@40 
THE ROBAL NfW-YORKEfi. 
SEPT n 
3nfcu5tT So fifties. 
CONNECTICUT STATE FAIR. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT.) 
A fine display by enterprising, successful 
farmers: fine fruit and vegetable exhibits 4 , 
Grange displays; multitudes of imple¬ 
ments : live stock galore ; a good fair gives 
promise of better. 
The 19th Agricultural and Industrial Ex¬ 
hibition of the Connecticut State Agricultural 
Society was held in Meriden Park and the 
Town Hall on Sept. 11 to 14. The farmers of 
Connecticut are thrifty and business-like; 
they like public gatherings, and patronize 
them freely. As a class, they are great read¬ 
ers and unusually intelligent. As a rule, they 
are making money and are in just the mood 
to enjoy a State fair. It follows as a matter 
of course, that this fair was a great success. 
The Grange building was the center of at¬ 
traction. The upper floor was devoted to the 
pomological exhibit. A great variety of ap¬ 
ples, pears and grapes were shown. Among 
the novelties were the Red Bietigheimer apple 
and the Bradshaw plum, exhibited by T. H. 
Loomis. Mr. P. M. Augur showed a great 
variety of grapes, among which was the new 
Rockwell, supposed to be a cross between the 
Isabella and the Diana. The berries were 
very large. It is said to be as early as the 
Concord and as hardy. Williams’s Favorite 
apple has a beautiful color. It is very popu¬ 
lar in New England, especially about Boston. 
Other novelties in fruits were shown, but 
were included in the Grange exhibits. 
The Vegetable Department contained the 
usual variety of pumpkins, squashes, etc. The 
show of potatoes was remarkably fine. The 
Hampden Beauty, Early Essex, Pearl of 
Savoy, and Rural Blush predominated. A 
great variety of seedlings attracted attention, 
but the majority of them did not differ 
essentially from the older varieties. A 
novelty of the exhibition was a collection of 
wools, the property of Jas. A Bill, of Lyme. 
The following Granges made exhibits in the 
Grange building and the adjoining tent; 
Meriden, Cheshire, Mattabessett, (Middle- 
town), Newington, Westfield, Berlin, Noith 
Haven, Middletteld, and Wallingford. 
Cheshire Grange showed a beautiful center- 
piece entitled “The Pillars of Success in Agri¬ 
culture” Th9 pillars were named “Patriotism’’ 
“Intelligent Industry” and “Perseverance” 
They were made of fruits, grain and flowers. 
North Haven Grange showed a collection of 
native birds’ eggs—91 in all; also a boat filled 
with produce of various kinds. On their 
table were 17 varieties of melons raised by 
Eaton Bros. 
In the Implement Department I noticed the 
implements of the Vermont Farm Machine Co; 
Belcher & Taylor Co; Higganum M’f’g Co; 
C. Pierpont Co; A. W. Gray’s Sons, and other 
well known manufacturers. Among the 
novelties the new spocket-wheel Buckeye mow¬ 
ing machine attracted a good deal of atten¬ 
tion. It has a belt-chain gear in place of the 
cogs,—only two cog wheels being used in the 
machine. It has also the self-oiling pit¬ 
man and spiral spring for elevating the 
cutter-bar. Austin’s Rapid Water-elevator 
embodies a new method of elevating water 
quickly. It can be applied to almost any well- 
top. W. Jelliff & Co. exhibited some new 
cultivators,seed-sowers anda new onion-puller. 
The last is quite a novelty in the implement 
line. O. W. Goslee showed a number of to¬ 
bacco hoes, cultivators, etc., some of them 
new and of considerable merit. 
The cow, sheep and hog pens were at least 
half a mile in length. As a matter of course 
the cattle predominated. I noticed a great 
number of oxen and steers, some of remarka¬ 
ble size and weight. The beef breeds—Here- 
fords and Short-horns—occupied a large share 
of space. Next came the Holsteins; then the 
Devons, Ayrshires, Jerseys, Guernseys and 
grades. In the sheep pens there were a num¬ 
ber of Cashmeres, Hampshire Downs and 
Merinos from Ash Lawn Farm ; Cotswolds 
from Dwight Rogers and other breeds and 
grades, including a number of fine South 
>;owns from Dudley Wells of Wethersfield. 
The industrial exhibition in the Town Hall 
was liberally patronized. The lower part of 
the hall was filled with the products of the 
local manufacturers, chiefly silverware and 
organs. The gallery was devoted to fancy 
work, bed-quilts, spreads, rugs and the like. 
