1-26 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



OCT. 20, 1841 



A.M) HOR IICULTL'KAL lUGISTER. 



UOBTOW, WxDKESDAr, OCTOBKR 20, 1841. 



\VOKCi:STKR COUNTY CATTLE SHOW. 

 On VVe<liiei.rfay c.f lam week, llio Agricultural Society 

 of Wnrcrsler County lieM its aiimwl eiliibitimi. Tlio 

 jiitnlligence und ciiterprizn of the citizuns Ihore, (ngi-ih- 

 «r Willi the ►ircrgih of ttio soil upon llieir liills and 

 tlirougli llifir valloy-i, liad us alHavs lo ejpecl n rich 

 displnv "h.-n thf y bring togethrr the best (roiii their 

 flocks, iiPrds and (ruit-i. The expeclalinn was iiol dis- 

 au|ioiiilod, though there are doublh;sB materiels in the 

 county for making a much better exhibition, in some of 

 its partii, llian was furnished. 



TliB numbi^r of aniTiinl- entered for premium was 

 454 ; some of those probnbly were not on the ground. 

 The number above slated include.i about 140 swine. — 

 Amon" these were pure Bcrkshircs and crosses of every 

 grade. The display of Uiis class of animals was not only 

 . oxiensivc, but was in every respect very fine. No other 

 pen can do such justice to them as that of him who lias 

 •often sat as chief justice of the court which there adjudi- 

 cates in relation to the bristled tribe. We hope ere 

 Innr' to get the decision of that high tribunal, and shall 

 give no opinions in Rdv.mcp. Worcester pork, though 

 . good in itself, is yrenlty improved when pickled in the 

 " attic salt" which is found in that region. 



Froui the pens where fat and happy hogs were do»- 

 'I'Ki we parsed to llii>sc ill which cattle and sliocp were 

 confined. Here «ere 8 or 9 large and fat oxen ; but not 

 IIS fine as the county has sometimes produced. The 

 bulls, suvernl of them at least, were very fine animals. 

 Of milch cows, the show was very small, and the few 

 which were there had no prominent marks of gnat ex- 

 cnllence. Snveral heifers upon the ground promised lo 

 ■bociime valuable cows — Sheep we have litlle knowl- 

 edge of, and can give no opinion as to the merits of 

 ■ those which were e.ihibiteil. 



Trom the caUle pens vie went to tlio plowing fTeld, 

 where about twenty '.earns were on the ground. One 

 eighth of an acre was allotted lo each. The land was 

 ■very rocky ; more so than we have ever seen before ae 

 lectcd for a plinvinu mulch, ll w.-i 



tennining the training of the plowmen's tempers and 

 T)ilience, and also the training of the teams ; for ihcro 

 ■was scarcely a furrow from which the plow was not 

 thrown out, so as to make it necessary lo stop and back I 

 no. The plowing was shallow, and the work was done 

 -with great deliberation — more slowly, indeed, than we 

 should be desirous of having a team move when pcr- 

 iurming ihe ordinary plowing upon tlio farm. Nearly 

 a\\ the cattle upon the field wore quite young and were 

 •wall trained. The plows, we think, were all of Rug- 

 bies, Nourse & nason'd manufacture. The ground 

 wa* BUch that it is iinpo"sible to compare tiri work with 

 that which isusuallyV'-rformed on such occasions. — We 

 moticed a boy only 12 years old, Francis Wheelock, of 

 <irafion, holding one of the plows and driving his team. 

 ilia work was very good. 



Wo understood thai the comiiiiltecs lbi<re paid no re- 

 j>ard to the liiiie consumed in plowing, but allowed each 

 plowman to tako as much as he wished fi>r. ll is doubt- 

 less a good arrangement wliicli gein rid of the hurrying 

 and whipping that have often been witnessed upon the 

 field of compelilion ; but wu are not prepared lo say 

 that wo approve nf u pace cpiite so slow us was allowed 

 oo the occasion we are describing. 



Leaving the plowing field wo went to the meeting 

 lioiue, and listened to the address by Hon. Josiah Qiiin- 



i;y, Jr., of this city. Rarely do we meet with a perfor- 

 mance so satisfactory as this. Neatly illustrating, by 

 reference to a classical anecdote, the folly of treating 

 upon matters with which he was less acquainted than 

 his hearers, the speaker informed the audience that the 

 best specimens of slock presenl were not offered for pre- 

 miums. The breed to which he referred required train- 

 ing, and rather peculiar training. If badly managed, 

 they might prove like the stock of tho man down cast 



Mr Robinson stated his interest in the formation of 

 Naiioi al -Xgricullural Society. 



Col. Wilder, as President of the Maieacbusetti Hoi 

 ticullural Society, made a few appropriate remarks. 



From the dinner table there was an adjournment ' 

 the hall, where the reports of committees were made.- 

 This work was not finished until the shades of evenir 

 were gathered around us. 



The exhibition proper — the character of the Ihouaani 

 he hospitality of the citizen 



who by w.iy of speculation, raised wolves for the sake -of people present— the hospitality of ll 



of the bounty, but found them "about the most trouble- combine lo render a visit to Worcester exceeding 



s.jmest kind .)• Slock he ever seed." By proper treat- 1 pleasant 

 ineni, however, the animal lo which he referred, might 

 be sreatly improved. (He referred to man ) And his 

 eubjecl was the peculiar advantages of an agricultural 

 life for developing and improving man— for gratifying his 

 wants and satis'yinj; bis desires, when they are proper- 

 ly regulated. Tho subject was treated wiUi great clear- 

 ness and beauty. The high moral tone and the dignified 

 manliness which pervaded it, place this performance 

 high among the best we ever had opportuuiy to hear. 

