44 HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTUHAL flOCIETT. 



It has been asserted by some that the human race is degenerating ; 

 — that men do not live so long as formerly ; — that they are not so 

 tall and strong as they used to be ; — and what is still more to be re- 

 gretted, that the women are not so handsome as they once were. 

 There surely must be a reason for this degenerating, and in our hum- 

 ble opinion it is found in the fact, that under the influence of a false 

 refinement, our youth are too eager to quit the farmhouses of their 

 fathers and crowd into the cities and large towns, with the mistaken 

 notion that such is the surest and shortest road to promotion, they 

 turn away from the pure air of the forest, for the clouds of dust, the 

 continual bustle, the confining employment, the pestiferous infl^uences 

 of the latter. It is in this class of people, if in any that the degen- 

 eracy is to be looked for. And it is only by a steady adherence to 

 those pursuits which all past experience declares to be congenial with 

 our physical and moral nature, that the evil can be remedied. Were 

 we to ask you to look at that condition of life which in our opinion, 

 is preferable to that of every other, we would not take you to the man- 

 ufactory amidst the buzz of spindles and the clank of looms ; or to 

 the merchant perched upon his high stool, the live long day looking 

 over his ledger, or to the state officer who is expected to please every- 

 body but himself. But we would say to you, just go with us yonder 

 to that house that stands a little from the road, environed by beauti- 

 ful trees ; with a well planned garden in its rear ; with lawns spread- 

 ing out to the right and the left ; look at the thrifty herd and the 

 well fed flock, the fruits and the flowers ; then enter its comfortable 

 and neat apartments, and on the healthful and intelligent counte- 

 nances of those who preside there ; the beauty and joy that beam in 

 the faces of their children ; join with them in their morning song and 

 in their evening hymn ; and say if there be an elysium on earth, you 

 have not now found it. 



Four farms were entered for Premiums. 



MR, CUTLER S FARM. 



This farm is less than a quarter of a mile from the village of 

 Amherst. It contains 35 acres sloping gently to the west and south 

 west. It is in the form of a parallelogram except that it is notched 

 at the south end by two house lots. The soil consists of a fine rich 

 loam, lying chiefly on a hard gravel, and is all arable. The growth 

 of hay the present season, it is believed, is seldom equaled, he hav- 

 ing made thirty-two tons and a half from thirteen acres at one mow- 

 ing ; which is two and a half tons to an acre. And this lot for mow- 

 ing is so conveniently situated, that after the first day, a man will 

 make and get in, a ton in a day, in good weather. He cultivates this 



