266 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



were taken off, equal to ninety-six bushels of 

 shelled corn. The whole was sound, rmd suita- 

 ble to grind into meal, e.iceiJting tliioe bushels 

 of ears." 



The value of this corn, including four bush- 

 els of bf-ans, raised by way of experiment on 

 about hali'lhe piece, was 1 22,60 ; the expenses 

 of cultivation were ^.j7,7.0, leaving the neat 

 profits of seven-eightiis of an acre of Indian 

 corn, ^01,81. 



From the Old Colony Memorial. 



Sir — 1 nm a plain countryman, constantly 

 employed in the labors of my farm. My Jour- 

 neying Ls pretty much confined to a ride once 

 in a year or two to the cattle show, and my 

 reading to an evening recreation (after the cat- 

 tle are taken care of, and the childroii put to 

 bed) in lookin? over the Old Colony Memorial. 

 or the .Agricultural Repo-itory. 



In reading the latter work, and in my occa- 

 sional visits to our shows at Brighton, I have 

 been forcibly impressed with an idea that the 

 principles on which the premiums to animals 

 arc awarded are erroneous. 



I must beg with all possible humility and sub- 

 mission, to e-xpress my dissent from the opin- 

 ion of gentlemen who have done more essen- 

 tial service to their country, than any set of 

 men since its settlement; I mean the Trustees 

 and leading men of our society. But thcij are 

 in the higher walks of agriculture. They im- 

 prove soils, and make compost, and breed cat- 

 tle in tlioir libraries or their tlower gardens, 

 and 1 apprehend it is from such plain working 

 farnners as myself that they will be willing to 

 receive hints. 



My ol)j(!Ctions are to the high premiums uni- 

 formly given to imported stock, aad the gener- 

 al preference of huge, overgrown, high fetl an- 

 imals. Cannot the native stock of catth? in this 

 state, (by liberal patronage) be improved to as 

 great perfection as any that can be imported ? 

 It was originally from Devonshire, and is (1 be- 

 lieve) of tlie best breed of Great Britain. But 

 even if not, it seems (o be proved by the noble 

 experiments made there during the last half 

 century, that very little (comparatively) de- 

 pends on the original stock, and every thing on 

 a careful and skilful selection of the best breed- 

 ers. If this state should ever have the honor 

 of producing a Bu/.fwc//, our society (on its 

 present plan) will not be entitled to a whit of 

 credit for patronage, or encouragement. We 

 rsvorse the grand patriotic maxim, and give 

 Itundicds for tribute to I'orcign animals, but not 

 a cent to defend or imj^rove our own stock. 

 Like the silly country belle, who sends all her 

 substance abroad to purchase a bonnet of chin- 

 chilla with ostrich feathers, instead of mnking 

 an article every way more tasteful, elegant an<l 

 comfortable, of the down from her own turkeys. 



This suliject has been suggested to m)' mind 

 nt this time, by the very able report, No. 1, of 

 the cattle show at Brighton la«t fall. The au- 

 thor of that report h is jiroved himself one of 

 the most eminent of patriots in devoting his 

 great talents to the agriculture of his country. 

 llis ardent zeal and perfect disinterestedness, 

 cannot be doubted, and 1 certainly should never 

 venture to ditVer from him, as to \.\\c justice of 

 his awards. It is to the policy of the rule, not 

 the fairness of the awards, that 1 wish to draw 

 '.he attention of that gentleman and the society. 



He intimates in his report, that any one who 



observes the continued crowd around the pens I 

 which contain the imported stock, must be sat- 

 islied of the public preference. But 1 would 

 ask, is this an eridence of preference, or only 

 o{ •j.'ondcr ? But a iiuin of the most perfect forn 

 and stature in one place, and the most hideoui 

 giant in another, and see which will attract the 

 greatest crowd of observers. 



I was at the show in ISIO, and recollect s 

 cow was exhibited by Mr. Coolidge, said to be 

 of the Iloldorness breed. She was a long leg- 

 ged, gaunt, awkward creature enough; with ft 

 bag as large and as tc/u'rc as a milk-maiirsyJsi, 

 and (eats like her '■ taper fingers." The pe»- 

 ple did indeed crowd around her pen, but it 

 was to search in vain for some latent escer 

 lencc, and then indignantly exclaim, / 



^" The tiling is neither rich nor rare, ,■ 



I wouJcr how the devil it cainu there,'' I 



but this cow was far-fetched and obtained a 

 premium. ! 



I observe the first premium for a bull in tje 

 aforesaid report, is to one tilteen months oil, 

 weighing 1213 lbs. and the second to one sevin 

 months old, weighing lob lbs. Now, Sir, is t^e 

 extreme bulk of such animals, any excellenje 

 in them, and yet it would seem that their u-ci^t 

 was the cause of the premiums being awardtd 

 to them. Let the honorable gentleman to 

 whom 1 have abided mix as 1 have done wjh 

 the multitude -.without the pens; he will be ^t- 

 silled that plain practical farmers, while they 

 admire at the overgrown, pampered beauty|of 

 such animals, would no more think of takihg 

 them for their own I'arm stock than they woild 

 go to a turtle feast, and select a fat Aldermm 

 lor their working farmer. They observe with 

 wonder, what may be done by dint of high feed- 

 ing and rubbing, and of what exquisite polish t»e 

 hide of a bullock is susceptible ; but witho&t 

 the least disposition to profit by the observation. 



