172 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



DEC. a, l'4i', 



ADDRESS 

 ./It the Philadelphia Jigrinultural Exhibition. 



By NICHOLAS BIDDLE, KSQ. 



Gentlemen — We are assembled to witness our 

 first exhibition since tbe recent donation by the 

 State. Our Society, while engaged with all its 

 own resources in improving our agriculture, appeal- 

 ed to the Legislature, as consisting mainly of far- 

 mers ; and aslied that, while so many millions were 

 expended in the? transportation of our productions, 

 Bomething should be given to assist in rendering 

 those productions themselves more abundant and 

 more valuable. Accordingly a law was passed, 

 placing, every year, at the disposal of the Society, 

 a sum of fifty dollars for each member of the Le- 

 gislature for the city and county of Philadelphia, 

 to be paid out of the taxes to be raised within the 

 city and county. Tliis, though small in amount, 

 is important from its example; nor, in entering up- 

 on the first enjoyment of it, should we omit our 

 thanks to the Legislature for this mark of regard 

 for the farming interests, to the members from the 

 city and county who liberally supported it, and 

 more especially to those members of this Society 

 to whose exertions we owe the success of this 

 application, among whom it would be great injus- 

 tice not to name Geo. VV. Roberts, R. T. Potts and 

 Capt. Thomas Hayes; but in an especial manner 

 are the acknowledgements of all farmers due to 

 Mr James Gowen, who is always in the front rank 

 where public spirit or private liberality is needed. 

 The Society have thought that no employment 

 of the additional means confided to them would be 

 so useful as to bring the farmers together, to ex- 

 hibit the best specimens of their industry ; and by 

 small but lionorable premiums, to encourage a gen- 

 erous competition in every branch of farming pro- 

 duction. The prizes for the best crops must be 

 decided at a later part of the season. But the ex- 

 hibition of farming stock and farming implements 

 is now before you ; and it is made my duty to add 

 something appropriate to the decision. This I do 

 cheerfully; and what I shall say will be very 

 plain, very practical, and, as you will learn with 

 pleasure, very short. My purpose ia to say a few 

 words about the real condition of fanning in Penn- 

 sylvania ; its natural advantages; its acquired 

 means ; and then suggest such improvements as 

 may make our farms nxire productive 



There are perhaps few portions of the earth more 

 favored by nature than Pennsylvania. Her soil is 

 excellent and various — while oven the parts least 

 adapted in themselves for agriculture furnish the 

 best encouragement to it; for the hills which reject 

 the plough are filled with coal and iron, which col- 

 lect largo masses of the people to bo fed by the 

 farmers. Her climr.te is a happy medium between 

 the long winters of northern regions, which close 

 the earth for so many months against farm labor, 

 and consume so much of its produce in carrying 

 the farm stock over hmg months of idleness, and, 

 on the other side, the unvarying licat of southern 

 latitudes, often unhealthy and unproductive, where 

 both man and cattle degenerate. In this climate 

 almost every production iiiay bo naturalized, so 

 that in point of soil and seasons, and variety of pro- 

 ductiveness, Pennsylvania is distinguished. 



These natural advantages she has also the means 

 of improving by artificial means; for the limestone, 

 so great an element in farming, is found everywhere 

 in great abundance. Plaster of Paris is obtained 

 easily and at low prices, from iier neighbor, New 



York ; the large cities furnish vast supplies of ani- 

 mal manure, while on the other side of the Dela- 

 ware lies a great belt of green sand, erroneously 

 called marl, an original deposite of the ocean, 

 where, among bones of extinguished races of ani- 

 mals, and relics of a submerged world, there is 

 brought up this sand, highly useful oven in its natu- 

 ral state ; and if mixed with lime, as it should be, 

 of great efficacy. 



The implements of husbandry come next in order, 

 and these we have of the very best kind ; much 

 better tlian similar implements in Europe — lighter, 

 more easily handled ; and there are one or two in 

 common use with us, such for instance, as the 

 hnise-rake, and that giant instrument, the cradle, 

 which are unknown or unused abroad. In truth, 

 our people have had so much to do, with compara- 

 tively small means, that their ingenuity has been 

 tasked to invent the most efficient instrunients, and 

 to make the most active use of them. Thus there 

 are two words in almost all languages, and well 

 defined in most dictionaries, but of which Europe- 

 ans have scarcely any idea, and these are the axe 

 and the plough. To cut down a tree, the great 

 business of American settlers, is a strange event to 

 a European farmer. And then it may make us 

 smile to see, as we may on the continent of Eu- 

 rope, at the present time, a whole drove of horses — 

 I have myself actually seen eight in a single plough 

 — and Eoinetinies the whole quadruped force of the 

 farm, three or four cows, and perhaps a bull or two, 

 with tlieaid of several horses, toiling slowly through 

 the great work of turning up the sod — nay, even 

 in some parts of England, at this moment, may be 

 seen six large horses with two full-grown men, re- 

 turning from the field, after having ploughed during 

 the day, three quarters of an acre, where one of 

 our ploughmen, with a pair of horses, would have 

 got through an acre and a half. 



