1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



549 



RECOLLECTIONS. 



During our late visit to the State Fair at Bur- 

 lington, Vt., we met several gentlemen, with whom 

 we had much pleasant conversation, and from 

 whom we learned many useful things. On the 

 grounds, and among the neat stock, there was a lot 

 belonging to Ezra Mel^ch, Jr., of "^Shelburn Point, 

 which would at once attract the attention of the 

 visitor. This gentleman, we were informed, usual- 

 ly winters a hundred horses. They are turned to- 

 gether, late in autumn, into rich clover pastures, 

 where they remain through the winter, without any 

 other feed than the grass they get, and with only 

 the shelter afforded by the woods adjacent to the 

 pastures. In a climate like ours in any part of 

 New England, it would seem almost incredible 

 that horses could survive the winter in such a con- 

 dition, — but several gentlemen, whose statements 

 would command belief, assured us that they not 

 only live under these circumstances, but that they 

 usually come out in the spring in excellent condi- 

 tion ! 



The Hon. Haery Bradley, at whose pleasant 

 residence we spent a portion of an evening, cut this 

 year forty-Jive acres of spring wheat, and last year 

 had Ji/ly acres of Indian corn. His crops of wheat 

 are usually good, and afford a handsome profit. — 

 Formerly, and for many years, he fatted one hun- 

 dred oxen annually, — but since the railroads have 

 opened a market at every man's door, the person 

 who raises finds it also to his advantage to fatten 

 and market for himself. 



On the Fair grounds we also found an old ac- 

 quaintance, the Hon. WrxsLOW C. "Watsox, of 

 Port Kent, N. Y. Mr. Watson is one of the most in- 

 dustrious and best agricultural writers in the country, 

 and he has contributed largely and usefully to our ag- 

 ricultural literature. His "Survey of Essex Coun- 

 ty," it being the county on the shore of Lake 

 Champlain, opposite BurHngton, Vt., is a volume 

 intensely interesting, while it has the valuable qual- 

 ification of being remarkably instructive. He dis- 

 cusses in a clear and comprehensive manner, the 

 civil and political history of the county, its physical 

 geography, natural history, mineralogy and geolo- 

 gy, its industrial progress and pursuits, and agri- 

 culture. 



The committee to whom Mr. Watson's report 

 was submitted, and who recommended its publica- 

 tion in the transactions of the State Society, say 

 that it is "a work abounding in facts, closely inter- 

 woven not only with the physical condition of man, 

 but including also his social, political and commer- 

 cial relations, as connected with a portion of the 

 State of New York which may be deemed classic, 

 because of events and actions both remarkable and 

 interesting, carrying their influences upon our na- 

 tion to the present period." 



Essex county is the country of the Adirondacs 



presenting, perhaps, a larger extent of unbroken 

 forest, covering mountains, hills, ravines and vales, 

 than can be found in any other portion of the north- 

 ern States. It is supposed that here are vast tracts 

 still untrodden by civilized man, where nature reigns 

 in primeval grandeur, and where the panther and 

 deer, and other wild animals, still retain possession 

 of the forest never yet trenched upon by the axe 

 and the plow. The agricultural division of the 

 work presents features of interest that were not ex- 

 pected, and exhibits a climate where the grape has 

 flourished in profusion ; the wild apple and plum 

 cover the hill-sides, and the wild cherry forms en- 

 tire groves in the fastnesses of the Adirondacs. 



After a day of fatigue on the grounds of the 

 show at Burlington, we gladly accepted an invita- 

 tion to visit Mr. Watson and pass the night at his 

 hospitable mansion, across the Lake at Port Kent. 

 Stepping on board one of the clean and well-or- 

 dered steamers, a short hour brought us to the 

 landing on the opposite side, and soon to a grateful 

 cup of tea, and a most interesting conversation 

 around the family board. 



In the morning we were allowed to look at some 

 of the numerous manuscripts and records preserved 

 by the Hon. ELK.\>rAH Watsox, the father of our 

 host, and the orignator of the old Berkshire Agri- 

 cultural Society in our State. But we shall have 

 occasion to speak of him, and of the author of the 

 Survey, in another connection hereafter. 



Another gentleman whom we met at this exhi- 

 bition, was Col. Daxiel Needham, recently from 

 Groton, Mass., who has left the law for the farm, 

 and is settled at Quechee, Vt. He is an earnest, 

 practical man, and we suggest to the managers of 

 the Vermont Society, to draw him into their ser- 

 vice, if they desire an efficient and able co-worker. 



TOKS OF BREAD. 



H. Berden, says the Journal of Commerce, has 

 just completed an enormous oven in Brooklyn, of a 

 capacity almost sufficient for the supply of the 

 whole city. Five hundred and forty barrels of flour 

 can be baked every day, if the powers of the oven 

 are put to their full test. The apparatus is purely 

 scientific in its construction, with special reference 

 to the preservation of the alcoholic gases and other 

 valuable properties which are wholly lost, during 

 fermentation, in the ordinary process of baking. 

 While exposed to the heat, the bread is constantly 

 in motion, on a series of revolving platforms, and 

 finally emerges on miniature rail cars, ready for de- 

 livery. A uniform temperature is secured by a 

 very ingenious contrivance, consisting of a strip of 

 grass, thirty feet in length, within the oven, so as 

 to be very sensitive to thermometrical changes ; 

 and the least shrinkage or contraction is made to 

 act directly upon the furnace fires, by its connec- 

 tions with the dampers, effected by a lever. The 

 cost of this machinery, with boilers, wells for pure 

 water, &c., is said to be in the neighborhood of 

 $40,000. The plan is to furnish bakers with their 



