live stock, grain, and vegetables. There is still a broad field for future usefulness.

HANCOCK COUNTY.

The interests of agriculture in Hancock county are being more generally recognized each year, and at no time since the formation of our Society have those interests been so fully acknowledged as during the past year. Much of this interest, no doubt, was selfish with many persons; for the greatly improved condition of our national finances, coupled with good crops, and a great foreign demand for the products of agriculture and a consequent advance in prices, acted as a stimulus to greater efforts in the way of production.

The season was very favorable for wheat; but in consequence of dry weather in the spring, and unusually early frosts in autumn, the corn crop was considerably injured. The wheat crop was much larger than in 1878, and of finer quality. There are several varieties grown, and each variety has its friends, so that it is, perhaps, impossible to ascertain just which is the best. The Clawson and the Fultz varieties are both highly spoken of.

The corn crop, whilst larger, perhaps, in acreage than in former years, was, for reasons already stated, a partial failure-perhaps the yield was not more than two-thirds of an average crop. The oat crop was good.

Potatoes, fewer in yield, but good in quality. In fact, I have never seen any thing to compare with the display at our last exhibition. We are yet troubled a good deal with the Colorado beetle, and it requires some degree of patience and watchfulness to preserve the crop from the ravages of these pests.

Other vegetables were abundant, and of good quality, except cabbage. The cabbage worm got in its work pretty generally and pretty disastrously, and almost entirely ruined the saur kraut crop. Our people have not yet been able to discover a remedy against its ravages, which at the same time would not kill the cabbage eater as well.

There was quite a yield of apples, and yet, practically, the apple crop was a failure compared with former years. Small fruits were an almost entire failure. Berries were abundant, and of good quality.

The improvement in stock of all kinds is most marked and gratifying. Indeed, our exhibitions in that time are not behind that of any other county not purely stock raising. Each successive fair shows a decided improvement over the last.

There is located in our county seat a large linseed oil mill, which

makes a good market for flax seed, of which large quantities are yearly produced.

Land drainage has, for the past five years, received a good show of attention throughout the country, and, wherever intelligently used, has re sulted most favorably. Our flat lands, covered with a deep, loose soil, underlaid, as it mostly is, by a hard clay pan, has, by the drainage system, become most productive, and when in connection with this we consider the improved sanitary condition of the county by its use, we only wonder that so little of it is done.

Our public roads are not such as they should be, and the great expense attendant upon piking, in consequence of the absence of gravel, has deterred our citizens from undertaking anything like a systematic plan of road making.

Our last exhibition was the most successful yet held. The attendance was unusually large, and the display fine, and as our society is now free from debt its friends are feeling comfortable.

HARDIN COUNTY.

Crops. The principal crops raised are wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, grass, fruit, etc. Of wheat, there was about 30,000 acres sowed, with a yield of 25 bushels to the acre, or 750,000 bushels. The season was very favorable for this crop, and there was a considerable increase in the acerage over last season. Corn, 40,000 acres, with a yield of 1,800,000 bushels, the average not so good as last year, owing to the wetness of the season, many fields being replanted. Oats, 8,000 acres, with a yield of 280,000 bushels, being quite up to the average. Hay, 14,000 acres, with a yield of 20,000 tons. Clover, 3,500 acres, with a yield of 20,000 bushels of seed. The grass crop being a remarkably fine one. Potatoes, 900 acres, with a yield of 70,000 bushels. The earlier varieties doing well. The season not very favorable for the later varieties, and considerable complaint as to loss from rot. Rye, 150 acres, with a yield of 2,800 bushels. Buckwheat, 145 acres, yield, 1,300 bushels. Barley, 75 acres, yield, 2,000 bushels. Flax, 800 acres, yield, 17,000 bushels. Tobacco, 2 acres, yield, 1,650 pounds. Sorghum, 120 acres, yield, 8,500 gallons. Apples, 3,600 acres, with a yield of 190,000 bushels. Being the off year for fruit, we had about half a crop, but most of the varieties very fine. Our farmers experienced but little trouble, if any, from destructive insects among either grain or vegetables, and have every reason to be thankful for continuous and unexampled prosperity.

Stock. The introduction by Messrs. Justus Stevens, E. S. Butler, J. L. Stimson, and other prominent farmers of thoroughbred Shorthorns has been the means of great improvement in the breeding of stock, in fact, the exhibition of thoroughbred Shorthorns at our last annual exhibition was not excelled by any county in the State. Considerable interest of late has been manifested in the perfection of the different grades of sheep and swine, Cotswold and Merinos of the one, and Chester White and Poland China of the other, taking the lead. The improvement in general purpose, draft, and thoroughbred horses being equally good. The tendency of our farmers to introduce, cultivate, and improve any and all branches of their particular industry shows conclusively the interest taken by them in everything pertaining to agriculture.

