KENNEBEC COUNTY SOCIETY. 43 



a hurried piece of business. One would think by the feverish trep- 

 idation manifested, that the continuance of the life and the tempo- 

 ral salvation of " all the world and the rest of mankind" depended 

 upon the dispatch which they could use in a given time during the 

 exJiibition. Think you that a little arrangement of affairs at home, 

 in season to allow you more time and leisure, and more social com- 

 munings with each other, for a few days at the cattle show, would 

 not improve your social feelings — the brotherhood of interests — 

 your fund of practical knowledge, and, by consequence, in course 

 of time the funds in your pockets any ? We beg pardon for this 

 friendly kick at what we consider a fault in our habits at these 

 shows, and hope that the trustees, if they cannot pardon in us 

 something to the spirit of liberty, will attribute this digression to 

 the hearty and exhilarating effects of Jersey milk, which, in imita- 

 tion of topers of another class, we are apt to imbibe to excess, 

 especially when we can get it for nothing. 



From Report on IIorses. 



The horse is indispensable to the prosperity and strength of 

 every civilized community, and, of course, the rearing of them is 

 one of the most important branches of farming. The utility, and 

 consequently the value of this animal, depends upon its good qual- 

 ities, and the capability of its performing cheerfully and promptly 

 all the varieties of work required of it Hence it is a great object 

 to rear only those which shall have a suitable combination of 

 strength, speed, endurance, and that beauty which arises from just 

 symmetry of form, spirit, and energy and intelligence, united to 

 kindness and docility of disposition. These characteristics enhance 

 the value of the animal, and the horse that lacks a part of them is 

 decreased accordingly in value, and, if it lacks all of them, is in 

 reality a nuisance, and should be " abated" as such. 



We have said that the horse is indispensable to us. If it is so 

 in a time of peace, it is emphatically so in times of war, for with- 

 out it our armies could do nothing. This fact renders the breed- 

 ing of good horses, not only a profitable business at the present 

 time, but also a work of patriotism. Hence its encouragement by 

 agricultural associations becomes also a duty, to neglect which, 

 would be virtually neglecting the calls of our country in the hour 

 of its peril. A look into the statistical tables of the Census Bureau 



