182 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



KOV. -Zl, 1S39 



to the pencefiil content for premiums ; in 183!), 

 twentyfiiur have quietly disputed for prizes and prai- 

 ses : — in 1833, two towns of .he county were count- 

 ed here ; in 1830, eleven towns of the common- 

 ■wealth have represented the uncommon-wealth of 

 ■pigs. 



Our schoolmaster has been abroad. Abel Whit- 

 ney, Esq., who was and is a '-judj^e of swine," has 

 T)een absent with the ploughs which he now uses 

 instead of pencils and slate. Had his associates 

 been at home in the arithmetic that excellent in- 

 structor and ready reckoner im| arted to his pupils, 

 the precipe relations of the past and the present 

 might have been given. Deprived of his counte- 

 nance, the sum can only be stated in the simplest 

 form. It may be assumed, that as 27 are to 81, and 

 as 6 are to 94, and as i are to 11 and IS so were 

 the persons, pigs, and places of 1833 to those of 

 1839 ; and so are the v; rious merits of the first 

 fair to the multiplied excellencies of tlie last exhi- 

 bition. 



Eigliteen boars were in the pens: — out of the 

 pens tliere were other boars ; but they were not en- 

 tered for the premiums they deserved. 



The committee were invited to unite with the 

 delegation of the Massachusetts Society for Pro- 

 moting Agriculture, in bestowing the liberal re- 

 wards.offered for the encouragement of good breed 

 ing in V.'orcester county. The lionor of the aji 

 pointnient wss enhanced by the pleasure of beir; - 

 aided in the o.vecution of the duty by the Hon. Jo' ■: 

 Welles and H. Codman, Esq., of Boston, and by the 

 advice of the Commissioner of Agriculture, learned 

 in the laws of the land. 



The equality of e.xcellence of sv;ine produces fli- 

 versity of opinions of committees. The boar of 

 James H. Clapp, of Belchertown, son of an Eiiclish 

 noble pig of the Berk.shire family, was round anil 

 square, long and broad, fat and finely formed, of 

 ]]igh descent and pure blood. The boar of SamT'"i 

 A. Knox, of Grafton, descended from the Siir.ie 

 race on the father side, inherited the virt-rs an 1 

 possessed more than the graces of his ;!':.!!ou; 

 ancestors. 'J heir merits were so r . . : '; ' -.re ', 

 that the diiference was too fine to i : •■/ 



may be divided more easily than : 

 niitteeof the State Society, dco!';. 

 premium of twenty dollars to ei'l' . . 



titers when they would have desi. itji 



possible, to liave given the first rev _i J to both, 

 have instructed the chairman to report, Hhat t';-' 

 bestow one gratuity of ten dollars on Mr CI, ,■.', 

 and another of the same amount on Mr Knox. 



Fine representatives of the four-footed be-.u,';' 

 of Berkshire, were th;'ir two animals. In ll." .■.£ 

 points of good hogs, the small head, short legs, i no- 

 body, broa<] back and large hams, they wei.e exem- 

 plary. To those qualifications were at'dod cars as 

 silky, eyes as bright, and faces wirh •■:-,''-3 t ren- 

 tle, as have ever been worn wit' .lie 



early maturity and ready dispositi !i, 



completed the character of perfec .. as 



represented that they were smull . , • j. a!.: that 

 their aptitude to fatten was sucli. •., : ihcy could 

 almost live without food, and thru . : lit'.lo more 

 than nothing. 



Tha art of eating is coeval will ' -.i.c science of 

 living. Eating ia uniform : livin i- virions, and 

 has been carried on in many wav ■. i-irirp wilhovt 

 -work has been popular among ■^\' _ ..i.ei nations : 

 it has not furnished steady employment, and at 

 times has be.eu over laborious. Living without 

 mean? has tieci.' practised in all ag-es, but never 



rose abvive a mean condition. Living by one^s ivils 

 has been attempted, but the business has always 

 fiuled for want of capital. Living without eating 

 has not been extensively used. T here is an ancient 

 account of a quadruped who was taught the myste- 

 ry, but as soon as he acquired it he perished, and 

 the secret died with him. Amateurs less gifted 

 with lei s, have endeavored to revive the discoveries 

 of the oltl world. While millions of well filled 

 pots, steaming as did those of the founders of inde- 

 pendence, send up their savoVy incense at noon- 

 tide from house and hotel, there are some who drop 

 the soljd substr.nce of beef and pork to gr.asp atthe 

 fleeting shadows of diet, until they become so deli- 

 cate and pale as to have no blush in the shade, and 

 to cast no shadow in the sunshine. Aged error 

 and youthful refinement, like other extremes, have 

 held a meeting. The spendthrift of old wasted his 

 substance in sumptuous banquets, til! necessity com- 

 pelled hiin to partake of the frugal fare of the swine 

 of Palestine. The prodigal of health in modern 

 days, returns to the feast on husks, hnt the swine 

 are not guests at his board, nor do they become 

 revellers on the banquet of air. 



It is but too true, that the manly and vigorous 

 appetite of tDur forefathers, which could compass 

 w+inle Iiims and sirloins, and disperse who'e fleets 

 'if duck 5! and coveys of fowls, to sustain their ath- 

 lotic fr-i-!,es and vigorous spirits, has sadly declin- 

 ■ '. '. ' e degeneracy (f the eating capacities of 

 '; ' '■ -eiidants, has been attributed to the ex- 

 cessive cultivation of ciiils and whiskers, which, by 

 tl eir eMiberance, obstruct t!ie mouth, tend to ex- 

 haust the vital powers, enervate dip-estion, and in- 

 fringe- the provisions of that great charter of health 

 and hr^ppiness, the human constitution. 



