222 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



With the enlargement of grounds, this society would be 

 surpassed in its accommodations by no other in our State. 



Surely, none has a locality in a more fertile spot. Tiiose 

 rich bottom lands bordering on the waters of the Connecticut 

 should be made the model garden of our State. I fear that the 

 remark is too true — the sons are not disposed to profit on the 

 experience of their fathers — that acres of their most valuable 

 land are left like a barren waste, and if cultivated, the crop 

 must depend more upon the richness of the soil than careful 

 and thorough tillage ; lands valued at three hundred dollars per 

 acre, producing not more than forty-five bushels of corn to the 

 same. 



These remarks are not applicable to all the farmers within 

 the bounds of this society. There are farms worthy of note, 

 where thorns and briars find no home ; and as evidence of this, 

 we are glad to note some of the prominent points in this exhi- 

 bition. 



The display in the hall fully demonstrated what could be 

 done. Vegetables, in great variety and abundance ; fruits and 

 flowers, very fine and beautifully arranged — showing the skill 

 and workmanship of the ladies of Hampshire ; the whole dis- 

 play calculated to please the eye and gratify the taste, for the 

 wine and the honey were there. 



I was disappointed in finding no more specimens of wheat. 

 The soil and climate must be favorable, in this section of our 

 State, to the production of this article ; and I find, in the census 

 of 1850, that the county of Hampshire alone produced about 

 five thousand bushels. I think, on examination, it will be 

 found that no crop would yield a better profit, unless it be to- 

 bacco, an article neither useful for man nor beast. And here 

 permit me to inquire, why it was that no specimen of this 

 article found a place at this fair ? Are its producers ashamed 

 to place it beside the other products of the earth ? 



The exhibition of cattle occupied a large part of the first day. 

 Some of the finest in our State are found in this society. 



The name of Lathrop brings with it an array of those beau- 

 tiful Durhams, unsurpassed, and yet not without much care 

 and attention. It is quite evident that many of the farmers of 

 this county take great pride in the raising of stock, as the 

 excellent display on this occasion fully corroborated. 



