124 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



HANCOCK CATTLE SHOW. 



Belfast, October 29, 1823. — The, first annual 

 Cattle Show, and Agricultural and Manut'acturinif 

 Exhibition of the Society, for the County of 

 Hancock, was held at Bucksport on Wednesday 

 the 22d instant. 



The several Committees, owinw to the want 

 of time, reported verbally. Official reports will 

 be made hereafter, and published, if they should 

 be found on examination to vary essentially 

 from the statement which follows — 



The day being rainy, particularly in the 

 morning, was very inauspicious to the Exhibi- 

 tion. Our section of the country having suffer- 

 ed mnch the pa^t season by an unprecedented 

 drought, great expectations were not indulged 

 with regard to vegetable productions or agri- 

 cultural experiments. The premiums offered 

 by the Society were neither large or numerous. 

 The show being a novelty in this county, many 

 preferred being spectators at the meeting, rath- 

 er than competitors for the premiums. Besides 

 the prejudices of practical Farmers, and their 

 attachment to ancient customs, are great obsta- 

 cles to improvement in the science of Agricul- 

 ture. Taking these difKcullies and other local 

 disadvantages into view, the Exhibition was as 

 well attended and the Show was as respectable 

 as its most sanguine friends ever anticipated. 



In the morning the following Committees 

 were chosen, and performed during the day the 

 duties assigned them res|)ectively, viz. 



Coinmittee on Stock. — Samuel M. Pond, Josiah 

 Hook, Jr. and Daniel SpafTord. 



On zuorking Cattle. — Leonard Jarvis, Joseph 

 Lee and John Lee. 



0(1 Horses. — John N. Swazey, Benjamin Hook 

 and Solomon Skinner. 



On Vegetable Productions. — Hezekiah Rowell, 

 Edward S. Jarvis and Thomas Adams. 



On Discretionary Premiums. — Caleb B. Hall, 

 Leonard Jarvis and Samuel Little. 



M. S. Judkins was chosen Treasurer pro tern. 

 The following Premiums iverc awarded by the 



Committees, and approved by the Trustees, i)i>. 

 To Col. John Black, of EUbWortli, for the best 



Bull, the Society's full prealium. $10 



To John Pierce, of Prospect, for a pair of Work- 

 ing Cattle, a premium of 5 

 To Sewall Lake, of Bucksport, for ditto, 3 

 To Henry Little and others for the best Stud Horse, 



(the Rising Sun) the full premium, 15 



To Daniel Edwards, of Brooks, for the next best 



(The Young Kentuckian) 5 



To Enoch Page, of Bucksport, for a specimen of 



Italian Summer Rye, 2 



To Benjamin Smith, of Surry, and William Page, 

 of Frankfort, jointly, for the greatest quantity of 

 wheat raised on an acre — to each, a premium 

 of five dollars, 10 



To Leonard Jarvis, of Ellsworth, for a specimen 

 of cheese' exhibited by him, 3 



[This premium with one fourth of the sum awarded 

 to the " Rising Sun" was returned by Mr. Jarvis to 

 the Society.] 



To Gilbert Van Emberg, of Barncoat-Island, for 

 the best Butter $5 



We will proceed to hazard a few remarks on 

 the animals and other articles exhibited. Col. 

 Black's Sidl was a very fine animal — large, ex- 

 ceedingly well formed, and of perfect points. — 

 Tiie owner not being present, we have been un- 

 able to obtain any accurate account of him. 

 His pedigree, &c. will be furnished hereafter, 

 and published. 



The Horse Rising Sun, owned by Col. Little 

 and others, is a valuable acquisition to this coun 



ty — not much noticed heretolore, for an excel- 

 lent breed of horses. Lightfoot would not have 

 been an unappropriate name for this fine horse 

 — his gait and general appearance oblamed 

 great applause. 



The young Kentuckian is a remarkably fine 

 animal, only three years old — he possesses most 

 of the points of a good horse. 



An iron grey Horse, from Ligonia, in the 

 county of Kennebec, was offered for exhibition. 



We were very much pleased with his appear- 

 ance. It is a favorite color among connoisseurs 

 both for the carriage and the saddle. We un- 

 derstand this horse is to be kept a part of the 

 time next season in this county. 



In the trial of strength between the working 

 cattle owned by Mr. Pierce and Mr. Lake, very 

 considerable interest was excited. Against Mr. 

 Lake's cattle there was at first no competition, 

 and as the former were entered irregularly, 

 discretionary premiums only were awarded to 

 both claimants. The trial was made by drawing 

 a swamp pine mast, cut last winter, which has 

 remained with its bark on. The stick was fifty- 

 five feet long, and seventeen inches mean diam- 

 eter. It was drawn over uneven ground, with a 

 chain attached to the top end. It was moved by 

 both teams but the greatest distance by Mr. 

 Pierce's oxen. It is to be observed however, 

 that his cattle were shod while the others were 

 not — besides the bark was considerably rubbed 

 off by the first trial — both yoke exhibited great 

 docility and were well trained. Those owned 

 by Mr. Pierce were in the best order for work- 

 ing cattle, and their form more perfect than the 

 others. We would recommend a Ploughing 

 Match for another year. 



