132 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



NOVEMBER a. 183''. 



1 Iiy Caroline A. Dorr of Worcester; 1 by Mrs 

 Nancy Rice of Brookfield ; 1 by Mrs Lyilia Esta- 

 VirooU" of Princeton. All three were beaiitifnl spe- 

 cimens of female ingenuity and industry, all so 

 well inaile, that it became almost im|;ossilile to de- 

 ride in favor of any one ; we therefore recommend 

 a gratuity o! $1 to each. 



Three stamped cotton Spreads, offered hy Han- 

 nah Merriam of Charlton, attracted the attention 

 ofyonr committee. Also, a furniture Counter- 

 pane by Mrs Nancy Rice of Brookfield, an e.\ccl- 

 lent article, worthy of particular notice. 



Oni> piece of room Paper, satin ground, by E. 

 A. Colman of Worcester, beautifully done. 



A hice Veil, very prettily work-d hy Lucy E. 

 Prouty of Worcester, a plaid woollen Shawl, by 

 Tirza Nichols of Charlton, a substantial and dura- 

 ble article, the committee recommend a gratuity 

 of$2bc given to >lissNichols,for this well wrought 

 and useful article. They also recommend a gra- 

 tuily of 81 to Mrs IMary Gorham of Worcester, for 

 a lace Cape ; also a gratuity of §1 to Mrs Frank- 

 lin HIiss of Warren ; both splendid specimens of 

 the taste and industry of the person exhibiting the 

 same, and we think them worthy to he worn by 

 any of the ladies of our county, and that is saying 

 as much as should be said, or could be said. 



A gratuity of $1 is recommended to Catherine 

 R. Houghton of Lancaster, for 3 black merino 

 Shawls, a fine, a comfortable and ornamental ar- 

 ticle. 



Nine hearth Rugs were presented to the con- 

 sideration of your conunittee, all of which would 

 command the praise of the public, and many were 

 well made, and very ornamental, adapted to the 

 purposes intended both by the goodness of the 

 material and beauty of execution. Gratuities are 

 recommended to the following persons : Aim Sher- 

 man of Northhorough, Catherine A. Dorr of Wor- 

 cester, Mrs Mary Lane of Lancaster, Mrs R. K. 

 Wheeler of Southborough, $1 each. Also 2 rugs 

 exhibited by Abel Carter of Leominster, worthy of 

 particular notice. A coral hnsket of fruit by An- 

 na M. Bryant of Worcester, attracted the especial 

 attention of your committee. 



Two silk Bags, made of silk, raised, manufac- 

 tured, and dyed by Mrs Mary Lane of Lancaster; 

 also a Cap made by Mrs Lane, and one made by 

 Mary A. Walden of Milbury, were finely wrought, 

 eviticing much taste and skill. 



We recommend a gratuity of $2 to S. Howland 

 of WeFt Brookfield, who exhibited two boxes of 

 colored Sewing Silk, of very fine texture, 1 bun- 

 dle of reeled silk, 1 box of cocoons. Also a gra. 

 tuity of $1 to Mrs Ware, a lady of 85 years of 

 age, for a skein of white sewing silk of her own 

 manufacture. A box of black and white sewing 

 eilk by Benj. N. Child of Worcester, worthy of 

 particular notice. We are happy to see such fa- 

 vorable indications that the culture of silk may 

 become an important item of the industry and 

 wealth of the county. 



Sm! Stools exhibited by Mrs S. Burt, were 

 very beautiful specimens of female ingenuity, 

 worthy of a place in our parlors, and even adapted 

 to the wants of the fair milk maids, those [ atteriis 

 of innocence, the pride of the county, the boast of 

 our farmers. 



Two sets of Chairs and Ladies' Work Boxes, 

 elegantly painted by Charles P. Chapin of Wor- 

 cester, were exhibited, and added much to the ap- 

 pearance of the exhibition. 



A uuinber of Ploughs were offered by Mr Nu rse 



& Co., which received the unanimous approbation 

 of the committee, one of which was richly painted 

 and ornamented, and attracted much notice from 

 the nuuierous visitors who thronged the hall of 

 exhil)ition. Great praise is justly due Mr Nurse 

 for his indefatigable exertions in improving this 

 valuable instrument in agricultural improvement. 

 He has probably done more than any other in our 

 comity, if not all others, in his exertions in fur- 

 nishin; our farmers with first rate ploughs; the 

 committee therefore recommend a gratuity to Mr 

 Nurse of 83. 



The committee were called upon to discharge a 

 duty, which w.as much to their taste, in testing 

 some Wine — not old Madeira made of whiskey, 

 nor Old Port dyed with logwood, nor sparkling 

 cham I aigne fresh from the cider cask, but genu- 

 ine, unadulterated, home-made Wine, made with- 

 out the admixture of alcohol, from the currants 

 of the garden of Newell Nelson, Esq. of Milford. 



The conunittee did not find time to discuss the 

 question of temperance in its bearing upon this 

 article, but did from time to time find opportunity 

 to discuss this Wine quite freely and afler repeat- 

 ed tests and tastes, they are unanimously of opin- 

 ion, that the currant wine of Mr Nelson was truly 

 a "current " article, and if old Milford wine be 

 not as fashionalde, ic is as palatable as old Madei- 

 ra. They therefore recommend that a gratuity 

 ofS*3 be given to Mr Nelson for his Milford 

 Wine. 



