  the  days  of  stage  travel,  on  October 
5th,  1820.  Dr.  Andrew  Nichols  of  Danvers,  physician 
and  skilled  farmer,  made  a  noteworthy  address,  in  which 
he  made  keen  disclosures  of  the  shortcomings  of  the 
average  farmer,  his  error  in  attempting  to  cultivate  too 
many  acres,  his  deplorable  neglect  of  the  garden  and 
orchard,  and  with  prophetic  foresight  declared  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  County  would  be  promoted  by  the 
establishment  of  an  Agricultural  Academy.  It  i^  an 
interesting  coincidence,  that  when  the  day  came,  nearly 
a  century  later,  and  an  Essex  County  Agricultural  School 
was  opened,  it  was  near  neighbor  to  Dr.  Nichols's  farm. 
His  closing  appeal  to  the  Society,  "to  prevent  our  annual 
cattle  show  from  becoming  scenes  of  riots,  drunkenness, 
gambling,  cheating  and  dissipation,"  is  a  suggestive  pic- 
ture of  the  typical  Cattle  Show  then  in  vogue. 

In  the  published  Transactions  there  were  included, 
beside  the  Address,  the  Reports  of  Committees  on 
Working  Oxen  and  Neat  Cattle,  on  Fat  Oxen  and  Swine, 


12  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

on  Indian  Corn  and  Potatoes,  on  Manures,  and  on  the 
Dairy.  Premiums  were  awarded  to  Tristram  Little  of 
Newbury,  for  raising  IO31/2  bushels  of  corn  on  an  acre, 
and  to  John  Dwinell  of  Salem  for  398V2  bushels  of  pota- 
toes on  an  acre.  Interesting  statements  of  experiments 
with  corn  and  potatoes  and  manures  were  made.  But 
the  most  notable  feature  was  the  ploughing  match. 

The  Committee  agreed  to  award  the  first  premium  to 
the  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering  on  account  of  the  superior 
performance  and  superior  utility  of  his  plough.  They 
think  also  that  great  credit  is  due  to  Gorham  Parsons 
Esq.  for  the  performance  by  his  plough  from  his  Byfield 
Farm  and  award  to  him  the  second  premium. 

Years  afterwards  the  venerable  Dr.  Nehemiah  Cleave- 
land  of  Topsfield,  in  his  address  in  1865,  remarked,  "I 
well  remember  the  tall  and  venerable  form  of  our  first 
President  as  I  saw  him  holding  his  own  plough  on  that 
occasion." 

For  the  Cattle  Show  in  1821  premiums  were  offered 
on  The  Management  of  a  Farm,  Crops  for  Cows,  Cider, 
and  on  Sumac,  "to  any  person  who  can  prove  on  not  less 
than  half  an  acre  that  either  species  of  sumac,  exten- 
sively used  in  morocco  leather,  can  be  profitably  cul- 
tivated." A  prize  was  also  offered  for  the  best  planta- 
tion of  white  oak  trees,  not  less  than  an  acre,  nor  fewer 
than  a  thousand  trees  per  acre,  to  be  raised  from  the 
acorn,  which  should  be  in  the  most  thriving  state  by 
Sept.  1,  1823.  Prizes  were  offered  for  similar  planta- 
tions of  locust,  larch  and  hickory.  This  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Act  of  Legislature,  Feb.  20,  1818,  providing 
premiums  "to  increase  and  perpetuate  an  adequate  supply 
of  ship  timber." 

In  these  early  years  the  dairy  received  deserved  atten- 
tion. The  Oakes  cow,  already  mentioned,  was  constantly 
in  evidence.  Her  record  was  published  in  the  Fourth 
Report  of  the  Agriculture  of  Massachusetts  in  1841,  by 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  13 

the  Commissioner,  Henry  Colman.  She  produced  in  1813, 
180  lbs.  of  butter;  in  1814,  300  lbs.;  in  1815,  over  400, 
and  in  1816,  4841/2  lbs.  During  this  time  one  quart  of 
milk  was  reserved  for  family  use  and  she  suckled  four 
calves  for  four  weeks  each  in  the  course  of  these  years. 
She  produced  in  one  week  I914  lbs.  of  butter  and  an 
average  of  more  than  16  lbs.  The  largest  amount  of 
milk  given  in  one  day  was  441/2  lbs.  The  preeminence 
of  this  remarkable  cow  was  never  seriously  questioned 
for  fifty  years. 

A  circular  was  published  by  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Society  in  1824  advertising  the  bull,  Admiral,  of 
the  best  improved  Short  Horn  breed,  recently  imported 
from  England,  the  gift  of  Sir  Isaac  Coffin  for  the  pur- 
pose of  improving  the  breed  of  cattle  in  his  native  State. 
This  famous  bull  had  been  placed  on  the  farm  of  E. 
Hersey  Derby  Esq.  of  Salem  for  twelve  months.  Another 
circular,  signed  by  T.  Pickering,  addressed  to  the  farmers 
of  Essex  County,  called  their  attention  to  this  offer. 

In  1826  the  Nourse  cow,  owned  originally  by  Nathaniel 
Nourse  of  Salem,  then  owned  by  Col.  Pickering,  took  the 
first  premium  at  the  Cattle  Show.  From  her  milk  in 
April,  May  and  June,  154  lbs.  of  butter  had  been  made. 

Col.  Jesse  Putnam  of  Danvers  reported  the  result  of 
his  scientific  experiments  with  potatoes  in  1829.  Care- 
ful observations  had  been  made  with  five  kinds  of  seed, 
the  Long  Red  or  River  La  Plate  variety,  the  Speckled 
Blues,  a  variety  well  approved  by  many  farmers,  the 
Richardson  Whites,  and  a  White  potato  raised  from  the 
seed  of  the  green  balls,  after  several  successive  plantings, 
a  line  of  experiment  much  in  vogue.  Each  kind  was 
planted  in  several  ways,  with  whole  potatoes  and  cut 
potatoes,  large  and  middle  sized.  The  results  were  care- 
fully noted. 

There  were  interesting  statements  of  the  crops  raised 
on  some  Essex  County  farms  in  these  days  of  hand  labor 
with  the  ox  for  draught.    Jonathan  Morse  2nd,  tenant  on 


14  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Wm.  Bartlett's  200-acre  farm  in  Methuen,  reported  his 
harvest  in  1822 : 

70  tons  English  hay. 
306  bushels  of  oats. 
1200  bushels  of  potatoes. 
300  bushels  of  corn. 
1100  bushels  of  English  turnips. 
300  bushels  of  Ruta  bagas. 
40  bushels  Winter  apples. 
20  bushels  Winter  pears. 
6  bushels  white  beans. 
500  lbs.  of  flax. 
100  bbls.  of  cider. 
400  lbs.  of  butter. 
2400  lbs.  of  cheese. 

The  stock  comprised  15  cows,  10  oxen,  3  heifers,  4  fat 
oxen,  12  calves,  19  swine,  34  sheep  and  lambs,  and  one 
horse.  The  labor,  Mr.  Morse  stated,  was  performed  by 
himself  and  wife,  with  two  men  and  a  boy  and  two  young 
women  or  girls,  but  in  most  "hurrying  times"  as  many 
hands  as  can  be  employed  to  cut  and  cure  to  advantage, 
"carried  on  entirely  without  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  at 
any  season  of  the  year." 

The  farm  of  the  Salem  Alms  House  raised  crops  of 
large  variety,  including  squashes,  cucumbers,  melons,  rad- 
ishes, broom  corn,  celery  and  pot  herbs.  It  supported 
10  oxen,  10  cows  and  2  horses.  On  the  great  Pickman 
farm,  Erastus  Ware  kept  50  cows,  6  oxen  and  3  horses, 
and  raised  milk  for  the  Salem  market.  His  laborers 
were  provided  with  family  beer,  molasses  and  water,  milk 
and  water,  but  no  ardent  spirits. 

James  Osgood  of  Andover  employed  a  man  and  a  boy 
by  the  year,  and  another  man  five  or  six  weeks  in  haying 
time,  yet  in  the  year  1829  he  mowed  about  50  acres,  and 
fenced  in  his  farm  with  nearly  a  thousand  rods  of  stone 
wall,  mostly  laid  with  his  own  hands,  with  rocks  which 
were  all  brought  from  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  more. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  15 

He  kept  4  oxen,  2  horses,  12  cows  and  12  sheep.  Amos 
Gould  bought  his  first  hundred  acres  of  the  Turner  Hill 
farm,  now  owned  by  Charles  G.  Rice,  in  1810,  gradually 
enlarged  it  and  built  700  rods  of  stone  wall.  He  kept  20 
to  30  horned  cattle,  1  horse  and  20  sheep. 

But  Thomas  Chase  of  West  Newbury  made  the  most 
extraordinary  statement  of  hard  work,  its  routine  and 
its  results,  on  his  farm  in  1833.  His  working  force  in- 
cluded himself,  his  son,  and  one  hired  man  at  $11  a  month 
for  eight  months,  and  29  days  at  one  dollar  a  day,  and 
a  young  woman  24  weeks  at  a  dollar  a  week.  "Our  cus- 
tom," he  says,  "is  to  drive  the  cows  to  pasture  and  feed 
the  swine  before  breakfast  and  to  go  to  field  in  summer 
at  six  o'clock.  Luncheon  with  tea  or  coffee  between  nine 
and  ten.  Dine  at  half -past  twelve — our  drink  cider  and 
coffee;  tea  at  5,  if  desired,  milk  after;  beer,  water  and 
milk  and  water  is  all  the  drink  required  in  the  field." 

The  faiTner  himself  had  been  confined  to  the  bed  with 
a  fractured  hip  since  October  5th  and  in  December  was 
able  to  do  only  light  work.  He  kept  4  oxen,  9  cows,  1 
horse,  5  swine ;  cut  44  tons  English  hay,  13  tons  meadow 
hay,  and  18  tons  of  salt  hay  on  his  12-acre  marsh,  which 
was  six  miles  distant.  He  planted  4  acres  of  Indian  corn 
and  potatoes  and  4  acres  of  potatoes,  which  yielded  1,128 
bushels,  produced  674  lbs.  of  butter,  2,033  lbs.  of  cheese, 
29  barrels  of  cider,  and  in  addition  to  the  regular  round 
of  farm  work,  took  down  and  rebuilt  a  barn,  made  and 
new  laid  50  rods  of  stone  wall,  dug  120  rods  of  ditch,  of 
which  70  rods  measured  3  feet  by  2,  set  200  apple  trees 
and  400  grafts.    No  alcoholic  liquor,  he  says,  was  served. 

During  this  first  decade  of  the  active  life  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society,  Rev.  Henry  Colman,  formerly  a  Salem 
clergyman,  later  an  enthusiastic  student  of  agriculture 
and  experimental  farmer,  and  eventually  a  State  Secre- 
tary or  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  contributed  to  the 
Transactions  a  series  of  papers  of  great  value  on  many 
themes  of  current  interest,  the  dairy  and  improved  breeds 


16  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  COWS,  the  comparative  values  of  crops,  etc.,  with 
detailed  facts  and  figures.  In  his  "Hints  Addressed  to 
the  Farmers  of  Essex  County,"  published  in  1829  (though 
his  name  does  not  appear),  he  summarizes  the  maximum 
of  crops  in  the  County,  which  were  well  authenticated : 

Wheat,  26  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Indian  corn,  II714  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Barley,  52  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Potatoes,  5I8I/2  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Carrots,  900  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Mangel  wurtzel,  1,340  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Ruta  bagas,  688  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Beets,  783  bushels  to  the  acre. 

English  turnips,  814  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Onions,  651  bushels  to  the  acre. 

We  know  of  a  lot  of  6  acres  from  which  thirty  tons 
of  hay  actually  weighed  were  gathered  in  one  season, 
and  another  field  of  about  forty  acres,  from  which  accord- 
ing to  the  statement  of  respectable  and  disinterested 
individuals,  the  yearly  crops  have  averaged  more  than 
one  hundred  and  twenty  tons  or  three  tons  to  an  acre. 

Querying  as  to  the  most  profitable  crop  for  an  Essex 
County  farmer,  he  remarked  that  hay  was  one  of  the 
first  articles  which  would  ordinarily  yield  a  fair  profit. 
"The  Ipswich  farmers  have  for  years  found  a  profit  in 
transporting  vast  quantities  to  Boston  market  by  land, 
in  spite  of  the  competition  of  the  neighboring  towns  and 
the  screwed  hay  from  Maine."  Yet,  in  his  Andover  ad- 
dress in  1831,  Mr.  Colman  said  the  average  yield  of 
hay  in  Essex  County  was  only  li/4  tons  to  the  acre  and 
that  it  sold  for  $18  in  Boston  and  Salem.  In  the  same 
address,  quoting  manure  at  $2  a  cord,  corn  at  70  cents  a 
bushel,  and  potatoes  on  the  farm  worth  scarcely  more  than 
a  shilling  a  bushel,  with  an  average  yield  of  150  bushels 
per  acre,  he  distrusted  the  value  of  the  potato  crop  and 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  17 

advised  the  culture  of  roots.     One  Essex  County  farm, 
he  declared,  was  built  on  corn,  carrots  and  ruta  baga. 

1830—1840. 

The  ox  was  still  the  farmer's  chief  reliance  and  he  had 
a  kingly  place  of  honor  at  the  Cattle  Shows.  At  Andover, 
in  1831,  the  farmers  made  up  a  mighty  team  of  about 
150  yoke,  a  novelty  in  the  Essex  shows,  though  frequently 
seen  in  other  centers.  The  ploughing  matches  with 
double  and  single  yoke  were  the  thrilling  episodes  of  the 
annual  fairs.  But  the  horse  was  coming  into  his  own. 
In  1829,  Rufus  Slocum  of  Haverhill  appeared  in  the  lists 
with  a  team  of  three  horses  and  ploughed  "with  skill  and 
dispatch,  to  wit  in  45  minutes,  and  as  well  as  the  average 
of  ox-teams."  His  time  was  noticeably  shorter.  In  1832 
premiums  for  horses  were  given  for  the  first  time,  and 
it  was  recognized  with  regret  that  insufficient  attention 
was  being  given  to  breeding. 

New  inventions  were  calling  for  the  horse  each  year. 
In  1831  the  report  was  made  that  a  revolving  horse  rake 
had  been  introduced  lately  in  Pennsylvania  and  that  a 
man  and  a  single  horse  with  this  machine  could  do  the 
work  of  six  men  with  hand  rakes.  It  was  affirmed  in 
1835  that  a  boy  with  his  horse  rake  could  draw  the  hay 
into  windrows  as  fast  as  eight  men  could  put  it  into 
cocks.  There  were  obscure  allusions  to  a  mowing  ma- 
chine in  some  sections  of  the  country,  drawn  by  a  horse, 
which  could  mow  ten  acres  in  a  day,  and  a  threshing 
machine  operated  by  a  horse  which  equalled  in  one  day 
the  work  of  a  man  with  his  flail  in  ten. 

