1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



483 



so to be. Vermont, as everybody knows, can raise 

 as »ood vef(et;ibles, and has as good dairies as any 

 State in the Union. 



I noticed in the sheep department this morning a 

 fine lot of French merinos, (.-xhibited by A. L. Bing- 

 ham, of West Cornwall, Vt. There were about 

 seventy of them, bucks, ewes and lambs, and as fine 

 stock as one would wish to see. Some of the bucks 

 •which had missed one shearing hid wool from two 

 to five inches long, and a beautiful staple. 



At 9^ o'clock, the horses entered for ]n'emium in 

 the dirterent classes were brought on to the field for 

 inspection by the committees. A large concourse 

 of ))eoj)le were in attendance, and the scene was a 

 gay one, truly inspiriting to the lovers of equine 

 disj)lay. Many fine animals were trotted on to the 

 ground, and their good ])oints set off to the best 

 advantage. Just before the committees took their 

 stations, the venerable Nathan Lounsbury, of Clar- 

 endon, aged one hundred and one years, rode over 

 the course in a handsome barouche, and was hear- 

 tily cheered by the spectators. 



An exciting incident occurred during the ex- 

 hibition upon the track of all the horses entered. It 

 seems the owner of one of the horses which was 

 attached to a gig, entrusted him to the care of an 

 Irishman, who being disposed to exhibit his talents 

 as a " M-hiji," struck the nobler animal of the two a 

 violent blow with his wliip. The horse sprang for- 

 ward, and Pat not being accustomed to trotting 

 gigs, lost his balance and fell backward to the 

 ground. The hoi-se ran directly towards the stand, 

 in front of which was a great crowd of men and 

 women, scattering them in every direction. Direct- 

 ly in ft'ont of the stand the runaway came in con- 

 tact with Mr. Maynard's carriage, overturning it 

 instiintly. Mr. Maynard was thrown out and barely 

 escaped Iicing tram])led under foot by the now fran- 

 tic animal. The horse was then caught, but another 

 horse was " making tracks" on his own res])onsibility. 

 Attached to Mr. iSIaynard's carriage was the beauti- 

 ful Black Hawk, which has attracted so much admi- 

 ration, during the Fair, and which is owned and 

 kept by Mr. M., in Lowell, Mass. On this occasion 

 he was driven by Mr. Crandall, of Brattleboro', who 

 clung to the reins manfully, and was dragged seve- 

 ral rods ujion his back, when he was obliged to 

 relinquish his hold. The horse then ran across the 

 field, knocking down and running over a man, and 

 injuring him very severely. He then came upon 

 the track again, when the carriage was caught by a 

 post, and was almost entirely demolisheil. With 

 the fragments hanging about him, he again ran ])ast 

 the stand, and soon came in contact with another 

 horse and sulky, (which with the most culpable 

 negligence hid been left alone by the driver,) and 

 overturned it — of course starting its horse into a 

 run. The Maynard horse was sliortly after caught 

 by the harness in a fence, and secured, while the 

 other was caught by a m in who had tiie boldness 

 to seize him liy the bridle as he ran past liim. Con- 

 sidering the great crowd u])()n the ground at the 

 time, it is truly wonderful that many were not 

 severely injured. 



We take the above account from the Boston 

 Journal. The reporter uses a free pen in regard 

 to some of the departments of the Exhibition. 

 However, if their deficiencies are plainly pointed 

 out, it may call attention to them, and cause them 

 to be corrected in future. To make a show attrac- 



tive and profitable, all the departments should be 

 well represented. 



THE PRODUCTION OF BARLEY. 



It is a remarkable foct that we are still in uncer- 

 tainty whether barley grows wld in the Old World ; 

 and if so, in what region this occurs. F'.ven the 

 authors of antiquity were at variance as to whence 

 barley, as well as wheat, the gniins chiefly used at 

 that time, had been derived. It has been cultivated 

 in Syria and Egypt for more than three thousand 

 years, and it was not until after the Romans ado])ted 

 the use of wheat bread that they fed this grain to 

 their .stock, as is practiced by the Spaniards and 

 Italians at the ])resent day. It is e^ddently a native 

 of a warm climate, as it is known to be the most 

 productive in a mild season ; still its flexibility is 

 so remarkable, that it Mill grow on the Hvmalayas 

 at an elevation of from 10,000 to 13,000 feet above 

 the level of the sea, and mature in favorable seasons 

 and situations on the Eastern Continent as far north 

 as 72^ 



The introduction of barley into the North Ameri- 

 can colonies may be traced back to the ])eriods of 

 their settlements. It was sown by Gosnold, togeth- 

 er with other English grains, on Martha's Vine- 

 yard and the Elizalieth Islands, in 1602, and by the 

 colonists of the " London Company," in Virginia, 

 in 1611. By the year 1648, it was raised in abun- 

 dance in that colony ; but soon after its culture, was 

 suffered to decline hi consequence of the more pro- 

 fitable and increased production of tobacco. 



Barley appears to have been cultivated in New 

 Netherland as early as the year 1626, as samjiles of 

 the harvest of that year, raised by the colonists of 

 Manhattan Island, were sent to Holland, with other 

 grains, as an evidence of their prosperity. 



According to the records of the " Governor and 

 Com])any of the Massachusetts Bay in New Eng- 

 land," barley was introduced into that colony in 1629. 

 In 1633 good crops were raised in Lynn. 



In 1796 the chief agricultural ])roduct of the isle 

 of Ithode Island was barley, considerable quantities 

 of which Mere raised. 



Barley has never been cultivated much in the 

 United States, nor has it entered extensively into 

 our Ibreign commerce, as we have lieen consumers 

 rather than producers of this grain. It has been 

 chiefly enij)loyed for malting and distillation, and 

 also in considerable quantities as a substitute for 

 sago or rice, after being hulled. 



According to the census returns of 1840, the 

 amount of barley raised in the United States, 

 the year jjreceding, was 4,161,504 bushels; of 1850, 

 5,167,015 bushels ; show'ing an increase of 1,005,- 

 511 Inishels. The amount of the barley crop of 

 the United States in 1853, may be estimated at 

 6,.)9(),000 iiuslu'ls ; M-hich at 75 cents per bushel, 

 M'ould be worth $4,875,000. 



BnooM Corn. — It is a singular omission in the 

 United States census, that it does not give any sta- 

 tistics of the amount of broom corn raised in the 

 country. In our own State hundreds upon hun- 

 dreds of acres are ajiprojiriated to the cultivation 

 of -the desirable commodity. Broom corn never 

 M'as stouter, nor a better cro]) than during the present 

 year. It will soon be out. — Jhhatiy Jlrgiis. 



