220 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



our association. Ho\v often has he pressed us 

 to attend to them ! His superior sagacity could 

 discover a usefulucss in labors which w-e had 

 not before thought important. When, at lengtli, 

 we yielded to hiswi.she.s, and conseuled to regis- 

 ter the occurrences on our farms, how much in- 

 formation was elicited ! The improvement de- 

 rived from this mutual examination was ac- 

 knowledged by us all. It is much to be regret- 

 ted that these business-like meetings have, of 

 late, been fe^v and far between. But such as 

 they were, and transient as they no\v are, I dare 

 refer to the records for proof of their solid vv'orth. 

 What though they have been followed by occa- 

 sional listlessness, indifference, or non-attend- 

 ance, that baffled the later efforts of our good 

 President — may we not remember that our 

 early zeal, though short-lived, was salutary ! — 

 Can we not revive it ? Let us try, if it be only 

 to show our love for the man who first inspired 

 it. Our opinions on rural matters — our know- 

 ledge of agricultural facts, then so freely com- 

 municated, stand on record ; w^e then possessed 

 the attributes, as well as the name, of an Agri- 

 cultural Society. Those communications evin- 

 ced, by their variety, their practical meaning, 

 their good sense, and, not unfrequently, their 

 novelty, the rich fund of information among us 

 in the concerns of husbandry, and show how 

 profitably it may be again employed. ^V"e have 

 but to will it, in order to restore it to its former 

 nsefulne.ss. 



Having endeavored to portray Mr. Peters as 

 a patriot, a iegiislator, a jurist, and a farmer, it 



remains to spcals. of him as a man in social life. 



Uncoremoniwus, communicative, friendly — v/e 

 who have so often shared in the delight of his 

 imecjualed companionship, under this roof, and 

 at the festive board, v?hen, at our annual din- 

 ners, he gradually rose, in hilarity and noisy 

 mirth, with the wine-driaker.s, bj' drinkincr him- 

 self, as he would playfully say, like a fi.sli — ac- 

 companying our libations of Madeira with 

 draughts of water — we can testify to his won- 

 derful flow of vi-it, joviality, and laughter-in.spi- 

 ring spirit It was on those occasions that, for 

 a long evening, " he talked with fluency mere 

 pun," mere joke and frolic. He needed no ar- 

 tificiid aid, where Nature had been so liberal ; 

 and, with his sobletof iratcr by his side, he kept 

 pace in merriment \vith tlie company he was 

 exhilarating ; and this, too, when an octogena- 

 riau ! Indeed, it was only with the lamp of life 

 tliat this love of jest became extinct. Yet, so 

 well-timed, in such good taste, was all this gay- 

 ety, that no want of dignity or decorum uas 

 ever known. It was a spontaneous effusion, so 

 natural and so pleasing that it made you love 

 the man you already respected. 



As a husband — a parent — a neighbor — a sin- 

 cere Christian — there was, in reference to .fudge 

 Peters, but one voice. Every one united in 

 praising his domestic and religious virtues. 



Here I conclude, with many thanks for your 

 indulgence, and the hope that a life so usefully 

 spent wiU be contemplated by us. as eminently 

 worthy of imitation — if not in all its varieties, at 

 least in such portions as we may be able to copy. 



TUNISIAN SHEEP. 



We have great pleasure in recording the fol- 

 lowing authentic history of an importation of 

 Tunisian Sheep, and we'particularly desire that 

 our correspondents would furui-sh us with ac- 

 counts, as detailed, respecting every importation 

 of Live Stock, which has come within their 

 knowledge ; and especially, when tlie facts so 

 conclusively demonstrate the tendency of agri- 

 cultural pursuits and subjects to inspire all who 

 embark therein with a liberality of feelins- and 

 design, which, so far from admitting the idea of 

 venal rivalry or sordid monopoly, bid every one 

 generou.sly welcome to the fair enjoyment of 

 new SQUixes of profit. [Ed. Am. Far. 



Belmont, Aiisrust 14, 1822. 



Dear Sir : In your paper of the 2d instant, 

 I see queries respectingtheTuNisBROAD-TAiL- 

 ED Sheep. " How many ive.re received ! and 

 were any sent info other States I " 



I have given a full accotmt of these sheep in 

 the 2d volume of the Philadelphia Agricultural 

 Memoirs. My opinions continue unaltered ; 

 and I had supposed the subject to have been ex- 

 hausted. I have no de.sire to revive it, farther 

 than to answer your queries as fullj" as histori- 

 cal facts require ; and that with no per.sonal ob- 

 jects. I do not relate the circumstances to bla- I 

 zon my ovi-n 'exertions ; but. under a persua.sion 

 that a useful moral may be drawn from them, 

 I am the only person acquainted with the whole i 

 subject, to which I do not mean to give more i 

 importance than vour inquiries seem to elicit. I 

 (472) 



Col. Pickering, with his accustomed candor, has 

 published, in Pouhon's paper of the 4th or .5th 

 of July la.st, what he thought proper as to him- 

 self The paragi-aph has not his signature ; but 

 be informed me of his having w^ritten it ; and I 

 mention it, for reasons operating with me. 



1 understood, from Gen. Eaton, and so did 

 Col. Pickering, that eight or ten sheep were 

 shipped ; but only a pair arrived. Being far 

 preferable to the coast sheep, they \\-ere pro- 

 cured by Gen. Eofon, (as he informed me) off 

 the Dey's farm in the interior of the country, by 

 the Dey's permission, as a compliment to Uie 

 United States. It was therefore proper that they 

 should pass under the direction of the Secretary 

 of State. They arrived in the Delon-are, in a 

 public ship, and of course were placed by Col. 

 Pickering in the neighborliood of the port of ar- 

 rival. It would have been out of character with 

 him, (only one pair having anived) to have sent 

 them uito any other State ; nor would he have 

 so done, in whatever way he might have re- 

 ceived them. I was infoi-med that the rest of 

 the shipment perished at sea. Capt. Geddes, to 

 whose care they were committed, had a charac- 

 ter too respectable to permit any suppo.'^ition 

 that he was either negligent or selfish ; yet Gen. 

 Ealon expressed much dissatisfaction and clta- 

 grin. 



The bui-tbensome, though not regretted, de- 

 posit was put into my hands by Col. Pickering. 

 Con.sidering myself as a kind of trustee, and al- 

 ways desirous of spreading through our country 



