156 



'WORCESTER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PLOUGHING MATCH. 



The Committee on the Ploughing Match report, 

 that they have had great satisfaction in cii.sciiarg- 

 i;ig the duty assigned them, though attended witii 

 lahor and ditBculty to decide upon the relative 

 merits of the competitors. The spirtt with which 

 the prizes were contested, and the skill and per- 

 fection with which the work was done, rendered it 

 e.vtremely embarrasing to settle and award the 

 premiums. Tliis part of our Show has been con- 

 sidered by some judicious farmers and friends to 

 the Society, of but little or no practical utility. — 

 But your Committee deem it one of the most inter- 

 esting, as well as useful objects of the Society. — 

 The importance of good ploughing to a plentiful 

 harvest, is acknowledged by all, and that every 

 means should be devised to e,xtend a practical 

 knowledge of the art; and what plan has ever 

 been found more effectual for that purpose, than 

 that of establishing a competition among plough- 

 men, and rewarding tho.se who excel. At these 

 meetings, farmers are instructed, when they come 

 only "to be amused ;" their prejudices are worn 

 avvay, and tliey are frequently induced to try new 

 modes of culture, and now implements of husband- 

 ry. The competition, on these occasions, is a- 

 mong practical husbandmen, coming from differ- 

 ent sections of the county, each with his own pe- 

 culiar notions of the mode of cultivation, drav.'n 

 fr')m e.sperience and observation, and each with 

 p' •- • suited to the cultivation of their respec- 

 tive larms. lience they mutually instruct each 

 other, and make known tiieir several e.\perimen:g 

 in the art of tilling tiieir lands, am] in the con- 

 struction of their ploughs. From the excellent 

 construction of the ploughs, and the perfection of 

 the work this day exhibited to us yoir Comnnttee 

 cannot but believe that the presoni state of im- 

 provement, in the construction of the plough, ar.l 

 the art of ploughing, is in some degree, to be at- 

 tributed to our Ptoug;Iiing Matches. But the time 

 will not admit of an essay upon ploughs or plough- 

 ing. Every farmer has his own plans and views 

 upon the subject, which he has attained from ac- 

 tual experience, and nothing that wo can say will 

 alter or change his opinions. The competitors are 

 impatient for the awards ; and, Mr President, with 

 your leave, I will now proceed to this unpleasant 

 duty. 



The ground selected for the Match was of a 

 light, loamy soil, divided into lots of one eighth of 

 an acre each. At 9 o'clock, A.M. the several com- 

 petitors were on the field ; and eleven drew for 

 lots, and entered the list for the premiums. 

 Lot No 3, Freegrnce Marble, of Sutton, two yoke 



of O.xen, work performed in 35 minutes. 

 No 3, Silas Dudley, Northbridge,2y. S.'iJ min. 

 No 4, Wm. Eaton, jr. Worcester, 1 y..32 min. 

 No 5, John Sherman, Sutton, 2 y. 31 min. 



No 6, Nathl. Gates, Worcester, 1 y. 2(i min. 

 No 7,Rejoice Newton, Worcester,'3 y. 28 min. 

 No 8, Luther Whiting, Sutton, 2 y. .39 min. 

 No 9, Waxd & Rice, Worcester, 2 y. 2ti min. 

 No 10, Steph. Marsh jr. Sutton, 2 y. 33 min. 

 No 11, Tyloir Putnam, Sutton, 2 y, 30^ min. 

 No 12, Levi Lincoln, President of the Society. 



claiming no pseraium, 2 y. 2.5 min. 



No 13, Royal T. Marble, Sutton, 1 y. 35 min. 



Two premiums only were offered by the Socie- 

 ty, for ploughing with two yoke of oxen ; and four 

 premiums for work performed by one yoke with- 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 8, lb2(.. 



6ut a driver. Tlie Committee, at'ter much diUicul- ! foiir iiours attLi l\,ti ;>riiu ipal meal it -.v ill 

 tv, [all the work being so well done,) have award- the ulterior stages of digestion, as already 

 ed the- premiums, on teams of two yoke as fol- 1 plained, and promote insensible perspiration' 



Voi.' 



$5 

 $3 



S4 



First premium to Stephen Marsh, jr. Sutton, $8. 

 Samuel Sibley ,ploughman, $4. Stephen Marsh jr. 

 driver, $3. 



Second pr,cmium to John Sherman, of Sutton,S6. 

 Himself ploughman, §4. Benjamin Woodbury ,3d. 

 driver B~. 



But four teams of one yoke of oxen were enter- 

 ed. The Committee, therefore, had only to decide 

 upon their relative merits, rewarding all for their 

 exertions. 

 First premium of $6, was awarded to Nathaniel 



Gates of Worcester, himsel,!' ploughman, $4 



2. To Wm. Eaton, jr. of Worcester, ^> 



himself ploughman, 



3. To Tyler Putnam ( f Sutton, 



himself ploughman, 



4. To Royal T. Marble of Sutton, plough ^ 



and ploughma^i. 

 The mode of ploughing without a driver is the 

 one which the Society wish most to encoijrage, as 

 it gives the best evidence of attention in training 

 and disciplining tlie oxeir, besides being a great 

 savi.Mg in the expense,so necessary to the farmer's 

 prosperity. All which is submitted. 



