242 



NEW ENGLAND FAJIMER. 



May 





f: 



Fur the New England Farmer. 



LABOE OF BOYS. 



In the well considered Report on Labor on the 

 State Farm, p. 240, it is said, "the boys cannot be 

 employed to any advantage except upon the light 

 work, and then it costs more to look after them, 

 superintend their work, prevent their escape, and 

 keep them out of mischief, than it would to hii-e 

 the work done." 



We know not the age of the boys at this farm, 

 but presume, from the provisions of the State, au- 

 thorizing the commitment, that 300 of the GOO 

 there will average at least 12 years of age, and 

 that their energy and fitness for labor will equal 

 that of other boys of the same age, in most of our 

 country towns. In my neighborhood, all boys of 

 this description can have constant employment, 

 from the first of April to the first of November, and 

 my therefor to the amount of two or three shil- 

 lings per day, if boarded at home, and more than 

 half these sums, if boarded by their employers, and 

 their services are anxiously sought as more profi- 

 table than adult laborers asking twice as much. In 

 fact, for many kinds of M'ork, girls of these ages 

 are actually employed and paid the same amount. 

 Can it be that the moral discipline of the children 

 at this place is so imperfect, that their ser\ ices can- 

 not be so controlled as to be worth having ? The 

 latitude of Westboro' does not vary much from 

 our own. The soil is not so essentially variant as 

 to make any great difl"erence. It seem to me there 

 must be some stitches loose, somewhere, or else the 

 result of things would be different from what the 

 committee anticipate, when they say, "But under 

 the present system, there is great danger that the 

 object for which the State Farm was placed in 

 charge of the State Board of Agriculture may be 

 defeated." Agricola. 



March 25, 1857. 



any stock would not winter well with a supply of 

 well-cured clover hay. 



And here lies, we think, the great source of ob- 

 jection to clover hay. It is too often imperfectly 

 cured. To save the leaves and the heads, which are 

 apt to fall in handling or curing, the hay is put in- 

 to the barn while the large stems are full of mois- 

 ture, or the natural juices, and the fermentation 

 which ensues causes the whole mass to become 

 damp ; and if not spoiled wholly, it becomes moul- 

 dy, black, and when used, raises such a dust, it is 

 no wonder that horses and cattle are choked or 

 their lungs destroyed. Our experience shows that 

 clover may be perfectly cured without losing any 

 of its valuable parts ; cured so that when fed out, 

 no more dust will be flying than from timothy or 

 herds grass, and we shall be slow to believe that 

 from such hay any injury to animals ever ensues. 

 — Ohio Valley Farmer. 



EFFECTS OF CLOVER HAY OK 



ANIMALS. 



Some late writers have taken the position that 

 clover hay produces a most injurious effect on do- 

 mestic animals, particularly horses; and that to 

 this cause the great increase of diseased horses is 

 to be attributed. We lately heard a farmer affirm, 

 that he believed the introduction of clover into gen- 

 eral cultivation the greatest curse yet inflicted on 

 the country, and assigned as a reason for this sin- 

 gular opinion its effects on animals when used as 

 fodder. Late English writers have attributed to 

 this kind of hay the prevalence of heaves in horses, 

 and the great increase of other diseases that effect 

 the respiratory organs. This is a most important 

 subject, and should receive a full investigation. Clo- 

 Ter is too important a plant to be discarded, or con- 

 demned, except upon the most satisfactory evidence. 

 Its value as a fertilizer and a preparative for wheat, 

 to say nothing of its use for pasture and hay, would 

 demand that it should not be condemned unheard. 

 For ourselves, we have very little belief in the in- 

 jurious properties assigned to clover. We have 

 used it constantly for pasture and for hay, more 

 than thirty years, and never, to our knowledge, has 

 any animal suffered from it ; certainly, no horse has 

 been taken with the heaves when fed on it, or while 

 in our jiossession. As hay for sheep, we have con- 

 sidered it unrivalled, and should have no fears that 



U. S. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Executive Committee of this Society were 

 in session at Louisville, last week, making the 

 preliminary arrangements for the fifth exhibition, 

 next fall. After full deliberation, it was decided 

 to hold the exhibition on the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th and 

 oth days of September next. This is a very judi- 

 cious choice. Some of the reasons for the appoint- 

 ment of so early a day are, that all danger of the 

 equinoctial storm is escaped, the stock is not fagged 

 out by exhibition at other shows ; the public curi- 

 osity has not been sated ; the weather is not fitful ; 

 exhibitors can take prize stock and agricultural 

 implements to other fairs ; and moreover, this be- 

 ing the great National Show of the country, it very 

 appropriately leads the way. 



The fair is to be held on the grounds of the South 

 Western Agricultural and Mechanical Associations, 

 comprising forty-three acres — nearly as large as 

 Boston Common. Of some of the features of the 

 exhibition we have the following account : 



"The ground is mainly level, and is supplied with 

 abundant springs and cisterns of water, and is situa- 

 ted so as to be accessible on all sides. The Louisville 

 and Lexington Railroad track runs immediately in 

 front of the grounds. Passengers are landed on a 

 platform which is fifty feet wide, running to a suf- 

 ficient length for seventeen cars. The grand en- 

 trance is directly connected with this platform. 

 Stock can thus be removed from the cars and driven 

 across the platform into the appropriate entrance. 

 Implements and machinery are directly taken to the 

 place, and the usual delay and expense of cartage 

 between distant points is entirely obviated. 



One of the most novel features of this exhibition 

 will be showing stock of horses to the several juries 

 in a magnificent amphitheatre, around which are 

 erected tiers of seats to accommodate 8000_ per- 

 sons. There is a tower in the centre of this, in 

 which the judges are placed. When the hour ap- 

 pointed for the exhibition of a certain class of stock 

 arrives, it is announced by the ringing of a bell. 

 The animals of the class are led into the arena 

 through large gates, and their several pomts are 

 examined and decided upon by the judges The 

 victorious animal is at once adorned with ribbons of 

 various colors, and thus the entire audience are 

 made acquainted with the results of the examina- 

 tion of the jury."— ^ounioZ. 



