208 
TO PROMOTE THE SUCCESS OF COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
TO PROMOTE THE SUCCESS OF COUNTY AGRI¬ 
CULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Those county societies in our state, which 
have been most successful in raising funds, 
that have done the most good, and which have 
made themselves most popular among the farm¬ 
ers of their respective counties, have adopted 
the following general plan of proceedings :— 
1st. Erected permanent buildings for their 
fair, at the most convenient and accessible loca¬ 
tion in the county. For this, they annually ob¬ 
tain a considerable contribution from the inhab¬ 
itants of the place, it being quite advantageous to 
them to have the fair held there. 
2d. The exhibition grounds are fenced in 
with a tight, high board fence, the admission 
fee to which is one shilling. Such is the fond¬ 
ness of human nature to witness shows of any 
kind, and more especially when shut in from 
vulgar gaze, that thousands will pay a shilling 
for the privilege of entrance, who would not 
contribute a single penny as subscription, or 
membership, to the most useful society in exist¬ 
ence. 
3d. The competition is made open to every 
citizen of the county, whether a member of the 
society or not; but 
all competitors are 
required to pay a 
small fee on each 
animal or article 
entered for a pre¬ 
mium—the fee in 
each case being a 
uniform percentage 
on the premiums 
offered. 
4th. The fee for 
membership is fixed 
at one dollar, which 
no enlightened and 
liberal farmer ever 
makes any objec¬ 
tion to pay. 
5th. A liberal list 
of premiums and 
prompt payment of 
the same. 
Lastly, various innocent shows and amuse¬ 
ments are permitted at the same time the fairs 
are held, which tend to popularise them among 
the farmers. 
So long as the county societies have been 
ambulatory in their exhibitions, and above all, 
held open to the sight of all, they have required 
the hardest kind of work for a few spirited men 
barely to keep them up in a miserable existence, 
no matter how often and in whatever shape they 
might appeal for their support to the people of 
the county. But the moment the fenced grounds 
were adopted, making the thing a little exclu¬ 
sive, then they would flock there with their 
wives and children by the thousand. Pride and 
curiosity were immediately aroused, and the 
people would enter the fenced grounds; and the 
best of it was, that they would at the same time 
with equal alacrity hand out the shining 
shillings for the privilege of doing so. This is 
human nature, and it must be dealt with ac¬ 
cordingly ; it will always contrive somehow to 
force barred gates, and enter forbidden grounds. 
TILE MACHINES, 
The following, from a zealous and intelligent 
friend of agriculture, long and favorably known 
to farmers of western New York, gives some 
valuable information on the subject of thorough 
drainage:— 
The machine imported by me, for making 
draining tiles of various sizes and patterns, was 
made by Thomas Scraggs, of Calvely, Taporley, 
Cheshire, England. The cost at his works, with 
a large assortment of dies, screws, mandrels, 
&c., was £35 Is. The freight and charges 
amounted to £12 more. Total cost in New York, 
£47 Is. Additional charges to deliver it here, 
and incidental expenses are not necessary in 
computation of cost to others. 
The weight and space occupied, I have no 
means now of stating. The machine was made 
for me under the personal inspection of a friend, 
and examined by a committee of agriculturists 
Tile Machine.—Fig. 57. 
before sent to me. It is capable of turning out 
from 4,000 to 6,000 tiles per day, worked by hand, 
with two boys at the winch, one man to unload 
the table, and another man to carry the tiles to 
the drying shelves. The machine, however, 
has not done that quantity of work here, though 
I feel confident that, under economical disposi¬ 
tion of time, it can easily perform the highest 
rate stated. I allude to tiles of 2i-inch rise by 
15 inches long. Pipes are made much faster. 
No horse is necessary except for the pug mil!, 
for tempering the clay. 
I am not aware that any machine of this char¬ 
acter has yet been made in this country. Our 
mechanics are fully equal to those of England, 
and are capable of making and improving them ; 
and whenever the demand will warrant the ex¬ 
pense of forming the first patterns and moulds,, 
they can be made here, comparatively, at a very 
