THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



94 



For the best bull, the property of the exhi- 

 bitor, ' " $10 



For the best milch cow, do. 10 



For the best milch cow, raised by the ex- 

 hibitor, 10 



For the best pair of oxen, property of ex- 

 hibitor, 5 

 Committee of Award — Jacob Shook, Albert G. 



Hobson and Benjamin Franklin. 



For the best boar, raised by exhibitor, $5 



For the best brood sow, do. 5 



For the best boar, the property of exhibitor, 5 



For the best brood sow, do. 5 

 Committee of Award — Charles Marx, John N. 



Shields and L. W. Chamberlayne. 



For the best buck, the property of exhibitor, $5 



For the best lot of three ewes, do. 5 

 Committee of Award — Thomas S. Dicken, C. 



W. Gooch and William Carter. 



For the best specimen of domestic wine, not 

 less than one gallon, the production of 

 exhibitor, $5 

 Committee of Award — R. B. Haxall, James 



Lyons and William D. Wren. 



For the best specimen of ploughing, to be 

 performed by the farmer himself with 

 his own plough and team of two horses, $10 



To which Messrs. Botts & Burfoot add a 

 straw cutter at $30 and a plough at $ 1 0, 40 

 Committee of Award — Hill Carter, Randolph 



Harrison and Richard Hill, with authority to 



fill vacancies. 



For the best corn sheller, Diploma. 



For the best cutting machine, Diploma. 



For the best threshing machine, including 

 horse power, $10 



For the best specimen of farming tools, axes, 

 hoes, spades, &c. 5 

 Committee of Avmrd — Corbin Warwick, H. 



L. Carter and George W. Bassett. 



For the finest specimens of poultry, such 

 as geese, ducks, turkeys, hens and chick- 

 ens, a premium of $2 50 for each spe- 

 cimen. 



Committee of Award — Thomas B. Bigger, A. 

 Robinson, Jr. and Edwin Hill. 



Stock and articles which have heretofore re- 

 ceived premiums are excluded from competition. 



O^r- There is another list of premiums to be 

 added to the above, chiefly for horticultural pro- 

 ducts, which we could not obtain at the time of 

 going to press. — Eds. S. P. 



We have long entertained the opinion, which 

 we have frequently expressed, that a thorough 

 knowledge of the mechanical part of his pro- 

 fession, was wanting in the southern farmer. — 

 From a long experience in mechanical business, 

 we are peculiarly aware of the advantages pos- 

 sessed by any proprietor who is thoroughly in- 



structed in those arts practised by his subordi- 

 nates. Although it may not be necessary for 

 the wealthy farmer to submit himself to the 

 drudgery of manual labor, we all know how 

 important it is that his hands should be skilled 

 in their several occupations. Even if he has a 

 practical overseer, it is all important that the 

 proprietor should be able to superintend his su- 

 perintendent. 



The captain of a ship prides himself on being 

 able to handle a rope better than any man 

 aboard, and scorns to give an order that he 

 could not execute. So a farmer, from the driv- 

 ing of a nail to the turning of a furrow, should 

 have no superior ; this, with his better educa- 

 tion and higher intellect, the master, with a little 

 practice, will soon accomplish. Impressed with 

 these opinions, and satisfied that no better test 

 of a good farmer can be obtained than his abi- 

 lity to excel in that art w T hich lies at the foun- 

 dation of good husbandry, we have put at the 

 disposal of the Henrico Society a cutter and 

 plough, to be disposed of as advertised above. 

 We are happy to say that already some of our 

 most respectable farmers have entered their names 

 for the contest, which will be, we are inclined to 

 think, one of the most animating and interest- 

 ing that has ever been witnessed in this coun- 

 try. One gentleman, a distinguished writer and 

 a celebrated farmer, says he would enter, if the 

 time of trial could be postponed, so that he 

 might learn to plough. 



TOMATOES FOR COWS. 



It is not generally known (says the L. C. 

 Advocate) that this vegetable is a superior arti- 

 cle of food for milch cows. We have tried it 

 two summers, and it is decidedly superior to any 

 other vegetable we have yet tried. They add 

 greatly to the quantity as well as to the rich- 

 ness of the milk, and give a rich golden color to 

 the cream and butter, which is at least pleasant 

 to the eye, even if the flavor is not so improved. 

 We do not know, however, that they impart 

 any richer flavor to the butter. 



We have known a cow to refuse them when 

 first offered, but soon became very fond of them ; 

 others, we believe a large majority, eat them 

 greedily from the first. Thus far we have fed 

 them only in the raw state ; but if boiled with 

 corn meal, say half and half, or two-thirds to- 

 matoes, they will doubtless be far better. 



To one who has a dairy farm, the cultivation 

 of an acre or two in tomatoes would be repaid 

 by greater profit than any vegetable we know. 

 From one acre not less than eight bushels may 



