202 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



living, this is their festival. They are to " come one — come all ! " It aeeds no 

 advertisement, by way of attraction, that "a troop of light-horse tuill be on the 

 ground ^\' On the contrary, they eschew horses, as the most short-lived, uncer- 

 tain and expensive machines that can be employed by men who act on the princi- 

 ple that every little makes a mickle, and, therefore, that the cost of everything 

 must be counted — even pennies more than pounds, for " pounds will take care of 

 themselves." 



Of ail the features of this exhibition, except such as displayed the handiwork 

 of New-England housewives and their daughters, the most admirable and inter- 

 esting to every Southern man must have been the plowing and hauling matches., 

 exclusively with oxen, and exclusively handled by their owners. 



The Committee reported 18 teams as having been entered, while 16 appeared 

 to contend for the prizes. Of the absentees, one gave " a satisfactory excuse,^'' 

 and the other was tinderstood to be sick ; for it is worthy of notice that, as the 

 ground required to be plowed depends on the number of competitors, they are 

 compelled to make their entries beforehand, long enough to allow of suitable 

 ground being engaged for the purpose, and if afterward they don't come to the 

 mark, or give a good excuse, they are forever after excluded from competition 

 for a premium of that Society. We go the more into these particulars, in the 

 way of information for those who may be engaged in the patriotic service of get- 

 ting up such societies in other States. 



On tne stone fence, inclosing the lot to be plowed, sat, as it was estimated, not 

 less than 4,000 spectators ; yet not the slightest press or disturbance took place. 

 So quiet and interesting was the whole scene, that, as stated by the Committee, 

 the commands of the plowmen to their teams could be distinctly heard from one 

 side of the field to the other. And here was exhibited, in the equal patience of 

 the owner and his team — in the kindness of the one and the docility of the other 

 — the beauty and perfection of New-England husbandry, in the most important 

 branch of the art. Not a blow was struck, nor a word said, that could wound 

 the sensibility of a child. There they moved, sixteen span of noble oxen, bend- 

 ing all their strength to a sward as tough as ever plow turned up to sun and air 

 — every ox seeming to participate the emulation of his master. The same may 

 in general be said of the hauling-match in the afternoon, where the powers of 

 this noble animal were again exhibited in hauling up a plain considerably in- 

 clining, a cart weighing probably not much short of a thousand weight, with a 

 load of 4,000 weight of stone ; then bringing the same load down, with their 

 heads proudly elevated to hold it back ; and again backing the whole cart and 

 4,000 weight up the hill, a distance of probably less than a hundred and fifty 

 yards ! 



On seeing this wonderful performance by one yoke of oxen, without an oath, 

 or a blow more than enough to kill a horse-fly, we could not but be carried back 

 to the remembrance of three yoke going in Maryland with a hogshead of tobac- 

 co (1,000 pounds) to the inspection-house, and reckoning it quite a feat to take it 

 there, some four or five miles, and get back safely at night. And again, lately, 

 in the neighboriiood of Natchez, seeing five and six yoke creeping along, with a 

 half cord of wood, or a few bales of cotton. 



In fact, the proverbial sagacity, as well as the self-command, kindness and 

 skill of New-England farmers, are in nothing more conspicuous than in their 

 preference for and treatment of their oxen I They seem to love and rely on them 

 next after their wives and children ; and as we have elsewhere hinted, might 



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