Pikes and Drainage.-In 1869 the commissioners of the county began their system of free turnpikes, until to-day we have twenty-five of the principal roads, amounting to one hundred and ninety miles in length, thoroughly piked in good condition, enabling farmers to market their produce in any and all weathers, and more beneficial to them than railroads.

In an early day the county was considered rather low and swampy, but since the introduction of tile-drainage, the low and swampy portions have been redeemed. We have some fifteen manufactories in the county, with an annual production of 200,000 rods, the greater portion of which. is used for home consumption. It is estimated that the improvement and increase to the value of crops by tile-drainage will amount to 33 per cent.

The many fine farms, with their splendid residences, attest the wealth of our farming community, who, if asked the cause, attribute a large portion of it to drainage and pikes.

Timber. The principal timbers are walnut, oak, hickory, and ash, and have not, as yet, been exhausted to that extent that any bad effect is apparent.

The twenty-fifth annual exhibition of our County Agricultural Society began Wednesday, October the 8th, and extended through the week, and, without exception, was the finest and most successful, both financially and otherwise, of any ever held in the county. The exhibit of stock was large in all classes, but the display of thoroughbred Shorthorns is deserving of a more extended report than space will allow. The same may be said especially as to general purpose and draft horses. The display of agricultural implements was very large and very fine. Fruit large and creditable, and the numerous articles of home manufacture attested the interest taken by all in our annual exhibition. The Society has been burdened with a debt of about $3,000 on its real estate, nearly one-third of which amount we were enabled to pay off this year, besides making many valuable and substantial improvements to our grounds. The unusual interest manifested in our late fair, assures us of the entire success of our Society and its future usefulness.

HARRISON COUNTY.

The Agricultural Society held its thirty-second annual fair on the grounds at Cadiz, Ohio, September 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th, 1879. As is always the case at all county fairs, the first and second days were spent principally in making entries, arranging articles in the halls, etc., preparatory to the exhibition. On those days, particularly the first, we expect very few people out. Our custom has been, for several years past, to throw the gates open during the first day, and admit every person free. This year every department was well represented, and hence, as far as the exhibition was concerned, our fair was as good as we ever had. Yet the crowd of people was not there. There is a reason for that, however; the first and second days were very unfavorable for holding a fair-disposed to rain a little, just enough to keep the people away. The third day, in the morning, the time when people would start from home to go to the fair, it looked very much as though it would rain-enough so, to discourage people from coming a distance. In the afternoon the clouds cleared away, and the result was, we had about half our usual attendance. On the last day it was bright and clear, and we had a fine gathering of people.

Now, as before stated, we had a very fine exhibition; the horse-ring

was well occupied with good horses each day after the first. A good display of cattle, consisting of Shorthorns, Alderneys, Ayrshires, grades, etc. Hog department not large but fair. Sheep department very well represented in all classes. Floral hall (as it always is) was the center of attraction for a large class of our people; and, without enumerating further, we would say that all other departments were very creditably represented.

The principal crops raised in our county are wheat, corn, oats, hay, and potatoes. The past year we had a very abundant crop of wheat, yielding nearly twenty-five bushels per acre on an average. The grain was of a very superior quality. The varieties admired by the miliers for making good flour are the Lancaster and Mediterranean. The leading variety in our county is the Fultz. This variety has only been grown here a few years, and has the advantage over all other varieties from the fact that it ripens several days earlier and yields more per acre. Corn the past year succeeded well. In the early part of the season it grew slowly, but in the end it came out well and yielded an abundant crop. Oat crop very good, yielding a full average crop. Hay, in consequence of dry weather in the early part of the season, was a light crop, though of a very good quality. The weather being dry during the haymaking season, the hay was nearly all got up in good condition. Potato crop not very good. Early potatoes tolerably good; late varieties very light in consequence of dry weather. They were also injured by the potato bug commonly known as the Colorado bug. The means employed to destroy these bugs in our county was generally Paris green. For some reason or other the potato crop has not been so successful with us as it was some years ago.

The breeding of different kinds of stock has been carried on to some extent in our county. Horses have been bred in the county greatly to the advantage of the breeder, as well as to the people generally. The time was when this county was filled up with a class of horses that no eastern buyer sought after. They were a scrubby class of horses, not salable in the eastern market. It is not so now. If an eastern buyer wants good horses, it matters not what class, they can buy them in old Harrison. We have here the fine horses such as the Clydesdale, a large Scotch draft horse. Two stallions of this class are owned in our county. There are quite a number of the French Norman draft horses, perhaps one dozen or more. Then we have the English draft, one of which is owned by Swan & Tipton, of Cadiz. The first importation of the French Norman draft horse into the county was made about 1865 by Houser & Gilmore, of Union county. The next importation of draft horses was