1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



517 



NORTH MIDDLESEX AGRICULTURAL 

 EXHIBITION. 



The third annual Exhibition of this Society 

 came off on the 16th and 17th ult., at Lowell. 

 The first day was appropriated chiefly to the plow- 

 ing match and the exhibition of cattle and swine. 

 The show of cattle was good. About seventy ani- 

 mals of various breeds and grades were entered. 

 Twelve pens of Suflblk, Essex and native swine 

 were on exhibition, several of which were very su- 

 perior specimens. A. G. Sheldon, of Wilmington, 

 was, as usual, a prominent contributor. There was 

 a fair display of fruits, vegetables and fancy work 

 in Central Hall. The plowing match came off at 

 9 A. M., and was well contested by about a dozen 

 teams. At 10, A. M., a drawing match was con- 

 tested by horses and oxen. 



The dinner was held in French's Hall, where 

 three hundred people sat down to an excellent 

 dinner. When the physical wants of the com- 

 pany had been satisfied, Mr. H. T. Sherman, of 

 Lowell, delivered the formal address. This was a 

 pleasant and humorous production. At the close 

 of the address, Gov. Gardner was called up by the 

 toast-master, and made a very neat and appropri- 

 ate address. He was followed by Mr. Crosby, in 

 behalf of the Mayor of Lowell, who was absent. 

 Other speeches were made by Messrs. Banks, 

 Knapp, Train, Felton and others, after which the 

 premiums on cattle and swine were announced. 



On the 17th the morning was wet and dull, but 

 between 9 and 10 there was quite a collection of 

 horses on the ground. Soon after 10, there was 

 an exhibition of the qualities of roadsters. Prem- 

 iums $10 and $5. At half past 11, a trial of trot 

 ting horses took place between horses that had nev- 

 er trotted for money. The premiums were $15 

 and $5. Had the day been fine, there would have 

 been, doubtless, several trotting matches in the af- 

 ternoon. The Exhibition, on the whole, was high- 

 ly creditable to the Society. 



For the New England Farmer. 



MANURE AT THE WEST. 



Mr. Editor : — As you never seem weary of 

 answering questions, I would like to have your 

 opinion in regard to the propriety of plowing un- 

 der the corn fodder, which, by most farmers in thi-s 

 country, is scraped together and burned on the 

 ground, to get out of the way a great amount of 

 useless rubbish. Farmers here thinlt the ashes of 

 the corn crop as valuable to the soil as the whole 

 would be if plowed under. 



The amount of corn fodder that grows here is 

 truly enormous; the tops of stalks are now from 

 twelve to sixteen feet high, the ears o^ . orn when 

 grown, are the size of a big hemlock !.. ;t, some 

 times two, but mostly one to a stalk, and "Long 

 John" could hardly reach some of them without 

 climbing. I planted, about the 10th of June, some 



Chinese sugar cane seed, and "King Philip" corn, 

 that I brought with me, and for some time past 

 there has been a tight scratch between them to see 

 which could get the highest, in the shortest space 

 of time, and although there has been no "great cry" 

 or but "little wool," I would say to "Essex" that 

 the former is now twelve, and the other ten feet 

 high. I bought a farm with over forty acres in 

 corn, wheat, potatoes, &c. The man I bought of, 

 to get rid of manure, teamed it to a piece of upland, 

 spread it, and dragged it in, where he afterwards 

 sowed wheat, which I found, when harvesthig, had 

 yielded twice the straw, but about one-fourth the 

 wheat that was on the unmanured. At present, I 

 believe manure, ashes, &c., are useless to the soil. 



Why can you not visit the West, and give your 

 thoughts and suggestions for the benefit- of West- 

 ern farming and farmers? H. v,\ 



Buchanan Co., Iowa. 



Remarks. — If your soil really does not need 

 manure, as you seem to think, burning the rubbish 

 is a good way to get rid of it. Your remark about 

 manuring wheat confirms statements we have re- 

 cently made on the subject. 



jFor the New England Farmer, 



CROPS AND THINGS IN ILLINOIS. 



Mr. Editor : — Not knowing that you have a 

 correspondent from this place, perhaps I may ven- 

 ture a word in relation to matters and things in 

 general, and if you have a correspondent in these 

 diggings that gives you better, throw this into the 

 stove. 



The spring was late, cold, and wet, therefore 

 crops are later than usual. The wet weather cf 

 spring has brought heavy crops of hay. I have 

 some Timothy that measures over six feet. Wheat 

 and oats are good. The click of the reapers is heard 

 in every section. Cradles are seldom used, except 

 in houses, where they are not uncommon, especial- 

 ly in the West. Manny's mower takes the lead. 

 The self-rakers are very good, and in some cases 

 preferable. At regular intervals a large rake sweeps 

 across the platform, gathers the grain to its bosom, 

 turns it around, and drops it on the ground ; four 

 men follow and do the binding. Corn is coming on 

 finely ; if there should not be frost until the mid- 

 dle of September, there will be a bountiful harvest. 

 Potatoes never looked more flourishing than this 

 year. 



1 was born in Vermont, came to Illinois four years 

 ago, bought 160 acres of land for $100; then it 

 was all wild, deer and wolves were very plenty ; 

 the latter would occasionally honor us with their 

 meetings, which were always well attended, and 

 they sent up cheers that would make faint hearts 

 quail. But the steady rifle brought them to order, 

 and the) have all disappeared. The Indian trail is 

 still visible in places. Now, this place is a village ; 

 we have one railroad, the Illinois Central Railroad, 

 which runs through the entire State. Land now, 

 is from $30 to $50 per acre. It seems strange that 

 eastern farmers will stay there and work among 

 rocks and stumps, when a farm can be got \ve.<u 



1). J. Bexxon. 



Monee, Illinois, Avgusl 16, 1857. 



