AMERICAN AG-RICtfLTTTRIST. 
121 
Washington, of Howard City.; a large Short¬ 
horn cow from the President of the Society, C. 
B. Calvert of Bladensburg-; a fine Durham cow, 
Kate , with her first calf, Hover, a noble fellow 
less than three years old, by Mr. Clement Hill, 
of Upper Marlborough, Md. The largest cow 
we noticed was Pink, a grade three-fourths Dur¬ 
ham, six years old, belonging to Mr. John F. 
Pierce, of Ya. It rained so constantly that we 
did not attempt a full examination of all the stock. 
Two prominent features of this show were the 
fowls and swine. Of the latter we counted nearly 
five hundred, a larger number, by far, then we 
have ever seen at any exhibition. There were 
a variety of breeds, Chester, Berkshire, Rus¬ 
sian, China, &c., but the Chester breed greatly 
predominated. We think most of these might 
be improved by a more general introduction of 
Suffolk blood. We were amused with the names 
given to these animals, for almost every hog had 
a name. 
The specimens of the fowl tribe exceeded in 
number any former exhibition in this country, 
not even excepting the celebrated Poultry Exhi¬ 
bition at Boston. At that exhibition there was 
219 cages and 14-23 specimens; at Baltimore 
there were over 1600 specimens. One gentle¬ 
man alone, Dr. Geo. W. Lawrence, of Catons- 
ville, Baltimore county, exhibited over 100 cages, 
containing 92 varities, and 360 specimens. Dr. 
L. has done very much to improve the poultry 
of our country. He has spared neither pains nor 
expense to import and test many different va¬ 
rieties from various parts of the world. We 
notice among his fowls, a caponed Shanghai, 14 
months old, weighing 18 lbs., a pair of Bremen 
Geese, 3 years old, weighing 56 1-4 lbs., the 
largest in the country, also, one 5 months old, 
weighing 23 1-2 lbs. There were also Geese 
of the Poland, Chinese, and India breeds; white 
Turkeys; Muscovy Ducks ; white. Guinea 
Fowls; Italian Pea Fowls, some of which are 
noble specimens from Zenos Barnum’s stock; 
Asiatic Fowls ; black Chinese, Brahma Pootras, 
Grey Chittagongs, Red Chittagongs, and many 
other hues; white Polands; Jersey Blues ; Su¬ 
matra Pheasants; Java Pheasants; Mexican 
Games, including Santa Annas, a noble fowl; 
and French, Spanish, Chinese, Calcutta and 
English Raven fowls. A noble stock of pigeons 
also added interest to the Doctor’s deposit. He 
is the Vice President for Maryland of the New 
England Poultry Society, and his poultry is se¬ 
lected from premium breeds. 
Dr. L. informed us that from his own expe¬ 
rience and observation, he found the most 
valuable of the Asiatic breeds were the Brahma 
Pootra, great Java, and great lToangho; and for 
game fowls, the Sumatra Pheasant, and Java 
Pheasant. We believe Dr. L. sold out most of 
his stock of fowls, for some $1200 to $1500 or 
more; and that for want of time and his pro¬ 
fessional duties, he will hereafter only keep the 
more valuable lireeds above named. This sale 
will scatter his valuable collection into various 
parts of the country, and we hope they will 
prove other centers of •improvement. 
We should also mention in the same connec¬ 
tion, the valuable collection of Mr. Jacob Bower, 
of Baltimore city. He had on the ground 75 
varieties of fowls, including 250 specimens. 
Among these were great Malays imported, from 
the Malay Islands, weighing '28 lbs. per pair, 
the cock weighing 17 lbs; Turkey Patridges; 
Guans and Crested Curasaws from the forests of 
South America, several varieties of Shanghai 
and Ostrich fowls; Pearl White Dorkings, 
White Silky fowls, Negro or the Hairy fowl of 
Africa, Africans and Bantams ; several varieties 
of Pigeons including Magpies, Nuns, Swells, 
Fantails, Ruffs and Wild Pigeons; of Ducks, 
Rouens, Aylesburys and black Ducks; of Geese, 
Canada or Wild, Java, Small China and African 
or Guinea. We have not room for further 
notice of this valuable collection. 
