106 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



repute among some of the cattle growers in New England, 

 especially for matched teams of oxen. 



The swine department was well supplied, and the show was 

 no failure. Some very fine Suffolks were exhibited by Mr. 

 Haven, and also l)y Mr. Lewis, of Framingham. They exhib- 

 ited breeding sows, boars and pigs, from four to nine months 

 old, of the same stock ; their superiors can seldom be found, if 

 early maturity is the oliject sought for. There were also grade 

 pigs that may be made to carry large weight. 



There were two flocks of sheep shown ; one lot of full blood 

 South Downs, and one of grade Leicesters. They are worthy 

 of a fair trial where sheep husbandry is to be encouraged. 

 They were exhibited by the Messrs. Lewis, of Framingham ; 

 and if they propose to turn a portion of their attention to the 

 growing of mutton and wool, I think their experiment will 

 prove successful. 



The poultry was of good quality, and the competitors had 

 the fancy varieties and the grades, from Shanghae to the ban- 

 tam. There were also geese and ducks of the several grades, 

 and turkeys, wdiite and black. 



The drawing and testing the teams as to training, &c., were 

 within the enclosure, upon a moderate elevation, upon carts ; 

 and the object was not so much to see how heavy a load the 

 teams could draw, but rather how near they could be driven to 

 certain monuments, without touching, and also how perfectly 

 they could be made to turn and back the load. 



The chairman of the committee first drove a team in the pres- 

 ence of the competitors, showing a specimen of the operations 

 the committee would expect from each teamster, — a mode of 

 trial far more useful than simply a trial of strength. It was 

 to me a novel experiment. I would commend its adoption by 

 other societies. There were horse as well as ox teams entered 

 for draught, all of which were tested by the foregoing rules. 



The ploughing was upon a level field of Mr. Lewis' — a mel- 

 low, sandy loam. Fourteen teams were upon tlie ground at 

 the time appointed ; about half were horse teams, one or two 

 teams of a pair of oxen and a horse, and the balance double ox 

 teams. The ploughs were mostly double Michigan, Prouty <fc 

 Mears', No. 85. Most of the ploughing was nine inches deep, 

 each team ploughing one-sixth of an acre. It proved hard 



