52 
Kortimwpton Meadows—Herefords—Saxons* 
without interference by the several owners, who 
reside in the town or its vicinity. In the month 
of October, on a given day, for this is all regu¬ 
lated by law in general town meeting, the gates 
enclosing this immense ground are thrown open, 
and each proprietor turns in his cattle, sheep, 
and horses, as the case may be, according to his 
number of acres, and the autumn herbage is 
eaten off Before the winter sets in every thing 
available is taken from the soil and it lies open, 
awaiting again the spring freshet, or the more 
sure and pains-taking- supply of manure from 
the farm yard. I confess that this charming 
spectacle of primitive and peaceful cultivation 
reminded me strongly of the Scriptural scenes 
of rural life, and spoke convincingly of the good 
order and strict regard for individual rights 
which prevail among these people. Riding 
•out, as I afterwards did, with my excellent and 
estimable friend H., at whose hospitable dwell¬ 
ing I was for the time domiciliated, and looking 
abroad from the brow of Round-hill, as sweet 
a spot as the world can boast, upon the quiet 
and beautiful valley before me, hemmed in by 
picturesque mountains, I no longer wondered 
at the hardihood and perseverance which the 
pioneers, who early sought that valley, through 
every privation and suffering, had evinced in 
maintaining its possession; nor that it had pro¬ 
duced the long line of illustrious men whose 
shining virtues and fervent patriotism have pre¬ 
eminently distinguished its character. My im¬ 
agination could distinctly trace in their lives and 
examples, the results of the rigid honesty and 
high-souled daring of their early ancestors. A 
considerable portion of the people are farmers, 
■although the village, being the seat of justice 
for the large and wealthy county of Hampshire, 
is a place of considerable trade, and the resi¬ 
dence of gentlemen of leisure. Their dwell¬ 
ings are situated on a few acres of “ home lot,” 
with the needful appliances of easy rural life 
* attached. Their farms lie partly on the adja¬ 
cent hills, or plains, and in the river bottoms, 
which they manage with skill and economy. 
Their agriculture is usually prosperous, and 
they are, almost without an exception, in com¬ 
fortable circumstances and “ good livers while 
not a few of them are rich, holding their hun¬ 
dreds of acres, and thousands in productive in¬ 
vestments. The broad and lofty elms shade the 
streets in prodigious numbers, and give an air 
of opulence and repose to the scenery that can 
be nowhere surpassed. Visiting the farm of 
the Hon. Isaac C. Bates hard by, I saw a supe¬ 
rior flock of Saxony sheep numbering several 
hundreds, which were in excellent condition. 
I saw also some fine crosses of the Devon, and 
the Hereford cattle with the native breed, in the 
sows, and other neat stock of the farm; and 
young Mr. B., who manages the farm, assured 
me that, contrary to what is generally supposed 
of these breeds, they prove excellent milkers. 
As I have often in my rambles met with instan¬ 
ces of this sort, which completely put at fault 
the commonly entertained opinions in regard to 
these two kinds of animals for dairy or milking 
properties, I incline to the opinion that the 
change of country or location affects them in 
this quality, or that they partake altogether 
of this excellence from their native blood, or 
that the standard of comparison in England, 
where these animals originate and derive 
their reputation, is much higher than with 
us. This subject requires investigation. The 
specimens which I saw were certainly superior 
in appearance, and a manifest improvement over 
the common cattle, although possessing but one- 
half or even less of the foreign blood. Theo¬ 
dore Strong, Esq. has also a large flock of Sax¬ 
ony sheep, which he has bred for many years, 
and which I saw at his farm. Although the 
wool bears a tolerable price, and the sheep 
yields a good fleece in proportion to its size and 
consumption of food, yet I doubt if our woollen 
manufacturers can afford to pay the additional 
price that it should command over the ordinary 
Merino. Yet as these gentlemen and many 
others are content to grow that quality of wool 
at the prices obtained, they should be deemed 
good authority on the subject. L. F. A. 
To be continued. 
Gent:— The following preparation will ef¬ 
fectually exterminate all caterpillars, snails, 
bugs, beetles, earth fleas, leaf lice, ants and oth¬ 
er insects on fields, trees, bushes, and hedges. 
Take diluted Pyroligneous acid, 1 gallon; 
white oak bark, 1 lb; urine, half gallon ; gar¬ 
lic, half lb. After soaking the oak bark and 
garlic for two days in the acid and urine, strain 
them off' and sprinkle once a week or oftener, 
the trees infected with insects, or the pea, cabbage, 
&c. and. they will be preserved for the season. 
This fluid has proved very successful in the 
experiments made by 
Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger. 
Neiv-YorJc, April 20, 1842. 
Mr. Solomon Homer, of Brimfield, Mass, 
writes us, that “ he has just killed five pigs, of 
the following dressed weights, viz: 506, 492, 
457, 407, and 392 pounds. They are the cioss 
of the Berkshire on the native breed, and the 
four first were about seventeen months old, the 
last, a sow, two years and four months old, 
taken from her litter of pigs but two months 
before, when quite thin.” 
The above are respectable weights for older 
'animals. 