It is evident that the exhibitions of this year 
are but an earnest of larger and more success¬ 
ful exhibitions to follow. One thing, how¬ 
ever, is sadly needed—reduced railroad rates 
from distant parts of the State. The fact that 
it.is a State fair does not seem to be under¬ 
stood by the railroad compauy. With a little 
encouragement, the Connecticut State Fair 
can be made as large and successful as that 
of any other State in the Union. J. n. o. 
“ THE FARMER MUST THINK.” 
In using the above expression, a Wisconsin 
subscriber drops into rhyme as follows: 
“The farmer 
Must think for the ox and think for the cow, 
Think for the seed and think for the plow, 
Think for the wheat and think for the corn, 
Think for the house and think for the barn, 
Think for the garden, the meadow and field, 
Think of the culture and look for the yield, 
Think for the horse, forget not his feed, 
Think for the swine, the sheep and the breed, 
Think of absorbents for pigs In the pen, 
The compound returns In cellar and bln, 
Think of the compost, prepare it In time, 
The muck and the waste and the water combine, 
Think of the fence, the wagon and gate, 
Put in repair before it’s too late, 
Think for all tools that come to his aid, 
The set der, ihe reaper, the hoe and the spade, 
Think for all animals that live on the farm, 
Water and feed and protect from all harm. 
These are not thinkers, but ready for use 
When carefully sheltered and kept from abuse. 
Think to secure them and keep in repair, 
Use them in season and use them with care, 
Think for the hands and think for the feet, 
As mindful to think as thoughtful to eat, 
Have books on the table and papers to read, 
Of the trash of the press take diligent heed, 
Choose from the mass the purest and best 
And have them at hand when he sits down to rest. 
Among them, of course, the Rural New-Yorker, 
The aid of the thinker,(the friend of the worker. 
Fresh from the press of the farmers’ best friend, 
To answer his questions from beginning to end, 
To prompt him on seasons and pe st him on breeds 
And cheer him up yearly with specimen seeds. 
It comes every week well freighted with truth 
For farmer and wife, the children and youth. 
The home will be brighter and plenty abound. 
With finest productions of fertilized ground, 
The orchard proclaims the value of thought, 
The purpose and plan and what it has wrought. 
The fruits of the yard will satisfy taste 
And save every foot from barbarous waste. 
The herds will have plenty, be robust and fat, 
Cows produce richly for butter or vat. 
No barren fields to make the heart sad, 
But rich, waving harvests to make us all glad. 
‘As he thinketh in his heart so Is he.’ ” 
I believe Solomon was right in this old 
Proverb, applied to farmers as well as other 
types of manhood. 
HOW SHALL WE EDUCATE OUR 
CHILDREN AGRICULTURALLY? 
RICHARD FERRIS. 
We must learn before we teach , and practice 
to make our teaching impressive ; give the 
children easy work and the whole of its 
proceeds; let each crop contribute some¬ 
thing to home comfort and adornment ; 
let each child keep accounts, and experi¬ 
ment on his plot; start and foster a spirit 
of investigation and enthusiasm for agri¬ 
cultural pursuits. 
Can we teach what we do not know? 
I think not. Then, clearly, we must our¬ 
selves “appreciate the benefits of farm life 
and turn them to advantage,” before we can 
hope or expect to impress their importance 
and desirability upon our children. Our 
school is the farm itself. What is its condi¬ 
tion? With the view of using it as a series of 
object lessons in prosperity, comfort, happi¬ 
ness, health—everything that one may reason¬ 
ably wish for in life—is it all we can desire, 
or may we improve it? Does every year bring 
*ts burden of fruit and vegetables and flowers; 
of improvements in furniture, implements 
and utensils; of books and papers; of pictures 
and other sources of the pleasures which make 
life worth living? 
It is plain that, first and foremost, we must 
have a successful farm. Success always 
kindles enthusiasm, and one can hardly expect 
a grown man, much less a child, to be inter¬ 
ested in an occupation demanding so much 
hard work as farming does if there are no ad¬ 
equate results. We must see to it that we 
have results, and plenty of them, to show for 
our work. So much for our school and the 
particular copy of the Book of Nature we are 
to use. 
The instructionjwill be'of two kinds,—gen¬ 
eral and special. The general instruction will 
have for its object, inspiring the minds of our 
pupils with the enthusiastic satisfaction which 
arises from rewards, even though the reasons 
why the rewards are deserved may be very 
obscure, or even entirely wanting. Give the 
children work to do,—not hard work, but 
the most interesting and that which brings 
quickest returns. A child’s patience is short¬ 
lived and must be treated accordingly. Let 
the children do the planting. There is some - 
thing about burying seed in the ground that 
makes it enchanting, and the returns come 
quickly in the unfolding of the seed-leaf to the 
sun. Next comes our part—the weeks of cul¬ 
tivating and waiting: the labor and the 
patience. 
