92 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



tions ill Vermont, was bred in tliis county, as wet-e iiis sire and 

 grandsire before him. Some fine specimens of Sliort-horu blood 

 have been brought to our notice this year; descended from one 

 of the best bulls of this class in New England, and introduced 

 into our section of the county two years since. The interest in 

 sheep husbandry has materially increased ; and, for the first 

 time for many years, fine-wooled sheep have been introduced 

 among us from the various families of Vermont Merinos. 



We mention these facts, as proofs that our agricultural enter- 

 prise is not on the wane. The various root crops of our county 

 still hold the high position they have so long held among 

 the cultivated crops of Massachusetts. The cultivation of fruit 

 is still pursued with untiring diligence. The hay crop of Esse.t 

 county fills its usually important place in the market. And 

 in addition to all this well-known and recognized industry, we 

 add with pleasure the new evidence of skill and attention which 

 has been brought to our notice. 



Machinery. — One great obstacle in the way of profitable 

 agriculture at the present time, is the scarcity of labor. Wages 

 of farm hands have increased to such a degree, during the past 

 year, that it seemed at one time as if the earth must be aban- 

 doned to its spontaneous productions. In this condition of 

 affairs, the importance of good labor-saving farm machinery 

 becomes very apparent. The stout, and heavy, and unwieldy 

 weapons, with which our ancestors subdued the wilderness, 

 were useful enough when wielded by their own strong arms, 

 whose strength was increased by. a firm will and vigorous 

 industiy. But we can no more employ such implements in any 

 modern profitable agriculture, than we could substitute the 

 hand-labor of China for our own well-ordered and powerful 

 engines. It is one of the most important questions wliich the 

 farmer is called upon to decide — how far he can devote his 

 capital to the best farm machinery-? 



It is indeed doubtful whether any machine can be employed 

 in tilling the eai-th, in digging and manipulating the soil, in 

 aj)plying manure, in sowing seed, in harvesting, with so good 

 an effect as that produced by the hand of the skilful husband- 

 man. But this can be applied only to small tracts of land, unless 

 by the employment of a large and expensive force. We must 



