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the treasury, after paying actual expenses. This year we paid our actual expenses and the interest on those bonds. We now feel that our society is in a much healthier condition than it was two years ago, and with good weather and proper management we feel that the Harrison county fair will yet live.

HIGHLAND COUNTY.

The following are the principal crops raised in Highland county, for the year 1878 together with estimate of the amount of each:

The premium reports to our association have been few, the best in regard to wheat being an average of twenty-two and one-half bushels per acre of actual measurement from a field of twenty acres, a total of 450 bushels. While another report gives a yield of forty bushels per acre from seven acres; twenty-five bushels per acre from three acres; and a grand total of 600 bushels from twenty-nine acres.

There were 29,000 acres planted in wheat in Highland county, yielding nearly 363,000 bushels, being an average yield per acre of twelve and one-half bushels, though great anxiety was entertained by the farmers previous to the harvest, lest this crop should be seriously injured by rust, of which the indications were very strong. These fears, happily, were not realized, and the harvest returned fully an average yield.

There were 1,000 acres of rye planted, with a yield of nearly 10,000 bushels, an average of about ten bushels to the acre.

Of oats there was nearly 7,000 acres, with a product of about 140,000 bushels, an average of about twenty bushels to the acre.

By far the most important crop of the county is corn, of which there were 63,000 acres, yielding more than 2,000,000 bushels, an average of nearly thirty-two bushels per acre. This is an average yield.

There were about 18,000 acres in meadow, with a yield of over 18,000 tons of hay, or an average of a little more than a ton to the acre.

Twelve thousand acres were sown with clover, producing 650 tons of hay and 500 bushels of seed, while numbers of acres were plowed under for manure.

More than 1,000 acres were planted in potatoes, with a product of nearly 90,000 bushels, or ninety bushels to the acre; a very good crop and excellent quality.

Fifty acres were in tobacco, producing over 3,000 pounds of tobacco; 600 pounds per acre. The butter product of the county was about half a million of pounds, and of cheese 2,000 pounds.

Two hundred and fifty acres were in sorghum, yielding about 200 pounds of sugar and 20,000 gallons of syrup; about eighty gallons per acre.

Two thousand pounds of maple sugar and 1,700 gallons of sirup were produced.
Fifteen thousand hives of bees made about 16,000 pounds of honey.

Five thousand four hundred acres, set out in orchards, yielded 150,000 bushels of apples, about 3,000 bushels of peaches, and 1,500 bushels of pears.

The garden products were about as good as usual, except cabbage, which was short, being destroyed by what the gardeners call the cabbage worm. Altogether, the products of Highland county have been fair.

HOCKING COUNTY.

The Hocking County Agricultural Society held its twenty-sixth annual fair on the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th days of October,

The first day, as usual, was devoted to making entries and arranging articles in the

various departments, preparatory to a good show. The second day was cloudy and unpromising, hence on that day we had not a very large attendance. The third and fourth days were in a great degree more pleasant, and upon those days the people turned out pretty well, but not what we expected from the fine exhibits displayed in every department; notwithstanding all this, we hope to close up the year's business almost if not entirely out of debt.

The aggregate number of entries was fully equal to any former year, and the animals, farin products, and articles exhibited in the different departments were of excellent quality, not excelled by any former display in this county, but altogether superior, thus showing the good effect the society is having upon the productive industries of Hocking county. The success of our society and the excellence of our fairs are mainly attributable to the earnest efforts of our board of officers and the desire the people have for the advancement of agriculture in our midst.

The premiums were liberal, and as a consequence brought out a pretty full exhibit in all departments. The show of horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs was excellent, and would compare favorably with any county in the State. The display of fruit, especially apples, was entirely beyond any exhibition in the horticultural line ever produced in our county.

Floral hall, in which the household department was represented, was pretty well filled with pictures, embroidery, needlework of almost every variety, patchwork, etc., all of which attested the great skill and handiwork of the good ladies of our town and county. The display of farm products was far above an average in many varieties. There was a good display of handiwork in the mechanical department, showing that an enterprising feeling pervades our manufacturing establishments and workshops. Our membership numbers near two hundred voting members.

Our principal crops are wheat, corn, oats, hay, potatoes, and sorghum, with a goodly amount of rye, barley, buckwheat, clover seed, timothy seed, flax seed, and tobacco, but as to the average yield per acre of our crops we have no means of making anything like an exact estimate for the year 1878. We can say, however, that our wheat crop was good in every respect, and will yield away above an average per acre. The same may be said of oats and hay; corn, potatoes, and sorghum a good average.

