116 



NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER. 



IkLvRCH 



THE OLD BAB.N. 



The Mloiving lines were written in 1867, by Daniel 

 Ktcketson, Brooklawn, jjsew Bedford, Mass., for the 

 Aiiti-^lavenj IStanJard. The poet may have drawn 

 his picture of some particular barn in his locality, but 

 it will be recognized as sadly true of many still stand- 

 ing in other parts of Xew England. 



No hay upon its wide-spread mows, 



No Jiorses in the stalls, 

 No broad-horned oxen, sheep or cows, 



Within its time-worn walls. 



The wind howls through its shattered doors, 



Now swinging to and fro ; 

 And o'er its once frequented floors, 



No footsteps come and go. 



But once, alas I each vacant bay, 



And every spaco around. 

 Was teeming with sweet-scented hay. 



The harvest of the ground. • 



And well-fed cattle in a row. 



At mangers ranged along, 

 Kaeh fastened by an oaken bow, 



Stood at the stanchions strong. 



But where so long old Dobbin stood. 



Ills master's pride, and care. 

 And from his hand received his food, 



All now is vacant there. 



Then these broad fields, from hill to plain, 



Waved in the summer air. 

 With choicest crops of grass or grain, 



Now left so bleak and bare. 



How sweet the music of the flail. 



Resounding far and clear. 

 As borne upon the passing gale. 



It reached the distant ear. 



The blackbird hailed the dewy mom. 



From out his rushy perch ; 

 The sparrow sang upon the thorn, 



The cat-bird on the birch. 



The robin from the highest tree 



Sent forth his whistle clear, 

 His soul partaking of the glee 



That wakes the vernal year. 



And childhood's merry shout was beard 



The farm-yard choir among, 

 Which, mingled with the note of bird. 



Enriched the tide of song. 



The master on his daily round 



With conscious pridi' would go, 

 His faithful dog, close by him tound. 



Attending to and fro. 



Old honest "Trip" long since has gone, 



And moulders 'ucatli the wall; 

 No more he takes the welcome bone. 



Or hears hia master's call. 



The kindly master too has died. 



The matron in her grace, 

 And dead, or scattered far and wide, 



The remnant of their race. 



Maixe. — The forty-second annual meeting of the 



ohl Kennebec Agricultiinil Society was held at 



lleailfield corner, Jivmiary 30. The by-laws were 



amended so as to have the annual meeting on the 



tirst Monday of January instead of the last ; also, 



to substitute live trustees for three. The following 



officers were cliosen : — 



Ih-esident — D. H. Thing, Mt. Vernon ; Vice PrendentH 

 — Francis Fuller, East Winthrop; H. O. Nickerson, 

 Keadtield; F. A. Chase, Fayette; Treitxunr—B. T. 

 Kichards, lieadfield; Agent — Oilbert Uawes, Kead- 



fleld; Trustees— 8. Kilbreth, Manchester; 8. G.Fogg, 

 lieadfield; J. E. Brainard, East Winthrop; J.H. Mars- 

 ton, Mt. Vernon; George Keith, Fayette. 



NEW ENGLAND AG'L SOCIETY. 



The annual meeting of this Society was held in 

 this city, at the Meionaon, on Tuesday, February 7. 

 The following officers were elected : — 



Priifident — Dr. George B. Loring. 



/Secretary — Daniel Needham. 



Trfasurer — George W. Itiddle. 



Maine. — Vice President, Thomas S. Lang, of Au- 

 gusta. Ti'ustees, 8. L. Goodale, of Saco ; Columbua 

 Stewart, of North Anson; iSeth Scammon, of Starboro'; 

 Calvin Chamberlain, of Foxcroft; J. E. Anderson, of 

 North Windham; Geo. W. Kicker, of Portland; Israel 



B. Norcross, of Charleston; Asa Smith, of Mattawam- 

 keag; !S. Wasson, of Blue Hill. 



New Hami'Shiue. — Vice President, D. H. Goodell, 

 of Antrim; Ti-usiees, Warren Brown, of Hampton 

 Falls; Charles Williams, of M:iuchc.ster; Ivobert Elwell, 

 of Langdon; Geo. A. Fillsbury, of Concord; Greenleaf 

 Clark, of Atkinson; Natt Head of Hooksett; Samuel 



C. Fisher, of Dover; Peter W. Jones, of Amherst. 

 Vermont.— Vice President, Edwin 8. Stowell, of 



Cornwall. Trustees, George Campbell, of Westmin- 

 ster; Henry Clark, of Rutland; Peleg Winslow, of 

 Putney ; George Hammond, of Middlebury ; Daniel 

 Kimball, of Clarendon ; J*nes A. Shedd, of Burling- 

 ton ; John B. Mead, of Randolph ; Thomas H. HoskLus, 

 of Newport; Lj-man G. Bliss, of Brattleboro'. 



Massachusetts. — Vice President, Wm. 6. Clark, of 

 Amherst. Tmstees, 8. H. Howe, Df Bolton ; John John- 

 son, Jr., of Framingham; J. A.Harwood, of Littleton; 

 Thomas Sanders, of Salem; Ixichard Goodman, of 

 Lenox; Wm. Birnie, of Springfield; C. B. Pratt, of 

 Worcester; John B. Moore, of Concord; Jona Ladd, of 

 Lowell; 8. B. Noyes, of Canton. 



Rhode Island. — Vice President, Amasa Sprague, of 

 Providence. Trustees, Obadiah ]!rown, of North Prov- 

 idence; L. B. Fi'ieze, of Providence; J. B. Buft'um, of 

 Middleton ; G. D. Pearce, of East Providence; Cyrua 

 Harris of River Point; H. G. Russell, of Warwick; H. 

 T. Brown, of Cumberland; J. W. D.Perry, of Bristol; 

 W. E. Barrett, of Providence. 



Connecticut. — Vice President, G. H. Hyde, of Staf- 

 ford. Trustees, 8. M. Wells, of Wethersfield ; B. Sum- 

 ner, of Woodstock; Burdett Loorais, of Windsor 

 Locks; H. 8. Collins, of Collinsville; Albert Day, of 

 Brooklyn; Samuel C. Cobb, of Hartford ; H. L. Stew- 

 art, of Middle Haddam; T. S. Gold, of West CoruwaU; 

 Jonathan Camp, of NorwaLk. 



By the report of the Treasurer, Geo. W. Riddle, 

 Esq., it appears that the receipts of the year with 

 the balance on hand at its commencement, amount 

 to $1180.24; exi)enditures $286.50; leaving a bal- 

 ance of $893.74. 



Col. Riddle also reported that the amount re- 

 ceived at the Fair and Exhibition held at Manches- 

 ter last fall was $27,'560.36, and the expenses, $23,- 

 798.33, with a few accounts yet unsettled. He 

 stated that when all the bills had been paid, he 

 thought there would lie something over three thou- 

 sand dollars remaining, to be divided between the 

 New England and New Hampshire Agricultural 

 Societies, agreeably to the agreement made last 

 year. The fees for membership this year amount 

 to about $700, which, added to the balance on hand, 

 $393.74, and the amount to be received from the 

 proceeds of the Fair, make the total sum to the 

 credit of the Society over three thousand dollars. 

 This is the most gratifyhig exhibit which the books 

 have ever presented. 



There was quite a spirited discussion as to the 

 location of the fair. The good people of Lowell, 

 who had procured 175 new members of the Society 

 and paid, as Major Ladd said, some $700 into the 