By  the  year  1834  the  wooden  plough  had  yielded  to 
the  superior  efficiency  of  the  iron.  As  early  as  1820, 
Mr.  Howard  had  taken  out  his  patents  and  made  the  first 
iron  ploughs,  as  he  affirmed,  in  the  Commonwealth.  Many 
other  patents  had  been  granted,  but  Howard  was  recog- 
nized as  the  pioneer.     The  Committee  on  Agricultural 


18  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Instruments  rose  to  heights  of  enthusiasm  in  their  Report 
in  1834. 

The  plough,  for  which  more  than  a  hundred  patents 
have  been  obtained  since  the  promulgation  of  that  glori- 
ous document,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  has  by 
late  improvements  arrived  to  such  perfection,  that  could 
our  oxen  like  Balaam's  ass  be  endowed  with  the  power 
of  speech,  they  would  shout  "Howard  forever,"  or  in  the 
more  quaint  language  of  late  political  times,  "Huzza  for 
Howard,  the  man  who  has  relieved  our  necks  of  half 
their  burden  and  aided  the  Harrow  in  its  duties." 

Speaking  at  Danvers,  in  September,  1835,  Daniel  P. 
King  of  Danvers  extolled  the  Agricultural  Societies  as 
potent  factors  in  securing  new  prosperity  for  the  farmer, 
greater  hay  crops,  finer  results  in  the  dairy,  the  rich  fruit 
of  better  methods.  But  a  year  afterward,  the  orator  of 
the  day,  Nathan  W.  Hazen,  sounded  a  note  of  despond- 
ency and  alarm.  Beef  and  pork,  packed  in  Ohio,  he  as- 
serted were  being  freighted  in  teams  through  the  Notch 
of  the  White  Mountains  to  the  fertile  intervales  in  the 
Connecticut  River.  A  few  years  before  Worcester  County 
was  producing  2,000,000  pounds  of  pork  a  year,  now  it 
was  buying  the  western  product.  Farms  were  never  more 
difficult  to  sell.  Both  speakers  may  have  taken  extreme 
views,  we  may  believe,  but  in  one  particular  the  Essex 
County  men  were  suffering  great  disappointment  in  this 
decade,  through  the  failure  of  their  golden  dreams  of 
wealth  from  the  new  industry  of  silk  culture. 

Silk  Culture. 

In  his  Statement  in  the  Transactions  of  the  year  1838, 
Rev.  Gardner  B.  Perry,  of  Bradford,  an  enthusiastic  ex- 
ponent of  the  new  industry,  stated  that  the  pioneer  in 
this  experiment  in  Essex  County  was  Enoch  Boynton  of 
Byfield,  who  planted  some  mulberry  cuttings  in  1822. 
His  nursery  was  enlarged  by  trees  raised  from  seed, 
graftings  and  cuttings,  to  more  than  42,000  in  1832.     He 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  19 

fed  many  worms  upon  the  leaves  and  produced  consider- 
able silk,  for  specimens  of  which  he  received  several 
gratuities  from  the  Essex  County  Agricultural  Society. 

A  committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  on  the 
culture  of  Silk  reported  in  January,  1829,  recommending 
an  extension  of  the  grant  to  Agricultural  Societies,  made 
in  1819,  to  encourage  the  culture  of  silk,  expressing  great 
confidence  in  the  simplicity  of  the  process  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  success.  The  committee  of  the  Essex  Society 
reported  in  September,  1830,  that  nurseries  of  the  white 
mulberry  had  been  established  by  Mr.  Boynton,  Rev. 
Gardner  B.  Perry,  of  Bradford,  Stephen  Currier,  Jr., 
Samuel  Eaton  and  J.  M.  Grosvenor,  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Gros- 
venor  in  Methuen.    Premiums  were  paid  to  each  of  these. 

In  the  Transactions  for  1831,  Dr.  Andrew  Nichols, 
for  the  Committee  on  Silk  Culture,  presented  an  exhaus- 
tive report  with  minute  directions  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  leaves  and  the  care  of  the  silkworms,  with  a  large 
engraved  plate.  "At  present,"  the  report  says,  "nothing 
seems  to  promise  better  than  the  production  of  silk.  .  .  . 
Like  gold,  it  possesses  an  intrinsic  value  and  will  never 
cease  to  be  in  demand.  .  .  .  Farmers  of  Essex,  can  you 
longer  hesitate?  White  mulberry  trees,  seeds  and  eggs, 
together  with  the  necessary  directions  for  managing  the 
whole  business  are  now  within  your  reach.'* 

It  proceeded  to  urge  that  women,  boys  and  infirm  peo- 
ple, every  family,  indeed,  might  rear  a  few  thousand 
worms  easily.  Encouraged  by  this,  many  persons  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  County  set  out  plantations,  in  size 
from  a  few  hundred  to  as  many  thousand  trees.  Worms 
were  raised  in  a  great  many  families,  from  a  few  dozens 
by  way  of  experiment,  to  many  thousands  for  profit. 
Many  of  these  efforts  yielded  a  good  profit.  "Every  cir- 
cumstance," Mr.  Perry  stated,  "seemed  to  justify  the 
expectation  that  the  business,  if  followed  with  energy, 
would  generally  secure  a  competence  and  not  unf  requently 
lead  to  wealth." 


20  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Then  came  the  disastrous  winter  of  1834,  which  utterly 
destroyed  many  orchards  of  tender  fruit  trees  and  did 
great  injury  to  the  young  mulberries.  Rust  and  scab  and 
other  diseases  completed  the  work  of  ruin.  The  industry 
was  checked  at  once.  Many  cut  down  their  nurseries  or 
allowed  them  to  run  to  waste,  and  there  was  a  general 
belief  that  the  climate  rendered  the  culture  impossible. 
But  Mr.  Perry  and  a  few  other  enthusiasts  still  had 
faith. 

Temple  Cutler  of  Hamilton  made  a  detailed  statement 
of  his  success  with  the  Morus  Multicaulis  or  Perotted 
Mulberry,  a  hardier  variety  than  the  Morus  Alba  or 
White  Mulberry.    His  confidence  knew  no  bounds. 

Should  silk  one  day  rival  all  our  other  staple  commodi- 
ties, it  would  not  excite  my  surprise.  .  .  .  Is  it  to 
be  credited  that  a  people  so  renowned  for  enterprise  and 
industry  as  those  of  New  England  would  shrink  back 
from  even  a  trial  of  their  skill  to  raise  silk?  .  .  . 
Should  we  make  the  trial  and  should  we  succeed  in  intro- 
ducing an  employment  that  would  tend  to  keep  our  young 
men  from  wandering  away,  leaving  the  tombs  of  their 
fathers,  often  to  find  an  early  grave  among  the  infected 
prairies  of  the  West;  and  our  young  women  from  flying 
to  the  manufacturing  towns  to  be  immured  in  loathsome 
prisons,  where  all  improvements  in  household  concerns 
with  them  must  cease,  a  great  and  philanthropic  pur- 
pose will  be  accomplished. 

The  industry  made  a  brief  recovery  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  new  variety  of  mulberry.  Mr.  Cutler,  report- 
ing for  the  committee  in  1843,  remarked  with  much 
severity  upon  the  multicaulis  speculation,  which  had 
dealt  the  industry  a  well  nigh  fatal  blow.  Unprincipled 
agents  had  hawked  the  trees  around  and  caught  the  un- 
wary with  dreams  of  extravagant  profit.  The  tree  itself 
was  brought  into  disrepute  and  odium  cast  on  silk  cul- 
ture, so  that  it  became  a  subject  of  ridicule.  Many  aban- 
doned it  for  this  reason  alone.  Morus  Multicaulis  became 
a  by-word  and  a  jest,  and  silk  culture  took  its  place  be- 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  21 

side  the  Merino  sheep  mania  in  the  limbo  of  exploded 
fancies.  A  few  silk  purses  and  several  pairs  of  silk  stock- 
ings seem  to  have  been  the  only  visible  fruits  of  the 
experiment. 

The  most  remarkable  story  that  has  been  preserved 
is  the  tale  of  the  silk  gown,  which  was  exhibited  in  the 
Cattle  Show  of  1840.  Mrs.  Burbank  of  Bradford,  then 
ninety-five  years  old,  stated  that  she  had  made  it  twenty- 
three  years  before.  She  had  obtained  some  eggs  in  1815, 
which  had  been  brought  from  India,  and  secured  some 
mulberry  leaves  from  trees  planted  on  her  land  by  a 
former  tenant.  In  two  years  she  raised  the  silk,  carded 
it,  spun  it  on  a  linen  wheel,  wove  the  fabric  in  a  common 
loom  and  made  the  dress. 

1840—1850. 

The  decade  opened  with  a  Prospectus  of  an  Agricul- 
tural Seminary  at  Andover.  Twenty  years  had  elapsed 
since  Dr.  Andrew  Nichols  had  voiced  his  hope  that  such 
an  institution  might  be  established.  Some  years  later  an 
attempt  had  been  made  to  introduce  an  agricultural  course 
at  Dummer  Academy,  but  it  failed.  Prof.  Alonzo  Gray, 
of  the  Teachers'  Seminary  in  the  South  Parish  of  An- 
dover, now  presented  a  course  of  study  contemplated  in 
that  school.  It  was  planned  to  introduce  Scientific  Agri- 
culture as  a  regular  department.  Botany,  Physiology, 
Mineralogy,  Geology  and  Chemistry  were  included,  and 
the  opportunity  of  witnessing  practical  farming  under 
the  direction  of  a  teacher.  No  labor  would  be  required, 
but  if  any  chose  to  work  a  fair  remuneration  was  prom- 
ised. Nothing  came  of  this  scheme,  though  the  Prospectus 
was  accompanied  by  a  strong  essay  on  Scientific  Agri- 
culture by  Dr.  Nichols. 

John  W.  Proctor,  the  Secretary,  and  later  President, 
in  his  address  in  1844  alluded  to  these  frequent  demands, 
and  made  an  eloquent  appeal  for  a  course  of  instruction 


22  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

in  the  common  schools,  to  teach  the  elements  of  the  science 
of  agriculture,  the  constituents  of  soils  and  manures,  the 
physiology  of  plants  and  the  philosophy  of  vegetation. 
A  notice  had  come  to  him  that  the  State  of  New  York 
had  made  a  liberal  appropriation  for  a  State  Agricultural 
School.  He  deplored  that  Massachusetts  should  be  out- 
done in  a  work  so  essential  to  her  best  interests. 

The  Cattle  Shows  were  very  popular  at  this  period, 
taking  the  place  of  the  former  training  days  of  the 
militia  as  an  autumnal  holiday.  Year  by  year  new  ex- 
hibits varied  the  familiar  series.  Fruits  and  flowers  had 
appeared  in  1835,  bees  and  honey  in  1844.  Home  indus- 
tries in  infinite  variety  made  a  fine  display.  As  Mr. 
Gregory  had  begun  the  cultivation  of  the  tomato  in  1841 
this  novelty  probably  had  a  place  of  honor.  The  new 
breeds  of  cows  were  contending  for  supremacy.  Col. 
Moses  Newell  of  West  Newbury,  one  of  the  finest  farmers 
of  his  day,  favored  a  cross  of  the  Ayrshire  and  Alderney, 
and  the  North  Devon  for  oxen.  Daniel  P.  King  of  Dan- 
vers,  farmer  and  statesman,  and  John  W.  Proctor  claimed 
that  the  Ayrshire  was  best  adapted  to  this  climate. 

But  tree  culture  was  perhaps  the  most  engrossing 
theme.  The  apple  orchard,  it  was  claimed  by  some,  was 
a  neglected  asset  on  most  farms.  But  there  were  bril- 
liant exceptions  to  this  rule.  William  Thurlow  of  West 
Newbury  was  gathering  a  thousand  barrels  a  year,  worth 
$1,200,  as  early  as  1824,  from  his  2,500  trees,  the  largest 
and  most  productive  orchard  in  the  County.  In  1843 
George  Thurlow  received  the  first  premium  for  his  West 
Newbury  nursery,  with  20,000  apple  trees  on  a  single 
acre,  and  Joshua  H.  Ordway's  nursery  in  the  same  town 
received  a  premium  the  year  before. 

The  building  of  the  railroad  had  facilitated  competition, 
the  price  of  butter  was  depressed,  farm  products  did  not 
find  so  ready  a  market.  Allen  W.  Dodge  of  Hamilton, 
lawyer  and  farmer,  discussing  the  outlook  in  1843,  saw 
great  promise  in  the  growing  of  the  apple.    "The  apples 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  23 

of  Essex  may  yet  be  as  widely  celebrated  as  the  oranges 
of  Havana.  Great  credit  is  due  to  our  Manning  and  Ives 
for  their  indefatigable  zeal  and  judicious  skill  in  stocking 
their  gardens  with  such  choice  descriptions  of  cherries, 
plums,  peaches  and  pears.  Thanks,  too,  should  be 
awarded  them  and  other  gentlemen  in  Salem  and  its 
vicinity  for  the  excellent  Horticultural  Society,  which 
they  have  so  successfully  established." 

Robert  Manning  of  Salem,  "the  great  pomologist  of 
America,"  had  gathered  into  his  own  collection  nearly 
2,000  varieties  of  fruit.  From  that  collection,  240  varie- 
ties of  the  pear  were  shown  at  an  exhibition  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural  Society.  The  Essex  County  Nat- 
ural History  Society  invited  displays  of  fruit  in  its  weekly 
exhibitions  from  Spring  to  Autumn.  John  M.  Ives  of 
Salem,  one  of  the  most  skilled  pomologists  of  his  time,  in 
his  enlarged  edition  of  Manning's  New  England  Fruit 
Book,  recommended  the  finest  varieties  of  pears  and  ap- 
ples in  1842.  His  essay  on  The  Apple,  in  the  Transactions 
of  1847,  was  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  literature  of 
the  orchard.  He  was  a  constant  exhibitor  at  the  Cattle 
Shows. 

Renewed  attention  to  Forestry  was  also  apparent.  Al- 
lusion has  been  made  to  the  State  grant  in  1819  to  pro- 
mote the  raising  of  ship  timber.  Dr.  Andrew  Nichols 
had  urged  the  cultivation  of  the  locust  in  the  bare  and 
rocky  pastures.  But  the  offer  of  premiums  had  elicited 
no  response.  At  the  Lynn  meeting  in  1847,  Richard  S. 
Fay  of  Lynn  made  an  offer  of  a  hundred  dollars  for  the 
best  acre  of  white,  black  or  yellow  oak,  planted  from  the 
acorn,  that  should  be  entered  in  1852.  In  the  same  year, 
Rev.  Gardner  B.  Perry  of  Bradford,  one  of  the  wisest  and 
strongest  members  of  the  Society,  contributed  an  essay 
on  The  Cultivation  of  the  Oak.  Mr.  Fay,  as  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Forest  Trees,  made  a  report  of  great 
value,  regarding  the  profit  of  tree  culture,  in  1848,  and 
appealed  to  the  farmers  to  plant. 


24  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Upon  the  death  of  Henry  Colman,  on  August  14,  1849, 
by  his  bequest  the  Society  came  into  possession  of  his 
valuable  private  library  of  agricultural  works,  European 
as  well  as  American,  518  volumes  and  many  pamphlets. 
Pickering  Dodge,  the  Salem  merchant,  donated  53  vol- 
umes, and  37  volumes  had  been  received  in  purchase. 
This  library  was  kept  at  the  City  Hall  in  Salem  for  a 
time,  then  removed  to  the  Court  House,  and  some  years 
since  was  deposited  with  the  Essex  Institute  In  Salem. 

