THE CULTIVATOR. 
25? 
the first of that race and name. This horse lived to a 
great age, and his progeny, which were very numerous, 
were of unrivalled excellence as roadsters . Of the blood 
of the Sherman Morgan on the side of his dam, we know 
nothing, but hope to obtain more particulars in future. 
In 1831 this horse was kept by Col. Sam’l Jaques, at the 
Ten Hills farm, Charlestown, Mass. Col. J. considered 
him a horse having a rare combination of valuable 
qualities. 
Though we never had the good fortune to see the 
Sherman Morgan, we saw many of his foals, and with¬ 
out disparaging other horses, can safely say, that they 
were, as road horses , superior to any other stock with 
which we have been acquainted. It will be recollected 
that Mr. Hill’s horse Black Hawk, spoken of in our 
June number, is a son of the Sherman Morgan. 
Perhaps there is not at the psesent time in existence, 
a horse which possesses more of the characteristics for 
which the Morgans are justly esteemed, than Black 
Hawk. He is certainly a noble and beautiful animal, 
and we cannot but think well calculated to produce a 
highly valuable stock. We say this from conviction, 
and with no other motive whatever than a wish to bene¬ 
fit the public. 
And here our Vermont friends will permit us to sug¬ 
gest, that, in order to secure as far as possible, the valua¬ 
ble properties for which their horses have heretofore 
obtained such extensive notoriety, an Association for the 
Improvement of the Breed, be at once organized. The 
congeniality of the soil and climate of Vermont to pro¬ 
duce the best of horses for certain purposes, has been 
shown and acknowledged by the high estimation in 
which many of them have been held wherever known. 
And had so -valuable a stock as the Morgans originated in 
England, or in any country where superior animals are 
properly valued and the principles of breeding duly re¬ 
garded, there can be no question that a successful effort 
would have been made to prevent its deterioration. But 
what, it may be asked, has been done in this case ? In- 
stead of efforts to preserve and improve their peculiar 
stock, is it not a fact that the practice in general has been 
quite akin to that of the boy, who, according to the fable, 
“killed the goose which laid the golden egg ?” In the 
anxiety to realize immediate profits, ultimate consequen¬ 
ces have too often, it is feared, been overlooked; and the 
tempting offers of a hundred, or a hundred and fifty dol¬ 
lars, have too frequently induced the farmer to part with 
a valuable mare, apparently regardless of the fact that 
by doing so he was depriving himself of an important 
pecuniary resource. In this way much of the best breed¬ 
ing stock has been taken away from Vermont, and worn 
out in the stages-coaches and other carriages of other 
states, without being allowed to “ increase and multi¬ 
ply.” This has so far operated to lessen the number of 
good horses in the slate, that there are not now, proba¬ 
bly, as many as there were a few years ago. The object 
of such an assoiciation as is suggested, should be to se¬ 
cure the best mares and stallions for breeding—an object 
which beyond all doubt might be effected with advantage 
to the individuals engaged in it, and still greater advan¬ 
tage to the public. We trust that the obvious necessity 
of the case will induce some effective action among those 
farmers who are desirous that Vermont should maintain 
her pre-eminence for rearing valuable horses. 
At Addison, we saw the horse Eclipse, owned by Mr. 
E. Long, Cambridge, N. Y., which received the first 
premium of the New-York State Agricultural Society in 
1842. This horse, we believe, is a son of the celebrated 
American Eclipse. We should suppose him to be an 
animal well calculated to produce horses of large size, 
with fine form and spirit. 
We were shown some mares of excellent points. 
Among the best were those of Mr. Y. G. Drake and Mr. 
Jewett, Weybridge, and Mr. Langdon, of New Haven. 
Orchards, Fruits &c. —Though the winters of Ver¬ 
mont are long and cold, the hardier fruits, as the apple, 
pear, and plum, thrive well. We have never seen finer 
apples than we tasted at several places. Some Spitzen- 
bergs shown us by Mr. H. S. Morse, Shelburne, were su¬ 
perior examples of - that noted fruit. Plum-trees appear 
very flourishing in many places, and we were told pro¬ 
duced abundantly. 
In the garden of the Hon. Ezra Meech, Shelburne, we 
found vegetation more forward than it was generally in 
the gardens of this city and Troy at the same time. At 
this we were somewhat surprised, especially, as besides 
being more than a hundred miles farther north than Al¬ 
bany, it was located immediately on the verge of Lake 
Champlain, naturally exposed to the full sweep of the 
coldest winds. We soon discovered, however, that the 
garden was completely protected by a belt of white ce- 
der—the American Arbor vitce. This had so broken ofl 
the cold winds that the effect was equivalent to a transfei 
of the spot several degrees to the south. This is a stri¬ 
king example of the advantages of protection from cold 
by means of evergreens—a means which ought to b© 
generally adopted in the northern states, and all bleak, 
exposed sections. Mr. Meach has a pretty conservatory, 
well filled with plants, which, together with the garden, 
appear to be well managed. We regretted that circum* 
stances prevented our examining Mr. Meeeh’s extensive 
farm. Weunderstood him to say that he kept two thou¬ 
sand sheep, and two hundred cattle, &c. 
Facilities for Manufacturing. —Few sections of 
the country can compare in this respect with those por¬ 
tions of Vermont through which we passed. The valley 
of the Otter-creek, especially, possesses an almost incal¬ 
culable water-power, but a small portion of which, com¬ 
paratively, is yet improved. In the space of eleven 
miles, from the commencement of the rapids above 
Middlebury-falls, to the foot of the falls at Vergennes, 
there is an aggregate fall of three hundred and ten feet. 
For a large portion of this distance, the banks of the 
stream are solid, affording numerous level and excellent 
sites for the erection of manufacturing buildings. Es¬ 
tablishments for the manufacture of wool, and for other 
purposes, are now in operation at Middlebury, Wey¬ 
bridge, and Vergennes. We were informed that they 
all do a successful business, and it is believed that a fur. 
ther investment of capital might be extensively and pro¬ 
fitably made here. We would invite the attention of 
manufacturing capitalists to these facilities. 
FARM OF HENRY S. MORSE. 
Among the fine farms we visited during our excursion 
to Vermont, we were not more pleased with any than 
with that of Mr. Henry S. Morse, situated in Shelburne, 
Chittenden county, about six miles from Burlington. It 
consists of one thousand acres, lying in a body. Its lo¬ 
cation is beautiful, being on a large swell, command¬ 
ing a fine view' of the lake and the interesting scenery 
on either side, for a wide extent. 
Mr. Morse devotes his farm principally to keeping 
sheep, though he is under the necessity of keeping con¬ 
siderable other stock, (horses and cattle.) to carry on all 
his operations. Cattle are also sometimes fatted for mar¬ 
ket, but this branch has latterly been found less profit¬ 
able than wool-growing. He has two thousand sheep, 
nearly all of which are of the Merino and Saxon blood. 
The whole flock averaged last year a fraction over three 
pounds per fleece. He pursues a very judicious course 
with his w'ethers. He always feeds them well, and at 
three and four years old they receive high feeding 
through the winter, are sheared as early as the season 
will permit, and sold soon after, to be driven to Brighton 
for slaughter. Mr. Morse had, when we w'ere there, 
two hundred w'eathers which would be ready for sale 
as soon as they could be shorn, and were considered 
worth $2,50 per head. They were the best lot we ever 
saw of that breed—fat and large. They yielded on an 
average last year five and a half pounds of wool, worth 
forty cents per pound, or $2,20 each. He has also an 
other lot, younger than these, which will be ready foi 
sale next season. He raises peas and potatoes for feed 
ing his sheep and other stock in winter. He is much in 
favor of the pea for sheep. The crop is mowed, proper¬ 
ly cured, put in the barn and fed out to the fatting sheep 
in winter, without threshing. He finds this the mos 
valuable crop he can raise for that purpose. The store- 
sheep are likewise fed with peas in small quantities. 
