Vol. XI.-No. 13. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



99 



a nuiiiber of elierry trees killed, but the Weeping 

 cheii-y, a native of Siberia, althougli biidiled some 

 height from llie ground, remained uninjured; 

 tills led me more minutely to examine their roots, 

 and I found invariably, that the roots of all the 

 weeping cherries differed from the roots of other 

 cherry trees, although the stock was the same ; 

 the roots of the trees grafted or budded with the 

 weeping cherry being much fuller of fine spread- 

 ing filires, and rooting much stronger. Mention- 

 in" this fact to a man who keeps a small apple 

 nursery in this place, and on whose veracity I 

 could depend, he told me that the graft of the Si- 

 berian crab apple trees, although grafted two feet 

 from the ground, affected the roots, and caused 

 them to become so wiry and hard, and so full of 

 these tine tough fibrous roots, and that they were 

 very clitferent from the roots of other apple trees. 

 I have nov/ given you all the information I pos- 

 sess on this subject. 



Yours respectfully, VVM. PRINCE. 



BRIGHTON CATTLE SHOW. 



The trustees of the Massachusetts Society for 

 promoting Agriculture, respectfully inform the 

 public, that they propose holding their Annual Cat- 

 tle Show this year, at Brighton, on the seventeenth 

 day of October. This Show has been held an- 

 nually, with the exception of the last year, for 

 nearlv twenty years, and it is believed that no one 

 that has attended to the improvement made in that 

 time, in husbandry, and especially, in our swine 

 and neat cattle, will doubt their past usefulness, or 

 that they largely contributed to this improvement. 

 The object in instituting them was to co.nmunicats 

 practical information, in the most familiar and im- 

 pressive way, to excite emulation among agricul- 

 turists, and encourage them to a better cultivation 

 of their lands, and an improvement in the charac- 

 ter and (juality of their stock, especially neat cat- 

 tle, by liberal premiums, which would indemnify 

 for the expense and risk of the first departure from 

 an old practice, and be an honorable mark of dis- 

 tinction to the most successful. To facihtate and 

 promote the improvement of neat cattle, bulls and 

 cows of the best foreign breeds, for the dairy and 

 for beef, were procured by the liberality of gen- 

 tlemen, who took an interest in the subject, and 

 particularly through the munificence of a distin- 

 guished individual, a native, though now a citizen 

 of another country, and distributed in different 

 parts of the Commonwealth. Whether these 

 breeds are more valuable for our farmers, than our 

 native stock miglit be made, by long care and at- 

 tention in selecting and rearing the best of them, 

 may perhaps be questioned ; but we think it can- 

 not be doubted that they have been of essential ser 

 vice to the country, not only by adding highly val- 

 uable and distinct breeds to our stock, but also 

 in im])roving it by crosses, and teaching us what 

 may be done by judicious selection and treatment, 

 and exciting our farmers to practise them with 

 their old stock. The gratifying fact that our stock 

 of neat cattle is essentially improved, in both these 

 v,-ays, is apparent at every Cattle Show, and to 

 every traveller on the road. 



