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NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AND HORTICULTUFAI, RFGISTER. 



Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1843. 



THIRD CATTLE SHOW AND FAIR OF WEST- 

 BORO' AND VICINITY. 



The Ihird Cattle Show and Fair of the Agricultural 

 Society of VVeslboro' and vicinity, toril< place at West- 

 boro' on Wednesday, the 4tli inst. 'I'he d.iy was rather 

 cool, but very favorable for the various eiliibilions and 

 performances. There was a Inrgo assenilil-ige of the 

 resident population and nllier.s from the vicinity present, 

 to participate in the festiviti.'S nnd rational enjoyments 

 of the day The plnwinj; m.Uch, show of oxen, address, 

 dinner, and all tlie difterent perf >rinances and exhibi- 

 tions, succeeded each ether in a prntnpl, business-like 

 way, that added much to the interest of the day. At an 

 ea;ly hour, the town hall was the centre of attraction, it 

 bavin;; been tastefully decorated by the young ladie." of 

 the place, in a style appropriate for the occasion, though 

 they were themselves the most attractive and interest- 

 ing decorations in the room. The gallery was hung 

 with counterpanes and rugs, and the tables covered with 

 a profusion of fancy and other articles, which, with the 

 plants and flower.s, pictures, nnd various miscellaneou.s 

 curiosities, natural and artiGcial, with which the hall 

 was embellished, drew a crowd of spectators, all eager 

 to make the most of this very agreeable and unexcep- 

 tionable holiday. Over each window was inscribed 

 the name of the adjoining town in that direclidii. As 

 we entered the hall, on the left hand were arranged the 

 products of the g;irden and the field— such as very fine 

 I loking squashes, of oil sods and sizes— one of'them 

 raised by an elderly maiden lady, weighed G8 lbs. ; fine 

 water melons, the largest weighing 18 3-4 lbs.; various 

 samples of good-looking beets, carrots, onions, &c. ; 

 samples of seed corn, very long ears. Baskets of l.irge 

 apples, some of the specimens first best ;— among them 

 we recognized the Harvey, Ilellflower, Baldwin.^Creen- 

 ing, Porter, and some of the most beautiful Lyscoms we 

 have ever seen. The Quinces exhibited were Intffe 

 and fine, which, with a few Isabella Grapes and large 

 I'ears, constituted the principal part of the horticultural 

 productions in the fruit department, with the exception 

 ofa rich display of fruits, from Mr J. L. L. F. Warren 

 of Brighton, who, unfortunately, was accidentally de-' 

 tained so as not to be present with them until late in 

 the afternoon. He also contributed a magnificent bou- 

 quet of Dahlias. We noticed among his fruits, beautiful 

 specimens of Royal George and Lemon Clingstone 

 Poaches; fine Pears and Apples; fine bunches of Isa- 

 bella and Black Hamburg Grapes; varieties of Toma- 

 toes. The specimens were all very beautiful, and much 

 admired by those who saw them. 



There was a basket of Rohan potatoes, from J. D. 

 Miller, weighing 73 pounds, the product of 3 1.2 |bs of 

 seed. Twentyeight pounds of potatoes from one pola- 

 to, which was planted without cutting, by a lad C. A 

 Denny, and never hoed, nor the least attention paid tJ 

 It until the day of digging. There were also samples 

 of the Veto and other potatoes. 



There were to be seen articles of domestic mnnulac- 

 ture, which all good housewives delight to abound and 

 excel in, such as woollen yarn, socks, frocking, &c 

 There were also specimens of the mechanic arl="' such 

 as bureaus, barrels, stoves of various and improved pat- 

 tern?, boots, shoes and other articles too numerous to 

 mention. 



At 9 o'clock, the signal was given by the ringing of 

 the bell, to repair to the fif Id prepared for the trial of 



skill in plowing, where the teams were arranged ready 

 for the struggle for superiority. We were a little dis- 

 appointed in the number, there not being so many on 

 ihegrourd as were entered. There were, however, 

 fourdouble and six single teams that cr.mpcted f;ir the 

 prizes. The contest was well sustained by each pnrty, 

 and the judges were somewhat puzzled, according to 

 their own account, on whom to award the premiums. 

 This part of the performances was varied by a novelty. 

 The Pulverizer, invented by Mr Isaac Cla'pp, of Dor- 

 chester, already described by Mr Putnam, and operated 

 Willi. This implement follows after plowing, and leaves 

 the surface in a fine pulverized state, without disturbing 

 the sod, and prepares the ground for sowing grass, car" 

 rots, or any other seed. Wo were much pleased with 

 its operation, and hope its value will he duly apprecia- 

 ted by the agricultural community. 



The next in order was to repair to the town hall again, 

 which we found filled to overflowing wiib ladies^nd 

 gentlemen, in social chitchat, and the scene enlivened 

 by the performance of a full band in the gallery. The 

 show of working cattle next pissed in review before the 

 hall, having been formed into one large team, number- 

 ing CO yoke. As they passed, their appearance drew 

 forth many expressions of admiration from the strangers 

 present and others. These, we suppose, constituted 

 some of the best in the town, but a small part of what 

 are owned in the place. 



At 11 o'clock, a procession was formed under the di- 

 rection of marshals on horseback, and, pieccded by the 

 band, marched to the meeting-house, where an excellent 

 address was delivered by the Rev. Mr Kittredge, which 

 was listened to with deep attention by a large audience. 

