138 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



To designate might be considered invidious ; but the two Alder- 

 ney heifers and their associates we thought entitled to a special 

 recognizance. If any apology, for these remarks upon the stock 

 of Barnstable, should be required, we can only offer the prevail- 

 ing drought, which had, to all appearance, almost destroyed 

 every vestige of green herbage, so necessary, at this season of 

 tlie year, for all animals. 



Choice specimens of vegetables, of every variety usually raised 

 in the garden or the field, were tastefully arranged in the 

 hall, and gave testimony to the character of the soil and to the 

 success of the cultivator. Mammoth cabbages, stupendous 

 beets and potatoes, with undefined boundaries, are the testimo- 

 nials for the declaration ; samples of seed wheat, barley and corn 

 were there, too, to sustain the testimony. Pleased with the ex- 

 aminaion here, the Court House next presented a claim to our 

 observation. And here the collection of fruits which the horti- 

 culturist had contributed, and the artistic embellishments which 

 female industry and ingenuity had furnished and tastefully 

 arranged, gave the finale to the embodiment of pleasing associa- 

 tions - connected with the transactions and duties of the day. 

 Here were seen samples of bread and butter, of cheese and 

 honey, which might tempt the awarding Committee to a breach 

 of that commandment which forbids coveting our neighbor's 

 goods, although bread and cheese are not specially designated. 

 The show of fruits — among which the most approved varieties 

 of the pear were conspicuous — apples, of twenty-two ounces, — 

 cranberries, such as cannot be found, except on the Cape, — and 

 quinces, a branch bearing eight, weighing seven pounds, — carry 

 their own weight of testimony to the credit of the display.^ 



These were some of the matters and things Avhich constituted 

 the exhibition at the Cattle Show in Barnstable, in 1855. It is 

 our duty, and it enhances the pleasure of the occasion, to record 

 the fact, that, in passing through the busy scenes of the day, 

 mingling with the great assemblage of citizens here collected 

 from the neighboring towns, not one instance of intemperance 

 was noticed, scarcely a profane word was heard, and not an 

 accident occurred, to mar the pleasures of our visit to the Cape, 



Francis Brewer. 



