their duties know," and who will continually strive to attain a higher development of head and heart.

While, therefore, we should in no respect relax our efforts to advance the prosperity of our country, in our respective callings, and as citizens of the State; in the quiet of home or in the wider sphere of social and public life; we should none the less develop ourselves. And in all our duties, and these annual meetings, we should exhibit with our grain and cattle, with the products of our homes and our shops-the fruits and flowers of character, which I have here endeavored to portray. Thus will we exalt agriculture and the mechanic arts, elevate our country and mankind, and we will reap, as our reward, present and eternal blessings.

REPORTS OF COUNTY SOCIETIES.

[Immediately after the breaking out of the present war we were compelled to give up a portion of our room to the War Department, and in consequence of the confusion caused by moving, the following reports of county societies were mislaid, and could not be found in time to go in their proper place.]

PORTAGE COUNTY.

The fifteenth annual Fair of the Portage Agricultural Society was held at Ravenna, on the 5th, 6th and 7th days of September, 1860. We regret to say that the exhibition this year was far behind that of 1859, and many former exhibitions of this Society, and seems to manifest a waning of interest on the part of our farmers in the prosperity of their Society, though it must be confessed that the early day in the season at which the Fair was held, and the excitement incident to a Presidential contest, had, probably, much to do in detracting from the interest usually manifested in the exhibitions of our Society. Again, the farmers, in many townships of our county, have established township and local Societies, which have been made rivals to the county organization, instead of being auxiliary to it; and in many instances there is a deep-seated and apparently unconquerable prejudice among the members of these local organizations towards the county Society. Why this is, we are unable to say. It surely ought not so to be. The State Society should be the great central organization, to which all county societies should be auxiliaries, and the township societies auxiliaries to the county societies; and in this way the improvements in agriculture and the mechanic arts which our organizations are designed to foster, would become of the greatest possible benefit to the whole people of the State.

The exhibition of horses, cattle and sheep at our last Fair was as fine as we have ever had at any of our previous fairs, but there was a very meager show of fruits and vegetables, while in that line the crops of our farmers were never more abundant. The failure in this department of our Fair was mainly attributable to the early day at which the Fair was held, it being before fall fruits and vegetables had matured.

The principal crops raised in this county are grass, corn, oats and wheat; of the latter crop but little is raised-probably not enough to bread the inhabitants of the county-and but a small portion of our soil is adapted to the culture of wheat. Of the oat and corn crop we would say they were full an average yield and probably above it; grass has been quite good. We have no means of ascertaining the aggregate amount of either of these crops raised in our county. We

would estimate the average yield per acre of the several crops mentioned above, as follows-viz: Grass, 1 ton; corn, 40 bushels ; oats, 40 bushels; wheat, 15 bushels.

OFFICERS.-Horace Reed, President, Rootstown; J. W. Clark, Vice-President, Streetsborough; Julien C. Harmon, Secretary, Ravenna; W. W. Hinman, Treasurer, Ravenna. Directors-R. E. Osgood, R N. Andrews, R. H. Peck, T. Gorby.

PREBLE COUNTY.

The eleventh annual Fair of the Preble County Agricultural Society was held at the Society's grounds, near Eaton, on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st days of September, 1860. The number of entries was large in most departments, and our Fair for the two first days promised to be a good and successful one. On the third day we had a storm of wind and rain, that served to lessen our receipts very much; and also the United States Fair-within two hours' ride of ours, and on the same days, hurt us much; and then the political fever was never higher in our locality than it has been the past season; it seemed to be contagious, and raged as an epidemic. But the Treasurer's report, notwithstanding all hindrances, shows our Society in good condition financially.

The principal crops raised in Preble county are corn, wheat, barley, oats and flax seed.

Corn in our county never gave so uniform and good a yield as has been realized the past season. One hundred bushels and over to the acre seems to be no uncommon product; we think we will have an average of 50 bushels to the acre the county over.

Wheat gave an average yield in quantity, and of excellent quality. The greatest yield per acre reported to our Society was by Mr. H. Beckdale—371⁄2 bushels from one acre.