All which is respectfully sid)initted, 



C. C. P. HASTINGS, Chairman. 



SWINE. 



[There is Attic Salt enough in the following to 

 pickle all the pork in the County of Worcester.] 

 . The Committee on Swine, under the peculiar 

 circumstances of the occasion, beg leave to report 

 chronologically. 



At a very respectable meeting of their body, 

 duly notified to be held this morning, at nine 

 o'clock, in the area betsveen the pens, it was found 

 that the Committee was not to he found. One 

 person and one pig only answered to their 

 names on the call of the house. It seemed that 

 there would be nothing to do, and nobody to do 

 it. The solitary grandeur of the situation became 

 oppressive from its sublimity. The chairman 

 conceived that he was in a delicate condition of 

 perplexity. The responsible duties of his elevat- 

 ed official station pressed heavily on the one hand, 

 while on the other, the laws of the society prohib- 

 ited him from having any opinions of his own, or 

 voting, except in case of division. Of the consti- 

 tutionality of such enactment doubts might have 

 been entertained : but the scrujiles which arose, 

 were more entertaining than usefid, as nullifica- 

 tion was out of the question. The wind from 

 down East blew as coldly as if it had been made 

 from the ghosts of the pine logs described in the 

 specifications of proprietors of Maine townships, 

 or had passed over the consciences of traders in 

 timber lands : and with it came water enough to 

 wash anything but a soiled conscience clean. Af- 

 ter serious consideration, the chairman solemnly 

 declared to his sole coadjutor, in the language 

 sanctioned by high authority, " our sufferings is 

 intolerable," and made application to the Trustees 

 for relief. By their order, rolunteirs were im- 

 presseil, and five good men and true, selected willi 

 reference to excellence of taste and looks, were 

 compelled to come in /rceZ^, to assist in the arduous 



labors of the pay. A most judicious committee 

 having been thus constituted, the multitude of 

 swine rajiidly increased, and business advanced 

 prosperously to its consummation. 



One boar only graced the anniversary by his 

 presence. The certificate of his owner testified 

 that he possessed every excellence, except good 

 moral character, of which nothing was said. Al- 

 though much diveisiiy of opinion could not be 

 expected to arise in the plentiful luck of competi- 

 tion, yet the committee considered it dignified to 

 proceed with great deliberation. The only fault 

 they could detect, on careful inspection of this 

 candidate for the honors of the society, was, that 

 like the dog described by Washington Irving, his 

 tail appeared to be curled so tight as to lift his hind 

 feet from the ground. As no reasonable doubt 

 could be entertained, that, on the suggestion of 

 the difficulty, some ingenious inventor would ob- 

 tain a patent for a machine to straighten such 

 crooks, the committee unanimously awarded Five 

 Dollars to the Hon. John W. Lincoln, for this the 

 greatest and best boar they saw. 



A fine company of sixteen noble swine had ar- 

 rived from jail, and were placed in one pen by Mr 

 John F. Clark. One of them appeared to have 

 been converted by the scarcity of corn to the 

 doctrines of Dr Graham, the gentleman who, by 

 the practice of his own principles of health, might 

 expect, as the survivors of mortality, at a venera- 

 ble old age, to be able to write the life of Death. 

 Standing l>y the fence, and inviting his compan- 

 ions to gnaw their dinner from the society's new 

 chesnut rails, this creature, like the sincere disci- 

 ple of an illustrious master, contented liimself 

 with earnest exhortations to others to teforin their 

 luxurious diet without himself partaking of the 

 frugal fare. A breetling sow, attended by one 

 generation of three children, and another of nine, 

 was exhibited hy Mr Clark. This fair image of 

 female loveliness aflxuded evidence that the phe- 

 nomena of the science of nniinal magnetism are 

 not confined to the beauties of Boston. On being 

 .struck with the top of an umbrella she fell into a 

 state of somnambulism, like that of the lady whose 

 case has been reported in the newspapers. Lying 

 with closed eyes, consciousness of the aiiproach of 

 the stick was manifested, and strong dissent ex- 

 pressed at renevved applications of the magnetic 

 power. While in this abstracted condition, sev- 

 eral questions were proposed, but strange as it 

 may seem, no answers were returned, 'i lie com- 

 mittee Were of the opinion that the first premium 

 offive dollars for the best breeding sow should be 

 given to Mr Clark. They regretted to see in ani- 

 mals subject to the good discipline of that gentle- 

 man, some indications of a contentious disposition 

 and want of sedate behaviour, and recommend that 

 they be sent to the House of Correction, for such 

 term as the improvement of their manners may 

 seem to the keeper, their owner to requiri!. 



A breeding sow, with a round dozen of very round 

 and neat little pigs, was exhibited by Mr Thomas 

 T. Farnsworth. The accomplishments of the 

 mother of this small and interesting fiimily deserv- 

 ed, in the opinion of the committee, the premium 

 oi Ihrte dollars. 



" The best weaned pigs not less than four in 

 number" were not ofTered by any person. 



In concluding the detail of their doings, the 

 committee feel it to be llieir duty to remark that 

 a solemn crisis in the affairs of swine is impend- 

 ing. When corn has been frozen and potatoes 



