xxxiv REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 



hundred and fifty, and each animal was worthy of counting one. In 

 all, there were nearly seven hundred cattle on exhibition, many of 

 them thoroughbred, and the grades were so near the perfect stand- 

 ard, that none but a connoisseur could distinguish the difference. 

 We were not aware that little Franklin could make so large and 

 excellent an exhibition. Specimens of all the different herds, from 

 the stately Durhams to the little Jerseys and Kerrys, were exhibited, 

 but the Durhams are evidently the favorite stock of the Franklin 

 farmers, and the finest herds of this large breed were not raised and 

 owned in the Connecticut and Deerfield valleys, but on the high 

 rough hills of Shelburne. The general impression has been that the 

 Durhams could thrive only on the rich pastures and meadows of the 

 lowlands, but our observation on the Berkshire hills has convinced 

 us that no cattle do better on the sweet, short herbage of the moun- 

 tains than the Durhams, and this conclusion is confirmed by the 

 experience of the Franklin farmers. 



So many excellent herds were exhibited at Greenfield, that it may 

 seem invidious to particularize, but we should not do justice to the 

 exhibition, did we not allude to the fine herds of the Messrs. Ander- 

 son and Wells of Shelburne, and Mr. Stoughton of Gill. The Messrs. 

 Andersons' herd consisted of twenty-five high grade Durhams, so 

 high that they consider them thoroughbred, A finer herd of ani- 

 mals of their age we never saw, but still we think the Messrs. An- 

 derson have made a mistake in ceasing to breed from thoroughbred 

 bulls. The " Roan Duke " did wonders for the Anderson herd, but 

 another Duke might have led to a still higher strain of blood. The 

 herd of the Messrs. Wells is scarcely, if at all, inferior to their neigh- 

 bors, the Messrs. Anderson, and the Messrs. Wells are pushing on 

 for higher excellence, under the leadership of "Duke Reginald," a 

 noble specimen of the Durham family, weighing 2,000 pounds. All 

 the Shelburne stock show great weight as well as symmjetrical 

 form. Three pairs of yearling steers from the Anderson herd 

 showed an average weight of 2,500 pounds per pair, and the heaviest 

 pair weighed 2,640 pounds. It ought to be stated here, however, 

 that the custom of the Shelburne farmers is to have their cows come 

 in during the autumn, or the fore part of winter, so that their year- 

 lings are nearly two years old at the time of their fair. 



These Durham cattle do not run entirely to beef, as some may 

 suppose. The testimony of the farmers was unanimous in favor of 

 their milking properties, and the cows had every appearance of being 

 good milkers. A very large grade Durham cow of M. A. Barnard 

 & Son was on exhibition, which weighed 1,800 pounds, and had 

 furnished sixteen pounds of butter in a week. A two-year-old 



