AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
349 
JUSTIN MORGAN. 
Above we present a cut of “ The Original Morgan Horse,” owned by Justin Morgan, Esq., of 
Randolph, Vt., about sixty-five years ago. The wide diffusion of this breed, and the high estimation 
in which it is held, has called forth considerable discussion as to the “ original ” horse, his pedigree, 
&c. During a few years past we have had many inquiries on this subject, and often been requested 
to enter into its discussion. We are therefore glad to announce to those interested, that Messrs. C. 
M. Saxton & Co., have just issued a very beautiful volume entitled 
“Morgan Horses : A Premium Essay on the Origin, History and Characteristics of this remarka¬ 
ble American breed of Horses ; tracing the pedigree from the original Justin Morgan, through 
the most noted of his progeny, down to the present time, &c. By D. C. Linsley, of Middlebury, Vt. 
The work is beautifully illustrated with cuts of a large number of horses of this breed, of which 
the above is a fair sample. For particulars of price, &c., see advertisement. —Ed. 
But just as soon as you bring in horse-rac¬ 
ing, and make that a part of the fair, you 
see, a multitude of people wont stand it no 
how. It does seem as if the devil was al¬ 
ways around when folks are trying to start 
a good enterprize, getting up something to 
knock it all over. You see, we have put 
down circuses, theatricals, &c., time and 
agin, and we dont believe in horse-racing as 
a moral institution, fix it up any way you 
will. Deacon Smith you see is a rural im¬ 
prover, goes in for good horses, fine cattle 
and all that sort of thing. He went down to 
Boston to attend the horse show, supposing 
they were going to have a civil kind of time. 
Guess how mortified he was, when he got 
into the show and found jockeys, gamblers, 
and betting men around him, thick as flies 
in Hookertown in fish time. You see the 
Deacon will not be caught in such a scrape 
agin. 
Now I dont suppose there is any object- 
tion to having a track upon the fairgrounds, 
and to driving horses around on a pretty 
good jog, but I cant see how it is going 
to make us breed any better horses to have 
a regular racing match, and to have all the 
gamblers and fancy men in the country 
drawn together to see the sport. It strikes 
me that gamblers would be made much fast¬ 
er than good horses by such brutal exhibi¬ 
tions. 
Just to show you how the thing works, I 
will tell you about my John. You see the 
boy has been at work hard all summer, and 
I thought I would let him go down to Boston, 
with the Deacon, to see the fine horses. 
When the boy came home, I found he had 
been making a bet on Ethan Allen, and was 
cracking about the horse as raging as an old 
gamester. You see the boy was young, and 
his father was not with him. It wont be 
safe for a man to take his family to the fairs, 
if they are going to be turned into race 
courses. Good people will be dead set agin 
them, and the first thing we shall know, all 
the pulpits in Connecticut will be blowing 
away at the fairs for horse racing and gamb¬ 
ling. Now, you see, I dont belong to the 
meeting myself, and am not so good as I 
ought to be, but I can see the bearing of horse 
racing on the morals of the community. 
When a man’s boy gets to betting at a fair, 
you see, it brings the matter straight home, 
and there is no blinding a man’s eyes to the 
facts in the case. If the ministers come out 
against this kind of agricultural exhibitions, 
they will have the right on their side and will 
be certain to carry the day. It is no kind of 
use to approve a thing that is not right. So you 
see I was mighty glad to see that picture in 
your paper showing up the folly of horse¬ 
racing at the fairs. Mrs. Bunker put on her 
spectacles and looked at it, and wanted to 
know of John, if that looked any thing like 
Boston show. John rather blushed, and said 
“ the thing was natural as life.” I have had 
a dozen people in to borrow the paper, and 
Seth Twigs, Bill Bottom, and Jake Frink 
want to take it. Inclose three dollars—Send 
them “ A Bakers Dozen.” 
Yours Against Horse-Racing, 
Iimqthy Bunker Esq. 
A FARMER'S RAINY DAY RAMBLE, 
OR HOW MY NEIGHBOR THOMAS MAKES MONEY AT 
FARMING—GETS TIME TO READ THE PAPERS, 
ETC.; AND ABOUT SUNDRY OTHER THINGS. 
Professor Judd. —A drizzling rain always 
puts a damper on the spirits of the idler, and 
so to cheer up a little, I set out on a visit to 
neighbor Thomas, who had a reputation of 
being the snuggest farmer in our parts. I 
wanted to see what he could find for himself 
and hands to do, when out-door work was 
out of the question, for it was a sore puzzle 
to a novice like me. 
Now the best way to observe a farmer’s 
management is to take a tour by the back 
side of his barn and out-buildings, and if that 
is all right no fear of the part that fronts the 
road. And so I did at neighbor Thomas’. 
Well, here was a pile of rails hauled out the 
previous winter to dry; there a quantity of 
posts to be finished when the March winds 
blow. The waggons were under cover and 
so of every farming utensil. He had a 
place for all in a shed, that appeared to be 
built for the express purpose. 
Passing on to the house and enquiring for 
neighbor Thomas, I found him in a shop ad¬ 
joining the wood-house, busily engaged sew¬ 
ing a harness. What! neighbor, robbing 
the harness maker? eh? “ No, I rob no 
man,” he replied, “ but I meanto be independ¬ 
ant of everybody as much as I can. Take 
a seat on the work bench.” 
J did as requested, and proceeded to draw 
out of him sundry items in his experience, 
an outline of which I give you in his own 
words as near as I can: 
“ In the first start, young man, remember 
the old adage, “ a stitch in time saves nine,” 
and often ninety-nine ; and the next is, there 
is no period of life when a farmer, if in health, 
can say I have nothing to do. I always keep 
a few awls, a piece of wax, and some shoe 
thread, and when I discover a, part of the 
harness ripping it is attended to the first 
leisure, generally a day like this. You see 
I have a small carpenter’s bench, and a small 
quantity of tools, nails, screws, &c. If a 
picket or board is loose, my rule is to nail it 
up soon. In spring, when the snow is melt¬ 
ing and mud is the order of the day, I over¬ 
haul my waggons and other farming tools, 
dress out swivel-trees, ax-handles, &c., to 
be on hand when the old ones break or wear 
out. In short a farmer with but a small out¬ 
lay for tools can make them pay for them¬ 
selves every year. He can hoop his tubs 
and pails by keeping a quantity of hoop- 
iron and a few rivets on hand.” 
On looking around I saw some boxes ap¬ 
parently a foot square and three inches high, 
covered with millinet on the top. To 
my question, what they were for, he replied : 
“ Those are my covers to put over melon 
and cucumber hills soon after they are plant¬ 
ed, and a most effectual remedy they are too. 
I have saved my plants for ten years, while 
my neighbors often loose theirs by the striped 
bug, I made these rainy days too.” 
