482 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Oct. 



VERMONT STATE AGHICULTURAL 

 FAIR. 



Rutland, Vt., Sept. 11— G A. M. 



The exhibition grounds are located on Grove 

 Street, about a quarter of a mile north of the depot. 

 They com])rise about thirty acres, and are admirably 

 calculated for the purpose to which they have been 

 devoted. On a portion of the lot near the street is 

 a beautiful <jrove of maples, beneath M'hose grateful 

 shade Floral and Mechanic Halls have been erected. 

 These halls were im})rovised for the occasion, being 

 built of rough boards, Floral Hall being very neatly 

 decorated Mith evergreens, &-c., ])resenting quite a 

 rustic api)earance. A portion of the cattle pens are 

 also included within the shady area. The race- 

 course, for the exhi')ition and trial of horses, is a 

 little further on, and is half a mile in length. A 

 jBme gallery, capable of seating a large concourse of 

 spectators, fronts the course, and aifords a fine 

 view of the contests of the turf. 



Up to five o'clock last evening there had been 

 entered for exhibition in the equine department, 

 ninety-two geldings and mares, thirty-one Hamll- 

 tonians, fifty-six Shermin ]\Iorgan or "Black Hawk 

 stallions, six Bullrush Morgans, thirty-two Wood- 

 bury Morgans, and twenty-three pairs of matched 

 horses — total two hundred and sixty-four. Some 

 of these animals are of almost matchless beauty and 

 speed. The Black Hawk blood predominates, and 

 if elegance of outline, grace of action and spirited 

 movements can make one class of animals fiivorites 

 more than another, surely the Black Hawk horses 

 are not undeserving of the partiaUty shown them. 

 There are, of course, beautiful horses of other 

 breeds on the ground, which are dangerous rivals, 

 but for myself I must confess to quite a partiality 

 for the light, glossy black steeds of the Black Hawk 

 breed. h. 



Among the fast horses entered are the " Michi- 

 gan Boy," "Flying Morgan," and "St. Lawrence," 

 whose names are quoted in sporting circles. There 

 was a good display of trotting horses on the course 

 yesterday afternoon, and the attendance of spec- 

 tators was quite large, some fifteen hundred to two 

 thousand being present, many of whom were ladies. 

 Major John S. Diuilap is Marshal of the field. 

 Some of the trotting was quite smart, and the ex- 

 citement in this part of the show is fast increasing. 



In the neat stock department there have been 

 entered 19 yokes of working oxen ; 9 yokes of 

 steers ; 6 cows and three bulls of Hereford stock ; 

 3 native cows ; o cows and 2 bulls, Ayrshire ; 12 

 cows and 10 bulls, Devon ; 6 bulls and nine cows, 

 Durham ; and 28 cows and seven bulls, mixed 

 breeds. All these cattle are fine specimens of Ver- 

 mont breeding and keeping. I have not seen an 

 ill-looking animal among them, while many are very 

 superior ; and there is good reason for it, for no- 

 where is there better grazing than on the verdant 

 hills of Vermont, while the breeds are the same 

 that bear the palm throughout New England. 



Of sheep, there is, of course, a large collection, for 

 Vermont is almost as celebrated for her flocks and 

 herds as for her horses. There are on exhil)ition 

 three pens, containing 25 ewes each of Spanish Me- 

 rino stock, besides 32 bucks and 118 ewes and 

 lambs of the same breed; 17 bucks and 78 ewes 

 and lambs of the French Merino variety ; 81 long 

 wool sheep, mostly Leicester and Cotswold ; and 28 

 fine wool sheep of mixed blood. These sheep are 



outwardly a most unlovely looking set of animals, 

 their shaggy coatings being covered with a thick 

 layer of dirt, which gives them a forbidding appear- 

 ance ; but upon separating the matted locks, a soft 

 and snow)'-wliite staple is brought to view, which 

 will no doubt some day be transferred from the 

 Iwck of the poor sheep to adorn, in the form of a 

 shawl, the person of some fair lady, or, made into 

 broadcloth, will be sported by " genteel " young 

 men on fashionable promenades. 



A glance at Mechanics' Hall yesterday afternoon 

 showed a goodly array of useful inventions in the 

 mechanic arts, embracing not only the useful agricul- 

 tural implements, but some fine specimens (mantels 

 tal)lets, ^:c.) of Vermont marl^le, of which there is 

 a quarry in the Avestern part of this town ; als{ 

 handsome specimens of natural and marbleized slate, 

 from West Castleton. The natural slate was tlis- 

 played in a variety of forms, such as sinks, boxes, 

 &c., while the marbleized was wrought into orna- 

 mental tables, mantels, &c. They were quite hand- 

 some, but the native marbles, of course, outshone 

 them. I noticed an amusing contrivance attached 

 to a bedstead, to fociUtate early rising. An ordi- 

 nary alarm clock is appended to the headboard, 

 which arouses the sleeper at the appointed hour, 

 and allows liim a few minutes to "open his peepers" 

 and get out of bed ; but, if he is sluggish and delays 

 this unpleasant operation too long, a secret spring 

 is moved, and presto ! the astonished sleeper feels 

 the bed settle sideway under him, and he is rolled 

 incontinently upon the floor ! 



Rutland, Sept. 12. 



To-day there is a great accession to the number 

 of people in attendance on the Fair, and throngs are 

 arriving by every train and by private conveyance. 

 The town wears truly a holiday appearance. The 

 day is clear, although warm, and nothing interposes 

 to mar the pleasure of the occasion. Visiters began 

 to throng the Fair grounds at an early hour, paying 

 thenty-five cents for admission, and by noon there 

 were fully four thousand people present. 



I have omitted to speak of the display of articles 

 in Floral Hall, which is devoted to fruit and orna- 

 mental articles, furnished by the ladies, in the hope 

 that it would fill up with a class of specimens com- 

 mensurate with the occasion. But I have been dis- 

 a])pointed. There are but three or four lots of or- 

 dinary fruit, and although the ladies have contri- 

 buted some handsome ftmcy articles and a few cray- 

 ons, most of the articles are scarcely worthy of 

 notice ; consisting of daguerreotypes and shop 

 goods. Any of the county shows in Massachusetts 

 would be ashamed of such a display of fruit, and 

 the ladies " wouldn't begin" unless they could do 

 better in articles of taste and elegance. 



I am sadly disappointed, too, in the agricultural 

 department. A one-horse wagon could contain all 

 the vegetables shown. Of butter, and cheese, also, 

 for which Vermont has much celel)rity, there were 

 not more than a dozen specimens of each. I ex- 

 pected to see a sight in these departments to " tell 

 of." But these Vermonters think so much of 

 horses, sheep and cattle, that other things stixnd a 

 poor chance at their fairs. The same may be said 

 of the spectators. Almost all flock to the race 

 course to see the horses, scarcely deigning to look 

 at the cattle or sheep, although Floral and Mechan- 

 ics' Halls have a few visitors. The paucity of the 

 above departments, liowever, probably is not owing 

 to a lack of material, but of interest. It ought not 