JONAS L. SIBLEY. 

 Per order of the CqmmiUee. 



TEA DRINKL\G. 



There is no subject which has occasioned a 

 greater controversy amongst dietetic writers than 

 tlie subject of tea. By one party it is decreed as 

 a poison ; by another it is extolled as a medicine, 

 and a valuable addition to our food ; wliile some 

 refer all its beneficial efl'ects to the water thus in- 

 troduced into the system, and its evil consequen- 

 ces to the high temperature at which it is drank. 

 In order to understand the value of the different 

 arguments which have been adduced in support 

 or to the disparagement of this beverage, it will 

 be necessary to inquire into its composition. — 

 Two kinds of tea are imported into this country, 

 distinguished by the epithets black and green. — 

 Both contain astringent and narcotic principles, 

 but in very different proportions ; the latter pro- 

 ducing by far the most powerful influence upon 

 the nervous system. As the primary operation of 

 every narcotic is stimulant, tea is found to e.x- 

 Iiilarate and refresh us, although there exist in- 

 liividuals who are so morbidly sensible to the ac- 

 tion of certain bodies of this class that feelings of 

 depression, accompanied with various nervous sen- 

 sations, and an unnatural vigilance, follow the 

 potation of a single cup of strong tea ; while oth- 

 ers experience, from the same cause, symptoms 

 indicative of derangement of the digestive organs: 

 but these arc exceptions from which no general 

 rule ought to be deduced. The salubrity of the 

 infusion to the general mass of tlie community is 

 established by sufficient testimony to out-weigh 

 any argument founded on individual cases. It 

 must, however, be admitted, that if this beverage 

 be taken too soon after dinner, the digestion of 

 the meal may be disturbed by the distension it 

 «ill occasion, as well as by its influence as a dilu- 

 ent ; the narcotic and astringent principles may 

 also operate in arresting chymification ; but when 

 a physician gives it his sanction, it is with the un- 

 derstanding that it shall be taken in moderate 

 quantities, and at appointed seasons. When drank 



while it will afford to the stomach a grateful afl 

 ulus after its labors. With regard to the obj 

 tion urged against its use, on Ihe ground of 1 

 pcrature, it will be only necessary to refer to 

 observations viihich have been already offered i 

 this subject. In enumerating-,, however, the ad'ijj 

 tages of tea, it must not be for^'otten that it 

 introduced and cherished a spirit of sobriety ;. 

 it must have been remarked by every physicial 

 general practice, that those person^ who disf 

 tea, frequently supply its place by spirit and wal 

 The addition of milk certainly ditninishes the . 

 tringency of tea; that of sugar may please •! 

 palate, but cannot modify the virt-'es of tlii^ in 

 ion. .[Paris's Treatise on Diet! 



BREWING ESTABLISHMENT. 

 The -Albany papers inform us, that very 

 sive breweries have been established in tliat ( 

 during the present year. The use of boer is Hi 

 becoming more common in bur poantry. We hq 

 to see it take the place every where of ard 

 spirits. The brewery in Salem belonging to | 

 Farrington, lias sent out some very excellent be 



CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

 Prom some experiaients on the adhesion of gfl 

 instituted by Mr Bcvan, and an account of whij 

 he has inserted in the last number of the Philo 

 phical Alagazine, it appears that a force of ],9 

 lbs. applied at right angles to the surfaces in"<;<| 

 tact, was required to separate two cylinders ofc 

 ash -wood of 1^ incites in diameter, and abouj 

 inches long, after they had been glued together} 

 hours. The pressure was applied gradually, i 

 was sustained two or three minutes before the SQ 

 %r;ition took place. The force of 713 lbs. woii 

 therefore, be required to separate one square inq 

 The force required to separate dry Scotch fir-wo 

 4G2 lbs. to the square inch ; so that if two piecl 

 of this wood had been well glued together, t] 

 wood would have yielded in its substance befia 

 tfe glue. The cohesion of solid glue was 4,0 

 Ibs.to the square inch-, from this it may be infern 

 that the application of this substance as a cem^ 

 is susceptible of improvement. [Monthly Mag.JJ 



MANUFACTURLNG OF CALICO. 

 Till within a very short time it is well knoM 

 that this article has demanded a high price amon 

 retailers who have kept none but such as was in 

 ported from Europe. Manufacturers have 

 length introduced the business of making Calicoal 

 of their own, and there are now many valuab'. 

 tablishments in the country which produce this i 

 kind of cloth of the first quality. Within two 

 years the article has been reduced in price .30 

 per cent, which is doubtless to be attributed to 

 the success of our manufactures. In our immedi- 

 ate vicinity, one manufactory has been in oper- 

 ation about a year and a half, another is new 

 nearly finished of no inconsiderable dimensions. 

 This is situated in Seekonk, on Bucklin's Brook, 

 and we understand that preparations are making 

 to manufacture Calico of the first rate in this mill. 

 It is to be worked by machinery altogether new, 

 and which never before has been introduced in 

 this country. Mr M'ilkinson and others are the 

 proprietors of the works, and a small village al- 

 ready appears rising around them in the middle of 

 a forest 