1 have extended these remarks much beyond 

 what 1 at first intended, but it they should be tak- 

 en in good part by the great folks of our society, 

 and induce them to take into consideration the 

 expediency of giving generous premiums to the 

 best animals, without regard to the place from 

 whence they came, or to their being of enor- 

 mous size, it will highly gratifj' me as a member 

 of their society and an Old Colo.w Farmer. 



^^REM.iRKS ON THE PllECF.DING ARTICLE. 



FOR THE NKW E.Vr.l.AXD lARMKR. 



A writer in the Old Colony Memorial, a very 

 respectable Journal, has expressed his disap- 

 probation of the conduct of the Trustees of the 

 Massachusetts .Agricultural Society in their dis- 

 trihtition of preminms on Cattle. We shall pass 

 by the witty remarks on the " Gentlemen Far- 

 mers^'' — they are ready to submit to be the butt 

 of the real farmers of the East and of the West, 

 and will patiently pursue the great interests of 

 Agriculture, unmoved by ridicule. ^Vhen thev 

 are told that " they improve soils, and make 

 Compost, and breed cettlle in (heir libraries, or 

 their Jlower gardens,'''' they will make no other 

 reply, than by saying, if Mr. Quincy's :iO acres 

 under root culture in one season — Mr. Porae- 

 roy's — Mr. Welles's, — Mr. Farsons's, and Mr. 

 Prince's extensive fields, are only " flower gar- 

 dens," we wish there were more of them, and 

 we doubt whether their products would be so 

 great as they have been, if their " compost" 

 was conhned to their " libraries." As to their 

 cattle, they raije then» precisely as we presume 



they do in the Old Colony, on hay, grass, am 

 roots. If there is any other mode "known to tin 

 gentlemen of the Old Colons, cheaper and bet 

 ter, we should be happy to "hear an account o , 

 it. That they feed their stock better, we thiolMi.i 

 probable, but still any man conversant with thi (» 

 mode of keeping stock in England, must admit ((« 

 that even to this day the most careful of us di jlfi 

 not feed our cattle so well as in that country li.r 

 We arc ready to say, that we think the greates 5> 

 defect, which still exists in this grazing State ;' 

 is the parsimony of our farmers as to food, anc ^i 

 attention, particularly as it respects young cattle , 

 and milch cows. 



But the principal object of my present re 

 marks, is a suggestion, directly applied lo th( 

 Committee, on the larger class of animals, o 

 which Committee I have been lor several years 

 the Chairman. The criticisms of the writer tc tfr 

 which I shall confine myself, are the Ibllowin 

 " My objections, says the writer, are to the lii^gl 

 premiums vniformty given to imported stod; 

 and the general preference of huge, over grown 

 high fed animals. Cannot the native slock o 

 cattle in this State (by liberal patrona>;e.) bf 

 improved to as great perfection as any l"'hat car 

 be imported ?" The writer then proceeds fc 

 slate that our race of cattle is of the Devon 

 shire breed, and that it is proved by the '-noble 

 experiments" made there (in England) durinn 

 the last half century, that very little depends o? 

 the original stock, and every thing on a careful 

 and skilful selection of the best breeders. 



Now it so happens that the Trustees of the 

 Massachusetts .Agricultural Society have ahvavs 

 entertained precisely the same opinions with 

 those expressed by the writer in the Old Colony 

 Memorial, though it seems from the want oi 

 precision in their expressions, or from some 

 other cause, they have not been understood. 



The writer alluded to is mistaken as to tha 

 facts in the following particulars : 

 I 1st. High preminms are never given lo im- 

 ported stock, when put in competition with our 

 own. There never has been a competition be-i 

 tween imported stock, and our own stock, at 

 the Cattle Shows. Imported stock are not can- 

 didates for any premium whatever. The error 

 of the Old Colony w riter has arisen from his 

 confounding the reward we pay (not out of the 

 legislative funds, but our own,) for the importa- 

 tion of a tew improved animals. 



Thus, we encouraged the introduction of Me- 

 rino Sheep — and recently of the Dishlcy and 

 long-woolled Leicester Sheep—and we also ot- 

 I fered a reward for the importation of the im- 

 proved breeds of Cattle ; but they do not com- 

 pete with our o-ji-n in. any case. If Bakewcll and 

 Princeps and their successors have, during a 

 period of fifty years, so improved their stock of 

 horned cattle, as that a bull of the best improv- 

 ed race will sell for forty times the price of a' 

 common bull, is it not judicious in us to save a 

 part of this long process of improvement by 

 importing one already improved ? 



2d. The second error into which the Old 

 Colony Farmer has fallen, was in supposing we 

 preferred huge, over-grown animals. So far 

 from this, we have done every thing in our 

 power to discourage such animals, both by our 

 remarks, and our premiums. We give the pre- 

 ference always to animals of little bone, and 

 great flesh, which shew an early and ready dis- 

 position to fatten. 



3d. He was mistaken in supposing the Tri* 



