Vol. 1.— No. 39. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



307 



working oxen, and the exhibition of some 

 fine animals of the Improved Durham, Dev- 

 onshire and Holderness breeds. The sheep 

 and swine showed to good advantage. The 

 equal to domestic manufactures, we have nev- 

 er seen ; and the ladies, to whose skill and in- 

 dustry we are principally indebted for the 

 specimens here exhibited need no poetic flat- 

 terer to tell them of their pre-eminent virtue. 

 We must notice in particular the fine speci- 

 mens of Carpeting, which set Bru sels and 

 Venice at defiance ; fulled cloth, flannel, dia- 

 per, linen and worsted productions, good 

 enough for any person's use; straw and palm- 

 leaf hats, equal to any thing imported; ma- 

 ple sugar, superior in beauty and flavor to any 

 llavanna we have ever seen; and lastly 

 some currant wine, that might make Old Ma- 

 deira blush. 



We were particularly pleased, on this oc 

 casion, to see many articles of stock, manu- 

 factures, &.c. on which the Society offered 

 no premium, presented, for show. Among 

 these were a press or mill for making currant 

 wine, invented in this county ; and a speci- 

 men of silk thread, manufactured in the fam- 

 ilv of Capt. Seth Baily of this town, from 

 worms hatched and fed on his own premises. 



We were also gratified with a splendid dis- 

 play of Horticultural productions and fruit, 

 which the Society have never taken into their 

 account. Among these were some beautiful 

 Orange and Lemon trees bearing fruit, from 

 (he garden of Mr. Le Ray; as also the egg 

 plant, laden with its rich fruit; some elegant 

 cauliflowers, from the garden of Maj. Brown, 

 of Brownville; Grapes in variety and abun- 

 dance, for which the soil of this county is 

 found to be well adapted ; and a variety of 

 other productions which we have not now 

 time to notice. 



After the exhibition of stock and manufac- 

 tures, and the plowing match, a procession 

 was formed and marched to the Methodist 

 chapel, where an able address was delivered 

 by Major E. Kirby, and the premiums awar- 

 ded by the committees, whose reports we ex- 

 pect in season for our next. From thence, 

 the procession proceeded to the Mansion 

 House and partook of a sumptuous dinner ; 

 prepared in Mr. Gilson's best style. The 

 whole proceedings of the day were conducted 

 i< usual with a splendid Ball in the evening 

 at Parsons' Hotel. 



From the British Farmer's Journal. 



FRENCH AGRICULTURE. 



In some parts of the south of France, the 

 ancient method of treading the Corn out of 

 the ear by horses or oxen, is still practised 

 whilst near Paris and iij a few other districts, 

 thrashing machines are beginning to be used ; 

 but the great majority of the nation are only 

 acquainted with the flail. Several extensive 

 agriculturists, having found that the com- 

 mon thrashing mills cut the straw and ren- 

 dered it unfit for the Paris markets, now us- 

 the machines, in which the grain is thrash- 

 ed out by the quickly repeated strokes of 

 numerous flat beaters. Women and chil- 

 dren unbind the sheaves and throw them on 

 a thick canvass cloth, that is tightly stretch- 

 ed by a roller at each end, round which it 

 continually revolves, fin the same manner as 

 in patent chaft'-cutters,) thereby gradually 

 moving the corn forward under the incessant 

 action of the beaters ; by this means, it is af- 

 firmed that the straw remains as whole and 

 uninjured as if thrashed by the flail, and that 

 fliese machines are, in every respect, as effi- 



cient and economical as the common mill. — 

 Notwithstanding the immense loads which 

 their high roads^ being almost all paved, en- 

 able the French vehicles to carry'long-bod- 

 ied carts on very high wheels, are in almost 

 every province used instead of wagons. Let 

 the reader picture to himself a deep cart body, 

 formed of open rail work, and from 15 to 18 

 feet long, mounted on a pair of wheels 6 to 7 

 feet high.the whole of extraordinary strength 

 and substance, and he will have a correct 

 idea of a French road-cart. We suspect the 

 continued use of such vehicles to arise much 

 more from ancient habits, than from scienti- 

 fic principles ; but it is however, obvious, 

 that two large wheels create much less fric- 

 tion than four smaller ones. Their cart hor- 

 ses, although small, are certainly strong and 

 generally in good condition, and pavement 

 creates little draught, but still, we are con- 

 vinced that it is chiefly their carts which en- 

 able them to carry such heavy loads ; thai of 

 a team of four or five goo 1 horses is usually 

 six to seven tons and the cart weighs near 

 two more. From habit the men load these 

 carts, with such nicety, that the shaft horse 

 does not incur inconvenience or danger, and 

 to prevent any weight from bearing on his 

 back in descending a hill, the car has a wind- 

 lass fixed in front, by turning which, the dri- 

 ver can in a moment regulate the point of 

 gravity to any degree required. These ve- 

 hicles turn upon the axle like the English 

 tumbril, and by that means casks and other 

 articles are wound up into them, by the ropes 

 fastened to the windlass roller in front, with 

 extraordinary facility and expedition. The 

 ploughs in Normandy, Picardy, and near 

 Paris, resemble the smaller Kentish wheel- 

 ploughs; they are usually drawn by two hor- 

 ses, though a few have three or four, but a 

 driver is very rare. In French Flanders and 

 a part of Alsace, the Brabant plough is us- 

 ed, which is very light, tolerably well made, 

 and has a fool in front to regulate the depth. 

