242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



shoulders of one or two individuals ; in all these associations 

 each member should feel called upon to take his share of the 

 duties ; if the labor were divided between thirty, fifty or one 

 hundred persons, very little would be required of each ; every 

 thing might be systematized, and the different parts of the 

 exhibition rendered of much greater interest and profit ; much 

 ill feeling avoided, as well as the want of promptness and 

 punctuality, which is frequently so great a drawback to many 

 of our shows. 



Noticing the superior quality of nearly every thing exhibited 

 from Shelburne and Deerfield, and that a large projwrtion of 

 the premiums were awarded to the enterprising farmers of 

 those towns, your delegate was easily persuaded by the secretary 

 of the society to pass a little time among them. 



Shelburne is emphatically a hill town. Rising immediately 

 beyond the plains of Greenfield it includes a collection of hills, 

 composed of micacious slate, which upon decomposition makes 

 a strong soil, well watered by springs starting from the bed 

 rock, even to the hill tops, and rendering' the town one of 

 the best for grass to be found in the State ; droughts do not 

 injuriously effect the pastures, the springy nature of the soil 

 keeping them fresh and green during the dryest seasons. 



Comparatively little corn is raised, frosts coming early, and 

 the soil being generally rather cold and heavy for that crop. 



The first farm examined was that of the Messrs. Anderson, 

 wlio rank at the head for superior stock, and for the intelligence 

 and liberality characterizing all their management. 



The farm is off the main road, and in most localities would 

 be considered almost inaccessible ; the buildings were all new, 

 and the barn was of the best, combining a large amount of 

 stable room, with great storage capacity, under a comparatively 

 small roof ; it was located on a steep side hill, and stood on 

 the solid rock ; the cellar was used for manure, the cattle 

 standing on the floor above ; the main floor for taking in the 

 crops was immediately over the stables, and the drive-way was 

 on a level with the ground on the upper side of the barn ; the 

 haymows commenced on a level with the cattle floor, and a 

 large portion of the hay was thrown down rather than up ; 

 nearly one-half of the hay stored was rowen or second crop. 

 It is almost the universal practice in this section to commence 



