400 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



grandfathers would with difficulty recognize as belonging to the 

 hen family; and strange noises were heard at these assem- 

 blages, not such as were emitted from the throats of the cocks 

 who awakened them from their slumbers at early dawn. 



But the " hen fever," as it has been deridingly termed, is 

 now subsiding, yet not without having produced beneficial re- 

 sults. From the various breeds which curiosity or ambition 

 has brought among us our farmers have had an opportunity of 



DORKINGS. 



selecting those which are best adapted to our climate and most 

 profitable — those which lay eggs most abundantly, and those 

 whose flesh is the best for the table. 



Your committee were highly pleased with the number, the 

 choice varieties, and the beauty of the fowls presented at the 

 fair. They are satisfied that the farmers of Bristol County 

 are fully aware of the importance of this branch of agriculture, 

 and that they yield to none in the attention and care they 

 bestow upon it. 



II. B. Wetherell. 



