motion was carried by unanimous vote. The christening ceremony was then performed by President Clark, who said: "By virtue of authority conferred upon me by a special vote of the executive committee of the Hampshire County agricultural society, and by the unanimous consent of this assembly, composed as it is largely of members of this society, I formally set apart and solemnly devote these grounds and this hall to the noble purposes of the society, to wit: The encouragement and promotion of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts,' and I denounce as profanation any use of them which conflicts with the principles of sound morality. In performing the last act of this ceremony, I shall sprinkle the floor of this building not with oil or wine which have been commonly employed upon similar occasions, but with pure water of our own famous New England river, the beautiful and ever bountiful Connecticut. Now, therefore, I declare the name of this edifice to be Hampshire Hall; and the name of this enclosure to be Hampshire Park, and may these names be preserved and untarnished to remotest generations." The assembly then joined in singing a hymn of dedication, composed by Charles H. Sweetser, to the tune of Auld Lang Syne."

The purchase of the grounds and erection of the hall alienated from the society's support many who had heretofore been active in the promotion of its interests. The total membership of the society in 1860 was 1056. Of these, 438 were residents of Amherst, 128 of Hadley, 126 of Sunderland, 71 of Leverett, 48 of Belchertown, 36 of Granby, 33 of Pelham, 32 of South Hadley, 27 of Northampton, 20 of Enfield, 12 of Ware. Others were resident in various parts of New England, the Souther and Western states. As these were all life memberships, there was no immediate decrease in the list, but many of the farmers and business mer ceased to take an active interest in the society's affairs and in the annua exhibition. The distance of the fair-grounds from the center village detracted largely from attendance at the cattle-shows, and this was still further reduced by the charging of an admission fee. The building of a race-track and the holding of horse-races was disapproved by many. The excitement attendant on the civil war had an unfavorable effect on the society's affairs, and it entered upon a period of decline from which it has never fully recovered. Within the past few years an earnest effort has been made to restore the society to the commanding position in public favor which it once enjoyed, and with a measure of success. A new and commodious grand-stand has been erected, new horse-sheds have been built, the old fence has been partially rebuilt and extensive repairs have been made upon the hall. The society is to-day in a more prosperous condition than for many years in the past. with an encouraging outlook for the future.

The dairy industry in Amherst attained prominence at an early date. 1 the early '40s it was the fourth town in the state in the amount of butter roduced. It was not until 1882 that the owners of dairy herds decided to vail themselves of the advantages of coöperation in carrying on their usiness. The Amherst Coöperative Creamery association was organized ine 1, 1882, with a capital stock of $2,700, which in 1889 was increased › $3,700. The first officers elected were: Directors, Edmund Hobart, lavel Gaylord, Charles Lawton, J. E. Merrick, Henry C. West; president, dmund Hobart; treasurer, Charles S. Smith; clerk, William A. Magill. he above were the only charter members of the association, but the stock as soon distributed among 59 farmers, and since the increase of capital e membership has averaged close to 100. Membership has been estricted to "persons directly engaged in agricultural pursuits." The rst creamery building was built in 1882, and the product was first placed n the market in December of that year. The second building was erected 1 the fall of 1888. The receipts of cream in 1883 were 399,324 spaces; 11892 this had risen to 1,907,206 spaces, equivalent to something like 50,000 pounds of butter. In the first ten years of its existence, the ssociation paid to its patrons over a half-million dollars for cream. The ockholders have received an annual dividend of six per cent. per annum n their investment. The principal market for the product is found in the ities and towns of Hampden county. The Bay State Creamery associaon was organized in January, 1889. The capital stock was $2,500, the umber of charter members 15. The creamery building was erected in 888. The original officers were: Directors, E. A. King, Salmon Wakeeld, F. L. Stone, Philip D. Spaulding, W. A. Dickinson; president, E. A. King; clerk and treasurer, F. O. Curtiss. The annual product is about 55.000 pounds of butter, valued at some $45,000. The principal market ; found in Holyoke.

Of interest and value in this connection are the following agricultural catistics, those for 1837 taken from Bigelow's "Branches of Industry" for he year ending April 1, those for 1845 from Palfrey's manual, and those or 1855 from the Massachusetts census report.

In 1837, there were owned in Amherst 42 Saxony sheep, 698 merino, nd 1090 of other kinds. The Saxony wool produced amounted to 105 ounds, the merino to 1832 pounds, other kinds to 3068 pounds. The verage weight of fleece was two and three-fourths pounds, the value of he wool product $1,610, and the capital invested $3,264.

In 1845, there were owned in Amherst 2,054 sheep, valued at $2,568 ; 36 horses, valued at $15,120; 1,668 neat cattle, valued at $30,083; 625 wine, valued at $9,375. The farm crops produced and their estimated

valuation was as follows: Corn, 18,930 bushels, $12,683; wheat. 3: bushels, $389; rye, 6,586 bushels, $4,940; oats, 8,903 bushels, $3.110 beans, 200 bushels, $250; buckwheat, 500 bushels, $250; potatoes, 1.6 bushels, $4,022; other esculent vegetables, 750 bushels, $137; hay, 3.99 tons, $29,250; fruit, 4,805 bushels, $1,600; hops, 950 pounds, $102 tobacco, 29,638 pounds, $1,630; butter, 82,447 pounds, $10,306; cheese 37,425 pounds, $2,245; honey, 422 pounds, $53; broom seed, 4.52 bushels, $1,131; broom brush, 65,659 pounds, $3.939.

In 1855, there were owned in Amherst 429 horses, valued at $33.900 741 sheep, $1,417; 541 oxen and steers, $23,448; 1,127 cows and heifers $27,691; 525 swine, $4.500. Farm products and their valuations were a follows: Butter, 62,875 pounds, $12,575; cheese, 30.750 pounds, $3.075 honey, 220 pounds, $44; Indian corn, 873 acres, $28,512; broom corn 84 acres, $5,040; broom seed, 50 bushels per acre, $1,260; wheat, 10 acres, $648; rye, 593 acres, $6,685; barley, 2 acres, $63; oats, 310 acres. $4,090; potatoes, 238 acres, $11,348; onions, one acre, $315; turnips one and one-acre, $19.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.-PAPER MAKING.-TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.AMHERST COTTON FACTORY.-WOOLEN MILLS.-HAT MANU FACTURING.-L. M. HILLS & SON.-IRON AND STEEL MAN FACTURES.-KELLOGG PLANE FACTORY. THE ROPER REPEATING RIFLE. BOWIE KNIFE PISTOLS.-HOOP SKIRTS.-WIRE GOOD -COOKING STOVES.-CARRIAGE MAKING. -CHILDREN'S CAR RIAGES AND SLEDS.

While Amherst has never been a manufacturing center, it has bee the home of extensive and diversified manufacturing industries. The tw streams that flow through the town furnish a water-power which has bee utilized for fully an hundred years for manufacturing purposes. Some of these industries were successful for a time, but the great majority prove losing ventures for those who engaged in them. In olden times, before the railroad era, the banks of New England streams and rivers were bor