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THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



PREMIUMS. 



In a letter from Mr. Beraent to the Editor of 

 the "American Agriculturist," he complains 

 much of the want of judgment in the indivi- 

 duals frequently selected to award premiums at 

 our agricultural exhibitions. The fact that the 

 best judges are frequently competitors, presents 

 a great obstacle to a good selection ; but it is 

 certain that complaints are frequently made, and 

 not without reason, of the decision of premium 

 committees. It is not uncommon to see a ma- 

 chine receiving a premium that the public en- 

 tirely discards, and the manufacturer himself, 

 after a little while, totally abandons. We know 

 several in that predicament. We have seen 

 mechanics not a little amused at the inquiries 

 and observations of an examining committee, 

 and truly they have been sometimes of rather a 

 funny character. The fact is, we settle these 

 things, as we do some others in this country, 

 too much by guess work. Irreparable injury 

 may in this way be done to the public as well 

 as to the deserving breeder, or manufacturer; 

 and thus, unless great care is taken in the se- 

 lection of judges, these exhibitions may become 

 public nuisances, instead of public benefits. 



We recollect noticing and commending, at 

 the time it was made, the suggestion of Mr. 

 Allen, referred to by Mr. Bement. He proposes 

 that the chairman of the committee, in making 

 his award, shall state clearly and distinctly the 

 principles by which the committee were go- 

 verned, referring directly to the competing arti- 

 cles, and pointing out the supposed advantages 

 of the successful one. W T hat an interesting 

 and practical commentary this world afford upon 

 each particular subject. The objection made to 

 it, is, that there are many men who are good 

 judges of an article, that can't make a speech. 

 We admit it, and we like them all the better, we 

 believe, for not being able to make a " speech 

 but a man must be very unfit to be a judge or 

 any thing else, who, when he has six heifers 

 before him, can't tell the public why he prefers 

 one to another. In alluding to this subject on 

 a former occasion, with too much respect for the 

 bashfulness (not modesty) of some gentlemen, 

 we hinted that the same object might be effected 

 in a written report, but, on reflection, we are 

 satisfied that nothing would be so satisfactory, 

 and so calculated to increase the interest in, and 

 instruction to be derived from, these exhibitions, 

 as the plan proposed by the Editor of the "Agri- 



culturist." Who, for instance, would not go a 

 hundred miles to hear " Billy Johnson" com- 

 pare the "points" of six of the most distin- 

 guished horses in the Union, with the subjects 

 before him 1 It would form a discourse more in- 

 teresting and instructive than all the essays that 

 were ever written upon the subject. 



Mr. Bement insists that some fixed principles, 

 as far as practicable, should be adopted by the 

 Society, as a standard for the decision of the 

 committee, and as a source of information for 

 the producers. For instance, he proposes that 

 the following should be agreed on as the points 

 of horned cattle for comparison, and that the 

 animal combining, or possessing, the greatest 

 number of these points, shall be deemed most 

 meritorious : 



"1. Head small with a bright and prominent 

 eye. 



"2. Horns small and tapering. 



"3. Neck small at the junction with the 

 head, and gradually thickening to the shoulders. 



" 4. Brisket broad, deep, and projecting well 

 forward. 



" 5. Shoulders full and no hollow behind them. 

 " 6. Body deep, round, and capacious ; back 

 straight. 



" 7. Loins broad, and wide between the hips. 



" 8. Legs short, full, and muscular above the 

 knee — small below. 



" 9. Flanks well let down. 



" 10. Tail set on even with the line of the 

 back, small and tapering to the end. 



"11. Broad in the twist, and if a cow, large 

 milk veins and capacious udder. 



"12. Though last, not least, soft silky hair, 

 thin skin and good handling of the flesh. 



" Other points might be given, but the above 

 will exemplify my ideas on the subject." 



AGRICULTURAL CLUBS. 



A Farmer's Club has been formed by our 

 friends near Wilmington, Delaware, on a some- 

 what novel plan. It consists of twelve mem- 

 bers only, who meet on the first Tuesday of 

 each month, at the house of one of the members 

 in rotation, at 10 o'clock, A. M., when "an ex- 

 amination," says the Delaware Gazette, "is 

 made by the club of all that pertains to the 

 farm, stock and cultivation of their host — his 

 fields, his fences, farming utensils, mode of ap- 

 plying manure, rotation of crops, &c. &c. The 

 conveniences and accommodations of his farm- 

 house, barn, piggery and poultry-yard, are all 

 matters of observation and discussion. At an 

 early hour a plain farmer's dinner tests the thrift 

 and cookery of his better half— hex bread and 