John  W.  Proctor's  statement,  in  his  Address  in  1844, 
regarding  the  abolition  of  the  drink  habit  on  the  farm, 
is  of  especial  interest : 

Twenty-five  years  since,  and  nine-tenths  of  our  farmers 
were  more  or  less  in  bondage  to  alcohol.  I  do  not  mean 
so  many  of  them  were  intemperate,  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term,  but  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  using 
that  which  was  not  necessary  to  be  used — to  the  great 
detriment  of  themselves  and  their  estates.  Where  will 
the  farmer  now  be  found,  who  will  unblushingly  say, 
before  he  commences  his  haying,  that  he  must  lay  in  as 
many  gallons,  or  even  quarts  of  spirit,  as  he  expects  to 
cure  tons  of  hay?  Or  that  his  men  cannot  commence 
mowing  in  the  morning  without  their  hitters; — proceed 
at  eleven  o'clock  without  their  grog; — or  load  in  the 
afternoon  without  their  bumper; — not  to  mention  the 
grosser  indulgences  of  the  evening.  Time  was  when 
these  customs,  by  whatever  name  they  were  called,  were 

as  familiar  as  househould  gods. But  manners 

have  changed  with  times. 

1850—1860. 

During  this  decade  the  Transactions,  which  had  been 
gradually  increasing  in  size,  reached  a  maximum  of  some 
224  octavo  pages  annually  at  its  close,  with  an  occasional 
exception,  the  largest  size  ever  attained.  In  addition 
to  the  Address,  which  was  given  usually  in  some  church, 
with  appropriate  religious  exercises,  generous  provision 
was  made  for  the  detailed  reports  of  the  various  commit- 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  25 

tees,  the  statements  of  the  contestants  for  premiums  for 
the  management  of  farms,  the  reclaiming  of  waste  or  wet 
lands,  experiments  with  manures,  and  the  like,  and  for 
elaborate  essays  on  special  topics. 

The  Addresses  of  this  period  were  of  notable  quality. 
Caleb  Gushing,  orator  and  statesman,  delivered  an  elo- 
quent oration  in  1850.  Gen.  Henry  K.  Oliver,  Salem 
schoolmaster  and  Lawrence  mill  agent,  spoke  in  1852. 
Richard  S.  Fay  in  1854,  Dr.  James  R.  Nichols  of  Haver- 
hill in  1855,  Major  Ben:  Perley  Poore,  the  famous  war 
correspondent  during  the  Givil  War,  in  1856 ;  Dr.  George 
B.  Loring,  the  elegant  and  cultured  farmer,  politician, 
future  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  and  diplomat,  in 
1858.  Edward  Everett  was  a  speaker  at  the  dinner  in 
1858,  taking  the  same  part  that  fell  to  him  in  1836,  when 
he  was  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  Reports  of  this  period  vied  with  each  other  in 
unique  and  grotesque  peculiarities.  Fitch  Poole's  report 
on  "Poultry"  was  a  broad  burlesque,  entitled  "The  Con- 
vention of  the  Domestic  Poultry."  Gen.  Oliver  followed 
w:ith  a  humorous  deliverance  on  "Bees  and  Honey,"  and 
as  these  literary  novelties  proved  attractive,  no  doubt,  he 
contributed  a  long  poetical  and  classical  essay  on  "Flow- 
ers,' and  in  1854,  reporting  on  "Poultry,"  already  cele- 
brated in  Fitch  Poole's  masterpiece,  he  produced  a  mar- 
vellous compound  of  poetry  and  prose,  embellished  with 
quotations  from  Virgil  and  Anacreon,  Shakespeare  and 
Milton,  Dryden  and  Gray,  the  New  England  Primer  and 
Mother  Goose.  Whereupon  Fitch  Poole  launched  into 
poetry  in  1858,  with  the  humorous  "Ballad  of  1692 — The 
Second  Dream  of  Giles  Corey."  This  seems  queer  diet 
for  the  everyday  farmer,  and  it  is  in  no  wise  surprising 
that  it  was  remarked  in  1857  that  not  more  than  a  third 
of  the  thousand  members  of  the  Essex  Agricultural  So- 
ciety were  exclusively  tillers  of  the  soil.  But  though  it 
bore  the  earmarks  of  a  literary  club,  or  a  coterie  of  fine 
gentlemen,  the  old  Society  was  still  true  to  its  ideals. 


26  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

There  were  essays  of  a  more  practical  sort,  Samuel  P. 
Fowler's  on  "The  Destruction  of  Insects  Injurious  to 
Vegetation,"  and  David  Choate's  report  of  his  elaborate 
experiments  with  the  Chinese  sugar  cane.  At  the  Cattle 
Shows  there  were  evidences  of  notable  advancements  in 
farm  methods.  The  Michigan  sod  plough,  which  turned 
two  furrows  at  once,  was  exhibited  in  1850.  In  1852  a 
two-day  session  was  adopted.  In  that  year  there  was  a 
particularly  fine  display  of  Suffolk  swine,  and  Charles  A. 
Stetson  offered  a  premium  for  the  encouragement  of  horse 
teams  in  plowing. 

The  address  of  the  President,  Richard  S.  Fay,  in  1854, 
sounded  a  warning  note.  Wages  had  doubled  in  twenty 
years,  and  the  return  was  only  half.  The  farmer  must 
either  resort  to  machinery  or  give  up  the  unequal  con- 
test. He  has  much  to  learn  from  the  English  and  Scotch 
farmer.  The  mowing  machine,  he  states,  has  been  intro- 
duced into  our  fields  during  the  past  summer.  So  the 
year  1854  must  be  written  down  as  the  year  of  transition 
from  the  Old  to  the  New  Era,  the  Old  Era  of  the  scythe 
and  the  slow-moving  ox  and  the  heavy,  unaided  toil  of 
man,  to  the  New  Era  of  machinery,  revolutionizing  the 
work  of  the  farm  and  lightening  its  toil. 

The  mowing  machine  met  with  the  same  captious  crit- 
icism that  always  obstructs  the  progress  of  a  great  in- 
vention. It  was  objected  that  the  expense  put  it  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  average  farmer,  that  the  fields  were  too 
small  and  rough,  that  it  required  a  skillful  hand  to 
operate  it.  The  Essex  Society  moved  rapidly.  The 
President  offered  a  special  premium  for  the  best  machine. 
A  committee  on  mowing  machines  was  appointed,  which 
visited  Dr.  Loring's  farm  on  July  16th,  1855,  to  see  sev- 
eral machines  in  operation,  and  on  the  17th  went  to  Col. 
Moses  Newell's  farm  in  West  Newbury.  These  exhibi- 
tions drew  great  crowds  of  spectators,  as  many  had 
never  seen  a  machine  in  operation.     Many  accidents  hap- 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  27 

pened  and  one  machine  was  put  out  of  the  race,  but  the 
trial  was  instructive  and  helpful. 

A  few  of  the  more  progressive  farmers  made  practical 
test  of  the  value  of  the  new  invention  on  their  own  farms 
in  the  same  summer.  William  F.  Porter  of  Bradford 
cut  116  acres  with  a  mowing  machine;  Horace  Ware, 
541/^  acres  with  one  of  the  same  make.  Dr.  Loring  cut 
58  acres  with  a  Ketchum  machine,  and  made  successful 
experiment  with  his  machine  drawn  by  oxen  on  his  salt 
marsh.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  committee  favored  the 
use  of  oxen  rather  than  horses  with  the  mower.  A 
hay-tedder  of  English  make,  which  had  been  imported  by 
Mr.  Fay,  was  exhibited  by  Dr.  Loring  in  1858. 

The  time-honored  ploughing  match,  with  the  competing 
double  yokes  of  mighty  oxen,  was  still  the  most  exciting 
event  of  the  Cattle  Show,  and  in  1858  it  was  held  up 
for  two  hours,  waiting  the  arrival  of  their  expected  guest, 
George  Peabody,  the  London  banker  and  philanthropist, 
then  revisiting  his  old  home  in  Essex  County.  But  there 
were  those  who  called  for  more  modern  accessories,  which 
gave  popularity  to  other  County  Fairs,  though  once  and 
again  their  covert  demand  was  silenced  by  the  scornful 
query  of  the  elder  men :  "What  have  military  companies, 
and  fire  engines,  horse  races  and  female  equestriennes  to 
do  with  farming?" 

The  Society  became  heir  to  the  Treadwell  farm  in  Tops- 
field  in  1856,  under  the  will  of  Dr.  John  G.  Treadwell  of 
Salem.  He  devised  the  farm  after  the  decease  of  his 
mother,  to  the  Society,  "for  the  promotion  of  the  science 
of  Agriculture  by  the  instituting  and  performance  of 
experiments  and  such  other  means  as  may  tend  to  the 
advancement  of  science,"  with  an  eventual  reversion  to 
the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  if  the  Society  de- 
clined to  accept  the  gift  on  these  terms,  or  failed  to  ob- 
serve the  conditions  of  the  gift.  Two  schemes  for  the 
use  of  the  property  were  considered.  One  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  school  of  practical  agriculture,  which  might 


28  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

be  instituted  in  case  some  person  be  found  competent  to 
take  the  farm  and  teach  young  men  the  essentials  of 
successful  farming,  receiving  the  rent  for  his  remuner- 
ation. The  other  plan  was  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of 
an  experienced  and  intelligent  farmer  on  a  long  lease, 
subject  in  lieu  of  rent  to  various  duties  and  experiments. 
The  latter  was  adopted,  the  transfer  of  the  farm  was 
made,  and  it  was  leased  at  once. 

1860—1870. 

The  Civil  War  period  brought  no  interruption  in  the 
activities  of  the  Society.  The  orators  made  eloquent  ref- 
erence to  the  new  and  larger  duties  of  the  time.  Gail 
Hamilton  contributed  a  stirring  Original  Ode  for  the 
exercises  in  1861. 

"Ho,  freeman  of  Essex!    Stout  sons  of  the  soil! 
What  meed  to  your  labors,  what  rest  to  your  toil. 
While  the  tread  of  the  traitor  pollutes  the  wronged  earth 
And  Liberty  faints  in  the  land  of  her  birth!" 

And  when  the  war  was  done,  John  G.  Whittier  wrote 
"The  Peace  Anthem,"  which  was  sung  at  the  anniversary, 
Sept.  26,  1865. 

"Thank  God  for  rest,  where  none  molest 
And  none  can  make  afraid ; 
For  peace  that  sits  as  Plenty's  guest 
Beneath  the  homestead  shade. 

Bring  pike  and  gun,  the  sword's  red  scourge, 

The  negro's  broken  chains, 
And  beat  them  at  the  blacksmith's  forge 

To  ploughshares  for  our  plains." 

Dr.  Jeremiah  Spofford  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
Forestry  problem,  and  encouraged  the  attempt  by  chap- 
ters from  his  own  observation  and  experience,  illustrat- 
ing the  growth  of  white  pine  seedlings.     "I  can  now 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  29 

cut  a  frame  for  a  good-sized  house  from  land  from  which 
the  previous  owner  cut  nearly  all  the  wood  he  consid- 
ered worth  cutting  in  1838."  Dr.  George  B.  Loring  de- 
livered the  semi-centennial  address  in  1868,  filled  with 
interesting  reminiscences  of  the  past  and  with  deserved 
tributes  to  the  founders  and  supporters  of  the  Society. 
Benjamin  P.  Ware,  son  of  Erastus  Ware,  of  the  great 
Pickman  farm,  himself  a  farmer  of  exceptional  breadth 
of  mind  and  friendliness  to  new  methods,  made  a  valuable 
summary  of  the  progress  in  farming  in  his  address  in 
1869. 

With  Raymond's  Hay  Elevator,  he  [the  farmer]  may 
store  away  his  hay  in  his  barn  with  comparatively  little 
labor  and  a  great  saving  of  time.  .  .  .  The  potato 
crop  can  now  be  grown  entirely  without  hand  labor. 
True's  Potato  Planter  cuts  the  potato,  drops,  furrows 
and  covers  in  one  operation.  With  Holbrook  and  Chand- 
ler's Horse  Hoes,  the  labor  of  hoeing  is  wholly  performed 
by  horse  power.  .  .  .  With  Willis's  Seed  Sower,  the 
Danvers  Truckle  Hoe,  all  of  the  root  crops  can  be  grown 
with  about  one-half  the  labor  formerly  required. 

We  need  not  leave  Essex  County  to  find  that  within  a 
few  years  there  has  been  introduced  by  skill  and  careful 
cultivation,  the  Hubbard  Squash,  the  Stone  Mason  and 
Marblehead  Mammoth  Cabbages,  Emery's  Early  Cabbage, 
a  superior  early  Tomato  and  Lettuce,  the  Danvers  Onion, 
all  better  in  some  respects  than  before  existed ;  and  to  the 
list  of  fruits  have  been  added  Allen's  two  hybrid  grapes, 
and  those  of  Mr.  Rogers,  possessing  qualities  superior  to 
those  of  any  others. 

Who  ever  heard,  until  within  a  few  years,  of  seventy- 
four  tons  of  mangel-wurzels  being  grown  upon  one  acre 
of  land;  of  thirty-six  tons  of  carrots  or  nine  hundred 
bushels  of  onions  per  acre?  Such  crops  as  these  are 
facts  that  can  be  proved. 

Illustrating  the  value  of  home  grown,  carefully  selected 
seed,  thorough-bred  as  he  termed  it,  he  instanced  the 
experiment  of  a  Salem  farmer  who  planted  his  own 
thorough-bred  seed,  then  seed  grown  by  his  neighbor,  as 
good  as  the  average,  and  supplemented  this  with  seed 


30  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

bought  at  a  seed  store.  "On  the  part  sown  with  thorough- 
bred seed  there  is  scarcely  an  imperfect  onion  and  the 
crop  is  the  largest  in  the  vicinity.  On  the  part  sown  with 
good  seed  the  onions  are  ten  days  later,  of  inferior  qual- 
ity and  less  quantity  and  valued  at  twenty-five  per  cent 
less  than  the  first."  The  product  of  the  third  kind 
of  seed  was  estimated  as  fifty  per  cent  less  in  value  than 
the  first. 

But  one  suggestion  of  this  wise  counselor  would  fail  of 
approval  to-day.  "Besides  protecting  our  native  song- 
sters that  do  so  much  to  aid  the  orchardist,  I  must  ear- 
nestly recommend  the  importation  of  English  sparrows, 
whose  principal  occupation  is  to  feed  their  numerous 
progeny  with  insects.  ...  I  know  of  no  way  by 
which  a  portion  of  the  income  of  this  Society  can  be  so 
profitably  expended  as  by  the  importation  of  several 
thousand  of  these  birds,  to  be  distributed  in  different 
parts  of  the  country." 

1870—1880. 

