176 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



animal, the horse, after having been beaten, kicked and thrashed 

 for whole hours without mercy, to obtain his locomotion with a 

 load, and to no purpose, start off almost instantly by a few 

 gentle pats of the hand, or endearing tones of the voice. What 

 a beast should know is, that man is emphatically his master, by 

 the thousand different teachings which are always in a man's 

 power, that man is his peer in every thing;, and not in the single 

 attribute of cruelty. 



We stand then upon this position, that the ploughman who 

 governs his team without whipping or lashing, not only governs 

 that team best, but produces more work from them and in 

 greater perfection. The time and strength lost in applying the 

 whip, its shrinking, exhausting effect upon his toiling cattle is 

 worse than useless, it is damning in its influence upon them 

 and upon him ; while gentle treatment schools the animals to 

 desire to follow, more implicitly, the wishes of their master, 

 and they soon learn to know, and govern themselves, by the 

 tones of his voice. Your committee, therefore, in conclusion, 

 submit, that the more the ploughman develops God's law of 

 kindness, the surer he is of success, the more he will ultimately 

 perform, and in far greater perfection. 



A. Crocker, Chairman. 



From the Report of the Committee on Double Teams. 



The chief design of a ploughing match is, to encourage and 

 expose to view, the best acquired skill in holding +Iie plough 

 and managing the team ; for it requires no small amount of 

 practical experience and tact, to become a good ploughman, 

 hence the art is worthy of the ambition and persevering effort 

 of every tiller of the soil. 



A few things may be specified as necessary to constitute a 

 good ploughman. The first requisite is a good and properly 

 constructed plough. If the land be smooth and level, probably 

 there is no plough that performs better service than the Michigan 

 Sub-soil. If, liowever, the surface is uneven,a well constructed 

 side-hill plough, is undoubtedly preferable to any other. The 

 farmer should have, if able, ploughs of different kinds, so that 

 he may adapt the implement to the condition of the land that 

 he proposes to cultivate. 



