120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Amherst, H. Hunt, of New Salem, A. J. Cadwell, Hubbard 

 Graves and Austin Russell, of Sunderland, 0. Richardson, of 

 Granby, and others whose names I did not obtain. The town of 

 Leverett sent in a string of working oxen numbering fifty-three 

 yoke, and Hadley, twenty-four yoke, which were a credit to 

 their towns ; and these made quite an attractive feature of _the 

 show. Pigs and poultry were not numerous, or in any way 

 remarkable ; but the show of sheep was fine, and included 

 choice varieties. 



The exhibition of fruits was creditable, there being fine speci- 

 mens of most of the common varieties. But fruit-raising in 

 that part of the State has not been entered into much, as a 

 matter of business ; so that if our friends wish to see a display 

 of fine fruits, and in great variety, they must visit some of our 

 exhibitions nearer the sea-board, where interest, as well as taste, 

 has prompted the cultivator to reach the highest perfection in 

 the art. 



The butter and cheese presented were in quite large quan- 

 tities and of the best quality. We have seen nothing to equal 

 them, except at the Berkshire Show at Pittsfield. 



The address wjjs by Charles L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of 

 the State Board of Agriculture. 



During the delivery of the address the church was crowded, 

 and the close attention of the audience evinced the satisfaction 

 with which it was received. 



The highest gratification which we found was not in the 

 noble horses, fat beeves, milch kine, pigs, poultry, or vegeta- 

 bles, but in the expression of a sentiment fast increasing in the 

 rural population. A great many people have discarded the 

 belief that labor is an evil, and that there is no enjoyment in 

 the occupation that earns the bread we eat and the delightful 

 homes we occupy. After looking at all the departments of the 

 exhibition, we were so fortunate as to be introduced to several 

 of the women of Hampshire county, and in their expressions of 

 attachment to rural life, and of the happy influences of rural 

 occupations upon themselves and their children, we found a 

 source of gratification far exceeding that which any other mat- 

 ter afforded. They feel that in the calm and rational pursuits 

 of agriculture and its kindred branches, horticulture and arbori- 

 culture, there is less excitement of the passions, less tempta- 



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