20 
THE CANADIAN PROVINCIAL CATTLE SHOW AT HAMILTON. 
tion is, the want of a market for the wool. It will 
bring no more than native wool in Canada. There 
were some good hogs of the kind represented—in 
truth I was surprised to find so many good ones. 
But they were enormously large; the largest decid¬ 
edly, I ever saw. Blackand white, spotted, and pure 
white in color; called by the different names of 
Leicester, Yorkshire, and some other local names. 
There were only a few Berkshires, the finest boned 
and smoothest altogether of the hogs exhibited. 
The others must be great consumers, and are rather 
coarse in appearance; but as they appeared to be 
decided favorites, it will hardly do to question their 
excellence untried. To those who want monster 
hogs, I commend them to the neighborhood of 
Hamilton. 
in miscellaneous articles, the show was good. A 
general variety of household manufactures, and of 
Canadian make, and agricultural implements were 
on the ground. The Scotch iron plow is greatly 
used there, and a very favorite instrument too, with 
many of the farmers although our Yankee plows 
are working in upon them strongly. If the cri¬ 
terion of excellence be in the plowing itself • for the 
work at the plowing match was all performed with 
these Scotch plows, then they are unsurpassed, 
for I never saw such good plowing any where as 
at Hamilton. There were some twenty competi¬ 
tors in the plowing match. Every piece, a quarter 
acre each, was done in first-rate style; and almost 
every furrow was as straight for twenty rods, as a 
line could be drawn. If we could have such 
plowing matches as that, instead of the abortive 
things usually attempted and called such, at our 
cattle shows, there might be some good in them. 
Of grain of all kinds, the show was the best 1 
ever saw. There were probably five hundred 
bushels of wheat, barley, oats, peas, corn, hemp 
and flax seed, exhibited. The Canada Land Com¬ 
pany, offered $100 for the best twenty-five bushels 
win er wheat, which brought numerous competi¬ 
tors. Some of the samples weighed t>3 lbs. to the 
bushel, and produced upwards of forty bushels per 
acre. There are many large and excellent wheat 
growers in Canada. Numerous sacks of hops 
were also there, of fine quality; an article un¬ 
known in our State cattle shows, and which might 
be advantageously exhibited. There were also 
the usual variety of roots, and field and garden pro¬ 
ductions of excellent quality, and many beautiful 
and tempting specimens of fruits and flowers, 
showing that our neighbors are in the high road of 
progress in the luxurious and ornamental, as well 
as in the more strictly useful, productions. Added 
to these were numberless articles of fancy work, 
embroidery, paintings; indeed, pretty much all the 
gimcrackery that appears at our shows, and at the 
getting up of which the Canadians appear quite as 
perfect as ourselves. 
Tedious as I am, I must not omit the dairy. 
There was a grand show of cheese, for Canada, 
although this is an article that has hitherto been 
little attended to in that region; but l am happy to 
add, that the show of butter would, have been cre¬ 
ditable anywhere The Stilton cheeses of Mr. 
Parsons, of Guelph, were much admired • and when 
i cut the fine one which he presented me, you shall 
be duly advised of its quality. [Please to send us 
a piece, that we may judge for ourselves.— Ed.] 
The morning of the second day opened as wet 
and unhappily as the first, but the people were all 
astir, and in good spirits. The Governor General 
had arrived on the previous day, and w T as to be on 
the show ground, after hearing the various addresses, 
from the different deputations of councils, socie¬ 
ties, &c., Sic., which were to wait upon him; for 
these Canadians, be it understood, are rather punc¬ 
tilious and Ceremonious to their rulers, as all good 
and loyal subjects should he. The people there¬ 
fore assembled in greater numbers than before, in 
defiance of continual rain and increased mud and 
mire, and the show ground by twelve o’clock con¬ 
tained several thousands; even ladies in carriages 
encountered the storm. Soon the Governor Gene¬ 
ral, the Earl of Elgin, arrived accompanied by his 
Countess, Lady Elgin, and her sister, together with 
his official family, in carriages. Lord Elgin has an 
agreeable and active appearance, reminding me of 
our friend Gardiner G. Howland, Esq., of your city • is 
about forty years of age, and an accomplished man ; 
quite an agriculturist at home upon his estates in 
Scotland, and very well versed, as I afterwards 
found, in the practical agriculture of the day. He 
ascended the stand and with the assembled multi¬ 
tude, listened to an excellent practical address from 
Mr. Thompson, the President of the society; then 
came down, mounted a horse, and together with the 
President and several other gentlemen, rode over 
the ground and looked at the various animals, and 
articles of exhibition, many of which he examined 
with interest, and at his departure, the show ended in 
a general breaking up and dispersion of spectators, 
competitors and stock, who exhibited altogether as 
draggled and melting an appearance, as so joyous 
and otherwise agreeable an occasion could permit. 
In the evening, a grand dinner was served up in 
a building erected for the purpose, in the Court 
House Square, at which nearly or quite a thousand 
persons were present, the President of the society 
in the chair. The Governor General, the Chi'ff 
Justice of the Province, and many other official 
dignitaries were present; and at the commencement 
of the toasts, Lady Elgin and several other ladies 
came in, and took their seats by the side of the tables, 
and remained till the feast was ended. Appropriale 
toasts were drunk, and numerous excellent speeches 
made, among which were two remarkably good 
ones by Lord Elgin, showing him to be a man of 
excellent sense, tact, observation, talent, and 
humor. “ The New York State Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, and our friends from that State,” were toasted 
by the President, and received with great warmth 
of expression by the company, at which the band 
struck up “ Yankee Doodle,” with remarkable 
emphasis and unction, indicating that our efforts at 
agricultural improvement are heartily recognised 
among themselves. As no other New Yorker was 
present, the toast was responded to, after the 
fashion, by your humble servant, who felt that in 
the welcome he received, our own society has 
a strong, an honest, and a hearty co-laborer in 
our Canadian brethren. 
At twelve o’clock, after a joyous, pairiotic, 
sometimes noisy and uproarious, 1 ut altogether a 
