eep:ort 



CN 



STOCK IE" GEl^q'EEAL. 



To the Executive Committee of the Hampshire Agricultural Society^ 

 Ocntlcmen : 



Iq compliance ^Yith your request I inspected the 

 stock on exliihition. 1111(1 submit the following report : Number of 

 entries are as follows : Bulls 5, Cows 44, Heifers 13, Calves 22, 

 Pairs of working oxen 47, Sheep 40, Swine 70, Coops of Poultry 

 60. Of the 178 head of cattle the grades of Shorthorn, Jersey, 

 Ayrshire, Hereford and Dutch were on exhibition. There were a 

 few thoroughbreds exhibited ; seven Jerseys belonging to Bishop 

 Huntington ot Hadley, a fine four-years-old Shorthorn bull by A. W. 

 Stacy ol Belchertown, also a fine three-years oldAyrshire bull belong- 

 ing to M. F. Dickinson of Amherst. The Agricultural College 

 exhibited foiuleen Ayrshires. They have disposed ot all the other 

 breeds, much to the regret of the farmers in this vicinity. Espec- 

 ially do they regret the loss of the Shorthorn. Comparing the stock 

 on exhibition at the present day, both in numbers and in grades, with 

 that in the early days of the Society we find, facts interesting for the 

 consideration of the farmer. In 1851, the second annual exhibition 

 of the Society, we? find 500 head of cattle were entered, namely, 

 seven milch cows, sixteen fat cattle, sixty-three steers, and three 

 hundred and ninety working oxen. From that day to the present 

 we find on examination of the recoixls a gradual diminution in work- 

 ing oxen, at the last fair only 94 being exhibited. The question 

 naturally arises as to the cause of this. It is no doubt on account 

 of the labor saving machines that have been introduced into the 

 country. These machines call for horse power. We find on exam- 

 ining the records of Amherst that horses have gradually increased 

 year by year, and what is true of Amherst is true of other towns in 



