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No. 38, Dish of Flowers by Emily Woodbury, and

No. 39, Another dish by Louisa Stevens, both of South Danvers, and both very fair.

No. 41, Cut Flowers, by B. D. Hill, Jr., South Danvers, was varied and very pleasing, containing all the Snapdragons in the hall, or nearly so.

Nos. 54 by Susan E. Morrison-56 by Lydia Osborn-59 by
H. G. Buxton—and 65 by M. J. Buxton-all of South
Danvers, were four good dishes of flowers, but without the
special excellence to gain a more substantial award.
No. 74, a Cotton Plant by W. Bushby, South Danvers, was
notable as a live representative of the now famous usurper
King Cotton, but was too small to show his real character.
No. 100, by N. Shillaber, South Danvers, was similar.

No. 75, by Abby E. Stark, South Danvers, was an example of a good thing injured. It was a fine specimen of the old favorite, Begonia Evansianum, or Resurrection Plant, the earliest and best known of that charming genus. Left simply growing in its pot, it would have been beautiful, but was disfigured by binding a quantity of flowers and foliage round the pot, detracting greatly from the good effect it might have otherwise produced.

No. 78, by C. A. Becket, South Danvers, was a good dish of flowers, and

No. 90, by S. Driver, Danvers, was a very pleasing boquet.

No. 84 was an excellent basket by Ella F. Adams, South Danvers.

No. 98, by George Poor, South Danvers, was the best specimen of Asters potted whole, (speaking after the manner of cooks,) and was quite pretty; but there was rather too much labor for the result gained.

No. 109, by H. K. O. Hodgkins, South Danvers, was the only remaining boquet worth any notice, and was very fair.

A very good specimen of the "Dusty Miller," a species of Senecio, was shown by Jane L. Stevens, South Danvers, but seemed not to be entered for premium, not being numbered. It was unusually well grown, but the plant itself is not very interesting.

The Committee know of nothing further to report relative to this department, and the foregoing is therefore

Respectfully submitted.

C. M. TRACY,

S. P. FOWLER,

S. DRIVER,

R. BROOKHOUSE, JR.,
WARREN M. JACOBS,

JOHN S. IVES,

South Danvers, Sept. 25, 1861.

COMMITTEE.

CRANBERRY CULTURE.

The Committee on Cranberry Culture respectfully report:John D. Hildreth of Manchester, and John L. Colcord of South Danvers, offered their cranberry grounds for the Committee's inspection and consideration. Their statements accompany this report. Two of your Committee visited these grounds on the 28th of September. The fruit had not then been gathered.

They found several varieties on Mr. Colcord's grounds. The cherry fruit appeared much the best, it being larger and much richer in color than any other. A large portion of the

fruit was of this kind. Another sort growing there was lighter in color and of smaller size. It was neither a bell nor a bugle shaped variety, but something between the two. The berries were even more numerous on these vines than on the others, but it is not certain that they would yield a larger measure of fruit to the square rod.

The vines on Mr. Colcord's small plot of ground were healthy and very fruitful. Considerable care may be needed to keep their future condition good, as the ground is covered with moss that grows rapidly, and which may yet overcome the vines so as to seriously injure them. The soil is probably kept too wet and too cold in summer. A greater extent of drain on the outside of the meadow, so as to completely cut off the flow of water from the higher lands, with an outlet sufficiently low to take the water at least two and one half feet lower than the surface, would be desirable. If the soil had been covered three inches deep with sand or gravel before the vines were planted, there would have been little growth of moss, and the experiment, though costing more, would have proved more profitable in future years.

On visiting the grounds of Mr. Hildreth, we found unmistakable indications of patience, perseverance and laborious energy on the part of the proprietor. We will not undertake to give here a narrative of his labors, or an extended description of his grounds. Though his meadow soil naturally produces a great abundance of very troublesome weeds, his cranberry grounds were kept remarkably clean. A large bed of vines, set last year, were growing finely, and looked as nice as a newly swept lawn. The vines of the beds in fruiting-including the one entered for premium—were very luxuriant, and covered the ground entirely.

They were loaded with a full crop of very large and nice fruit. Most of it is of an egg-shaped variety. The berries of this kind are of the largest size. A basket of this fruit was shown at our County Exhibition, this season, where it attract

ed great attention, and called forth many words of admiration from the numerous visitors.

We saw very fine specimens of the bell cranberry on Mr. Hildreth's grounds. A portion of the vines on the ground entered for premium are of the cherry variety. The berries were large, and highly colored, and the yield abundant. In short, Mr. Hildreth's success is admirable; and others will, we hope, profit by so good an example.

In a subsequent statement, under date of Oct. 5, Mr. Colcord writes:

"I have picked three rods, and they yielded, by measure, three bushels, three pecks and three quarts of cranberries." "The crop last year was injured by an early frost. We did not have but five or six bushels, I think."

The Committee recommend the award of fifteen dollars to John D. Hildreth, and ten dollars to John L. Colcord, for their experiments in cranberry culture.

NATHAN PAGE, JR., CHAIRMAN.

STATEMENT OF JOHN D. HILDRETH.

The meadow on which I have cultivated the cranberry, was formerly a bog swamp. In 1854, I cut a ditch through the middle, four feet wide and three feet deep. In 1857 I cleared up a piece. I dug it over, turning the top under from fifteen to eighteen inches deep, and cut smaller ditches from the outer edge of the swamp to the main ditch. I planted this piece with potatoes two seasons. In the spring of 1859, I dug the ground over, took out all the weeds, then graveled it over from two to three inches deep; took vines from natural cranberry meadows, selecting them from places where the berries grew the largest and thickest, separated them, and cleaned out all the grass. I set them in rows one and a half feet apart,

and from eight to ten inches apart in the rows. I kept the vines free from weeds, by frequent weeding and hoeing. I flowed the meadow from November till the 28th of May, 1860, when I let the water off. The vines were green and bright, and in July some of them blossomed. I kept them free from weeds by weeding-the runners from the plants preventing my using the hoe. I gathered this fall (1860) about one half bushel of cranberries. I flowed the meadow the last of October, 1860, and let the water off the 10th of May, 1861. I did nothing more to them till I gathered the crop in October. The average yield was one bushel and four quarts to the rod. The quality of the land is black swamp muck, varying from one to ten feet in depth. The expense of clearing and planting the twenty rods was about fifty dollars. The expense of weeding and culture was near thirty dollars.

JOHN D. HILDRETH.

Manchester, Oet. 11, 1861.

STATEMENT OF JOHN L. COLCORD.

This experiment, which I enter for premium, in the cultivation of the cranberry, on five rods of lands, on the farm of the late John Jacobs.

In 1848, the turf was removed, the meadow turned with a spade, the vines set in rows, and the meadow flowed in winter. The whole expense, spading and weeding, was twelve dollars. After 1852, they increased yearly. The largest crop was twenty bushels. The present year it is estimated at sixteen bushels.

South Danvers, Sept. 24, 1861.

JOHN L. COLCORD.

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