486 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



differently prepared where you form an entire body, 

 such as pipes. 



7. Does it become useless after being ground one 

 year ? I have put down \n\^e of it after it had been 

 ground and barreled seven years, and the pipe has 

 been down and in use fourteen years. 



8. New ])ipe can be attached to old, and made 

 tight. It can be drilled, and lateral branches lead 

 off for different purposes. 



9. A good set of moidding rods with mould is 

 worth twelve dollars. 



10. What is the expense of putting down one 

 inch cement pipe ? One barrel of cement will 

 make eight rods of pipe. My price is 37i cents 

 a rod and furnished, and you can calculate the 

 rest. 



1 1. Is it durable ? I believe when properly put 

 down, it is as lasting as time. 



Colosse, JV. Y. A. Butterfield. 



MIDDLESEX NORTH AGRICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



We had the pleasure of attending the first exhi- 

 bition of this new society at Chelmsford, on Wednes- 

 day, Sejjt. 19. The rain of the day j)revious had 

 laid the dust, and the air was cool and exhilarating. 

 Everybody seemed to breathe free again after the 

 intense heat of nearly all the preceding portion of 

 September, so that everybody was elastic, good- 

 natured and active — and that is a great deal to be- 

 gin with on a show day. The horses were nimble 

 and showy — the cattle cool and contented — the pigs 

 slept and grunted in their narrow domains, unless 

 stirred up by some visitor eager to see their points 

 — turkeys "gobbled," hens cackled, and rooster 

 most defiantly crowed to his neighbor rooster 

 across the way. All was life and animation and 

 good feeling in the centre of Old Chelmsford, on 

 that da}', i^ven the sun himself, as much of a 

 bore as he has recently been charged with being, 

 was held in good fellowship — for men and maidens, 

 and pigs and poultry, were basking in his beams, 

 and declared they were really congenial. 



We first looked at the plowing match. Eleven 

 teams were entered, and ten contested. The 

 ground selected was a sandy loam, without stones, 

 and with only a very slight sward. It was well 

 plowed, as it might have been with only ordinary 

 teams and plowmen — but it was evident, notwith- 

 standing, that there was skill in both, which would 

 have done good work anywhere. 



The trial of strength and skill of working oxen 

 was finely contested. The load drawn, including 

 the wagon, weighed 6000 pounds, and it was han- 

 dled by several with great credit to the teamster 

 and team. After trial by the ox teams, a single 

 horse, the property of Mr. White, of Lowell, was 

 hitched to the end of the tongue of the wagon, 

 started it in the sand and drew it up a sharp pitch 

 to the level ground. His weight, we were informed 

 is 1675 pounds. 



The show of cattle was not large, but included 



some fine specimens. A pair of native oxen, the 

 property of H. A. & S. A. Coburn, of Lowell, 5 

 years old, weight 3905 lbs. and girting 7 feet 8 

 inches, attracted all. They are working cattle, and 

 regularly employed on the farm. Elijih M. Reed's 

 Alderney, the best cow, probably, in the State, was 

 there, ^^^th a calf by her side. Z. P. Proctor, of 

 Dunstable, and H. C. Merriam, of Tewksbury, each 

 had Durham Short Horn bulls, which were fine. 

 Messrs. Spencer, of Lowell, Sheldon, of Wilming- 

 ton, G. P. Wright, of Dunstable, Gardner Parker, 

 of Billerica, and Wm. Nichols, of Lowell, had cat- 

 tle, horses and swine, which were excellent, but 

 which Ave cannot more particularly speak of now. 



The display of vegetables was remarkably fine, 

 indeed, we have rarely seen better, and they em- 

 braced every kind usually found in Ncav England. 

 We noticed among other marvellous growths, 21 

 pumpkins, all produced fi-om a single hill, any one 

 of which would make a very large house for a fam- 

 ily of a dozen persons from LiUiput ! 



But the room containing the fruit and the handi- 

 work of the ladies was the centre of attraction on 

 that day. We had no desire to select specimens of 

 unusual merit where all were so good. Pears were 

 very fine, and in variety; so were the plums, Wash- 

 ington, Coe's Golden Drop, Gages and others. 

 Some specimens of Crawford's Early Peaches, pre- 

 sented by Mr. David C. Perham, surpassed in size 

 any we had ever before seen. The specimens of 

 apples were of the highest order, and in considera- 

 ble variety ; indeed, it would puzzle some of the 

 State shows to make so fine a display of apples, and 

 if they were not all rightly named, it is only an er- 

 ror that much older societies are quite liable to fall 

 into. 



There was some fine Poulb-y on the ground, but 

 the display was not large. 



The address Avas by the Hon. Tappax Went- 

 WORTH, of Lowell. His topics were, the policy and 

 action of the State in relation to agriculture, a brief 

 history of the origin of the County Society, and 

 the practice of agriculture in England. He thought 

 the hardness of our soil led the earlier settlers into 

 other pursuits, and that the same influences may 

 l)e in ojjcration now ; the demand for agricultural 

 products calls for better cultivation ; he spoke of the 

 means of increasing crops, of the profits of farming, 

 and brought together statistics which will be ex- 

 ceedingly valuable hereafter. The address was em- 

 inently practical, and adapted to the occasion, and 

 we hope to see it handsomely printed. 



The dinner was Avell attended by some five hun- 

 dred persons, nearly one-half of whom, we should 

 judge, were ladies — truly a most admirable feature 

 in these social gatherings. 



The President of the Society— the Hon. WiLLlAM 

 Spencer — addressed the multitude in a neat and 

 appropriate speech, and remarks were made by Dr. 



