xxiv REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 



entertain these ideas and practise upon them. It is folly to argue 

 ttiat tLe soils of New England are old and sterile, for the soils of 

 Old England are yielding crops with more profusion than ever before. 

 One of the most flagrant obstacles to successful agriculture in New 

 England is the ownership of too much land by farmers. It ought 

 to be distinctly understood by farmers that all the land a man owns 

 should be used with equal fairness, and average farmers should not 

 own more than they can actually cultivate. Many farmers are kept 

 poor by the taxes on that part of their farms from which they derive 

 no benefit. The annual cost to support fences in the United States 

 is $250,000,000, and of this, $30,000,000 are expended in Massachu- 

 setts ; and in this regard alone could the farmer's expenses be greatly 

 lessened by occupying smaller farms. Many men in Franklin County, 

 he said, are paying taxes on two hundred acres, while an income is 

 derived from scarcely one hundred acres. He thought that another 

 obstacle was either the want of capital or the discrimination to use 

 it in farming operations. " He would be ashamed to engage in a 

 business in which he did not dare to invest his money ; " yet this is 

 a general fault among farmers. It is generally thought agriculture 

 can be pursued by any one, and that if a man fails in every other 

 occupation, he can turn to farming; but, he added, we have to deal 

 with more intricate forces than any other class of people, and it is our 

 duty to fully understand our business. He thought that a majority 

 were not capable of running their farms, and for this reason he 

 would fit our young men for the work, and not leave them to grope 

 in darkness. 



I was informed that Franklin County never before exhibited so 

 large and choice an array of blooded-stock. The mouarchs of the stall 

 were the thoroughbred bulls, of which there were 17 entries, a larger 

 number than ever presented before. Six of these were Shorthorn, eight 

 Jersey, two Devon and five Ayrshire. Of the Jersey bulls, a three- 

 year-old, entered by T. M. Stoughton, of Gill, attracted much atten- 

 tion ; while those exhibited by D. O. Fisk, of Shelburne, and H. C. 

 Haskell, of Deerfield, were grand to look upon. S. W. Hall, of Green- 

 field, exhibited a thoroughbred Devon bull, thirteen months old, 

 which was an animal of great promise. A three-year-old Shorthorn, 

 entered by Zeri Smith, of Deerfield, was a " thing of beauty." The 

 Shorthorn bulls entered by Lowell S. Brown, of Shelburne, and 

 Charles Parsons, Jr., of Conway, were noticeable for their great 

 beauty. That of Mr. Conway was twenty-eight months old, and 

 turned the scales at 1,900 pounds. Two Ayrshires, much admired, 

 were exhibited by D. O. Fisk. 



The exhibition of thoroughbred cows, comprising 25 entries, was 

 equal, if not superior, to former years. Thirteen were Shorthorns, 