 We shall be enabled to present this address to our read- 

 ers, and will not, therefore, touch upon it now. 



The show of stock was very good. Westboro' and 

 vicinity have always been noted for good dairies, and 

 we expected, as a matter of course, to see fine cows and 

 heifers, and in this we were not disappointed. The 

 show cf these, as well as other animals, would compare 

 favorably with those of many of our County exhibitions 

 Fifty pens were filled with cattle of various kinds, a few 

 of sheep, and a number of wagons of swine, besides the 

 working oxen, already noticed. Of heifers and heifer 

 calves, there were about thirty, most of them very band- 

 some and promising. Of cows iheie was quite a num- 

 ber of noble looking creatures, but the time was so lim- 

 ited to view them in, we cannot be particular. There 

 was also an assortment of steers and fat oxen, but not 

 so numerous as the heifers nnd cows. Nine fine bulls 

 were exhibited, of different ages, none of them inferior. 

 We noticed a beautiful animal from Lovett Peters, Esq 

 President of the Society, handsome nnd well proper- 

 ti«ncd. There was also another which attracted much 

 attention, very perfect in shape, " Wye Comet," pre- 

 sented to the Society by the Hon. John Welles. This 

 was a noble gift, and could not have been sent to any 

 Society whore its worth will be so much appreciated as 

 in this. 



The procession was now formed, and proceeded to 

 dinner, which was provided on a liberal scale, in real 

 family style by the committee, in the basement of the 

 town ball, and open space in the rear of it. We were 

 happy to find that the ladies were not excluded from 

 the festive board, but enlivened the entertainment with 

 their presence. 



Having despatched the dinner, and listened to theap- 

 propriate toasts and remarks of a number of gentlemen, 

 it was announced that the time had arrived for the trial 

 of the strength of oxen, which was attended to with the 

 usual interest, there being a largo number of compeli- 



OCT. II, 1S<3. 



~ ^^ 



tors ; showing to advantage the docility and training of 

 these useful animals. 



The reports of the various committees were read in 

 the meeting house, at half past-three. Some of them 

 were highly interesting, especially that on Milch Cows. 

 Wo shall be permitted to publish .some of them entire. 

 The reading of these reports closed the exercises of the 

 day— a day which we believe was very happily and 

 profitably spent by all. 



Wo do believe that it would have a very desirable ef- 

 feet to establish a society of this description in every 

 town in the State, or where the towns are small, a num- 

 her might be associated. What can be more appropri- 

 ate than for the whole population of a place to meet 

 once a year, to testily their devotedness to the great 

 cause oJ agriculture, by exhibiting their choice produc- 

 tions, stimulating each other to improvement-and at 

 the same time to express their gratitude to the Most 

 High for the prosperity which has attended their efl-orts. 

 We believe these local societies will be no detriment to 

 the county societies, but will, otherwise, be the means 

 of giving them more stability. A society of this kind 

 has a tendency to break down party and sectarian feel- 

 ings, and draw a town's people together, too often, alas, 

 sunde.-ed by the bane of political strife and other feuds. 



TRIAL OF PLOWS. 



There was a trial of plows by a committee appointed 

 by the Essex Agricultural Society, on the farm of Gen. 

 William Sutton, in Dauvers, on Friday last. A large 

 numberofplows, of diff-erent manufacturers, were en- 

 tered. We witnessed the operation of a number of va- 

 rious patterns. We shall look with some interest for the 

 decision of the committee, who attended to their duty in 

 a critical and scientific manner.' 



OMISSION. 

 We are reminded that we omitted in our horticultural 

 report of a fortnight since, to notice a twig on which 

 were nine peaches, touching each other, weighing 1 1-2 

 lb., and measuring nine inches in circumfer^enco", from 

 Jonas Siniih, of Lincoln. It has fallen to our lot, oc- 

 casionally, to make these reports, and it has been' our 

 desire to notice everything on the table. It is not very 

 strange, however, that an omission should take place 

 sometimes, as the tables are full, and the room so crowd- 

 ed as to make it difficult to get at the table to examine 

 critically the contents especially when the fruits are 

 brought in late, as is often the case. J. g. 



OBITUARY. 



" In the midst of life we are in death"— We regret to 

 announce the death of Wji. Lincoln, Esq., of Worces- 

 ter. Mr L. was a gentleman of brilliant talents, and a 

 zealous friend of the farming interest. He was to de- 

 liver the address at the Show of the Hampshire, Hamp- 

 den and Franklin Agricultural Society, in Northampton 

 on the 19th inst. As chairman oC one of the committees' 

 of the Worcester Agricul. Society, it will he difficult to 

 find one who can fill his place. 



(D=The Worcester Cattle Show takes place thisdav— 

 erroneously stated in our last to be held on the 4th It 

 was the IVeslboro' Show that we intended to sav took 

 place on that day. •' 



inrThe Show of the Rhode Island Agricul. Socielv 

 at Fawtuxet, w-e learn, was very good. The stock is 

 represented to have been excellent. Reports in our next. 



or?P° H°' ','" ?' »'^<:?".^'^<=ted and other transactions 

 of the Horticultural fcocety on Saturday last, see another 

 page. 



