NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



465 



crops, the ratio of profit will be materially in- 

 creased in favor of the more highly manured land. 

 "With many of the heavier crops the labor consti- 

 tutes two-thirds of their cost, and, therefore, if the 

 crops can be increased by the application of man- 

 ure without material extra labor, such excess of 

 crop is at much less cost, and yields much larger 

 profit. — Working Farmer. 



VERMONT STATE FAIR. 



The great Farmers' Festival for 1852, in the 

 State of Vermont, took place at Rutland on the 

 first, second and third days of September. A few 

 days previously to the fair there had been a copi- 

 ous rain, which washed up the trees and grass, and 

 giving all vegetation a fresh and lively appearance, 

 and at the same time moistening the parched 

 earth so as'to make it pleasant under the feet. 



Addresses were delivered on the first day, by 

 Wji. S. King, Esq., Editor of the Journal of Agri- 

 culture, in which he spoke eloquently of the im- 

 portance of a more systematic mode of husbandry, 

 and enforced his text by many well drawn illustra- 

 tions ; — and on the second day, by Mr. Seward, a 

 member of Congress from New York. 



The arrangements for the Addresses, the exhi- 

 bition of the stock, inplements, floral "exhibition, 

 domestic manufactures, for refreshments and for 

 witnessing the movements of the horses, were good. 

 Some 30 acres were enclosed by a high fence, with 

 entrance gates at convenient points ; in this en- 

 closure was a large grove of noble rock maples, in 

 the midst of which the cattle were quietly repos- 

 ing, and in which pens for sheep and swine, and 

 the Mechanic's and Floral Halls were erected. 

 "Water was freely introduced, provent was plenty, 

 and the green turf or the clean straw forming a 

 couch, there was as pleasant a scene of quiet and 

 contentment as one will seldom find among the 

 ruminators. "Within this delightful shade there 

 was also a higher order of enjoyment ; men, wo- 

 men and children, all in holiday attire, had re- 

 leased themselves from the busy cares of life, and 

 were reaping a rich harvest of pleasure in the at- 

 tractions of this festival. Here, a group of stal- 

 wart men, sons of the mountains, gravely dis- 

 cussed the surpassing merits of their favorite breeds 

 of sheep, swine and cattle, or boldly pronounced 

 on the elegant action and high mettle of their 

 rampant steeds ; there, Jin floral hall, ladies exam- 

 ine articles of fine texture and skilful workman- 

 ship, wrought with exceeding patience and care, 

 and proving that the graces are not strangers in 

 the household where utility seems to be the pre- 

 siding genias ; and there, in that sequestered 

 spot, where the breeze plays with dark curls and 

 the sunlight touches fitfully the glowing cheek of 

 a comely maiden and the thoughtful brow of him 

 who sits beside her — there is a delightful part 

 of the ceremonies "not mentioned in the bills." 

 But we will not obtrude there. May the pure air 



of heaven chant anthems over their heads in 

 the tops of the old maples, and the flutt'eriugs of 

 their leaves be in consonance with the hearts that 

 flutter beneath them. "We pass on. 



Fifteen hundred persons could be comfortably 

 accommodated on the seats erected for witnessing 

 the movements of the horses, and from thence often 

 proceeded the clapping of hands, waving of hand- 

 kerchiefs and bursts of applause for some favorite 

 charger, as they once rose in the Roman amphi- 

 theatres, but on very different occasions. In short, 

 the spot Avas happily selected and the arrange- 

 ments were judicious. 



This fair was the second which has been held as 

 a State Fair, and of course brought together much 

 that might without exaggeration be called excel- 

 lent. The horses, taken as a whole, cannot, we 

 confidently believe, be equalled in the union. Not 

 that as many horses cannot be selected in any 

 other State, possessing as much speed, or as much 

 beauty, or as much power as these, as separate 

 and distinct qualities ; but that they cannot be 

 found combining all these qualities, and thus mak- 

 ing the perfect animal. A horse may have too 

 much muscle, or too much action, as well as not 

 enough. But here we saw such a nice adjust- 

 ment of the requisite powers, of shape, spirit and 

 action, as left nothing to be added, and nothing to 

 be taken away without detriment to the whole. 



"We have looked with some care at the blood 

 horses at the South, as we have more than once at 

 the noble specimens reared on the hills of Ver- 

 mont. These breeds have the three great requisites 

 desired in the horse — endurance, speed and docil- 

 ity. The blood horses of the South have the 

 speed, and the Vermonters that hardihood and pow- 

 er of endurance which makes them eminently cal- 

 culated for the practical purposes for which they 

 are wanted. "When these qualities are combined, 

 they will produce an amimal which shall with 

 proper training win a three mile heat on any course. 

 The high blood, neat and nervous, but well turned 

 limb, of the Southern horse, combined with the 

 round, muscular, and deep-ribbed trunk of the 

 Vermonter, will make up an animal unsurpassed 

 in the world. There is a little jealousy, we no- 

 ticed, among the farmers of Vermont, in relation to 

 their horses ; but we think it unnecessary, and in 

 the end may be injurious to their common interest. 

 The Black Hawk and Morgan, from their configu- 

 ration, action and spirit, are of the same blood, 

 and only exhibit different qualities from the influ- 

 ences growing out of different keeping and train- 

 ing. 



Then there were the French Merino Sheep, very 

 properly attracting attention. For some cause or 

 other, Nature found it inconvenient to increase the 

 body of the animal beyond a certain size, while at 

 the same time she wanted a great deal of wool 

 So she has run the fleece down to the very hoofs, 