The exercises were closed on Friday, with an 
excellent address by Mr. C. P. Holcomb, of Dela¬ 
ware. This we believe is to be published by 
the Society, and we omit farther notice of it at 
this time. 
Beware! said the potter to the clay, and it 
became ware. 
For the American Agriculturist 
LIME ON POTATO SETS. 
As a reader of your valuable paper, I have 
for some time past noticed, that you have re¬ 
commended repeatedly air-slacked lime put up¬ 
on the potato when planted, as a prevention of 
the potato disease which has so long injured 
our country. I was led to try the experiment 
on a small piece of ground this season. I planted 
the fore part of May, on a dry gravely soil, put 
on the lime before covering, leaving four rows 
unlimed. The result was, that they all decayed 
alike, (and in fact they all decayed.) There was 
no perceptible difference between those that 
were limed and those which were not. I have 
therefore come to the conclusion that lime is not 
always a certain preventive for the potato rot. 
The soil was as favorable for the cultivation of 
the potato as it well could be. The only way 
to come to correct results is to presevere in ex¬ 
periments, and give them to the world as a beacon 
light either to follow or to shun. 
S. A. Collins. 
Sodas, Wayne Co., Oct. 22, 1853. 
We regret to learn that this experiment of 
lime on potato seed did not succeed with Mr. 
C., as we have never heard of its failure in this 
vicinity, and it has been tried here for several 
years past, but always we believe with oyster 
shell lime. Perhaps a difference in the quality 
of the lime might have made the difference in 
the results of its applications. 
-O© 0- 
ME. C. P. HALCOMB’S SPEECH AT SPRINGFIELD. 
Wk give below one of the speeches at the 
Agricultural Banquet referred to in our last. It 
conveys instructive information, and will well 
pay for perusal: 
The President— I am happy, my friends, to 
announce, that we have with us the Vice-Presi¬ 
dent of the United States’ Agricultural Society, 
from the State of Delaware, who has recently 
travelled in England, for the purpose of making 
investigations in relation to horses, as well as to 
the general subject of agriculture. I call upon 
Mr. Oiiauncey P. Holcomb. 
Mr. Holcomb, of Del., on rising, was heartily 
cheered. He said they had sometimes heard of 
calling “ spirits from the vasty deep,” but they 
did not always conic when called for; and per¬ 
haps it would be better for him to decline 
responding to the call they had made, after the 
eloquent words to which they had listened. He 
heard the remarks of the various gentlemen with 
great interest and pleasure, and especially those 
of our late Minister to England, (Mr. Lawrence,) 
when he thanked the citizens of Springfield in 
the name of Massachusetts and in the name of the 
Union, for this great exhibition. He hadnodoubt 
that that was the honest expression of his feel¬ 
ing. It was an occasion of congratulation to the 
country at large. But, perhaps, as lull praise 
had been given to the citizens of Springfield, 
and to the value of the stock exhibited there, 
they would pardon him while, as a practical 
farmer, he made a few practical suggestions. 
He had gone, as the President observed, the 
last summer, to England, and a part of his object 
in going there was to select a horse, and he 
travelled a great ways, in different parts of the 
kingdom, for the purpose of ascertaining their 
condition. He had ample facilities for his object, 
having an introduction Irom Mr. Tatteesall, 
which enabled him to visit several of the most 
celebrated studs there. The result was, that he 
came away without purchasing a horse at all. 
He wished to tell his brother farmers what the 
course of breeding was in England, and to show 
the result upon the stock, that no American 
farmer need go further in the same direction. 