Noticeable  improvements  in  farm  wagons  were  made 
in  this  decade.  In  1870  a  horse-cart  with  small  wheels 
forward  was  exhibited,  which  soon  supplanted  the  old 
two-wheeled  tip-cart,  and  with  the  later  addition  of  a 
pole  and  the  use  of  two  horses,  greatly  facilitated  the 
transportation  of  heavy  loads.  Webster  Smith,  the  Ips- 
wich blacksmith,  exhibited  an  ox-wagon  for  hay  in  1871, 
regarding  which  the  comment  was  made:  "Probably  in 
no  other  part  of  the  country  can  such  large,  evenly  laid, 
handsome  loads  of  hay  be  seen  as  are  hauled  to  Boston 
from  Essex  County  upon  these  Ipswich  hay  wagons." 
In  1873  Frank  H.  Burnham  exhibited  his  covered  seat, 
and  with  this  equipment  the  Ipswich  hay  teamers,  in 
their  great  horse-drawn  wagons,  scoured  the  whole  coun- 
try side  as  far  as  Hampton  and  Greenland  for  hay  for 
the  Boston  market.  The  manure  spreader  appeared  in 
1879. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  31 

The  dairy  exhibits  in  this  period  were  of  great  import- 
ance. Francis  H.  Appleton  of  Peabody,  William  A.  Rus- 
sell of  Lawrence,  and  J.  D.  W.  French  of  North  Andover, 
all  gentlemen  of  wealth  who  delighted  in  their  farms  and 
choice  breeds  of  cows,  began  a  series  of  exhibits  which 
were  continued  for  many  years.  Mr.  Appleton  brought 
his  choice  Ayrshires,  Maud,  with  her  record  of  twenty- 
two  and  three  quarts  a  day,  and  Lassie,  whose  best  yield 
was  a  twenty-five  pound  daily  average  for  two  months. 

The  famous  Holstein  herd  of  Mr.  Russell  came  in  1876 
and  following  years.  Lady  Clifden  with  a  year's  record  of 
16,274  lbs.,  or  21  143-363  lbs.  a  day;  Maid  Marion,  with 
an  average  of  31.38  lbs.  for  421  days;  and  Lady  Andover, 
with  36.11  lbs.  average  for  273  days. 

Mr.  French's  North  Andover  herd  of  Ayrshires  in  1877 
included  Betty  Burke,  whose  average  for  308  days  was 
26.42  lbs.,  and  Rosanna,  with  a  record  of  33  lbs.  a  day 
for  123  days. 

Mr.  D.  F.  Appleton  of  Ipswich  exhibited  his  fine  Cots- 
wold  sheep  and  his  herd  of  Kerry  cows. 

Coincident  with  these  famous  records  was  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  new  food.  While  visiting  in  Hungary  in  1873 
Gen.  Francis  H.  Appleton  saw  a  method  of  curing  fodder 
corn  by  heaping  the  stalks  in  pits  and  covering  them  with 
earth.  He  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  evident  value 
of  this  process  which  was  already  a  well  established  ad- 
junct of  the  best  Hungarian  farms  that  he  secured  from 
his  friend  a  statement  of  his  method  of  "Sour  Fodder 
Making,"  as  it  was  called,  which  was  published  in  the 
American  Agriculturist  in  October,  1873.  He  was  not 
confident  of  its  popular  introduction  into  this  country. 
Remarking  upon  ensilage,  its  European  name,  in  1879, 
he  observed:  "I  would  say  that  it  must  be  done  with 
much  care  and  expense,  as  well  as  on  a  large  scale,  to 
be  successful,  so  that  it  probably  cannot  come  within 
reach  of  the  smaller  sized  farms  of  New  England,  unless 
some  one  person  could  prove  it  to  be  of  true  value  and 


32  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

enough  desirable  to  make  a  business  of  supplying  the 
farms." 

The  Essex  County  seedsmen  were  making  great  con- 
tributions in  these  years  to  the  man  on  the  farm  and  to 
the  pages  of  the  Transactions.  In  1879  Mr.  J.  J.  H. 
Gregory  exhibited  80  varieties  of  17  different  kinds  of 
vegetables,  and  210  varieties  of  seed.  His  collection  of 
tomatoes  was  the  largest  and  his  method  of  culture,  re- 
ported in  1871,  had  been  reprinted  in  the  State  Report 
of  the  same  year.  Crosby's  Early  Sweet  Corn  and  Stow- 
ell's  Evergreen,  his  favorite  varieties,  are  still  standards. 
John  S.  Ives  of  Salem  displayed  198  varieties  of  seed. 
Aaron  Low  of  Essex  made  fine  exhibits.  Experiments 
with  seedling  potatoes  were  producing  excellent  results, 
and  the  use  of  phosphates  and  other  condensed  fertilizers 
had  become  general. 

1880—1890. 

The  Address  of  Dr.  James  R.  Nichols  of  Haverhill,  in 
1881,  on  the  theme,  "What  Science  Has  Accomplished 
for  Farmers,"  was  a  gratifying  complement  to  the  learned 
papers  of  his  forerunner  in  the  early  days,  Dr.  Andrew 
Nichols,  whose  papers  on  Scientific  Agriculture  were  a 
plea  for  and  foretaste  of  the  new  agriculture  which  had 
now  become  a  fact. 

Dr.  Nichols  remarked  that  in  his  address  to  the  Society 
in  1855,  he  had  predicted  chemistry  would  come  to  the 
relief  of  the  farmer.  Since  that  time  vast  stores  of  phos- 
phoric rocks  had  been  found  in  Russia,  Spain  and  the 
United  States.  The  great  phosphate  beds  near  South 
Carolina,  which  had  been  discovered  in  1867,  had  yielded 
in  fertilizers  shipped  upwards  of  $2,000,000  in  1870.  On 
his  own  farm  artificial  fertilizers  had  largely  supplanted 
domestic  manures.  Speaking  of  strawberries  and  rasp- 
berries, he  said,  "I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  culti- 
vated varieties  until  long  after  reaching  adult  age.  Now 
of  strawberries  there  are  more  than  350  varieties." 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  33 

Dr.  Nichols  had  made  contributions  of  great  value  to 
scientific  agriculture  by  his  work  on  his  farm  near  Lake 
Kenoza,  Haverhill,  which  he  had  purchased  in  1863. 
Under  his  skillful  treatment  an  unproductive  land  yielded 
abundant  crops.  He  established  the  Journal  of  Chemistry 
in  Boston  in  1866.  His  books,  "Fireside  Science," 
"Chemistry  of  the  Farm  and  Sea,"  had  wide  circulation. 
"Whence,  What,  Where,"  published  in  1883,  had  great 
popularity.    He  died  on  Jan.  2,  1888. 

Gen.  Appleton,  speaking  at  Haverhill  in  1882,  was  able 
to  say  that  the  French  method  of  sour  fodder,  adopted 
in  the  United  States,  was  already  becoming  popular,  and 
that  silos  had  been  built  on  a  large  number  of  farms. 

Benjamin  P.  Ware,  in  his  address  in  1883,  recounted 
the  possessions  and  achievements  of  the  Society:  no 
grounds,  no  trotting  park,  no  show  buildings,  only  a  tent, 
some  portable  cattle  pens,  1,200  exhibition  fruit  dishes, 
but  an  experimental  farm  of  150  acres,  which  brought  an 
income  of  $300  to  $500  a  year  besides  expenses,  a  library 
of  800  volumes,  and  funds  which  amounted  to  $16,690.00. 
"It  has  never  paid  a  dollar  for  speed  since  its  organiza- 
tion, but  has  paid  an  average  of  $3,000  annually  for  pre- 
miums for  the  past  ten  years,  and  a  total  sum  since  the 
beginning  of  $44,271.54." 

"The  Society  is  supporting,"  he  continued,  "three 
scholarships  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 
for  four  years  at  $50  each,  and  has  offered  a  premium  of 
$100  for  the  best  prepared  student  from  Essex  County 
who  completes  his  course.  Its  present  membership  is 
1,388.  It  publishes  annually  1,600  copies  of  its  Transac- 
tions, averaging  from  120  to  220  pages." 

The  activities  of  the  Society  had  now  been  manifest 
in  a  new  field,  the  holding  of  Farmers'  Institutes  in  vari- 
ous towns,  at  which  valuable  papers  were  read  and  prac- 
tical farm  affairs  discussed.  The  most  significant  evi- 
dence of  the  quickening  influence  the  Essex  Agricultural 


34  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Society  had  exerted  throughout  the  County  was  the  rec- 
ord of  local  clubs  and  societies  which  had  sprung  into 
being  in  many  localities,  and  were  closely  affiliated  with 
the  venerable  Society  in  spirit  and  method.  The  Ames- 
bury  and  Salisbury  Agricultural  Association  had  been 
organized  in  April,  1856;  the  West  Newbury  Farmers' 
Club  in  December,  1856;  the  Ipswich  Fruit  Growers' 
Association  in  September,  1866;  the  North  Andover 
Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Club  in  March,  1878;  the  An- 
dover Farmers'  Club  in  November,  1879.  There  were 
also  the  Houghton  Agricultural  Society  of  Lynn,  the 
Marblehead  and  Swampscott  Farmers'  Club,  the  Brad- 
ford Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Association,  farmers'  clubs 
in  Rowley,  Georgetown,  Topsfield,  West  Peabody  and 
Wenham.  The  farmers'  instinct  for  clubs  and  societies 
being  still  unsatisfied,  it  was  reported  in  1886,  that  during 
that  year  Granges  of  Patrons  of  Husbandry  had  been 
organized  in  Amesbury,  North  Andover  and  Ipswich. 

Gratifying  interest  in  tree-culture  and  forestry  was 
apparent.  Major  Ben :  Perley  Poore  made  the  Report  in 
1883,  reviewing  the  failures  of  the  past,  but  urging  to 
constant  endeavor  to  replace  the  fast  disappearing  forests. 
His  own  planting  at  Indian  Hill  farm  had  been  so  suc- 
cessful that  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Agriculture  awarded  him  a  premium  of  a  thousand 
dollars  for  his  twenty  acres  of  oak,  chestnut,  hickory, 
locust,  fir  and  pine,  on  which  every  tree  had  been  planted 
by  his  own  hand.  The  Society  had  a  Committee  on  Orna- 
mental and  Wayside  Trees  as  well. 

At  the  Cattle  Shows  a  sulky  plough  was  shown  for 
the  first  time  in  1881.  In  the  following  year  a  trial  of 
two  or  three  ploughs  was  made  in  a  very  rough  and  stony 
field,  with  very  satisfactory  result.  After  the  trial  was 
over  the  committee  requested  Mr.  Richard  S.  Jaques,  a 
veteran  ploughman,  who  had  taken  more  first  premiums 
than  any  other  member  of  the  Society,  to  turn  one  furrow 
with  his  "Lion"  plough  and  four-ox  team  in  direct  com- 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  35 

petition  with  the  sulky  and  one  pair  of  horses.  Though 
an  old  farmer  is  usually  conservative  regarding  new  in- 
ventions, his  one  rough  and  uneven  furrow  was  enough 
to  convince  him,  and  he  acknowledged  on  the  spot,  "The 
sulky  is  the  plough  of  the  future." 

The  horse  was  coming  rapidly  to  the  place  of  honor. 
In  1885  the  Society  offered  its  first  premium  for  gentle- 
men's driving  horses,  and  in  the  following  year  there 
was  a  notable  display.  Premiums  were  awarded  for 
Stallions,  first  and  second  class.  Brood  Mares,  Family 
Horses,  Gentlemen's  Driving  Horses,  Draft  Horses,  Pairs 
of  Draft  Horses,  Pairs  of  Farm  Horses,  and  for  Colts 
for  draft  purposes  in  two  classes,  and  for  general  pur- 
poses in  two  classes  also. 

At  Peabody,  in  1887,  greater  dignity  than  ever  before 
attended  the  public  exercises.  A  procession  was  formed 
of  officers,  members  and  friends  of  the  Society,  headed  by 
the  8th  Regiment  Band,  which  marched  to  the  Peabody 
Institute,  where  Dr.  William  Cogswell  of  Bradford  de- 
livered the  annual  address.  In  the  following  year  a  more 
pretentious  procession  was  formed,  with  all  the  oxen  and 
horses  and  various  teams  in  line,  which  paraded  through 
the  streets. 

A  singularly  happy  episode  marked  the  close  of  this 
decade.  At  a  Farmers'  Institute  at  Peabody,  December, 
1888  ,a  very  appreciative  essay  on  Whittier,  the  farmer's 
poet,  was  read,  and  a  message  was  sent  to  the  poet  con- 
gratulating him  on  the  health  of  body  and  mental  vigor 
with  which  he  had  reached  and  passed  his  eighty-first 
birthday,  and  assuring  him  "that  in  no  places  are  your 
poems  read  with  more  interest  and  pleasure,  or  your 
works  of  tenderest  love  cherished  with  a  purer  admiration 
than  in  the  homes  of  the  farmers  of  your  native  County 
of  Essex." 

The  poet  replied,  expressing  deep  gratification  with  the 
message,  and  recalling  that  he  had  worked  faithfully  on 
the  old  Haverhill  homestead  until  at  the  age  of  thirty 


86  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

years  he  was  compelled  to  leave  it,  greatly  to  his  regret. 
He  continued: 

No  better  proof  of  real  gain  can  be  found  than  the 
creation  of  pleasant  homes  for  the  comfort  of  age  and 
the  happiness  of  youth.  When  the  great  English  critic, 
Matthew  Arnold,  was  in  the  country,  on  returning  from 
a  visit  in  Essex  County,  he  remarked  that  while  the  land 
looked  to  him  rough  and  unproductive,  the  landlord's 
houses  seemed  neat  and  often  elegant,  with  an  air  of 
prosperity  about  them.  'But  where,'  he  asked,  'do  the 
tenants,  the  working  people  live?'  He  seemed  surprised 
when  I  told  him  that  the  tenants  were  the  landlords  and 
the  workers  the  owners. 


1890—1900. 

Mention  has  been  made  m.ore  than  once  of  the  old-time 
Essex  County  cow,  the  Oakes  cow  of  Danvers,  nameless 
and  without  pedigree,  whose  record  of  4841^  lbs.  of 
butter,  besides  suckling  a  calf  four  weeks  and  allowing  a 
quart  daily  for  family  use,  was  unsurpassed  in  the  county 
and  far  wider  circles  for  a  half  century  as  a  butter- 
maker.  The  record  had  been  surpassed  long  since  by 
the  imported  animals  of  choice  breeds.  But  in  1890  the 
crown  returned  to  Essex  County.  Mr.  D.  Fuller  Appleton 
of  Ipswich,  merchant  and  farmer,  who  had  exhibited  his 
fine  Cotswold  sheep  and  his  herd  of  Kerry  cows  in  the 
seventies,  had  become  greatly  interested  in  the  Jerseys, 
and  had  built  up  a  choice  herd.  On  April  22,  1889,  he 
began  a  test  with  his  Eurotisama,  born  and  bred  on  his 
Ipswich  farm.  The  test  was  ended  April  21,  1890,  and 
the  famous  cow  had  produced  945  lbs.  9  oz.  of  butter,  the 
highest  record  yet  attained  by  that  breed,  and  Mr.  Apple- 
ton  became  the  owner  of  the  "Challenge  Cup." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  successive  stages  by  which 
the  record  was  advanced  to  this  great  figure.  Thomas 
Motley's  imported  Flora  produced  511  lbs.  2  oz.  in  1853. 
In  1866,  in  another  quarter,  the  record  was  advanced  to 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  37 

5741/2  lbs. ;  in  1878  to  705  lbs. ;  then  by  steady  advances  to 
851  867  and  936  lbs.  Eurotisama  advanced  the  record 
to  945  lbs.  9  oz.,  notwithstanding  a  slight  sickness  early 
in  the  year,  which  caused  a  marked  shrinkage  in  her  milk 
for  a  time.  She  retained  the  place  of  honor  for  only 
a  brief  period.  In  the  same  year  a  Tennessee  Jersey  made 
a  record  of  1,028  lbs.  5%  oz.,  and  in  1892,  in  another 
quarter,  1,047%  lbs.  was  attained. 