It is agreeable again to return to the pigs, who 

 indulge in no fenciful extravagancies. 



•'tha boar cf Samuel A.Knox, of Grafton, might 

 be mentioned frequently without the repetition of 

 his praises exceeding his merits. He came to the 

 ^.ge of discretion at six months,- two days ago. He 

 was of the weight of 270 pounds at 9 o'clock this 

 morning, but from the testimony of his rapid in- 

 crease in goodness- and fatness, may be much heav- 

 ier now. A slight tint of the blood of the Mac- 

 key br?i.d, nringled by his maternal aiKestors with 

 the Cfcikshiie, make him more excel in all the stan- 

 dard marks of a pig. I4e bore the name of Mnjor, 

 ■hd was worthy of that high rank in the infantry 

 ii.'io. His claims to the "Jive dollar hounltf for 

 oL-rvices in the department of national defence, which 

 fi'eds the valor of the citizen soldier, and invigo- 

 rates the right arm of the State by providing ra- 

 tions for its irlilitia, were too strong to be denied, 

 and the Gounty Society's first premium was award- 

 ed to him. 



The second premium'of three dollars was award- 

 ed to Peter Fay, of 'Southboro', for a full blooded 

 lierkshire boar, of the age of 7 months 9 days, and 

 of the weight of 250 pounds. 



Tiie labors of the committee were not diminish- 

 ed by bestowing two premiums where eighteen 

 ^v^^^'HTCrilod. 'i here remained a crowd of cornpe-j 

 titers deserving respectful notice. 



The United Brothers of Harvard, exhibited a 

 Berkshire boar, whose appearance was evidence of 

 the success of the society of Shakers in keeping 

 every creature connected with them in gocd condi- 

 tion. He carried his notions of neatness and pro- 

 priety so far as to decline the exercise of rooting 

 lest he should soil the cleanliness of his nice black 

 coat. The committee recommend that a gratuity 



of S2 be given to Seth Blanchard, in behalf of t 

 Brothers of Ilnrvarii, as a slight testimonial of a 

 probation for the improvements in good farmi: 

 made by that industrious community. 



The Berkshire boar of Eden Davis, of Wobsti 

 seemed to be aristocratic in his manners. He i 

 rived in a cart drawn by four oxen and did i 

 alight from his carria:-e to enter the parlors provi 

 ed for the pigs with carpets of green turf and wai 

 scoting of chestnut rails ; but this proved to ha 

 been owing to the rooms being entirely pre-oc* 

 pied. Mr Davis would benefit agriculture if i 

 would allow his pig to continue, locomotive, and ' 

 him run to every farm which could be reached bj 

 teavfi as strong and well trained as that which i 

 joiced in the honpr of drawing his pork. It is i 

 commended that the Society bestow a gratuity 

 two dollars to Mr Davis, to be expended in fnod a 

 lodging for his excellent ■ animal, as a compeni 

 tion for the misfortune of being excluded from 

 proper place 



Wh:le the supremacy of the breed of swine fr 

 Old England has been acknowledged, the clai 

 of that of New England origin must not be D' 

 lected. The boar of Marvin Wesson, of Pliilli 

 ton, was of the " Miller's breed," and looked a 

 he had taken tolls from the meal of his master, i 

 could repay the debt by furnishing him with an 

 titude of meals. It is recommended that a gratl 

 of two dollars be bestowed on a pig having 

 solid and substantial worth of Yankee character 



W^enned pigs, not less than four in number « 

 numerous, with all the premonitory symptom > 

 future excellence. The first premium of six 

 lars for the rising generation of swine, is awai<i 

 to Harvey Dodge, of Sutton, for four Berksh'J 

 who promise much to benefit posterity. Seven \ 

 of William Eaton, of Worcester, sturdy New pi 

 landers, received the second premium of $3. 



Whenever it is Jiecessary to approach female 

 ciety, it is proper to proceed with great can' 

 In this opinion the members of the committee, 

 ing constituents around their firesides to whom 

 are responsible, could not foimally concur wit 

 consultation. 



The sow of Eleazar Porter, of full Berkf 

 blood, brought with her five interesting- testiraoi 

 of her accomplishments in good breeding, 

 pleasint little pigs. Her own fair face and fi 

 rounded form were so satisfactory proofs of 

 good living of the American Temperance H( 

 that the certificate of being kept well at the 1 

 where she resides, was not examined. 



A venerable Berkshire matron of Harvey Dc 

 of Sutton, appeared in a cart. If there was 

 of room without her carriage, there was no wa 

 anything but room within. Hit narrow pen 

 ornamented with a flourishing famil}', and this 

 nelia of the swine in her humble apartment, ni 

 dike the Roman mother, have pointed to her 

 (Jki: aod exclaimed " those are my jewels." 

 this breeding sow, the second | reniium of 

 dollars is awarded. 



Massachusetts has encouraged all that is u 

 and excellent. Her government has cherishe 

 riculture by appropriations for societies, by pr 

 ing for careful surveys, by bestowing bountii 

 the production of grain, and by employing firs 

 talent in developing the resources of the soil 

 the best modes of cultivation. Her citizens 

 improvement as they fatten pork. The an 

 commonwealth gathers up precepts and hoU 

 practice to teach by examples. Great exa 



