142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Tlic sliow certainly did honor to so favored a county, particularly 

 excelling in those departments of agriculture that for their 

 highest success require good grazing land. Hence, the speci- 

 mens of stock were of a high order. The working oxen, 

 steers and cows, spoke for themselves, that they had the best 

 of pasturage, and the kindest care. One cow was exhibited, 

 three-fourths Durham, and one-fourth native, that yielded six- 

 teen quarts of milk a day, from June to October. The ex- 

 hibition of sheep, also, was remarkably fine. Some sections of 

 Vermont might equal it, but nowhere in Massachusetts could 

 such flocks be produced. One buck was shown, that sheared 

 ten pounds and ten ounces of wool, at one shearing. 



In like manner the results of the dairy, butter and cheese, 

 would do credit to Orange County, in New York, or to any 

 section, in or out of New England. There were twelve entries 

 of cheese, several single ones weighing sixty pounds. The 

 show of swine was very good, and so was that of fowls ; in the 

 raising of which there appears to be an increasing interest, 

 here and elsewhere. 



In regard to fruits, the year, as is well known, was not favor- 

 able to the apple, still there were some very fine specimens, 

 and also of pears and quinces. 



Specimens of potatoes and other roots, and garden vege- 

 tables were very respectable, and there was a remarkably fine 

 show of grass seed. 



The excellence of such exhibitions, as the one we are con- 

 sidering, does not consist, in my judgment, in presenting a few 

 solitary specimens of mammoth growth, which may be, to be 

 sure, objects of curiosity, but in the average good quality 

 of the products shown. Judged by this standard, the Pittsfield 

 exhibition would stand high. 



One of the most interesting and attractive features of the 

 exhibition, was the handiwork of the fair ladies of Berkshire. 

 The most beautiful yarns, counterpanes, carpetings, and fancy 

 work, of various kinds, were displayed throughout the spacious 

 hall, all of which were highly creditable to the ingenuity, skill, 

 and taste of those who wrousrht the fabrics. 



An exhil)ition of trotting horses came off toward the close 

 of the first day, and a goodly number of beautiful animals ex- 