In  September,  1891,  the  Society  suffered  a  great  loss 
in  the  death  of  Dr.  George  B.  Loring,  Besides  his  active 
endeavors  to  promote  the  finest  methods  of  agriculture 
in  the  County,  he  had  founded  the  New  England  Agricul- 
tural Society  in  1864  and  was  its  President  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  He  was  the  President  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Senate  from  1873  to  1876,  was  a  Representative 
in  Congress,  and  was  appointed  United  States  Commis- 
sioner of  Agriculture  by  President  Garfield  in  1881. 
President  Harrison  appointed  him  U.  S.  Minister  to  Por- 
tugal, but  he  resigned  the  office  and  returned  home  within 
a  year. 

During  this  decade  the  burning  question  was:  Shall 
the  Society  continue  its  peripatetic  course  about  the 
County  or  secure  a  permanent  abiding  place?  It  was 
warmly  discussed  at  an  Institute  at  Peabody  in  January, 
1891.  The  advocates  of  a  permanent  location  maintained 
that  under  modern  conditions  the  people  could  be  brought 
to  the  show  more  easily  than  the  show  could  be  carried  to 
the  people.  It  was  claimed  that  as  $400,000  was  invested 
in  horse  stock  farms  in  Essex  County,  their  owners  were 
entitled  to  fair  consideration.  The  conservatives  opposed 
the  scheme,  scenting  a  horse  trot  as  the  underlying 
purpose. 

The  drift  of  opinion  was  so  pronounced  in  a  few  years, 
that  a  Committee,  chosen  by  the  Trustees  to  consider  plans 
for  a  permanent  location,  reported  in  September,  1894, 
recommending  that  the  Society  establish  itself  permanent- 
ly in  Danvers,  where  the  citizens  had  pledged  a  contribu- 


38  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

tion  of  a  thousand  dollars  toward  the  purchase  of  land. 
A  large  Committee  was  chosen  and  authorized  by  a  vote, 
81  in  the  affirmative,  11  in  the  negative,  to  bond  or  pur- 
chase, grade  and  fence  land  and  erect  suitable  buildings 
for  the  use  of  the  Society,  paying  for  the  same  out  of 
the  Society's  funds. 

Locations  in  various  parts  of  the  County  were  sug- 
gested and  carefully  studied,  and  in  the  end  purchase  was 
made  of  ten  acres,  centrally  situated  in  the  town  of  Pea- 
body.  Buildings  were  erected,  a  quarter-mile  track  laid 
out,  and  the  annual  Cattle  Show  was  held  there  in  Sep- 
tember 1895. 

The  Transactions  of  that  year  included  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  reasons  which  made  the  new  departure  a 
wise  venture.  The  annual  receipts  had  been  falling  off 
largely  for  a  number  of  years.  The  free  exhibit  of  live 
stock  remained  popular  but  there  was  a  marked  diminu- 
tion in  the  attendance  at  the  Hall  Exhibit  which  involved 
the  payment  of  a  small  admission  fee.  Consequently  the 
expense  of  the  Cattle  Show  exceeded  the  total  revenue 
from  admission  fees,  from  the  funds  and  the  annual  grant 
of  $600  by  the  State  and  the  funds  had  been  depleted 
largely.  It  was  believed  that  as  the  location  in  Peabody 
was  the  geographical  center  of  a  large  population,  the 
financial  situation  would  be  greatly  improved. 

Some  economies  were  urged,  curtailing  the  size  of  the 
Transactions  which  seemed  larger  than  the  requirements 
of  the  Society  warranted,  and  the  number  and  liberality 
of  the  premiums,  which  far  surpassed  those  of  any  other 
Society  in  the  State.  "The  possibilities  of  an  exceedingly 
good  show  next  year,  with  attractions  of  an  interesting 
and  harmless  character,  can  be  introduced  to  advantage." 

A  vigorous  and  very  successful  effort  was  made  in  1896 
to  inaugurate  a  new  era.  A  hundred  head  of  cattle  in  the 
exhibition  pens  were  a  reminder  of  the  palmy  days  of  the 
Society.  Nine  yoke  came  from  the  State  Lunatic  Hos- 
pital at  Danvers,  which  made  notable  contributions  each 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  39 

year.  An  unusually  good  collection  of  fowls,  more  than 
five  hundred,  received  much  attention.  The  exhibits  in 
every  department  were  large  and  fine.  On  the  second  day 
of  the  Fair,  the  citizens  of  Peabody,  Salem,  and  other 
towns  joined  in  a  street  parade,  which  included  the  horses 
and  cattle  and  extended  over  a  mile  in  length.  The 
weather  was  favorable  and  great  popular  interest  was 
aroused.  The  delegate  from  the  State  Board  remarked  in 
his  report :  "Without  a  horse  trot  or  other  outside  attrac- 
tions aside  from  a  bicycle  race  and  firemen's  muster,  the 
attendance  was  very  large,  the  entrance  fees  amounting 
to  over  $4,000."  It  was  estimated  that  ten  thousand 
people  were  on  the  grounds. 

Hon.  George  von  L.  Meyer  in  his  Address  in  1897,  re- 
marked upon  two  recent  or  recently  improved  inventions, 
which  were  destined  to  work  great  changes  in  farm  life, 
as  in  society  generally. 

Fifty  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  passenger 
train,  a  thoroughly  successful  horseless  carriage  was  run 
through  Salem  over  our  Essex  roads,  and  I  venture  to 
predict  that  some  of  us  who  are  here  today  will  live  to 
see  the  time  when  it  will  be  as  rare  to  see  carriages  drawn 
by  horses  as  it  is  at  present  to  see  street  cars  drawn  by 
horses.  I  noticed  in  Paris  last  Winter  the  automobile 
as  it  is  there  called  is  becoming  quite  a  frequent  sight. 
.  .  .  Bicycles  are  now  so  cheap  that  they  are  within 
the  reach  of  mechanics  and  farm  laborers. 

In  1898  the  new  order  had  commended  itself  so  well 
that  Gen.  Francis  H.  Appleton  declared,  "We  must  have 
more  land  for  a  grand  stand  that  shall  have  seating 
capacity  to  rest  our  visitors  and  patrons  and  from  which 
they  can  view  a  half-mile  track  to  find  entertainment." 
The  annual  deficit  had  now  been  replaced  by  an  annual 
profit. 

But  the  exhibition  of  1899  was  visited  with  heavy  rain 
and  consequent  shrinkage  in  attendance  and  in  revenue. 
Rev.  J.  M.  Pullman,  D.D.,  of  Lynn,  delivered  the  Address 


40  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

at  the  Peabody  Institute,  the  last  apparently  of  the  long 
series  which  reached  back  to  the  very  beginning  of  the 
Society.  Not  only  was  it  the  last,  but  it  was  not  honored 
with  a  place  in  the  greatly  abridged  Transactions  of  that 
year,  the  first  omission  of  the  kind  since  Col.  Pickering's 
first  address  was  printed  in  1818. 

1900—1910. 

The  Peabody  Experiment. 

On  the  turn  of  the  century  preparations  had  been  made 
for  the  largest  and  most  attractive  exhibit  the  Society 
had  ever  held.  The  ancient  and  honored  name,  "Cattle 
Show,"  had  given  place  to  the  less  rural  and  more  compre- 
hensive "Fair,"  and  it  was  a  significant  evidence  that 
not  only  had  the  cattle  disappeared,  but  the  old-time 
gathering  of  farmers  with  the  products  of  their  farms 
had  ceased.  In  the  hope  of  making  good  the  recent 
financial  losses  the  Society  had  established  itself  perma- 
nently in  one  of  the  busiest  manufacturing  centers,  with 
a  large  and  compact  population  within  easy  reach.  The 
plan  was  now  adopted  of  drawing  a  large  gathering  by 
attractions  manifold  and  various. 

To  further  this  end  the  retiring  President,  Hon.  George 
von  L.  Meyer,  had  borne  the  expense  of  a  grand  stand. 
The  members  of  the  Myopia  Hunt  Club  gave  an  exhibition 
of  hurdle- jumping  ,and  many  fine  horses  competed  for 
the  various  prizes.  The  various  departments  on  the 
grounds  and  in  the  hall  were  full  of  interest.  But  heavy 
rain  again  interfered  seriously  with  the  attendance  and 
the  financial  return.  Similar  disappointment  befell  the 
following  year.  Thursday,  the  great  second  day  of  the 
1901  Fair,  was  the  day  of  President  McKinley's  funeral, 
and  the  nation  was  shrouded  in  gloom.  Heavy  rain  inten- 
sified the  difl^culties  of  the  situation.  It  was  no  wonder 
that  great  discouragement  was  evident  in  the  scant  re- 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  41 

ports  of  the  Fair  of  1902.  The  Society  was  in  debt  and 
facing  annual  deficits.  Only  twelve  new  members  had 
been  added  during-  the  year. 

But  great  preparations  were  made  for  1903,  and  beau- 
tiful weather  favored  the  success  of  the  Fair.  On  the 
opening  day  a  coaching  and  automobile  parade  gave  great 
eclat  to  the  occasion.  Led  by  mounted  marshals,  a  line 
of  open  barouches,  bearing  the  officials  of  the  Society  and 
the  City,  followed  by  a  long  train  of  four-in-hands,  dog 
and  pony  carts  and  automobiles,  all  beautifully  decorated, 
formed  on  Salem  Common  and  moved  to  the  Fair  Grounds 
in  Peabody.  It  was  estimated  that  ten  thousand  people 
passed  through  the  gates  in  the  afternoon.  Band  con- 
certs, hurdle- jumping,  vaudeville  shows,  and  bicycle  races 
entertained  the  crowd.  Gasoline  engines  in  operation  at- 
tracted much  attention.  The  receipts  were  $3,000,  less 
by  two  hundred  than  those  of  the  preceding  year. 

The  records  of  the  following  years  vary  little.  Rain  on 
the  evening  before  the  parade  caused  a  meager  turnout  in 
September,  1904.  A  balloon  ascension  and  parachute  de- 
scent had  been  added  to  the  attractions,  but  repeated  at- 
tempts met  with  exasperating  failure.  There  were  fire- 
men's races  and  hurdle  races  and  a  mimic  Midway.  The 
great  event,  however,  was  the  stirring  address  of  Hon. 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge  at  the  dinner. 

New  features  characterized  the  exhibition  of  1905. 
The  public  schools  were  closed  and  children  were  admitted 
free  in  the  afternoon  of  the  opening  day.  The  Salem 
merchants  organized  a  Trade  Bazaar  in  a  large  tent. 
The  show  of  live  stock  was  the  largest  made  on  the  new 
grounds,  working  oxen,  fine  herds  of  milch  cows,  swinq 
and  poultry. 

At  the  dinner  of  the  Society  in  September,  1906,  Hon. 
Robert  S.  Rantoul  delivered  a  just  eulogy  of  Benjamin 
P.  Ware,  who  had  died  on  February  7,  1906,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-four.  His  long  life  had  covered  nearly  the 
whole  period  of  the  existence  of  the  Agricultural  Society, 


42  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  which  he  became  an  active  member  in  1848.  He  soon 
came  to  a  leading  place  in  its  councils,  and  filled  with 
honor  the  office  of  President  for  sixteen  years.  For  many- 
years  he  held  many  important  official  positions  in  agri- 
cultural societies,  wrote  much  on  farm  topics,  and  was 
a  constant  exponent  of  the  best  methods  of  practical 
farming. 

In  1907,  1908,  1909,  the  exhibitions  were  very  credit- 
able. James  C.  Poor  of  Andover  sent  his  herd  of  choice 
Holsteins;  T.  Jefferson  Coolidge  of  Manchester  his  fine 
Guernseys.  There  were  fat  cattle  from  Charles  J.  Pea- 
body's  Topsfield  farm,  interesting  displays  of  manufac- 
tures, and  the  Merchants'  Bazaar.  The  Midway  had  now 
become  a  grotesque  feature  of  the  attractions,  with  its 
merry-go-rounds  and  Ferris  wheel,  ring-tossers,  fortune 
tellers,  African  dodgers,  novelty  boards,  fakes  and  fakirs 
of  every  sort.  The  horse  show,  hurdle  races  and  firemen's 
contests  had  more  dignified  place  on  the  track.  The  bal- 
loon, fireworks  and  vaudeville  were  constant  features. 
But  the  financial  situation  grew  more  acute  each  year. 
There  was  a  constant  popular  demand  for  the  horse  race 
as  the  thrilling  thing  which  would  draw  the  crowd  and 
fill  the  treasury,  and  equally  firm  insistence  by  the  officers 
of  the  Society  that  the  track  was  not  suitable,  that  it  could 
not  be  introduced  without  large  initial  expense,  that  the 
Middlesex-Reading  Fair,  with  its  big  grand  stand  and 
half-mile  track,  had  proved  a  financial  failure  and  had 
held  no  Fair  for  two  years,  and  that  every  Agricultural 
Society  making  this  venture  faced  bankruptcy. 

The  Fair  of  1909  involved  a  deficit  of  $314,  and  it  was 
patent  that  a  radical  change  of  policy  was  necessary.  A 
mortgage  of  $6,000  had  been  placed  upon  the  Fair 
Grounds.  The  amusement  of  the  multitude  was  in  danger 
of  becoming  the  principal  factor  in  the  plans  of  the 
Society.  Already  there  had  been  great  departure  from 
the  primary  design  of  promoting   agriculture.     There 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  43 

were  those  who  questioned  if  the  ancient  Essex  Agricul- 
tural Society  had  not  fulfilled  its  mission. 

When  the  Society  was  organized  in  1818,  Essex  County 
was  an  agricultural  section,  and  farming  was  the  prin- 
cipal industry.  The  total  population  by  the  Census  of 
1820  was  74,666.  Salem  was  the  principal  town,  with 
a  population  of  12,731,  where  there  was  some  farming 
but  the  principal  employments  were  commerce  and  manu- 
factures. Gloucester  had  a  population  of  6,384,  and  the 
industries  were  equally  farming  and  manufactures, 
Newburyport,  with  a  population  of  6,852,  did  little  farm- 
ing, and  its  activities  were  commerce  and  manufactures. 
Marblehead,  population  5,630,  was  chiefly  engaged  in 
commerce.  In  Lynn,  fifth  in  population,  4,515,  about  one- 
seventh  of  the  population  were  engaged  in  agriculture, 
six-sevenths  in  manufactures.  In  Beverly,  Danvers  and 
Newbury  there  were  large  farming  interests.  Haverhill, 
with  a  population  of  3,070,  was  largely  a  farming  com- 
munity, but  with  considerable  manufacturing.  In  all  the 
rest  of  the  County  farming  was  the  predominant  industry. 

