xvi REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 



Hampshire, under such breeders as Milo J. Smith & Son, A. T. 

 Judd, S. A. Bates, and H. S. Porter, not behind its sister 

 county. 



Among the best Shorthorns we have seen in the State was a 

 herd of twelve shown by H. S. Porter. S. D. Thorp & Son and 

 L. A. Chase filled out the list for this county with Ayrshires, Jer- 

 seys and some grades. Day Brothers also had on exhibition four 

 pairs of fat oxen that gave one at once visions of luscious roast 

 beef. These fine animals showed that we can make beef in New 

 England whose quality would tickle the palate of a New York 

 alderman and add something to his avoirdupois, if not to his 

 honesty. There was also a good number of milch cows on the 

 grounds, with fine points, and some with remarkable records for 

 milk. 



The impression gathered from this exhibition by your delegate 

 was, that the counties of Franklin and Hampshire are fully alive 

 to all the improvements of stock, and have already attained such 

 a proficiency in the art of breeding as to present some as fine cattle 

 as are to be found in the Commonwealth. 



Though, in this march of progress, the neat stock takes prec- 

 edence, yet, as shown at this fair, the sheep, swine, poultry and 

 horses are not forgotten. 



The ploughing was finely done. The contestants, as they drove 

 on the ground, struck out their own lands, thereby giving at the 

 outset a specimen of the training of their cattle and horses, and 

 their own skill, and presenting a novel feature at these shows. 



We found the hall, as usual at this exhibition, a very pleasant 

 sight. The fruits, vegetables, flowers, dairy products, the skill of 

 the artisan, the display of the merchant and manufacturer, together 

 with tempting samples of culinary art, bread, jellies and canned 

 fruits, presented the good things of this life in a profusion which 

 might provoke a smile of gratitude from the most cynical and stir 

 the admiration of the most phlegmatic. 



E. H. Judd led off with a large collection of vegetables, but was 

 followed so closely by smaller contributors that the quantity seemed 

 abundant, the quality good, and the culture quite general. Apples 

 of course were very scarce, and yet Northampton and Williamsburg 

 made a fair display. Pears, however, were abundant. Their beauty, 

 variety and quality overshadowed the loss of apples. Grapes 

 abounded. Concords, Delawares, Ionas, Dianas, Adirondacks and 

 Israellas, presented clusters whose luscious beauty would tempt 

 the appetite of the invalid and gratify the taste of an epicure. 



The officers of this society, and especially their popular and 



