514 



NEW ENGLAT^D FARMER. 



NoV 



not get wet, either ia the nest or afterwards. (In 

 summer, hens are fond of laying among the weeds 

 and grass, and any eggs taken from such nests in 

 wet weather, should be put away for immediate 

 use.) Keep them in a cool room in summer, and 

 out of the reach of frost in winter. If two boards 

 be kept, one can be filling while the other is emp- 

 tying. 



The writer accounts for the preservation of eggs 

 in this way by supposing that the yolk floats more 

 equally in the white, and has less tendency tp sink 

 down against the shell, than when the egg is laid 

 on one side — certainly, if the yolk touches the 

 shell it spoils immediately. — Maine Farmer. 



IVIIDDLESBS COUNTY CATTLE SHOW. 



The 59 th Anniversary of the Middlesex Cattle 

 Show came off at Concord on the 4th and 5th in- 

 stants. The weather was fine and circumstances 

 were propitious. The beautiful enclosure, the 

 new and convenient hall just completed, the 

 well-arranged pens for cattle and swine, and 

 the new avenue leading to the ground, all con- 

 tributed to the pleasantness and life of the scene. 

 The show of vegetables, and especially of fruits, 

 was highly creditable to the county. But 

 we do not propose to speak of the exhibition 

 within the hall, attractive as the suliject is to our 

 pen, but shall confine our remarks to such things 

 as we noticed out of doors ; and here the arrange- 

 ments were all very good. There was a place for 

 everything and everything in its place. 



Perfect order was preserved throughout the two 

 days. The system of admitting none to the 

 grounds without tickets, was adopted for the first 

 time in this county, and was carried into operation 

 without difficulty. We noticed or^e or two things 

 which we think time and experience will correct 

 We hope we shall not see again a seller of confec- 

 tionary, or a shanty for the sale of new cider and 

 fixings, or a noisy auction pedler attracting a 

 crowd around his cart within the enclosure. There 

 is room enough in tlie immediate vicinity, and they 

 obstruct the view and disturb the quiet which is 

 SO desirable. We should like also to see a notice 

 of the hours and places of the several exercises 

 posted conspicuously about the hall and ground. 

 Ab we took our circuit around the enclosure, 

 we were gratified to notice several fine colts and 

 breeding mares. We noticed last week, at the 

 Essex County Fair, several promising colts ; and 

 we are happy to believe that more attention is 

 being paid of late, in the eastern part of the State, 

 to the rearing of this noble animal, than for some 

 years past. We noticed marks of the Black 

 Hawk blood in most of the specimens present. 

 We think, from present indications, that Massa- 

 chusetts in two or three years more will make no 

 oontemptible display of horses. 



The next range of pens that occupied our atten- 

 tion was that which enclosed the swine, and a 



fine lot of porkers they were as one would wish to 

 see. Mr. II. Sheldon had 20, old and young, on 

 the ground. Two of them were said to be, not 

 stone blind, but fat blind, the deposit of fi.t over 

 their eyes rendering it impossible for them to open 

 their peepers. As we saw the pigs of Horace 

 Sheldon all snugly riding in a wagon, we clapped 

 our hands and cried out, " Well done I that surely 

 is something to brag of." 



The swine of John B. Moore, we judge from 

 their aspect and contented appearance, have not, 

 like Oliver Twist, been accustomed to stand at 

 their troughs and cry, more, more. 



In the pen of Mr. Legget, of Billerica, we i«>- 

 ticed a singular inconsistency between the proper- 

 ties of the animals and the name of their owner. 

 Had it been an object with him to breed animals 

 for the race, he would have selected a breed with 

 longer legs. We are sure that the long-nosed, 

 old-fashioned grunters could leg it much faster 

 than his short-legged waddlers. •»• 



To say the pigs of S. G. Wheeler 

 Were grown familiar willi tlie dealer 

 In corn, fancy, and other breadstuff. 

 Will not be reckoned as a great puff. 



In another pen a cross was shown by Mr. Cros- 

 by, a crop obtained by crossing Suffolk blood with 

 Middlesex or Mackay ; and, although there may 

 be some little doubt about the legitimacy of the 

 cross, their marks prove that the cross of Mr. 

 Crosby is a cross by which good pork may be 

 made and a good deal of it. 



There were 5 beautiful pigs, by jAmes P. Brown, 

 and one by the Editor of the N. E. Farmer, which 

 showed that they not only have an eye to the 

 main.chance, but that they intend also to deserve 

 well of their country. 



The pigs of Mr. Farwell suggest the old proverb, 

 that one might go farther and not fare better. 



The cross-bred boar of Mr. Hadley, 

 If not the best; did not look badly. 



Had the boar of Mr. Wellington, by any acci- 

 dent, fallen into a try-kettle, the fat we think 

 would have welled up like water Irom a fountain. 

 We wonder if any one has ever tried out a whole 

 hog of the Suffolk breed, carefully noting the 

 weight of the pork and that of the lard obtained 

 from it, that it might be compared Avith the re- 

 sults from other kinds of pork. We think that 

 when lard retails at a shilling a pound and pork 

 is eight or nine cents, that this process, in the 

 hands of some enterprising Yankee, would go on 

 as smooth as oil, and that he would slip money in 

 his purse as sleek as grease. 



Taken as a whole, we have not seen so fine a 

 show of porkers this f;ill, and we doubt whether 

 there has been a better one in New England. By 

 the great difference which is seen between pigs of 

 the same family, we are reminded of the constant 

 tendency to run back into the original stock from 

 which they are derived. From Avhat we saw on 



