MARSHALL.

The most profitable rotation of crops is considered to be sod, wheat, then corn, followed by red clover. The following statement for fallowing and rotation of crops was filed at the fair:

"In compliance with the rule of the society, I would make the following report: My practice is to seed from one to three fields with clover and timothy each spring, allowing it to remain from three to four years, by which time the blue grass forms a strong sod, which is beneficial to turn under for a corn crop, and a light coating of compost, or barn-yard manure, will raise two additional crops, when I allow my land to lay until the following June-summer fallow and sow clover as before. My previous crops were corn, wheat, potatoes, rutabagas and turnips, with the usual vegetables of the surrounding country. My wheat has yielded from ten to twenty-six bushels; corn from forty to eighty bushels per acre in the fall. I used from one hundred and thirtysix to one hundred and seventy loads of manure."

OHIO AND SWITZERLAND DISTRICT.

Timothy, potatoes, clover, wheat and corn are the most profitable rotation for crops.

TIPPECANOE.

Rotation of crops is not generally practiced by the farmers, nor when it is attempted is it practiced in a regular or systematic way. On some of the prairie

farms corn has been grown consecutively for thirty years; the natural fertility and strength of the soil being so great that even this demand on its powers has not yet fully exhausted the needful elements.

WABASH.

The best rotation of crops is wheat and corn. Wheat, corn, oats, flax seed, potatoes and clover seed are the principal field crops.

Concerning the saving and application of manures, the following answers were returned to the questions of the Board:

ALLEN.

Barn-yard manures are the only ones used, and are deemed by our farmers to be all that are necessary.

DELAWARE.

But few of the farmers manure their lands. Ordinary barn-yard manure is the kind generally used in the few cases where fertilizers are applied. Some farmers haul that out when they can no longer get round or over it, but the great majority let it go entirely to waste. An improvement has taken place, however, in this as in other respects, and more of them now take care of and apply the manure from the barn-yard than formerly. Manures are generally applied at the time, and in the manner best suited to the convenience of the party.

MARSHALL.

The following statement for saving manure was filed at the fair by D. S. Conger:

"There should be a depression or sink in the ground adjacent to barn or stable, where all the trash, straw and chaff should be deposited, in layers from one to two feet in thickness, then a layer from the horse stable sufficient to heat slightly, then another layer of staw or other litter, such as buckwheat staw, chaff, bean dust or tobacco stems, all of which contain a large amount of niter, also swamp muck, the best of which is found near the dry ground or edge of the swamp. Wood ashes and decayed chips from the wood-house or yard form a good covering, and prevents the escape of ammonia, which is the essential part of the compost heatthis is out-door deposit. Unleached ashes will pay a large premium when bought at six cents per bushel, added to the mass; also charcoal dust, which can be obtained free from the pit in many places. Stalks and hay should be fed to the cattle in stables, when practicable, and a bin should be placed adjacent under roof to receive the manure, which will increase its value largely. Its application on corn should be in April. On wheat land it should be applied in June, before the first plowing, so that stirring the ground will distribute it, for, if left in bunches, it will cause rust and weak straw, liable to fall.”

WABASH.

Stable manures are most generally applied to the fields in this county, and are regarded by many as the best. They are generally applied in the fall.

WARRICK.

The best manures for general farm use are those which come from the farm stable and barn yard, and should be applied to the land in the spring.

The statements filed by exhibitors in the lists for agricultural products at the State and county fairs, and the returns from the societies concerning the value and production of the different grains and vegetables throughout the State are hereafter given, when speaking particularly of the several products.

The display in the agricultural department at the State exhibition would compare favorably with that at any former fair, notwithstanding the absence or partial representation of many important products, some lists. being without an entry. The meagre show in the latter lists arose from the unfavorable character of the season, the early frosts having seriously injured the corn, potatoes, and some other crops, and prevented the display which had been anticipated. Field and garden products which were uninjured by the frost, were fully repreBented.

The premiums on agricultural products at the State Fair were awarded in number and value to the several counties as follows:

The reports of committees at the fair on each of the leading agricultural products, the statements of competitors, the number of awarded premiums, and the reports from the societies will be found hereinafter, when treating of each of these products in detail. It will be best perhaps to commence with corn, the most important agricultural staple of the State.

The history, composition and cultivation of corn are fully set forth in a series of essays read before the Board and published in the report for 1856. It will be unnecessary, therefore, to say anything further on this head, and the reports of the committee and of the societies, together with the statements of exhibitors, only will be given:

Report of the Committee.

The committee on field crops having examined the statements filed by competitors in the lists for corn, and examined the specimens of the grain placed on exhibition, as required by the rules of the society, submit the following report: