lectual and social improvement of farmers’ 
wives and daughters, resulting from the fac¬ 
tory system of dairying, as compared with 
the cares and toils incident to the farm dairy. 
We regret that our space is too limited to 
give a full abstract of these addresses, which 
were listened to with marked attention. 
Brut Brrttlft for tlie Dairy. 
lion. Samuel Wasson of Hancock, dis¬ 
cussed the comparative merits of different 
breeds for dairy purposes In a thoughtful 
and well written paper. He estimated the 
cost of keeping a cow, giving the items iu 
detail, and showed from figures that a cow 
must have a certain standard of excellence 
and yield a quantity of milk considerably 
larger than many farmers accept as a stand¬ 
ard, in order to realize a profit. He figured 
very early the losses from poor keep and 
the want of shelter, and the difference iu 
the returns between a good and ft poor cow. 
IIo gave a brief account of tlie several 
breeds, pointing out their excellences and 
defects, and remarked, in conclusion, that 
the attempt to bring tlie breeds to a fixed 
point of comparison as specialized to a pur¬ 
pose, is a difficult matter. Each of I lie 
breeds has its own peculiar characteris¬ 
tics, and is best for certain localities and 
purposes. Tlie surrounding conditions must 
be studied, and breeds selected which suit 
the demands ol' their respective wants.—{To 
he continued, 
POULTRY CONTENTION, 
To Fix an American Standard ol Excel¬ 
lence. 
{.Continued from pace 206, last No.J 
Brahma I'oSiiIh. 
Col. Weld moved that tlie schedule for Brah¬ 
mas be as follows:—Size, 20: color, 25: head, 4; 
comb, 4; wings, 9; hnelr.6; Huff,6; symmetry, 
14; condition, 12 Total, 100. 
This was acreed to. Vulture hocks were 
voted deoblediy objectionable. 
Tlie White Saddle Striped with Black. 
Mr. HRRSTrNR-Thc saddle of the Light. Brah¬ 
ma cock, in this slumlord, I soe is designated 
xvhite, striped with black; wo don’t admit black 
in our exhibitions. 
Mr. Halstead—I have a letter from Mr. 
FEr.cn, very strongly Condemning that white 
saddle. 
Mr. HEltsTTWE—I should disqualify it. 
Col. \Vj 2 LD—The best ooelc in England that 
Wiught got bold of to make his picture from 
had no stripe cut Hie saddle. 
Mr. Halsti:ad moved that In the descrip¬ 
tion of Light Brahmas it read simply, “Saddle, 
white." Adopted. 
Single Combed Brnlirnns. 
Mr. Halstead—I n the American standard, as 
prepared by the American Poultry Society, a 
great many gentlemen advocated the admission 
ot single-combed Brahmas, and they were put 
in. I move In the present standard Io strike 
that out entirely, “ Brtifiriih, single t omb, pen¬ 
ciled and light." Agreed to. 
Mr. Heuptine—T f von will allow me one word 
In reference to Brahmas. 1 do not think that 
the head, in the description of [he Light Brah¬ 
ma, has enough prominence: if merely says, 
» Hoad white. I would suggest that the shape 
of the head receive a little more prominence, 
that it bo small; the width of the head of a 
Brahma is a great point wlili me. 
Mr. HALSTEAD—I think if you turn back to 
“General shape," you will liud it “Small and 
slender." 
Scale of Points I'ov Cochins. 
Mr. Halstead moved that the scale of points 
as applied to Brahmas be applied to Cochins, 
with the exception of Partridge Cochins, which 
was agreed to. . . , , ., 
Mr. Hlrstine inquired if it was worth while 
to retain Silver Butt Cochins and Silver Cinna¬ 
mon Cochins. 
Mr. II ALSTEAtt— We may as well leave them m; 
at some future time we may get to breeding 
these varieties. _ 
Mr. Halstead moved, in reference to Par¬ 
tridge Cochins, that all other points be the same 
as in other Cochins, with black breast, thighs, 
fluff and leg leathers in the cock: breast of hen 
distinctly penciled up in the front.. 115; color, re¬ 
maining'plumage, 12; which was agreed to. 
Points iu Dorkings. 
Mr. Halstead—I n Dorkings, the nearest we 
can nr rive at the English scale ol points is: 
Size. 18 and a fraction : color. 1H and a fraction : 
h< ad nod comb, 12 and a fraction; legs, feet ami 
toes, 12 and a fraction; syramotry, 18 and a I ruc¬ 
tion; condition, 12 ami a traction—Making 90 
points, and leaving 10 points to tie divided 
among these excellences. The question js, 
where to put them.? „ _ , . 
Mr. Hrkstine— 1 should give one ot those 
fractions to legs feel and toes. 
Air IlALeTi An—Why would it not Vie well to 
make toes a distinct feature in the Dorking 
class? . , . , - 
Mr. Herstine-H is comprised in the feet. 
Silver-Gray Dorkings. 
Mr. Halstead suggested that in Silver Gray 
Dorkings 1 ho points be divided as follows:— 
Size. 18; color,20? head, 9; comb, fi; legs, feet 
and toes, 15; symmetry, 20; condition, 12—To¬ 
tal, 100. . , , 
Col. Weld—D oes not that put symmetry ahead 
of size? , , _ , 
Mr. Halstead—T hey are even in Ihe English 
standard. 
Col. Weld—I am afraid we shall he overhauled 
fioroely about that on the other side of llieomm. 
Mr. Van Winkle—L et them appoint a Com¬ 
mission, as in the Alabama ease. 
Col. Weld—I have never yet seen Dorkings 
bred in this country that would equal the Eng¬ 
lish bird. We thought for a long time it was 
because we had to breed in-and-in a good deal, 
that we wanted fresh blood; but when we got it, 
it did not make a good bird. We breed beauti¬ 
ful birds; but the imported birds are the best I 
have ever seen. My objection to the standard 
as read by Mr. Halstead is, that there is too 
great dissimilarity; in the London Poultry Club’s 
list it is very uniform, 3, 3, 2,2,3, 2; almost less 
than any other class. 
Mr. Ha i. stead—S ize is given less in Silver 
Grays than in any other Dorking. 
Mr. Hekbtine moved, that in Silver Gray 
Dorkings tlie standard be fixed at:—Size, 20; 
condition, 12. Which was agreed to. 
White Dorking#. 
Col. Weld moved that the standard of White 
Dorkings be ns followsSize, 26; purity of 
plumage, 14; head, 8; comb. 0; legs, feet and 
toes, 14; symmetry, 20; condition, 13; total, 100. 
AA'litch was agreed to. 
Colored Dorkings. 
Col. Weld moved that for Colored Dorkings 
the standard be as follows:— Size, 34; head, 38; 
comb, fl. AVfiich was agreed to. 
It being apparent tluit the business of the Con¬ 
vention should be expedited, to enable members 
to attend to their individual duties. Col. Weld 
moved that the Chairman appoint committees 
upon the different breeds, for the purpose ol' ad¬ 
justing the standards, and that the committees 
be instructed to report in thirty minutes. 
The motion tvas adopted. 
EVENING SESSION. 
Report ou Hamburg*. 
Tlie Chairman (Mr. S. J. Bestor) called upon 
the Committee on Ham burgs to report. 
Mr. Mason C. Weij»— 1 Thu Coin mitt neon Ham- 
burgs had the counsel of Mr. Simpson on most of 
these mutters, and, tn fact, we went over them 
nil; ami we adopted ft suggestion of tits which 
we deemed practical and good. Which was, as far 
as possible, to have thy numhera Lib*-placed op¬ 
posite eueli particular point, multiples of five, 
which simplifies Urn scale a good deal, and does 
not carry us a great wax from tue English Stan¬ 
dard, which we wish to follow a.* oloselv as we 
can. We have the Opportunity, however, togive 
a little greater weight to those point* which are, 
with us, difficult i<> breed to the highest degree 
of perfection in this country. We witp guided 
principally by the London Poultry Club’s Stan¬ 
dard ; but varied it, toget exact multiples of ffve. 
sons to give those points the greatest weight 
which are most difficult to breed to perfection. 
We have, then, for 
Black Jin in burgs. 
Comb, head and face, 25; deaf ear,15; plumage, 
25; shape,25; condition, 10; ranking a total of 
100. XV o huve put condition a little low. Then 
we have for 
Penciled Hamburg*. 
Cock— Comb, 20; deaf ear, 15; color of plum¬ 
age, except tail, suckle feathers and tail coverts, 
2n; color of rail, sickle feathers and tail coverts,* 
20; symmetry, 15: condition, 10—total, h>0. 
Hi \ -Comb. 15; deal ear, 15; purity of color 
in bead ami uncle,2ii; purity of ground color, 
and accurate and distinct penciling.* in every 
part except head and ueck, 25; symmetry, 15; 
condition, lb—total, ItlO. 
Sil VCR-Spangled n a in burgs. 
Cock—C om!),15; dent ear. 10; colors, marking 
of head, hackle, back,saddle and tad,20; breast, 
under part ol body aud thighs, 15; wings and 
bars. 15; symmetry, 15; condition, 10 mini, loo. 
Urn.—C omb, 15; neat-ear, 15; neck, moat dis¬ 
tinctly and evenly striped, lit; remainder of 
plumage^ (except tail in Golden,j dearness of 
ground oolor, evenness and distinctness of spang¬ 
ling. xvith rich, large, round spartgleB, 29; bars, 
15; symmetry, 15; condition, IQ— lotah 100 . 
White-Created Black Polish. 
Size of crept, 20; shape of crest., 10; crest of 
the pnreal white, and most free from black, 20; 
dear-ear, 5; richest black plumage, 15; symme¬ 
try and appearance, .20; condition, 10—total, 100. 
1 wish to call attention to the words “symme¬ 
try and appearance" instead of “condition and 
appearance.” We thought that “appearance" 
should go xvltlt “symmetry" rather than xvith 
“ condition." 
(Spangled Polish. 
Cocks and Hens. -.Size of crest, 20; shape of 
crest,20; color of crest, 5; plumage accurately 
marked, according lo tin: foregoing rules, 15: 
purity of ground color, 5; bars, 10; symmetry, 
15; condition, 10—total, 100, 
fliillnns. 
Crest, 25; muffling, 25; shape, 20; leg feather¬ 
ing, 20; condition, 10 total, 100. 
VVc sav nothing about size. Mr. Simpson 
thought that diminutive size should be put in 
and counted a good quality; but xvc decided 
otherwise. That was the only question xvith re¬ 
gard to Sul In ns. 
The Chairman—I n an informal conference 
we have Hi ought it proper that, In our proceed¬ 
ings, we should say nothing about Hie Commit¬ 
tees, but call it the doing of the Convention. 
On motion of Mr. Pond, it xvas voted ilnit I lie 
report be accepted ns the doings of the Conven¬ 
tion. 
The Chairman—T hat motion need not be re¬ 
corded. The Committee on Leghorns, ike., art* 
requested tu report. 
Mi. A, M. Halstead— Til order to bring it to 
too, following ns nearly a« possible the English 
scale, we have added one point to the scale, and 
that is *' size." 
Leghorn*. 
Size, 10, eon ill, 10; face, 20; ear-lobe, 20; purity 
of white, face and ear-lobe, 15; symmetry, 15; 
condition aud plumage, 10—total, 100. 
W hile Leghorns, 
Comb. 20; face and ear-lobe, 20; purity Of 
plumage,20; size, 15; symmetry, 15; condition, 
in - total, 100. 
A tx pogrnphieul error occurred in thcstaiidard 
in the description of the face. It should be 
"lace briglit red.” It xvus printed "opaque 
white, free from wrinkles or folds." This tvas a 
printer’s error, mid we have altered It, both for 
lieu mul cock. 
Mr. Charles A. CnBEVRft—It is understood 
that xve have -adopted iliu remarks ill t he book, 
except where it is specified. 
Mr, Halstead—" e cross out everything ex¬ 
cept “legs, long and bright yellow." Wo throw 
out rnsc-combs on Leghorns entirely. Your 
commit tee have also t bought best to insert a 
description of the 
Broxvii Leghorn* 
in the next edition, and to apply ihe same scale 
of points to I hem. Broxvn Leghorns are a re¬ 
cognized breed. 
Col. wi;i.d—H ave you given a description of 
Broxvn Leghorns? 
Mr. Halstead -No; I have not. I thought I 
would write to (hose who have them, aud get 
them to fill out the points, and then compare 
them. 
Dominique Leghorns. 
The Chairman—I s the Dominique Leghorn 
also to have I he same .scale of points? 
Mr. Halstead— Yes, sir. 
Col, Weld—T hey ha\*e clear plumage or red¬ 
dish. I have seen them a* clear and bright as 
could be. A majority of them are reddish ; still 
1 have seen them clear and distinct. 
Mr. CiiEKVER-i think xve had better tliroxv 
out the Dominique Leghorn. 
Mr. Halstead—V ery well; I will cross the 
Dominique Leghorn out. 
Col. AVeld —1 would do so; xve must not multi¬ 
ply breeds too much. It is bad enough to put 
Dominiques in. 
C rev e-Cw nrs. 
Mr. Halstead —In the description of the 
Crave-Creiirs, “crest as iu the Polish cock; while 
feathers a serious defect, but not a disqualifica¬ 
tion we have Introduced the xvord “serious.” 
fn the description of color, wo say. “color, bril¬ 
liant black , red or straw feathers in the hackle 
or saddle objectionable.” 
This Chairman—M aking “objectionable 
synonymous with disqualification? 
Mr. Halstead—N o, sir; xve say "objection¬ 
able." , ,, 
The Chairman—W hy not say “ undesirable? 
Mr. CuBEVER—We thought “objectionable" 
would fie stronger, 
Mr. Halstead —I guess we will substitute 
undesirable." 
The Chairman-Do not say “very undesir¬ 
able;’’ say ** undesirable*’’ 
Mr. Ci/kkvuu— 1 xvould make It a disqualifica¬ 
tion it 1 bad my xvay. 
The Chairman—A majority seem tu be in 
favor of the “ very.” 
Mr. Halstead —The points are; —Size. 25; 
crest, 20; color, 20; mint), 10; shape and sym¬ 
metry, 15; condition, 10; total—loo. 
HoiiiImus. 
In the Hondans we have altered the color in 
the cock broken black and xvhite, as evenly 
broken as possible, free from colored feathers, 
which are highly objectionable, but not a dis¬ 
qualification. 
Mr. Hale—W e have put it as strong as we can 
Without making it a disqualification. 
Mr. Halstead— We Imvo dropped the fifth 
cdtiuee in the points and put in the disqualifica¬ 
tion*. The points areSize., 25; crest, 15; beard, 
10; comb, 10; plumage, 15; symmetry, 15; con¬ 
dition, 10; total—100. 
Mr, Hkrstine—H ave you color there ? 
Mr. Halstead - No; for the simple reason 
that ihe color is so various. Any color except 
black orwhite isa disqualification. Ihe " plum¬ 
age ’’ covers the question Of color. It has been 
proposed to add to the disqualifications, the ab¬ 
sence ot the fifth toe, and not matching iu the 
pe Col. Weld—I don’t think, as a rule, that show 
birds are to be considered as breeding birds. If 
a man wants to buy a pen of birds, he will knoxv 
that he must buy txvo pens if ho has no other 
stock to breed from. 
Mr. Halstead—T hat, completes our report, 
and covers till that was referred to us except La 
Fleche. I prefer that some one else should re¬ 
port upon them. 
On motion of Mr. T’ond, the report of the 
Committee xvus accepted as the doings of the 
Convention. 
Gnmc Fowls, 
The President. (Mr. Bestor)- The Cornmilteo 
on On me r. >wls, ... h Ha President, rep; trie 
for the Biack-Breasted Bed Game, that (he eyes 
may be either ml or black. They decide .also to 
make a distinct class of Earl of Derby Game, 
Black-Bed, in which they admit n! no other col¬ 
ored leg except xvhite. Mr. Van Winkle xvilt 
draw up the specification and submit it to the 
other gentlemen for their approval. In the 
Bhiolc-Bed, the legs shall take the following or¬ 
der of preference:—1st. Yellow: 2d, White; 3d, 
Wllloxv; 4(1), Olix e; 5th, Blue; making a distinct 
class of Earl of Derby Black-Bed Games, which 
shall be xvlute legged only. 
Tn the Brown-Bed Guinea, the lego take the 
following order of preference1st, Willow; 2d, 
Olive: 3d. Blue. 
In the Ginger-Red Games, tlie legs take prefer¬ 
ence:—1st, Yellow; 2d, Dark Willow; 3d. Olixe* 
4th, Blue. 
Thai thereisn growing imerest in game fowls, 
must be evident to you; and the demand for 
them in nowise comes from their being used for 
Tut purposes, bn) from their neknoxvledgcd ex¬ 
cellence for the table, lor which preference Is 
given to the yellow over the xvhite fleshed fowl. 
If you breed a yellow leg grime fowl, you will 
get a yellow fleshed fowl for the table. The Eng¬ 
lish Standard gives the dark leg 1 lie preference. 
We give the yellow legs (he preference In most 
of the variolic*. 
Col. Weld I thought Hint yelloxv legs were 
supposed to be from cold blood, and were lather 
frowned upon ou that account. 
The President—So far a* I have been able to 
learn, there seems to be a disposition to give the 
yelloxv legs the preference. For the Silver Duck- 
Wing Game, Hie order of the oolor is:—1st, Wil¬ 
low ; 2d, Yellow: 3d, Olive; 4lh, Bronze; 6 th, 
Blue. 
In the Birchen Yelloxv Game, ilie order is; 
1st, Yelloxv; 2d. Willow; 3d, Olive; 4th. Black. 
In the Pile Games, tve nlloxved the standard to 
Stand, xvith the exception of tlie legs, which I 
will now read to you;-Legs— 1st, Yellow; 2d, 
Red; 3d. Wifioxv. Wc prolix the word"Itea,” 
making these the Red Pile Game: and xve make 
I wo other classes, one ot White Pile Game, and 
another ol Blue Pile Game, the description of 
which will be given In a lew days. We have to 
meet them at every exhibition; they have al¬ 
ways been tvruugly ela*sltiod. In tlie White 
Georgians, we rule out the white for the figs. 
Col. Weld —You admit the name “ Georgian ?” 
The President—T he Committee thought so. 
Tliere are varieties of game fowls, ns the cham ¬ 
pion, xvhioh are not game; whereas, tlie Geor¬ 
gians are known to be a game bird. 
Mr. Halstead— What xvus that name derived 
from? 
The President— 1 named Hicm in 18(51. I ob¬ 
tained them clandestinely from Gem-gin, and 
gave them that name, l’liej have laid their 
gnmciiess tested, and they are noxv recognized 
by every Suciei.v- 
Col. Weld—W e liax^e never recognized them, 
because xve thought there ought not to be but 
one While Game. 
The Phesiount - There nve other White 
Games. There is the White < 'liumpion, which 
Mr. James M. Lawton brought into notice. 
They tin not a game foxvl. Then there fire the 
White Cuba iLwls; they call them Cubans: 
some are good and some are not. We lia\ r o all 
the distinctness of n breed It two, Ilia peculiari¬ 
ties are marked, and they are always true to 
them. They are pure white. 
Mr. II a i.stead—I never Inal one of mine tliroxv 
a feather. 
Co), W i ld—I t seems a pity, it'thoy are a pure 
xvhite, to tliroxv thorn out Of the list. 
The President— All tlie rest of the Societies 
acknowledge them. 
Col. Weld— Why not call them the Yellow 
Logged White? 
The President i have no objections. I 
ought to be silent in this mailer. 
Col. Weld — No; you me just tlie man to 
speak. The quest ion is, if the name is right; if 
it is, lei its have it. 
Tiik President—T lmt is the mime they ore 
kuotvu by nil over i lie country. 
Mr. Halstead—T he name xvas given to me by 
Mr. Bestor. and lie was the first to bring them 
into exhibition. They were named by him the 
White Georgian ; and they have been recognized 
b.v ihat UHtno;aud they have received premiums 
under it. 
Col. Weld —I only xvnnt to be convinced 
xvhloli is tlie Ik'si mime. I am tio game man my¬ 
self ; why not drop the xvord “ xvhite ?" 
The President— There are no other Georgian 
varieties except produced l>y crosses; no dis¬ 
tinct varieties; not a breed. 
Mr. Halstead— I bred them txvo or three 
years, and the party I sold them to never had a 
bird of any other colored feather. 
The President—T hey wore imported by a 
man in Alabama, win. died in Pil.aiui left hiB 
inheritance lo his sour : and afterward* passed to 
a man by Ilia ntimeof Hudson. This nuni attcr- 
wurdftgot disease among bis fowls, and then the 
breed existed only with me; anti t called them 
Georgians. I claimed a breed for these. They 
xv ere called first Thompson Whites. 
Col. Weld— 1 guess it is as xvcil lo gi\ r o them 
the name of the country. 
The President — At every exhibition you 
have ever had hero they have taken tlie first 
premium. 
Col. SV eld- They are good white games. 
The President— Tito committee ignore en¬ 
tirety that the-Sumatra or the Malay is a game 
fowl. 
Mi*. Halstead —That is one thing I wish to 
speak of to-morrow. There is no more game in 
them titan in ft donkey. 
The President—T hey are varieties of fowls, 
but not varieties of game fowls. 
Mr. H at^teao—F or the White Georgians, xvhnt 
is the color of the legs? 
The President Legs, yellow. For all games 
tlie points are the same. 
Game Fowls:—S hape of head and nee);, 15; 
body mid wings, 10; tail, 15; thighs, legs and 
toes, 15; color ol plumage, 15; By m met ry, (leav¬ 
ing off handling, which goes into condition,) 15; 
handling, condition and hardness of plumage, 15. 
-Total, 100. 
On motion by Mr. Pond, the report of the 
Committee on Games was accepted and adopted 
as part of the doings ol the Conventicn,—[To 
be continued. 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES, 
To Correspondents. 
We ask tlie indulgence of our numerous cor¬ 
respondents for a short time—until we get 
through xvith the doings of the Convention to 
establish tlie American Standard of Excellence, 
and their xvants will be attended to. 
. Who ('mi Beal Them ? 
C. P. Nettlkton, Birmingham, Conn., has sent 
us a half dozen eggs, which it, will be hard to beat. 
Txvo ol them were laid by a Buff Cochin pullet, 
which measured,^respectively,by 8^ and f.’j 
by TO inches. Mr. N. informs us the xveight of 
tlie lien is 10# lbs., and these eggs were her fii>t 
product. The other eggs were laid by n Light 
Brahma pullet—size, 0,Vi by 8# ; i/, J 4 by 8; 5 by 
7%, and Cif by 7M incites. 
To Destroy I.ice In a Poultry Yard. 
Wash the nests and sills of tlie house xvitli gas 
water; also the roosts, and sprinkle it about. 
These insects will soon disappear.— j. p. 
lahrg 
DAIRYING IN MAINE. 
Meeting of the Maine Board of Agriculture. 
The Farmers’ Convention, held in con¬ 
nection with the Annual Meeting of the 
Maine Slate Board of Agriculture, at. Farm¬ 
ington, Me., tluriug the early part of Janu¬ 
ary, was quite well attended, and the papers 
and discussions were of ti character, we 
should say, to be productive of much benefit 
to the farmers of Maine. 
We think the Secretary of the Board of 
Agriculture, Mr. Goodale, acted wisely in 
arranging the programme of the meeting, so 
that 1 ho larger share of topics discussed 
should have reference to the dairy and dairy 
farming. 
There is no doubt that a large proportion 
of Maine is well adapted to dairying, and 
yet the farmers of the State have paid little 
attention to this branch of industry. They 
have carried on a kind of mixed husbandry, 
which lias not only proved exhaustive to 
tlie soil, but has not been the most remu¬ 
nerative in its results. Maine now depends 
mostly upon other States for its clteesc, and 
what little butter is produced in the Slate is 
generally of low character. Potato grow¬ 
ing and the raising of horses and cat lie have 
to some extent been practiced as specialties. 
As for grain growing, it has become pretty 
evident to the farmers of Maine that, it can¬ 
not be made a profitable specialty. The 
result of this misapplication of the land in 
Maine to the kind of farming for which it is 
naturally adapted, has been a lack of faith 
in farming as a business, and a constant de¬ 
crease in the farming population, from year 
to year. Land is excessively cheap in Maine, 
and must continue to be so, under a system 
of agriculture where the grain products 
grown cost quite as much or more for labor 
than they can be furnished by grain-grow¬ 
ing Slates at the doors of the farmer. 
Wc heavd of good farms within two miles 
of Farmington, (a thrifty New England vil¬ 
lage, witli churches and schools, and having 
a railroad communication with Portland,) 
farms well adapted to grazing and the dairy, 
that could be purchased for less than the 
cost of buildings upon them. One farm in 
particular, of over 200 acres, was referred to, 
upon which were two barns—one a hundred 
feet long, with stone basement—the other 
seventy feet long; also a good substantial 
house, a piggery aud other necessary out¬ 
buildings, all in good condition and com¬ 
paratively new, which could be purchased 
for $0,000. This farm, it was said, would 
carry forty or more cows, and xve speak of 
it to show that fair grazing land, thus eligi¬ 
bly located, with good aud convenient build¬ 
ings comparatively new, ought to he worth 
more money, and doubtless would command 
si better price if a different system of agricul¬ 
ture was inaugurated than now obtains. 
Borne ten years ago, Mr. Goodale, ihe 
Secretary of the Boavd of Agriculture, called 
the attention of Maine farmers to the advan¬ 
tages of dairy husbandry, iu some able pa¬ 
pers furnished for his Report, hut so wedded 
were tlie people to lumbering, and to the es¬ 
tablished system of agriculture, that, little or 
no effort has been made to test (lie compara¬ 
tive advantages of the dairy. Had the lead¬ 
ing journals in Maine followed Ml’, Good- 
ale's lead, and kepi the farmers of the Blate 
advised in regard to dairy farming and the 
progress it was making in other parts of the 
Union, a different result would doubtless 
have obtained, and somo effort would have 
been made to carry the associated system of 
dairying into the Slate. 
Wc fouud, in talking with farmers, not 
only at the recent convention, but during 
our tour in Maine in the summer, that the 
system of associated dairying and the lead¬ 
ing features for success in the dairy, were 
very little understood, and that, too, among 
intelligent farmers, who were depending 
upon political and local newspapers for iheir 
agricultural information; papers which fur¬ 
nished but little or no intelligence upon these 
topics. Had the farmers of Maine com¬ 
menced upon associated dairying ten years 
ago, and the same process been made as in 
Wisconsin, Illinois or Canada West, the 
price of real estate in Maiue would have 
been greatly enhanced, and that almost uni¬ 
versal desire among farmers to sell out and 
emigrate West, xvould, in our opinion, have 
been checked. 
"When, therefore, it xvas determined to lo¬ 
cate the winter meeting of the Board of 
Agriculture at Farmington, in a section par¬ 
ticularly well adapted to the daily, it was a 
wise course on the part of Secretary Good- 
ale to bring this interest and its advantages 
prominently before the people, and by the 
public discussions had upon the various top¬ 
ics connected xvith daily farming, lie has 
reached the public mind and the needs of 
the State in a most effectual manner, and if 
good does not come of it xve shall be greatly 
surprised. 
Among the several papers read before 
the Convention on subjects connected xvith 
dairying, we can only give a brief rotice of 
their leading features. 
Winter MnnaBcmcnt of Ooxvh 
xvas discussed in an interesting and practical 
paper by Col. Sweet of South Paris, who 
keeps a dairy, furnishing fresh milk for the 
market. He urged that the proper manage¬ 
ment of cows in xvlnter is of the highest 
importance, and that no profit could be ex¬ 
pected from stock badly housed and poorly 
kept. A good cow costs no more for her 
keep than a poor one, and it is only from 
good cows that the heat results can be ob¬ 
tained. There ia a greater profit in keeping 
ten cows that will make an average through 
the year of ten quarts per day each, than 
from twenty cows that average only five 
quarts per day, since there is less labor in 
their care, less risk, and less capital em¬ 
ployed. But as variety aud quality of food 
have much to do in enlarging the product of 
milk and increasing the profits, it is import¬ 
ant to know tlie kinds of food to be used 
with the best advantage. 
Mr. Sweet said that at one time his prac¬ 
tice xvas to feed his best hay to his oxen, and 
the result xvas that his cows came out poor 
and weak in the spring, and it took the 
larger part of the summer before they got 
in flesh and were able to yield a full supply 
of milk. He soon found out that this xvas a 
wrong way of feeding, and he now fed liber¬ 
ally with good, nutritious food, and his cows 
gave satisfactory returns and paid promptly 
for their good keep. He found that red and 
white clover, red-lop and timothy were the 
licet grasses for the summer or winter food 
of stock. Corn fodder he found useful for 
soiling from August to November. He al- 
lox\*s coxvs to crop the aftermath, but does 
not believe in feeding it clown close, as 
meadows are injured by that treatment. He 
advocated warm stables for dairy eoxvs, and 
care should he taken that the stables be well 
lighted and ventilated. Then plenty of 
good food, an abundance Of good water, reg¬ 
ularity in feeding and kind treatment were 
tlie leading features for success. As to his 
experience iu feeding roots, he found no 
benefit from carrots, and pronounced t hem 
worthless. Potatoes gu\ r e good results, but 
were too expensive, while turnips were ob¬ 
jectionable as giving a bad flavor to the milk. 
He spoke at some length iu regard to the ad¬ 
vantages of cutting and steaming food for 
stock, giving the result of those who had 
practiced this system, but he bad not experi¬ 
mented in this direction in the management 
of his own herd. 
Stoch Raiaiiiff for Beef. 
Mr, I,. L. Lucas of Somerset gave a very 
excellent and practical paper on beef raising 
in Maine. He said the first thing to be con¬ 
sidered by those xvho raise stock for beef is 
to select a breed of animals tlmt will take on 
fat readily. For a climate and country like 
Maine the Ilcrefords may be regarded ns the 
best breed. They are hardy And well adapt¬ 
ed lor taking on flesh. There is so much 
uncertainty in breeding from grades that the 
best way to have good stock would he to 
breed from thorough breds. The bad econ¬ 
omy of overstocking farms was very clearly 
pointed out. lie thought that if the number 
of cattle xvinlered In Maine xvas reduced one- 
third ami could have all the food that is given 
to the whole number, the smaller number 
xvould be worth more than the larger. The 
farms arc generally overstocked. If cattle 
come out in spring in good condition they 
w ill fatten on pasture early in the season, 
while iftliej 7 go to pasture thin in flesh they 
do not begin to gain until the end ofsmnmer. 
Good cattle are in demand, and prices for 
such have not depreciated ; while poor, thin 
beasts have sold low, and have only been 
bought because there xvas not a supply of 
good ones. Many farmers, who attempt to 
fatten cattle, make a mistake iu .selling or 
sending to market just as the animals begin 
to gain and are in condition to fatten at a 
profit. He gave tbe views of experienced 
butchers to ihe effect that an ox weighing 
900 pounds, worth 10c, per pound, if fed to 
Weigh 1,000 pounds would be worth 12c. per 
pound, and if fed until another hundred 
pounds of flesh was added, or if it weighed 
1,100 pounds it would be xvorth 14c. per 
pound. Thus he argued x*ery clearly that it 
paid to make good beef, while there xvas a 
loss on poor things. 
Cheese Dnlryiiisr. 
Upon tlie above subject Rev. Mr. Gurney 
of Foxcrofl gave an eloquent address. It 
xvas full of practical suggestion, and with 
a vein of humor running through it that 
made it one of the most pleasiug and effect¬ 
ive speeches of the occasion. He argued 
that cheese dairying should he the chief 
business of the farmers of Maine, because 
they cannot compete xvith ihe West in its 
productions, lie spoke of potato growing, 
horse raising and other favorite specialties 
xvith Maine farmers, and showed how in¬ 
ferior the profits of each compared with that 
of the dairy, His arguments, for aud against 
the associated system of dairying, xvere very 
conclusive, and made a deep impression 
upon the audience. He xvas followed by the 
President, D. H. Thing of Kennebec, who 
I made some excellent remarks upon the intel¬ 
