APPENDIX. xxxiii 



make the home radiant with beauty, and fragrant with the purest 

 affections. 



My observations out of doors were confined mainly to the ploughlng- 

 match which took place on the morning of the last day, and to sundry 

 trials of the speed of horses on the track. The ploughing-match 

 elicited the usual amount of interest, and showed commendable dexterity 

 in this important art. 



The trotting came off according to the programme, although the rain 

 had put the track into bad condition. Your delegate is not a connois- 

 seur in the sport, and therefore will not go into particulars. The most 

 noticeable thing to him was the great good humor that prevailed in 

 spite of the unfavorable circumstances. Having his own ideas of beauty 

 in the horse, and the purposes for which he should be bred, he ventures 

 the opinion, though with some fear of being thought heretical, that the 

 attention given to the track of late, has not improved the style of our 

 horses, or their quality for usefulness. "We are losing the most valuable 

 characteristics of the Morgans, compactness of frame, fine action, courage 

 and endurance, and getting instead, the ungainly form and tender 

 constitution of the racer. 



I can only say, in conclusion, that, while the weather was most unfav- 

 orable for the festivities of the occasion, it saemed in no wise to damp 

 the ardor and enthusiasm of the people who turned out in crowds, and 

 whose tastes seemed so well-balanced that they were equally ready to 

 pass judgment on a pen of cattle, to listen to a learned address, or to 

 enjoy a two-forty trot. 



To the officers, and others connected with the society, I tender my 

 thanks for their many attentions. 



T. G. Huntington. 



HOOSAC VALLEY. 



Agreeably to my appointment, I attended the fifth annual cattle show 

 and fair of the Hoosac Valley Society, at North Adams, September 

 20 and 21, 1864. 



The society have about twenty aci'es of land enclosed, upon which is a 

 good track for the trial of horses, and a hall for the exhibition of the 

 various articles contributed, costing about $1,500. The weather was 

 fine, and the people were out in good numbers. The following is a list 

 of the entries : 



Articles in the hall, 249; agricultural crops, 108; fixt oxen, 6; 

 working oxen, 1 3 pairs ; young stock, 1 1 ; two and thi-ee year old 