As Agricultural societies had been established 

 in most of the Counties, enjoying the patronage of 

 the State, and acting on the same system, as far 

 as their means would permit which this Society 

 had introduced, the Trustees the last year, con- 

 sidering that the object for which they instituted 



the shows, had been in a good measure accom- 

 plished, and that it was questionable whether their 

 utility in future would be proportionate to the ex- 

 pense and trouble, and believing that their discon- 

 tinuance would rather benefit than prejudice the 

 County Societies, determined to suspend their 

 Shew for that year, and accordingly none was 

 helil. The experiment has led them to reconsid- 

 er ihe subject, and to think, on the whole, that 

 ihei' were mistaken. They find that many skil- 

 ful agriculturists, who had been accustomed to ex- 

 hiht their stock or products, at our show, and ma- 

 ny of them to merit and receive our premiums, 

 were disappointed, and the Trustees cannot but be 

 apuehensive, that a further suspension would tend 

 to lessen their attention and steady aim at improve- 

 ment, which annual shows and premiums served 

 to keep alive ; they have also understood that the 

 Ccimty Shows, especially in the great agricultural 

 Ccunly, whose citizens have received many of 

 thfir best premiums, instead of being increased, 

 w(re inferior to what they had been in former 

 years. A great, if not the greatest advantage of a 

 Cattle Show is, that it enables intelligent agricul- 

 turists to c'ompare the different stock and products 

 of others with their own, and if it is found superi- 

 01, to ascertain the process and means by which 

 tie superiority was attained. This personal in- 

 sfection and comparison makes a lasting impres- 

 sion, and naturally excites a competition that leads 

 to in]i)rovement ; in County Societies it is confined 

 to the people of the County, while in this it is ex- 

 teided to all the people of the State. The field 

 for competition and information is larger, and suc- 

 cess, as it will be more difiicult, will naturally he 

 ieemed a greater distinction ; and it may also be 

 added, that the rewards of this society will be con- 

 sidered, by many of the skilful farmers, as cumu 

 lative to those of their own ; for, after receiving 

 them, they may, and often do, offer tliemselves as 

 candidates for our premiums, and often obtain 

 them. These considerations among others, and 

 an earnest desire as far as their means will per- 

 mit, to promote the best interests of agriculture 

 through the Commonwealth, have determined the 

 Trustees to continue the Cattle Show at Brighton 

 this year, for the exhibition, as heretofore, of neat 

 cattle, working o.xen, swine and sheep, agricultu- 

 tal products, and manufactures, from any part of 

 Ihe State, for premiums. The Trustees desire 

 their respectable brethren in the country to keep 

 in mind, that in bringing samples of their best 

 stock and products to this exhibition, they w 

 have the satisfaction of promoting the interests of 

 agriculture and the State, while they obtain testi- 

 monials of merit and distinction for themselves. 

 Although the same articles that would have ob 

 tained the highest premium at the commencement 

 of these shows, may not be likely to obtain one 

 at the next ; yet, as improvement has been gener 

 al, the difiiculty will be no greater for an apjilicant 

 now than it was then, uuless the competition 

 should be increased, and in that case the distinction 

 will be proportionably greater. 



Although this season may not be altogether so 

 fruitful as the last, we have much, very much, to 

 be thankful for; and from the public spirit of our 

 independent farmers, and their zeal to atlvance the 

 interest and honor of their profession, the Trustees 

 promise themselves an exhibitio]i at this revival of 

 the Show that will do credit to the state. 



The Trustees have withdrawn their premiums 

 from some articles, to enable them to increase 



them for objects they deemed more important, and 

 these they have made as liberal as their funds will 

 allow. Neat cattle, cheese and butter may be 

 considered staple articles of a cattle show, and 

 we anticipate an exhibition of these, especially the 

 latter, that will offer a proud comparison witli the 

 earlier shows. Extraordinary premiums, afforded 

 by contributions from gentlemen solicitous for an 

 improvement in our butter, have indeed raised 

 this article to a standard of excellence not surpass- 

 ed, it is believed, in any state in the Union. 



The Trustees for the two last years have offer- 

 ed premiums for a new object, the best cultivated 

 farm, and this year have offered two large premi- 

 ums for the same olijecf, convinced that they will 

 prove highly beneficial to agriculturists, if our 

 more experienced and skilful farmers will submit 

 to the trouble necessary to render them useful, and 

 required of tho.se who claim them. For these 

 premiums to be of any material service to the 

 public, it is necessary, and the proposals therefore 

 equire that applicants state with particularity the 

 quantities and qualities of their crops, the kinds of 

 they were grown on, the number and breeds 

 of their stock, and their manner of cultivating 

 their farms, so that any farmer who reads the 

 statement may see in what way the best farmers 

 cultivate their farms, and how productive they 

 render them. These statements, it is thought, will 

 ontain a body of practical information, founded 

 on actual experiment, that will be invaluable to an 

 American farmer, who cultivates the same kind of 

 land, under the same climate. Hitherto applica- 

 tions for this premium have been less numerous 

 than were expected, but the Trustees hope that 

 more of our respectable farmers, from their public 

 spirit, as well as for the sake of the premium and 

 distinction, will be induced to become candidates 

 this year. It may be observed that it is a case in 

 which they will liave the satisfaction of serving 

 the public, and particularly benefitting their broth- 

 er farmers, even if they should happen to fail of 

 a premium. 



Notice of an intention to claim this premium 

 must be given to the Secretary of the Society, on 

 or before the first day of October, but the state- 

 ment is not required to be exhibited to the Trus- 

 tees before the first day of January next. An ad- 

 dress is to be delivered by the Hon. James Rich- 

 ardson of Dcdhani, from whose knowledge and 

 experience in agricultural pursuits much useful in- 

 struction and entertainment may be expected. A 

 public dinner will be provided at the Cattle Fair 

 Hotel, by Mr Murdock, in his best style, and upon 

 terms as reasonable as it can be afforded. Noth- 

 ing will be omitted on the part of the Trustees to 

 render this show as useful and attractive as any 

 that have preceded it, and they respectfully invite 

 the attention and co-operation of their brethren 

 and friends in the country and city. Although 

 the citizens of the metropolis may not all have 

 farms, it is to be remembered that ihey are all 

 equally interested with the inhabitants of the 

 country in the prosperity of agriculture and the 

 success of this Society's efforts to promote it. 

 By order of the Trustees. 



P. C. BROOKS, ■) 



WM.PRESCOTT, yco,nmitUt. 

 G. PARSONS, j 



JNO. HEARD, Jr. J 



He who receives a good turn should never for- 

 get It ; he who does one should never reraember it. 



