498 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



CATTLE SHOW AT LEOMINSTER. 



The third Annual Exhibition of faim products 

 and articles of manufacture, took place at Leom- 

 inster, in this State, on Wednesday, Sept. 20. 

 This beautiful and flourishing town is on the 

 Fitchburg railroad, five miles from Fitchburg and 

 45 from Boston. The surface is broken into 

 many gentle hills, with others that may almost be 

 dignified with the title of mountains ; while 

 meandering through the valleys is a large branch 

 of the Nashua, and two or three smaller streams. 

 The soil is stony and fertile, and the agricultural 

 condition of the town considerably in advance of 

 a majority of the towns in the State, and, conse- 

 quently, there is a high degree of intelligence and 

 moral culture among the people. Among the 

 mechanical pursuits, there are three or four es- 

 tablishments for the manufacture of pianofortes, 

 several for combs, of every description. It is re- 

 lated, in Hay ward'' s Gazetteer, that in 1837 the 

 manufactures of the town amounted to half a 

 million of dollars, and since that time, their in- 

 crease has been constant and rapid. The articles 

 then manufactured consisted of cotton and woollen 

 goods, paper, leather, boots, shoes, hats, scythes, 

 bellows, palm-leaf hats, straw bonnets, chairs, 

 tin and cabinet wares, &c. It is probable that the 

 making of some of these articles has been discon- 

 tinued, and we know that others have been in- 

 troduced, as, for instance, the article of combs, 

 which, probably, cannot be excelled by those 

 manufactured at any other place. 



At 4 o'clock, on Wednesday morning, the 

 south-west wind was driving the rain across the 

 fields at a rapid rate, and gloomy were the pros- 

 pects of the Leominstorians for a successful Fair. 

 But the wind and the rain subsided, and by 8 

 o'clock the sun was glancing on the little pools, 

 and twinkling merrily on the drops which hung 

 tremblingly on the grass. The Common, in the 

 middle of the town, was busy with the prepara- 

 tions going on ; cattle, and swine, and poultry 

 were coming in, and horses and colts were so 

 elastic in the pure morning air, that they came 

 nearer the true idea of perpetual motion than any 

 thing we have yet seen. 



Our first particular attention was given to the 

 stock. There were, we think, some 40 pens, 

 erected in the most substantial and neat manner, 

 of sawed chestnut posts and rails, and all filled. 

 The cattle were mostly of the common mixed 

 breeds. We noticed a two years old heifer, na- 

 tive and Durham, which was very fine, the 

 property of J. H. Carter ; three fine calves, by 

 L. BuRRAGE ; a pair of native steers, by Luther 

 B. Clark, 3 years 5 months, and weighing 2370 

 pounds — destined to make a fine jDair of cattle, if 

 properly treated. A pair of two years old, by A. 

 CoBURN, 1,850 pounds^handsome. A pen of 

 cows., having excellent milking qualities apparent 



by Solon Carter, the President of the Associa- 

 tion. A native cow, by David Howe, weight 

 1,195. Two cows, by P. H. W. Low. native ; 

 also by Jacob Collum, S. F. Shattuck, and Oli- 

 ver Hall, which were fine looking animals, and 

 making it evident that their owners were good 

 judges of stock. A pair of fat oxen, by Ephraim 

 Buss, weight 4,000 pounds, were of fine propor- 

 tions. In the afternoon there was a procession 

 of horses, and some 40 or 50 pairs of working 

 oxen, among which were fine specimens. 



There was a small but good display of poultry 

 — turkeys, ducks and varieties of cocks and hens. 

 One motherly-looking Biddy, said, just as we 

 were passing, "I am the mother of the mottled 

 family at my left, what do you think of them?" 

 Well, Dame Prattle, we think you have given us a 

 progeny of many colors, but that "Thanksgiving" 

 will be the richer for them, if you continue to 

 feed them well. 



There were some excellent swine. Silas Rich- 

 ardson, presented a breeding sow with nine pigs 

 — the sow two years old, and the pigs fifteen 

 weeks and averaging 98 lbs. each. Another by 

 Charles F. Carter, with seven pigs, all fine speci- 

 mens. A fat hog by Joseph Cozzens, weight 

 about 500 lbs. and a finely proportioned animal. 



The Drawing Match was well and fairly con- 

 tested — load for oxen, on a cart, 3,800 lbs. ; for 

 horses in horse-cart, 3000 lbs. ; both horses and 

 oxen gave evidence of much skill in training them. 



A surprise awaited us in Pomona Hall, for 

 which we were not prepared. In graceful array, 

 were several tables the entire length of the hall, 

 filled with apples, peaches, plums pears, cran- 

 berries, melons, squashes and all manner of vege- 

 tables, dried apples, together with the neat and 

 tasteful handiwork of the ladies, and specimens of 

 the mechanical skill and industry of the people of 

 the town. 



In the size, beauty and quantity of some of the 

 varieties, especially of the Blue Pearmain and Rus- 

 set Sweets, we had seen nothing like it before. 

 And iu the excellence of the whole fruit exhibi- 

 tion, we doubt whether there is another town in 

 the commonwealth where there are no amateur 

 fi'uit raisers, that can equal it. There were 1,080 

 specimens ; 867 of apples, 72 of pears, 69 of 

 peaches, 22 of plums, 17 of grapes, and 26 of 

 quinces. The cranberries were presented by R. 

 Haynes ; were from transplanted vines, and very 

 large and fair. 



The specimens of combs by Gardner Morse, Em- 

 erson & Prescott and G. A. Whittemore, and of 

 ladies' and gentlemen's shoes by Manson & Haws 

 were of various styles and patterns, and of most 

 rare workmanship. 



This Exhibition,as a whole, was a model of the 

 kind. At every point, were evidences of the prac- 

 tical skill of those who managed it ; everything 



