1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



497 



oil cannot be obtained for five cents a bushel. 

 Western oil is in bad repute here, the character 

 of the coal being such that it is impossible to get 

 a good burning oil from it. The large manufac- 

 tories here pay $20 to $25 per ton for coal from 

 Scotland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, 

 which yields a good oil. How much profit they 

 make we are not informed. With the present 

 demand for the oil, the profit is doubtless hand- 

 Bome ; but the great demand and high prices in- 

 vite competition, and this will ultimately reduce 

 prices and lead to more economy in the manu- 

 faeture. — Boston Journal. 



CA-TTiiE sh:o"w at WESTBOBO'. 



On Thursday, Sept. 15, the annual agricultu- 

 ral show of the Westboro' society took place in 

 the village of that town. The day was cool but the 

 air clear and elastic, and the good people of that 

 and the neighboring towns, of both sexes, were 

 out in full attendance and fine spirits, to do their 

 part in making it a social gala day, as well as 

 one to show the products of farms. So the cool 

 bracing air brought bloom to many a charming 

 face, and no doubt some of those fine looking 

 young farmers there, found a tumult under their 

 jacket which was anything but disagreeable ! The 

 cold made men and animals step nimbly, so that, 

 instead of depressing, it made the scene all the 

 more lively. 



First, we witnessed the exhibition of Bollts'' 

 Patent Hack Lifter, and found it working just as 

 we had seen it on two or three other occasion*--, 

 greatly to the satisfaction of all beholders. The 

 cattle pens next attracted attention. In them we 

 found a sprinkling of most breeds common in 

 New England, and, unless we overlooked them, 

 none of pure blood of any kind. But there were 

 a good many milk cows presented which would 

 do credit to the best farms in the State. We saw 

 some which the people there denominated the 

 "Sukey Breed," that present excellent points, 

 and have the general appearance of good milk- 

 ers. Several bulls were on exhibition, but none 

 that we should rank as among "the best." There 

 were some fine swine and poultry. 



The Town Hall was occupied with fruits, vege- 

 tables and flowers, and a crowd of admiring spec- 

 tators. The show of pears was exceedingly at- 

 tractive, one gentleman exhibiting over ninety 

 varieties ; some of these were very large and fair. 

 The show of apples was creditable, and would be 

 so td any section of the State. They were nu- 

 merous, of well-known varieties, and were of good 

 size and shape. A few peaches, plums, cranber- 

 ries iind crab apples were interspersed, making 

 up a beautiful collection in all. The fruit was 

 arranged, and labelled with considerable horti- 

 cultural skill. We noticed with pleasure collec- 

 tions of flowers tastefully arranged, which added 



a freshness and beauty to the scene that nothing 

 else could have done. 



The collection of vegetables was very good-» 

 no better samples of beets, onions, carrots, to- 

 matoes, parsnips, squashes, egg plants, &c., csq 

 be produced anywhere. We saw eight splendid 

 squashes, weighing some 350 pounds, the pro- 

 duct of a single vine. 



There were 23 entries for the Plowing Match-^j 

 the work was well done, without hurry or noise, 

 thus aff"ording an example to the farmers worthy 

 of their imitation at home. The trial of the 

 strength and skill of working oxen was numer- 

 ously attended. There were 20 entries of oxen, 

 5 of steers, and 4 entries of farm and 3 of carriage 

 horses. A Spading Match was eagerly contest- 

 ed. The Society pays about $100 in premiums. 



The Address was at the dinner-table, and was 

 given by William Brigham, Esq., of Boston, 

 but a good cultivator, we understand, on his farm 

 at Grafton during the warm season. The address 

 was an excellent one, and was listened to with 

 close attention by a large audience. The speaker 

 said, "it is labor and economy, not luck, that 

 brings success, and that the door-yard and gen- 

 eral appearance of things about the house, will 

 indicate the character of the farm. He said ag- 

 riculture, like other pursuits, had its periods of 

 prosperity and adversity, but that a period is 

 dawning when labor on the soil will be as amply 

 repaid as that of any other industry. He thought 

 nobler examples of men cannot be referred to, 

 than the last six generations of New England 

 men. He drew an interesting comparison between 

 the agriculture of the last half of the I7th cen- 

 tury, and the first half of the 19th, speaking of 

 climate, mode of culture, and habits of living. 

 There were only thirty plows in the whole colony 

 in 1633. The address was a decided, bold and 

 plain one, containing many valuable facts and 

 suggestions, and along with them, two or three 

 opinions not at all in accordance with our own. 

 When we see it in print, we may take opportuni- 

 ty to speak of it again. 



The dinner was a good one, and good appe- 

 tites waited upon it. After proper attention had 

 been paid to it, the President of the Society, G. 

 C. Sanborn, Esq., congratulated the company 

 upon the success of the exhibition, spoke of its 

 future in hopeful terms, and called upon Mr. 

 Brigham, the orator, for remarks. Mr. Brigham 

 honored the call, and was followed by Mr. Brown, 

 Editor of the Farmer, and Dr. Joseph Rey- 

 nolds, of Concord. At this moment. Time, with 

 its inexorable finger, pointed to the hour assigned 

 for testing the working oxen, and what was left 

 unuttered by the men and women, who looked as 

 though they had whole columns of things to say, 

 the world will probably never know. 