 .\nd we will not withhold the expression of a desire 

 thai it may be published. 



The trial of working oxen came next. This was woll 

 contested.- Eighteen yoke of cattle were separately 

 tried. The greater pari of them were young, handsome, 

 and well trained. In other counties, where less stock 

 israised, we find larger cattle put upon trial than were 

 seen here, and of course frequently see a heavy load 

 moveil with more ease than in this instance ; but we 

 have seldom liefore seen young oxen (steers) do as well 

 as some thai were hero put upon trial. No other coun- 

 ty in tho Commonweallh can compete willi this in 

 young workiiijj oxen. 



Our steps were next directed lo the H orticultural Ex- 

 hibition, where we found a fine display of many kinds 

 of fruits. The apples were uncommonly Urge and lair. 

 In the room containing manufactured articles, the 

 crowd prevenlod our making any accurate observations. 

 The ladie» contributed various specimens of needle- 

 work ; and butter nnd cheese, (which wo presume 

 came from their hands,) was there in abundance, and 

 looked templing. Various agricultural implements, 

 also leather, cloth-, &c. were in the hall. 

 II chosen for de- 1 Next came the hour of dinner— and while at the table, 

 tho President of tho Society (Gov. Lincoln,; favored 

 us by the reading of various appropriate toasts, and 

 drew up Mr Webster, Gov. Davis, Mr Quincy, CI. 

 Wilder, of Dorchester, and Mr Solon Robinson, of Indi- 

 ana. Each of these gentlemen favored the company 

 with « short and appropriate speech. 



Mr Webster maintained that tho high lands of New 

 England should be appropriated to alocH—Ui beef— to 

 wool-and the dairy, 'lliat it is better for us lo ex- 

 clii'.n-e these orlicles at the South for giaiu. than to be- 

 come very extensively a grain-growing people. IlisU.ry 

 shows that the grain-growing tounlries are poor, and 

 that tlicir soils deteriorate. In England the great agri- 

 cultural wealth is on the hoof, and their slock is llie 

 great source of profit and improvement. 



Gov. Davis found in the fact lliat Massachusetls and 

 Rhode Islanrl take lend of the other Slatca in thnnmouni 

 of weallh which th. ir industry produces, a proof of the 

 benefit of a division of labor— of a community cngi'ged 

 in various pursuits, ns agriculture, commerce, manufac- 

 tures, &c. ; and, as tho Western Slates ore receiving 

 many of their influential settlers from Massachusetts 

 and us vicinity, our institutions and our principles will 

 tak« root in that soil, nnd we shall find this division of 

 labor and its allendanl beiiofits extending itself through 

 Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, nnd still farthor west. 



GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVENtSS OK THI! 

 BALDWl.N AI'PLE TREE. 



In conversation with a very intelligent and industi 

 ous farmer in lirooklinc, (Mr Coolid^e,) he informed t 

 that sixteen years ago ho purchased from 80 to 100 snia 

 Baldwin apple trees, that had been grafled one yes 

 and were not larger round than the lillle finger. Fro 

 these trees, last year, he took 300 barrels of apples.- 

 The land around them has been tilled nearly or qui 

 all the time. 



lie says also, that trees which he lias recently set u 

 on land where be has lately taken offa growth of savi 

 or red cedar, are making a very rapid growth. W> 

 suppose it true generally, if not universally, that lai 

 from which a growth of any forest tree has been lake 

 is favorable to the growth of the ajiple. 



SALT LEY— SOAP BOILERS WASTE. 

 The same gentleman informs us that he has for mar 

 years made use of the spent ley which soap boilers' ri 

 off when making hard s ap. When run into loam 

 Meadow mud, it is serviceable to corn or to grass. Tl 

 article he says is worth preserving, though he does n 

 obtain it when he can get a full supply of nigJii soil, 

 his opinion it is very serviceable to run into u heap 

 coarse iiianiire ; that it hastens the decomposition ai 

 increases the strcnglli ofsiicli heaps. 



LARGE SQUASHES. 



We are informed by n gentleman from the South wl 

 saw them, that there were exhibited at Northampto 

 Mass., a few days since, two squashes, one of whii 

 weighed 20a lbs. and th,' other IHO lbs. The namo 

 till! man who raised them was given lo our informal 

 but he lias forgotten it. 



LIME IN THE POTATO POT 

 .•\n intelligent physician from South Carolina, tells i 

 that a piece of lime put into the pot in which you be 

 your potatoes, has a very good effect in rendering thai 

 less watery or more mealy. " How big a piece ■' 

 we. " .'Is big as a piece of lime," ho replied. 



GREAT YIELD. 

 The Biill'alo Republican says — " Mr Luke Bennel,i 

 Alden, raised this season, linm luur acres and a half i 

 land, ninety two bushels of corn, uighlythrec of pel 

 one hunilred of potatoes, and three or lour hundft 

 weight ul hay. Tho corn averaged l'>I bushels to it 

 acre." 



FROZEN POTATOES. 

 When potaiocs are frozen, »oak them for three li( 

 in cold water bifore conking them. If they aro frow 

 very hard,di8solvH a quarter of an ounce of ealtpotrel 

 every peck, and add it lo the water. By this metho' 

 I hey may bo rendered nearly 4s good as ever. — Selecti* 