By  the  Census  of  1860,  Haverhill  was  credited  with 
208  farms,  the  largest  number  of  any  town  in  the  County, 
and  on  these  farms  there  were  597  cows  and  196  oxen. 
Beverly,  Newbury  and  Danvers  were  largely  farming 
communities. 

But  in  the  next  half  century,  by  the  Census  of  1910, 
Lynn  had  attained  a  population  of  89,336,  and  farming 
was  practically  eliminated.  Lawrence  was  founded  in 
1845,  and  its  territory  included  some  thousands  of  acres 
of  land  in  Methuen  and  Andover.  On  these  acres  the 
new  city  sprung  into  being,  and  in  1910  its  dense  manu- 
facturing population  numbered  85,892.  Haverhill  had 
advanced  rapidly  as  a  manufacturing  center  and  reached 
a  population  of  44,115.  The  great  South  Parish  of  Dan- 
vers, famous  for  its  fine  farms  in  earlier  years,  had 
become  Peabody,  the  largest  manufacturing  town  in  the 
State,  with  a  yearly  output  of  leather  valued  at  $16,000,- 


44  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

000.  Methuen  had  become  a  busy  town  of  nearly  12,000 
people.  In  some  of  the  smaller  communities  as  well 
manufactures  had  attained  a  predominant  place,  and  all 
along  the  North  Shore  and  in  Wenham,  Hamilton,  Tops- 
field  and  Ipswich,  many  farms  once  tilled  by  working 
farmers  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  wealthy  summer 
residents,  with  whom  agriculture  was  largely  an  amuse- 
ment. So  it  was  affirmed  that  Essex  County  had  now 
little  concern  for  farming,  and  that  the  Agricultural 
Society  might  now  rest  from  its  labors. 

But  wiser  counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was  decided  that 
while  the  Peabody  experiment  had  proved  a  failure, 
there  was  still  the  promise  of  usefulness  in  a  return  to 
the  simpler  ways  of  the  fathers. 

1910. 
The  Home-Coming  to  Topsfield. 

A  very  practical  reason  led  the  Society  back  to  Tops- 
field,  where  the  first  Cattle  Show  was  held  in  1820.  As 
has  been  stated,  Dr.  John  Goodhue  Treadwell  of  Salem 
had  bequeathed  his  Topsfield  farm  to  the  Essex  Agri- 
cultural Society  in  1858.  The  farm  had  served  somes 
practical  purposes  in  the  way  of  experiment,  and  in 
some  years  had  netted  a  profit.  At  times  it  had  been 
an  asset  of  questionable  value,  but  the  Society  still  held 
title.  It  was  now  utilized  as  the  location  for  the  Cattle 
Show  and  Fair  of  September,  1910. 

New  inspiration  would  have  attended  the  return  if 
Cyrus  Cummings's  tavern  were  still  standing.  Unfor- 
tunately, as  a  matter  of  sentiment,  it  had  been  taken  down 
in  August,  1844,  and  removed  to  Clifton,  where  it  was 
rebuilt  as  a  shore  hotel,  but  was  totally  destroyed  by 
fire  two  years  later.  But  the  old  farm  house  proved 
attractive  to  many  visitors.  The  story  goes  that  it  was 
erected  by  Dr.  Richard  Dexter  of  Maiden  in  1741.     The 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  45 

tradition  lingers  that  his  wife  was  a  daring  rider,  and 
that  while  the  house  was  being  built  the  workmen  con- 
structed a  narrow  ascent  to  the  second  story,  up  which 
she  rode  her  spirited  horse. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  an  historic  fact  that  the  ancient 
Garrison  House,  into  which  the  Topsfield  folk  hurried 
when  the  Indians  attacked  Haverhill  and  carried  off 
Hannah  Dustin,  was  built  in  the  great  field  utilized  for 
the  tents,  in  the  rear  of  the  band  stand.  The  great 
trees  on  the  turnpike  near  by  and  on  the  edge  of  the 
field  were  set  by  Dr.  Treadwell  in  1835.  Here  a  very 
successful  Fair  was  held.  There  was  a  band,  and  base- 
ball, and  hurdle-racing,  but  main  reliance  was  placed  on 
the  old-fashioned  ploughing  match  and  heavy  draft  by 
horses,  and  in  the  fine  exhibition  of  animals,  fruits  and 
flowers,  and  home  work  in  infinite  variety. 

•In  1911  the  number  of  cattle,  horses  and  swine  was 
nearly  doubled.  The  ploughing,  harrowing  and  drafting 
by  horses  attracted  much  attention,  as  usual,  and  there 
were  unusually  large  exhibits  of  poultry,  fruit  and  vege- 
tables, stimulated  by  the  silver  medals,  given  by  Mr. 
Thomas  E,  Proctor,  for  the  best  collection  in  each  of 
these  departments.  The  school  exhibits  proved  an  inter- 
esting novelty.  In  the  Spring  the  school  superintendents 
had  given  four  potatoes  and  six  ounces  of  sweet  corn 
to  every  child  who  agreed  to  plant  and  care  for  them. 
Exhibits  of  the  product  came  from  nearly  every  town, 
as  well  as  speciments  of  handiwork.  In  addition  to  the 
Holsteins,  Guernseys  and  Jerseys,  Kerry  cows,  the  breed 
which  had  been  exhibited  forty  years  before  by  D.  F. 
Appleton,  re-appeared  at  this  time,  and  eight  yoke  of 
oxen  lent  an  old-time  flavor. 

In  1912,  from  the  old  Fatherland  Farm,  owned  a  cen- 
tury before  by  Gorham  Parsons,  one  of  the  staunch 
supporters  of  the  Society,  now  owned  by  Frank  L.  Burke 
and  Son,  came  their  herd  of  imported  Ayrshires.  South- 
down, Shropshire  and  Horned  Dorset  sheep  and  a  few 


46  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

goats  suggested  a  renewal  of  sheep  raising.  At  the  1913 
Fair  a  flock  of  Angora  goats  was  exhibited.  In  1914 
the  Essex  County  Agricultural  School  made  its  first  ex- 
hibit. In  1820,  at  the  first  Cattle  Show  in  Topsfield,  Dr. 
Andrew  Nichols  had  made  his  earnest  plea  for  such  a 
school.  His  plea  had  been  repeated  at  intervals  by 
others,  and  schemes  for  such  a  school  had  been  proposed. 
At  last  the  Essex  County  Agricultural  School  had  opened 
its  doors  on  October  1st,  1913,  to  an  opening  class  of 
85  pupils  at  Hathorne. 

This  exhibit  was  singularly  happy  and  effective.  Dis- 
play was  made  of  the  proper  tools  for  modern  farming, 
plans  of  farm  buildings,  tabulations  of  fertilizers  and 
chemicals,  and  ten-minute  lectures  were  given  at  inter- 
vals. The  Essex  County  Poultry  Association  had  been 
merged  with  the  Agricultural  Society,  and  the  combined 
exhibit  filled  a  large  tent.  The  Essex  County  School 
made  another  effective  exhibit  in  1915.  Demonstrations 
were  made  of  grading,  packing  and  canning  fruit,  killing 
and  plucking  of  poultry,  and  making  of  hotbeds.  Types 
of  milking  apparatus  were  displayed  and  the  science  of 
bee  keeping  explained.  New  buildings  for  the  horses, 
cattle  and  swine,  and  two  new  large  tents  for  the  general 
exhibition  in  1916,  indicated  returning  prosperity. 

Thus  as  the  century  is  rounded  out  the  venerable! 
Society  is  rejoicing  in  a  revived  enthusiasm  in  the  im- 
provement of  agriculture.  The  Midway  has  been  elim- 
inated. Children  are  encouraged  to  exhibit  the  products 
of  their  gardens,  their  school  work  and  manual  training, 
their  poultry,  their  heifers  and  their  pigs,  the  raising 
of  which  is  being  promoted  by  the  Massachusetts  Boys 
and  Girls  Pig  Clubs.  Boys  are  invited  to  compete  in  the 
old-time  contests  in  ploughing  with  horses  and  oxen  and 
in  handling  teams  of  oxen  and  horses.  The  homely  arts 
of  darning  and  patching  home  garments,  the  making  of 
kitchen  aprons,  and  many  home  industries  are  stimu- 
lated by  premiums.    The  Myopia  Hunt  Club  entertains 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  47 

with  exhibitions  of  skilled  horsemanship  and  offers  spe- 
cial prizes  for  the  best  draft  teams  and  the  best  farm 
or  utility  colts.  There  are  special  premiums  for  the  best 
ears  of  Indian  corn. 

The  isolation  of  farm  life  has  been  offset  largely  by 
the  telephone  and  the  daily  rural  mail  delivery.  The 
automobile  has  made  the  farm  near  neighbor  to  the  town, 
and  made  carriage  of  products  easy.  The  transportation 
of  children  at  public  expense  has  facilitated  education. 
The  gasoline  engine  has  relieved  the  hard  work  of  wood 
sawing  and  ensilage  cutting.  The  Grange  has  promoted 
the  social  relations.  And  now  the  Essex  Agricultural 
Society,  by  its  Fairs,  its  many  premiums,  and  its  good 
fellowship  is  making  large  contribution  to  the  pleasure, 
the  attractiveness  to  children  and  youth,  and  the  profit 
of  life  on  the  farm,  and  the  stimulation  of  agricultural 
pursuits.  The  Inspector  of  the  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture concluded  his  observations  on  the  Topsfield  Fair  in 
1916  with  the  complimentary  remark:  "It  seems  to  me 
that  with  more  fairs  upon  these  same  lines  agriculture 
in  New  England  is  bound  to  return." 


48  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  Publications  of  The  Essex  Agricultural 
Society. 

The  Society  issued  its  first  publication  in  1818,  the 
first  year  of  its  existence,  a  thin  pamphlet  of  27  pages, 
entitled,  "Address  to  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society,  May 
5:1818,  by  the  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering,  President  of  the 
Society." 

The  second,  a  pamphlet  of  27  pages,  entitled,  "A  Dis- 
course read  before  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society  in 
Massachusetts  February  21,  1820,  suggesting  some  im- 
provements in  the  Agriculture  of  the  County  by  Timothy 
Pickering,  President  of  the  Society,"  was  issued  in  1820. 

"The  Trustees'  Account  of  the  Cattle  Show  and  Other 
Exhibitions  at  Topsfield,  Oct.  5,  1820,"  with  "An  Address 
to  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society  at  their  First  Cattle 
Show  at  Topsfield,  Oct.  5:1820,  by  Andrew  Nichols  Esq.," 
a  56  page  pamphlet,  was  published  in  1821. 

The  Address  by  Rev.  Abiel  Abbot  of  Andover  and  the 
Trustees'  Account  of  the  Agricultural  Exhibition  at  Dan- 
vers,  October  16  and  17,  1821,  55  pages,  was  published 
in  1822. 

The  Society  published  the  address  of  Rev.  Peter  Eaton, 
D.D.,  of  Boxford,  at  Topsfield  on  October  2:1822,  with 
full  reports,  premiums,  etc.,  60  pages,  in  1823,  but  in 
the  following  year,  1824,  a  thin  pamphlet  of  23  pages 
was  issued,  which  contained  the  Address  of  Frederic 
Howes  Esq.  at  Topsfield,  October  6,  1823,  with  no  re- 
ports, but  with  the  list  of  premiums  for  the  following 
year. 

No  publication  was  issued  by  the  Society  regarding 
the  Cattle  Show  of  1824,  at  which  there  was  no  address 
apparently,  but  a  full  statement  was  made  in  the  New 
England  Farmer. 

An  Account  of  Premiums  awarded  in  1825  and  a  list 
of  premiums  offered  for  1826,  with  "Remarks  and  Ex- 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  49 

planations  for  the  Information  of  the  Farmers  of  the 
County,"  without  mention  of  an  address,  33  pages,  was 
pubHshed  in  1826. 

In  1826,  at  South  Danvers,  there  was  no  address,  and 
the  only  report  was  that  in  the  columns  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer,  and  the  report  of  the  Fair  at  Newbury  in 
1827,  at  which  there  was  no  address,  was  published  in 
the  same  paper. 

Col.  Pickering  made  his  last  Address  at  West  Newbury 
in  1828,  and  the  Society  published  it,  with  reports,  pre- 
miums, list  of  members,  a  pamphlet  of  77  pages,  in  April, 
1829. 

There  was  no  address  in  1829  at  Haverhill,  but  a  full 
report,  with  "Hints  addressed  to  the  Farmers  of  Essex 
County,"  an  88  page  pamphlet,  was  issued  in  1830.  From 
this  date  the  Publications  were  issued  regularly  for  many 
years,  always  containing  the  Annual  Address  in  full. 
The  title,  "Transactions  of  the  Essex  Agricultural  So- 
ciety," first  appeared  in  1840. 


50  THE  HISTORY  0^  THE 


List  of  Presidents  of  the  Essex  Agricultural 
Society,  with  the  Date  of  Election. 

1818    Hon.  Timothy  Pickering  of  Salem. 

1829    Hon,  Frederick  Howes  of  Salem. 

1833     Hon.  Ebenezer  Moseley  of  Newburyport. 

1836     Hon.  James  H.  Duncan  of  Haverhill. 

1839    Joseph  Kittredge,  M.D.,  of  Andover,  now  North 
Andover. 

1841     Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall  of  Salem. 

1845    John  W.  Proctor  Esq.  of  South  Danvers,  now 
Peabody. 

1852    Hon.  Moses  Newell  of  West  Newbury. 

1856    Richard  S.  Fay  Esq.  of  Lynn. 

1858    Daniel  Adams  Esq.  of  Newbury. 

1860    Hon.  .Allen  W.  Dodge  of  Hamilton. 

1863    Joseph  How  Esq.  of  Methuen. 

1865    William    Sutton    Esq.    of    South    Danvers,    now 

Peabody. 
1874    Benjamin  P.  Ware  Esq.  of  Marblehead. 
1891     Francis  H.  Appleton  Esq.  of  Peabody. 
1896    Rev.  Oliver  S.  Butler  of  Georgetown. 
1898    Hon.  George  von  L.  Meyer  of  Hamilton. 
1900    Francis  H.  Appleton  Esq.  of  Peabody. 
1904    Frederic  A.  Russell  Esq.  of  Methuen. 
1910    John  M.  Danforth  Esq.  of  Lynnfield. 
1912    Charles  H.  Preston  Esq.  of  Danvers. 
1915    Herbert  W.  Mason  Esq.  of  Ipswich. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  51 


List  of  Secretaries  of  the  Essex  Agricultural 
Society,  with  the  Year  of  their  Election. 

