NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



33^ 



VERMONT STATE FAIR. 



The first exliibition of this Association took 

 place at Middlebury on the 10th and 11th inst. A 

 society was formed in June last, by a choice of of- 

 ficers, and a time appointed for its first meeting; 

 bat a perfect organization was not effected until the 

 present month. From the reports received, we are 

 led to believe that the movement has been a suc- 

 cessful one, and dispels all doubt in relation to the 

 usefulness and perpetuity of the society. The 

 Register states, "that, though wholly a voluntary 

 movement, commenced late in the season, without 

 funds, without premiums or committees of award, 

 and without any other than a temporary organiza- 

 tion, the exhibition was one of which no Vermont- 

 er need be ashamed, and which receives high com- 

 mendation, in all quarters." The show attracted 

 a great number of people, it being estimated that 

 twelve to fifteen thousand persons were in at- 

 tendance. The address was delivered by the Hon. 

 Frederick Holerook, a gentleman whose wri- 

 tings have attained a just celebrity throughout the 

 country, and whose personal efforts in the cause of 

 agriculture have stimulated numbers to a better 

 course of husbandry. The success of the enter- 

 prise in which the people of Vermont have em- 

 barked, to "improve the mind and the soil," will 

 scarcely admit a doubt, with such men for pion- 

 eers. 



The show of Horses probably surpassed that of 

 any exhibition ever made in New England. In 

 numbers, including all, stallions, geldings, work- 

 ing and brood mares, and colts, there must have 

 been several hundred on the ground. Among the 

 contributors, w-e notice some from this State. 

 This spirit among the Gieen Mountainers to sustain 

 the breed of their choice stock intact, will be grat- 

 ifying to all lovers of that noble animal, the horse. 

 The original Black Hawk, the Morgan, and other 

 stocks of the first quality, were on the ground. 

 New England is mainly indebted to Vermont for 

 her horses, and every attempt to preserve and im- 

 prove the best stock will meet the approbation and 

 encouragement of all classes of her citizens. 



The show of Sheep was extensive and the qual- 

 ity of the highest order. That of Cattle respecta- 

 ble, though not so complete. The number of 

 Swine small, and that of Poultry the same; the 

 poultry mania not having yet made a lodgment in 

 Vermont. ^\\e fancy articles were numerous, and 

 exhibited much skilful handiwoik. Most kinds of 

 Agricultural Implements, many of them from the 

 enterprising manufacturers in this State, together 

 with carriages, wooden ware, furniture, cutlery, 

 stoves, iron fences, harnesses, paper, &c., were 

 presented, and attracted much interest. 



We have read the address by Mr. Holbrook 

 with attention, and make such extracts as the state 

 of our columns will permit. It is full of e.xcel- 



Icnt teachings, and we commend it to the careful 

 perusal of every farmer in New England: — 



"When we correctly consider the antiquity, the 

 dignity, the importance, and the thousand sober 

 delights and honest pleasures of Agriculture, and 

 then look abroad in our country and see to what an 

 extent it has been neglected, and by how many it 

 has even been despised, we are led to inquire how 

 this can be^ We are not long, however, in find- 

 ing the reason. A large portion of our farmers 

 have been decidedly, absolutely opposed to all in- 

 novations or improvements in their business. 

 There have always been honorable exceptions to 

 this in every district; but still the remark is too 

 true, when applied to the mass. It has been con- 

 tended that the farmer should simply follow old 

 ways, guide his operations by the traclitions of his 

 fathers, without regard to new times and changed 

 circumstances; that there is nothing for him to 

 learn by experiment or by study; that the best 

 farmer is he who can plough the greatest breadth 

 of land in a day, mow the most grass or hoe the 

 most corn, — the man who can contrive to get the 

 most out of mother earth, without returning her an 

 equivalent. It mattered not, with such, if he did 

 sap fertility entirely out of her, provided he made 

 money while doing it. It was no matter what be- 

 came of the fertility of the land, there was enough 

 more that might be served in the same way; and 

 as for the generations that were to succeed him. 

 they might take care of themselves. Under the 

 operation of these views and practices, it has tak- 

 en less than a half century to wear out the lands of 

 the older States of our country, to run them down 

 so low as to make their further profitable cultiva- 

 tion for some time to come quite a difficult and dis- 

 couraging work, a work of great skill and patience. 

 It was no part of this kind of farming to stop and 

 inquire how the land already possessed could be 

 improved or kept stationary; acre must be added 

 to acre, (oftentimes more than could ever be paid 

 lor,) only to be worn out as previous acres had 

 been. 



"Then, too, it has proved little else than an un- 

 mitigated curse to our Agriculture, that such num- 

 bers of the intelligent, enterprising young men of 

 the country have forsaken the farm for other pur- 

 suits. It was quite natural, however, that they 

 should do so; for the fact cannot be disguised, that 

 the community have quite generally considered the 

 young man who remained upon the farm as rather 

 wanting in intelligence and enterprise; that any- 

 body, no matter how ignorant, if he only had 'the 

 hard days-work in him,' would do to conduct the 

 farm, while the promising young men must leave 

 it, go through a long and severe apprenticeship, a 

 training as rigid as military discipline, a systemat- 

 ic course of instruction; in short, must be tlior- 

 oughly educated, to fit them for other callings, 

 more dignified, more important, more wortiiy the 

 attention of man, than farming." 



Addresses, or speeches, were also nrade by Gen- 

 erals Wool and Churchill, of the U. S. Army, 

 and other gentlemen, and all seemed to realize a 

 sense of gratification and delight, on this, their 

 first State Festival. 



5^- The foot of the owner is the best manure 

 for land. 