I would advise against giving the children 
much of this to do at first, especially on the 
farm at large. It is not easy to establish the 
habit of hard work, and an imperceptible 
advance which will make the hardest work a 
feather’s weight in days to come, is better 
than the slightest suggestion of the weariness 
of Adam’s curse. But when the harvest is 
ripe, call the children in again. Let them 
gather and reap. Remind them at every step 
of the work at seed-time and every labor of 
cultivation since, and rejoice—mark it— rejoice 
with them at the harvest. 
But do not let the harvest stop at the garner. 
Let each particular crop enter into the home- 
life, be it ever so little, so long as it is marked 
and vivid. Of course, the more the better. 
Let the corn contribute a new easy-chair for 
mother: the potatoes, a new wall paper for 
Jennie’s room; the turnips, a book or two for 
Willie and Jack; the oats, a cabinet organ, 
even if only hired for a month. And see, 
next year, if the oat crop doesn’t become, as 
if by magic, large enough to buy the organ 
outright! Whatever comfort, pleasure, or 
necessity is added to the home,—indoors or 
out,—let it be placed to the credit of some 
particular icrop, and when the new spring 
comes, make special plantings with special 
objects in view, and you will find the hoe- 
handles endowed with a stimulus unknown 
since the days of the elves and fairies. 
And now, as to the special instruction. 
If we want our children to be farmers, it is 
not enough to tell them what we do, and why 
and how we do it. They must themselves 
actually do the work with their own hands 
and heads, aided by suggestions from our 
riper experience. 
I know of no better method of carry¬ 
ing out this plan than to allot to each 
child-farmer a plot for himself alone, 
of such a size that he shall have 
a full opportunity to labor in it, without how; 
ever, taxing his strength or patience—and 
from which he shall have the entire proceeds. 
Provide him with a book, and show him how 
to keep a complete record of dates of planting, 
appearance above ground, blossoming, har¬ 
vest ; of temperature, rain, wind, frost ; of 
time expended upon each crop and the val¬ 
ue received from each ; of the cost of ferti¬ 
lizers and their influence upon the crops. If 
he is old enough to understand the subject of 
special fertilizers, lay off his plot in strips,— 
say east and west,—and spread each strip 
with its appointed manure, leaving one or more 
without any. Plant in rows across this strip, 
that is—north and south. He will be a very 
young farmer who fails to perceive the re¬ 
sults of such an experiment. Lessons in meth¬ 
ods of cultivation should be given in the same 
way, teaching each by that most effective of 
all teaching—experience. We may safely 
leave the pros and cons of deep and shallow 
plowing, of flat and hill culture, of drain¬ 
age and irrigation, to actual tests. More 
than this, these experimental lessons will 
awaken an interest which will not be easily 
quenched by failures, real or imaginary; and 
the student-farmer will become, eventually, 
a farmer-student among the great secrets of 
Nature’s workshop—an explorer of the vast 
unknown of agricultural science, a blessing 
and a benefactor to his fellow-laborers as well 
as to himself. 
At first a child is satisfied to help father 
and mother. Then he becomes anxious to be 
a man by himself—independent, or, at least, 
apparently so. A little later, and he is again 
glad to share his strength and care and re¬ 
sponsibility with fatner and mother, and then 
the little plot can be merged into the home¬ 
stead farm which has become a common in¬ 
terest and a common love, filling his mind, as 
J.M.THORBURN&CO., 
15 JOHN STREET. 
NEW YORE, 
BEO TO ANNOUNCE THAT THEIR DESCRIPTIVE PRICED 
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Lily of the Valley Pips, Bermuda Easter Lilies 
and Roman Hyacinths 
For Florists, a Specialty. 
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9!2 Pearl Street. Boston, Mass. 
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AND 
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liable to acci¬ 
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rriers. 
Our treatise on Ensilage and Catalogue sent Free 
GILVER <fe DEWING MFG. CO., Salem. O. 
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LION v CUTTBR. 
THE BES1 
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Also GALE’S CYL¬ 
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besides, the old and 
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FEED CUTTER 
For full description 
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Circulars and Price 
List. Address 
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POULTRY SUPPLIES 
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as VESEY ST., NEW YORK CITY. 
THE WEEKLY 
COURIER-JOURNAL 
—AND THE— 
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