REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. 149 



BARNSTABLE. 



It was ray privilege to attend the fourteenth annual festival 

 of the Barnstable County Agricultural Society, at Barnstable, 

 on the fifth and sixth days of October. 



The fair was held on the grounds of the society, which are 

 beautifully located, and on which they have a track for the 

 exhibition of horses, and a large and commodious hall, well 

 adapted to the wants of this large and flourishing society. The 

 entering, arranging, and examination of stock, and articles in 

 the hall, and the ploughing match, occupied the first day. 



But little good stock was exhibited. This county is not as 

 much noted for its agriculture as it is for its commerce and the 

 fisheries. It consists, as is well known, of the narrow peninsula 

 of Cape Cod, some seventy miles in length, and for a considera- 

 ble part of this distance not more than three miles in width, the 

 distance to the fair in some cases being more than fifty miles. 

 The soil for the most part is sand, and not as well adapted to 

 the raising of stock as some other parts of the State. The show 

 of cattle was not what it should have been. There are a great 

 many good cattle on the Cape — as good cows as are to be found 

 in the State, but for some reason they were not at the fair* 

 There were exhibited some very good two and three years old 

 steers, well matched, of native blood, some good heifers, and a 

 superior calf five months old weighing 470 pounds. A good 

 display of mares and colts, and some fine young horses. No 

 matched, farm, or carriage horses, or fast horses, came under 

 my notice ; some good swine, and a few sheep. A pair of 

 mammoth oxen, weighing 6,000 pounds, from the State Alms- 

 house at Bridgewater, were exhibited by Mr, Goodspeed, the 

 superintendent. They attracted great attention. 



The lower floor of the hall was well filled with all those 

 articles of domestic manufacture, vegetables, fruits, flowers and 

 fancy articles, which are usually seen at any of our county fairs. 

 The vegetables were of the first order, and I saw some as good 

 apples, pears, quinces and cranberries, as I have ever seen. 



In the ladies' department there was much to admire ; beautiful 

 flowers, and a large amount of useful, ornamental, and fancy 