They were aware that when the English breeders 
united the blood of the Barb with the Turk and 
Arab, no better horses were to be found in the 
world. They would then run four miles and 
repeat in 1.40 and 1.24. Now, instead of run¬ 
ning four miles and repeating, they only run 
two or three, and did not repeat at all. It was 
a single dash of two, two and a half, and, at the 
Derby, of three miles, and that was all. He had 
told eminent breeders there, that the horses in 
this country ran four miles and repeated—-re¬ 
peating, sometimes, two or three times. They 
did not doubt the fact. They said they had 
formerly such breeds there, but it was not so 
now. In corroboration of his statement, Mr. H. 
mentioned that, in a conversation he recently 
had with his friend from Virginia, (Mr. Botts,) 
he assured him that some horses of the Boston 
blood ran, the other day, at Richmond, four 
miles in 7.46, 7.46£ and 7.49. They would 
see in what remarkable time the last heat was 
run—about three minutes longer than the first. 
They had not got any horses like these in Eng¬ 
land ; they would be very proud of them if they 
had. 
Why was this degeneracy.? In the first place, 
he was very much surprised, on visiting England, 
to find that horse-racing, if it was not the busi¬ 
ness, of the nation, was a very great amusement. 
In every city, town, and village, they had bet- 
ting-houses, where all the members of the com¬ 
munity, the serving-maid as well as the noble¬ 
man, entered their bets, through the whole year, 
to be decided when the races came off. So great 
had this evil become, that a bill was passed, at 
the last session of Parliament, designed to put 
these betting-houses down. Now, the result of 
this was, that every attention was paid to getting 
heels. He had stood by the side. of two year 
old colts, fifteen hands high, and he asked his 
friend, Mr. John Day, how it was possible to 
make up those colts in that way. Mr. Day told 
him that they were entered to run at two years 
old, three years old, and they were entered 
shortly after they were foaled, to run at a certain 
time. The dam was kept as high as possible, 
and in the paddock there was a little box, into 
which the colt could run, where oat meal was 
placed, and oats were always before him. They 
were stuffed with all the oats they could be in¬ 
duced to eat. The consequence was, that it was 
quite impossible that they should have any bone. 
They run at two, three, and four years old; but 
at all the races which he attended, he saw but 
one or two entered to run even at five years old, 
for by that time they were broken down. 
He wished to say there—since they had come 
together to speak out freely their opinions— 
what he thought. He believed that they needed 
to put two inches upon the height of their 
horses; and those two inches of height the breed¬ 
ers must give. They could do it. They would 
give them five years—ten, if they wished—but 
they must put their horses up two inches higher. 
Gentlemen might say that they were tall enough 
for some purposes; but what he wished to do 
was to supply the luxuries of the cities. The 
horse, with the citizen, was an article of luxury. 
They would pay almost any price, if the breed¬ 
ers would only get them up to the right height. 
“Now, gentlemen,” said Mr. II. “ get your Mor¬ 
gans and your Black Hawks up those two 
inches!” (Applause.) 
There were two ways of doing this. One was 
to keep the dam in good condition; let her do 
no work. Then let the colt be pressed with oats, 
say until he was a year old. Up to that point, 
he conceived that there was no danger; but 
there they must stop. Another was by breed¬ 
ing larger horses upon this stock. There must 
be risk there, but he would try the plan. He 
would try the pressing system, for every farmer 
knew that if he gave a calf a little corn, in ad¬ 
dition to keeping the cow in good condition, the 
animal would grow better and faster than under 
other circumstances. 
Mr. II. said he understood the value of South¬ 
ern blood; lie believed there were no better 
horses in the world, and none faster. He would 
not have them undervalue this breed; it was 
such blood as they had not got in England. 
lie (Mr. II.) was a grower of wheat. He 
ploughed the ground with his horses; he sowed 
his wheat fields with his horses; he drilled in 
his wheat with his horses; he reaped and 
threshed out his wheat with his horses. They 
were not only an article of necessity to the 
farmer, but they were every where an article of 
luxury. What they wanted, in the rural districts, 
was to improve the breed of their horses, that 