From the implements, let us turn to our stock of 

 animals. 



And first of our Horses. Beginning with the 

 highest blooded stock, I think it probable that the 

 United States possess quite as good a race as there 

 is in Europe. The prevailing opinion is that the 

 Arabian horse is the original of that animal. I 

 doubt the historical fact; but if it be so, he is the 

 parent stock of the horse, just as the father of all 

 apples is the crab, wliich has been sweetened by 

 cultivation into the bell-flower. Undoubtedly the 

 Arabian lias improved the English horse — has giv- 

 en him finer sinews, more compact bones, and 

 greater intelligence, till the cross has become 

 avowedly the first of his kind. The truth is, that 

 a race is but a quick succession of long jumps, and 

 the little light Arab is out-jumped by the gigantic 

 stride of the stronger, larger, lonirer-lesced Eng- 

 lish horse, and would distance him on any course 

 in Europe. Indeed, the very first Arabian import- 

 ed into England two centuries ago, called the 

 Markain Arabian, was constantly beaten : and my 

 opinion is, that no Arabian horse ever did win a 

 race in England. The belief of our breeders is, 

 that whatever good there is in the Arabian is ex- 

 ceedingly slow in showing itself; that he has al- 

 ready given to the English horse all he can give, 

 and that it is on the whole better to adhere to the 

 highest bred English stock, rather than risk its de- 

 generacy by any inferior mixture. Our blood hor- 

 ses, therefore, come directly from England ; and it 

 is rather odd that the King of England's stables — 

 while there was a King and he had stables, fur- 

 nished the highest priced horses for republican 



America. Of the comparative estimation of the 

 English and Arabian horse, we have lately seen a 

 striking example. The Imaum of Muscat sent to 

 the President of the United States two Arabian 

 horses, which, from the character of the giver, we 

 are bound to presume were of the highest class. 

 These horses were sold at public auction, and no 

 one could be found to give more for them than 

 six hundred and fifty dollars for one, and six 

 hundred and sevcntyfive for the other. Now, in, 

 the same neighborhood where these were sold, are 

 very spirited breeders, who would not buy these 

 Arabians even at so low a rate, but who had actu- 

 ally bought from the stables of the King of Eng-- 

 land, at the price of twentyfive thousand dollars, 

 PiiiAM, one of whose colts is in the exhibition here. 

 Even as between the English breed and our own, 

 the impression on this side the water is, that for 

 some time past the tendency of English breeding is 

 leggy, and that the descendants of the English 

 stock, in this country, have more endurance, more 

 bottom for long heats than their English ancestors. 

 The question, whenever it is tested, will be de- 

 cided by a few seconds. This style of horse, al- 

 though the use to which he is generally applied, is 

 out of the way of the farmer, is yet very interest- 

 ing to us, for his good qualities all come down 

 through the inferior races ; and the Godolphin, to 

 which the English horse owes much of his superi- 

 ority, was actually a cart-horse in Paris. 



Our ordinary race of farm-horses is extremely 

 good. The warmth and variableness of the cli- 

 mate have settled down the stiff and heavy frame 

 of the European horse, and given us a race of quick, 

 alert animals, admirably fitted to second the acti- 

 vity of the farmer himself. 



So with respect to Cattle, we have almost 

 every variety, and the best of all varieties. The 

 emigrants often bring their best and favorite ani- 

 mals ; the passenger vessels bring cows to give 

 milk during their voyages, and be then profitably 

 sold here, and these are generally of the highest 

 kind ; commerce imports, from every quarter, tiie 

 animals which will pay best, and are therefore the 

 be.";! at Iiome ; and spirited breeders have gone 

 over into the English markets and brought over 

 some of the highest priced animals. The result is, 

 we have a great accumulation of stock of every de- 

 scription. There are the Aldernays, withtiieir rich 

 milk, itself a cream. The Ayrshires, copious giv- 

 ers of milk strongly inclined to butter, with forms 

 fitted for the butcher. The Devons, an ancient race, 

 brought by the first settlers of New England, and 

 indicating their descent by their strong resinblance 

 to the improved Devons, with which our stock has 

 been of late years abundantly recruited. Fitted, by 

 their milkiness, for the dairy; by their delicate 

 flesh for the knife ; by their quickness, for the 

 plough ; they claim to be second to no other race ; 

 and if second to any, only to the short-horned Dur- 

 ham, which is so familiar to us all as to require no 

 description, which undoubtedly now unites the 

 greatest number of suffrages in its favor, as com- 

 bining the qualities of abundant milk, of easy fat- 

 tening, of early maturity, and of excellent food, 

 more than any other race of horned cattle. 



Of Sheep, too we have all the varieties. The 

 Leicester, with their early fitness for the knife, 

 and their large carcases and large wool ; the Meri- 

 no, for its smaller yield of rich wool ; the South- 

 down, excellent for both wool and carcass ; and 

 finally, wc have a less-known breed coming intc 

 reputation ; it is the Tunisian, or broad-tailet 



