28 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



not been thus exhausted ; you know that when we, 

 dig potatoes, we find the old seed rotted and noth- 

 ing left of it but a shell ; all its power has gone,! 

 its nutritive element gone, completely exhausted;] 

 you would never think of planting it again. Now, 

 the potato that has been sprouted several times in 

 the spring, is in the same condition in quality; but' 

 not so far gone in degree; it is not wholly, but 

 partially emptied. Seed potatoes should be kept,: 

 then, where it is cool and dry, so that they shall 

 not sprout until after they are planted; they 

 should be kept in the dark also, that no evapora- 

 tion may go on in the juices. 



I think that I have settled the question" of large 

 or small seed ; however, I should like to hear the 

 views of others on the subject. If my views are, 

 correct, this article is proved not out of season, as 

 now is the time to look to the preservation of seed 

 potatoes so as to have them right in planting time. 



Oscar Mellisii. 



For the New England Farmer. 



BERKSHIRE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



This time-honored association held its annual fes- 

 tival on Wednesday and Thursday, the 6th and sev- 

 enth days of October. The first day was appro- 

 priated to the entry and examination of the ani- 

 mals, and other objects o£ the show ; the second, 

 to the plowing, meetings of the farmers, awards 

 of premiums, &c. &c. 



The most striking object of attention to the eye 

 of a stranger was the mass of full-grown and en- 

 ergetic yeomanry in attendance. The men are 

 proportioned to the hills they inhabit. The moun- 

 tain air, or the mountain labor, is admirably cal- 

 culated to rear a race of men altogether more effi- 

 cient than are to be found in the pent-up work- 

 shops at the east. It may be that a man will earn 

 as many shillings daily, by sewing shoes, in the 

 contracted work-shops where they are made, as by 

 holding the plow on the hills of Berkshire; but it 

 never can be that such an employment is so well 

 calculated to develop the energies of the man. 

 That State which would have men worthy the 

 name of men, should have regard to their employ- 

 ment, and cherish those labors which will enable 

 them to do the State some service, when such ser- 

 vices are needed, — either in the Senate or in the 

 field. 



Glancing the eye hastily at the objects present- 

 ed at this Show, I noticed some superior working 

 oxen, particularly one pair of five years old, weigh- 

 ing more than 4000 lbs., that had recently been 

 sold for $170. There may be superior cattle, but 

 it has not been my luck to see them. Among the 

 bulls, there were several two and three years old, 

 first-rate animals. Nearly all these were the off- 

 spring of the foreign with our native stock. The 

 Devon and Herefordshire were most prominent. 

 Of the horses there was a full display, — some of 

 them of fine form and movement; but not being 

 expert in knowledge of horses, I will not presume 

 to particularize, lest my ignorance should be ap- 

 parent. 



Of milch cows there was a goodly number-»-not 

 less then a dozen. One old cow, with a crumpled 

 horn, hollow back and rawny ribs, struck me as 

 worthy of particular notice. On inquiry of the 

 Irish lad who attended her, and who said he had 

 milked her himself all summer, I learned that from 



her milk alone was made in the month of June 59 

 pounds of butter, and in the month of July 50 

 pounds ; and from her owner I afterwards learned 

 that 188 pounds of butter had been made from her 

 milk in 120 days, and that she would probably 

 yield 300 pounds during the season. Her feed was 

 such as she could obtain from the common pas- 

 ture, and four quarts of shorts daily. Nine other 

 cows were presented, which were said to have 

 yielded 14 pounds of butter a week, per cow, in 

 the course of the summer ; — a yield that will do 

 quite well for Yankee cows, and which shows, 

 with proper attention to the selection of the best 

 from our own hills, there is no occasion for further 

 importations. I admire the Jersey cows and heif- 

 ers that I have seen of recent importations, but 

 still I have great doubts whether any better ani- 

 mals for dairy purposes can be found than the best 

 of what are called our "native breed." Forty or 

 more pounds of butter were exhibited from differ- 

 ent dairies, and several parcels of cheese of supe- 

 rior quality. The dairy products were decidedly 

 good. 



Of sheep there was a quantum svfficit, more than 

 thirty different parcels ; some looking as dirty as 

 mulaltoes, and others as white as lilies ; some as 

 big as a moose, others but little bigger than a 

 woodchuck. It requires more science than I pos- 

 sess, to discriminate by a hasty glance in such a 

 variety. 



Of swine the Show was numerous, of every va- 

 riety, from the delicate Suffolk pig to the over- 

 grown pattern of the race, with his forbidding pro- 

 tuberances. 



Of the biddie race there was a good display, but 

 I did not learn that any fowl convention had re- 

 cently been holden there ; perhaps there is not 

 among them any goose or turkey anxious to be sent 

 to Washington. Without doubt there are many 

 quite equal to those who do go. 



One remark I will venture to make upon a view 

 of the display of animals, &c, that they suffered 

 much for want of convenient arrangement in their 

 position. When fifty or sixty wagons are driven 

 together, loaded with animals, sheep, hogs, boars 

 and sows hiller-skelter, without any order, in a 

 manner that makes it not easy or safe to move 

 among them, it is not possible to examine such an- 

 imals with good discrimination. 



In the hall for manufactures, fruits, &c, there 

 was a good display; among them many articles of 

 superior quality. My attention was particularly 

 arrested by a display of fifty varieties of apples, 

 presented by a gentleman from the State of New 

 York ; some of them of form and color surpassing- 

 ly fine, others of a richness and tenderness rarely 

 equalled. , I had supposed our eastern apples were 

 not to be beaten, but I acknowledge that some of 

 these from New York excelled anything I have 

 seen at the east. The grapes presented were fair 

 and of good quality. The peaches had lost their 

 flavor — the time has gone by for the best of peach- 

 es. Pears were good, but not equal to those seen 

 nearer home. 



On the evening of Wednesday, all hands assem- 

 bled for the benefit of the church, and a fairer as- 

 semblage I never witnessed. The ladies of Berk- 

 shire would be entitled to a first premium, at any 

 Show. 



On the morning of Thursday the plowing match 

 came off, between 9 and 11 o'clock, when twenty 