1818  David  Cummings  of  Salem. 

1819  Frederick  Howes  of  Salem. 

1820  John  W.  Proctor  of  South  Danvers,  now  Peabody. 
1842  Daniel  P.  King  of  South  Danvers,  now  Peabody. 
1844  Allen  W.  Dodge  of  Hamilton. 

1860  Charles  P.  Preston  of  Danvers. 

1885  David  W.  Low  of  Gloucester. 

1890  John  M.  Danforth  of  Lynnfield. 

1910  Fred.  A.  Smith  of  Ipswich. 

1914  Walter  H.  Brown  of  West  Peabody. 


List  of  Treasurers  of  the  Essex  Agricultural 
Society,  with  the  Year  of  Their  Election. 

1818  Ichabod  Tucker  of  Salem. 

1819  Daniel  A.  White  of  Salem. 
1823  Benjamin  R.  Nichols  of  Salem. 
1825  Benjamin  Merrill  of  Salem. 
1828  Andrew  Nichols  of  Danvers. 
1841  William  Sutton  of  Salem. 
1856  Edward  H.  Payson  of  Salem. 
1881  Gilbert  L.  Streeter  of  Salem. 
1902  William  S.  Nichols  of  Salem. 


52  the  history  of  the 

List  of  Addresses  Delivered  at  the  Annual  Meeting 
OF  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society. 

1818  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering  of  Salem. 

1820  (Feb.)  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering  of  Salem. 

1820  (Oct.)  Dr.  Andrew  Nichols  of  Danvers. 

1821  Rev.  Abiel  Abbot  of  Andover. 

1822  Rev.  Peter  Eaton,  D.D.,  of  Boxford. 

1823  Frederick  Howes  Esq.  of  Salem. 
1828  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering  of  Salem. 

1830  Hon.  James  H.  Duncan  of  Haverhill. 

1831  Rev.  Henry  Colman  of  Salem. 

1832  Rev.  Gardner  B.  Perry  of  Bradford. 

1833  Dr.  Jeremiah  Spofford  of  Bradford. 

1834  Hon.  Ebenezer  Moseley  of  Newburyport. 

1835  Hon.  Daniel  P.  King  of  South  Danvers,  now  Pea- 

body. 

1836  Hon.  Nathan  W.  Hazen  of  Andover. 

1837  Rev.  Nathaniel  Gage  of  Haverhill. 

1838  Rev.  Leonard  Withington  of  Newbury. 

1839  Rev.  Allen  Putnam  of  Danvers. 

1840  Hon.  Asahel  Huntington  of  Salem. 

1841  Alonzo  Gray,  A.M.,  of  Andover. 

1842  Hon,  Allen  W.  Dodge  of  Hamilton. 

1843  Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall  of  Salem. 

1844  Hon.   John  W.   Proctor  of  South  Danvers,  now 

Peabody. 

1845  Rev.  Edwin  M.  Stone  of  Beverly. 

1846  Hon.  Moses  Newell  of  West  Newbury. 

1847  Thomas  E.  Payson  Esq.  of  Rowley. 

1848  Josiah  Newhall  Esq.  of  Lynnfield. 

1849  Hon.  Asa  T.  Newhall  of  Lynnfield. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  53 

1850  Hon.  Caleb  Gushing  of  Newburyport. 

1851  Rev.  Milton  P.  Braman  of  Danvers. 

1852  Hon.  Henry  K.  Oliver  of  Lawrence. 

1853  Hon.  Joseph  S.  Cabot  of  Salem. 

1854  Hon.  Richard  S.  Fay  of  Lynn. 

1855  Dr.  James  R.  Nichols  of  Haverhill. 

1856  Ben:  Perley  Poore  Esq.  of  West  Newbury. 

1857  Dr.  E.  G.  Kelley  of  Newburyport. 

1858  Dr.  George  B.  Loring  of  Salem. 

1859  Hon.  James  J.  J.  H.  Gregory  of  Marblehead. 

1860  Rev.  John  L.  Russell  of  Salem. 

1861  Hon.  Alfred  A.  Abbott  of  South  Danvers,  now 

Peabody. 

1862  George  J.  L.  Colby  Esq.  of  Newburyport. 

1863  Hon.  Daniel  Saunders  Jr.  of  Lawrence. 

1864  Hon.  Darwin  E.  Ware  of  Marblehead. 

1865  Dr.  Nehemiah  Cleaveland  of  Topsfield. 

1866  Hon.  Otis  P.  Lord  of  Salem. 

1867  Rev.  Raymond  H.  Seeley,  D.D.,  of  Haverhill. 

1868  Dr.  George  B.  Loring  of  Salem. 

1869  Benjamin  P.  Ware  Esq.  of  Marblehead. 

1870  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  of  Lowell. 

1871  Hon.  Joseph  S.  How  of  Methuen. 

1872  Hon.  William  D.  Northend  of  Salem. 

1873  Rev.  Charles  B.  Rice  of  Danvers. 

1874  John  L.  Shorey  Esq.  of  Lynn. 

1875  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bolles,  D.D.,  of  Salem. 

1876  Cyrus  M.  Tracy  Esq.  of  Lynn. 

1877  Rev.  Oliver  S.  Butler  of  Georgetown. 

1878  Thomas  C.  Thurlow  Esq.  of  West  Newbury. 

1879  Dr.  George  B.  Loring  of  Salem. 

1880  David  W.  Low  Esq.  of  Gloucester. 


54  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

1881  Dr.  James  R.  Nichols  of  Haverhill. 

1882  Francis  H.  Appleton  Esq.  of  Peabody. 

1883  Hon.  Charles  P.  Thompson  of  Gloucester. 

1884  Hon.  Asa  T.  Newhall  of  Lynn. 

1885  Thomas  Saunders  Esq.  of  Haverhill. 

1886  Rev.  John  D.  Kingsbury  of  Bradford. 

1887  Dr.  William  Cogswell  of  Bradford. 

1888  Hon.  Horatio  Herrick  of  Lawrence. 

1889  Charles  J.  Peabody  Esq.  of  Topsfield. 

1890  John  W.  Perkins,  A.M.,  of  Byfield. 

1891  Hon.  William  H.  Moody  of  Haverhill. 

1892  Hon.  Edwin  P  Dodge  of  Newburyport. 

1893  Hon.  Nathan  M.  Hawkes  of  Lynn. 

1894  Hon.  William  S.  Knox  of  Lawrence. 

1895  Rev.  Oscar  T.  Safford  of  Peabody. 

1896  Robert  S.  Rantoul  Esq.  of  Salem. 

1897  Hon.  George  von  L.  Meyer  of  Hamilton. 

1898  Francis  H.  Appleton  Esq.  of  Peabody. 

1899  Rev.  J.  M.  Pullman,  D.D.,  of  Lynn. 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 


55 


Places  Where  the  Annual  Exhibitions  or  Cattle 
Shows  Have  Been  Held. 


1820 

Topsfield. 

1848 

Lynn. 

1821 

Danvers. 

1849 

Salem. 

1822 

Topsfield. 

1850 

Salem. 

1823 

No  Cattle  Show. 

1851 

Salem. 

1824 

Topsfield. 

1852 

Lawrence. 

1825 

Topsfield. 

1853 

Lawrence. 

1826 

South  Danvers,  now 

1854 

Lawrence. 

Peabody. 

1855 

Haverhill. 

1827 
1828 
1829 

Newbury. 
West  Newbury. 
Haverhill. 

1856 
1857 
1858 

Newburyport. 
Newburyport. 
Danvers. 

1830 
1831 

Andover,  now  North 

Andover. 
Andover,  now  North 

1859 
1860 

Danvers. 

South  Danvers,  now 
Peabody. 

1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 

1836 

1837 

Andover. 
Newbury. 
Georgetown. 
Georgetown. 
South  Danvers,  now 

Peabody. 
South  Danvers,  now 

Peabody. 
Topsfield. 

1861 

1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 

South  Danvers,  now 

Peabody. 
Georgetown. 
Andover. 
Lawrence. 
Lawrence. 
Haverhill 
Haverhill. 

1838 
1839 

Topsfield. 
Georgetown. 

1868 
1869 

Newburyport. 
Newburyport. 

1840 

Georgetown. 

1870 

Ipswich. 

1841 

Georgetown. 

1871 

Ipswich. 

1842 

Andover. 

1872 

Gloucester. 

1843 

Andover. 

1873 

Gloucester. 

1844 

Ipswich. 

1874 

Danvers. 

1845 

Ipswich. 

1875 

Danvers. 

1846 

Lynn. 

1876 

Danvers. 

1847 

Lynn. 

1877 

Lawrence. 

56     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 


1878 

Lawrence. 

1888     Peabody. 

1879 

Lynn. 

1889     Beverly. 

1880 

Lynn. 

1890     Beverly. 

1881 

Haverhill. 

1891     Lawrence. 

1882 

Haverhill. 

1892     Lawrence. 

1883 

Salem. 

1893     Haverhill. 

1884 

Salem. 

1894     Haverhill. 

1885 

Newburyport. 

1895  to  1910    Peabody. 

1886 

Newburyport. 

1910  to  1918    Topsfield 

1887 

Peabody. 

Essex  Agricultural  Society 

of  Essex  County 


Massachusetts 


THE  REMARKABLE  GROWTH 
In  the  Years  from  1918  to  1923 


MEMBERSHIP  CAMPAIGN 
for  1924 


O 


]o: 


Essex  Agricultural  Society 

of  Essex  County 

Massachasetts 


THE  REMARKABLE  GROWTH 
In  the  Years  from  1918  to  1923 


MEMBERSHIP  CAMPAIGN 
for  1924 


PRINTED   IN  1924 


NBWCOMB   &   GAUSS 
SALEM,    MASS. 


OFFICERS  AND  TRUSTEES  FOR  1924 

OF  THE 

ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 

FOUNDED  IN  1818 


President 

I.  H.   Sa^vyer,  Boxford 

Vice-Presidents 


Edward  Wigglesworth    Topsfield 
F.  E.  Appleton  Ipswicla 


Andrew  Longfellow 
E.  K.  Burnham 


Groveland 
Gloucester 


Secretary 

R.  H.   Gask 

ill,  Danvers 

Treasurer 

W.  Chester  Long,  Topsfield 

Trustees 

George  Kinney 

Amesbury 

Eric  Wetterlow 

Manchester 

Herbert  Carter 

Andover 

A.  E.  Little 

Marblehead 

Fred  Dodgd 

Beverly 

John  K.  Sargent 

Merrimac 

Chester  Killam 

Boxford 

Lyman    Wilkins 

Middleton 

J.  W.  Nichols 

Danvers 

Elbridge  NoyeS 

Newbury 

Caleb   Cogswell 

Essex 

Paul   Winkley 

Newburyport 

Charles  Johnson 

Georgetown 

George  R.  Barker 

No.  Andover 

Ephraim  Andrews 

Gloucester 

George  S.  Curtis 

Peabody 

Andrew  Longfellow 

Groveland 

Chester  P.  Dodge 

Rockport 

Leonard  Ahl 

Hamilton 

G.  F.  Carleton 

Rowley 

J,  B.  Sa^vyer 

Haverhill 

Harlan   Kelsey 

Salem 

J.  W.  Appleton 

Ipswich 

Edwin  Bartlett 

Salisbury 

W.  G.  Fancher 

Lawrence 

C.    E.    Stillings 

Saugus 

H.  H.  Atherton 

Lynn 

Edwin  Gefrould 

Swampscott 

Thomas   Cox,  Jr. 

Lynnfield 

Charles  J.  Peabody 

Topsfield 

John  Shirley 

Methuen 

C.   A.   Leach 

Wenham 

L.  G.  Dodge,  West  Newbury 

Trustees  at  Large 

W.  M,  Wood 

Lawrence 

Nathaniel  Stevens 

No.  Andover 

H,  W.  Mason 

Ipswich 

John  S.  Lawrence 

Topsfield 

A  GENEROUS  OFFER 

After  three  years  of  incessant  work,  the  old  Essex 
Agricultural  Society  has  been  very  much  revived,  and 
now  owns  its  Fair  Grounds,  race  track,  and  improve- 
ments at  Topsfield,  Massachusetts,  free  from  incum- 
brance. Last  year  we  spent  for  buildings  and  other  im- 
provements on  the  grounds  between  $23,000  and  $24,000, 
and  our  additional  running  expenses  for  the  Fair  were 
sufficient  to  make  a  total  of  $47,000.  Our  receipts  were 
enough  to  cover  this  amount,  lacking  $10,000;  which 
leads  us  to  believe  that  by  not  making  any  more  improve- 
ments than  is  necessary  to  run  a  successful  four-day  Fair 
this  year,  September  17,  18,  19,  20,  with  favorable 
weather,  our  receipts  will  be  sufficient  to  put  the  Society 
practically  out  of  debt.  This  is  what  we  intend  to  do, 
while  we  need  several  new  buildings  and  other  improve- 
ments. 

We  wish  to  increase  our  membership,  which  is  a  very 
desirable  source  of  revenue,  as  every  increase  in  member- 
ship naturally  means  an  increase  of  interest  in  the  Society 
and  Fair  and  larger  attendance.  Life  Membership  is 
only  $3.00  for  men,  women,  and  boys  and  girls  over 
twelve  years  of  age.  To  make  it  interesting  to  the  differ- 
ent organizations  in  the  county,  we  are  offering  a  com- 
mission of  $1.00  for  each  membership  secured.  We  feel 
that  there  is  not  an  organization  in  any  town  that  cannot 
add  a  nice  sum  to  its  treasury.  Therefore,  we  are  asking 
you  to  appoint  a  suitable  committee  of  your  organization 
to  secure  memberships  for  the  Essex  Agricultural  So- 
ciety at  $3.00  for  life  membership  with  no  assessments, 
which  means  $100  in  your  treasury  for  every  one  hun- 
dred members  you  secure.  It  is  not  necessary  that  these 
members  live  in  your  town  or  county;  you  can  solicit 
them  wherever  you  can  get  them.  On  another  page  are 
some  of  the  good  reasons  why  people  should  become  mem- 
bers. We  are  also  sending  you  some  blanks  on  which  to 
write  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  new  members,  and 
additional  blanks  will  be  sent  on  request.  Please  return 
the  lists  to  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society  at  Topsfield, 
with  remittances. 

We  hope  you  will  take  hold  of  this  work  earnestly  and 
secure  results  to  our  mutual  satisfaction.  Your  kind 
reply  will  oblige. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Essex  Agricultural  Society. 
I.  H.  Sawyer,  President. 


A  MEMBERSHIP  CAMPAIGN 

An  effort  is  to  be  made  to  increase  our  membership 
among  the  members  of  the  following  organizations  of  the 
County,  and  prizes  will  be  offered  for  work  in  this  direc- 
tion : 

American  Legion  Masons 

American  Legion  Auxiliary  Odd  Fellows 

Boy  and  Girl  Scouts  Police  Departments 

Banks  of  County  Red  Cross 

Chambers  of  Commerce  Rotary  Clubs 

Churches  Sunday  Schools 

Fire  Departments  Women's  Clubs 

Granges  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Kiwanis  Clubs  *      *     "     ' 
Knights  of  Columbus 

Any  other  organization  interested. 


