1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



491 



admiring and 'n-ondering — the other explaining, till 

 the farm and its belongings were thoroughly exam- 

 ined. 



The wagon was brought and mended before set 

 of sun, and before the evening fire, Farmer Thrifty 

 told Farmer Slothfid how he had expended every 

 dollar he had in the world, some thirty years be- 

 fore, for his farm and the stock upon it. That he 

 and his wife commenced li'^ing upon it — it was an 

 old run oitt farm. That he had labored diligently 

 upon it. That he had reared and educated decent- 

 ly a family of children, and that now he owned the 

 farm as it then was, in the highest state of cultiva- 

 tion, with excellent buildings upon it, and had quite 

 a sum of money at interest. i 



Farmer Slothful wondered how he could do it. 

 He said, as for his part, he was left by his flither 

 with the old farm and quite a large sum of money 

 at interest, many years ago. He had tried to car- 

 rj- on the farm as well as he could — his boys had 

 come on and they learned a Httle farming, and 

 when Joe, the oldest got old enough, he thought he 

 could do better somewhere else and he went away 

 and was gone several years and came back poor, 

 aiid hung round home a while doing nothing ; at 

 last he concluded to try farming again, and so he 

 took hold pretty much as he pleased, and the other 

 hoys went on pretty much the same way ; as for 

 himself, he never did much lilce to farm, and he 

 left it pretty much to the boys, and the farm had 

 grown poor somehow, and did not jield enough to 

 support the flimily, and he had spent all the money 

 he had, and felt rather discouraged, like. Farmer 

 Thrifty gave his brother farmer some excellent ad- 

 vice — told him, among other things, to wake up and 

 see to the fami himself, and not trust to "our boys" 

 for everything. Farmer Slothful left for home 

 early next morning, "a wiser and a better man," 

 expressing to Farmer Thrifty his heartfelt grati 

 tude for his kindness and good advice ; and we 

 rather thinly, next spring, he will have things at 

 Sleepy Hollow in a Httle better state than hereto- 

 fore, and that Joe and John and the rest of "our 

 boys" will be obliged "to turn over a new leaf," 

 and adopt some of the modern improvements in 

 scythe-snaths, cattle "tie-ups," &c., &c. And if the 

 "Calendar for November" falls beneath the eye of 

 any Farmer Slothful about here, we hope it may 

 spur him up to follow the example of good Far- 

 mer Thrift)-, who, we know, is a constant reader of 

 the JVeiv England Farmer, while we do not be- 

 lieve Farmer Slothful ever saw a copy of it in his 

 life. 



Spakhaw Apple. — Mr, Gkorge Shorey, of 

 Boston, allowed us to look at a couiile of apples of 

 this variety, weighing one and a quarter pounds 

 each, and measuring y^/leeri inches in circumference. 

 They grew in Illinois, 



NOKFOLK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



• Dedham, Wednesday, Sept. 26. 



The seventh annual Cattle Show and Fair of the 

 Norfolk Agricultural Society commenced tliis morn- 

 ing at Dedham, and was well attended. 



The Agricultural Hall, where the various pro- 

 ducts of the farm, garden, (tc, are exhibited, forms 

 the first great centre of attraction. Here the show 

 is profuse, and of a very interesting character. 

 Three long tables stretch along the centre of the 

 room, filled with flowers, fruits, and vegetables; 

 wliilst at the side tables are displayed on the one 

 side farming utensils and implements, and on the 

 other a very choice assortment of fancy articles, in 

 the shape of domestic manufactiu'es, including nee- 

 dle and crotchet work, shell-work, millinery, draw- 

 ings, pamtings, pressed flowers, &c. c^-c. 



Of fruit, apjjles arid peaches especially, the exhi- 

 bition was very fine and very extensive. 



Piled at the corner of one of the tables we find 

 a collection of jellies, ketchups, pickles and pre- 

 serves, and also several specimens of home-made 

 bread. 



Of agricultural implements, the stock is not 

 lai'ge, and those which are showaa are more remark- 

 able for excellence of workmanship than novelty of 

 design. Some elastic hay and manure forks, by 

 Mr. Henry Partridge, of Medfield, called forth 

 marked commendation. Some wagons and other 

 carriages of beautiful finish, as also harness, are 

 shown at the farther end of the haU. 



The exhibition of stock is held in a field beliind 

 the hall. Many horses are upon the ground, and 

 amongst them some beautiful and symmetrical ani- 

 mals, more than one of wliich trace then.' pedigree 

 to Black Hawk, and Morgan ^lare. One fine 

 young colt, 3 years and 4 months old, sho\ni by 

 Mr. Nathaniel Smith, and raised by him at Dedham, 

 is marked as weighing 985 lbs. A very large num- 

 ber in proportion of brooding mares are exliibited 

 along with their foals. 



The show of young bulls, principally of the Dur- 

 ham or Aldcrncy breed, is very fine. A jiair of fat 

 cattle, 7 years old, owned by Mr. Geo. Crosl)y, of 

 East Medway, attract much attention for their fine 

 development and noble size. . Some excellent yoke 

 steers are also on exlubition ; but the cattle gener- 

 ally we regard as inferior. A very large proportion 

 of those shown are of the Jersey breed, truly 

 aboriginal in their aspect. It is at the same time 

 gratifying to find the jn'ominence given to the pro- 

 duction of beasts of useful quality rather than the 

 specimens of bovine obesity M'liich a false system of 

 over-feeding is sure to bring on. The pigs exlii- 

 bited arc few in number, and not particularly re- 

 markable, but several of them have very large and 

 interesting families under their care. 



A unique feature of the show consists in the 

 poultry, tVrc, but it is not large, feathered favorites 

 being appai-ently at a considerable discount just 

 now. Of the once celebrated Shanghai breed, the 

 most distinguished rei)resentatives present were the 

 grey variety, known as the Chittagongs. 



^I>()^^■IXG match. 



At nine o'clock on Wednesday morning, the 

 plowing match was held. Five double ox, one sin- 

 gle ox, three horse teams, and one team C()ni])osed 

 of one voke of oxen and a horse, contested for the 

 prizes. " The ground was a gravelly soil, filled with 

 large pebbles, which, despite the exertions of the 



