PARIS.-Durham-Owned by C. H. WILLIAMS, Excelsior, Sauk County. First Prize at State Fair of 1858. See page 63. PREFACE. THE FIFTH VOLUME of the Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society is offered to the public in the belief, that it contains a large amount of valuable matter, and that it will be read with pleasure and profit by the friends of Industry, irrespective of class or profession. The objects kept in view, in its preparation, have been, first, to present as complete a record as possible of the history of the industrial arts and scientific investigations in Wisconsin, for the period embraced within the years 1858-9; secondly, to furnish the best practical information, available, on subjects of importance connected with Agriculture, Horticulture, and the Mechanic and Household Arts; and thirdly, to stimulate all who are engaged in these pursuits to renewed and more earnest effort for their elevation and advancement. No little embarrassment has grown out of the necessity to incorporate the Transactions of two years in one volume-not only because absolute accuracy, in many particulars, is hardly possible after a considerable lapse of time, but likewise for the reason that the difficulty in properly arranging the contents of the work is thereby increased, and that a larger proportion of relatively unimportant particulars must be embraced, to the exclusion of matter possessed of greater general interest. |