A  commission  of  One  Dollar  will  be  awarded  for  each  new 
member  obtained,  and  an  attractive  Certificate  of  Membership 
will  be  presented  to  each  new  member. 


MONEY  PRIZES  TO  BE  OFFERED 

It  is  proposed  to  present  three  prizes  to  the  organiza- 
tions in  the  County  that  secure  the  largest  number  of 
members  for  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society. 

First  Prize $15.00 

Second  Prize 10.00 

Third  Prize  5.00 


WHY  YOU  SHOULD  BE  A  MEMBER  OF  THE 
ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 

Because  it  is  the  oldest  Agricultural  Society  in  the 
State  holding  an  Annual  Fair.     Founded  in  1818. 

Because  every  town  in  Essex  County  is  included  in  its 
membership. 

Because  it  owns  the  most  beautiful  one  hundred  acre 
farm  and  Fair  Grounds  in  the  State,  at  Topsfield,  on  the 
Newburyport  Turnpike  and  Ipswich  River,  twenty  miles 
from  Boston,  clear  of  incumbrance. 

Because  it  encourages  agriculture,  horticulture  and 
animal  industry. 

Because  agriculture  is  the  basis  of  all  prosperity:  for 
the  laboring  man,  the  mechanic,  the  manufacturer,  the 
merchant,  the  banker,  and  the  professional  man. 

Because  if  agriculture  is  not  successful,  farms  will  be 
abandoned,  and  Essex  County  will  become  nothing  but 
a  summer  resort. 

Because  it  holds  one  of  the  largest  and  most  attractive 
annual  Fairs  in  the  State,  fast  growing  in  popularity. 

Because  it  provides  once  a  year,  to  both  young  and  old, 
the  most  entertaining  and  instructive  four-day  attraction 
in  the  county. 

Because  its  beautiful  grounds  and  improvements  are 
offered  free  of  charge  to  the  fraternal,  industrial,  finan- 
cial and  religious  organizations  of  the  county,  for  picnics' 
and  outings. 

Because  it  provides  a  County  Community  Playground. 

Because  it  very  much  increases  the  county  attractions, 
for  both  residents  and  visitors,  providing  recreation  and 
increased  enjoyment  for  all. 

Because  it  v/ill  provide  more  pleasure  and  recreation 
and  encourage  young  men  and  young  women  to  remain 
on  the  farms. 

Because,  during  the  summer,  weekly  dancing  parties 
are  given  at  the  grounds  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  mem- 
bers. 

Because  we  need  your  interest  and  co-operation  to 
make  this  the  best  Fair  in  the  State. 


Because  the  membership  fee  is  so  small  and  the  benefit 
to  the  whole  county  so  large. 

Because  we  need  a  fruit  and  vegetable  building  and  a 
flower  building  to  make  our  Fair  grounds  practically- 
complete. 

Because  we  should  perpetuate  all  the  good  things  that 
the  fathers  left  us. 

Because  your  membership  and  co-operation  will  help 
us  bring  about  all  the  above  results. 

Life  Membership  only  $3.00  to  Men  and  Women,  Boys 
and  Girls  over  twelve  years  of  age;  no  assessments. 


WONDERFUL  GROWTH  OF  THE  SOCIETY 


The  observance  of  the  centenary  of  the  Society,  which 
is  one  of  the  oldest  agricultural  societies  in  Massachu- 
setts, was  to  have  been  made  the  outstanding  feature 
of  its  Fair,  scheduled  for  October  3,  4,  and  5,  1918.  An 
attractive  program  had  been  arranged  and  interest  in  the 
occasion  ran  high  throughout  the  county.  "Man  pro- 
poses, and  God  disposes."  In  consequence  of  the  pre- 
vailing epidemic  of  influenza  in  the  early  Fall,  the  agri- 
cultural fairs  in  the  state  were  cancelled,  and  no  fitting 
commemoration  of  the  anniversary  was  held.  During 
the  year,  however,  the  Society  published  its  history, 
written  by  Rev.  T.  Franklin  Waters  of  Ipswich.  The 
pamphlet  contains  a  comprehensive  record  of  the  incep- 
tion, growth  and  development  of  the  Society  during  its 
first  hundred  years. 

In  1919,  the  98th  annual  fair  was  held  on  September 
26  and  27.  The  evening  previous  to  the  opening  day  a 
terrific  rain  storm  swept  over  the  town,  and  the  accom- 
panying high  wind  blew  down  the  main  tent,  and  by 
reason  of  the  confusion  resulting,  the  exhibits  of  fruits 
and  flowers  were  not  displayed  until  about  noon.  The 
exhibitors  were  few  in  number  and  the  specimens  of 
fruits  were  of  fair  quality,  but  the  attendance  was  most 
disappointing. 

Again,  in  1920,  the  attendance  dropped  to  low  level. 
The  large  tent  was  not  erected  for  this  fair,  and  every- 
thing was  conducted  on  a  small  scale.  The  pessimists 
openly  declared  that  the  days  of  the  Society  were  num- 
bered. This  gloomy  view  of  affairs  was  evident  at  the 
annual  meeting.    At  that  time  a  committee,  consisting 


of  Joseph  B.  Poor,  John  S.  Lawrence  and  Thomas  E. 
Proctor  of  Topsfield,  and  Isaac  R.  Thomas,  Francis  R. 
Appleton  and  Herbert  W.  Mason  of  Ipswich,  were  ap- 
pointed to  consider  and  report  on  the  proposition  of  con- 
tinuing the  fair.  These  gentlemen  worked  out  a  program 
of  development  which  not  only  rescued  the  Society  from 
threatening  dissolution,  but  marked  the  beginning  of 
a  return  to  its  former  successful  operation  of  the  fair. 

But  the  fair  of  1921!  Never  will  the  citizens  of  old 
Essex  weary  of  the  story  of  the  100th  fair  of  the  So- 
ciety. "A  miniature  Brockton  show!"  exclaimed  an  en- 
thusiastic member  of  the  Society  to  his  companion,  who 
replied,  "You  have  said  something,  and  I  have  been  at- 
tending fairs  for  over  forty  years."  The  suggestion  was 
offered  that  a  fund  should  be  raised  by  public  subscrip- 
tion to  discharge  the  existing  indebtedness.  Thereupon, 
Isaac  H.  Sawyer,  Josiah  H.  Gifford,  Edward  Wiggles- 
worth,  Herbert  W.  Mason  and  Ralph  H.  Gaskill  volun- 
teered to  solicit  and  receive  contributions,  and  a  sub- 
stantial sum  was  secured  by  them. 

The  permanent  improvements  during  the  year  were: 
an  exhibition  hall  (50  by  100  feet),  one-half  mile  race 
track,  stable  (24  by  100  feet),  grand  stand,  dance  pavil- 
ion (30  by  60  feet),  and  baseball  grounds,  and  water 
supply  and  electric  lights  were  installed.  A  continuous 
program  was  given  by  demonstrators  and  entertainers. 
The  race  track  was  indeed  an  innovation  for  the  staid 
old  Essex  society.  The  horses  showed  their  class  before 
an  overflowing  grand  stand. 

The  most  valuable  service  to  the  Society  during  the 
year  was  that  rendered  by  the  President,  I.  H.  Sawyer, 
who  negotiated  with  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital, 
whereby  it  conveyed  to  the  Society  its  interests  in  and 
to  the  fair  grounds  and  certain  other  lands  devised  con- 
ditionally in  1856  by  the  will  of  Dr.  John  G.  Treadwell 
of  Salem,  and  the  Society  released  to  the  Hospital  the 
remaining  parcels  which  it  had  under  the  will.  The 
Society  now  holds  a  good  and  clear  record  title  to  its 
valuable  and  extensive  plant  covering  one  hundred  acres, 
which  is  delightfully  located  on  the  Newburyport  Turn- 
pike and  within  half  a  mile  of  the  site  of  the  famous 
Topsfield  Hotel,  where  it  was  organized  in  1818. 

The  fair  held  September  21,  22  and  23,  1922,  brought 
out  a  record-breaking  attendance,  and  was  conceded  to 
be  the  equal  of  any  in  the  State.  Here  was  found  the 
traditional  county  fair  with  the  addition  of  the  best  of 
the  modern  requirements. 


Congratulations  are  due  to  the  management  for  the 
unsurpassed  exhibition  of  1923.  But  attention  is  called 
to  the  fact  that  the  Society  has  added  to  its  plant  during 
the  past  few  months, — days,  the  contractor  says, — new 
buildings  as  follows:  Poultry  building  (50  by  150  feet), 
cattle  barn  (50  by  100  feet),  horse  barn  (30  by  60  feet), 
racing  stable  (28  by  80  feet),  piggery  (14  by  80  feet), 
woman's  building  (30  by  60  feet)  with  rest  and  first-aid 
rooms  and  children's  nursery  (the  latter  structure  was 
made  possible  by  the  generosity  of  the  women  of  the 
county),  pump  house,  and  ticket  office  as  the  first  unit 
of  an  administration  building  and  exhibition  hall.  Sub- 
stantial and  attractive  fences  have  been  built  around  the 
race  track  and  outside  the  grounds.  The  new  roadway 
from  Maple  Street  to  the  racing  stables  served  to  relieve 
much  of  the  usual  traffic  congestion  at  the  main  entrance 
to  the  grounds.  The  progress  of  landscape  architecture 
is  noted  in  the  grading  and  setting  out  of  shrubs  and 
trees.  The  track  has  been  the  training  quarters  of  sev- 
eral well  known  stables  during  the  summer,  and  is  con- 
sidered to  be  from  three  to  seven  seconds  faster  than  the 
average  race  track  in  New  England. 

During  the  past  three  years  women  and  boys  and  girls 
over  twelve  years  of  age  have  been  admitted  to  member- 
ship, and  a  drive  for  an  increase  of  membership  has  been 
highly  successful.  But  with  the  forward  steps  already 
taken  by  the  Society,  it  has  only  crossed  the  threshold  in 
developing  its  plans  for  a  service  of  wide  scope  and  great 
value  to  the  County  and  State. 


INTERESTING  STORY  OF  THE  OLD  BLOCK  HOUSE 
FORMERLY  ON  THE  FAIR  GROUNDS 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  history  of  the  work 
of  the  Society,  and  as  showing  the  wide  interest  it  fosters 
and  supports,  we  wish  to  record  the  action  of  the  Society 
in  the  past  year  in  voting  to  erect  a  monument  near  the 
center  of  the  Fair  Grounds  to  mark  the  site  of  the  old 
Block  House,  erected  in  the  early  days  of  the  town  to 
furnish  a  shelter  and  defense  against  Indian  attacks. 

This  building  was  constructed  previous  to  the  Indian 
attack  on  Haverhill,  March  15th,  1697,  when  Hannah 
Dustin  was  carried  off  by  Indians  but  escaped  from  them. 
At  that  time  the  alarm  of  an  attack  reached  Topsfield, 
and  some  of  the  inhabitants  took  refuge  in  the  Block 


House  referred  to.  According  to  tradition,  considered 
authentic,  the  house  was  built  of  logs  squared  on  one 
side  and  mortised  and  pinned  together  at  the  corners  and 
covered  with  a  heavy  roof  of  logs  and  made  tight  with 
an  outer  covering  of  boards  laid  lap-edged  and  pinned  to 
the  logs.  Loopholes  were  made  in  the  side  of  the  build- 
ing, through  which  guns  could  be  aimed  at  the  approach- 
ing foe.  About  forty  feet  from  the  sides  of  the  house 
a  palisade  of  logs  set  close  together  in  the  ground  and 
from  ten  to  twelve  feet  high,  surrounded  it  on  all  sides. 
Entrance  was  by  a  stout  gate  or  wide  door  or  framed 
timber,  fastened  on  the  inside  with  bar  and  chain.  Pro- 
visions, consisting  of  two  barrels  of  meal  and  one  barrel 
of  salt  pork,  were  kept  constantly  on  hand.  The  meal 
was  changed  often  enough  to  keep  it  sweet  and  fit  for 
food.  A  spring  in  the  cellar  of  the  house  supplied  water 
in  case  of  an  attack,  without  risk  of  going  outside  the 
walls. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  first  water  supply 
secured  by  the  Society  was  the  very  same  spring  which 
long  ago  furnished  water  in  time  of  need  to  the  settlers 
of  the  early  days.  The  spot  is  now  covered  by  the  engine 
house  that  supplies  water  to  all  parts  of  the  grounds. 
I  attach  to  this  description  the  narrative  of  old  Mr.  Esty, 
given  to  the  Town  Clerk  of  Topsfield  in  1895,  of  the  fact 
that  his  grandmother  in  a  flight  had  to  take  the  refuge  I 
have  described.  "His  grandmother  used  to  keep  tied  at 
the  door  a  horse  for  the  purpose  of  using  in  fleeing  to 
the  fort  if  Indians  came.  The  fort  was  on  the  south  east 
part  of  Treadwell's  Plain  toward  David  Perkins.  He 
has  ploughed  up  old  dishes  and  pieces  of  brick  where  he 
thinks  the  fort  stood." 

The  story  of  the  ride  is  also  narrated  by  William  Ho- 
man,  who  was  a  neighbor  of  mine  in  my  younger  days, 
and  a  relative  and  descendant  of  the  Esty  family.  He 
had  knowledge  of  particulars  not  contained  in  the  other 
story.  He  said  that  Mrs.  Esty  left  her  house,  situated 
on  what  is  now  the  T.  W.  Pierce  estate,  in  the  night, 
carrying  her  baby  in  her  arms,  with  another  child  on 
the  horse  behind  her.  A  company  of  other  people,  to 
the  number  of  twenty  or  more,  also  reached  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Block  House  and  remained  for  two  days  and 
nights,  when  the  danger  seemed  to  have  passed  and  they 
returned  to  their  homes. 

Another  incident  of  ancient  days,  the  knowledge  of 
which  should  be  preserved  by  the  Society,  is  the  fact  that 


when  the  troop  that  marched  with  Arnold  on  the  cam- 
paign against  Ticonderoga  and  Quebec,  returned  from 
the  expedition,  the  company  of  Danvers,  Middleton  and 
Topsfield  men  ate  their  last  meal  together  under  a  great 
pine  tree  that  stood,  up  to  fifty  years  ago,  directly  in 
front  of  the  house  now  owned  by  the  Society,  which  house 
was  built  by  Dr.  Richard  Dexter,  the  first  regular  phy- 
sician of  Topsfield,  in  1741. 

Thus  does  the  history  of  the  Essex  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, itself  covering  one  hundred  years,  reach  back 
through  the  brave  deeds  and  wise  actions  of  other  gener- 
ations to  that  time  when  the  foundations  were  laid  on 
which  the  Peace,  Prosperity  and  Happiness  have  been 
builded  which  are  so  abundantly  shown  on  our  beautiful 
Fair  Grounds,  with  spacious  acres,  convenient  buildings, 
and  a  united  membership,  eager  to  pass  on  the  blessings 
we  have  received  to  future  years  and  to  new  enterprises 
they  will  bring. 

Charles  J.  Peabody. 


CATTLE  SHOW  and  FAIR 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 
TOPSFIELD,  MASSACHUSETTS 


SEPTEMBER  17,  18,  19  and  20 

192  4