 This plough is worked with one horse in 

 the first ploughing, (that is only two or three 

 inches deep,) and with two horses in the sub- 

 sequent ones, which increase in depth each 

 time. In the rest, that is, three-fourrhs of 

 France, the ploughs are, generally, wretch- 

 ed implements and of endless variety ; ma- 

 ny, towards the south, have two small wings, 

 or thich sticks, to serve for a double mould 

 board, with a very long chissel-shaped share. 

 It is a common practice in Languedoc, and 

 other southern provinces, where they usually 

 plough with oxen, to have the beam of the 

 plough long enough to fasten immediately 

 to the yoke of the beasts, instead of using a 

 chain for that purpose as in other coun- 

 tries. In the northern provinces they 

 almost invariably plough with horses, but 

 in the centre and south of France ox- 

 en are more generally used, or, what is 

 both singular and absurb, a mixture of the 

 two is often seen. These teams are usually 

 numerous, although in Languedoc, and oth- 

 er districts, where they have a fine large 

 breed of oxen, only two are put to a plough. 

 The ancient method of making the beasts 

 draw by the head, by fastening the yoke to 

 the horns, is still generally practised. Har- 

 rows are, almost every where, made entirely 

 of wood, and rollers are very similar to the 

 commonest English ones, except they are of- 

 ten drawn by ropes instead of shafts. — 

 In the north, where the population is great- 

 er, and agriculture more improved, wheat is 

 usually cut with hooks, sickles, or the Hain- 



ault scythe; but south of Paris the cradla 

 scythe is used for all corn crops From the 

 dexterity, however, which habit gives the 

 mowers, the wheat is seldom, ii ijiired, 



unless in a wet harvest, an event of rare oc- 

 currence in such a climate, whili the savin: 

 of labor is, of course, immense 

 ault scythe is an implement (very liki 

 made in many parts of England for wha 

 called " swapping" peas, seed tares, Sic. ant 

 used in a similar manner,^ v well 



worthy of being generally introduced. A 

 man cuts about an acre of wheat, per day 

 with it, and it is light enough foi the use of 

 women and girls. The handle is abou 

 teeen inches long, and the blade rather more 

 than two feet, and shaped like.that of a scythe. 

 A stick, with a hook at the end. is held in th 

 left hand, to draw or hold the corn in the 

 right position to receive the stroke. It cuts 

 the straw close to the ground, without sha- 

 king out the grain; and is particularly effi- 

 cacious when the corn has become beaten 

 down and twisted by stormy weather. We 

 met with a singular kind uf sieve in several 

 farms. The bottom was made of half-inch 

 oak, thickly perforated with holes, instead 

 of open lattice-work as in this country — - 

 These sieves are suspended by a rope from 

 a beam, and the corn is sifted through by a 

 boy rocking the sieve, while a man leplen- 

 ishes it with corn In French Flanders, ap 

 [in the Netherlands, the milk is generally 

 churned in its natural state, instead of the 

 cream as in this and most other counties. — • 

 For this purpose very large barrels and oth- 

 er churns are used. An ingenious, though 

 simple kind of these is square, and mounted 

 upon large rockers. Across the middle of 

 this churn is a partition full of holes, so that,, 

 when it is rocked, the milk rushes to and fro 

 through these apertures ; in this manner the 

 women knit, Sic, whilst they kee 

 chine in regular motion with theii 



MANUFACTORIES AT 



Taunton, Mass. 



We gave an account of the works at Troy, Pall 

 rUrer, Mass. ; we now pay attention to T. 

 situated only a few miles from the former plac 

 Taunton has above 6000 inhabitants'; 3Pr 

 rian churches, 1 Episcopal, 1 Unitarian, I Baptist 



The Taunton Manufacturing Comp 

 4 mills; they spin, weave, bleach, dye cotton, and 

 print calicoes, about 7,500,000 yards yearly ; and 

 employ 1000 hands. 



Howard & Co. manufacture yearly 300 tons of 

 iron from scraps; roll, 1,500 tons of iron in hoops, 

 nail rods, and shovels ; twenty-five dozen of sho- 

 vels, besides a large quantity of nails, are made 

 daily ; and they employ 100 laborers. 



Nest's Cotton Manufacturing Co. run 20CK I 

 dies, 50 looms, employ 50 hands, and usi 

 bales of cotton annually. 



Dean's Cotton works, east, 600 spindles and em 

 ploy 40 hands. 



Sheppard's Cotton factory, west, ru 

 spindles, and employs 60 hands. 



Crocker & Co's Copper and Lead Factory use 

 annually, 300 tons copper, and from 500 to 1000 

 tons of lead. There is also a factory for E 

 nia Teapots, started by a native mechanic, 

 is now nourishing. We suppose he must call hi;: 

 ware Americania Teapots. 



JjfA silver and lead mine has been discovered 



atLubec, in the State of Maine. 