Barley, but little sown the past season; yield good per acre.

Oats gave an excellent yield, and of good quality. Fifty bushels to the acre is very commonly claimed-forty bushels about an average. Experience has taught us to sow just as early in the spring as the ground comes into good condition to work.

Flax-seed about a common yield-ten bushels per acre. There is a manufac turing company located at Eaton, that pay from five to eight dollars per ton for

the straw after the seed has been separated therefrom, which proves quite an addition to the profits of the crop.

Directors-Samuel Duffield,

OFFICERS.-H. W. Dooley, President; J. M. Daugherty, Vice-President; J. P. Brookins, Treasurer; John Eastman, Secretary

Enoch Taylor, David Patton, Frank McWhinney, John A. Caylor.

ROSS COUNTY.

The principal crops raised are corn, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes-the two first mentioned largely, and the remainder moderately.

The average number of acres and yield of each is about as follows:

Corn 80,000 acres, 40 bushels; wheat 36,000 acres, 10 bushels; oats 4,000 acres, 40 bushels; barley 100 acres, 10 bushels; potatoes 700 acres, 100 bushels.

The grain was injured to some extent by weevil and fly. It is of a very superior quality.

The proceedings of our society have generally been characterized with great interest, giving conclusive evidence of great usefulness.

We have the satisfaction of reporting ourselves out of debt, although our receipts show a diminution, owing in part to the unpropitious weather during the Fair, and in part to indifference manifested by the attention being directed to the elections.

I have the pleasure of reporting our membership as 184.

The Sandusky County Agricultural Society held their Annual Fair on the 2d 3d and 4th days of October, and exceeded that of any previous Fair, both in

quality and quantity of the articles exhibited, and the increased interest in our Fair among the people generally.

Number of members, 405.

The exhibition of cattle, horses, hogs and sheep was large, and the improvement manifest over previous Fairs.

In the handy work of the ladies, flowers, agricultural implements and machines, mechanic arts, domestic manufactures, farm and dairy products, we had a good show-making Floral, Mechanic and Farm Products' Halls attractive features of the Fair.

The principal crops raised in this county are wheat, corn, clover seed, oats, hay and potatoes. Crops of every kind have been good the past season, being more than an average in quality and quantity. The average per acre of wheat is about. 16 bushels. The corn crop is very heavy, and of good quality; average per acre about 50 bushels. Clover seed, oats and hay good crops. A large yield of potatoes, but rotting badly.

The principal market town of this county is Fremont, and, with its railroad facilities and river navigation, its advantages as a market place are not surpassed in this part of the State.

Total receipts......

RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES.

Total expenditures.......

$1,147 61

1,129 06

OFFICERS FOR 1859.-James Valette, President; James Parks, Vice President; Wm. E. Haynes, Secretary; S. Buckland, Treasurer. Managers-Dr. La. Q. Rawson, Hon. Ches. Powers, W. B. Lemon, Martin Wright and Jacob Winters.

OFFICERS FOR 1860.-Daniel Capper, President; John S Gardner, Vice President; John M. Smith, Secretary; Theo. Clapp, Treasurer. Managers-S. S. Rathbun, Benj. Inman, Jesse Emerson, Timothy Wilcox and Alfred Black.

SCIOTO COUNTY.

I inclose you a statement of our Agricultural Society. We have one hundred and twenty five regular members. The amount of money received by treasurer, as per report, during the year, was $701 20 The amount disbursed for premiums was $559 27. The difficulty of obtaining the desired information is such that I cannot give you as full a statement of statistics as I would hope to. Our farmers, as a general thing, do not take as lively an interest in our annual meetings as they should do; I therefore give you as near the facts as I am able to do.

Our show of stock was equal to any previous year. The society, like most others I visited this fall, make the horse ring the principal attraction, and thereby lose sight of the great principle of agriculture, or many useful and valuable benefits to be derived from those annual meetings. They are now studying the anatomy of the horse.