HOLMES COUNTY.

The principal crops raised in our county are as follows: Wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat, barley, corn, and clover seed. We raised 335,753 bushels of wheat, at an average yield per acre of 14 bushels; rye, 10,445 bushels, at an average yield per acre of 10 bushels; buckwheat, 5,268 bushels, with an average yield per acre of 10 bushels; oats, 546,817 bushels, with an average yield per acre of 324 bushels; barley, 1,932 bushels, making an average yield per acre of 19 1-3 bushels; corn, 927,568 bushels, making an average yield per acre of 363 bushels; clover seed, 7,278 bushels. These crops were raised on 8,306 acres, being an increase over last year, in number of bushels, of about one-sixth, except in barley, which was a falling off of about one-sixth less than the previous year. Our crops have not been troubled with insects.

The condition of our society is good; the people of the county have taken an increased interest in it, as is shown by an increase of nearly two hundred entries over last year. The society is entirely free from politics; it prohibits gambling and the sale of intoxicating liquors during its annual fairs, which seems to meet the admiration and approval

of all the people of the county. The society feels that it has done good already, from the fact that it brings each year to its annual fair an increase of thoroughbred stock of all kinds, and it has caused quite a strife among our farmers in importing and raising it. Our society is entirely out of debt, with a small amount in the treasury. The society has also caused a competition in the raising of grains, vegetables, and fruits, and the cultivation of the same, making a better exhibition in quality and variety at each succeeding fair. In one particular our society has met the favor of the people-it is careful in its selection of committees, and to secure the faithful action of the committees, the society has made it a rule to strike off the entries of parties who in any way interfere with them in their deliberations, which rule has proven quite beneficial to the interests of the society, and which has also helped greatly to establish in the people of the county good feeling for the society. We take courage, too, from the fact that in all the departments this fall, at its exhibition, the entries showed a better quality and variety of articles than the previous year. Our county is well adapted to all branches of agriculture; soil good and well watered.

Manufactories sufficient for the convenience and welfare of our people are located in the county. One noticeable improvement in our farmers is the greater pains they are taking in preparing the soil for planting, which well pays every farmer for his trouble and labor.

JACKSON COUNTY.

The twenty-fourth annual fair was held October 3 and 4, at Jackson. There was no competition on field crops. The weather was clear and pleasant. The attendance was not as large as in past years. This being in a mining district, and money very scarce, was the reason our fair was not largely attended; yet we think that the society will in the future be a success. There are a great number of farmers who would not bear the idea of abandoning the society.

The largest crop of the cereals raised in this county is corn, and is considered the most important to cur farmers. The amount raised was 647,000 bushels; average per acre, 23 bushels.

Wheat, amount raised, 60,000 bushels; average per acre, 8 bushels.

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The fruit crop was tolerably good. We were not troubled with any destructive insects. The season was very hot and dry in some parts of the county.

JEFFERSON COUNTY.

Agriculture in this county seems to be in a healthy and prosperous condition. The crops usually were pretty good, and were not materially interfered with by any destructive insects. Live stock of all kinds have done well the past year, and were not subjected to any prevailing disease.

The spring and early part of the summer was wet and seasonable, but the latter part of the summer was subjected to drought, which injured the corn crop to some extent, and materially injured the crop of potatoes.

The County Agricultural Society was never in a more prosperous condition than at the present time. The exhibition last fall was the best, largest, and most attractive of

any yet held. The entries were double those of the first year (1871), and several hundred more than any previous year since that time.

Notwithstanding the inclement weather on the second day of the fair, the receipts were sufficient to pay the premiums in fall and all the necessary expenses, leaving a balance in the treasury of about $275.

There is no doubt but that the society has been a benefit to the people of the county. There is a marked improvement in the quality of live stock raised, and in all the branches of agriculture. For instance, at the first fair (1871) there were only three or four thoroughbred cattle on exhibition, but at the last fair (1878) there were about thirty very fine thoroughbreds exhibited, and with only two exceptions, were all owned in this county.

It is very difficult to predict the fature usefulness and prosperity of any society or organization with any very great degree of accuracy, but judging of the future by the past, we have no hesitancy in predicting for the Jefferson County Agricultural Society a career of future usefulness and prosperity for many years to come.

The principal crops grown in the county are wheat, oats, corn, and bay. Barley, rye, potatoes, and sorghum are also raised, but not to any great extent.

The wheat crop was good; would estimate the number of acres at from twenty to twenty-five thousand, and the yield at from three hundred to three hundred and seventy-five thousand bushels, or an average of about fifteen bushels per acre.

