116 MIDDLESEX SOCIETY. 



MIDDLESEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The President of this Society, Hon. E. R. Hoar, and the 

 Secretary, Simon Brown, in making the return of its transac- 

 tions, say : — The annual exhibition of the society took place at 

 Concord, on the 18th day of September last, a fortnight earlier 

 than the usual time heretofore. The weather was favorable, 

 and the interest felt in the success of the society, and the cause 

 of agriculture generally, was plainly manifested by the crowds 

 of persons of all ages and both sexes, who were in attendance. 



The exercises of the day were commenced by the ploughing 

 match. Nothing could exceed the vivacity of the scene. There 

 were earnest hearts, as well as hands, engaged in it. Lawyers, 

 merchants and mechanics, not less than farmers, were watching 

 the movements of their favorite teams and speculating upon 

 the probable result of the decision of the committees. Twenty- 

 five teams were entered. Great skill was exhibited in all points 

 of the contest, and it was evident that each competitor knew 

 how to hold, as well as drive. The contest was sharp in 

 regard to the length of time occupied in doing the work, as 

 well as to the manner of its execution. The horse teams were 

 frequently in a trot, and the oxen laboring so violently, that 

 they could not have sustained such unusual exertion beyond a 

 brief period of time. No good farmer presses his team in this 

 manner, in the ordinary business of his fields at home. He 

 knows that his work would not be so well performed in this 

 way, and that his team would soon be incapable of continued 

 labor. Whether the free use of the whip, the consequent hur- 

 ried movement and rapid execution of the work, should have 

 any weight in the decisions of the committees, in awarding the 

 premiums, admits of much doubt. What is desired, is an exhi- 

 bition of the skill of the master, and the training and manage- 

 ment of his team, in ploughing a given quantity of land, within 



