SECRETARY'S REPORT. 393 



FRANKLIN. 



The exliibition of the Franklin Agricultural Society was held 

 at Greenfield, on the last Thursday and Friday of September. 

 It was conducted with great spirit, and was crowned with unu- 

 sual success. The grounds, which, last year, were reported to 

 be altogether too circumscribed for the proper accommodation 

 of the society, had been much enlarged, and presented one of 

 the most convenient and admirably arranged parks in the Com- 

 monwealth. The officers of the society are entitled to high 

 commendation, for the energy with which they have prepared 

 these accommodations in this season of public depression, and 

 for the taste they have displayed in preparing them for use. 



The exhibition was rendered attractive on the first day by an 

 admirable collection of cattle, sheep and swine. The towns of 

 Deerfield, Shelburne, Greenfield and Northfield, furnished 

 their usual quota of those thrifty cattle, which have become so 

 well known as a part of the productions of this portion of the 

 State, and the history of which has been so well written by 

 those who have preceded me, in reporting upon this society. 

 That there should be considerable diversity in the quality of 

 the stock, is not at all remarkable, considering the various 

 modes of breeding and feeding which have been adopted, and 

 the different qualities of the soil which are found within the 

 limits of the society. Still the average is very high, and tlie 

 strife between the various towns is for the highest excellence, and 

 not for fair mediocrity. Nothing strikes a farmer visiting this 

 section, more forcibly, than the benefit which has already been 

 derived from the attempts to stock the farms well. Well cured 

 hay and well preserved and luxuriant pastures are the charac- 

 teristics of the neighborhood. No doubt the soil is well adapted 

 to feeding the heavy stock which has been placed upon it; but 

 the wisdom of those who made the introduction is none the 

 less, nor the skill, of those who elevated their farming to its 

 wants and have used it to the best purpose. Those farmers, in 

 this section, who are well known for their superior stock, are 

 also well known for their superior farming. And you will be 

 sure to find the choicest cattle where the hay-mow is the most 

 fragrant and the pastures most luxuriant and best cared for ; 



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