The crop of oats was also good; would estimate the number of acres at about fifteen thousand, and the yield at about five hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels, an average of thirty-five bushels per acre.

Owing to the drought that prevailed the latter part of the season, the yield of corn was not as abundant as it is some years; nevertheless the crop was fair. Would estimate the number of acres at from twenty-five to thirty thousand, and the the yield at from ten to twelve hundred thousand bushels, an average of forty bushels per acre.

The crop of hay was unusually large, and the product of a very superior quality. The crop of barley and rye was also fair, but there is comparatively very little of either raised in the county.

Potatoes and other late root crops were materially injured by the dry weather, and the yield could not be considered large.

Tobacco and flax are not cultivated in the county to an extent worth mentioning.

1.NOX COUNTY.

At a meeting of the Knox County Board of Agriculture, at the clerk's office, on Saturday, January 25, President Levering read the following report:

The twenty-fifth annual fair of the Knox County Agricultural Society was held on the society's grounds, in the city of Mt. Vernon, on the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th days of September, 1878. It was well attended, and was the most successful exhibition the society ever held, every department being fully represented. Crops of all kinds were good the past season. Our farmers have generally adopted a mixed husbandry, which is more profitable in a series of years than to make a speciality of any one crop, while any crop that can be grown profitably in the State, can be grown here successfully.

Wheat, corn, oats, and hay, are the principal crops grown in the county. The wheat crop of 1878 was, perhaps, the largest ever grown in the county, both in acreage and the yield per acre- there are many varieties of wheat grown in the county-the Mediterranean still holding a prominent place as a sure crop, while the largest yields are re

ported from the Fultz; the Clawson not yet sufficiently tested; the Gypsey generally discarded.

A large portion of our county is well adapted to growing corn, especially the western part, and the Kokosing Valley. It is the largest crop raised in the county, and considered by farmers the most important; is generally fed to stock, thus producing the largest income of any other crop.

Of oats, there has been several new varieties introduced, but none succeeds as well as the common yellow spangled variety. Some of the Sweedish or barley oats are still raised. The Norway or black oats are entirely discarded.

Hay is an important crop in the county, and was a good one the past season; is principally fed on the farms to stock by the farmers. Clover is raised in large quantities for hay and seed, as well as pasture, and to plow under for manure; is considered a good fertilizer.

Rye, flax, barley, and buckwheat are raised to some extent but not as a main crop. The potato crop has assumed considerable importance, and is the chief root crop grown in the county. The crop the past season was a full average one, the Colorado bug doing less damage than heretofore-Early Rose and Peachblow being the varieties most cultivated.

Sorghum is grown but little, perhaps owing to the fact that sugar groves abound in nearly all parts of the county, from which large amounts of sugar and syrup are annually produced.

The honey bee contributed more than ten tons of honey the past season, which goes to make up the sweet produced in the county.

Of fruit, apples are the principal crop; the yield of 1878 was the largest ever produced in the county, and of excellent quality. Besides what was required for home consumption, large quantities were shipped to distant parts of this country and England, while the low price prevailing left many thousand bushels to waste in the orchards. The exhibition of apples at our fair was the best ever shown in the county. Peaches were more than an average crop. Pears were a small crop, owing to the blight having killed most of the trees. Plums not very plenty, owing to the ravages of the curculio. Small fruit and bees of all kinds, an abundant crop, which are pretty extensively cultivated. Grapes were injured by frost in the spring, and a small crop.

In the live stock department, there is a manifest improvement in all kinds of live stock bred and raised in the county. This improvement has, no doubt, been brought about by the annual exhibitions at our county fairs.

The introduction of good blooded road horses has been a success, in producing some of the finest trotters and roadsters in the State, while the importation of the Clydesdale, Norman, and Percheron, (of which there are quite a number in the county), produced a heavy draft horse, for which good prices are paid by dealers, to supply the demand for heavy cart and dray horses in the eastern market, and the lumber regions of the northwest.

Of cattle--the introduction of the Shorthorn has made a valuable improvement in the cattle of the county, by crossing with the common cows, producing good feeding steers, of which large numbers are annually transported to eastern markets. There are several fine herds in the county; but few of the Jerseys, Alderneys, Ayrshires, or Devons in the county. The number of cattle on the increase. No cheese factories or large dairies in the county.

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While Knox county ranks among the foremost counties in the State in the production of sheep and wool, there has been a decline in the numbers the past few years, which is

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