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sent here from the State Board of Agricidturc to spy out the 

 land, and make a full and fair report of your short as well as 

 full comings, it can do no harm to inform you in advance oF 

 the impressions some of the scenes and incidents have made 

 upon ine. The fact that an AgTicultural Society could flourish, 

 Avithout a horse trot, was of course an agreeable surprise- 

 almost equal to that occasioned by a vicAV of the " purple 

 Leghorns," a new species of poultry unknoAvn heretofore in 

 the history of the gallinaceous tribe, and if not dyed in the 

 wool for the occasion , they Avill be a valuable addition if onlj 

 for their gay plumage. Another surprise was a sight of veri- 

 table ^Vyrshire Cattle l^elonging to your eloquent representa- 

 tive on the State Board. On the principle that the men who- 

 write the best works on law, medicine and theology, are not 

 apt to be those engaged in active practice in those pursuits, we 

 have in our rejjion of the State — the extreme Western — ai5- 

 sumed that so eloquent a theorist must draw upon his neigh- 

 bors' fancy stock for illustrations and study, but I can now 

 happily report that Dr. Loring has not only real cows and 

 horses, but bi j; pigs and beets, and his farming is not a m}i:h, 

 l)ut honest and good. I was not surprised by your excellent 

 show of stock, including horses, and of your fruits and flowers, 

 as I heard of them, but as so much has been said of the depo}>- 

 ulation of this county, I thought it possible you might draw 

 upon the neighboring cities for many of your young men and 

 Avomen, but I am informed that that staple is homebred and 

 it does credit to your bringing up. I have not been- able 

 until this vcar to visit the airricultural shows outside mv oayjI) 

 county, excepting one instance, at Fitchburg, but the morc T 

 see of these Institutions, the greater appears their influence as 

 educators. They bring together the best of everything, in- 

 cluding intelligent opinion, and promote competition, and lead 

 the mind to reflect and improve upon AA'hat has been opened^ 

 They are essentially a modern inventifHi. A great deal is said 

 about the lost arts, and that antiquarian researches in tkp 