Some swine of an improved breed were ex- 

 hibited by the Rev. Mr. Blood and Mr. Lake. 

 That of Mr. Blood's was a cross of the Chinese 

 and Newbury ^vhite9 This kind fatten very 

 easily. It has been much approved by Gen. 

 Dearborn and others. 



The specimen of Italian Summer Rye, culti- 

 vated and exhibited by Mr. Enoch Page, bids 

 fair to be a valuable acquisition to our farmers. 

 Our first object should be to render ourselves in- 

 dependent in the article of bread stuffs — and 

 while it occurs to us, we will suggest, that In the 

 cultivation of zvheat, except in virgin soils, or 

 crops from new lands, the use of Lime in con- 

 siderable quantity, ploughed in as manure, will, 

 we think, be found indispensible, particularly in 

 stitt" clayey soils. This Italian rye is much larg- 

 er and whiter than the ordinary rye of the 

 country — sixteen quarts of it were distributed 

 by sale for cultivation. A further account of 

 this article may be expected next year. 



Some yearling native Bulls were exhibited 

 by John Thurston of Sedgwick, and Benj. Doane 

 of Bucksport. 



The !5uller exhibited by Mr. Van Eraberg 

 was very fine, and sold at auction for thirty one 

 cents per pound. It will be seen by his account, 

 which is herewith submitted, that his process 

 for making it is essentially different from the 

 common mode. — Having used this butter lor 

 some time, and knowing it to be of a superior 

 quality, we can with confidence recommend 

 his process to our dairy women — they will to be 

 sure find it attended with some extra trouble, 

 but the butter thus made will also be of enhanced 

 value. 



For the best managed Farm in the County, 



and for experiments on Burnt Clay, Lime, an 

 Plaister of Paris for manures, as also of varioi 

 other articles, there were thisyear no apptican 

 t'or the Society's premium. It is to be hope 

 in future our good f;irmers ''will volunteer in 

 cause where failure is no disgrace, but the higl 

 est honor attends success. The encouragemei 

 fif rural industry, by rewarding distinguished ii 

 stances of agricultural experiments and improvi 

 ments with a premium, is well worthy of attei 

 tion, and although difficulties may exist with r< 

 gard to its execution, the ol'ject should not b 

 reliiiqiiisbed without some energetic aftemp 

 to accomplish it. Ttie field of improvement 

 large, and the laborers are few — we have tak( 

 the first step — the step of all others the mo 

 difficult — our confidence of success is increase 

 and our zeal is unabated. It will be recollect* 

 that our funds depend entirely upon annual su 

 scriptions, and we hope this suggestion alon 

 will induce the great body of yeomanry of tl 

 county to enrol their names among the list 

 members. Wherever agricultural societies hai 

 been formed on liberal principles, great improv 

 ments in that science have been the invariabj 

 result. By them a spirit of emulation is enki) 

 died, which added to a love of gain, produc 

 the greatest exertion. So far as it has bei 

 practicable to ascertain the views of the membe 

 of the Hancock Society, no spirit of desponde 

 cy prevails, but on the contrary, a unanimo 

 design to continue the annual shows in son I 

 part of the county. It has been suggested th I 

 the town of Belfast, would be a suitable at 

 convenient place for the next exhibition. 



It is desirable on many accounts that thoi 

 who excel in Domestic and Household Manufa I 

 tures should exhibit the fruits of industry and i I 

 genuity at these Annual Shows — they serve i 

 models to others; excite a spirit of emulatio 

 and add considerably, by their variety, to tl 

 pleasures of the day. The manufacturer of sa 

 tinetts, cassimere, and woollen cloth — the m 

 ker of^ carpeting, flannel, cotton and woollf i 

 hose, gloves, straw bonnets, hearth rugs, & I 

 would find their own interest consulted by seni | 

 ing these articles forward, as after the exhibitio 

 should they fail of obtaining a premium, the 

 can be offered for sale at auction, free of e: 

 pense, when they would generally comman 

 high prices in Ca^h. We particularly entrei 

 our fair friends in this way to encourage oi 

 humble efforts another year. ( 



The Address delivered by Samuel M. Pont 

 Esq. was a sensible and judicious performanc 

 — abounding with useful remarks to the pract 

 cal Farmer. We can only regret that the usi 

 al limits of an address of this kind did not pei 

 mit him to touch upon a greater variety of <o/ 

 ics, which doubtless occurred to his view whil 

 writing it. We understand the address is to b- 

 published, and it is to be hoped will be read kjl 

 every practical Farmer in the county. 



Mr. Van Emberg^s direction for making PrenaX 

 um Butter. J 



The first object of the dairy woman is to kee|' 

 every article used in the manufacture of Butte • 

 perfectly sweet and clean. Tin is to be pre( 

 i'erred for pails and pans. These are to be scald II 

 cd daily, and dried in the sun or by the fire.- 1' 

 In milking great caution is to be observed thii 

 no foreign ingredient gets into the pail. — Taki 

 the milk from the cows over night, after straio'i 



