MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 445 



sion passed off delightfully. His excellency the Governor was 

 present, and made some remarks. Only one thing was want- 

 ing. No ladies were present. The Essex Society, which has 

 taught others so many good things, may, in that particular, 

 learn a good lesson of others. Here, as in Norfolk, two days 

 are required to see what one would desire to see ; to transact 

 the business properly, and to do justice to the exhibitors. 



J. H. W. PAGE. 



Exhibition of the Middlesex Society. 



This exhibition took place at Lowell, on the 24th day of 

 September last, and the undersigned had the satisfaction of at- 

 tending it, in company with Messrs. John C. Gray and Edward 

 Everett, of the State Agricultural Society. 



Being there, however, as an invited guest of the society, and 

 not as a delegate from this board, and having no expectation of 

 being called upon for an account of the exhibition, the under- 

 signed did not pay that close attention to its details, which 

 would enable him to describe them with anything of discrim- 

 inating justice. He can only offer to the board, therefore, a 

 general view of the occasion ; and even in doing this at so late 

 a day, he must be allowed to borrow from the accounts which 

 were prepared by others at the time. 



The festival was opened by a ploughing match, at which 

 twenty-two teams were entered for the prizes. Of these, eight 

 were double teams of four oxen each ; ten single teams of a 

 pair of oxen each ; and four horse teams of two horses each. 

 In the language of one well able to judge of such operations, 

 "the ploughmen exhibited great skill in the use of their imple- 

 ments, in avoiding stones, and in the nice movements and 

 changes of the plough in passing nneven places, in order to 

 leave a smooth and workman-like furrow." 



Next fallowed a drawing match, at which seven teams ap- 

 peared on the ground. Some of the cattle engaged in this trial, 

 were of great strength and beauty, and seemed under excellent 

 discipline. They performed the work of drawing a load of 



