522 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



is not so liable to be wanting in action, because it 

 does not fall exclusively to the bottom of the fur- 

 row, but mixes more or less with the loose, crumb- 

 ling, overturning furrow-slice, and finds a resting- 

 place higher up in the soil. 



I have to say that in advocating fall plowing, I 

 am supposing that the land to be plowed is suit- 

 ably free from undue wetness, and not so steep 

 nor of so uneven surface as to be liable to wash 

 considerably by late autumnal and early spring 

 rains. F. IIolbrook. 



Bratikboro\ Oct. 7th, 1853. 



For the New England Farmer. 



EXHIBITION 



OF THE FRANKLIN CO. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



This youngest and fairest of the jNIassachusetts 

 family of fourteen, came before the public, gallant- 

 ed by her accomplished President, on the 6th 

 and 7th days of the present month, in a manner 

 to command universal aduiiration. We have wit- 

 nessed many exhibitions of the kind within thirty 

 years last past, but we can truly say, never have 

 we seen one that more fully accorded with our no- 

 tions of what is proper to be done. Not that 

 here was the greatest and most brilliant display 

 we have ever seen, but because the exhibition was 

 appropriate to the occasion, and every thing was 

 done decently and in order. We arrived on the 

 ground at 12 o'clock of the first day, and were 

 immediately conducted to the beautiful field, where 

 the animals were to be exhibited. Here were be 

 tween one and ttvo hundred pairs of ivorking oxen 

 ranging from 4850 to 3000 lbs. weight per pair, or 

 from 8 feet to feet girt, averaging, as we were 

 told, 6 3-4 feet girt. We have never seen the 

 like before. Among these, we saw some of the 

 Durhams, some partly Durhams, and a few De- 

 vons ; but more than three-fourths of the whole 

 were natives, clearly confirming the impressions 

 that we had formed, that the yeomanry of our 

 hills, who generally understand what they want, 

 are satisfied that the native cattle of New England 

 can work well enough for them. Our attention 

 was particularly called by one of the officers of the 

 Show, to a magnificent pair of three years old steers, 

 said to weigh more than 4000 lbs., and truly they 

 were equal to the representation. We were in- 

 duced to enquire into the particulars of their his- 

 tory ; and just as we were pencilling in our Note 

 Book " Beat this who can," we cast a single eye 

 upon the yoke, and saw that our informant had 

 mistaken a 6 for a 3, so that the charms of their 

 age soon vanished ; for it is certainly true, that 



5 ounces of butter in a week the present season. 

 When a cow will yield 2 lbs. of butter a day on fair 

 feeding, we have no hesitation to pronounce her 

 a good cow, even if she does not do this more than 

 200 days in a year. We have heard of cows that 

 will do this 3G5 days in a year, but we have never 

 seen such, and never expect to, although they are 

 said to be at the present time at Lowell, where 

 great stories are sometimes manufactured, as well 

 as many other great things. 



Among the heifers, we noticed several of the 

 Jersey breed, lately imported by Judge Grennell, 

 and are right glad that the enterprising fiirmers of 

 Franklin County are to have an oportunity to test 

 their character. Of the superior quality of their 

 milk, we are fully satisfied from our own observa- 

 tions. That 7 quarts of it will make as much but- 

 ter as 10 quarts from our native cows, we are well 

 assured, and generally, that these quantities will 

 be required of each class of cows, to make a pound 

 of butter. 



Quantum svfficii of bulls were presented, for all 

 the purposes for which they are needed. We have 

 lon^een satisfied that good bulls are essential to 

 the raising of good stock, and that even more de- 

 (pends upon the male than the female, in raising 

 stock for dairy purposes. We are also satisfied, 

 that no animals are worthy of premium, that have 

 not been reared with particular care as to their 

 qualities — and cows especially, with particular care 

 as to the quality of their milk. In a herd of half 

 a dozen, we have known the milk of all to be es- 

 sentially impaired by the poor quality of one. 



A goodly number of sheep and swine were there; 

 full justise to them was done by the distinguished 

 chairman of the committee, who had them in 

 charge. Under his magic power, they coalesced to a 

 charm. The report on the swine was a clincher — 

 but we must say, we were not a little astonished 

 to hear an allusion to the "Great Bore" of the 

 mountain, in the preseiice of those who were there. 

 But our curiosity was so much awakened by the 

 allusion, that coarse as we esteemed it, we could 

 not leave the hills of Franklin and Berkshire, with- 

 out seeing the animal, monstrous as he was said to 

 be, and really, the nearer we came to the "mon- 

 ster," the less formidable did he appear. If we 

 lived in that region, we would not cease continual- 

 ly to cry, until the State had done as much to help 

 us through the mountain, as they have done to 

 help others over it. So much we think is proper 

 to be done, though we have little expectation of 

 its being completed in our day. But we have long 

 since had a suspicion that there is no obstacle 

 that yfm/;eee?i/erp?-i5e will not surmount. On the 

 morning of the second day, we witnessed a truly 



an addition of a few years only, makes a wonder- Splendid display of horses of every class, particular 



ful difference. We have, for some time past, been 

 sensibly impressed vpith tliis feeling. Even taking 

 them to hQ five years old, as they were, we have 

 seeif none better. 



Next, our attention was called to the milch cows, 

 about 20 in number, and these appeared as well 

 as could be expected ; but we are not satisfied to 

 form an opinion of this class of animals by exter- 

 nal appearances, even with the aid of the far- 

 famed escutcheon index, which, by the by, is no 

 fool of a sign. We failed to learn all, we wanted to 

 know about these animals, but was kindly inform- 

 ed by the venerable Chairman of the Committee, 

 that the milk of one of the best had yielded IG lbs. 



ly breeding mares with foals at theirfeet. We were 

 assured by the chairman of the committee, that 

 never to his knowledge has there been so fine an 

 exhibition of this animal, in Western Mass. We 

 are glad to find so much attention given to the 

 rearing of horses of good blood. It is just as easy 

 to rear a colt worth $100, at 3 years old, as one 

 worth $2"5, by proper care at the commencement. 

 Without a good beginning nothing good can be 

 brought about. 



On the plowing field, were about a dozen com- 

 petitors. , We have never seen work any better 

 done. We should have been pleased to have s^en 

 teams from every town in the county, and res- 



